Peter Kreeft.???? What did you make of his arguments????
Dear
I am wondering why I got so few replies to this Master Piece of Apologetics???
What is mjk trying to do?
Why doesn't he just leave us alone?
We want our peace?
Why doesn't he just shut up?
I can just hear many of you saying remarks like that out aloud or in your thoughts!
Why do I bother to continue to send you such well thought out arguments and defences for the Roman Catholic Church??
Good question!!!!!
Why??
Because of the following.......
1st if the Catholic Church is not the TRUTH then it is the biggest lie ever..
It is a lie that has lasted from the time of the Apostles until now.
It's a lie that just wont go away.
All the so called reformers split and many have almost totally faded away.
None of them are really doing any good and having a real influence in this world. Read On..Read on!!!
The doctrine of this Church has never changed even though their have been many bad people including wicked Popes etc
It is very similar to the idea that Jesus was just a good man and a moral teacher.
He taught love and was a great Guru and nothing more.
The fact is He was either God or a very very bad man.
Why???
Because He claimed to be God!
Therefore He was either God or a very bad wicked megalomaniac.
You cannot just brush him off with the good person nonsense.
The same applies to the Roman Catholic Church.
You will have to make a decision.
Either this Church is the Truth or it is totally deluded.
No middle ground..
No comfortable... they are not bad chaps...
We live in extraordinary times.
Materialism is now the number one religion in the West.
For most part Christians are now in a very sad state.
Like never before we need UNITY and to all be singing from the same Hymn Sheet.
This was Jesus' wish in John Ch 17...Someone is being very disobedient
We Catholics already have a very tough and long lasting structure in place.
You Protesters do not.
We Catholics are hated by the Media for our stand against abortion, homosexual marriage, artificial birth control, euthanasia, divorce and many other important topics such as forbidding the Bible and religious instruction in School etc etc..
The fact that the Media hate us is a very strong indication that we are the TRUTH as otherwise the Media would love us and leave us alone.
The Media for the most part leaves you alone....
I wonder why???
Maybe because you are not there in significant numbers to pose a threat to the Media????
Maybe they can't find you???
Maybe you do not speak up and even if you do, do you really pose a threat?
What do you think???
Why do they leave you alone???
This is proof in itself that we are effective whereas you are not and how can you be without a structure and leadership...........
I believe the Luxury of your caffeteria protesting must come to an end
Where is your real lasting alternative to the Roman Catholic Church????.
Unless we unite we will remain divided by Satanic forces and defeated.
Well that is not quite true because Jesus will intervene but there will be lots and lots of Martyrdom!!
I am not doing this exercise just to annoy you and show off my so called superiority. Today, the 16th of October when I went to confession, and FOR YOU Sola ScrituraITES. the Bible reference would be John Ch 20 verses 22 and 23 and Matthew Ch 18 verses 18 and 19, I was so encouraged to hear the following from The Priest ???? who when I had told him how easily I get discouraged, told me that as long as we remain very small in front of God He will take all our failures from trying to achieve holiness, all the broken pieces, and make them into a crown and place it on our heads.
PRETTY ENCOURAGING!!!
I AM QUITE SURE THAT IF YOU WILL TAKE THE TIME TO CAREFULLY LISTEN TO PETER KREEFTS ARGUMENTS, THEN YOU WILL SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
There is one more short talk by Ray Guarendi called “Why be Catholic??” It is also very good but does not deal with the question as thoroughly as Peter Kreeft.
I do like Ray Guarendi's style though.... Funny and true!!!!
Here is the link... url....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjDfJaWRxn8
Please check it out....
Please do me the favour of answering this but not before you have Prayed and thought about it carefully and also listen to all the links that I have sent you.
God Bless you and Peace!!!!!!!
Monday, 1 November 2010
Cosy Christianity
Cosy Christianity.
As Roman Catholics we are really quite unlike all other brands of Christianity, all 30,000 different denominations, with the exception of the Orthodox and maybe a few others that I do not know about.
We do not just believe in Jesus, we actually have Jesus.
He gives Himself to us in the form of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at every Holy Mass and He is there very humbly taking up His position in the Tabernacle and in the Monstrances, in a voluntary Prison so that we can talk to Him face to face.
That is so awesome if you take time to think about it.
I do not know about you but I need constant reminders about all these marvellous aspects of our Faith.
Why?
Because I tend to take them for granted.
Human Nature is such that we soon take matters for granted and become complacent.
In many ways those early Christians had it better.
In their time, to become a Christian was extremely dangerous.
Martyrdom at the hands of the Roman World rulers was almost inevitable as they were hounded all around the Empire.
I heard that most of the first 30 Popes were martyred.
It was difficult for them to become complacent in such a dangerous environment.
It was obvious to them that they were in a Spiritual War which turned very Physical when they got into the hands of their enemies.
For us it is not so obvious but it is just as real.
The war is raging all around us.
In our country, in our towns and cities and yes even in our homes and yes even in our very selves.
It's a Battle every day and even every hour.
It's a battle to stay calm when everything seems to be going wrong.
It's a battle to Pray.
It's a battle to read the Word and
It is even a greater Battle to do as we are told by the Word Himself.
I love and greatly appreciate being in the Legion of Mary.
I have nearly completed my first 3 months and will soon be inducted in as a full time member along with my wife.
Frank Duff the founder has written a very exhaustive and well written Hand book and if you ever get the chance please try and get a hold of one and read it.
It is really good stuff and very demanding, no cosy Christianity here.
So what do I mean about the Title of this letter? Cosy Christianity?
Let me try and explain.
It is kind of like I am all right and you are all right and really everything is quite all right too.
