Bishop Gainer Issues Conscience Letter

Today at Mass, Fr. Jim read from a letter penned by Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. In it, he reminded all of us to form and follow our conscience when going to the polls on Tuesday.

Read it here.

What Is Aplogetics?

"In the beginning ... God." The first words of the Bible (Gen 1:1) affirm an essential teaching of the Christian faith: Before all else, God is. It's a reality that seems obvious to most Christians, yet many people doubt or deny it.

Challenges are often issued to other articles of the Christian faith as well, such as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to specifically Catholic beliefs, such as the unique authority of the pope. For this reason, Christians - and Catholic Christians in particular, often find themselves defending their beliefs in conversations with non-believers.

The Greek word for "defense" is apologia. Our English word "apology" is derived from it. In its classical definition, "apology" did not mean an admission of wrong, as the modern English word suggests. Rather, an apology was a defense or justification for a belief. For example, students of philosophy or of the classics are familiar with Plato's Apology: an account of Socrates' defense of his teaching.

In the present context, then, "apologetics" refers to the reasonable defense of the Christian faith. It is one aspect of what our Lord Jesus talked about when he urged us to love God with all our mind (Lk 10:27). Faith is not opposed to reason; in fact, reason, rightly understood, is a support to faith.

The foundations of Christian apologetics were laid by our Lord himself when he presented "many proofs" of his resurrection (Acts 1:3), including his appearance to skeptical, hard-nosed, "doubting" Thomas and the other apostles (Jn 20:24-29). The resulting apostolic proclamation of the gospel included eyewitnesses (legal or scientific) testimony as a central feature (Lk 1:1-4; Acts 2:32).

St. Paul likewise engaged in apologetics, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks of the truth of Christianity. His reasoned style of evangelization is demonstrated in his sermon on the Areopagus, Mars Hill, in philosophy-dominated Athens (Acts 17:22-34) and in his determination to "become all things to all, to save at least some" (1 Cor 9:22). The apostle's approach to sharing and defending his faith should encourage Catholics today to follow his example.

- The NEW Catholic Answer Bible Librosario®

Feast of the Archangels: Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel

God our Father,
In a wonderful way you guide the work of angels and men. May those who serve you constantly in heaven keep our lives safe from all harm on earth. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

From My Inbox: One Hail Mary and One Our Father Novena

One Hail Mary and One Our Father Novena

You were chosen to receive this novena. The moment you receive it, say:

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

GOD WANTED ME TO TELL YOU ..
It shall be well with you this coming year.No matter how much your enemies try this year, they will not succeed. You have been destined to make it and you shall surely achieve all your goals this year. For the year 2008/2009, all your agonies will be diverted and victory and property will be incoming in abundance. Today God has confirmed the end of your sufferings, sorrows and pain because HE that sits on the throne has remembered you. He has taken away the hardships and given you JOY. He will never let you down. I knocked at heaven's door this morning. God asked me... 'My child! What can I do for you?'

And I said,'Father, please protect and bless the person reading this
message... '

This is a Novena from Mother Theresa that started in 1952.

It has never been broken. Within 48 hours send 20 copies (Or as many as you can - God knows if you don't have 20 people to send it to. It's the effort and intent that counts) to family and friends.

This is a powerful Novena. Couldn't hurt. Can only help.

Please do not break it...

Campaign Merchandise - The Curt Jester

Campaign Merchandise - The Curt Jester

He's at it again. So very funny.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Obama campaign rolls out new ‘faith merchandise’ « - Blogs from CNN.com

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Obama campaign rolls out new ‘faith merchandise’ « - Blogs from CNN.com

“Check out the Believers for Barack, Pro-Family Pro-Obama, and Catholics for
Obama buttons, bumper stickers and signs….” says Obama Deputy Director of
Religious Affairs Paul Monteiro in an e-mail obtained by the Beliefnet Web site.

How can someone be "Pro-Family" when he supports the "Culture of Death" on so many points, most notably, abortion?

CatholicVote.com Video

New Post at PC

New post over at my other Catholic blog - Principally Catholic.