The Missing Link–

Redefining How We Approach Politics

People are Flocking to Old Articles

This website, originally established to present a Catholic/conservative perspective to those who might be interested, seems to have recently become popular as an historical/political information resource.
Not my choice, but that of visitors, who are targeting very specific articles.

Visitors are flocking to articles written as long as two years ago, on topics such as the 2011 Madison Capitol Teacher’s protests, the 2012 Presidential election, the old Catholic Church abuse scandals, and articles on the subject of freedom OF religion versus freedom FROM religion. (Most visited articles listed below.)

Traffic continues to visit my website even during my attempted vacation (now), despite the noticeable reduction in new articles posted.

The website is also getting significant negative attention in the form of hacking attempts.  We just survived a sophisticated Denial of Service (DoS) attack launched from computers in Europe.
(DoS attacks are usually reserved for much bigger potatoes than me, and they usually target large corporations and businesses.  They are highly illegal,  carry penalties of 10 years imprisonment, and are strictly forbidden by most nations.)  So somebody seems to be pretty motivated to take this website down.

The Question

So the question becomes– in a world with no shortage of political pundits or religion experts, why are people reading articles written by me, Mrs. small potato, with no political or religious credentials, for information on politics and on religion?  And why are those who disagree with me prepared to risk 10 years imprisonment to take me down?

Common Denominator

The common denominator among the most visited articles seems to be analysis of current political and cultural events from a religious and ethical perspective.

Yes, this blog violates the modern mandate of Separation of Church  and State.

Here, the interconnection between God and the events of this modern world are analyzed and examined in a matter-of-fact and straightforward way.  Our focus includes some common sense and some outside-the-box thinking– not surprising, because God always makes sense and God is always outside the box.

Apparently some readers are hungry for this approach.
Other readers want to shut the approach down.

In fact, the world makes much more sense when you add its Creator into the analysis.
And if including the Creator in political analysis makes sense, it makes even more sense to include the Creator in formulating political strategy.

How To Redefine Conservative Political Strategy after the November 2012 Fiasco?

There is little doubt that in 2013 conservative political strategy needs redefining; the Republican party seems on the verge of splitting, a split which could prove lethal to Republicans in the next election, and a split which did contribute to the Republican defeat in November 2012.

The Republican split is between the Party establishment, which has drifted increasingly over time toward compromise with the left and toward courting the “moderate” vote, and true conservatives, who adhere to conservative Judeo-Christian principles and to conservative fiscal strategy.  True conservatives are pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-balanced budget, and pro-lots of common sense.  The Establishment fears that such “extreme” (i.e., common sense) views may cause the party to lose votes.

Which way to go?  How can we avoid a split?  These are the questions being asked and this is why some seem to be returning to my brand of political analysis, which predicted, before November 2012, the chaos that would result from too much compromise with the left.

The Missing Link in Political Analysis and Strategy

Political strategists who steer local, national and global power games typically vie for support from every possible source.  They court money, fame, popular culture, the support of organizations, churches, business and media, Hollywood, and the favor of groups, of women, of minorities, and of immigrants.

Rarely does it occur to politicians, and even to some religious politicians, to court the support of the Almighty.

Politicians Courting the Almighty

Therein lies the key to political success- courting assistance from the Almighty.  Dubious as some may be about God’s involvement in human history, His involvement is quite apparent to those who remain open-minded.

When history is viewed from a perspective  that does not automatically exclude the existence of God, God’s action in human history becomes obvious.  The hand of God in human events is most obvious in those events which defy the laws of probability, in those events which accomplish far-reaching, perhaps even global results, where human effort seems to play little or small part in accomplishing the result, and in those events where politicians and battles play no significant role.  Nobody anticipates the result, everyone is surprised by the result, the result is truly remarkable, and no fingerprints are left behind.
That is God’s style and His trademark.

