21 Benefits Of Making The Sign Of The Cross

Source: Catholic Digestt

Photo Source: THOUGHT

The Sign of the Cross is a simple gesture yet a profound expression of faith for both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. As Catholics, it’s something we do when we enter a church, after we receive Communion, before meals, and every time we pray. But what exactly are we doing when we make the Sign of the Cross? Here are 21 things:

1. Pray

We begin and end our prayers with the Sign of the Cross, perhaps not realising that the sign is itself a prayer. If prayer, at its core, is “an uprising of the mind to God,” as St. John Damascene put it, then the Sign of the Cross assuredly qualifies. “No empty gesture, the sign of the cross is a potent prayer that engages the Holy Spirit as the divine advocate and agent of our successful Christian living,” writes Bert Ghezzi.

2. Open ourselves to grace

As a sacramental, the Sign of the Cross prepares us for receiving God’s blessing and disposes us to cooperate with His grace, according to Ghezzi.

3. Sanctify the day

As an act repeated throughout the key moments of each day, the Sign of the Cross sanctifies our day. “At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign,” wrote Tertullian.

4. Commit the whole self to Christ

In moving our hands from our foreheads to our hearts and then both shoulders, we are asking God’s blessing for our mind, our passions and desires, our very bodies. In other words, the Sign of the Cross commits us, body and soul, mind and heart, to Christ. (I’m paraphrasing this Russian Orthodox writer.) “Let it take in your whole being—body, soul, mind, will, thoughts, feelings, your doing and not-doing—and by signing it with the cross strengthen and consecrate the whole in the strength of Christ, in the name of the triune God,” said twentieth century theologian Romano Guardini.

5. Recall the Incarnation

Our movement is downward, from our foreheads to our chest “because Christ descended from the heavens to the earth,” Pope Innocent III wrote in his instructions on making the Sign of the Cross. Holding two fingers together—either the thumb with the ring finger or with index finger—also represents the two natures of Christ.

6. Remember the Passion of Our Lord

Fundamentally, in tracing out the outlines of a cross on ourselves, we are remembering Christ’s crucifixion. This remembrance is deepened if we keep our right hand open, using all five fingers to make the sign—corresponding to the Five Wounds of Christ.

7. Affirm the Trinity

In invoking the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are affirming our belief in a triune God. This is also reinforced by using three fingers to make the sign, according to Pope Innocent III.

8. Focus our prayer on God

One of the temptations in prayer is to address it to God as we conceive of Him—the man upstairs, our buddy, a sort of cosmic genie, etc. When this happens, our prayer becomes more about us than an encounter with the living God. The Sign of the Cross immediately focuses us on the true God, according to Ghezzi: “When we invoke the Trinity, we fix our attention on the God who made us, not on the God we have made. We fling our images aside and address our prayers to God as he has revealed himself to be: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

9. Affirm the procession of Son and Spirit

In first lifting our hand to our forehead we recall that the Father is the first person the Trinity. In lowering our hand we “express that the Son proceeds from the Father.” And, in ending with the Holy Spirit, we signify that the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, according to Francis de Sales.

10. Confess our faith

In affirming our belief in the Incarnation, the crucifixion, and the Trinity, we are making a sort of mini-confession of faith in words and gestures, proclaiming the core truths of the creed.

11. Invoke the power of God’s name

In Scripture, God’s name carries power. In Philippians 2:10, St. Paul tells us that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” And, in John 14:13-14, Jesus Himself said, “And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

12. Crucify ourselves with Christ

Whoever wishes to follow Christ “must deny himself” and “take up his cross” as Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 16:24. “I have been crucified with Christ,” St. Paul writes in Galatians 2:19. “Proclaiming the sign of the cross proclaims our yes to this condition of discipleship,” Ghezzi writes.

13. Ask for support in our suffering

In crossing our shoulders we ask God “to support us—to shoulder us—in our suffering,” Ghezzi writes.

14. Reaffirm our baptism

In using the same words with which we were baptized, the Sign of the Cross is a “summing up and re-acceptance of our baptism,” according to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

15. Reverse the curse

The Sign of the Cross recalls the forgiveness of sins and the reversal of the Fall by passing “from the left side of the curse to the right of blessing,” according to de Sales. The movement from left to right also signifies our future passage from present misery to future glory just as Christ “crossed over from death to life and from Hades to Paradise,” Pope Innocent II wrote.

16. Remake ourselves in Christ’s image

In Colossians 3, St. Paul uses the image of clothing to describe how our sinful natures are transformed in Christ. We are to take off the old self and put on the self “which is being renewed … in the image of its creator,” Paul tells us. The Church Fathers saw a connection between this verse and the stripping of Christ on the cross, “teaching that stripping off our old nature in baptism and putting on a new one was a participation in Christ’s stripping at his crucifixion,” Ghezzi writes. He concludes that we can view the Sign of the Cross as “our way of participating in Christ’s stripping at the Crucifixion and his being clothed in glory at his resurrection.” Thus, in making the Sign of the Cross, we are radically identifying ourselves with the entirety of the crucifixion event—not just those parts of it we can accept or that are palatable to our sensibilities.

