Charlie's Quick and Dirty Guide to Digital Minimalism

The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd gods building a better world and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in T-shirts selling an addictive product to children. Because, let’s face it, checking your “likes” is the new smoking.

CAL NEWPORT

Digital minimalism is becoming a thing. Part of this is due to Cal Newport's new book and interviews. The other part is the inevitable backlash as people realize their new habits are actually bad habits. As all of this is happening, I have to laugh a bit because I was a digital minimalist before it became a thing. You will see various articles extolling the benefits of this new lifestyle change and giving you various tips all while urging you to like and subscribe to their social media feeds. These articles are all crap. They basically tell smokers they should cut back a bit instead of going cold turkey. So, I am putting this out there as my way of practicing digital minimalism. It is extreme, but it totally works.

1. Get rid of your smartphone.

I have never owned a smartphone. I have been using a flip phone for over a decade. It fits in my pocket. I receive phone calls and texts. That's it. People wonder how I live, but I live just fine. As for apps, I don't need them. The one thing smartphones do that is cool is the use of GPS. But I own a Garmin which costs about 1/10th of a typical flagship smartphone. Basically, the smartphone is a trick to get you to pay monthly rent on devices you used to own outright.

When you have a dumb phone, the first thing you notice is a world full of idiots with their faces buried in their smartphones. You sit down at a dinner table for a social event. but no one is looking at you or talking to you because their attention is on their devices. It's so bad now that musical performers have taken to insisting that fans at concerts turn off their phones during the show. Then, there are the numerous traffic accidents caused by smartphone idiots who would rather kill you and themselves than let that text go unanswered.

2. Go cold turkey and delete all of your social media accounts.

I have been on both Facebook and Twitter, so I know their addictive allure. So, becoming tired of being a social media addict, I deleted those accounts and vowed to never use them again. When I did that, sanity returned to my life. There is no good reason to have any of these accounts. When people tell me they will just use Facebook or trim their friend list or use an egg timer, I know they are not serious about digital minimalism. They are merely at the bargaining stage where they think they can have things both ways. Then, they are mystified that they still have a problem. It's like the smoker who just cuts back instead of throwing away those cigarettes.

Go cold turkey. It will take you about two weeks to overcome the social media urge. By the end of the month, you will wonder why you wasted any of the precious minutes of your life on such crap.

3. Get rid of your tablet devices.

I have never owned an iPad or other tablet device. These things are basically large screen versions of your smartphone. I am saddened to see so many children on these Devices of Mass Stupidity. Remember this one thing. Steve Jobs forbade his children from using these devices. This is because he didn't want his kids to become imbeciles like your kids. Nevermind that he had no qualms making billions of dollars from the dumbing down of your children.

Kids should read real books and play outside. They shouldn't be buried in a tablet as their bodies and minds turn into jelly.

4. Use an old school desktop or laptop computer.

I still use a desktop computer. My wife uses a Chromebook. I believe that your devices should come with a physical keyboard. This makes them a bit inconvenient. When I sit down on the couch, I don't have my smartphone or my iPad to distract me. I sit down with a regular book and read the thing. No notifications pop up to draw my attention away from what I am reading. I call this "deep reading." I highly recommend it.

5. Rediscover email.

Once upon a time, the internet was a good thing. Instead of waiting days for a letter, you could get the same correspondence in minutes. The workplace latched on to this and turned email into a bad thing. But email remains the best way to keep in contact with people online. Even social media has email functions where people can send you personal messages. People claim that they need Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. This is a lie. Email was the original social media and remains the best.

Most people's email accounts are filled with unread emails from various sources. This could number into the thousands. If you're receiving too many newsletters, you should unsubscribe from them. There are many tricks for email streamlining and simplification. But the primary reason your inbox gets out of hand is because you are spending all of your time on social media.

6. Turn off and eliminate those browser notifications and chat applications.

If someone sends me an email, I don't know unless I actually go to my email account. I do not use notifications for my email account or anything else. This means that I can work online without distractions. There are all of these various products and software and whatnot that purport to create a distraction free environment for writing, but these are all stupid. Just turn off your notifications and don't turn them on again. You can work without distraction, but you can still google information when you need it.

A cottage industry of distraction free products and software has popped up to help people tame their social media addictions or find a way to free themselves from distractions. One of these products is the Light Phone which is a dumb phone that is really dumb. Another is some sort of typewriter with an e-ink display instead of paper. What do I think of these products? They are stupid. It's like buying duct tape and cigarettes, and you put the duct tape over your mouth to keep you from smoking the cigarettes that you bought. This is ridiculous.

7. Use Google News and Feedly.

People are always amazed that a guy like me who does not use social media actually knows what is going on in the world usually better than the ones with social media accounts. The reason I am able to do this is because of two main tools. The first is Google News which gives me the overview of the day's news and headlines. It takes me about five minutes to scroll through the page. I do this once or twice per day.

When I want to dig deeper, I use Feedly which collects virtually all of the posts and information from all of my favorite blogs and websites. I don't have FOMO or Fear of Missing Out because I miss nothing at all except Aunt Betty's selfie pics from the Dollar General or some stupid meme about cats and diarrhea. Every so often, there will be a source that does not support RSS. But they will have an email newsletter. Smart websites know that the email newsletter is the best way to keep in touch with their readers.

As for FOMO, know that because of censorship and algorithm changes from Facebook and Twitter, you are missing out on many things. This is another reason why I will know about things that other people are clueless about. My feeds are not censored.

8. Listen to terrestrial radio.

For some reason, people think they need a smartphone to listen to music. They even pay for these music streaming services. When I am on the road, I listen to the radio. When I am at my desk, I stream WETA. I also own an old school Sony Walkman I keep in my backpack. I also have a C.Crane radio. The rest of the time I listen to my old CDs or music I find on YouTube. A smartphone forces you to pay rent for your music. This is stupid.

9. Get a blog or website.

Social media allows you to put information out there. A website or blog achieves the same end. The difference is that updating a blog or website is not easy. You have to put some thought and labor into the project. It takes no thought or labor to post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram which is why so many celebrities and politicians have gotten into big time PR trouble. It's hard to write a blog post when you're inebriated, but we all know it is easy to tweet while drunk. Alcohol and social media are a bad combo sort of like that heroin/cocaine cocktail that killed John Belushi. So many people have sobered up the next day to find their entire lives ruined because of last night's tweet.

A Typical Day in the Digital Life of the C-Man

When I am away from my desk, I carry only one device. This would be my flip phone. Sometimes, I get a phone call. This happens once or twice a week. The rest of the time people send me text messages. This happens a couple of times per day. I also get text messages from the local TV station that tells me the day's weather, the current traffic jam, and the daily bank robbery or crystal meth lab bust. My entire time with that phone is less than ten minutes per day including telephone calls. The rest of the time it just rides in my shirt pocket creating breast cancer in my pectoral muscle.

When I sit down at my desk, I put on my headphones and tune in to WETA. I check my email and empty the inbox. I check Google News for headlines. Then, I spend the rest of my time on Feedly reading articles, listening to podcasts, or watching videos from my sources. If I take a break from Feedly, I don't have to worry. That information is still there waiting for my return.

When I write, I close my Feedly and fire up Google Drive or Blogger depending upon the project. As I write this, the only other window open is the one playing WETA. If I open a third window, it will probably be Google to research a fact for whatever I am writing.

