everythingcatholic

January 6, 2009

Dear Friends In Christ,

Today I would like to introduce to you Eddie Olivas from Pomona, California.  he has volunteered to write for us. Eddie Olivas is a extremely experienced substance abuse professional, and 4th year MFT Trainee at Azusa Pacific University. He has over 23 years experience in substance abuse counseling in such varied environments as hospitals, clinics and out patient settings. He holds a double certification in substance abuse counseling, a bachelors of science in addiction studies, and a masters in organizational management with an emphasize in humane services. His current research and study is in systems theory, adult children of alcoholics and addiction. His specialization rest in the area of profound addictions, professional coaching, and stress management. Moreover, over the years he has been successful with even the most treatment resistant relapse prone individuals. He is a member of the National Association for Addiction Professionals and has been instrumental in both creating implementing alcohol and drug programs to many throughout southern California.  So when you have the time pop into CAT and send him a welcome.

What is the purpose of the Church on Earth?  I quote from Fundamentals of Catholicism, by Kenneth Baker:

<I><strong>“So the immediate purpose of the church is the sanctification of men and women by the communication of the whole Gospel, of the commandments and of the grace of Christ in the sacraments…the church is a supernatural and spiritual society.  The ultimate goal of the Church lies not in this world but in the world to come.  This truth is summarized by Jesus when he says, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”  Mk 12:17  Baker then concludes, “Since the purpose of the Church, then, is a purely religious one, she has of herself no direct political, economic, social or cultural tasks to perform.  Vatican II says clearly:  “Christ, to be sure, gave his Church no proper mission in the political, economic or social order.  The Purpose which he set before here is a religious one.(constitution on the church , no 42)</strong> </I>

After reading this it sounds very black and white.  The Church should only engage in the spiritual realm.  This sounds so easy and yet how often in our own lives does the spiritual realm cross over to our personal realities.  Think of any controversy that our society is engaged in and our Church is involved in it.  A good example of this is abortion.  This is such a huge political controversy that our church is involved in.  How can that be.  We just read that the Church has no mandate to pursue such causes.  In my opinion the Church has no choice but to fight back in cases such as abortion.  Abortion, the destruction of life, must be fought at all levels and this means the political arena. 

Another evil that I chose to fight and the church is slowly addressing is pornography.  My reasons being very personal, the why I chose to fight this can be summed up by Kenneth Henderson.  (hopefully soon to be ally) He writes:

<I> <strong>Catholic men have been silent, absent or non-committal and even wimpy for far too long. Society and sin has twisted God’s definition of “masculinity” to be synonymous with “power”, “money”, “domination”, or “sexual prowess”. We are at war, and unless we rise to the challenge we, and our families will suffer great losses. The family is the target of the enemy in this war…He knows that if he can destroy the father, he can destroy the family! The effect has been the destruction of many families and family values over the past century…</strong> </i>

So in his words, “we are at war…”  When are family values are being attacked in the political arena and outside it, the Church must fight back to survive and beat back the enemy whenever it can.   I know there exist a fine line and too often those lines are crossed.  When it comes to fighting for family values though those lines are not crossed enough.  This October we fight for Family values.  I want you all to mark the 24 of October on your calendar and come join us To Fight For Catholic Family Values.  Rosary Walk Las Vegas 2009 will be a reality and it will be a victory for Family Values and our Church.

I am truly excited.  I am God has been putting people into my lap.  This new writer came out of the blue.  Finding Kenneth Henderson’s web page just jumped out at me while writing this letter.  God is with us.  He truly is and I am so happy.  I need an accountant type to help us.  We have one here for CAT but I want an outsider to take our funds and donations when they come in.  We are forming the non profit as we speak.

Thanks for the people who support us now.  Tell a friend.  Come join us.

Love you all,

God Bless,

Vern Paul Hee

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