"Catholic" chain letter

[Dorothy]

+1

Someone suggested the statue thing to me when DH and I were trying to sell our condo in a tight market. I thought the practice sounded superstitious and so disrespectful to St. Joseph.

So instead of burying a statue, I printed a picture of St. Joseph off the internet, placed the picture in a frame, and set it prominently on our desk. I also printed a prayer to St. Joseph that I said daily. We received an offer very shortly thereafter.

Sounds good!

 

[MSParrott]

I am glad I searched before I posted a thread on this. I got something in the mail today from a place called St. Matthew’s (located in Tulsa, OK, supposedly). It is a paper called a “Church Prayer Rug”, and it has a picture of Jesus embroidered in a rug - they tell you to stare at the picture and then after a minute or so, His eyes will open:ehh: . They tell you to kneel on it and pray about whatever you need, but in order for it to work, you need to send it on to someone else in a day or your “dreams won’t come true”. It also gives a web address to hear more “testimonies” I was OUTRAGED to say the least!

How can these people call themselves Catholic - I know they probably aren’t, but I was torn between throwing it away and calling them to give them a piece of my mind.

I am going to toss it, as I know it is a load of dung, but should I contact them to let them know exactly how I feel about this? What if some poor, unsuspecting soul received this and this made them turn away from the Church? Ugh, I’m just so peeved right now. :banghead:

 

[Dorothy]

I am glad I searched before I posted a thread on this. I got something in the mail today from a place called St. Matthew’s (located in Tulsa, OK, supposedly). It is a paper called a “Church Prayer Rug”, and it has a picture of Jesus embroidered in a rug - they tell you to stare at the picture and then after a minute or so, His eyes will open:ehh: . They tell you to kneel on it and pray about whatever you need, but in order for it to work, you need to send it on to someone else in a day or your “dreams won’t come true”. It also gives a web address to hear more “testimonies” I was OUTRAGED to say the least!

How can these people call themselves Catholic - I know they probably aren’t, but I was torn between throwing it away and calling them to give them a piece of my mind.

I am going to toss it, as I know it is a load of dung, but should I contact them to let them know exactly how I feel about this? What if some poor, unsuspecting soul received this and this made them turn away from the Church? Ugh, I’m just so peeved right now. :banghead:/QUOTE

Thankfully, you know better, and we don’t do things such as they describe, as what they are describing is not based on true faith.

This tells me that our youth needs to be educated about these things, so as not to get hooked into wrong practices.

Families need to begin daily prayer together. It would be great to start with a decade and work their way up to five decades. Prayer is our weapon! And we need to pray also for those who propogate such nonsense.

 

[mommyof4]

Other Christians will also get this and say “Yep everything I have heard about those Catholics is true.”
Makes us all look bad!

Yep, I agree.

 

[MarieVeronica]

Hi Ted. No need to apologize. I think most of us agree. These things are silly and stupid… and superstitious. I delete them, when I receive them. I even have a Catholic friend… who SENDS them to me.

A Novena should never be prayed… in a spirit of superstition… but rather, with faith in and thanksgiving to God.

 

[KevinAK]

I rec’d a wonderful email that reads “I forwarded this on like you asked. I’m still waiting for my miracle.”

Then it has a photo of a skeleton slumped over a computer.

 

[Loren_1of6]

I have written a Catholic reply to the “Rapture” email, extolling the beauty of the Mass when we get to sing with the angels and all the elders (saints) bow down before the altar of the Lord. It’s amazing to me how many Catholics have actually forwarded that one.

Now I’ll have to write one for the St. Therese “prayer,” and all the other junk I get, too.

 

[beckycmarie]

I have written a Catholic reply to the “Rapture” email, extolling the beauty of the Mass when we get to sing with the angels and all the elders (saints) bow down before the altar of the Lord. It’s amazing to me how many Catholics have actually forwarded that one.

Now I’ll have to write one for the St. Therese “prayer,” and all the other junk I get, too.

I’ve never seen this rapture email, but isn’t it true that we sing with the angels and saints at each Mass? At least our guardian angels are all there, and I would think they’d bow and sing as well, especially during the consecration.

Edit - NVM I misunderstood your post the first time I read it.

Okay so what is this rapture email? Something originating from those who believe in 3 comings of Jesus?

 

[Christine_Blake]

I received one of those silly chain emails today (you know, the ones that tell you to forward it to everyone you know… or else!) This one, however, was entitled “St. Theresa’s Prayer.” I figured it was a chain-prayer thing; a nice thought, but a bit silly IMO. Usually, I read it and delete it. This one, however, really got me a bit mad. Here’s the body of the email:

*PLEASE READ AND SEND BACK…YOU’LL SEE WHY

Don’t know how many Catholics there are out there receiving this message, but in case anyone is interested, Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways… Meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses. May everyone be blessed who receives this message.

Theresa’s Prayer cannot be deleted. REMEMBER to make a wish before you read the poem. That’s all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is a powerful novena. Just send this to four people and let me know what happens on the fourth day. Do not break this, please. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward.

(Did you make a wish?) If you don’t make a wish, it won’t come true.

Last Chance to Make a Wish.

   May today there be peace within.
   May you trust your highest power that you are exactly
   where you are meant to be.....
   May you not forget the infinite possibilities
   that are born of faith.
   May you use those gifts that you have received, and
   pass on the love that has been given to you....
   May you be content knowing you are a child of God....
   Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow
   your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is
   there for each and every one of you....

Send This to 7 People within the next 5 minutes and your wish will come true Please send this back…you’ll see why.*

I was incensed! A stupid chain email is a powerful Novena? Do they have any idea what a Novena is?? It certainly isn’t "make a wish, read a poem and forward it to your friends!

Make a wish to get what you want? Who wrote this, Jiminy Cricket??

Send it to four people and see what you get on the fourth day?? Don’t forget to toss a pinch of salt over your shoulder and avoid any black cats on the way to work…

What really got me in a fit was that I got this email forwarded to me from a so-called Catholic! It’s nothing but silly silly superstitious pap that inspires people to bury inverted statues of St. Joseph in their yards to help them sell their houses. The fact that someone tried to masquerade this as a Catholic prayer really burns me up.

Sorry for the tirade, but this stuff drives me up a wall. I thought I’d post it so you could tell your Catholic friends and relatives to avoid this kind of garbage.

I totally agree…and FURTHER…I’ve seen it twice sent around with a picture of Mother Teresa - WRONG St. Theresa…I just “reply all” and explain that the St. Teresa that is the “Saint of the Little Ways” is St. Theresa of Lisieux…NOT Mother Teresa who is not even cannonized yet - is she? Not to mention that Little ways do not really mean the internet, I would assume -

 

[Loren_1of6]

The “Rapture” email:

You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see
or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you’ve ever heard
fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of
trumpets? You don’t know, but you want to know. So you pull over, get out of
your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren’t the only curious one. The
roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring
at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League
baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are
searching the clouds. And what they see, and what you see, has never before
been seen.

As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant
light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None .

From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is
an endless fleet of angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a
time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.

North. South. East. West.

Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the
trumpets, you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy.
The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and
a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.

Presently the movement stops and the trumpets are silent, leaving only the
triumphant triplet: Holy, holy, holy. Between each word is a pause. With each
word, a profound reverence. You hear your voice join in the chorus… You don’t
know why you say the words, but you know you must.

Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the
entire world turns and there He is. Jesus.

Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He
is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens
his mouth, and you are surrounded by his declaration:

I am the Alpha and the Omega.

The angels bow their heads. The elders remove their crowns. And before you is
a Figure so consuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters.
Forget stock markets and school reports. Sales meetings and football gam es.
Nothing is newsworthy… All that mattered, matters no more… for Christ has
come.

Please let me know the exact time you read this. It is mystical–honest.

This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, he saw me, and he asked:
My child, what is your greatest wish for today?

I responded: ‘Lord please; take care of the person who is reading this
message, their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love
them very much’.

The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end.

This message works on the day you receive it.

To some it may sound dumb, but the person who sent this to me was impressed
with its timing. Let us see if it is true.

ANGELS EXIST, but sometimes, since they don’t all have wings we call them
FRIENDS, SUCH AS YOU.

Pass this on to your true friends. SOMETHING GOOD WILL HAPPEN TO YOU TODAY.
SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING TO HEAR.

THIS IS NOT A JOKE; SOMEONE WILL CALL YOU BY PHONE OR WILL SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT
SOMETHING THAT YOU WERE WAITING TO HEAR. DO NOT BREAK THIS CHAIN. SEND IT TO A
MINIMUM OF 4 PEOPLE.

Put the Date and Time in the ‘Subject’ area when you read it.

Now I just recieved one titled “Visit of Fatima” with a beautiful picture of Mary and the children, with the following exhortation:

I came to see you.

Will you accept me?!

VISIT OF FATIMA
When you receive this visit, pass it on soon.

Mary of Fatima visited me at home. I gave thanks to God.

Let her continue her voyage.
CONFIDE IN HER ALL YOUR NEEDS;
THEY WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF.

Don’t keep her, let her carry on,
she is the pilgrim Virgin
and needs time to visit more places.

 

[beckycmarie]

Email #1 - a beautiful thought- what it might be like when He comes again in glory. Up until the cheesy ending; people are NOT angels. I don’t know why it is “mystical” and one would need to let the sender know the time it was read. I would be tempted just to send the sender a blank email with just a time - 8:18 or whatever in it, and see how they react. Of course then there’s the superstitious junk at the end; the “send it or else” clause.

Email #2: Like the BVM is trapped in your email and has to be forwarded to be freed to travel.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I am glad I searched before I posted a thread on this. I got something in the mail today from a place called St. Matthew’s (located in Tulsa, OK, supposedly). It is a paper called a “Church Prayer Rug”, and it has a picture of Jesus embroidered in a rug - they tell you to stare at the picture and then after a minute or so, His eyes will open:ehh: . They tell you to kneel on it and pray about whatever you need, but in order for it to work, you need to send it on to someone else in a day or your “dreams won’t come true”. It also gives a web address to hear more “testimonies” I was OUTRAGED to say the least!

How can these people call themselves Catholic - I know they probably aren’t, but I was torn between throwing it away and calling them to give them a piece of my mind.

I am going to toss it, as I know it is a load of dung, but should I contact them to let them know exactly how I feel about this? What if some poor, unsuspecting soul received this and this made them turn away from the Church? Ugh, I’m just so peeved right now. :banghead:

Someone brought this to our Evangelization team meeting. She is a recent convert from the Baptist denomination. She was pretty appalled about it, and so were the rest of us. A few others had received this letter also. We discussed it and determined it was worthy of the trash bin.

However, I saw the picture many years ago, outside of the context of a rug, and thought it was pretty amazing. It was not originally a prayer rug, just a painting. Someone usurped it and turned it into a superstition. Pretty disgusting. I don’t know who painted it, but I bet they would be pretty upset to learn about this use of their painting.

 

[Debra_C]

I got one of these St. Therese letters, too. Don’t like them. I see them as being basically like a horoscope wrapped loosely in Church teachings. I find them totally offesive. We also have a good number of people who pray these chain prayer novenas to St. Anthony and St. Jude. The novena itrself is fine-- but the part that says “This Saint grants all petitions, no matter how difficult” and the requirement to leave nine copies in the Church for some other desparate soul each day the novena is said smacks of major superstition.

And I think most offensive of all is some of the Jesus chain mails I’ve received (mostly from Protestants, but not exclusively) that threaten you with impending doom to Hell if you don’t pass it along to absolutely everyone, because you would be failing in your mission to evangelize. As if superstition and threats are a legitimate way to evangelize! Come on!

I not only delete these, but I send a politely worded note back to the sender explaining that I find these things offensive and why. They may or may not stop, but they usually at least omit me from their list in the future.

 

[Debra_C]

I am glad I searched before I posted a thread on this. I got something in the mail today from a place called St. Matthew’s (located in Tulsa, OK, supposedly). It is a paper called a “Church Prayer Rug”, and it has a picture of Jesus embroidered in a rug - they tell you to stare at the picture and then after a minute or so, His eyes will open:ehh: . They tell you to kneel on it and pray about whatever you need, but in order for it to work, you need to send it on to someone else in a day or your “dreams won’t come true”. It also gives a web address to hear more “testimonies” I was OUTRAGED to say the least!

How can these people call themselves Catholic - I know they probably aren’t, but I was torn between throwing it away and calling them to give them a piece of my mind.

The Prayer Rug thing is definitely NOT Catholic. It is some sort of non denominational mega church. This is their big fundraiser. Who knows whether they ever actually say the first prayer for anyone. Many are of the opinion It is a nothing more than a scam to separate Christians desparately hoping for some miracle or another (and who isn’t) from their hard earned cash. They send out not only a prayer rug letter, but gold cords, and others as well.

There are several legitimate Chruches in Tulsa affiliated with the name of St. Matthew, including a Methodist Church, and an Episcopal Church, but these mailings are not affiliated with any of these. If you take the time to Google St. Matthews Churches, Tulsa, OK you will find quite a number of people are upset about this, including at least one watchdog group. Also, the organization itself has a website. They supposedly set up this po box in Tulsa where a secular third party organization insures the integrity of the handling of their tithes and seed faith money. It is all connected up with some law firm in the Tulsa area. However, they do not actually have any churches there.

 

[MSParrott]

The Prayer Rug thing is definitely NOT Catholic. It is some sort of non denominational mega church. This is their big fundraiser. Who knows whether they ever actually say the first prayer for anyone. Many are of the opinion It is a nothing more than a scam to separate Christians desparately hoping for some miracle or another (and who isn’t) from their hard earned cash. They send out not only a prayer rug letter, but gold cords, and others as well.

There are several legitimate Chruches in Tulsa affiliated with the name of St. Matthew, including a Methodist Church, and an Episcopal Church, but these mailings are not affiliated with any of these. If you take the time to Google St. Matthews Churches, Tulsa, OK you will find quite a number of people are upset about this, including at least one watchdog group. Also, the organization itself has a website. They supposedly set up this po box in Tulsa where a secular third party organization insures the integrity of the handling of their tithes and seed faith money. It is all connected up with some law firm in the Tulsa area. However, they do not actually have any churches there.

There was a po box from Tulsa on the envelope!! I didn’t visit their website, but everything you described (the money and the miracles) just sums it up for me. Ick, I just feel bad for the people they actually convince. I ended up trashing the letter (and all it’s little pamphlets). I was going to call or email them, but instead said a Hail Mary for these people. It just really made me mad that they are making a mockery out of our faith. I just hope someone wasn’t turned away from converting by receiving this nonsense.

 

[Norseman82]

It would be good if someone were to articulate a standard reply to superstitious chain letters.

It may not be charitable, but it originally appeared on another Catholic site. I have used it:

My name is none of your business. I am suffering from seven rare and deadly diseases, poor scores on final exams, fear of being mauled by squirrels, and guilt for not forwarding out 50 billion chain letters sent to me by people who actually believe that if you send them on, then that poor 6 year old girl in Arkansas with a potato growing out of her forehead will be able to raise enough money to have it removed before her redneck parents sell her off to the traveling freak show. Do you honestly believe that Bill Gates is going to give you and everyone you send “his” email to $1000? How stupid are you? Ooooh, looky here! If I scroll down this page and make a wish, I’ll meet the girl (or guy) of my dreams tomorrow! What a bunch of junk. So basically, this message is directed to all the people out there who have nothing better to do! than to send me stupid chain mail forwards. Maybe the evil letter leprechauns will come into my house and write “I’m an idiot” on my forehead in permanent marker in my sleep for not continuing the chain which was started by a knight of the round table and was brought to this country by midget pilgrims on the Mayflower and if it makes it to the year 2000, it’ll be in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest continuous streak of blatant stupidity. If you’re going to forward something, at least send me something mildly amusing. I’ve seen all the “send this to 50 of your closest friends, and this poor, wretched excuse for a human being will somehow receive a nickel from some omniscient being” forward about 90 times. It’s getting old. Show a little intelligence and think about what you’re actually contributing to by sending out forwards.

(continued in next reply due to reply size limitations)

 

[Norseman82]

Continued…

THE 3 BASIC TYPES OF CHAIN LETTERS:

Chain Letter Type 1:

(scroll down)

Make a wish!!!