17. Mark ourselves for Christ

In ancient Greek, the word for sign was sphragis, which was also a mark of ownership, according to Ghezzi. “For example, a shepherd marked his sheep as his property with a brand that he called a sphragis,” Ghezzi writes. In making the Sign of the Cross, we mark ourselves as belong to Christ, our true shepherd.

18. Soldier on for Christ

The sphragis was also the term for a general’s name that would be tattooed on his soldiers, according to Ghezzi. This too is an apt metaphor for the Christian life: while we can be compared to sheep in the sense of following Christ as our shepherd we are not called to be sheepish. We instead are called to be soldiers of Christ. As St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. … take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

19. Ward off the devil

The Sign of the Cross is one of the very weapons we use in that battle with the devil. As one medieval preacher named Aelfric declared, “A man may wave about wonderfully with his hands without creating any blessing unless he make the sign of the cross. But, if he do, the fiend will soon be frightened on account of the victorious token.” In another statement, attributed to St. John Chrysostom, demons are said to “fly away” at the Sign of the Cross “dreading it as a staff that they are beaten with.” (Source: Catholic Encyclopedia.)

20. Seal ourselves in the Spirit

In the New Testament, the word sphragis, mentioned above, is also sometimes translated as seal, as in 2 Corinthians 1:22, where St. Paul writes that, “the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.” In making the Sign of the Cross, we are once again sealing ourselves in the Spirit, invoking His powerful intervention in our lives.

21. Witness to others

As a gesture often made in public, the Sign of the Cross is a simple way to witness our faith to others. “Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow, and on everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we rise up; when we are in the way, and when we are still,” wrote St. Cyril of Jerusalem.

[we extend our sincere thanks to Catholic Exchange for letting us re-publish this excellent content by Stephen Beale]

Why does the Catholic Church baptize babies?

Source: CatholicSay.com

Q: Why does the Catholic Church baptize babies? Aren’t they too young to understand what is happening to them?

A fair question. The easiest and perhaps best answer would simply be that this was the constant Tradition or teaching of the early Church, right from the time of the Apostles.

Despite this, the first objection often is that babies cannot personally make the commitment necessary for Baptism. But, since the time of Abraham right to the present, Jews have circumcised infants and brought them into the Covenant on the eighth day after birth, based on the faith of the parents, just as we do now in Christian Baptism. Could you imagine the Apostles standing before the Jewish crowds, announcing the New Covenant, but adding that their children were excluded, until they could make the decision for themselves? It would be unheard of!

And Scripture is very clear that the faith of a believing parent or spouse can have great effect, and can literally make a child or unbelieving spouse, “holy”. In 1 Cor 7:14, we read, “For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his (believing) wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.” It is this faith of the parents, and Godparents, that asks for the gifts of Baptism on behalf of the child, which God graciously responds to.

St Paul also confirms that baptism now replaces circumcision as entry into the New Covenant. For example, he says, “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him” (Col 2:11-12).

In fact, an early council of the Church, the Council of Carthage [252 A.D.] met in part to consider exactly our question. But the question wasn’t whether to baptize babies or not. No, the question was, that under the New Covenant, should we wait until the traditional eighth day of circumcision to baptize. And the decision was to not even wait until the eighth day, but to baptize as soon as possible, without delay!

St. Peter further settles the issue for us. As he gave the first great sermon of the Church on the day of Pentecost, converting some 3000 Jews at once, he would close, saying “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, ( i.e. babies too! ) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children” (Acts 2:38-39).

St. Peter makes it clear that children were included in this call to be baptized. While having no need to repent of personal sin, babies certainly do need the great, freely given, unmerited gifts of baptism — the stain of original sin washed from their souls, the indwelling of the Trinity restored, Sanctifying Grace poured into their souls — making them children of God and members of the Body of Christ.

In Mark 10:14, Jesus Himself gives further confirmation of all this. “People were bringing even infants (the Greek word here literally means infants, NOT older children) to Him that He might touch them…. ‘Let the children come to Me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these…” And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.” Awesome!

Now according to Scripture, Baptism is the normal way of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:3-5). “Being born of water and Spirit” is Baptism according to what the early Church taught about this passage. If Jesus says the Kingdom of God belongs to infants and children, it would make no sense if He then withheld the gift of Baptism that would give them entrance to this very Kingdom.

Additionally, in 1 Cor 1:16 and Acts 16:15,33, we see baptism of “whole households”, with no mention of excluding babies. In fact, in all of Sacred Scripture, there is not a single place that says babies should not be baptized, not one. Period!

