Does anybody else feel that tough times are truly ahead?

[Schatzl]

I lived through a period of time where American society was closer to God. I lived through the Cold War - ICBMs from Russia any day now. And you know what?

There was no legal abortion.

Divorce was rare.

Children respected their parents.

There was dating and a clear-headed commitment to one life-long partner.

The new opium dens - ADULT BOOKSTORES, STRIP CLUBS AND TOPLESS BARS - did not exist.

There was appropriate restraint in word and actions. There was self control, especially regarding sex.

The bulk of our problems revolve around the misuse of sex and being brainwashed into believing -

A) Being a mother and father are too hard.

B) Kids are a nuisance. An inconvenience. And as long as I throw food and clothes at them, once they turn 18, who cares?

We had real families that loved each other. We had parents that loved each other. Ignorant children were taught the rules and the rules were enforced. You loved your child when you disciplined him, and if you child was in the wrong, there was an explanation but NO talking back.

We took commitment seriously.

NO, it was not perfect but it worked, until the strangers came around and yelled at us whenever we pointed out that shacking up with your girlfriend was wrong. That using illegal drugs - especially smoking dope - was wrong. But THEY kept telling us WE were wrong. That their way was the “better” way. They had - a false - Freedom!!!

And there were no debates about right and wrong.

Progressive? I spit on the ground whenever I hear that word. Sexually deviant perversion and dope? That’s progress? Broken homes? Kids who get their morals from other kids or the TV? This is better? This is modern?

The PROGRESSIVES lied at all times. We need to realize that. They lied about abortion, they lied about artificial contraception and they lied about sexual perversion. Now, they want all that stuff to be legal. For what? COUNT ME OUT.

Wake up, my fellow Christian soldiers. This is not a time to worry, but a great opportunity to be the salt of the earth, to remove the candle from under the bushel and let the light of the truth be known. Do we really NEED three TVs in every home? Do we really need the latest electronic gadget or a TV with a 52 inch screen?

God knows I’m not perfect, but our lack of perfection should not stop us from trying to do something as opposed to waiting for something vague. God is in this with us. We are not alone and not without help.

Peace,
Ed

I agree. Our society is falling before our very eyes. But the Church has been through persecution under the Romans and everything after that, yet we kept going. God will provide. He has always gotten the Church and the world through the toughest times. Just look at the Papacy during the Renaissance! It was incredible corrupt thanks to the Borgia family, but we cleaned up our act, and kept going on our journey closer to God.

 

[cheezey]

Yes.

But.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

**And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
**

 

[TimothyH]

I don’t think tough times are ahead. I just don’t believe that the world is going to Hell.

We have amazing resources available to us, things our grandfather’s couldn’t even dream of. It is a time of great change and great opportunity.

Y’all acting like a bunch of wet blankets.

-Tim-

 

[atheistgirl]

I don’t think tough times are ahead. I just don’t believe that the world is going to Hell.

We have amazing resources available to us, things our grandfather’s couldn’t even dream of. It is a time of great change and great opportunity.

Y’all acting like a bunch of wet blankets.

-Tim-

Yay for the voice of reason almost drowned out from the din of hysterics and histrionics

Sarah x

 

[albertd]

I think we are faling into major sadness. With our president forceing us to carry Ins.for abortion ,birth control,sterilization. This is insane, immoral, not right, what ever you want to call it. I don’t have no words for it. Please Jesus have Mercy on us. Yet how many catholic voted for him. Crazy! We need a pope that that will address these problems right away. Someone that is totally of Jesus Christ truth. Come Holy Spirit and guide him and us. my prayers,albertd12@hotmail.com

 

[Megan7]

I think we are faling into major sadness. With our president forceing us to carry Ins.for abortion ,birth control,sterilization. This is insane, immoral, not right, what ever you want to call it. I don’t have no words for it. Please Jesus have Mercy on us. Yet how many catholic voted for him. Crazy! We need a pope that that will address these problems right away. Someone that is totally of Jesus Christ truth. Come Holy Spirit and guide him and us. my prayers,albertd12@hotmail.com

 

[Diana_Catherine]

I lived through a period of time where American society was closer to God. I lived through the Cold War - ICBMs from Russia any day now. And you know what?

