By Larry Peterson
Our Lord told him, "I am taking away your hands and giving you mine ... touch them."
(Aleteia) A number of saints and holy people have been known to share in the suffering of Christ in a special way: by literally having his wounds in their own flesh. Among this group are such beloved saints as Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena and, closer to our own times, Padre Pio.
Then there is Irving “Francis” Houle, just a regular guy from Michigan...
Francis was 67 years old when, on Good Friday, April 9, 1993, the stigmata first began to show itself. Francis told his brother and a priest, Father Robert Fox (who would go on to write a book about him), how Jesus appeared to him when Lent began on Ash Wednesday. He told them Jesus said to him, “I am taking away your hands and giving you mine … touch them...”
It is estimated that Francis prayed individually over 100,000 people while he was still alive. Folks would wait for hours on end to see the elderly grandpa who bore the stigmata and would lay his hands on them. People would be crying and would touch him and kiss his hands... (continued)
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Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Mel Gibson Planning 'Passion of the Christ' Sequel
Courtesy of Photofest
By Paul Bond
'Braveheart' screenwriter Randall Wallace says he is writing a follow-up to the biblical blockbuster that will focus on the resurrection of Jesus.
(The Hollywood Reporter) Mel Gibson and writer Randall Wallace are working on a sequel to The Passion of the Christ that will tell the story of the resurrection of Jesus, Wallace tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Wallace, nominated for an Academy Award for scripting Gibson's 1995 best picture Oscar winner Braveheart, on Thursday (reluctantly) confirmed rumors that he has begun to write a script for a story about the resurrection, telling THR that the project is becoming too difficult to keep under wraps.
Wallace, who most recently directed and co-wrote the 2014 faith-based drama Heaven Is for Real, says he and Gibson began to get serious about a sequel to The Passion, the most successful independent film of all time, while making Hacksaw Ridge, which Gibson directed and Wallace co-wrote. Hacksaw Ridge opens in November and centers on World War II Army medic Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. br>
Wallace was a religion major at Duke University and says the resurrection was a specialty of his. "I always wanted to tell this story," he says. "The Passion is the beginning and there's a lot more story to tell."
A rep for Gibson declined to comment on the filmmaker-actor's involvement in a Passion sequel.
The Passion, Gibson's story of the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus, was released in 2004 by the independent Newmarket Films and earned a whopping $612 million worldwide on a $30 million production budget. Since then, many in Hollywood have presumed a sequel would someday be made, but Gibson has moved on to other projects.
Rumors swirled anew last month when Gibson was a surprise guest at Liberty University's graduation ceremony to do an advance screening of Hacksaw Ridge and was asked about a Passion follow-up. He expressed interest in making a sequel but was not specific about his involvement. Wallace says demand in the Christian community influenced his and Gibson's willingness to do another film.
"The evangelical community considers The Passion the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger," Wallace says.
No studio or financial backing has been lined up for the project, which is still in the early script stage. But Wallace indicates there are several financiers interested in investing. "It's too early to talk money," he adds. "This is such a huge and sacred subject."
In February, Sony released Risen, which tells the story of the resurrection, though Gibson wasn't involved. The movie made $46 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Navy Chaplain Censored: ‘Don’t pray in the name of Jesus’
Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder (Courtesy Liberty Institute)
By Todd Starnes
(Fox News) A Navy chaplain who faces the end of a stellar 19-year career because of his faith-based views on marriage and human sexuality was told by a base commander to refrain from offering a prayer in the name of Jesus, according to attorneys representing the chaplain.
That allegation was tucked away in an 18-page letter written to the commander of Navy Region Southeast by Liberty Institute attorneys representing Chaplain Wesley Modder. Liberty Institute is a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases.
Liberty Institute asserts that Chaplain Modder’s fate could have a significant impact on every Christian military chaplain.The letter included the results of Liberty Institute’s investigation of allegations levied against the chaplain by Captain John Fahs.
I’ll tackle that newest allegation later – but first here’s a recap of what I believe to be the LGBT-inspired witch hunt against Chaplain Modder:
Last December, an openly gay officer at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in South Carolina, took offense at Modder’s take on homosexuality. The chaplain, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, was accused of discrimination and failing to show tolerance and respect – among other things.
Just a few months earlier, Modder’s commander had called him the “best of the best” and a consummate professional leader.” But now he’s on the verge of being kicked out of the military.
“After our investigation, it is clear that the facts and law are on Chaplain Modder’s side,” Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry said. “He has done nothing more than provide ministerial services in accordance with the precepts of his faith – which is completely consistent with Navy rules and federal law.”
Their letter is a point by point repudiation of the allegations against the highly respected chaplain – a man who once led chaplains who ministered to Navy SEALs.
“We believe the Navy will exonerate Chaplain Modder and restore him to continue his true calling of ministering to sailors and Marines as he has done for the past 15 years,” Berry said.
Liberty Institute maintains that Modder’s private counseling on issues involving human sexuality and same-sex marriage were consistent with the beliefs of his endorsing agency – the Assemblies of God.
“As a result of honoring the tenets of his endorsing denomination, he now faces the loss of his employment and removal from the Navy,” Liberty Institute wrote.
While Chaplain Modder specifically denies accusations that he used inappropriate language or gestures, he does admit to providing answers to questions from a Biblical world view.
“On occasion and only when asked, he expressed his sincerely held religious belief that sexual acts outside of marriage are contrary to biblical teaching; homosexual conduct is contrary to biblical teaching and homosexual orientation or temptation as distinct from conduct is not a sin,” Liberty Institute wrote.
They also reminded the Navy that Department of Defense regulations allow Chaplain Modder to hold religious beliefs.
“Navy chaplains are never required to compromise the standards of their religious organization, but are required to perform in a pluralistic environment,” they wrote.
That brings me back to the moment when Chaplain Modder was told he could not pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Liberty Institute alleges it happened shortly after Modder assumed chaplaincy responsibilities at the training command. He was asked to deliver an invocation at a ceremony.
As he was walking to the lectern, Fahs is alleged to have told him to deep-six the Jesus talk – “counsel that Chaplain Modder accepted and with which he complied.”
Chaplain Modder’s fate could have a significant impact on every Christian military chaplain, asserts Liberty Institute.
Taking action, they argue, “Would send a dangerous message that other chaplains who share his beliefs – the vast majority of military chaplains – may also suffer adverse personnel actions and would have a profound chilling effect on any chaplain who seeks to provide biblical care.”
And if the Navy silences chaplains – they could certainly silence sailors.
