Good morning de1929, and a blessed Sunday to you.

Somehow, I knew you might chime in on this. The reason I present my opinion in this matter, i.e. vote in more Catholic values, is because Catholics are not called to force our beliefs on others. We are asked to present our faith and beliefs of the Church to the rest of the world, and let the Holy Spirit do His work, that is all.

The only reason the Church puts up defence with this whole LGBT marriage is due to the fact that the Church knows and recognizes that sooner or later, the issue will come knocking at her door in USA, like how it happened Ireland. Better to make take a stand earlier, than to only make one at the eleventh hour. The Church does it because she knows she can take the blows and the criticisms.

The Catholic Church does not focus on the temporal, this world, this life but on the promises made to her by Christ before He ascended into heaven. In order to be worthy of His promises, we need to uphold His values. Again, please take note, I said uphold not force. These values are to be upheld by the Church, and she Herself has no authority to change these values and laws, which were given by God Himself. This is why the Church will not accept any revision or redefinition of both abortion and marriage.

To God, all life is sacred and good, because He has declared it so as mentioned in Genesis chapter 1. Same goes for marriage, which is considered as a Holy Sacrament, "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’" (Mark 10:9 NRSV CE)

This is not a numbers game, this is our faith and our belief in the God the Father; Jesus Christ His Son, the Living Word of God; and the Holy Spirit, the Lord Giver of Life. Public opinion should matter little, or none at all.

And that is why my personal opinion be that Catholics should not involve themselves in politics unless they are properly grounded in their faith first.


This post has been edited by khool: Jun 28 2015, 09:23 AM

When i say 'force our belief', it means that if someone asks question is asked about our belief, the most we do is answer the question and stop right there. if the person is still interested then we will usually point the person to the nearest parish for proper lessons. that's all.

To put this in perspective, in the issue of same sex marriage, in contrary to the MSM hype, the church has been only explaining her stand to all why she does not support or perform gay marriages. She also gives the reasoning and back ground for such a stand, nothing more. There is no condemnation from Church clergy, although some more devout Catholics do go over the edge, but then again, they are only human and are passionate about their beliefs. One cannot fault them for that.

To defend the Church is to defend the Body of Christ, Christ is the head and the Church is His body. As Catholics, should there be any differences in opinion, again we will present our case and eave it at that. Really, we cannot do anything more, the rest is up to the Holy Spirit.

Being grounded in faith is surprising not as hard as it sounds, keep a regular prayer schedule (if possible) and read the daily Bible verses of the day, make an effort to attend as many classes in bible and theological studies, ask questions, try to live life as a God would have you live, i.e. in the sacraments and most importantly always attend Mass and partake in Holy Communion ever Sunday. The last one is the best I notice, the Lord gave up His life for you, I can certainly spare an hour or two to celebrate His sacrifice with Him.

Personally, I am still learning and growing as a Catholic, and I wish I could find more time to attend more classes. It is a joy to learn about our God, every time I go through the verses, something new always pops up.

No need to worry about offending anyone here, the Catholic Church is a 2000 year old institution, I think she is able to field a couple of questions here and there.

God Bless! And the Lord be with you!

Hahahaha! You referring to Dolan? Or Burke? or others? The Lord is truly a cosmic prankster, he stuffs the clergy with a myriad of characters. Makes for a more lively congregation I say. I would much prefer this than a cookie cutter collection of Cardinals.

One needs for his faith to be called into question from time to time, else one grows complacent; read 'lukewarm Catholics', and you know what the Lord does with lukewarm Catholics ...

Thanks Bro Yeeck, I left that out accidentally. In the eyes of the church, extra marital sex is considered a sin no matter the sexual orientation. Most appreciated.

Nuts, I watched it live ... might have missed that bit. Small matter though, but the Latin Mass is so beautiful, nothing can come close to comparing with it ... to bad it isn't celebrated in MY churches, is it?


This post has been edited by khool: Jul 1 2015, 03:38 PM

Yes bro, that's why I only mentioned Latin Mass ...

I don't mind the TLM or the Novus Ordo. I like both.