Examples of such significant events which have shaped the course of human history, yet were not orchestrated by politicians, armies, or missionaries, include the Christianization (actually Catholicization) of  Europe at the time of Constantine, the dismantling of the Soviet Union without battle at the time of President Regan and Pope John Paul the Great, and most recently, the commencement of the the self-destruction of what has sometimes been called the Imperial Presidency of Barack Obama.  In recent months, in the absence of any action on the part of Barack Obama’s political opponents, scandal upon scandal has broken, and President Obama’s reputation and popularity are collapsing swiftly.

Including God in the Plan

There is, indeed, a God Who watches over us and participates in human activity, usually in very surprising and unexpected ways.  So ignoring God, failing to court His support and ignoring His wishes should constitute a pretty big tactical error for political strategists, if God does exist.  It would also be a pretty big tactical error for the 80% of America that prays not to pray for God’s help in restoring justice to our nation and to our world.

People can be so illogical.
90% of Americans believe in God, and they believe daily what CNN reporters report in the news, yet they forget that by definition the God they believe in would be powerful, good and involved with the world, and that it makes little sense to believe Anderson Cooper’s reports on events in Benghazi, while denying historical reports in a chronicle of God’s interaction with humanity, the Bible.  So the lessons to be learned from biblical stories like the parting of the Red Sea, or David’s slaying of Goliath, are illustrations of God’s power and of the assistance He provides to those who, like Moses, or like David, have faith in God’s promises and act with great confidence on that faith.  The same God, wielding the same power, is available to us today.  If we were to act with the faith of Moses or of David (or of Constantine, Pope John Paul the Great and Ronald Regan), we can expect monumental results that defy all odds.

We might note that God’s mind rarely works the way ours do. In all the cases cited above, Moses, Goliath, the Christianization of Europe, the defeat of the Soviet Union, and the demise of Barack Obama’s reputation, human expectations did not line up at all with the surprises God provided.

So the missing key to dealing with politics includes remembering to put God into the plan, and then having the faith and the patience to watch Him work in His own time.

Planning Without God

In the absence of a God, if we were reliant solely on our own devices, it would become tempting to fight adversaries with their own tools.  It would become tempting to sling mud back at our opponents, to court voters with promises of lollipops, to court moderate votes with continual compromise of our moral standards, and even to consider introducing a few lying and cheating Alinsky tactics of our own, when dealing with modern “progressive” opponents such as the Obama administration.  How else can we win against the tactics presently being used against us?

Quite a few modern conservatives have fallen into this temptation, and have started compromising with the opposition.  They fall for the fallacious argument that says compromising values will attract moderate voters.  They fall for the fallacious argument that hand-outs will buy votes.  They begin to walk away from their values, they compromise more-and-more, and they foolishly shift never-endingly toward the left.

The nomination of Mitt Romney was an example of such compromise, in which the Republican party split became very apparent, and in which frightened old school Republicans even violated their own convention rules.  They forced through the nomination of Mitt Romney, instead of playing by the rules, instead of negotiating their way through a brokered convention, and instead of considering more than one nominee at the Republican Convention.  They failed to realize that some greats like Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Regan were chosen under similar conditions, and that these conservative but previously unknown candidates had principles that were better able to defeat the incumbent Democrat President.

What does including God in politics look like?

When you remember to include God in the plan, you follow His rules, even in the face of overwhelming opposition and of Alinsky tactics, you pray, and you wait.
It takes a lot of faith, but it works.
God always comes through.

Your opposition would LOVE you to divorce politics from principled faith.
Divorcing politics from faith would have paralyzed Moses, David, Constantine, John Paul the Great, Regan, and now in 2013, divorcing politics from faith will paralyze us if we go in that direction.
Why do  you think Lenin worked hard to exterminate religion and why do you think Obama is working so hard to paralyze the Catholic Church through the HHS Mandate?

Because that is how they paralyze their opposition.

Dumping Judeo-Christian Values (or Adopting Alinsky Tactics) Will Boomerang on You

When we succumb to the threats progressives make and we fall for their demands to violate God’s law, we compromise our values.  To fight the devil with his own tools doesn’t work anyway, it boomerangs on us.

