May 31: Saint Felix of Nicosia

Saint Felix of Nicosia , 1715 – 1787

Save the Matrushka!

Russia’s nesting dolls are in distress due to the economy.

These have fascinated me from childhood. My first encounter with one, was a doll similar in style to this one, probably 3 or 4 inches tall. It was a set of three. My dad bought it for me at an art museum’s annual festival.

At the time, they were difficult to find in the USA. She was alone for many years. I have about 30 of them now, some of which were gifts from my mother who encountered them at the Ukrainian Gift Shop, others of which I bought during a school year abroad, in Slovenia.

While I don’t need an unlimited collection thereof, I’m sad that the manufacturers are in distress.

May 30: Blessed Marta Maria Wiecka

Blessed Marta Maria Wiecka, 1874 – 1904

Why do you need to confess to a priest?

Q.Why do you need to confess to a priest?

A.For several reasons:

1. The one who goes to Confession seeks forgiveness in the way our Lord prescribed instead of laying down his own conditions.
2. By confessing to a priest the Catholic benefits by an act of Christian humility not obtained by private confession.
3. By Confessing to a Priest the Catholic receives many Sacramental Graces that are not received outside of Confession that help him overcome his sin.
4. The Catholic has an objective and solid assurance of forgiveness by the audible words of absolution from the priest.
5. The Catholic can secure sound advice about his or her spiritual life and the will of God concerning reparation or restitution to be made, while the other is left to uninstructed self-guidance.

Our confessor is the doctor of our soul. He assists us with overcoming the arrows of sin, from our enemy, that found their mark .

Q. This website tells me that I can lose my salvation; that I won’t go to heaven if I have committed sin (and not yet repented) at the moment when I die; So what I take from this is that The Gift of Salvation, the price paid for my sin…well, it sounds like the Gift was not complete..was not a perfect Gift? Right?

A. The gift was indeed perfect. But it requires a proper reception from us. Otherwise everyone would be saved regardless of how they lived. There would be absolutely no use for Churches. Of what use would they be? It would not matter, since everyone was going to Heaven anyway, simply because of Jesus’ perfect Git.There are people who believe this way–it is called Indifferentism. And, yes, you certainly can lose your salvation if you die with mortal sin unconfessed and unrepented of. See Ez. 18:24
And my post Can We Lose Our Salvation?

Q. You are telling me that I as a born again christian with a real relationship with my Lord and in a moment of weakness I commit a particular sin and the next instant was “hit by a truck” (so to speak) or a “bomb” BEFORE I could respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, confess my sin…my salvation would be nil..I’d spend eternity in Hell.

A. Only God Knows. The Church warns her children to avoid sin. I can only say what Scripture says about sin that is unto death. I John and St. Paul lists, in several different books some of the deadly sins or sin unto death.

Did you read Ezekiel 18? The Catholic Church does not say who is in Hell or make that sort of judgment, so neither will I.But any born again Christian with a real relationship with Christ would be an even greater traitor, than your average Joe, if after a life of blessing and grace he willfully committed a grave sin. It would be slap in the face of Our Lord. But in the last instant of life he might receive a further grace from God to repent with his dying breath. We don’t teach what tickles the ear but the truth and leave all to the mercy of Jesus.

Q. I want to ask you something. If you personally, as a Catholic, had parents who were born again practicing christians in a protestant church, how would you as a Catholic be praying for them ..and how would you handle their death?

A. Well, both of my parents were very committed “born again” Christians and my father died two years after I was received into the Catholic Church.

I pray(ed) for their conversion to the Catholic Church. Because it is the fullness of Truth and so beautiful and deeply satisfying. But they really didn’t want to hear about it. They were filled with misconceptions about the Catholic Church. They loved me and respected by decision but it grieved them. Nevertheless, they both came to the Easter Vigil at which I received my sacraments and was received into the Catholic Church. And they came again the next year when our four youngest children entered the Church. I feel confident of their salvation but I still pray for them. I trust them to the mercy of God and am at peace.

Q. Please explain to me why you “still” pray for them?

A. For my mom that she would persevere to the end and for conversion to the Catholic Church. For my dad’s comfort/release from Purgatory.

Q. So you are telling me that when I as a protestant die my child & her family, catholic, can have no peace about where their mom/m-inlaw /grandmother will spend eternity?

A. No, we can be reasonably sure and at peace; as i said I was regarding my dad. Purgatory is on the way to Heaven. If you make it to Purgatory you know you will be in Heaven once you have been purified.

Q. How does one get out of purgatory?

A. Release from Purgatory is determined by God. When the soul is sufficiently purified for the Vision of God they are admitted to Heaven. No one knows when this occurs, unless God gives a special revelation, which is unusual.

The Future Mrs. Cutie-Pie

You need to think about a few things. I’ve read that you may have been in cahoots with the photographer who publicized your affair, in order to force his hand so he’d have to choose between you and the church.

If true, why would you do that?

Can Humans be Sinless?

Bread From Heaven: Protestants forget that both Adam and Eve were created without sin. Most of the Angels did not sin and people in Heaven do not sin and that does not make any of them God. So sinlessness is a human trait that God originally bestowed upon human beings. It was also His desire that they remain sinless. Mary is human. Her sinlessness makes her special but not divine in any way. And she is the mother of our Savior she is not a savior.

Comment: The point not taken here is that ALL of the beings you reference, Adam/Eve, angels, people in heaven have the ability to choose sin or not.

Response: That is true, they have free will and so are able to choose to sin or not. But 2/3’s of the angels chose NOT TO SIN. So they are still sinless. The people in Heaven choose NOT TO SIN. So, they are now sinless. Adam & Eve were created without a fallen nature and were therefore NOT DESTINED to sin like the rest of us. Mary also was created without a sin nature and likewise able to choose not to sin by the grace of God. And she, unlike Adam and Eve resisted the temptation to sin her whole life.

Comment:Adam/Eve sinned, angels sinned against God’s will, people in heaven sinned while they were on this earth.
Response: OK, Scripture tells us that Adam, Eve, and some of the Angels sinned. But where in Scripture does it say that Mary sinned? What sin did she commit?

Comment: Mary sinned for she was human.

Response: Where in Scripture does it say that God created human beings to BE SINFUL? Part of their basic nature? Normally human beings die as well as sin. But we were not created originally to DIE. Death entered in after the Fall. Therefore, God did not create us with Death as a required attribute of our human nature. Some people in the OT did not die–Enoch & Elijah. Just because, by the power of God they escaped the experience of death does not somehow make them anything other than human.

Comment: Sinlessness is a trait of God not of humanity,

Response: God is sinless, that is true. But where does it say that ONLY God is sinless? What about the angels who remained loyal to God. They are sinless but they are not Gods.

