Where was the big sacrifice?

Q: Okay, it’s my understanding Jesus got up after being dead two days, and started walking around like nothing ever happened.

That’s all well and good.

Here’s my big question though: Where was the big sacrifice?

It was a really short death.

How was he able to atone for all church folks’ sins, past, present and future, with so short a death?

A: If you were God, heretofore comfortably ensconced in heaven … spending some 34 years in an ordinary human body, living in 1st century Palestine … a putrid backwater of the world, under Roman occupation … culminating in excruciating suffering and death … would indeed constitute a real and personal sacrifice … no matter how long Jesus might have remained dead.

For a study of all the specific practical and theological dynamics of Christ’s singular mission, go here:

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-shor…

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-shor…

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/the-pa…

Did Mary and Joseph have other children besides Jesus?

Q: Did Mary and Joseph have other children besides Jesus?

A: Absolutely not.

Mary was subject to a specific provision of the the Mosaic Law, to wit:

Leviticus 27:28  Any thing that is devoted to the Lord, whether it be man, or beast, or field, shall not be sold: neither may it be redeemed. Whatsoever is once consecrated shall be holy of holies to the Lord. See also: Numbers 30:1-16.

Mary was and is a perpetual virgin, dedicated solely and completely to God from a very young age, her subsequent marriage not withstanding.

Once dedicated to God, such a vow survives marriage and everything else.

Joseph was her most chaste spouse, and a willing servant of God.

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-shor…

Why don’t we (Christians) keep the Saturday Sabbath?

Q: I understand that we are not under the law because Jesus fulfilled the law. However, we still try to obey the ten commandments. Jesus didn’t tell us we had to stop obeying them. We even fight here in the US to keep the ten commandments on court house walls. We don’t murder. We try not to covet. Etc…etc….

So, my question is, WHY DON’T WE KEEP THE SABBATH? I have read that the Catholic Church was the one that changed it from Saturday to Sunday. I don’t know if that’s true or not. Regardless, we try to keep all of the other commandments, including the two that Jesus commanded, so why not the Sabbath?

A: Nobody perfectly keeps the commandments, not even those who try.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled and respectfully set aside every aspect of the old law, with no exceptions.

If he had not, then we would all still be stuck with every jot and tittle of the old law, until the end of time.

The New Covenant was indeed all new, not a rehash of the old, and it is based on the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Not any law.

The Catholic Church, given the awesome and unrestricted power of binding and loosing by Jesus Christ, readopted and readapted the spirit of the old commandments to the new covenant realities.

Hence, the ten commandments of the Church are different in both word and application from the commandments of old.

This would explain the difference in the way the sabbath is observed today, by most Christians.

Instead of the curse of the law, we now enjoy the grace, mercy, and peace of Jesus Christ, who alone is the definitive end of the law.

Much more on this here:

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/christ…

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c1a3.h…

Did Mary really have a little lamb?

Q: Did Mary really have a little lamb?

A: Jesus, the Lamb of God.

As for Mary, her sanctity, and her perpetual virginity:

Leviticus 27:28  Any thing that is devoted to the Lord, whether it be man, or beast, or field, shall not be sold: neither may it be redeemed. Whatsoever is once consecrated shall be holy of holies to the Lord.

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-short-course-why-catholics-venerate-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

Jesus is his own father: Yes or No?

Q: People: Why don’t you accept Jesus is his own father?

A: God the Father is Jesus’ father.

Jesus is eternally begotten of the Father, and of the same godly “stuff”.

That makes him God, too … but Jesus is also a distinct, divine person, in his own right … just as you are a human child, begotten of your own human parents, and so a distinct person in your own right, but fully human as well.

Jesus took on flesh at his incarnation, becoming fully man, as well … but that’s a topic for another time.

“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”

Q: There’s a movie where Jesus …before he leaves he blows out a wind or something and gives all his closest disciple’s the holy spirit and then Jesus tells them something like….”Whoever you forgive will be forgiven and whoever you don’t forgive will not be forgiven.”