In nominating Mitt Romney, conservative and pro-life values were compromised, and Republican Convention rules were broken.  Mitt Romney may be a very nice man.  But he was not elected democratically at the Republican convention, and he does not personify the values of conservative America. Mitt Romney was a compromise with the left, a compromise some claimed was very similar to Barack Obama.   The result was the alienation of true conservatives, and the alienation of numerous Tea Party activists.  This alienation among conservatives was so pronounced that 3 million REGISTERED REPUBLICANS did not go to the polls in November of 2012.

Three million registered Republicans stayed home rather than vote for Mitt Romney, the man who refused to sign the Susan B. Anthony pro-life pledge, who had supported abortion and embryonic stem cell research in the past, and who now supports gay boy scout leaders and gay adoption.  The man who created the blueprint for ObamaCare. The man whose nomination was pushed through by brute force at the Republican convention by the Party Establishment, against the wishes of numerous true conservatives. The man who did not represent the wishes of the people, and so 3 million people did not go to the polls in protest.

Three million votes added to the November 2012 totals would have won the election for Republicans.  If the REGISTERED Republican voters whom the Republican establishment aliented with it’s shenanigans had gone to the polls on November 6, 2012, Barack Obama would no longer be President!

Selling out our values sure does boomerang on us.

What About Those of Us Who Prayed, Who Worked, Who Participated in Freedom of Religion rallies?

The prayers, the work, the Freedom of Religion rallies of 2011 and 2012 in which many true conservatives participated were not wasted.  Americans have been wakng up in recent years both politically and religiously, and are fighting back against the Imperial Obama administration.
God did not ignore those prayers or those efforts.

Mitt Romney would not have been the answer to those prayers.
A true conservative would have been the answer to those prayers, but the Republican establishment made sure, compromising even the rules of the Republican Convention,  that a true conservative was not nominated.

If the Republican Party establishment was prepared to sell out our values and to (undemocratically) ram through  their favored “presumptive nominee,”  we might actually be better off with 4 more years of Barack Obama, rather than with an unknown, opportunistic Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney would have, at best, treaded water for us.  Conservative policy was not likely to be implemented any time soon.

But, four more years of Obama Administration offers the potential for Americans to experience  firsthand the results of the disastrous Obama policy.

Pain and economic hardship can have a sobering effect on people, forcing them to realize that liberalism is a luxury they can no longer afford.  The poor, by definition, cannot be liberal with money and must conserve.  Goodby liberalism, hello conservatism!  God’s balance beam at work!

This principle holds true not only for economic liberalism, but for moral liberalism and for all forms of liberalism.  Society, like individuals, makes mistakes, learns from them, and frequently make corrections, when truth becomes obvious.

Back to the Most Popular Articles

The articles to which my readers have been flocking include those analyzing the Alinsky tactics in use by teacher’s unions in Madison, by progressives in the Democrat party, and by the Obama administration.  They include comparisons between Alinsky tactics and the Ten Commandments.  They include quoting Alinsky’s  dedication of his book to Lucifer, or to Satan.  They also include warnings to Republicans on surrendering moral ground in the face of Alinsky tactics.  They include pointing out that a conservative candidate, contrary to some opinions, would have made a much stronger candidate in the 2012 Presidential election.  They include reminders that America is not a Godless country, that the Constitution is not a Godless constitution, and that it is worth our while to stick to Judeo-Christian morality and to the Constitution of the United States, despite the fear of many that elections can only be won by continual compromise and by erosion of moral ground.

What Insurmountable Problems Do We Face Today?

How, in a nation that appears to be divided 50/50 on moral, cultural and political issues,  do you defeat a Santa Claus administration which is handing out lollipops and favors in exchange for votes, while demonizing hard working Americans with Alinsky tactic lies and with smear tactics?

Does the solution lie in joining the Santa Claus band wagon, and compromising moral absolutes such as abortion, in order to win over a percentage of the “moderate votes,” in an attempt to tip the balance in our favor?

The Solution

Or does the solution lie in bold moral leadership inspired by devotion to God, such as that provided by Presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Regan, who took strong moral stances and inspired voters to support good men and to follow their lead?

