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[00:00:00] Introduction and Podcast Overview

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[00:00:00] Introduction and Welcome

[00:00:00] Welcome, welcome, one and all. Welcome to the Catholic Experience. I am your host, the Catholic Adventurer. This is September 22nd, in the year of our Lord, 2024. Lord have mercy, where has September gone? I don’t know, I don’t know. Man, the monsters keep flying by. 

[00:00:17] The Rise of Paganism Among Nigerian Youth[00:00:17] The Rise of Paganism Among Nigerian Youth

[00:00:17] Today I’m going to talk to you a little bit about a return to paganism.

[00:00:23] Facing it. On, uh, or, or I guess springboarding from an article on Catholic News Agency about Nigerians, Nigerian youth returning to the religions of their forebearers, the pagan religions of their forebearers. Kind of troubling, but it, it is a trend we’re seeing really everywhere in the church. Gonna talk to you a little bit about that today, as I fade that music to zero.

[00:00:50] Challenges in Producing the Podcast

[00:00:50] I’ll tell you, I don’t get a lot of time to do these. And I’m thankful that I get any time at all to do them, because I enjoy doing these podcasts. I wish I could put more time and effort into them to make them a little bit more showy, I guess. You know, different segments, kind of diversity of things.

[00:01:09] I wish I had more time to do that. Uh, I’m lucky I have time to get in front of a microphone at all. Not just because I enjoy doing them, but because I enjoy the opportunity to bring you a little bit closer to holiness. A little bit closer, dare I say. to God, because that’s really what this is all about.

[00:01:28] The Catholic Experience and Its Mission

[00:01:28] You know, the name of the apostolate [00:01:30] is The Catholic Adventurer. And the name of the podcast is The Catholic Experience, and that’s what it boils down to. I’m on the adventure of living life as a Catholic. It is an adventure. It has its highs and lows, its ups and downs. And I bring you along with me by sharing the truth.

[00:01:48] Amen. some wisdom, knowledge based on my experience and therefore the podcast, the Catholic experience. You see how that works. I hope you find it helpful. and I’ve said this before, there are a lot of podcasts, Catholic podcasts you could be listening to. And I don’t take it lightly the fact that you choose to listen to this one.

[00:02:10] Very few of you choose to listen, but you, you listening now, you choose to listen to this one. And I really hope that you do that, not just because you’re bored, although that would be okay too, but I hope that there’s something in every episode that you’re getting that’s making you go, hmm, I never thought of that.

[00:02:31] Or, hmm, that’s really helpful. Something that brings you closer to holiness, closer to prayerfulness. That would really, really make me happy. So let’s get right into it. 

[00:02:42] Social Media and Engagement

[00:02:42] By the way, if you’re not following me on X, please do so at forthequeenbvm. If you’re following me on other social networks and you’re wondering, boy, why haven’t I seen him post before, uh, in a while?

[00:02:55] Well, it’s because the social network that you follow me on does not treat me [00:03:00] well. It makes me work triple hard just to get a little bit of exposure and I’m just not doing that anymore. X is a little bit more kind in how it distributes me. Plus, I enjoy the platform. So if you follow me anywhere else, but on X, just know that I’m probably never going to post to the other social networks again, maybe I shouldn’t be so absolute about it, but I likely won’t be posting to the other social networks again, because it’s, it’s just work.

[00:03:28] It’s, it’s literally work. It’s not even, it’s, it’s not even enjoyable. It’s literally work. It’s literally another job. I don’t want to do another job if you’re not following me on x Please consider it. Please follow me at for the queen bvm Because I actually still post there so it’s a great place to uh Keep up with what I have to offer.

[00:03:51] I’m not posting constantly, but i’m posting, you know more than occasionally So it’s a good place to keep up. 

[00:03:57] Catholic News Agency Article on Nigerian Youth

[00:03:57] Okay Now from catholic news agency. This was I think from the The 18th september 18th Priest urges church in Nigeria to address the needs of youth who are returning to paganism. So the youth are facing some particular issues, I guess.

[00:04:16] They’re dealing with particular issues. They have particular needs that they feel the Catholic Church doesn’t meet, or the Catholic experience doesn’t meet. And so, they’re going back to [00:04:30]the pagan religions that are classical and traditional. In, in that, those regions of Nigeria. Okay. Put that in your pocket, we’re going back to that.

[00:04:40] Okay, they feel their needs aren’t being met by the church. By Agnes, looks like, Ainaia, or Ainaia. September 14th, this was, this article was. I’ll put a link to this article, uh, in the description of this episode. While many Catholic leaders in Nigeria are concerned about the influence of Pentecostalism, Catholics in the southeastern parts of the country are concerned about another trend.

[00:05:03] In rural parts of West African country, the number of young people participating in Sunday Mass has plummeted and continues to fall, as many of them turn to paganism. 

[00:05:19] Comparing African Traditional Religions and Catholicism

[00:05:19] Now, let me pause for a second and reference this, about the influence of Pentecostalism. A problem that the Catholic Church in Africa has, and I do mean Africa in general, not just in Nigeria in particular, A problem that they face there is, I guess, the traditional, traditional pagan spirituality is very, let’s say, boisterous, okay?

[00:05:44] I would liken it to, what do you call that? We have something, we have something like it in the, in the Catholic Church. For some reason, the name escapes me now, where they’re very Holy Spirit. [00:06:00] Centered, very hands in the air, and I think they sometimes even speak in tongues. And it’s very energized and energetic.

[00:06:10] So a lot of the traditional, classical African spirituality is that, okay? And Catholicism, the way Catholicism is, how worship is done in Catholicism, it’s not only It’s not only different from their norm, it’s different from their culture. It’s not only different from the norms of people coming from traditional African religions.