I do not know what you have found, but I find the closer I try to walk with Jesus, the more I see how much mercy I need and how much of a sinner I am.
My favourite prayer when I catch myself not praying is “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner!”
Then I adapt it to include the members of my family and friends and even my enemies.
I became a Protestant Christian 46 years ago because a friend took the trouble to tell me about Jesus and invite me to on fire meetings where the challenge of Jesus was being preached.
What is the Great Challenge of Jesus??
Follow me and I will make you Fishers of men.
Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
As My Father sent Me so send I you.
And you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses first in Jerusalem and then in Judea and in Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the world.
Go therefore and make disciples of all Nations and I will never leave you nor forsake you.
These are all very well known verses but are they in the forefront of our thinking?
As I have many time pointed out we are in a very serious war and we have been asked to follow in the footsteps of Our Saviour who left Heaven and His Father's House to make a very humble invasion of our planet in the form of a little baby born of a Virgin and then die voluntarily for me and you to save us from our sins.
I have done my going into all the world bit but now I have 2 small kids in school and so I cant just take off like I did in the past.
You with your commitments are probably in the same position.
So where is My Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and Uttermost parts of the earth??
They are all right around here where I live.
Real Christianity in many parts of Europe is fast dying out.
The Catholic Church is struggling but by no way defeated.
The Church is a mission field in itself.
Materialism has taken over from Christianity and people are dying and going to ?????????
That is worrying and if one takes the time to think about this, I believe it will help you to get into action.
The Cosy part of Christianity is a part but not the whole.!
If you are just on the Cosy side then I think we will pretty embarrassed to meet Jesus!
What do you think??
I know that I need to be continually reminded about these things. It is no good just telling me once.
It's like the Eucharist and confession.. We get told and soon the ideas behind this get dull and blunt.
We all need continual reminding in my opinion.
We all need continual challenging.
We all need continual encouraging.
We are all sinners and so easily get lulled into a false sense of I AM OK... YOU ARE OK.... WE ARE ALL OK....
I was eventually very politely asked to leave the Emmaus fellowship as a result of writing the following letter which did not get posted. I am not bitter and it is impossible to legislate righteousness and I think it is actually a very god solution. I tried but I failed. I know that Jesus understands and I have no ill feelings but would prefer to write what I feel is important and not through some guidelines.
By the way there is Daily Gospel where there is also a very good reflections chosen from Doctors of the Church and famous saints.
http://www.dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM
If you do not get this, check it out.. It's great..
I said I would not write more but I would ask nanciejh to hold on a bit. Terry we all love and all she has to do is to allow us to say what we think is important. Discussing the Tau and Saint Francis if this is done in the spirit of trying to help and evangelise the hurting world, may be ok.. it's hard to see how but it may be ok. But restricting us to some rules and regulations which may have been made without the hurting world in vision would be a great mistake. I need evangelising and encouraging often. You do too if you are honest. It is so easy to get into what I call cosy Christianity and forget that we are in a war of the worlds.
That is why I like the Catholicism Project. Also EWTN.. They know that a war is raging and they are doing everything like Frank Pavone and so many others to promote a Spirit of lets do something about it. Talking about it is great but we need to apply these daily scriptures to the task on hand. EVANGELISING EACH OTHER AND THE HURTING WORLD AROUND US . Let me tell you story from Amy Carmichael which had a great effect on me when I was a Protestant doing very little for Jesus except going to meetings.
She had a dream. You may know this but it is worth repeating....In her dream she saw a waterfall in the distance. As she grew closer she realised that the water was not H2O but human bodies falling off a cliff into the sea like lemmings. She started to do something about it as the people were blindly walking to their death. She told them to turn around and she managed to get a few to push back against the masses. Then she asked where the Christians were???? The Lord in her dream showed her groups of people sitting in circles on the open grass a little way off from the masses and they were so busy... So very very busy... Doing What???? Making Daisy Chains.
The point of my story is obvious. We have all from time to time made Spiritual Daisy Chains. We need to stop and encourage each other to be doers and prayers of the Word especially the Rosary. We do not as Catholics just believe in Jesus as Protestants do WE HAVE JESUS AND WE HAVE HIM ALL THE TIME IN THE TABERNACLE AND IN THE MONSTRANCES AND IN EVERY MASS WE PARTAKE AND EAT HIS BODY... IT IS AWESOME!!!!!
The Prots can never win the world for the Kingdom of God. They do not even use the secret weapon of OUR MOTHER MARY. They are fighting with their hands tied behind their backs and split into 30,000 different denominations.
They have no unity and it is just a free for all.
I hope this helps to clear matters up and what is really important.. we need to catch fire... If we do this then others will come to watch us burn... Jesus said that He had come to bring Fire on Earth... Luke Ch 12 verse 49..
Enough said... I really look forward to many many more responses.. and God bless Terry for trying and getting so much accomplished. It is not EITHER OR BUT BOTH AND. We need a heavy emphasis on evangelism..
mjk
"
WHO NEEDS EVANGELISM?
Our Holy Mother Church, and the WORD of GOD is telling us time and time again, through our leaders the Popes about the importance of evangelism. We are to reach out to the hurting world. But How??
Saint Faustina who died on my Mum's birthday October the 5th 1938 and 48 days before I was born writes the following, but first my comments!
In today's Liturgical readings we hear that the fault lies not with the Heathen, the Unchurched but listen very carefully with ME and you.
We who should know better are not doing the job.
Not only are we not doing it but we seem so satisfied with our little sharing here and there.
This reflection from a very special Polish saint got me into thinking and writing.
Why do I write at all?
