The Trail Home

New Fatima Movie To Be Screened In Major U.S. Cities

2009-10-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

Faith's answer to the Da vinci Code:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17273

The trailer is here:
http://www.the13thday.com/the-film/trailers/

September 12th is the Feast Day of The Most Holy Name of Mary

2009-09-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

In fine, "thy name, O Mother of God, is filled with divine graces and blessings," as St. Methodius says. So much so, that St. Bonaventure declares, "that thy name, O Mary, cannot be pronounced without bringing some grace to him who does so devoutly.". . grant, O Lady, that we may often remember to name thee with love and confidence; for this practice either shows the possession of divine grace, or else is a pledge that we shall soon recover it.
On the other hand, Thomas a Kempis affirms "that the devils fear the Queen of heaven to such a degree, that only on hearing her great name pronounced, they fly from him who does so as from a burning fire." The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget "that there is not on earth a sinner, however devoid he may be of the love of God, from whom the devil is not obliged immediately to fly, if he invokes her holy name with a determination to repent." On another occasion she repeated the same thing to the saint, saying, "that all the devils venerate and fear her name to such a degree, that on hearing it they immediately loosen the claws with which they hold the soul captive." Our Blessed Lady also told St. Bridget, "that in the same way as the rebel angels fly from sinners who invoke the name of Mary, so also do the good angels approach nearer to just souls who pronounce her name with devotion."
Richard of St. Laurence states "there is not such powerful help in any name, nor is there any other name given to men, after that of Jesus, from which so much salvation is poured forth upon men as from the name of Mary." He continues, "that the devout invocation of this sweet and holy name leads to the acquisition of superabundant graces in this life, and a very high degree of glory in the next."
After the most sacred name of Jesus, the name of Mary is so rich in every good thing, that on earth and in heaven there is no other from which devout souls receive so much grace, hope, and sweetness.
Hence Richard of St. Laurence encourages sinners to have recourse to this great name, "because it alone will suffice to cure them of all their evils;" and "there is no disorder, however malignant, that does not immediately yield to the power of the name of Mary." The Blessed Raymond Jordano says, "that however hardened and diffident a heart may be, the name of this most Blessed Virgin has such efficacy, that if it is only pronounced that heart will be wonderfully softened." Moreover, it is well known, and is daily experienced by the clients of Mary, that her powerful name gives the particular strength necessary to overcome temptations against purity.

A Simple Timeline Proves the Early Church was Catholic

2009-08-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

This was originally posted by myself on the Catholic Answers Forum:

One of the areas of Church history that has always fascinated me is the study of New Testament era chronology. Protestants act as if the Bible was written like a modern novel. Starting with Matthew on. However, the writing of the New Testament was not that cut and dry. As one puts together a timeline of Church history, including in that works written that are not included in the New Testament, one must reach a conclusion that the early Church was indeed Catholic. By the time the Gospel of John was written for example, the Church was already 50 years old (which forces a Catholic view of John 6). But more importantly, the Christians that lived at the time all have very Catholic views. Not a Baptist among them.I have concocted a timeline here deliberately within a 100 year period between the Resurrection of Christ to Justin Martyr (roughly 130 AD.) Think of it from World War 2 on. There are people still alive to remember the events.
I do not claim this timeline to be exact, but its pretty close:

c. 30-33 - The death and resurrection of Jesus
c. 35 - The conversion of Paul
40s or 50s - James c.
45-49 - Paul's first missionary journey
Sometime between 48 and 58 - Paul writes Galatians
c. 50-53 - Paul's second missionary journey
50s - Paul writes Titus
50s or 60s - Mark written (based on oral tradition set down by Peter).
50s or 60s - Matthew written
51 - Paul writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians
c. 53-57 - Paul's third missionary journey
Spring of 55 - Paul writes 1 Corinthians
56 - Paul writes 2 Corinthians
c. 57 - Paul writes Romans
c. 60 - Paul writes Colossians, probably while in prison in Rome
c. 60 - Paul writes Philemon, probably while in prison in Rome
c. 60 - Paul writes Ephesians, probably while in prison in Rome
c. 61 - Paul writes Philippians, while in prison in Rome
Early 60s - Luke written
c. 60-70 - The Didache is written.
c. 62 - Paul is free
c. 62-64 - Luke writes Acts
c. 62-64 - Paul writes 1 Timothy July 18-19,
64 - The Great Fire of Rome. Emperor Nero blamed the Christians, and a great persecution ensued.
Mid 60s - 1 Peter written
c. 64-68 - Paul writes 2 Timothy from prison
c. 67-68 - 2 Peter
c. 68 - Hebrews is written June 9,
68 - The death of Nero. Sometime between the Great Fire of Rome and the death of Nero, both Peter and Paul were martyred.
c. 69 - Jude
70 - The Seige of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple
c. 70-80- The Epistle of Barnabus is written.
c. 85 - John written Late First Century - 1, 2, and 3 John
95- The Epistle of Clement is written..
c. 95-96 - John writes Revelation
c. 60-120- The writings of Papias (only fragments remain).
c. 105- The Epistles of Ignatius are written as he heads for Rome for execution.
c. 105-125- The Epistle of Polycarp is written.
c. 125-130- The Letter to Diognetus is written.
c. 125-130- The Epistle of Aristides is written.
c. 130- The Martyrdom of Polycarp is written.
c. 130-150- The Shepherd of Hermas is written.
c.100-165- The writings of Justin Martyr, much of it written in the 130s.

