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To: NYer

How so?


19 posted on 07/12/2008 4:03:37 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: trisham
While it is true that we are imbued with the God-given right to free will, a concerned parent would not allow a small child to wander freely around property that is not fenced. The child might wander off (as happened to a neighbor's child who was found by a trucker in the middle of a busy intersection).

Here ... to put it into more practical adult Catholic terms, when I attended catholic school as a child, the Sisters admonished us to never attend services at a non-Catholic church. At the time, I did not know anyone who wasn't Catholic so it was a non issue. Later, in my young adult years, a coworker invited me to attend Syunday services at her Presbyterian Church. Flashback to Sister's words! My coworker was in a state of personal distress and I had suggested that she return to Church. There was no way I could tell her to go without me so, using my free will, I accompanied her to that Sunday's service. The service bore a resemblance to our Catholic Mass until some woman appeared in the Sanctuary during the Offertory, wearing a very transparent outfit and danced. (this was 30+ years ago!) I was completely scandalized and fully understood Sister's admonition.

Shepherds guard their flocks but the sheep still have free will. Since closing 5 of the 6 Catholic parishes in a nearby community, many of those Catholics who lost their homes have now 'strayed' into a vibrant Evangelical church. Once we complete the transformaton of the old Methodist Church into a Catholic Church, I plan to go door to door to invite the Catholics back home.

20 posted on 07/12/2008 4:39:21 PM PDT by NYer ("Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ." - St. Jerome)
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