There is such desperation for 'relationships' good and bad, but unless people are led to a relationship with the One who loves them most they will never have peace...prayer, prayer, prayer... me and 'them'.
We should not be guided too much by the media , who are themselves guided by the Prince of this World, the Devil, but rather by the Queen of Heaven. The rosary, the Rosary, the Rosary
Yes, as Mary teaches our Salvation will as souls and as a Church come from within, from God rather than from without,from the world.
Well maybe you could slog up on a few of the Natural Law - kind of philosophical - reasons behind Church opposition to contraception etc? So for example you could talk about the negative health legacy of the pill over the years, and the actual ineffectiveness of those means of counteracting venereal diseases, contrary to what is sometimes presented. You could say anyway that being married you reckon its right and natural to be open to the next challenge of children and a big Irish family sounds great. And prior to marriage you feel it protects all parties feelings and psyche by having a formal commitment to each other before even the possibility of children coming along (no form of irreversible contraception is 100% effective). Furthermore you could argue that children become more of a commodity or possession when you micro manage their arrival through contraception. That could obviously lead to the 'unwanted pregnancy', because of a failure of contraception, but even to the almost overly 'wanted child', because their arrival might be a bit like buying a puppy for Christmas when it is too arranged? That the non-contraceptive mentality leads to more of a surprising miracle effect which is possibly the best atmosphere to have children in? Anyhow there are these kind of arguments for all the controversies if you read up on them and I think they can be sometimes effective? You see the overall point you can make is that even if you ignore the obviously religious aspects, the fact is that the Church has 2,000 years of learning and moral debate behind it when it considers these issues so it does make even intellectual sense to hear what they say and follow their advice.
Over the weekend a few more thoughts have come to me re.handling the gay marriage question. 1. If you're being deliberately baited then I don't think you have to give a straight answer, but use the situation to talk about God in the best way you can. See it as an opportunity to evangelise. 2. Why does any government have a specific tax category for people engaging in some type of penetrative sex anyway? In many regards the state should allow exclusive lifelong partnerships between couples who consent to this lifelong exclusive commitment without any reference to their sexual activity. 3. In this 'post-Christian' era surely the state could come up with a term for these unions that doesn't just borrow from Christianity? ...but maybe we're just not that post-Christian after all!
Unfortunately it seems that it is all apart of the globalist agenda to undermine the family and society by attacking the fundamental pillars of society. It is funny if you observe some of the events happening in Ireland lately, such as the Rose of Tralee winner who (coincidently??) happened to be lesbian. For what it is worth, the LGBT cause seems to be given vastly disproportionate attention by the media, at the expense of traditional and normative values which should take priority.
When I was in Rome, I would say most of the people I met had no Faith. By that I meant not that they were atheists as such but just that they couldn't care less. This was something of a shock but I recall long ago the Vatican declaring Rome as Mission Territory so I suppose no surprises. I tried to enter into conversation on three occasions in Rome but with little positive success. Give me an atheist of agnostic anytime but how to get a handle on a soul that simply doesn't care? My first conversation was with a couple from Manchester England. They had come over from Manchester ,England. They were nominally Church of England but did not practice at all, in fact my impression was they had never done so, they were both deeply ,deeply materialistic and my strong impression of this couple was that they were involved in criminal , very lucrative enterprise. They were over for a big football match. I talked to them about being happy and the meaning of life. But you know what? I don't even think they knew what happiness was. They knew about enjoying themselves, certainly. So a complete zonk out. It was like trying to shine a torch down the blackness of the Universe. The second was a young Italian guy in his early thirties. He spoke with great sadness of having lost his faith. Here I had some handle, him having been raised a Catholic in a deeply Catholic rural culture. I talked long but no dice. Just this huge feeling of loss, loss, loss. Zonked out. Couldn't even raise a spark. I was reminded of the words of Our Lady of Fatima, that many souls need much prayer and sacrifice to save them from hell. The third was my landlord who was Chinese and very,very Gay. My impression was he was intensely hostile to the Church from the word , 'Go'. So the biggest zonk of all, not a glimmer of a glimmer. The fourth and last was more interesting and here I did get a glimmer. This was a young American girl called, 'Julie' who has been working and living in Rome for several years. Again not a glimmer till I got an insight and began to talk to her about a deep, deep sadness I saw in her life. Then she went to the edge of her seat, very ,very interested in how I knew this. But I have to say it was just curiousity. Still at least I got her to the edge of her seat, which is something. I am going to do as Our Lady of Fatima said and do prayers and penance for them all and all the poor people of Rome. How sad; faithlessness in the centre of Faith. Poor Rome. Poor, poor Rome.