“If the Navy can remove a chaplain who expresses his religious beliefs, then service members who share those beliefs will believe that they, too, are unwelcome in the Navy,” Liberty Institute wrote.
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Good Friday: The One About BEING TORTURED AND EXECUTED BY THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST
By Ann Barnhardt
Several emails have come in asking advice on cultivating an authentic, genuine “personal relationship” with Christ. The answer is simple, and it comes from Our Lord Himself who has told many mystic saints and doctors of the Church the same thing: THINK AND PRAY ABOUT MY PASSION AND DEATH. Why? Because thinking about Our Lord’s torture, agony and excruciating death forces us to confront Him as a Person, True God AND True Man. Legal systems don’t sob until their capillaries burst. Philosophies don’t suffer the agony of unrequited love. Imaginary friends don’t lay down their lives. Bureaucracies don’t fight asphyxiation by pushing themselves up on their impaled feet.
Only a PERSON can do these things. Only a DIVINE PERSON did. And remember, He would go through His ENTIRE PASSION just for you alone, and He would go through it REPEATEDLY for you alone, in fact as many times as you assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and even more. That is how much He PERSONALLY loves you, PERSONALLY.
Think about that early and often, and I promise that you will develop a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him.
———————————————
The key to beginning to understand the Incarnation, God becoming Man, is Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. If you recall, after the Last Supper in the Upper Room, Jesus and the apostles, except for Judas who was on his errand of betrayal already, went to the Garden of Gethsemane. John tells us that Jesus went there with the apostles frequently to pray, and thus it would be one of the first places Judas would have known to look for Him. The wheels of the Passion are in motion. Jesus knows exactly what is coming, and that it is coming within a matter of hours.. (continued)
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Thursday, February 19, 2015
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest
February 19, 2015
(ChurchMilitant.TV) Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Vortex, where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed. I’m Michael Voris.
What appears to be a conflict of interest at the Vatican is raising eyebrows across the Catholic world.
Papal spokesman and English translator Fr. Thomas Rosica, who in his public position with the Holy See should always be striving to maintain at least the appearance of impartiality, has been taking to social media and expressing his personal opinions. For example, a short while ago a key African Archbishop, Charles Palmer-Buckle of Ghana, came out publicly saying he’s open to allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion.
His comments caused quite the stir, largely because they exploded the impression that all the African hierarchy are against the idea. Here was an African bishop publicly stating his support, or at least his openness.
When the article came out on a twitter feed, papal spokesman Fr. Thomas Rosica re-tweeted it, suggesting of course that he supports the idea.
Representatives of the Pope, whose duties are to express the Pope’s wishes, should not be using their offices to express their own opinion, appearing to gin up support for a case that is the very issue at hand for those above him to debate at October’s Synod. But this is not the first occasion that Fr. Rosica has gone to social media to express personal “out there” thoughts and opinions.
Father Rosica has publicly stated, for example, that this question of giving Holy Communion to those living in adultery is a “continuing journey.”
He said in a public interview, “I feel that deep down something has to change here.” And this is precisely the point: what Fr. Rosica thinks or feels makes no difference.
This priest represents the Holy See, the Vicar of Christ. Frankly, he doesn’t get to have a public opinion. He knew that when he took the job.
There is a list a mile long of very questionable and very public comments by Fr. Rosica that are not only questionable because of their theological import, but exactly because when he speaks, he speaks with the authority of a close aide to the Pope himself.
It gives the impression that Pope Francis is either ignorant of his minions and their doings, or he is supportive of their mouthings.
Imagine White House spokesman Josh Earnest standing in front of reporters and saying or tweeting out that the US needs to attack the Middle East. An announcement would be made the next day by the NEW white house spokesman that Mr. Earnest had resigned for personal reasons.
In an absolute shocking announcement at last October’s Synod on the Family, Fr. Thomas Rosica publicly stated that the Holy Family—Our Blessed Lord, Our Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph—constituted an “irregular” family in an attempt to justify the rationalizations in the infamous Midterm Relatio calling for near-normalization and acceptance of sodomy and adultery.
The term “irregular” was in the Relatio and was referring to sinful relationships, such as same-sex couples and those living in adulterous situations.
That a priest of God would even dare to think such a thought, and then utter such a comment—much less announce it in front of the entire world press corps—shows a grave lack of prudence and suggests something much deeper is at play.
Divine Justice must surely visit one who impurely suggests that the Holy Family was “irregular”, as in they lived the carnal complications of fallen twisted human nature. And this man is a spokesman for the Vicar of Christ?
What’s going on here? Why does his boss Fr. Frederico Lombardi not silence him, or reduce him to position of file boy?
We ourselves had a personal encounter with Fr. Rosica in the Holy See Press briefing room at the Synod. He approached us and said, “Do you really think that these irregular situations don’t have any good in them, nothing, not one thing?”
I answered him immediately, “Not if they go to Hell, Father.” He immediately drew back in dramatic flare and said, “The Church doesn’t teach that.”
To be certain, the Church does absolutely teach that dying in a state of mortal sin warrants a soul eternal damnation and the Church teaches that adultery and sodomy are mortal sins.
Is Fr. Rosica laboring under the mistaken belief that the Church no longer teaches that these actions are sinful? Is he suggesting that the Church no longer teaches these sins are mortal? Is papal spokesman Fr. Rosica suggesting—in total defiance of Church teaching—that dying in a state of mortal sin no longer merits a soul hell?
Is it a conflict of interest for a papal spokesman to keep expressing his personal opinion and either asserting that the Pope holds the same opinion or creating that impression? How is this situation being allowed to continue? A lot of people are beginning to wonder.
GOD love you.
I’m Michael Voris
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Monday, September 22, 2014
The Generosity of God
By Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
(The Crossroads Initiative) “But that’s not fair!” Most parents have heard this phrase umpteen times. The notion of fairness also known as justice, is built into us. It makes us aware that each of us has certain rights that need to be respected.
But it also means that we each have duties. If others have the right to be paid for their work, those who benefit from that work have the duty to pay them. If others have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have the duty not to let our pursuit of happiness infringe on their rights.
But we have to widen our perspective a bit. God, the creator of all, is responsible for all the blessings we enjoy. Life in this world was given to each of us as an undeserved, free gift. We have unequal physical talents, features, and abilities, plus diverse spiritual and intellectual gifts as well. They vary a lot from person to person, but what they all have in common is that they come as free gifts from God who didn’t have to create any of us.
This is the necessary background to fully understand a parable that at first shocks our sensibilities. Matthew (20:1-16) records a story of an employer who hires workmen to harvest grapes. He hires members of the crew at various times of the day, so that at the end of the day, some have only worked a few hours while others have worked all day long. There’s grumbling when everyone is paid the same standard day’s wage, regardless of how long they worked. To add insult to injury, those who started last got paid first. “No fair!”
