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Video Clip Worth Watching: Ralph Kramden’s Christmas Speech
American Catholic ^ | December 25, 2015 | Donald R. McClarey

Posted on 12/26/2015 10:40:59 AM PST by NYer

I loved watching re-runs of The Honeymooners when I was a kid. I appreciated the fact that they were more broke than my family and, like my parents, they met that circumstance with good humor. In the classic episode above Ralph sold his prized bowling ball to buy a Christmas present wife for his beloved wife Alice.

 

The late comedian Jackie Gleason when asked his religion would always say "Bad Catholic". He was once asked by a Paulist priest to appear on his television program and talk about religion which he did, stating to the priest that Catholicism was strong enough to withstand an advocate even as bad as he was.

 

He once stunned the audience of a light-hearted talk show in the Seventies by responding to the question what he wanted more than anything else by saying "Eternal Salvation". The host was taken aback by this and asked him, "Really?" Gleason said he couldn't understand anyone wanting anything more than that. Gleason and some of the Ten Commandments were not on friendly terms during his life, to say the least, but he received the Last Rites on his deathbed, and I am sure he got what he wanted more than anything else.

Ralph Kramden's Christmas Speech


TOPICS: Catholic; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: anointingofthesick; catholic; christmas; christmasspeech; deathbed; eternalsalvation; gleason; lastrites; paulistpriest; ralphkramden; salvation; thehoneymooners
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1 posted on 12/26/2015 10:40:59 AM PST by NYer
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To: Tax-chick; GregB; SumProVita; narses; bboop; SevenofNine; Ronaldus Magnus; tiki; Salvation; ...

Catholic ping!


2 posted on 12/26/2015 10:41:21 AM PST by NYer (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy them. Mt 6:19)
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To: NYer

So if I die while having a sin or three hanging onto me I get greased into heaven if a priest gives me the last rites within a certain period of time?

Just asking because I really don’t know.
Southern Baptist here.


3 posted on 12/26/2015 11:08:38 AM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: oldvirginian
So if I die while having a sin or three hanging onto me I get greased into heaven if a priest gives me the last rites within a certain period of time?

Just asking because I really don’t know.

Southern Baptist here.

Try it. If you get there, let me know.

4 posted on 12/26/2015 11:42:26 AM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: oldvirginian

If just a second before you die, seeing true eternity staring you in the face, and God grants you the minute to ponder that, and you realize the fool and sinner you have been? Sure!

True contrition is all you need. If you have only partial contrition, meaning you fear hell but not that you also feel terrible that you offended God, or if you are not totally sure, and who is often, then confession to a priest in place of Christ, in persona Christi, the priest has been ordained to let loose those sins on earth.

You may still have to atone, be purified, in the fires of purgatory, before being of purity to be in His presence, but you will get there. JESUS DECIDES THIS, he gave the priest the power to forgive in His name upon washing the apostles feet to make them clean enough to partake in Him in the form of lifegiving bread.

I probably poorly answered you...look into the Catechism of the Catholic Church online or in book form for scripture and verse....from the horse’s mouth so to speak.

If we lie to a priest...nothing is forgiven, another is added on. But death has a way....

Luke....what man loosing one but having 99 does not fret and search for the 100th...God is greedy for every soul He created, He wants you back and knows what you have done and forgets it when you repent, any time. Cool.


5 posted on 12/26/2015 11:50:11 AM PST by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: oldvirginian
"So if I die while having a sin or three hanging onto me I get greased into heaven if a priest gives me the last rites within a certain period of time?"

IMHO, the only thing you need is Christ, and if you have Him, there are no sins hanging on to you, the penalty has already been paid. Last rites are simply a tradition of men, whether catholic or orthodox, they don't matter, except to make the rest of us feel better about death and dying.

6 posted on 12/26/2015 11:54:35 AM PST by semaj (Audentes fortuna juvat: Fortune favors the bold. Be Bold FRiends.)
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To: NYer

Interesting. I always thought Gleason was Jewish.


7 posted on 12/26/2015 12:16:41 PM PST by JesusIsLord
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To: oldvirginian
The only "grease" around is Protestant created  Superslick Christian Liberty Grease.

Say the magic words when you're six years old and thereafter you have a lifetime supply of Superslick to apply for sliding around the Ten Commandments at will right along with sliding around Christ Himself saying to love your neighbor as yourself.

Just sayin', cause a slur disguised as a question deserves no less.

8 posted on 12/26/2015 1:14:22 PM PST by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: NYer

Something you don’t see in the TV land anymore. A little reality!


