When we see a rainbow in the sky we can sometimes stand still staring at it memorized at the colors and its formation. The rainbow as we know, was hijacked by the LGBT movement. Since the late 60's, they have been trying hard to promote their hedonistic lifestyle and normalize it.
It has come to my attention recently that a young man named Lennon Cihak from the Diocese of Crookston was denied Confirmation by Father Gary LaMoine of Assumption church. At first, I was puzzled as to why until I read the details.
Apparently, the youth was seen with a sign that stated his support of so-called "same-sex" marriage. Father LaMoine did the right thing in questioning the Confirmation request. Cihak denied Confirmation, he was not prevented from receiving it by the Church.
My message to Cihak:
Confirmation is an extremely important Sacrament of Initiation. In it, you affirm strongly your Faith. It is not a social event or liturgical fanfare. As a Catholic you are deciding that you will live by Jesus' teachings and will defend them. I understand your concern for gay people, but you are not showing them God's love by aiding and abetting their lifestyle which is contrary to God's will. Witness to them with your fidelity to Christ and the Church. Disregard the ignorant comments and false support from those on here and Twitter who only seek to inflate your ego and mislead you. Jesus too was tempted by Satan with popularity. Stand for Christ and His Church, not popular opinion.
I invite all my brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church to pray for this young child of God that he may see that our position is one of truth, not bigotry. No one does more for the LGBT community than the Catholic Church. The late John Cardinal o' Connor despite being harassed by the LGBT, always took time to visit those who suffered from AIDS at hospitals and even cared for them. Countless priests, religious and lay people do similar.
The LGBT are God's children as well. No one should attack them or hate them for their orientation. We all have fallen short of God's grace. However, we must care for one another and admonish one another when one is on the wrong path.
Homosexual activities and so called "same sex" marriage is not ordained by God. God is clear on this in Scripture and in the Church's teachings. It serves no purpose in nature. No gene for it exists, and most psychologists believe it to be nurtured.
The LGBT have the highest rate of mental illness and HIV infection of all groups. This is not something we should cheer about, but question. Why is this? There must be something wrong with the way this group lives if they are suffering in this manner.
A true Christian would reach out and prevent a brother and sister from falling off the cliff of perdition.
The sacrament of Confirmation calls us to be witnesses for Christ. This young man must understand this and realize that his support of this lifestyle is a slap to Christ on the Cross and to humanity.
Only dead fish go with the flow, as the saying goes. The fish has always been a symbol of Christians. We "fishes" must swim against the current of the world and change its course. The Church would be useless if we just believe and do as the world does. This is not what God intended. The Church is the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)
I hope and pray that God will reveal this to this young man. He has a good heart and I applaud him for caring for others despite his compassion being misguided.
Here is our exchange on Twitter:
@sacerdotus No one is to tell anyone what they can and can't believe in. The only one to judge me or anyone is God himself.
— Lennon Cihak/5iriu5(@LennonCihak) November 17, 2012
@sacerdotus How do you know what God wants? Have you talked to him recently?
— Lennon Cihak/5iriu5(@LennonCihak) November 17, 2012
@sacerdotus Sexuality is a gift from God. If it's a gift from God, why is he so against them being married?
— Lennon Cihak/5iriu5(@LennonCihak) November 17, 2012
@sacerdotus They can't, but they don't choose to have a same-sex orientation. I'm not going to argue with you. I respect you and your belief
— Lennon Cihak/5iriu5(@LennonCihak) November 17, 2012
@sacerdotus I understand and respect that. I have nothing against the Catholic Church or the religion. I will have to read that book. Thanks
— Lennon Cihak/5iriu5(@LennonCihak) November 17, 2012
***UPDATE NOVEMBER 19, 2012***
Letter From Father Gary LaMoine to Members of Assumption Parish, Barnesville
Father Gary LaMoine from Assumption Catholic Church in Barnesville, Minn. sent a letter to the members of the Assumption Parish. KFGO has obtained this letter and here it is in it's entirety.
From: Fr. Gary LaMoine
To: Members of Assumption Parish, Barnesville
Reason: Recent celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation
Date: November 15, 2012
On Sunday, November 11th, the parish rejoiced in the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation with 20 men and woman of the parish. I congratulate all who entered the Church as full members and hope that their open commitment to live out their lives as Catholic Christians will bring them much personal joy and peace. It was a beautiful celebration and a great day.
The celebration of the sacrament was, however, surrounded by some controversy. A couple of candidates chose not to enter
into full communion with the Catholic community because of their disagreement with the teaching of the Church concerning marriage. I use the word chose very deliberately since they verbally withdrew from candidacy in conversation with one or more of the teaching staff.
One of the candidates withdrew after defacing a pro-marriage sign and placing the same on his Facebook website. When I challenged the young man as to why he was doing this when he knew he was rejecting a central teaching of the Church, he affirmed his rejection of the teaching for personal reasons and said that he no longer wanted to be confirmed. This is in direct contradiction to what has been subsequently proclaimed by the candidate and his family. He and his family are saying that he was denied the sacrament. This is not true; the young man withdrew from the ceremony. Nevertheless, even if he had not withdrawn from the confirmation ceremony, I would have had no choice but to remove him from consideration given his rejection of marriage as we understand it. Rejection of the Church’s teaching on marriage is a very serious breach of faith. We believe that the teaching on marriage (that marriage is between one man and one woman for the purpose of creating new life), is a matter of divine revelation; it comes directly to us from God. Rejection of the teaching on marriage is, for example, similar to the rejection of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity or the rejection of the doctrine of Christ as being both human and divine. Marriage, divinely received, is a central belief. Intending to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation, while rejecting a central belief, is an absolute contradiction. One cannot embrace the faith of the Church in Confirmation while rejecting it at the same time.
It is to my dismay that what should have been kept an internal Church matter has now become a public controversy. To place this controversy into the public forum was the decision of the young man and his family; it was not my intention or the intention of Bishop Hoeppner who was informed about the situation shortly after the young man withdrew from candidacy. The Bishop and I now find ourselves harassed by the media, coming to my door at 9:30 PM last Wednesday for a newspaper interview and being called to give comment on a KFGO radio program. All this activity originated from the young man and his family. Agreeing to disagree and leaving it at that is not acceptable to the young man and his family. What this family hopes to gain is beyond my present comprehension.
I apologize to the parish for the actions of this family. I have personally spent much time talking to them face to face about their unwillingness to accept the teaching of the Church on marriage but to no avail. I can only say that I am willing to continuing the conversation, but not in the public forum. This I will not do.
Source:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/parents-claim-minnesota-priest-denied-son-confirmation-over-gay-marriage-vi
http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Support-Lennon-Cihak/305735312869261?fref=ts
The church's complete failure to understand this issue is mirrored in your own description of homosexuality as 'hedonistic'. You'll make an excellent priest. Just pray there's still a church for you to work at, if the church keeps getting it wrong like this (and it has few routes out) it will entirely marginalise itself.
ReplyDeleteAnytime they feel like joining the rest of us on the moral high ground they're more than welcome. They'll probably have to endure some mockery for being so obviously and laughably wrong on many many issues.
There is no failure on the part of the Church. The term "hedonistic" is used by sociologists and the gay community itself to describe the life. I invite you to do research and educate yourself on the matter without relying on homosexual filters to blind your reason. The Church has gotten nothing wrong. If you read history you will see that the Church has faced many opponents and won. The Church is the only institution that has had uninterrupted power for over 2000 years. No government or society can boast this. People can mock us all they want. The truth is hard to accept - it hurts. That being said, some will cry out in pain against us.
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