As Fr. Barron states "...the story of Catholicism has been told by many." Mostly by people that don't like it to much. Here the CHURCH tells it's own story on it's own terms. This spectatular sereies will be the treasure of the Church ... at least for the first half... if not all of the 21st. Century. If you are a Catholic who loves the chruch you will love this sereies. IF you are a Catholic who has fallen away, this series will inspire you to once again take a look at your faith. IF you are against the Catholic Church at least be objective enough to watch and so that we may tell you our story from our own perspective. Like Fr. Barron said... so many have told the story and NOW we would like the opportunity to tell it ourselves.
This 10 Epeside Serries is coming to DVD and 4 of the Epesides will be on TV. EWTN will be showing them on the Following Dates and Times.
11/16/11 U.S./Canada/Europe 8:00 PM EST EWTN
11/17/11 U.S./Canada/Europe 11:00 PM EST EWTN
11/18/11 U.S./Canada/Europe 10:00 PM EST EWTN
11/19/11 U.S./Canada/Europe 1:00 PM EST EWTN
Until next time,
God Bless and Keep You.
BloggerBill
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Discovering the Faith We Hope To Pass On.
Re: The Inheritance.
I came across a video on YouTube, where a Mr. Michael Voris talks about the “Inheritance”, a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. During the last 5 or 10 years of my journey, just before returning to the Catholic Church I began to ask questions about the protestant faith that I could not find answers to. It was déjà-vou all over again! When I was a young adult Catholic, I could not find the answers to question I had about the Catholic Faith either.
What were my questions? Well I will give you just three of the many.
1. The Evangelical church believes that ‘once saved always saved’. Yet, the more familiar I got with scripture I found instances that cast great doubt on this premise. Where is the Truth?
2. The Protestant church believes that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial, a symbolic remembrance of what happened 2000 years ago when Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of our sins.
3. The Protestant church believed that somewhere along the line in the first 3 or 4 centuries, the Catholic Church strayed from the true faith and it didn’t surface again until the Reformation of the 16th Century. It was then the true Church ‘surfaced’ in its fullness and grew into the Protestant faith. Where was the Church hiding during those ‘obscure’ years?
Once again, only now as a middle-aged adult I found myself questioning my faith. I questioned its validity just as I had done to the Catholic faith of my youth. I found myself reading scripture with great intensity. I prayed and prayed asking God to please help me find some truth. He had answered me so many times in the past; I knew that if I kept searching I would find the answers. I began to read world history hoping to find something. That led me to Church history and to my astonishment; I discovered some of the church fathers. The prayer and study of both History and Scripture began to bear fruit for me. In the letter to the Ephesians 2:12 Paul writes, “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This verse not only cast doubt on the notion of ‘once saved always saved’… but here the apostle was saying that we should continue to ‘WORK’ it out, also dispelling the premise that ‘WORKS’ had nothing to do with salvation… but that it is was by Grace alone. To make a long story short, I also noted in the beginning of the book of Revelation that John writes the letters to the seven Churches. He uses words and phrases like… ‘Do not be luke-warm, or I will spew you out of my mouth’; and ‘be careful that I do not strike your name from the book of life’. Again… casting doubt that once we are saved, we are always saved. The Protestants would argue that if your name were stricken from the ‘book of life’ that you were never really saved in the first place. You must not have made a real commitment to Christ. This did not make sense to me. This all required much more prayer, studying, and reading on my part. After about 2 years or so, I concluded that in fact, that we are SAVED by Grace but not by Grace alone. GOD took the first step and offered salvation to us by Grace; and that as we who choose to cooperate with it, we then go about on working it out. Look at Ephesians 2:10 the Apostle goes on.... “For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” In short the Grace of God and our cooperating with it to do the works and will of God will bring us to salvation. IT is both FAITH and WORKS. The two are so closely knit together that they are in-separable. The Grace comes in... because it is through God's Grace that initiates that salvation. WE respond by choosing to cooperate with it, or we can refuse to work with it.