Is it to show off my spirituality?
If I am honest, Yes that would be sadly one of my motives which I try to fight against.
Is it to get others and myself, because all we write speaks so loudly first to ourselves, to start jumping into action?
Yes hopefully that would be my very strongest motivation.
That should be the motivation behind everything I write.
At this point in time, I am firmly convinced that one of the most powerful ways to change the hurting world is through directly our Holy Mother the Virgin Mary.
We have the Rosary prayer. Many of us are faithful to say it. BUT and there is a big BUT,
Do we know and fully realise the power of this extraordinary prayer?
Do we promote this prayer to our friends and associates reminding them of its real importance at such a time like this?
Or are we more busy with other spiritual things or things which look spiritual?
When we do these spiritual things are we directly concerned for reaching out and instructing those who should no better to jump into action.
Someone wrote that the reason evil prevails is because good men sit around and do so little to stop it.
As an Ambassador for the Catholicism project of Word on Fire of Father Robert Barron, it would be impossible for me to keep quiet and settle down under some rules and regulations which are not continually drawing attention to the need for Evangelism in this Hurting World.
If you would like to know what I and my wife personally do in Evangelism every day, I will happily tell you. For many of you it would sound like a great deal BUT it is only a drop in the Ocean.
Until we all Catch the WORD ON FIRE VISION we are just paddling around having fun in the puddles at the beach edge.
For those of you in the Garden this will be my last effort at trying to get through to you.
You will not be hearing from me directly again..
So do not worry and continue with what you are doing. May the Lord Jesus bless you in it and may it become really fruitful.
One ingredient though would be to stir in the FIRE of the WORD of EVANGELISM.
This is something that I did not see once in my short stay in your garden.
NOW TO THE WORDS OF SAINT FAUSTINA... FAUSTINA PLEASE PRAY FOR US ALL.
"Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"
I want to be completely transformed into your mercy and to be your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pain and moaning.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
O my Jesus, transform me into yourself, for you can do all things.
LET'S REMEMBER THAT WE ARE IN A DEADLY WAR WHERE THE ENEMY IS PLAYING FOR KEEPS.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As Roman Catholics we are really quite unlike all other brands of Christianity, all 30,000 different denominations, with the exception of the Orthodox and maybe a few others that I do not know about.
We do not just believe in Jesus, we actually have Jesus.
He gives Himself to us in the form of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at every Holy Mass and He is there very humbly taking up His position in the Tabernacle and in the Monstrances, in a voluntary Prison so that we can talk to Him face to face.
That is so awesome if you take time to think about it.
I do not know about you but I need constant reminders about all these marvellous aspects of our Faith.
Why?
Because I tend to take them for granted.
Human Nature is such that we soon take matters for granted and become complacent.
In many ways those early Christians had it better.
In their time, to become a Christian was extremely dangerous.
Martyrdom at the hands of the Roman World rulers was almost inevitable as they were hounded all around the Empire.
I heard that most of the first 30 Popes were martyred.
It was difficult for them to become complacent in such a dangerous environment.
It was obvious to them that they were in a Spiritual War which turned very Physical when they got into the hands of their enemies.
For us it is not so obvious but it is just as real.
The war is raging all around us.
In our country, in our towns and cities and yes even in our homes and yes even in our very selves.
It's a Battle every day and even every hour.
It's a battle to stay calm when everything seems to be going wrong.
It's a battle to Pray.
It's a battle to read the Word and
It is even a greater Battle to do as we are told by the Word Himself.
I love and greatly appreciate being in the Legion of Mary.
I have nearly completed my first 3 months and will soon be inducted in as a full time member along with my wife.
Frank Duff the founder has written a very exhaustive and well written Hand book and if you ever get the chance please try and get a hold of one and read it.
It is really good stuff and very demanding, no cosy Christianity here.
So what do I mean about the Title of this letter? Cosy Christianity?
Let me try and explain.
It is kind of like I am all right and you are all right and really everything is quite all right too.
I do not know what you have found, but I find the closer I try to walk with Jesus, the more I see how much mercy I need and how much of a sinner I am.
My favourite prayer when I catch myself not praying is “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner!”
Then I adapt it to include the members of my family and friends and even my enemies.
I became a Protestant Christian 46 years ago because a friend took the trouble to tell me about Jesus and invite me to on fire meetings where the challenge of Jesus was being preached.
What is the Great Challenge of Jesus??
Follow me and I will make you Fishers of men.
Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
As My Father sent Me so send I you.
And you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses first in Jerusalem and then in Judea and in Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the world.
Go therefore and make disciples of all Nations and I will never leave you nor forsake you.
These are all very well known verses but are they in the forefront of our thinking?
As I have many time pointed out we are in a very serious war and we have been asked to follow in the footsteps of Our Saviour who left Heaven and His Father's House to make a very humble invasion of our planet in the form of a little baby born of a Virgin and then die voluntarily for me and you to save us from our sins.
I have done my going into all the world bit but now I have 2 small kids in school and so I cant just take off like I did in the past.
You with your commitments are probably in the same position.
So where is My Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and Uttermost parts of the earth??
They are all right around here where I live.
Real Christianity in many parts of Europe is fast dying out.
The Catholic Church is struggling but by no way defeated.
The Church is a mission field in itself.
Materialism has taken over from Christianity and people are dying and going to ?????????
That is worrying and if one takes the time to think about this, I believe it will help you to get into action.
The Cosy part of Christianity is a part but not the whole.!
If you are just on the Cosy side then I think we will pretty embarrassed to meet Jesus!
What do you think??
I know that I need to be continually reminded about these things. It is no good just telling me once.