When we give up speaking of God, we fail to use our most powerful resource.

Modern political correctness insists that we deny the truth, that we pretend the Emperor (e.g. Obama) is wearing clothes, and that we admire his fabulous non-existent clothes.
When, in actual fact, he is quite naked. The Emperor has no clothes.

Church and State – The Intimate Connection

It is presumed by most, particularly in the United States, that our laws are based on morality. And that law is based on what is right and not wrong, and on what is just and not unjust.

It is a given fact that morality is reasoned out and embodied in religious belief that there is a God, and that He has set down some inviolable laws that even governments cannot violate.
History shows that without limits, in the absence of a higher authority, governments, like individuals, tend toward becoming tyrannical.

It is therefore logical, particularly in a nation that is religious (as is the United States), that at least on some level, there must be a connection between Church and State.  And that government is accountable to God, the maker of the universe.

Christian Principles Fundamental in the Constitution of the United States

The Declaration of Independence of 1776 referred to US citizens being “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” and the Founders of this nation included Christian principles in the Constitution.  Even the First Amendment, which forbade any law establishing an official national religion, also forbade prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

The religious intent of the First Amendment was further clarified by a 1799 court ruling, which indicated that the Founders intended the US to follow Christian principles, without allowing one religious group to control government:

Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people.  By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed on the same equal footing. 1799 – Runkel vs. Winemiller

To this day, the vast majority of the population of the United States (80%) are still Christian.  These Christians vote, and these Christians contribute towards shaping the law.

Further history describing the role of religion in US government and on the origin of “Separation of Church and State” can be found at   Separation of Church and State, NOT SEPARATION OF GOD FROM STATE, by Fr. Bill McCarthy, MSA.

Keeping Your Beliefs Under Your Hat

In the present culture, we are told to keep our religion under our hats, and not to discuss it publicly.
This has been hammered into us so effectively, that most conservatives are intimidated into silence regarding their beliefs.  The likes of the Freedom From Religion Foundation ardently and publicly attack anyone who dares to demonstrate their belief in God visibly.

Just recently, my husband and I had dinner at a great Madison Middle Eastern Restaurant.  Seated at a table not far from us was a group of academics, a professor and graduate student hosting an invited speaker who had obviously just given a lecture at UW Madison on LGBT issues.  Their conversation was focused on LGBT issues, was loud and lively, and tended to dominate the small room we were in.  It was not an exceptional situation in Madison.

My thoughts drifted to the fact that my husband and I were NOT discussing our very conservative views, were NOT discussing them at high volume, and were NOT dominating the room.  I started wondering what would happen to us in Madison, WI, or in most American towns, if we did start doing that.  I realized that many of us have been shushed into silence.

Selective Silence Enables Minority Rule

The silence on morality and on religious beliefs demanded by modern political correctness is not an equitable mandate to which all are subject.  Liberals and progressives remain free push their values publicly and brazenly, and they clamor violation of rights when anyone tries to prevent them from doing so.

Yet conservatives have no such parallel rights, either to speech or to action. When conservatives follow legally prescribed channels and vote their values into law, progressive judges (not elected, but appointed) are found to cancel the democratic majority’s moral resolution.

One prime example of this the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), voted into law in 1996, yet now challenged by progressives, who hope to use the Supreme Court of the United States to get their way when majority rule does not help them. A Supreme Court, incidentally, to which two progressive radicals have recently been appointed, by progressive President Obama, who does not stand with the American public on most major issues, including gay marriage, federal funding of abortion, and privacy and transparency issues. Recently, the Supreme Court struck down certain aspects of DOMA, ruling that now the federal government has to accept the redefinition of marriage when the states redefine marriage.

Separation of Church and State – Very Important to Define Separation

Separation of Church and State.
Yes, Church and State must be separate in government.
If I had the power to enforce my religious belief system on the United States, I would not do so.
No government can force any one religion, and citizens must be free to choose their beliefs (or non-beliefs).

