Roman Catholic Terrorist Oaths

I was shocked to read some of the oaths taken by certain orders of the RC Church, including those of cardinals, bishops, Knights of Columbus and Jesuits. Supreme loyalty to the Pope demands agreement to persecuting and even killing all non-Roman Catholics! Is there a terrorist connection here? If not, why doesn't the RC Church condemn these oaths? If it has, please let me know.

"I do further promise and declare, that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war, secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Liberals, as I am directed to do to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth, and that I will spare neither sex, age nor condition, and that I will hang, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics; rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women and crush their infant heads against the wall, in order to annihilate forever their execrable race.
"That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poison cup, the strangulation cord, the steel of the poniard, or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity or authority of the person or persons whatsoever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Faith of the Society of Jesus." Jesuit Extreme Oath of Induction

"I, ___ ___, now in the presence of Almighty God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Blessed St. John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, and all the Saints, Sacred Hosts of Heaven and to you, my Ghostly Father, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, in the Pontification of Paul III, and continued to the present, do by the Womb of the Virgin, the Matrix of God, and the Rod of Jesus Christ, declare and swear that his Holiness, the Pope, is Christ’s Viceregent and is the true and only Head of the Catholic of Universal Church throughout the earth; and that by virtue of the keys of binding and loosing given his Holiness by my Savior, Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, states, commonwealths and governments and they may be safely destroyed. Therefore to the utmost of my power I will defend this doctrine and his Holiness’ right and custom against all usurpers of the heretical or Protestant authority whatever, especially the Lutheran Church of Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway and the now pretended authority of the Churches of England and Scotland, of the Calvinists, of same now established in Ireland and on the continent of America and elsewhere, and all adherents in regard that they may be usurped and heretical, opposing the sacred Mother Church of Rome.
"I do now denounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince, or state, named Protestant, or Liberals, or obedient to any of their laws, magistrates or officers....
"I do further declare that I will help, assist and advise all or any of his Holiness’ agents, in any place where I should be, in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, or America or in any other kingdom or territory I shall come to and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant or Masonic doctrines and to destroy all their pretended powers, legal or otherwise....
"I do further promise and declare that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war, secretly and openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Masons, as I am directed to do to extirpate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex, or condition, and that I will hang, burn, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics; rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women and crush their infant’s heads against the walls in order to annihilate their execrably race. That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poisonous cup, the strangulation cord, the steel poniard, or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity, or authority of the persons whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or Superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Father of the Society of Jesus....
"That I will provide myself with arms and ammunition that I may be in readiness when the word is passed, or I am commanded to defend the Church either as an individual or with the Militia of the Pope." Oath Taken by a Perspective Member of the Knights of Columbus

"Heretic, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord (the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose." From the oath given by all cardinals, bishops, and arch-bishops

"Communists destroy churches because they are God's enemies; Catholic's destroy (non-Catholic) churches because they are God's friends...Against such men-founded churches...Catholics in Latin America should arise and wipe them out with fire." John J. Oberlander, in The Voice of Freedom, 1954, p. 20

Tree - Rhymes With Majesty

Trees are wonderful creations that remind us of the majestic beauty and singular personality that only God can create. I find myself moved by this sentinel symmetry and will purposely seek and photograph those trees that say something more than 'seen one, seen them all.'

Trees are like miniature mountains that stand tall and point to heaven. But they add a living, breathing sense of glory all their own as they reach out to touch that light that gives them life.

We were given two arms to do the same - reach out to God who made us with praise, honor and worship before His presence.

Oregon Still Beautiful

Visit Oregon when you have the opportunity. Just make sure it isn't raining.

Barb and I took a week in May to explore the coast and see Barb's old haunt, Pacific City where she lived in the late 50's. We also enjoyed seeing cousin Bruce and his family in Oregon City, just south of Portland. Thanks, Bruce and Penny, for making us feel at home and showing us around.

It took a full week to process all the pictures. Burnout has been achieved!

Sing

"Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry." Psalm 147:7-9

The God of glory paints the landscape with fields of flowers this spring. It has become an annual tradition of awesome wonder, even for us dull-witted souls.

At The Speed of Finite

One of the blessings of dying is knowing that lots of family will get together and talk about you. They'll laugh, cry, share and after it's all over, they'll eat a lot of great food and say their loving goodbyes before heading back home.

It was a good day for Mom's second memorial service. The weather was perfect, with blue skies and a lukewarm breeze. The kids played outside and the curmudgeons who hadn't seen each other for years felt the reminder of every wrinkle and color-starved hair. Time is flying as we speed down the tracks.

It will soon be our turn to arrive at our final destination.

Memorial/Reunion pictures

History Lesson

The older the building, the more intriguing the story, especially when it's full of ancient machinery, tools and oddities that beg the question: "Man! What is that?"

A recent invitation to enter the bowels of a forgotten world was quickly accepted. Luke gave me the grand tour of the turn-of-the-twentieth-century shipbuilding factory, now turned into a metal fabrication business. The poor lighting was helped with all the holes in the metal roof, walls, and doors. Dusty windows, skylights, redwood framing and a smell akin to my grandfather's garage and shop in San Luis Obispo heightened my sense of deja vu.

Who knows how many people have worked here on the Deep Water Channel at the Port of Stockton. Years of lunchboxing it to Harrison Street either to draw plans, supervise, get your finger cut off or smashed while operating a machine, or wrenching your back when lifting parts for assembly --- it had to be a dirty job.

My dad owned a radiator repair business in Los Banos in the late 50's. Hands and fingernails always dirty, burn marks on his arms from soldering and welding, the look of a real man's man. These workers in Stockton were most likely as manly. There is an honorable side of grease and grime. God made us to work. Some of us like to get dirty in the process. We don't look down on those who don't. We just feel a bit sorry for them.

You can see the whole series of shots here: Dave Skinner Photography

Shooting Stars and Monkeyflowers

Okay, all you flower lovers out there: Now is the time to head to the hinterlands and scope out God's handiwork while the grass is green and the flowers are wild. My favorite specimen is the Shooting Star for its striking shape and color. There are a number of species here in the Sierra. Can you believe there are 30 species of Monkeyflower in Yosemite alone! What a wonderful world we live in thanks to a wonderful God who coded flowers with the ability to vary within their genus.

We joined a ranger-led hike at New Melones Lake this Saturday and look forward to heading back to the area to hike at our own pace (a photographer can't have a good time if he's trying to keep up with the crowd). Maybe I'll see you out there, too.