FYI, i think the official term is pro-'choice' ... their proponents would prefer to allude to euphemisms to avoid negative connotations on what they are actually going pro for ... :P:P:P

Strong, very very strong warnings indeed ... a warning from the Almighty against those who would harm the little ones.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 101

Reading 1 (Ez 2:2-5)
As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me
and set me on my feet,
and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:
Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
rebels who have rebelled against me;
they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart
are they to whom I am sending you.
But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD!
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
they shall know that a prophet has been among them.


Responsorial Psalm (Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4)

R. (2cd) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven —
As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Reading 2 (2 Cor 12:7-10)

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.


Alleluia (Cf. Luke 4:18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel (Mk 6:1-6)

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him ... Amen!

Oopsss ... misread it as 'dragon' instead of 'dagon' ... hehehehehe!!!

How do we interpret the Bible as Catholics today?

As we seek to read and understand the Bible, we may ask if there is a distinctive Catholic way of doing so. How should we approach God’s Word as we try to understand and live it out in our daily lives?

The Bible - The book of the living community of the church
When attempting to understand the Bible and interpreting it, we need to remember that “The Bible was written by the People of God for the People of God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” From this, we must remember that only in communion with the People of God can we truly enter into the heart of the truth that God himself wishes to convey to us. Yes, we might read the Bible individually for our own personal growth, but we must always remember that the Bible grew out of the lived experience of the People of God and we must thus see its message through the eyes of the community guided by the Spirit that gave rise to it and which continues to see it as God’s Word to humanity.

The Church interpreted the Jewish Scriptures that we know today as the Old Testament in the light of the Incarnation, Life and Ministry (particularly, the Passion, Death and Resurrection) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, the Church’s experience of Jesus in his earthly lifetime and, later, after the Ascension, as it grew from its beginnings at Pentecost, gave rise to the books of the New Testament. If the Bible is understood as having come from the Church, then surely, it is with the Church and in harmony with its teachings and under the guidance of the Magisterium (teaching office) that we must interpret its contents and message which God has chosen to communicate.

Interpretation methods
Various methods have been employed in order to obtain a richer understanding of biblical texts. Recent work in interpreting the Bible has relied much on the indispensible ‘historico- critical’ method, as well as other recently-developed methods of textual analysis which have brought about much benefit. The historico-critical method considers the different types and styles (genres) of writing and also attempts to look at the context of the event at that time itself, before attempting to see its message for our own time. Indeed, serious methods of historical research are essential to a proper understanding of any text.

Criteria
The Dogmatic Constitution from the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum indicates three fundamental criteria for an appreciation of the divine dimension of the Bible:

1) The text must be interpreted with attention to the unity of the whole of Scripture -- Thus we should not attempt to look at a passage in isolation from what the rest of Scripture is saying.

2) Account is to be taken of the living Tradition of the whole Church -- Again, we look at the passage, not in isolation in terms of time, but how it has been seen through the ages from the early Church onwards.

3) Respect must be shown for the analogy of faith -- A passage cannot be seen in opposition to the faith and teaching of the Church.

Biblical exegesis and theology
History is the arena in which God works. Therefore, it must be interpreted in the light of faith and reason. Biblical Exegesis or Interpretation needs to go hand-in-hand with Theology. In this way, we are able to avoid extreme subjective and arbitrary positions such as fundamentalist positions, wherein reason is ignored, or the tendency can be to spiritualize everything. While we always start looking at a text from the literal sense, we must be open to the message beyond it, allowing the spiritual sense to also emerge and not allow ourselves to be manipulated or led into error. The spiritual sense is “the meaning expressed by the biblical texts when read, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in the context of the paschal mystery of Christ and of the new life which flows from it.” Hence, interpretation of Sacred Scripture must involve our personal and living faith. Interpretation seeks saving truth for the life of the individual Christian and for the Church. It recognizes the historical value of the biblical tradition and seeks to discover the living meaning of the Sacred Scriptures for the lives of believers today. To this end, our interpretation must pass from letter to spirit. The Word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text. An authentic process of interpretation is never purely an intellectual process but also a lived one, requiring full involvement in the life of the Church, which is life “according to the Spirit” (Gal 5:16).

Source: http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/newscategory...s-today/24323/5

This post has been edited by khool: Jul 6 2015, 10:47 AM

The Devil - Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen



Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 104

Reading 1 (Am 7:12-15)

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos,
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”


Responsorial Psalm (Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14)

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD —for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.