Secondly, as a Protestant, I believed that the Lord’s Supper was a symbolic memorial. IT was not until I started reading the writings of the first popes and bishops of the church that I began to look at the Bread of Life discourse in Chapter 6 of John’s gospel in its true light. The Protestant church teaches that there were many heresies that surfaced in the church during the 3rd and 4th centuries. Therefore, the ‘true’ faith became obscure. I myself could never really put my finger on just where and when that happened. Once I started reading church history and almost a year along into my studying, I came across references in the third century to what was called the “Didache”. THIS document was instrumental in my returning to the church. It detailed “the Way” of the Twelve, the Teaching of the Twelve APOSTLES. It “blew me out of the water” … so to speak. It lays the foundation as to how one should live the "Way" of the Christian Faith, and How not to. It goes on and details what the Apostles taught about “The Thanksgiving” what we call the Eucharist. This document was forged while there were still some of the Apostles living. It was passed around the Church world and was considered sacred writing. Although it did not make it into the cannon of Scripture, it was still a very important and instrumental document of the early church. The ‘Didache’ gave me EARLY confirmation as to what the Gospels and the Catholic Church Teaches about the Lord's Supper. It confirmed that the Apostles themselves believed the ‘Thanksgiving’ was a sacrifice that was made present ... the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Finally, I would like to address my third concern about where the church was during those obscure years between… let us say the 4th century and the 16th centuries; until the Reformation. Well, I have to admit I never really got around to finding where the church was. Why you might ask? Well my friends, it was because as I read about History and found documents and writings of the early church fathers there was no need. Again… why you ask… because much of what I was reading was the Apostolic Tradition of the Catholic Church. In finding it, reading it, praying about it, I discovered that the Church was never hidden, never obscure, never was it obscured from the eyes and ears of man. The CHURCH has stood firm and sound on Peter, the ROCK, and the Gates of Hell have not and will NEVER prevail against it. I discovered for myself what the Protestant Church in fact denies; that you cannot have just Scripture alone. You must have the living, breathing, Spirit led Magisterium of the Church as guide. Without that rich Apostolic Tradition that was passed on by the Apostles, you only have half the Story. It must be set in the Context of that authoritative History; otherwise, it will be subject to whoever and whatever direction the winds of change will be blowing. The Catholic Church with the Holy Scripture that she gave us, along with the Apostolic Tradition handed down by the Apostles spans more than 2000 years. YES, that history contains evil men, greedy men, savage men, and self-righteous men, men in need of reform and especially in recent years with the grave sin of the sex abuse scandals. ALTHOUGH, Christ has used these ‘unclean vessels’ of poor reputation and character to guide The Body of CHRIST, the Church was always been visible and INTACT. Please, if you have never read of the Church Fathers, Doctors, early Popes and Saints who pledged their lives for YOU, The Holy Church… then you owe yourself the time to do so. Because, only after reading and truly understanding it all will you discover the FULLNESS and the context of Scripture and Tradition that make up the full deposit of the Catholic Faith. I am convinced that the FULLNESS of the Christian faith is found only in the One Holy Apostolic Church... the Catholic Church.
My Friends, there are those among us in the Catholic church and outside of it, who believe the Church is to ‘old fashion’ to ‘out of touch’, that it needs to come out of the ‘dark ages’ and come into the light of the 21st century. Let me say this…we do not own the Church and its teaching, it is the gift from Christ Himself; given and revealed to us through the Apostles. Therefore, we cannot change nor can we improve upon it. Doing so would only distort and demean the very truths about our faith. The Catholic Faith has stood the test of time and space in its ENTIRETY; and it will stand until the day the Lord Himself returns. The tenants of Sacred Scripture and Seared Tradition do not belong to me; they do not belong to you. They belong to the Entire body of the Church, the Communion of Saints. The faithful who have gone before us have preserved it for more than 2000 years so that today we will have it in its FULLNESS. It does not just belong to our generation. We are just the vessels who hold it for a while, until we too, pass it on to the next generation preserving it in its entirety. May God Bless and Keep the Catholic Church this day and always.
Please check out this link entitled… “Inheritance”. I found it very interesting. http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV#p/u/1/6t-oydfasVc
I came across a video on YouTube, where a Mr. Michael Voris talks about the “Inheritance”, a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. During the last 5 or 10 years of my journey, just before returning to the Catholic Church I began to ask questions about the protestant faith that I could not find answers to. It was déjà-vou all over again! When I was a young adult Catholic, I could not find the answers to question I had about the Catholic Faith either.
What were my questions? Well I will give you just three of the many.
1. The Evangelical church believes that ‘once saved always saved’. Yet, the more familiar I got with scripture I found instances that cast great doubt on this premise. Where is the Truth?
