God Reveals Himself Through Miracles by:JOHN PORTAVELLA

God Reveals Himself Through Miracles

1. JOHN PORTAVELLA

The veil is thin when God manifests Himself in various periods of history through miracles. They are extraordinary events that show in time and space God’s power and glory, disclosures that build up faith and bring about salvation. Those occasions in which a miracle restores health or even life show God’s goodness and benevolence.

We read of many miracles in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Why do they seem so rare now? St. Gregory the Great, who lived in the sixth century, explained: “These signs were needed in the beginning, but not in later years when faith had become rooted in the world. Then, the Church itself became the principal sign of God among men.”

Miracles have been reported in great numbers throughout history. As part of her mission, the Church distinguishes the authentic from the fake. Dr. Francis Collins, one of the world’s renowned scientists, affirms:

Miracles do not pose an irreconcilable conflict for the believer who trusts in science as a means to investigate the natural world, and who sees that the natural world is ruled by laws. If, like me, you admit that there might exist something or someone outside of nature, then there is no logical reason why that force could not on rare occasions stage an invasion.

Among the most famous of miracles is Mary’s apparition to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. In 1882, a medical bureau was established to test the authenticity of the cures that followed the apparitions. Today, the bureau acts as a “first-instance tribunal,” which sends its findings to the International Medical Committee of Lourdes for a final verdict. This committee is under medical, not ecclesiastical, supervision. Thousands of people have sought to have their cases confirmed as miracles, but only a few cases have been declared scientifically inexplicable.

In his book The Voyage to Lourdes, Alexis Carrel, a Nobel laureate in medicine, tells the story of a young woman, Mary Baille, who was dying of tubercular peritonitis. Her sudden cure took place in Lourdes on May 28, 1902, under Carrel’s skeptical eyes. The gift of faith came to Carrel after many years, following his spellbinding experience in Lourdes.

The Church follows certain processes for the beatification and canonization of saints. Except for the case of martyrs, two miracles obtained through the intercession of the candidate are usually required, one for beatification, and one for canonization. The Church will always be most careful in certifying miracles and will not be overawed just because the doctor who states that medical science cannot explain the healing happens to be a Nobel laureate. The Church shows extreme carefulness, because in doing so she simply cares for that supernatural vitality of hers, of which miracles are the most palpable signs.

The Miracle of the Sun occurred in Fatima on October 13, 1917. On October 15, 1917, the secular newspaper O Seculo printed on its front page, “COMO O SOL BAILOU AD MEDIO DIA EM FATIMA” (How the sun danced at midday in Fatima). Msgr. William C. McGrath, who studied the event, gave a description:

Gradually the sun grew pale, lost its normal color, and appeared as a silver disk at which all could gaze directly without even shading their eyes. . . . Then, while the crowd went on its knees in abject terror, the sun suddenly seemed to be torn loose from its place in the heavens . . . as it zigzagged through the skies while from all parts of the now terrified multitude arose cries of repentance and appeals for mercy. . . . Suddenly, as if arrested in its downward plunge by an invisible heavenly hand, it paused for a moment and then, in the same series of swirling motions it began to climb upward till it resumed its accustomed place in the heavens. Gone was the silver disk with the brilliant rays. It was once more a ball of fire at which nobody could look with unshaded eyes.

While people looked at one another, still trembling from their terrifying experience and not yet sure that some further disaster would overtake them, a cry of astonishment was heard on every side. Their rain-sodden garments had suddenly dried.

This article is from a chapter in Why God Hides.

There were about seventy thousand people gathered on that occasion, persons of all walks of life, mostly inhabitants of the neighboring areas, many of them skeptical and unbelieving. What was clear was that it was a supernatural event and a great miracle.

Sister Lúcia related how the Virgin Mary told her on the previous July 13 and on September 13 that a sign would be given on October 13. On September 13, 1917, Sister Lúcia told Our Lady, “They have asked me to ask you many things, the cure of some sick persons, of a deaf mute.” “Yes,” Our Lady answered, “I will cure some, others no. In October, I will work a miracle so that all will believe.”

Pope Pius XII, who declared the Assumption of Our Lady a dogma, revealed in a handwritten note that he had seen the miracle of the sun four times from the Vatican gardens. He wrote: “I have seen the ‘miracle of the sun,’ this is the pure truth.” Since his experience of the phenomenon happened on November 1, 1950, when the Pope proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption, it seems to be a supernatural confirmation of the dogma.

Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from Why God Hides, which is available from Sophia Institute Press.

Tagged as: miracles, Sophia Excerpts

 

A Prayer For America As A Nations – Who Has Lost Its Way

A Prayer For America As A Nations – Who Has Lost Its Way

“Loving Lord, I come to You to place the once great nation of United States of America at Your feet, knowing that our great country and its constitution was made for a moral and religious people and is wholly inadequate for any other form of government, and yet we have strayed so far from the principles and practices of our great founders – who drew up our constitution based on Your Word.

But Lord although this was once the land of the brave and the home of the free, sadly there is so much that is wrong with our country that I fear for its future. Lord as a people we have walked away from You and discredited Your holy name by the way that we have conducted ourselves over the past few years and there is no health in our land.

Look down in pity on our people and our land and protect us from those that seem determined on destroying our nation. Send Your Spirit I pray through the land of America and touch the hearts of all those that are called by Your name to plead on behalf our people. Convict those that are damaging our infrastructure and as a nation may we turn away from our wicked ways and return You to Your rightful position – in integrity and truth.