It's like the Eucharist and confession.. We get told and soon the ideas behind this get dull and blunt.
We all need continual reminding in my opinion.
We all need continual challenging.
We all need continual encouraging.
We are all sinners and so easily get lulled into a false sense of I AM OK... YOU ARE OK.... WE ARE ALL OK....
I was eventually very politely asked to leave the Emmaus fellowship as a result of writing the following letter which did not get posted. I am not bitter and it is impossible to legislate righteousness and I think it is actually a very god solution. I tried but I failed. I know that Jesus understands and I have no ill feelings but would prefer to write what I feel is important and not through some guidelines.
By the way there is Daily Gospel where there is also a very good reflections chosen from Doctors of the Church and famous saints.
http://www.dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM
If you do not get this, check it out.. It's great..
I said I would not write more but I would ask nanciejh to hold on a bit. Terry we all love and all she has to do is to allow us to say what we think is important. Discussing the Tau and Saint Francis if this is done in the spirit of trying to help and evangelise the hurting world, may be ok.. it's hard to see how but it may be ok. But restricting us to some rules and regulations which may have been made without the hurting world in vision would be a great mistake. I need evangelising and encouraging often. You do too if you are honest. It is so easy to get into what I call cosy Christianity and forget that we are in a war of the worlds.
That is why I like the Catholicism Project. Also EWTN.. They know that a war is raging and they are doing everything like Frank Pavone and so many others to promote a Spirit of lets do something about it. Talking about it is great but we need to apply these daily scriptures to the task on hand. EVANGELISING EACH OTHER AND THE HURTING WORLD AROUND US . Let me tell you story from Amy Carmichael which had a great effect on me when I was a Protestant doing very little for Jesus except going to meetings.
She had a dream. You may know this but it is worth repeating....In her dream she saw a waterfall in the distance. As she grew closer she realised that the water was not H2O but human bodies falling off a cliff into the sea like lemmings. She started to do something about it as the people were blindly walking to their death. She told them to turn around and she managed to get a few to push back against the masses. Then she asked where the Christians were???? The Lord in her dream showed her groups of people sitting in circles on the open grass a little way off from the masses and they were so busy... So very very busy... Doing What???? Making Daisy Chains.
The point of my story is obvious. We have all from time to time made Spiritual Daisy Chains. We need to stop and encourage each other to be doers and prayers of the Word especially the Rosary. We do not as Catholics just believe in Jesus as Protestants do WE HAVE JESUS AND WE HAVE HIM ALL THE TIME IN THE TABERNACLE AND IN THE MONSTRANCES AND IN EVERY MASS WE PARTAKE AND EAT HIS BODY... IT IS AWESOME!!!!!
The Prots can never win the world for the Kingdom of God. They do not even use the secret weapon of OUR MOTHER MARY. They are fighting with their hands tied behind their backs and split into 30,000 different denominations.
They have no unity and it is just a free for all.
I hope this helps to clear matters up and what is really important.. we need to catch fire... If we do this then others will come to watch us burn... Jesus said that He had come to bring Fire on Earth... Luke Ch 12 verse 49..
Enough said... I really look forward to many many more responses.. and God bless Terry for trying and getting so much accomplished. It is not EITHER OR BUT BOTH AND. We need a heavy emphasis on evangelism..
mjk
"
WHO NEEDS EVANGELISM?
Our Holy Mother Church, and the WORD of GOD is telling us time and time again, through our leaders the Popes about the importance of evangelism. We are to reach out to the hurting world. But How??
Saint Faustina who died on my Mum's birthday October the 5th 1938 and 48 days before I was born writes the following, but first my comments!
In today's Liturgical readings we hear that the fault lies not with the Heathen, the Unchurched but listen very carefully with ME and you.
We who should know better are not doing the job.
Not only are we not doing it but we seem so satisfied with our little sharing here and there.
This reflection from a very special Polish saint got me into thinking and writing.
Why do I write at all?
Is it to show off my spirituality?
If I am honest, Yes that would be sadly one of my motives which I try to fight against.
Is it to get others and myself, because all we write speaks so loudly first to ourselves, to start jumping into action?
Yes hopefully that would be my very strongest motivation.
That should be the motivation behind everything I write.
At this point in time, I am firmly convinced that one of the most powerful ways to change the hurting world is through directly our Holy Mother the Virgin Mary.
We have the Rosary prayer. Many of us are faithful to say it. BUT and there is a big BUT,
Do we know and fully realise the power of this extraordinary prayer?
Do we promote this prayer to our friends and associates reminding them of its real importance at such a time like this?
Or are we more busy with other spiritual things or things which look spiritual?
When we do these spiritual things are we directly concerned for reaching out and instructing those who should no better to jump into action.
Someone wrote that the reason evil prevails is because good men sit around and do so little to stop it.
As an Ambassador for the Catholicism project of Word on Fire of Father Robert Barron, it would be impossible for me to keep quiet and settle down under some rules and regulations which are not continually drawing attention to the need for Evangelism in this Hurting World.
If you would like to know what I and my wife personally do in Evangelism every day, I will happily tell you. For many of you it would sound like a great deal BUT it is only a drop in the Ocean.
Until we all Catch the WORD ON FIRE VISION we are just paddling around having fun in the puddles at the beach edge.
For those of you in the Garden this will be my last effort at trying to get through to you.
You will not be hearing from me directly again..
So do not worry and continue with what you are doing. May the Lord Jesus bless you in it and may it become really fruitful.
One ingredient though would be to stir in the FIRE of the WORD of EVANGELISM.
This is something that I did not see once in my short stay in your garden.