But, what does the early Church have to say about this matter? Lots!

Listen to St Irenaeus (A.D. 189), a disciple of St Polycarp who was taught by St John the Apostle himself! “He [Jesus] came to save all through Himself; all, I say, who through Him are reborn in God: infants, and children… He passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age”.

The great St Augustine would write: “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is… not to be scorned, nor regarded as superfluous, nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic”.

In his 215 A.D. letter, “Apostolic Tradition”, St Hippolytus would write: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.”

St Gregory of Nazianz summarizes the answer for us perfectly in his “Oration on Holy Baptism”. “Do you have an infant child? Allow sin no opportunity; rather, let the infant be sanctified from childhood. From his most tender age let him be consecrated by the Spirit.” Perfect!

Is there any biblical evidence for the Catholic doctrine of original sin?

Full Question

Is there any biblical evidence for the Catholic doctrine of original sin?

Answer

Sure. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-24 that because of their sin they would have to work for a living, be at war with nature, suffer pain and sickness, and eventually die. Paul explains original sin in great detail in Romans 5:12-19 and in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22.

Read: CatholicSay

Simpleng katekismo tungkol sa Kapistahan ng IMACULADA CONCEPCION (Solemnity of the Immaculate Concepcton)

Photo Source: America Needs Fatima

Alam niyo ba na ang KAPISTAHAN ng IMACULADA CONCEPCION ay isang HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION at isa sa PINAKADAKILANG KAPISTAHAN sa loob ng IGLESIA KATOLIKA?

At ayon sa unang nakasaad sa Batas ng Santa Iglesia, sa mga araw na Holy Day of Obligation ay TAYO ay DAPAT MAGSIMBA at TUMANGGAP ng KOMUNIYON sa araw na ito?

Kaya't kung hindi niyo po nagawa 'yan, naku, may pagkakasala na po tayong dapat i-kumpisal sa pari. Ang pagliban sa Misa sa mga araw na itinakda ng Santa Iglesia ay katulad din ng pagliban sa Misa sa tuwing araw ng Linggo at ito ay KASALANANG MORTAL.

Alam niyo ba ang epekto ng Kasalanang Mortal? Ito ay kasalanang 'nakamamatay ng kaluluwa'.  Ibig sabihin, kung lugmok po tayo sa Kasalanang Mortal, mamamatay po tayong WALANG KALULUWA na parang hayop.

Hindi ko po katuruan 'yan. Ito po'y MALINAW na katuruan ng Santa Iglesia:

Can. 1246 §1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.

§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.

Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.

Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and aVairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.

Heto naman ang sinasabi ng ating Opisyal na Katekismo:

CCC # 2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

Para sa karagdagang kaalaman, maaari pong basahin ang Is Missing A Mass a Mortal Sin?

Anyway, kaya ko naisipang ibahagi sa inyo ang kaalamang ito ay sapagkat, nalungkot ako sa misa nang NAKALIGTAANG IPALIWANAG ng pari kung ano, saan, kailan at kung paano nagkaroon ng Kapistahang ito bagamat wala naman tayong mababasa sa Biblia tungkol sa Imaculada Concepcion.

Ano nga ba ang ito?

Ang KAPISTAHAN o SOLEMNITY po ng IMACULADA CONCEPCION (Immaculate Conception) ay HINDI po bago sa kasaysayan ng Kristianismo.

HINDI po ito IMBENTO lamang ayon sa kasinungalingan ng mga Protestante.

Ito po'y ipinadiriwang na noon pang ika-7 siglo, libong taon bago pa man nagkaroon ng Iglesia Protestante ni Martin Luther noong 1517.

Lalong wala pa si Ellen G. White na nagtatag ng  Seventh-day Adventist Church na dating pastora ni Felix Y. Manalo na nagtayo ng kanyang sariling iglesia-- ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® o INC™.

Lalong wala pa si Eddie Villanueva ng Jesus Is Lord® (JIL™) o ng Members of the Church of God Internationa, Inc (ADD™) ni Eliseo Soriano.

Ayon sa kasaysayan ng ating pananampalataya, ang kasinungalingan ng mga Protestante ay TINULDUKAN ni Papa Pius IX noong ika-8 ng Disyembre 1854 sa kanyang Apostolic Constitution na INEFFABILIS DEUS.

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

Na ang ibig sabihin ay DAPAT paniwalaan ng LAHAT ng mga Kristiano ang DOKTRINA ng IMACULADA CONCEPCION bilang KATOTOHANAN hindi mababali kailanman.

Ano ba ang KATOTOHANANG ito?

Ang Imaculada Concepcion po ay HINDI po tungkol sa PAGLILIHI kay CRISTO. 

