Yet More Signs of Hope, God's fierce love and endless mercy, Jesus Christ

I just visited the blog of Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill, an evangelical church in Seattle. I read his blog quite frequently because, oddly, on a personal level we have much in common, but theologically, not so much. That being written, Mark is a passionate and compassionate man, who loves Jesus Christ and through his ministry at Mars Hill and with the Acts 29 Network, leads many people to our Lord. He was raised Catholic, but sadly, as is the case with too many Catholics, which is usually the fault of the Church, remained unevangelized and, by all indicators, uncatechized. Nonetheless, he came to Jesus Christ and, in the words of our Lord, "whoever is not against us is for us"(Mk 9,38-40). One thing we apparently have in common is looking at contemporary culture through the lense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When on the road, I frequently watch shows, like the one he mentions in the post to which I am about to link you. Anyway, in this post Mark makes some salient observations about well-known celebrity porn star Jenna Jameson. While Ms. Jameson considers herself Catholic, which, plus baptism is all you need to be a Catholic, I find it sad that she seems not to have ever sought spiritual direction and reconciliation. But, nobody is ever lost! I am happy she believes. I hope her dream of being able to be just a wife and a mother are realized.

There is a case in Italy, from several years ago, in which a porn star, Luana Borgia, returned to the faith, due to the efforts of Franciscan priest, Father Fedele Bisceglia.



Finally, on the same hopeful note, Busted Halo, back in August or September, had an article entitled, Stripper Salvation which is well worth reading. Lest you think watching porn, going to strip clubs, etc., are inocuous activities, think again. By your participation, you contribute to the exploitation of women and the degradation of society. How much more incentive do we need to pray for a world that, in Driscoll's words, consists of sinners, who are "a crazy bunch of conflicted people torn between the dignity of creation and depravity of the curse, who, apart from Jesus saving us from ourselves and renewing our minds, are a hopeless mess."

All of which reminds me of a story of evangelist Francis Schaffer who, while on a visit to Paris, encountered a prostitute one evening. When she solicited him, he asked, "How much?" She named her price. Schaffer responded, "That is too low." So, she upped the price. Too low again, protested Schaffer. So, again, she upped her price and, again, Schaffer said, "Too low." Finally, Schaffer told her that she was priceless to God who gave everything to gain her. It is easy to romanticize this story, but picture a cold night on a dirty street in Paris asking strange men passing by if they are interested in paying her for the use of her body, suggesting what they might do to her and how much it will cost. She is someone's daughter. She is someone's sister. She is loved by God with an infinite love, just as you and I are. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now at the hour of our death.