I ask this in Jesus name.”

Amen

“”You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.”

(Matthew 5:13)

Worried Laypeople and Spiritual Sacrifice by:Bevil Bramwell, OMI

Priests these days are often getting messages from people worried about the present state of the Church. This is a large question and not one to which we have many immediately comforting answers. A lot of people are certainly aware of the problems: the homosexual network; the sexual abuse of children and young adults; the warping of doctrine; the inability of many bishops to respond to crises; the progressive stuff coming out of Rome (e.g., The Instrumentum Laboris for the Youth Synod).

Laypeople have every right to be horrified – and even angry – at all this news. But some things have not changed, particularly that they are still baptized and confirmed. This is the time when we will see what stuff the laity are made of.

The sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation signify that laypeople are adult members of the Catholic community, responsible for the “practice of the faith”– words suggested for the homily at Baptism.

The practice of the faith involves everything from one’s personal following of Jesus Christ, to making the Christian community a living reality, to participating in the redemptive mission of the Church. This involves what was described by Vatican II and the tradition as “spiritual sacrifice.”

Spiritual sacrifice is a positive, interior spiritual choice of the individual Christian. Such sacrifice is the basic attitude needed for facing current – or any – crises.

The first step is not to treat membership of the Church like some club membership, but rather to acknowledge the profound spiritual bonds that join us together. Among other things, this means not leaving in a huff – but if you do, please, also be sure get the abuse figures for the church or the secular institution that you think you want to join!

*

Interior spiritual sacrifices do not depend on clergy or Rome. They are the sacrifices needed to build a personal life of virtue and the life of the Church community and to further the mission of the Church, all at the same time.

The teaching in the Catechism is more than sufficient to help people understand a virtuous Catholic life, which means seeking to make everything you do or say conform to divine truth – in short striving to live a fully Christian life and become a saint. (See Part Three of the Catechism.) When laypeople put Part Three into practice, we then see what laypeople are made of!

Then there is participation in the life of the sacraments. This too involves spiritual sacrifice as one joins the community prayers and says a heartfelt “amen” to the priestly prayers. Now one can participate in the celebration of the Eucharist regardless of the various crises in the Church.

The Eucharist is the time to offer the perfect sacrifice to the Father. It is untouched by crises. The Eucharist is the key temporal realization of what Church means. We ritually gather to offer praise and worship and to ask for help from God– who is the chief reason for our existence.

The angry secular way of communicating that we see all around us now should not be imported into our responses to the present Catholic crisis. A crisis is not an opportunity to indulge in adolescent tantrums. It takes real spiritual sacrifice to come together and communicate like Christians – all of the time, on every issue.

The Catholic equivalent of “town meetings” might achieve something or other, but they will not resolve the many deep challenges we face unless they are also times of prayer. Legitimate anger may wake up a bishop to his moral and doctrinal responsibilities. The long-term solution, however, is going to require a deep spiritual change of attitude that leads both to different behavior and to a willingness to remedy many poor choices of personnel in the past.

It is also a Christian sacrifice on the part of the laity to be better informed – and I don’t mean finding the stats about abuse or clergy affairs. I mean being inwardly formed about how you may fully be a Catholic layperson. How do I participate in this sinful Church at this time, like a saint, instead of closing down and hoping that it goes away?

The deeper you advance in understanding this, the better you can stand as a layperson and put questions to clergy. Be aware, however, that the large majority of clergy are as angry as you are about the abuse of the young, but also about the abuse of our Church. It takes collusion by only a very few clergy to hide a case of abuse or to promote an abusive bishop. Just as it takes just a few laity to conceal abuse in a family, which is where the majority of abuse occurs. Know that most clergy are very much on your side.

A further sacrifice involves accepting that this crisis will be a long term-affair. There are fifty states in the United States and information from the fifty State Attorneys General will be coming out drop by drop, for years. Further, much of the past crisis cannot be “solved.” Whatever new policies are put in place and administative or even criminal penalties are imposed, in the last analysis, the only full resolution is for such sins to be repented of and made reparation for.

There will now have to be much penance and fasting and prayer. Laity should practice this too because they play as important a role in the process as anyone: “if one member endures anything, all the members co-endure it, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice.” (Vatican II)

 

*Image: St. John the Baptist Pointing to Christ by BartoloméEstéban Murillo, c. 1655 [Art Institute of Chicago]

END QUOTES

I’m NOT making this up By Patrick Miron

 

I’m NOT making this up

By Patrick Miron

Friends we are confronted with a WWJD {What Would Jesus Do} moment.

This may come as a bit of a SHOCK to the casual observer, but National elections are No-Longer about Politics; No, rather than are about moral choices and realities; about objective rights and wrongs.

 

All Christian have a Grave Moral Responsibility to support God’s Commandments in our Voting decisions.

 

Killing: Abortion is Legalized –Murder;  this reality seemingly overrides God’s Fifth Commandment and  Same sex “legalized marriages” make a mockery of God’s creation of man and women for a specific purpose: Genesis 1:27-28 “. [27] And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. [28] And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it,”

 

Our Churches cannot tell US How to vote; BUT do have a Grave Moral responsibility to teach us how we MUST NOT Vote….

 

No Christian can in good conscience, May or Can support any National Democratic Party Candidate for ANY reason; as they HAVE become the Party of legislated immorality, and ungodliness.

 

Matthew 7: 16-18 “[16] “By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? [17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire”

 

I was a Registered Democrat up to and including voting for Jimmy Carter; then the National Democratic Party took a SHARP left-bent ideologically.