2. The Protestant church believes that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial, a symbolic remembrance of what happened 2000 years ago when Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of our sins.
3. The Protestant church believed that somewhere along the line in the first 3 or 4 centuries, the Catholic Church strayed from the true faith and it didn’t surface again until the Reformation of the 16th Century. It was then the true Church ‘surfaced’ in its fullness and grew into the Protestant faith. Where was the Church hiding during those ‘obscure’ years?
Secondly, as a Protestant, I believed that the Lord’s Supper was a symbolic memorial. IT was not until I started reading the writings of the first popes and bishops of the church that I began to look at the Bread of Life discourse in Chapter 6 of John’s gospel in its true light. The Protestant church teaches that there were many heresies that surfaced in the church during the 3rd and 4th centuries. Therefore, the ‘true’ faith became obscure. I myself could never really put my finger on just where and when that happened. Once I started reading church history and almost a year along into my studying, I came across references in the third century to what was called the “Didache”. THIS document was instrumental in my returning to the church. It detailed “the Way” of the Twelve, the Teaching of the Twelve APOSTLES. It “blew me out of the water” … so to speak. It lays the foundation as to how one should live the "Way" of the Christian Faith, and How not to. It goes on and details what the Apostles taught about “The Thanksgiving” what we call the Eucharist. This document was forged while there were still some of the Apostles living. It was passed around the Church world and was considered sacred writing. Although it did not make it into the cannon of Scripture, it was still a very important and instrumental document of the early church. The ‘Didache’ gave me EARLY confirmation as to what the Gospels and the Catholic Church Teaches about the Lord's Supper. It confirmed that the Apostles themselves believed the ‘Thanksgiving’ was a sacrifice that was made present ... the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Finally, I would like to address my third concern about where the church was during those obscure years between… let us say the 4th century and the 16th centuries; until the Reformation. Well, I have to admit I never really got around to finding where the church was. Why you might ask? Well my friends, it was because as I read about History and found documents and writings of the early church fathers there was no need. Again… why you ask… because much of what I was reading was the Apostolic Tradition of the Catholic Church. In finding it, reading it, praying about it, I discovered that the Church was never hidden, never obscure, never was it obscured from the eyes and ears of man. The CHURCH has stood firm and sound on Peter, the ROCK, and the Gates of Hell have not and will NEVER prevail against it. I discovered for myself what the Protestant Church in fact denies; that you cannot have just Scripture alone. You must have the living, breathing, Spirit led Magisterium of the Church as guide. Without that rich Apostolic Tradition that was passed on by the Apostles, you only have half the Story. It must be set in the Context of that authoritative History; otherwise, it will be subject to whoever and whatever direction the winds of change will be blowing. The Catholic Church with the Holy Scripture that she gave us, along with the Apostolic Tradition handed down by the Apostles spans more than 2000 years. YES, that history contains evil men, greedy men, savage men, and self-righteous men, men in need of reform and especially in recent years with the grave sin of the sex abuse scandals. ALTHOUGH, Christ has used these ‘unclean vessels’ of poor reputation and character to guide The Body of CHRIST, the Church was always been visible and INTACT. Please, if you have never read of the Church Fathers, Doctors, early Popes and Saints who pledged their lives for YOU, The Holy Church… then you owe yourself the time to do so. Because, only after reading and truly understanding it all will you discover the FULLNESS and the context of Scripture and Tradition that make up the full deposit of the Catholic Faith. I am convinced that the FULLNESS of the Christian faith is found only in the One Holy Apostolic Church... the Catholic Church.
My Friends, there are those among us in the Catholic church and outside of it, who believe the Church is to ‘old fashion’ to ‘out of touch’, that it needs to come out of the ‘dark ages’ and come into the light of the 21st century. Let me say this…we do not own the Church and its teaching, it is the gift from Christ Himself; given and revealed to us through the Apostles. Therefore, we cannot change nor can we improve upon it. Doing so would only distort and demean the very truths about our faith. The Catholic Faith has stood the test of time and space in its ENTIRETY; and it will stand until the day the Lord Himself returns. The tenants of Sacred Scripture and Seared Tradition do not belong to me; they do not belong to you. They belong to the Entire body of the Church, the Communion of Saints. The faithful who have gone before us have preserved it for more than 2000 years so that today we will have it in its FULLNESS. It does not just belong to our generation. We are just the vessels who hold it for a while, until we too, pass it on to the next generation preserving it in its entirety. May God Bless and Keep the Catholic Church this day and always.