There was no legal abortion.

Divorce was rare.

Children respected their parents.

There was dating and a clear-headed commitment to one life-long partner.

The new opium dens - ADULT BOOKSTORES, STRIP CLUBS AND TOPLESS BARS - did not exist.

There was appropriate restraint in word and actions. There was self control, especially regarding sex.

The bulk of our problems revolve around the misuse of sex and being brainwashed into believing -

A) Being a mother and father are too hard.

B) Kids are a nuisance. An inconvenience. And as long as I throw food and clothes at them, once they turn 18, who cares?

We had real families that loved each other. We had parents that loved each other. Ignorant children were taught the rules and the rules were enforced. You loved your child when you disciplined him, and if you child was in the wrong, there was an explanation but NO talking back.

We took commitment seriously.

NO, it was not perfect but it worked, until the strangers came around and yelled at us whenever we pointed out that shacking up with your girlfriend was wrong. That using illegal drugs - especially smoking dope - was wrong. But THEY kept telling us WE were wrong. That their way was the “better” way. They had - a false - Freedom!!!

And there were no debates about right and wrong.

Progressive? I spit on the ground whenever I hear that word. Sexually deviant perversion and dope? That’s progress? Broken homes? Kids who get their morals from other kids or the TV? This is better? This is modern?

The PROGRESSIVES lied at all times. We need to realize that. They lied about abortion, they lied about artificial contraception and they lied about sexual perversion. Now, they want all that stuff to be legal. For what? COUNT ME OUT.

Wake up, my fellow Christian soldiers. This is not a time to worry, but a great opportunity to be the salt of the earth, to remove the candle from under the bushel and let the light of the truth be known. Do we really NEED three TVs in every home? Do we really need the latest electronic gadget or a TV with a 52 inch screen?

God knows I’m not perfect, but our lack of perfection should not stop us from trying to do something as opposed to waiting for something vague. God is in this with us. We are not alone and not without help.

Peace,
Ed

Yes, thank you very much for this. Those who did not live before all these electronics and abortion, same sex marriage, pornography, punk rock, disrespect and the like do not realize how much the world has changed. Time and time again I hear the same sentence, “it is a different world.” and it is. Truly it is.

Kind of like the frog put in the cold water and the heat turned up is how we are. He doesn’t realize he is being cooked. Our society has become desensitized to what is going on.

 

[cheezey]

I lived through a period of time where American society was closer to God.

Peace,
Ed

Ed, I agree with you 100 %
It is bad out there, that is for sure.
Let’s say also that there are good things today that were not in place many years ago, also, As I am sure you know. I cannot list much as my brain is addled from some of the bad things out there but there are good things.

Society now holds that no, you cannot beat someone just because you are married to her.
We can now treat and cure more diseases than before.
Fewer women die just for giving birth.
We now know that cigarettes are indeed bad. And how
We now know that diet CAN make a difference.
And we still know that WE can make a difference.
There are new techniques for trigmeninal neuralgia treatment that did not exist before, giving hope to those with this incredibly painful condition.

**Trigeminal neuralgia (TN, or TGN), also known as prosopalgia,[1] suicide disease,[2] or Fothergill’s disease[3] is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain in the face, originating from the trigeminal nerve. The clinical association between TN and hemifacial spasm is the so called tic douloureux.[4] It has been described as among the most painful conditions known to mankind.[5]
**

Yeah, there is a reason for such a specific listing.
Just saying…I am sure someone else can come up with a better list…

 

[Lucky7]

I feel it too, but I think in a different way. I feel as if the Church will be called to act on a number of things…to not only speak the Truth, but to act on the Truth. The question is how will the Church act? Will it act?

I think much rides on our new Pope and I think this could be a time of great opportunity for our Church!

 

[cheezey]

I feel it too, but I think in a different way. I feel as if the Church will be called to act on a number of things…to not only speak the Truth, but to act on the Truth. The question is how will the Church act? Will it act?

I think much rides on our new Pope and I think this could be a time of great opportunity for our Church!

