Monday, November 11, 2013

What does "Do this in remembrance of me" really mean?

I was listening to a CD in my car today. It was entitled The Eucharist: Our Very Life. It is given by Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald from Canada. He was talking about the Eucharist being the very body and blood of Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is not just a memorial service. It is a re-enactment of calvary which we do at every Mass. This part I understood, but then he went on to the words, "Do this in remembrance of me." He said when you go back to the original Greek translation of "Do this in remembrance of me," it actually means "Bring this back to life again!!!" Jesus is asking the apostles to do what He just did for them. This is Christ's body and Christ's blood and He wants His apostles to "bring this back to life again!!! I thought this was so amazing and beautiful. Just wanted to share!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

A book called Roman Catholicism

Is anti- Catholicism still out there? Since the late 1970's several new anti-Catholic organizations have been founded, and some older ones have sprung up again. Some of these organizations are Chick Publications, Mission to Catholics International, Lumen Productions, Osterhus Publishing House, and Bob Jones University Press. All together, they turn out more anti-Catholic tracts, magazines, and books than ever before....millions of copies each year.

Most of these organizations put out similar messages and the same points are used. A lot of their material comes from a book written by Loraine Boettner published in 1962 by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing of Philadelphia. The book is called Roman Catholicism.

Boettner quotes at length from a speech alleged to have been given in 1870 at the First Vatican Council where papal infallibility was formally defined. The speech was said to have been given by Bishop Strossmeyer. In this speech, the bishop said that he read the New Testament for the first time shortly before he gave the speech and found no mention at all of the papacy. The speech then concludes that Peter was given no greater authority than the other apostles. The trouble is that the speech is a well-known forgery!!!!  Bishop Strossmeyer did not make that speech and when it was being passed around by a disgruntled former Cathlolic, the bishop publicly denied that it was his. This gross error has been repeated by many of the anti-Catholic groups that rely on Boettner.

In Boettner's book on the chapter of Mary he claims that "The phrase 'Mother of God' started in the Council of Ephesus in 431. When he claims that a doctrine is not taught until it is defined in a council, one could say that no one believed that Jesus was God until the Council of Nicea defined the matter in 325. The divinity of Christ was taught centuries before Nicea, and also the phrase "Mother of God" was printed all over the writings of the Church Fathers long before Ephesus.

Many Protestants look to the book Roman Catholicism for their arguments against the Catholic Church. They should maybe take into account how inaccurate this book is and look into real Catholic teaching by real Catholic writers.

One of the reasons I am writing this post about this subject is because of what I received in the mail. About a year and a half after Gary died, I got a letter in the mail addressed to Gary Herrmann. There was no return address and it was sent from Cleveland. Inside the envelope was a Chick Publication cartoon that was entitled "This Was Your Life". I just started shaking all over. I was thinking was this some sort of sick joke or what? I didn't know what to think. So I called Chick Publications and told them this story and that my husband was dead and if I was on some sort of list to take me off!! Later I looked at their website and saw that they have many anti-Catholic publications.

One of the most famous Catholic leaders in American history, the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, once warned, " The acceptance of the fullness of Truth will have the unfortunate quality of making you hated by the world... If the grace of God did not give me the fullness of Truth, and I were looking for it, I would begin my search by looking through the world for a Church that did not get along with the evil in the world! If that Church [were] accused of countless lies, hated because it refused to compromise, ridiculed because it refused to fit the times and not all time, I would suspect that since it was hated by what is evil in the world, it was therefore good and holy; and if it is good and holy, it must be Divine."





Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Early Church

I have started a Bible study which is called EPIC A Journey Through Church History. Here is a little from the first two classes.

Christ commissioned his apostles to go out and teach all nations. Christ established "my Church"(Matthew 16:18) and "the church"(Matthew 18:17). He said "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6:54-56).

In the most direct language the Apostles affirmed that the bread and wine that was consecrated on the altar did in fact become the actual substance of Jesus Christ. St. Paul says, "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16)

"As the Father hath sent me, I also send you." (John 20:21). Here Jesus is telling the Apostles that they were to follow His own teaching mission. This includes the breaking of bread in the Eucharist that He showed them at the Last Supper.