Ito ay ang PAGLILIHI kay MARIA sa SINAPUPUNAN ng kanyang ina na si Santa Ana.

Bakit kailangang ideklara ng Iglesia Katolika si MARIA ay IPINAGLIHI na WALANG BAHID na KASALANAN? 

Hindi ba't ang sabi ng Banal na Kasulatan sa Roma 3:23 ay 'LAHAT [ng tao] AY NAGKASALA'? Bakit hindi ba kasama si Maria sa "lahat" [ng tao]? 

Kung TAO si Maria samakatuwid, siya'y KABILANG sa [lahat na] mga NAGKASALA!

Pero hindi ba't 'in every rule there is an exemption' ika nga?  Hindi ba pwedeng si Maria ay exempted sa Roma 3:23?

Bakit sinabi kong maaaring exempted ang Mahal na Birheng Ina?

Sapagkat kung tatangapin natin ang argumento ng mga Protestante (kasama na diyan ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® ni Manalo) na si Maria ay TAO at kasama siya sa may  BAHID na kasalanang minana natin kay Adan at Eba, lalabas na si Jesus na Dios at Taong totoo ay IPINAGLIHI sa KASALANAN dahil MAMANAHIN niya ito mula kay Maria na kanyang (tao) Ina. Lalabas na si Jesus ay ipinanganak ng may BAHID na KASALANAN.

HINDI 'yan ang PAGPAPAKILALA ng Biblia TUNGKOL kay JESUS, hindi po ba?

Ayon sa Biblia, si JESU-CRISTO ay WALANG BAHID ng KASALANAN.  SIYA ay WALANG PAGKAKASALA. WALANG DUMI ang makikita sa kanya (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pt. 2:22).  

Kaya NARARAPAT LAMANG (it necessitates) na si Maria, bilang Ina ng Dios Anak ay IPINAGLIHING WALANG BAHID na KASALANAN!

Karapat-dapat lamang na si MARIA ay WALANG BAHID NA MANTSA ng KASALANAN upang ang SINAPUPUNAN niya ay mananatiling PURE, UNDEFILED, UNSTAINED, IMMACULATE and HOLY worthy of the SON OF GOD-- JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOR!

Dahil diyan, nakita ng DIOS AMA na MALINIS si MARIA.  At ang kanyang sinapupunan KARAPAT-DAPAT ipagbuntis ang ANAK NG DIOS--ang ating PANGINOONG JESU-CRISTO upang ang PAGKAKATAWANG-TAO NIYA ay alinsunod sa BIBLIA-- and the [LIVING] WORD OF GOD became FLESH and HE made HIS dwelling amongst us! (Jn 1:1-9; Fil. 2:2-9)

At dahil sa KATOTOHANANG iyan, ang ating MAHAL na INANG BIRHENG MARIA ay siyang bagong KABAN ng TIPAN (Ark of the Covenant) na mababasa natin sa Revelations 11:19.

Upang lalo tayong maliwanagan dito, basahin ang Scott Hahn on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Kaya bagama't HINDI literal na nasusulat sa Biblia ang Imaculada Concepcion, ngunit ang kanyang diwa ay NASA KAIBUTURAN ng BANAL NA KASULATAN! Ang mga PANGAKO ng PAGLILIGTAS ng DIOS ay nakaugat sa kanyang kalinis-linisang paglilihi.

FAQ About the Catholic Church

Iranian Catholics praying in Tehran Church (Source: dawn.com)

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH is the world's largest, and Christianity's oldest, religious body. Her 1.2 billion members inhabit the width and breadth of the earth, comprising almost one-fifth of the total human population. She is far and away the most popular religious concept the world has ever known. Paradoxically, however, the Catholic Church is also the world's most controversial religious concept. Catholic belief is different, too different to be orthodox, say Protestants and Christian cultists. Catholic belief is too ethereal to be logical, and too strict to be enjoyable, say the humanists and agnostics Hence to millions of people, Catholicism is not only a colossal success, it is also a colossal enigma. Of course, there has to be an explanation for these contradictory opinions-- and there is an explanation: Protestants and others who have questions about Catholic belief too often make the mistake of going to the wrong place for the answers. Too often books written by religious incompetents are consulted. The result is incomplete and distorted information. With such information, one cannot help but see the Catholic faith as a colossal enigma.

The right place to go for information about Catholic belief--in fact the only place to go for complete and authoritative information--is the Catholic Church herself. As any detective will tell you, no investigation is quite so complete as an on-the-spot investigation. Hence, dear reader, if you are a Protestant, an unaffiliated Christian, or an agnostic, who wants to know the truth about Catholic belief, take this friendly advice: Seek out a Catholic priest and put your questions to him. You will find him a very understanding and obliging person. Or read this little booklet. This booklet was written by a Catholic who knows the questions you are likely to ask, as well as the answers, because once he, too, was outside of the Catholic Church, looking in. The questions in this booklet are basically the same ones he put to a Catholic priest, and the answers are basically the same ones given him by that priest. Read this booklet; then forget all the fiction you have heard about the Catholic Church, for you will have the gospel truth.

