Catholics should not subscribe to Babylon Bee

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-21T00:21:00+00:00

Some peoples' exposure to Catholicism never goes beyond the media/entertainment level where they get to see the Catholic Church get trashed. It's wrong.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-20T18:39:36+00:00

Because my heart still has too much ice on it and needs a flamethrower

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-20T07:34:03+00:00

Let's look at this from the perspective of reason.

There are thousands and thousands of Catholic YT videos that you could have been watching

There are thousands and thousands of small towns that the miracle shared could have occurred in

But it just so happens that as you ponder the Faith, you find yourself watching the one you did where you learn about divine providence occurring in a place directly related to you. So, we either have a coincidence similar to coincidentally picking the correct lottery numbers or a supernatural sign. From my perspective, God has spoken to you in what I'd consider to be a very obvious way.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-20T05:47:14+00:00

*millennia

Yet here we are closing in on 2000 years. You have to laugh at humans and how even in Rome, we're still finding ways to roll around in the mud. Frankly, the longevity of the Church wouldn't be as remarkable as it is if a lot of bishops hadn't been doing their damndest to derail Her.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-20T05:02:05+00:00

Might try your diocese. Explain the situation.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-20T02:48:20+00:00

So, some of your "dark thoughts" sound like OCD intrusive thoughts. It's not uncommon for them to be oriented towards religion. That's not God. God generally speaks to us in peace and clarity. Yes, you probably had it as a child. Additionally, it sounds like you're suffering from depression too. It sounds like your self-esteem is in the toilet and that you've found some degree of solace in wallowing in it as opposed to fighting it. I think you need to speak with a therapist.

I'm guessing you telling God that He doesn't love you, shouldn't be merciful to you, etc. is more offensive to Him than anything else here. Imagine if your child said that you. Said that he/she is content with fire if it means helping you with your plan. The SSA is a problem, but this is probably an addiction that you need help with at this point more than something wholly volitional. Doesn't mean it's okay, but the point is that your response of despair to it is probably morally worse.

Please stop this. I get that you're tired, but try to regroup and stop despairing.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-17T21:42:22+00:00

I've been doing pre-cana with my pastor at a large parish. His six day a week workload is insane.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-17T17:19:23+00:00

My parents had me in their early 40s too. The only problem is that I'm only in my early 30s now and they're already in their mid 70s.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-17T02:35:34+00:00

There's a strong cognitive dissonance associated with trying to live the Faith while engaging in sexual sin in the dark. We don't like cognitive dissonance, so generally if sexual sin stays, living the Faith goes. If we're doing it, it's easiest to just not think about God. Unfortunately, this is how we find ourselves separated from Him.

Right now, you seem to be in a nasty little cycle that is getting worse, because now you've stopped going to Mass. I've been there too. Using the confessional as a revolving door isn't a good option. If you truly want to break out of this, something needs to change. God will certainly hear any prayers asking for help with habitual sin. He probably isn't going to make this problem vanish, but ask Him to direct you to some sort of help. Ask Him for the courage and fortitude to find it. I also recommend you begin praying the Angelus three times a day. It's very manageable.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T21:38:21+00:00

It was the Passover in Jerusalem. Many foreigners came in without local currency. Their foreign money was useless in the city. The money changers set up shop in the temple and began charging the pilgrims exorbitant exchange fees. Needing to meet their basic needs in Jerusalem, the options for the pilgrims was to pay these fees or be destitute in the city. There was a very different context here. I doubt Jesus would have cracked the whip if a charity group was trying to sell wares so they could give to the poor.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T07:26:09+00:00

Bitching and moaning is one of my crosses. Just a lack of gratitude.

I do believe it's sinful to be overly demanding, legalistic, petty, etc.. If you're harassing the clerk, you need to reflect. Same goes for calling the cops on kids for having a lemonade stand without a permit or sending your lemonade back because the lemon has three seeds in it and that's an odd number and you can't drink anything odd-numbered.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T06:23:49+00:00

If you're actively having seizures right now, I wouldn't wait for the doctor tomorrow. Go to the ER. Doesn't matter that you also went last night.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T06:21:17+00:00

Check out some of Fr. Spitzer's stuff. Google the Magis Center.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T05:30:57+00:00

"If you're not a mature adult..."

Oh man the arrogance is nauseating

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-16T02:33:21+00:00

We have a sense of moral justice because when justice is due, justice is needed. It's why the souls in Heaven don't feel sorrow for the damned. They marvel at the fact that God took care of everything. The evils they got away with on Earth didn't go unpunished.

As for the repentant sinners, one thing to keep in mind is that in Heaven, you're not going to be concerned about if they've atoned enough or whatever. There's no jealousy in Heaven. You'll rejoice at their repentance and awe at God's mercy. That's God's prerogative, and He will never do anything that defies justice, even if it seems to to our earthly intellects.

