Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Three Virtues with Bible references.

Humility
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Proverbs 11:2

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
- Philippians 2:3

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- James 3:13

Obedience
He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.
- Proverbs 19:16

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
- John 14:21

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
- Romans 2:13

Charity (Love)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The Seven Deadly Sins with Bible references.

Pride
The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked."
- St. Thomas More, 16th Century

"God is stern in dealing with the arrogant, but to the humble He shows kindness."
- Proverbs 3:34
"Hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to the love of God ..."
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2094

Greed
"He who loves money never has money enough"
- cf. Sirach 5:8
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
- Exodus 20:17

"But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my God.'"
- Psalm 31:14

EnvyA heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
- Proverbs 14:30

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
- James 3:16

Anger
"Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment"
- Matthew 5:22
"Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."
- Galatians 5:19-21
"A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
- Proverbs 15:1
Lust"...every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
- Jesus Christ (Mt 5:28)

"Can a man take fire to his bosom and his garments not be burned?"
- Proverbs 6:27

"Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure."
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2351

Gluttony"Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. "
- Proverbs 23:2

"Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. "
- 1 Corinthians 7:5
Sloth"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?"
- Matthew 25:26

"If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks."
- Ecclesiastes 10:18

Monday, June 2, 2008

Structured and Repetitive prayers in the Roman Catholic Church are these based in the Bible?

We Catholics are sometimes criticized for our structured and repetitive prayers because according to some Christian denominations this is not based on the bible. The main objective of these criticisms is to sway those Catholics who are not deep in their faith away from the Catholic Church and recruit them to join their Christian church instead.

These Catholic prayers are based on the bible.

On Matthew 26:44 it says: “Jesus left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.”

On Luke 18:1-7 Jesus told a parable to pray in repetition: “Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'" The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?”

On Revelations 4:8 it says: “The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."

The prayer that Jesus taught us to pray: "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.” ( Matthew 6:9-13) we say this prayer everyday. Nothing’s wrong with it because Jesus himself taught us this prayer.

The bible itself contains repetitive prayers, for example on Psalm 136 the phrase, “For his steadfast love endures forever” was repeatedly written twenty six (26) times.

Jesus too repeated prayers: He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. (Matthew 26:44)

There’s nothing wrong with structured and repetitive prayers same as that there’s also nothing wrong with our spontaneous prayer for God. What is important is, we are sincere and we feel God’s presence in our prayers. Let us always remember that God always looks at our hearts when we pray. Regardless if it’s repetitive/structured or spontaneous prayer.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Do Catholics worship the image of Mary and other Saints?

There are instances wherein we are being criticized by other Christian denominations for worshipping the saints especially Mama Mary. We do not worship these Holy Icons of our faith. Worship and adoration are terms that refer to the act of acknowledging God as the supreme being; we worship and adore God alone. We pray to the saints to help us pray to Jesus for our intentions. There’s a saying that says: “There’s strength in numbers.” We also believe our prayer is more powerful when many are praying with us and for us.

Don't we notice that sometimes we also ask our friends and relatives to pray for us so that our prayer will be granted by God?

This is basically the same when we pray to the Saints/Mama Mary to help us pray to Jesus. Saints are the heroes of our faith if we will look at their lives we will see Jesus on them. They lived their lives emulating the virtues of Jesus.

Why do we ask the saints our relatives and friends to pray for us? The answer rest on the importance of common prayer with others. Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name I am there present in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20) Sometimes we even ask our relatives who’s already in the next life to pray for us because we believed that they are already in heaven.

In his letter (to the Colossians 4:2-3) Saint Paul said: “Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us.”

We can pray directly to God, it’s actually upon us if we want to ask the help of the Saints to pray for us, if we want to ask our relatives and friends to pray for us. The freedom of choice is ours to take.


Does the Bible Prohibit Religious Images?

http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2011/10/does-bible-prohibit-religious-images.html

My Gospel Reflections for Sunday: June 1, Matthew 7:21-27

Matthew 7:21-27
Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

My Reflections:There’s a saying that states: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” This is the same with, “The proof of our faith is in the things that we do.” It’s not on the things that we say. Because James 2:17 says: “Faith without actions is dead.” Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Do we put meaning into our faith by accompanying it with good works?

Our action speaks volumes than our words. No matter how many times we go to our churches to worship God for as long as it is superficial it has no meaning it’s all without use.

A working faith therefore is something that bears witness with Jesus long after we are through with our church worship this can only be possible if we have a deep and personal relationship with Jesus.

Jesus further states: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.”

Our deep faith in God will see us through in times of our life’s adversities and difficulties. No matter how strong the calamities of life we will remain with God and we will not lose our hope for our faith in anchored on a solid rock that is Jesus.

Is your house of faith solidly anchored on the rock that is Jesus or is it still shakily planted in the sand?

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Children Learn What They Live (by:Dorothy Law Nolte)

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

What is the basis of the nine days Novena Prayer?

The word Novena is a Latin word that means nine (9). This is series of public or private prayers that extends over nine consecutive days, especially nine days before a certain feast. This refers to the tradition of saying the same prayers on nine consecutive days. This tradition has its basis in the Bible.

On Acts 1-2, the Apostles, believers and Mary waited and prayed for nine days for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Novenas are made especially in honor of the saints to ask their intercession for certain benefits. They are also frequently in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary under her many names.