http://www.breitbart.com/system/wire/1f3f01b5-988a-4d03-9fd7-19eca73ea060
I hope you are shocked this happened in Italy.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
And Christians Voted for This Man Twice
Posted by
Supertradmum
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/30/obama-christmas-minus-church-deemed-unusual/#.UsGtNpRP344.twitter
Exodus 20
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
20 And the Lord spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
8 Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.
10 But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
18 And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking: and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,
19 Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said to the people: Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.
Two Prayer Requests
Posted by
Supertradmum
Today, I was talking to a man who said to me that because Jesus lived a long time ago and because he, this man, had never seen anybody raised from the dead, or had never seen a miracle, he could not believe.
This man told me he had to see to believe. I could not convince him of any of the truths of the Catholic Church, because he wanted to see God. He does not read religious books. Sadly, he use to read the Scriptures, but no longer does so.
I can only pray for him. I pray that God gives him the gift of Faith.
Will you join me in prayer for this man, who is a lapsed Catholic, and has been for 44 years? Please join me in asking God to take away all the barriers which stop the growth of the gift of Faith given to this man 64 years ago in baptism.
I want you to get down on your knees today, at this year's end, and thank God for all the gifts He has given to you, most especially the gift of Faith.
Without faith, you would not be believing in the Resurrection without seeing Christ raised from the dead.
Without faith, you would not believe in the Presence of God in the Eucharist.
Without faith, you would not read books, say prayers, listen to those who teach the Truths of the Church.
Do not take for granted this wonderful gift.
And, most importantly, choose one person tonight, and for this year, to pray for, requesting that this person be given the gift of Faith.
Pray.
This man told me he had to see to believe. I could not convince him of any of the truths of the Catholic Church, because he wanted to see God. He does not read religious books. Sadly, he use to read the Scriptures, but no longer does so.
I can only pray for him. I pray that God gives him the gift of Faith.
Will you join me in prayer for this man, who is a lapsed Catholic, and has been for 44 years? Please join me in asking God to take away all the barriers which stop the growth of the gift of Faith given to this man 64 years ago in baptism.
I want you to get down on your knees today, at this year's end, and thank God for all the gifts He has given to you, most especially the gift of Faith.
Without faith, you would not be believing in the Resurrection without seeing Christ raised from the dead.
Without faith, you would not believe in the Presence of God in the Eucharist.
Without faith, you would not read books, say prayers, listen to those who teach the Truths of the Church.
Do not take for granted this wonderful gift.
And, most importantly, choose one person tonight, and for this year, to pray for, requesting that this person be given the gift of Faith.
Pray.
Hebrews 11:1
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not.
Pray A Decade And Listen to This
Posted by
Supertradmum
http://uvcr.catholicam.org/mp3s/FatherR_DangersofModernPsychology.mp3
Say the decade for the priest giving the talk, Fr. Chad Ripperger.
Say the decade for the priest giving the talk, Fr. Chad Ripperger.
A Superstition Proved False
Posted by
Supertradmum
There is a saying among some Irish Americans that where one is on New Year's Eve, one will be in the next year all year.
Hmmm...
This is absolutely not true in my life.
I am not an Irish American, so maybe such things only work for them.
The Czechs and Luxembourgians do not seem to have superstitions, at least in my family.
Happy New Year!
Hmmm...
This is absolutely not true in my life.
I am not an Irish American, so maybe such things only work for them.
The Czechs and Luxembourgians do not seem to have superstitions, at least in my family.
Happy New Year!
Why are liberals so touchy?
Posted by
Supertradmum
I accidentally used the term "Obamacare" in a conversation with a Catholic and WWIII almost happened. Wow! I was told that was a totally pejorative term, not to be used by loyal supporters of POTUS. I was told I was a Republican, which I am not, (an Independent, of course), and I was accused of not caring about the poor, which is a joke, of course, as I am extremely poor.
Liberals react to words instead of waiting and discussing why a word may be perjorative. Can we not enter into discussions without this instant heat of offense being taken, which ends all chances of objective, rational discussion.
The conversation ended with the person walking away saying that other good presidents, such as FDR, was not liked, either. We were not discussing presidents, we were discussing the ACA.
I did not start the conversation, btw. I would loved to have heard this person's opinion of the Duck Dynasty furor, but I guess that will have to wait.
