Gina's notes

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7 December

Recent questions

Proof of Heaven

Anonymous from e-mail (I think): What does the Church think about the neurosurgeon who wrote Proof of Heaven? Does his near-death experience really prove that there is life after life?

Ordination of Women and Priestly Celibacy

Amy from e-mail: I recently spoke with some women friends about the ordination of women and allowing priests to marry. They claimed that these two issues are founded on human law rather than divine law, and then argued that because some day there will not be enough priests to serve the people, other options must be discussed. Are these issues open to discussion?

Faith Like Potatoes

  • When we were asked about the orthodoxy of Australian Catholicism, a friend recommended the movie, "Faith Like Potatoes" (2006). The movie is based on an inspiring true story, and has as its theme, "where there's love, there's hope." It is "the story of a man’s challenge to overcome difficulty as a farmer amidst a terrible drought, as well as a family tragedy." There are two caveats about this movie:
1) It is about a Protestant family.
2) It is from South Africa, not Australia.
But is still might be worth watching. :) There is a Scripture-based discussion guide for the movie.

Year of Faith Website

  • David M. from Rochester: Here is the Vatican’s website for the year of faith: www.annusfidei.va.

Common Bible includes "Apocrypha"

John W. from e-mail: I was very surprised this afternoon when you quoted Tobit 4:8 on giving. You said, "The Protestants don’t have Tobit in their Bible." Here in Canada, or at least Toronto, we DO! We also have Judith, Wisdom, Baruch, 1&2 Maccabees, and the other Deuterocanonical Books in the pew Bibles of at least our local Anglican and Presbyterian churches, and probably in the local United Church too. The pew Bibles are the “New Revised Standard Version (with Apocrypha).” These are logical developments based on Vatican II, which began fifty years ago, and the first Anglican-Roman Catholic Common Declaration and the establishment of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission forty-six years ago. Most Protestant churches are also using the Revised Common Lectionary. Is this just a Canadian thing?

- Apocrypha in Common Bible.

Lives of Saints for Young Children

Veronica from Ithaca made some extra suggestions: Good books for God's children.

Psychology and Catholicism

  • John from Facebook: At the school I work, they are doing workshops on motivation and learning. They presented a workshop on William Glasser's "choice theory," which seems to me to advocate faith but no God. When the Church provides counsel through Catholic Charities or even through a priest, how does it merge psychology and faith?

The Gospel of Jesus' Wife

What does the Church think about the Coptic fragment that people are calling "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife"?

Godly Gynecology; Pregnancy Support Services

  • Melissa from Kenmore, New York: "A friend of a friend of mine was told for decades that she had a thyroid problem that would prevent her from becoming pregnant. The doctors were wrong. When she began to gain weight because of a pregnancy, her doctor just adjusted her medication, thinking that her weight gain was due to thyroid problems, not a pregnancy. This was a devastating situation for her, as she ended up having an abortion. Many women who opt for abortion are not FOR abortion in and of itself. Many just do not have the support of the father or their family, and do not know who would help them cope with an unplanned child at the time of birth. Could you list some resources women in such a situation can turn to?"
NaProTechnology
Catholic Charities, USA.
Priests for Life: -- list of pregnancy support services.

Thanks for Station of the Cross Catholic Radio

Nancy, from Corning via Erica: "I want to say a great big 'thank you' for Catholic radio’s presence in the Elmira/Corning area. I thought she I the Faith well before, but I've grown so much in my understanding since I began listening. My neighbor, intended to convert to Catholicism, but gave up because she felt she was too Protestant. She has been listening to the station since it came to the area and is now back in RCIA and will be entering the Church this Easter. She is also very thankful for the Station of the Cross."

What is "Faith 'n' Reason Friday"?

Sarah from West Seneca:

- Define what "faith and reason Friday" is all about.
- Make up a list of sample questions to show what kind of questions you're seeking.
- Make up a list of questions you wish people would ask, and answer some of them.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Miracles Happen

  • From Dawn C. via e-mail:
Something rather exciting has happened! One of the beautiful ministries of Ladies of the Lord is arranging for the Lady of Fatima statue to visit a family in our Parish each week. Last week, Mary Nigam had the statue at her house and she invited people to come and pray the rosary during the week----when Rose went to pick Blessed Mother up to take her to the next house they noticed Blessed Mother’s eyes were filled with tears and there was a tear on the chin!
At another house, the hostess slept near the statue. On the third night at three in the morning she awoke and saw Our Lady holding a bouquet of pulsating red hearts, which she took to mean "Continue praying the rosary so I may gather many hearts for my Son, Jesus!"
I believe EVERY Parish should have a prayer group that prays for our Priests, our Parishes and the world----think of the radical change in the world that could come about if EVERYONE prayed more----Prayer is the wind that that that keeps the ‘sails’ of the Church in motion and Faith is the compass that points us in the right direction.

