Why I Love Being Catholic

I love being Catholic and am so thankful I was born into the Catholic faith. In this video, Fr. Mike explains why everyone should want to be Catholic.  Blessings and peace, Lynn   

Catholic Routes of the Founding of America

These videos are put out by the Divine Mercy Channel.  This is home to the Marian Fathers, the official promoters of the Divine Mercy message since 1941.  Over the course of the next few months I will put the videos up as they come out.  Blessings and peace, Lynn 

A Marian Route to America Episode 1 / The Battle of Gettysburg 

A Marian Route to America Episode 2 / Maryland the Land of Mary 

A Marian Route to America Part 3: Saint Augustine 

A Marian Route to America Part 4/ God's Straight Crooked Lines

A Marian Route to America Part 5 / A River of Faith

Day of Disclosure - What does the Catholic Church Say about UFO's

"Before  Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial," (CCC 675) What will that trial be?  Only God knows.  But soon the US government will be releasing information on UFO's etc.  There will also be a new movie by Steven Spielberg called Disclosure Day regarding this subject.  Will this be part of the trial, the test God has in store for Christians?  It is important that Catholic's and all Christians be informed about what these "UFO's" might be.  This blog will be a collection of videos and articles regarding this subject.  As always, pray and do your own research.  This is for informational purposes only.  Blessings and peace, Lynn  

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CCC 675 The Church's ultimate trial - Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.(Luke 18:8, Matthew 24:12) The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth (Luke 21:12,  John 15:19-20) will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.  The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh." (2 Thess 2:4-12; 1 Thess 5:2-3, 2 John 7; 1 John 2:18, 22) 

1 Timothy 4:3-4 "As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith." 

2 Corin 11:3 "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." 

Galatians 1:8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed."  

                           Disclosure Now: What Catholics MUST Know

A few scripture passages and paragraphs from the Catechism that are helpful when decerning this issue.

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

CCC 326 "The Scriptural expression "heaven and earth" means all that exists, creation in its entirety. It also indicates the bond, deep within creation, that both unites heaven and earth and distinguishes the one from the other:  "the earth" is the world of men, while "heaven" or "the heavens" can designate both the firmament and God's own "place", "our Father in heaven" and consequently the "heaven" too which is eschatological glory. Finally, "heaven" refers to the saints and the "place" of the spiritual creatures, the angels, who surround God" 

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." 

CCC 355 "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) Man occupies a unique place in creation:  (1) he is "in the image of God"; (2) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (3) he is created "male and female"; (4) God established him in his friendship." 

Romans 5:12 "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned." 

1 Corn 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. " 

Tobit 8:6 "You made Adam and gave him Eve his wife as a helper and support.  From them the race of mankind has sprung." 

CCC 36 "Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.  Without this capacity, man would not be ale to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created "in the image of God." (Genesis 1:27)

John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends for all that I have heard from the Father I have made known to you."  

CCC 65 "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son."  (Heb 1:1-2) Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect, and unsurpassable Word.  In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one." 

Psalm 115:16 "The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the sons of men." 

Sirach 49:16 "Shem and Seth were honored among men, and Adam above every living being in the creation." 

CCC 358 "God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him." 

CCC 293 "Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth:  "The world was made for the glory of God."  St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things "not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it," for God has no other reason for creating then his love and goodness:  "Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand." 

CCC 294 "The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created.  God made us "to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace,"(Eph 1: 5-6) for "the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man's life is the vision of God:  if God's revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word's manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God." The ultimate purpose of creation is that God "who is the creator of all things may at last become 'all in all,' thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude." (1 Cor 15:28)

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." 

CCC 2566 "Man is in search of God.  In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence.  "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth." (Psalm 8:1, 5) Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence.  All religions bear witness to men's essential search for God. (Acts 17:27)

CCC 2567 "God calls man first.  Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer.  In prayer, the faithful God's initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response.  As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama.  Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart  It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation." 

Colossians 1:18 "He is the head of the body, the Church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent."

Ephesians 4: 11 -16 "And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth  and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working property, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love." 

CCC 792 "Christ "is the head of the body, the Church." (Col 1:18) He is the principle of creation and redemption.  Raised to the Father's glory, "in everything he is preeminent," (Col 1:18) especially in the Church, through whom he extends his reign over all things." 

CCC 795 "Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ" (Christus Totus).  The Church is one with Christ.  The saints are acutely aware of this unity:  Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself.  Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us?  Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ.  For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we together are the whole man...The fullness of Christ then is the head and the members.  But what does "head and members" mean? Christ and the Church." (St. Augustine) Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has taken to himself." (Pope St. Gregory the Great) Head and members from as it were one ad the same mystical person. (St. Thomas Aquinas)"

John 3:29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full."

