Thursday, 21 November 2013
Praise God in The Arena
luke 19:41-44
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
I have just learned through a painful experience something I did not know before. Those who are godless or those who are lacking in Faith find themselves envious of those of us who have both the virtue of faith and the gift of the Church, the one, true, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.
I did not realize that this envy made people hate us for our peace in the face of chaos. This is most likely one reason why the martyrs were killed, because they could praise God in the arena.
Praise God in the arena, always.
Year of Faith Coming to A Close
 |
| St. Paul's Grotto, Rabat, Malta |
This past liturgical year, the Church has celebrated and pondered on the gift of faith, as well as The Faith. We are blessed as Catholics to have both the gift of faith given to us in baptism, and The Faith, passed down to us through the Teaching Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
I would like to ask you, dear readers, in these last few days before the ending of this Year of Faith, to pray for three serious, special intentions for me.
I am not free to share these with you at this time, but I shall do so at some point.
Thank you, and here is a passage on which to meditate in these next few days.
Hebrews 11
Douay-Rheims
11 Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not.
2 For by this the ancients obtained a testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God; that from invisible things visible things might be made.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of Cain, by which he obtained a testimony that he was just, God giving testimony to his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Henoch was translated, that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him.
7 By faith Noe, having received an answer concerning those things which as yet were not seen, moved with fear, framed the ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world; and was instituted heir of the justice which is by faith.
8 By faith he that is called Abraham, obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he abode in the land, dwelling in cottages, with Isaac and Jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise.
10 For he looked for a city that hath foundations; whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith also Sara herself, being barren, received strength to conceive seed, even past the time of age; because she believed that he was faithful who had promised,
12 For which cause there sprung even from one (and him as good as dead) as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 All these died according to faith, not having received the promises, but beholding them afar off, and saluting them, and confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers on the earth.
14 For they that say these things, do signify that they seek a country.
15 And truly if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they had doubtless time to return.
16 But now they desire a better, that is to say, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered Isaac: and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son;
18 (To whom it was said: In Isaac shall thy seed be called.)
19 Accounting that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Whereupon also he received him for a parable.
20 By faith also of things to come, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
21 By faith Jacob dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and adored the top of his rod.
22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the going out of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents; because they saw he was a comely babe, and they feared not the king's edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, denied himself to be the son of Pharao's daughter;
25 Rather choosing to be afflicted with the people of God, than to have the pleasure of sin for a time,
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of the Egyptians. For he looked unto the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the fierceness of the king: for he endured as seeing him that is invisible.
28 By faith he celebrated the pasch, and the shedding of the blood; that he, who destroyed the firstborn, might not touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land: which the Egyptians attempting, were swallowed up.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, by the going round them seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with the unbelievers, receiving the spies with peace.
32 And what shall I yet say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, Barac, Samson, Jephthe, David, Samuel, and the prophets:
33 Who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners:
35 Women received their dead raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection.
36 And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons.
37 They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted:
38 Of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth.
39 And all these being approved by the testimony of faith, received not the promise;
40 God providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected without us.
Happy Feast of The Presentation of Mary
Dear Lady Mary was presented to God in the traditions of the Latin Catholic Church, the Byzantine Catholic Church, and the Orthodox Church.
Let us stop and thank her parents, the holy Joachim and Anna, for bringing her to God, who is her true Father, Bridegroom and Son.
Mary, on this feast of your presentation, pray for us and hear our prayers. And, with a special tug in my heart, I remember my lovely sisters in Tyburn on this special memorial day for enclosed orders.
More on Bishop Thomas Paprocki And Exorcism
“Prayers of Supplication and Exorcism in Reparation for the Sin of Same-Sex Marriage,”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-illinois-gay-marriage-law-draws-exorcism-in-springfield-20131120,0,2874258.story.
God bless this brave bishop. Pray for his safety and protection.
Spiritual warfare can get really nasty.
from the article.... Paprocki also charged that “politicians responsible for enacting civil same-sex marriage legislation are morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-illinois-gay-marriage-law-draws-exorcism-in-springfield-20131120,0,2874258.story.
God bless this brave bishop. Pray for his safety and protection.
Spiritual warfare can get really nasty.
from the article.... Paprocki also charged that “politicians responsible for enacting civil same-sex marriage legislation are morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin.”
“We must pray for forgiveness of these sins and deliverance from this evil which has penetrated our state and our church,” Paprocki said.
Paprock said the church “stands ready to extend God’s mercy to those who confess their sins with true repentance.”
There is a “key point which the secularists are missing: they think that stressing God's mercy means that sins are no longer sins. On the contrary, God's mercy is a great gift of grace precisely because sins are sins and they call for repentance and forgiveness,” he said.
The Great Evil of Entertainment
For a long time, I have been pondering the effect of too much entertainment in the Western cultures. I cannot speak of other cultures, but it is clear to me that the preoccupation with sports, movies, computer games, and other forms of entertainment cause a blindness to the growth of the spiritual life not only among youth, but those of middle age and elderly people.
