WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN OUR LIVES

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change

The courage to change the things

That I can, and the

Wisdom to know the difference

WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN OUR LIVES

          Ready or not life will come to an end for all of us.   All the things we collected in life whether treasure or baubles will pass to someone else.  There will be no more surprises, no minutes, no hours, or days.  Our wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.  It will not matter what we owned or what we were owed.  Our grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So, too, will our hopes, and ambitions.  The wins and the losses that once seemed so important will fade away.  It won't matter where we come from or what side of the tracks we lived at the end of our lives.  It won't matter whether we were beautiful or brilliant.  Even our gender and skin color will be irrelevant. 

          So what will matter in our lives?  How will the value of our days be measured?   What will matter is not what we bought, but what we built; not what we got, but what we gave to others.  What will matter are not our successes, but our significance for living.  What will matter is not what we learned but what we taught others by our good example.   What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate our example.  What will matter is not our competence, but our character.  What will matter is not how many people we knew, but how many people will feel a lasting lose, when we are gone from this world.  What will matter is the clarity and care with which we have loved others, and have been a positive influence in their lives.  What will matter are not our memories, but the memories that live in those who loved us. What will matter is how long we will be remembered by those we have left behind.

          Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.  It is not a matter of circumstance but of choice.  When we receive something so beautiful as this, the gift of life, we must not hesitate to share it with our friends.  God, I want to take a minute, not to ask for anything from You but to simply say thank You for all I have, for my life.   (Michael Josephson, 2015) 

          My friends, these beautiful expressions of love are based on the fundamental principles of our Judeo/Christian civilization. These words of faith are those that come directly from the throne of God. If these words would become a code of life for all human beings in the world, peace and tranquility would prevail amongst all the peoples of the world. Having said this, I would now like to ask our Muslim co-habitants of our planet, how does their holy book measure up to this way of life that governs the lives of Jews and Christians throughout the world?  Let us see what Islam offers to the well-being of human life in our world. +Fr. C. J. Simones

          Have you ever seen a Muslim hospital in America?  Have you ever heard of a Muslim orchestra?  Have you seen a Muslim band march in a parade?  Have you witnessed a Muslim charity?  Have you shaken hands with a Muslim Girl Scout?  Have you seen a Muslim Candy Striper?  The answer is no, you have not.  Just ask yourself; why? 

          Barack Obama, during his Cairo speech, said:  "I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's history."  This is an American Citizens' response to his words:  Dear Mr. Obama: Where those Muslims who were in America when the Pilgrims first landed?  Funny, I thought they were Native American Indians.  Where those Muslims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day?  Sorry again, those were Pilgrims and Native American Indians.

          Can you show me one Muslim signature on the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, or Bill of Rights?  I don't think so.  Did Muslims fight for this country's freedom from England? No.  Did Muslims fight during the Civil War to free the slaves in America?  No, they did not.  In fact, Muslims to this day are still the largest traffickers in human slavery in the world.  Your own half-brother, a devout Muslim, still advocates slavery himself, even though Muslims of Arabic descent refer to black Muslims as "pug nosed slaves."  This says a lot of what the Muslim world really thinks of your family's rich Islamic heritage, doesn't it Mr. Obama? 

          Where were Muslims during the Civil Rights era of this country?  They were not present.  There are no pictures or media accounts of Muslims walking side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. helping to advance the cause of Civil Rights in America.  Where were the Muslims during this country's Woman's Suffrage era?  Again they were not present.  In fact, devout Muslims demand that women are subservient to men in the Islamic culture. They are so subjugated that often they are beaten for not wearing the hajib or for talking to a man who is not a direct family member or their husband.  Yes, the Muslims are all for women's rights, aren't they?

          Where were the Muslims during the Second World War?  They were aligned with Adolf Hitler.  The Muslim grand mufti himself met with Hitler, reviewed the troops and accepted support from the Nazis in killing Jews.  Finally, Mr. Obama, where were the Muslims on September 11th, 2001?  They were flying the planes into the World Trade Center, into the Pentagon or a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people on our own soil.  Their fellow Muslims were rejoicing at this catastrophe in the Middle East.  No one can dispute the pictures shown from all parts of the Muslim world celebrating on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other cable news network’s that day.   Strangely, the very moderate Muslims that you were praising in Cairo, Egypt on June 4th were completely silent post 9-11.  To many Americans, their silence has meant tacit approval for the acts of that day.

          And that, Mr. Obama, is the rich heritage Muslims have here in America. O, I am sorry; I forgot to mention the Barbary Pirates.  They were Muslims.  And now we can add November 5, 2009, the slaughter of thirteen American soldiers and wounding thirty two others at Fort Hood, TX by a Muslim, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist who was supposed to be counseling soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Also, don't forget the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013 was done by two Muslim brothers.  And since Boston we have had a number of Muslim attacks in America that have killed many Americans. That is Mr. Obama the Muslim heritage in America. 

MAYBE WE CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MUSLIM IMMIGRATION TO THE WEST WITH THE FORMULA PUT FORTH RECENTLY IN THE RUSSIAN DUMA BY VLADIMIR PUTIN

          No wonder Putin was selected by Forbes as the most powerful person in the world.  This is one time our selected leaders should pay attention to the advice of Vladimir Putin.  I would suggest that not only our leaders but every citizen of the USA should pay attention to this advice.  How scary is that?  It is a sad day when a reformed communist leader makes more sense than our leaders do here in the USA.  This is one of the shortest speeches ever made. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma, (the Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia. 

This is Vladimir Putin on the meaning of citizenship in Russia

          "In Russia, live like Russians.  Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, it should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws.  If they prefer sharia law, and live the life of Muslims then we advise them to go to those places where that is the state law.

          Russia does not need Muslim minorities.  Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell discrimination.  We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture.  We better learn from the suicide attacks in America, Canada, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation.  The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not take over Russia. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture of the primitive ways of sharia law and Muslims.  When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the Russian national interest first, observing that the Muslim minorities are not Russians." When Vladimir Putin finished this short speech, the politicians in the Russian Duma gave him a five minute standing ovation.

ALL AMERICANS SHOULD ADD A GREAT AMEN TO THESE WORDS

OF VLADIMIR PUTIN

Edited by:

+Fr. Constantine J. Simones, Waterford, CT, USA, October 7, 2016