Comment: You stated how God would have wanted a perfect vessel for his son to be born. If you continue with this logic, than how would God want Mary conceived? Into sinfull parents and then her vessel would not have been pure. And what about her grandparents? And their parents and you can see how this need for perfection grows exponentially which means somewhere in history there is an entire race of sinlesss beings.

Response: We do not teach that Mary’s parent’s were sinless. Mary was a creature. Jesus was God Incarnate. For the God incarnate to dwell in perfect purity in Mary’s womb is more fitting than any necessity for Mary conceived without sin, to dwell in perfect purity. If Mary’s parents had been sinless then she would have received her perfected human nature from them but she received it directly from her Heavenly Father.

Comment: Mary was endowed with grace by God, because she was good, not perfect.

Response: Where might this be found in Scripture? We of course believe Mary was endowed with grace that removed the inherited sin nature and chose to be obedient to God her whole life.

Deep In History Conference 2009 – Mark Your Calendars!

Deep In History Conference 2009 – Mark Your Calendars!

Since the Deep in History Conferences began we have journeyed together from the time of the Early Fathers to the beginning of the Catholic Church here in North America. October 23rd 2009 marks a new beginning in our journey to the past as the Deep in History Conference turns to the theme of the History of Catholic Doctrine.

Once again the focus of these weekends is to assist both Catholics and non-Catholics in their understanding what it means to be Deep in History, Deep in Scripture and Deep in Christ. In 2009, we will begin on the “rock” looking to understand the question of Authority: The Pillar and Bulwark.

To the Lions!

Fed to the Lions !!

From the Spectator:

The Equality Bill currently going through Parliament is the latest and potentially most oppressive attempt to impose politically acceptable attitudes and drive out any that fall foul of these criteria. Since the attitudes being imposed constitute an ideological agenda to destroy Britain’s foundational ethical principles and replace them by a nihilistic values and lifestyle free-for-all, they represent a direct onslaught on the Judeo-Christian morality underpinning British society.

The most neuralgic of these issues is gay rights. This is because the tolerance of homosexuality that a liberal society should properly show has long been hijacked by an agenda which aims at destroying the very idea of normative sexuality altogether – and does so by smearing it as prejudice. The true liberal position, that it is right and just to tolerate behaviour that deviates from the norm as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, is deemed to be rank prejudice on the grounds that homosexuality is not ‘deviancy’ but normal. ‘Normality’ is thus rendered incoherent and absurd and accordingly destroyed altogether.  The agenda is therefore not liberal tolerance but illiberal coercion against mainstream moral values, on the basis that the very idea of having normative moral principles at all is an expression of bigotry. So anyone who speaks out against gay rights is immediately vilified as a ‘homophobe’ and treated as a social and professional pariah.

Bare Minimum for Salvation

Comment: As I read the questions addressed on this website I understand that I indeed can/must “work” my way to heaven and Christ did not pay the whole price for my sin. And I am reminded of people all around us like my own mother (now deceased) who could read but there is no way on this earth my dear uneducated uncomplicated mother could have gotten to heaven in the Catholic church. She could not have understood all this..your info on this site sounds like “hopelessness” for a mere human being….am at a loss for words-satan couldn’t defeat me today but I daresay your website has come near to doing just that.
Response: I am sorry you felt defeated after reading my website. But let me assure you, you have misunderstood. The Catholic Faith does not teach that we must work our way to Heaven. That is what some who are misinformed say we teach. But they are wrong.

The minimum requirements for salvation in the Catholic Church are very easy and full of mercy and grace with the safety net of Confession. They are called the Precepts of the Catholic Church. CCC

THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH

2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:

2042 The first precept (”You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”) requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.[82]

The second precept (”You shall confess your sins at least once a year.”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.[83]

The third precept (”You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.[84]

2043 The fourth precept (”You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.”) completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.[85]

The fifth precept (”You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.”) ensures the times of ascesis (exertion/eercise) and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.[86]

The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities

The hardest one is to actually get to Mass each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. The good works required of us, (“Faith without works is dead” James 2) help in our purification and reparation for our sin. But you don’t have to understand all the theology to follow the precepts and do good works. It is really pretty easy. We are not saved by how much theology we know but by our Obedience of Faith as St. Paul opens and closes Romans. This website is to explain Catholic theology to those who are interested. But it is not necessary to be saved.

Our Heavenly Father is full of mercy and desires that every single person would come to Heaven with HIM.

May 25: Saint Cristobal Magallanes

Saint Cristobal Magallanes, 1869 – 1927

May 25: Saint Agustin Caloca Cortes, Martyr of Mexico

Saint Agustin Caloca Cortes
1898 – 1927

May 24: Blessed Blessed Louis-Zéphirin Moreau Of Canada

Blessed Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, 1824 – 1901

Mary is Not Godly or Holy???!!!

From a Comment originally on Scripture Disproves Purgatory?

Q. Mary was a sinner just like you and me. Jesus was full man and full God. He was tempted just like the rest of us, but his Godliness, His Holiness prevented him from sinning. Mary is by no means Godly or Holy. The Immaculate Conception if a farce, unbiblical and elevates Mary to a level that even she would call blasphemy.

A. Why? Adam and Ever were created sinless. That is how we were all supposed to be. Mary was fully human exactly the way God intended. Do you think God intended and created human beings to BE sinful?

Mary was not Godly or Holy? Why do you say this? Where in Scripture does it say “Mary sinned” or “Mary was sinful just like everyone else”? For that matter where on earth does it say Mary was not holy or Godly? Perhaps this is an example of Protestant tradition.

“His Holiness prevented him from sinning” you say and I agree. But, by what authority do you believe “His Holiness ” could not have created Mary without a sin nature?
Bead From Heaven: I understand that from your perspective it seems like we belittle Christ’s sacrifice because of your theology. But, remember, your understanding of scripture is only 500 years old.

Comment: My understanding of scripture 500 years old. That is laughable. The Bible existed for centuries before the Catholic church hijacked it. My understanding of scripture is based on the gifts given to me by the Holy Spirit which I was baptized into through my loving comitted relationship to Christ.

Response: The Protestant sects believe in doctrines that are only 500 years old or less. In fact, some of them, like the end times rapture are only about 100 years old. That is what I meant. Our doctrines are nearly 2000 years old. Of course I realize the Bible is more than 500 years old. But Protestant doctrine is not. And who do you think had the Bible “before the Catholic Church hijacked it”?

Comment: Your “little sacrifice” mean absolutely nothing, nada, zero to an Almighty Holy God who offered up his one and only son for our sins. He is angered by your belief that you can even compete with HIS sacrifice.

Response: He probably would be angered if we were competing with His sacrifice. But, believe me we don’t compete with Him at all. In fact, we are able to do nothing apart from the empowering of Christ.

Comment: You may have your traditions which help you to feel more “religous”, but they do nothing to add to Christ’s sacrifice or to aid in your salvation. In fact they will aid in many Catholics damnation.