[00:06:39] It’s, the way Catholicism is done is also unique out of the ordinary, alien, foreign, to African culture. Traditional African culture. So what you find is The church often competes with Protestantism, and I guess in Nigeria specifically, Pentecostalism. Because, as Christian faiths go, it’s, you know, because it’s not really liturgical, in this case Pentecostalism, because it’s not really liturgical, because there’s really, there’s no canon law, there’s no general instruction of the Roman Missal directing how you should and shouldn’t worship what is and is not permissible, for example, at mass.

[00:07:27] There’s a lot of freewheeling that can [00:07:30] be done in Protestant religions, Protestant traditions, specifically in this case, Pentecostalism. So the church has a lot to compete with in the African,, nations.

[00:07:43] Now, in Nigeria, they are also dealing with The youth in rural areas returning to paganism. Now I’ll continue with the article. Father Vitalis, uh, Anae, Anaeobi, it looks like. Father Vitalis, I’m just gonna say Father Vitalis, because I’m not gonna wrestle with that name every damn time it’s mentioned in the article.

[00:08:07] Father Vitalis serves in the, in the region and said that most of the young people he has spoken to are Are grieved by difficulties in life such as poverty, unemployment, and the failure by the church. This is a quote and the failure by the church to protect them as attacks against Christians. Continue in the country where religious-based persecution is one of the highest in the world.

[00:08:32] In an interview with a CI Africa, CNA, CNAs news partner in Africa regarding concerns about the growth of private. ministry, I almost said private miniseries, regarding concerns about the growth of private ministries linking themselves to the Catholic Church in Nigeria. Father Vitalis said, quote, we are not upset by the influence of these ministries.

[00:08:54] The greater fear, listen to this, the greater fear we have, especially in [00:09:00] Southeast Nigeria, where I am based, is the fact that young people are going back to traditional religion. Now. He’ll mention this later on in the article, but they’re not seeing the problem as much in, in, in cities. They’re seeing it more specifically in rural, areas of Nigeria.

[00:09:22] I’m pointing that out for a reason, okay, because I’m going to go back to that a little bit later. He said that the youth in rural villages in Nigeria are not going to Pentecostal churches, but to religions that their forefathers abandoned when they embraced Christianity, quote. Our youths are going back to paganism, he said.

[00:09:41] This emerging trend is nowhere on social media, but for us here, this is our greatest worry. Very young boys and girls are going back to these practices, and quote, Father Vitalis, who is the Secretary General of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa, said that at the heart of the worrying trend is the increasing insecurity in the region.

[00:10:07] Quote, quote, There is the false belief that in the face of current insecurity in the region, Christianity cannot protect anyone. The youth believe that with traditional religion, they can obtain some way to protect themselves, he said. According to our young people, Christianity is not practical, [00:10:30] is not as practical as traditional religion.

[00:10:33] When you go to the churches in our villages, you will not find young people there. They are out practicing traditional religion. Apparently because of poverty and lack of employment, the young people there, uh, it says, especially in the rural parts of the country, as I, as I noted earlier, the young people are avoiding the church where they are told to go ahead and give, they’re avoiding the church that says, quote, go ahead and give the little that you have to get the blessings.

[00:11:00] They say that with traditional religion, no one is allowed to give much. And he also said that, uh, African religious practices, instead, they, they meet. So what they do is, they meet, they slaughter animals, perform rituals, dance, and go home with full stomachs. The reason they’re going home with full stomachs is because they eat the animals that they slaughter in ritual sacrifice.

[00:11:22] Okay? Sound familiar? At the moment, this trend can only be observed in rural villages. Quote, we are not, we are not worried about the cities because there, the church is full of young people. What we worry about the most is our villages. Well, let me tell you, my friends, it always starts small. It always starts small.

[00:11:42] Cultural and Religious Shifts in Modern Society[00:11:42] The Broader Return to Paganism

[00:11:42] I can tell you in my experience as an evangelizer, you know, it’s, it’s really not, I don’t want to say if it’s common or uncommon, but But if I run into someone who says, Oh yeah, I’m, you know, a neo pagan. Whatever neo pagan is for them. [00:12:00] Wicca, for instance, is growing in popularity. Let’s say they, so let’s say they introduce themselves as Wiccan.

[00:12:05] That wouldn’t really surprise me. 20, 30 years ago, that would be utterly shocking. Hi, I’m a Wiccan. Utterly shocking. 20, 30 years ago, unless you went to rural America, because it was already surfacing in rural America, this return to ancient, uh, Eastern, I’m sorry, Western European paganism. Long before we saw it in the suburbs or in the cities in America, probably in Canada, too, but long before we saw it in suburbs and cities, It was already happening in rural America.

[00:12:43] Now, if you find ten people in a room, and one or two of them say that they are neo pagan, whatever pagan religion they adhere to, that’s not entirely shocking anymore. It doesn’t shock me at all. At all, at all, at all, at all. There are people abandoning their Christian roots, and identifying as Buddhists.

[00:13:02] Not uncommon at all. I live in a very Catholic community. Believe it or not, Catholic areas still exist, but I’ll tell you, I don’t know, as I go through my walk around where I live, easily, easily, in maybe a half mile radius, easily, I’m going to see maybe five Buddhist statues [00:13:30] on the front lawns. Of families that were once Catholic, or let’s say people who were once Catholic, some of them families, some of them just, you know, people, a person or a couple.

[00:13:42] And right there, there was one house that I’m thinking of actually too, that on one side of their front yard is a Buddhist statue, on the other side is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. How vulgar is that? Yeah. But it’s not just Buddhism, of course, there’s a rise of, of classical classical European pagan religions everywhere.

[00:14:07] And it’s not just classical pagan religions. What’s a pagan religion at the end of the day? First, it’s a religion, right? It’s a religion, that’s, the truth is in the name. What’s a pagan religion? First, it’s a religion. It’s religious in its substance. It’s essentially a religion, right? So there are guidelines.