And Anita is on a roll this week.....
Anita Moore has left a new comment on your post "Why are liberals so touchy?":
...sigh, people around here have an Obama chip on their shoulders.
I thought that was an Iowa thing. At least, that's what it says in The Music Man!
Oh, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to treat you, if we treat you, which we may not do at all!
There's an Iowa kind of special chip-on-the-shoulder attitude we've never been without that we recall!
Liberals react to words instead of waiting and discussing why a word may be perjorative. Can we not enter into discussions without this instant heat of offense being taken, which ends all chances of objective, rational discussion.
The conversation ended with the person walking away saying that other good presidents, such as FDR, was not liked, either. We were not discussing presidents, we were discussing the ACA.
I did not start the conversation, btw. I would loved to have heard this person's opinion of the Duck Dynasty furor, but I guess that will have to wait.
And Anita is on a roll this week.....
Anita Moore has left a new comment on your post "Why are liberals so touchy?":
...sigh, people around here have an Obama chip on their shoulders.
I thought that was an Iowa thing. At least, that's what it says in The Music Man!
Oh, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to treat you, if we treat you, which we may not do at all!
There's an Iowa kind of special chip-on-the-shoulder attitude we've never been without that we recall!
A Tragic Divide
Posted by
Supertradmum
After finishing Martin's book Will Many Be Saved?, I had a brief discussion with two people on inculpable ignorance. Of course, there is a difference between those who have never heard the Gospel and those who have and rejected it.
The tragic difference may be objectively defined in four areas of belief and unbelief.
The first are those who have never heard the Gospel. I met young people from the old Soviet Union who had never seen Bible or heard of Jesus Christ. They are among those who were not responsible for ignorance, and, therefore, not culpable. I met these youth in the 1990s.
Martin refers to an author who thinks there are lights given to each human to choose for or against God. However, there is, according to some, the moment when a young person chooses the route of the moral life, and persists in that road. creating a "primary orientation to his moral life." Of course, grace is offered over and over by God.
However, modern technology and the high media coverage of Catholicism has ended that, even in the old Soviet areas.
Secondly, those who have access to information and have heard about Christ and His Church, and for whatever reason turn away from this knowledge, or do not respond because of sloth or other sins, are culpable. God keeps calling these people over and over, until God lets them go on their own way via their own free will. Tragically, many people in our Western World fall into the category of the "practical atheists", those who do not believe that their actions determine eternal life.
Thirdly, there are those who choose evil, who choose to not follow God's ways on purpose, knowing exactly what they do. These are the Satanists, the witches, Masons and so on. Most of them know what they are doing for power, for status, for prosperity.
The fourth group is the one which many people refuse to consider as culpable-the lapsed Catholics.
The way God sees lapsed Catholics is entirely different from the way He sees those in the other three groups.
The baptized Catholic who has fallen away is under Canon Law-the others are not.
The baptized Catholic who has fallen away is judged by a higher standard than those who have never been given grace. The rules for marriage for lapsed Catholics are different from those who have never been Catholic, which many people do not understand. The real tragedy of the lapsed Catholic is that those who have fallen away have traded the most precious gift they ever had, faith in the Catholic Church, for what?
This last group is the hardest to bring back "home". I know from personal experience that the lapsed Catholic is sometimes the person most against the Catholic Church.
The new evangelization demands that we understand the differences in those who have never heard the Gospel, to those who ignore the Gospel, to those who hate the Gospel and to those who had the truth but gave it up.
Pray that you can understand to whom you are speaking and their real needs. And, pray for those who refuse graces, which God gives over and over and over, until He decides to let a person go their own way.
He respects and loves us too much to force us or manipulate us to love Him.
Here is a good article which should give us all hope.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/12/30/be-slow-to-judge-archbishop-tells-diocese/
The tragic difference may be objectively defined in four areas of belief and unbelief.
The first are those who have never heard the Gospel. I met young people from the old Soviet Union who had never seen Bible or heard of Jesus Christ. They are among those who were not responsible for ignorance, and, therefore, not culpable. I met these youth in the 1990s.
Martin refers to an author who thinks there are lights given to each human to choose for or against God. However, there is, according to some, the moment when a young person chooses the route of the moral life, and persists in that road. creating a "primary orientation to his moral life." Of course, grace is offered over and over by God.