Until Next time May God Bless and Keep You,
BloggerBill
Please check out this link entitled… “Inheritance”. I found it very interesting. http://www.youtube.com/user/RealCatholicTV#p/u/1/6t-oydfasVc
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Quote for Today
“The first swallow from the cup of the natural sciences makes atheists ---but at the bottom of the cup God is waiting.”
–Nobel Prize winning Nuclear Physicist: Werener Hesienberg.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI Speaks to Youth In New Version of CCC
The words of Pope Benedict XVI printed in the forward of the new “Youth” CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) would not be wasted should the parents read them as well. Here the Pope tells the youth not to Abandon God and the Church because of the ‘attacks of evil’ inside the heart of the Church. He also reminds them they need to KNOW their faith if they hope to survive the negative impacts that society has on us all.
As adults I am sure we are all well aware of those ‘challenges and temptations’ that Pope Benedict speaks of. More and more, we are becoming a society of people who are self-centered and evermore drifting from our Faith. The influence of indifference and ‘relativism’ - where one makes decisions based on how it affects him personally, without taking into account how his ‘choices’ affect society as a whole. We deceive ourselves if we think that when we make the wrong choices, it does not have consequences for society as a whole. We do not live in BUBBLES folks! When Adam and EVE took a big bite out of that 'luscious red apple’… they were not thinking of the future and how it would affect us today. They looked at it. They saw that it looked pleasing to the eye, and that it just might be quite tasty! As we often do, they probaly thought... "What harm could there be?' So they both took a BIG BITE! You know the rest of the story…the bad news. They and their heirs would have to toil and work, suffer in childbirth, and have to subdue the earth. I am SURE they would have never taken that bite, if they knew what was going to happen to All of us. At least I like to think that. Folks the truth is, as we do these things … giving into desire, selfishness, dishonesty, immorality, etc; It affects every one of us. It may not have an instant affect on our next door neighbor, but COLLECTIVLY, it is detramental to our society as a whole. Sadly, sin inside the Church does as well. When a priest or Lay minister, or ANYONE in the community for that matter, sins, it has a collective affect on the Body of Christ. That is us, the individuals who make up that Body.
You know my friends, God will prevail in the end. He said to Our first Pope, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build MY Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18) In the end… God will prevail, NOT the devil. YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK! So … my friends, may I suggest that WE choose “wisely”? Are you going to “give up the faith” and accept the devil’s lie… or are you going to start “cooperating” with the grace that God wants to give you? Me, I will choose to take the grace! That grace is available to each of us and especially available in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. CELEBRATE them often. I do not want to suggest that all this will be easy, but it will be WELL worth it in the END.
Pope Benedict XVI goes on to encourage our Youth to "Learn your FAITH, study the CCC." May I add to that - as I am sure he believes we should, especiall as adults, READ Holy Scripture daily. One of the Best things that Vatican II did for us, was to give us the NEW CCC and give us the BIBLE back. They strongly encourage us to read them both! You see, as Catholics in the last century we did not STUDY HOLY SCRIPTURES nor did many of us really understand what Sacred Tradition was. I think this may have been one of the biggest mistakes the American Chruch has made. I myself truly believe that it is the primary reasons that the Church has lost millions of the faithful to indifference and to other churches. However, "Times, they are a changing!" I thank God for His GRACE… and for the Church who makes the choice to cooperate - EVER ANEW - with it! We now have one of the BEST tools to teach the Apostolic Tradition as well as being the best study guide for Holy Scripture. It is found in the CCC. WE need to have them both in EVERY home. As you read the CCC, you need to have your bible in your other hand. If you are reading Scripture the CCC can bring difficult concepts found in Scripture to light; use them together. You see folks, Sacred Tradition can never, and will never, conflict with Holy Scripture. In addition, Holy Scripture will never conflict with Sacred Tradition. If you ‘think’ it does, you are probably missing something… Being more than 2000 years old, I have to think (NO, I know!) that the church in her Wisdom and expericne is correct. Personally, I learned that the hard way while I was away from the Church for more than 20 years. I had left and joined an Evangelical church, vowing never to return. (I will save that story for another time.) I will say this though… I thank God I’m Back HOME!