[00:14:30] There are things that you do and don’t do. There are objects of our affection or objects of our devotion. Right? It’s a religion. Everybody is religious. I don’t even care if it’s an atheist. Atheists are religious too. The only question is, who or what are they worshipping? So a pagan religion, any pagan religion, it’s a religion.

[00:14:50] That’s number one. Number two It finds a god at the center, a god or a divinity at the center. It might be a single [00:15:00] divinity, it might be a collective divinity. So, Wiccans, for instance, believe in the spirit of this and the spirit of that and the spirit of that and the spirit of this. But it’s a collective deity.

[00:15:12] They believe in the spirits. Okay? So,

[00:15:18] I know I’m stretching it a little bit. Okay. But I would regard atheism also as a pagan religion, even though it’s not technically a pagan religion, right? They don’t have a deity. But they have something that fills in for a deity. And from atheist to atheist, it will be different. It might be the deity of science.

[00:15:41] It might be the deity of the self. It might be the deity of humanism. There is something at the center of their worship. Some object of their devotion.

[00:15:52] And you can be an agnostic, or a Christian, or a Jew, and still follow a pagan religion, where they’re culturally or traditionally Catholic, or Christian, or Jewish, whatever. But they don’t practice the religion of their forebearers. They don’t practice the religion of their parents. They don’t go to church and, or they don’t go to the synagogue, whatever.

[00:16:17] So who do they worship? Often they worship the God of the self.

[00:16:20] What are some of the marks of a return to paganism? Because a return, you know, I talk a lot about culture and Catholic culture and culture [00:16:30] informs identity and identity is who you are, right? What are some of the marks of a cultural return to paganism? Because it’s not just the form of a religion, it’s the essence of religion.

[00:16:42] What are some of the markers? Well, some things that we see in the culture today are things that were very, very common and popular in, under paganism. We see a return to a glorification of violence. We see a return of the glorification, and almost the ceremonial utilization of sex and sexuality. See? We see the slaughter of, of, of, of innocents.

[00:17:10] So, in, so I’m saying the slaughter of innocents, E N C E, and the slaughter of innocents, T S. The unborn are innocents. And we see the corruption of innocents. These things were hallmarks of many, many pagan religions. Some of, uh, and some of these pagan religions were, were malicious. Where they weren’t just, they weren’t worshipping make believe gods, or make believe spirits.

[00:17:45] They were worshipping demons, whether or not they knew that. And some of those, some of the ancient pagan religions knew they were worshipping demons. They just thought these demons aren’t quite that bad. Or they are that bad, but you know what, if you can’t beat them, join [00:18:00] them. A return to a glorification of violence.

[00:18:03] A return of the glorification or worship of sex. A return of the exploitation of sexuality, a return and almost celebration of the corruption of innocence and the sacrifice of innocents. These are some of the hallmarks of pagan religions and we see them hot and heavy returning today or they have returned today.

[00:18:31] We see a return of the worship of the self. And boy, oh boy, do we see it in the church, all over the church. So many individual people with a sense of self importance. So many people who swear to God, I am the church. I am the magisterium. I am the defender of the faith. I’m not calling that a return to paganism.

[00:19:06] But errant Catholicism, an errant Catholic attitude, is errant because it is no longer Christian, it is pagan. It is not a pagan religion, it is not pagan practice, it is an errant attitude because it is no longer Christian in its attitude, it is pagan in its attitude. [00:19:30] And it’s all over the church, and a lot of them are posting on social media.

[00:19:38] And many of them have very popular YouTube channels. And many of them get paid big bucks to spew their nonsense.

[00:19:49] It’s not just the Africans who are dealing with a return to paganism. This is going on all over the world. Not just in the secular culture, but also in the culture of the church. A return to paganism.

[00:20:05] Again, I find it interesting that in Africa this is starting in rural villages. It also start, I mean, and now I’m talking, talking again about actual pagan religions, a return to actual pagan religions. It started in rural villages and it also started in rural areas in America. If it is not checked, it will bleed into suburbs and cities in Africa.

[00:20:34] I know that it will, because African people are just people. They’re human people. The errors that we see in the West, or let’s say in the United States of America, or Canada, or Europe, are errors of human persons. And we will see those same errors in Africa if the problem is not controlled and people are not corrected.

[00:20:57] I also find it interesting that in Africa they’re [00:21:00] returning these pagan religions because they feel like Christianity isn’t good enough. It doesn’t meet their needs. And some of these needs are legitimate. I’m poor. I’m hungry. I’m vulnerable. I get all that. I get all that.

[00:21:15] But what’s the problem there? The problem is, I have a need and my religion is not meeting it. Therefore, I’m leaving this religion. Do you see the problem there? Let me change the words a little bit. I have a need, and this form of the Mass is not satisfying it. Therefore, I’m going to another form of the Mass.

[00:21:35] Now, before people get insulted, Yes, I’m talking about the Latin Mass versus the Novus Ordo Mass, but before people get insulted, let me say this. If you really need the Mass to be a certain way, If you really need that to nourish your, your, your catholicity, that’s, that’s not illegitimate. I get that. I get that.

[00:21:55] And so, I’m not going to this looney tune, Nova Sordo mass. Instead, I’m going to go to a Latin mass. And I have said this, and said this, and said this in the past. Some people legitimately have that need. But for many people, I don’t want to say most, but for many people, They don’t have a legitimate need to abandon the Novus Ordo Mass, to go to a traditional Latin Mass, and then to regard that as the only real Mass, which I’m going to say most traditionalists say.

[00:22:23] They say with their mouths that both Masses are valid, but really, when you talk to them, it’s very [00:22:30] clear that many traditionalists believe that the Latin Mass is either the valid Mass or it is the superior Mass. very much. Now, I’m not trying to make this a crusade against traditionalists. Believe me. I’m just making a point.

