WHY I LOVE JESUS AND A ROSARY FOR VICTORY OVER
ISLAMIC JIHAD
20/07/07 17:20 Permalink
Those tagged will share 5 things they love about Jesus and must tag 5 other bloggers. Those tagged must provide a link in the comments box here with their name so that others can read them.
I hardly find my thoughts on Jesus to be profound but here goes nevertheless--five things I love about Jesus:
1. I love Jesus because He blessed me with the most wonderful, holy, and saintly parents whose main goal for their children has always been to see them obtain heaven. I was further blessed by God with a wonderful husband who reveres truth and sacrifices his utmost for his family.
2. I love Jesus because His death gave me an opportunity to join Him for eternity in heaven and because He continues to offer Himself for me at every Mass. I love Him because He has given my children the richness and beauty of the Tridentine Mass which I was so sorely missing in my youth.
3. I love Jesus because He did not leave us alone when He ascended to heaven. He gave us a Church which He established and that has defined and explained the faith so that I am not in the dark as to what He requires for entrance into His kingdom. Also for the Sacrament of Confession so that I can know that I am truly freed from my many sins.
4. I love Jesus because he has let me fall again and again and has not called me to account for my life when I was at the bottom. He gave me the opportunity of repentance and conversion.
5. I love Jesus because He gives me Himself--Body, Blood Soul and Divinity --in the Eucharist. I love the peace, strength and life that comes with His Body and Blood.
I now tag: (1) Athos at Three Mass'keteers, (2) Mr. Thomas Shawn at Ad Jesu Per Mariam, (3) Lord David Anthony Domet at Voxcantor, (4) Mary Alexander at Against All Heresies & (5) Louise at Purcell's Chicken Voluntary
Also over at V for Victory!, Anita has put together an excellent set of intentions to defeat Islamic Jihad which correspond to the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. I will reproduce it here also:
First Glorious Mystery: The Resurrection
Mother, obtain for us the grace of the complete and utter defeat of Jihad, from your Divine Son, Who conquered death itself.
Second Glorious Mystery: The Ascension
Mother, obtain for us the grace of courageous and steadfast leaders in these dark times, from your Divine Son, Who sits at the right hand of the Father.
Third Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Mother, obtain for the world the conversion of our Muslim brothers, especially those most hardened in hatred and violence, from your Divine Son, Who inundated His Church with the Holy Spirit.
Fourth Glorious Mystery: The Assumption
Mother, obtain for those who offer their lives for freedom the grace of final perseverance and protection from unprovided death, from your Divine Son Who preserved you from the corruption of sin and death.
Fifth Glorious Mystery: The Coronation
Mother, obtain for us at last the triumph of your Immaculate Heart from your Divine Son, Who has given us such a Queen and Mother.
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CATHOLICS MUST RECLAIM THEIR SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL
DISTINCTIVENESS
14/07/07 14:24 Permalink
A new survey of more than 4000 adults reveals that the average American Catholic, or those who profess to be Catholic, have completely compromised with the culture to the point that many Catholics have entirely lost their spiritual distinctiveness--and need I say--faith. Fr John Hardon used to say that ordinary Catholics would not survive this age--it appears his words are ringing true. The motu proprio could not have come at a better time-it will solidify the cultural distinctiveness that Catholics once possessed and revive true holiness and sanctification in our Church and our world. Meanwhile, read, grieve and pray...
The Barna Group "examined 97 different facets of the lives of Catholics, comparing them to national norms. The outcome is striking: Catholics are virtually indistinguishable from people aligned with other faith groups - except in the area of faith."
"Although the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Catholic has dropped from three out of ten to slightly more than two out of ten in the past two decades, Catholics remain the largest denominational segment in the country (22%). These days, however, they are as mainstream as any people group in the nation...The Barna Group examined 97 different facets of the lives of Catholics, comparing them to national norms."
"44% of Catholics claimed to be "absolutely committed" to their Christian Faith compared to 54% of the entire adult population. Catholics were less likely than average to look forward to discussing their religious views with other people, to attending church services, and to reading the Bible. Catholics were only half as likely as other Americans to say they look forward "a lot" to reading from the Bible."
Faith oriented Behaviors: "The typical Catholic person: donated about 17% less money to churches; was 38% less likely than the average American to read the Bible; 67% less likely to attend a Sunday school class; 20% less likely to share their faith in Christ with someone who had different beliefs; 24% less likely to say their religious faith has greatly transformed their life; and were 36% less likely to have an "active faith," which Barna defined as reading the Bible, praying and attending a church service during the prior week."
Here is a little good news--"Catholics were 16% more likely than the norm to attend a church service and 8% more likely to have prayed to God during the prior week."
As for Spiritual Beliefs: "Catholics were significantly less likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; and only half as likely to maintain that they have a responsibility to share their faith with others. [Catholics] were more likely than the norm to say that Satan is not real; to believe that eternal salvation is earned; and to contend that Jesus Christ sinned while on earth."
As to Moral Convictions: "Among the 16 moral behaviors examined, Catholics were notably more likely to not say mean things about people behind their back, and were more likely to engage in recycling. However, they were also twice as likely to view pornographic content on the Internet and were more likely to use profanity, to gamble, and to buy lottery tickets."
"Among the moral behaviors in which Catholics were indistinguishable from other Americans were illegally downloading copyrighted music from the Internet, stealing, engaging in physical abuse, getting drunk, using illegal, non-prescription drugs, lying, committing adultery, and seeking revenge."
And Catholics are as wordly as the rest: "Regarding aspects of life outside of faith and morals, Catholics are strikingly similar to the rest of the public. For example, from the 14 self-descriptions offered to survey respondents, the only adjective that separated Catholics from other Americans was their disinclination to adopt the term "evangelical Christian." Catholics were 39% less likely to accept that label. But all of the other adjectives - ranging from "independent thinker," "seen as a leader," and "loyal and reliable" to "stressed out" and "clear about the meaning and purpose of my life" - generated virtually identical scores between Catholics and others."
"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48
To read the entire study see: The Barna Group
"THE RATZINGER EFFECT"
06/07/07 14:51 Permalink
"With donations to the Church from around the world almost doubling and pilgrims pouring into Rome in ever-greater numbers, Vatican watchers are beginning to reassess the two-year-old pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and noting a positive “Ratzinger effect”.
Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, head of economic affairs at the Holy See, said that the “remarkable increase” in both donations and numbers of pilgrims showed that there was “a symbiosis, a mutual sympathy between this Pope and Christian people everywhere”.
Presenting the Holy See’s annual budget yesterday, Cardinal Sebastiani noted that not only had it closed last year with a surplus of €2.4 million, partly thanks to diocesan donations, there had also been a “huge jump” in “Peter’s Pence”, the annual church collections given directly to the Pope to use for charity, from $60 million (£30 million) in 2005 to $102 million. “The days when people talked of papal bankruptcy are past,” said Marco Tosatti, Vatican correspondent of La Stampa.
Record numbers attend Benedict’s weekly audiences, and seven million people a year now visit St Peter’s, a rise of 20 per cent. Similar increases are recorded for pilgrimages to Catholic shrines at Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima in Portugal and Madonna di Guadalupe in Mexico. “This is a Ratzinger phenomenon,” reported La Repubblica."
FOR THE FULL STORY : TIMESONLINE