When I leave my desk, my digital life practically ends. I become present in my real life with virtually no distractions. I am able to talk to someone without checking my phone or itching to check my phone. I can sit and do nothing but think deep thoughts.

When I go places, I research and write down the information I need before I leave. When I am in the moment, I don't feel the urge to whip out my selfie stick to try and capture it for my Instagram account. Sometimes, I will take a single picture of something with my flip phone. The picture is not so great, but I don't care. I find imperfect pictures to be more interesting.

And that is how I live my life. I am a more engaged human being. I am smarter and better informed. I am able to write very long blog posts that no one can read because it exceeds their short attention spans made shorter by social media.

Additional Tips

Here are a few extra tips I recommend for the digital minimalist.

1. Write short emails.

I noticed a long time ago that I would spend way too much time crafting emails to people. I would be writing Moby Dick to people as if they had the time or the attention span to actually read those emails. So I went in the opposite direction and write little or nothing in my emails. Sometimes, I send just a link or a picture. I am an email minimalist in this regard. It also lets the recipient off the hook in replying. They will reply with a similar minimalism or not at all.

2. Write short texts.

People will send me entire paragraphs in a text message. I send two sentences at most with full punctuation. Having a flip phone that uses T9 forces you to be brief. The result is that my texts have an aphoristic quality to them. Anything longer requires a phone call.

3. Let the voicemail screen your calls.

Every so often, people will call to try and chat. I don't have time for this. I'm also not fond of talking on the phone. I am deficient in my social skills because of my tendency to introversion. I prefer writing to talking. But extroverts love to talk, and I let them talk to my voicemail. But when I do talk to people, they always get my undivided attention.

4. Get over FOBI.

FOBI is the Fear of Being Ignored. I think this drives a lot of the social media excess. I am the type of person who can sit in a room full of people and say nothing. I don't need to be noticed. This carries over into my digital life. When I send someone a text or email, they learn quickly that they don't have to reply to it. Because I'm not a social media guy, I don't need likes or retweets. Similarly, people don't have to send back replies to my emails or texts. I usually forget that I sent them about five seconds after I send them.

5. Learn to embrace boredom.

Thanks to the overstimulation produced by our electronic devices, the thought of sitting in a dark room with no distractions fills people with absolute dread. They can't do anything for more than a few minutes unless they have some kind of distraction. They can't workout without headphones on. They can't work their jobs without headphones on. And they can't sit at a table with other people without rudely checking their phones for updates. They can't even drive a car without checking their social media accounts.  I recommend that people do activities with undivided attention until they can handle the "boredom." When you do this, you will find yourself becoming calmer and more patient.

Conclusion

That's it for my quick and dirty guide to digital minimalism. Of course, this was longer than a tweet, so I probably lost you back at the second sentence. In that regard, this guide was not so quick or dirty. But it is severe. I find my life much better without smartphones or social media. I would not trade these benefits for some pseudoexistence online. I live in reality. I invite you to try it.

How To Be a Good Son To a Bad Father

And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord. 

EPHESIANS 6:4 DOUAY-RHEIMS

The Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue tells us to honor our parents. This seems fairly straightforward until you consider the dishonorable parent. How do you honor those who disgrace themselves? More and more, this is a question that people ask themselves as parents especially those of the Baby Boom generation have shown themselves to be so godless and wicked. How do you do right by those who do wrong by you?

This essay could have easily been titled "How To Be a Good Daughter To a Bad Mother." But I choose sons and fathers because it is usually the father who has failed in our society. What makes fathers bad? We could point to deadbeat dads, alcoholics, and adulterers. But the thing that unites all bad fathers is that they are godless. They do not go to church. They do not read the Bible. They do not pray. They can't even say grace before a meal.

It is ridiculously easy to honor and respect a godly father. You merely have to listen to him and follow his example. But many fathers today don't make it so easy for their children. They provoke their children to anger and do not bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord. The easiest thing for a son to do in this situation is to become the same bastard as his father. But this will only lead to misery and damnation. What must a good son do?

1. Get away from that guy.

Sons with bad fathers must seek to put distance between themselves and their fathers. This is especially true if the father is abusive and alcoholic. Not all fathers are evil incarnate, but you must separate yourself from the ones who would destroy you and your life. Minors are trapped until their majority, but they should plot their escape as soon as possible.

2. Do not be like Bad Dad.

The sad thing about bad fathers is they end up with bad sons. So often, the son is indistinguishable from the father having the same bad traits. It is easier when the father provides a good example of what his son should be. But the bad father provides a good example of what a son should not be. Whether dad is good or bad, it is still possible to be a good son.

3. Be godly.

Go to the Lord. Go to church. Pray. These things will make a good son less like his bad father.

4. Do not engage in detraction.

Noah's good sons covered his nakedness instead of mocking him. Likewise, the good son does not subject his bad father to scorn and ridicule even if the things he would say about him are true. Always show respect.

5. Pray for your father.

Whether good or bad, you should always pray for your father. Pray that he would become a good man. Pray that the Lord would have mercy on his soul.

6. Leave the judgment to God.

Bad fathers should pay for being bad fathers, and they will. This payment may happen after this life in Purgatory or Hell. Or, the bad father may repent of his wickedness and be reconciled to his son. Either way, the remedy for anger is to leave it to God to be the judge. Until then, the good son learns to let it go.

We have a lot of bad fathers today. Many of them are nothing more than sperm donors. Others who stick around aren't much better. I always thought that fathers and sons should be like Opie and Andy on The Andy Griffith Show. But life is not a TV show. Most men today had awful fathers. If your father failed as a father, there is nothing that requires that you duplicate his example. Just be a good son to him and be a good father to your own children.

P/AP

 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

II THESSALONIANS 2:7 RSVCE

Is Francis the true pope? Or, is he an antipope? This question circulates among the Catholic blogosphere and is discussed in various forums over pipes and ale. At the outset, I have to declare that I have no authority to pronounce an answer to the question or issue any declaration on it. I am just a layman with a blog. What do I know? But the issue is there nonetheless, and I will tackle it.

At the outset, there are two things we can say for sure. We can't say for certain if Francis is an antipope. But we can say that there are many faithful Catholics who sure hope he is an antipope. And the reason for this calamity is because Pope Francis is certainly a bad pope. Some even say that he is the worst of the bad popes because he has attempted to rewrite the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Even the bad popes before Francis never attempted this. They just did bad things and left the Magisterium alone.

Now, my devotion is to the pope. After Jesus and Mary, the pope is number three for me in order of love and devotion. I am always in obedience to the one who occupies the Chair of Peter. But if no one occupies that chair, that is another matter. It is one thing to have love and obedience. It is another to have unquestioning love and obedience. This would be papolatry. This is when you remove the pope from the Chair of Peter and put him on the Throne of Christ. That is anathema. Even the pope must be obedient to our Lord.

There are three arguments for the claim that Francis is an antipope. I will try and explain them as best I can.

I. THE BARNHARDT THESIS

Ann Barnhardt is the controversial blogger who argues that Pope Benedict XVI offered no valid resignation from the papacy meaning that he remains the true pope to this day making Francis an antipope. Steve Skojec derides this thesis as "Benevacantism." You can find her entire argument here.

The gist of Barnhardt's argument is that Benedict thought he could split the papacy into an active role and a passive contemplative role. This would explain why Benedict continues to use his papal name, wear his papal garb, and still wears his papal ring. Prior popes who resigned got out of the Vatican and dropped all papal signifiers completely. Benedict describes himself as "Pope Emeritus" which is his own innovation.