My question is this (and I want the real answer): Does what Jesus left these disciples have some kind of power over us? And if so, what does it do? Also… What happens if these guys don’t forgive us and what happens if they do? Jesus trusts these guys with our souls? Why?

A: The first thing Jesus did after he rose again from the dead was to give the power to forgive sins to the apostles, who were the first bishops of the Catholic Church.

That power has been handed down to the current day bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, and it is known as the sacrament of reconciliation.

It is the most provocative, “in-your-face” attack against the forces of evil that the world has ever seen, or ever will see.

The power to forgive sins comes from grace that Jesus obtained for us on the cross … power that Jesus entrusted to his authentic Church, for the purpose of our salvation.

Through the power of God, priests and bishops provide absolution (absolute forgiveness) for sins if one is contrite (sorry for them) and repentant (willing to make a good attempt to avoid committing the same sins in the future).

Absent both of these, sins typically are not forgiven.

Once sins have been forgiven, there is no need for divine judgment, and God will never bring them up again.

It doesn’t get any better than that, this side of Heaven.

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/?s=reconciliation

http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Sin/Sin_010.htm

Is There A “Right Way” To Pray?

Q: I don’t memorize all the prayers, but when I do talk to God, I talk to him like a friend, like how you would talk to a friend, like when I think to myself, I’m not just thinking to myself, I’m thinking/talking to God in my head.

When I say I talk to him like a friend, I mean literally like how you would talk to your best friend or drinking buddy, or something.

Is that wrong? Is there a right way of doing this? It’s weird but sometimes, he kind of answers back in different ways I can’t explain …  or am I just crazy?

A: You can talk to God any time you like, and just about any way you like, but by failing to understand the practical value of traditional Catholic prayers, you do yourself a great disservice.

The main purpose of tradiitonal Catholic prayers is to provide a regular, proven, and time-tested way of giving God thanks and praise, telling him you’re sorry for your sins, asking him for whatever you might need, promising to try to do better next time around, and reaffirming your faith.

If you’re not covering all these “bases” in your conversations with God, then you’re probably leaving yourself in a precarious spiritual situation.

I suggest that you begin supplementing your existing prayer life with an “Our Father” a “Hail Mary” a “Glory Be” and the “Fatima Prayer”.

That way, by devoting only about two minutes of additional prayer time, you’ll leave nothing out and leave nothing to chance, and you’ll be spiritually prepared for just about anything that might come your way.

Believe me, you’re going to need it.

Why did Mary (Jesus’ mother) remain a virgin even though she was married?

Q: Why did Mary (Jesus’ mother) remain a virgin even though she was married?

A: Actually, there were quite a number of young virgins waiting for God to choose them to be the mother of the Messiah, but no one knew which of them it might be, or when.

It was not uncommon for young Jewish girls to be dedicated solely to God from a very young age, having taken a perpetual vow of virginity that would permit marriage, but not sexual relations.

Numbers, Chapter 30, makes specific provision for this, under the Mosaic Law.

Once confirmed in this course of action (perpetual virginity) no one, not even the husband, could ever contest it.

Take a look at this short slide show on the Virgin Mary, and you should be able to easily put all of this together for yourself:

Click here to see “Why Catholics Venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary”

12 Myths Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer

Click here for the article

Submitted by Doria2

Legion of Mary – Intercession

Christmas At Arlington National Cemetery

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell…

Submitted by Ken K.

Washington D.C. Christmas Tree

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., is decorated with 3,000 ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren. Encircling evergreens in the ‘Pathway of Peace’ represent the 50 U.S. states. 

Submitted by Ken K.

Christmas, Mary’s Magnificat, beautifully prefigured in the Old Testament

Hannah is the barren woman of Israel longing for the son that would fulfill her. Realizing that she is at last with child, her heart cries out to the Lord, with gratitude and joy:

1Samuel  2:1-10
My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God. Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting: let old matters depart from your mouth: for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared. The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength. They that were full before, have hired out themselves for bread: and the hungry are filled, so that the barren hath borne many: and she that had many children is weakened. The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to hell, and bringeth back again. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he humbleth and he exalteth:  He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from the dunghill: that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord’s, and upon them he hath set the world. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; because no man shall prevail by his own strength. The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens: The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.