Of Fightin' Fundamentalists and Cheatin' Preachers

2009-08-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

This past month I learned of yet another fundamentalist preacher caught up in a sex scandal.
He resigned after a year long affair was discovered. It was discovered, as it always seems to be, by the children of the church. He moved and began to wreck revenge on those who exposed him, young people included. He revealed certain details held, in what is supposed to be, pastoral confidence. This soap opera is being played out for all the world to see on a site called the 'Fighting Fundamental Forums'.
From where I am now across the Tiber, I am truly saddened that a church, a marriage, and especially children are going through this. I've seen this re-run before countless times and it is not pretty. To get up into a pulpit every Sunday, after being with your mistress the night before is mind-boggling. For the mistress, to walk into the church, clutching her King James Bible, to hear her married lover preach is equally mind boggling. What creates this obvious contridiction?
Jesus said we must be 'doers of the word, not hearers only'. The glow of being with other 'born again' people will only last so long.
I have seen it a million times over. It's usually the children who notice first that these 'regenerated' christians are not what they appear to be. What happens? At best they don't give up their faith in God, they just stop going to any kind of church.
At worst, they become atheist. I've seen this rerun so many times I can recite the dialogue.
The problem is the whole structure of what these fundamentalist/evangelical churches are based on. The centerpiece of worship is a pulpit for a man. And if that man is immature emotionally, it's inevitable that these things occur. They are almost set up for a fall because of the man-worship.
Does the Catholic Church have scandals in this sex-soaked society? Yes. But the priest is not the center of worship in the Catholic Church. When the priest approaches the altar, the Tabernacle is there with the Eucharist. Jesus is the center of worship, The priest is an instrument. If he falls into sin it does not negate the Eucahistic Sacrifice.
But in fundamentalism, the pulpit is in the center of the church. Oh yes, they will say 'its God we worship and is taught from the Bible. To even suggest that Communion is the center of worship turns fundamentalists into a tailspin. Yet it is the ONE worship COMMAND Jesus gave to His Church, not preaching. A good homily or sermon is important, but that is not the centerpiece of worship.
When a pulpit is the center, for a man who gives his 'interpretation' of the Bible, its inevitable he is puffed up with pride. He is a little messiah with followers, and he begins to believe he is invincible.
Once that pulpit is worshipped, a preacher naturally can reason his way into anything, even the most heinous contridiction of his 'born again' state.
Take that pulpit down, and it must be replaced with something. I've never had a desire to return to that pulpit because I found something greater than a pulpit: the Lord Jesus Christ feeding me with Himself.
People have expressed a desire to pray for the former preacher, his mistress, and their respective spouses.
Who they really need to pray for are the children. They see things far clearer than the adults do.
Pray they take the right path after seeing the hypocrisy of their parents religious error.

The Latin Mass is a Bridge in Time

2009-07-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

While on vacation in Pittsburgh recently I attendend a Latin Mass at St. Boniface. One thing I was struck by was that the church was PACKED. And not with people 50+, but with many young people.
Attending Mass there changed my perspective in many areas.
I keep hearing that traditionalists want to 'return to 1962' because they are 'locked in a time warp'. They are 'dinosaurs'.
Baby Boomers are a narcissistic lot. We act as if all history awaited our coming. Indeed, in the secular world, history seems to start with the Kennedy era.
No doubt there was a wind of change in society and culture in the 1960s that affected the religious world as well. When I was a Baptist, I kept hearing the phrase 'old fashioned' hymns or preaching. This cultural shift crossed the Tiber and denominational lines. In the Catholic Church it was called the 'spirit of Vatican 2'.
But who is truly 'stuck in a time warp?
Many modern 'liberal' Catholics cannot seem to fathom a pre-Vatican 2 Catholic Church. 'Folk Masses' seem to be nostalgiic trips back to the 1960s and 70s.
I think the time has come for Catholics to start thinking generationaly. What legacy do we have to carry on for our children? The Catholic Church is 2000 years old. The late 20th century is only one tiny segment of the vast history we are a part of. The 'spirit' of Vatican 2 (as I see it) is already fading. We need to replace it with what we know has worked for two millenium.
At a Latin Mass, I feel as if I have walked into eternity, a place that transcends time and generations. The reverance, and the awe of the Latin Mass provides that 'bridge in time and space'.
Our Pope has opened the floodgates, and I believe we will see more St. Bonifaces all over the world.
Time passes, the Mass remains the same.

Queen Mary

2009-06-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

In the ancient world, because the king had many brides, a woman did not receive the title of queen until her son took the throne. The queen was not married to the king, because there were far too many wives vying for such a title. And they couldn’t all be called queen. The position of queen was held by the king’s mother. She was known as the queen mother. If Mary’s Son has become the King of Kings (of both heaven and earth) then the Mother has become the Queen of heaven and earth
Pope Pius XII stated, “Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest and by singular election. And her kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and God, since nothing is excluded from her dominion.”
Our Lord also gave to the Church and each individual soul His Mother, the Queen of Heaven. For many centuries Christians have been accustomed to meditate upon the ruling power of Mary which embraces heaven and earth, when they consider the fifth glorious mystery of the rosary which can be called the mystical crown of the heavenly Queen.
To love Jesus is to also love His mother.

Letter from an ex-Protestant

2009-06-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

This was posted on the Catholic Answers Forum yesterday. Not sure who the author is, but it sums up everything I feel as well.

Letter from an ex-Protestant

This is a letter to all the pastors, evangelists, and other assorted leaders in Protestantism whom I listened to at one time:

Dear _________ :

I just want to write you to tell you that I think you should be ashamed of yourself for giving your people only half (or even less) of the truth of the Bible regarding the Christian Faith and how that Faith is lived out. As a professing follower of Christ, the TRUTH should be very important to you. But the things you have said and the way you have said them have not been truthful at all:

1. You talked about your denomination as if it went back all the way to the days that Jesus walked the earth. You act as if Jesus Himself was a Baptist/Fundamentalist/Evangelical (take yer pick). I didn't know any better and I trusted you!

2. You never told me about the writings of the Early Fathers. You never encouraged me to examine them for myself to see what the disciples of the apostles believed. You acted as if they were all Protestants back then. I didn't know any better, and I trusted you.