Wait a minute. The master paid those who worked all day exactly what he told them they’d get. He just decided to be generous and pay everybody, even the latecomers, a full day’s wage. Justice does not preclude generosity.
The Pharisees thought that they had always done the will of God and deserved more than the rest, especially the rabble Jesus appeared to favor–including tax collectors and sinners. It roiled them to think that these Johnny-come-lately’s would sit along them in the Kingdom of God.
Truth be told, neither they, nor any of us, are really like the folks who consistently did the will of the Master, working uninterruptedly at the assigned task. Our assigned job is to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, ALL our soul, and ALL of our strength (Deut 6:4-5) every day of our life. This is only fair since we owe God absolutely everything. But we’ve all unfairly walked off the job at various moments–thumbing our noses at him through our disobedience, pride, and selfishness. Some have gone AWOL longer than others, and some’s sins are more spectacular than others. But the bottom line is that, in terms of strict justice, God does not owe any of us anything except, perhaps, punishment.
But in his extraordinary generosity, the Lord has offered us a deal–if we will accept His beloved Son in faith as Savior and Lord, and through the power of the Spirit seek to do His will, and if we will repent each time we fail, He will give us what we do not deserve–friendship with Him here that opens out to eternal glory hereafter. The first takers for this offer have typically been those most aware of their need for mercy. And this is why the last have usually been first when it comes to the Kingdom of God.
Seems fair to me.
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Thursday, August 7, 2014
British police raid pub in search for 'Holy Grail'
By William James
LONDON (Reuters) - British police raided an English country pub this week in search of a stolen wooden relic believed by some to be the Holy Grail - a cup from which, according to the Bible, Jesus is said to have drunk at his final meal before crucifixion.
The Grail has captivated religious experts for centuries, spawning myriad theories about its location and inspiring numerous fictional accounts from the Middle Ages onwards.
The object of the police search, which was unsuccessful, was a frail wooden bowl known as the Nanteos Cup that has been attributed with healing powers since the 19th century, attracting pilgrims and others who believe it may be the Holy Grail itself.
After receiving a tip-off, a team of eight officers and a police dog arrived on Sunday morning at the Crown Inn, a village pub in the rural English county of Herefordshire.
"They turned the place upside down. They came with fibre optic cameras to look in all the corners and nooks and crannies, and under the floorboards ... they were clearly serious about it," the pub's landlady, Di Franklyn, said.
Police said the relic, a dark wooden cup kept inside a blue velvet bag, had been stolen from a house in the area about a month ago. Photographs available online show a bowl-shaped vessel with around half its side missing.
"We get a few rogues and scallywags in the pub, but no one who's quite on the level of stealing a priceless ancient artefact," Franklyn said.
The cup takes its name from Nanteos Mansion, a country house in Wales where the vessel is reported to have been stored until 1952 after 16th-century monks fleeing King Henry VIII's dissolution of England's monasteries sought refuge there.
The cup was said to have been brought to Britain after Jesus' death by Joseph of Arimathea, the biblical figure who provided Christ with a tomb and, according to legend, brought Christianity to Britain.
Scientists who have examined the cup have said it almost certainly dates from many centuries after the crucifixion, and is not made of the olive wood that might have been expected for a Middle Eastern drinking vessel.
LONDON (Reuters) - British police raided an English country pub this week in search of a stolen wooden relic believed by some to be the Holy Grail - a cup from which, according to the Bible, Jesus is said to have drunk at his final meal before crucifixion.
The Grail has captivated religious experts for centuries, spawning myriad theories about its location and inspiring numerous fictional accounts from the Middle Ages onwards.
The object of the police search, which was unsuccessful, was a frail wooden bowl known as the Nanteos Cup that has been attributed with healing powers since the 19th century, attracting pilgrims and others who believe it may be the Holy Grail itself.
After receiving a tip-off, a team of eight officers and a police dog arrived on Sunday morning at the Crown Inn, a village pub in the rural English county of Herefordshire.
"They turned the place upside down. They came with fibre optic cameras to look in all the corners and nooks and crannies, and under the floorboards ... they were clearly serious about it," the pub's landlady, Di Franklyn, said.
Police said the relic, a dark wooden cup kept inside a blue velvet bag, had been stolen from a house in the area about a month ago. Photographs available online show a bowl-shaped vessel with around half its side missing.
"We get a few rogues and scallywags in the pub, but no one who's quite on the level of stealing a priceless ancient artefact," Franklyn said.
The cup takes its name from Nanteos Mansion, a country house in Wales where the vessel is reported to have been stored until 1952 after 16th-century monks fleeing King Henry VIII's dissolution of England's monasteries sought refuge there.
The cup was said to have been brought to Britain after Jesus' death by Joseph of Arimathea, the biblical figure who provided Christ with a tomb and, according to legend, brought Christianity to Britain.
Scientists who have examined the cup have said it almost certainly dates from many centuries after the crucifixion, and is not made of the olive wood that might have been expected for a Middle Eastern drinking vessel.
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Thursday, May 1, 2014
Netanyahu 'Asked Rabbi to Allow Giving David's Tomb to Vatican'
An MK Says Netanyahu has contacted the Chief Sephardic Rabbi, asked for halakhic permission to make the move.
By Hezki Ezra, Gil Ronen
(Arutz Sheva) A Knesset Member said Thursday that Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef told him that the Prime Minister's bureau contacted him and asked to grant halakhic permission for Israel to hand over the Tomb of David to the Vatican.
The startling news was revealed by the Knesset Member during a tour of the Tomb of Daid by four MKs – Yoni Chetboun of the Jewish Home, who initiated the tour, Moshe Feiglin (Likud-Beytenu), Nissim Ze'ev (Shas), and Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism – UTJ).
The MKs were unanimous in declaring that they intend to do everything within their power to forestall any attempt to hand over the Tomb to the Vatican. There are also reports that not just the Tomb, but the entire Mount Zion compound is up for transfer. The MKs made clear that the zone is under Israeli sovereignty and will remain so.
There have been reports, recently, of a secret negotiation channel between the Vatican and the Israeli government, regarding the Tomb – and especially its second floor, which the Vatican calls the “Room of the Last Supper” – and the Mount Zion compound.
Officially, this report was denied by the government, with Deputy Minister Ze'ev Elkin taking to the Knesset podium to state that it was untrue.
However, the government has decided to place the exclusive authority regarding the holy sites in the hands of the prime minister – fueling speculation that a secret deal is indeed in the works.