Read more HERE

The Truth in the HOLY TRINITY

From Posted by Quirino M. Sugon Jr on April 26, 2011 at 12:50 pm at the Monks Hobbit

The Dogma of the Holy Trinity is this: There are three Persons in One God–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each Person is distinct from each other but there is only one God. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and not any other book, then refute the Catechism line by line. The Trinity is suggested by the baptismal formula taught by Christ:

“Go, therefore, 12 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:19)

The Father sends the Son (the Son is not the Father):

“Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God.” (1 Jn 4:14-15 )

The Son promises the Holy Spirit (the other Advocate distinct from the Son):

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate 8 to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth, 9 which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. (Jn 14:16-17)

“Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit 11 will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” (Mk 3:28-29)

Vatican Decree Reconciles Woman Who Sought Priestly Ordination

Dr. Norma Jean Coon's announcements can be read HERE - CD2000

Dr. Norma Jean Coon

SAN DIEGO, CALIF., March 31 (EWTN/CNA) - A former advocate of women's ordination, who later renounced her attempt to be ordained as a deacon and declared her adherence to Church teaching, announced on March 25 that she has been fully reconciled with the Church following a decree from the Vatican.

"The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has lifted any canonical sanctions that I incurred by attempting ordination as a deacon," wrote Dr. Norma Jean Coon, in an online update to an earlier letter in which she acknowledged that her actions had resulted in excommunication.

Dr. Coon said the bishop of her diocese, Bishop Robert H. Brom of San Diego, had written to inform her of the Vatican congregation's decision that she "may now return to the full practice of our Catholic faith." Under new rules established in July 2010, attempts to ordain women now fall under the jurisdiction of the doctrinal office, along with other offenses against the priesthood and sacraments.

Embracing the Catechism: An Open Letter to My Godson on His Confirmation

From Catholic Exchange

Dear Thomas Patrick,

On the occasion of your Confirmation I wish to offer the sage and time-honored advice of a saint.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, teaching on the Sacrament of Confirmation, quotes St. Ambrose, a bishop and theologian from the 4th century. His words are worthy of repeating here. My prayer for you, as your Godmother and Sponsor, is that your reception of this important sacrament would mirror the words of St. Ambrose:

Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God’s presence.

Guard what you have received.

God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.

The grace of your Confirmation deepens the grace you received way back on your baptismal day. It will have many effects. (See CCC 1303.)

Your Confirmation roots you more deeply as a son of God, and it strengthens your prayer to “Our Father”: The same Father in Heaven that you can call “Abba” as Jesus did, or as “Daddy”.

Through your Confirmation, you will be more deeply joined to Christ, the Lord Jesus who loved you so much as to give up his life for you. Remember that Jesus was called the Son of God, right? By the gift of grace, in and through your baptism long ago, you were made a child of God too. Now your sonship is being taken to a new level.

In Confirmation, you, the beloved son, will give your own “yes” to God in and through your Profession of Faith (in the Creed.) And moments later receive the next measure of grace that Our Father wants to pour out on you. You will be marked with a sign – the bishop will use holy oil to anoint your head. And as he does, God will anoint your soul with an indelible mark that can never be erased. You belong to Him.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit that Ambrose talks about will not only strengthen your identity as a Catholic, they will give you new power to be a Christian – not in name only – but in word and deed. For the gifts of the Spirit empower you to be a witness for Christ in your family, among your peers, and wherever you go in the world.

My prayer is that you take St. Ambrose at his word and guard what you have received.

Whenever you feel that faith doesn’t matter, or it feels hard to live out, or when you are tempted to doubt or give up, I want you to redouble your efforts and guard what you have received. God has already provided you with the graces and strength of this sacrament to weather storms of doubt, confusion, frustration or heartache. Call on God and rely on Him when these times come. And they will.

Guard what you have received.

Ambrose is a saint for a reason. He gave up a successful and comfortable life as a lawyer and the governor of Milan to take up the role of being a bishop in the Lord’s service. For years Ambrose fought heresy against his fellow Catholics – a very hard predicament! – and on other occasions he defended churches that were literally surrounded by enemy soldiers. Yet he never resorted to violence.

Ambrose fought for truth and against corruption in the culture of his day, standing up for God and ransoming Christians who suffered unjust imprisonment. He used his intellectual gifts and his communication skills. He left us a legacy of faith and reason and a life worthy of the calling he had received … always guarding what he had received from God as something precious and worthy of giving one’s whole life.

Thomas, you will receive much more than will be visible at Confirmation. Trust God and stay close to him. He is very close to you.

