

The Truth Will Set Us Free! My Last Homily at St. Mary of Pine Bluff
The Truth Will Set Us Free! My Last Homily at St. Mary of Pine Bluff
I get a kick out of reminding folks that I share a birthday with my hero, John the Baptist – June 24. Add to that, Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24 last year, which was also the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This year, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, thousands of John the Baptists rose up, to the chagrin of virtually all spiritual leaders, in prayerful protest at Dodger Stadium.
Please pray for Bishop Strickland who led this prayer rally. It seems he has joined the ranks of those of us who are being disciplined or canceled. Remember, for the same courageous “truth telling,” John the Baptist was beheaded and Jesus was crucified.
I look at our times today and I think even more about my brave birthday buddy who “testified to the truth” (John 5:33), even when such truth threatened those in power. Moreover, John was unconcerned, like Jesus, about tone and manner, as they both referred to those in power and control as a “Brood of Vipers” … among other things. Ultimately, John would be beheaded for his unwavering dedication to truth.
Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been enticing souls to rise above God; to be superior to God, and to produce their own idea of truth: From Genesis 3:5, “…your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” In modern parlance, Satan could say, “Your eyes will be opened and will become WOKE.”
In this context, “woke” and “paganism” are synonymous. It is a kind of counter-religion that stands against the truths of Sacred Scripture; against the will of God.
Those who wish to evangelize the world into their pagan “woke” religion, know that they must secure all levers of power and influence, in order to succeed. Not bound by the truths of God, they are free to use any means necessary to secure this power and control. In other words, they are totally free to lie, cheat and steal, as their end – which is control – justifies their means.
Ultimately, the rulers of this pagan “woke” religion seek to make their doctrine, which opposes God, the “new normal.” And they have been wildly successful in our times. Why? Because, during this information age when the pagans have seized control of nearly every lever of influence, we lack John the Baptists who are willing to risk everything, even their lives, to testify to the truth. Out of fear, our primary source of influence – our religious leaders – have chosen to remain mostly silent. With this silence from those who are called to lead, the laity are left to believe this new anti-God doctrine is to be accepted as the “new normal.”
The pagans in power have demonstrated their profound lust for power as they have even resorted to dismantling anything that grants the masses any sense of self-sufficiency. With this demonic tactic, those in power will blow up the economy, overwhelm the country with millions of illegal aliens, incite domestic terrorism, abuse a virus to inflict fear and compliance, disparage law enforcement and grant leniency to criminals to raise the level of crime, flood the nation with deadly narcotics, and humiliate, cancel, and squash any detractors of their pagan “woke” religion.
These are historic times. The pagan “woke” religion is fully in control, and all of us are watching family and friends being swept away while our spiritual leaders stand on the edge of the pasture watching the wolves devour them all.
NO! I do not want to just sit idly by and accept a “new normal” that we now live in a “post-Christian era!!!”
I love you so much!! I wish I could just push a button that would fix everything. But, first and foremost, while the devil dismantles, I know we are called to dwell under Mary’s Mantle. Our Mom is the supreme intercessor and protector. She is our “Mama Bear” who crushes the serpent’s head. She is the New Eve who stands against the serpent’s deceptive WOKE.
With Mary’s protection, and the grace that streams through her, I absolutely know I must courageously “testify to the truth,” just as my birthday-buddy, John the Baptist, modeled so well. Just as Bishop Strickland models so well.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to the Twelve (those first spiritual leaders):
“Fear no one!!
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops!!”
Souls are dying all around us!! Let’s pray for our spiritual leaders that they, as the first bishops did on Pentecost, gain the supernatural strength to get out from behind that door in the upper room (their safe space) and, under the power of the Holy Spirit, come out and courageously SPEAK. THE. TRUTH. … On the housetops!!!
The truth will set us free!!!
Please kneel with me, as we pray, with the intercession of our Blessed Mother, for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our Spiritual leaders …
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