But that is where the separation ends.
The individual must exercise their religious beliefs, their God-inspired knowledge of what is right and wrong, in the voting booth and in their public stance on issues.
How can any Christian shelve the morality of murder, of theft, or of any moral issue when delegating power to those who govern us?
Those who advocate any such notion are short-sighted; do they have no idea that our independence as a nation and our government  are based on certain inalienable rights?
That even the Imperial Obama administration cannot violate our rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness?

Future Directions

The answers are pretty simple, and are available to anyone.

I view all of life, including American politics, from a educated religious perspective, and thus I refuse to separate Church and State.
Any shreds of wisdom that may find their way into my material are not my own.
I Quote from the Liturgy of the Hours, a set of daily prayers based on Holy Scripture and available to all:

If the Lord had not been on our side….
Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.
……………………………………...-Psalm 123 (124)

It’s very simple: stick strictly to God’s law, pray, and wait.
So cool to watch as it works!

Related Post: What Happens When You Take Character Out of Politics

Appendix

Articles generating most interest include:

• Herman Cain: Guilty or Not Guilty and Why Does It Matter? – False Accusations Should Be Punishable by Law – in which I suggest in December 2011 that the Herman Cain Scandal could be an example of Obama administration’s use of Alinsky tactics against his opponents.
• Circus Madison Goes On, which summarizes political events in Madison, WI in 2011, during and following the Union Protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. (Aug 2011)
• The Presumptive Nominee, or the Secret Insurrection, an analysis (before Romney’s nomination) of why Romney might not be the most likely candidate to win. (Aug 2012)
• Update on Catholic Child Abuse Scandals, in which evidence restoring the moral authority of the Catholic Church is duscussed. (April 2013)
• Freedom From Religion Contracting Leprosy and Dissolving, in which evidence questioning the moral authority of the Freedom From Religion Foundation is discussed. (March 2013)
• A Tale of Two Presidents- The Drama Continues, in which the conflict between Obama and Cardinal Dolan (Obama’s challenge of religious freedom) is presented. (Feb 2012)
• Clashes Between Liberals and Conservatives, in which the morality of political tactics in analyzed with reference to the Ten Commandments. (April 2011)
• Reaching Out to God and Explaining Adoration, in which the effectiveness of prayer in modern life is discussed. (Oct 2012)
• The Wicked Said Among Themselves, in which the relevance of a Liturgy of the Hours reading from the Book of Wisdom to modern life is evaluated. (March 2013)
• The Contrast, in which Pro-Lifers and Pro-Choicers (in this case, Freedom From Religion Pro-Choicers) are compared. (June 2012)
• Today’s Catholic Nuns- The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, in which the accuracy of the media in portraying the Catholic Church (in this case, primarily Catholic Nuns) is analyzed. (March 2013)

Reaching Out to God

or

Explaining Adoration

Now, in the midst of this Frankenstorm hammering our nation, and on the eve of the most important election of our lifetime next week, is a good time for discussing reaching out to God, our Creator and our Father.

Americans and Prayer

Most Americans believe in God and pray regularly (82%) .
82% of Americans say that God answers their prayers.
But how many realize the extent of the power they hold in their hands?
And how many realize that there are some particularly powerful ways to pray?

We can get quite invested in the best, most effective ways to provide disaster relief for hurricanes, or campaign help for our favorite candidates, as well as getting pretty invested in the details of our personal wealth management, yet we often forget to investigate what is available to us in the realm of tapping into the power of God.  And if Hurricane Sandy is anything to go by, that power is more than anything we ourselves could ever hope to muster by human effort.

Some abandon the idea of prayer, claiming that their prayers have not been answered in the past. The fact that God has not always given you what you want does not mean that He is not there, or that you cannot tap into His power if you approach Him the right way.  Presumably your parents did not always give you what you wanted, particularly if you did not approach them in the right way, and you have not concluded that your parents do not exist.

How Does One Approach God?

Children learn early to get what they want by approaching those who have power over their lives with any number of techniques; demanding, cajoling, begging, charming, repeating, persuading, throwing tantrums, hugging and kissing, and innumerable other ways.  Now I’m not suggesting that we treat God in a calculating way or that we try to outsmart Him, but we really should acknowledge that some approaches might be more or less endearing, as we approach God for the things we want.