Mark 2:19 "And Jesus said to them "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast."  

Ephesians 4:4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all."

CCC 796 The Church is the Bride of Christ - The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride.  The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptists. (John 3:29)  The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom." (Mark 2:19) The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. (Matt 22:1-14, 25:1-13, 1 Cor 6:15-17, 2 Cor 11:2) The Church is the spotless bride of the Spotless Lamb. (Rev 22.17, Eph 1:4, 5:27) "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." (Eph 5:25-26)  He has joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring or her as for his own body (Eps 5:29)." 

9 Reason UFO's are Demons by Dr. Taylor Marshall 

Disclosure Day Recap by Daniel O'Connor 

What Happens At A Catholic Mass - The Mass Explained

 

The Catholic Mass Explained 

Is Praying for the Dead Biblical?

Scripture covered in this YouTube video

1 Cor 15:29-34 "Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?  If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?  Why am I in peril every hour?  I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?  If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Come to your right mind, and sin no more.  For some have no knowledge of God.  I say this to your shame."

Commentary: This passage continues to baffle interpreters, since neither the form nor the meaning of this practice is familiar to us today.  Perhaps living believers were receiving baptism for the sake of deceased persons, hoping its benefits would accrue to them in the afterlife (2 Macc 12:39-45).  Another possibility, suggested by the verses 1 Cor 15:30-34, is that Paul is talking about people who endure a baptism of suffering for the sake of others who are physically or spiritually dead (Mark 10:38, Luke 12:50).  Either way, Paul reasons that such baptisms are pointless apart from the belief in a future resurrection."  

Mark 10:38 "But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the chalice that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism which which I am baptized?" 

Commentary: Drinking the chalice is a reference to Jesus' forthcoming suffering.  The term "with the baptism" is symbolic for immersion in trial and suffering.  James and John will share in Jesus' cup and baptism as they encounter persecution in the early Church.  The NT recalls the martyrdom of James in Acts 12:2 a he exile of John in Rev 1:9.  

Luke 12:50 "I (Jesus) have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!" 

Commentary: A figure of Jesus' Passion, his baptism is when he will be immersed in suffering and death and will raise again to a new life.  

2 Macc 12:39 - 45 "On the next day, as by the time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchers of their fathers.  Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear.  And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen.  So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to prayer, begging that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out.  And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.  He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering.  In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."  

Commentary: Praying for the dead, a practice here attested by Jews over a century before Christ, became common in early Christianity as well.  St. Augustine's treatise On the Care of the Dead begins by citing the Maccabees' intercessions for the dead in this passage, which he sees as corresponding with the Church's universal practice of the priest praying for the dead at the altar. 

John 11:39-44 "Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  So they took aways the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice. "Lazarus, come out."  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth."  

Commentary:  Jesus prays for the dead man Lazarus and he lives. 

Mark 5:39-42 "And when he had entered, he (Jesus) said to them, "Why do you make a tumult and weep?  The child is not dead but sleeping."  Ad they laughed at him.  But he put the all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.  Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  And immediately the girl got up and walked; for she was twelve years old.  And immediately they were overcome with amazement." 

Commentary:  Biblical writers often speak of "sleep" as a euphemism for biological death.  Jesus prays for the dead girl that she might live. 

Luke 7:12-15 "As he (Jesus) drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a a who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her.  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep"  And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."  Ad the dead man sat up, and began to speak.  And he gave him to this mother." 

1 Kings 17:17-23 "After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God?  You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!"  And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.  And he cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?  Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this child's soul come into him again"  And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.  And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house  and delivered him to his mother, and Elijah said, "See, your son lives."  

Commentary:  Elijah prays intensely for the dead man and the Lord hears him.  

2 Tim 1:16-18 "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains,  but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me.  May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day, and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus." 

Commentary:  Onesiphorus and his family may have lived in Ephesus (1:18).  His diligent search for the imprisoned Paul was an expression of loyalty and courage, especially since Christians in Rome were at this time targets of fierce persecution (1:17).  Some commentators infer that Onesiphorus died before 2 Timothy was written, since (1) Paul does not indicate that Onesiphorus is with him any longer; (2) he prays that the Lord will grant him mercy at the final Judgment (1:18); and (3) he asks Timothy to greet the household of Onesiphorus, but not Onesiphorus himself (2 Tim 4:19).  If, in fact, Onesiphorus had died before Paul wrote this letter, then the apostle's prayer in 1:18 would be an early example of the Christian practice of praying for the dead.  

