Tribulation Times
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/september.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101
September 18, 2009
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(2Th 2:13-15) But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of God, for that God hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth: Whereunto also he hath called you by our gospel, unto the purchasing of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
NEW RON SMITH REPORTS
Is It Proper To Bestow The Apostolic Blessing On Someone Who Supports Abortion?
What Is The Church's Authority To Not Allow Priests To Marry?
VIA COSTA RICA: Catholic Church Will Not Be Silent About Anti-Catholic Movements
In response to attempts by lawmakers to eliminate a clause from the country's constitution that states the official religion of Costa Rica is the Catholic faith, Bishop José Francisco Ulloa of Cartago said the Church "will not be silent" and will not abandon her mission to defend human life and the family.
In a recent homily at the cathedral, the bishop remarked, "Certain groups and ideologies exist that pretend to weaken and even eliminate the mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, as if the Church of Jesus were dependent upon human whims or on some part of a political constitution. The Church is divine and nobody can destroy her," he said.
Referring to the Costa Rican constitution, which declares that the country's official religion is the Catholic faith, but that the state shall not interfere with the free exercise of any religion that does not contradict "universal morality or good morals," Bishop Ulloa said there are some who mistakenly believe that "the Catholic Church is going to be silent" about the proposed changes or that it will "compromise the principles that God has entrusted her to proclaim throughout history for the good of the human person and of humanity."
"The Church will always respect life from conception to natural death," he said. "The Church will continue to proclaim God's truth about marriage between one man and one woman without fear. The Church will continue to defend the rights of the family at all costs," the bishop added.
He went on to note that some lawmakers believe that with these changes "they will kill God. They are totally wrong. God does not die. He is the God of life, He is eternal, unchangeable. All creation depends on Him and only in Him does human life find meaning."
"When the human being denies God, he becomes dehumanized and loses his dignity," the bishop continued. "When a state becomes atheist, it is capable of committing the worst injustices and the gravest aberrations. History is witness to this."
Bishop Ulloa went on to encourage Costa Ricans to choose wisely those who will occupy political office and to cast their votes for candidates that defend life, marriage and the family. "Let us protest loudly and without fear against these anti-human, anti-Christian and atheistic policies that some wish to impose upon us," he said.
VIA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Called To Be Catholic
Called to be Catholic, from the Eucharist we go, the Body of Christ.As Jesus brought healing, truth, joy and reconciliation when He walked on earth, now we, Christ's Body, united in constant prayer with Mary our Mother, continue his mission building the civilisation of love.
Our faith will always be more than what we do within the walls or our Church, as demonstrated by the refreshing story on the back page of last Sunday's Catholic News which told of Catholic youth, mainly from the Southern and Central Vicariates, who travelled to the Toco Parish on the east coast to paint the Catholic primary school before the start of the new term.
St James, in this Sundays' Second Reading, says about faith: "if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead" (2:17).
The Church in its various congregations is a complex institution made up of ordinary people who are sinners.
Still it remains a divinely inspired institution, far greater than the sum of its parts: it is after all the Body of Christ.
It is a Church called in every age, no less than in ours, to obedience and trust in the mysteries of the living God — in the midst of conflict and darkness.
What does it mean to be a Catholic? It must mean belonging to a family of Christians where its members are challenged by the command of Jesus: "Repent and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). It means responding to the call of conversation and faith, which finds expression in a variety of ways in the unique experiences of its members — which makes the question a more than useful tool to enrich the faith of those who respond to it and listen to what others have to say.
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 23- "On mad pride and unclean, blasphemous thought"
2. The consummation of vainglory is the beginning of pride; the middle is the humiliation of our neighbour, the shameless parade of our labours, self-praise in the heart, hatred of exposure; and the end is denial of God's help, the extolling of one's own exertions, fiendish character.Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com
This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.
