Image Source: Body of Pope Benedict XVSource: In Conversation With God Vol 4 by Francis Fernandez
Friday, July 14, 2006
Image Source: Body of Pope Benedict XVSource: In Conversation With God Vol 4 by Francis Fernandez
This coming Tuesday, July 18, 2006, the United States Senate will be voting on three very important life bills - two of which are pro-life. Cardinal William Keeler is urging the Senate to reject HR 810 while supporting the other two bills. Please email your US Senators immediately.
Most importantly, ask your United States Senators to vote against HR 810, which would use taxpayer funds to pay for embryonic stem cell research. According to today's LifeNews report, it is very likely that HR 810 will pass; however, President George W. Bush has promised to veto this bill! That is excellent. And if he does veto it, it is very unlikely that a 2/3 majority will pass the bill in the House of Representatives (1) It would be his first veto as President.
At the same time ask your Senators to vote in support of Brownback-Santorum bill to ban "fetal farming" and the Santorum-Specter bill to fund alternative methods of producing genetically controlled, pluripotent stem cells -- the same kind of stem cells we would get from cloning, but without the embryo destruction. Congress can support stem cell research without destroying life! (2)
Please contact your represenatives. You can quickly find addresses, phone numbers, and email contact information for your two senators by going to the official website of the United States Senate. Since the vote is just this coming next Tuesday, I recommend sending them an email. After you contact them, please pass this along to others through your blogs and email. We need to get the word out as soon as possible.
Read more >>
Most importantly, ask your United States Senators to vote against HR 810, which would use taxpayer funds to pay for embryonic stem cell research. According to today's LifeNews report, it is very likely that HR 810 will pass; however, President George W. Bush has promised to veto this bill! That is excellent. And if he does veto it, it is very unlikely that a 2/3 majority will pass the bill in the House of Representatives (1) It would be his first veto as President.
At the same time ask your Senators to vote in support of Brownback-Santorum bill to ban "fetal farming" and the Santorum-Specter bill to fund alternative methods of producing genetically controlled, pluripotent stem cells -- the same kind of stem cells we would get from cloning, but without the embryo destruction. Congress can support stem cell research without destroying life! (2)
Please contact your represenatives. You can quickly find addresses, phone numbers, and email contact information for your two senators by going to the official website of the United States Senate. Since the vote is just this coming next Tuesday, I recommend sending them an email. After you contact them, please pass this along to others through your blogs and email. We need to get the word out as soon as possible.
Myths and Facts on Embryonic Stem Cell Research:
Myth: Embryonic stem cell research is curing patients and doing a better job than the use of adult stem cells.
Fact: Embryonic stem cell research has not only yet to cure a single human patient, but it has never been tried on humans because of failures in animal testing. On the other hand, adult stem cells have already produced 70 cures or treatments for various conditions including various cancers such as breast cancer, lymphomas, leukemia, arthritis, heart damage, Parkinson’s, Sickle Cell Anemia and other disorders. (See http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm).
Myth: Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to cure Alzheimer's patients like President Ronald Reagan.
Fact: Leading researchers say stem cell research will not likely yield cures for Alzheimer's. "Alzheimer's is a more global disease, with an effect on numerous kinds of cells," Steve Stice, a stem cell researcher at the University of Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. "That makes it much more difficult for a cell therapy to be effective." Marilyn Albert, a Johns Hopkins University researcher, adds, "I just think everybody feels there are higher priorities for seeking effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease and for identifying preventive strategies."
Myth: An overwhelming majority of Americans want to spend federal funds on embryonic stem cell research.
Fact: The most recent poll on the subject, conducted by International Communications Research in mid-May, finds 48% of Americans oppose federal funding of stem cell research that requires destroying human embryos. Just 39% support such funding and another 12 percent had no position. The ICR survey found 57% favored funding only the research avenues that do not harm the donor. Just 24% favored funding all stem cell research, including the type that involves destroying human embryos.
(Received the Myth/Fact sheet in an email)
Thursday, July 13, 2006
"Even if you give somebody a glass of water, you do it to Jesus" (Blessed Mother Teresa)Image Source: Unknown, Believed to be in the Public Domain
No! It is not enough to be a Catholic to get to Heaven. One has to be a good Catholic. "Many Catholics will be lost, because they are only nominal, not practical, Catholics, and because they reject some doctrines of the Catholic Church, especially such as oppose their inclinations and passions. Remember, he who rejects even one doctrine proposed to our Faith by the Church will certainly be lost (James 2:10), even though he should lead a good life." (From THE PULPIT ORATOR, Volume VI.)
Our Lord said, "He who believes shall be saved" (Mark 16:16)~ But God said many other things as well:
"If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); and "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt. 19:17).
"He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die" (Lev. 24:16).
"Keep you my Sabbath: for it is holy unto you. He that shall profane it, shall be put to death. Everyone that shall do any work on this day shall die" (Exodus 3l:1-15).
"Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither idolaters, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
"A thief is better than a man that is always lying: but both of them shall inherit destruction" (Ecclus. 20:27).