3. You taught me that the Church was taken over by a false gospel sometime in the fourth century and the Gospel all but disappeared from the earth until the Reformation. It never occurred to me to connect 2 + 2 and realize that this is exactly what the JW's and the Mormons teach, because I thought you were telling me the truth and I trusted you!!

4. You never taught me about a covenant, even though the Bible speaks of the New Covenant and Jesus said "This is the New Covenant in my Blood". Since we live in a covenant relationship now (like the Jews did in the Old Covenant) and since the word "covenant" appears over 280 times in the scriptures, I would think that concept would be very important for a Christian to learn about. But you never taught it at all and I trusted you!!

5. What you did tell me about was something called a "dispensation" which appears only 4 times in the scriptures and that only in the NT. But you acted like this is the way God deals with people and I trusted you!!

6. You never told me about the many and numerous translation errors in the Bible which have given rise to many of your Protestant false doctrines, such as the mistranslation of the word "aion" in Matthew 24: 3 and the mistranslation of "logizomai" in Romans 3 & 4. I though that since you went to Bible College you were profoundly smart and therefore understood these translations to be correct, so I trusted you.

7. You never once told me that the Catholic Church, which you despise, was the Body which gave us the Holy Scriptures. To hear you talk, the Bible just dropped out of thin air some day. Some of you act as if the Reformers invented the Bible after years of pagan ignorance and superstition. And I trusted you.

8. You never told me that anything orthodox I believe about the natures of Jesus, the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus the Christ, and all other understandings necessary to salvation, came from the councils of the Catholic Church. Why? Were you afraid that I would realize that perhaps the Church is not the demonic institution you have painted it to be? Or were you afraid that I would realize that any truth you Protestants have is only that which the Church defined in Her councils. But I trusted you.

9. You never once took the time to really talk about the teachings of the Catholic Church. You simply made your accusations from your pulpit and either told or inferred to everyone that ALL Catholics are going straight to hell, with the pope in the front row seat. Were you afraid or unable to defend what you Protties believe? Slander and ad hominum attacks are not a defense, but I thought so and I not only trusted you, I parroted your nonsense to all who would listen.

10. You told me that the Church was some sort of "invisible Church" that no one could see because it is made up of all "true believers" from everywhere and every denomination (even though you also taught that only "we" really had everything "right"). I didn't know what I was missing. I thought I was in the Church and that I was getting every good thing God had for me because I trusted you.

You better think a long time about what you are doing and what you are teaching. It is bad enough that you make false accusations (which the Lord hates) against our Lord's Church, but you are out there aggressively stealing His sheep from His flock which He put on earth. You seem to think think that since you "accept Jesus", you won't have to answer for anything at all because you are "covered by the Blood of Jesus".

Well, I have news for you, it took me a while (too long, actually), but I finally had my eyes opened, and that is not what the Holy Scriptures teach. They teach that at the Resurrection, Jesus will judge ALL MEN (you get that? -- ALL!) BY THEIR DEEDS, and based on what they have done, they will either live or die eternally!! That is what Jesus taught in John 5: 28 - 29 and guess what, that is what the Catholic Faith teaches us also, because the Catholic Faith teaches what Jesus taught!!

I would gladly sit down with you and show you what I have learned from both my own studies and Catholics who really know the Faith, but sadly, you have a severe case of "presuppositional blindness" and Evangelical deafness and wouldn't listen anyway.

Sincerely yours,

Your former member

I have yet to identify who the author of this is, but it speaks to everything I felt when I re-crossed the Tiber. I have redescovered the joy of belonging to the Church Jesus founded.

As the month of Mary draws to a close:

2009-05-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/hail-holyqueen.htm

HAIL, White Lily, of the ever-peaceful and glorious Trinity!
Hail, Vermilion Rose, the delight of Heaven, of whom the King of Heaven was born and by whose milk He was nourished! Do thou feed our souls with the effusions of thy Divine influences.
Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

The Seven Sorrows Devotion

2009-05-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by meditating on her tears and dolors (sorrows). The Hail Mary is prayed seven times, once after each meditation. This devotion was passed on by St. Bridget.

HERE ARE THE SEVEN GRACES:
I will grant peace to their families.
They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
I will console them in their pains and I will accompanythem in their work.
I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.
I have obtained (This Grace) from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Seven Sorrows
The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke 2: 34, 35)
The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew 2:13,14)
The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. (St. Luke 2: 43-45)
The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
The Crucifixion.
The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
The burial of Jesus.
The Hail Mary: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

I love the Blessed Mother.

Why Does Our Lady Cry?

2009-05-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Wonderful article from the TFP website:
http://www.tfp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1195

Our Lady of Fatima

2009-05-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

We celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th. On this day in 1917, Our Lady made her first appearance to three shepherd children, Jacinta (age 7), Francisco (age 9) and Lucia (age 10), at Fatima in Portugal. She appeared to them once a month from May through October. The lives of the three children of Fatima were entirely transformed by the heavenly apparitions. While fulfilling the duties of their state with the greatest fidelity, those children seemed now to live only for prayer and sacrifice, which they offered in a spirit of reparation to obtain peace and the conversion of sinners.
Fatima is a visit by Our Heavenly Mother Mary in our time for our time. It is a Message of concern, a practical plan for world peace, a promise of Heaven.
It is Heaven's interventions to save us from persecution, martyrdom, war, enslavement or annihilation. Above all it's a way to save our souls from hell.
She came with a message from God to every man, woman and child of our century. Our Lady of Fatima promised that the whole world would be in peace, and that many souls would go to Heaven if Her requests were listened to and obeyed.
She told us that war is a punishment for sin; that God would punish the world for its sins in our time by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and persecution of the Holy Father, the Pope, unless we listened to and obeyed the commands of God.
In order to prevent these chastisements from befalling us She told us that special Reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary was necessary, particularly the Communions of Reparation on the First Saturday of five consecutive months and the public and solemn Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by all the Catholic Bishops of the world, together with the Pope on the same day at the same hour.
Her message is a promise of the eventual triumph of Her Immaculate Heart over evil. She promised that no matter how black it might get in the future, that in the end She will triumph, Her requests would finally be granted by mankind and there will be world peace.
Pray the Rosary.

