I appreciate you homilies so very much. I am a member at St. Peter Catholic Church here in Greenville, N.C. This is a very complex situation, and it will take some time to get through it.
You said, “Israel experienced great prosperity before they were brought low.” So, here we are.
Christ still leads his Church, and the message is always the same – “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2,Matthew 4:17,Mark 1:15 ESV) Many of our leaders today fail to see their call to service as a sacrifice. It’s very hard to do so in a capitalistic society. In Mark 10:17-31,Matthew 19:16-30,Luke 18:18-30 there is a story of a rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The entire dialogue is very interesting in that, first, Jesus answers a question with a question; “Why do you call me “good.” There is only one who is good and that is the Father in heaven.” In other words, “You’re asking me, a human being, about what is good. You should look to God. OR Do you recognize God in me? So Christ speaks to him as God speaks through the Torah: “You know the Commandments….” That was the young man’s understanding of God. He knew his belief was correct because he was very wealthy, and everyone knew that wealth was a sign of God’s favor. So after Jesus finished speaking he exclaimed, “I’v kept the Commandments all my life!” That is, he thought he was perfect – he had it made. Then Christ said, “Wait, if you want to be perfect…” (that is, hold your horses, Tex, you’re not there yet.) Christ goes on to counsel him in three ways, First, “sell all you own” (take a vow of poverty). Second, “give the proceeds to the poor” (take a vow of charity). Finally, “Come and follow me” (take a vow of obedience). All Christians should understand the value of this counsel, especially in our “capitalistic” society.
But the problem we now face in following Christ has been compounded because it has come to involve intimate relationships. Problems began when the Protestants accepted contraception in the 1930’s as a viable means to control the size of the family. They were blinded to the deep consequences of such a move. Couples in the Catholic Church pushed for acceptance of contraceptives as well. Eventually some (possibly many) priests in the 1950’s and 1960’s led people to believe that contraception was not sinful and would be eventually accepted by the Church. Then Pope Paul VI came out with Humanae Vitae.
At that time many Catholics defined “sinful” to mean against Church teaching.” Remove the Church from the equation and you will find that contraception is detrimental to relationships. It can impact one’s mental health, and may also be directly detrimental to one’s physical health. All one has to do is read the warnings on the inserts that come with them. The bottom line is, sexual desire is complex and contraception has social effects that are not listed on the inserts, like what to do if this thing fails in its one and a half minute of “use”. When people don’t go along with the crowd they fear loosing face with their friends, of being ostracized, , of being called names when they fail to conform to the ideas and ways of others. It is all about acceptance on many levels and is generally understood to mean love.
As Christians we are not to judge (i.e., condemn) people, but we are to judge right from wrong for ourselves.
You quoted St. John of the Cross
“To come to the knowledge you have not,
You must go by a way you do not know.”
It looks like we have a lot of new ground to cover.
Christ loves us more than anyone in this world. It’s sad, but, if we don’t associate with him and come to know him, he is no different than one of the American Idols, or a movie star, a figure on a crucifix, or, even worse, he becomes an overpowering dictator, a taskmaster, a warden. Christ, however, is as real as you and I. WE need to hear this message. He longs for an intimate relationship with each of us. (Revelation 3:20) According to the Bible, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23-24). Even though we have been baptized, we are still capable of sin. And if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8).
We have a difficult task ahead as a Church, but I believe there is no where else to go. You’re a good man and I appreciate all you do for us. Keep up the great work. Peace, Ron Huffman
Apologies need to turn into apologies. At the beginning of every mass we need a brief 40 or 60 words or prayer welcoming protestants and explaining (and as a reminder to fellow Catholics) we are in the presence of God Almighty. We don’t fellowship as the protestants and we should apologize that we are in Church to adore Jesus’s real presence. Our American culture has a special rite safeguarding the flock to worship in this solemn way. If we were in Kenya we would dance. Here we worship this particular way. The the middle east we to a special cry during the consecration. Etc
There should be a even longer official apology to those wishing to go to RCIA.
We need to step up the Love. There is no true Christian voice in America. The two parties are soon at villainous war and true Christians are neither Republicans or Democrats. The socialist, money, power, rabid violent “Christians” and all the powers of the enemy will soon be magnified and we better get with Our Lord’s command. “Love one another” this is a commandment.
There should be a mandatory absence of television for us consecrated. God’s on channel Now. Right Now. Forever. Hallelujah! He didn’t come to bring peace but the sword.
I appreciate you homilies so very much. I am a member at St. Peter Catholic Church here in Greenville, N.C. This is a very complex situation, and it will take some time to get through it.