 

The 2014 National Democratic Party PLATFORM called for:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/papers_pdf/117717.pdf

Pg. 18 Further advances on LEGALIZED-Abortion agenda “rights”

Pg. 19 Further advance agenda of GAY, Homosexual, LGBT “rights” {having now accomplished LEGALIZATION of “same Sex “marriages”} I can’t imagine what the more might be?”

Pg. 19 LEGALIZATION of Any {both} gender bathrooms and locker rooms

Pg. 19 “We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate.” {End religious Freedoms… Christian Hospitals and Doctors will be FORCED to preform abortions and distribute contraceptives; Christian Schools will ALSO be forced to violate their religious beliefs and practices.}

 

NOW having accomplished these “undertakings” the next level is to promote and introduce communist –like- Socialism.

 

DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT; check it out for yourselves!

 

Pg. 30 The NDPP for 2014 also vowed to enact FREE college education for every one

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/papers_pdf/117717.pdf

 

Now for the Mid Term Elections this has been expanded to talk of FREE MEDICARE FOR EVERYONE {ILLEGAL ALIENS} included AND  a FREE $500.00 MONTHLY CHECK FOR EVERY FAMILY EARNING LESS THAN $100,000.  ANALLY {again aliens included.}

https://outlook.live.com/mail/inbox/id/AQQkADAwATYwMAItY2MAZTQtMzc2OC0wMAItMDAKABAAdCARk2DwSU6JkSrr%2FYpXZw%3D%3D

FREE MEDICARE FOR EVERYONE

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/04/19/the-next-big-thing-for-democrates

 

Where is the money to PAY for these Socialist Programs going to come from?

 

Higher taxes {forget the BULL on the “rich” paying for all this}; they ALREADY pay 71% of all income taxes. It’s me and YOU who will be TAXED to pay for this entry into Socialism, which aims to change AMERICA from Capitalism to Socialism.

“The rich pay significantly more of their money into the system than the ones they supposedly exploit. The bottom 50 percent of income earners pay 2.83 percent of all income taxes, and 45.5 percent of households don’t even pay federal income tax.Jan 23, 2018” …. the top 10 percent pays about 71 percent of all income tax, while the top 1 percent pays approximately 39 percent, yet only account for less than 21 percent of all income”

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/opinion/counterpoint-the-rich-already-pay-more-than-their-fair-share/article_3f2c4416-ffec-11e7-ac0f-5f37e6870faa.html

 

WWJD?  …  If Jesus was a Registered Voter; HOW WOULD HE Vote in this Election?

Please re-blogg this Post.

May Jesus Guide us to support HIS Truths. Amen!

Patrick Miron

When Exactly Did The Church Begin? By David La Mar

When Exactly Did The Church Begin?

By David La Mar

When did the Church actually begin? Undoubtedly, we have heard different answers to this important question throughout the years. Was it the moment the Roman soldier’s lance pierced Christ’s side and blood and water flowed out and spilled upon the ground on Calvary? Was it the result of the “…happy fault, O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the death of Christ” when, shortly thereafter, “Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld” (from the Exsultet)? Or was it when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles at Pentecost, strengthening and convicting them to go out and preach the Gospel to all nations? Scripture, Tradition and the Teaching Authority of the Church provide some disparate, yet provocative answers.

The language in both Lumen Gentium and the Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear: The Church is born primarily of Christ’s total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated (my emphasis) in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. “The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus” (Lumen Gentium 3; cf Jn 19: 34). “For it was from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church” (CCC 766).

Given the fact that salvation history must trace its roots to Adam and Eve and their original sin in Genesis, and since the Old Testament in so many instances prefigures the New Testament typologically, the Church can, arguably, find her beginning “In the beginning…” (Gn 1: 1) when the original sin of our first parents necessitated a need for salvation, and therefore, a Savior. We recognize the Church Triumphant, the Church Suffering and the Church Militant – One Church – includes members from the time of Adam and Eve and down through the ages, from among anyone who ever lived, the living and everyone who ever will live.

And what of the covenants established between God and man through Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham and David and their influence on the Church? Because the Church, according to the Creed, is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, an argument can be made for identifying the very beginning of the Church to the moment when Jesus’s words to Simon Peter in Matthew’s gospel first mention the concept?: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16: 18-19). It is only in Matthew’s gospel where the Greek word ekklesia (Church) exists (see also Mt 18: 17) among the four gospel writers.

The answer(s) to this question is/are left in a somewhat nebulous framework. By virtue of the fact that the word will is used by Christ in the context of the future tense, this reference to Peter in St. Matthew’s 16th chapter may suggest Peter’s primacy has yet to be established. Further evidence of this quite possibly exists in Luke’s gospel when Jesus tells Peter, “…but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22: 32), perhaps indicating Peter’s denial of Christ three times during His passion before reassuring Him of his love for Him three times after His resurrection, implicitly commissioning his leadership role among the apostles.

The very first section of the Catechism – more than 25% of the entire text – highlights and examines the importance of the Creed in The Profession of Faith, where the idea of unbroken apostolic succession between today’s bishops and Christ’s twelve apostles is reiterated: “…the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ (CCC 862). These words are derived from Luke’s gospel: “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10: 16).

Therefore, the Church does not and cannot exist without the twelve apostles (with Peter as the first and foremost apostle appointed directly by Christ Himself) and their legitimate successors, the bishops. The CCC supports this assertion: “The whole Church is 
apostolic…” (CCC 863). So when asking the question, “Where is the Church?” do we point to the physical building? Is the appropriate answer to the question found in the people who make up the Mystical Body of Christ? Perhaps a more complete apostolic answer is to locate the bishop, for where the bishop is, there is the Church.

