We must be armed to discuss our faith with many unbelievers.
One thing I come upon, in print and on the internet, is the constant thought by many that science has disproved the 'need' for God.
Here is an interesting article showing how our universe is hard to explain as a simple random event.
From
"According to growing numbers of scientists, the laws and constants
of nature are so "finely-tuned," and so many "coincidences" have
occurred to allow for the possibility of life, the universe must have
come into existence through intentional planning and intelligence.
In fact, this "fine-tuning" is so pronounced, and the "coincidences"
are so numerous, many scientists have come to espouse The Anthropic
Principle, which contends that the universe was brought into existence
intentionally for the sake of producing mankind. Even those who do not
accept The Anthropic Principle admit to the "fine-tuning" and conclude
that the universe is "too contrived" to be a chance event."
God be with you!
(Image from
http://thomasfortenberry.net/?attachment_id=9318)
From James 5:16 -- "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
Who could be more righteous that the very person that God knew from the beginning of time that He would use to become a human being? For such an honour God would not simply choose any old 'good person'. Remember, God did not simply appear in Mary's womb. The Holy Spirit fertilized one of Mary's eggs before it arrived in her womb. That is the only way that God could truly sacrifice His own divine life for mankind. From the early Church fathers we know that the early Christians learned that Mary was in heaven with her Lord and son, in body and soul, not merely rotting in the earth.
Now look at this simple prayer:
"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with Thee." (Luke 1:28)-- Those are the biblical words of the archangel Gabriel as he greeted Mary
"Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" (Jesus)(Luke 1:42). Again, right out of the bible, these are the very words of St. Anne, the mother of St. John the Baptist.
So far in this prayer we have reminded ourselves just why it is that Mary's prayer for us can be 'powerful and effective'.
And who is Mary? She is the mother of Jesus. Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Second person of the Holy Trinity. Jesus is God, and Mary is His earthly mother. To call Mary the 'mother of God' is important because in doing so we affirm that Jesus is God.
So next we simply ask Mary to pray for us, just as we would ask any good Christian to pray for us:
"Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death"
Amen.
If you ignore any anti-Catholic thoughts, what is there to object to in this prayer.
Remember, the first recorded miracle of Jesus occurred after Mary asked his help after being approached by others at the wedding party in Cana. Why should Jesus stop listening to her now?
Please have a look at this video. At the end is attached a preview of a movie which shows Catholics dying with true dignity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nZ1BDnXVM7o
As the Church Militant, let us always remember to pray for the holy souls in purgatory.
Lately I have been thinking of our brethren on their way to heaven. I do not know the nature of their sufferings, but I have an inkling as to part of it.
Firstly, why purgatory?
In order to enter heaven we must be pure. Purgatory purifies us.
When we die we are bound to our eternal destinies. God, in His infinite mercy, may even allow the most sinful of us to make a final decision as to where we would like to spend all of eternity. He will not force us, but I am guessing that He will give us a clearer vision of our choice. He will not send us to hell. We freely choose heaven or hell.
If we choose heaven we must be purified.
Christ paid the ultimate price that we cannot pay due to our very nature as mere creatures. He paid that price once with His death on the cross.
But Divine Justice demands that we must take ownership of our sins and accept the punishment for them. This punishment may come to us while still alive on this earth. Whatever we have not paid the 'fine' for must be paid after death ... thus purgatory.
Purgatory is a time for us to be cleansed. Some of us need only to wipe the stains off our fingers before being pure for heaven. Others require a long hot bath with lots of painful scrubbing.
This brings me to my thoughts about some of the nature of our sufferings.
When we die and have truly chosen heaven we know that we are being denied the 'beatific vision' -- seeing God 'face to face'. To be destined for heaven means that, above all else, we desire to be in God's presence and truly 'see' Him in all His glory.
For the Church Militant, we have access to God Himself in the Holy Eucharist. The God of the universe, in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, appears on the altar in every Catholic Mass by the power of the Holy Ghost working through a validly ordained priest. We can receive God Himself on our tongues if we are living in a state of grace. This, too, is denied to the holy souls in purgatory
Please remember to pray for these holy souls, especially this November 11th, Rememberance Day.
- Reg.
