Archive for the ‘Church doctrine’ Category

I guess the answer is “Yes”…

Posted: October 23, 2019 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
Tags: ,

…to the question: “Are you more Catholic than the Pope?” as I’m not big into Pagan idols in my church.

That so many people are shocked SHOCKED at the tossing of the idols in the Tiber is beyond me. I’m shocked that it took so long to happen.

Now in fairness it’s likely I would not have done this myself, choosing instead to do a holy hour of reparation or something, but that’s me.

That so many in the church are defending the idols is less amazing as there have always been plenty of folks who want their own version of the faith substituted for, the faith.

I think these two tweets sum it up nicely

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

One expresses the authentic faith of the church, one does not.

You the faithful get to make your choice, for the sake of your soul may you choose wisely.

Closing thought: All that being said this is in fact theft and destruction of private property and if the people involved are prosecuted it’s entirely proper and when brought before the judge they should answer as in Acts 5:29 and take the civil punishment as the apostles did.

Saudi Oil Yawn, Hate Crime Shortage Continues, Beto’s actual target, Sperm Donor Lottery and the right answer from Steve Roberts under the Fedora

Posted: September 18, 2019 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, crime, culture, elections, media, politics, primaries
Tags: , ,

Are you worried about a spike in oil prices because of the attack on the Saudi oil fields? Right Wing Granny isn’t:

I have no idea what impact this will have on world oil prices. I do know that Saudi Arabia will work to repair the damage as soon as possible. I have no doubt that Iran is violating the sanctions on its oil exports, so if the price of oil rises significantly, Iran may be able to pull itself out of its current economic difficulties and calm its population. America will continue to prosper as oil prices rise because we are now a net exporter of oil rather than a net importer. Because of the policies of President Trump, we are in a very different situation than we were during the oil crisis of the 1970’s.

The real irony of course is that if oil prices DO go up it makes other fracking locations viable that can be re-opened. Of course if Hillary and the Democrats had been elected this wouldn’t be an issue and we would now be in crisis

Iran Russia and China have already lost, their best chance to win the next one is for Trump to lose re-election

Those rules of economics apply to hate crimes too, or put simply if the supply of hate crimes is not sufficient to keep up with demand, then more must be produced artificially:

A former NFL player has been accused of trashing a restaurant and an ice cream shop he owned near Atlanta to make it look like a hate crime.
Gwinett County police say they found the n-word, “monkey,” “MAGA” and swastikas scrawled on the walls and booths of the two businesses, Create & Bake Pizza and Coughman’s Creamery in Lawrenceville.

Edawn Coughman, 31, of Buford, was arrested Thursday on charges of false reporting a burglary, insurance fraud and concealing a license plate before being bonded out of jail, police said.

Is this an aspiring Kaepernick or just an insurance fraud? Either way it just goes to show that making the NFL and the good paydays that come with it doesn’t guarantee you’re set for life.

There’s an old joke about a guy losing his keys and searching under a lamp a block away because he can see better there. Fisherville Mike is reminding me of it:

If you’re worried about mass shootings but unwilling to go door to door to look for assault rifles, it’s inevitable that virtually all of the people whom you end up disarming are people whom you didn’t need to worry about in the first place.

That of course assume’s that the goal is to stop mass shootings rather than disarm the people who might be willing to take arms against an imposed tyranny.

That’s the actual goal and to Beto & company it’s a feature not a bug.

Stacy McCain notes the irony of this case of a lesbian mom suing over a sperm bank donor not being what he claimed to be.