[00:22:46] That when we put ourselves at the center instead of God, we may be Catholic. I’m not saying that, you know, that means we’re not Catholic. It depends on how deep the problem goes, but I’m not talking about the depths of the problem. I’m talking about the basics of the problem. When we put ourselves at the center, that is not a Christian attitude.

[00:23:04] I’m In fact, that is not even a human attitude. Not the way God envisioned humans. That’s not how God envisioned humanity when he created us. When we put us at the center, that is not a Catholic attitude. That really is a pagan attitude. Where do you think paganism comes from? Paganism doesn’t come from putting a deity at the center.

[00:23:26] It comes from putting us, ourselves, at the center. And paganism is returning, the more and more people in the culture put themselves at the center. Where the divinity becomes like a toy for our amusement, for our pleasure, and is placed at our service. I have to really admire the faith of the Jews. And, and I do mean all Jews throughout time.

[00:23:58] But I want to really [00:24:00] focus on the faith of the Jews in the time of Jesus. Those Jews, for those Jews, it had been thousands of years, I think. At least many hundreds. Since they had seen a miracle. Since they had observed the manifestation of the power of God before their very eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of years.

[00:24:21] And in the time of Jesus, They were once again being persecuted, right? Because they were under the control of Rome. They were under Roman persecution. They were under Roman rule and more than occasionally under direct Roman persecution. And yet, now, It’s not like the entire nation of Israel was faithful to God, but many, many of the Jews were, right?

[00:24:45] They still went to the temple at the designated times. They still were in the synagogue. They still observed Sabbath law. They still said their prayers and so on. And when you think about it, that’s quite amazing. Because they had every reason to say, you know what, this God thing just ain’t working for me.

[00:25:05] I have needs that God does not satisfy, that Judaism does not satisfy. You know, I pray and I worship and this and that. And God lets the Romans take control of us. God let the Romans do this. Just like in the past, he let the Persians do that. And he let the Babylonia You get, you know, the whole history and this God thing, it just ain’t working for me.

[00:25:29] I’m [00:25:30] done. And yet many Jews did not say that they did not do that. They prayed, they observed the law, they followed the law. They went to temple when they were supposed to. And so on and so on. And, and, and it, you know, it’s a lot of work to be a Jew, especially in Jesus time when they still had a temple.

[00:25:50] It’s a lot of work to be a Jew. A lot of law to follow, even if some of them perhaps are made up. Right? They don’t come directly from Scripture. They’re cultural, or they’re handed down by oral tradition. Whatever. It’s a lot of work to be a Jew, and yet there they were. Faithful, faithful, faithful.

[00:26:08] Prayers, prayers, prayers. Amen. When you think about it, that’s quite remarkable. When today, when someone doesn’t want to have to suffer the pain in the ass of getting up for mass on a Sunday, they decide, I’m spiritual, not religious. I can talk to God on my own. I can worship God on my own. This God thing just ain’t working for me.

[00:26:32] Or, you know what? I need more power. I need more power and this God thing ain’t working for me, but You know, if I become a witch, if I practice Wicca, and I become a full blown witch, I can have power. You know, if I do this sacrifice to this, I don’t know, pagan spiritual deity, I’ll have protection. [00:27:00] I’ll have protection.

[00:27:01] I am, and I am not saying that, you know, people who are in need of protection, or food, or work, those are all legitimate needs. But when we are leaving Catholicism for anything that we think will satisfy our needs better, then we’re not putting God at the center, we’re putting ourselves at the center, even if our needs are valid.

[00:27:26] I’m starving, I’m poor, I’m vulnerable, even if our needs are valid. We have to remember, and I don’t think this applies to my audience, but I’m just sharing the thought with you anyway, we have to remember that God is a father, but he is not the sky daddy that the, that the atheists accuse him or accuse us of believing in.

[00:27:50] Sometimes we try to turn God or to make God into our own image, what we think a heavenly father should be.

[00:28:01] I believe they do that in these Nigerian villages, where the youth are returning to paganism. You I believe most people who leave Catholicism for a pagan religion or for Buddhism are doing that. But even many of us who are in the pews at Mass every week or every day, sometimes we do that too. Sometimes we try to make God in our own image.

[00:28:27] We try to turn Him into the Heavenly Father [00:28:30] that we think He’s supposed to be. And we place these expectations on Him. I know I do. I know that I do. And I’m not too crazy. I’m a little crazy, but I’m not too crazy. If I do it, I have to believe many Catholics do that without realizing it, without realizing it.

[00:28:47] I’m not saying that makes you evil, malicious, stupid, or even wrong. It just means you’re an error, just as I am when I do that. Something to keep in mind.

[00:29:00] So a return to paganism in Africa, not very surprising to me. We’ve been seeing a return to actual pagan religions. 

[00:29:08] Humanism and Neo-Paganism

[00:29:08] And to, I would say, neo pagan religions, for instance, uh, I would say humanism is a new pagan religion. It’s neo paganism. Well, how can it be paganism? There’s no deity at the center. Yes, there is.

[00:29:22] We’ve turned man into the deity. Humanism, as far as I’m concerned, is a pagan religion. If we went down the line and characterized what a pagan religion is, You’re going to see humanism match, meets all of those requirements. For some people, it’s scientism. This is going to take me to the next and last thing that I’m going to talk about.

[00:29:49] Politics as a Modern Religion

[00:29:49] For some people, it’s politics. Politics. For some people, politics is their real religion. [00:30:00] You may or may not have noticed, I’ve been getting a little more political in my Twitter feed. After, let me think, I think it was after the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump. , I, I dove back into, I guess, the news cycles.