Response: Our Traditions are nothing more or less than the very teaching of the Apostles handed down to us orally at first and mostly written down in the first 800 years of Church history.

Comment: I have a complete understanding of Catholicism. I went to Catholic university, study theology there, and married a Catholic who has since left the church and has a fuller more complete relationship with Christ than he EVER had in the Catholic church. After reading the entire Bible for himself he is angry at the lies told him and how the R.C. has manipulated God’s word.

Response: Well, he is much more likely to have been told lies about the Catholic Faith than to have found that the Bible reveals lies in Catholic Doctrine. I am curious as to why you left the Church.

“There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church – which is, of course, quite a different thing.”

-Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Comment: Your search for ‘truth’ does it extend past the media provided by Catholics?

Response: Yes. I spent40 years as a very devout Protestant. Suspicious of the Catholic Church and I was sola scriptura to the max.

Comment: How do you answer to the lies with which the Catholic church built is power? The Catholic church even admits to the numerous forgeries which were used to further the papacy! I believe that the Catholic church would NEVER have amounted to the power and world prestige that it has had it spread it’s blasphemous gospel honestly.

Response: I am afraid that someone has taught you lies about the Catholic Church. But, I am sure they were just trusting whoever taught them these lies.

Comment: Why make it a law to keep the Bible out of the lay peoples hands?

Response: The Church tried to prevent lay people from reading the Bible only at the time of the “Reformation” because she did not want her children to be carried away with the heresies spawned by Luther et. al. That was a very wise and reasonable response to the rebellion that began as a reformation. Other than that, the Church NEVER kept the Bible away from anyone. The Bible was even chained in the church to make it accessible to people. If it hadn’t been chained it would have been stolen b/c it was so valuable. I would recommend for you to read Where We Got the Bible by Henry Graham

Comment: Why kill people who had Bibles?

Response: The Catholic Church never killed people b/c they had a Bible.

Comment: Why prevent the Bible from being translated into the language of the people who desired to read it?

Response: The Catholic Church translated the Bible into various languages long before Martin Luther , Wycliffe or Jan Hus were born.

May 23: Blessed Józef Kurzawa, New Martyr Of Poland

Blessed Józef Kurzawa, 1910 – 1940
Diocesan Priest Martyr

May 22: Blessed Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini

Blessed Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini, 1789 – 1868

Catholic Opposition to Contraception Not Sensible

Q. I also would like to raise the question of a person continually reproducing offspring that they cannot afford to clothe and feed. Do you think that God would approve of us conceiving a child that we cannot feed, clothe, or nurture?

A. Regulation of family size is completely under the control of the parents. It is very simple–abstinence. That is how responsible people have since the beginning of history have been able to regulate their family size when necessary. Self control/self mastery is a Christian Virtue. It is our post-Christian culture that has come to believe that having sex is an inalienable right!

Q. I believe that every child is a precious gift from God, but do you believe that God intentionally allows a child to be born to drug addicts or child abusers?

A. No. He created our fertility. Our job is to seek to live virtuous and holy lives and love Him. Drug Addicts and child abusers and children born to them are the result of the sinful choices man makes with his free will. Does God intend these choices? Absolutely not. But He does allow it. You will have to take that up with God.

Q. I believe this becomes a question of our free will. Yes he wants us to be frutiful and multiply. Yes he wants us to have children and teach them about God, but he would want us to use our brain and not create children that may be loved from the depth of our heart, but cannot be provided for.

A. I could not agree more. So, self denial is called for in order to regulate family size.

Q. More often than not, this actually leads to a family having more children than they can possibly afford and can lead to money issues which can lead to abuse of an innocent child.

A. It is not cause and effect. Yes, poverty can stress parents. But I live in Southern California and travel down to Mexico where there is a lot of poverty due to government corruption. And, yes, a friend of mine and her family left their father in Mexico because he was abusive…but they were NOT poor. Although, of course, I don’t doubt it can happen in poor families also. But do you know what I see in Mexico and here in the US among poorer Mexicans? Love and celebration of family. Because of their poverty they value that which is eternal –people/family and friends. No doubt this will change, unfortunately the longer they are here. But poverty does NOT cause abuse, sin does that. Poverty oddly enough gives better clarity about what has lasting value.

Blessed Jean Mopinot, May 21

Blessed Jean Mopinot, Religious and Martyr
Rheims, France, September 12, 1724 – Rochefort, France, May 21, 1794

Jean Mopinot was born in Rheims, France, September 12, 1724 and entered the novitiate Lasallian (the Brothers of Christian Schools) on January 14, 1794. Imprisoned during the French Revolution on particular calls pontoon boats, he died from hardship and disease on May 21, 1794 off the coast of Rochefort, the first of a group of brothers who were also prisoners. John Paul II beatified him on October 1, 1995 together with 63 other martyrs who died during the Revolution: the victims suffered for their faith, known as the “Martyrs of the pontoons of Rochefort.” They were saved from the abuse that 285 people were freed on February 12, 1795; they returned to their countries, leaving written records of the heroic example of their companions, thus starting the process of beatification. There were seven Brothers of Christian Schools imprisoned on pontoons. Three were saved, while the remaining four (including Jean) died in prison.

Roman Martyrology: In front of Rochefort on the French coast, blessed John Mopinot, brother of the Christian Schools and martyr who, during the French Revolution, was held, as religious, in a sordid prison, where he died of illness.

The Brothers of Christian Schools imprisoned in pontoons were actually seven in total: Roger, Leon, Uldaric, Pierre-Christophe, Donat-Joseph, et Jugon Avertin. The latter three were in fact among the survivors and released February 12 1795. Among the four deaths in prison, however, news about Brother Pierre-Christophe was not passed on and he consequently has not been beatified.

Author: Fabio Arduino

Source: Santi e Beati

Natural Family Planning Contradicts Scripture?

Bread From Heaven: “Because the pleasure of the marital embrace was created by God for babies & bonding.”

Q. If the “marital embrace” is only for babies and bonding and and “Anytime the pleasure of the sexual act is obtained while actively, purposely or incidentally excluding either of these goods, it is a grave sin.” Is it a sin to have the “marital embrace” if there is no chance of conception such as after a woman has reached menopause?

A. No. That is natural and a part of God’s created order. It is still open to conception, although highly unlikely. But, don’t forget Sarah and Elizabeth both conceived in their old age by the will of God.

Q. But according to the statement, sexual activity after menopause would be “purposely or incidentally excluding either of these goods” since “incidentally” means not intentionally.

A. That is a very good point. Then, perhaps, incidentally is the wrong word but I used it with homosexual activity in mind. Because they are not engaging in the activity in order to avoid conception but only pursuing pleasure, the act prevents conception b/c it is unnatural. I am open to suggestions. And I will think about how to reword that. Thank you very much.