With love from your Godmother,

Auntie Pat

Purgatory: Where is that in the Bible?

Thanks to Jon for his in-depth, easy to read, direct to the point, biblical and scholarly explanation about the splendor of truth in the One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church of Christ which anti-Catholics rejected this profound and practical truth on PURGATORY found in the Holy Scriptures, which is the Holy Book of the Catholic Church of Christ.

Where is Purgatory in the Bible?

The Bible does not mention the exact word "purgatory," but instead it makes reference to a place. To claim that it does not exist because of this is a cop out.

You might as well even deny that there is a book called the Bible because no such name is found in the inspired writings.

You also might as well deny the Trinity, Incarnation, etc... because these words are not found in the Bible.

The name does not make the place; the place must exist first, then we give it a name. We call this place "purgatory" because it means "a cleansing place." Therein souls are purged from the small stains of sin, which prevent their immediate entrance into Heaven.
In the Old Testament

The first mention of Purgatory in the Bible is in 2 Maccabees 12:46: "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from sin."

Granted 2 Maccabees may not be in Protestant Bibles, but even if it cannot be used doctrinally then it at least has to have some historical worth. In it we can see what the pre-Christian community believed.

In Chapter 12 we can see Scriptural proof for Purgatory and evidence that the Jews had sacrifices offered for those of their brothers who had lost their lives in battle. That the Jews prayed for the dead shows that they believed in a place where they could be helped (now called Purgatory) and that the prayers of their living brothers and sisters could help them in that place.

These words in the book of Maccabees had so clearly favored the Catholic custom, that the whole book was removed from the Protestant Bible. Unfortunately for them, even if the book was not inspired, it still tells us of the practice of God's chosen people.
In the New Testament

In Matthew 5:26 Christ is condemning sin and speaks of liberation only after expiation. "Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." Now we know that no last penny needs to be paid in Heaven and from Hell there is no liberation at all; hence the reference must apply to a third place.

Matthew 12:32 says, "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."

The same person as in the previously mentioned verse, Matthew, speaks of sin against the Holy Spirit. The implication is that some sins can be forgiven in the world to come. But not in Hell from which there is no liberation; nor in Heaven because nothing imperfect can enter it as we see in the next part. Any remission of sin cannot occur in either of these places because they are a final destination unlike purgatory.

Revelation 21:27: "...but nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who does abominable things or tells lies." The place that is to be entered (the place to which this passage refers) is heaven (read the stuff around it for context).

The Bible clearly implies a place for temporary punishment after we die in the many passages which tell that God will reward or punish according to man's works.
What if purgatory really doesn't exist?

Say that there is no such thing as purgatory. What becomes of us? The Bible declares that nothing impurified can enter Heaven, but yet a careless word can defile the soul (Matthew 12:36); if there is no place of temporary punishment, the one guilty would be damned to Hell!

Who would be saved? Those who teach against purgatory teach an unreasonable doctrine.

So, why do non-Catholics reject a teaching so full of consolation? My guess is that they want to believe that the merits of Christ applied to the sinner who trusts in Him, will remove all sin; hence the believer will go at once to Heaven (also known as the belief called Sola Fide or faith alone).

Nowhere in the Bible does it say faith alone. This is un-Scriptural, since Christ tells us that to enter into life we must keep the commandments, hear the Church, do the will of His Father and much more with faith. Yes, actions plus faith.

Gain more truth in the Catholic Church. Visit About Catholic and be spiritually nourished.

Let Those who Preach Another Christ be Accursed!

In Galatians 1:8, St. Paul stricly warned us of the coming of the a false messenger disguishing as "angel" preaching another Gospel to "pervert the [true] Gospel of Christ:

"I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by (the) grace (of Christ) for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed!"

This man, extoled himself to the levels of angels and dethroned Jesus to levels of men subjected to imperfection and sin. He taught his followers that Jesus is JUST ONLY a MERE man.

The Bible is the basis for our belief that Jesus is God. Thanks to Scripture Catholic, I've got these Scriptural Passages that confirmed Jesus' Divinity:

Scripture
I. Old and New Testament Parallels of God the Father and God the Son
Exodus 3:14 - God says "I AM who I AM" - John 8:58 - Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I AM" in reference to Himself.

Deut. 4:2; 12:32 - the Lord God commands that we not add or take away from His word - Rev. 22:18-19 - Jesus so commands us not to add or take away from His word.

Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6 - the Lord kills and makes alive again and raises up - John 5:21 - the Son raises and gives life.

Deut. 32:39 - neither is there any that can deliver out of God's hand - John 10:28 - nor shall any pluck out of Jesus' hand.

Deut. 32:43 - rejoice, ye heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him - Heb. 1:6 - the "Him" is Jesus the Son.