THE THREE HAIL MARYS DEVOTION

2009-05-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest means of salvation and one of the surest signs of predestination, is unquestionably, the devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin. All the holy doctors of the Church are unanimous in saying with St. Alphonsus of Liguori: "A devout servant of Mary shall never perish." The chief thing is to persevere faithfully till death in this devotion.
Numerous examples show how agreeable the three Hail Marys Devotion is to the Divine Mother and what special graces it draws, during life and at the hour of death, on those who never omit it for a single day.
This practice was revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th century) while she was beseeching Our Blessed Mother to assist her in her hour of death. Our Lady appeared to her and said: "I will, certainly. But I also want you to say three special Hail Marys to me every day.
"The first will be in honor of God the Father, Whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature that after God I have the greatest power in heaven and on earth. In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from you.
"The second Hail Mary will be said in honor of the Son of God Who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me. In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled.
"The third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost Who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight."
Our Blessed Mother also revealed to St. Gertrude the Great: "To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation."
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, the celebrated missionary, had the Three Hail Marys recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or night; moreover he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice. He gave this devotion of Three Hail Marys as a penance in the confessional, especially for those who were struggling with sins of impurity.
Practice: Recite morning and evening, three Hail Marys in honor of the three great privileges bestowed upon Our Blessed Mother by the most Blessed Trinity with this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother preserve me from mortal sin during this day." For the evening: "O my Mother preserve me from mortal sin during this night."
(Pope St. Pius X gave his Apostolic Blessing to this practice and the devotion was raised to an Archconfraternity by Pope Benedict XV.)
The Hail Mary: Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The Hail Mary of a Protestant

2009-05-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Hail Mary of a Protestant(A true story)

A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic companions reciting the prayer "Hail Mary." He liked it so much that he copied it, memorized it and would recite it every day. "Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer," he said to his mother one day.
"Never again say it," answered the mother. "It is a superstitious prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess. After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible and read it. It contains everything that we are bound to do and have to do." From that day on the little boy discontinued his daily "Hail Mary" and gave himself more time to reading the Bible instead.
One day, while reading the Gospel, he came across the passage about the Annunciation of the Angel to Our Lady. Full of joy, the little boy ran to his mother and said: "Mommy, I have found the 'Hail Mary' in the Bible which says: 'Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.' Why do you call it a superstitious prayer?"
On another occasion he found that beautiful Salutation of St. Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary and the wonderful canticle MAGNIFICAT in which Mary foretold that "the generations would call her blessed."
He said no more about it to his mother but started to recite the "Hail Mary" every day as before. He felt pleasure in addressing those charming words to the Mother of Jesus, our Savior.
When he was fourteen, he one day heard a discussion on Our Lady among the members of his family. Every one said that Mary was a common woman like any other woman. The boy, after listening to their erroneous reasoning could not bear it any longer, and full of indignation, he interrupted them, saying:
"Mary is not like any other children of Adam, stained with sin. No! The Angel called her FULL OF GRACE AND BLESSED AMONGST WOMEN. Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ and consequently Mother of God. There is no higher dignity to which a creature can be raised. The Gospel says that the generations will proclaim her blessed and you are trying to despise her and look down on her. Your spirit is not the spirit of the Gospel or of the Bible which you proclaim to be the foundation of the Christian religion."
So deep was the impression which the boy's talk had made that his mother many times cried out sorrowfully: "Oh my God! I fear that this son of mine will one day join the Catholic religion, the religion of Popes!" And indeed, not very long afterwards, having made a serious study of both Protestantism and Catholicism, the boy found the latter to be the only true religion and embraced it and became one of its most ardent apostles.
Some time after his conversion, he met his married sister who rebuked him and said indignantly: "You little know how much I love my children. Should any one of them desire to become a Catholic, I would sooner pierce his heart with a dagger than allow him to embrace the religion of the Popes!"
Her anger and temper were as furious as those of St. Paul before his conversion. However, she would change her ways, just as St. Paul did on his way to Damascus. It so happened that one of her sons fell dangerously ill and the doctors gave up hope of recovery. Her brother then approached her and spoke to her affectionately, saying:
"My dear sister, you naturally wish to have your child cured. Very well, then, do what I ask you to do. Follow me, let us pray one 'Hail Mary' and promise God that, if your son recovers his health, you would seriously study the Catholic doctrine, and should you come to the conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion, you would embrace it no matter what the sacrifices may be."
His sister was somewhat reluctant at the beginning, but as she wished for her son's recovery, she accepted her brother's proposal and recited the "Hail Mary" together with him. The next day her son was completely cured. The mother fulfilled her promise and she studied the Catholic doctrine. After long preparation she received Baptism together with her whole family, thanking her brother for being an apostle to her.
The story was related during a sermon given by the Rev. Fr. Tuckwell. "Brethren," he went on and said, "the boy who became a Catholic and converted his sister to Catholicism dedicated his whole life to the service of God. He is the priest who is speaking to you now! What I am I owe to Our Lady. You, too, my dear brethren, be entirely dedicated also to Our Lady and never let a day pass without saying the beautiful prayer, 'Hail Mary', and your Rosary. Ask her to enlighten the minds of Protestants who are separated from the true Church of Christ founded on the Rock (Peter) and 'against whom the gates of hell shall never prevail.'"