9 posted on 12/26/2015 1:15:40 PM PST by Busko (The only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain.)
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To: NYer
JMO but -

Priests can be lied to. I'm sure a lot of people received the last rites who were actually unrepentant.

There's no magic word - like "abracadabra" that throws open the gates.

Only God has the ability to look into a heart. There will be many surprises in Heaven - you will (or won't) see some people you never expected.

God made the Church, but Man made religion. Don't confuse the two

10 posted on 12/26/2015 1:51:26 PM PST by ZOOKER (Until further notice the /s is implied...)
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To: Don Corleone

Sorry, to the best of my knowledge two way communication is restricted.
It’s above my pay grade, ya know.


11 posted on 12/26/2015 4:25:37 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: If You Want It Fixed - Fix It

Okay, I understand contrition of the heart being understood in less than a second. The mind and understanding of God is so far beyond our own.

It just seemed to me that Catholics obsess over the last rites.
I guess there are things Catholics say we Baptists obsess over as well.


12 posted on 12/26/2015 4:38:35 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: semaj

Thanks.
I dated a Catholic girl once, she went to confession as often as possible. I once asked her why. She said going to confession and doing whatever prayers the priest fem gave her were like a license to sin.
And she sure used that licence!

I’m not bashing Catholics. I have plenty of Baptists and others I could bash easier.

I just wonder why different branches of Christianity hold different beliefs and each believe theirs is right.


13 posted on 12/26/2015 4:48:25 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: Rashputin

It was a question from a Baptist to Catholics about a Catholic ritual.

You decided to find a slur.
That says more about you than about someone asking a question.

Won’t be seeing you around.


14 posted on 12/26/2015 4:56:01 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: oldvirginian
Characterizing Last Rites as "grease" isn't a simple question.
15 posted on 12/26/2015 6:32:48 PM PST by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: NYer
My dad LOVED the Honeymooners.

This one gave me a MAJOR snerfie.
Thanks for posting.

.

Hey, Ralphie boy!! [Norton]
To the moon, Alice!

16 posted on 12/26/2015 6:44:55 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: Don Corleone
So if I die while having a sin or three hanging onto me I get greased into heaven if a priest gives me the last rites within a certain period of time? Just asking because I really don’t know. Southern Baptist here. Try it. If you get there, let me know.

Go to Catholic Online. It's a web site where you are able to ask questions. Any Catholic site will give you answers.

It's NOT so simple, as you might expect.

17 posted on 12/26/2015 6:46:50 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: oldvirginian
Thanks. I dated a Catholic girl once, she went to confession as often as possible. I once asked her why. She said going to confession and doing whatever prayers the priest fem gave her were like a license to sin. And she sure used that licence!

Your once-dated Catholic girl had a REAL problem with the ENTIRE confessional ritual.

It's called the Sacrament of Reconciliation now and it is not a license to sin.
One's sins are NOT forgiven if the person confessing is not REALLY sorry. There has to be true penitence. Even if she hears the words "Te absolvo," which the priest says -- as is his authority to do so -- the person confessing isn't going to be forgiven if s/he isn't really sorry and had EVERY intention of committing the same sin again tomorrow.

Your Catholic friend probably knows that by now. If not, she is in for a rocky road in life. Common sense HAS to tell her that true repentance and really planning to not repeat the sins ARE the very basic hallmarks of a true, valid and meaningful confession.

18 posted on 12/26/2015 6:54:48 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: Rashputin

A simple slang term with no evil or derogatory meaning about the Last Rites ritual in the Catholic Church.

I have run across Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, you name’em I have asked questions about their beliefs and rituals.
I use simple words and terms because that’s who and what I am.

You are the first to jump straight to the “slur” defense.

I’ll take care of the beam in my eye, and I won’t choke on gnats while doing it.

May the Lord bless you and yours.


19 posted on 12/26/2015 6:59:49 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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To: cloudmountain

We didn’t last but three months. I figured pretty quickly any gal who would lie to the Lord would lie to me even quicker.
I really liked her family. They were nice people who took the Lord very seriously.

I figure someone wants to sin they will find a way to justify their actions no matter what church they attend.

I don’t know what happened to her. She went to college and married a medical student.
He probably ended up wicked rich.

Being raised in the Baptist Church I am sometimes fascinated and or amazed at how other branches of the Christian faith conduct their ministries and the reasoning behind their worship practices.

Sometimes I have to ask because I am just curious.

Most fascinating conversation I ever had was with a messianic Jew.
We talked for hours.


20 posted on 12/26/2015 7:15:15 PM PST by oldvirginian (American by birth, Southern by the grace of God and Virginian because Jesus loves me. CRUZ 2016!)
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