Every Catholic Diocese Needs A Faith Movement

Published today to SignOfContradiction.Blogspot.ca

"The Faith Movement exists to explain the Catholic faith to our contemporary world. It does this through an apostolate which seeks to answer the questions that young people are asking today about their faith. It runs residential conferences which give young Catholics the opportunity to meet and make friends with others while learning about their faith and coming to meet Jesus Christ through the sacraments of the Church; particularly the Holy Mass and Confession."

h/t EM via Tim Finigan 

Myth, Genesis and The Resurrection

Fr. Paul Nicholson clarifies and corrects most cogently.

New Documentary The Principle: Is Earth Really The Center Of The Universe?

The Church used to believe and proclaim that the Earth was at the center of our created Universe. Of course that was before modern science, Copernicus and the "Galileo affair." Earth had a special place, said the Church, because it was the center of an all powerful God's creative and redemptive activity. Of course that's still true, regardless of whether the Earth revolves around the Sun, as well as the stars, or whether the Universe revolves around the Earth.

What?

Did you say the universe revolves around the Earth?

Is the Catechism “Extra Stuff”?

Jon Sorensen makes some excellent points in his latest posting. Here’s his introduction:

Some people mistakenly believe that Catholics elevate the Catechism of the Catholic Church to the status of the Bible. Others believe the Catechism is meant to explain the supposedly unbiblical teachings of the Church. Both views hold that the Catechism is essentially unnecessary “extra stuff.” In their view, all one needs is the Bible itself to know and understand the word of God. How can we Catholics respond to this?

He then goes on to deal with each mistaken notion.

However, I am also very concerned that many faithful Catholics live out their Catholic lives believing the Catechism to be some kind of “extra stuff” as well. Blindly following too many wayward Priests and Bishops and soaking up the ground chatter at their parish, they never take the time to confirm their Catholic faith by means of the glorious Magisterium of the Church, summarized in the Catechism and the Compendium. A great majority of Catholics, therefore, live in a pseudo-catholic world which, through ignorance and indifference, proves to be a danger to their own souls and to society as a whole.

Interested in reading the Catechism in an easy to use format? Access it here for free.

The Mass Explained By Catholic Convert, Former Evangelical Pastor

Entertaining and instructive video from Catholic convert Michael Cumbie, former Protestant, Evangelical pastor, now a lay Catholic evangelist. Worth the watch.

Question: "Since Billy Graham Is Not Catholic, Do You Believe He Will Be Saved?"

Response from John Martignoni, Bible Christian Society

Very interesting question there about Billy Graham being saved or not.  But, even though it is an interesting question, it is the wrong question to be asking.  I understand that we, as Catholics, can look around us and see many Baptists, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and so on who, from all appearances, seem to be sincere and devout followers of Christ in accord with the teachings of Christ as they understand them.  They go to church every Sunday, and many every Wednesday, too.  They read their Bibles, they seem to love their families, they volunteer at various charities that help the poor and the oppressed...they just seem like all-around good folks.  But, what we need to remember, just as it is not within our authority to condemn anyone to Hell, so it is not within our authority to canonize anyone as a saint of Heaven, either.

No matter how good someone may seem on the outside to us, we have absolutely no way of judging the interior of their heart - that is the province of God, and God alone.  When speaking about judgment, particularly about his judgment, St. Paul said, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.  It is the Lord who judges me.  Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart,” (1 Cor 4:4-5).

St. Paul did not even judge himself, because he recognized that it is the Lord’s place to judge man - good or bad - not man’s place.  I want to expand on this by looking at that question about Billy Graham.  Will Billy Graham be saved, even though he is not Catholic?  I think many people, including many Catholics, would say, “Oh, absolutely.  What a good and holy man Billy Graham is.  He obviously loves Jesus. Look at all the revivals he’s done in his life.  Look at all the people he has brought to Christ.  Surely Billy Graham is on his way to Heaven!”  And I believe anyone who thinks that way is doing a great disservice to Billy Graham.