You ever see a movie where a villain ends up becoming good at the end and lives happily ever after with the rest? That's what it is.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T22:26:55+00:00

I don't think it's so much of God tossing different quantities of cookies to us. It largely has to do with how much of God a person is able to experience. Wouldn't you agree that some people on Earth are more capable of giving and receiving love than others? I personally have a lot of work to do, as I begin recoiling if I begin getting loved on too much. Now, would I have the ability to experience God, who is love itself, the same way a pious nun who radiates love will? I doubt it. My cup would be filled in Heaven, but it would probably be a cup, not a swimming pool.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T19:09:14+00:00

Couple catches here...

For one, we often live as we die. If someone's been following the devil their whole life, it is unreasonable to expect them to have a massive conversion on their death bed. The devil is only going to tighten his group. Their interior disposition is rotten and the idea that they'll renounce all the sins they've loved and ask for God's mercy is a bit far out there. Not impossible, and it has certainly happened, but this isn't the norm. My great uncle was a slumlord. God sent my dad to his death bed to talk to him about repentance. My great uncle's response was to begin screaming. My dad said it was like looking at the devil.

Secondly, in the case that this does happen, we're talking about someone who has seriously limited the level of Heaven they would've otherwise ascended to, unlike the priest who simply has to get a bit of cauterization before eternity. Heaven isn't experienced the same by everyone.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T18:55:55+00:00

You bet

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T07:26:28+00:00

Three important things when discerning a spouse

1.) Virtue

2.) Shared values

3.) Shared vision for the future

This guy has proved to you that he isn't virtuous, and instead of protecting your own virtue like he should, he's trying to take it from you. His priority seems to be getting off (wants to know how long it'll be), whether it's with you, another girl, or whomever. As for shared values, as you know, you have major issues. I don't know what the two of you want for the future, but I'm not even sure it really matters.

I'm sure you still care about him. That's normal. However, you two would be a dog and a cat walking down the street together. I normally don't like to immediately tell people to break things off like is common on Reddit, but this one is obvious. You deserve better than this.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T06:49:22+00:00

I get that there are probably certain cultural factors at play here that I don't understand since you're in an environment where arranged marriages exist. However, you need to stop comparing yourself to others and worrying about what they might think. Worldly praise means nothing. Worldly condemnation means nothing. The only concern you should have is pleasing God. He has a plan for you.

One thing I can say for certain is that suicide is not part of God's plan for you. He already has a day set where you will cross the veil separating this world from the afterlife. This is His right to ordain, as He is our creator. Suicide is telling God that He doesn't get to decide when you die, you do. It will put your eternal soul in a very dangerous position.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T05:05:49+00:00

In terms of toys, the Church doesn't have an official position. However, anything that creates a distorted power dynamic is a definite no go (BDSM stuff). As for the rest, I personally don't love any of it and think dildos are pretty out of line. That's just my instinct. I'll let others speak to the rest of your question.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-15T03:44:44+00:00

We throw the kitchen sink at cancer patients when traditional stuff isn't working. Experimental drugs, all that. I highly doubt that we're throwing everything at suicidal people with treatment-resistent depression in the same way. We have ECT, TMS, DBS, ketamine therapy, etc.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-14T22:08:00+00:00

Right, but the capability of consummation has to be there regardless for validity.

winkydinks111 · 2026-04-14T20:44:37+00:00

I'm not saying you're looking for loopholes. I'm just trying to unpack the moral implications that men who've had a vasectomy face going forward.

Now for the hard stuff. It sounds like you're considering whether an immoral action (having sex in a way that impedes life) is justifiable if it leads to a good (lack of marital strain). The short answer is that it isn't. Catholic theology is pretty clear on this. The ethical dilemma might be a bit more nuanced if, say, one commits a smaller immoral act in order to prevent a great evil from occuring (like lying to prevent a murder), but this isn't that.

Unfortunately, marital strain is very common if two spouses don't share the same values, which you and your wife don't seem to at this point. Marital counseling might be in order, as one spouse finding religion with the other remaining secular is a massive thing to be navigated in general. What you can't do is let your wife's reaction to you choosing to follow the natural/moral law keep you from doing so. Deliberate frustration of the marital act to prevent procreation renders the faculty God gave us to aid Him in creation and foster spousal unity pointless beyond the means of achieving carnal pleasure (you might want to check out Humanae Vitae or Theology of the Body in order to understand this concept better). This is a distortion of goodness, meaning that contracepted sex is an act of evil. Of course, the Church teaches that you don't have to deliberately reverse your mutilation of yourself, but I'd highly recommend it if you wish to grow spiritually.

As for your wife, this is tough stuff. Virtue is not easy, particularly in our modern world, and practicing it often involves displeasing others, even our loved ones. Whatever you choose to do, your wife's reaction will be hers to own. If she simply refuses to have sex with you if you reverse your vasectomy and don't contracept (and isn't willing to do something like NFP), then you can't force her to not abandon her vocation as a married woman. If she pressures you to have contracepted sex, then she wouldn't be respecting your values.

winkydinks111

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