Another aspect to this argument is that Benedict was under pressure to resign from those belonging to the Saint Gallen Mafia. There is also a weird subplot to this involving the shutdown of ATMs in the Vatican which magically got turned back on following Benedict's abdication. If B16 was forced to resign, it would certainly make his resignation invalid.

So, what is the truth? The only guy who can tell us the truth is Benedict who acts and claims that he is no longer the supreme pontiff despite indications to the contrary.

2. THE SAINT GALLEN MAFIA

The Saint Gallen Mafia gets its name from a town in Switzerland called Sankt Gallen where some modernist heretical bishops met to discuss various issues but secretly conspired to put their man on the Throne of Peter. Such a conspiracy would invalidate their candidate as their actions would be a violation of canon law. This conspiracy was discussed in much detail in The Dictator Pope.

Do I believe this group exists and did what is alleged? Absolutely. The Saint Gallen boys tried to keep Ratzinger from getting elected after JP2, and this is when Bergoglio popped up on the radar. He was their guy. But they didn't have the votes in 2005. But by 2013, they did have the votes as some of the cardinal electors that voted for Ratzinger were out due to age. They had a golden moment if Benedict died or resigned. Somehow, this moment came to them.

My personal opinion is that the Saint Gallen Mafia is the point of the spear for the Lavendar Mafia of sodomites that exists in the Church representing the Antichurch. If such a conspiracy happened, it would make the Francis pontificate invalid under canon law. If Benedict validly resigned but Pope Francis was invalidly elected, it would make the present situation sedevacante with no one occupying the Chair of Peter.

3. BERGOGLIO THE HERETIC

There is no question that Pope Francis is a heretic. There was a lot of popesplaining at the beginning of this pontificate as orthodox Catholics and prelates tried to put the best spin on what Francis said and did. Those days are long over as virtually everyone has dropped this farce. This is called being "red pilled on Francis."

Now, some people would argue that these heresies invalidate the Francis pontificate. Some go on to argue that because Bergoglio held these same heretical ideas before becoming pope, he was under excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church making him an invalid candidate to become pope. This would make him an antipope.

What do I think?

I can't say if the man is an antipope. Like I said, this is above my pay grade. But of these three theories, I believe that all three are possibly true. I believe that Bergoglio was picked precisely because he was a modernist heretic but also an unknown since he was far away in Argentina. I believe that the Lavender Mafia put the pressure on Benedict to resign the papacy. Benedict did not want to resign the papacy, but he also didn't have the fight in him. Being a coward, he pulled off a half ass resignation which is why he still wears white and goes around calling himself "Pope Emeritus Benedict" which is a total farce. I can say that when you resign the papacy that you should get into a black cassock and disappear from Rome.

When Benedict resigned the papacy, the Saint Gallen boys put their guy in knowing all the way back in 2005 that he was their guy if they ever got the chance. They created that chance and made it happen. And I believe Bergoglio campaigned for the spot.

Behind all of this crap would be the Devil himself. It is relatively easy to get a bad guy on the throne as this has happened before in history. Because of the promise our Lord made to Peter, those bad guys were powerless to do anything because of divine restraint. As for antipopes, they were recognized as antipopes. The Devil needed an antipope who would not be restrained but would be falsely recognized as the true pope.

My gut says that Francis is an antipope. Benedict could clear this up relatively quickly if he had resigned invalidly. But he is not going to do this because he fears for his life. There is also talk of possible dirt and blackmail on Ratzinger. But Benedict's cryptic status and statements indicate to me that he still retains the papacy even if this is unrecognized. I do find Barnhardt's thesis to be very convincing.

Mentally, I can't make the case. And if Francis is the true pope, I can't be against him simply because he is the Vicar of Christ even if he is a bad one. But if he isn't the true pope, I can't be for him either. So, we are left with a total state of confusion on the matter. Regardless, one man bears the responsibility and blame for this state of affairs and calamity, and it is not Bergoglio. It is Ratzinger. He should have never resigned. His resignation was simply a betrayal of the Catholic faithful.

How does this situation get resolved?

If Barnhardt is correct, this situation can only be resolved by Benedict's death which would vacate the Chair. But if Francis is an antipope, the cardinals he has selected would be invalid making the next pope a possible antipope. This would daisy chain into the absolute destruction of the Petrine office as a point would come when no valid election of a pope would be possible because all of the cardinals would be invalid. Now, you see how the satanic game is being played out.

The sedevacantists are a nutty bunch claiming we have not had a valid pope since Pius XII. If every pope since then was invalid, the entire College of Cardinals is invalid by this point making it impossible to elect a legitimate successor. I don't believe this actually happened, and I reject sedevacantism. But their crackpot theory would be a deliciously diabolical strategy if it could be carried out in reality. I suspect that this is what is happening now.

What happens if this succeeds? Without a true pope or even the possibility of ever electing one for the rest of time, the Chair of Peter would become permanently empty. The Roman Catholic Church would shatter to pieces, and the One True Faith would vanish into heresy and schism. This would be the end of the faith.

I believe this situation will be resolved in this way. Pope Francis will declare something or do something which will make it impossible for faithful prelates to be in communion with him. An example of this would be declaring a heresy as doctrine ex cathedra. Another example would be some sort of change to the Mass making it invalid. Whatever he does, it will leave no doubt that he is not the true pope but an antipope. This will lead to a massive schism as faithful prelates shun him while the heretical prelates will pledge undying loyalty to him. Then, in one fell swoop, the Lord smites them all ending the affair. This would include Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. This will leave valid cardinals to elect a new pope.

The satanic game plan as it stands now would be for Francis to abdicate while Benedict remains alive. The next pope to be elected would almost certainly be Pietro Parolin who is even more diabolical than Bergoglio. If Benedict retains the papacy, this would be the election of a second antipope who would finish packing the College of Cardinals with invalid cardinals.

All of this sounds like a chess game between God and the Devil. I have already discussed those things here. My gut tells me that a great chastisement is coming which will result in massive bloodshed at the hands of Musloid terrorists belonging to ISIS. The time for this is drawing near.

Why is God permitting this? I think all of this is a separation of the wheat and the chaff. You can already see the fault lines of schism emerging between the Church and the Antichurch. These fault lines can only deepen as this train wreck of the papacy continues. God uses evil men with evil intentions to bring about His good intentions. The Bible is replete with this sort of thing culminating in the worst calamity of all time--the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The greatest evil turned into the greatest good.

Since the election of Francis, you can clearly see who is who as the bishops separate from each other. It seems like an awful thing, but it is a good thing. God is using a wicked man to cleanse the wickedness from His church. The sheep suits are coming off of these wolves.

God wins in the end. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said this upon the elevation of some nasty modernist bishops to the cardinalate. Why would he say something like this? The simple fact is that this man knows more than he is saying. As Our Lady of Good Success told us, "In this supreme moment of need of the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent!" I believe that Pope Benedict is the silent one.

This entire essay is built upon speculation from all of the things I have read and heard. You should take all of this with a grain of salt. But I write these things to reassure the faithful that if what I think will happen actually happens, people will not lose their faith in the aftermath of it all. The faithful will realize that they were told beforehand, and things happened exactly as they were foretold. I already get the goosebumps from reading all of these various prophecies. The time draws near, and I do believe God wins in the end. Just don't lose your faith but trust that God has this.