The eventual announcement of Peter’s primacy (important as it is), suggested by Christ’s use of the word will, is a precursor to the actual establishment of the Church. Before building His Church on Peter, Christ must first undergo His passion, death and resurrection – the Paschal Mystery – in order to establish His Church – the Mystical Body of Christ. Without the Paschal Mystery, there is nothing to build on Peter. Christ established the Church to save mankind from sin – including Adam and Eve – since the moment of their transgression in the Garden of Eden. Yet even before the Annunciation, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity – the Eternal Word – always existed and exists as the Alpha and the Omega, without beginning or end. Can the same be said of the Church, always in existence outside the boundaries of time and space?

Pope Benedict XVI said, “…Christ, Who established the Church on the foundation of the Apostles closely around Peter, has also given it the gift of His Spirit, so that throughout the centuries he would be the comfort (Jn 14: 16) and the guide to the entire truth” (Jn 16: 13) (Pentecost May 15, 2005). He also said, “On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended with power upon the Apostles; thus began the mission of the Church in the world” (Pentecost June 4, 2006). So this begs the question: Is the beginning of the Church herself separate and distinct from either the origin and growth of the Church or the beginning of the mission of the Church? Are they one and the same?

The first mark of the Church has to do with her quality of being One. Christ established One Church with a unique and unified belief system (Eph. 4: 4-5), not separate churches with differing and contradicting belief systems (Keating 1996).* So when did the One Church begin? In Eden? With the apostolic commissioning of Peter? With the soldier piercing Christ’s side with a lance? At Christ’s resurrection from the dead? At Pentecost?

The Sacred Triduum of Holy Week may give us some insight into the establishment of Christ’s Church. Holy Thursday through Easter is, essentially, celebrated as one liturgy. So, for example, the Last Supper contributes significantly to the beginning of the Church. Without Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, there is no Mass, and therefore, no Mystical Body of Christ. Without His passion, death and resurrection, there is nothing to either commemorate or celebrate. The beginning of the Church, then, while it may not be clearly traced back to any one certain event or time or moment, can be viewed as the related events of Christ’s Paschal Mystery combined with the primacy of Peter and culminating with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles at Pentecost, the graces and eternal benefits of which are bestowed upon those who have fought the good fight in every time and place.

We may be asking more questions than can be answered here. Yet we can be sure that the Church did, indeed, begin. And, just as importantly, the Church continues to exist because of Christ’s enduring promises: “…and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16: 18); “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28: 20).

* Keating, Karl (1996). Catholics and Fundamentalists. Catholic Answers, Inc END QUOTES

Is the “Real Presence” Really Real?

by Patrick Miron

[1] How can we prove that the Eucharist is the body of Christ? [2] Is it cannibalism to say it’s Jesus flesh and blood? I know it isn’t myself but that’s the question my mum asked

Allow me to answer the second part first:

No it is not cannibalism; although that is precisely what some of the followers of Jesus was teaching thought, and therefore abandoned him as being a lunatic.

John 6:47-57 “[47] Amen, amen {MEANS: TRULY; TRULY} I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. [48] I am the bread of life. [49] Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. [50] This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. [51] I am the living bread which came down from heaven. [52] If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world. [53] The Jews therefore strove {argued} among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? [54] Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. [55] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. [56] For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. [57] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.”  {Which is precisely what does take place in Catholic Holy Communion…. So mum’s question is a good one.} …..

1 For God time does not exist; past, present and future are ALL present to God all of time.

2 The Jesus we receive Catholic Holy Communion is the NOW GLORIFIED Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus {NOT the corporal Body, and Blood}

It is nevertheless the Real Jesus; Body; Blood; Soul and Divinity {the ENTIRE Christ.}

3 This article gives a brief and lucid explanation which I will expand greatly upon.

4 Now let’s skip to enf and the REST of the story.

John 6: 67-70 “ [67] After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him. {Deserted; abandoned Him} [68] Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? [69] And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [70] And we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

5 So now we can see that the necessary ingredient,{missing from those who LEFT Jesus; is} “Faith” which comes from accepting Gods free OFFER of grace necessary to believe that which is not logically comprehensible; which is NOT to say that it cannot be proven.

The Eucharist {Real Presence} is actually two back to back miracles and a Mystery which I will explain.

“FAITH. The acceptance of the word of another, trusting that one knows what the other is saying and is honest in telling the truth. The basic motive of all faith is the authority (or right to be believed) of someone who is speaking. This authority is an adequate knowledge of what he or she is talking about, and integrity in not wanting to deceive. It is called divine faith when the one believed is God, and human faith when the persons believed are human beings. (Etym. Latin fides, belief; habit of faith; object of faith.)”…From Father John A. Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary

Rosemarie, do you know what Divine Providence is?