[00:30:20] Wanted to know what was going on. And this made me interested and excited to watch the Republican shoot, what do you call it? Republican National, whatever it is. Anyway. I didn’t watch the whole, uh, convention, Republican National Convention, that’s it. I didn’t watch the whole convention, I just watched the last one.

[00:30:41] Just because I didn’t want to miss out on the whole thing, I was kind of interested and intrigued. I said, let me watch at least the last one. Plus I wanted to see how, you know, how this would, would, how the assassination attempt changed or affected Donald Trump, if at all. I wanted to see who the final speakers were going to be.

[00:31:00] I wanted to hear what Donald Trump had to say, you know. So, yeah. And this kind of spiraled back into my interest in politics. And when I do post about politics, I, sometimes it’s just the politics. And, and I do try to say something about it through a Catholic lens. Not just here’s a new story, but here’s what I think as a Catholic about this news story or about this headline or about this thing that I’m reposting.

[00:31:27] And I’m going to try to pull away from that now, [00:31:30] because now I think it’s played out. I, there’s really nothing I can say, not that I’m going to post zero politics, but I’m not, I’m going to try to do that a whole lot less and go back to posting about Catholicism a whole lot more and just occasionally something political where it’s relevant and important, you know, but having, having gone swimming in those political waters again, I’m seeing it everywhere and I, and I’ve always known this, but now I’m seeing it with fresh eyes today.

[00:32:01] Just how much politics has become the real religion of many a Christian, not just Catholics, not just Catholics, many a Christian, non Catholic Christians, where this has become their real religion. And occasionally I do find a well thought out post or story or whatever. Occasionally I find something. That I comment on, or, or I just read, and I don’t share it, and then sometimes I’ll repost it with my own thought.

[00:32:36] Occasionally I’ll find something that’s well thought out, but usually I’m really amazed at the stupidity that’s out there. I, I mean, I’m truly, truly amazed, the stupid, stupid things people are saying. It’s, uh, people who are on the left, people who are on the right, People who are in the church, people who are [00:33:00] not religious at all.

[00:33:01] Incredibly, incredibly, incredibly, stupid. ! 

[00:33:07] Donald Trump is gonna save America. If you believe that, Donald Trump That is just stupid. I don’t, I am not anti Donald Trump. I’m really not. I think it’s irrational and stupid how some people are just flatly anti Donald Trump. It’s like, and I don’t care if they’re Republican. I don’t care if they’re Catholic.

[00:33:25] I don’t care to be that passionate or passionately against someone. I’m sorry. That’s just too. I am not nearly as passionately against Kamala Harris, who I’m totally dead set against, but I am not. Nearly as passionately negative on Kamala Harris as some people are passionately negative on Donald Trump.

[00:33:45] I just don’t get it. My passion is for, is for God, is for Jesus Christ, is for the saints, is for the church, and I haven’t got any passion left beyond that. 

[00:33:56] Debunking Political Myths

[00:33:56] Nothing can, nothing can possibly get me as excited, as fired up, as those things that I just mentioned. 

[00:34:03] Debating Trump’s Impact on America

[00:34:03] So I just don’t understand. Statements like Donald Trump will save America. That, uh, Folks, come on. Can we acknowledge how stupid that is? I think Kamala Harris won’t kill America, but I think Kamala Harris will cripple Americans, cripple the American family, and therefore cripple or very, very devastatingly damage American culture, [00:34:30] American life.

[00:34:31] Kamala Harris is not going to destroy America any more than Donald Trump is going to save America. Donald Trump may prevent America, Donald Trump will prevent the damage that I firmly believe Kamala Harris will do to American life and American culture, but he’s not going to save America. Are you kidding?

[00:34:51] Are you kidding? Donald Trump is going to save America. Are you serious? You must not. What America are you living in? South America? Maybe he’ll save South America. The United States of America? No, not with his principles. 

[00:35:05] Evaluating Trump and Harris

[00:35:05] I think his policies are great, you know, going by, on the record of his first four years, I think his policies were great.

[00:35:12] I also think that he thinks the legalization of marijuana is no big deal. He has also flip flopped on abortion. He’s the most pro life candidate by far, but he is not the pro life Republican that, that I think we should have. He has flip flopped on IVF. I mean, Donald Trump is, is far from the savior of this country.

[00:35:41] And now, so that the Trump, the Trumpists don’t think that I’m just picking on them and I’m really not, as I say, I’m not against Donald Trump, you know, there’s some people out there, some people maybe who are listening to this for whom voting for Donald Trump is going to be like swallowing a big rock [00:36:00] and they have to swallow that rock, they got to get it down.

[00:36:03] Because they just have to. And for them, that’s how it’s like, that’s how it’s going to be to vote for Donald Trump. For me, it’s not like that. I’m probably voting for Donald Trump. I’m sure as hell not voting for Kamala Harris. Sure as hell not doing that. Forget it. I’m probably going to vote for Donald Trump.

[00:36:21] That’s not going to burn me up. I don’t care. If I think he’s the better candidate, and I do. And again, I’m not anti Donald Trump. I thought he had a good four years the first time. Okay. He, he, he’s not my hero. He’s not my hero. But, whatever. But for some people, they’re going to vote for him and it’s going to burn them a little bit.

[00:36:41] They’re going to hate having to vote for him.

[00:36:43] But anyway, I’m getting off track. 

[00:36:44] Critique of Kamala Harris

[00:36:44] Let’s talk about the other side of the stupidity. Let me make it very simple. The other side of the stupidity. Voting for a communist for president could be a good thing. That’s really what people are saying and When they say something positive about voting for Kamala Harris, you know what I do like about Kamala Harris? I think she’s genuinely a joyful woman.

[00:37:04] I like her human spirit. I really do. I think she’s genuinely a joyful woman and I like that a lot,

[00:37:10] but I think she would be an absolute disaster as president. I think she’s a disaster as vice president and she’d be an even big, she would, she would, in my opinion, she would be the worst president in American history. And if America survives another thousand years. I don’t think that in those thousand years, you’re going to have a worse president than what President Kamala Harris would [00:37:30] be.