However, modern technology and the high media coverage of Catholicism has ended that, even in the old Soviet areas.
Secondly, those who have access to information and have heard about Christ and His Church, and for whatever reason turn away from this knowledge, or do not respond because of sloth or other sins, are culpable. God keeps calling these people over and over, until God lets them go on their own way via their own free will. Tragically, many people in our Western World fall into the category of the "practical atheists", those who do not believe that their actions determine eternal life.
Thirdly, there are those who choose evil, who choose to not follow God's ways on purpose, knowing exactly what they do. These are the Satanists, the witches, Masons and so on. Most of them know what they are doing for power, for status, for prosperity.
The fourth group is the one which many people refuse to consider as culpable-the lapsed Catholics.
The way God sees lapsed Catholics is entirely different from the way He sees those in the other three groups.
The baptized Catholic who has fallen away is under Canon Law-the others are not.
The baptized Catholic who has fallen away is judged by a higher standard than those who have never been given grace. The rules for marriage for lapsed Catholics are different from those who have never been Catholic, which many people do not understand. The real tragedy of the lapsed Catholic is that those who have fallen away have traded the most precious gift they ever had, faith in the Catholic Church, for what?
This last group is the hardest to bring back "home". I know from personal experience that the lapsed Catholic is sometimes the person most against the Catholic Church.
The new evangelization demands that we understand the differences in those who have never heard the Gospel, to those who ignore the Gospel, to those who hate the Gospel and to those who had the truth but gave it up.
Pray that you can understand to whom you are speaking and their real needs. And, pray for those who refuse graces, which God gives over and over and over, until He decides to let a person go their own way.
He respects and loves us too much to force us or manipulate us to love Him.
Here is a good article which should give us all hope.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/12/30/be-slow-to-judge-archbishop-tells-diocese/
Monday, 30 December 2013
Pray for those flooded in Southern England
Posted by
Supertradmum
OK-approaching crunch time for the Anons
Posted by
Supertradmum
Over Christmas, I have been lenient about Anonymous comments which are usually not allowed on this blog for many reasons.
The time of mercy ends on January 2nd, 2014. Please get a blog name. make up a name, or just add your name to the bottom of the comment.
I cannot address four Anons at one time.
STM
Decades of The Rosary And Re-posts
Posted by
Supertradmum
Bjorn and LM get a decade each for their intentions today. July 13th was the last no post day, imo.
I have no idea why I did not post that day. I was in Ireland.
Here are some re-posts from my stay in Ireland, which apply to the Western World.
The goal of psychological warfare is to undermine the mental toughness of the opponent so that it is easier to mount a full-scale attack.
After weeks of heavy mental music, the army went in. We know the story. Can you imagine being sleep-deprived and agitated to the point of not being at your best to fight a physical fight?
The concentration camps of both the Nazis and in the Gulag used psychological warfare.
Taking away identity by using numbers to identity instead of names..
Stripping all beauty and consolations in clothing, cells, surroundings to deprive people of rest...
Sleep deprivation and over-work..
Bad food, little food...
Rats, bugs, etc.
The random killing of prisoners and the killing of a number of prisoner after an escape...
Verbal abuse as well as physical abuse...
We do not have to be in a concentration camp to experience some of this now, and I mean, now.
Even some Catholic are waging psychological warfare against members of their own Church.
How? Calumny, slander, lack of forgiveness, nursing old hatreds, suspicion, creating divisions where there are none, and, most tragic, hatred of the EF. Some people are seriously not able to handle the fights. Some get weary. Some are ill and need help to fight.
Do not engage unless you must. Learn patience and use the prudence given to you in Confirmation. You have all the gifts you need so much now against this type of warfare. How do you get in touch with those gifts?
Intense prayer and fasting.
There is no other way.
It is not on what we do, but who we are that we shall be judged.
Help those who are mentally weaker, as the fight is now big time PSYOP
If you did not grow up with Struwwelpeter, I feel a bit sorry for you. This hilarious yet serious book was popular in the Victorian era as cautionary tales for children. But, some critics have seen it as propaganda for undermining male behaviour. I wonder...However, I refer to it as an example of the standards of child-rearing in an age of child formation. A good or bad approach, perhaps debatable, but without such formation we have created a generation of those who have no boundaries. This is the age of those who create psychological warfare like a child holding their breath in order to manipulate the parents to give in....pure subjectivity results without a moral framework.
