Expert: Sal - 9/29/2007

Question
Dear Sal,

                 I have a calling to preach the word of God so the order of nuns I chose to pick was Dominican sisters of Mary mother of the Eucharist. I feel like I am ment to be there, my therapist and doctor well Psychiatrist told me who gave you the authority to preach? I said God did, and they told me that seeing things like visions of the blessed Mother Mary and Jesus is lunacy, I was upset. I told them I have a calling to become a canonized saint not that many people in todays generation has that vocation. I no for a fact. I feel like the faith of others is growing cold. I feel like in the time of Jesus were the romans persecuted the christians, for believing in God. What to do. My dad said I am a little out there with my faith and that he said saints of the catholic church is just plan wacked. Why believ he said to me that they saw apparittions of angels blessed Mother and Jesus for they obviously had too much to drink an or hallucinated too much in there time. And snickered. This was both my therapist and father my own father he is catholic and never confessed his sins or goes to church. He is like a hypocrite that says what I want to hear but in the back of his my he is saying yea right. I cry every night because I want my father to believ like a little child about God. By all means he doesnt. I say Stop fighting, start working. Ask the nonreligious what being a Christian today means, and based on what we see and read, it's a good bet they will say that followers of Jesus Christ are preoccupied with those two points.When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant caring about only two issues,­ abortion, premartial sex, disobeying the ten commandments and homosexuality and transgender problems?
America is become a second Sodom and Gammorah!Poverty? Whatever. Homelessness? An afterthought. A widening gap between the have and have-nots? Immaterial. Divorce? The divorce rate of Christians mirrors the national average, so that's no big deal. This is the voice of regular americans and not caring about the issues out there!The point is that being a Christian should be about more than abortion and homosexuality, and it's high time that those not considered a part of the religious right expose the hypocrisy of our brothers and sisters in Christianity and take back the faith. And those on the left who believe they have a "get out of sin free" card must not be allowed to justify their actions.Many people believe we are engaged in a holy war. And we are if you look closely. But it's not with just Muslims. The real war -- ­ the silent war ­-- is being engaged among Christians, and that's what we must set our sights on.

But aren't we also to recommit ourselves to live more like Jesus? Did Jesus spend his time focusing on all that he didn't like, or did Jesus raise the consciousness of the people to understand love, compassion and teach them about following the will of God? In fact, I've grown tired of people who pimp God. That's right; we have a litany of individuals today who are holy, holy, holy, sing hallelujah, talk about how they love the Lord, but when it's time to walk the walk, somehow the spirit evaporates!

I'm looking for the day when Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, James Kennedy, Rod Parsley,Jesse Duplantis " Patriot Pastors" and Rick Warren will sit at the same table as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Cynthia Hale, Eddie L. Long, James Meek, Fred Price, Emmanuel Cleaver and Floyd Flake to establish a call to arms on racism, AIDS, police brutality, a national health care policy, our sorry education system.If they all say they love and worship one God, one Jesus,one holy ghost let's see them rally their members behind one agenda.

I stand here today not as a Republican or a liberal. And don't bother calling me a Democrat or a conservative. I am a woman a Puerto Rican american woman,­who has professed that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that's to whom I bow down.
If the therapist or anyone doesnt like it fine but I am not going to change who I am!So put on the full armor of God because we have work to do. That is my motto!I believes non-Christians doomed if they dont act now and recieve Christ Jesus.Christian faith helps me see that while there are many good spiritual paths,It is really sad when Christians attack other Christians.However I do believe that dating non-Christians do more bad than good, it gives the devil too much of an opportunity to attack! That is why there is so many divorces in the catholic church. My father and doctors of both Psychology and therapy say my faith is too much of radical elements. I told them not its not. I need advice! What to do? They tell me I need to stop preaching and being religious. I cant do that it is written in the bible and in my heart. I feel like satan is attacking me at every corner. Please help me!  

Answer
Dear Jacqueline:

Having visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Jesus is not lunacy. Many great, sane people were granted the great gift of such visions. Ask those who see it as lunacy if they have ever heard of Fatima or Lourdes?

Thanks and God Bless,
Sal