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Showing posts with the label sin

Pope Francis and Nietzsche

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I'll be quoting Pope Francis quite a bit today, starting with this bit from the news: " ...Speaking on Sunday (Sept. 13) to the Argentine radio station, FM Milenium, Francis lamented those who posed as his friends to exploit him, and decried religious fundamentalism. " And speaking to Portugal's Radio Renascenca in an interview that aired on Monday, Francis put his own popularity into perspective: 'Jesus also, for a certain time, was very popular, and look at how that turned out.'... " (" Pope Francis: 'Jesus was popular and look how that turned out' ," David Gibson, Religion News Service (September 14, 2015)) David Gibson apparently paid attention to what Pope Francis said. Some other headlines, from derivative stories are — imaginative. Others perhaps show a better understanding of the Pope than displayed by the occasional outraged Catholic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

THE EXCHANGE

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The truth of our Salvation is far more terrifying on this side of the Cross than for the Jews before the Incarnation of God in the flesh.   When you study His Passion, you only begin to understand the truth of what His Blood truly means to both those who accept Him and those who .....reject Him.  TO READ MORE....CLICK HERE!! 

When the Archangels Weep

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St. Michael the Archangel Icon Weeping at Rhodes, Greece In 2013, in Rhodes Greece, an Icon of St Michael the Archangel began weeping.  There is a video of the event, which I will post a link to at the end of this post.  When I saw this, I was terrified.  The implications are quite frightening. Statues of the Blessed Virgin and even images of our Lord have also wept in the past, sometimes even blood. .... TO READY MORE...CLICK HERE! 

Jesus Christ is Risen!

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Easter Sunday 2015: Acts 10:34a , 37 - 43 Colossians 3:1 - 4 or 1 Corinthians 6b - 8 John 20:1 - 9 Easter Sunday 2015 By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas April 5, 2015 Jesus Christ is risen! This means that life takes on a new horizon. Have you ever thought of yourself as immortal? Have you ever considered that you have "forever" to live? The resurrection from the death of Jesus casts a new light on our human existence. No longer are we bound by finite ends. Our life has an all new endless and brilliant horizon, and we come to share in this new resurrected and glorious horizon gifted us by Christ Jesus through our baptism. In baptism, we are born into the resurrected life of Jesus Christ, a life that knows no end, no boundaries.... More, at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Stabat Mater Dolorosa—Weep Over Sin

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Just recently, I read  Ali Baba and the Forty thieves  for my children .  In this story, the wife of Ali Baba’s (unfortunate) brother and her servant girls lament and cry by his corpse, retrieved by Ali Baba from the thieves’ cave. Their lament announces to everyone the death of Ali Baba’s brother. This is just one of many examples of weeping done not only because of a spontaneous desire but with a specific and sometimes direct ritual meaning. And whenever there is a ritual, behind it lies the desire to express a deeper human reality. The ritual, the task, vocation or place, is there to encompass the entire human being when she (the soul) comes in contact with a reality beyond ordinary expression. Or in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf, “not all tears are an evil…” The task of lamenting is one forgotten in the Western world, along with most meaningful rituals. .... In sharp contrast to this “liberated human” stands the Mother, weeping beneath the Cross... [Read more

Talking About Sin

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You've heard this one before: or not. After church, one of the older folks said to the pastor: "you should talk more about sin." The pastor was puzzled, since he'd been talking about nothing but sin for the last few weeks. Then he realized that for this person "sin" was a handful of activities that the person either didn't enjoy, couldn't participate in, or actively disliked. Having well-defined personal preferences is okay. Expecting everyone to share them is unreasonable: Getting them confused with universal principles leads to trouble. I'll be talking about sin. I'm against it, by the way: which may not mean what you think it does. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

King Josiah, Consequences, and Love

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(From John Martin, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Detail from John Martin's "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah." (1852)) By some standards, this isn't a particularly "Christian" blog. I don't rant about the unending fires of Hell, or dwell on cheerful thoughts like this: " ...The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you.... " ( Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God ," Jonathan Edwards (1741)) That's because it's not 1741 any more, and I'm Catholic. I've talked about the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards, and Mark Twain, before. ( December 1, 2013 ) As a Christian, I agree with Simon Peter.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Encounter With The Virgin