"Neither fornicators nor adulterers . . . shall possess the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9). "You have heard that it was said to the Ancients, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.' But I say to you that anyone who so much as looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt. 5:27-28). "Keep thyself chaste" (1 Tim. 5:22). "Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8).
"There is not a more wicked thing than to love money, for such a one setteth even his own soul at stake."(Ecclus. 10:10).
"If anyone lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination. Let them be put to death" (Lev. 20:13).
"Hear me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil has power" (Book of Tobias, 6:1&22).
And Christ's Mystical Body on earth, His Church ("He who hears you, hears Me" - Luke 10:16), says:
"Each act of marriage must be left open to conception" (Pope Pius Xl's Encyclical "Casti Connubi", December 31, 1930).
"If anyone says that the commandments of God are, even for one that is justified and constituted in grace, impossible to observe, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canon 18 on Justification).
"If anyone says that a man who is justified and however perfect is not bound to observe the commandments of God and the Church, but only to believe, as though the Gospel were a bare and absolute promise of eternal life without the condition of obeying the commandments, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canon 20 on Justification).
Therefore, although it is true that Catholics alone profess the true faith "without which," as St. Paul assures us, "it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6); nevertheless, as St. James concludes: "Faith, without good works, is dead" (James 1:22:27).
"Sometimes people say 'It is better to be a good Protestant than a bad Catholic.' That is not true. That would mean at bottom that one could be saved without the true Faith. No, a bad Catholic remains a child of the family - although a prodigal; and however great a sinner he may be, he still has the right to mercy. Through his faith, a bad Catholic is nearer to God than a Protestant is, for he is a member of the household, whereas the Protestant is not. And how hard it is to make him become one!" (St. Peter Julian Eymard, 1811-1868).
Source: Open Letter to Non-Catholics
Our Lord said, "He who believes shall be saved" (Mark 16:16)~ But God said many other things as well:
"If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); and "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt. 19:17).
"He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die" (Lev. 24:16).
"Keep you my Sabbath: for it is holy unto you. He that shall profane it, shall be put to death. Everyone that shall do any work on this day shall die" (Exodus 3l:1-15).
"Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither idolaters, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
"A thief is better than a man that is always lying: but both of them shall inherit destruction" (Ecclus. 20:27).
"Neither fornicators nor adulterers . . . shall possess the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9). "You have heard that it was said to the Ancients, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.' But I say to you that anyone who so much as looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt. 5:27-28). "Keep thyself chaste" (1 Tim. 5:22). "Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8).
"There is not a more wicked thing than to love money, for such a one setteth even his own soul at stake."(Ecclus. 10:10).
"If anyone lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination. Let them be put to death" (Lev. 20:13).
"Hear me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil has power" (Book of Tobias, 6:1&22).
And Christ's Mystical Body on earth, His Church ("He who hears you, hears Me" - Luke 10:16), says:
"Each act of marriage must be left open to conception" (Pope Pius Xl's Encyclical "Casti Connubi", December 31, 1930).
"If anyone says that a man who is justified and however perfect is not bound to observe the commandments of God and the Church, but only to believe, as though the Gospel were a bare and absolute promise of eternal life without the condition of obeying the commandments, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canon 20 on Justification).
Therefore, although it is true that Catholics alone profess the true faith "without which," as St. Paul assures us, "it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6); nevertheless, as St. James concludes: "Faith, without good works, is dead" (James 1:22:27).
"Sometimes people say 'It is better to be a good Protestant than a bad Catholic.' That is not true. That would mean at bottom that one could be saved without the true Faith. No, a bad Catholic remains a child of the family - although a prodigal; and however great a sinner he may be, he still has the right to mercy. Through his faith, a bad Catholic is nearer to God than a Protestant is, for he is a member of the household, whereas the Protestant is not. And how hard it is to make him become one!" (St. Peter Julian Eymard, 1811-1868).
Source: Open Letter to Non-Catholics
Church officials are looking into reports that a deceased nun helped a premature baby from Scotland to live after doctors gave up hope for the infant’s life. The baby's family was given permission to place the relic of Venerable Margaret Sinclair in the incubator of the infant, who weighed just one pound when born. Today he is four months old and healthy.
"Pope John Paul II told me when we were discussing the cause of Margaret Sinclair to ask the people to pray for a miracle and this has been happening,” said Edinburgh Archbishop, Cardinal Keith O'Brien. He also said that we must be cautious. The doctors and nurses are being asked to send medicals statements to Church officials.
Sr. Margaret died in 1925. Pope Paul VI declared her a Servant of God in February 1978. If this is declared a miracle, she will be beatified. If declared a saint, she will be only the second canonized, Scottish saint.
Source: Catholic News Agency
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Writing on this topic, Fr. John Laux writes in "Catholic Apologetics Book IV":
The protest contention [that the powers bestowed on St. Peter by Christ in Matthew 16 were personal and not permanent] is manifestly wrong; for it is clear from the words with which Our Lord conferred the Primacy on Peter that it was not a personal privilege, such as the power of working miracles or the gift of tongues, but a permanent institution, necessary for the very existence of the Church.
