A HERO in our midst...

Many years ago, I was a prolific blood donor.  I did it for several reasons: 1. to help others survive, and, 2. for vanity's sake.  Yes, I admit it.  I wanted to get to a certain number of donations: 10 gallons.  And I did!  (See, another vainglory admission.)   But I would like to think all that "effort" was for the first reason, as my first donation was in 1966 while in the Air Force Police.

As the short story goes, one of the children of a brother was in St. Jude's Children's research hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  He had undergone surgery in an attempt to stem the spread of his cancer.  The hospital needed to replace quite a bit of blood that was used for the child, so a bunch of us cops volunteered to be driven down to Memphis -- after a long midnight shift -- still in our combat defense fatigues (without weapons, of course), to do what we could to replenish the used-up, precious blood supply.  I'm sure some of us dozed-off on the long, 70-mile-ride from our base in the northeast corner of Arkansas; a "small" Strategic Air Command (SAC) base a stone's throw from the Missouri border.

I remember that we were treated to a fried chicken dinner in the dinning area; one of the best I ever had!

To be honest, I don't remember the outcome for the little fellow, but I hope that our donation at least helped the hospital somewhat...

Blood donors were advertised as "quiet heroes" back in those days,  I'm pretty sure they still are, and they should be...

But I'm not writing this little story for more of that vainglory, and, no, I'm not the "HERO in our midst".  I'm writing this little anecdote to point out a real hero, a lady friend of ours, who has been diagnosed with stage three cancer in various areas of her body.  This special woman is a devoted and faithful Catholic, wanting nothing more than to live and to be with her family for years to come.  She is, however, resigned to God's will, not hers.  But she also wants to give witness to some of her family members that have fallen-away from their precious faith.

She is hoping that her family members will rally round her, and come to see just how important it is to "keep the faith," and win that special crown promised after a relatively short race on this earth (paraphrasing the apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul).

This lady and my dear wife are very close, I am too, but it seems that women can have a special bond that we men can't fully understand.  I guess that's the way the good Lord made us; a little different here and there!

In conclusion, I would ask all those who may know who I'm talking about, and those "strangers" to pray for, not only this fine lady, but also for some of her immediate and extended family that they might recognize the importance of being earnest in the faith, and without that faith, we (they) will lose the race; that immortal crown...

The great St. Paul, pray for her (and us)…

And pray for our country..

Gene DeLalla

 

The make-believe "Catholic" Church continues to implode and self-destruct.

Some truths are self-evident; meaning, they cannot be denied or challenged because the data are staring you right in the face.

Such is the case with the make-believe "Catholic" Church: the new "Catholic" Church of the current reigning pope.

I never thought that I would see the day of the unravelling of my dear Catholic Church.  But I must take heart and not fall into the trap of thinking that what we see coming out of Rome, out of the Vatican, is, indeed, the unshakeable, indivisible, divinely founded real Catholic Church of Jesus Christ.

It isn't.

What has happened is occurring because of the turning away of a properly formed intellect and a soul full of divine, supernatural faith.  Without that element plugged into the equation, something will be lacking.  Sure, the men at the top, and even the "lowly" parish priest may wear the Roman collar, but a rotten tree can only produce rotten fruit.  And that tree will eventually die, or be cut down and thrown into the fire, leaving nothing behind for posterity except for its own ashes to be scattered about by the whim of the breeze blowing helter-skelter...

But the question begs: why all this disorientation; confusion?

The answers are becoming more plain with each passing day: an unnatural -- homosexual -- lust, which leads to a perversion of moral values; the turning of the Church into a cause celeb for social issues, e.g.: extreme environmentalism, and the tossing the of its primary mission: the salvation of souls.

When was the last time you heard this pope -- or your local parish priest, for that matter -- preach on the dangers of sin, and the road that leads to hell?

When was the last time you heard your parish priest condemn contraception and abortion?

When was the last time you heard your parish priest tell you that if you committed or participated in any mortal sin, you must go to Confession before you receive Holy Communion?

Can we can then presume that we are "okay" where we are; don't worry, you're fine; you're not going to hell; everyone goes to heaven anyway; just accept Christ as your personal savior; baptize your baby?  No need, let your child choose for himself what to believe, etc., etc., ad nauseam...

But those Catholics who hold the true faith know the truth and the answers to the questions I rhetorically asked...

Nearly 1,600 years ago, there was the Arian heresy.  So widespread was it, that about 85 percent of all the bishops in the world, not to mention the local priests as well, fell into that horrendous error.  There was a heroic, faithful bishop by the name of Athanasius who defied that monstrous heresy, and became known as "Athanasius against the world."  He was excommunicated numerous times by the Arian bishops (that meant nothing), but only he has the august handle of "Saint" in front of his name.  What we see happening today is worse, much worse, in my opinion.

