How would Jesus do sidewalk counseling?

H/T LifeSiteNews

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Pope Francis’ Actions Show Us The Way

Pope Francis’ words can get lost in translation.  His words in English may not be translated accurately from Spanish.  I agree when Janine Turner says that Pope Francis’ actions speak louder than his words.  Pope Francis shows us by example.  His love is illuminated by his actions.  Pope Francis is a man of mercy who shows us that understanding, caring, compassion and love should be priorities in all of our lives.  After that, conversion of heart can come later.

From PJ Media: 

Pope Francis offered to baptize the baby of a divorced woman whose married lover wanted her to abort it. He has also admonished priests who won’t baptize children born out-of-wedlock for their “rigorous and hypocritical neo-clericalism.”  Actions such as these are sanctifying life and giving pregnant women, who fear condemnation, the courage to choose life.

Actions such as these emulate Christ’s mercy. Actions such as these value not only life but the quality of the life, and soul, of both the mother, who chose life, and the child. Pope Francis’ actions speak much louder than his words. His compassion for the single mother and child is a stellar example of Christ’s love.

 

Every baby deserves to have the best chance in life as possible.  Baptism is one way to do this.  When one is baptized they become in communion with our Lord.  Giving a baby the gift of baptism regardless of the parents situation opens the door to their relationship with God. Plus it is beneficial for the baby and parents.  Babies should not be punished for their parents sins.  To deny a baby baptism because of their parents mistakes is cruel, merciless, displays a lack of forgiveness and is downright wrong.  Denying an innocent baby baptism is not following Jesus’ example.

 

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Epiphany: Which group do you identify with?

Christmas, as we know, celebrates the fact that the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us. Today’s solemn feast of Epiphany then celebrates how the God, who came to live among us, revealed or manifested Himself (cf. second reading). Particularly, today’s gospel reading narrates the story of how the Son of God was revealed to the gentile wise men, and therefore, to the rest of mankind as the new born King who had come to save the whole world.

In the gospel story, we have three groups of people: (a) King Herod and his associates, (b) the chief priests and the scribes and then (c) the wise men. The first group, Herod and his associates, simply did not like the idea of the birth of a new born king, and so they immediately planned to eliminate the child Jesus. Today, we still have ‘herodians’. These are people who discredit Jesus Christ or Christianity through books, movies or other forms of propaganda. Other modern day ‘herodians’ are those involved in occult practices or those who persecute Christians.

Then, we have the second group of chief priests and scribes. They knew the Scriptures and could indicate the exact place of birth of the Christ, whose coming they were expecting; but they showed no interest in looking for Him, when He was born. Today, many people are like the chief priests and scribes of old. In the first place, we have pastors who keenly study the Scriptures in order to preach powerful sermons, but their ultimate interest is not in Jesus or the salvation of souls, but in the money they can earn from their efforts. Secondly, we have professors or scholars of Scriptures, who after decades of studies now doubt that Jesus ever lived on this earth; or even if He ever lived, then Jesus was a mere powerful prophet, but not the Son of God. Thirdly, some of the chief priests and scribes of today are those Christians who after advancing in their professions or prospering in their businesses begin to show little or no interest in Jesus or Christian living. The fourth type of modern chief priests and scribes are those who are hearers but not doers of the Word of God; and many of us, if we are honest with ourselves, can identify with this final type of the second group.