Q. So, that would cause all sexual intercourse between husband and a wife that does not work towards conception a sin.

A. No, that is not what the Church teaches at all. If it were, then infertile couples, women with necessary hysterectomies, women in menopause, men with no or low sperm count etc. would have to be celibate. This is not the case. The purpose of the marital embrace is for babies and bonding, both. Conception must not be removed from it for selfish reasons.

Q. Family planning or abstaining from sex during the fertile times which is written as ok, contradicts these scriptures because you are not to deny your spouse sex except when both have agreed for prayer.

1 Corinthians 7:3 The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband also gives authority over his body to his wife. 5 So do not deprive each other of sexual relations.

A. In our culture the right to sex is deemed to be absolute. Self-denial of sexual pleasure is thought to be ridiculous (except perhaps beastiality, incest, and pedophilia -the last taboos) At one time, not too long ago we had many more taboos -pre-marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, oral sex, pornography, even contraception in addition to beastiality, incest, and pedophilia. How much longer before these also become normative in our culture?

What translation are you using? Most of the respected translations do not interpret the Greek as “not deprive”. The negative is nowhere in the sentence. Rather it is stated positively.

The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. (NASB)

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. (NIV)

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. (KJV)

Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. (NKJV)

Husbands and wives should be fair with each other about having sex. (Contemporary Eng. Version)

To the wife, the husband the debt let him pay and likewise also the wife to the husband. (Literal Greek)

The Husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. (RSV)

“should not deprive” should not be interpreted “as all demands for sex should be met lest one feel deprived”

Your interpretation of I Cor. 7:3 is influenced by our culture. Because, the Protestant churches began to accept contraception in the early 1900’s they have lost the Christian perspective of sexual intimacy–Total Self-Giving. When a married couple indulges in the pleasure while practicing contraception they cannot be totally self-giving to their spouse. One or both are saying, with their bodies, while using a contraceptive, “I reject your fertility.” This subtle spiritual reality plays itself out in various subtle ways. For instance, the one with the strongest sex drive is freed to be more demanding of having sexual needs met and the other can begin to feel used. This is not conducive to a long and happy marriage.

For the difference between NFP and Contraception please click HERE

To read Humanae Vitae click HERE

Blessed Luigi Talamoni, May 20

Blessed Luigi Talamoni, Priest, Founder
Monza (Milan), October 3, 1848 – Milan, January 31,1926

Ambrosian priest, Luigi Monza Talamoni was born in October 3 of 1848 and died in Milan on January 31 1926. He was a professor in seminary school in his hometown and played an intense pastoral ministry and a healthy social activity. He was responsible, along with the widow Maria Biffi Levati, for founding a congregation of women, the Misericordine San Gerardo, involved in helping the sick poor.

Roman Martyrology: In Milan, Blessed Luigi Talamoni, a priest, who, by cultivating his vocation as an educator of young people, exercised his ministry with great dedication and active participation in the difficulties of the society of his time and established the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Misericordine Gerardo.

Blessed Jozef Czempiel , May 19

Blessed Joseph (Jozef) Czempiel priest and martyr
Jozefka, Poland, September 21, 1883 – Dachau, Germany, May 19, 1942

Jozef Czempiel, priest of the Archdiocese of Katowice, fell victim of the Nazis in the famous German concentration camp at Dachau. On June 13, 1999 Pope John Paul II raised him to the honors of the altar with 107 other victims of that persecution.

Roman Martyrology: Near Monaco of Bavaria in Germany in the prison camp at Dachau, Blessed Joseph Czempiel, priest and martyr, who, of Polish origin, during the war joined the sacrifice of Christ dying in a gas chamber.

Source: Santi e Beati

Purifying Fire or Judgement?

Comment: According to the Catholic explanation we are purified through fire and not through Christ.

Response: No, you are misunderstanding. All purification is “through Christ” in a universal or global theological sense. But He uses various methods to purify or discipline us. We are not making this up. The idea of fire as a purifier comes directly from Sacred Scripture.

Below are scriptures supporting the idea of fire as a purifier and the commenter’s interpretation to the contrary.

Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Baptism and fire are cleansing)

Commenter‘s Interpretation: Matthew 3:11 baptism of fire is Jesus’ judgment on the unjust cast into the lake of fire

Matthew 3:12“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Commenter‘s Interpretation: Matthew 3:12 also refers to judgment of fire

Mark 9:49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.

Commenter’s Interpretation: Mark 9:49 once again God’s eternal judgment

1 Corinthians 3:13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Commenter’s Interpretation: 1 Cor. 3:11, 15 refers to the testing of the genuiness of our faith on earth as to whether it is true or just mirage (see 1 Peter 1:7 below)

Response: That is your interpretation but the problem with it is that faith is not what is being talked about in the context of these verses. What is tested is: works.
I Cor. 3:13 specifically says,”his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.

I Corinthians 3:3- 14 Are you not acting like mere men? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

1 Peter 1:7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Jude 1:22-24 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Commenter’s Interpretation:Jude 1:22-24 refers to how we are to witness to others. Whether it be with mercy or with drastic measures.

Response: I agree with your interpretation here but in addition to that, we see it as aiding those in Purgatory with our prayers.

Commenter’s Interpretation:None of the above verses you listed refer to a purification by fire, on the contrary they refer to a judgment by fire.

Response: But you see, that is your interpretation. We interpret it differently. So, both of our interpretations support our theology. The difference is that our interpretation has a much more ancient pedigree than yours. I want to follow Jesus and His apostles and what they taught. And for me the best way to do that is to find out what the very first Christians believed and how they might have interpreted these verses.

Blessed Stansilaw Kubski, May 18

Blessed Stanislaus (Stanislaw) Kubski Priest and Martyr
Ksiaz, Poland, August 13, 1876 – Dachau, Germany, May 18, 1942

Stanislaw Kubski, a priest of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, fell victim of the Nazis in the famous German concentration camp at Dachau. On June 13, 1999, Pope John Paul II raised him to the honors of the altar with 107 other victims of that persecution.

Roman Martyrology: In the prison camp near Dachau Monaco of Bavaria in Germany, Blessed Stanislaus Kubski, priest and martyr, who, in time of war, locked in a gas chamber made the spirit of Christ.

Source: Santi e Beati

May 17: Blessed Ivan Ziatyk – Greek Catholic New Martyr

Blessed Ivan Ziatyk, 1899 – 1952

Catholic Church Closings

Yet another article discusses church closings, this time in New York.  While it’s great that people are attached to their churches and want them to remain open, it seems like too little, too late.

I’d like more information though; with churches by and large on the empty side, who are the people objecting? Are they the few, the proud and the faithful, who go to Mass regularly and adhere to the teachings of the Magisterium, or are they Catholics in Name Only, outraged because the church they used to go to is on the chopping block?

