Was it last Sunday's Gospel reading?, Padraig because this hit me like a brick on the face - Mark 16v15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Of course our priest conveniently ignored this sentence in his homily!
He can't but say that Our Lord and His Mother tried Their very best for him. Thank you for this wonderful account of a stunning miracle.
I think it was stunning because it was so visual. A girl with no face , the dreadful smell. Suddenly all restored to beauty. He saw this with his own eyes. But still he refus3d to believe although it was the only possible explanation, the hand of God: a miracle. So wonderful, yet so sad.
That's why I would not waste time arguing with most people Either the door of their hearts are open or they are shut.
So much to think about with these verses! It also says we must be baptized. As much as we all talk about Ecumenism, the ONLY way to baptism which is what is needed for faith is the Catholic Church. But, it’s not just about believing. It’s also about walking and action in faith. If we believe and by our baptism die in Christ , then we must show it by our actions - take up our cross and follow Him. We all face the same question as the rich young man in the gospel: And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him… If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions (Matt. 19:16-22). And this command (not an ask) from Christ: You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:43-45). For me these are not easy… I’m baptized and I believe..but if I’m honest with myself, I’m still a work in process as far as being a true follower of Jesus. It’s why I’m so looking forward to this Sunday- Pentecost- the Advucate sent again to renew my baptism and give me the grace needed to walk the talk. Peace
There is a thing which has been observable over the last century whereby when peoples are oppressed they turn to God. But in times of ease they become complacent. Ireland is a good example of this, but even more so is Quebec. In Quebec it seems like every street is named after a saint. If you ever go there it is like moving through a relic of times passed. Obviously this happened with the Hebrews as well.
Yes. Quebec was very poor and oppressed by the English--like Ireland. And like Ireland full of faith. Very devout. Tremendous number of priests came from Quebec. Nuns too. And then...prosperity. suddenly Quebec was not Quebec any more. They fell farther and faster than protestants in Canada. The priests became super liberal and vocations dried up. Big beautiful stone churches in every little town emptied. Heart sick! The devil sure did pull a fast one.
Yes it is the same over and over again in the history of the Church. Which is why we have so many reformed Religious Orders like the Capuchins and the Discalsed Carmelites.
This is a really good point. I remember reading that St. Francis handed over the reigns to his brothers when he went off to the holy land. After his return he was lamenting how his brothers had already begun to make reforms.
Yes that's the way it always seems to go beginning with Judas. I would say many, many Catholics today are so because of a radical conversion, especially concerning Our Lady so it goes the other way too . A Great Spiritual War The Woman and the Dragon as I believe Pope St John Paul 2 said whilst in the USA. Boy, was he ever prophetic
I am not sure if you are aware of this, but the people of Quebec have on average around 10% Irish DNA. There are also many towns in Quebec with Irish names. The music from Ireland also influenced the culture there. I am not exactly sure when the Irish emigrated to Quebec, but I had heard they for the most part got along with the Quebecois because of their Catholic faith.
same with Moses, when he returned he was surprised that there is already a quickly built golden calf out there...
There is another "hard-core" atheist who, despite overwhelming evidence, did not convert. It is about Artur de Oliveira Santos, he was the administrator of the Queremo, under which the area in Fatima during the apparitions of Our Lady belongs. Here is wiki page of him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_de_Oliveira_Santos Namely, at that time, a socialist atheist government ruled in Portugal, practically a step towards communism. He was the one who imprisoned the children and threatened to throw them into boiling oil. When there was an apparition, he stationed the police with guns to prevent the crowd, but the mass of people was too large, so he did not succeed. He remained faithful to revolutionary ideas until the end of his life in 1955 and refused to receive the sacraments. He witnessed a miracle, but one thing is interesting. This is from the book "Meet the Witnesses" "Arturo dos Santos died June 27, 1955. He could not have a religious burial, but in December of that year an interesting article appeared in Stella, the outstanding religious magazine of Portugal, which revealed something not previously known. A pious woman approached Santos in June, 1920 (less than three years after the miracle) to ask permission to install a statue in the little chapel at Fatima. After hesitating, suddenly he gave permission, stipulating that it be done when there there were no crowds and that she should not reveal that he had given permission. (This was revealed by the woman in question to the Baron of Alvaiazere, who described it in a letter to the Viscount of Montelo on June 5, 1920.) On April 7, 1942, when this same statue was being carried in a triumphant procession from Fatima to Lisbon, Santos was in the crowd when it passed through Ourem, and he was heard to declare: "I am not at all in favor of religion and of priests... but when I saw the image of the Vision I felt inwardly something which I cannot explain..." I have already recommended before, the best book about Fatima, at least as far as witnesses are concerned. It was written in 1960 and a few years earlier when most of the witnesses were still alive. I recommend it if someone hasn't read it. Here is free online PDF edition https://www.basicincome.com/bp/files/Meet_the_Witnesses.pdf
What point are you making here, Padraig? That the reforms such as the Discalced Carmelites were good or bad? I am presuming the reforms were good brought about by decline in those orders over time.
