Everyday Sedevacantism

“And he said unto them, ‘Go out to the world: proclaim the gospel to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.'” – Mark 16:15-16  Even the most nominal and lukewarm Christian has heard the above passage many times, even if he has never stopped to think about what it actually means.  It doesn’t take a biblical scholar or historian, however, to ascertain the meaning of the risen Christ’s words to his apostles.  He is telling them, and by extension us, that we have the solemn responsibility to bring others to God.  Period.  It’s plain and simple.  It’s crystal clear.  It’s black and white.  We HAVE to. And who wouldn’t want to?  If you truly are a Christian and you believe that the only salvation is through belief in Christ, wouldn’t you want to tell those you love how to get there?  Wouldn’t you want to do everything that you possibly can to ensure that your frien...

On the Sunday after Christmas a few years back I had to drive home after visiting family in North Georgia.  Instead of going to Mass in Atlanta, or trying to find a parish somewhere on the road, we decided to leave early enough on Sunday morning to make it back home in time to attend the afternoon service at our own church. After dragging the kids out of bed and herding everyone into the car we were on the road with a singular goal – make it home in time for the 5:00 pm Mass.  With minimal stops and a shaky adherence to posted speed limits we made it home with time left over to shower and change before Mass. When the worn-out old minivan rolled wearily into the parking lot of the church it would be an understatement to say that I was tired.  I was truly exhausted from the 750 mile trip completed in just over 24 hours with very little sleep.  But I was content and more than a little proud.  Here we were at our local parish fulfilling our Sunday Mass obligatio...

I haven’t posted to this blog since 2012 – right before the last U.S. presidential election, in fact.  That is not a coincidence.  In the days and weeks leading up to the election I prayed feverishly that voters would elect candidates who would lead the nation in a way that was more in-line with Catholic Christian doctrine.  I didn’t single out specific candidates in my prayers – there was no “please let this guy win, and make that guy lose.”  I simply implored God to inspire American voters to take the steps necessary to stop the downward spiral of morality in our nation.   It didn’t happen. In the weeks following the disastrous 2012 election I was genuinely depressed.  I specifically recall telling a friend that, for the first time in my life, I did not feel God’s presence.  Three years after muttering those words I realize now just how foolish they were.  The absence of God’s presence is the literal definition of Hell.  Was I expe...

This is a drawing of Padre Pio that was completed by the son of my friend Mary.  It's truly an incredible likeness. The Art of Kevin Diehl: St. Padre Pio :  This is a sketch I just finished of St. Padre Pio. I thought I would share how I drew it. First I graph both the picture, and the pa...

I had an interesting day yesterday.   Within an hour of waking up I was greeted by anti-Catholic postings on Facebook – obviously motivated by the church’s much-publicized opposition to the American government’s intent to force all employers to offer birth control to their employees.   It started the day off on the wrong foot, but I decided to just ignore it and get on with my day. Shortly after I got to work I took a look at Twitter to see what was happening in the world.   And what was trending? -   #WhyIUseBirthControl.   I foolishly checked out some of the Tweets and was actually shocked by the anti-God, anti-Catholic, anti-child messages that so many felt the need to communicate.   I posted a few tweets of #WhyIDontUseBirthControl, but as you can imagine, one guy Tweeting in Florida isn’t really enough to start a trend. Hours later a conversation arose at work and the subject of marriage was brought up to a 20-something co-worker of mine.   Almost...

When you are a Catholic growing up in the southern United States there are certain inevitable truths that you must simply accept.   Any attempt to deny or combat these truths will most likely lead you to either question your own faith or resent that particular region of your country. The southern United States has always traditionally been Protestant.   It’s a simple by-product of the English and Scottish immigrants who chose to relocate to the New World in the earliest parts of our nation’s history.   It was not until the influx of Irish and Italian immigrants to the northern states like New York and Massachusetts in the early 1900s that Catholicism started to take root in America. As generations passed new Protestants were born and raised in the South while Catholics continued to reshape the demographics of the North.   In the mid 1800’s a completely new denomination of Protestants called the Southern Baptists came into being and the southern region was changed for...