What Needs To Be Done

It is absolutely heard, that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as the like is not among the heathens; that one should have his father's wife.  And you are puffed up; and have not rather mourned, that he might be taken away from among you, that hath done this deed. I indeed, absent in body, but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, him that hath so done, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus; To deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:5 DOUAY-RHEIMS

This post is a follow up to the What I Know post about the infiltration and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church in our time. To witness and know about the depth of the corruption tends to drive someone with faith to despair. Why bother being Catholic? What moral authority can an institution have that rapes children and covers up for it? But this despair is what the Devil seeks. If you succumb to it, the Devil has won, and you will lose your soul. You don't want this to happen.

There are things that you can do to make things better. There are also many things others can do to also fight this scandal and corruption. But these things are dependent upon your state in life. Here is what I think needs to be done about this problem.

I. LAITY

1. Pray.

Whenever our Lady makes an appearance, she tells us of awful things to come. Yet, her prescription is always the same. Pray the rosary. Somehow or another, praying that rosary is going to make the difference. As our Lady tells us, in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

The temptation in hard times is to give up on prayer. Today, "thoughts and prayers" are derided as no better than doing nothing at all. Implied in this cynicism is that God either doesn't exist, or He doesn't care. But prayer is what sustains our faith. It is also what will win this battle if we don't give up.

One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament comes from Exodus 17 when the Israelites had to do battle with the Amalekites. It became apparent that the battle became dependent upon Moses and his prayers. As he prayed, his hands were lifted. As long as they stayed up, the Israelites would win. When those hands would drop, they would start losing. So, Moses got an assist from Aaron and Hur:

And Moses' hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sunset. 

EXODUS 17:12 DOUAY-RHEIMS

Our successes in battles and in life are directly proportional to our prayers. For Moses, the fatigue was a physical one. For us, the fatigue can be psychological and emotional. But like Aaron and Hur, we can assist with out own prayers and encouragement. Prayer is not doing nothing. Prayer is hard work.

I recommend praying the rosary every day. One of the things I have discovered about this practice is that I can always do a rosary where I don't have the strength or energy for mental prayer. And I can tell you that St. Josemaria Escriva was right. If you are always praying, you will always be happy.

2. Live it.

One of the reasons that laity have tolerated so much filth in their bishops and priests is because they are no better themselves. So many Catholics are engaged in fornication, cohabitation, use of artificial contraception, use of pornography, and on and on. They vote for pro-abortion politicians and support gay marriage. I can tell you now that a primary reason God has allowed this filth and corruption to overwhelm His Church is to chastise the laity. They excuse filth in their ministers because they know those ministers will excuse their filth.

Always pull the beam out of your own eye before you go pulling specks out of the eyes of others. If your life is a scandal, you really shouldn't be going on and on about the scandals in the Church. It's like a trad that thinks the Latin Mass needs to be brought back for the sake of reverence but attends church in his flip flops and shorts. If that guy can't show reverence for our Lord, why should he pick on the priest who celebrates the Novus Ordo in a casual manner?

I know of a Catholic man who never gives to the Church, never attends Mass, never goes to confession, never prays with his family, or even says grace before a meal. But he is always quick to point at the corruption in the Church as a justification for being a half ass Catholic.

You can't cover your sins with other people's sins. On Judgment Day, your sins will be exposed, and you will own them. No matter how bad these sodomites in the Catholic Church may be, none of this filth will excuse your own lack of morals. Clean up your own house first, and you may find that it will go a long way to cleaning up the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Expose it.

If you see something, say something. The evildoers in the Church are able to do what they do because good people do nothing. Laity have no power in the Church, but they do possess all of the power in the world. If you are a journalist, you should report on it. If you are a criminal prosecutor, you should go after it. And if you are a nobody like me, you should spread the word on your blogs and social media.

4. Stop paying for it.

Finally, you need to restrict your giving to the Roman Catholic Church. Never give your support to anyone or anything that promotes modernism or tolerates sodomy or filth. This is virtually every diocese in the United States. On the parish level, if your priest is bad, cut your giving to the bare minimum even if it is one dollar per week. Direct your giving to faithful parishes even if they are ones where you do not attend. Put restricted uses on your giving or donate non-fungible things like candles. For some reason, this has gotten the attention of these bishops. It has not been enough to make them repent or clean up their acts. But it will be when they feel the pinch.

You should give to the poor and support the Church, but you can be shrewd about this giving. God put that money in your hands to have a say in where it goes. Use that right. If your priest is a sodomite or your bishop covers for this filth, stop giving them money. Cut them off. At some point, they will resort to extortion saying that if you don't tithe to the Church, you are in a state of mortal sin. But push them to that point. It will make their eternal damnation more hellish than it already will be.

I've already curtailed and redirected my giving. And when they give me those envelopes for the USCCB or the diocese, I put a note in there to let them know why I didn't give and won't ever be giving to them. Let those bastards starve.

II. PRIESTS

1. Remove yourself from priestly ministry.

If you are a sodomite or a pedophile, you need to remove yourself from priestly ministry and request a return to the lay state. Even if you are living in chastity, if you have ever had consensual sex with another man, you are unfit for the priesthood. You are a sodomite. God will forgive your sins but continuing in priestly ministry is a near occasion of sin for you. It's like an alcoholic who wants to work as a bartender. This will not go well for him

Those called to be priests and bishops are held to a higher standard. I know this is a newsflash to some of you perverts, but St. James lays it out for you in James 3:1,  "Be ye not many masters, my brethren, knowing that you receive the greater judgment." Somehow, priests have the idea that because they can confess their sins and receive absolution that this somehow extends to priests. It doesn't. Your gross sins cannot remove you from God's love, but it absolutely should remove you from priestly ministry. You should take off that collar and take your place back in the pew.

Priests of a heterosexual inclination should do the same thing if they engage in fornication or adultery after their ordination. The only difference between the straight priest and the gay priest is that the straight priest does not possess an intrinsically disordered state of mind. Consequently, the priestly function is something he can lose while for the sodomite, it is a function he should have never had.

These prohibitions are already in place in canon law and papal directives, but they are ignored. But you don't have to ignore them. Your first responsibility is to save your own soul. Your second responsibility is to not be a cause of stumbling for others. Gay priests risk eternal damnation for their own souls.

2. Be a good shepherd.

The vast majority of priests that I encounter are awful. Their Masses lack reverence. They offer confession times for a mere thirty minutes per week and goof off on their smartphones in the confessional. They preach modernist garbage in their homilies. You can tell the quality of a priest by the length of the line for his confessional. I know some faithful Catholics that will drive an hour to other parishes just to confess to a good priest.

I don't think being a good priest is that big of a mystery. I am a layperson, and I already know what it takes to be a good priest. Sainthood is hard, but professionalism in the priesthood is easy. The problem is that priests are lazy much like people in other professions. If you didn't want to be a priest, you should not have become a priest. But if you are a priest, you need to work at it.

3. Rat out bad priests and prelates.

Priests are not allowed to violate the seal of the confessional. The remedy for this restriction is the screen. You should insist on all confessions being anonymous. This allows you to keep the seal and also rat out the bad people. Then, you need to take the information you have which has been gained outside of the confessional to the secular authorities and to the media. These can be anonymous tips. Good cops and good reporters can investigate for themselves. The truth is that the sins of these evildoers is practically in the public eye now thanks to social media and brazenness.

