8-8-06
Greetings!
Pride. It is at the root of every sin. It is man saying "I know better" than God. What lead to Adam and Eve's fall? Pride. The devil convinced them that he knew better than God—indeed that they couldn't trust God. "Did God really say that? He doesn't want you to become like Him…." How many decide even today, "I know better. I decide what's right and wrong. I do it My Way."
Recall the quote, "Pride goest before the fall." How true and how often we see that played out in our world.
It is nothing new. Why was the devil cast out of heaven? He would not serve God. He resented God's plan. I recently heard that's why the devil has no knees…he refuses to kneel in submission to God.
The danger is when we think we know better than God, or the instrument He has given us to lead toward Truth, the Church.
The opposite of pride is of course Humility, what Fr. John Corapi calls a "Supernatural Nuclear Weapon". Humility is the road to Sanctity, to holiness, to Heaven.
Phil's Tidbits:
Miracles? What miracles?—This was also today's Gospel reading. What will they come up with next to try and debunk the historical claims of Christianity?
Via Brian Saint-Paul, editor, Crisis Magazine
He comments on a recent article claiming to debunk the Gospel account of Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14). He argues that Jesus actually walked on ice…yes ice! Here's how:
According to Professor Doron Nof of Florida State University, and published in the April 2006 Issue of the Journal of Paleolimnology :
"The combination of a cold section of the lake, a nearby saltwater spring, and favorable weather conditions could conceivably create floating sheets of ice large enough to support a man's weight. Furthermore, by his calculations, such a thing could have occurred (roughly) every 160 years, in the period between 1,500 and 2,500 years ago. This, he argues, may be the origin of the story that Jesus walked on the water. "
-But of course…why didn't we think of this earlier? J
--This is pretty neat. Pope Benedict is to give a 1 Hour interview to 4 German journalists this Saturday.
3 August 2006
MUNICH - Pope Benedict XVI is to give an unprecedented interview Saturday to four German TV journalists invited to his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, with the discussion set to air worldwide on August 13.
The German-born pope has already given a couple of one-on-one television interviews in his year-long papacy, but no head of the Catholic church has ever gone before the cameras to handle a panel of questioners for a full hour.
"Nothing like this ever occurred with Pope John Paul II," recalls Father Eberhard von Gemmingen, head of the German section of Vatican Radio, who is to be one of the four interviewers.
Cologne-based Deutsche Welle, which transmits by satellite to much of the world, is set to air the interview, dubbed into several languages, at 1715 GMT on Sunday, August 13, at the same time it is aired in
Germany by ARD and on shortwave radio by Vatican Radio.
ZDF is to break ranks and air it somewhat later the same evening in Germany.
DPA
Via Crisis Magazine: www.crisismagazine.com "Godless Morality" by Edward Feser
"'Europe will return to the Faith, or she will perish. The Faith is Europe. And Europe is the Faith.' So wrote Hilaire Belloc in 1920, when the death of Christianity on the European continent appeared to loom over the horizon.
"Now that horizon seems to have been reached. A mere 21% of Europeans say they regard religion as 'very important' to them, and even fewer---a paltry 15% attend weekly worship services of any kind. Only 41% even believe in a personal God. The heartland of what was once Christendom has become a vast empire of sometimes intolerant secularism."
-How prescient Hillaire Belloc was—altho I wish he wasn't so correct.
One of the women who claims to have been "ordained a priest" last week in Pittsburgh, an action that could very well draw an excommunication had this to say:
Of official efforts to sever her ties to the church. Vandenberg said: "Excommunication is simply a punishment. That doesn't mean I'm excluded from the church. Only I can exclude myself." Via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online… 8-8-06
Well her training for "ordination" certainly didn't include a lot of Canon Law or Ecclesiology course work. Excommunication is first and foremost medicinal, a last ditch effort intended to prompt one to come back to Christ's Fold in the Church. It is also an action designed to protect the faithful from being led astray by "false shepherds" as it may be. Secondly, actually—yes the Church can exclude someone if they are a threat to the Truth of the Church. Witness Jesus' exhortation on pruning the vine and St. Paul's words on how to correct an infected part of the body.
Of course the whole thing goes back to pride. "Only "I" can exclude myself." "I" am in control. "I" alone have the authority. "I" alone decide.
The Importance of Dad:
"The cure for this massive church dropout is Dad. Research shows that if a father attends church regularly, he conveys a lasting lesson to his children. A Swiss study asked the question, 'What causes a person's faith to carry through from childhood to adult religious belief and practice?' The study found that the one overwhelming critical factor in the religious practice of the father. Dad's determine the church habits of their children, and thus, to a significant degree, their eternal destiny."
"Can't mom also do this? Shockingly, the study reported that 'If a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife's devotions, only 1 child in 50 will become a regular worshipper.' Yet, 'If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between 2/3 and 3/4 of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular)."
-Source: Thomas Karras, "The Truth About Men and the Church," Orthodox News Service, July 2, 2003. Cited in "Legacy" by Steve Wood
Also from Steve Wood's book "Legacy" is this great story:
"Fathers are often blind to the universal inclination of children to imitate them. Our children are always watching our actions, even when we are not aware of it. When my youngest son was two years old, my wife Karen found pennies in his dirty diapers. My son had observed that I put money in my wallet and then stuck it in my back pocket. Since he had no wallet or pocket, he just stuck loose change he found around the house down the back of his diaper." Steve Wood, Legacy
Announcements:
St. Peter's Keys Softball:
The Keys had their eyesight adjusted for this game, drawing a large number of walks and scoring a "mercy-rule shortened" 18-6 Win over Grazies this past Monday night. The Keys started off strong with 10 runs in the 1st inning, with the help of walks and only 2 hits. With some more standout defense, the team cruised from there.
-This was the Keys 4th straight win. A win next week guarantees the Keys at least a tie for 1st Place in the 2nd Half!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!