Hannah’s son became the great prophet Samuel, one of only two prophets that God singled out for special mention in the the Old Testament scriptures, the man who was given the singular honor of anointing David, who was the first of the Royal House of which Jesus is the eternal King.

Some 900 years later, we find a young maiden of Nazareth being hailed by an angel, who asks her to become the mother of the Messiah, the one who would fulfill the eternal destiny of Israel and that of the whole world. Not suprisingly, Mary’s heart also cried out to the Lord in gratitude and joy, as she recalled Hannah’s words, and became their eternal fulfillment:

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Click here for more

Legend of the candy cane

Click here to view it

Submitted by Ken K.

Jobs available with the U.S. Census Department

Click here to visit the official website

ROOT CAUSE OF THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS

December 19, 2008

ROOT CAUSE OF THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS

Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why the war on Christmas exists:

“The root cause of the war on Christmas, which is conducted almost exclusively by well-educated white people in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia-the very same people who like gay marriage-has almost nothing to do with fidelity to law (the First Amendment in the U.S.): it has to do with ideology.

“The ideology is plainly an expression of left-wing secularism, and it is nothing if not anti-Western and anti-Christian. At its worst, it is driven by hatred; at its best, it is driven by a defensive posture, a deep sense of embarrassment over the legacy of Western civilization. There is no historical or moral justification for either. Moreover, those who are pushing this agenda generally lie about their work.

“When Patricia Short, the principal of Will Rogers Elementary in Ventura County, California, says of the school’s holiday choir that ‘We can’t have anything with a religious reference,’ she is flatly wrong: not only is there no law barring religious songs being sung in the public schools, the courts have affirmed just the opposite (see the 1980 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Florey v. Sioux Falls School District). To show how duplicitous these cultural fascists are, consider that when a Jewish woman from North Carolina failed to get an elementary school to ban ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,’ she pushed to get a Hanukkah song sung. So it’s not religious songs that bother her, just Christian ones.

“Want proof that hate is driving this assault? The head of the ACLU in New Hampshire, Claire Ebel, advises that if crèches are allowed in parks, it is permissible ‘for a display of satanic ritual.’ And this hatred of Christmas is not exclusive to the U.S. In England, Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary called Christmas ‘evil’ in a recent sermon. No wonder they are banning words like ‘bishop,’ ‘chapel,’ ‘monk’ and ‘nun’ from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. And all of this is being endorsed, if not promoted, by self-hating Christians, as well.”

Click Here for the  Catholic League Website

Book Selection: Liberalism Is A Sin

The definitive work on the sin of Liberalism, produced by a 19th century Spanish priest.

There’s lots to read here, but if you take it a chapter at a time, it will go down easily.

Click here to read the free, electronic edition 

Download the PDF file

When did Catholics begin praying to Mary and why?

Q: When did Catholics begin praying to Mary and why?

A:  After Jesus returned to Heaven, Mary remained the closest living link to Jesus, on the earth.

It’s not difficult to imagine how a brief personal encounter with the Blessed Virgin might provide inspiration to the faithful, and also provide faithful witness to an often incredulous and unbelieving world.

During such encounters, it was certainly not unusual for someone to ask Mary to pass along prayers and petitions to her divine son, Jesus. In fact, nothing could be more natural.

When Mary’s earthly existence was complete, those who knew her, particularly St. John, who was entrusted with her care by Christ, never believed for a moment that God would permit her holy and virginal human body to see the corruption of the grave.

Shortly after her body was placed in the tomb, the tomb was found to be empty, leading the apostles to believe that Mary had indeed been assumed into Heaven by the power of God, where she immediately received the fullness of all God’s rewards.

According to the Bible, those rewards include ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ, enthronement in a place of honor, and a share in God’s own divine life.

By virtue of our baptism, Catholics have the right to pray to anyone in Heaven, for any good reason.