[00:37:30] And there are people who are entertaining or who are considering voting for her. And that’s fine. People with free minds and free wills, just think it through.vote with your mind, not with your emotions, as I keep saying. You know, I’m not trying to crucify Kamala Harris voters. Do you think what you want to think?

[00:37:50] Okay, it’s different from how I think. God bless you, though. I hope the Holy Spirit enlightens you, and I, you know, I hope, you know, the best person for the job wins by the grace and,providence of God. But there are people who are considering voting for her, for this reason, that reason, the other reason, but at the end of the day, can we all agree that she is a communist?

[00:38:11] And you are considering good reasons to vote for a communist to be the President of the United States. God bless you. I’m sorry, that is fantastically stupid, fantastically stupid. And I mean that with all due respect, I really do. This is how I talk to my siblings, this is how I talk to my friends, okay?

[00:38:32] This is not like, you know, I’m trying to talk mean to you.

[00:38:35] And the stupidity continues. Donald Trump said X. No, he did not. Kamala Harris believes Y and Z. Uh, I’m not convinced of that one. I don’t like her and I’m not voting for her, but What you just said is a little stupid Donald trump is going to be I just posted this on x the other day. Donald trump is going to be [00:39:00] a Dictator as soon as he’s elected.

[00:39:01] Well He was in office for four years. Oh, so we’ve already seen his record. We’ve seen his quality and he didn’t do anything That was dictatorial He didn’t do anything that made him a dictator. Donald trump is going to start world war three It’s incredibly stupid that people are still saying that Because they said that the first time he was running for president.

[00:39:22] Except now, he has already been president. And we know he does not, he did not start World War III. We know he built bridges with, with foreign leaders. We know this because he’s done it. But there are still people saying he’s going to start World War III. When last I checked, Russia was emboldened by years of the Obama administration.

[00:39:45] It was a scared little chihuahua. During the Trump administration, and now it got bald again during the Biden Harris administration. But it’s Donald Trump who’s going to start World War III. Can we all agree that that is a stupid thing to believe? Well, it’s a stupid thing to say, at least. I can’t say if it’s a stupid thing for people to believe it, because I don’t know what goes on in their heads.

[00:40:12] They might have good reasons, but You’d be hard pressed to make the argument to me. I’m sorry, we already know his record. We already know it. He’s been president for four years. 

[00:40:22] The Role of Politics in Religion

[00:40:22] So there are pro Trump and anti Trump things that I find very stupid. There are pro and anti Kamala Harris things that I find very stupid.

[00:40:29] [00:40:30] And then there are people who say, God bless America, and, and, you know, they tout how Christian they are, and then they say some very, very un Christian or counter Christian things. Do you know why all this is so? Because for such people, people. Politics is their real religion. Now, if you are an intro, if you have an interest in politics and you love discoursing of politics, posting a positive, I’m not saying that means politics is your religion.

[00:40:56] I am not saying that what I’m saying is there are many people for whom politics or their political party or political affiliation, that’s their real religion. And I don’t care if they’re in church every single day, if their political party is their ideology, If these are the, the rules we live by, though they may not necessarily be good Christian guidelines, but this is what we believe as Democrats, or this is what we believe as Republicans.

[00:41:27] If that is at the, if that is what guides how you live your life, then that is what your religion really is. If that’s what you’re fixated on, what holds your attention, then Most, most significantly and most substantially, then that is what your God is. And that is what your religion is. That’s just true.

[00:41:50] And again, I don’t think any of my listeners really fit that bill. So when I say you, you, you, you, my friends don’t think I’m talking about you because I’m really [00:42:00] not. I’m talking about people. Okay. And for some of you, some of you may fit the bill. I don’t know. I don’t, I don’t think so. What I’m trying to say is I’m not attacking you.

[00:42:09] When I say you, I’m speaking generally about people in the world, okay? And people in the church, in general.

[00:42:14] Returning to Spiritual Fundamentals

[00:42:14] So we’re seeing a lot of return to paganism throughout the modern political cycle. We’re seeing it throughout the culture. What’s the response to that?

[00:42:25] I’m gonna tell you my response to it, okay? Because even, I even have to check myself with all of these things. All of these things. I even have to check myself and make sure my heart is in the right place. And my mind is in the right place. So I’m going to tell you what I, how I respond to this. How I respond to my own, I guess, erring attitude.

[00:42:51] When it happens. And how I respond to the errant attitude of the culture. Both secular and Catholic cultures. Okay, here’s what I do. 

[00:43:00] Returning to Spiritual Fundamentals

[00:43:00] I return to the fundamentals. And I keep it simple. Return to the fundamentals and keep it simple. Let me present this analogy for you. You’re in a boat. Uh, let’s say it’s a medium sized boat.

[00:43:17] It’s not a big ship. It’s not a small boat. It’s a medium sized boat. What I try to do is I point my bow in the right direction. Jesus. Not [00:43:30] God the Father and the communion of the saints in heaven and the Holy Spirit. Nope. No, no, no, no, no. Simple, right? Jesus. Jesus. The Father and the Holy Spirit are kind of in there, but Jesus.

[00:43:48] Okay, point my bow in that direction.

[00:43:50] I set my rudder, right? And then I start rowing. I know I said it’s not a small boat, but just go with me on this, okay? It’s a medium sized boat. There are still oars and people rowing. Okay, so let’s just say I crack the whip and I say, Okay, okay, fellas, start rowing. Okay, let’s say there’s six, six oars. Okay, start rowing.

[00:44:13] Okay. And my bow is pointed toward Jesus. And I start rowing. I just keep it simple. Nice, slow pace. Just keep rowing. Now, practically, what is that, what does that symbolize? 