The Fifteen Promises of Mary Granted to those who Recite the Rosary

2009-05-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

The month of May is upon us, also known as Mary's month. For the past month this former fundamentalist christian has made an effort to recite the rosary at least once every day. The results have been amazing. I encourage all christians to recite the rosary. With it comes 15 promises:

The Blessed Virgin Mary promised to Saint Dominic and to all who follow that "Whatever you ask in the Rosary will be granted." She left for all Christians Fifteen Promises to those who recite the Holy Rosary.

15 Promises Made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Dominic and Blessed Alanus:

1. To all those who recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces.

2. Those who will persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace.

3. The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it shall destroy vice, deliver from sin, and shall dispel heresy.

4. The Rosary shall make virtue and good works flourish, and shall obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it shall substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal goods. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!

5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Those who will recite my Rosary piously, considering its Mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed by misfortune nor die a bad death. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the consolations of the Church, or without grace.

8. Those who will recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of His grace, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.

9. I will deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.

10. The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.

11. What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.

12. Those who propagate my Rosary shall obtain through me aid in all their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my son that all the confreres of the Rosary shall have for their brethren in life and death the saints of heaven.

14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.

What One Preacher Learned About "Scripture Alone"

2009-04-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Catholics agree with Protestants that Scripture is a "standard of truth", but not in a sense that it rules out the authority of Tradition and the Church. No biblical passage teaches that Scripture is the authority or rule of faith in isolation.
More importantly, there is no unity in Scripture Alone. If there were, there wouldn't be over 33,000 different denominations of Protestants around the world. Sola Scriptura falls apart everytime one opens the phone book and counts the number of churches in any given area.
For me, one of the shaky bricks in Scripture Alone came from a Baptist preacher years ago who told me of his troubles in a small town church.
The church was divided. One part of the church wanted things their way, the other side violently disagreed. This got to a point where the different factions would sit themselves on opposite sides of the church trading irritated glances and whispers among themselves. The pastor was in the middle, any sermon he preached would be seen as favoring one side over the other. So he came upon a wonderful idea:
Just read the Scriptures without comment and let God sort it out.
He chose, for better or worse the Book of Psalms.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" generated shocked looks that told this poor preacher that it was not being taken as David perhaps wrote it.
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" At this point there was murmuring in the pews. "Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me." The congregation, on both sides, were in a rage. One lady walked out. "O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity...?" Two more walked out and the head deacon interupted. The service was stopped and the preacher was forced to resign on the spot.
It wasn't the Scriptures, it was the WAY he read them. He OBVIOUSLY meant it for thier little group.
In that brief, unshining moment, that preacher learned something about "Scripture alone".
It doesn't exist.
No person has any guarantee of discerning those proper teachings in scripture, when read outside of the light of the Church. Every Protestant knows other "bible-believers" get the wrong teachings out of scripture, sometimes to the point of not even being considered Christians. They just seem to have a hard time taking the next step, which is to acknowledge that they themselves may also get the wrong teachings out of scripture.

The Hope of Being a Catholic

2009-01-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

An addition to my last blog (six months ago).
Growing up Catholic I was always aware of Heaven and those christians who had gone on before. We have the hope of the resurrection, so our EXPECTATION is that we will see them again. The Church is more than we can physically see.Since we are all one Body of Christ, we are connected to each other by the Holy Spirit. Our deceased loved ones do not cease being part of the church just because they have gone on before us. They are STILL part of the Church and remain ‘on the church membership rolls’. We join hands with them spiritually as part of the mystical Body of Christ. So I have a hope that someday I will see my parents again.
My twenty years in fundamentalism left me no such hope.
Since my parents never 'prayed the sinner's prayer' 'asked Jesus into their heart' and remained Catholic, I had only the grim 'reality' that they were probably in Hell.
In fundamentalism, being Catholic earns one an instant ticket to Hell.
When somebody dies, its as if they cease to exist. They are spoken of in the past tense, they were alive once, but now they are dead, gone, they cease to exist. If it was someone who was an enemy, there is a strange and sick satisfaction in ‘knowing’ their enemies are ‘burning in Hell’. It gives them a feeling of ‘justice’. If it was a loved one, they weep because they 'know' they are in Hell because they remained Catholic. Little children are told grandma and grandpa are 'burning in Hell.' Since fundamentalism allows no belief in puratory, there is no alternative. In fundamentalism, we miss our loved ones without a promise of ever seeing them again. We wept differently.
That is not 'hope'.
There is an incredible freedom and joy in not having that fear again. Catholics have the wonderful truth of Purgatory. Many think Purgatory is a way to avoid or ignore the realities of Hell. Purgatory is not necessarily a punishment but a final purification process. Some of us die with flaws on our souls that need to be removed before we can enter Heaven. Purgatory is Heaven's bath tub.
Knowing that, we have the promise that we will see loved ones again. We can look into the face of a child and tell them, yes, you will see grandma and grandpa again.
I still miss my parents. Sometimes when I hear or see something that reminds me of when I was a little child, tears come to my eyes.
But now as a Catholic, those become tears of joy.

The Dark Side of ‘Once Saved Always Saved’

2008-07-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3:5 (KJV).