Well Padraig ..... It sounds like the Folks you talked to in Rome were clones of, what I suspect, is a majority of Americans-n-Europeans ;-( ... especially those born after 1950! I was born in that year and I was lucky to grow-up in a Catholic upper middle class Military Family that was based on God, Duty, Honor and Country. By the time I graduated from High School the Anti-God (&War/Capitalism) Marxist-Socialist Perverts were infiltrating Academia, State/Federal Governments and The Church (under the Banner of VCII). We are "harvesting the bitter fruits" of that Take-Over now and it will not end well. When Ya remove God and His Commandments ..... ;-( I know this will PO my European Comrades in Faith but Europe and a big chunk of the rest of the Planet has been allowed to go it's merry socialist-n-godless welfare state way thanks to the Blood, Treasure and Nuclear Umbrella of the USA Taxpayer and Military. The USA Golden Goose is dying, our Military worn out and dispirited and Uncle Sugar is bankrupt fiscally and morally. That merry socialist-n-godless welfare state mindset has now taken root in the USA and no other Uncle Sugar is waiting in the wings! GOD SAVE US .............Everyone! & Merry CHRISTmas ;-)
Mmmm not too convinced of the coincidence there either - but having said that the rose did come across as a lovely girl!
.. ;-( I know this will PO my European Comrades in Faith but Europe and a big chunk of the rest of the Planet has been allowed to go it's merry socialist-n-godless welfare state way thanks to the Blood, Treasure and Nuclear Umbrella of the USA Taxpayer and Military. The USA Golden Goose is dying, our Military worn out and dispirited and Uncle Sugar is bankrupt fiscally and morally. That merry socialist-n-godless welfare state mindset has now taken root in the USA and no other Uncle Sugar is waiting in the wings! GOD SAVE US .............Everyone! & Merry CHRISTmas ;-)[/quote] Unfortunately the wings are not unoccupied. I'm fairly sure something is waiting in the wings and we're not going to like it!
Just to update- I didn't go into the school until last Monday. Over the week I spoke about prayer to 4 classes of teens (~ 16yrs old). Some friends from the parish stormed heaven for me. It was a blessed experience for me - I can't speak for the students! Thank you for all your prayers too. I've been asked to continue visiting the school to help in similar areas. Please keep me, the students and staff in your prayers as I feel very vulnerable in this - but may I always leave room for God to operate in my weakness.
In my experience of defending the faith, I feel if I find myself getting angry or frustrated in a "discussion" then it's time to stop talking! It came to me in prayer some time ago that I needed to pray for the gift of love for people , and since this, I have discovered that some of my angers and frustrations with others were/are rooted in my own woundedness which were/ are buried under fear and anger. So my first task is to deal with my own stuff and then the love will flow. A lot of peoples' anger towards the church etc stems from buried hurt not necessarily by the church. An image in my mind as I write this is of a dog after been injured by a car, no matter how one tries to approach it to help, one is at serious risk of being bitten,
As a daily Rosary person I also pray the Rosary Confraternity prayer, and I think it is helping me love people more, which I agree is helping all my dealings with other people even those who dislike me. Rosary Confraternity Prayer Queen of the Most Holy Rosary and Mother of us all, we come to you for help in our sorrows, trials and necessities. Sin leaves us weak and helpless but Divine Grace heals and strengthens. We ask for the grace to love Jesus as you loved Him, to believe as you believed, to hope as you hoped; we ask to share your purity of mind and heart. Give us true sorrow for sin and make us love people as you and Jesus loved them. Obtain for us the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we may be wise with your wisdom, understand with your understanding, know with your knowledge, prudent with your prudence, patient with your patience, courageous with your fortitude and desire justice ardently for everyone with the all consuming desire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus your Son. Open our minds that as we pray the Rosary we will understand the teachings of the Gospel contained in its mysteries. We pray especially for the members of the Rosary Confraternity whom we love. Help them wherever they may be; guide them, watch over them and make them strong in their trials and suffering. We are drawn together by a common bond of great charity for you and for each other; keep us faithful to your Son and to your Rosary till death. Intercede for the souls in Purgatory, especially for the members of the Rosary Confraternity who have died. May they rest in peace. Finally we ask for grace of final perseverance for ourselves and for our loved ones that we may all be reunited in heaven forever. Saint Dominic, you who received so much Grace and Strength from the Rosary, Pray for Us.
I've talked before of fruitful discussions I've had with those with terminal illnesses who carry animosity toward the Church. A good sister taught me to listen to their story: "Tell me what happened that left you feeling so angry at the Church." Then, after listening well, say "That should never have happened. As a member of the Church I beg your forgiveness."
lamp, Even to this day I refer to same-sex unions as just that: unions. My response would be to ask why after thousands of years would we suddenly change the definition of marriage. Is our generation so morally superior as to claim we finally got it right? But really, the legalization of such unions is ultimately a means to normalize the homosexual lifestyle, and finally persecute the Church for teaching such carnal relations are unnatural, disordered and sinful. The process of "normalization" is devised to silence the voice of conscience by cloaking the sin in the verbiage of a human right. Still, as a child of God I am called to approach every gay person with respect and love, without compromising the truth. In our day that strikes most people in the West as an oxymoron. Sigh! Safe in the Barque of Peter!
Agree heartily with you. The word marriage has been hijacked by the PC brigade of the New World Order. Same sex 'marriage' is a lie.