I am looking to the Church for strength in what could be difficult times to come.
I pray that the Church will act and act well with His guidance. I will leave it to Him with prayers to that end.

 

[atheistgirl]

There was no legal abortion.

But babies were still aborted.

Divorce was rare.

But it still happened. Or couples just lived separate lives and kept up public appearances.

Children respected their parents.

They still do. Mine sure do and most kids I know do.

There was dating and a clear-headed commitment to one life-long partner.

There still is.

The new opium dens - ADULT BOOKSTORES, STRIP CLUBS AND TOPLESS BARS - did not exist.

It’s always been possible, since the 1900s to get pornography, find strippers, have sex with prostitutes, (since forever on this one!) and buy adult material. It might have been a bit more difficult and less mainstream back then, but it was still possible and it still existed.

There was appropriate restraint in word and actions. There was self control, especially regarding sex.

And you know this how? You’ve peeked in everyones bedroom?

We had real families that loved each other.

We still do.

We had parents that loved each other.

We still do.

Ignorant children were taught the rules and the rules were enforced.

They still are.

You loved your child when you disciplined him, and if you child was in the wrong, there was an explanation but NO talking back.

More rose tinted eyeglasses.

We took commitment seriously.

We still do.

Progressive? I spit on the ground whenever I hear that word.

I rejoice.

Sexually deviant perversion and dope? That’s progress? Broken homes? Kids who get their morals from other kids or the TV? This is better? This is modern?

Not at all. The problems are as old as humanity itself. Some people just think it was always better way back when.

Do we really NEED three TVs in every home?

No. I donated ours to a womens shelter because the kids are just too busy with their lives and doing things to sit in front of the TV for hours letting their brain melt. They can watch everything they need to in their own time on line now so TVs are almost redundant. I was very proud of them because it was their decision to donate it as it just another ornament to dust!

Do we really need the latest electronic gadget

Hmmm … I’m a technophile, so maybe

I also make a lot of money out of using the latest technologies so, yeah, we do

or a TV with a 52 inch screen?

Gosh no.

Sarah x

 

[ephesians4]

People have been saying this for a long time, but its different now for some reason. The USA is changing. We are headed somewhere bad. I think God is telling us that we’re going to require a different kind of Pope for what lies ahead in the world.

Yeah. Our nations (I’m British) appear to be through the looking glass. Slightly different side effects, but the phenomenon is definitely the same thing.

There is always the temptation to think there is a slippery slope, a decline, a whatever, but now we have reached a far more advanced state - if you want to see the point you have always heard people talk about being “around the corner”, look over your shoulder 'cos we passed it a while back.

We have rushed headlong down what we used to call the “slide into tyranny” and want only for the last stumble, we have renounced our intellectual heritage and rational thought has become less fashionable than emotional knee-jerk, and somehow, somehow those hoping to demoralize our ways of life have come to the point, the glorious day for them when they can openly say that a bad thing is good and a good thing is bad with the full weight and support of millions of people, and the government, and now, gradually, the law.

We live in societies that can call Christ a bad man and Christianity an evil, yet celebrate depravity and evil things as admirable and good.

Bizarre, huh? Lots of those slippery slopes people used to talk about -we’re standing at the bottom of them.

 

[cheezey]

But …

Sarah x

 

[Diana_Catherine]

But babies were still aborted.

But it still happened. Or couples just lived separate lives and kept up public appearances.

They still do. Mine sure do and most kids I know do.

There still is.

It’s always been possible, since the 1900s to get pornography, find strippers, have sex with prostitutes, and buy adult material. It might have been a bit more difficult and less mainstream back then, but it was still possible and it still existed.

And you know this how? You’ve peeked in everyones bedroom?

We still do.

We still do.

They still are.

More rose tinted eyeglasses.

We still do.

I rejoice.

Not at all. The problems are as old as humanity itself. Some people just think it was always better way back when.

No. I donated ours to a womans shelter because the kids are just too busy with their lives and doing things to sit in front of the TV for hours letting their brain melt. I was very proud of them because it was their decision to donate it as it just another ornament to dust!

Hmmm … I’m a technophile, so maybe

I also make a lot of money out of using the latest technologies so, yeah, we do

Gosh no.