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This encounter started sometime back, I will begin there.   For some time after my husband's death, I had been not living a good life.  I was breaking a commandment pretty regularly.  It wasn't I was mad at God for my husband's death, it was because of the intensity of the pain I was suffering because of grief.   In truth, it hurt worse to go to Church than it did to sin.   I knew better, I had already had the Vision of the Eucharist, so I knew the truth, and I would say to myself, "What are you doing! You know better!!"  After three years, when my heart had healed sufficiently, it was time to come home. Mother calls.  ....TO READ MORE OF THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE VIRGIN...CLICK HERE.

The Fine Line Between Gracious Hospitality and Entertaining to Impress

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  I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks back about having hosted a potluck get-together most Fridays this summer.  We just had our last one of the season a few days ago. Issuing this invitation was a huge step for me.  Although I've often hosted holiday meals and birthday celebrations, opening my home on a weekly basis seemed next to impossible.  Normally when hosting, I'd plan weeks in advance what to cook and would go out of my mind trying to figure out how to maintain company-clean amid daily life.  What caused me to take the plunge and have people over almost every Friday?  I realized that it was the sin of pride, a lack of humility, and fear of what I think someone might think of me that was holding me back (and my family), from enjoying an even more rich and full life, even in this small way.   Sinful pride left me with little time and energy to put on the mask of perfection when there wasn't a compelling reason to do so.   The fine line b

Does God work for good in our sins?

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Return of the Prodigal Son by Guercino (Wikimedia Commons) The second reading from Sunday’s Mass included a favorite verse of mine, Romans 8:28:   We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. The newly ordained priest who said Mass at Holy Trinity Cathedral preached that God works for good even in our sins. Do you believe this? I do, firmly! So did St. Therese of Lisieux. Today I’d like to examine St. Paul’s teaching on this subject, and what it means for our spiritual lives. What can separate us from God? St. Paul writes: For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) I have heard Catholic apologists preach on this passage, noting that Paul did not include “sin” in his

SIN

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Have you sinned well lately? Sins worthy of a good Confession? CLICK HERE

"You know I Conquered Sin and Death."

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During prayer one day, the Lord spoke to me. "You know I conquered sin and death."    I don't why I knew it, but I knew this was instruction about my prayer, about how to pray.  "Yes Lord".  Thinking:  What is He trying to tell me?. ..CLICK HERE...

Vengeance, Anger, and Looking Ahead

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" The avenger of blood may execute the murderer, putting him to death on sight. " ( Numbers 35:19 ) I ran into that bit from the Pentateuch in "Judas on a Pole," an episode in the second season of Bones . The writers used an 'Olde Englishe' translation that many Americans perceive as 'Biblical,' and that's another topic. If someone murdered a member of my family, I would be very angry. There'd be something wrong with me if I wasn't. Anger, Sin, and Getting a Grip Anger is a "capital sin," a sin that's particularly serious because it leads to other sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866 ) That doesn't mean that I've committed a sin every time I experience anger. I'm human, so I experience emotions. Emotions aren't good or bad by themselves. What matters is what we do with them. (Catechism, 1767 ) If I hang on to anger, let it build into a desire to harm or kill someone else: that's

The Casino

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The Casino The Lord had put it on my heart to go to the Casino.  I wondered why I had to actually go to the Casino, so I asked Him, "Lord, why do I have to go?  I can pray for them in front of the Blessed Sacrament!"   The answer was silence.  So, in obedience, I filled up my car and went to the Horseshoe Casino.... To find out what happened at the Casino, click HERE!