"They" might have the buildings, but we have the Faith.

What we must do: remain faithful to (sacred) tradition (not the tradition of men); seek out faithful priests who perform the Traditional Latin Mass -- stay away, at all costs, from the new order "mass."  Pray the Rosary; be able to discern what is binding on our consciences as opposed to the opinion of the hierarchy; and pray, yes pray for a miracle that the current pope may do God's will, not his own will, or the will of the demon.

And pray for our country.

Gene DeLalla

Scene from my book: Oscar Six hit with B-40 rockets!

There was a sudden blast: flame and shrapnel, wood and sand from the three-foot walls of Oscar Six... Gregg was hit... I was knocked down.  I knew I had wood splinters sticking in my left hand... shrapnel had penetrated the upper right part of my helmet.  I felt something warm flowing down between my right eye and ear, but I had no time to stop firing...

...I could now give Gregg some medical attention.  ...the bandage... was already partially soaked with blood -- my blood... Gregg was moaning in pain..."For the love of God, help me"!  With the small GI flashlight I saw Gregg's right arm was dangling, held in place by his uniform only!  There was blood all over the floor of the tower... rounds continued to pepper...the front wall of the big tower.

Some VC were right under the tower...firing up through the wooden floor...I hastily pushed Gregg into a corner of the tower and fell back, trying to cover my face and head with my arms, fearing a round would soon hit my buttocks, legs or worse...

The VC were obliterated by [machine-gun] Bunker 24...

I grabbed the radio: "Oscar Six, Gregg is down; need the corpsman now!"

...Oscar Six was out of commission. We were weakened and bloody; we were nearly out of ammunition.

After what seemed like another eternity, Chuck and a corpsman reached Oscar Six...

When Chuck and the corpsman pushed open the heavy wooden door to the tower cubicle, they came upon a scene worse than any Friday night, inner-city emergency room.  It was tough just to keep from slipping on the floor, now covered with spent shells and blood from Gregg -- and me.

An urgent call... to the commander of the 173rd Airborne for MASH-type triage units... entered Tuy Hoa air base at the south entrance near Oscar Three... they arrived and relieved me of my task of applying direct pressure to Gregg's nearly severed arm.  I fell back in the corner of the bullet-riddled tower... but soon realized that I too had lost a fair amount of blood...

Gregg was still somewhat conscious and heard Chuck's voice.  As if by instinct, Gregg reached out and grabbed Chuck's hand...

I wanted to see Gregg return home in twenty-seven days... ...the triage personnel and the corpsman struggled to get Gregg down the bullet-holed and tattered ladder... I now felt more at ease knowing that Gregg was now out of this man-made hell.

As I began to think somewhat more clearly, I could hear the distinct sound of a powerful propeller-driven aircraft... circling about two-thousand feet above Oscar Six.  ...It was Puff, the gunship, waiting for orders from commanders on the ground.

Its three, six-thousand-rounds-per-minute Gatling guns... could fill every square foot of ground with a 7.62 full metal jacket, armor-piercing round... bringing death to anything in its path.

End of scene.  Order my book from Amazon: The Battle for Oscar Six.

Gene DeLalla

The First and Second Amendments (of the Bill of Rights); know them!

The First and Second Amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights), know them, exercise them, or lose them.

The upcoming midterm elections will determine just who has the majority of the U.S. House and Senate.  There really is no alternative here, but to vote for the Republicrats and keep the hard-left liberals from gaining control of the Congress (for those who are not aware, "the Congress" refers to both houses, not  just the House of Representatives).

The importance of maintaining the First and Second Amendments cannot be over emphasized; without these two, pivotal foundation building blocks of the Bill of Rights, all the other amendments will crumble and become worthless simply because you will have to keep your mouth shut, as well as fear that you won't be able to defend yourself or your family.  That prospect is unacceptable and downright scary.  In authoritarian, Communist China, you do as you are told; this is the result of a disarmed population.  But this is America, not England, or France, or any of those other countries where it is almost impossible to speak your peace or own a firearm.  I guarantee that is one of the reasons we see so much lunacy in the "news" in those nations regarding the almost non-existent freedom of speech, and rampant lawlessness, especially attacks on women by the so-called "migrants" running roughshod through formally peaceful neighborhoods.  In fact, it is almost impossible for females to walk alone at night for fear of being sexually assaulted.

The politically correct "law enforcement" officers are afraid of their own shadows, and, in many cases, actually blame the victims for being assaulted because of not adhering to Islamic laws regarding dress or language.  In addition, the animals that perpetrate these horrendous acts of assault many times escape prosecution altogether.

I ask: what woman would want to live their daily lives in such fear and intimidation?

But if "law enforcement" can't, or won't do their job, then it is up to the populace to defend themselves, but if it is almost impossible to own a firearm, then what?