The Vatican's attempts to gain a sovereign foothold in the Mount of Olives have been going on for year, but thus far unsuccessfully.
The visit to Israel by Pope Francis is less than a month away. This is a factor in the timing of the MKs' tour of the compound. A representative of the Religions Ministry's Department of Holy Sites was also present.
The MKs promised to pass a law making the Tomb of David an official holy site.
"For many years, the Vatican has been investing large sums in purchasing assets in Jerusalem, with the purpose of blurring the city's Jewish character,” said Chetboun. “This trend must be blocked, and the Basic Law on Jerusalem, which forbids handing over sovereignty on parts of the city to foreign entities, must be enforced. Today's tour is only the beginning of the struggle, and we will bring more MKs here. The Tomb of David is a cornerstone of the city's Jewish history, we must safeguard it.”
MK Feiglin said after the tour, “The attempts to transfer sovereignty over the Tomb of David to the Vatican are a direct continuation of the transfer of sovereignty in the Temple Mount to the Jordanians. The government of Israel is buying a false calm at the price of forfeiting our most sacred sites, under cover of darkness and against the law.”
Link:
By Hezki Ezra, Gil Ronen
(Arutz Sheva) A Knesset Member said Thursday that Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef told him that the Prime Minister's bureau contacted him and asked to grant halakhic permission for Israel to hand over the Tomb of David to the Vatican.
The startling news was revealed by the Knesset Member during a tour of the Tomb of Daid by four MKs – Yoni Chetboun of the Jewish Home, who initiated the tour, Moshe Feiglin (Likud-Beytenu), Nissim Ze'ev (Shas), and Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism – UTJ).
The MKs were unanimous in declaring that they intend to do everything within their power to forestall any attempt to hand over the Tomb to the Vatican. There are also reports that not just the Tomb, but the entire Mount Zion compound is up for transfer. The MKs made clear that the zone is under Israeli sovereignty and will remain so.
There have been reports, recently, of a secret negotiation channel between the Vatican and the Israeli government, regarding the Tomb – and especially its second floor, which the Vatican calls the “Room of the Last Supper” – and the Mount Zion compound.
Officially, this report was denied by the government, with Deputy Minister Ze'ev Elkin taking to the Knesset podium to state that it was untrue.
However, the government has decided to place the exclusive authority regarding the holy sites in the hands of the prime minister – fueling speculation that a secret deal is indeed in the works.
The Vatican's attempts to gain a sovereign foothold in the Mount of Olives have been going on for year, but thus far unsuccessfully.
The visit to Israel by Pope Francis is less than a month away. This is a factor in the timing of the MKs' tour of the compound. A representative of the Religions Ministry's Department of Holy Sites was also present.
The MKs promised to pass a law making the Tomb of David an official holy site.
"For many years, the Vatican has been investing large sums in purchasing assets in Jerusalem, with the purpose of blurring the city's Jewish character,” said Chetboun. “This trend must be blocked, and the Basic Law on Jerusalem, which forbids handing over sovereignty on parts of the city to foreign entities, must be enforced. Today's tour is only the beginning of the struggle, and we will bring more MKs here. The Tomb of David is a cornerstone of the city's Jewish history, we must safeguard it.”
MK Feiglin said after the tour, “The attempts to transfer sovereignty over the Tomb of David to the Vatican are a direct continuation of the transfer of sovereignty in the Temple Mount to the Jordanians. The government of Israel is buying a false calm at the price of forfeiting our most sacred sites, under cover of darkness and against the law.”
Link:
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bill Donohue - David Bowie's "Jesus" Video is a Mess
Bill Donohue comments on David Bowie’s video that accompanies his song, “The Next Day”:
(Catholic League) David Bowie is back, but hopefully not for long. The switch-hitting, bisexual, senior citizen from London has resurfaced, this time playing a Jesus-like character who hangs out in a nightclub dump frequented by priests, cardinals and half-naked women.
The video is strewn with characteristic excess: one priest bashes a homeless man, while others are busy hitting on women; self-flagellation is depicted; a dancing gal with bleeding hands makes a stigmata statement; and a customer is served eyeballs on a plate. The lyrics refer to the “priest stiff in hate” and “women dressed as men for the pleasure of that priest.” The song concludes with, “They can work with Satan while they dress with the saints.” In short, the video reflects the artist—it is a mess.
Bowie is nothing if not confused about religion. He once made a public confession: “I was young, fancy free, and Tibetan Buddhism appealed to me at that time. I thought, ‘There’s salvation.’ It didn’t really work. Then I went through Nietzsche, Satanism, Christianity…pottery, and ended up singing. It’s been a long road.” Too bad the pottery didn’t work.
But Bowie didn’t give up trying to figure out who he is. “I’m not quite an atheist and it worries me. There’s a little bit that holds on. Well, I’m almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months.”
Well, Bowie has had more than a couple of months—it’s been ten years since he spoke those words. Not sure what he believes in today (anyone who is “not quite an atheist” is not an atheist), but it’s a sure bet he can’t stop thinking about the Cadillac of all religions, namely Roman Catholicism. There is hope for him yet. Link:
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(Catholic League) David Bowie is back, but hopefully not for long. The switch-hitting, bisexual, senior citizen from London has resurfaced, this time playing a Jesus-like character who hangs out in a nightclub dump frequented by priests, cardinals and half-naked women.
The video is strewn with characteristic excess: one priest bashes a homeless man, while others are busy hitting on women; self-flagellation is depicted; a dancing gal with bleeding hands makes a stigmata statement; and a customer is served eyeballs on a plate. The lyrics refer to the “priest stiff in hate” and “women dressed as men for the pleasure of that priest.” The song concludes with, “They can work with Satan while they dress with the saints.” In short, the video reflects the artist—it is a mess.
Bowie is nothing if not confused about religion. He once made a public confession: “I was young, fancy free, and Tibetan Buddhism appealed to me at that time. I thought, ‘There’s salvation.’ It didn’t really work. Then I went through Nietzsche, Satanism, Christianity…pottery, and ended up singing. It’s been a long road.” Too bad the pottery didn’t work.
But Bowie didn’t give up trying to figure out who he is. “I’m not quite an atheist and it worries me. There’s a little bit that holds on. Well, I’m almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months.”