Pacifism required?

  • Anonymous: Why do some candidates who are pro life still support violence via wars, detainment, and the like? Why can't being pro life mean being more vigilant in ending wars through diplomatic talks rather than continuing what seems an endless fight in another country? Our military wants to come home. Does war ever make any sense?"
- Just War Theory.

Feeling guilty after Confession

  • Anonymous: "I have a hard time forgiving myself, even after I confess a sin in confession. Is that also a sin?"

Prayer request

  • "Just wanted to say thanks for the prayers. I know that you prayed that I can get back with my wife. It really isn't possible. I don't know what is going on with her. She has started a lot of problems, and she is hanging around with violent people. I don't want to keep her from seeing her daughter. Yet at the same time I fear what she may do. I am fearful for my daughter as well as my own as well as my family's lives. Please pray for me. I am so scared."

Interceding for Sinners

  • Anonymous: "What is the consequence if someone who is not Catholic receives the Eucharist in ignorance. Besides educating them, is there a penance one can do for them?"
What should I do when I see others sin?
Forgiveness Prayer.

Spiritual Warfare

  • Can people be used by demons to try and fight and create turmoil and strife?
  • Are there angels and demons duking it out fighting for our souls?
  • Also, I saw on a blog where a guy said to look in the Old Testament as to how many people Satan killed vs God. He claims that Satan only killed ten and God killed thousands. So, in his view, the whole Christian idea of God is false, and Satan got a raw deal.

Genies

  • Anonymous from Amherst: What does the Church teach about genies/jinn? Shows like "I Dream of Jeannie" and "You Wish" make it seem harmless, but the idea of a "genie" seems to have some demonic elements from Islam or even further back than that.

St. Thomas More Not So Saintly?

  • From a friend in Cheektowaga:
"Sir Thomas More Exemplified Man's Inhumanity to Man."
Chalres P. Jamieson, letter to editor, Buffalo news, April 15, 1996
Any person who saw "A Man for All Seasons," the play that recently closed at the Kavinoky Theater, must have been deeply impressed by the devotion and zeal with which Sir Thomas More refused to take an oath contrary to his religious beliefs, a refusal that resulted in his beheading.
The title of the play is, however, an inaccurate description of Sir Thomas More. Rather than being a man for all seasons, he was, in fact, a man very much of his place and time.
Regrettably, his place and time were characterized by "man's inhumanity to man," to use a phrase coined by Robert Burns. With More's approval, six persons were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs while More was lord chancellor. More zealously censored the writings of people with whom he disagreed.
Thomas Hitton was apprehended while making arrangements for distribution of an English-language Bible. When Hitton was burned, More wrote, "Now the spirit of lying hath taken his wretched soul with him straight from the short fire to the fire everlasting. And this is to Sir Thomas Hitton the Devil's stinking martyr."
More's life reminds us that man's inhumanity to man, certainly a violation of all that Jesus taught, lies shallowly buried beneath the surface of civilization and, regrettably, is often justified by an appeal to religion.
etc.
Hitton was a priest. "A Man More Profane than Sacred."
Catholic Encylopedia: ""As chancellor it was his duty to enforce the laws against heretics and, by doing so, he provoked the attacks of Protestant writers both in his own time and since. The subject need not be discussed here, but More's attitude is patent. He agreed with the principle of the anti-heresy laws and had no hesitation in enforcing them. As he himself wrote in his "Apologia" (cap. 49) it was the vices of heretics that he hated, not their persons; and he never proceeded to extremities until he had made every effort to get those brought before him to recant. How successful he was in this is clear from the fact that only four persons suffered the supreme penalty for heresy during his whole term of office."

El Segundo

  • El Segundo: The city earned its name ("the second" in Spanish) as it was the site of the second Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast (the first was at Richmond in Northern California), when Standard Oil of California purchased the 840 acres (3.4 km2) of farm land in 1911. The company was renamed Chevron in 1984, and the El Segundo refinery will soon enter its second century of operation.
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