In the U.S., just take a look at Chicago: the murder capital of the country, even though they have the most strict gun control laws on the books of any city, including New York!   I guarantee, that if the law abiding citizen were able to own and carry a concealed pistol or revolver, the bad guys would think twice about entering a neighborhood to do their dirty work.

Getting back to the First Amendment... at least here -- for now -- you can say what you want, when you want, where you want.  Of course there are reasonable, common sense restrictions: such as not being able to yell "fire" in a movie theater, unless, of course, there is a fire!  You can still preach on a street corner, or peacefully assemble with your friends to discuss whatever you want, not, however, as the anarchists "antifa" crowds who cover their faces and assault those who disagree with their methods and destroy property, and want to turn America upside-down, to remake our country into their own chaotic image.

Another important aspect of the First Amendment, is that you and I have the freedom of religion: to worship God through our faith, not only in private, but also in public.  And don't let anyone tell you different.  The so-called "separation of church and state" does not now, nor has it ever existed.  A simple reading of the Amendment will clearly show that.  Doubt me?  Then read it.  And that is a prime example of how you can speak out against those who claim there is "separation of church and state," and do it in public!

I think you can also see how the Second Amendment is tied to the First: if you can't defend yourself, then how can you expect to be able to say what you want to say?  Will you be able to live without fear or intimidation, if you're not able to own or carry a firearm?

We cannot depend on law enforcement to prevent a crime against us or our family; that's not their job; their job is to respond to a crime in progress or after it has been committed, but by then, it might be too late.

It is not an exaggeration to say that if the populace is disarmed, then we are vulnerable to become another China, England, France or any other nation that has sunk, or is sinking into becoming a third-world hell-hole, where your freedom of speech will become a distant memory, and your right to bear arms will die on the vine right before your eyes.

Pray for our country...

Gene DeLalla

Voting in the midterms...

November 6, 2018, is just around the corner.

We must all exercise our franchise and vote in this crucial midterm election cycle.

I for one, will have to hold my nose and vote Republicrat.  The alternative is that the Demonrats will gain the House and Senate.  This cannot happen!

I am fully convinced, from what we have seen, that the hard-left liberals are a violent group intent on turning our once-sovereign country into a completely open society, with diabolical socialism steering the ship of state directly into the fiery pit of hell itself.

Just listen to the opposition, in the form of Pelosi, Waters, and their ilk, and decipher for yourselves that the intellects of these females are under the possession of the demon.  Violence and threats of violence are unheard of since the late 60's, Chicago style.  But now, we have folks just going about their business or pleasure, e.g., taking your wife or family to a restaurant and being harassed or having your life and limb threatened.

If the police and mayors of cities and towns are unable, or more importantly, unwilling to discipline these animals, then what we have seen in the streets is nothing compared to what will happen if the Demonrats gain the majority in the House and Senate. 

This form of anarchy and tyranny must come to a quick end, if not, I see "our side" taking matters into our own hands and defending ourselves if law enforcement won't do their job and arrest these monsters.  Remember, we all have the right to self-defense, under the Natural Law, and to defend other innocents from violence, violence being preached from the housetops by Demonrat politicians and unhinged, un-civil leftists.

Make no mistake, the forces of the evil one are on the rampage, intent on wiping out the last vestige of the rule of law and civility in our great nation.

Again, vote Republicrat, if not, we will all suffer the consequences...

Pray for discernment, and pray for our country.

Gene DeLalla.

Mary, just another ordinary woman??

Do you believe in God?

Do you believe in a God that created the Earth, the Moon, the stars, the universe, the distant galaxies?
The seas, the mountains, the trees, the animals, our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins; an almost endless list of creations?

Was all this by chance?  By the "big bang"?  By "natural selection"?

Look up at the night sky; what do you see?  The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the various constellations that fill the heavens, that guided the ancient mariners safely across the seas to explore new worlds; again, was all this by happenstance?   Or, was (or, is) there an intelligence behind what we see and know who designed all that surrounds us?

Ever see a baby born?  That, in itself, is a miracle.

These awe inspiring things; these sometimes incomprehensible things, force me to believe in an almighty God, not to mention that my faith tells me so.

So, my question is this: if you believe in God, the Creator of the universe, did He (the Father) send His Son (Christ) to earth to redeem His creation -- MANKIND -- so that men and women may again return to Him, safely, and be with Him for all eternity?

And if you do believe that, then another amazing, awe inspiring event took place: one of His creations -- a woman -- named Mary, was conceived by the Holy Ghost (in the Incarnation) and brought forth Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Another question begs: is Christ also God?  I just answered that question, but do you believe that fact?

If so, then who is this Mary?  Just another woman?  Just a vessel that God "used" to have His Son come into the world?  Did God actually "use" one of His created creatures so He could come to earth and live like other people that He made?