NOW TO THE WORDS OF SAINT FAUSTINA... FAUSTINA PLEASE PRAY FOR US ALL.
"Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"
I want to be completely transformed into your mercy and to be your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pain and moaning.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
O my Jesus, transform me into yourself, for you can do all things.
LET'S REMEMBER THAT WE ARE IN A DEADLY WAR WHERE THE ENEMY IS PLAYING FOR KEEPS.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
we have a dangerous religion
We have a dangerous religion.
SEQUEL TO FISHING!!!
AND WILL THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT TO HEAVEN BE FEW?
TAKEN FROM TODAY'S LITURGY.
No wonder the Protestants like to believe that “Once saved, Always saved!”
It is so comforting... Kind of like Jesus has done it all... I can just sit back and enjoy it...
How are you doing today Michael King??
Oh I'm fine!]
I just got back from Mass.
I recently went to confession!
I work for Jesus every day!
I do this and I do that!
I'm just fine thanks!
Well sorry mate but that's the wrong answer.
That is not going to get you to Heaven.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN? HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT? I BELIEVE IN JESUS AND I WORK FOR HIM AND I PRAY A GREAT DEAL.. AND I TRY TO BE LOVING EVEN TO MY ENEMIES..WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN???????”
Comes the reply again, “You are on the wrong track........”
HELP!!!!!!!
Then comes the reply that is the same for the Pope and for the Cardinals and for all those heavily involved in Ministry organising this and organising that and right down to little old pathetic me and you.
Luk 17:10
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants:
we have done that which was our duty to do.
And then another verse Mat 10:22, which I had conveniently overlooked
And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved
John Paul the 2nd JP2 said to his attendant just a few moments before he died.. “Soon I will not be able to sin any more!”
This is a daily struggle!! Right up to the end!!
I do not know about you, but I need to be reminded about this very very very often...
Why???
Because I am a forgetter especially about rather uncomfortable things.
I much prefer....
So nice to meet you at the Bible study last night!!
You really lead it marvellously!
Where do you get all the energy from???
I know that you are going to say, Jesus, so humble!!!! But really you are Great!!!!!
So now back to my favourite Prayer which Lord help me to say from my heart. Only He knows whether it is put on for effect or if it is sincere....
LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME A MISERABLE SINNER!!!!
SEQUEL TO FISHING!!!
AND WILL THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT TO HEAVEN BE FEW?
TAKEN FROM TODAY'S LITURGY.
No wonder the Protestants like to believe that “Once saved, Always saved!”
It is so comforting... Kind of like Jesus has done it all... I can just sit back and enjoy it...
How are you doing today Michael King??
Oh I'm fine!]
I just got back from Mass.
I recently went to confession!
I work for Jesus every day!
I do this and I do that!
I'm just fine thanks!
Well sorry mate but that's the wrong answer.
That is not going to get you to Heaven.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN? HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT? I BELIEVE IN JESUS AND I WORK FOR HIM AND I PRAY A GREAT DEAL.. AND I TRY TO BE LOVING EVEN TO MY ENEMIES..WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN???????”
Comes the reply again, “You are on the wrong track........”
HELP!!!!!!!
Then comes the reply that is the same for the Pope and for the Cardinals and for all those heavily involved in Ministry organising this and organising that and right down to little old pathetic me and you.
Luk 17:10
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants:
we have done that which was our duty to do.
And then another verse Mat 10:22, which I had conveniently overlooked
And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved
John Paul the 2nd JP2 said to his attendant just a few moments before he died.. “Soon I will not be able to sin any more!”
This is a daily struggle!! Right up to the end!!
I do not know about you, but I need to be reminded about this very very very often...
Why???
Because I am a forgetter especially about rather uncomfortable things.
I much prefer....
So nice to meet you at the Bible study last night!!
You really lead it marvellously!
Where do you get all the energy from???
I know that you are going to say, Jesus, so humble!!!! But really you are Great!!!!!
So now back to my favourite Prayer which Lord help me to say from my heart. Only He knows whether it is put on for effect or if it is sincere....
LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME A MISERABLE SINNER!!!!
reply to Bob Gotti
So sorry I pressed the wrong button..
Let me try and start again...
I'm trying to take you seriously
What has gone wrong with Martin Lather's private interpretation of scripture.. The Roman Catholic Bible?? What went wrong??
How come there are not just 2 denominations the erroneous Catholics and their Popery and the sane Prots with their private interpretation??
What happened.
There should be millions of Gottis all under the same umbrella and making a huge impact on the world.
Taking a stance against Abortion, Artificial Birth Control. Defending the family. Against divorce, upholding the sanctity of marriage.. Why did Jesus bother with his first miracle if it was not to show that Marriage was important. Why did Jesus opt for his own water baptism if baptism was not necessary. Why did he ordain 12 and give them power to forgive and retain sins.
Why did Jesus not go chasing after the 58 who backslid in John 6 66??
Why ???
Why did they take the breaking of bread so seriously and not just gather round and listen to great teachers like Billy Graham?
Why did the early Church uphold the REAL Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist??
Why did the early church have a structure modelled on the Roman Empire with a Pyramid and the Emperor at the top and then lesser leaders all the way down to just the Laity like u and me?
Where does the Bible say that it is the sole authority??? Where which scripture??? 2 tim 3 16 does not say that..
You can blabber on about your Roman Catholic Bible and say how you follow it..
Have you forsaken all and given all your money to the poor and are now just following Jesus.??
I do not think so..
Are you going into all the world living entirely by faith like Jesus commanded.
Mark 16 15 was not just a suggestion...