While my area isn’t as hard-hit with church closings as some others, we do have closings, though lately it seems to be Catholic elementary schools closing. A few years ago, a high school was saved by action of alumni once the need for money was publicized. Some elementary schools weren’t so lucky; they were in poverty-stricken areas, hit hard by foreclosures and don’t have a stable mass of people with disposable income who were outraged at their closing.

Catechetical Issues Related to Annulments

5 bob to Pertinacious Papist

 

From the autho of Annulments And The Catholic Church: Straight Answers To Tough Questions, it appeared in its original version in Catholic Family (May-June 1998) and is also available online at CanonLaw.info:

Catechetical Issues Related to Annulments

by Dr. Edward N. Peters
Catechists who prepare adults for entrance into the Church need a good understanding of annulments (technically: “declarations of matrimonial nullity”) for at least two reasons. First, virtually all adults seeking to enter the Church have heard of annulments, but most of them labor under one or more serious misperceptions about the process and its purposes. In particular, because of the great increase in the number of annulments being declared by tribunals, questions might be raised about the Church’s commitment to permanent marriage. It is important, therefore, to correct any misunderstandings about annulments before they result in confusion about Catholic teaching on sacramental marriage.

Second, many adults considering conversion to the Catholic Faith are already divorced and remarried outside the Church. Among Catholics, such status, although it no longer results in their excommunication, is considered objectively gravely sinful and prevents their participation in the Eucharist. Similarly, it would be self-defeating to welcome converts into the Church, only to then immediately tell them that, because they are remarried after a civil divorce, they cannot take Communion in the Church they just entered. Thus the matrimonial status of divorced-and-remarried candidates must be assessed before their entering the Church.

Catholic Beliefs Oppose Scripture

Q. But Catholics believe things that are un-Scriptural. We can’t believe things that oppose scripture.

A. I agree. Nothing the Catholic Church teaches opposes anything in Scripture.

Our beliefs only oppose the Protestant INTERPRETATION of Scripture. That is different than opposing Scripture itself.

But then, this is exactly why there has to be some way to determine which interpretation is accurate. Since the writings, contained in the Bible, are very voluminous all kinds of interpretations are possible, as evidenced by +40,000 Protestant sects. But, there is NO final authority in all of Protestantism that is able to infallibly define what any scripture in particular means or what must be believed. And everything in the Bible MUST be interpreted/understood to create doctrine. It doesn’t explain itself in every instance.

In order to clarify how interpretations of words alone can vary without underlying background or history for those words, take this one seemingly simple sentence.

I never said I stole the money.

The meaning of this sentence seems simple enough. But I can show you how it can actually be interpreted in several different ways. All using the same words. Italics
is for emphasis.

I never said I stole the money.

Meaning: I didn’t say that, someone else did….

I never said I stole the money.

Meaning: I wrote it, used sign language, implied it etc.

I never said I stole the money.

Meaning: I said someone else stole the money.

I never said I stole the money.

Meaning: I embezzled it, I lost it, the accounts didn’t balance etc.

I never said I stole the money.

Meaning: I stole something else.

These are perhaps, other interpretations possible with these words. Obviously the Bible doesn’t use emphasis as I have done. But a similar problem occurs because in Hebrew this sentence would be

ineversaidistolethemoney.

So someone has to decide where one word ends and another begins…..for millions of sentences in the OT. What is a tremendous help to translators is the Greek Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek by the Jewish scholars, according to the Traditional readings of these scriptures in Judaism.

Also, there was no punctuation in the Greek and punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence by grouping words into a phrase that otherwise might be read differently.

For instance, in my Protestant RSV I have:

Luke 23:43: And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The comma placement indicates that the thief would go to Paradise on Friday, the day of his death, thus seeming to provide Protestant evidence to discount the Doctrine of Purgatory.

But, if the comma is moved it could be:

Luke 23:43: “Truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

In this sentence, with the comma moved, Jesus is not saying when the man will enter Paradise, He is simply emphasizing what He is saying TODAY—on this day. Which aligns better with the fact that we know Jesus did not go to Paradise/Heaven on Friday b/c He tells Mary Magdalene on Sunday morning that He hasn’t ascended to the Father yet. So, presumably, neither has the Good Thief.

So, since the Bible cannot interpret itself it must be interpreted. And there must be a final authority able to determine: Yes, this interpretation aligns with the FAITH. or No, that interpretation does not align with the Faith. If every man interprets scripture according to “what is right in his own eyes” there can be no unity.

Top Ten Catholic pick-up line

10. May I offer you a light for that votive candle?
9. Hi there. My buddy and I were wondering if you would settle a dispute we’re having. Do you think the word should be pronounced HOMEschooling, or homeSCHOOLing?
8. Sorry, but I couldn’t help but noticing how cute you look in that ankle-length, shapeless, plaid jumper.
7. What’s a nice girl like you doing at a First Saturday Rosary Cenacle like this?
6. You don’t like the culture of death either? Wow! We have so much in common!
5. Let’s get out of here. I know a much cozier little Catholic bookstore downtown.
4. I bet I can guess your confirmation name.
3. You’ve got stunning scapular-brown eyes.
2. Did you feel what I felt when we reached into the holy water font at the same time?
1. Confess here often?

5 bob to: Ad Te Levávi Ánimam Meam

May 14: Saint Théodore Guérin

Saint Théodore Guérin, 1798 – 1856

Scripture and Purgatory

Bread From Heaven: God could have decided to save us in the way the Protestant Churches teach. Christ’s death COULD have sufficed completely, in the way Protestants believe and reject the necessity of absolute, real, material, holiness and perfection and purification…GOD COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO DO IT THAT WAY. And we admit that He certainly could have chosen to let us into Heaven putrid with sin but accept Jesus’ covering. But scripture would have been written very differently then, in that case.

It is not that we trample the scrifice underfoot. We simply submit to what the Church has always taught and believed.**

Comment: God DID choose to purify us through Christ’s death.

Response: So, you are completely pure? and sinless now? If not, then you have not been completely healed of the effects of original sin. You are still wounded.

Comment: I am concerned for your emphasis on what the “Church” teaches. You should truly focus on what God has taught us. The word of God which I have quoted mulitple times CLEARLY states that we are cleansed through the blood of Christ. Christ’s death has completed erased our sins and continues to do so.

Response: When we say, “The Church teaches….” It is no different than when someone says “The Bible teaches…” or “The Bible says…” The implication is clearly what we believe God is teaching.

Comment: If you say that we are not covered by his blood after our salvation, then you deny Gods omnipotence. For God is the same yesterday as he is today and remains for all eternity.

Response: I am denying God’s omnipotence only in your own imagination. It is uncharitable for you to denigrate my reverence for God just because I don’t interpret scripture the same way as you do.

Comment:1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son CLEANSES us from ALL sin…..If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Response: OK, wonderful verse. But we both know that it does not intersect with reality as we know it, if we interpret it your way. The fact remains that, in spite of the fact that we sincerely believe in Jesus…we simply are not actually cleansed from ALL unrighteousness. We still sin.