The screen is also a good way to protect yourself since you can't grope or molest someone through a screen. This will negate any false claims against you. And if you are one of the bad guys, remove yourself from priestly ministry.

III. PRELATES

1. Stop covering up for the filth.

This is a no-brainer, yet the cardinals and the bishops don't get it. I also suspect that they are involved in the filth. If you are one of these disgusting perverts, you should remove yourself from your role as bishop and priest. If you don't, you will find yourself in the lowest pits of Hell for eternity.

2. Direct your priests to be good priests.

This means being in that confessional more than thirty minutes per week. This means learning the Latin Mass and offering it. This means cracking down on priests who are bad.

3. Take a vow of poverty and live it.

The only thing that infuriates me more than a pervert bishop or one that covers for other bishops is a prelate who lives large off of the backs of the faithful. If you've living in a mansion, you need to sell that thing and put the funds in a sex abuse settlement fund. As it stands, parishes are closing for lack of funds while the bishop lives it up in a house that would pay for three parishes. This is disgusting.

Our Lord and our Lady did not live in ostenation. Neither should you especially when the faithful labor in poverty and need while providing you with that ostentation and paying for your pervert priests.

IV. THE POPE

1. Bring back the Inquisition.

The Inquisition is still around, but it got renamed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. One of the things I don't like about the Catholic Church is how things get renamed to make them sound nicer and friendlier. The CDF should take back its old name and operate in every country. It should be ruthless and severe in going after heretics and perverts. All of these calls for some sort of governing body comprised of laypeople and bishops are really just calls for a return of the Inquisition.

Despite the infamous excesses of the notorious Spanish Inquisition, the Inquisition was an unqualified good thing. Without it, the Church is nothing but a toothless tiger. How much respect would we give our governments if they passed laws they never enforced? The Roman Catholic Church does not enforce its laws which is why we see all of the heresy and corruption.

The Inquisition needs to ruthlessly go after the bad guys but without putting people on the rack. It is enough to threaten people with laicization and excommunication. Then, when they are found guilty, they should be turned over to the secular authorities for any criminal penalties.

The Holy Father is the one who needs to give this directive on the Inquisition. He doesn't need a synod or council on this matter. Just do what needs doing. This one thing alone will work wonders at restoring justice and order to the Roman Catholic Church.

2. Close down the Vatican Bank.

It is no secret that the Vatican Bank is a laundromat for dirty money and criminal enterprise. Efforts to clean it up have been a farce. But banks can be closed. The criminals can take their dirty money with them. Sometimes, the best way to clean a thing is with a bulldozer.

3. Disband the Society of Jesus.

In 1773, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuit order. It was the right thing to do at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. But in the hindsight of what the Jesuits have become and what they are today, that decision should have stuck.

There is corruption among Dominicans, Franciscans, Poor Clares, Benedictines, etc. But the Jesuits are the absolute worst. I hear numerous stories of rampant sodomy, gay sex orgies, and the promulgation of heresies that make Martin Luther look like a good Catholic in comparison. If I were pope, I would go ahead and pull the trigger on the Society of Judas and instruct all Jesuits to report to the reconstituted Inquisition to answer for their sins. Granted, there are some good Jesuits, but they should have no problem with the Inquisition. But for the rest, they should be defrocked, laicized, and excommunicated.

Other religious orders should face the same fate especially the feminuns and lesbonuns who burned their habits when Jane Fonda was burning her bra.

4. Demand a vow of poverty from all priests and prelates worldwide.

Nothing cleans out a filthy stable like poverty. The pope should demand an accounting of the lifestyles of all of his bishops. Then, those bishops should extend that accounting down to their priests. Why should this be done? Because they all should be made to pay for the sex abuse crisis they had a hand in creating. Poverty should be their penance, and this penance should be made permanent. It should never be rescinded.

Being made to live like the sheep will go a long way to rehabilitating these shepherds. They don't feel the pain of their decisions, and they are far from the sheep. But when you have a priest living on scraps, he finds himself being nicer to the laity who invite him over for dinner or slip him $20 around Christmas time. Show me a priest in a threadbare cassock, and I will show you a good priest.

5. Abolish the Novus Ordo and return to the Tridentine Mass.

There is no question that the new Mass of Pope Paul VI has been a complete disaster. Is Father Z right? Will saving the liturgy also save the world? Absolutely. Like the broken windows theory of law enforcement, people will take God seriously when the priests start taking Him seriously. There are so many sacrileges performed on a daily basis around the altars all over the world that it makes faithful Catholics cry. They wrecked the Mass with the Novus Ordo. Everyone knows it. Now, the Catholic Church needs a pope who will admit it.

6. Demand that nuns get back in their habits.

There's one good thing about a lesbonun with a butch haircut. You know she is corrupted automatically. You can go ahead and excommunicate virtually every nun without a habit without having to appear before the Inquisition. Some nuns in habits are bad, but all nuns without habits are bad.

7. Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

There has been a lot of controversy over this, but it will end when the Church does what she asked. This may have been a delicate issue during the Soviet Union, but I already know Putin doesn't have a problem with it. The consecration is late, but it needs to be done.

I doubt that the current pontiff will enact any of these reforms. The irony is that the only thing stopping a pope from doing this will be his own lack of spine in this regard. The Vicar of Christ is the only thing this world has resembling an absolute ruler. But a good pope can and will scour the Catholic Church clean even if there is a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth that goes with it.

8. Exorcise the Vatican.

It is obvious that the Bad guy moved in awhile ago and runs the place. I believe that the satanic enthronement did happen. It's time for the Devil to get knocked off that throne.

CONCLUSION

Will any of these things ever be done? Except for what the laity is doing now, I doubt it. When the sex abuse crisis broke, the response of the bishops was to fall like a ton of bricks on the laity for the sins and crimes of the priests and bishops. They enacted rules, classes, and background checks for every layperson who works in the church all the way down to the janitors. We call this sort of thing "projection." Somehow, clerical sex abuse is the fault of laypeople. What sorry sons of bitches these scoundrels be. They should be disemboweled and flayed alive for this crap.

My sincere hope is that all of these filthy bastards are tried, convicted, and locked up in prison for a long time until they are sodomized and beaten to death by fellow criminals who at least have the decency to keep their hands off of children. These scumbags deserve this because they deserve to burn in Hell forever, and they deserve this fate more than virtually any other person on earth.

I believe God will bring His chastisement upon these evildoers. Their time is coming, and it draws near. God help them to repent because even the demons will weep to see their fate.

For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel of God?

1 PETER 4:17 DOUAY-RHEIMS

How To Become Catholic

To be deep in history, is to cease to be Protestant.

BLESSED CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN

I came into the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. I have been Catholic for six years now. I was baptized in the Southern Baptist faith and then moved to the doctrines of John Calvin and the embrace of the Presbyterians. Wanting to grow deeper in this faith, I attended a seminary dedicated to that Calvinist theology. While there, a friend and a housemate of mine committed suicide which torpedoed my faith and sent me into the abyss of atheism. Thinking that God and religion was a delusion, I met a Catholic woman who would be instrumental in bringing me to the One True Faith. From there, I "read" myself into the Roman Catholic Church.

Becoming a Catholic is a fairly straightforward process. First, you have to find the parish that is closest to you and have a talk with the priest. Then, you enroll in the RCIA program usually beginning in the fall and go through the classes and the rites. Then, you will be brought into the Church at Easter time. If you're on your deathbed, the priest will skip all that and do his thing right then and there. When you're dying, you don't have time for classes.