Dear Catholics, these are the kind of people we are up against-the amorals and the immorals.
Apparently, judging from some comments which I have not posted, as I shall not post four-letter words, there is a lack of understanding among some young people between subjective truth and objective truth. I am also getting nasties in anonymous comments, which are only meant to intimidate and not enlighten. Same with people posting under different names. Sorry, an old composition and literature instructor and well as a logic instructor can spot copying and same phrases as well as same consistent errors. If Mary was using Johnny's notes and I also graded Johnny's papers, come on...
Some young people judge most things by how they feel about something instead of parsing the meaning out of a paragraph or two. Some read too quickly and react, a fault among some older people as well. Some just cannot read. And, many have had no logic, no training in rational discourse.
To be a Catholic, one must be able to think, as I have written many times on this blog. One must be able to understand what is being read or said. Understanding is a gift of the Holy Spirit from Confirmation, but I assume that young or old people who are rude, use profanities and spew hatred may not have the advantage of this gift.
Why in writing and speech so many young people rely on profanities is simply that they have not been trained in the art of debate. Profanities are temper tantrums. Some parents give in to toddler tantrums. Some do not. Supertradmum would not. However, reasoned debate is a good which most people have not had the opportunity to learn.
Now, one reason is that high schools, colleges and universities no longer have instructors who believe in universal and absolute truths. One cannot debate anything if there are only maybes, attacks on persons, subjective interpretations, and so on. The list of classical fallacies covers could be applied to many comments, article and blogs I have read in the past 24 hours.
I love engaging in critical thinking with those who want to learn and want to work out Truth in rational discourse. We in the Catholic Church have a long tradition of this. St. Thomas' Summa is based on question and answer, the Aristotelian, and Socratic Methods of coming to truth.
Sad, that critical thinking has been replaced by knee-jerk reactions. Perhaps we are so overwhelmed with data that we, and I mean those who are tying to come to understanding, are close to burn out. But, those who resort to low attacks, such as profanity, want us who refer to Christ, His Church, the Gospel to become burnt out.
Like playing heavy metal music day and night during Desert Storm to wear down the enemy, our enemies give us lots of noise to discourage us. No fear! Christ has overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. He won the war, we are just finishing up, cleaning up the pockets of resistance and trying to save souls.
Psychological Warfare Against Nazi Germany: The Sykewar Campaign, D-Day to VE-Day. ISBN 0-262-12045-3 or 0-262-62019-7 (1949). George W. Stewart, New York; Reprinted (1971) MIT Press.
Daniel Lerner in his book above, divides pychological warfare in to three categories. Lerner also wrote,
Yesterday, and today, we as Catholics are witnessing all three.
We need to get mentally tough.
The first type of psychological warfare is called White and involves omission in truth as well as emphases which are made on purpose to deceive, but the content is not wrong or deceitful. The source of information is acknowledged but may not, as I understand this category, cover all possibilities. Selection is the key. Did you not see this yesterday on line and in the main line media?[
The second category is Grey which includes the above with racial, ethnic and what Lerner calls religious bias. This is the most common thing we see and we call it spin. Sadly, the sources are not identified at this point, but there is a lot of truth in the statements or propaganda.
The third category is labelled Black and this has become so common, most readers or listeners no longer recognize the danger. All is lies, deceits, purposely written or said-the sins of Commission. And, the sources given are not the true sources.
THIS IS NOW CALLED NEWS AND COMMENTARY.
The trouble is that most Catholics are not prepared for this type of PSYOP.
Catholics, you must learn to think, eat, walk, pray, react like Catholics. NOW.
See the tag for many posts on this....
I have no idea why I did not post that day. I was in Ireland.
Here are some re-posts from my stay in Ireland, which apply to the Western World.
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Catholics in PSYWAR-Part Three-PSYOP and You
Posted by Supertradmum all three....
The goal of psychological warfare is to undermine the mental toughness of the opponent so that it is easier to mount a full-scale attack.
After weeks of heavy mental music, the army went in. We know the story. Can you imagine being sleep-deprived and agitated to the point of not being at your best to fight a physical fight?
The concentration camps of both the Nazis and in the Gulag used psychological warfare.
Taking away identity by using numbers to identity instead of names..