Divine Providence

“Traditional theism {belief in just one God} holds that God is the creator of heaven and earth, and that all that occurs in the universe takes place under Divine Providence — that is, under God’s sovereign guidance and control. According to believers, God governs creation as a loving father, working all things for good. Moreover, it is said, God is an absolutely perfect being. He is, first of all, omniscient or all-knowing: he knows of all truths that they are true, and of all falsehoods that they are false, whether they pertain to past, present or future. And God’s knowledge does not change. Nothing is learned or forgotten with him; what he knows, he knows from eternity and infallibly. Second, God is omnipotent or all-powerful: anything that is logically possible, he can do. Finally, God is perfectly good: in all circumstances he acts for the best, intending the best possible outcome””

My personal definition is a bit different. God is on our side so anytime He can be of assistance He just jumps right in. {I have personally experienced this often in my Ministry.} Below is an example; I just now sat down to begin my reply to you, and discovered that I had just received a new e-mail. I’m sharing it with you because it is ONE of the proofs that we can put forward. {Hence: Divine Providence}

Choose: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

Readings for August 19, 2018

Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

www.dbro.com {Douay Bible FREE download, with SEARCH capability} PJM

“Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma. It is inexorable.”
–Mark Hopkins, Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity, 1844

This threefold choice of Jesus’ divinity, later advanced in the writings of CS Lewis (and, more recently for the podcast viewing public, Fr. Mike Schmitz), says we must choose whether Jesus is a liar, lunatic, or Lord. Because he lays claim to being the Son of God, and because he asserts authority to forgive sins, and because he offers himself as “true food,” he cannot simply be a good teacher, a kind and loving religious leader, or an ecclesial role model.

In this Sunday’s Gospel passage from John, Jesus says “I am the Bread of Life,” which seemed an acceptable enough analogy after thousands of Jews were fed with a few barley loaves. But Jesus becomes more pointed, saying “the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world … my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

Wait … what? Jesus crosses the line from a happy metaphor about bread and delves into a bit of … lunacy, right? I mean, it sounds a bit like cannibalism. Did he mean what he said?

Apparently, he did. “As a result of this [teaching], many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (John 6:66) And when the disciples left, there is no scriptural reference to Jesus calling everyone back, saying “hold on, hold on. What I meant to say was …” And that is why I, as a Catholic view the Eucharist not only as a symbol or an analogy, but as Jesus’ true food containing the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.

Given the threefold choice between liar, lunatic, or Lord, the disciples who stopped following Jesus chose “lunatic.” The religious leaders of his day chose “liar.” To them, claiming to be the Son of God and claiming to have the power to forgive sins was blasphemy. I choose “Lord.” Whether touched by wisdom or, conversely, accepting of my simplicity, I know and believe that Jesus is the Messiah and Lord, the Son of the living God sent by the Father in expiation for my sins. I know and believe this because I see the workings of Christ’s Gospel every day. I know and believe this because I see his love, undeserved, poured out before me. And I know and believe this because I count myself as blessed to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” even in this broken world (or, rather, especially in this broken world.)

As a believer, I would be both a lunatic and a liar to go back to my former way of life. Jesus is Lord and I want to live as he taught because I crave the living bread he offers me. I choose to accompany him on this earth so that I can be in full communion with him in glory. Join with me. “Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.”

Jesus, I know and believe you are the Christ, my Lord and savior. I accept the bread you offer and will drink of the cup so that I can be with you in paradise. In thanksgiving for your mercy on me, a sinner, I will forever sing your praise. Amen END QUOTES

This IS my favorite topic; and I have written extensively on it. So I can offer you a few options. Would you like the short course of the Lengthy course? {You’re call.}

In answer to mum’s great question; here are some basics

1. God in order to BE God cannot lie

 

2. Five different and separate authors of the New Testament give their personal testimony and then three of them witnessed it with their very Life. {Matthew, Paul and John whom they tried to BOIL in Oil which Jesus saved him from}, and Mark and Luke.

 

3. It is important to know that the Entire Christ is PRESENT in both the Consecrated Host alone, and OR the Consecrated Cup of Wine/Blood, and in ANY, even the tiniest part of each.

 

4. The original term for the Eucharist was: “Breaking of the Bread” and the Bible evidences that the Early RC Church which was at first called “The Way” fully accepted, believed and practiced this Faith-Belief; many too who gave their lives as martyrs, which GREATY spurred the growth of the early Church: If so many were willing to GIVE their life as testimony; then it MUST BE TRUE.

 

ACTS 2:41-43 “[41] They therefore that received his word, were baptized; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls. [42] And they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers.[43] And fear came upon every soul: many wonders also and signs were done by the apostles in Jerusalem, and there was great fear in all.”

Acts.9: [2] “and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem”

Acts.24: [14] “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets”

5. Here are the five Bible passages:

 

Matt.26 Verses 26 to 28 [26] Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” [27] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; [28] for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

          Mk. 14: 22-24 “[22] And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and           broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” [23] And he          took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank       of it. [24] And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

          Lk. 22:19-20 “Luke.22 Verses 19 to 20 [19] And he took bread, and when he          had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body    which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [20] And likewise the         cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new    covenant in my blood”

          John 6:47-57 “[47] Amen, amen {MEANS: TRULY; TRULY} I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. [48] I am the bread of       life. [49] Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are           dead. [50] This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if          any man eat of it, he may not die. [51] I am the living bread which came down from heaven. [52] If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world. [53] The         Jews therefore strove {argued} among themselves, saying: How can this       man give us his flesh to eat? [54] Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I           say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. [55] He that eateth my flesh, and        drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last      day. [56] For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink   indeed. [57] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me,       and I in him.”  

Paul 1^st. Cor, 11:23-30 “[23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [25] In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. [27] Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. [28] Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. [29] For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. [30] That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” {Spiritually: self- condemned to HELL}

6.    A sixth evidence is Eucharistic Miracles: Check out this site.

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html/miracles

7. The Eucharist is:

FROM the Father

OF the Son

BY the Holy Spirit

The process is termed either the Consecration and or Traunsbstanuation:

There are two consecutive miracles that take place before OUR VERY EYES {of faith}.

