Cardinal Kasper: Majority of Synod Now Supports Communion for Remarried

The Catholic Herald (UK) ^ | 10/15/14 | Staff Reporter

[lastchance]

Well big toodles. He can also believe that the majority agree that the moon is made of green cheese.

[kearnyirish2]

I’d guess that the bishops supporting this are the same ones encouraging lay people to distribute Communion; they apparently don’t believe in the Divine Presence, so what does it matter to them if people living in sin partake?

[Friendofgeorge]

Was only thinking, if it was true it would/should change the discussion a bit

[Friendofgeorge]

Great news

The prayers of Elvis’s final days
“Elvis recommitted his life to Jesus Christ on that night,” says Rick Stanley, Elvis’s stepbrother. “Elvis knew the Lord. He was a modern day King David,” he told me in an interview. Stanley believes that, like King David of the Bible, Presley was a man who pursued God, yet stumbled often into the sins of the flesh.

On the day before Presley died, Stanley told Elvis that a friend of his was telling him about Jesus and how she was praying for him. “Elvis Presley, at 42 years old, looked at me and said, ‘Ricky, she’s telling you the truth.’ Then he said, ‘People who talk to you about Jesus really care.’ I talked with Elvis for a while … then left to run an errand.” When he returned to Graceland, Elvis was dead.

On the night of his death, Elvis prayed, “Dear Lord, please show me a way. I’m tired and confused, and I need your help.” A few minutes later, he looked at Stanley and said, “Rick, we should all begin to live for Christ.” On the previous day, Stanley heard Elvis praying, “God, forgive me for my sins. Let…people…have compassion and understanding of the things I have done.”

Elvis was not a saint, and no one knew that better than Presley himself. He was an enigma who touched a nerve in American culture. There is, of course, no one on the planet that can attract 70,000 fans to his gravesite to recognize the 25th anniversary of his death. While there, fans recited the Lord’s Prayer, repeated the 23rd Psalm, and joined together in singing “How Great Thou Art.”

Can 70,000 fans be wrong? Sure, but these fans were not. Granted, there are small numbers of fanatics who decorate their houses with black velvet Elvis paintings and ceramic busts of The King. Nevertheless, the vast majority of fans are simply people who are grateful for the joy that Presley was able to bring into their lives through his movies and music.

Did he stumble and fall? Yes, quite often. Like so many other famous men of his era such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, Presley was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Unlike Jesus, they were not able to resist the lures of the flesh, but we should not dismiss their contributions. Admittedly, it is sometimes easier to judge someone according to an offending snapshot of their life than to view it as an entire movie, filled with triumphs and failures.

Each one of us, who are not afforded the smorgasbord of temptation that a man like Elvis faced, must endeavor with fear and trembling to be in the world and yet not of it—no small challenge.

Throughout his career, Elvis was a seeker after God. Sometimes that journey led him into more confusion, but he hungered to know God and experience his love. And he prayed with contrition. Not bad lessons of us.
When he died, Elvis had 14 different drugs active in his system. There are plenty of lessons to be gleaned from Elvis’s tragic life but they should be absorbed through the prism of sorrow and grace.

If one looks at Elvis as a prodigal son, there is good reason to believe that he died on his journey back to the Father’s House.
At the funeral for Elvis Presley, the main address was given by the Rev. C.W. Bradley, minister of the Wooddale Church of Christ in Memphis. He spoke of Elvis’s determination, decency, and his love of family. Bradley also acknowledged that Elvis was a “frail human being” and that “he would be the first to admit his weakness. Perhaps because of his rapid rise to fame and fortune he was thrown into temptations that some never experience. Elvis would not want anyone to think that he had no flaws or faults. But now that he’s gone, I find it more helpful to remember his good qualities, and I hope you do too.”

The way in which a person dies is not always the best way to remember the contribution he or she made while they lived. All of us have seasons of our lives that we would sooner forget—whether we were on drugs, in prison, or living the life of a prodigal. It is a worthwhile endeavor to work on extending mercy to others in the same way that we trust the good Lord will extend it to us. We could all use a little trip to “graceland,” even when we are remembering Elvis.

Steve Beard is the editor of Good News magazine and the creator of Thunderstruck.org. This article is adapted from “Defending Elvis,” published by Risen Magazine.
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COMMENTS BY RUSSELL KELLY, ELVIS TRIBUTE ARTIST
As a Baptist who believes in eternal security, I believe that Elvis was truly saved as a young man and then backslid terribly. His life was cut short at the age of 42. Those who publicly proclaim faith in Jesus Christ and then make a mockery of Christ by their lifestyle risk being severely disciplined by the Father. I personally look forward to meeting Elvis at the side of Jesus in eternity.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. KJV

1 Cor 11:29-30 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. KJV

http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/elvis/id15.html