I never got to watch Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen when I was growing up. I think I’d only heard about him and I’d seen photos of him. Sometime around my conversion (give or take a few years) I saw his program, Life is Worth Living, on EWTN and realized what I’d been missing. (Video of Bishop Sheen below, links at the end of this post.)
Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal, 100 year anniversary. Free wallpaper from WallPaperCave.
At that time I still didn’t now what to make of Marian apparitions and it would be some years before I would dip my toe in the water. But now that I have, one apparition in particular means a lot to me. In Catholic-speak I would say I have devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. This talk by Archbishop Sheen will go some way in revealing why I like him so much and why Fatima means so much to me and not just me but countless others. And to the world, whether it knows it or not. Especially now.
Since the HHS Mandate was foisted upon us, I’ve been told many times that I can be a Christian all I want…as long as I keep it to myself and limit it to worship inside the church building. But is that what it means to be Christian? Yes, worship on Sunday (or daily for those who go to Daily Mass) is part of being Christian. But can we reduce Christianity to that one hour on Sunday (or seven hours a week for the Daily Mass attendee)?
This is My Body, which will be given up for you
For me being Catholic Christian is what I am at the very heart of my being. Catholicism shapes my thoughts and desires and I seek to live my faith through every moment I am alive; even when I fall short of that goal, the goal remains. Saying that I’m free to worship in the church building on Sunday but not free to live according to the teachings of Christ and His Church is absurd. The whole point of attending Mass and receiving grace in the Sacrament of the Eucharist is to be enabled to bring the light of Christ out from within the gathering and into the world where darkness reigns, for Christ to act upon me and make me into a new creation, to fill me with new life. A participation in His Divine Life. But what I’m hearing from various people is that I should keep that light within the sanctuary, that it has no place out in public where — horrors! — someone might see it!
I don’t demand that others be Catholic Christian. I don’t demand that they talk about atheism in the privacy of their homes but never around me. I listen to atheists preach at me nearly every day of my life. They witness to me, they evangelize me, they try to convert me. I fully expect them to come to my neighborhood, knocking on doors and inviting folks to the local atheist potluck supper and tent meeting any day now. And will I tell them to keep their un-worship to themselves? No! I won’t!
Truth is, I ‘d like to see what kind of party they throw. I might even take a covered dish.
Just found this post while searching for a particular Catholic Answers Live radio show to download and thought it was…interesting. It’s by someone using the name “DanielDonuts” on one of Richard Dawkins’ “content and discussion” forums at richarddawkinsDOTnet/discussions/644049-catholic-answers-live-with-sean-faircloth
Sean Faircloth called in and for quite some time debated a so-called former atheist turned Catholic named Edward Feser. On an almost daily basis this radio show spews hatred towards atheists – yesterday, for example, by saying that “sin darkens the intellect and makes you stupid”, i.e. implying that atheists are only atheists because of our “sin”. And Feser called RD a “loud mouth ignoramous”.
Every day this show could be inundated with atheist callers. Their phone number is 1-888-31TRUTH, they are on every weekday from 6-8 pm EST.
Before God revealed Himself, man sought to understand who & what he is and why he's here.I have atheist friends who tell me that religion is useles;, that while primitives may have needed it, we modern men certainly do not. To them I can only reply, “So you’ve answered it, then.”
“What?” they ask.
“The perennial question, asked by man since man began.”
We’re having our annual March for Life this weekend here in Birmingham (national March for Life is next weekend). I’ve been getting ready for it, ordered a sign to carry and a shirt to wear that may get here in time. If not, I’ve got others. I bought a Catholic Warrior, Defending the Faith t-shirt and a 100% Catholic t-shirt yesterday up at the EWTN gift shop. Bought a bunch of pro-life bookmarks and some signs a while back from Heritage House. My Saul Alinsky review is still in the works. I left my book bag at home today or I’d post something on it now. But I don’t want to work from memory. Suffice it to say that I’ve added more books to the reading list since the last time I posted. Added more history books and several books on evolution and atheism, including titles by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Darwin (a hardback volume entitled Evolutionary Writings, containing the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.) Funny, isn’t it, how most editions these days neglect to print the full title: Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of the Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. And I finally got a copy of Stephen Meyer’s Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design.
A friend asked me a few weeks ago why some people don’t believe in God. And why people leave the Church. “If they know, if they understand what the Church is, how can they leave?” Well, I don’t know that they do know, that they do understand and that is exactly why they can leave. But let’s look a little deeper and explore the benefits of denying the existence of God. Continue reading “The benefits of denying the existence of God”→
I’ve changed the banner on the blog yet again. It’s an obsession. I feel a need to update the look (or at least, the banner) with every change of my focus or interest, no matter how slight. The latest shift of focus is not really a shift in kind but in degree. I’ve been watching the rising tide of atheism and the accompanying tide of immoral “morality” for many years. Continue reading “The heavens show forth the glory of God, another new banner”→
Catholic Heart and Mind 