catholicfemininegenius:

restlesshippo:

….and one of his chief aims is to spread the tragedy of abortion across the globe.  Ironic, isn’t it.

^ hm, never thought of it that way.

catholicfemininegenius:

est33:

So, this video has been floating around the internet for a couple days now. It’s getting a lot of circulation by religious and non-religious alike. However, there are quite a few things I don’t agree with in this guy’s message. I feel like he is just trying appeal to the non/anti-religious by saying, “I hate religion but love Jesus.” Is this how we should evangelize? How can someone who is obviously religious say that they aren’t? Why should anyone listen to somebody who contradicts himself in their first statement? 

What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?

Was it when he said,

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. -Matthew 5:17

or,

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. -Matthew 16:18

What if I told you getting you to vote republican, really wasn’t his mission? Because republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,

I hate the whole Republican=Christian idea. Obviously you don’t vote for someone just because of their party affiliation or because of the religion they identify with. Just because Nancy Pelosi is Catholic, should I vote for her? 

And just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.

Agree.

If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?

Not all wars are started by religion. Actually, many of the most recent wars were started either by atheist governments and non-practicing religious. I’ll also add that the prosecution of religious continues in atheist-minded governments today.

Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?

Christian churches, especially the Catholic Church are the largest charitable organizations today.

Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever been divorced

That’s terrible. I don’t know what church this happens in.

Yet God in the Old Testament actually calls the religious people whores

I’m not sure what he is specifically referring to, but if it’s anything like the way Jesus approaches the pharisees, then Jesus does chastise these priests. Not because they were religious, but because they didn’t practice what they preached.  

Religion preaches grace, but another thing they practice, Tend to ridicule Gods people, they did it to John the Baptist, Cant fix their problems, so they try to mask it, Not realizing that’s just like sprayin perfume on a casket

Not really certain what he means here. Do people ridicule the validity of Baptism as a Sacrament? 

Because the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core, It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores. Let’s dress up the outside, make things look nice and neat, Its funny that’s what they do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath,

Behavior modification? Really? When Jesus came, didn’t he teach us what is right? The disciples and apostles all changed their lifestyles completely. Some of them were fisherman, carpenters, farmers, etc. They left it all behind to follow Jesus. How can he refer to life changing experiences as, “behavior modification?” I agree with the second half of this part.

Now I ain’t judging I’m just saying be careful of putting on a fake look, Because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by that little section on your facebook

Agree.

In every other aspect of life you know that logics unworthy. Its like saying you play for the lakers just because you bought a jersey

Agree.

But see I played this game too; no one seemed to be on to me, I was acting like church kid, while addicted to pornography. I’d go to church on Sunday, but on saturday getting faded, Acting as if I was simply created to have sex and get wasted. Spend my whole life putting on this façade of neatness, But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.

I can’t really say anything about his testimony. It really is up to us to get to know Jesus. Just physically being present in church on Sundays isn’t enough. In order to maintain your relationship with Jesus, it is important to go to Confession, receive the Eucharist at least once a year, read the Bible, read your YouCat, and pray, pray, pray.

If grace is water, then the church should be an ocean, Cuz its not a museum for good people, it’s a hospital for the broken I no longer have to hide my failures I don’t have to hide my sin, Because my salvation doesn’t depend on me, it depends on him. because when I was Gods enemy and certainly not a fan, God looked down on me and said, “I want that man!” Which is so different from religious people, and why Jesus called em fools Don’t you see hes so much better than just following some rules?

I’ve heard Peter Kreeft say, “The Church is not a hotel for Saints, it’s a hospital for sinners.” And it’s true. Because of concupiscence we are highly inclined to continue sinning. It is through Jesus’ Church that we are able to heal from this sin. I don’t understand how he can blatantly “rule-bash,” as though he doesn’t follow a set of rules, religious or societal.

Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and I believe in sin But my question, is if Jesus were here today, would your church let Him in? Remember He was called a drunkard and a glutton by  “religious men” The Son of God not supported self-righteousness, not now, not then.

He doesn’t really make his love for the Church clear in previous verses. I’ll have to cut this analysis short because I’m running out of time. It seems like his “Hate for religion,” stems from his misunderstanding of what religion is, a set of beliefs. How can someone with a set of beliefs hate a set of beliefs? Jesus definitely does not have a problem with people with a set of beliefs, especially those whom He gave something to believe in. Again, Jesus didn’t chastise religious people for being “religious,” he chastised them for being hypocrites that didn’t practice what they preached. While I don’t deny this man’s talent for spoken word, (I highly enjoyed his last video) I don’t think that making an un-backed claim against religion is the way to spread Christianity, a religion.

If Jesus hates religion then why did he follow his Jewish religion so faithfully? And how do you keep your faith strong without a community of believers to help you? How does a single coal keep the fire going when it is a part from the pile on fire?

fathershane:

Too cool.

People usually start off a reflection with a quote from a Bible or someone that’s famous. For me today, I would just share my thoughts on some of the things the Lord has been showing me.

I ought to think that, life on this earth is not forever. However, I believe God meant for us to enjoy the life under the heavens and savor the moments. With that being said, that doesn’t mean that we are going to be happily cheerios all the time. There’s a time for everything. Indeed as it is said in Ecclesiastes 3, 1 “There’s an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.” Now how about that for “a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.”

However, Jesus also said we have to pick up our own cross and follow Him. We are going to suffer. In fact, I realize that everyone is facing some kind of battle in their personal life. My point is…Enjoy the moments God give you; you never know what is coming for you. However, in faith and in love, we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God and He is with us until the end of time.

A quote showed up on my wall today from #fathershane, basically, Pope Benedict XVI said Jesus is present in every tabernacle as a mean of his love for us, thus, we ought to go see him and present our love to him. Do you have the chance to do that? Do it if you can. Just pop your head in and say hi to Jesus. He’ll appreciate that!!

Thanksgiving is almost here. Prayers to all in this wonderful time of the year, this is an opportunity to thank, to think and to reflect on the Lord’s goodness. Thank You Lord for Your generosity. May Mama Mary gently leads you closer to Jesus, as saint Padre Pio once said, taking the time to get to know Mama Mary and she will only lead you closer to her son.

God Bless, 

We need to hear more stories like this in the news:

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

“He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, “like what’s going on here?” Diaz says. “He asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

Diaz replied: “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me … hey, you’re more than welcome.

“You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help,” Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

“The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi,” Diaz says. “The kid was like, ‘You know everybody here. Do you own this place?’”

“No, I just eat here a lot,” Diaz says he told the teen. “He says, ‘But you’re even nice to the dishwasher.’”

Diaz replied, “Well, haven’t you been taught you should be nice to everybody?”

“Yea, but I didn’t think people actually behaved that way,” the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. “He just had almost a sad face,” Diaz says.

The teen couldn’t answer Diaz — or he didn’t want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, “Look, I guess you’re going to have to pay for this bill ‘cause you have my money and I can’t pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I’ll gladly treat you.”

The teen “didn’t even think about it” and returned the wallet, Diaz says. “I gave him $20 … I figure maybe it’ll help him. I don’t know.”

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen’s knife — “and he gave it to me.”

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, “You’re the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch.”

“I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It’s as simple as it gets in this complicated world.”