The Church during the Roman Empire was united, growing , highly disciplined and hierarchically organized. It was an institution that held to exact and unwavering doctrines. The main doctrines were the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ and also the firm belief of the Real Presence of Jesus (His body, blood, soul, and divinity) under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist.

St. Ignatius of Antioch (50-117), outlines many important points about the faith of the early Church, including the belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Divinity of Christ, the  structure (bishops, priests, deacons, laity) of the Church, the importance of the Church of Rome, and the understanding of Mary as Mother of God. He also had the first written account of referring to the Church as the Catholic Church. It could have been called that by word even before this. Keep in mind this was only a few years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Church was participating in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist from the very beginning!! It is not something that man invented.

St. Justin Martyr, another Church Father of the second century wrote: "This food is known among us as the Eucharist... We do not receive these things as common bread and common drink but as Jesus Christ our Savior, being made flesh by the Word of God."

Nowhere else on the Christian scene was there a religion as compact and so long-lived. Nowhere else on the Christian scene was there a unity so obviously permanent.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

This post is connected to my last post. I received an email from the pastor that I had written to. He was very kind and apologized for his words he used concerning the Catholic Church. He said he had great relations with the priests from the parishes in his area. I was so happy that this was resolved in such a Christian way.

I believe that we all have to watch our words when we speak of other religions. We need to make sure we have the facts and not just something that has been handed down from generation to generation. To say something about the Catholic Church, one must go to Catholic sources and not just rely on what a pastor or a friend has told you.

I would really like to hear from some of you that read this blog why you think Catholics are still persecuted? Why is it still ok to say negative things about Catholics? I hope someone has some thoughts and will reply. Do you think anti-Catholicism still exists and why?

God bless,
Barb

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Suicide and the Catholic Church

My brother and I recently attended the funeral service of our cousin in Wisconsin. He had been struggling for years with depression. The depression became so bad that he committed suicide. He was 53 years old. He was divorced and had two children who are high school age. His ex-wife was so gracious to plan all my cousins arrangements.

At the service there was a Protestant minister who read some scripture readings and prayers and then started to talk to my cousin's children about suicide. He did not want the children to be embarrassed at what their father had done. He really was preaching well to them until he started talking about some people who consider suicide a sin. He said that some of those people are Catholics who put up fences around their cemeteries and if a Catholic commits suicide they won't let them in! I know that this is not true at least at this time in history.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2280 states that everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life.  # 2282 states that grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.  #2283 states we should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives.

The Code of Cannon Law of the Catholic Church does not list suicide as a reason to deny a person a Catholic funeral or burial in a Catholic cemetery. We are commanded by Christ not to judge others so we leave final judgment  to God who alone knows each person's heart. The Catholic Church has mellowed on the subject of suicide over the centuries as knowledge of mental illness and depression has increased.

I decided to write to this pastor and explain to him what I just stated above. I told him that many non-Catholics have been taught the wrong ideas about the Catholic faith from pastors and family members who have not studied any Catholic teaching. Just hear-say!!! That is so unfortunate!. I feel that the room full of people in the funeral home who were at my cousin's service were given the wrong impression about the Catholic Church and where it stands concerning suicide. Now all those people will go tell other people, family and friends, wrong ideas. Is this the way to build bridges between different religions?

I just can't believe that in 2013 there is still so much IGNORANCE about Catholics. I do believe it is time to move on and respect all religious views even if you don't always agree with everything. I hope and pray that these divisions can be repaired. In my 57 years of being Catholic, I can honestly say that I have never heard any priest say anything negative about another religion. I am so proud to say that!

My cousin was baptized and raised a Catholic. His deceased parents were my Godparents. My cousin had drifted away from his faith. I am going to continue to pray for him and his children.