At the very Instant of the change {1} the priest is turned into “Alter Christus” {literally, another Christ} by the Holy Spirit; then it is the PRIEST empowered by God who actually changes with THESE WORDS, what WAS bread in the Entire Jesus {“This Is MY Body”}; then again the cup of what WAS wine {“This Is MY Blood”} into the very Blood of Jesus.

If one doubts this READ Matthew 10: 1-8

It is to be noted that by Christ intent, not everything commanded to be believed is logically or scientifically provable. THE PRACTICE OF RELIGIONS is commonly termed “ones “Faith”; precisely because “faith” in our God is the very ROOT of our religion.

 This belief is the very FOUNDATION of Catholicism {and no Catholicism + no Christianity}. From Our Catechism:

8. The Eucharist– Sourceand Summit of Ecclesial Life

1324 The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”¹³⁴ “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” {sacrifice}

1327 In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.”

9. ADDING TO THIS MYSTERY

Even Jesus/ God can only die one time: therefore Christ Original Sacrifice is what is celebrated and RE-presented {NOT “represented}; Re- presented.

What are we saying here?

We are saying that mysteriously and miraculously at every Mass though out the World; it is the original Sacrifice on Calvary that is made PRESENT in our midst; time and time again in time immortal. ….What an AWESOME God we have!

If this information is in any way insufficient; please let me know. I have written very much on this topic and don’t wish to overwhelm you or mum so early in our friendship. But God and I ARE on your side.

God Bless you both; I LOVE questions,

Patrick

A Second Civil War? by David Carlin {re-blogged} …a REALLY Terrific {and- frighting} article….Pjm

A Second Civil War?

David Carlin

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2018

Friends: Robert Royal is, as you know, in Rome to report on the Synod, now ongoing. His third report looks at the expectations of the Synod attendees and the hard realities they face. Read “Speaking as an American . . .” by clicking here. Bob will be in the Eternal City for the whole of the month-long Synod, so check back regularly by clicking on Events above and then on Synod Reports in the drop-down menu. -Brad Miner

The Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court, along with the negative reaction thereto by virtually all persons who call themselves liberals, demonstrates how badly divided the American people are at the moment.  I myself think it’s the worst division since the Civil War.

Will it lead to a second Civil War?  If the tremendous division is not soon overcome, I expect it will lead to a certain amount of violence, to something resembling guerilla warfare, and to a number of notable assassinations.  But not full-scale warfare.  The police and military resources of the federal government are too great today to allow that to happen – immeasurably greater than they were when Lincoln began his presidency in March of 1861.

If we say, for want of a better terminology, that this is a “culture war” between leftists and rightists, is there any chance that we can come to a mutual understanding despite our differences and learn to live in peace and friendship with one another?  Or is this a struggle that will have to be carried on to the bitter end, until one side triumphs and the other is crushed?  Or is it a struggle that will go on indefinitely, lasting perhaps for centuries?

This last is a real possibility.  In France, a great struggle between right (Catholics) and left (anti-Catholic secularists) persisted for nearly two centuries, from Voltaire to Jean-Paul Sartre.  It is only in the last generation or two that it has become clear that secularism has won this “war” and that Catholicism can no longer hope to be anything more than a minority persuasion in France.

If France nonetheless remained a more or less united country all this time, it’s because the vast majority of Frenchmen, whether Catholic or anti-Catholic, were patriots.  Love of country was usually (but not always) stronger than hatred of one another.

Can patriotism save American unity?  I have my doubts.  For many on the left have rather a bad opinion of patriotism, which they hold to be no more than another name for nationalism.  And they believe that American nationalism is an attitude that involves contempt for that section of the human race that is not American; in other words, it implies xenophobia, Islamophobia, and racism.

Not the least of the many reasons liberals hate President Trump is his very frank appeal to American nationalism.  In doing that, liberals hold, he is stirring up the worst instincts of the American people.  His “Make American Great Again” baseball caps, they believe, are incitements to hatred.

Further, in the USA patriotism has always had a strongly religious tinge; even a Christian tinge.  And, of course,  many of those on the left, especially opinion leaders, are decidedly anti-Christian. In France, anti-Catholics were able to construct a secularist form of patriotism.  In the USA, leftists have not yet been able to do something similar. So they suspect “patriotism” of being a dirty word.  (The p-word.)

Photo: Jae C. Hong, AP

A great weakness on the conservative side is that the Catholic Church in the USA, which in the normal course of events would be a bulwark of conservative cultural values, is in a moral crisis.  As a result, the Church has little moral authority in the eyes of non-Catholics.  Indeed, it has little moral authority in the eyes of many Catholics. And those Catholics for whom the Church still does have great authority have to a considerable extent lost their confidence.  They think they have to reform the Church (God knows how) before they attempt to reform America.

Another great weakness on the conservative side is that the conservative cultural cause is now largely in the hands of one man, President Donald Trump, who happens to be the most hated man in America.  He is also the most loved man in America.  And there’s the problem.

As Trump goes, so goes American conservatism – at least for the foreseeable future.  If liberals can destroy Trump, they will have given American conservatism a tremendous setback.  Hence, their nearly fanatic determination to show that Trump is on leash held by Putin, or that he has been obstructing justice ever since he entered the White House, or that he’s insane and needs to be removed from office.