Our greatest spiritual battle is against ourselves

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Joan of Arc on Horseback Wikimedia Commons). Sometimes life is a war zone. So many things disturb our peace. The kids act defiantly. An important contract falls through at work. Our finances are in trouble. The phone rings during a serious conversation. These are all surface battles. The real war we fight is the war against ourselves. God created man in love and goodness. Adam and Eve sinned. Evil entered their hearts. Where once it had been easy to do God’s will, it became a struggle. They passed this struggle down to us, their children.   I want to do good, but I don’t St. Paul wrote, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members” (Romans 7:15,

Hosannas: Still Upsetting the Status Quo

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Our granddaughter's baptism was yesterday, which was a very happy occasion. We had a few folks over to celebrate, so my quiet Saturday afternoon was anything but. As a result, this post may be less organized than most: which is saying something.... (Palm fronds at Our Lady of Angels church. April 1, 2012.) ...It's Palm Sunday, when Christians remember Jesus' enthusiastic welcome in Jerusalem: followed by equally-enthusiastic cries of 'crucify him!' We'll be holding palm fronds and reading parts of Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66 this morning. I enjoy echoing the crowd's hosanna. What comes after that isn't much fun: even though I know what happened on the first Easter.... I don't enjoy some parts of our Palm Sunday reenactment: I'm too aware of my personal contributions to humanity's guilt. But I think it's prudent to get reminded of the big picture now and then. Besides, like I've said before, Jesus didn't stay

Whisper His Name

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Father was a no show at the 8 a.m. Holy Mass today.  The old man stood at the back door waiting for him, he said he had talked to Father and that he had said he would be there.  At 8:02, we decided to have a communion service.  Jim, wonderful servant of God, did the service for us.  One of the men came up to me and a woman that I was speaking to after the service.  You never saw this man without his rosary in his hand.  It gave me such hope to see one so faithful every day to the Rosary of our Blessed Mother.  He came over and speaking to the woman spewed a derogatory comment about Father.  My heart dropped.  The woman agreed and joined in the bashing.  This isn't the first I had heard of this, and every time I hear it, it broke my heart.   They invited me to McDonald's for breakfast, I declined and said I would stay and pray.  The woman said to me, "Well he needs it!" (Meaning Father.)  What she didn't know was that most of my prayers would be in suppl

My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints

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Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. ~Apocalypse 13:10 My Peace I Give You by Dawn Eden is a much-needed spiritual resource for those recovering from any type of physical or emotional suffering brought on by the lust, crassness or cruelty of others. It took a long time to read because I had to stop and take time to ponder and absorb, reading several parts of it over again. Not only is Dawn's book well-written but every contention is backed up by solid references. With modesty and restraint, she confronts a topic uncomfortable to many. The misuse of the gift of life-giving sexuality has scourged multiple lives and institutions, not the least of which is our Holy Catholic Church. Too often amid the scandals, the wounded do not receive the treatment which they need in order to heal. This book, coming from the long and painful recovery of a survivor of abuse, will be a grace for many who are hurting from similar wounds. Hopefully, it will inspire all who read it to t

Extreme Makeover

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  Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. ~John Adams We are in the middle of a war. It is a war which involves every man, woman and child because it is a war not only for our culture but for our souls. The main battlegrounds of this war appear to be the minds and hearts of women because it is women who make or break family life. Once family life is destroyed or corrupted then the state becomes supreme with each and every one of us as its puppets. When women are degraded then the entire society loses it dignity and heroism. Once a people lose their nobility of soul and sense of honor then there is nothing left to them but enslavement. We now waver at the brink but all is not lost for we have women who see things as they are and are not afraid to talk about it. Journalist and radio talk show host Teresa Tomeo is one such woman who assesses the fa

Can Anger be Our Friend?

"Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case."                                          Catechism of the Catholic Church  # 1768 All human beings get angry, it is part and parcel of being human. Anger, in itself, is not a sin, it is simply an emotion. Unfortunately, because of our fallen nature it often leads us into sin. We have all heard the expressions: blowing our tops, flying off the handle, or hot under the collar. Anger becomes sinful when we dwell on it and get carried away by it; we fail to bridle our tongue and scream ugly things, yell at our children and act in an unloving manner. Road rage, revenge, and murder....these are all things that begin with anger. Does anger always have to lead to sin? Of course not. Anger can propel us into positive action, also. It can stir us into taking steps to correct an evil and with God's grace can even be turned into a great zeal for justice. Look at Saint Paul. There are si