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Monday, October 26, 2015

Traditional Catholicism

The Church has a great tradition, with doctrine that helps individuals focus on what is right, follow the path of the Lord, and endure suffering.  The following paints the picture:
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via capuchin.org

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Satan's Attack on Family

The Vatican document – Instrumentum Laboris (working instrument) -- which is more than 22,000 words long, does not even mention “Satan,” “Lucifer,” or the “Devil.” Nor does it mention “demon.”
In his objection, Archbishop Peter Fulop Kocsis, head of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church, further stressed that “a spiritual struggle is required in order to fight the attacks of Satan in these our times,” and this should be emphasized in the document, as reported the Catholic group Voice of the Family on Oct. 12.
In his objection, or intervention about the document at the synod, currently ongoing at the Vatican, Archbishop Kocsis said that although he was focusing on paragraph eight, chapter one, he sensed “a general deficiency in the text as a whole.”
Many of the paragraphs “speak of a changed society and epoch, calling these difficulties which have appeared in recent times ‘challenges,’” said the archbishop. But “it appears to me that the text misses a clarification which is more precise from its inception, from the root of these changes: From where do they come?”
“The great part of these [changes] are not compatible with the plan of God; they do not come from Him,” said the archbishop.  “If it is thus, then it must be said: From where do these changes, these difficulties, derive?”
“We must say with clarity that in our very spoilt world the family and the man of good will with good intentions is under attack, under a ferocious and enormous attack,” said Archbishop Kocsis.  “And this attack is of the Devil.”
“We must call these diabolic forces which have a role to play with these phenomena by name because this way we can find some indications even for the research of possible solutions,” he said,
The archbishop then quoted Ephesians 6, 12: “Our battle in fact is not against flesh and blood, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against the dominations of the dark world, against the spirits of evil that live in the celestial regions.
“Thus, we can clearly see that in reality a spiritual struggle is required in order to fight the attacks of Satan in these our times,” said the archbishop.
“I would very much see with favor a marked emphasis of this spiritual struggle, even in the final part of the document where the proposals and possible solutions must be formulated,” he said.
Quoting Ephesians again, the archbishop said, “Take therefore the armor of God, in order that you may resist in the evil day and remain firm after having overcome all of the obstacles.
Paragraph eight of chapter one of the Vatican document is entitled “Cultural Contradictions,” and discusses how “a certain kind of feminism” belittles motherhood, and how some cultural forces want to put a same-sex “relationship” on the “same level as the marital relationship” between one man and one woman.
This produces “confusion” and “relegates the special bond between biological difference (male and female), reproduction and human identity to an individualistic choice,” reads the document.
In addition to not mentioning Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, and demon, the Vatican document on the family does not mention Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, all of which are integral to the Catholic faith.
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Friday, October 16, 2015

Intuition

What is "intuition"?
It's a feeling, an inclination. Often it can be a nudge from an angel, from the Holy Spirit.
As such, it's a higher form of perceiving.
It's not something that can be measured on a standard test for "intelligence."
It's what has propelled many who've succeeded as entrepreneurs or investors or inventors. A hunch, a notion, a sense. It comes to us instantly without conscious reasoning.
Think back at some of your hunches! How many mothers "just got this feeling" when a child was in peril?
You just "knew" something.
Did you pray to deepen the understanding?
At times, it keeps us from danger.
An example came just last week (10/1/15) in that horrible Northwest shooting.
"An Oregon student narrowly missed a massacre that left nine innocent victims dead at her community college -- thanks to 'a weird gut feeling' that stopped her from setting foot on campus on Thursday, she told The New York Post," reported the newspaper.
"Bre Larson, 19, who is studying psychology at Umpqua Community College, in Roseburg, had planned to do her homework in the school library at ten a.m. Thursday, when she was struck by a powerful premonition. 'I had planned go to there to make a Power Point presentation for my speech class. It's my favorite place to study. I set my alarm for nine a.m. but I got this weird feeling,' the second-year student said."
A day after that, last Friday (10/2/15), Pope Francis, speaking at St. Marta's House, said about one's guardian angel, "He is always with us! And this is a reality. It's like having God's ambassador with us. And the Lord advises us: 'Respect his presence!' And when we, for example, commit a sin and believe that we're on our own: No, he is there. Show respect for his presence. Listen to his voice because he gives us advice. When we hear that inspiration: 'But do this...this is better... we should not do that.' Listen! Do not go against him. All he asks is that we listen to him and respect him. That's all: respect and listening (to him)."
There are many times when what we want is not what is good for us and many times when a feeling deep within makes no sense but in retrospect. The intuition, like creativity (which also evades academic evaluation), is the place where mind meets spirit. One day we will all be surprised at how many times it led us to those we met and likewise kept us from perils. There are so many!
As another woman told a website devoted to angels: "I will never forget this one day God saved my life. I was very pregnant and I was at the medical clinic getting prenatal care and my husband was supposed to pick me up after and take me home, as he had the car. He never showed and I had no money, no way home, and no one to call for a ride nearly forty miles away. I knew I had to hitchhike. It was pretty terrible being in that position, but I was stuck.
"On my way home, after a couple of rides, God spoke to me through my intuition. A spiritual voice told me, like an angel, 'A man in a white truck is going to come and ask you if you want a ride. Do not get in.' I was calm and safe with no fear.
"Sure enough a man in a white truck came by and asked if I wanted a ride. I said 'no thanks' and kept walking. He left, but came back a little bit later. This time he was going the opposite direction, stopped in front of me, and was a little more stern. I said, 'No.' He came again and this time he was down right mean and demanding that I get in. I could tell that he had serious ill intent. I walked on the other side of the road, determined, and he left me alone. If it was not for God's warning I am sure I would have accepted a ride from the man as I had a long way home yet to travel and I would have had no reason to say no. God saved my life that day. I never felt fear or doubt. I was blessed and protected by my heavenly hosts."
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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Ecce Homo

Every man, particularly today, must come to a mature acceptance and understanding of what it means to be a man. This may seem obvious, but in our world, there are many distorted images and much evidence of confusion regarding what is true masculinity. We can say that for the first time in history, people have become either so confused or so arrogant as to attempt to dictate their masculinity or femininity according to their own definitions.