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Peter as the First Pope

Among the biblical scriptures most often used to defend the selection of Peter, and his successors, to lead the Church which Jesus founded is this passage from St. Matthew:  "When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples "Who do people say that the Son of Man is? They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:13-19).

One interesting biblical fact that points clearly to Simon Peter's primacy among the twelve apostles and his importance to Christ's earthly ministry, is that he is mentioned by name (Simon, Peter, Cephas, Kephas) 195 times in the New Testament. The next most mentioned apostle is St. John, who is mentioned 29 times.  Whenever the apostles were named, Peter was always first. Sometimes the apostles were referred to as "Peter and those who were with him". On Pentecost it was Peter who first preached to the crowds and he worked the first healing. (If these apostles could heal people, what makes it so hard to believe that any Pope in the line of Peter couldn't do the same thing). Peter led the first council in Jerusalem and announced the first dogmatic decision.

Popes are the guardians of doctrine. Their task is to pass on, in its integrity, the teachings of the Catholic Church, and the Holy Spirit protects them in this. Were there "bad popes"? Yes there were. These men were not holy men! Maybe Peter was the best model for human failure in such a leadership role. Peter did deny Jesus three times. Some who are called, stumble and fall. Some like Peter repent and are saved. Others like Judas reject that grace. We need to remember that Jesus does not call saints. He calls sinners.

The moral miracle of the "bad popes" is that they were worldly men, public sinners, and never functioned as spiritual leaders nor touched or changed the deposit of faith of Christianity!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

What is the Mass?

Catholics worship God in a variety of ways, but the main communal worship is the Liturgy of the Eucharist or the Mass. As far back as the Acts of the Apostles and St. Paul's epistles, we find the Christian community gathering to celebrate the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist.

The Church teaches that the Mass is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, which is misunderstood by some. The Catholic Church does not teach that the Mass is a re-crucifixion of Christ, who does not suffer and die again in the Mass. The Church believes that Christ's death is once for all. Through his intercessary ministry in heaven and through the Mass, Jesus continues to offer himself to his Father as a LIVING sacrifice.

In the catacombs in Rome, the tombs of martyrs were used as alters for the earliest forms of the Mass. Very early on, the Church saw the Mass as a mystical reality in which the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is renewed. In response to Protestant sects who denied that the Eucharist is anything more than a memorial, the Council of Trent (1545-63) said that "The same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner" in the Mass.

The Old Testament predicted that Christ would offer a true sacrifice to God using bread and wine. In Genesis 14:18, Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest, offered sacrifice under the form of bread and wine. Psalm 110 predicted that Christ would be a priest "after the order of Melchizedek," that is offering a sacrifice in bread and wine. The Mass meets this need.

The Church Council Vatican 2 explains the Mass in these words:  "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the eucharist sacrifice of his body and blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us". (Sacrosanctum Concilium  47).

The Mass is a memorial and a sacrifice. The Mass is the Church's way of fulfilling Christ's command at the Last Supper, to "Do this in remembrance of me." As a memorial of the Last Supper, the Mass is also a sacred banquet, in which we participate in our presence and our role in the liturgy and through the reception of Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Christ.









Sunday, June 2, 2013

Call no man Father?

Why do Catholics call their priests "Father"?. Does it not say in scripture to call no man father? Many non-Catholics believe that when Catholics do this, they are participating in a practice that Jesus condemned.

To understand what Jesus meant, we have to read 5 consecutive verses of Matthew which are 23:8-12: "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father, the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The great among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be exalted."

When reading the above verses, we see that Jesus condemned the use of the word "father, "rabbi", and "instructor." Why? It is because the Jewish leaders "loved to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market places, and to have people call them rabbi." (Matthew 23:6-7). Jesus was condemning the Pharisees who were so full of pride. Their proud hearts were completely corrupt. The Pharisees had elevated themselves above God as the ultimate authorities, as father image and teachers. They failed to look up to God as the source of all authority, fatherhood, and teaching. Jesus was telling them to humble themselves and to stop seeking those titles for themselves.

