What’s So Great About Catholicism

Catholic Educators ^ | H.W. CROCKER III

[Rutles4Ever]

To pursue some watered down exhaltation of "beauty" is to play into the hands of the world.

In reading your posts, I've come to the conclusion that you don't have the faintest clue what beauty is.

HINT: It has nothing to do with what you sense with your eyes and ears and nose.

[SoothingDave]

I wear good clothes.

That's all you need to say to undercut your own argument. You try to put your best out there. You recognize what is nice and good. What is beautiful.

So you know, deep down, that beauty is not an enemy of God and there is nothing wrong with tapping into beauty in the worship of Him.

(Of course, we don't want to become enamored with beauty to the detriment of God. But that's not the same thing. If we can sing and praise God with our music, we can surely do it with fine art and other things of beauty.)

SD

[Rutles4Ever]

A real body can't be in two places at once

St. Padre Pio was known to enjoy the occasional bilocation.

[al_c]

Beautiful

Stop worshipping beauty. ;o)

[ArrogantBustard]

Glorified body ...

Unless you eat (chew, gnaw on) the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you have no life within you.

This IS my body ... this IS the cup of my blood ... do THIS in remembrance of me.

If you want to argue with Jesus about it, be my guest. I take Him at His word.

The Holy Eucharist is not denial of the incarnation. It's a worship of God, and a celebration of His resurrection.

[PetroniusMaximus]

"How do you explain how He entered the Upper Room?"

He can walk though walls - but he can't be in two rooms at once - that would be a denial of the reality of the incarnation.

[andysandmikesmom]

There is a Catholic abbey near me, and I am thinking of going over there, and seeing if I can get some Catholic studies and have some of my questions answered...a friend of mine, has told me that the 'monks'(I think that is what she called them), are very receptive to having people come and discuss things....so that may be my New Years Resolution, for the coming year...check out the abbey, and see what they can offer me...

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement...

[PetroniusMaximus]

You mean Padre Pio, the patron saint of civil defence volunteers?

[Knitting A Conundrum]

For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Refrain:
Christ our God, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light, Refrain

For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and brain's delight,
for the mystic harmony
linking sense to sound and sight, Refrain

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, Refrain

For each perfect gift of thine
to our race so freely given,
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven, Refrain

For thy Bride that evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
this pure sacrifice of love, Refrain

For the martyrs' crown of light,
for thy prophets' eagle eye,
for thy bold confessors' might,
for the lips of infancy, Refrain

For thy virgins' robes of snow,
for thy maiden Mother mild,
for thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesus,Victim undefiled, Refrain

Words: Folliot Sandford Pierpoint, 1864

Music: Dix, England's Lane, Lucerna laudoniae, St. Hugh

Meter: 77 77 77

[highlander_UW]

My post was actually a criticism of people within my church. But now that you mention it, the destruction of the Buddas by the Talaban pales in comparison to the destruction of Henry VIII. He destroyed hundreds of monasteries so that he could steal the land to redistribute to his co-conspirators. The history written by the Protestants dwells on the theology of the Reformation, but ignores the greed.

Whereas the actions of the catholic church such as slaughtering Waldensians is a fine example of Talibanism as well. And for the record, I'm no fan of Henry VIII either...nor the Anglican church.

[Rutles4Ever]

Luke 4

"And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him,

"To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will."

Satan wasn't trying to tempt Jesus into desiring something beautiful. He was trying to determine IF Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God. A common Jew struggling beneath the yoke of Rome and the yoke of the Pharisees could be perversely justified in taking up the Devil on his offer in order to stop the suffering of Israel. Given that the people were basically starving, passing up the opportunity to end the oppression and TAKE BACK OWNERSHIP OF ISRAEL, would be unbearable for any man but Jesus. Jesus' deflection of this temptation was proof to Satan that he was not dealing with any mere man, but the Messiah. Thus, at that point, Satan fled.

[annalex]

First, there is a bit of a confusion here. The Real Presence in the Eucharist is resurrected Christ, not incarnate Christ. That is the Christ entering the upper room.

However, your apparent insistence that incarnate Christ be denied His divine nature, which includes omnipresence, is, I believe, Arianism, if I can keep my heretics straight. Is walking on water denial of the reality of the incarnation?

[ArrogantBustard]

The beauty of the vestments, vessels, decorations, icons, are a counterpoint to the apparent plainness of the Consecrated Host, which is in Truth the greatest beauty of all: the very Flesh and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

All hidden under the appearance of simple, plain white wheat bread.

The miracle of Eucharist, the Humility and Love of God who created us, Who is our Father, Who sent His Son as our Redeemer, Who sends His Holy Ghost to guide us to Holiness, and Who condescends to remain among us truly in the Blessed Sacrament, never ceases to astound me.

Words fail me.

[PetroniusMaximus]

"but for God, all things are possible"

Really??? Not everything is possible.


"And I, as would others here, truly appreciate it if you would quit insulting Jesus here."

Could you direct me to any insults I have posted to the Son of God?

[Rutles4Ever]

The same.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

O Bread of life,
You who offer yourself
to feed this sad, sin-sick world,
who joins us anew,
day after day
the living God
who comes to us in so fragile a form
that even a child may partake,
waiting patiently for those who love him,
waiting patiently to cure our sin-sick souls
with the light of heaven,
O blessed Lord,
I come to you,
unworthy but summoned,
undeserving, but loved.
I long to say,
Feed me, cure me, heal me,
I who have failed you time and again,
Yet when I see you there,
broken, poured out,
waiting for me,
all I can do is fall on my knees
in grief at my imperfection,
in awe of the depths of your love,
and only say
I adore thee,
I love thee,
help me to love thee more.

[Nihil Obstat]

O saving Victim, open wide
the gate of heaven to all below;
our foes press on from every side;
thine aid supply; thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend
for evermore, blest One in Three;
O grant us life that shall not end
in our true native land with thee.

[ArrogantBustard]

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor blessing,
Might and endless majesty.

[Nihil Obstat]

or:

Humbly let us voice our homage
For so great a sacrament;
Let all former rites surrender
To the Lord’s New Testament.
What our senses fail to fathom,
Let us grasp through Faith’s consent!

Glory, honor, adoration
Let us sing with one accord!
Praised be God, almighty Father;
Praised be Christ, His Son, our Lord;
Praised be God the Holy Spirit;
Triune Godhead be adored. Amen.

[PetroniusMaximus]

"resurrected Christ, not incarnate Christ"

Are they not one in the same???


"our apparent insistence that incarnate Christ be denied His divine nature, which includes omnipresence"

Paul clearly teaches that Christ "emptied himself" in some way, to become a man...

"Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

When Christ became a man something changed - changed forever. Christ now has a human body - with nail peirced hands - something which he did not posess in eternity past. Does you theology not recognize that fact?


"I believe, Arianism, if I can keep my heretics straight."

Nope - that's not me. "The doctrines of Arius, denying that Jesus was of the same substance as God and holding instead that he was only the highest of created beings, viewed as heretical by most Christian churches."



"Is walking on water denial of the reality of the incarnation?"

Absolutely not.