Why do I say that?  First of all, as already mentioned, it is not our place to judge.  Second of all, do we have all the facts with which to make such a judgment?  Have many people come closer to Christ because of Billy Graham?  Undoubtedly so.  But, have many Catholics left the Catholic Church because of Billy Graham?  We cannot be sure, but for the sake of argument, lets say that there are Catholics who have left the Catholic Church because of Billy Graham - I would be willing to bet that many have, whether he knowingly pulled them out or not.   Which would mean, while he has brought some closer to Christ, he may have actually helped to pull some away from Christ.  For any Catholic who leaves the Eucharist has moved away from Christ.  

Also, Billy Graham is a very intelligent man and a very learned man, so it is reasonable to assume that he is aware of what the Catholic Church teaches - about the priesthood, about the Sacraments, about Mary, about the Pope, and so on.  Yet, since he isn't Catholic, he quite obviously rejects those teachings and he quite obviously rejects the authority of the Pope and the Church.  Jesus tells His disciples, “He who rejects you, rejects Me,” (Luke 10:16).  Is Billy Graham rejecting Christ by rejecting the Church founded by Christ and by rejecting those who have been appointed to lead the Church of Jesus Christ?  We are not in a position to know the answer to that question, but these are all questions we need to ponder before we canonize the man.  

So, why do I say it is a disservice to the man to believe he is well on his way to Heaven?  Because by doing so, we are essentially saying that Billy Graham is just fine, thank you, without the Eucharist, without the Sacrament of Reconciliation, without the Communion of Saints, without the priesthood, without recognizing Mary as his mother, and so many more treasures of the Catholic Church.  So, since we assume he’s just fine as is, we assume there is no need to try and evangelize him.  And that is doing him a disservice.  That’s why I said at the earlier that asking whether or not Billy Graham (or anyone else) is saved, even though not Catholic, is the wrong question to ask.  The question we should be asking is: “Would Billy Graham have a better chance of being saved by receiving the Eucharist?  Yes or no?”  

That is the proper question to ask about Billy Graham, or about anyone else who is not currently Catholic.  The answer to that question, is “Yes!”  Everyone who is not currently receiving the Eucharist would be better off by receiving it.  So, our question regarding the non-Catholic should not be: “Are they saved” - that’s a question that is beyond our pay grade - our question, rather, should be: “Would they have a better chance of being saved by receiving the Eucharist?” Since the answer to that question is, “Yes,” then the next question we need to ask is: Are we are doing everything we can to bring those who currently do not receive the Eucharist into the Catholic Church so that they, too, may become “partakers of the divine nature,” (2 Peter 1:4)?

Catholics And The Government: What God-Ordained Relationship?

Excerpt:

As a follower of Jesus Christ .. no Christian can admit or support the idea that the state is superior .. or even that they are equal. That’s quite a statement. The state is subordinate to the Church. Period.

This is not earth-shaking news to the faithful Catholic – but it is shattering news to the general population who has come to view the state as the guardian and protector and even the grantor of their individual liberty.

Such a view is not Catholic .. is not rooted in faith in Jesus Christ. But so many people simply travel along the road paved by the western democracies which has led to the conclusion by the general populace that liberty means doing whatever you want and that government’s role is to protect this false notion.

Government has taken on this mantle – the advancement of whatever someone wants to do as his “right” and using the powers of the state to enforce that – even over and above the questions of morality.

A sure mark of the ascendancy of the state over the Church is when immorality is given the protection of the law.

From that point .. the next step is the outlawing of what is moral.

Dr. Peter Kreeft's Conversion to Catholicism - Part 1

Tremendous story of conversion from a delightful philosopher!

I'm falling in love with the Whore of Babylon.  I can't quite figure out how she can be that smart, and how she can be that beautiful, and how she can produce that many saints, and still be such a whore, but this is wrong.  I've got to deal with this temptation.  I'm falling in love with the wrong woman here.

See part II of the video here.

Read the text version here.