December 6th Feast of St. Nicholas
For the families out there who traditionally celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas, you may find yourselves in a quandary in light of the recent request that also falls on Dec. 6th. Four world-renowned exorcists have issued a joint statement urging Christians to participate in a world-wide prayer and fasting in reparation “for the purpose of driving out any diabolic influence within the Church that has been gained as a result of recent events.”  

The recent events being the controversial presentation and procession of the pachamama statue in the Vatican during the recent pan-Amazon synod. The pachamama is a pagan goddess worshiped by indigenous people in the Andes).  Here's an audio of Fr. Rich Simon explaining the pachamama in detail on Drew Mariani's show on Relevant Radio. Tune in at the 28 minute mark after the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

At first glance, the feast and the fast may seem irrelevant. But if we take a closer look, St. Nicholas of Myra whose powerful prayers alone effectively fought off demons and was known to have physical altercation with at least one heretic, cast out demons in his lifetime pretending to be gods & goddesses worshiped by pagans. So it's actually very fitting that we step into St. Nic's shoes and join the battle against idolatry. We can even request his intercessory prayer to boot.

My personal take is this: we are always called to prayer and sacrifice in reparation for all the ways humans insult God and injure our communion with Him. As the body of Christ, we must continually pray for each other and our church leaders for God hears the cry of His people.  Extra prayers can't hurt, might help. Read more or watch a summary here, pray about it, and let me know what you think.

Read an educational & meaningful reflection that offers sound advice on how to observe faithfully on Dec. 6th.  

In His Service,
Cecyll LoBue
SGC President 2019-2020
SGCPresident.98@gmail.com

If gospels were burgers, yesterday's was the *Baconator!  (I would've said "whopper" but that would be dating myself ;-)  

In Luke 21:5-19, Jesus talks about the end times. He warns that there will be earthquakes and of course death, war, famine, and pestilence. But even before the apocalypse, Jesus says that those who believe in Him will be called out and persecuted, that even our family members and people close to us will be among those who persecute us and this persecution may even lead to our death. All of this is powerful and scary. But what strikes my heart is when Jesus says, "This will be a time for you to bear testimony," (Luke 21:13). That's heavy. What does He mean by that?

Fr. Chad explained there will come a time when Jesus will expect us to make a decision and perhaps is closer than we think. And I don't mean **Popeye's vs. Chik-fil-A chicken sandwiches. We are asked to choose:  fight for Christ and die OR deny Christ's teachings to please others? Jesus reassures us that if we remain faithful to Him unto death, "not a hair on your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."

Sisters in Christ, we are living in that time. As Catholics, we are in the minority (especially if your count includes only practicing Catholics). Sad as that is, we aren't Catholic because everybody else is. We choose to practice Catholicism to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ. We're part of a mothers' ministry that vows to raise our children in the faith. So let's not delude ourselves. We are already in this fight. Whether we like it or not, we face the decision today and every day: please God or please man?

So where's fight? In our homes, in the stores, in our children's schools, and maybe even within our church. You've seen how secular society mocks, distorts and wages war against Christianity. For example, you may recall that in 2015 a series of videos went viral because they revealed chief employees of a California Planned Parenthood selling body parts of abortion babies for money. The multibillion-dollar abortion provider sued Daleiden for outing their fetal tissue trafficking trade. 
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“[T]hey will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony.”
Luke 21:12-13
Major Setback for Pro-life
Three days ago, Daleiden and pro-life supporters lost. A California jury found in favor of Planned Parenthood, awarding it $1.35 million in damages on RICO (racketeering) charges, $870,000 in punitive damages and presumably millions of dollars in attorneys’ fees on top of that. The result may not be surprising since the presiding judge has reportedly received campaign funds from Planned Parenthood. But it's far from over. Daleiden's attorneys are already getting ready to appeal this decision. Daleiden's defense team is from the Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit, national public interest law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Learn how you can donate to this pro-life cause.

Thank God There is Hope
We don't have to be lawyers to defend our faith and our freedom to practice it. As a start, we must be aware and remain vigilant. 

• Pray & regularly receive the Sacraments (Eucharist & confession)
• Continue in our education of the Scriptures
• Actively seek ways to better understand the Catechism that is based on Scriptures
• Stay current on news that affects the Catholic life 
• Listen to Catholic media outlets like Relevant Radio and make sure your news sources are in line with the Cathoic world view. Check here to see where you news source lies on the liberal-to-conservative or left-to-right scale. 
• Bear testimony - in other words, Take a Stand when necessary "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict," Jesus says in Luke 21:15

*Baconator - double cheeseburger with 6 strips of bacon Wendy's 
**Please excuse all the fast food references. This newsletter was not sponsored by any fast food chains

In His Service,
Cecyll LoBue
SGC President 2019-2020
SGCPresident.98@gmail.com