But this verse does intersect with reality as we know it in ourselves when we examine the Catholic interpretation. Rather than absolutely ALL, the all in this verse must be talking about ALL (ETERNAL) CONSEQUENCES OF SIN/UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.

Comment:1 John 2:1-2 And if anyone sins, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Response: I can only agree with this verse.

Comment:Romans 8: 1 There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Response: Again I agree. The CCC even says the purification of Purgatory is entirely different than the punishment of the damned/condemned.

Comment: Trust God, trust God’s word, Trust in His Holy Spirit to guide you. If anything goes against His word(the Bible), it is in error and is not to be trusted.

Response: I could not agree more. And there is nothing in the Catholic Faith that contradicts one thing in Sacred Scripture. NOTHING. What the Catholic Faith contradicts in NOT Scripture but Protestant Interpretation of Scripture. That is something different.

But, this is so hard for Protestants to grasp because they are convinced that they are able to infallibly interpret scripture, even though they would never make this claim for themselves. That is what it boils down to. So, they also think they can infallibly judge the Catholic Church and any number of other churches, to be in error according to their private interpretation of scripture. I was a die hard sola scriptura Protestant. I could never have become Catholic if there were blatant contradictions of scripture. Catholic interpretation of Scripture is more credible because the writers in the very first century interpreted scripture the same way as the Church does today. The Protestant Churches have new and modern interpretations and there are so many variations among the Protestant sects it makes one dizzy.

Comment: Catholic tradition is unscriptural, and therefore blasphemous.

Response: Do you reject the verse below?

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

Where in Scripture does it say that we can only believe things about the faith that are in scripture?

May 13: Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Pray your rosary!

What is Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions II

Bread From Heaven: But how can “what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions” possibly refer to a “lacking of time”? Can you support this with scripture?

Comment: Yes, Christ’s time on this earth was limited. His ability to walk and spread the gospel was limited.

Response: Of course I agree that His time on earth was limited. But I fail to understand how, limited time = what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Comment: Lets put it in context:

Col 1:24-29 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church….of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. to this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Paul is referencing His sacrificial service of spreading the gospel of Christ.

Response: I agree. And all that Paul suffered in this worthy endeavor, even simply the giving of his time rather than spending it upon his own desires was “filling up what was lacking”. This life was a concrete life of self denial, of taking up his cross and following Christ. This is a very good image of what we mean by beginning our purification in this life.

Comment: Paul is not saying that Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was lacking.

Response: Well, what Paul says is,

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

If what you mean, is that Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished all that God planned for it to accomplish. I agree. Absolutely. Amen! We do not in any way mean that His death fell short of what God planned. Or that Jesus somehow failed in His mission, goofed up, gave up too soon, blew it, fell short or anything like that. NOT AT ALL.

We say that, by the sovereign PLAN of God, Jesus would die to accomplish the forgiveness of the ETERNAL consequences of sin. He did that. Mission completed… perfectly.

But, the Catholic Church teaches, ALSO, that by the sovereign PLAN of God, all people, in order to enter into the presence of HIS GLORY, have to accomplish the forgiveness of the TEMPORAL consequences of sin, in order to be totally purified. Only God knows exactly what this entails for each individual. But, we do know we can begin the process of our purification by:

1. Resisting sin so we don’t continue to pile on more and more of that which we will need purification.
2. Self denial-Acts of charity, prayer, evangelization, acceptance of crosses from Christ, good works

Comment: IF that were the case, it would have been stated at least one more time in God’s word, and it just isn’t there.

Response: But surely you don’t mean that:

if something is in scripture only one time we can safely ignore it

OR

it is not true

or

something like that.

I am sure you do not know what the ramifications of this kind of hermeneutic is. Below are events, parables, etc. that are only mentioned once in Scripture. I am sure there are thousands more if we look at the OT or the other books of the NT:

Matthew

1. Visit of the wise men (2)
2. flight into Egypt (2)
3. Much of the Sermon on the Mount is only in Matthew (Ch 5-7)
4. Healing two blind men (9:27)
5. The hidden treasue, dragnet, and pearl parables (13:44 ff)
6. Shekle in the fish mouth (17:24)
7. Parable o the laborers (Mt 20)
8. Parable of the two sons-lazy and obedient (21:28)
9. Parable of the 10 virgins (25)
10. Last Judgement (25)
11. Parable of the sheep & goats(25)
12. Soldiers when tomb opens(28)
13. Report of the soldiers to the Jewish authorities (28:11)

And these are just the ones we find in the Gospel of Matthew. Large sections of Luke and John would also be excluded if we reject, as scripture, that which is mentioned only one time.

VOCATIONS TUESDAY: Institute Of Christ The King

Institute of Christ the King

 

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of priests in the Catholic Church that celebrates the liturgy in Latin in accordance with its constitutions and founding documents based on permissions granted by Rome. The Institute also preserves and patronizes traditional Latin Rite liturgical art and music and has undertaken the restoration and beautification of several churches. The Institute is a Society of Apostolic Life, whose rule of life is based generally on that of the secular canons. The Institute has its own choir dress adopted in 2006 and solemnly given to members by the Cardinal Archbishop of Florence. The Institute

Holy Spirit Leads Us In Truth

Commenter: What the teachings of R.C have done is put God in a box, they have single handedly taken away His grace and His omnipotence. This removal of his grace and power is only limited to the confines of R.C.

Response: If the Catholic Church could do that wouldn’t it be more powerful than God?

Commenter: I know that God is big enough, powerful enough and loving enough to offer me all of His grace, and through His Holy Spirit I am taught.

Response: Yes, God can do anything He chooses to do. I assume your meaning is that you do not need the Catholic Church b/c God can work outside of it if He wants to. And I agree. However, when the Israelites were in the wilderness and the LORD sent serpents to bite them He also prescribed a remedy for the deadly snakebites. Moses lifted up a bronze serpent on a pole and told the people to look at it and they would be saved. What would have happened if Moses had said, “That is not necessary. God can heal them without me going to all that trouble.” Or what if some of the people dying of snake bite said, ” I don’t need to look at the snake Moses is lifting up. God can heal me without it.”

God is not bound by anything He does not bind himself by. But it is wise for us not to disobey through philosopy and empty deception. Col. 2:8. I hope you would follow the Truth even if it led you to the Catholic Church.

Q. Do you really believe that God would leave the world with the most important set of documents which teach us about Him, and not give us the ability to understand?

A. Of course we can understand. But understanding scripture as we read it and accurately interpreting it are two very different things. What I am saying is that individuals are not free to make up their own beliefs and Christian religion based on their own private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20-21

We believe God provided for His people an even greater safeguard than merely being able to understand Sacred Scriptures. He gave us Scripture and the gift of an infallible authority to ensure the correct interpretation of those Sacred Scriptures according to the Faith of the Apostles.