[00:44:29] The Power of Simple Prayer

[00:44:29] Go to Mass. Go to confession regularly and pray. Don’t do 30 rosaries. Don’t do 27 other devotions. Just pray, but pray with good devotion.

[00:44:44] If all you do is say, and I don’t recommend you pray this little, but I’m just making an example. If all you do is pray one Our Father a day, pray it with devotion. Take 3 to 5 minutes to pray that Our Father. Say it slowly. Focus on every word. [00:45:00] If you’re saying only one hour Father a day, making an example, not a prescription, okay?

[00:45:07] Go to Mass, regular confession, pray. Simple.

[00:45:11] Read a little bit of the Scriptures, specifically the Gospels, because where’s your bow pointed? Jesus. Read the Scriptures. Read what He has had to say. Be attentive at Mass to the readings. Just, just be consistent and steady. President Trump this, Kamala Harris that, that, that, that, that, Jesus.

[00:45:33] I’m not going to pay attention to this next headline. Like I, for instance, I know nothing about the exploding pagers thing. I, what I just said is all that I know about it. I don’t know if this blew up Hezbollah people or people in Israel. I, I, I don’t know who got blown up. I think it was Hezbollah. And beyond that I know nothing.

[00:45:54] Or almost nothing, I’ll say. Thank you. I don’t get distracted by this headline, that headline, this sensationalism, that sensationalism, this stupid thing that I would really love to comment on, or that dumb thing that I would really love to comment on. I try not to get distracted. Jesus. Keep rowing. Be consistent.

[00:46:12] Be steady. Right? Sometimes the rowers on one side of the ship are going to falter and you’re going to go off course. Or they’ll go too slow or too fast. Something is going to Lose [00:46:30] focus in this journey as you have your bow pointed toward Jesus. Something is going to lose focus, where now you’re starting to drift.

[00:46:38] The bow is now pointed a little bit, a little bit to the left or a little bit to the right. Or a little bit port, a little bit starboard. Okay, now course correct. Get back to focus. Point your bow back to Jesus and focus. Now keep rowing.

[00:46:56] Sometimes the waters get choppy, the wind is going to blow in an unfriendly way. It’s too strong. It’s in the wrong direction, whatever. It’s gonna throw you off. Focus and get back to the center.

[00:47:08] Go to Mass. Read the scripture. Pray plainly. Pray plainly and talk to God. Not just in Our Father, but talk to Him. Look through the Psalms. Find a couple that, that really speak to you, commit them to memory, and include them in your regular daily prayer life. Here’s one that really, really, uh, here’s one that I like to use.

[00:47:40] And there’s several that I like to use, here’s one that I like to use. And hopefully I’m not misquoting it, but it’s, cause sometimes with these psalms, when I find one that I commit to memory, sometimes I’ll modify it a little bit to make it more personal. So, To me, so that it’s really me saying this to God.

[00:47:57] This one I think though, I say verbatim. [00:48:00] This has been going on for a while. I don’t recall that I’ve changed it. But anyway, it goes like this. O Lord, you are my God. For you I long. For you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land where no water is. And so I gaze on you in the sanctuary.

[00:48:20] And I think it’s, uh, and I observe your, your power and your glory. What does it mean to observe the glory and the power of God? Have I done a show on that? Because I wanted to. I, I don’t know. You’ll have to go back a few episodes and look at some descriptions. What does it mean to observe the, the power and the glory of God in the sanctuary?

[00:48:49] In the actual sanctuary, as you pray before the tabernacle. But the first part of that psalm, O Lord, you are my God, for you I long. Period. For you my soul is thirsting. Pause. My body pines for you, like a dry, weary land where no water is. That’s one that I use. Lord, I’m too far from you. For whatever reason.

[00:49:14] Because of sin, because of distractions, because, you know, I’m not as holy as I wanted to be at this point in my life. Whatever it is for you. Lord, I’m too far. Here’s what it is for me. Lord, I’m too far from you. Just put it simply. And for you, my soul is thirsting. I’m thirsting for you so [00:49:30]badly, even my body pines for you, like a dry, weary land where no water is.

[00:49:36] Water, scripturally, whenever I see water, I think grace, I think something spiritual, I think life and vitality. Water isn’t just water in the scripture. I’m very, very firmly convinced of this. Everywhere you see water in the scripture, especially in the Old Testament, you’re not just listening, you’re not just reading about water.

[00:50:00] Think of it as spiritual, or the Holy Spirit, or the grace of God, or the life of God. Think of it that way. And now every time you see water in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, it’s going to look like a completely different scripture to you. And for earth or land, I usually see that as like the human body, the human life, the human existence, the human being.

[00:50:23] Anyway, you do with that what you wish. Point is, that’s one that I use a lot lately. Lord, I’m too far from you, and I hunger for you in ways that I can’t even give voice to. Even my body pines for you like a dry weary land. Where no water is. Where no water is.

[00:50:46] So incorporate these into your prayer life. Pick a few psalms and work them in. 

[00:50:52] Avoiding Distractions in Faith

[00:50:52] You see how you keep it very basic? Start with the fundamentals, keep it simple, but then grow in [00:51:00] its intensity. Make it grow in its intensity. That’s like growing faster. And faster, but don’t row to get to the, to get to, let’s say the island in this analogy, don’t row with the expectation of, or with the anticipation of getting to the island, whatever your destination is.

[00:51:22] What I want you to do is I want you to work your spirituality with this mindset. The goal is to get to tomorrow. That’s it. The goal is to get to tomorrow, to put in a good day today, to do these spiritual practices, to keep them basic, right, but steady, and get to tomorrow, and tomorrow to do it again. And you keep doing these tomorrows until you get to the next Mass, and then you start the cycle all over again.