Well, Bowie has had more than a couple of months—it’s been ten years since he spoke those words. Not sure what he believes in today (anyone who is “not quite an atheist” is not an atheist), but it’s a sure bet he can’t stop thinking about the Cadillac of all religions, namely Roman Catholicism. There is hope for him yet. Link:
Related:
- Bill Donohue: Romney’s silence on Chick-fil-A may cause voters to ‘simply stay at home’
- Empire State Building Won't Honor Cardinal Dolan, Though Honored Mao Zedong & Communist Revolution
- Comedy Central 'delights in bashing Christians,' charges Bill Donohue
Monday, April 22, 2013
Pope Calls on Youth to Heed the Lords Calling
Thousands Gather in St. Peters on Vocations Sunday
Vatican City, (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves
Pope Francis reflected on the God’s calling to men and women
during his address prior to the recitation of the Regina Caeli
yesterday at St. Peter’s Square. The fourth Sunday of Easter, which is
also known as Good Shepherd Sunday as well as Vocations Sunday, was
marked by the ordination of 10 deacons to the priesthood earlier that
morning.
The Holy Father reflected on the Gospel of the Good Shepherd, which he stated is the the “central nucleus” of Jesus’ Gospel in which “He Calls us to participate in His relationship with the Father.”
“Jesus wants to establish a relationship with his friends that is the reflection of the one he himself has with the Father: a relation of mutual belonging in total confidence, in intimate communion,” the Pope said.
“Jesus uses the image of the shepherd and his sheep to express this profound shared understanding, this relationship of friendship. The shepherd calls his sheep and they recognize his voice, they respond to his call and follow him. This is a beautiful parable!”
The Pope went on to say that if we learn to listen to the unique voice of Christ, then it will lead us along the path of life. A path, he continued, “that stretches even beyond death.”
Pope Francis then directed his word to the youth present in the square, exhorting them to heed God’s call.
In a moment of dialogue the Pope asked “Have you heard the Lord’s voice at some time in a desire, in upheaval, invite you to follow him more closely? Have you heard it? I can’t hear you.” The youth erupted with shouts and applause.
“Youth must be placed at the service of great ideals. Do you think so? Do you agree? Ask Jesus what he wants of you and be courageous! Be courageous! Ask him! Behind and prior to every vocation to the priesthood or the consecrated life there is always someone’s powerful and intense prayer: a grandmother’s, a grandfather’s, a mother’s, a father’s, a community’s; This is why Jesus said: “Pray to the Lord of the harvest,” that is, God the Father, “that he might send workers for the harvest!”
Before reciting the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father asked the faithful to pray in particular for the new priests ordained and called on all to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“She learned to recognize Jesus’ voice from the time she carried him in her womb. Mary our Mother, help us to recognize Jesus’ voice always better and to follow it to walk along the path of life! Thank you,” the Pope said.
Link:
Vatican City, (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves
The Holy Father reflected on the Gospel of the Good Shepherd, which he stated is the the “central nucleus” of Jesus’ Gospel in which “He Calls us to participate in His relationship with the Father.”
“Jesus wants to establish a relationship with his friends that is the reflection of the one he himself has with the Father: a relation of mutual belonging in total confidence, in intimate communion,” the Pope said.
“Jesus uses the image of the shepherd and his sheep to express this profound shared understanding, this relationship of friendship. The shepherd calls his sheep and they recognize his voice, they respond to his call and follow him. This is a beautiful parable!”
The Pope went on to say that if we learn to listen to the unique voice of Christ, then it will lead us along the path of life. A path, he continued, “that stretches even beyond death.”
Pope Francis then directed his word to the youth present in the square, exhorting them to heed God’s call.
In a moment of dialogue the Pope asked “Have you heard the Lord’s voice at some time in a desire, in upheaval, invite you to follow him more closely? Have you heard it? I can’t hear you.” The youth erupted with shouts and applause.
“Youth must be placed at the service of great ideals. Do you think so? Do you agree? Ask Jesus what he wants of you and be courageous! Be courageous! Ask him! Behind and prior to every vocation to the priesthood or the consecrated life there is always someone’s powerful and intense prayer: a grandmother’s, a grandfather’s, a mother’s, a father’s, a community’s; This is why Jesus said: “Pray to the Lord of the harvest,” that is, God the Father, “that he might send workers for the harvest!”
Before reciting the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father asked the faithful to pray in particular for the new priests ordained and called on all to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“She learned to recognize Jesus’ voice from the time she carried him in her womb. Mary our Mother, help us to recognize Jesus’ voice always better and to follow it to walk along the path of life! Thank you,” the Pope said.
Link:
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Higher Science of the Saints
By Father George Rutler
For quite a while, the Richard III Society was easily passed off as one of those eccentricities like the Flat Earth Society. It sought to salvage the reputation of the Plantagenet king who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. As a propagandist of Richard's Tudor successors, Shakespeare gave us the undying image of the dying king, physically malformed and morally corrupt, lamenting “Now is the winter of our discontent,” and finally crying out: “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Much objective good can be said of him, in fact, as he was an enlightened reformer of laws and a brave fighter. Through the efforts of his fan club — the “Richardians” — archeologists have exhumed in Leicester what are “beyond a reasonable doubt” the king’s bones. In addition to other evidence that corroborates his identity, such as his spinal deformity and wounds, his mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been traced from his sister, Anne of York, all the way to a young Canadian carpenter now living in London.
This is another instance of how physical science vindicates ancient truth. The king’s character certainly remains a disputed matter, but the oral tradition of his appearance and place of burial has now been confirmed. Forensic scientists will even be able to reconstruct the appearance of his face. The same was recently done with Robert the Bruce, and the result was, to say the least, a disappointment to those with romantic notions of the man. In a similar way, genetic science can now trace the development of human life and even film it in the womb. Those who until recently spoke of a “blob of tissue” have been defeated by the evidence of this irrefutable fact. And the prophet Jeremiah is vindicated: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:4).
The prophet was specifically looking forward to the Messiah, whose divine nature can only be revealed by the higher science of the saints. Unlike Richardians, who are glad to have found the bones of their king, Christians know that their King has left no bones. That is why we have forty days of Lent, not to search for Him, but to search for ourselves. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:4). The Psalmist answers his own question: “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). The Letter to the Hebrews quotes this and declares, not by any archeological discovery or forensic evidence, but by the eyewitness of the apostles themselves: “We see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
Link:
For quite a while, the Richard III Society was easily passed off as one of those eccentricities like the Flat Earth Society. It sought to salvage the reputation of the Plantagenet king who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. As a propagandist of Richard's Tudor successors, Shakespeare gave us the undying image of the dying king, physically malformed and morally corrupt, lamenting “Now is the winter of our discontent,” and finally crying out: “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Much objective good can be said of him, in fact, as he was an enlightened reformer of laws and a brave fighter. Through the efforts of his fan club — the “Richardians” — archeologists have exhumed in Leicester what are “beyond a reasonable doubt” the king’s bones. In addition to other evidence that corroborates his identity, such as his spinal deformity and wounds, his mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been traced from his sister, Anne of York, all the way to a young Canadian carpenter now living in London.
