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Faith of Our Fathers

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       There are many pursuits in life which can lead to an all consuming preoccupation.   While some people are attracted to hobbies like sports, football, soccer, or motor racing; these things can leave you feeling more empty than fulfilled.  Human beings have a tendency to fixate on the superficial aspects of life more than the transcendent and philosophical.  In this way I wish to approach this article; delving more deeply into the human condition of distractions verses the  deeper aspects of the soul’s attraction to religion and ultimately to God.    We see so many distractions in life, but we also see an attraction in some persons to a higher calling; one of faith and morality.  After years of observing people’s reaction to God and religious things, I have determined man to be a most weak and impressionable creature.  He is prone to the most extreme emotions and habits, both good and bad.  We read in Sacred Scripture...

The Story of God

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Story of God Striving to understand the universe by looking up to the heavens, looking outward to creation, looking inward to our deceitfully wicked hearts; we find ourselves in darkness and wretchedness beyond comprehension.  The only singular truth we can discern from nature is that there is a God, and I am not him.  The heavens do truly declare his glory, but it is not until we are exposed to his written Word that we come to a more complete understanding of who God is and what he has done. “From its very beginning, the Christian church has always accepted Holy Scripture as the Word of God, beginning with the Old Testament. In Israel, from the most ancient times on the authority of YHWH’s commandments and statutes, i.e., of the Torah and of the prophets, it is established. In Israel, Moses and the prophets have always been men of divine authority, and their writings were immediately recognized as authoritative. Over time, however, that authority was undermined by a gradually...

The Practice of Religion

  Fifteen Rosary Mysteries  The five Joyful Mysteries of the Incarnation  1.) The Annunciation of the B.V. Mary 2.)The Visitation of the B.V. Mary 3.)The Birth of our Blessed Lord 4.)The Presentation of Christ in the Temple  5.)The finding of Christ in the Temple Virtues 1*Humility 2*Love of neighbor  3*Poverty of spirit 4*Purity of mind and body 5*Piety and Obedience  The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Redemption  1.)The Bloody sweat of the garden 2.)The Scourging of our Lord 3.)The Crowning with thorns 4.)The carrying of the Cross 5.)The Crucifixion on Calvary  Virtues 1*God’s will be done 2*Mortification of the senses  3*Reign of Christ in my heart 4*Patient bearing of trials 5*Pardoning of injuries  Five Glorious Mysteries of the Resurrection  1.)The Resurrection of our Lord. 2.)The Ascension of our Lord 3.)The Descent of the Holy Spirit 4.)The Triumph of the Church 5.)The Beatific Vision Virtues  1*Faith 2*Hope 3*Love and...

God’s Election

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  Election “If God works equally in the lives of all people and one accepts His invitation to salvation and another doesn't, where is the difference? Does the one who accepts have greater intelligence or a greater affinity for spiritual things? Is it prideful or wrong to think the difference lies within the person who is saved? Part of the source of this quandary lies within the initial premise: that God works equally in each individual's life. By this, I assume it is meant that God used the same degree of effort in calling and wooing the Apostle Paul to a belief in Christ as He did with John F. Kennedy and Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on your point of view — this is not the case. First of all, God is what we term "omnipotent"; that is, He is all-powerful ( Matthew 19:26 ). Not only can God do all things, but the things He does are neither difficult nor easy for Him. Yoda from Star Wars fame, once said to his pupil Luke, "There is no tr...

The Nations have Parted My Land

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    Select Page Dividing the land of Israel? And Jerusalem? Two end-time prophecies are becoming very relevant, even today. In both cases these literal prophecies will be literally (or directly) fulfilled towards the end of the seven-year Tribulation Period, or just thereafter. But in both cases, it appears that the scene is slowly but surely being set for its fulfilment. In the first instance, the prophecy refers to judgment because of certain actions towards the land of Israel. In the second, it refers to the capital city of Israel, namely Jerusalem. Joel 3:1-3 and the Division Of the Land Joel 3:1-3 states the following:  For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgement with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, a...