Finally, as WE the CHURCH struggle with our past… we must not look back. WE need more than ever to focus and move on LOOKING FORWARD. WE need to EDUCATE or RE-EDUCATE ourselves and get involved. We are a part of the problem… or part of the solution… YOU make the choice. I pray we ALL make the right one. GO back to Church, Buy a CCC, Buy a BIBLE and learn your faith. IF you just go to church once a week and go on about life in the same old way… I say… "That ain’t gonna cut it anymore! It is unacceptable." IF you want the rest of your family and friends to come back you have to INVEST in it! PRAYER is a very important component of this but, really, it is only half of the equation. WE are the Body of Christ and WE are His EYES, EARS, FEET, HANDS and HEART! WE are the ones that God uses to get His will done. (Remember that the next time you pray the 'Our Father’.) IF you want “...thy will be done on earth…” YOU and I need to make it happen. Did I mention prayer? Pray for our Priests, our Bishops, and the Pope, but pray especially for the Body… YOU and me .... the Church, won’t you?
VIEW THE ARTICLE: Don't abandon God because of 'attacks of evil' in church, pope says
“Today's Christians really need to understand their faith more than ever before in order to resist modern day challenges and temptations”, he wrote.
I am sure that he will to talk to them in greater detail when he meets with Youth representatives from around the globe at the World Youth Day 2011 in Spain this coming summer. Each Catholic pilgrim who attends will receive the New Youth CCC in his or her “backpack”.As adults I am sure we are all well aware of those ‘challenges and temptations’ that Pope Benedict speaks of. More and more, we are becoming a society of people who are self-centered and evermore drifting from our Faith. The influence of indifference and ‘relativism’ - where one makes decisions based on how it affects him personally, without taking into account how his ‘choices’ affect society as a whole. We deceive ourselves if we think that when we make the wrong choices, it does not have consequences for society as a whole. We do not live in BUBBLES folks! When Adam and EVE took a big bite out of that 'luscious red apple’… they were not thinking of the future and how it would affect us today. They looked at it. They saw that it looked pleasing to the eye, and that it just might be quite tasty! As we often do, they probaly thought... "What harm could there be?' So they both took a BIG BITE! You know the rest of the story…the bad news. They and their heirs would have to toil and work, suffer in childbirth, and have to subdue the earth. I am SURE they would have never taken that bite, if they knew what was going to happen to All of us. At least I like to think that. Folks the truth is, as we do these things … giving into desire, selfishness, dishonesty, immorality, etc; It affects every one of us. It may not have an instant affect on our next door neighbor, but COLLECTIVLY, it is detramental to our society as a whole. Sadly, sin inside the Church does as well. When a priest or Lay minister, or ANYONE in the community for that matter, sins, it has a collective affect on the Body of Christ. That is us, the individuals who make up that Body.
Pope Benedict goes on telling the youth this:
“You have need of divine help if you do not want your faith to dry up as a dewdrop in the sun, if you do not want to succumb to the temptations of consumerism, if you do not want your Love to be drowned in pornography, if you do not want to betray the weak and the victims of abuse and violence,"
This is the GOOD NEWS! THERE is HOPE! God Is who he Is! He can take our terrible sin or any circumstance that WE might create, and turn it into something for good. HOWEVER, the devil on the other hand will use these same circumstances to create havoc, division, hate, dissension, a turning away from the Faith, and completely banishing all Hope. He will do his best to try to bring down the Church in any way he can. But remember, GOD on the other hand can take our terrible sin and use it for the Good of his Church. How? That is a good question. Throughout salvation history, God has provided the GRACE to all who Love him, want to embrace truth, and endeavor for the good of the ‘whole’. HOWEVER, we must make the choice to cooperate with that grace or, choose not to. If we choose not to… the devil will win and prevail in the battle at hand. If we choose to say, “yes Lord, help me to help the Church'… He will give us the grace to do so. HE WILL supply the GRACE to accomplish what HIS will is for His Church, and that will is .... "to have Life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10)! If we choose to be the best person that we can be (which is His will for our individual lives), HE WILL provide the grace to do so. AS we walk and work with Him, He will be by our side; He will even carry us if He has to.You know my friends, God will prevail in the end. He said to Our first Pope, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build MY Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18) In the end… God will prevail, NOT the devil. YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK! So … my friends, may I suggest that WE choose “wisely”? Are you going to “give up the faith” and accept the devil’s lie… or are you going to start “cooperating” with the grace that God wants to give you? Me, I will choose to take the grace! That grace is available to each of us and especially available in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. CELEBRATE them often. I do not want to suggest that all this will be easy, but it will be WELL worth it in the END.
