Posted on 09/26/2013 10:37:47 AM PDT by RBStealth
Consider a young adult, say 25, who had gone on to physical maturity, and even earned a college degree. ... ...
Now, though thank God, he still goes to Mass, he is incapable of expressing much of anything about his faith. He knows there is a God and has heard about Jesus but does not know for sure if Jesus is God, he thinks so but he’s not sure. He is aware of the Bible’s existence but cannot name all four Gospels and would not even be sure exactly where to find them in the book. He’d eventually find them but it would take a lot of time. Names like Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Peter, Judas, et al., sound familiar to him, but he cannot tell you much about them, except that they are in the Bible. He has heard the word sacrament but cannot give an example of one and is not sure he’s received them or if that is just something priests and nuns get. Every now and then he thinks to pray but he really does not know what to say or how to do it. Sometimes he remembers a prayer from Mass, but when he tries to say it, he gets stuck since there aren’t other people around him saying it and helping him along. He DOES know the Our Father though! We have to give him that.
Now, mind you, this is a smart guy, he has a lot of knowledge in his field which is highly technical. A lot of people seek him for technical advice and he is a real problem solver in the corporation, keeping the computers and other critical peripherals updated and in good functioning order. But spiritually he is an infant.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.adw.org ...
It’s in the BOOK, that’s the way it will be - yes and no, never maybe. We will all be held accountable to the truths laid out in GOD’S HOLY BIBLE whether we read it or not.
Our family is watching the Watchword Bible available at WND. Over 10 years in the making, “The WatchWORD Bible New Testament” (26 hrs.) presents all 27 books of the New Testament on video. It costs about $80 - but is worth every penny. The whole family can view the DVDs together and hear the WORD. Faith comes by hearing the WORD of GOD.
Best gift ever for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, unsaved friends and relatives...
http://superstore.wnd.com/Search?search=watchword+bible
Good article. I was going to read it this morning, but then my boys all showed up like a pack of slavering wolves.
I get all in a confusion over things like this, though. It seems like, if you are really concerned about your spiritual life and the things of God, the outcome is supposed to be that you meet everyone else’s needs, including those that are entirely worldly. I sometimes think that if I was truly holy, nobody would be able to tell me from an atheist, because I’d be all about whatever other people wanted.
And while I’m reflecting on my confusions, can anyone explain how you can “put yourself last” behind ten other people who are happy to put themselves first, without starving to death?
The new evangelization in a nutshell: using the Bible and its quotes and teachings to explain and justify our behavior before others. Using the phrase “ The Catholic Church teaches...” is a non-starter, —you’ve already been rejected. We have to quote, illuminate and teach from the Bible—Gods word. People have to confront Gods word.
I agree - I’m a former Presbyterian, and I’ve never lost my craving for the Bible and the hymns. Nowadays most of my hymns are in Spanish, because I’m a Spanish choir leader, but I’m belting out four verses just like my mother did with “Holy, Holy, Holy!” all those years ago. (With an audience of children yelling, “Stop singing!”)
However, I think that before we get to “This is what’s in the Bible,” we have to start with the realities of modern life and ask, “And how is that working out for you?” People know that their relationships don’t make them happy, and that they spend most of their time in pursuit of goals that they ultimately find meaningless ... but they don’t know why.
what I sent you was basically a quote from
George Weigels book: Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church.
Nit pick with George.
I read Mr. Weigel’s book and liked it a lot, as I’ve liked a lot of his work. Iirc, he brought up the point I made, as well.
And it wasn’t a nit, it was an elaboration, or a conversation-starter, depending on one’s perspective.
The relevance of your comment to either Msgr. Pope’s article or my reply wasn’t clear to me. Could you go into more detail?
I’ve read George Weigel, I’ve read Pope Francis (Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict), I’ve read the Bible. The Bible says, “Lay down your life for your friends.” “Take up your cross.” “In humility, count others better than yourselves.” The Bible says, “Everyone who desires to live religiously in Jesus Christ will be persecuted.”
When your spouse and your children act like you’re ruining their lives by trying to have a spiritual life, be a person oriented toward God, what can you do, other than (putting yourself last) starve? Nobody has answered.
I didnt address a reply to you on the previous post.
I’m not really interested in socializing here.
Read my profile. Have a good day, and I mean that sincerely.
Okay, whatever. I was commenting on the article, and not looking for an exchange with you particularly. You were just the original poster, so you got the reply.
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