It appears that the objection of some to calling a living man a spiritual father is because it equals a priest with God the Father. When Catholics call priests "father" we are saying that he is our spiritual father and he gives us our spiritual leadership. We are not elevating the priest to the level of God the Father. Catholics, of course, recognize the sovereign Fatherhood of God alone!!!!

There are many, many verses in Scripture in which the inspired writers call spiritual leaders "father". In Acts 7:2-4, Stephen refers to the ancestors of Abraham, the word "father" being used. In Philippians 2:22, Paul said, "But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel." St. Paul refers to himself as the father of believers in 1 Corinthians 4:14-15, "I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.". The last example I will give you is 1 John 2:13: "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one."

In Matthew 23 Jesus invokes us not to call anyone "teacher" or "master". Yet many non-Catholics have no problem calling someone "teacher" and use the word "doctor", which is Latin for "teacher".



Saturday, June 1, 2013

Faith and Works

The Protestant Reformation in 1517 began the discussion of "faith alone" vs. "faith and works" for salvation. Roman Catholicism teaches that we are not saved by faith alone. The Church has taught this since 30 AD. This truth can be seen from Sacred Scripture.

All who say they are "Christian" will be able to agree on the following two truths: salvation is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8) and salvation is through Christ alone (Acts 4:12). The Bible tells us we must have faith in order to be saved (Hebrews 11:6). Yet is faith nothing more than believing and trusting? When you look at the Scriptures, we see faith also involves consent to God's truth (1 Thessalonians 2:13), obedience to Him (Romans 1:5, 16:26), and it must be working in love (Galatians 5:6). These ideas appeared to be missing by the reformers, yet they are just as important as believing and trusting.

Do our works mean anything? According to Jesus they do (Matthew 25:31-46). The people rewarded and punished are done so by their actions. And our thoughts (Matthew 15:18-20) and words (James 3:6-12) are accountable as well. In Matthew 19:17-19, Jesus said: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments... You shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."  That is works!!

What does St. Paul mean in Romans 3:28: "For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law." In this, he was condemning the Old Covenant sacrifices and rituals which couldn't justify and he was pointing to better things now in Christ Jesus in the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-10). Always keep in mind the two definitions of the word "work" as used in the Bible-- one meaning refers to a work of the Jewish law and the other definition refers to a good deed which can make your faith come alive.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther himself changed the understanding of the Bible to fit his theology. In Romans 3:28, he inserted the word "alone" when he translated it. This was not the way it was taught for over 1100 years. The only time you do see the words faith and alone together in a sentence is in James 2:24, where James says "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."

St. Paul made clear in Romans 2:6-8 that good works are necessary for attaining eternal life, "For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factions and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."

Paul speaks of faith as a life-long process, never as a one-time experience. He says in Philippians 2:12, "So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling." He never assumes he has nothing to worry about concerning his salvation.

The Catholic Church has never taught we "earn" our salvation. It is an inheritance (Gal 5:21), freely given to anyone who becomes a child of God (1 John 3:1), so long as they remain that way (John 15:1-11). You can't earn it but you can lose the free gift given from the Father (James 1:17).




Monday, May 27, 2013

The Pieta

For our 25th wedding anniversary, Gary and I went on a pilgrimage to Italy. At first Gary was not real excited about the trip, but after he got there I think he enjoyed it as much or more than me!! Seeing the beautiful old cathedrals and basilicas was amazing to his engineering eyes. He was amazed at how difficult it must have been building these structures.

When we visited St. Peter's Basilica we both just loved looking at the Pieta made by Michelangelo. This is a statue of Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus after the crucifixion. It is just an amazing site!.

At Gary's funeral, the family picked the picture of the Pieta to be on his funeral card.