Pope Benedict XVI goes on to encourage our Youth to "Learn your FAITH, study the CCC." May I add to that - as I am sure he believes we should, especiall as adults, READ Holy Scripture daily. One of the Best things that Vatican II did for us, was to give us the NEW CCC and give us the BIBLE back. They strongly encourage us to read them both! You see, as Catholics in the last century we did not STUDY HOLY SCRIPTURES nor did many of us really understand what Sacred Tradition was. I think this may have been one of the biggest mistakes the American Chruch has made. I myself truly believe that it is the primary reasons that the Church has lost millions of the faithful to indifference and to other churches. However, "Times, they are a changing!" I thank God for His GRACE… and for the Church who makes the choice to cooperate - EVER ANEW - with it! We now have one of the BEST tools to teach the Apostolic Tradition as well as being the best study guide for Holy Scripture. It is found in the CCC. WE need to have them both in EVERY home. As you read the CCC, you need to have your bible in your other hand. If you are reading Scripture the CCC can bring difficult concepts found in Scripture to light; use them together. You see folks, Sacred Tradition can never, and will never, conflict with Holy Scripture. In addition, Holy Scripture will never conflict with Sacred Tradition. If you ‘think’ it does, you are probably missing something… Being more than 2000 years old, I have to think (NO, I know!) that the church in her Wisdom and expericne is correct. Personally, I learned that the hard way while I was away from the Church for more than 20 years. I had left and joined an Evangelical church, vowing never to return. (I will save that story for another time.) I will say this though… I thank God I’m Back HOME!
Finally, as WE the CHURCH struggle with our past… we must not look back. WE need more than ever to focus and move on LOOKING FORWARD. WE need to EDUCATE or RE-EDUCATE ourselves and get involved. We are a part of the problem… or part of the solution… YOU make the choice. I pray we ALL make the right one. GO back to Church, Buy a CCC, Buy a BIBLE and learn your faith. IF you just go to church once a week and go on about life in the same old way… I say… "That ain’t gonna cut it anymore! It is unacceptable." IF you want the rest of your family and friends to come back you have to INVEST in it! PRAYER is a very important component of this but, really, it is only half of the equation. WE are the Body of Christ and WE are His EYES, EARS, FEET, HANDS and HEART! WE are the ones that God uses to get His will done. (Remember that the next time you pray the 'Our Father’.) IF you want “...thy will be done on earth…” YOU and I need to make it happen. Did I mention prayer? Pray for our Priests, our Bishops, and the Pope, but pray especially for the Body… YOU and me .... the Church, won’t you?
Until next time, May God Bless and Keep You All,
BillMonday, March 28, 2011
Why Do I Need GOD?
There is some truth to the ole' saying, “…When the going gets tough … the tough get going.” Well, in these United States, there are not too many of us that have it very “TOUGH” when we look at other places like Africa, Haiti, China, India, and some of the other developing and under-developed countries around the globe. In the US, I am confident in saying that maybe… 90% or more of the homes have running water. The ones that do not, probably don’t have to go very far to get it. (example: Our local Amish folk.) In MANY areas of the world, there are people who have to walk miles to get drinking water every single day. Here in the US, we don’t even walk to get our groceries, unless by choice. We are very blessed in this country. “In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use. (www.water.org ) In addition, MUCH of that water is not sanitary. … However, I digress.
Yes, we are a truly a blessed people here in the US. When we look at the rest of the world MOST of us here have it DARN good! In there I think, lies our problem. Because we are so content with our double incomes, 2 cars, and all the comforts of home we are very self-sufficient. Apparently our self confidence makes us think we don't need God. Whether we intentionally feel that way or like me, we just seem to SLIP into that mindset over time; so many of us live our lives this way. I have had this mind-set during several extended periods of time in my life. I seldom gave God much thought. I had everything I needed so I wasn't 'forced' to give it much thought. There was nothing that I had to “WANT” for. LIFE IS GOOD! Sound familiar? Heck, I was so busy with my life I didn’t even take time to make friends when I first moved into this area, much less spend time with God. I really had it all! Or, so I thought.