This basic information is all you will need to become a Catholic. Unfortunately, there is a flaw in this process. The problem is that RCIA will get you into the Church, but you may find yourself a poorly catechized Catholic like most Catholics today including those who became Catholic in the cradle. I was not one of those poorly catechized Catholics, but it is not because I had an outstanding RCIA instructor or curriculum. Even the best programs are not going to be able to get the job done. No, this proper catechesis requires that you actually read some books. And this is where we lose people because most people living today haven't even finished reading this guide to this point in their short attention span lives. Their eyes have glazed over, and they have returned to their TV programs, video games, smartphones, and social media. If you're one of those people, go ahead and go to Hell. If you don't care about your soul, I can't do it for you.

Before you even go to RCIA, you need to know why you are becoming Catholic. If you're becoming Catholic to appease a new spouse or the in-laws, don't become Catholic. I've already witnessed this tragedy as a mother-in-law pushed her daughter-in-law into the faith. She took her confirmation and her first communion and has never been back again. You need to make this decision of your own free will, and this decision needs to be an informed decision. This is why you have to read books and learn things. If you can't manage this, then go to Hell.

There is only one valid reason for converting to the Roman Catholic Church. You believe that it is true. The Roman Catholic Church is the One True Faith. It is the only Church founded by Jesus Christ. It is the only true religion on earth as all others are man made garbage. So many priests and RCIA instructors are too cowardly to tell you this because they don't want to offend you. So, they try to be "ecumenical" which is a nice word for telling you not to become Catholic and leaving you to stumble in your ignorance for the rest of your life until you die and go to Hell.

Either the Roman Catholic Church is true, or it isn't. Catholicism is not one option among many. It is the only option for salvation. The Church of Rome is not another denomination like the Methodists or the Episcopalians. You can be something other than Catholic and maybe make it to Heaven. But this depends upon something known as "invincible ignorance." Basically, you didn't know, so you can't be held accountable for this. But I have some bad news for you. If you have read this guide to this point, you cannot claim invincible ignorance. It's too late because I just told you. Once you know that the Catholic Church is the true church, you have a duty to get in it and stay in it. Or, you can go to Hell.

If you have doubts about the veracity of what I am telling you, then you need to still do the reading, so you can confirm to yourself that I am lying along with Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother, and two thousand years of saints and martyrs who all lived and died for this lie. I am not trying to convince you of these things. What I am doing is urging you to make your decision an informed decision. Learn everything you can about the Roman Catholic Church. Study it. Even if you reject it, you will at least know what you're rejecting.

When you start your reading, the thing you will experience is the shocking realization of how poorly informed you are about all things Catholic. The world belongs to the Devil, so the world has done a good job of hiding the truth or distorting the truth about the Catholic faith. Public schools, popular media, and idiot Protestants have done an awesome job of feeding you crap and keeping you in the dark. And you have helped this along by not doing the due diligence of finding out for yourself.

The Roman Catholic Church has been around since 33 A.D. and has penetrated virtually every country on earth since then. They have preached and published for two thousand years. Now, we have the internet where you are a simple Google search away from finding out anything and everything you would want to know about Catholicism. There are many Catholic websites that can help you. My favorite when I was in RCIA was Catholic Answers. If you read the articles and watch their YouTube videos, you will become wicked smart on Catholicism in a short time.

The Catholic faith is not difficult to understand. It is simply difficult to accept. The things you will learn are things little kids learn in the Catholic schools and the CCD classes that are worth a damn. The difference is that those little kids just accept them while you will recoil as an adult. This is why it helps to go into RCIA with full knowledge and a settled mind. Did I have issues like this? Absolutely. For me, I had my Martin Luther moment when it came to indulgences. I have no problem with it now and actively work for those indulgences. I can honestly say that I gain a partial indulgence on a daily basis now. Most Catholics who practice their faith gain them but are not aware of them. I think they will be surprised to see the merits they have gained over the course of their lifetimes. But I digress. . .

READING

You need to read. Here are the books I recommend reading before beginning the RCIA process:

1. Catholicism for Dummies

Despite the title, this is an awesome book. It won't tell you everything you need to know, but it is a good primer. Good RCIA classes use this book as a textbook. If I were an RCIA catechist, I would use this book. Bad RCIA classes use some vague wimpy books aimed at your feelings or something. I never finished the one I was given. But I devoured the Dummies book. You can find this book on Amazon. GET THIS BOOK!

2. Baltimore Catechism

This is a set of four books that formed the backbone of pre-Vatican II catechesis. This is the ones kids used in CCD class before the modernists, sodomites, and lesbonuns took over and debased Catholic education. The teachings have not changed. This catechism is clear and straightforward and easy to understand.

Why did the Catholic Church stop using The Baltimore Catechism? That's simple. This catechism worked. It was clear, orthodox, and easy to understand. Evil cannot thrive with this. Evil needs ambiguity. This is what you will notice about pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II Catholic literature. The post-conciliar stuff is deliberately vague.

You can find this catechism on Amazon for purchase, but there are also Kindle versions for free. You can also find PDF editions online for free. If you read the Baltimore Catechism, you will probably end up knowing more than your RCIA instructor. I am not making this up.

3. The Catechism of the Catholic Church

This is the heaviest reading you will do, but it is worth it. I heard a modernist heretical priest deride The Catechism of the Catholic Church or CCC as "John Paul's catechism." It actually is John Paul II's catechism, and it is awesome. You should try and find the older editions like this one pictured above. You can find used copies everywhere. Sometimes, I buy them at used book sales knowing I will give them to someone.

The CCC is just a deeper and more exhaustive version of what you will find in The Baltimore Catechism except it deals with many modern subjects you won't find dealt with in a book aimed at children. Now, if you can't make it through the Baltimore, you are never going to read this tome. I can't read it for you either.

4. Butler's Lives of the Saints

This is a book you don't have to read in its entirety. But you will find it handy. They come in multiple volumes. Some are old while others are modern. But it is a handy reference as you learn about saints. When you go to get confirmed if you stick it out, you have to pick a saint for your confirmation. This book will help you find your saint. I think saints find you actually but reading about these saints also helps to introduce you to church history.

You can find these books on Amazon including free editions for your Kindle. You can also Google saints online to find out more about them.

5. Douay-Rheims Bible

If you like the King James Bible, you will love the Douay-Rheims Bible. There are other translations of the Bible, and I suppose they are fine as long as they are Catholic Bibles that have all the books that Luther cut out of the Protestant Bible. But if you're going to lay out money for a Bible, you should buy the Douay-Rheims. It is a classic.

This is another book you don't have to read in its entirety, but you want to keep it handy. You will hear a lot of jokes about Catholics not reading their Bibles, but I find Catholics know their Bibles as well as most Protestants. The difference is that Catholics read way more sources than just the Bible while Protestants just read the one book that they get wrong. When you attend Mass, you will see how vital the Bible is in the liturgy.

You must read books 1-3 completely before starting RCIA. Books 4 & 5 you want to keep handy. If you go into RCIA reading or knowing nothing, you will be at the mercy of whoever is teaching you. If you read those books, it won't matter who teaches your RCIA classes. You will already know what you need to know, and you will thank me for telling you.