Commenter: 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”

Response: This is Paul an apostle and bishop writing to Timothy bishop of Ephesus. Based on the context this is not an absolute command for everyman. It is good for all of us to do but not incumbent upon us as it is upon the Shepherd of the Church of Christ.

Commenter: John 16:12-15… All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Response: Jesus is speaking to the Apostles. This is not meant for everyman based on the context.

Commenter: 1 Cor. 2:10 & 12 but God has reveled it to us by his Spirit…..We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Response: Of course.

Commenter: 2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Response: I agree completely that Scripture is not a matter of private interpretation.

Commenter: John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13…But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into ALL truth.

Response: In a general sense of course the Holy Spirit guides us. But the HS does not guide every single individual who prayerfully sits down to read scripture into ALL TRUTH. If He did all Christians who base their faith solely upon the Bible would believe EXACTLY the same thing. Protestant see themselves as heirs of the Apostles and nothing less and so take these verses to apply to themselves, absolutely. But the reality of this belief is doctrinal chaos +40,000 different sects.

Catholics, on the other hand see the Pope and Bishops only, as direct the heirs of the Apostles. Therefore, this promise is to the Shepherds of the Church NOT to every single individual. And this has brought unity of doctrine. And anyone is able to see what the Church officially teaches in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Comment: It is by the authority of God’s own word and his Holy Spirit that I claim the ability to interpret scripture for myself. You, if you are in Christ and Christ is in you, are also able to do so.

Response: I assume you would use some of the above verses, with which I would have to disagree. But I wonder, then do you then believe that anyone who interprets Scripture differently than you must not be led by the Holy Spirit, since our God is NOT a God of confusion? I Cor. 14;33

May 9: Prophet Isaiah

Father Cutie-pie

Father Cutie, a priest who finds it difficult to avoid temptation, put himself in the way of temptation. He focused on relationships and ministered to those in a society that, shall we say, doesn’t firmly believe in clothing. At first it looked as though he had got caught up in being a media darling and made a mistake.

Now? We learn that Cutie’s in love. With a single mother. Please pray for him. He has a tough road ahead of him, no matter what happens. He promised his celibacy to God and, at the very least, he has caused scandal by giving the appearance of having broken that promise. While we know that he has appeared in inappropriate photos and been given a time out, we don’t know if anything more than that has happened.  There’s no need to speculate; you’ve had days to do that and are wondering what I can possibly add to this.

It’s common knowledge that a taking a vow of celibacy is a requirement for Catholic priests. That’s how it is. I’m not an expert on discerning a vocation or priestly formation, though I do know that men who go to the seminary aren’t always there for the right reasons.  Some are ordained.  Some are not.

I have knowledge of a priest who was involved with a single parent. His family strongly influenced him to enter the priesthood, for which he was not a good fit. He had no vocation and ultimately left the church and married the woman. They remained married the rest of his life. Happily? Not necessarily; in order to marry her, he renounced his promise to God. I don’t think that would be easy. It may have contributed to his alcoholism and abuse of his stepsons, who he beat regularly.

Scandal? Why yes, the situation did cause scandal and who bore the brunt of it? Her parents. He was a priest in her hometown, the same town in which her parents continued to live and where they were the target of crank callers and other unpleasantness. Her mother had a mental health breakdown and the stress is believed to have contributed to her father’s death a few months later. The new couple? They moved half a continent away.

Please pray for Father Cutie, the woman with whom he’s in love and also for her children, who are likely to experience fallout no matter how this situation is resolved.

May 8: Blessed Luigi Rabatà

Blessed Luigi Rabatà, 1443 -1490

May 5: Blessed Grzegorz Boleslaw Frackowiak, New Martyr Of Poland

  Blessed Grzegorz Boleslaw Frackowiak, 1911-1943

Blessed Gregory Frackowiak, May 5

Blessed GREGORY FRACKOWIAK, SVD – Brother
1911, Lowecice-May 5, 1943, Dresden
Receptionist and Bookbinder

The youngest of our four martyrs was 31 when he was beheaded on May 5, 1943, in the prison of Dresden. Brother Gregory consciously offered his life as a substitute for others. His willingness to claim responsibility for some thing he did not do saved several people (including his brother) from certain imprisonment and death. This heroic gesture makes him similar to another martyr of the same war — St. Maximilian Kolbe, who also gave his life for someone else in the concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Gregory is his religious name. He was born Boleslaw Frackowiak in Lowecice (a small village not far from Poznan). One of twelve children, he grew up in a deeply religious atmosphere. At the age of 18 he entered the SVD novitiate in Gorna Grupa. From the beginning he exhibited great joy in being a missionary Brother. He worked both as a receptionist and as a professional binder in the printing press. Among the people of the area he was remembered as someone with a special sensitivity towards the poor. He had numerous visitors, because he was known for providing something to eat, a warm welcome, and a good word for everyone. Some called him “the friend of the poor.”

Infallible Interpretation of Scripture

Bread From Heaven: If you are able to believe it is possible to sit down, 2000 years after the birth of Jesus, and read scripture and interpret it infallibly all by yourself, disregarding what Christians believed in the years immediately following the death of the apostles, you have more faith than I do. But, by what authority do you claim infallibility? Or does Luther claim infallibility to determine how scripture should be interpreted? Or Calvin? Or any of the Protestant sects?*******

Q. What is more important? What Christians believed after the death of the apostles or what the apostles taught?

A. What the Apostles taught of course. But, what Christians believed shortly after the death of the apostles has more credibility than all the contradictory beliefs of Christians today, 2000 years later.

Q. I absolutely without doubt believe that I am able to sit down and interpret scripture all by myself.

A. Do you believe your interpretation is infallible? But, Scripture itself proclaims that scripture is NOT a matter of private interpretation. II Peter 1:20

Q. Is the Spirit unable to work through us?

A. Of Course.

Q. I may not understand all of what I read, but I believe that as my life changes and I grow that those things will be revealed to me. God provides us with his Holy Spirit.

A. I agree. The Catholic Church affirms this and even has beautiful prayers directed to the Holy Spirit, Veni Creator Spiritu,

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of YOUR love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructed the hearts of the faithful, Grant, that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. AMEN

Q. Where does the Bible say that scripture is only understandable by a man made hierarchy of men who are fallible?

A. The Catholic Church does not say that. Every three years most of the Holy Scriptures are read to us at Sunday mass. Now why would the Church do that if laymen were not able to understand scripture? What we do not teach or believe is that every person who reads scripture is able to accurately perceive correct doctrine based on scripture alone.The Bible is a collection of books or various types and purposes. It is not a book of systematic theology.
The Church Hierarchy (Holy Order) is not man made. It was instituted by the Christ and His Apostles. Jesus chose Peter to be the Christ’s representative and authority in His Church in His absence. The Pope. The other disciples were the first bishops,/overseers instructed to ordain other bishops. And Priests/Elders are mentioned also. And in Acts 6 the Apostles institute the office of Deacon. (Deacons) So, there you have the Holy Orders of the Catholic Church instituted or spoken about (because already instituted) in Scripture.