Beloved, today’s message is intended to urge us to become part of the third group of wise men, women and children; or if we are already part of this group to encourage us to sustain our membership of it by God’s grace. Guided by a star, the wise men looked for the new born king, Jesus, in order to worship Him. They eventually saw the child Jesus with the mother, and they prostrated in worship. Can you imagine those elderly wise men prostrating before an infant (after all they were not Jews and they were not expecting the coming of any Messiah)? In addition, can you imagine that after the sacrifices of their long, tedious and risky journey, the wise men offered the child Jesus gifts of precious gold, frankincense and myrrh? These wise men represented true Christians of today. Modern wise men and women are guided not by a physical star in the sky, but by the invisible Holy Spirit from heaven, who attracts not so much the sight of human beings, but our hearts. He directs our hearts to journey in faith to worship Jesus Christ, not in a fixed place (Bethlehem), but ‘in spirit and in truth’ (Jn. 4:23). And we are to offer Jesus, not only our gold (treasure), but our precious hearts as well; not only frankincense, but also our lives of priestly holiness; and not myrrh (for Christ is already risen from the dead), but our lives as living sacrifices of praise (Rom. 12:1-2).

PRAYER: I pray that throughout 2014, we will not be counted among the ‘herodians’, chief priests and scribes, amen; that we would rather be counted among the wise who, filled with the star of heaven, the Holy Spirit, will ever more seek Jesus Christ, and worship Him in spirit and in truth! Amen!

By Very Rev. Fr. John Louis
http://frlouis.com/

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Abundance of Blessings

Kevin and I have been blessed abundantly this Christmas season. We are extremely grateful to everyone who made this an incredibly fantastic holiday for us.

Due to my health issues and my inability to work at the present time we have been struggling financially. Our church gave us a few presents and a group of parishioners from church gave us an immensely generous monetary gift.  Plus, yesterday we received an extraordinary gift from two of my Aunts.

A few of my doctors suggested that I exercise. I thought about it and explained to the docs that since it is cold outside there is no way I could be outside for more than 10 minutes and since we only have one car I don’t know how often I could make it to a gym. I know that the Wii has interactive sports games as well as fitness workouts so I asked if I got a Wii would that be good? They fully supported my idea of getting a Wii. I found a company where I was able to purchase the Wii and make payments over time. The games on the Wii are awesome! I love playing the games!

The Lord has indeed blessed Kevin and I.  As we celebrate Jesus’ birth let us remember to keep Jesus alive in our hearts all year through.

I hope each of you had a blessed and very Merry Christmas. God Bless!

 

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Christmas Music

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A Critique of Evangelii Gaudium

Judge Andrew Napolitano wrote an op-ed in which he is critical of Pope Francis’ comments on economics.  I am reposting part of Napolitano’s op-ed which Father Z has posted on his blog with added remarks of his own in red.  

 

NAPOLITANO: Pope Francis should be saving souls, not pocketbooks
Church teaching on personal freedom includes a moral imperative to work and share

By Andrew P. Napolitano Wednesday, December 4, 2013

What is the worst problem in the world today? Might it be war, starvation, genocide, sectarian violence, murder, slaughter of babies in the womb? Any of these would be a rational answer. When Pope Francis was asked this question recently, he replied, “Youth unemployment.”

To be sure, youth unemployment is a serious problem. In some parts of the United States, the richest country in the world, it has reached 25 percent. These are people who are no longer in school full time and are not yet 30 years of age. It is a problem for them and their families, for their communities and for the welfare states that are supporting them. Is it the worst problem in the world, though? Is it a problem for the Roman Catholic Church? Is it something the pope is competent to comment upon or to resolve?

The pope’s youth-unemployment comments recently were removed from the Vatican’s website. No sooner had that been done than the Holy Father issued his first encyclical — a formal papal teaching, as opposed to his now-famous, impromptu back-of-the-plane yet on-the-record comments.

His encyclical is about economics, [No.  It is neither an encyclical nor is it – primarily- about economics.  These errors of fact, however, don’t change the argument too much.] and it reveals a disturbing ignorance. [At least about economics.] I say this with deference and respect. I also say this as a traditionalist Roman Catholic who laments the post-Vatican II watering down of sacred traditions, lessening of moral teaching and trivialization of liturgical practices. [OORAH!] I also say this, though, as a firm believer that Pope Francis is the Vicar of Christ on Earth and, as such, personifies the teaching authority of the church. He is morally and juridically capable of speaking ex cathedra — that is, infallibly — but only after surveying and distilling traditional Church teachings and only on matters affecting faith and morals.