You said, “Israel experienced great prosperity before they were brought low.” So, here we are.
Christ still leads his Church, and the message is always the same – “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2,Matthew 4:17,Mark 1:15 ESV) Many of our leaders today fail to see their call to service as a sacrifice. It’s very hard to do so in a capitalistic society. In Mark 10:17-31,Matthew 19:16-30,Luke 18:18-30 there is a story of a rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The entire dialogue is very interesting in that, first, Jesus answers a question with a question; “Why do you call me “good.” There is only one who is good and that is the Father in heaven.” In other words, “You’re asking me, a human being, about what is good. You should look to God. OR Do you recognize God in me? So Christ speaks to him as God speaks through the Torah: “You know the Commandments….” That was the young man’s understanding of God. He knew his belief was correct because he was very wealthy, and everyone knew that wealth was a sign of God’s favor. So after Jesus finished speaking he exclaimed, “I’v kept the Commandments all my life!” That is, he thought he was perfect – he had it made. Then Christ said, “Wait, if you want to be perfect…” (that is, hold your horses, Tex, you’re not there yet.) Christ goes on to counsel him in three ways, First, “sell all you own” (take a vow of poverty). Second, “give the proceeds to the poor” (take a vow of charity). Finally, “Come and follow me” (take a vow of obedience). All Christians should understand the value of this counsel, especially in our “capitalistic” society.
But the problem we now face in following Christ has been compounded because it has come to involve intimate relationships. Problems began when the Protestants accepted contraception in the 1930’s as a viable means to control the size of the family. They were blinded to the deep consequences of such a move. Couples in the Catholic Church pushed for acceptance of contraceptives as well. Eventually some (possibly many) priests in the 1950’s and 1960’s led people to believe that contraception was not sinful and would be eventually accepted by the Church. Then Pope Paul VI came out with Humanae Vitae.
At that time many Catholics defined “sinful” to mean against Church teaching.” Remove the Church from the equation and you will find that contraception is detrimental to relationships. It can impact one’s mental health, and may also be directly detrimental to one’s physical health. All one has to do is read the warnings on the inserts that come with them. The bottom line is, sexual desire is complex and contraception has social effects that are not listed on the inserts, like what to do if this thing fails in its one and a half minute of “use”. When people don’t go along with the crowd they fear loosing face with their friends, of being ostracized, , of being called names when they fail to conform to the ideas and ways of others. It is all about acceptance on many levels and is generally understood to mean love.
As Christians we are not to judge (i.e., condemn) people, but we are to judge right from wrong for ourselves.
You quoted St. John of the Cross
“To come to the knowledge you have not,
You must go by a way you do not know.”
It looks like we have a lot of new ground to cover.
Christ loves us more than anyone in this world. It’s sad, but, if we don’t associate with him and come to know him, he is no different than one of the American Idols, or a movie star, a figure on a crucifix, or, even worse, he becomes an overpowering dictator, a taskmaster, a warden. Christ, however, is as real as you and I. WE need to hear this message. He longs for an intimate relationship with each of us. (Revelation 3:20) According to the Bible, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23-24). Even though we have been baptized, we are still capable of sin. And if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8).
We have a difficult task ahead as a Church, but I believe there is no where else to go. You’re a good man and I appreciate all you do for us. Keep up the great work. Peace, Ron Huffman
Thanks for the comment and for sharing
Apologies need to turn into apologies. At the beginning of every mass we need a brief 40 or 60 words or prayer welcoming protestants and explaining (and as a reminder to fellow Catholics) we are in the presence of God Almighty. We don’t fellowship as the protestants and we should apologize that we are in Church to adore Jesus’s real presence. Our American culture has a special rite safeguarding the flock to worship in this solemn way. If we were in Kenya we would dance. Here we worship this particular way. The the middle east we to a special cry during the consecration. Etc
There should be a even longer official apology to those wishing to go to RCIA.
We need to step up the Love. There is no true Christian voice in America. The two parties are soon at villainous war and true Christians are neither Republicans or Democrats. The socialist, money, power, rabid violent “Christians” and all the powers of the enemy will soon be magnified and we better get with Our Lord’s command. “Love one another” this is a commandment.
There should be a mandatory absence of television for us consecrated. God’s on channel Now. Right Now. Forever. Hallelujah! He didn’t come to bring peace but the sword.
Thanks for the comment and support
Eh Apologetics need to turn into apologies. I always got at least one typo to explain for humanity sake ha.
Much Love, Philip