What is Truth?

"WHAT is truth? That was the question Pontius Pilate posed after Jesus said to him:
For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. 'Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.' "(John 18:37)

"Pilate’s question is the turning point, the hinge on which the door to Christ’s final passion was to be opened. Until that point, Pilate resisted handing Jesus over to death. But after Jesus identified Himself as the source of truth, Pilate caves into the pressure—to the alternate "truths" about the Lord—and decides to leave Christ’s fate to the people. Pilate washed his hands of Truth itself."

"If the body of Christ is to follow its Head in its own passion, what the Catechism calls "a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers" (CCC 675), then we too will see a time when our persecutors will ask "What is truth?" When the world will also wash its hands of the "sacrament of truth," the Church itself."

"Tell me brothers and sisters, has this not already begun to be the case in our day?"

Read the entire post HERE. Pray for perserverence. Amen+

Great Blog Post

Christine Mirabilis (or the Astonishing)

Virgin, 1224 A.D.
Feast day: July 24th

Go here for a MUST read on St. Christine the Astonishing. She is one of my favorite saints, being a lover of the extreme side of Catholicism. A story of a saint such as this begs the question - "Do you really believe this stuff?" And for me, the answer is...yes I certainly do for nothing is impossible for God.

To atone for your sins...

Scripture tells us that, "For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness"; and that "Water extinguishes a blazing fire: so almsgiving atones for sin." Our Lord says: "But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.”

and..

St. Thomas Aquinas said: "Of all prayers, the most meritorious, the most acceptable to God are prayers for the dead, because they imply all the works of charity, both corporal and spiritual."

Go here to read the full article. I highly recommend this one and remember, it is not simply a nice thing to pray for the souls in purgatory, it is your duty.

Great Article

Great article here by Susan Tassone who is a "purgatory warrior" I highly recommend reading it, printing it out and re-reading it often if this helps you to offer sufferages on behalf of the souls who suffer so very much. Anything you do in assistance for the members of the Church Suffering will result in an increase of merit for you.

Brown Scapular Devotion & Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Below is a small exerpt from an article I highly recommend to all Catholics regarding devotion to and the wearing of Our Lady's Brown Scapular. I must say I am terrified to be without mine and only reluctantly remove it in order to swim, shower and bathe. Get one, wear it always with love.

Church position

"With regard to the scapular as a conventional and sacred sign, the Church has intervened at various times in history to clarify its meaning, defend it, and confirm the privileges.
From these Church documents there emerges with sufficient clarity the nature and meaning of the Carmelite scapular."

1. "The scapular is a Marian habit or garment. It is both a sign and pledge. A sign of belonging to Mary; a pledge of her motherly protection, not only in this life but after death."

2. "As a sign, it is a conventional sign signifying three elements strictly joined: first, belonging to a religious family particularly devoted to Mary, especially dear to Mary, the Carmelite Order; second, consecration to Mary, devotion to and trust in her Immaculate Heart; third an incitement to become like Mary by imitating her virtues, above all her humility, chastity, and spirit of prayer."

"This is the Church's officially established connection between the sign and that which is signified by the sign."

Go here for the full article on Zenit.

Great Article - "Passing Hell's Gates"

Image: Hell's Gates, Paris France

The following is an excerpt I came across today on the web:

"Most Christians today seem to imagine the Church as a sort of fortified garrison on the hill, like Minas Tirith surrounded by the black horde of orcs. A refuge, where we may all put on the armor of God and cower in the pews, secure in the knowledge that Satan will never get in. There is one small difficulty with this image: A gate is not an offensive weapon.
The idea is not that Satan will never be able to get past the gates of the Church and prevail against the Bride of Christ in her sanctuary. What ridiculous nonsense. The idea is that Christians may march out against the greatest strongholds of the evil one, and bring the legions of hell to their knees."

Author: Melinda Selmys in National Catholic Register. Go here for the full article, which I highly recommend be read in its entirety.

'But even when we agree, we don't see eye to eye."

Catholics and Protestants... I said when I first started this blog that I'm no apologist. This is still true. I love the Catholic Church with all my heart, the very Body of Christ. What I do know of Protestant religion I have "turned my back on" and I read only Catholic materials, etc. That is to say I have stopped seeking any kind of Truth outside of Catholicism for she contains and transmits the Truth of God to all who seek.

All my friends are Catholic with a few exceptions and when I am with my Protestant friends they always avoid the topic of religion. This I've never understood as I never preach, but I am what you would call "immovable" on my beliefs, they will sometimes look at me as if I'm lost. They see that I live and believe the Catholic faith as absolute Truth and the guiding force of my life. We get along fine, but there is an unspoken, unmistakable chasm between us. There is nothing to do but move on despite it.

I came across this article by Fr. Dwight Longnecker which helped me to understand our different ways of thinking. I've often wondered...how can we both love Jesus, read the Bible and yet come to so VERY different belief systems.

Prunana Vitae

Wolftracker over at Kansas City Catholic has put up a great post that I highly recommend to all - hint: it has a great ending!

"Prunus persica is the Latin name for the common peach. Let me tell you how I know.
On a sunny Saturday morning in April last year, as I was re-stringing a classical guitar at the breakfast table and my wife was at the kitchen sink, the telephone rang. My hands seeming more full than hers, my wife picked up the telephone. It was for me. To my surprise, a lawyer on the other end of the line informed me that a distant relation of mine had died and had left me a 160-acre peach orchard in her will. “Why me?” I asked, slightly stupefied. The lawyer replied, “Why not?”

Go here to read the rest - fascinating story!