Malcolm Smith (a charismatic Episcopal priest) used to call the words of this verse, “ye shall be as gods”, ‘The Lie’. The idea being that wanting to be ‘like God’ is the foundation of Original Sin. And what could be more ‘being like a god’, than having the knowledge of who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell.
The ‘doctrine’ of ‘once saved, always saved’ (OSAS), otherwise known as ‘eternal security’ was a teaching I found hard to abandon when I crossed the Tiber. It is an enticing philosophy that attracts people into a web that is hard to get out of. Behind the doctrine, of course is the teaching that you and I can ‘know for sure’ that our destiny is Heaven. Or as fundamentalist preachers love to put it: ‘you’re as sure for Heaven as Jesus Himself!’ Catholics shrink from such statements as they smack of the sin of presumption.
But this doctrine has a dark side. If I can ‘be sure’ who is going to Heaven (those who repeated a sinners prayer), than I can also be sure who is going to Hell (those who have not). This ‘knowledge’ of who is destined for Hell not only plays into the ‘Lie’ (using Malcolm’s language), it also plays into a destructive psychological pattern.
A former Pentecostal pastor once recounted a strange service he attended once. The preacher was giving a sermon on Hell and began to name those he was ‘sure’ are either in Hell, or headed there. “They’re going to Hell! They’re going to Hell! They’re going to Hell!” the crowd began to chant over and over in a bizarre fashion.
There is a strange and sick satisfaction people have in ‘knowing’ their enemies are ‘burning in Hell’. It gives them a feeling of ‘justice’.
When some of the writings of Mother Teresa was made public, it revealed she had gone through (as St. John of the Cross did) a ‘dark night of the soul’.
Fundamentalists had a gleeful feeding frenzy. I remember one fundamentalist almost giddy with excitement: “See! This proves it! Mother Teresa is in Hell!!”. It is extremely important to fundamentalists that Mother Teresa be in Hell. If Mother Teresa is not burning in Hell, that would make their belief/doctrine false; hence she must be burning in Hell.
For extreme Calvinists, this gets into their theology that a portion of humankind is ‘predestined to Hell’. A recent survey found 60% of born-again Christians say people were going to hell because they didn't have the "right beliefs." Whose beliefs are right is dependent upon the person you are talking to. Catholics are told (many times with glee) that it is ‘certain’ they are going to Hell.
It reflects a lack of compassion, hope, and love. It feeds into a person’s unforgiveness and bitterness toward another. In dehumanizing them with the curse of “They’re going to Hell,” it relieves them of any responsibility.
The Pharisees of Jesus day had a saying (from ancient Jewish writings): "There is joy in Heaven when a sinner drops into Hell." Jesus turned that around and said: "There is joy in heaven when a sinner repents."
The Pharisees believed in a kind of ‘OSAS’. Obviously Jesus did not.
“ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
The Lie.

When did I know it was over?

2008-06-30T09:30:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me recently “when did you know it was over for you in terms of the ministry and the fundamentalist/evangelical world?”
As I think over that two-fold question, I am reminded of a similar question that might be asked to someone who had been through a divorce. What broke the camel’s back? The answer many times it was not the fighting, the adulteries, the physical or mental abuse. Oftentimes it is something quite mundane that wouldn’t register a second look to anyone else.
For me, the end of my career in the ministry was not the lying, the cheating, the stealing, the fanaticism, the fighting, the emotional abuse me and my family took, the wacked-out ideas.
It came at a deacon meeting when one particular deacon, jealous of the attention another deacon was getting, made this bizarre statement to me (a grown man and grandfather):
“You shake hands with him differently than you shake hands with me”.
In that single moment, something inside of me, died. I could almost hear the death rattle of the camel.
I had spent years at a Bible college, studying theology and Scripture. Countless hours preparing sermons, visiting the shut-ins, and the sick. Yet none of that prepared me for that moment.
Encapsulated in that statement is everything that is wrong with fundamentalism: Intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dwarfism. To continue on would have been like chiseling away at Mt. Rushmore with a butter knife. Whatever happened after that, was simply awaiting the inevitable.
Stupid? Mundane? Perhaps, but for me it was a loud yell in my ear: “ITS NOT WORKING!!”
As to the second part of the question, this was after I quit the ministry. As the magnet toward Rome was getting stronger, I was still attending occasionally a Christian Missionary Alliance church. One Sunday, they had great, uplifting, hand clapping, hand-raising music. Very emotional. Everyone was having a great time.Except me.I was bored to tears and it all seemed so lifeless and artificial.What would have attracted me years before, had no more meaning to me. I knew then I was no longer evangelical. The CMA church in question is filled with a fine group of people who remain my friends, including the pastor. It wasn’t them so much. It’s just that I could no longer pretend to be something I was not.
Looking back on it now, neither incident amounted to much at the time. But for me, the Holy Spirit was shouting very loudly in my ears.
Some of us I guess, just need to be better listeners.

The Works that Influenced me to return to the Catholic Church.

2008-06-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Seek for answers, and when you find what seems to be an answer, question that too. Louis L’amour, The Walking Drum.

My return to the Catholic Church was not something that happened in an instant. The works mentioned here were read by me over a twenty year period. Here are a few golden nuggets I picked up on the way.

1. The Writings of the Early Church.
If one wishes to know about a period of history, what makes more sense? To ask someone who actually lived, worked, and experienced the events first-hand? Or to ask someone thousands of years and miles removed from the events who has his own prejudices? An honest historian will seek to hear the voices of those who lived the events. Here are a few:
A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, edited by David W. Bercot.
The Teachings of the Church Fathers, edited by John R. Willis.
For those unwilling to sift through the volumes of writings by the Early Church Fathers, these two books give a comprehensive reference guide of how the Early Church thought in the first 300 years. The fundamentalist will avoid these books like a vampire does the sunrise.
The History of the Church by Eusebius.
This was a major shock to me while I was still in fundamentalism. Written in the 4th century, Eusebius gives an undeniably Catholic picture of the early church. It tears apart ‘Trail of Blood’ revisionist church history.
The City of God and Confessions by St. Augustine.
These works fascinated me with what is a clearly Catholic view of Christianity.

2. The Writings of the Medieval Church
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
The Soul’s Journey into God, The Tree of Life, and The Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure.
The Little Flowers of St. Francis, unknown.
These works blew me out of the water. How could these men, in the “DARK AGES”, write what was so obviously born of the Holy Spirit? A Kempis especially moved me and brought me to my knees.