2 Sam. 22:3 - God is the horn of salvation - Luke 1:68-69 - Jesus is the horn of salvation.

Psalm 19:7 - the law of the Lord is perfect - Gal. 6:2 - fulfill the law of Christ.

Psalm 24:10 - the Lord is the King of glory - 1 Cor. 2:8 - Jesus is the Lord of glory.

Psalm 45:7 - Therefore God, your God, has anointed you. God calls someone else God. This someone else is His eternally begotten Son - Heb. 1:9 - Therefore God, your God, has anointed you. cf. Heb. 1:8, 10.

Psalm 62:12 - the Lord God renders to each according to his work - Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12 - Jesus so renders to each according to his work.

Psalm 71:5 - the Lord God is our hope - 1 Tim. 1:1 - the Lord Jesus Christ who is our hope.

Psalm 89:27 – I will make him the first-born, the highest (“elyon” which refers to God) of the kings of the earth - John 18:36-27 – Jesus is this first-born king.

Psalm 97:9 - the Lord God is above all - John 3:31 - Jesus is above all.

Psalms 110:1 - the Lord (Yahweh) said to my Lord - Jesus = Yhwh - Acts 2:34-36 - God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.

Psalm 148:1-2 - the angels worship the Lord God - Heb. 1:6 - the angels worship Jesus. Only God is worshiped.

Prov. 3:12 - who the Lord loves He corrects - Rev. 3:19 - who Jesus loves He corrects.

Isaiah 7:14 - a virgin will bear a Son named Emmanuel which means "God is with us" - Matt. 1:23 - this Son is Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.

Isaiah 9:6 - the child to be born shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 25:8 - God swallows up death in victory - 2 Tim. 1:10 - Jesus abolishes death and brings life and immortality.

Isaiah 40:8 - the Word of God shall stand forever - Matt. 24:35 - the Words of Jesus shall not pass away.

Isaiah 42:8 - God gives His glory to no other - John 17:5; Heb. 1:3 - yet Jesus has the same glory as the Father.

Isaiah 43:14 - the Lord God is redeemer - Titus 2:14 - Jesus is the redeemer.

Isaiah 44:6 - the Lord God is the first and the last - Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13 - Jesus is the first and the last.

Isaiah 45:19 - I, the Lord God, did not speak in secret - John 18:20 - Jesus said "I have said nothing secretly."

Isaiah 45:23 - to God, every knee shall bow and every tongue swear. Phil. 2:10-11 - at Jesus' name every knee should bow and tongue confess.

Isaiah 48:17 - God is the Holy One - Acts 3:14 - Jesus is the Holy One.

Isaiah 60:19 - God is everlasting light - Revelation 21:23 - Jesus the Lamb is eternal light.

Jer. 17:10 - the Lord searches the hearts and repays us according to our deeds - Rev. 2:23 - Jesus searches the hearts and repays us according to our deeds.

Ezek. 1:26-28; Daniel 7:9 - God's glorious appearance - Rev. 1:13-16 - Jesus' glorious appearance.

Ezek. 34:11-31 - God the Father is the shepherd of the flock - John 10:7-29 - Jesus is the shepherd of the flock.

Ezek. 34:16 - God seeks to save that which was lost - Luke 19:10 - Jesus seeks to save that which was lost.

Ezek. 34:17 - God judges between cattle, rams and goats - Matt. 25:32 - Jesus judges and separates the goats from the sheep.

Ezek. 43:2 - God's voice was like a noise of many waters - Rev. 1:15 - Jesus' voice was like the sound of many waters.

Dan. 2:47 - the Lord is the God of gods and the Lord of Lords - Rev. 17:14 - Jesus the Lamb is the Lord of Lords... (Read more of Jesus Christ Divinity!)

Taylor Marshall's The Crucified Rabbi now in Google

Taylor Marshall - "I came to believe that the Church is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the People of God. In the Old Testament, the People of Israel were not free to create a “new Israel” or to form a new denomination of “Protestant Israelites.” No matter how corrupt the priests, the high priests, and the kings of Judah became, the covenant of God remained in effect. As I reflected on this, I perceived that the Protestant Reformation rejected the scriptural belief in a united, visible Church—a nation taken for granted in the Book of Acts and the epistles of Saint Paul.