A few weeks after Gary's death I was just beside myself. So I took a walk around the neighborhood. I found myself crying and starting to say the Hail Mary prayer over and over again and it gave me some comfort. After a few minutes of this, I had a thought in my mind that overcame me. I saw Mary holding Gary in her arms just like she was holding Jesus, except that Gary was in her left arm unlike her holding Jesus in her right as in the Pieta. Gary was dressed in his hospital gown and still had tubes coming out of his body. At that moment I knew Mary was taking care of Gary just like a mother who had taken care of her son, Jesus!!  It was amazing. It has taken me a long time to realize the blessing of that day!

Another mystery involving the Pieta was when I went to a gift shop in the Westerville Catholic Church. I was just looking around when I spotted some prayer cards. One card was a prayer for widows and widowers. I read the prayer and bought the card. After I had purchased the card, I looked on the back and there was the Pieta!! 

God does work in His mysterious ways and we must always be alert to signs in our life that He gives to us. He sends us His graces at our times of need. To know that Gary is being taken care of in heaven left me with such peace. Although I would love to have him back so desperately, I know for sure that he is in such a holy place that how could I ask him to leave that!! I thank God for giving me these special happenings and I also thank Mary the Mother of us all that she is involved in my life here on earth and that she is helping with the care of Gary in heaven. I believe that if we give Mary a chance, she can become a wonderful help in our spiritual life. She helps lead us to Jesus, her son. Wouldn't that be something that any mother would do especially a mother who knew her son was the Savior of the world.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The mystery of the rosary

The purpose of the rosary is to help keep in memory certain events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. The rosary is a scripture based prayer. It begins with the Apostle's Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery is from the Gospels. The Hail Mary is said ten times at each mystery after the Our Father. The mysteries of the rosary center on the events of Christ's life. There are four sets of mysteries.

The Joyful Mysteries are : the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the Visitation (Luke 1:40-55), the Nativity (Luke 2:6-20), the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:21-39), and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51).

The Sorrowful Mysteries are : the Agony in the Garden (Mt. 26:36-46), the Scourging (Mt 27:26), the Crowing with Thorns (Mt 27:29), the Carrying of the Cross (Luke 23:26-32), and the Crucifixion (Luke 23:33-46).

The Glorious Mysteries are :  The Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12), the Ascension (Luke 24:50-51), the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the Assumption of Mary into heaven and her Coronation.

The Luminous Mysteries which have to do with the earthly ministry of Jesus are : The Baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22 ), the Wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11), the Proclaiming of the Kingdom (Matt 10:7-8), the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, Luke 9:28-36), and the Institution of the Eucharist (Matt 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20).

With the exception of the last two glorious mysteries, each mystery is explicitly scriptural.

As we say each 10 Hail Mary's we must meditate on the mystery associated with it and keep Jesus's life close to our heart. Christ forbid meaningless repetition (Matt 6:7) but the Bible itself has some prayers that involve repetition. You can see this in Psalm 136. Also in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:39-44), Jesus prayed the same prayer three times in a row. We must always pray these prayers with sincerity and not mindlessly.






Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Real Presence

The Catholic Church teaching that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus, not bread and wine, is clearly taught in the Bible and throughout the 2,000 year tradition of the Church. The teaching of Jesus in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel is very clear: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (John 6:53-56 ).

The Jews disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Even though many disciples would not accept this teaching, Jesus made no attempt to soften what he said. Jesus made no attempt to correct "misunderstandings". This is the only record we have of any of Christ's followers leaving him for purely doctrinal reasons. Maybe both the Jews and some of his disciples would have remained with him had he said he was speaking on symbolically.

The early Church took this teaching seriously. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul says, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord...for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgement on himself." (1 Corinthians 11: 27, 29). Paul's words make sense only if the bread and wine have become the real body and blood of Christ.

The early Church Fathers also understood the Real Presence. St.Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of John, who was eaten by the beasts in Rome around 107 AD, wrote: "The Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.". St. Justin the martyr wrote: "We have been taught that the food is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh." He wrote this around 145 AD. The Council of Trent in 1551 defined that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, body and blood, soul and divinity.

"As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me" (John 6:57). The Greek word used for "eats" (trogon) is very blunt and is like "chewing" or "gnawing." This does not sound like the language of metaphor.