SOUL SEARCHING AND PERSONAL INVENTORY

Now, as you read and learn more about Catholicism, you are going to feel the sting of those teachings. This is your conscience. You've spent your life trying to kill it, but it is still alive. When you hear, read, or learn something like this with the sting to it, I call it the Catholic Guilt Ray. Don't let it drive you to despair. If you weren't a sinner, you wouldn't need the Roman Catholic Church.

When you come to Jesus Christ, you are coming to Him on His terms. He is not coming to you on your terms. You need to get this in your head. If you can't do this, then you can and will go to Hell. This is why the Gospels are replete with references about counting the cost and taking up your cross and all that. Being Catholic is choosing to take the hard path. Most people can't do this which is why most people go to Hell.

Basically, we all have baggage. Not everyone has the same set of luggage, but it doesn't matter. You have to get rid of it to move on in your life and become Catholic. Here are some typical issues people have as they come into the Church:

FALSE WORLDVIEWS AND RELIGIONS 

1. ATHEISM

You can call it atheism, agnosticism, secularism, undecided, or "none" or whatever. Basically, you don't believe in God. Now, atheists will claim reason and science as the foundation for not believing in God, but then they hit the simple fact that nothing comes from nothing. They are also empty inside and want the God who they say doesn't exist. But the ultimate and real reason for atheism is that atheists can't understand how God can allow evil and suffering to exist. They are mad at God over this. Then, one day they realize their own evil, and they want God's mercy where they were clamoring for His justice. Atheism is stupid. When you know more than God and are more righteous than God, you can go ahead and take the wheel from the Almighty. Until then, go to Hell.

2. PROTESTANTISM

To be a Protestant, you have to believe that Jesus Christ established His church in 33 AD and then fumbled the ball for the next 1500 years until Martin Luther recovered the fumble in 1517. The real reason Protestants exist is because they want God but on their terms instead of God's terms. So, they become their own popes and decide what God has taught them. The result is thousands of Protestant denominations who can't agree on anything except that they hate the pope. The pope is God's shot caller on earth. He is the final judge on the temporal plane when it comes to faith and morals. YOU ARE NOT. Protestants cannot submit to the authority that Jesus Christ established on earth. If you can't submit to the Vicar of Christ, then go to Hell.

3. EASTERN ORTHODOXY

The Eastern Orthodox are no different than the Protestants in rejecting the pope. This is why after their schism in 1054 they have been in schism with each other. They rejected their true father, so they have stepfathers in the form of patriarchs and rulers in the secular realm. The Orthodox Church is the second wife of Jesus Christ except Jesus Christ has no second bride. If you bring up the Orthodox to a Catholic, he is calm about it all. If you bring up Catholicism to an Orthodox, cover your face because the spit is going to fly. Once you know you're in schism, you need to get out of schism and get into the Catholic Church. And if you want to keep those traditions, the Eastern Catholic Church is a great option for you. Otherwise, go to Hell.

4. ISLAM

I feel sorry for Muslims because their conversion to Catholicism will come with a death sentence. That's all you need to know about Islam. But getting your head chopped off beats going to Hell.

5. EASTERN RELIGION

I lump all the religions of Asia into one bag of garbage. If you think the Dalai Lama or Richard Gere is superior to Jesus Christ, then go to Hell. As for Hinduism, it is paganism that lingers like a stench in our world. I pray that India will embrace Christianity, so they can at least get flush toilets and a decent sewer system. Until then, they can go to Hell.

6. JUDAISM

The Jewish religion ended definitively in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple. Jesus told them this calamity was coming. With that destruction, Judaism ceased to be. But the Jews regrouped and made rabbinic Judaism which is a man made religion. This is because they did not want Jesus Christ as their Messiah. If you don't want Jesus Christ as your Messiah, then go to Hell.

7. MORMONS, JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, ETC.

If you reject the Trinity, you're not even a Christian. Stick with that garbage and go to Hell.

8. WICCA, WITCHCRAFT, PAGANISM, SATANISM, ETC.

Seriously?!

If you have felt disrespect for your worldview or religion, this is intentional. I reject these false paths, and you should reject them, too. It is sad that popes and prelates today feel the need to cater to these other faiths. I do not feel a similar need considering that I converted to Catholicism to escape this garbage and to not go to Hell.

MARITAL STATUS AND SEXUAL IMMORALITY

When you go to see the priest about becoming Catholic, the first question he will probably ask you concerns your spiritual journey. On the heels of this, he will ask you about your marital status. For many people, this is when the deal breaker hits. You can blame it on Protestants who debased marriage long before the gays and lesbians fought for the same rights to debased marriages. Here are some typical issues:

1. FORNICATION

If you are shacked up and living in sin with someone, that has to stop. Fornicators cannot and will not go to Heaven. This is in the Bible. Go look it up. If you can't do this, then go to Hell.

2. MASTURBATION

Masturbation and pornography are also sins. These sins go under the delicate euphemism of "impurity." When you become Catholic, you will need to let this filth go or get used to confessing it to the priest. Or, you can go to Hell.

3. GAYS AND LESBIANS

Despite what some apostates in the Catholic Church may claim with their rainbow vestments and banners, homosexuality is a sin. Gays and lesbians are called to chastity and celibacy just like fornicators. And don't even get me started on gay and lesbian marriage. You know this is a monstrous joke. If you can't do this, then go to Hell.

4. DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

If you and your spouse are married to each other and neither of you are divorced, you are in luck. You need to get your marriage convalidated, and you will be in the clear with the Roman Catholic Church. If you or your spouse are divorced and remarried, you are going to have problems. Because Protestants threw away Jesus's teachings on marriage, you have train wrecks of people in multiple and invalid "marriages." This can lead to much heartbreak when a couple discover their union is not valid, and they will have to end the adulterous relationship. These cases can be complicated and have to be discussed with a priest and a canon lawyer.

5. ABORTION, CONTRACEPTION, AND IVF

The Catholic Church is famous for opposing artificial contraception especially the Pill and the IUD. The Church definitely opposes abortion as this is blatant murder. As for in vitro fertilization, the Catholic Church opposes this manufacture of Frankenbabies. Children should be conceived in dignity not in a petri dish. As for sterilization for contraception, this is also forbidden.

I can go on and on about these issues as whole entire books have been written on them. The bottom line is that the Catholic Church only allows sex between a man and a woman wedded in holy matrimony and open to life. Anything else belongs to the Devil.

By this point, you are probably already wanting to check out of becoming Catholic and deciding on taking your spot in Hell. What I can tell you is that God is merciful, and He supplies the grace you need to live in chastity. But Our Lady told us that sexual sins were the number one cause of the eternal damnation of souls.

BAD ASSOCIATIONS

When you become Catholic, you're going to lose some friends. Family members may also disown you because you chose to become a papist. You may have to quit your job because being a stripper is not going to work with praying the rosary each day. These are judgment calls, and people will have to decide for themselves. But these are the associations you will have to end that are not judgment calls:

1. FREEMASONRY

The Catholic Church forbids people from belonging to the Freemasons. If you are a Freemason, you will have to formally declare to them that you are leaving their organization. Depending upon location or whatnot, this could carry serious consequences to your job and community standing.

2. KKK

You can't be Catholic and belong to the KKK. The Klan will throw you out after they tar and feather you.for becoming a papist.

3. NEO-NAZIS

The Nazis will not toss you out for being Catholic. But no good Catholic would ever be a Nazi.

