Papal Pilgrimage To Isreal Ends With a Bang
Benedict declared his intentions in the clearest of terms. “First, to those who still dispute Israel’s right to exist as a state, Benedict stated: “Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders.” Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested that the Pope denounce Iran on Israel’s behalf, especially regarding Iran’s repudiation of Israeli statehood. While avoiding mentioning Iran by name, Benedict lost no time in doing just that. Moving on, he stated: “Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream.”
Benedict made an impassioned appeal: “No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing.”
The three great religions of the world, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all share Abraham as their common father. In Catholic circles, Abraham is remembered as the “Father of our Faith”. Like in all “big families”, sometimes members disagree and do not get along. So sad, when we all share a common humanity and will all one-day return to the same Creator that made and loves each us all.
Lack of forgiveness is at the center of the Middle East problem. So many times the world has looked to a multitude of people and things to solve the tensions between the three great religions, all sharing Jerusalem. Instead of looking to were the source of the hatred lies, in the hearts of men. Each person must find forgiveness in his or her heart. I believe the Pope’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land stressed the importance of this needed forgiveness between all people in Israel and the Middle East.
In the Christian faith, Christ tells the faithful:
“Father, forgive us our trespass, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
May God bless all three great religions sharing the Holy Land; Christians, Jews, and Muslims. May we all learn to live in peace and love one another as God loves each of us personally.
Protestant Pastor: ‘I Saw Catholics Arrested for Being Catholic’
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=33580
They almost broke the arm of a priest who appeared to be in his 80s, by dragging him on the ground.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Christian Newswire) – Vision America President Pastor Rick Scarborough said he was sickened by what he saw when those protesting Obama’s speech at Notre Dame were arrested on the campus.
“I wept when I saw my friends arrested and taken to jail,” Scarborough disclosed. “They almost broke the arm of a priest who appeared to be in his 80s, by dragging him on the ground.”
Scarborough, who’s a Southern Baptist preacher, said he was in South Bend in solidarity with Catholics who are protesting the upcoming commencement speech at Notre Dame by the most anti-life president in history.
“Millions of Catholics who were persecuted in their countries of origin came to these shores for religious freedom,” Scarborough said. “These hard-working folk built institutions like Notre Dame to educate their children and strengthen their Church.”
“Now Notre Dame is honoring Barack Obama, a man Catholics and other Christians should shun, as many of the Catholic bishops have.”
When asked why he wasn’t arrested, Scarborough explained: “This was a Catholic demonstration, As a Baptist, I had to respect that. I did not want to intrude. At the same time, I wanted to support a group of people I’m so proud of for standing up for Judeo-Christian morality.”
It’s bad enough that the president of Notre Dame asked the most radically pro-choice president in the history of the United Sates to speak at the University’s most recent graduation commencement but the police, then added insult to injury, and arrested Catholics praying peacefully in protest. To describe the entire situation in a word, Disgraceful!!!
Frankly, it’s just so sad. The protestors were not being violent, nor did they hurt anyone. In fact, the Catholic protestors were praying the Rosary on a Catholic Campus! Shocking! Scandalous! Throw them in jail and throw away the key!!
I was under the impression that we lived in the United Sates of America, where a person could voice their opposition to the establishment as long as they did it peacefully? I guess not. I assume protesting is now qualified to what is “trendy” or “what is in” according the dictates of our relativistic society. Let’s just stick to protests about Freeing Tibet and the prohibition of fur coat wearing Hollywood stars. However, when it comes to killing children, I guess we must draw the line! President Obama promised us “CHANGE” if he was elected president. Well my friends, we now have it!!
Are You Really Catholic?
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=33587
“Are you Catholic because your parents were Catholic, because their parents were Catholic because their parents were Catholic? Is it your culture or your faith? Is it your present choice or your history? Is it your conviction or a “hat” you put on for baptisms, weddings and funerals? ”
“It is our Christian duty to call our culture to reform. We’re not supposed to blend in and “adapt” our faith to the changing times! We’re supposed to be showing our lost culture the way of true and lasting peace, which can only be found in Christ. It is our responsibility to be firm in defense of the natural and moral law even when it makes us unpopular or hated. If we’re not willing to do that are we worthy to be called Catholic?”
“Either live as a Catholic Christian or don’t, but stop trying to remodel the Church to make it more appealing to the world. Learn your Catholic faith, understand it correctly and LIVE IT out in public without apologizing. Stop compromising the truth. Quit trying to rewrite Church teaching to bring it “up to speed” with modern times. The Church is not out of step with society; society is out of step with the Church. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and thus His Church is timeless, ageless and always perfectly relevant. It is not the Church who needs to change her thinking; it is society that needs to CORRECT its thinking.”
“You are free to decide where and with whom you stand. You do not, however, have the right to try to change the Catholic Church to suit your opinions or wishes. No matter how brilliant you are, you are not above the Magisterium. No matter how persuasive the political position, you cannot ignore the law of the Church and the Natural Law. Doctrine and Orthodoxy may be distasteful words in this age of personal freedoms, but if you call yourself Catholic, you need to know what Catholic doctrine actually says and follow it. All of it – not just this or that particular idea that suits your preferences. The Church is not a cafeteria. You are not free to take some things and leave others.”
In the wake of the Obama commencement speech at Notre Dame, this article could not have stated it better! If we who are baptized into the Catholic Church call ourselves Catholics, do we even know what it means to be Catholic? Is it just a name or is it something we check off when we register for the US government census? At every Catholic mass, the Apostles Creed is said before the faithful receive communion. Let me remind you how it goes:
“I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hells. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”
This is done for a purpose. The meaning behind the faithful stating the creed is, if you do not believe in the Catholic beliefs, all of them, you are not free to receive communion. Notice it says, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church”. It does not say, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church SOMETIMES.”
This is not my personal opinion, its Church doctrine, and has been from the beginning. The Apostle’s Creed was written in the 2nd century.
Our present society is slowing embracing secularism. The time is now for people of faith, all faiths, to stand up and be counted! History has proven time and time again that when a civilization losses it moral compass, it goes into decline. America was founded on Judea-Christian ideals. Anyone who has taken US History 101 cannot deny this, if they are being honest with themselves that is. If we continue to ground our culture in the relativistic principals of the status quo, the old slogan “History repeats itself” will ring true once again! Remember, Rome burned while Nero fiddled!
Ask yourself this question: Has the “ways of the world” worked? Look around you. Poverty, crime, war, greed, should I go on? How about trying it Gods’ way?
Remember the old story of Adam and Eve? God gave them everything, they lived in a paradise, they were perfectly happy. He just asked them to do one thing, do not eat from the tree of Good and Evil. So what did they do, they ate from the tree and what was the result, paradise lost!
Believe it or not my friends, God’s ways work! It might be a tougher road to travel but the walk is full of interior peace and happiness. Isn’t that what we all want to be, happy? Look around you is the world at peace? Is it happy? Lets break it down even more, how many people do you know at work who are completely content?
“Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; I was deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Things held me far from you—things which, if they were not in you, were not at all. You called, and shouted, and burst my deafness. You flashed and shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed odors and I drew in breath—and I pant for you. I tasted, and I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” (St. Augustine, Confessions).
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Joe Reciniello is a Wall Street executive that spends his free time helping the poor in New York City and beyond. Learn more about his work and travels at immaculateheartmission.org.Joe Reciniello article archive.