Bob I could go on 4 ever but a man convinced against his WILL THAT's THE PROBLEM RIGHT THERE YOUR WILL.
You listen to no man except yourself and your poems...
How do you know that while under torture to deny Christ as they remove one testicle after the other and then your fingers one by one that you will not deny Christ just to get them off your back.. Will you have no free choice under such circumstances or will your once saved always saved again which is not scriptural force you to be a martyr??? I don't think so.
Why does Jesus say to take up your cross every day when in your book which is not the Bible you do not have to do that??
I'm saved so all is OK I just sit back and Jesus does it all for me.
I suppose you do not sin any more???? I sin every day and almost every minute not just with the bad things I do but with the good things I do not do..
Maybe U really are a Mother Theresa after all tell me about it.
Which country will u and yr followers if u have any and I doubt u do ,are you going into next to Preach the Gospel 2 every creature.
Sorry I have to do other things like get ready to go to Church to Holy Mass where I can partake of the Body Blood Souls and Divinity of Jesus. Read Scott Hahn... He is a great yank and knows all thropes far better than me.. His books and tapes are every where.
Let me try and start again...
I'm trying to take you seriously
What has gone wrong with Martin Lather's private interpretation of scripture.. The Roman Catholic Bible?? What went wrong??
How come there are not just 2 denominations the erroneous Catholics and their Popery and the sane Prots with their private interpretation??
What happened.
There should be millions of Gottis all under the same umbrella and making a huge impact on the world.
Taking a stance against Abortion, Artificial Birth Control. Defending the family. Against divorce, upholding the sanctity of marriage.. Why did Jesus bother with his first miracle if it was not to show that Marriage was important. Why did Jesus opt for his own water baptism if baptism was not necessary. Why did he ordain 12 and give them power to forgive and retain sins.
Why did Jesus not go chasing after the 58 who backslid in John 6 66??
Why ???
Why did they take the breaking of bread so seriously and not just gather round and listen to great teachers like Billy Graham?
Why did the early Church uphold the REAL Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist??
Why did the early church have a structure modelled on the Roman Empire with a Pyramid and the Emperor at the top and then lesser leaders all the way down to just the Laity like u and me?
Where does the Bible say that it is the sole authority??? Where which scripture??? 2 tim 3 16 does not say that..
You can blabber on about your Roman Catholic Bible and say how you follow it..
Have you forsaken all and given all your money to the poor and are now just following Jesus.??
I do not think so..
Are you going into all the world living entirely by faith like Jesus commanded.
Mark 16 15 was not just a suggestion...
Bob I could go on 4 ever but a man convinced against his WILL THAT's THE PROBLEM RIGHT THERE YOUR WILL.
You listen to no man except yourself and your poems...
How do you know that while under torture to deny Christ as they remove one testicle after the other and then your fingers one by one that you will not deny Christ just to get them off your back.. Will you have no free choice under such circumstances or will your once saved always saved again which is not scriptural force you to be a martyr??? I don't think so.
Why does Jesus say to take up your cross every day when in your book which is not the Bible you do not have to do that??
I'm saved so all is OK I just sit back and Jesus does it all for me.
I suppose you do not sin any more???? I sin every day and almost every minute not just with the bad things I do but with the good things I do not do..
Maybe U really are a Mother Theresa after all tell me about it.
Which country will u and yr followers if u have any and I doubt u do ,are you going into next to Preach the Gospel 2 every creature.
Sorry I have to do other things like get ready to go to Church to Holy Mass where I can partake of the Body Blood Souls and Divinity of Jesus. Read Scott Hahn... He is a great yank and knows all thropes far better than me.. His books and tapes are every where.
Where do we go from here??
Where does one go from here?
Sequel to where does one begin?
I have to assume that you are agreeing with me that there must be some Great and intelligent force that was working in a totally different Dimension..
If we agree thus far then maybe the next move is really a very simple one.
Will you acknowledge that 100 years ago, you and me, we were not here.??
Will you also acknowledge that in a 100 years time we will not be here either?
Have you ever thought about yourself as to how utterly unique you are?
There are no carbon copies on earth at present and in fact there never were and there never will be..
Even if you have an identical twin, you will still have different personalities.
This is a very good thought to always keep in the background as if you do not you may well get eaten up in the ant number syndrome..
i.e. You are just a number like an insignificant ant.
The next step is to examine Jesus Christ and the extraordinary spread of Christianity all over the World in the first 5 centuries after His death and resurrection.
Jesus' message unlike all other religious messages, was about forgiveness.
NO VIOLENCE....NO PUSHING ONES PROGRAMME...Just Forgiveness..
I like to use the word forgiveness instead of LOVE because Love is easily misunderstood and like the word gay has been hi jacked by evil.
This what someone called Boussuet said... I am paraphrasing his words to make it more easily understandable....
“Imagine how absolutely ridiculous and yet how heavenly the inspiration which possessed a bunch of Galilean simple fishermen??
Think about their enterprise and what they set out to accomplish...
No Prince or Military or Political Leader ever conceived such a Lofty plan. Without any human help, these fishermen partitioned off the world..
For conquest not with weapons great or small but with a plan of Love and Forgiveness, ordained by a crucified man in Jerusalem
So that's enough for now....more to follow soon....
Sequel to where does one begin?
I have to assume that you are agreeing with me that there must be some Great and intelligent force that was working in a totally different Dimension..
If we agree thus far then maybe the next move is really a very simple one.
Will you acknowledge that 100 years ago, you and me, we were not here.??
Will you also acknowledge that in a 100 years time we will not be here either?
Have you ever thought about yourself as to how utterly unique you are?