Danielle Rizzo doesn’t believe in any of that “Thou shalt not” stuff. No, she believes in Science! Her children didn’t need a father. All she and her lesbian “partner” needed was a sperm donor, and Science would take care of the rest. What could possibly go wrong? Only everything, it turns out, so that “her relationship collapsed” and now she and her two autistic sons are on Medicaid, living in her parents’ basement.
This story was brought to my attention by Rational Male author Rollo Tomassi, who has a saying: “Hypergamy doesn’t care.” “Hypergamy prompts women to seek out ‘winners’, they don’t care how the man won, just that he won,” as Rollo has observed, and we see how this applies even with lesbians choosing sperm donors on the basis of online profiles. Being tall, claiming to have a master’s degree and a professional career — H898 seemed like a “winner,” and it never occurred to Danielle Rizzo to wonder about H898’s motives for becoming a sperm donor.

Maybe the church’s teaching on this stuff aren’t so foolish after all, but let’s also remember that the teaching of the church is that these two boys are children of God whose value in the eyes of God is not dependent on the origins of their birth.

There is a lot of hoopla about the death of Cokie Roberts who came from a very Democrat family out of Louisiana to become a fixture on television news, but amid all the tributes going out there is a line from her husband that is some of the best advice you’ll ever hear:

Marrying the right person is the single most important decision you’ll ever make in your life. Everything else is secondary.

That’s advice that Danielle Rizzo could have used

What’s more valuable? A Mass or a McDonald Meal

Posted: September 17, 2019 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
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A few days ago I went to my old parish St. Anthony of Padua in Fitchburg for morning mass rather than my current parish. As I was looking at the parish bulletin I was shocked to see the weekday masses all empty in terms of intentions.

It is a simple fact of life, or death, that masses for the souls in purgatory are rather efficacious, but what is less known is that masses for the living are infinitely more valuable.

For one thing the soul in purgatory has already been judged and while a mass might shorten one’s time in purgatory every soul there will eventually be in heaven, that fact is of infinite comfort to the church suffering.

However for the souls still on earth, the church militant, the stakes are much higher.

The souls still on earth fate are still in doubt, the battle for their ultimate fate is raging, and in many cases the combatants the guardian angles of these souls are fighting that battle alone. Think about it, how many people who have abandoned the church, or are weak in the faith or have never known the faith simply have nobody praying for them?

And in terms of what it does for the faithful St. Anselm is rather blunt about it

“A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death.”

As was Pope Benedict the XV (the Pope Benedict before the last one)

“The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death.”

And consider, the offering for a mass is a whole $10, that’ less that you pay for a #2 meal at a McDonald Drive through around here.

So if you’ve got an extra ten spot to spend and you see an empty mass intention on a local church, even if it’s not your own, consider a mass for someone you love, someone you’ve been praying for, or someone you know that needs prayer. Or if you’re having a hard time even for yourself.

The church is chock full of graces for those who need it, leap at them.

The Biggest Danger to A Christian’s Soul…

Posted: August 30, 2019 by datechguy in Church doctrine

…is the belief that the same God who we trust to forgive our sins that we struggle with will not forgive the sins of others.

It can be tough thing, particularly when you are dealing with public sin that is flaunted but the reality is we don’t know if that person is struggling with their sins, and currently failing.

While we should not shy about noting the sin and even admonishing the sinner (which is a spiritual work of mercy) we must also pray for such folks with the confidence in the forgiveness of God and the key words in the Our Father or as our Protestant Brother say, the Lord’s Prayer…

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Or to put it a better way.

You will meet a lot of self righteous people religious and non-religious who loudly proclaim their love for the people of the world and their desire for their well being, but have no use for individual people.

They love humanity in the abstract but can’t stand people.

Christianity is practically the opposite.  Jesus himself says 

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them,

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.  After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

This is a commentary on people as a whole, yet over and over when Jesus encounters people with a long history of sin, he offers that individual compassion and forgiveness, even as others disapprove.

So it must be with us.  We might disapprove of the culture as a whole but the people we encounter are individuals.  They need to be treated with love, compassion, understanding and forgiveness with the knowledge that they are children of God whose sins Jesus  died for and will willingly forgive.

That difference is the difference between the virtue of humility and the sin of pride.

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