4. THE MAFIA

Despite what you see in The Godfather, members of the Mafia and other crime syndicates like the Hell's Angels, MS-13, and others cannot be good Catholics because violence and murder are against the Ten Commandments. That may be a newsflash to some people.

5. COMMUNIST PARTY, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, AND OTHER LEFTIST GROUPS

It will surprise you how many Catholics belong to these groups. It will not surprise anyone when they end up in Hell.

If it feels like I am doing my best to talk you out of becoming Catholic, this feeling would be correct. I am doing precisely that. Being a real Catholic is a hard thing, and I don't think Catholics have done anyone any favors in trying to make it seem easy. It isn't. But if you are still with me to this point, I still have to divulge the Church's baggage to you.

THE BAGGAGE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

If you look at any typical bulletin board in a Catholic Church, you will see some notice regarding sex abuse in the Church and who you should notify if it happens. This hit me when I decided to become Catholic. Many people have left the Church over this scandal. They couldn't take it anymore. As for me, I joined the Roman Catholic Church in the full knowledge of this scandal. Why did I do this? I did it because the Catholic Church has the truth.

I'd like to say that these scandals are a recent thing, but this is not true. There is a long line of scoundrels and evildoers in the history of the Church going all the way back to Judas Iscariot. In this regard, the Church is no different from other institutions in this world like our governments and our families. But I made a point to my wife about something that cradle Catholics do not consider but Protestants do. There are no saints in Protestantism. There are some good and decent people but none of them are on the same level of a St. Francis of Assisi or St. Maximilian Kolbe or Padre Pio or Mother Teresa.

Saints are the only successful people in life. This is because they are the only ones who attain anything resembling true happiness. You find these saints in the Roman Catholic Church. You can probably find some in post-schism Eastern Orthodoxy, but I wouldn't know. I just know that Catholicism produces saints. The scandalous evildoers are there because the Devil put them there in the same way that he entered Judas Iscariot.

I don't judge the Church by the bad guys in it. On that basis, the Church is no different than the world. I do judge the Church by its saints, and I aspire to be like them. You should not let Judas keep you from Jesus. And Jesus let Judas in to let us know to expect more like him.

You will encounter these Iscariots when you become Catholic. This will be the bishop living in a fancy mansion while covering for sex crimes among his priests. This will be the sodomite priest in his rainbow vestments pushing his LGBT garbage and wanting to molest his altar boys. This will be the lesbian nun in her butch haircut trying to push a feminist agenda on unsuspecting people. This will be the Benedictine monk denying the divinity of Christ at a spiritual retreat. This will be the Catholic politician who supports gay marriage, abortion, and infanticide. They all play for the Devil, and they all want you to go to Hell. Do yourself a favor, and don't go to Hell.

RCIA

When you begin RCIA or the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, you need to be aware that the Devil will not like this, and he will attack you. I know because he attacked me. I thought I was losing my mind until I heard similar stories from other people who went through the process. For most people, it manifests as discouragement, aggravation, and depression during the day and hellish nightmares at night. I received no relief from this onslaught until I received a Saint Benedict medal, had it blessed by the priest, and started wearing it around my neck. Since then, I have bought and passed along similar medals to others going through the RCIA process or considering it.

The Saint Benedict medal is like having a mini-rite of exorcism with you. The inscriptions on them are prayers against the Devil, and I would ask for Saint Benedict to pray for me along with Saint Michael and Our Lady for protection against the Devil. Those prayers worked.

Another benefit I found was learning to pray the Rosary. I started just doing one decade a day. I found great comfort and consolation in that. I also attended Mass each week though I was not able to take the Eucharist as I was not Catholic yet. But I always went to weekly Mass.

After you talk with the priest, all you really need to do is find out the when and where of the RCIA classes and show up. The first part of the classes are an inquiry stage where they answer your questions and either talk you into or out of becoming Catholic. If you stick with that, you find yourself on a kind of conveyor belt where you get spit out the end as a newborn Roman Catholic.

There are a few things you need to know. First, you need a sponsor. This is like a godparent except they are called sponsors when you're an adult. You should have a friend who is Catholic who can serve in this role or a family member who is already Catholic. Don't worry if you don't have a sponsor. God will provide one.

The second thing concerns your baptism. I was baptized already when I was a Baptist. I just needed to get the certificate from my Baptist church where I was baptized. They did not want to give me my certificate because they could smell that something was up. Sad to say, some Protestant churches will try and stymie your efforts to become Catholic thinking they are doing you some kind of favor. Fortunately, God was with me, and I was able to get it.

People who are not baptized are known as catechumens. They receive baptism at their initiation along with confirmation and communion. The baptized are known as candidates, and they don't receive baptism as their Protestant baptism counts. The only exception would be something like a Mormon baptism where they deny the Trinity. These are not valid since it means that Mormons aren't even Christian. Your priest will know what to do in your situation.

Stick with your classes. Do the rites that your sponsor must attend with you. Before your acceptance into the Church, you must make a confession of your sins to the priest. Be as thorough and as sincere as possible. You can find the Examination of Conscience online to help you in this regard. Don't let your past sins depress you. God forgives and takes away sins.

If you gut it out all the way to Easter and make it into the Church, you will feel the greatest elation and joy. Whatever you endured to get there, it is worth it. There will be an entire parish full of people who will congratulate on you for making it into the club. It happens every year, and I can say that it is my favorite part of the Easter celebrations.

After your acceptance into the Church, the RCIA classes continue for a bit as a sort of wrap up. This is when people lay some gifts on you for having completed the process. You can expect rosaries, crucifixes. prayer cards, and things like that. My favorite gift was a Saint Benedict crucifix.

I promptly had it blessed, and it has been with us ever since helping to protect our home from the Bad Guy.

Once you become Catholic, I recommend my Catholic starter program. Here it is:

--Daily rosary.

--Weekly Mass.

--Monthly confession.

You can build from there as you grow in your new faith. Becoming Catholic is the beginning of a journey. It gets harder from there, but it is also easier as you discover those sacraments give you grace enabling you to live in a way that you were unable to do before. It is a cross, but you will find that God is helping you to carry that cross.

Becoming a Catholic is a hard thing to do. Remaining a Catholic is also hard. I still keep reading and learning about the faith, and I practice my faith. I was also blessed to be a sponsor for someone else that converted to Catholicism, and I am the godfather to one niece and one nephew. I am also a Knight of Columbus, and I receive formation from Opus Dei. The one thing I encourage anyone converting to the Roman Catholic Church to do is to not be half-ass about it. You get out of it what you put into it.

If you put nothing into it, your faith will wither and die like fruit in the desert. I have seen this happen. I know converts who started off strong and are now apostates living in a perpetual state of mortal sin. It happens. But I find that the reason this happens is because they did not read and heed a brutally honest guide like this one that lays it out there as clearly as possible. If you cannot handle being Catholic, just don't delude yourself. Try to enjoy what is left of your pathetic and empty life before you drop into the abyss of eternal damnation. If you're going to pay for it forever, you owe it to yourself to live it up now.

I don't want anyone to go to Hell. But that is not up to me. That is up to you. The Roman Catholic Church is the One True Faith. It is the only religion that exists that was given to us by God Himself. Anything else is a poor copy of the real thing. You must get into the Roman Catholic Church and remain in it. Otherwise, you can go to Hell. And if you find yourself there, know that it was by your own choice, and you were told that this would happen leaving you without excuse.

Those who are saved are in the minority.

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS