L
luminoushope
Guest
I am so sorry to hear that something I wrote was heart-breaking to you. Could you tell me why? May the Peace of God be with you.
- Status
J
Jerry_Parker
Guest
Luminoushope,
What a beautiful faith you have and what fine and touching words. Yes, the Neo-Evangelicals and their ilk will quarrel with Church history and the most certain Catholic traditions to their dying breaths. Nothing for them is definitive, except for the passing moment. They are as chanageable as the wind, and, if they are not, then they are stubborn bigots. Usually that’s how it is, but, of course, there are some real saints among them, but they are very, very few.
Jerry Parker
What a beautiful faith you have and what fine and touching words. Yes, the Neo-Evangelicals and their ilk will quarrel with Church history and the most certain Catholic traditions to their dying breaths. Nothing for them is definitive, except for the passing moment. They are as chanageable as the wind, and, if they are not, then they are stubborn bigots. Usually that’s how it is, but, of course, there are some real saints among them, but they are very, very few.
Jerry Parker
M
mnmom
Guest
NonCatholic
For a look at what the Catholic Church teaches about the Priesthood of Melchizedek, go to the Catholic Answers Home page and put in the words “Priesthood of Melchizedek” and hit go. The first of the 200 results you will come up with is titled The Institution of the Mass and this will explain what Catholics believe. The other 200 results may explain it also but I do not know as I did not personally read the others as of yet. I would put a link to it but I am not computer savy and do not know how to do so.
God Bless
For a look at what the Catholic Church teaches about the Priesthood of Melchizedek, go to the Catholic Answers Home page and put in the words “Priesthood of Melchizedek” and hit go. The first of the 200 results you will come up with is titled The Institution of the Mass and this will explain what Catholics believe. The other 200 results may explain it also but I do not know as I did not personally read the others as of yet. I would put a link to it but I am not computer savy and do not know how to do so.
God Bless
H
htk553
Guest
Thank you for the kinds words
L
luminoushope
Guest
Jerry Parker, thank you for your kindness. I have a funny P.S. to my story about my Protestant pastor friend. I began our meeting by suggesting that a future town hall meeting be scheduled for an evening other than Monday. We have a large Mormon community here and they are required to hold “Family Home Evening” on Mondays. Can’t help wondering if my friend was expecting me to say I was becoming a Mormon–and perhaps was relieved when I said “Catholic”! Life is full of little ironies.
M
Memaw
Guest
Jerry, just thank God for his Grace and don’t worry about it as many times God gives us graces and consolations that do help us in our Faith. I once talked to a very holy priest, Fr. William Most, of happy memory, (when he was here for a retreat years ago) about those sort of events and he told me that if there is nothing against Church teaching and it leaves you with a closer feeling to God then it is God’s grace. God Bless, Memaw.
M
Memaw
Guest
Keep praying for him and he is in my prayers too as you are and God will help him. My first husband went to church with me sometimes and he talked to my Mom, whom he loved dearly, and also my Uncle who was a priest, and when we had our 3rd baby Baptized, he asked Fr. how he could learn more about the Catholic Church, I was sooo surprised as he had not said a word to me. He wanted to surprise me and he did. We took instructions, I took them with him and believe me I learned soooo much. He was Baptized and was overjoyed when our oldest child made First Holy Communion and we were able to receive Communion too as a family. My husband died shortly after in an auto accident and while I was devastated, I was at peace, knowing he was with Our Lord whom he loved dearly. After 45 years I still thank God every day for my husband’s conversion. Also for my 2nd husbands conversion, he died at age 47 of a heart attack. Never underestimate the POWER of PRAYER. God Bless, and keep you, Memaw
L
luminoushope
Guest
Well Memaw, thank you again and God bless you so very much. You sound like one of the “mothers” I am always collecting since my mother died when I was 16. Also, thank you for reminding me about the power of prayer. I have been confused about prayer since I feel I don’t know how to pray “like a Catholic”. Yet, I was drawn into Catholicism by the prayers of others, one friend in particular who I just knew was storming Heaven on my behalf. I called her up a few months ago and told her that I had been greatly impacted by a book by Mother Teresa and that I hope to become a Catholic in 2009. She started crying and assured me that Mother Teresa is praying for me.
This started my consideration of the communion of the saints–what a wonderful blessing! I knew instinctively that what my friend said was true. Her remark took me back to an account I read years ago of a visitation J.B. Phillips received from C.S. Lewis when Phillips was in a deep depression, which then lifted. And neither one Catholic! I concluded it’s time I let God out of the box I’d had Him in as a Protestant.
As for my husband, I have to leave him to ponder these things in his heart. I remember 1 Peter 3. I try not to criticize his Protestant church. After almost 25 years of marriage he well knows what my criticisms are. When I have something wonderful to share about my Catholic journey, I try to share it briefly and gently. Not easy when one has a high allotment of words per day. Fortunately he is not the argumentative type, is not critical, and is open to what God might do. God gave me a wonderful man and I pray we both arrive “in the barque of Peter.”
Grace and peace to you,
LuminousHope
This started my consideration of the communion of the saints–what a wonderful blessing! I knew instinctively that what my friend said was true. Her remark took me back to an account I read years ago of a visitation J.B. Phillips received from C.S. Lewis when Phillips was in a deep depression, which then lifted. And neither one Catholic! I concluded it’s time I let God out of the box I’d had Him in as a Protestant.
As for my husband, I have to leave him to ponder these things in his heart. I remember 1 Peter 3. I try not to criticize his Protestant church. After almost 25 years of marriage he well knows what my criticisms are. When I have something wonderful to share about my Catholic journey, I try to share it briefly and gently. Not easy when one has a high allotment of words per day. Fortunately he is not the argumentative type, is not critical, and is open to what God might do. God gave me a wonderful man and I pray we both arrive “in the barque of Peter.”
Grace and peace to you,
LuminousHope
S
survive
Guest
Yes, I’m still trying to collect them, but I don’t want to give away my secret identity here
npatrol: 
, so I don’t know what to do. I guess you could surf the keywords and find me or another collector of miracles.
S
Snerticus
Guest
What I find most fascinating are the incorruptibles. I would love to go on a pilgramage someday to see one of those saints!Yes, I’m still trying to collect them, but I don’t want to give away my secret identity here
S
survive
Guest
I wish I could do that.
M
Memaw
Guest
Yes and I would love to go see some of the Eucharistic Miracles, especially the one in Lanciano, Italy and the one in Santarem, Portugal. Two of my sons have seen that one when they were on pilgrimage to Fatima with Fr. Robert J. Fox. There are 2 very fascinating and very factual books by Joan Carroll Cruz on these subjects, titled what else but, “The Incorruptibles” and “Eucharistic Miracles.” After reading The Incorruptibles while visiting me, (I had it on my coffee table), my brother-in law announced to my sister that they were going to start going back to church.I gave them the book to take home. Eventually they had their last 2 children Baptized and later all Confirmed. God does work in mysterious ways. God Bless, Memaw.
M
Memaw
Guest
OH don’t worry about “How to pray like a Catholic”. You just talk to God in your own words from you heart and many things will follow. Even as a Catholic I had to learn how to pray the Rosary and put my heart in it as an adult. But I still prefer to “Talk” to God. I do say the Rosary as Our Lady asked us to many times, and I love it, I place myself as an observer in the Mystery and sometimes I can hardly remember saying the Hail Marys. I even say many more than 10, ha. but God loves our prayers, however we express them.
As for the Communion of Saints, I believe that every person has in his heart the desire to communicate with those that they love who have died, even if they claim not to believe in the Communion of Saints. In the Obituaries in every newspaper people express that desire, example, “Johnny its been 10 years since you left us and I still love you and miss you.” etc. Can Johnny read the paper??? But the person that loves Johnny feels the need to tell him even if he has to pay to print it! We pray!
We Catholics strongly believe in praying for and to the people we love and asking them to pray for us. Since we do not know what follows the death of those we love, (Only GOD knows) so we pray FOR them, and when we pray TO them we are simply asking them to pray FOR us. The Bible tells us it is a Holy and Wholesome thought to PRAY for the dead. So we do. The term, Rest in Peace, is a form of praying for their eternal peace.
C.S Lewis was as close to becoming a Catholic as anyone could be without actually “Swimming the Tiber” as they say. Have you read any of his books? “Mere Christianity” is great.
God Bless, and Prayers, Memaw.(another mother!)
J
Jerry_Parker
Guest
Hi, Survive,
Not to worry. I am not approaching these questions of apparitions in a systematic way, though I think that doing so would be interesting and worthwhile. I would be content simply to read two or three really solid books (free of charismatic enthusiasm, uncritical piety, or excessive bias one way or the other) on the subject.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has reports of Marian apparitions down the centuries, so this is not a matter purely of Roman Catholic apologetics. Basically, Protestants refuse to believe in apparitions, and often latter-day miracles, too, on grounds of principle. It seems to me that many accounts of apparitions and miracles simply have too much solidly objective evidence for them to dismiss so categorically. On the other hand, there is so much of the subjective and sensationalistic in much of this that does make one quite wary about accepting as genuine so many accounts.
Jerry Parker
Not to worry. I am not approaching these questions of apparitions in a systematic way, though I think that doing so would be interesting and worthwhile. I would be content simply to read two or three really solid books (free of charismatic enthusiasm, uncritical piety, or excessive bias one way or the other) on the subject.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has reports of Marian apparitions down the centuries, so this is not a matter purely of Roman Catholic apologetics. Basically, Protestants refuse to believe in apparitions, and often latter-day miracles, too, on grounds of principle. It seems to me that many accounts of apparitions and miracles simply have too much solidly objective evidence for them to dismiss so categorically. On the other hand, there is so much of the subjective and sensationalistic in much of this that does make one quite wary about accepting as genuine so many accounts.