On the other hand, if Trump gets a clean bill of health from Robert Mueller, if he gets Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, if he prevails in the upcoming Congressional elections – any of these things will be a great setback for the liberal cause.  No wonder they are fighting against Trump with so much fury.

And no wonder conservatives are fighting for him with an equal fury.  It’s not a matter of Trump the man.  It’s a matter of the future of America: will the USA be a country dominated by a conservative worldview or a liberal worldview?

Now you may object, “But Trump isn’t a true conservative.  William F. Buckley Jr. was a true conservative.  Or Russell Kirk.  Or Whittaker Chambers.  Or Pope John Paul II.  Or Edmund Burke.  Or Aristotle. Or Bach.”  It doesn’t matter.  For the foreseeable future at least, American conservatism is in the hands of Donald Trump.

A great weakness on the liberal side is that many of their backers support the liberal agenda, not because these backers are themselves true liberals, but because they are habitual Democrats, and at the moment liberals and liberalism happen to control the Democratic Party.

I’m thinking of blue-collar workers and African-Americans, many of whom, though supporting the liberal agenda, are temperamentally conservative.  It remains to be seen if these people, sensing a conflict between their conservative feelings and the liberal-Democratic agenda, will drift in a conservative direction.  This drift is already taking place among workers; if it had not, Trump would not be president.  Will it next happen among blacks?  Could be.

All this is terrible.  I console myself with the thought that the assassinations have not yet begun.  Only character assassinations (witness Brett Kavanaugh).  God help us.

© 2018 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.orgThe Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.

Proverbial Reflection by Tim McGee {re-blogged}

Proverbial Reflection by Tim McGee Trees on the shoreline are reflected on the lake A painted picture Light gleams off a glass-walled building An enhanced brilliance Sunbeam is refracted by a raindrop A bow of color Sun shines off the face of the moon A revealed essence Translucence of evening clouds filtering light A sunset defined More so … As mirror reflects the face So the heart reflects the person When a life reflects Your love Well done good and faithful servant

Rose Marie Question on Reading Lessons & the Bible by Patrick Miron

 

Rose Marie Question on Reading Lessons & the Bible by Patrick Miron

“What does that mean exactly? Not to be read like a book I’ve heard people say this about the bible to?”

Rose Marie, this is a REALLY Great question; not crazy at all.

Both the Lessons and the bible have a common goal which is to teach you the Faith beliefs taught by Jesus Christ.

Because this endeavor demands that us mere mortal are attempting to comprehend the Mind of GOD, it is always a great idea to ask God through prayer to help us understand what He desires we learn from this experience {Lesson and or Bible reading.} …In other words begin each reading period with a prayer asking for the grace of Wisdom and Right {His} Understanding.

When we do this with a sincere heart and an OPEN mind; the Holy Spirit can, and most often will make evident to you what He wants you to know in the present moment.

Reading Lessons and the Bible should be approached much as you would do in reading a school-textbook.. Seeking to learn the “hidden” lessons more than {dare I say} “only” following the “story.”

Here’s a prayer you might consider using:

Cf. John 16: 13-14

“Christ said, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”.  … Divine Counselor, please enlighten my mind to the teachings of Christ, and help me recall His Words that are Spirit and truth. AMEN!”

 Rose Marie, if this doesn’t fully answer your question; PLEASE let me know, and I’ll try again. It’s an important question.