The Church which Christ founded is to endure till the end of time, and Peter, according to the promise of Christ, is to be the rock foundation of that Church, giving it unity and strength, and securing it against the gates of hell. But the foundation must last as long as the ediface lasts which is built upon it. Hence the power and authority that made Peter the Rock of the Church must remain intact for all time; his Primacy must be perpetuated in the only possible way, that is, by transmission through a continuous line of successors.
Fr. Laux continues:
The Bishops of Rome have always claimed to be the successors of St. Peter, the heirs of his Primacy. No other See in Christendom ever made such a claim. St. Peter ruled the Church of Antioch before he went to Rome, yet Antioch never disputed the right of Rome to the unique dignity of Apostolic Primacy. Ephesus and Smyrna and the other Churches of Asia Minor over which St. John, the Beloved Disciple, presided long after Peter's death never contested the claim of Rome.
This is further shown through a study of history. St. Clement of Rome, the third Successor of St. Peter, governed the Church and exercised the Primacy of the Papal Office for the first recorded time in 96 AD when he dispatched a powerful letter to the Corinthians. This fact of his intervention and jurisdiction is remarkable since the Apostle St. John was himself still alive and presiding over the Church in Ephesus.
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 10:1-7We notice St. Peter is always listed first in every list of the apostles in the Gospels - Judas Iscariot is always listed last. This is one point showing the Primacy of Peter - he is higher than all of the other disciples. Peter's name is mentioned 155 times. All of the other eleven disciples combined are listed only 130 times.
Furthermore, we see in John 21:15-19, the discourse between Peter and Jesus. In this discourse, Jesus says, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these [the other disciples]?" Peter says "yes". In that conversation, Peter professes his faith in Christ three times to make up for the three times he denied our Lord during His Passion. Unlike Judas, who lost his soul because he refused to ask God's mercy for his actions, Peter is forgiven because he seeks forgiveness.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is the spokesmen and always speaks for the group. People would lay in the streets just wanting Peter's shadow to fall on them (Acts 5:15). We see that St. Peter was given a higher authority than the other disciples. St. Peter was the first pope - the one that Christ founded His Church upon (Matthew 16:18-20).
I received this in an email and wanted to share it:A Prayer for Priests
Lord Jesus, you have chosen your priests from among us and sent them out to proclaim your word and to act in your name. For so great a gift to your Church, we give you praise and thanksgiving. We ask you to fill them with the fire of your love, that their ministry may reveal your presence in the Church. Since they are earthen vessels, we pray that your power shine out through their weakness. In their afflictions let them never be crushed;in their doubts never despair; in temptation never be destroyed; in persecution never abandoned. Inspire them through prayer to live each day the mystery of your dying and rising. In times of weakness send them your Spirit, and help them to praise your heavenly Father and pray for poor sinners. By the same Holy Spirit put your words on their lips and your love in their hearts, to bring good news to the poor and healing to the broken-hearted. And may the gift of Mary your mother, to the disciple whom you loved, be your gift to every priest. Grant that she who formed you in her human image, may form them in your divine image, by the power of your Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen:"The difference between the penitent and proud: Take the other case of those who suffer unjustly but with faith and love of God in their hearts. They may have a sadness in their hearts from pain and torture, but never remorse. They end in penitence or a making up for guilt by bearing patiently the trials of others. This is illustrated in the case of Judas and Peter. There is much similarity between the two, up to a point. Our Lord warned both of them that they would fail; He even told them that each would be a devil."
St. Padre Pio:
"The most beautiful credo is the one that bursts forth from your lips in the dark, as a sacrifice, as a suffering, as a supreme effort of an infallible will to do right; this is what dispels, like a flash of lightning, the gloom of your soul, it is what leads you to God in the fury of the storm" (CE 57).
When His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI departed from Spain last Sunday, July 9, 2006, he gave this address:Your Majesties,
Mr President (of the Government),
Distinguished Authorities,
My Brother Cardinals and Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
1. At the conclusion of my very pleasant stay in Valencia for the Fifth World Meeting of Families, I express my deep gratitude to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, the National Authorities, the Generalidad of Valencia and the Mayor’s Office, as well as to the Archbishop and every one of you, for the kind hospitality and evident affection which you have shown me at every moment of my visit to this flourishing levantine land.
2. I am confident that, with the help of the Most High and the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, this Meeting will keep echoing like a joyful song of the love, life and of faith shared by families, and help today’s world to understand that the marriage covenant, whereby man and woman establish a permanent bond, is a great good for all humanity.
3. I thank you for your presence here. You have come from all the continents of the world, at considerable sacrifice, which you have accepted and offered to the Lord. You have a special place in my heart. My heartfelt prayer is that Almighty God will bless you today and always.
Source: Vatican News
Photo Source: AP Photo/Fernando Bustamante
The New Age movement is considered morally opposed to Christianity. Louis from A Catholic Hart posted a link to JESUS CHRIST, THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE. It is a link to 60 page document from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