Jerry Parker
M
Memaw
Guest
I only accept as genuine, the ones the Church has declared, “Worthy of Belief”. Such as Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe. They have been studied by the Church and found worthy of belief. The Church is not in the business of going around condemning private revelations. They usually fizzle out on their own eventually but sometimes the Church does step in to correct the faithful such as in Bayside New York. The media being what it is today can hype up something and many will follow without listening to Church Authority. The local Bishop has the authority to make that decision. Listen to the local Bishop and be safe. It does NO ONE any good to jump out ahead of the Church. She is a wise Mother and will guide us free from error. What good does it do to follow something that is not found worthy of belief. God Bless, Memaw
J
Jerry_Parker
Guest
Mernaw,
Those are sound words, regarding what credence one may lend to accounts of miracles, apparitions, and other manifestations of the supernatural breaking through into our physical world. This guidance would be adequate in more normal times of the Church’s history. However, does one really trust most of today’s bishops, especially in the liberal and increasingly unbelieving English-speaking world? If pre-Vatican II bishops may have been overly pious, sometimes to the point of being too credulous in these matters, today’s sorry bounty of sad-sack, cynical (even odiously deviant) bishops, for their part, are all too crassly sceptical and manipulative to merit our confidence. (In too many cases they do not even deserve simple, ordinary respect, as men, even if one defers to their office as high clerics!)
It is a problem, and the orthodox Catholic Christian today must be wary of according the bishops more confidence than they merit, any more than he can accept every report of the miraculous that “comes down the pike”. I suppose that by the time this sort of thing reaches the counsels of the Vatican itself, there is more likelihood of integrity, but, on the local level and in bastions of unbelief and corruption such as North America and the British Isles? I am not so certain!
Jerry Parker
Those are sound words, regarding what credence one may lend to accounts of miracles, apparitions, and other manifestations of the supernatural breaking through into our physical world. This guidance would be adequate in more normal times of the Church’s history. However, does one really trust most of today’s bishops, especially in the liberal and increasingly unbelieving English-speaking world? If pre-Vatican II bishops may have been overly pious, sometimes to the point of being too credulous in these matters, today’s sorry bounty of sad-sack, cynical (even odiously deviant) bishops, for their part, are all too crassly sceptical and manipulative to merit our confidence. (In too many cases they do not even deserve simple, ordinary respect, as men, even if one defers to their office as high clerics!)
It is a problem, and the orthodox Catholic Christian today must be wary of according the bishops more confidence than they merit, any more than he can accept every report of the miraculous that “comes down the pike”. I suppose that by the time this sort of thing reaches the counsels of the Vatican itself, there is more likelihood of integrity, but, on the local level and in bastions of unbelief and corruption such as North America and the British Isles? I am not so certain!
Jerry Parker
J
Jerry_Parker
Guest
I recall having seen the perfectly preserved body, in a glass case, of a saint in the former cathedral of Los Angeles. I think that this was St. Viviana (Vibiana? there being yet other spellings). The sight was, indeed, quite remarkable. I visited that cathedral in the days of the wise Cardinal Abp. McIntyre, a resolute traditionalist; the Lord only knows what the execrable Cardinal Mahoney, who succeeded McIntyre (notorious for sex scandals and the new pagan-friendly cathedral in Los Angeles) has done with this saint’s relics!
Jerry Parker
Jerry Parker
M
Memaw
Guest
Most of our Bishop’s today ARE trustworthy, thanks to Pope John Paul II, he has replaced the bad with good. and Benedict will also continue to do the same. But even that doesn’t have anything to do with the authenticity of a private revelation. Either it is or it isn’t and it will stand on its own merit. And the church investigates its faithfulness to the teaching Authority of the Church. The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit and will not approve something that is not truly authentic, NO matter what. Trust the Church, not the media, in ALL things.
M
Memaw
Guest
If more people would spent time praying for our Bishops and Priests, instead of running them down, they and we would all be better off. I have lived thru the past 50 years, I am 72, and have seen much but the Holy Spirit is working in our Church to correct the many errors that occurred AFTER Vat. II not because of it.
Years ago, Fr. Francis Larkin, of Enthronement of the home to the Sacred Heart, fame) when he was here for a talk, he asked us to PRAY for our priests and Bishops. He said, “If you have one devil after you, we have a dozen after us!!” Maybe we could help prevent the fall of many if only we prayed for them, like holding up the arms of Moses. Our Lady at Fatima asked us to pray for the conversion of sinners. Please pray for me as I will pray for you, God Bless, Memaw.
N
ncgolf
Guest
I will offer a contrasting viewpoint … the weaknesses of some clergy and bishops actually witnesses to the true power behind the Church. The Church will thrive and survive in spite of those not because of those.
By all accounts the Church could have folded many times but it has not testifying to Jesus’s promise the gates of hell will never prevail.
Think about it.
- Status