Reading 2 (Eph 1:3-14)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

(Or Eph 1:3-10)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of God’s grace
that he granted us in the beloved.

In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.


Alleluia Cf. (Eph 1:17-18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope that
belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel (Mk 6:7-13)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Ahhh, Bro Yeeck, u beat me to that one ... hahahahaha!!!!

Three Things You Need to Know About Pornography
Matt Fradd - February 7, 2013

1. The reasons pornography is not wrong.

Pornography isn’t wrong because sex is bad or the body shameful. It's wrong because sex is good and the body magnificent! As Christians we must never forget whose idea sex was in the first place. It was not thought up by Hugh Hefner or by Cosmopolitan magazine but by God! In fact, God's very first commandment to humanity in the Bible is to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28)! And as philosopher Dr. Peter Kreeft noted, “I do not think he meant for us to grow oranges and invent calculators.”

Pornography is wrong because it removes sexual intimacy from its natural context, turning it into a commodity to be bought and sold. It has been rightly said that the problem with porn is not that it shows too much but that it shows too little—too little of the human person.

Pornography reduces the mystery and beauty of a man or woman to a collection of body parts to be used rather than recognizing them as persons to be loved. It reduces the great mystery and sanctity of human sexuality to a trivial activity that need not be of any real importance.

2. Pornography is not just a man’s issue.

While it is certainly true that men have cornered the market on visual pornography, it’s not true that women don’t also struggle. One survey revealed that 34 percent of female subscribers of Today’s Christian Woman online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn.

Because pornography is predominantly consumed by men, many women who struggle with pornography feel an even greater sense of shame and isolation. One young woman I know put it this way:

" ... For over seven years, I was addicted to hardcore pornography, masturbation, and lust—and I am a woman. Often we hear that women may struggle with fantasy and romance novels, but porn—porn is a guy thing. One of the most shaming statements I ever heard was, "Women just don’t have this problem." I started to lose hope after I heard that. How do you argue with the ‘fact’ that only men struggle with porn? It is sad, because this mindset is causing so much damage to women. It causes many women to question their sexuality and wonder if they are homosexual because they are involved in a sin "only men" get caught up in. It isolates them, silences them, keeps them trapped in this sin and drives them further away from freedom and into the darkness. ..."

If you or a woman you know struggles with pornography, be assured that you are not alone. Help is available, and healing is possible. You might begin by visiting the website Beggar's Daughter.

3. Porn stars don’t enjoy what they do.

When I inquired of a friend of mine, a former porn star, if this was the case, she said, “Well, there are several reasons why girls get into the porn industry, but a hardcore sex drive isn’t one of them. I know, because that’s what I used to tell people in interviews.” Another former porn star put it this way:

" ... Sex-packed porn films featuring freshly dyed blondes whose evocative eyes say ‘I want you’ is quite possibly one of the greatest deceptions of all time. Trust me, I know. I did it all the time, and I did it for the lust of power and the love of money. I never liked sex. I never wanted sex, and in fact I was more apt to spend time with Jack Daniels than some of the studs I was paid to fake it with. That’s right—none of us freshly dyed blondes like doing porn. In fact, we hate it. We hate being touched by strangers who care nothing about us. . . . Some women hate it so much you can hear them vomiting in the bathroom between scenes. Others can be found outside smoking an endless chain of Marlboro Lights. . . . But the porn industry wants YOU to think we porn actresses love sex. They want you to think we enjoy being degraded by all kinds of repulsive acts. ..."

Pornography “immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world” (CCC 2354 ). One such illusion is that the women in the porn industry enjoy making pornography. While this may be a convenient illusion for those seeking to justify their pornography use, the reality behind the fantasy is another story entirely.

Source: http://www.catholic.com/blog/matt-fradd/th...out-pornography

Amazing Grace



God Bless, have a good weekend!!

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 107


Reading 1 (Jer 23:1-6)

Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”


Responsorial Psalm (Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6)

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.


Reading 2 (Eph 2:13-18)

Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.


Alleluia (Jn 10:27)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel (Mk 6:30-34)

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5: 23-26)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=865...04600586&type=1