Acts 9:39 - 41 "So Peter rose and went with them. And when he and come, they took him to the upper room.  All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing coats and garments which Dorcus made while she was with them.  But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise."  And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up.  Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. " 

Commentary:  Peter prays for the dead Dorcus and she rises from the dead.  

Matt 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demon." 

Matt 11:5 "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." 

 

Luke 7:22 "And he (Jesus) answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them." 

Fr. Robert J. Spitzer - Near Death Experience Video and Free Access to Fr. Spitzer's Essential Modules on Teaching the Faith

 

Parousia Podcast - Near Death Experiences - Fr Robert J. Spitzer S.J. Ph.D.

ACCESS THE ESSENTIAL MODULES

The Essential Modules Student course is a free online course that guides students through Magis Center’s Essential Modules. Though designed for students (grades 6-12), the course also serves as a solid introduction to faith, science, and reason for teachers, parents, clergy and other adult learners.

• The course covers the following topics and it is free!

1 - Evidence of a Soul from Medical Studies

2 - Evidence of God's Existence from Science

3 - Proof of God's Existence from Philosophy

4 - Proof of Jesus' Resurrection and Divinity

5 - Why be Catholic?

6 - True Happiness

7 - Why would an all-loving God allow Suffering?

Fr. Rocky Lenten Lessons On the Mass (Or Why Do Catholics Do That?)

 

Lesson 1 The Use of Holy Water 
Lesson 2 In the Name of Jesus 
Lesson 3 Holy of Holies 
Lesson 4 The Altar 
Lesson 5 The Crucifix 
Lesson 6 The Sacristy 
Lesson 9 The Confiteor 
Lesson 10 Mea Culpa
Lesson 11 Kyrie Eleison
Lesson 12 The Gloria
Lesson 13 The Collect
Lesson 14 First Reading 
Lesson 15 Responsorial Psalm 
Lesson 16 The Alleluia 
Lesson 17 The Gospel 
Lesson 18 The Sermon 
Lesson 19 The Profession of Faith 
Lesson 20 Prayers of the Faithful 
Lesson 21 The Offertory 
Lesson 22 Secret Prayers 
Lesson 23 Ornate Fratres 
Lesson 24 Prayer Over the Gifts 
Lesson 25 Preface 
Lesson 26 Eucharistic Prayer 
Lesson 27 Eucharistic Prayer Memento 
Lesson 28 Eucharistic Prayer Consecration 
Lesson 29 Eucharistic Prayer Bells 
Lesson 30 Eucharistic Prayer Praying for the Dead 
Lesson 31 Eucharistic Prayer the Great Doxology 
Lesson 32 Eucharistic Prayer the Amen 
Lesson 33 The Lord's Prayer 
Lesson 34 The Sign of Peace 
Lesson 35 The Agnus Dei 
Lesson 36 The Best Secret Prayer 
Lesson 37 Behold the Lamb of God 
Lesson 38 How to Receive Holy Communion 
Lesson 39 Thanksgiving after Communion 
Lesson 40 The Mass is Ended 

Eucharistic Encounter - Adoro Te Devote

Why Remain Catholic? ~ Fr. Ripperger

 

How to Talk With Your Older Children About Transgenderism - Excerpt from Made this Way by Leila Miller with Trent Horn

 In Made This Way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today’s Tough Moral Issues, Leila Miller and Trent Horn give parents (guardians and teachers, too!) crucial tools and techniques to form children with the understanding they need—appropriate to their age and maturity level—to meet the world’s challenges.

Their secret lies in an approach that begins not with the Bible or Church teaching but with the natural law. In kid-friendly ways, Miller (Primal Loss) and Horn (Persuasive Pro-Life) help you communicate how the right way to live is rooted in the way we’re made. God’s design for human nature is a blueprint or owner’s manual for moral living that any child can grasp through reason and apply to modern controversies over sex, marriage, life… and the quest for human fulfillment.

Topics covered include:

• Sex Outside of Marriage
• Same-Sex Marriage
• Divorce
• Contraception
• Abortion
• Reproductive Technologies
• Modesty
• Pornography
• Transgenderism
• Homosexuality

Here is an Excerpt from the chapter on Transgenderism 

Pronoun Battles

It’s one thing for a person to claim to be transgender, but quite another to force others to go along with this claim against their will

One source of conflict in your kids’ culture might be which pronouns to use for those who identify as transgender. Your teen might be caught up in a discussion about a transgender celebrity, or have a biologically male classmate who now has a female appearance and a new name, and who demands to be addressed with “she” and “her.” 

These pronoun battles actually present an opportunity for Catholics to turn the tables on critics and point out how they are imposing their morality on us. After all, it’s one thing for a person to claim to be transgender, but quite another to force others to go along with this claim against their will, even requiring them to speak words they don’t believe.  

