Now come on Catholics in the USA step up too.

Returning to meatless Fridays. Catholics in England and Wales are being asked to return to meatless Friday's year round paired with prayer. We all know that the UK is far from a Catholic country. In fact Europe as a whole is losing their Christian values and becoming more secularized. We as Americans are quickly following in their footsteps. Why is this? We have lost all forms of religious practices and are slowly losing our rights to express our religious beliefs even if we wanted to outwardly express those beliefs.

From the Catholic side of things our USCCB are a bunch of spineless individuals unwilling to steadfastly stand up for true Catholic beliefs and practices. Too many local bishops would rather go with the flow of our popular culture instead of returning to our Catholic traditions. Few are willing to stand up against the mindless hordes and those so call "Catholic" leaders who are Catholic by name alone. It is terribly embarrassing for me to look at these politicians who claim to be pro-choice Catholics, or pro-gay marriage Catholics. These are not within the bounds of the teachings of the Catholic church. Yet they are allowed to act as if they are because no one in authority really stands up and says "No, I'm sorry, You are in mortal sin and their for can not receive communion. O and by the way you've excommunicated yourself by your actions. You will be allowed to rejoin the Body of Christ when you turn from your sinful ways and repent."



If each one of us who truly believe in the Catholic faith stand up for our faith maybe we can change the tide. That means really educating ourselves about what The Church really believes and not just blindly following what our pastor, or even the bishops claim that we believe. We are all educated individuals, seek the truth for yourself. Believe even when it's hard or someone we love is sinning and by following your faith might be hurt. Sacrifice, pray, and study the scriptures with guidance. If we all learn to stand up and do what we know is right, then maybe we will have a chance to turn the country around and not have to follow in the footsteps of great fallen empires such as the Romans and the Greeks.

One really easy way to take the first step is to sacrifice and offer that sacrifice up. This could be something as simple as not eating meat on Friday's, taking the time to go to daily mass, or even just offering up the little sufferings we all experience in life. It doesn't have to be a giant step, just a tiny step in the right direction. If everyone started with these tiny steps we as a culture might stand a chance.

I pray that you will stand with me and follow Christ's teachings as revealed by our Catholic Faith.