The seeking of entertainment destroys several aspects of the pursuit of the spiritual life.
I hope my readers can see through these problems and be honest with themselves concerning the amount of time and money which is spent on entertainment.
Bread and circuses killed the Roman Empire, as entertainment became more important that work or the interior life.
People think they need entertainment weekly, even daily. They think they need entertainment.
Now, there are novels and movies which teach morals and may be helpful for people to understand the spiritual life and the need for redemption in humanity. We all know these great books and some of the movies which have been made from them.
However, entertainment takes us away from the real reason we are here, to become holy, to gain salvation, to become one with Christ and to lead others to Christ.
We are addicted to entertainment, which feeds the passive part of us which should used for meditation and contemplative prayer.
I have shared on this blog the great insight of Thomas Merton on the biggest danger of television-that the passivity which one approaches tv is the aspect, the gift of the mind and soul for passive prayer. The television takes over this part of the human soul and mind and perverts the natural course of learning to be passive in the Presence of God.
"I am certainly no judge of television, since I have never watched it. All I know is that there is a sufficiently general agreement, among men whose judgment I respect, that commercial television is degraded, meretricious and absurd. Certainly it would seem that TV could become a kind of unnatural surrogate for contemplation: a completely inert subjection to vulgar images, a descent to a sub-natural passivity rather than an ascent to a supremely active passivity in understanding and love. It would seem that television should be used with extreme care and discrimination by anyone who might hope to take interior life seriously." (86) Seeds of Contemplation
Think of this--that the capacity for contemplation, the capacity which God created in each person for an intimate relationship with Him, has been perverted by television and other passive forms of entertainment.
God created us for Himself, and we must protect our imaginations, minds, souls, bodies from the pollution of false ideals which flood into us through all types of entertainment.
But, more than that, the actual act of passivity, the interaction of the passive and the soul, is being destroyed by this incursion into a part of us created by God to bring us into union with Him.
I want you to ask yourself a few honest questions today.
How much time do I spend on entertainment per week?
How much time do I prepare for going or engaging in entertainment?
How much time do I spend in prayer, learning to be passive before God in order to be purified and to receive His Love?
Do I clutter my imagination and my soul with too many statistics, too many games, too many hours of entertainment?
Do I understand that the greatest stress release is actually prayer and not entertainment?
Does the entertainment I am involved with bring me closer to God, or take me away from God?
Am I willing to give up entertainment in order to become a saint?
Pope Francis on Grandparents
Pope Francis spoke strongly and kindly of grandparents today for international grandparents day. The sad plight of so many old parents is that their children have marginalized them by putting them in homes instead of carrying for them.
However, there is another side to this sadness and that is the generation who aborted or contracepted their children and now find themselves alone. The decisions many women made when young will haunt them in old age. I feel for these women, but the consequences of sin is death and there is a death in being alone.
Grandparents are to be praised for being involved in their children's lives and the lives of their grandchildren.
Grandparents are to be praised for having children and nurturing them. Pray for those parents who destroyed their children and now find themselves alone. God can heal any broken heart through repentance and prayer.
God bless all parents and grandparents. Let us honor them today and always.
However, there is another side to this sadness and that is the generation who aborted or contracepted their children and now find themselves alone. The decisions many women made when young will haunt them in old age. I feel for these women, but the consequences of sin is death and there is a death in being alone.
Grandparents are to be praised for being involved in their children's lives and the lives of their grandchildren.
Grandparents are to be praised for having children and nurturing them. Pray for those parents who destroyed their children and now find themselves alone. God can heal any broken heart through repentance and prayer.
God bless all parents and grandparents. Let us honor them today and always.
Wake Up, Europeans
Belgium is mooting an unprecedented law that would allow the voluntary euthanasia to children.
On 26 November, the Belgian Senate will vote on legislation that will allow Euthanasia on minors without consent. This cannot be allowed in Europe and must be stopped.
Join us in stopping this legislation. Sign the petition here.
If enacted, this radical legislation would cause Belgium to have the most liberal euthanasia laws in all of Europe.
One thing after another -- from abortion as a fundamental right, same sex marriage, euthanasia permitted for those who want it, and now euthanasia of children with or without their consent. A clear and directly pattern is being established, coming next:"anything goes laws.”
This is the downfall of society and civilization. Liberal parties within other European nations are discussing similar laws. Factually speaking, if your country has current laws that are favourable towards same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia – if this law passes in Belgium -- liberals in your country will be placing it on their agenda.
Please help us fight this now. If defeated in Belgium, we can put an end to all discussions of euthanasia to minors throughout all of Europe.
Sign the petition now: http://www.citizengo.org/en/860-no-euthanasia-europe
Thank you,
Gregory Mertz and the whole CitizenGO team
P.S. Help us bring change to Europe. Please share this petition with others.
For more information on the negative effect of the law, visit: http://www.euthanasiestop.be/article-en/ euthanasia-for-children-is- wrong-214#_suite