My wife and I entered into full communion with the Catholic Church on may 23, 2006, along with our four children. I became a Catholic Christian because I realized that the Catholic Church alone could trace her doctrine, liturgy, customs, and morality back to those Jewish beginnings when a rabbi named Jesus roamed the Holy Land with a band of Jewish disciples. As a Catholic Christian, I am linked not only to the early Church, but also to the ancient tradition of the Old Testament. I can now say with the Apostle Paul (who was a Rabbi Saul): I share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all. – Romans 4:16" Read more Taylor Marshall's The Crucified Rabbi

Sharing our Catholic Faith - A Practical Guide

Sharing Our Catholic Faith - A Practical Guide (by Fully Catholic )

The word Catholic means universal; and a basic aspect of our Catholic faith is that of spreading it or rather sharing it with others. One of the real beauty of our faith is to come to Jesus Christ in a real and powerful way. It can be equated to that of a priceless treasure or a pearl of great price. The great thing about this experience; the beauty of this treasure; the real value of this pearl of great price is that there is more than enough of it to be shared with the whole world. In fact, the Catholic faith attains its real value when it is shared with others. The Catholic faith is something that is alive - in fact very much so - and active.

Our Catholic faith is not meant to be an experience that is restricted to the time spent in church or religious assemblies, but transcends way beyond these boundaries into every facet of our being. If our Catholic faith is not lived in this way, then it becomes but another temporary fad. Speaking of which, there is a very dangerous trend that is currently taking place, where a number of religious items, in particular rosaries, of being worn as fashion statements. This is something that I believe that we as Church must guard against since it undermines and belittles much of our faith. I will not go too much into this at this time as it is something to address and pray about in later articles... Read More!

Questions and Answers to Catholics & Non-Catholics

ANSWERING QUESTIONS FOR CATHOLIC AND NON-CATHOLICS (thanks to Catholic Come Home

Here are some of the good questions everyone should know the answer.

Why does the Catholic Church believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist?
Why can't non-Catholics receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church?
Why Protestants not believe John 6 when it says that Jesus' flesh is real food and that His blood is a real drink?
Is the Catholic Mass really the same all around world everytime it is celebrated?

Dispelling the Myths about the Catholic Church

Anti-Catholics such as the Iglesia ni Cristo love to circulate myths about the Catholic faith. They rather believe in false accusations and lies circulated in the internet than pointing to the Catholic Church’s official teachings found in many websites such as Catholic Answers, Catholic Online and other Catholic websites. Right inside the Official Vatican Website, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is available in four major languages, English, French, Spanish and Chinese. One can only wonder why they hate to quote what's our official stand. The Bible and the Code of Canon is also provided in the Vatican Site. To dispell some of those myths, here is an article of conway23 that could enlighten those still under the influence of darkness.

1. Catholics are Full of Guilt: I remember a ’90s rock band in Boston named “Big Catholic Guilt,” clever name, but way off the mark. Practicing Catholics who go to Confession on a regular basis know that they have been forgiven by God! And when you’re right with God, the guilt has been washed clean away!
2. Catholic Teaching Caused the Priest Sex Abuse Scandal: Huh? Catholic teaching expressly forbids sex outside marriage and homosexuality, while requiring priests to remain celibate. One could safely argue that it was disobedience to Catholic teaching that lead to this tragedy.
3. Catholics Worship the Pope: Nope. The Pope is just a man. A sinner like all men and women. Catholics look to the Pope as the successor of St. Peter, and so we follow his teachings on faith and morals.
4. Catholics Worship Mary: Not true either. Catholics are devoted to Mary. Worship is reserved exclusively for God alone.
5. The Catholic Church Opposes Science. This is real persistent one. I suppose it indicates ignorance that it was the Catholic Church which founded the world’s first universities…You ever heard of the scientist Copernicus? He was a Polish Priest. And you can thank Jesuit priests/scientists for the development of astronomy.
6. The Catholic Church is Rich: Okay? I suppose the Catholic Church is rich in the same way that the British Royal Museum is rich. It’s true that there is a lot of gold, art and expensive real estate in the Vatican, but don’t expect it on eBay anytime soon. When Pope John Paul II died he owned virtually nothing, get the picture?
7. Catholics Think Sex is Dirty: Wrong again. It’s Victorians who think sex is dirty. Catholics understand that our Lord became flesh, which indicates that the body is sacred. Catholic marriages are elevated to the level of a sacrament as well, and the sexual act is the central unitve expression of marriage.
8. The Church Obsesses on Homosexuality: It’s actually contemporary American culture that is obsessed with forcing Christians, and the Catholic Church in particular, to abandon their moral stance against homosexual acts and gay marriage. Catholic teaching on homosexuality is 2,000 years old and will not change.
9. Women are Oppressed by the Church: Feminists work overtime on this one. Help me understand how divorce, abortion and the sexual revolution have helped women? One need only look at the breakdown of the African-American family in the last 40 years to see what happens when Christian values are tossed aside. Is it any surprise that it was women in the Roman Empire who first recognized that Christianity offered them respect, protection and a moral code that applied equally to men and women.
10. Catholics are Religious Fundamentalists: Technically speaking, fundamentalists are Protestant Christians who read the Bible literally. This is not the Catholic approach to Scripture…Yet if one means a fundamental faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and our God, then maybe we are fundamentalists.