At one striking moment of Jesus’ trial, Pontius Pilate, with all his worldly power, presented Jesus to the crowd with the words, Ecce homo – Latin meaning “Here is the man!” Thinking he was merely pointing to a man from Nazareth, he failed to recognize that he was pointing to God made man – the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth – who at once is fully God and fully man, and the perfection of masculinity. Every moment of his life on earth is a revelation of the mystery of what it means to be man – that is, to be fully human and also, the model of masculinity. Nowhere else can we find the fullness of masculinity as we do in the Son of God. Only in Jesus Christ can we find the highest display of masculine virtue and strength that we need in our personal lives and in society itself. What was visible in Christ’s earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine Sonship and redemptive mission. The Father sent his Son to reveal what it means to be a man, and the fullness of this revelation becomes evident on the Cross. He tells us that it was for this reason that He came into the world, that it is his earnest desire to give himself totally to us.[9] Herein lies the fullness of masculinity; each Catholic man must be prepared to give himself completely, to charge into the breach, to engage in spiritual combat, to defend women, children, and others against the wickedness and snares of the devil!

Looking to what the secular world holds up as “manly” is in fact to look at shadows – or even at outright counterfeits – of masculinity. No athlete, no matter how many awards; no political leader, no matter the power he wields; no performer, business man, or celebrity, no matter how much adored; no physical attribute or muscle mass; no intelligence or talent; no prizes or achievements can bestow masculinity on a man. The idolatry of celebrities at this time is a particular temptation, but to build one’s masculine identity on such fleeting models is to build an identity on sand. My Catholic sons and brothers, we can only build a certain foundation for masculinity on the rock, Jesus Christ. We look to our Savior to be transformed in Him, to be the men we are called to be, and to let others see Him in us.

Yet we do not merely look to Jesus. We truly encounter Christ at Mass when we receive the very gift of Himself in the Eucharist.   For this reason, I call upon my brother priests to awaken the sense of transcendence in the hearts of men through reverent and beautiful liturgy, helping men to rediscover Jesus in the Eucharist each and every Sunday. I ask my brother priests to teach the faithful about the powerful truth of the liturgy, especially in ways to which men can relate. Teaching men to understand the fullness and power of the Mass must be a top priority. What a joy it is for men of God when they are led by priests who have a confident sense of their own masculinity, their call to participate in Christ’s spousal love, and their generous, life-giving fatherhood!

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Friday, October 2, 2015

Boys to Men

Intrigued by something called the “men’s rights movement” I ordered some books by the activists of the movement (all by women, interestingly). Offering an alternative theory for why men are absent, aloof, and irresponsible, they claim men are not abandoning traditional responsibilities but are simply going “on strike”. The claim is that men are very logical, and if society says they are unnecessary or dangerous then they pull away from society into associations of gamers, perpetual bachelors, or simply unmotivated couch-potatoes (the last one is dealt with at length in Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men, by Dr. Leonard Sax). In Men on Strike, for example, Dr. Helen Smith explains that men are constantly bombarded with claims that they are lazy, stupid, and unnecessary, and we want them that way because in the past men basically caused all of the problems – tyrants, war-mongers, inquisitors, etc. No longer are they potential conquerors or wannabe heroes, but tamed village idiots. From preschool when they begin their flattening out to college when “their kind” becomes the enemy of all underdogs throughout history, they are sold the story that traditional masculinity, that thing they feel drawn to as if they were made that way, is enemy number one. I’m not sure I can get on board with the whole men’s’ rights movement, but they clearly have a point here. It is overwhelmingly clear that traditional characteristics of masculinity are simply not welcomed in society and are seen as actual dangers to social harmony. Boys typically become “trouble” the moment they get to school where their natural desire for competition, danger, and activity are suppressed. We just keep popping that little rambunctious mole on the head until it stays in its hole, and if he doesn’t, well, we have pills for that. But then in 15 years when he stays in the basement playing with “man-toys” we bemoan that he won’t come out and “man-up.” It is an atmosphere that strangles normal, healthy masculinity. That is, unless you see normal, healthy masculinity as a threat and danger – in that case it’s working just fine. Worse than public schools for masculinity is average Catholic parish USA. Public schools are graduating about 70% of their boys, but if we consider the most basic practice of Catholics, going to Mass, we’re only “graduating” about 30% (see Catholic Man-Crisis Fact Sheet). I’m no statistician, but I’m pretty sure that is not the model of sustainability. Like boys in school, the natural, good, masculine traits of men are not welcomed in average parish USA. I think it’s time we see this more clearly and not just blame men for not “manning up” in their faith. It’s not a “man” problem exactly, because the issues are not the same in other global religions or in the global East and South. It is a unique problem here. Religion is not losing men; Catholics in the West are losing men. So, as suggested by the men’s rights activists, maybe we should stop blaming men and start reflecting. In my experience I think there are four especially strong ways we’re making men unwelcome: - See more at:
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