If your teen gets cornered on this subject, or even challenges you on it, return to first principles: it’s wrong to lie. Additionally, a lie becomes more serious when it is spoken about something significant. This shifts the focus from your child (or you) to the real issue. Here’s how this might play out: 

Tom: Why do you keep saying [man who claims he’s a woman] is a he? That’s really hurtful! 

Mary: I’m not trying to hurt anyone, but please see where I’m coming from. It’s wrong to lie, and if I say [man who claims he’s a woman] is a woman, that would make me a liar. 

Tom: But it’s not a lie! If she says she is a woman then she is a woman. 

Mary: Wait, are you saying that merely saying or believing you’re a woman makes you a woman? Why should I believe that? Can a person change his race or his species in the same way? 

Tom: Well, it’s her own sense of self that matters! 

Mary: But that still doesn’t make it true. There’s no evidence, in science or in anything we can measure, that “gender” exists except in the imagination. Morally, I am not allowed to lie for anyone. I hope you can respect that my faith requires me to be honest and speak only what is true.  

Identity or Reality?

When a person has a body dysphoria unrelated to sex or “gender,” everyone understands that the person needs help

When a person has a body dysphoria unrelated to sex or “gender,” everyone understands that the person needs help. When an anorexic looks in the mirror, she might see someone who is obese, even if she weighs much less than everyone else her age. We don’t tell that girl, “That’s right, you are overweight, and we will help you reach the weight that’s right for you.” 

 Instead we say, “What you perceive yourself to be, well, that isn’t you. In reality, you are dangerously underweight, and because we love you, we aren’t going to help you harm yourself.” That is the loving response.  

Another body dysphoria concerns people who identify as being amputees or paraplegics even though they have all their limbs and can walk. Doctors call this Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), but some who have this disorder say instead that they are “trans-abled.” Like those who identify as transgender, these people feel disconnected from their own bodies; they seek out doctors to paralyze them or amputate their limbs so that they can be who they “truly are.” 

One researcher in Canada (who identifies as transgender but not trans-able) explains that the transgender community hasn’t supported the trans-able community because the former doesn’t want its recent momentum in the court of public opinion to grind to a halt by association with the latter, which almost everyone still understands to be a serious pathology.

Yet if we are rightly disgusted that a doctor would amputate the healthy limbs of a person who suffers from BIID, then why aren’t we equally disgusted by doctors amputating the healthy genitals of persons who identify as transgender? This mental gymnastics of holding both positions at once (trans-able = bad; transgender = good) is not tenable, unless we completely obliterate in our own minds that man and woman mean something objectively, as we know that healthy and disabled do.  

Issues vs. Individuals

Your well-formed child may be the only one left who has never lied to them

The way we talk about issues generally is going to be different from the way we talk to people personally, especially those who are working through these issues. This means that we must meet each person where he is and as prudence dictates, while refusing to be silenced from speaking Christ’s truth generally. 

I wholeheartedly believe, as the Church teaches, that transgender ideology is unreasonable and dangerous; however, my heart breaks for those who are truly confused about their own nature and identity, and who struggle with any kind of body dysphoria or disorder. 

Teach your older children that, when they talk with someone who identifies as transgender or loves someone who does, they should spend time listening and asking open-ended questions that allow the person share his experience. This builds rapport and goodwill, and will give them time to put their own thoughts together when sharing the truth that applies to all. Then, they can discuss our common identity as children of God, and stress that we don’t want to lie about people or treat them with disrespect. 

Your teen can express to the person that one’s “sense of gender” is not what ultimately defines human identity. The goodness and fulfillment of each person can only be found in the God who loves us, created us, and who can even use the trials and sufferings in our lives to make us complete and truly happy.  

When your child’s friends have been lied to and gone down dark paths that can never bring true or lasting happiness, when they are weary and broken and at the end of their rope, your well-formed child may be the only one left who has never lied to them. This is what we want our children to be for others—imitating Christ in both love and truth—and it’s what a confused world needs them to be. As long as they are strong enough in their own interior faith life and in their understanding of natural law truths, they will be the ones to help pick up the pieces for their friends and others who have been victims of a merciless culture.  

Remember . . . 

• We should tell those who force transgender ideology that we cannot lie about people, biology, and human nature, and that it is unfair for them to demand that we do. 
• People clearly recognize other body dysphoria and identity disorders related to race or disability. We should point out the double standard when those same symptoms in “gender” identity issues are ignored or denied. 
• We must be compassionate with those who struggle with their identity, encouraging them to find their true identity in the loving God who created them in his image. 

Order you copy of Made this Way by Leila Miller with Trent Horn through Catholic Answers here