Posted on 04/16/2012 8:44:27 AM PDT by cleghornboy
In Galatians 5: 22-23, the Holy Spirit tells us through Saint Paul that, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Tricia Wittmann-Todd, Pastoral Life Coordinator at Saint Mary's Parish in the Central Area of Seattle, Washington, would deny the youth of her parish an authentic understanding of joy.
Ms. Wittmann-Todd, having succumbed to the erroneous idea that Catholic moral teaching would in some way harm the youth of her parish, has refused to circulate petitions in support of Referendum 74, the ballot measure to roll back Washington's recently passed same-sex "marriage" law. Her reasoning? Wittmann-Todd asserts that she is, "particularly concerned about our youth who may be questioning their own sexual identity and need our support at this time in their lives." See here.
Ms. Wittmann-Todd is so concerned about the youth of Saint Mary's Parish that she has decided to set an example for them on how to be disobedient to the Church's Pastors. She has also decided to deny these youth an authentic understanding as to what constitutes joy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, "By the power of the Spirit, God's children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear 'the fruit of the Spirit:...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.' 'We live by the Spirit'; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we 'walk by the Spirit.'.." (CCC, 736). And again: "The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: 'Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.'" (CCC, 1832).
You see, we live in the Spirit when we renounce ourselves. We are not living in the spirit if we engage in sinful behaviors such as homosexual acts. Those who do live such a lifestyle will not have joy. The Lord Jesus promises heavenly joy to those who suffer the consequences of following Him [and this demands picking up our cross and following Him daily] and calls for its anticipation saying, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5: 12). Dr. Germain Grisez explains that, "St. Paul teaches that Christians always should call on God's help by constant prayer, rejoice in hope, be patient, and not be anxious (see Rom 12: 12; Phil 4: 4-6). Since Christian joy presupposes hope, Jesus' and Paul's injunctions to rejoice can be fulfilled only by nurturing hope. But hope grows in a kind of virtuous circle: joy amid suffering helps faithful Christians endure what they must, this endurance conforms their character to that of Jesus, and likeness to Jesus increases their confidence and further intensifies their hope (see Rom 5: 3-4; cf. Phil 3: 8-21)."
Dr. Grisez goes on to explain that the fear of Hell is essential for Christian hope (and remember, Christian joy presupposes hope). He reminds us that, "..if one becomes forgetful of the possibility of hell and loses all fear of it, heaven seems a sure thing, with the bad result that it no longer is possible to have Christian hope for it or live a life shaped by that hope. Christian hope is the intention of the kingdom as one's end, and some good can be intended as an end only if one's action is expected to help bring about that good. Thus, someone confident of sharing in the kingdom no matter what, simply cannot intend it as an end and live for it, although such a person still may think about heaven for solace when loved ones die and during other times of suffering. In consequence, someone who forgets the possibility of hell ignores the kingdom when deliberating and making choices. Unable any longer to order his or her life to the kingdom, that person becomes motivated by other interests and desires, and these alien ends, pursued independently of faith and hope, make their own incompatible demands. Thus, the life of a Christian forgetful of hell becomes indistinguishable from the life of a nonbeliever. Consequently, while properly Christian fear depends on hope, hope also depends on fear. And while hope for the kingdom always should dominate, fear of hell never should be entirely excluded. Thus, meditation on the last things, which appropriately begins from Sacred Scripture, should reflect the balanced approach of the New Testament, which focuses on heaven but never entirely loses sight of hell."
Christian joy presupposes hope. And the fear of Hell is essential for Christian hope. How quickly some forget this. We hear much nonsense today from those within the "homosexual community" about "the joys of gay sex." But there is no authentic joy apart from living in obedience to God's Commandments. Joy is a fruit of living in the Spirit, not of living in the flesh.
One would think Ms. Wittmann-Todd would want to impart this truth to the youth of St. Mary's Parish. But apparently she would rather sow confusion in this area. And we wonder why Our Lady weeps?
Interesting that someone has been to heaven and back to see Mary weep. If you believe that, I have a bridge...
But, more of the very harmonious, homogenous teaching provided by the Rcc. No wonder the vicar from the CoE swam the Tiber. He went out from us because he was never a part of us.
Those are words to live by, Dutchboy88.
Her hyphenated last name is the first clue as to the mindset of this woman. It’s all about her.
When heaven is a sure thing then sin becomes nothing.
Marcie Dahlgren-Frost. Dahlgren is my maiden name, Frost is my married name. I’m single again, but I never bothered to remove the Frost. And I get compliments on the hyphen.
where joylessness reigns, where humor dies, the spirit of Jesus Christ is surely absent. But the reverse is also true: joy is a sign of Grace. One who is cheerful from the bottom of his heart, one who has suffered but not lost joy, cannot be far from the God of the evangelieum, whose first word on the threshold of the New Testament is "Rejoice!"
Dutchboy, your ignorance of Catholic private revelation is showing. You wrote, “Interesting that someone has been to heaven and back to see Mary weep. If you believe that, I have a bridge..”
My reference was to the Church-approved apparition of La Salette, where Our Lady appeared to two children, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat, and was seen weeping.
True, as with Fatima and other Church-approved private revelations, the faithful are not bound to accept their messages as they must accept Public Revelation (Sacred Scripture). But it would be foolhardy indeed to reject what the Church has approved and deemed “worthy of belief.”
But here’s the thing, and please don’t let this upset you, because that is not my intent, I just don’t care whether you accept the La Salette apparition or not. I do. So do countless other Catholics.
And you’ll just have to live with it.
That is....beautiful. So I will not ruin it with my own thoughts.
Thank you for sharing!
God love you ALPAPilot
LOL, so much for preconceived notions.
Sorry, but I always associate the hyphenated name with a liberal, usually a feminazi type woman.
I stand corrected.
I thought I was agreeing with you Jvette...:)
Perhaps I should explain. That quotation is from the film Uncle Buck. And yes, she came across as what Rush Limbaugh would label a “feminazi.”
:)
Now I am thoroughly confused.
Thought you were telling me that not all hyphenated women are liberal.
And you’ll just have to live with it."
I'll try to cope. And, you will have to live with the fact that this hogwash...like Medjugorje. Go to heaven, go to Bosnia, go anywhere you like. Mary is not here anymore. You are seeing demonic imitations.
Once again Dutchboy, what you refer to as “demonic” is a Church-approved private revelation/apparition. Since the authorities of the Church have found La Salette (and other apparition sites) worthy of belief, we Catholics really have no need of your approval nor do we seek it.
You are not the competent authority to judge the worthiness of an apparition site or a private revelation. Thus, I don’t care what you think. You’ll just have to live with it.
Jvette, watch the film Uncle Buck and look for the character named Marcie Dahlgren-Frost. The scene is a hoot. So is the whole film for that matter.
All the same claims have been trotted out with Medjugorje and several others. Even your gang eventually called that a fraud. Continue to cling to such dreams and illusions if you must. The believers in Christ, alone, will continue to look only unto Him. We don’t need superstitions or vain imaginings to recognize our rescue. And, I’ll be happy to live with that.
Dutchboy, you will never convince me (or numerous other Catholics) to reject Our Lady’s messages. You’ve told us all how you reject the messages of La Salette and other marian apparitions. It’s time for you to move on.
You will not change my beliefs. You are not the competent authority. You’ll just have to live with it.
I love that movie, though it’s been years since I’ve seen it and I don’t recall that scene. I will check it out though.
You will not change my beliefs. You are not the competent authority. You’ll just have to live with it."
Methinks you protesteth too much. I have already said I can happily live with Christ alone, and calling baloney on all your witchcraft. What part of that don't you understand? The Scriptures are my competent authority for calling this and your organization claims to be the competent authority for saying that the holograms are real. I'm perfectly okay with that. Just recall this warning when the curtain falls.
St. Louis de Montfort assures us that, “The learned and pious Jesuit, Suarez, the erudite and devout Justus Lipsius, doctor of Louvain, and many others have proved invincibly, from the sentiments of the Fathers [among others, St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, deacon of Edessa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Damascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure], that devotion to our Blessed Lady is necessary to salvation, and . . . that it is an infallible mark of reprobation to have no esteem and love for the holy Virgin; while on the other hand, it is an infallible mark of predestination to be entirely and truly devoted to her.
[In his classic work entitled THE GLORIES OF MARY, the great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) states that ‘the intercession of Mary is even necessary to salvation; we say necessary-——not absolutely, but morally. This necessity proceeds from the will of God, that all graces He dispenses should pass by the hands of Mary, according to the opinion of St. Bernard, and which we may now with safety call the general opinion of theologians and learned men.’ (p. 129, TAN edition) St. Alphonsus quotes St. Bernardine of Siena’s words to the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of graces, and since the grace of salvation can only come through thy hands, our salvation depends on thee.’ (p. 144)]
The figures and words of the Old and New Testaments prove this. The sentiments and the examples of the Saints confirm it. Reason and experience teach and demonstrate it. Even the devil and his crew, constrained by the force of truth, have often been obliged to avow it in spite of themselves. Among all the passages of the holy Fathers and Doctors, of which I have made an ample collection in order to prove this truth, I shall for brevity’s sake quote but one: ‘To be devout to thee, O holy Virgin,’ says St. John Damascene, ‘is an arm of salvation which God gives to those whom He wishes to save.’
Your hostility toward Our Lady speaks for itself. You stand against Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. By insulting Our Lady you insult her Son, Our Lord Jesus.
I would strongly urge you to repent of this sin.
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