A Muslim Friend’s Letter to Slain Father Ragheed
From Zenit.com
Christian Persecution Follow-Up
As you can see from the comments this has sparked some debate. I mentioned same sex marriage but I have to say that was one example I used and it seems to have got some people mad. The Church teaches that sex outside of marriage, homosexual or heterosexual is a sin. The Church does not recognize same sex marriage ergo sin has taken place. As a priest it is my job to shine the light on sin. But that is not the point of this post. Do I think that same sex marriage is harmful to the institution of marriage no, because I do not recognize it as marriage because the church does not, what I think is harmful to the institution of marriage and families in general is Divorce. Now anonymous be for you get on your high horse and start calling me names again let me say that I do believe that divorce should be allowed, but it should be very rare. If we priests are doing our job and counseling people before marriage then maybe we could avoid this. As fallen people we make mistakes and we sin and we need to make allowance for that but it should be rare and used with great caution.
So I leave you with this thought.
Comments
My post on Christian Persecution has stirred up some comments and I think that is good. However I reserve the right to delete any comment that I find insulting to me or others. If you don’t like that then do not read my blog. Also, although anonymous comments are allowed on this blog, if you leave a comment please leave a name. If you have a point to make, make it and be proud to make it. I stand by everything I say, and my name is on the blog. Have the courage of your convictions and sign your name.
Christian Persecution
I have been silent on this issue this past week but if you have been following the news, not the mainstream news mind you, you would have read about the priest and three deacons killed last Sunday in Iraq. They had just finished the Liturgy and all four were dragged out of their car and killed and then left on the street. We should be outraged by this! Gerald Augustinius over at the Cafeteria is Closed bog has a post about this issue today. He makes the point that when there was an accusation of guards at the jail in Cuba flushing pages of the Koran down the toilet it made the front page, but not this issue. No we cannot speak of Christianity on the news unless it is some scandal.
When will all this end? There was another story on the blogs today (forgive me I can not find it now) about a bishop in Australia who made the statement that if the Catholic legislatures voted for an abortion bill they should not receive communion. Now they are investigating him for making threats to elected officials! When will this end!
When will Christians rise up and say enough is enough? We get laughed at in the mainstream media when we hold to our beliefs. Bishop are told to shut up by priests and lay people when they try and teach what the church believes. What are we to do?
UPDATE: Here is a link to the story.
New Podcast
Episode #3 of the Shepherd of Souls Podcast is now up. You can get informaiton at the Blog Site of the show.
Blogging Light
Blogging will be light for a few days. I am in a seminar on Pastoral Crisis Intervention. A continuation of the Critical Incident Stress Management training. Today is the last day. Good class.
June 1st ~ St. Ronan
There are twelve Irish saints bearing the name of Ronan commemorated in the “Martyrology of Donegal”; of these the most celebrated are: St. Ronan of Ulster, brother of St. Carnech, and grandson of Loarn, d. 11 January, 535; St. Ronan, son of Berach, a disciple of the great St. Fechin of Fore. He became first Abbot of Drumshallon, and d. 18 November, 665. St. Ronan Fionn is honoured as patron of Lan Ronan (Kelminiog) in Iveagh. His feast is celebrated on 22 May, both in Ireland and Scotland. St. Ronan of Iona is explicitly referred to by St. Bede as one of the protagonists of the Roman custom of celebrating Easter as against the Irish tradition, and he had a warm controversy on the subject with his countryman St. Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 660. This controversy was ended at the Synod of Whitby, in 664, when St. Ronan’s views were upheld. St. Ronan of Lismore was a distinguished successor of St. Carthage, and several Munster churches were built in his honour. His feast is celebrated on 9 February 763. Another saint of this name is best known by the ruined church of Kilronan, Co. Roscommon, where Turlogh O’Carolan and Bishop O’Rourke are buried.
From The Catholic Encyclopedia
Illegal immigrant invokes church sanctuary
Every church in America should be doing this!
Church Teaching?
There has been a storm brewing in St. Louis over Archbishop Raymond Burke holding fast to church teaching. Now you might say, “What’s wrong with that?” Well in this country we do not want anyone telling us how to live. Our Christian faith, or for that matter our Jewish faith or our Muslim faith has a set doctrine that we believe in. We are not cafeteria Christians, Muslims, or Jews. For example, you cannot be pro-choice and be an Orthodox Christian. You may think you can, but let me ask this. Can you be an Orthodox Christian and not believe in the Resurrection? Now I am not putting the Resurrection on the same level as being pro-choice, but the point is we believe in a certain way of life, and if you do not believe in that way of life, you do not belong.
I have not commented much on the trouble that our Episcopal Brothers and Sisters are going through in this country, but as I see it part of the problem is they are wishy washy on what they believe. Jesus came to teach a way of life, we either accept it whole or we reject it.
Here is a story in Today’s Boston Globe about Archbishop Burke. I think that he is doing what he is supposed to be doing. We live in a society that has no moral center, because we try to be politically correct in everything we do. As preachers it is our responsibility to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If we start to water down our faith to make it easier for the faithful, then all we have done is harm the faithful. Sin is sin and we need to start talking about it again.
It is not easy to be a Christian in this life, but you know Jesus never said it would be easy. If you are a preacher, preach it and preach it well. Do yourself and your flock a favor and tell the truth not some poll tested watered down version of the truth. Leave that to the politicians.