May our God to Bless you,

Patrick

Suffering HAS Meaning: reblogged in memory of Ruth Barnes Moynihan

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” —St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:9 My mother, Ruth Moynihan, passed away this evening, peacefully, in Connecticut, in the United States. She was 85. She had struggled for many months as a motor neuron disease took away her ability to walk, to talk, to swallow, and finally even to be, in this world. In her last hours today, we prayed a rosary. Yesterday, the parish priest visited, and anointed her, and gave her communion. As night came on, I read the Book of Ruth to her. As she grew weaker, she suffered greatly. Yet she was never demanding, self-centered, or impatient. Her greatest concern was always that my father, 92, have his eye-drops in the evening. She died as she had lived, for others. As she lay dying, one of my sisters found among her boxes of papers writings of hers we had never seen before. Among them were two pieces I thought I might share with you. The first is a meditation on the redemptive meaning of human suffering. She published it 51 years ago, when she was 34, in the August 1967 issue of Marriage: The Magazine for Husband and Wife. ——————— So That The Life of Christ May Fill The World With Love Marriage, August 1967 By Ruth Barnes Moynihan “Gladly therefore I will glory in my infirmities, that the strength of Christ may dwell in me.” So wrote St. Paul, one of the strongest saints in Christian history. How much more must all Christians learn to echo his words in our turbulent modern times! For today every thinking Christian, and every other thinking person as well, is caught up in the confusion of both religious and secular revolution. Public wars and sorrows mingle with private anguish to create a sense at times, of total personal weakness and infirmity… How many forms does personal suffering take? As many as there are human beings, I suppose. But broadly speaking, we can describe them as either physical, mental, or spiritual in nature. Physical suffering is unavoidable in life. All our work, and even our play, involves a painful growth, learning, and finally aging process, which can be compared to the bumps and bruises that are part of the world. A man practices his trade or profession only by spending his time and energy on his machine or his books or his travels. A skier must take his falls, a housewife (advertising notwithstanding) her dishpan hands. Furthermore, we are all subject to illness of various kinds and degrees. Whether we bear the misery of a common cold or the nightmare of terminal cancer, we all have to face our physical infirmities with or without a Christian spirit. Mental suffering is also an inevitable part of life. The worries of a mother for her children, the grief of seeing the death or sickness of someone we love, the fears of failure in our duties, are always hidden or plain in the business of living… And then there are the huge sorrows some lives have to bear. Parents of a deformed or retarded child; a sincere unmarried girl who discovers she is pregnant; a man or woman who has been deserted by his or her spouse… a family which has been orphaned by disaster — such people know the meaning of suffering and weakness in all its depths. Above the physical and mental suffering are the spiritual torments which sooner or later, more or less often, face the searching soul. First of all, there is the “simple” question of virtue. Even though we have the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, as well as the guidance of society and the Church, real virtue requires a struggle that goes far beyond mere obedience or ethical certainty. Virtue, or rather holiness, requires a life-long interaction between the demands of our existential situation and the principles we live by. To do what is most loving may actually involve a total wrenching of our own hearts for the sake of the other. Parents who love their children cannot be unwilling to punish or deprive them now and then. Just as a doctor must often cause pain in order to cure, a Christian must often choose between quick, inadequate solutions and a temporary pain for the sake of long-term growth. Without ethical standards we could not make such choices. And without acceptance of suffering we could not carry them through. But added to the whole problem of virtue there is, for the religious person, the problem of faith itself. Faith is not merely a clinging to the truths of our religious creed. It is a radical commitment of the human soul to God, of the natural elements of life to the supernatural action of God. It is also the certain cause of suffering as well as joy, for our own sinfulness and the imperfection of human life form the unavoidable cross upon which all human faith is nailed. “My grace is sufficient for you, for strength is made perfect in weakness,” God said to St. Paul. And every man of faith, suffering his fleshly thorns, must accept this truth again and again until his death. How can God allow such torments? We all cry out in pain and there is no certain answer. We can only choose to believe that it all makes sense and will be equalized in the infinite mercy of God — or that it does not. For the Christian there is only Christ hanging upon His cross, sharing our misery and rising from the dead with His promise of eternal life. But how do we bear the sorrow while we live? How do we find the strength to kneel alone in our own small gardens of Gethsemane with all our human infirmities crying out to the Lord that we might be relieved? Well, of course, we can rebel. We can give up our faith and refuse the cup of pain. I will be happy, our hearts cry out, and we run from responsibility, avoid the bruises of hard work, drown ourselves in alcohol or sociability or mediocrity. More and more deeply we despair of meaning while our own rebellious behavior makes our lives more meaningless… Another means of dealing with suffering is endurance… Faced with the loss of someone we love, the immediate reaction can perhaps be nothing else, for there is no choice but total sorrow and total acceptance. By means of endurance we can find the strength to throw ourselves into physical or mental labor, to keep our bodies and minds busy until the pain is cured or lessened. We can even pretend to be happy, smiling and laughing with others though every nerve in our bodies may be crying out it isn’t true, it’s all a fake — I’m miserable! And by the natural strength of a human smile, we are gradually enabled to share in the smiles of others — and the supernatural smile of God upon our puny efforts. But there may be times in every life when suffering seems beyond all endurance. Our bodies ache to the very limit of Consciousness, our happiness seems totally destroyed, our souls lie in darkness and dejection where love is lost, hope seems impossible, and even faith is an empty dream… The atheistic Existentialism of absurdity provides no peace of Soul — only a means of temporary respite, an excuse for continuing to roll the stone of Sisyphus. Only Christianity gives human meaning to chaos. Christ has taught us by example as well as word, that even the most terrible suffering in human life can be part of our Salvation — in the fulfillment of the world. It is not only the future “reward in heaven” that makes Christian suffering meaningful. It is right here on Earth in the world of time and human action that love as sacrifice may achieve results. By enduring the unendurable, by pursuing the impossible, Christians become the channels of God’s goodness and holiness… By gladly glorying in their infirmities, they reveal to the world the strength of God — strength so great that it could make an insignificant, self-righteous, physically weak little man like Paul into one of the moving spirits of human history. The nature of European civilization, and now gradually of the whole world, was radically changed because St Paul “fought the good fight” and “ran so as to win.” Of course, most of us will never have the opportunities or the influence of such a man. But it is possible, and necessary, to make all of our own sufferings into fruitful sacrifices. Even when we cannot imagine any good results, even in the utmost loneliness of heart and soul, we can offer our sorrow for the specific good of someone else or some good cause and trust in God’s care to use it accordingly. Often we hear of a teacher who influenced one of his students toward greatness without even knowing it. Children go out to meet the world with courage learned from their mother who thought she had none. Men are inspired to support or promote a work of justice or charity because some other person died or suffered in order to begin it or make its need known. Writers and artists live in poverty, die in ignominy, only to have generations feed upon their thought, build upon their work. There is, at the same time, an extraordinary comfort to the suffering soul to know that even in the dryness of an apparently hopeless faith, a Christian has the right to be certain that God will use his sufferings wisely in the total scheme of life. We can smile through our pain, keep interior peace in our tears, for His gifts are sufficient for us, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Gladly therefore should we glory in the midst of our weaknesses, so that the life of Christ may eventually fill all the world with love. [End] ========== And then, written in the careful, elegant handwriting of a young girl of 10 years, in pencil, was this poem: October By Ruth MacKenzie Barnes (October 1943)   I love October bright and golden Blue skies, bright eyes, shining faces Lovely weather, noisy birds Fly for lovely far-off places.   Happiness lives in the air so clear Everything’s pleasant that meets the ear Everything’s lovely that meets the eye A beautiful month to be born, or die.