3-27-07
Greetings!
From the Stevens Point Journal Editorial Page via a letter on 1-13-07
"…I regret to inform you there is no 'Christian' position on many issues. Some Christian Churches support stem cell research, some don't. Some support a woman's right to choose, some don't. Even within specific faiths there is significant divergence over such issues as birth control, premarital sex, gays in the clergy, etc…..Some Americans look to religion for personal guidance but it is the Constitution that delineates and guarantees our rights."
Wow! Where to begin?
I don't know any churches that consider premarital sex a good thing. Although, I came upon a website affiliated with the Unitarian Church the other night—there various pastors were sharing how they had preached lately on supporting a "woman's right to choose"
In fact, a number of them formally identified themselves as also working for Planned Parenthood. Heaven help us. Finally, it is God who is the given and guarantee of our rights, not the Constitution.
And to elevate the Constitution to the level of a deity is to set yourself up for a fall.
On a little deeper level---this is the problem with the disunity among Christians--and indeed one of the bigger reasons why I came back to the Catholic Church. Recall Jesus' final prayer for His Apostles (John 17:20-23). In the Garden of Gethesemane, amidst the anguish He was experiencing, He prays that His followers would be "One". In fact, He mentions "One" 4 times within that short segment. And He prays this, so that the world may have a visible, United, witness to God and His Truth. With over 30,000 different denominations all preaching different truths in the name of Christ today---we are a long way from what Jesus prayed for.
God is the Lord of Order. The devil is the god of chaos and confusion. When you have one church saying abortion is ok (Unitarians and some Baptists and Methodists) and others saying it's not. Who's right? Some saying embryionic stem cell research is good, some bad. Some saying homosexual acts are ok, some say it's not. Again who's right? And did God create this confusion…hardly.
Taking it a step further, if someone approaches you about wanting to become a Christian—where do you take them? The Lutheran Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church? The Pentecostal Church? The Catholic Church? All claim to be following Christ.
(Caveat---please don't take this as me bashing non-Catholics. I have many non-Catholic friends whom I respect deeply). At the same time, it is a historical fact that Christ originally established One Church —and that is the Catholic Church. And much of the chaos we now witness in terms of morality is a result of the splintering that has taken place.
Phil's Tidbits
A Martyr of the First Commandment
Italian Died for Refusing to Take Oath to Hitler
BOLZANO, Italy, MARCH 26, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Josef Mayr-Nusser, known as a "martyr of the First Commandment," was sentenced to death by the Nazis for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.
Mayr-Nusser's cause for beatification has been concluded at the diocesan phase. At a Mass marking the anniversary of Mayr-Nusser's death, Bishop Manfred Scheuer, of Innsbruck, Austria, said he was a "martyr of the First Commandment" and "a witness of faith, of conscience and of love toward others."
During World War II, Mayr-Nusser was forcibly drafted by the Nazis. Leaving his wife Hildegard and newborn son Albert, Mayr-Nusser was sent to Prussia.
After his training he was required to swear an oath to Hitler, saying, "I swear to you, Adolf Hitler, Führer and chancellor of the Reich, faithfulness and courage; I solemnly promise to you and the superiors designated by you faithfulness until death; may God help me."
When the day came for the oath, Oct. 4, 1944, Mayr-Nusser refused to swear to Hitler in the name of God. His faith and his conscience, he said, would not allow it.
Knowing his wife shared his commitment to God, Mayr-Nusser wrote her from prison, "You wouldn't be my wife if you expected something different."
Mayr-Nusser was transferred to Danzig and put on trial. He was condemned to death for defiance and died from dysentery on Feb. 24, 1945, on the way to the concentration camp of Dachau. He was clutching a rosary and a Bible.
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-What an amazing and inspiring story of courage and conviction! I marvel at the unity of Faith and love he and his wife had "you wouldn't be my wife if you expected something different." For she shared his convictions completely. And then, to die clutching a Rosary and Bible—beautiful. As a counterpoint, I've been following the Wisconsin Supreme Court election candidates…Linda Clifford and Annette Ziegler. One is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in this country. One is endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life. One is Catholic, one isn't. Can you guess which one? Yes, sadly, that would be Clifford, endorsed by Planned Parenthood, while proudly claiming membership at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison. May more of us be inspired by the example of Mr. Josef Mayr-Nusser—giving our total allegiance to God and not to the evils of this world.
In a similar vein:
• The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a very establishmentarian pro-business organization, and it has recently issued a study celebrating the economic benefits of abortion on demand. "Taken together with earlier research results, the authors' findings suggest that the improved living circumstances experienced by children born after the legalization of abortion had a lasting impact on their lifelong prospects. Children who were 'born unwanted' prior to the legalization of abortion not only grew up in more disadvantaged households, but also grew up to be more disadvantaged as adults." The report adds, "This conclusion is in line with a broad literature documenting the intergenerational correlation in income and showing that adverse living circumstances as a child are associated with poor outcomes as an adult." Thanks to the high-powered research of NBER, it now seems to be established that, in terms of economic outcomes, it is better to be born rich than to be born poor. Who would have thought it? A disproportionate number of the thirty-five million children killed by abortion since 1973 would have been born poor, and it is therefore a net economic gain that they were not born. Of abortion, the report says, "This phenomenon is referred to as 'selection.'" To which one might add that the claim to know what those dead children might have done with their lives is referred to as soothsaying. And the argument implicitly advanced by NBER is referred to as eugenics. Source: First Things, March 2007 Fr. Richard John Neuhaus
A neat little survey on the priesthood by St. Luke's Institute. One of our seminarians reports that the numbers continue to increase as more and more men respond to the call—and they have no delusions about it being an easy life, but instead are anticipating the adventure to follow. As Fr. Joe Hirsch says, "Ask God not for something easy, ask for the Grace to do something difficult." Amen to that!
"How are Catholic priests holding up under the avalanche of today's bad publicity? Astonishingly well, according to surveys. Between September 2003 and April 2005, St. Luke's Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland…questioned 1,286 priests at their annual convocations in 16 American dioceses about their experience of priesthood. Asked to comment on the statement, 'Overall, I am happy as a priest,' more than 90 percent agreed. More than 81 percent said they would choose priesthood again. Only 6 percent were thinking of leaving. Could other professions match those numbers?
"How is that possible? Why would any man in his right mind want to be a Catholic priest today?...Archbishop Quinn has an answer: 'I believe…that this is the best time in the history of the Church to be a priest, because it is a time when there can be only one reason for being a priest or for remaining a priest—that is, to 'be with' Christ. It is not for perks or applause or respect or position of money or any other worldly gain or advantage. Those things either no longer exist or are swiftly passing. The priest of today is forced to choose whether he wants to give himself to the real Christ, who embraced poverty, including the poverty of the commonplace, rejection, misrepresentation—the real Christ of the gospels…." -Re. John Jay Hughes, "The Joy of Priesthood", Crisis Magazine, Nov. 2006 Issue
A Quote to ponder: If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself - Saint Augustine
Check out the Vatican website: www.vatican.va They have a special Lenten section with the pope's words, Stations of the Cross, Lent music, and the pope's itinerary for Lent.
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
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