Archive for the ‘catholic’ Category

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.

DaTechGuy Quick thought 70 x 7

Posted: August 28, 2019 by datechguy in catholic, Uncategorized
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The next time you are too embarrassed to go to confession because you are confessing the same sins over and over ask yourself why you think that Jesus who told Peter he must forgive his brother 70 x 7 times isn’t going to use that same standard with you?

 

No charge but tips happily accepted

Under the Fedora Latin and English, Biden & History, NYT vs Alex Stephens, LGBTQ vs Legal Documents, Dick’s Vs Guns

Posted: August 22, 2019 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, culture, elections, politics, primaries
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My post on Canon Turner’s 1st Mass got a lot of attention considering it wasn’t instalanched and I wanted to make a point that might have been unclear.  I have been to the Latin mass before just not a high mass of the type that was on display.  Personally I think it would be healthy for both the vernacular and the Latin masses to both be offered in all parishes.  It would be a perfect illustration of Christ as fully human and our brother while also fully Divine as our God.  I think it’s healthy to remember both.

I don’t see why anyone is surprised that Joe Biden got the decade wrong that RFK & MLK were assassinated.  Given the historical ignorance of the young who tend to vote democrat these days and the attempts to re-write history such a mistake makes perfect sense.  Of course, maybe 1968 identifies as a year in the 70’s

Speaking of re-writing history the NYT 1619 project attempt to reframe a false history as true has actually been going on for a long time by the left.  It’s been a full generation since Mary Lefkowitz Not out of Africa and the backlash she got for refusing to teach myth as history the only difference is now their bold enough to admit it and no amount of facts such as the Vice President of the Confederacy’s attack on the founding fathers for opposing Slavery and considering it evil will stop it.  What happened with Lefkowitz was the broken window theory of this type of thing

On a similar subject that’s a pet peeve of mine on twitter this week the subject of Transgenders altering their birth certificates to change their birth sex/name is something I think is very wrong.  A birth certificate is a legal document recording an actual event.  Namely a person was born of a particular sex to a particular set of parents on a particular date at a particular place.  These are all facts and are not subject to the whims or vanity of others.  Now if you wanted to create a document that was a “certification of live birth”  where a city can certify that a person who has a different legal birth name and a different legal birth sex was in fact born at a particular place on a particular year that would be a fair compromise but we have no business changing the written record.

Finally there is word that Dicks Sporting goods which made a big deal about being woke on guns is considering discontinuing guns altogether.  It actually makes perfect sense when you consider the reaction by gun owners to the company’s previous move:

“I’m not furious, not at all. They made a business decision. I get it. They want to step out of their non-political lane and become corporate activists. I can calmly step out of my lane, too. And given every chance I get, I will not use their products,” he said.

If buyers of guns with long memories are still angry and not going to your stores and you have no interest in getting their business back it’s a logical business decision to stop carrying items that might appeal to that customer base, the remaining guns and hunting items in this case,  and move to a set of items that appeal to the customers you still have.

It’s the same principle that MSNBC and the NYT is using when moving away from reality why give facts when your remaining base will only pay for propaganda?

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