This is another instance of how physical science vindicates ancient truth. The king’s character certainly remains a disputed matter, but the oral tradition of his appearance and place of burial has now been confirmed. Forensic scientists will even be able to reconstruct the appearance of his face. The same was recently done with Robert the Bruce, and the result was, to say the least, a disappointment to those with romantic notions of the man. In a similar way, genetic science can now trace the development of human life and even film it in the womb. Those who until recently spoke of a “blob of tissue” have been defeated by the evidence of this irrefutable fact. And the prophet Jeremiah is vindicated: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:4).
The prophet was specifically looking forward to the Messiah, whose divine nature can only be revealed by the higher science of the saints. Unlike Richardians, who are glad to have found the bones of their king, Christians know that their King has left no bones. That is why we have forty days of Lent, not to search for Him, but to search for ourselves. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:4). The Psalmist answers his own question: “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). The Letter to the Hebrews quotes this and declares, not by any archeological discovery or forensic evidence, but by the eyewitness of the apostles themselves: “We see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Pope's Article in Financial Times: A Time for Christians to Engage With the World
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"The Birth of Christ Challenges us to Reassess our Priorities, Our Values, Our Very Way of Life"
By Pope Benedict XVI
The following is the full text of the article written by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI which appeared in the Financial Times.
* * *
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force him to take sides in the highly charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely he would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose him either as a threat to the regime, or as a fraud.
Jesus' answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicization of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As he told Pontius Pilate: "My kingship is not of this world."
The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a "census of the whole world" ordered by Caesar Augustus, the emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time.
Jesus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation he brought to his people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.
The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?
Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the child in the manger, but as the one in whom we recognize that God made man. It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the stock exchange. Christians should not shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.
Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. They work for more equitable sharing of the earth's resources out of a belief that – as stewards of God’s creation – we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. The belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.
Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful co-operation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the past century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God.
When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated worldview. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.
In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love.
He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of goodwill can help to build here on earth.
The writer is the Bishop of Rome and author of ‘Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives'
--- --- ---
On the NET:
For the original publication of the article, go to: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/099d055e-4937-11e2-9225-00144feab49a.html#axzz2FaKmB3UR
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
In Sin and Error Pining: Christmas in an Unholy Land
By Fr. Gordon J. MacRae
Though I grew up on the North Shore of Boston, I lived for several years in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To prepare for Christmas, people in the Old Town district and other neighborhoods would place lit vigil candles in hundreds of small, sand-filled brown paper bags to encircle their homes, line their driveways, and often even adorn their flat adobe roofs. These vigil lights – called “Candelarias” – were displayed throughout the neighborhoods by the thousands, and their collective effect was a beautiful and breathtaking vigil for the birth of Christ. On Christmas Eve, families and friends from all over would crowd into their cars for a solemn drive through Old Town Albuquerque to view the Candelarias.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even inside this prison, or at least my small corner of it. As the annual bipolar express into Christmas depression commences all around me, the walls of this cell have become covered with Christmas cards sent by TSW readers. The cards are beautiful and a stark contrast to the bleak place they now adorn.
The collective effect has transformed this captive world in sin and error pining into one of expectant hope, and the strangest thing has happened. As Christmas draws nearer, prisoners – few of whom receive many cards and some none at all – keep coming to this cell to look at the growing numbers of faith-filled cards. “How does one person know so many people?” one asked. “No,” another corrected him. “How does one person know so many GOOD people?” Pornchai loves to give tours of our cards, and tells the other prisoners that we have never even met most of the senders. He explains that they are TSW readers who think of us and pray for us – “including you,” Pornchai tells them – as we spend another Christmas here. It reminds me so much of the vigil of the Candelarias. You should take some pride in this, for it was you who provided the lights that draw them...
You can take pride in the fact that many of the cards you have sent to me and to Pornchai now serve a solemn purpose in an unholy land. They are the Candelarias that summon the alienated and alone to the Christ Child.
I’m about to mark my 19th Christmas in such an exile, living in punishment for crimes that never took place. For Pornchai, it’s his 21st Christmas in prison. But one thing is clear. Not all who dwell in this unholy land are without hope for redemption. When Jonathan finally left this prison last year at Christmas, when his daughter was one year old, he handed me a note as he was going out the door. It was one of the nicest Christmas gifts I or any priest could ever receive:
“I will always remember all the ways that I could count on you. You never take anything from anyone, but please take this: You were a better father to some of us in prison than any of our own fathers ever were in freedom.”I don’t know that what Jonathan wrote was entirely accurate. I have a hard time measuring such things, but I got another note recently that literally knocked me on my . . . umm, priestly posterior. It was from my friend, Alberto Ramos about whom I wrote in “Why You Must Never Give Up Hope for Another Human Being...” (continued)
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Christ's Meaningless Words
Hello everyone and welcome to The Vortex where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed. I’m Michael Voris.
Picking up with yesterday’s theme .. the heresy of Protestantism has spawned the destruction of a nation.
The calculus is really very simple .. because Protestantism distorts the truth of Christ .. it will result in the perversion of morality .. which when played out over sufficient time ..will bring about the ruin of a nation.
Now .. case in point .. just one central point. A protestant pastor and I had a brief passing encounter at a radio station a couple of years ago. During our short encounter .. he made reference to my Catholicism and then said .. well what matters is that we all agree on the essentials.
Not having really heard that before .. I asked what he meant. His answer was revelatory indeed because it revealed a mindset of the very snake lying all coiled up under the Protestant table.
Listen to his answer. He said .. well , we shouldn’t waste time fussing over the nonessentials.
“What non-essentials?”, I asked, having never even thought that some points of Catholic doctrine were non-essential .. or even Protestant doctrine for that point. I think Martin Luther and John Calvin would take exception to this descendant of theirs would be referring to parts or some of their teachings as “non-essential”.
His response was nothing less than flat out stupid. He proposed that what Jesus said about divorce and remarriage was a “non-essential”. Imagine this for a moment.
Stop what you’re doing for five seconds and consider the full import here .. five seconds ..
[ five second countdown ]
Did your consideration carry you to the logical conclusions which must follow from his beliefs?
First .. God said a non-essential thing. Second, if he says ONE non-essential thing, how many more did He say? And if He did say more than one, how many MORE? And if he does utter non-essentials, how can we know which ones? Who determines which ones are non-essential? What’s the criteria for determining.