3. The Writings of the Reformation, two wonderful bad examples:
Selected Works of Martin Luther.
Luther comes off as a cold theologian who appeared to lack humility and spiritual guidance. He is an angry man given to exaggerations, distortions, contradictions, inconsistencies within his own writings. Emotion, not reason, dominated his writings. His chief supporters were the humanists, rebellious, immoral clergy and those with revolutionary tendencies. The Renaissance introduced and greatly fostered the conditions Luther played into at the time. In short, Luther was not reaching back into Church history to recover Biblical Christianity (as what had been told to me), he was instead a product of his time.
Selected Works of John Calvin.
Calvin fares a little better. But his cold and lifeless approach to predestination left a sour taste in my mouth. The more I read Calvin, the less of a Calvinist I became.

4. Modern Works.
The Ministry of Malcolm Smith.
Malcolm Smith is a Charismatic Episcopal Priest from England. His sermons had a major influence on why I returned to the Catholic Church. Still available on audio are these:
Blood Covenant.
Preached while Malcolm was a young Pentecostal preacher in New York during the 1960s ‘renewal movement.’ This series punched a huge hole in my dispensationalist beliefs while still a fundamentalist. That led to his next series of sermons:
The Seven Covenants of Scripture.
Unfortunately no longer available.
The Power of the Holy Spirit in Liturgy.
This is perhaps, the most powerful dissertation on the Sacraments I ever heard. If one has never been a part of a sacramental church, I would recommend this series of sermons to help explain the way. Malcolm uses much scripture, and wonderful illustrations to introduce to a non-sacramental audience the beauty of the Sacraments. I also recommend:
The Holy Spirit in the Sacraments.
Covers much of the same ground, but goes much deeper.

Books:
Fundamentalism and Catholicism by Karl Keating.
The final nail in the coffin (for me) of fundamentalism. Keating writes with intelligence coupled with extensive background information that is a must read for any convert.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Recommended for anyone who wishes to know what the Catholic Church believes.
Roots of the Reformation by Karl Adam.
In this short work, Adam gives the best analysis of the Reformation I have ever read.
Journeys Home by Marcus Grodi.
The journeys of Protestant clergy back to the Catholic Church.

There were many others, but these came immediately to mind.

Fundamentalism and Elitism.

2008-06-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

As time goes on I will add things here and there to my testimony. Here are some thoughts I have had recently reflecting on my days in among independent fundamental baptists:

My world became smaller when I was a fundamentalist. That was because fundamentalists find it difficult to “fellowship” with those different from themselves.
I once heard a fundamentalist preacher say this about any association with Catholics:
“Ignoring their lost state, being tolerant of their false doctrine, and pretending they are one of us is not going to help them get saved.”
The bolded statement is an eye-opening glimpse into the dark pit of the fundamentalist soul. If one believes that he or she has experienced what no other has (being “born again”), and possesses what others other than them could not possibly have (the Holy Spirit), it creates an elitist world-view that allows only those to whom we agree with, to enter.
Over the years I have heard “that person is now a (insert opposition group here), so I had to ’break fellowship’ with them” This is the fundamentalist doctrine of “separation”. A superior, elitist attitude of belonging to a privileged group. Those who do not belong to the group are called “unrepentant brothers and false teachers”
The problem is, that encompasses quite a population if one takes that to its logical conclusion. This encompasses people far beyond hated Catholics and liberals. It also includes people within their own ‘circle’ with whom they disagree. To belong to this ever shrinking circle becomes the object they strive for.
In rationalizing that Christians who don’t agree with you are all “compromisers,” they assume that is the indicator of true spirituality.
They truly believe they are superior. This theological “rigidity” is more important than all other factors. And sadly, there is a trail of broken relationships in their past that is blamed on the actions of the people they “separated” from. Tragically, these broken relationships include family members and former friends.
This completely went against how I was raised by my parents. We did not abandon family and friends based on disagreements or world-view. Jesus taught us to love one another, not to pick and choose whom we love.
I believe one of the reasons fundamental Baptists think this way has to do with living in a fantasy world of their own making. They look to a reality that never existed, and hope for a Utopia that never will exist. When struck by the fact that it does not, it destroys their illusions and they lapse into cynicism and depression. They deal with this by altering reality through 'separation' from whatever or whoever is not like themselves and an end-times fairy tale which allows them to press on in world that does not accept them.
“Fellowshipping” with a group who truly believe they are better than others can be a surreal experience. It leads logically to exclusion based on reasons that hardly fit into their “Biblical world-view”. Many times it is based on race, class, education, and sex.
The sad part is, the longer one “fellowships” with fundamentalists, “separation” from them becomes a relief.

Mary and Mother’s Day.

2008-05-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

One of the last Baptist churches I preached at, had a special 'Mother's Day' service which included singing 'hymns' about and to our mothers. If I had suggested to these dear people (which I didn't) to sing hymns to Mary, they would have been horrified at the thought, even though the hymns they sang to their moms were not much different.
Mother's Day in fundamentalist churches is a BIG deal. For a preacher, to NOT preach a mother's day sermon is to put his job in jeopardy.
But of all the Mothers Day sermons I heard, not one was about Mary.
As Catholics, why not honor the Mother of God first on Mother’s Day and then honor the mother of our children?
Remember, O gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of Virgins and my Mother; to thee I come, before thee I kneel, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Attending a Latin Mass