[00:52:00] And then maybe after a couple of weeks of this you add to it. I don’t know. Let the Holy Spirit guide you, but start basic, fundamental, keep it simple, but be devoted to it and keep and be steady and consistent.

[00:52:16] Because Jesus Christ is everything that matters. The cross is everything that matters. It’s not lip service. I mean it. It is everything that matters. That Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross [00:52:30] To reconcile us to God the Father.

[00:52:35] That is everything that matters. And you could literally spend your whole life meditating on that. Just on that. And never get to the same meditative points twice in a whole lifetime. Because it’s everything that matters. So why should Kamala Harris command such, so much of our attention? Or the election?

[00:53:03] Or Donald Trump?

[00:53:05] When Jesus Christ on the cross is everything that matters. And there’s so much truth in that moment, in that event in human history. There’s so much truth in there that you could meditate on for the rest of your life and never exhaust it. Never, never get to every truth that can be drawn from that well.

[00:53:29] If that’s everything that matters, then why does everything else so distract us?

[00:53:32] Sometimes, my friends, we even allow ourselves to get distracted by Catholicism. It’s true. Sometimes, we’re, we’re really, really, you know, talking about a return to, to paganism or, or a return of pagan attitudes. There are people who are just, there are characters out there that people are so devoted to them, Some of these Catholic characters.

[00:53:56] It’s unbelievable. They could shoot the Pope in the face. It doesn’t matter. [00:54:00] They’re going to love these characters anyway. They could say, you know, I only worship Satan one day out of the year and the people will be like, oh, well, that’s okay. Just make sure you go to confession. It’s unbelievable to me. We get so distracted by Catholicism that we fall into these wells and we, and we, we hardly even care that we can’t climb back out of them.

[00:54:20] I mean, we, the people of the church, right? And then sometimes we can get distracted by Catholicism in ways that themselves are not bad, but our devotion to them is imbalanced, right? I’ll just give some examples. These may or may not fit you, okay? I love this devotion, that devotion, the other devotion, and all these other devotions.

[00:54:44] And I do this, and this, and this, and this prayer. And I go to mass, you know, every day. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Remember, I’m not saying any of these are bad things, okay? And I go to mass every day. And I read the saints. And I do this. And I do that. Okay, and these may not be unhealthy for you. For instance, my prayer regimen would probably drive some people crazy.

[00:55:11] Okay. They would, in fact, my prayer regimen will likely drive some people crazy, and sometimes it drives me crazy, and so I have to, you know, pare down a little bit. But everybody’s different, and what people can handle will vary from person to person. But sometimes we take [00:55:30] on a lot, because we are so enthusiastic about Catholicism, that we take on Catholicism everywhere.

[00:55:40] It’s everywhere in our attention, it’s everywhere in our actions, everywhere, not Christianity per se, but Catholicism, right? The church culture. Not always a bad thing, but it could be a bad thing. Because sometimes, we’re so passionate about being Catholic that we forget to be Christian. The church becomes God.

[00:56:04] The church becomes, not the body of Christ, but, It, it fills in for Jesus Christ himself. Where we’re not reflecting so much on the crucifixion, or the resurrection, whatever. We’re not reflecting so much on, on, on Jesus Christ. So much as we are learning more about the church’s history, or learning more about theology, I will say again, and I know there’s going to be some, somebody who says, Why did you say that’s a bad thing?

[00:56:32] These are not in and of themselves bad things. But they can become distractions.

[00:56:37] Sometimes the church, Catholicism is the distraction. Sometimes it’s not politics. Sometimes it’s Catholicism. If it is, you follow this same guideline that I just gave. Go back to the basics. The fundamentals. Keep it simple, but be consistent. Oh, but I also have to get into this. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. [00:57:00] No.

[00:57:01] You ever try to be silent before the tabernacle? Oh. We always want to pray when we’re in front of the tabernacle, which is totally fine, but have you ever tried to just be silent for an hour before the tabernacle? You know how hard that is to do? Okay, sometimes keeping it simple in the practice of the faith is just as hard or even more difficult for some people.

[00:57:29] But you have to force yourself when you’re kind of rebooting yourself because you’ve been, become too distracted or too involved in other things, whatever. When you’re rebooting yourself, it’s, it’s very, very difficult sometimes to keep it simple. But be steady, be consistent, and just keep it simple.

[00:57:49] Concluding Thoughts and Farewell

[00:57:49] There’s a return to paganism in rural villages of Nigeria. They are seeing a return to paganism. Among the youth in rural villages in Nigeria, there is a return to paganism of one sort or another everywhere in Europe. Everywhere in Europe. We have long been seeing this in, in North America. We are seeing it in the church.

[00:58:16] A return to actual paganism or a return to Practical paganism, right? So, like, if you’re a humanist, or what I call a scientist, or a [00:58:30] scientist, someone who practically worships science, right? Or worships nature, or worships, you know, humanism. I’ll call that practical paganism. Versus actual paganism, or as opposed to actual paganism, which is like Wicca.

[00:58:47] Or, you know, traditional North American native religions. That would be actual paganism. So we’re returning to actual paganism. We’re returning to practical paganism. And in the church, we often are returning to paganistic attitudes. And sometimes you have to know that it’s time to reboot and refresh. Pull away from the distractions.

[00:59:14] Don’t let anything distract you. Point your bow toward Jesus Christ. And roll like your life depends on it. Amen. Because my friends, it actually does.

[00:59:25] This has been a Rootin Tootin episode of The Catholic Experience. I have been your host, the Catholic Adventurer, reminding you to please follow me on X at ForTheQueenBBM. If you’re not already doing so, follow me on, uh, Locals. You can tell I haven’t done this in a while, right? CatholicExperience. Locals.

[00:59:44] com God bless you, my friends. Keep me in your prayers. God be with you all. Signing out of here. Bye bye.