Stripping all beauty and consolations in clothing, cells, surroundings to deprive people of rest...
Sleep deprivation and over-work..
Bad food, little food...
Rats, bugs, etc.
The random killing of prisoners and the killing of a number of prisoner after an escape...
Verbal abuse as well as physical abuse...
We do not have to be in a concentration camp to experience some of this now, and I mean, now.
Even some Catholic are waging psychological warfare against members of their own Church.
How? Calumny, slander, lack of forgiveness, nursing old hatreds, suspicion, creating divisions where there are none, and, most tragic, hatred of the EF. Some people are seriously not able to handle the fights. Some get weary. Some are ill and need help to fight.
Do not engage unless you must. Learn patience and use the prudence given to you in Confirmation. You have all the gifts you need so much now against this type of warfare. How do you get in touch with those gifts?
Intense prayer and fasting.
There is no other way.
It is not on what we do, but who we are that we shall be judged.
Help those who are mentally weaker, as the fight is now big time PSYOP
We are in PSYWAR-Universal and Absolute vs. Profanities Part Two
If you did not grow up with Struwwelpeter, I feel a bit sorry for you. This hilarious yet serious book was popular in the Victorian era as cautionary tales for children. But, some critics have seen it as propaganda for undermining male behaviour. I wonder...However, I refer to it as an example of the standards of child-rearing in an age of child formation. A good or bad approach, perhaps debatable, but without such formation we have created a generation of those who have no boundaries. This is the age of those who create psychological warfare like a child holding their breath in order to manipulate the parents to give in....pure subjectivity results without a moral framework.
Dear Catholics, these are the kind of people we are up against-the amorals and the immorals.
Apparently, judging from some comments which I have not posted, as I shall not post four-letter words, there is a lack of understanding among some young people between subjective truth and objective truth. I am also getting nasties in anonymous comments, which are only meant to intimidate and not enlighten. Same with people posting under different names. Sorry, an old composition and literature instructor and well as a logic instructor can spot copying and same phrases as well as same consistent errors. If Mary was using Johnny's notes and I also graded Johnny's papers, come on...
Some young people judge most things by how they feel about something instead of parsing the meaning out of a paragraph or two. Some read too quickly and react, a fault among some older people as well. Some just cannot read. And, many have had no logic, no training in rational discourse.
To be a Catholic, one must be able to think, as I have written many times on this blog. One must be able to understand what is being read or said. Understanding is a gift of the Holy Spirit from Confirmation, but I assume that young or old people who are rude, use profanities and spew hatred may not have the advantage of this gift.
Why in writing and speech so many young people rely on profanities is simply that they have not been trained in the art of debate. Profanities are temper tantrums. Some parents give in to toddler tantrums. Some do not. Supertradmum would not. However, reasoned debate is a good which most people have not had the opportunity to learn.
Now, one reason is that high schools, colleges and universities no longer have instructors who believe in universal and absolute truths. One cannot debate anything if there are only maybes, attacks on persons, subjective interpretations, and so on. The list of classical fallacies covers could be applied to many comments, article and blogs I have read in the past 24 hours.
I love engaging in critical thinking with those who want to learn and want to work out Truth in rational discourse. We in the Catholic Church have a long tradition of this. St. Thomas' Summa is based on question and answer, the Aristotelian, and Socratic Methods of coming to truth.
Sad, that critical thinking has been replaced by knee-jerk reactions. Perhaps we are so overwhelmed with data that we, and I mean those who are tying to come to understanding, are close to burn out. But, those who resort to low attacks, such as profanity, want us who refer to Christ, His Church, the Gospel to become burnt out.
Like playing heavy metal music day and night during Desert Storm to wear down the enemy, our enemies give us lots of noise to discourage us. No fear! Christ has overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. He won the war, we are just finishing up, cleaning up the pockets of resistance and trying to save souls.
Catholics in PSYWAR
Propaganda Technique In World War I (M.I.T. studies in comparative politics) which I have not read. There are many other authors on psychological warfare.
What Is Unseen Is Greater Than What Is Seen
Posted by
Supertradmum
St. Thomas Aquinas claims that the air is full of angels. It is also full of demons.
Daniel 7:10 notes that there the number of angels is huge. We know that those angels which fell are traditionally, because of a line in Revelation, said to have been one-third of the number of created angels.
That makes a lot of demons.
