all in the name of Jesus?

Our little community has been divided the past month over the actions taken by 1 family, at this years See you at the flag pole prayer ...This well known and respected woman in our community attended the prayer service which is supposed to be non-denominational, and student led...

Afterwards, her daughter passed out 3 pamphlets to all the school students attending the function, which was on school grounds. These pamphlets were outrageous. One was anti-religon. Any organized religon was the wrong religon. Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam were all mocked by characatures of their faith. The 2nd pamphlet was you only know Jesus, if you know Jesus, the way we say you should know Jesus, otherwise you need to repent or you are going to Hell...The last pamphlet was a mockery of a catholic priest, and distorted and misrepresented catholic teaching to such an offensive degree i will not name the organization. The end of the story shows the catholic priest repenting of all his lies and evil ways and leaving with the bible believing missionary to learn all about Jesus.....

My 17 year old daughter came home from school with these 3 pamphlets, and several friends all of them were very upset by the content...while the other students were not catholic, many of them have attended church with us over the years, and were angry at the mockery made of catholic belief...I asked my daughter if she wanted me to call the school, and go see the superintendent...she told me Mama, i am an adult in the church, a confirmed catholic, and i will go see the superintendant and tell him how i feel, and how this affects me, and my siblings .

I did suggest that Ashley seek guidance from Fr. Adrian, as i was certain he had seen this type of thing before. He told her, welcome to the persecuted church... and encouraged her to speak to the superintendant about this matter...

The school received many, many complaints regarding these pamphlets, most of them from other christians. There are only 4 catholic families in our area, and we are definitely in the minority. My children, are the only catholic children in the school, but we are not supposed to feel targeted by these pamphlets...

The Superintendant called me after the school board meeting, and let me know what action they are going to take...it has been assumed by many in the community, that i led the protest, however, i wasn't involved, it was my daughter. The prayer service is now on probation, and all the local churches will be notified by letter, from the school board that no pamphlets will be passed out on school grounds, and if it happens again they will ban the service...

The woman responsible is furious that i would find any of this offensive, that i would take something important away from the children, that i would involve the school, and she only wants the children to know Jesus, and she lived in Italy, and all the catholics she knew, didn't know Jesus.

What she fails to realize is that she brought the school officials in when she had her daughter pass out the pamphlets at school. She has not been placed in a postion of authority by God to determine who knows Jesus and who doesn't. Any catholic and many christians would find the pamphlets offensive, because they were intended to be offensive!!!!!

My children have heard a variety of comments the past month. The most common, is from students who have no religous affiliation, the unchurched shall we say, they say, I don't know what i believe, but i am a christian, at least i am not a catholic....

One of Ashleys' classmates begged her not to read them, because she said they were full of lies, another boy ripped his up, and said i have known you since pre-k, and i know these are not what you believe...there are many students however, that don't know anything about what catholic christians believe, and will accept the pamphlets as true because the cartoon said so...

This church has many opportunities for evangelization in the community, and if they wanted to just reach the students about Jesus, why the anti-catholic rhetoric? My family and I did not feel like they were just reaching out to the community, the lady wrote and told me that she holds me and my children in the highest regard and loves all of us, but, we do not feel loved, or accepted.

I have been invited to learn about theBible, and attend womens Bible study at the church that purchased the pamphlets. I have written to decline the invitation, not that i would not find a Bible study on Proverbs 31, and Titus 2 beneficial, but i could not pretend to be in communion or fellowship with women who felt the material was appropriate and acceptable...

I am hurt, I am angry, but I am not the one who decides who is a christian, and who isn't. I am not the authority that decides who knows Jesus, and who really doesn't. I am a sinner, I sin, I am of the belief that tomorrow is always another chance to turn your eyes toward the lord, and brush yourself off ...God didn't put me here decide who is a believer and who is not living like they are supposed to. I will live my vocation to the best of my ability , and with Gods' help i will receive the Grace I need to presevere...

I still owe her a reply to the 2 letters she sent me, but I am waiting until the children are over the flu, i have slept more than an hour or so, and until my hair stops standing straight up....I want to respond in a calm, christian manner, not how my human ,irish-catholic flesh would be tempted to respond with ire and sarcasm...

Lord, Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner....