"Mary of a thousand titles, Mary my mother teach me, teach us, faith, trust, selflessness, poverty, detachment, obedience, and carias, love of your Son!"
~Catherine de Hueck Doherty
~Catherine de Hueck Doherty
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Papal Infallibility*
Q: What is meant by the infallibility of the Catholic Church?
A: By the infallibility of the Catholic Church is meant that the Church, by the special assistance of the Holy Ghost, cannot err when it teaches or believes a doctrine of faith or morals.
a) Infallibility, especially papal infallibility, is a doctrine often misunderstood and derided by those outside the Church. The term “infallibility” is often distorted to mean impeccability, that is, freedom from all sin. The Church has never held that the Pope cannot sin.
b) It is unthinkable that an institution established by God for the salvation of souls could lead men into error and turn them away from God. If the Church could and did err in matters of faith and morals, it would not be a true teacher; it would fail in its ministry of sanctification and would not lead men to salvation but would be responsible for their condemnation.
c) A doctrine of faith or morals is a truth revealed by God dealing with what we must believe or what we must do in order to be saved
d) The Church cannot change its defined teachings on faith and morals, though it may restate them more clearly and more completely.
e) We know that the Church is infallible in matters of faith and morals because Christ promised that he would be with the apostles and their successors in their work of teaching until the end of time. It would be impossible for Christ to be with the official teachers of the Church and permit them to error.
SCRPITURE:
“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16)
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you” (John 14:26)
“Then Jesus answered and said, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but my father in heaven. And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever though shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17-19)
Q: When does the Church teach infallibility?
A: The Church teaches infallibly when it defines, through the Pope alone, as the teacher of all Christians, or through the Pope and bishops, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by all the faithful.
a) The Holy Father must intend to use his supreme, apostolic authority when he teaches infallibly.
b) The Pope can teach without speaking infallibly, for example, he does this in his encyclical letters. Catholics must accept such teachings, not on faith, but in obedience to the authority of the Pope and in respect for his wisdom.
A: By the infallibility of the Catholic Church is meant that the Church, by the special assistance of the Holy Ghost, cannot err when it teaches or believes a doctrine of faith or morals.
a) Infallibility, especially papal infallibility, is a doctrine often misunderstood and derided by those outside the Church. The term “infallibility” is often distorted to mean impeccability, that is, freedom from all sin. The Church has never held that the Pope cannot sin.
b) It is unthinkable that an institution established by God for the salvation of souls could lead men into error and turn them away from God. If the Church could and did err in matters of faith and morals, it would not be a true teacher; it would fail in its ministry of sanctification and would not lead men to salvation but would be responsible for their condemnation.
c) A doctrine of faith or morals is a truth revealed by God dealing with what we must believe or what we must do in order to be saved
d) The Church cannot change its defined teachings on faith and morals, though it may restate them more clearly and more completely.
e) We know that the Church is infallible in matters of faith and morals because Christ promised that he would be with the apostles and their successors in their work of teaching until the end of time. It would be impossible for Christ to be with the official teachers of the Church and permit them to error.
SCRPITURE:
“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16)
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you” (John 14:26)
“Then Jesus answered and said, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but my father in heaven. And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever though shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17-19)
Q: When does the Church teach infallibility?
A: The Church teaches infallibly when it defines, through the Pope alone, as the teacher of all Christians, or through the Pope and bishops, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by all the faithful.
a) The Holy Father must intend to use his supreme, apostolic authority when he teaches infallibly.
b) The Pope can teach without speaking infallibly, for example, he does this in his encyclical letters. Catholics must accept such teachings, not on faith, but in obedience to the authority of the Pope and in respect for his wisdom.
*These questions, answers, and Scripture verses are taken directly from “The New Confraternity Edition Revised Baltimore Catechism and Mass No. 3” Questions 163-164.
More stuff on Mary and the Catholic Church
I would like to thank Earwen for asking a question on Saint Dominic; because it caused me to do some research and I found out that I was wrong in my information. Our belief that Mary appeared to St. Dominic is based on tradition. So, this article should clear up my mistake:
Of the many forms of devotion to Our Lady, there are some which have been especially recommended by the Church. Devotions which involve the use of physical objects are not superstitious, because these objects are not thought to have any power in themselves. Rather, they are external aids to interior devotion to the Mother of God.
An especially great Marian devotion is the Rosary. There is an ancient tradition that St. Dominic received the Rosary from Our Lady in an apparition at Prouille in 1206 A.D. as a weapon against the Albigensian heresy. What is entirely certain is that in one way or another, numerous Popes have spoken of St. Dominic as author of the Rosary, without pronouncing on the authenticity of the Prouille vision. They have strongly recommended the Rosary. Vatican II in its Constitution on the Church # 67 wrote that whatever the Church has ever recommended in Marian devotion should still be considered of great importance. Not long after, Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical Christi Matris Rosarii pointed out that that statement obviously included the Rosary. Countless are the favors individuals have experienced through the Rosary. The whole Church benefited especially when in October 1571, Pope St. Pius V announced that the Christian fleet had won a decisive victory over the Muslim fleet at Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth. The Muslims were trying to take over all Europe. The Pope explicitly attributed that victory to Rosary processions being held the day of the victory; in addition, every man on the Christian flagship had been given a Rosary before the battle. Our Lady at Lourdes and at Fatima called for a great increase in the prayer of the Rosary, declaring it one of the conditions needed for world peace and the conversion of Russia.
Okay, now that I have that cleared up, I would like to address her original question: How was it proven that Saint Dominic appeared.
Well, to begin with, it was Mary that appeared to St. Dominic. Secondly…….there is a lot of information. ;)
In order to understand how the Church has the authority to say that an apparition is authentic and be sure that they aren’t wrong (Papal Infallibility) can be read here: http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/papac2.htm
And to understand how the Church decides if an apparition or private revelation is authentic can be read here: "Apparitions/Private Revelations"
Have fun reading!!
Of the many forms of devotion to Our Lady, there are some which have been especially recommended by the Church. Devotions which involve the use of physical objects are not superstitious, because these objects are not thought to have any power in themselves. Rather, they are external aids to interior devotion to the Mother of God.
An especially great Marian devotion is the Rosary. There is an ancient tradition that St. Dominic received the Rosary from Our Lady in an apparition at Prouille in 1206 A.D. as a weapon against the Albigensian heresy. What is entirely certain is that in one way or another, numerous Popes have spoken of St. Dominic as author of the Rosary, without pronouncing on the authenticity of the Prouille vision. They have strongly recommended the Rosary. Vatican II in its Constitution on the Church # 67 wrote that whatever the Church has ever recommended in Marian devotion should still be considered of great importance. Not long after, Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical Christi Matris Rosarii pointed out that that statement obviously included the Rosary. Countless are the favors individuals have experienced through the Rosary. The whole Church benefited especially when in October 1571, Pope St. Pius V announced that the Christian fleet had won a decisive victory over the Muslim fleet at Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth. The Muslims were trying to take over all Europe. The Pope explicitly attributed that victory to Rosary processions being held the day of the victory; in addition, every man on the Christian flagship had been given a Rosary before the battle. Our Lady at Lourdes and at Fatima called for a great increase in the prayer of the Rosary, declaring it one of the conditions needed for world peace and the conversion of Russia.
Okay, now that I have that cleared up, I would like to address her original question: How was it proven that Saint Dominic appeared.
Well, to begin with, it was Mary that appeared to St. Dominic. Secondly…….there is a lot of information. ;)
In order to understand how the Church has the authority to say that an apparition is authentic and be sure that they aren’t wrong (Papal Infallibility) can be read here: http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/papac2.htm
And to understand how the Church decides if an apparition or private revelation is authentic can be read here: "Apparitions/Private Revelations"
Have fun reading!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Mary and the Rosary
Hey all!! This is a post dedicated on the Rosary and Mary since the month of May is dedicated to her.
Now, someone recently asked me, "How do we know that the Rosary is most pleasing to Mary?" Well, the Rosary is the most renowned Catholic prayer, because it was given to us by Mary herself. Mary (and this has been approved by the Church) appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the Rosary. She has constantly told us in her apparitions through the ages, to pray the Rosary.
Just so you know and aren’t confused about Catholics praying the Rosary to Mary, we aren’t really praying to her. When we “pray” to her, we are simply asking her to take our intentions to her Son, Jesus. Just like we ask our friends and family members to pray for us, how much more good will it do us to ask His mother to pray for us? Just like at the Wedding Feast in Cana, Mary saw that help was needed, so she asked Jesus to do something about it. And even though he didn’t feel ready, what did she say? She turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” Out of obedience and love for Mary, Jesus preformed His first public miracle of turning the water to wine. (John 2:1-11) In the olden days, when you really needed something granted from the king, you know what people would do? They would go around to the king’s mother, the queen, and ask her to intercede for you. What son does not love his mother? And what Son would not honor the special request of the mother who bore Him?
Basically, the Rosary is praying the Gospels. We meditate on the Gospel events and mysteries. For instance, when we pray the Luminous Mysteries we meditate on Our Lord's public life: His baptism in the River Jordan, the Wedding Feast in Cana where he preformed His public miracle, the preaching of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, and the Last Supper. And the prayers that we say on the beads of the Rosary (the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be) are taken from passages in the Bible and on faith.
One last note about Mary for all you who love our Lord’s love letter to us, the Bible: "And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women…” (Luke. 1:28) and "And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43)
God bless you all!!!
Now, someone recently asked me, "How do we know that the Rosary is most pleasing to Mary?" Well, the Rosary is the most renowned Catholic prayer, because it was given to us by Mary herself. Mary (and this has been approved by the Church) appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the Rosary. She has constantly told us in her apparitions through the ages, to pray the Rosary.
Just so you know and aren’t confused about Catholics praying the Rosary to Mary, we aren’t really praying to her. When we “pray” to her, we are simply asking her to take our intentions to her Son, Jesus. Just like we ask our friends and family members to pray for us, how much more good will it do us to ask His mother to pray for us? Just like at the Wedding Feast in Cana, Mary saw that help was needed, so she asked Jesus to do something about it. And even though he didn’t feel ready, what did she say? She turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” Out of obedience and love for Mary, Jesus preformed His first public miracle of turning the water to wine. (John 2:1-11) In the olden days, when you really needed something granted from the king, you know what people would do? They would go around to the king’s mother, the queen, and ask her to intercede for you. What son does not love his mother? And what Son would not honor the special request of the mother who bore Him?
Basically, the Rosary is praying the Gospels. We meditate on the Gospel events and mysteries. For instance, when we pray the Luminous Mysteries we meditate on Our Lord's public life: His baptism in the River Jordan, the Wedding Feast in Cana where he preformed His public miracle, the preaching of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, and the Last Supper. And the prayers that we say on the beads of the Rosary (the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be) are taken from passages in the Bible and on faith.
One last note about Mary for all you who love our Lord’s love letter to us, the Bible: "And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women…” (Luke. 1:28) and "And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43)
God bless you all!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Happy 14th Birthday Danny!
Aur Onnad Meren Erubadhron! (Happy Birthday Danny) You are a wonderful brother; I am so glad God chose to give you to our family......although I do appreciate that He let me be born first. ;)
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Doesn't he make a cute hobbit, even if he is tall?
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Doesn't he make a cute hobbit, even if he is tall?And aren't these perfect hobbit legs/feet? :P
LOTR in 60 seconds
I will say nothing about this clip except: get ready to be on the floor trying to stop laughing but unable to!!! Let me know how hard you laughed! ;)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Guess who I talked to?
FISHY AND ROSE!!!!! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about let me explain. *clears throat* My all time favorite books by Regina Doman are Shadow of the Bear (SoTB), Black as Night, and Waking Rose. SoTB is currently being filmed (turned into a movie) by my amazing forum "sister" Elena. Yesterday I talked to two of the main characters, Fish (Anthony) and Rose (Sharayah), on the phone with a handful of other girls from the Forum (dedicated to the Regina Doman books). IT WAS SOOOOO COOL!!! And what was funny was that they actors acted (well alright, sounded) like the characters they play!!! We weren't able to talk to Blanche (Hannah) because she didn't show up at the time we were on the phone, and Bear (Jed) wasn't there that day. It was so hard to restrain myself when Fish got on the phone; I wanted to scream like a fan girl sooooo bad!!! However, I did survive and didn't scare him off. ;)
To keep updated on the movie (and lots of pictures) go here: http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/
To keep updated on the movie (and lots of pictures) go here: http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/
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