Millions.
What is unseen is greater than what is seen.
Of course, if two-thirds of the angels stayed with God, there are more "on our side".
However, we are up against a enormous army of demons, all of whom are full of malice.
These creatures want us to be miserable like they are, and they also hate God, and all His creatures.
St. Jude in his epistle describes the fallen angels thus, 1:6:
And the angels who kept not their principality, but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day. DR
Do not be foolish or imprudent.
Do not be presumptuous.
By the way, read the Epistle of Jude. It is a great read.
When was the last time...
Posted by
Supertradmum
Dear Readers,
Posted by
Supertradmum
I hope you are praying for me to return to Europe....please help me with this almost impossible prayer.
But, as we all know, nothing is impossible with God.
From STM in exile.....
But, as we all know, nothing is impossible with God.
From STM in exile.....
Are Saints Difficult People?
Posted by
Supertradmum
Over the past two days, I was thinking of the fact that many saints would not be people invited to cocktail parties at this time of year or given pressies.
Many saints would not be considered by our society as pleasant people. And, I am not referring to those who are seen as curmudgeons, whether they were or not.
Therefore, I am not emphasizing the Old Testament prophets, or St. John the Baptist, or St. Jerome, or saints who are martyrs, who were persecuted to the death. Thomas a Becket was a difficult saint and he was killed by the seculars who supported the king over the Church. Yesterday was his feast day. But, as he is a martyr, let me move on.....
What is necessary for Catholics to realize today that if you choose to be a saint, you will be labelled a difficult person.
Saints look at the world from a completely different viewpoint than seculars, consumerists, materialists, atheists. Increasingly so, real Catholics have become different than many of their Protestant brethren who now, in most denominations, accept and support same-sex marriage, contraception, abortion, even euthanasia.
A saint should be seen as "difficult" insofar as he has different moral framework with which to judge events, laws, political party platforms and so on.
Saints irritate their families by not taking over the family farm or business, such as Damien of Molokai.
A saint who walks in the footsteps of Christ will naturally incur the hatred of the world.
The world, the flesh and the devil hate goodness, purity, truth.
Worse, than mere hatred, the world, the flesh and the devil want to destroy goodness, purity and truth.
A list of difficult saints must include SS. Catherine of Siena, Patrick, Teresa of Avila, Wilfrid of York, and Etheldreda, to name very few.
Saints challenge the status quo.
Saints present light in darkness, truth in deceit, simplicity in complexity, purity in decadence, innocence in cunning.
Saints trouble the mediocre Catholics who do not want to "rock the boat" and who want to avoid conflict.
Saints are difficult as they aspire to a perfection the world not only cannot understand, but wants to annihilate.
Saints are not conformists, except in conforming to the mind of Christ.
Can you choose to step out and be a bit "difficult"?
Ralph Martin's Book Again
Posted by
Supertradmum
I have recommended Ralph Martin's book before on this blog, but I cannot praise it enough, and so want to note that if you buy one book in 2014, buy this one.
Martin carefully examines the documents of Vatican II regarding many subjects, the main one being the two-pronged question of salvation and missionary work-the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations. The authors covers many aspects which plagued the reading of the Vatican II documents, such as Lumen Gentium.
Actually, there is room of a second book on this subject. Martin tackles both Rahner and von Balthasar among others.
The strength of this book besides the scholarship, is that Martin is looking at the documents both as a scholar and as a person passionate about the salvation of souls. I especially appreciated his long study of Romans in light of Lumen Gentium.
If I was millionaire, I would buy a book for all my readers--but, as I am not, please go get it and read it. Four out of five stars, as I would have wanted him to address a few more points in depth.
Martin carefully examines the documents of Vatican II regarding many subjects, the main one being the two-pronged question of salvation and missionary work-the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations. The authors covers many aspects which plagued the reading of the Vatican II documents, such as Lumen Gentium.
Actually, there is room of a second book on this subject. Martin tackles both Rahner and von Balthasar among others.
The strength of this book besides the scholarship, is that Martin is looking at the documents both as a scholar and as a person passionate about the salvation of souls. I especially appreciated his long study of Romans in light of Lumen Gentium.
If I was millionaire, I would buy a book for all my readers--but, as I am not, please go get it and read it. Four out of five stars, as I would have wanted him to address a few more points in depth.
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