Does a scientist, who creates something, but then becomes that "thing," make any sense?  Would a king want, or desire to become as one of his servants?  Would the founder of Microsoft want, or desire to work in one of his factories on the assembly line?  Wouldn't all these elites want to remain aloof; privileged, and not become as one of their creations?

Makes sense to me...

But here is the rub: the Creator of us all came to us because He loves us, and wanted us to be able to come to Him when our life is through on earth.  He lowered Himself to become one of us!  Not an elitist, but a lover of His own humanity.  He was (is) like us in all things, yet God -- our Creator!!

Very difficult to comprehend.  I don't claim to fully understand it either.  That's why it's called faith...

Back to Mary...

Mary, this woman, His created creature, must be someone special.  (To some, that's an understatement!)

I present this scenario: Would God, the creator of the universe, come to Earth through a woman that was corrupt, as we were born corrupt, until we were baptized?

It wouldn't make any sense...

Mary, then, had to be pure; with no corruption in her body or soul.  A perfect creation for the perfect Baby developing in her womb.  The blood coursing through her veins, coursed through the veins of Christ too.  He took on her DNA!   For nine months He grew in her; then became her Son and our Brother, our Savior!

During the annunciation, the angel announced to Mary: Hail!  Full of grace!

And when she visited her cousin, there was an amazing exclamation from Elizabeth:  “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”  And: “Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me.”

Mary was, indeed, special.

Let me ask another question: is it only right and just for us to love our mothers?  The answer is self-evident...

It only makes sense, that if we claim to love Christ, we should also love His Mother.  It also makes sense that if she was so full of grace on earth, and certainly enjoys the beatific vision, now, forever, adoring and praising her Son, that she would be someone we could ask to be our intercessor for help of any kind.  This does not take away anything owed to God, on the contrary, it gives more glory to God!

An earthly example should help to clarify what I just wrote in the above sentence: if a general wins a battle against his enemy, and some of his subordinates excel in heroics on the battlefield, and are awarded medals for bravery, etc., does the attention and medals take away from the glory of the general?  Or, does it add to the glory and praise of the general because he has such heroes in his army?

The answer, again, is self-evident.

Her glory ADDS to His glory!

Mary, an ordinary woman?  I don't think so!

Pray for our country.

Gene DeLalla

 

Has the Catholic Church, "finally", been destroyed?

I write "finally," because I'm sure there are those that would very much like to see that happen..

Sour grapes, to say the least.

But the grapes will remain sour because the Church can never be destroyed!

But what about all those homosexual abuse scandals being uncovered nearly in all parts of the world, you say?

I can't deny it.  It's true.

But what folks fail to realize is that this is not the first time these types of horrendous scandals have plagued and rocked the very foundations of the Church of Christ.

Luther said that the Catholic Church was corrupt, and was not the Church that Christ founded, but an imitation; he was wrong; dead wrong.

He also claimed, in effect, that he "rediscovered" the real Church after it had been hiding somewhere for nearly 1,500 years,

Wrong again...

The arch-heretic failed to recognize the blood of the martyrs that became the seed of the Church.  Did all those men, women and children, who died, with some suffering diabolical tortures because they would not renounce the (Catholic) Faith nor His Church, die in vain?  Even with all the blood that was shed for over 300 years, the Roman Emperors couldn't extinguish the fire of the Faith instilled in them by our Lord and His Apostles.

One more thing about Martin Luther... he failed to note the difference between the nasty, and, yes, corrupt, human element of the Church, and that of the Church itself.  The difference is titanic, and was the downfall of Luther.  Christ, the perfect Head, could not ever be attached to a rotten body.  It makes no sense.  So when Luther rebelled against the Church, he was rebelling against Christ Himself; the Head could not be separated from the Body, nor the Body from the Head.  If it ever was, death of both would ensue.

But I digress...

Back to the present, and the leadership of the Church and their enabling, and, in some cases, endorsing the homosexual subculture that is currently infecting the Church as a gangrenous limb that must be cut off to save the rest of the body from certain death.  This includes those clergy actively engaged in these unnatural acts themselves, attacking adolescents as well as other adults to satisfy their lust for sexual perversion.

Keep in mind that in the late Fourth, and early Fifth Centuries, the Church was hit in the gut with the same types of scandals that we see today.  It is really nothing new.  That is not an excuse, just a fact.

There are, still, today, many good priests and bishops that continue to work for the salvation of souls and the reason for the establishment of the Church in the first place, not "climate change," or the "immigrant" problem.

I say that the uncovering of these scandals are a good thing, for now, at least, the elephant in the room is now in plain sight.  The evil has been exposed.  And good, in the long run, will triumph; we have our Lord's word that the gates of hell will not -- ever -- prevail against her...

That's good enough for me.

Pray for our country, and I ask all of good will to pray for the Catholic Church.

Gene DeLalla