No, really, go on and make one!!!

Oh please, they’ll never go out with you!!!

Wish something else!!!

No, I’m sorry, we’re out of ponies at the time being!!

Have you forgotten why you’re scrolling yet?

Wasn’t that fun? Hope you made a great wish. Now, to make you feel guilty, here’s what I’ll do. First of all, if you don’t send this to 5096 people in the next 5 seconds, you will be kidnapped by ninja elves and thrown off a high building into a pile of manure. It’s true! Because, THIS letter isn’t like all of those fake ones, THIS one is TRUE!! Really!!!

Here’s how it goes:

Send this to 1 person: One person will be annoyed with you for sending them a stupid chain letter.
Send this to 2-5 people: 2-5 people will be annoyed with you for sending them a stupid chain letter.
Send this to 5-10 people: 5-10 people will be annoyed with you for sending them a stupid chain letter, and may form a plot on your life.
Send this to 10-20 people: 10-20 people will be annoyed with you for sending them a stupid chain letter and will napalm your house.
Thanks!!! Good Luck!!!

Chain Letter Type 2:
Hello, and thank you for reading this letter. You see, there is a
starving little boy in Baklaliviatatlaglooshen who has no arms, no legs, no parents, and no goats. This little boy’s life could be saved, because for every time you pass this on, a dollar will be donated to the Little Starving Legless Armless Goatless Boy from Baklaliviatatlaglooshen Fund. Oh, and remember, we have absolutely no way of counting the emails sent and this is all a complete load of junk. So go on reach out. Send this to 5 people in the next 47 seconds. Oh, and a reminder - if you accidentally send this to 4 or 6 people, you will die instantly!!!
Thanks again!!

Chain Letter Type 3:
Hi there!! This chain letter has been in existence since 1897. This is absolutely incredible because there was no email then and probably not as many sad email addicts with nothing better to do.

So this is how it works:

1. Pass this on to 15,067 people in the next 7 minutes or something horrible will happen to you like:

Bizarre Horror Story #1
Miranda Pinsley was walking home from school on Saturday. She had recently received this letter and ignored it. She then tripped in a crack in the sidewalk, fell into the sewer, was gushed down a dra(name removed by moderator)ipe in a flood of poop, and went flying out over a waterfall. Not only did she smell nasty, she died too. This Could Happen To You!!!

Bizarre Horror Story #2
Dexter Bip, a 13 year old boy, got a chain letter in his mail and ignored it. Later that day, he was crushed by an anvil that was dropped by a plane that just happened to be flying directly above him. This Could Happen To You Too!!!

1. Remember, you could end up just like Pinsley and Bip. Just send this letter to all of your loser friends, and everything will be okay.

As if you care, here is a poem that I wrote.

Send it to every one of your friends.
Friends, Blah, Blah, Blah, Friends, Blah, Blah, Blah.
A friend is not someone who sends you chain letters because he wants his wish of being rich to come true.
Now pass this on! If you don’t, no one will like you for as long as you live.
I mean it, as long as you live.

The point being?! If you get some chain letter that’s threatening to leave you friendless or luckless for the rest of your life, delete it… If it’s funny or touching, send it on. Don’t annoy people by making them feel guilty about a leper in Botswana with no teeth, who’s been tied to a dead elephant for 27 years, whose only chance of living is the 5 cents per letter he’ll receive if you forward this mail, otherwise you’ll end up like Miranda. Right? Now forward this to everyone you know. Otherwise you’ll find all your socks missing tomorrow morning.

The End

 

[MSParrott]

Norseman82, you’re killin’ me!

 

[mommyof4]

Speaking of chain letters, here is one I got just today:

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out
there

isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t, and die to find out there
is.

You are my 8 in 8 seconds.
I am not breaking this. No way! I’M TOLD THIS WORKS! Bishop T.D.
Jakes ‘8 Second Prayer.’ Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!
*
‘Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my
family, my home, my finances, and all of my friends, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.’*

 

[St_Gabriel]

A friend is not someone who sends you chain letters because he wants his wish of being rich to come true.

This is my favourite line. I think that I may use it.