Note: In most Protestant Bibles the Greek word presbuterous is translated as “elder”which is a literal translation. But it disguises the fact that this Greek word is etymologically the root of the English word for Priest. Also, the Greek word episkopoi is translated “overseer” rather than bishop, except King James. Again, “overseer” is the literal translation but it also disguises the fact that this word “episkopoi” is the root for the English word for Bishop.

Atheism In The Woods

5 bob to: Atheism In The Woods « Me So Catholic

An atheist was walking through the woods…

“What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” He said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging toward him!

He started to run as fast as he could, but realized the bear was closing in on him.

Then, he tripped and fell to the ground. When he rolled over the bear was right on top of him, raising his paw to strike him. At that instant the Atheist cried out, “Oh my God!”

Time Stopped! The bear froze. The forest was silent.

Then, a bright light shone upon the man, and a voice said, “You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don’t exist, and even credit creation to some cosmic ‘accident’. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Can I count on you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light, “It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear brought both paws together, bowed his head and said…

“Blesss us, O Lord, for these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through Thy bounty, through Christ the Lord, Amen.”

May 4: Saint John Houghton, Martyr Of England

Saint John Houghton, 1486 – 1535

Examination of Conscience for Confession of Sins

 Guide for
Examination of Conscience for Confession of Sins

  SOURCE: http://www.scborromeo.org/confess.htm

 

6 STEPS FOR A GOOD CONFESSION Examine your conscience – what sins have you committed since your last good confession. Be sincerely sorry for your sins. Confess your sins to the priest. Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them. After your confession, do the penance the priest gives to you. Pray daily for the strength to avoid the occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved from.

 

ACT OF CONTRITIONO my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.     FIRST COMMANDMENT “I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before Me.” (Ex 20:2,3)  Did I doubt or deny that God exists?

May 3: Blessed Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis, Foundress From Canada

Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis, 1840 – 1912

Catholic Scripture

Bread From Heaven: Starting in the years after 1517 Protestants began to sit down with Sacred Scripture and REJECT ALL HISTORICAL CHRISTIAN BELIEFS they did not like or that they could not find explicitly in Scripture

Q. I find this thinking insulting and request that you provide proof for your statement.

A. I apologize. I do not mean to be insulting to you but rather trying to get you to look at the facts of history.

Q. My above statement in regards to the apocrypha explains that protestants did not remove scriputre, but kept it in the form with which God decided.

A. And how did God decide this?

Q. You must understand that man is incapable of declaring books inspired or not. That is only God’s job.

A. And how did God do this job?

Q. Men can counsel, they can defend their choices with almost any gathering, but in the end if what has been chosen does not line up with scripture already recognized as inspired, It just simply is not true.

A. Of course. The problem here is that men came along 1500 years after the birth of Christ and were convinced that their interpretation of scripture was more accurate than the learned men in the earliest centuries, closest to the time of Christ. And by this same new way of interpreting scripture and their new religion, they also declared that writings that had been in the Old Testament for hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, should be removed.

Q. Is God perfect? Yes. Should those who supposedly represent God’s “true church” also reflect the likeness of God? Yes.

A. I agree.

Q. I do not understand how some many Catholics can place their trust into a church that has lied and killed their way into existence. How can you trust a church like this? Would you trust a loved one whose character looks like that of the Catholic history? I wouldn’t.

A. When I am talking about the CHURCH I am referring to its TEACHING. It is pure beauty, truth, and goodness. It is indefectible. But, Catholic people are another issue altogether. Our Saints exemplify your ideals as stated above and more. But people, even priests, bishops, and popes have fallen under the temptation of Our Enemy.

In fact, Jesus promised us this would happen.Mt. 13:24-30 in His parable of the Wheat and Tares. Even if no Protestant Denomination had ever had a member in it guilty of egregious sin it would prove nothing. Satan KNOWS who his enemy is. It is the Church founded by Jesus Christ.Rev. 12 The Dragon goes off to make war with the rest of her(the Woman) offspring. Because he couldn’t get Jesus. In addition, I also do believe Satan goes after Protestant pastors as well.

Q. Is it possible if the Catholics lied and created false documents; pseudoisidorian documents for example, that they are lying about more? Yes.

A. I have no doubt that Catholics have lied in the past about all kinds of things. We do not claim sinlessness for Catholics.

Q. Is that what God’s church looks like?

A. That is not the whole picture which anyone with good will will certainly realize. But, unfortunately it is part of the picture.

Q. Could it be possible that they theoretically kidnapped Peter from history to further they self ambition?

A. For the first 200 years all the Bishops of Rome and all of the disciples (except John) and many, many others DIED FOR THEIR FAITH by horrible deaths. They NEVER would have all died for a lie. And it would have been counter productive for self ambition.

Q. Woud God entrust the keys to HIS kindgdom to someone he called Satan? (Mark 8:32-33 & Matt. 16:22-23) No! Would God entrust the keys to his kingdom someone who required rebuking by Paul? (Galatians 2:11) No!

A. That is precisely what Jesus did. It is right there in black and white in Scripture. I see that you reject two passages of scripture where Jesus gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom. You are beginning to see that Protestant theology just cannot rectify itself with ALL that is actually in Sacred Scripture. I have no idea what Protestant Chuch believes that God is unable and does not ever use weak and sinful men to accomplish His purposes. Peter was weak at times and sinned too. But he died by crucifixion upside down. Through the grace of God Peter grew stronger in his faith and in holiness. Please see my posts Paul Rebuked Peter , Why Is There a Pope? Petros/Petra Vs Rocky/Rockelle

Patrick Byrne and Gerard Hammond: apostles of peace in Pyongyang

Patrick Byrne and Gerard Hammond: apostles of peace in Pyongyang
by Pino Cazzaniga
The story of two missionaries linked to North Korea. Bishop Byrne gave his life there, and Fr Hammond has visited 30 times. “For me”, he says, “that is a holy land”.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – After almost 50 years of missionary work in Korea – and 30 trips to the North – Fr Gerard Hammond now says that he has received from his institute a letter that reads in part: “It is the sincere desire of the general council that you should continue your efforts in these activities . . . that the institute maintains are in keeping with the early history of the Maryknoll fathers in that nation”. It is the most recent act of a drama whose roots extend more than 60 years ago.

It was the afternoon of August 15, 1945, and in Tokyo the staff of the

May 2: Blessed William Tirry, Martyr Of Ireland

Blessed William Tirry, 1608 – 1654

May 1: Saint Joseph The Worker

May 1: Prophet Jeremiah

May 1: Blessed Kliment Septyckyj, Greek Catholic New Martyr

Blessed Kliment Septyckyj, 1869 – 1951