This takes nothing at all away from the worship we reserve for God alone. It is simply the logical and natural way of staying in touch with all the members of the Body of Christ.

Mary is a living icon of the Church, the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, the holiest and most gracefully successful creature who ever lived, and the God-appointed intercessor on our behalf, with her divine son Jesus.

That’s plenty of reasons to stay in touch with her. Not that we can’t also pray to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, whenever we like.

https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/a-shor…

http://www.askmeaboutgod.org/passionfina…

The Eucharist, the Eucharistic Prayer, and the Mass

The Eucharistic Prayer of Mass
(from the USCCB)

The Eucharistic Prayer or Canon of the Mass is the central prayer of the entire celebration. Most Catholics have been made aware from their earliest days that during the Eucharistic Prayer the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. What many Catholics are not aware of, however, is that the Eucharistic Prayer is about more than adoring Christ who becomes present in our midst.

The Church tells us that liturgy (and the Mass is the highpoint and heart of liturgy) is the action of Christ the Priest and His Body, the Church. In the celebration of Mass, during the Eucharistic Prayer, not only does Christ become present, body and blood, soul and divinity, under the forms of bread and wine, but Christ’s saving action, His passion, death and resurrection are once again enacted and offered to the Father by Christ Himself in the person of the Priest or Bishop, and by all present.

This is a truth of enormous significance! This action of Christ which brought about our redemption from sin and eternal death, offered once for all on Calvary, becomes present again for us, here and now, in this time and place, so that we can join in Christ’s perfect offering and we can ourselves participate in His perfect worship.

Read carefully any of the Eucharistic Prayers. You will see that the prayer is offered, not to Christ, but to the Father: Father, you are holy indeed …; Father, we bring you these gifts …; Father, we ask you …. It is worship offered to the Father by Christ as it was at the moment of His passion, death and resurrection, but now it is offered through the Priest or Bishop acting in the person of Christ – in persona Christi – and it is offered as well by all of us who are part of Christ’s Body, the Church. This is the action of Christ’s Body – the Church at Mass.

When the Priest or Bishop prays the Eucharistic Prayer he prays we bring you these gifts; we ask you …; we offer. That we signifies that all the baptized present at this Eucharistic celebration make this offering in union with Christ, pray this prayer in union with Him. And what is most important, we do not offer Christ alone; we are called to offer ourselves, our lives, our individual efforts to grow more like Christ and our efforts as a community of believers to spread God’s Word and to serve His people, to the Father in union with Christ through the hands of the Priest or Bishop. Most wonderful of all, although our offering is in itself imperfect, joined with the offering of Christ it becomes perfect praise and thanksgiving to the Father.

And so, during the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, we have more to do than to look forward to the moment of Consecration and remain there while the prayer of the Bishop or Priest continues.

Before the Consecration we join in the prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the Father known as the Preface and affirm that praise and thanksgiving in our singing of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). Following the Consecration we join together in the Memorial Acclamation which proclaims our common faith in Christ’s Real Presence and is an acclamation expressing our gratitude to Christ for His wonderful gift of salvation.

But then our prayer moves on and we are called to offer Christ, and ourselves with Christ to the Father: ‘We offer to you, Father, this holy and living sacrifice…’ and to pray with the Priest or Bishop that ‘we who are nourished by His Body and Blood may be filled with the Holy Spirit and become one body, one spirit in Christ…’; we then join our prayers with the prayers of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints for our Holy Father the Pope, our Bishops and clergy and all God’s people, living and dead.

At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest or Bishop sums up all that has gone before: ‘ Through Him (Christ), with Him (Christ), in Him ‘(Christ) in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever.’ And we who are privileged to make our own offering through, with and in Christ, respond with the most important acclamation of the Mass, the great AMEN by which we profess the action of Christ to be our action as well.

Click here to visit the website

A short slide show on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 

Vatican Christmas Tree

In addition to the Vatican’s heavenly evergreen, St. Peter’s Square in Rome hosts a larger-than- life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

Submitted by Ken K.