Sarah x

You are right that those things still happened but in a way much lesser degree and it wasn’t the norm. Abortion wasn’t the norm. Motherhood was desired by most women and looked at as a blessing. Sure there were women that didn’t want that but that was the exception not the norm as today. Disrespect wasn’t the norm, pornography wasn’t a multi billion dollar industry invading peoples homes and every turn of the corner on billboards and shopping mall windows. Divorce was rare because people were committed through thick and thin and there wasn’t no-fault divorce. My grandparents divorced in the 1940’s and it was such a huge deal. As far as respect teens have for people, look at Facebook and all the meme pages. They are loaded with rude, bad mouthed disrespectful, hateful speech. Go to CNN and type in Catholic or Vatican and read the comments people post after a news article. It is shameful the hate expressed. Thousands and thousands of comments.

Times are different. Yes, there has been evil ever since Adam and Eve but the same problems that have been around always are growing in intensity.

But as others and scripture has said God has promised to never leave us, to protect us and guide us and (quote from a movie) with all due respect, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.

 

[OraLabora]

Disrespect wasn’t the norm…

It sure was. It was called racism. It was so much the norm that even governments in the US and elsewhere made it legal and enforced it. It was and is an affront to human dignity.

This was in my lifetime. Mere coincidence I’m sure, but the official institutionalized version started to crumble in the decade before and after Vatican II.

Can there be anything less respectful than hating your fellow man or woman because of the colour of their skin, their language or their ethnic origin?

Human depravity, including sexual depravity, has been around for a very long time:

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,[f] insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.

(Romans 1:24-32)

It’s always been a fallen, faithless, world. The basic lusts and passions are the same, only the means have been refined.

 

[Diana_Catherine]

It sure was. It was called racism. It was so much the norm that even governments in the US and elsewhere made it legal and enforced it. It was and is an affront to human dignity.

This was in my lifetime. Mere coincidence I’m sure, but the official institutionalized version started to crumble in the decade before and after Vatican II.

Can there be anything less respectful than hating your fellow man or woman because of the colour of their skin, their language or their ethnic origin?

Human depravity, including sexual depravity, has been around for a very long time:

(Romans 1:24-32)

It’s always been a fallen, faithless, world. The basic lusts and passions are the same, only the means have been refined.

I agree. I saw those times also. I should have been clearer that I was referring to youth to parents and elders but you’re right about racism. And yes there always has been disrespectful youth but again not always the norm. As I said there has always been bad times and sin but it has certainly increased and probably because of just what you said the means are refined or different or even easier access.

 

[AugustSon]

For those of us with anxiety issues, which, remember is rarely logical, this is troubling to say the least. Because there is rarely any logic to it, my belief that All Shall Be Well, while no less true, still makes life scary in a different way for us. By way of panic attacks. Logically, spiritually, humanly, et al, God will take care of us. I’ve no doubt. But my brain likes to tell me otherwise and it stinks.
I am always praying for the best outcome for us all. All Shall Be Well somehow by His grace and mercy

As a fellow victim to PAD/PTSD, I hear you! I can also tell you that the best thing for my conditions aren’t the Lexapro and Xanax… its my daily Rosary with my wife and the Eucharist!

We got this, kids… Mother Mary keeps us ever in her Son’s eyes. Who could stand against that???

 

[Capuchinfan1337]

Yeah, even through my time being a high school senior it seems that the Church gets a lot of flak but, keep your head up and realize that through prayer and good works you can stem the tide. Besides there’s a saying: The Church blossoms from the blood of the Martyrs.

 

[cheezey]

As a fellow victim to PAD/PTSD, I hear you! I can also tell you that the best thing for my conditions aren’t the Lexapro and Xanax… its my daily Rosary with my wife and the Eucharist!

We got this, kids… Mother Mary keeps us ever in her Son’s eyes. Who could stand against that???

May God Keep you (calm) and bless you and yours…

 

[Margy1948]

Not at all, I am seriously optimistic about the future.

If times are tough, it will give us a greater opportunity to serve and that makes us like ourselves better so it’s all good.

All a person needs to do is take a walk in a garden to realize that this.