In a fifth-century homily, Bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia seemed to be speaking to today's Evangelicals and Fundamentalists: "When (Christ) gave the bread he did not say, 'This is the symbol of my body,' but, 'This is my body.' In the same way, when he gave the cup of his blood he did not say, 'This is the symbol of my blood,' but 'This is my blood,' for he wanted us to look upon the (eucharistic elements), after their reception of grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit, not according to their nature, but to receive them as they are, the body and blood of our Lord" (Catechetical Homilies 5:1).

Receiving the Eucharist to me is such a holy gift that I am unworthy to receive it unless I am first healed.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

To make a comment

If you want to make a comment, click on the "no comment" at the bottom of the page on the post that you want to comment on. Then write your comment in the box.

Then at the bottom of the box it says  Comment as:     Then click on the down arrow that gives you choices. Select the Name/URL choice. Type in your name. You do not have to enter anything in the URL space. Then hit Publish.

Like I said before, you can always comment at bjherrmann@earthlink.net.

God bless,
Barb

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Catholic and Protestant Bibles

The Protestant Old Testament omits several books and parts of two other books. To explain how this happened, we need to go back to the ancient Jewish Scriptures. The Hebrew Bible contained only the Old Testament and from it, it excluded seven entire books-Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, First and Second Machabees, and parts of Esther and Daniel. Catholics refer to these 7 books taken out of the Bible as the deutercanonical books.

These books missing in the Jewish Bible came to the Catholic Church with the Septuagint, a pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament.The additional books in the Septuagint were in opposition to the Jews because some of these books were written in Greek ( the language of paganism). Also they were in opposition because the early Christians used the Septuagint in their arguments with the Jews.

The Protestants of the sixteenth century objected to the additional books because of the doctrinal teachings of these books. The Second Book of Machabees, for example, contains the doctrine of purgatory, of prayers and sacrifices for the dead (12:39-46). The book of Tobias teaches the importance of good works. The Protestants could not reject some without excluding all of the books. So they went back to the first collection of Biblical books of the Palestinian Jews. They removed the additional books, which had been in the Bible up till 1517 and placed them at the end of the Bible in a special appendix.They labled them the "aprocryphal" ( uninspired) which seemed to make them less important to Prostestant readers.

The current canon of Scripture for the early Church was affirmed at the Council of Rome in 382 under Pope Damasus which included all and only the 73 books that Catholics honor today. This canon was repeated at Hippo in 393 and at Carthage in 397.

One of the reasons Martin Luther rejected the canonicity of the deutercanonical books was that some groups of Jews had rejected the Septuagint ( with its deutercanonical books) at the council of Jamnia. This council was a council of a non-Christian religion. Do they have the authority to define the Christian faith? In the fourth cintury, three Church councils ruled on the matter. In opposition, one Jewish council ruled on the matter.

The Catholic Church has consistently declared the deutercanonicals to be divinely inspired from her earliest councils. These books have been part of the Bible for 2,000 years. At the time of the Reformation, the Protestant groups rejected these portions of scripture that for 1,500 years had been part of the Christian Bible.


Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Comments

If anyone has any comments or disagreements with my postings, please leave a comment. If you are having troulbe leaving a comment, let me know. Thanks   My email is bjherrmann@earthlink.net.

With these blogs, I am trying to heed St. Peter's exhortation: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence" (1 Pet. 3:15).

God's blessings to you!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Scripture and Sacred Tradition

As Catholics, we believe that Scripture and Sacred Tradition make up our "rule of faiath". We believe that Sacred Tradition is the oral teaching of Jesus Christ handed down to his apostles, who in turn handed it down to the disciples, ( the early Church fathers ), and then down generation to generation to us. For almost 400 years there was no written New Testament to read. All of the apostles and disciples taught orally for the first 400 years. What was written down in epistles and gospels was not widely available and it wasn't part of the Bible until 397 AD. The Church determined the very books of the Bible and therefore Sacred Tradition and authority were necessary for us to even have a Bible today.

