10-3-06
Greetings!
Salesman for God
The priest who helped facilitate my return to the Catholic Church had a great line:
When someone would complain about God or the Church He established, Fr. Dulek would look at them and say "That's a question for management, I'm in sales ."
Of course the conversation did not end there, and Father was happy to go deeper, but it reflects the role we have.
We're all in the sales department. We don't make up the rules, we just implement them. And going further, we're not in charge of all the background details, we just present the product…Christianity. God does the rest.
Indeed, we get into trouble when we start thinking "it all depends on us." It doesn't. We're just the instruments. God is the one who moves hearts.
Of course, a good salesman totally believes in his or her product, and is therefore much more convincing. The more convinced we are of our "product" Christianity, the more effective we'll be as "salesman for God".
Phil's Tidbits:
Let us never forget how blessed we are in the USA. Notice at the end, Bishop Jia supports 100 disabled orphans at his residence, in spite of the persecution he receives. Praise God for such faithful witnesses!
Bishop Jia Released After 10-Month Detention
ZHENG DING, China, SEPT. 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The underground Catholic bishop of Zheng Ding, in Hebei province, has been released after 10 months in police custody for "study sessions."
AsiaNews confirmed the release Monday of Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, who returned to his residence and is being allowed to receive visits from priests of his diocese.
The prelate, now 72, was arrested last Nov. 8. Local sources quoted by AsiaNews stated that Bishop Jia was subjected to interrogations and pressure to adhere to the Patriotic Association.
The Chinese government allows religious practice in the country only with recognized personnel and in places registered with the Religious Affairs Office and under the control of the Patriotic Association, whose statute provides for the creation of a national Church split from the Holy See.
Consecrated bishop in 1980, the prelate has spent almost all his episcopal ministry under house arrest and some 20 years in prison. He keeps around 100 disabled orphans in his home, covering expenses himself.
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At first glance this struck me as a bad thing, then I began to consider it. A number of countries, Canada & Italy, among them, are already essentially doing this to combat falling birthrates. Although they're couching it in the positive, encouraging people to have children by offering tax credits. A sterility tax is simply the same thing in the negative.
Children are necessary for the flourishing of a society, much less that of an economy. Having and raising children, while an incredible blessing, is certainly not cheap. Yet the people having these children are contributing to a nation's future in a way that people who choose not to have children don't.
One Catholic gentleman, with 7 kids, I know has a shirt "Before You Ask" –"Yes, these are all my children." And it then lists a number of other statements highlighted by this:
"And Yes, you can thank me, as my children will someday be paying your social security benefits." Touche'!
Russia
Considers Sterility Tax to Encourage Births
Still no admission of role of extremely high abortion rate in nation's demographic collapse
By Peter J. Smith
MOSCOW, September 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Russia's Parliament is considering a proposal to reinstate a Soviet era "sterility tax" on childless Russians as part of a larger plan to encourage the birthrate The tax proposed by Parliament's lower house, the Duma, would affect Russia's 21 million singles, and aims to encourage them to have children, or help the state shoulder the financial burden of encouraging families to have more children.
The sterility tax is part of the panoply of drastic measures under consideration by the Russian Federation, since President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's greatest threat is its demographic decline. The Duma intends the tax either to encourage Russians to have more children, or make childless Russians help absorb the costs of the government's maternal capital program, which gives 250,000 rubles (9,200USD) to mothers for the birth of another child.
The tax would reinstate in principle the first sterility tax imposed by Joseph Stalin in 1941, who saw it as a way to increase rapidly Russia's population being devastated by Hitler's invasion in World War II. Stalin's tax required all the men (from 20 to 50) and women (from 20 to 45) to pay 6% of their salary to the state if they didn't have children. The Duma's childless tax is expected to operate along similar lines, although it has yet to work out concrete details.
However some critics of the sterility tax contend that economic incentives to spur population growth beg the question whether a self-centered consumerist culture would be willing to undertake the trials and sacrifices of raising children in the first place. They point out that Germany spends more on family subsidies and boasts the world's second highest taxes on childless singles, but their fertility rate still remains below replacement at 1.39 (est. 2006).
The latest official statistics indicate that Russia's population is withering away by at least 700,000 people each year, emptying the northern and eastern regions of Russia, and leaving hundreds of abandoned "ghost villages" dotting the Russian landscape. The Russian government estimates that the current population will decline to 80 and 100 million by 2050, although some consider that number to be conservative.
Although the Russian government has wrestled with creative proposals to defuse the rapidly unfolding demographic crisis, Russia's politicians still continue to remain silent about addressing the elephant in the room, Russia's unfettered culture of abortion. Abortions outnumber Russian births by a ratio of 2-1, and have been a part of Russia since the then Communist country became the first nation in the world to legalize abortion in 1920.
A beautiful reflection from Pope Benedict referring to the Apostle Thomas, connecting his question with our own questions.
From Pope Benedict, via Zenit.org 9-27-06:
In particular, the Pope mentioned the Last Supper, when Jesus announced that after his departure he would prepare a place so that the disciples could also be with him, and he specified: "And you know the way where I am going."
Then, Thomas intervened, saying: "Lord we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered him: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."
"Every time we hear or read these words," the Holy Father told the 30,000 people gathered for the audience, "we can be in thought next to Thomas and imagine that the Lord also speaks with us as he spoke with him."
At the same time, "his question also gives us the right, so to speak, to ask Jesus for explanations," said Benedict XVI. "We often do not understand him. We must have the courage to say to him: 'I do not understand you, Lord, hear me, help me to understand
Not to beat a dead horse, but this comment from Kathleen Parker makes a fascinating point in regards to the pope's speech and the ensuing uproar. Amazing that "progressive", "enlightened", "rational" modern man cannot dialog over something that 2 men from the "dark ages" could. How far have we really come?
Via Kathleen Parker at UnionLeader.com on 9-22-06 In a nutshell, those are the central points of the Pope's lecture. How interesting that the emperor and the Persian could debate these issues several centuries ago, but 21st-century man is driven mad by ideas that challenge him . Now, one can decide that the Pope is full of business, or that he's lacking in diplomatic skills. Or, one could conclude that he is the bravest man on Earth .
Announcements :
-Weekly 24-Hr Adoration (Tuesday @8PM to Wednesday @ 8PM) in the Church at St. Peter's. Open to all.
-"Jesus the Teacher" Catechetical In-Service. Saturday, October 7th 8am-Noon. Open to all catechists and anyone who wants to learn more about the Faith. Topics include: Mass, the Spirituality of the Catechist, Teaching Methodology, and the History of the Early Church. Site: St. Peter's Church
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
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