And on a philosophical note – why would the all perfect knowing Being blabber out nonessential things? What would be the point?
This whole stupid line of discussion is the direct result of the Protestant heresy .. and it has VERY REAL effects. It misleads souls in their ability to make moral choices .. moral choices that will determine their eternal destinies.
This farcical notion that some teachings of Almighty God’s are non-essential is the final destination of Protestantism .. because having declared that the Church He personally established is non-essential .. then how could they NOT arrive at the place they have come to now .. that other things He declared are non-essential.
I was in a 3 hour discussion this weekend with a young man who attends a Baptist congregation. When I asked him why he goes there, he said, he likes the way the preacher preaches.
A while later, he willingly offered up something that was decidedly non-Baptist and when I noted that his Baptist preacher wouldn’t agree with that, he said he doesn’t REALLY consider himself a Baptist.
When I asked him what he thought of Calvinism .. he scoffed and said he had bigger problems with Calvinism than he did with Catholicism. So when we got into a deeper discussion .. on a more philosophical level than theological .. but surely with theological consequences .. it became clear he was just making up his own religion.
Now to be fair .. he wasn’t saying that others had to believe his line of reasoning .. but he was giving his line of reasoning equal footing with any other religion .. especially Catholicism since that was the focus of our talk .. some Catholic doctrines.
At the end of the day .. for him .. it boiled down to the simple point that HE has the final say so in interpreting Scripture, teachings, and so forth. Interpretation of the word of God belongs to him and him alone FOR HIM - in short .. theological relativism.
And in the Protestant world .. of course it does. What Protestant can tell another Protestant that his opinion is wrong – based on what? In the Protestant heresy, there is no final arbiter of the truth, no final interpreter and for wimpy Catholics to refuse to talk about this or refuse to accept this horror and even more to challenge it is disgraceful.
It’s beyond disgraceful – it will be a point of shame for them when they stand before the judgment seat of God. God is truth and He desires and commands that truth be preached.
Protestantism is a heresy because .. like all heresies .. it distorts truth ever so subtly and prevents those who fall in its pit from reaching the fullness of the truth.
And that there Catholics who are not only aware of this perversion but attempt to silence by intimidation and insult and invective other Catholics who speak from GENUINE charity for the souls of those infected with heresy is perhaps one of the greatest failings of the past fifty years.
This false ecumenism .. the promotion or tolerance of religious parity has reigned down moral terror on this nation and many other nations.
Since so many of these religions offer competing and contradicting views of God .. truth .. morality .. how can they all be worthy of consideration? How can they all be viewed as equal or equally worthy?
They can’t. You cannot have one religion saying the words of Our Lord on the question of divorce and remarriage are non-essential and another saying they must be understood literally and lived by.
You can’t have one religion saying murdering children in the womb is a viable alternative .. however perhaps regrettable, while another says it is an unspeakable crime.
Likewise with so-called same-sex marriage .. In Vitro Fertilization .. contraception.
Yet we have Catholics .. CATHOLICS howling whenever these discrepancies and contradictions are pointed out.
They have drunk the koolaid of the religious relativism because they have a misplaced sense of compassion .. they are driven by their feelings and have switched off their intellects.
They have as horrible a sense and understanding of GOD Himself as the Protestant heresy that they have no problems with.
While this is understandable .. owing to the fact that the catechesis huge numbers of Catholics have received and still get pumped into them from clergy and religious has been essentially Protestant at its core .. that alone is not enough to let lukewarm Catholics off the hook.
They have eyes. They have ears. They can see parishes being closed down by the thousands .. vocations at a point of crisis .. family members leaving the faith in hordes.
And these objective realities demand an honest .. an intellectually honest evaluation.
Any Catholic who steps back and takes a level-headed honest look at where the Church is right now .. must conclude that the Protestant heresy has infected the Church to a tremendous degree .. much like Arianism did in the fourth century .. and a massive falling away from the faith has resulted.
This heresy must be fought against and the wimpy response of “don’t hurt people’s feelings” has to be taken on defeated as well. The Church on earth isn’t called the Church Militant for nothing.
GOD Love you,
I’m Michael Voris
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
So you want to surrender on Sodomite Marriage?
Domenico Beccafumi (Domenico di Giovanni di Pace). 1486 - 1551
Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata 1513-5
From Ann Barnhardt:
Saint Catherine of Siena, a religious mystic of the 14th century, relays words of Our Lord Jesus Christ about the vice against nature, which contaminated part of the clergy in her time. Referring to sacred ministers, He says: "They not only fail from resisting this frailty [of fallen human nature] . . . but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords. For Me, this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgment of My Divine Justice, which could no longer bear them. . . . It is disagreeable to the demons, not because evil displeases them and they find pleasure in good, but because their nature is angelic and thus is repulsed upon seeing such an enormous sin being committed. It is true that it is the demon who hits the sinner with the poisoned arrow of lust, but when a man carries out such a sinful act, the demon leaves."
HERE IS THE FULL COLLECTION OF QUOTES - DEFINITELY WORTH A BOOKMARK.
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Strange Thing Jesus Said to a Paralyzed Man – Another Insight from Pope Benedict’s New Book
By Msgr. Charles Pope
The Gospel from Monday the second week
of Advent is the gospel of the paralyzed man who is lowered through the
roof. It is presented to us in Advent because, among the many prophecies
about the Messiah, would be that the lame would walk. But the Gospel
also helps us to focus on Jesus’ central mission for us, and it is very
provocatively expressed in this Gospel.
Link:
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The Gospel passage contains a rather peculiar and somewhat awkward moment. Jesus looks at a paralyzed man and says to him, As for you, your sins are forgiven (Lk 5:20). What a strange thing to say to a paralyzed man.
The Pharisees and scribes of course are all worked up for other reasons,
but their reason is not ours, we know that Jesus has the authority to
forgive sins. Let us stay focused on the strange thing to say to a
paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven you.
One of us modern folk might be tempted to tap Jesus on the shoulder and say, “Ah excuse me, Lord, this man is paralyzed, his problem is paralysis, that’s what he needs healing for.”
Of course Jesus is not blind or unintelligent,
knows this. But looking at a paralyzed man he does not see the
paralysis as his most serious problem. The man has a far more serious
problem, his sin.
Now most of us, who live in the world, have the world’s priorities,
and we do not think like this. The Lord sees something more serious
than paralysis, and we think, “What can be more serious than
paralysis?!”But not as man sees, does God see. For God, the most serious
problem we have is our sin. But again, we don’t think like this, and
even being told we should think like this, we still don’t think like
this.