A humble and loving plea might be more effective than an angry demand.  An understanding that we don’t always get what we want is also essential.  Asking nicely, the way we were taught (“Our Father, Who art in heaven”… and “Do this in memory of Me”) is another important element.  Finally, the extent to which we have been behaving or mis-behaving might influence the outcome of our request.  Acting like we know better than God knows and setting the conditions, are about as likely to work on God, as they are to work on parents.

The point here is to realize that tapping into the power of God should include love, cooperation and effort; at least as much love, cooperation and effort as we expend on our sweetheart/parents/siblings, friends, favorite Rock star, Hollywood figure or politician, when we approach them.
Good luck getting something from your family if you have been violating their ethics, neglecting them, and perhaps even kicking them around for years.

How Catholics Bring Out the Big Guns When It Comes to Prayer

This is why Catholics revere the tradition that has been handed down to us, and do not shy away from giving God the time, effort and “bling” that we give to humans whom we respect or love; to our sweethearts, to our presidents and to our monarchs.

For centuries, Catholics have especially valued, and have documented the success and the power of two types of prayer; the Rosary, and Adoration.

But few non-Catholics, and even few Catholics, have much in-depth understanding of these prayers.  And lack of understanding leads to lack of utilization.  Sometimes, total miscomprehension even leads to ridicule of these prayers.  Check the Wisconsin State Journal discussion forums for a good dose of ridicule of Catholic tradition whenever Catholicism comes up.

Adoration

Today, I went to Adoration.  That’s what I do for an hour every week.  That’s what over 300 Madison Catholics do every week.  In fact, Madison’s Cathedral Parish has Perpetual Adoration, which goes on 24/7, with people taking shifts, so that prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in Madison is continual and uninterrupted, day and night.  This has now been going on for over 6 years, since Feb 12, 2006.

Why on earth do Catholics do Adoration, and what does it accomplish?

Some Fundamental Facts

If you acknowledge that God exists, by definition He is more powerful than anything we can imagine, including Hurricane Sandy and Barack Obama.
He can do anything He wants, including slowing down a hurricane before it hits land.

If you acknowledge that Christ was the Son of God, Christ demonstrates clearly two things:
God loves us.
God interacts with us.
He just might have wanted to leave us something of Himself, with which humanity can interact for millennia.

Last Supper from Holy Redeemer Church altar,
Madison, WI

If you acknowledge the Bible, then Christ chose to leave us a great deal more than just a holy book compiled 300 years after Christ’s presence on earth.  He left us His Real Presence in Holy Communion.
This is spelled out in no uncertain terms in John 6:50-71, where Christ says:

“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

When Jesus’ followers balked at this literal description of the Eucharist, Jesus persisted, to the point where many of His disciples abandoned following Him.  Yet Jesus did not call them back or retract what He had said. There was no question of His intent regarding the presence of His Body and His Blood in Communion.  This teaching was so important that Christ did not change it to keep disciples from leaving.

Why Would God Choose to Stay On As Communion?

Without a long theological discussion, is not God who rules the universe (and Hurricane Sandy) capable of changing anything He wants into anything He wants?
Who are we to question His choice to leave us His Real Presence in the form of Communion, His Body and Blood, the Bread of Life?
Would we prefer He left us nothing at all?

Or just a Holy Bible compiled 300 years after His Ascension?
Would we prefer there was no Ascension and He stayed on forever, attending White House dinners and organizing peace talks (and getting crucified over and over again)?
Would we prefer He left us little replicas of Himself, like little live Barbie dolls?
Would these have been any easier to believe?
Those who don’t want to follow Christ’s teachings will disbelieve anything Christ might have arranged for us.

But being realistic, it was not our choice. It was God’s.
My suggestions are obviously silly.
And, if you analyze other possibilities, God’s was the wisest one.
Leave them your Real Presence, which the poorest of the poor can access and which can be replenished throughout history.
Ingredients: bread and wine.
Consecration: by a priest, ordained in unbroken succession from the Apostles themselves.