There are no carbon copies on earth at present and in fact there never were and there never will be..
Even if you have an identical twin, you will still have different personalities.
This is a very good thought to always keep in the background as if you do not you may well get eaten up in the ant number syndrome..
i.e. You are just a number like an insignificant ant.
The next step is to examine Jesus Christ and the extraordinary spread of Christianity all over the World in the first 5 centuries after His death and resurrection.
Jesus' message unlike all other religious messages, was about forgiveness.
NO VIOLENCE....NO PUSHING ONES PROGRAMME...Just Forgiveness..
I like to use the word forgiveness instead of LOVE because Love is easily misunderstood and like the word gay has been hi jacked by evil.
This what someone called Boussuet said... I am paraphrasing his words to make it more easily understandable....
“Imagine how absolutely ridiculous and yet how heavenly the inspiration which possessed a bunch of Galilean simple fishermen??
Think about their enterprise and what they set out to accomplish...
No Prince or Military or Political Leader ever conceived such a Lofty plan. Without any human help, these fishermen partitioned off the world..
For conquest not with weapons great or small but with a plan of Love and Forgiveness, ordained by a crucified man in Jerusalem
So that's enough for now....more to follow soon....
Where does one begin?
Where does one begin???
They say rather obviously that the very best place to begin is at the beginning.
I am writing this with two very precious young ladies in mind.
One was the subject of great cruelty at my hands when I dealt harshly with her and her Mum some 18 years ago.
At the time I thought that I had done the right thing but the consequences that followed my action produced great and unnecessary pain especially for the young girl of 11.
Now this extremely precious and unique young lady in her thirties, hates religion and wants no part in it.
Mercifully they have both forgiven me but want no part of my beliefs..
Under the circumstances that is totally understandable and so I am having a shot at trying to reverse the hatred for religion and especially the Roman Catholic Church.
The sect that I used to belong to believed that the name Religion was closely associated with the contempt that the Communists had for Religion, calling it the Opium of the People.
I like the Communists held strongly to that view too.
I have often repeated the words of my Guru, Father Robert Barron of Word on Fire..see
www.wordonfire.org
WE ARE ALL WIRED FOR GOD.. There is just no getting away with it..
It matters not whether you live in a tribe in the depths of the Amazon Jungle or as a seemingly insignificant part of crawling humanity in some concrete jungle of apartment blocks in the cities of this world.
WE ARE WIRED FOR GOD and we will never find true happiness until we make a living and vital continuous contact with our Creator.
I think like many others that a good place to start is at the BIG BANG...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
Which occurred some 13.7 billion years ago.
Georges Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe
George was a Roman Catholic Priest which really makes me happy Ha!
Good for George!!!!!
O.K. So we can begin with this Big Bang...
Now it is important to realise that everything created can be measured and observed.. There is no Mystical Religious side to Science.
Distances fro me to you or from the Earth to Mars or anything, can be measured...
What did the Big Bang bring about??
Time!....Space!.....and Substance!....
So we can assume that before the Big Bang there was neither Time, Space or Substance.
Whatever there was had a completely different dimension..
O.K. Now the Big Question????
What or Who made the Big Bang????
Big Bangs do not just happen by accident out of nowhere.
If there is an explosion in the City Centre killing scores of people, It must have been caused by someone or something.
Maybe Terrorists or an Underground Gas pipe bursting???
Even Karl Marx admitted to a design..I am not an Academic and am just a simple JO!
But with only a limited education in Algebra, to have a Design, not just a simple random design but the most intricate and totally intelligent design of the Human Brain for example or the Galaxies or the structure of a Plant or Animal... The mind boggles at it all???? there must be a designer.
So can we say now that there is a Designer?
Will you agree to that?
OK that's the end of Lesson one...
Lesson 2 will follow shortly...
God Bless you!
Or should I say for your benefit, The Designing Force Bless you!!
Bye for now!
Mjk.
They say rather obviously that the very best place to begin is at the beginning.
I am writing this with two very precious young ladies in mind.
One was the subject of great cruelty at my hands when I dealt harshly with her and her Mum some 18 years ago.
At the time I thought that I had done the right thing but the consequences that followed my action produced great and unnecessary pain especially for the young girl of 11.
Now this extremely precious and unique young lady in her thirties, hates religion and wants no part in it.
Mercifully they have both forgiven me but want no part of my beliefs..
Under the circumstances that is totally understandable and so I am having a shot at trying to reverse the hatred for religion and especially the Roman Catholic Church.
The sect that I used to belong to believed that the name Religion was closely associated with the contempt that the Communists had for Religion, calling it the Opium of the People.
I like the Communists held strongly to that view too.
I have often repeated the words of my Guru, Father Robert Barron of Word on Fire..see
www.wordonfire.org
WE ARE ALL WIRED FOR GOD.. There is just no getting away with it..
It matters not whether you live in a tribe in the depths of the Amazon Jungle or as a seemingly insignificant part of crawling humanity in some concrete jungle of apartment blocks in the cities of this world.
WE ARE WIRED FOR GOD and we will never find true happiness until we make a living and vital continuous contact with our Creator.
I think like many others that a good place to start is at the BIG BANG...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
Which occurred some 13.7 billion years ago.
Georges Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe
George was a Roman Catholic Priest which really makes me happy Ha!
Good for George!!!!!
O.K. So we can begin with this Big Bang...
Now it is important to realise that everything created can be measured and observed.. There is no Mystical Religious side to Science.
Distances fro me to you or from the Earth to Mars or anything, can be measured...
What did the Big Bang bring about??
Time!....Space!.....and Substance!....
So we can assume that before the Big Bang there was neither Time, Space or Substance.