Thank God, so to speak, that his teaching authority is limited to faith and morals, because in matters of economics, he is wide of the mark.

His encyclical, [See above.] titled “Joy of the Gospel,” attacks free-market capitalism because it takes too long for the poor to get rich. [That may be the money quote.] “They are still waiting,” the pope wrote. Without capitalism, which rewards hard work and sacrifice, they will wait forever. No economic system in history has alleviated more poverty, generated more opportunity and helped more formerly poor people become rich than capitalism. The essence of capitalism goes to the core of Catholic teaching: the personal freedom of every person. Capitalism is freedom to risk, freedom to work, freedom to save, freedom to retain the fruits of one’s labors, freedom to own property and freedom to give to charity.

The problem with modern capitalism — a problem that escaped the scrutiny of His Holiness — is not too much freedom, but too little. The regulation of free markets by governments, the control of the private means of production by government bureaucrats, and the unholy alliances between governments, banks and industry have raised production costs, stifled competition, established barriers to entry into markets, raised taxes, devalued savings and priced many poor out of the labor force. The pope would do well to pray for those who have used government to steal freedom so as to satisfy their lust for power, and for those who have bowed to government so as to become rich from governmental benefits and not by the fruits of their own labors.

Traditional Catholic social teaching imposes on all of us a moral obligation to become our brothers’ keepers. [This isn’t just an imperative from Catholic social teaching, by the way.] But this is a personal moral obligation, enforced by conscience and church teaching and the fires of hell [When is the last time you saw that in a secular paper?  When is the last time you heard that from a pulpit?] — not by the coercive powers of the government. Charity comes from the heart. It consists of freely giving away one’s wealth. It is impossible to be charitable with someone else’s money. That’s theft, not charity.

 

Father Z is correct when he notes that Evangelii Gaudium is not primarily on economics.  I have only read about 10-12 pages of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation but the majority of those pages focused on spreading the Gospel, evangelizing, and spreading God’s love to others.  What I’ve read so far is very well written.  Pope Francis may be somewhat naive and too trusting of governments when it comes to economics and aiding the poor.  Some of the Pope’s words on economics are odd and had Kevin and I asking “what are you talking about?” Maybe we are misinterpreting his words? Or maybe Pope Francis’ words really mean something different than what his words mean if taken at face value?  Regardless, economics is a moral issue.  Feeding the hungry is a moral issue.  Whether persons believe that government does a better job of helping the poor or that charities do a better job of helping the poor is a matter of prudential judgment. 

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Judgment and seeing the face of Jesus

Here is Matthew 25: 31-46. This scripture passage is on The Final Judgment.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We are called to see the face of Jesus in every person.  We can show charity to others by performing acts of kindness and acts of love such as the Corporal Works of Mercy.  Here are The Corporal Works of Mercy:

 

• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Shelter the homeless
• Visit the sick
• Visit the imprisoned
• Bury the dead

 

How often do we do these things in our daily lives?  The scripture passage above makes it crystal clear that helping other persons in their time of need is of the utmost importance and a necessity to entering the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we visit the sick, feed the hungry, or clothe the naked we are following Jesus’ example to love one another.  We are putting our love in action.  Some of us (me included) may just need to open our eyes fully to our surroundings and then we will find more opportunities to perform acts of charity.  God Bless.

 

 

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Inspirational Mix

Explore your higher latitudes . . . be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, open new channels, not of trade but of thought.

Henry David Thoreau 

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke

It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.

Henry Ward Beecher 

Psalm 86:15   But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Isaiah 40:31   But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Romans 12:12   Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Ephesians 2:10  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

 

 

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Video: Identity in Christ

I found this wonderfully positive video on twitter. Enjoy!

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Stars and Stripes

 

 

Wishing everyone a fun, safe, and fantastic Independence Day holiday.  God Bless.

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