So What Do We Do With the Real Presence of God?

Well, aside from all the usual things that Catholics do with the Real Presence of God, like attending the miracle transubstantiation every Sunday at Mass, and “eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking his blood” as we were commanded in John 6, we also treat the Real Body and Blood of Christ like the real person Christ which it is.

We preserve it in fancy tabernacles in our Churches, where people can go pray when they feel the need to be closer to God.
We take it to feed to the sick and dying, who cannot come to Mass to receive Communion.
We also place it in beautiful blingy golden vessel called a monstrance, for adoration and for prayer.  Seeing the Body of Christ while you pray to Him is better than doing it remotely from some alternate location.  This is called Adoration.

The effort it takes to go sit with Christ for an hour in person gives us an opportunity to demonstrate a personal love and care for Christ, in response to His plea during His Passion,

What, could ye not watch with me one hour? – Matthew 26:40,

when Christ found his disciples sleeping during the Agony in the Garden.
Sitting with Christ one hour is the least we can do in thanksgiving for what Christ did for us.
We have the opportunity to watch with Christ at His Passion.  Christ is outside of time.

Adoration

So Adoration is an opportunity to face Christ face-to-face.
To visit Him.
To adore Him.
To spend time quietly with God.
To make special requests from Him.
To thank Him.
To say anything you want to say to Him.
To simply sit silently in the Presence of God.

To treat God more personally and with more love than just abrupt telepathic thought bytes sent mentally from some harried location.
Adoration is the opportunity to visit Christ in person, the way you would visit anyone whom you love and whom you miss.

What Do We Get From Adoration?

.

.

Well, we should not get in the habit of viewing God only as what we can get from Him; as we hopefully don’t do to sweethearts, parents, and siblings.
But we do actually get lots of benefits from Adoration.
As a Diocese, Seminarians are one of the biggest benefits we get from Adoration.  The Dioceses of Madison has gone from having about 4 seminarians, to having over 30 seminarians, during the time that Perpetual Adoration has been going on in Madison.  It is well known among Catholics that wherever Perpetual Adoration is found, Catholicism flourishes and priestly vocations abound.  Very true at Madison’s Cathedral Parish, which has no shortage of members, children, seminarians, or budget.  The parish is thriving and is unbelievably blessed.

The benefits coming from Adoration are not just parish-wide or Diocese-wide.  Personal requests and pleas to God can also be brought to Adoration, with the confidence that God will provide a solution.

The solution is not always magical, although it can be.  At very least, God provides understanding, patience and peace of mind to all who bring their troubles to Adoration.
In six years, I have never been disappointed when bringing a problem to Adoration.  I leave with peace of mind, and often in less than a day, a solution to my problem presents itself.

Needless to say, I’ve been bringing the Nov 6^th election to God in recent weeks when I go to Adoration.  I’m not the only one; I even know of some Madison Catholics who, instead of watching the Presidential debates on TV, sat in prayer at Adoration during the debates.  Today, I brought Hurricane Sandy and it’s victims to prayer at Adoration.

So that brings us back to the first point: Reaching Out to God.
This week all Americans should join the prayer effort, putting more time, more thought and more sincerity into our prayers this week.  Adoration is a great way to do this.

Who Can Go to Adoration?

Anybody can go to Adoration.  You don’t have to be Catholic.  All are welcome, as long as they maintain a respectful and quiet demeanor.  You can run in for a couple minutes, or you can stay for an hour.  You can go to Madison’s Perpetual Adoration chapel, (info on the Cathedral Parish website), or you can go into any Catholic Church and kneel or sit in front of the closed tabernacle.  The Tabernacle always contains the Eucharist, and the Presence of Christ is indicated by a small lamp near the Tabernacle.  Anybody can go there to pray.

Tabernacle at Holy Redeemer Church,
Madison, Wi

Remember to Use the Ultimate Weapon, Prayer, this Week.
Particularly Adoration.
It’s Crucial.