For most of us, influenced by the flesh, are far more devastated by the loss of our physical health, or the loss of money,
or the loss of a job, or some large worldly asset, than we are by the
fact that we have sin. Threaten our physical health and well-being, or
one of our larger physical assets, and we’re on our knees begging God
for help. Yet most human beings have far less concern for their
spiritual well-being. More often than not we are not nearly so
devastated by sin that can deprive us of eternal life, as we are
devastated by the loss of our health or some worldly thing.
Even many of us who have some sense of the spiritual life struggle with this obtuseness,
and misplaced sense of priorities. Even in our so-called spiritual
life, our prayers are often dominated by concerns that God will fix our
health, improve or finances, get us a job, etc. It is not wrong to pray
for these things, and we should. But honestly how often do we pray to be
freed of our sins, do we really and earnestly pray to grow in holiness
and to be prepared to see God face-to-face? Sometimes it almost sounds
as if we are asking God to make this world more comfortable and we’ll
just stay here forever. This attitude is an affront to the truer Gifts
God is offering.
And so it is that Jesus, looking at a paralyzed man, says to him, your sins are forgiven.
In so doing he addresses the man’s most serious problem first. Only
secondarily does he speak to the man’s paralysis, which he almost seems
to have overlooked in comparison to the issue of sin.
We have much to learn hear about how God sees, and what really are the most crucial issues in our life.
Joseph and Mary were told to call the
child “Jesus,” for he would save his people from their sins. Of this
fact Pope Benedict speaks in his latest book, Jesus of Nazareth: The
Infancy Narratives:
…Joseph is
entrusted with a further task: “Mary will bear a son, and you shall call
his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew
1:21).… On the one hand, a lofty theological task is assigned to the
child, for only God can forgive sins. So this child is immediately
associated with God, directly linked with God’s holy and saving power.
On the other hand, though, this definition of the Messiah’s mission
could appear disappointing. The prevailing expectations of salvation
were primarily focused upon Israel’s concrete sufferings–on the
reestablishment of the kingdom of David, on Israel’s freedom and
independence, and naturally that included material prosperity for this
largely impoverished people. The promise of forgiveness of sins seems
both too little and too much: too much, because it trespasses upon God’s
exclusive sphere; too little, because there seems to be no thought of
Israel’s concrete suffering or its true need for salvation.
Pope Benedict then cites this same story of the paralytic and says,
Jesus responded
[to the presence of the paralyzed man] in a way that was quite contrary
to the expectation of the bearers and the sick man himself, saying: “My
son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). This was the last thing anyone
was expecting this was the last thing they were concerned about.…
The Pope concludes:
Man is a
relational being. And if his first, fundamental relationship is
disturbed–his relationship with God–then nothing else can be truly in
order. This is where the priority lies in Jesus’ message and ministry:
before all else he wants to point man toward the essence of his malady.
Yes, God sees things rather differently than we do. There is much to consider the fact that Jesus says paralyzed man your sins are forgiven you.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
GOD BUILDS HIS KINGDOM EVEN IN THE VICISSITUDES OF HISTORY
Vatican City, 25 November 2012 (VIS) - At midday today, following his
concelebration of the Eucharist with the new cardinals, the Holy Father
appeared at the window of his study to recite the Angelus with faithful
gathered in St. Peter's Square. The Pope began by recalling that the
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which closes
the liturgical year, "summarises the mystery of Jesus, 'first born from
the dead and the ruler of all the powers of the earth'".
"The entire mission of Jesus and the content of His message consists in proclaiming the Kingdom of God and establishing it among men through signs and wonders", the Pope said. "But, as Vatican Council II observes, 'the Kingdom is first manifested in the very person of Christ', a kingdom He founded through His death on the cross and resurrection, by which He is revealed as the eternal Lord, Messiah and Priest. This Kingdom of Christ has been entrusted to the Church, which is the 'seed' and 'beginning' and has the task of proclaiming it and spreading it among all the nations with the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the determined time the Lord will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father and present to Him all those who have lived according to the commandment of love. ... We are all called to extend the salvific work of God, converting to the Gospel and committing ourselves to serving the King Who came not to be served but to serve and give testimony to the truth".
Benedict XVI then invited those present to pray for the six new cardinals, created yesterday, so that "the Holy Spirit may strengthen them in faith and in charity and fill them with His gifts in order that they live their new responsibility as a further commitment to Christ and His Kingdom".
"May the Virgin help all of us to live this present time awaiting the Lord’s return, imploring God, 'Thy Kingdom come', and fulfilling those works of light that bring us ever closer to heaven, aware that, through the troubling vicissitudes of history, God continues to build His Kingdom of love", the Pope concluded.
Following the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI mentioned the fact that Maria Troncatti was beatified yesterday in Macas, Ecuador. The new blessed was a religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and born in Val Camonica, Italy; she served as a nurse during the World War I, after which she went to Ecuador where she "dedicated herself fully to the service of the people of the forest, evangelisation and human development".
Link:
"The entire mission of Jesus and the content of His message consists in proclaiming the Kingdom of God and establishing it among men through signs and wonders", the Pope said. "But, as Vatican Council II observes, 'the Kingdom is first manifested in the very person of Christ', a kingdom He founded through His death on the cross and resurrection, by which He is revealed as the eternal Lord, Messiah and Priest. This Kingdom of Christ has been entrusted to the Church, which is the 'seed' and 'beginning' and has the task of proclaiming it and spreading it among all the nations with the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the determined time the Lord will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father and present to Him all those who have lived according to the commandment of love. ... We are all called to extend the salvific work of God, converting to the Gospel and committing ourselves to serving the King Who came not to be served but to serve and give testimony to the truth".
Benedict XVI then invited those present to pray for the six new cardinals, created yesterday, so that "the Holy Spirit may strengthen them in faith and in charity and fill them with His gifts in order that they live their new responsibility as a further commitment to Christ and His Kingdom".
"May the Virgin help all of us to live this present time awaiting the Lord’s return, imploring God, 'Thy Kingdom come', and fulfilling those works of light that bring us ever closer to heaven, aware that, through the troubling vicissitudes of history, God continues to build His Kingdom of love", the Pope concluded.
Following the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI mentioned the fact that Maria Troncatti was beatified yesterday in Macas, Ecuador. The new blessed was a religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and born in Val Camonica, Italy; she served as a nurse during the World War I, after which she went to Ecuador where she "dedicated herself fully to the service of the people of the forest, evangelisation and human development".
Link:
Labels:
God,
Jesus,
Kingdom of God,
Pope Benedict XVI
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