Sacred Tradition does not refer to practices and customs, such as the language of the Mass, kneeling or standing for Holy Communion, eating or not eating meat on Friday, ect. It is the oral teaching of Jesus taught by the apostles.

Sacred Scripture does condemn in many places the traditions of man (such as Jewish not healing on the Sabbath, hoarding money, not helping Samaritans, ect.), but those have nothing to do with the traditions Paul was speaking of the the following verses:

             "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you.".(1 Cor. 11:2)
             "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."(2 Thessalonians 2:15)
             "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us." ( 2 Thessalonians 3:6)

It is a mistake to limit "Christ's word" to the written word only or to suggest that all his teachings were reduced to writing. The Bible nowhere supports either notion. The idea of sola scriptura (The Bible alone) is nowhere to be found in the Bible.

In Matthew 15:6-9 Jesus was not condemning all traditions. He condemned only erroneous traditons, whether doctrines or practices, that undermined Christian truths. The rest of the traditions, as the apostles taught, were to be obeyed.



            
        

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Worship of statues?

Catholics believe that the Bible forbids making or using images for the purpose of worshipping them "you shall not bow down to them or serve them". (Ex. 20:5). This commandment is absolute. God forbids the worship of any idol, including statues, power, sex, money, and oneself. However, when Catholics kneel before a crucifix or a statue, this kneeling is a sign of reverence to God, not the image.!

The Catholic Church forbids the worship of idols or anything created. This is the sin of idolatry. Only God is to be worshipped!! The Church's teaching on this can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). The catechism # 2113 states that "idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons(for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money,ect. Jesus says, "you cannot serve God and mammon"(Matthew 6:24). Many martyers died for not adoring "the Beast" (Rev. 13-14) refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God." (Gal 5:20; Eph. 5:5).

The use of statues and icons for liturgical purposes ( as opposed to idols) happened in the Old Testament. God commanded Moses, on several occasions, to make a brazen serpent in Numbers 21, and cherubim of gold in Exodus 25 nad 37. The brazen serpent shows the use of a statue (looking to it) in order to receive a blessing from God (healing from snakebite). When the people started to worship this statue, king Hezekiah had it destroyed (2 Kgs 18:4). This shows us the difference between the proper religious use of statues and idolatry.

If we can memorialize mere political heroes with statues, and that of war heroes with monuments, then there should be no objection to remembering saints and righteous men and women. These statues are simply a visual reminder of great saints and heroes of the faith.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

"Should there be contact with the dead?"

Some faiths feel that there should be no contact with the dead. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11, 14-15, God has forbidden the practice of conjuriing up spirits.We are not to conjure the dead for purpose of gaining information; one is to look to God's prophets instead. There is a big difference in someone holding a seance and a son praying at his father's grave saying, "Hey Dad, I am having a difficult day and am asking you to pray to Jesus for me." The seance is an occult practice which God does not approve and the second example is just a humble asking for a loved one to pray to God on his behalf. God even gave us contact with the dead when He had Moses and Elijah appear with Christ to the disciples at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:3) The disciple Paul appears to be praying for a dead person, Onesiphorus, in 2 Timothy 1:16-18.

Another question I have heard is "Why not just pray directly to Jesus?  The Catholic answer is of course one should pray directly to Jesus!! But that does not mean it is not also a good thing to ask others to pray for us. The "directly to Jesus" point can fly back in the face of the one who makes it: Why should we ask any Christian, in heaven or earth, to pray for us when we can go to Jesus? If the fact that we can go straight to Jesus proved that we should ask no Christian in heaven to pray for us, then it would also prove that we wouldn't need any Christian on earth to pray for us.

Praying  for each other is simply part of what Christians do. St. Paul strongly encouraged Christians to intercede for many things in 1 Timothy 2:1-4.Of course we should pray to Jesus for every important need we have ( John 14:13-14). The prayers of the Catholic Mass, the central part of Catholic worship, are directed to God and Jesus, not the saints.