2008-05-06T14:25:00.001-07:00

Nearly 25 years ago I sat bored at my parents Latin Mass parish. I didn’t understand the reason why I would want to go to a church in which I didn’t understand the language. I was restless for something different, and my journey into the abyss of fundamentalism began.
This past weekend, while on vacation, I attended a traditional Latin Mass at St. Boniface Church in Pittsburgh.
What a difference 25 years make.The first thing I noticed was the respectful and dignified attitude of the congregants, especially the children. After years of attending a pastoring churches that more resembled someone’s back porch than a place of worship, this was refreshing to see. People were well-dressed. This is important because our appearance declares God has worth and value. Children were not given coloring books or toys to play with under the pew, they were respectful and attentive.
A missal was given to me that had the Latin on the left side and the English on the right. Many times I became lost because I hadn’t heard a Latin Mass in so long. It was a High Mass, or Missa Cantata (sung) Mass. There was a dignity to Communion as we knelt at the Altar rail to receive the Body of Christ.
Many times I felt like a spectator, not a participant. Others were responding in Latin, a language I know but a little. Otherwise it was a wonderful Mass. My daughter, a new Catholic who grew up Baptist, was fascinated by it.
Why was the Mass in Latin before Vatican 2? The advantages of having the liturgy in Latin saved the integrity of worship for the day when it could be safely translated into the colloquial language of the people. It also gave a sense of unity to the Church’s worship in a time when the language and dialect of Europe was still evolving.
The Mass was like a diamond which needs a particular setting to show its value and its brilliance. The beauty of the Latin Mass holds magnetic appeal, not only for older Catholics who grew up with it, but for young people who search for true worship.

The Visit From Our Pastor.

2008-04-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Much has been and will be written about the visit of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to the United States of America, his homilies and addresses. To this revert, I am being introduced to this man who is mine and a billion other’s pastor. I found him to be intelligent, firm, and precise in his language. There is a gentleness to him that did not expect (he was called at one time the Vatican’s ‘enforcer’.
Good leaders will make you WANT to follow because his words bring a conviction that melts away personal selfishness. I see this attribute in Benedict XVI.
He is orthodox and I believe will start the process of bringing the Church back to the foundation on which it is built. We might not see it in our lifetime, but history will record Benedict to be a great Pope.
I believe it is imperative that Catholics everywhere remember our German Shepard in our daily prayers. For he is our pastor, and is the successor of Saint Peter. As Augustine wrote:
"If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church’ . . . [Matt. 16:18]. Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement, Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by Evaristus . . . " (Letters 53:1:2 A.D. 412).

The Real Presence of Christ.

2008-04-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Quoting an anti-Catholic:
“You Catholic's don't know what you're missing when you don't rock with Jesus. Church is supposed to be fun and full of Joy and happiness. But yours seems like going to funeral and so dignified and boring. In my Church, sometimes we even dance in the Spirit, have Holy laughter, and run and dance. When God shows up anything can happen. Why do you want to restrict Him so much? What is all this that I am talking about? The manifest presence of God.”
Golfjack, Spero Forum.

When the Eucharist is removed from a Christian’s life, they are forever trying to find something to replace it with.
Some (like me) try Bible study. But no amount of knowledge, memorization, or meditation on the Sacred Scriptures can give me what the Eucharist gives me. Some try music. Emotional music can make my toe tap or bring me to tears. But as good as music is, it can never give me what can give me what the Eucharist gives me. Others, like our poor mislead friend above look for ‘miracles and manifestations’. They at least know there is something more, an encounter with the Divine. But there is no greater miracle or manifestation greater than that which is found in the Eucharist.
Jesus said “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” This is made real through the Eucharist as we connect with the Risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus instituted the new covenant. He said this is my body with the focus on the bread. He said this is my blood with the focus on the wine. So when I take communion every Sunday I realize that by the power of the Holy Spirit I am in this everlasting covenant with God through the blood of His Son.
And as I take the elements into myself, by the power of the Holy Spirit I am receiving Christ into me, mind, body, and soul, and our lives flow as one. His body strengthens me, His blood renews life in me, He is feeding me His very self. Christ feeds us spiritual food and we, in eating and drinking, have received His very Life through the sacraments.
As Jesus sat down with two on the road to Emmaus “he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him” Later they told the Apostles: “what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.”
In the Holy Eucharist we have the one sacrament whose principal purpose is to increase sanctifying grace, repeatedly and often, through personal union with the Giver of grace Himself.
That is why the Holy Eucharist is preeminently the sacrament of spiritual growth, of increase in spiritual stature and strength.
That is why the soul already must be in the state of sanctifying grace when we receive Holy Communion—in other words, free from mortal sin.
Physical food cannot benefit a dead body, and the Holy Eucharist cannot benefit a dead soul.
Since I have returned to the Church, I have seen more spiritual growth than I ever dreamed possible. Things have become clearer to me than they were before.
In the arena, before they went out to die, Christians would partake of the Eucharist. And mystically, but also in reality, they went out stronger human beings to face whatever there was to face.
No amount “holy” laughter or “jumping and dancing” in the Spirit can replace that.
Catholics have the “manifest presence of God” in the Eucharist.

STILL Finding My Way.

2008-04-11T04:46:00.001-07:00

Interesting reactions from both sides on last weeks Blog entry on different forums. Both liberal and conservative seemed to read more into the post than was there. Extreme liberals considered it an 'angry' post. Extreme conservatives GOT angry AT the post.
As I stated earlier 'Conservative' and 'liberal' can mean a lot of things, politically, socially, and theologically. There are many political and social issues that I would come down on either side.
So perhaps those labels are not appropriate since they have come to be mean different things to different people in the course of history. FDR and JFK would not be considered 'liberal' in the modern sense of the word.
So, forgive the baggage I picked up from my days in fundamentalism.
It disturbs me that our society is becoming more and more divided politically and is driven to extremes by ideologues. Robert Bork observed once that in his day (WW2 era) two political opponents could disagree and still remain great friends. Today, if one disagree, you’re not just wrong, you’re evil for thinking the way you do.
In the Catholic Church however, orthodox and unorthodox I believe is better terminology. As one fellow commented: “You are just a true Catholic. We just believe in the Teaching and authority of the Catholic Church and do not pick or choose as the liberals (unorthodox) do.”
The terminology might change, but commitment to our Lord does not.