Then comes those ‘valleys’… OH, how things can be different. It may be a health crisis, a marriage crisis, job crisis, or God forbid -the death of a loved one that KNOCKS us off our “independently high horse.” These are the times when we truly need other people, relationships, and times that we especially need God. I know I did. I hit rock bottom several years back, with a health crisis, job crisis, and marriage crisis, all at once. I was devastated and in deep depression. Even worse, I felt very much alone. The ‘poor me, self-pity party’ was long and drawn out. Whom do you think I finally turned to? You guessed it, God! It took awhile, but HE was the only one that could help me. I did attend a church some 10 years before in another city, but I did not have any church, family, or friends in this area here for support. It was just God and me for about 2 years, although I did have some valuable counseling. I am not looking for pity because although I was not being faithful to God, HE was most certainly faithful to me. Many, many years ago, He had adopted me as one of His own. I may have forgotten, but He didn’t and He was there waiting for me to make myself present to him once again. He was there, again as my Savior ... there to rescue me from the depths of despair. As I recovered my senses, I realized that in my past the happiest times were always when I was in right relationship with God. The low times and/or even the times of my “artificial” security of self-sufficiency were NOT truly happy times. It is a lesson well learned and one I am determined by the grace of God Himself, to never let happen again.
Today, I do not have the security of a double income. I live on less than half of what I did before. Yet somehow, it seems that I have so much more! God has allowed me the grace to be happy with my lot. He has been so good to me in ways I never thought possible. Yes, I still struggle financially, but I always have enough to keep food on the table, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and water in my glass. There is that old adage… Is the glass half empty? Or, is the glass half full? It’s a good question. Because I truly want to serve the Lord in my life my glass ... OVERFLOWETH with His gifts of Faith, Grace, Mercy, Hope, and especially His LOVE. Thank you Lord! What more could I want?
I ask you the question ... Are you truly happy? What is real happiness? How do you know when you are “really” happy? Don’t wait for those deep valleys and TOUGH TIMES to come before you find out. HE is there waiting, even now.
God Bless and Keep You, until next time ... Peace.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
My First Post: Welcome!
I want to Welcome you, and Thank You for visiting my blog. I hope and pray that this blog will include sound teaching as I share with you, my thoughts, dreams, frustrations, joys, and excitement as we journey together with our lived experiences. It is my intention to share and discuss the topics of the day in light of Our Faith in Jesus Christ. I am not a scripture scholar, I am not a priest, a deacon, nor do I belong to a religious order. I am a simple Catholic who loves Almighty God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the Church he established more than 2000 years ago. I like to think of myself as student of Sacred Scripture and the magisterial teaching of Mother Church. It is important to me, to present material that is in line with the ‘orthodoxy’ of the Roman Catholic Church. Should I stray from that, I hope that you will kindly correct me and lead me in the right direction.
As I blog, I will not be afraid to address the hard topics. These topics can cause great division. IF we do NOT discuss them, we begin to make assumptions, ignore the facts, and mislead one another as we generate our own opinions. That gives way to argument and division. I think that is why so many of us in the past have left the church. Like so many, I did not make a sincere investigation of the faith before I went on to another church. I did not look at the facts … nor did I look at any of the rich history of the Catholic faith. We need to look at that history, learn the facts, and discuss them, digest them, PRAY over them, and make sound judgments on them in light of Scripture and Church Teaching. That is what the magisterium has done throughout the ages. I thank God that unlike the very short history of 200+ years that we have as a Nation, we have over 2000+ years of history in the Catholic Church. That history stretches from Pope Benedict XVI all the way back to the Apostle Peter. Yes, it is a history of the good, the bad, and the ugly. A history that includes a string of imperfect men who only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit retained the Faith of the Chruch throughout the ages. Remember, Christ said, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Do you believe that? I do! Contrary to what some protestants, journalist, and atheists believe, Christ established his Church with Peter… the rock! He gave him the Keys of the Kingdom and Peter has passed on those keys and the authority that comes with them, from generation to generation. The Catholic Church has been in plain view and will remain so until our Lord returns at the end of the age. Thanks be to God!
Again, thank you for visiting my blog and I look forward to sharing with you. I hope you will return again and join in future discussion by posting comments. I welcome your thoughts.
May God bless and keep you.
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