I am not sure of the exact words that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City used, but it went something like this: When I pray to Jesus, sometimes I bring my friends along with me. This is how he was explaining to others what it means to have the saints pray with you to Jesus.





Monday, April 15, 2013

The saints

I thought I would continue my thoughts from my last post. This concerns praying to or asking the saints to intercede for us. This practice started back in the earliest days of Christianity. It is shared by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, other Eastern Christians, and some Anglicans. If you put this group together, it is more than three-quarters of all Christians.

In Revelations 5:8 John sees the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." We believe these saints,who are interceding on our behalf, are offering our prayers to God. We are asking the saints to pray for us. The word "to pray" means "to ask".

In Revelations 8:3-4, it says "Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel."

To me, these two verses in the Bible show the twenty-four elders, who symbolize faithful, obedient believers, and also angels offering to God the prayers of us on earth. This suggests they are interceding with God by presenting to Him our prayer needs.

Please remember, Catholics believe there is only one mediator of redemption who is Jesus Christ. But if you can ask someone on earth to pray for you to God, why not be able to ask someone in heaven who has already had their santification completed, for "the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects."(James 5:16).

Sunday, April 14, 2013

The Hail Mary prayer

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Since the Hail Mary prayer is a prayer to Mary, many assume that it is unbiblical. Quite the opposite, this prayer has many biblical verses contained in it.

The beginning of this prayer is, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." This is the greeting that the angel Gabriel said to Mary in Luke 1:28. The next sentence of the prayer reads, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." This is what Elizabeth said to Mary in Luke 1:42. The first part of the prayer is totally biblical.

The second part of the Hail Mary is not taken straight from Scripture, but it is truely within Bible teaching. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Saying Mary is holy is like saying she was leading a Christian life and the bible describes Christians in general as holy. Sometimes they are called saints, which means "holy ones."( Eph. 1:1, Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:2). As the mother of Christ, Mary was certainly a very holy woman.

Some will say, "Mary is dead and can't hear our prayers". But that is unbiblical. In Luke 20:38, Jesus says that "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for All live in Him". Also in Luke 15:7, "Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentence". These Christians who have died must be alive to know what is going on down here if they are rejoicing over us turning away from sin.

I am certain that my dead husband, Gary, is alive with God now and can hear prayers from us just like Mary!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Virgin Mary

The Virgin Mary, when I was a young adult, was someone who was a mystery to me. As I have grown in my faith, I have found myself being drawn closer to her. As Catholics, we do not worship Mary!!! We honor her. We honor her because she was the mother of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Honoring Mary is completely different than the adoration given to God. Like any other human being, Mary had to be saved by the mercy of God. She herself said, "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior."(Luke 1:47). When God took on flesh and became man (John 1:1,14), shows us that God wished to involve human beings in His plan of salvation. Mary had a key role for this purpose, so Catholics honor her highly for the role she accepted so willingly! I feel I am blessed to have both a mother on earth and a spiritual mother in heaven!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Catholics are Christians

I am a life long Catholic. When my husband and I got engaged, his pastor gave him a book written in the 1950's that explained why not to marry a Catholic. My husband had been told that Catholics are not Christians. That left such an impression on me. Of course Catholics are Christians!!!! In Acts 11: 26, it says that the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians in the community of Antioch. That was soon after Jesus's resurrection. These disciples were commissioned by baptism and became Christians who are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Roman's 6:11).  Catholics believe that our savoir, Jesus Christ, is our only mediator of redemption. "For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved", than that of Jesus. (Acts 4:12).

My husband did accept the truths of the Catholic Church and entered the Church five years later.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Year of Faith

This year is called to be a Year of Faith by Pope Emeritus Benedict. Catholics are asked to deepen and learn more about their faith by such things as prayers, Bible studies, and evangelizing  We have been asked to rediscover our faith and to experience a conversion by turning back to Jesus. I have been involved in three different Bible studies this year and I asked myself what else can I do. I decided I could explain my Catholic faith to others who might not know a lot about it.That is what I will try to do with this blog.