Whatever there was had a completely different dimension..
O.K. Now the Big Question????
What or Who made the Big Bang????
Big Bangs do not just happen by accident out of nowhere.
If there is an explosion in the City Centre killing scores of people, It must have been caused by someone or something.
Maybe Terrorists or an Underground Gas pipe bursting???
Even Karl Marx admitted to a design..I am not an Academic and am just a simple JO!
But with only a limited education in Algebra, to have a Design, not just a simple random design but the most intricate and totally intelligent design of the Human Brain for example or the Galaxies or the structure of a Plant or Animal... The mind boggles at it all???? there must be a designer.
So can we say now that there is a Designer?
Will you agree to that?
OK that's the end of Lesson one...
Lesson 2 will follow shortly...
God Bless you!
Or should I say for your benefit, The Designing Force Bless you!!
Bye for now!
Mjk.
continuing... where do we go from here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dOq3EzkASA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vyinZ-iAys&NR=1
Contunuing... Where do we go from here ???series?????
So far we have seen good reasons to
Believe in a Higher Power... see the comments on the Big Bang..
And see the evidence about those crazy fishermen and their crucified leader telling them to conquer the whole world through preaching and demonstrating, mainly through Martyrdom, Forgiveness.
By any normal reasoning that is quite ridiculous.
Napoleon, the British, Caesars and Karl Marx and Hitler Mao, Polpot and the Muslims have tried to spread their Campaigns by force and bloodshed...
OK that is feasible but
by FORGIVENESS????? That sounds absolutely NUTS unless God might happen to be in it, for with Him, the Bible tells us, Nothing is impossible!
Now which kind of Christianity???
Which of the 38,000 different Denominations should I choose from???
Many tell me that 38,000 is a falsified number to show just how ridiculous Protestantism is...
OK so lets knock a Zero of it and make it only 3800.
If that is still too much... knock another Zero and make it a simple 380...
Personally, if I want to be a Christian, I would like to be a part of the original model set up by God Himself and not some Human improved variety...
This is the problem as Father Robert Barron of Word on fire is continually trying to tell us over and over again..www.wordonfire.org
There is a big problem with the Human race... Yes!! That includes you and me... We all want to be God!!!
Satan's great temptation was...”You too can be like God!” “You do not have to be pushed around by Him any more!”
Women Priests ?? Of course... Times have changed... God's original plan is out of date...
Abortion?? Of course...We cant afford to have any more than 1.3kids.. One point three kids..
Birth control?? Condoms is a great idea!! Why not??? God is out of date... I am God, for God's sake!!
Divorce??? Of course... Why not??? We don't Looooooove each other any more....
Well there is a Church which keeps going no matter what..
No matter whether the people, the priests, the bishops, or even the Pope himself is good or bad... It just keeps rolling on and on and on.... Just like the river Nile or Thames or Mississippi..
Do you happen to know the name of this Church???
That's right!!!!
The Roman Catholic Church with it's Bells and Smells and men dressed up as Women, called Priests.
Many times sad to say, not very nice people... There are plenty of exceptions thank the Lord!!!!
OK so that's all I have to say about the Vietnam War.. Quote from Forest Gump..
Please check out the LINKS at the top and see 2 parts of an awesome movie on the life Of Saint Padre PIO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vyinZ-iAys&NR=1
Contunuing... Where do we go from here ???series?????
So far we have seen good reasons to
Believe in a Higher Power... see the comments on the Big Bang..
And see the evidence about those crazy fishermen and their crucified leader telling them to conquer the whole world through preaching and demonstrating, mainly through Martyrdom, Forgiveness.
By any normal reasoning that is quite ridiculous.
Napoleon, the British, Caesars and Karl Marx and Hitler Mao, Polpot and the Muslims have tried to spread their Campaigns by force and bloodshed...
OK that is feasible but
by FORGIVENESS????? That sounds absolutely NUTS unless God might happen to be in it, for with Him, the Bible tells us, Nothing is impossible!
Now which kind of Christianity???
Which of the 38,000 different Denominations should I choose from???
Many tell me that 38,000 is a falsified number to show just how ridiculous Protestantism is...
OK so lets knock a Zero of it and make it only 3800.
If that is still too much... knock another Zero and make it a simple 380...
Personally, if I want to be a Christian, I would like to be a part of the original model set up by God Himself and not some Human improved variety...
This is the problem as Father Robert Barron of Word on fire is continually trying to tell us over and over again..www.wordonfire.org
There is a big problem with the Human race... Yes!! That includes you and me... We all want to be God!!!
Satan's great temptation was...”You too can be like God!” “You do not have to be pushed around by Him any more!”
Women Priests ?? Of course... Times have changed... God's original plan is out of date...
Abortion?? Of course...We cant afford to have any more than 1.3kids.. One point three kids..
Birth control?? Condoms is a great idea!! Why not??? God is out of date... I am God, for God's sake!!
Divorce??? Of course... Why not??? We don't Looooooove each other any more....
Well there is a Church which keeps going no matter what..
No matter whether the people, the priests, the bishops, or even the Pope himself is good or bad... It just keeps rolling on and on and on.... Just like the river Nile or Thames or Mississippi..
Do you happen to know the name of this Church???
That's right!!!!
The Roman Catholic Church with it's Bells and Smells and men dressed up as Women, called Priests.
Many times sad to say, not very nice people... There are plenty of exceptions thank the Lord!!!!
OK so that's all I have to say about the Vietnam War.. Quote from Forest Gump..
Please check out the LINKS at the top and see 2 parts of an awesome movie on the life Of Saint Padre PIO.
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