Posted on 04/05/2008 10:47:56 PM PDT by Judith Anne
FRiends, tonight I went to mass with my family, and one of the scriptures was the story of "The Road to Emmaus." The monsignor's sermon was on that topic, and it was excellent. He started out by asking why Jesus would allow the disciples not to recognize Him until He broke bread for them, and his thought was that Christ wanted us to look for Him everywhere, to remember that He said "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me" so that we would realize though we may not recognize Him at first, He is there.
This excellent sermon led me to thinking about another crucial teaching; when Christ was asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He gave the example of the Good Samaritan. This has to be a familiar parable to every Christian, so I won't repeat it here.
I am sure that anyone who has been reading active religion threads lately has wondered about the second commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." There has been a remarkable lack of kindness therein. I have been a part of that unkindness.
I will not speak of doctrinal differences here. I only want to say that I am sorry, to all who have been on the religion threads, for unkind remarks, for arguing. I have certainly not turned the other cheek, nor have I acted in a charitable way.
Because I am a Catholic, and accustomed to self-examination in the light of the teachings of Christ, I am ashamed of myself. This is not how I want to be toward other Christians, and certainly is not how I act in real life, for I have many dear Protestant friends and family members.
I had a moment of feeble self-justification as I prayed this evening, that I was provoked into anger. But we aren't to give in to that temptation, and I blame no one for my anger except my own faults. After all, when I stand before God, He will not want to know why I didn't improve a certain other poster's behavior, He will want an accounting from me as to why I didn't improve my own.
So this represents a step in that direction: I am off the religious threads. Because I am human, fallible, and love my Church, I would be tempted to defend it and thus fall into my old ways. Truthfully, the Catholic Church does not need me to fight on an internet forum for its honor.
Again, I am sorry, and I ask your forgiveness. Christ told us that when we want to bring an offering, we should FIRST make peace with our brother, THEN bring our offerings. I should not have added to the already considerable acrimony. I remedy that now, and ask those who think the way I do to join me in praying for all of us conservatives for something much more important: the will of Christ Almighty be done in our lives and in our country.
And may He bless us all.
But to reject it, wholesale, for whatever reason, is IMHO, not an infallibly virtuous position to take.
= = =
INDEED.
Oh, but there are times for righteious anger.
Righteous anger needs four things:
The right time
The right person
The right degree
The right purpose
Christ got angry in the scene at the Temple when he overturned tables and threw out the money changers.
I will not be grateful for slanderous lies about my religious faith or my church.
I will however pray for those who have made themselves my enemies.
**It is just too bad that we all can’t agree on Religion, (no matter what our beliefs are) and join hands in a great big circle, and praise God together!**
I think if we were all together in person, we would join hands together and pray for a mutual goal.
Your post has given me a moment of joy. Thank you for the kind words.
Please don’t pray for my general intentions as much as, specifically, for the health and comfort of my dear Mother-in-law Cynthia, who is battling a belated diagnosis of cancer.
Again, thank. Dominus vobiscum.
It’s all a case of discernment, isn’t it?
...who is battling a belated diagnosis of cancer.
Grammatically speaking, I thing that should be:
...who is battling belatedly-diagnosed cancer.
**All this reminds me of the exceptional priest who counseled me once: he told me that I should say to myself daily that I will not allow anyone or anything to take goodness from me. He also told me that many people hear, but very few listen. And again, he told me that there three aspects of myself—the person I thought I was, the person that others found me to be and the person that God knew that I really was.**
Very wise counsel from this priest.
**I believe HE IS AT WORK amongst us in spite of all of us.**
Yes, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are at work among us.
The disciples walking to Emmaus could not recognize Christ, so how do we recognize Christ when he comes to us in strangers, in the Word, and in the breaking of the bread?
It’s just that some of us don’t listen or can’t discern the truth contritely as Judith Anne has.
(Including myself in that statemtn.)
**The disciples walking to Emmaus could not recognize Christ, so how do we recognize Christ when he comes to us in strangers, in the Word, and in the breaking of the bread?**
BTW, this is the Gospel for today.
Absolutely, it will be an honor for me to pray for Cynthia, for her comfort, for her peace of mind, for ease of any suffering, for her days to be filled with laughter and joy. And also for you, FRiend.
Et cum spiritu tuo.
Thanks for the ping, Judith Anne. Excellent post and thread :)
**I think you have a very good idea. More and more of the religion threads have turned into nothing more than a battlefield. Leaves me with the impression that we, as Christians, would rather see a person as a Hindu, Buddhist, or Atheist, rather than as a member of the “confession” that is the target of the argument.**
Or Muslim.
**I confess to Almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault; in my thoughts and in my words; in what I have done and what I have failed to do. **
I can repeat that prayer too. Beautiful. Might be something that we all could say each day!
Thank you so much, Sal, for participating.
Twink, thank you for being here.
I have to go babysit for my grandchildren for about an hour, then I’m having supper with them.
I’ll be back.
Of course you should not be grateful for lies. But, the other person, usually, really thinks that they are true!
Anger does nothing towards dispelling the lies.
Islam tells me that Jesus is not the Son of God and did not die for us or rise again. That is truly a horrific lie. But my friend does not understand this. If I get angry at this claim, I have no hope of winning him.
**a big part of that process was, without a doubt, coming here - (and that was before there ever was a religion forum) - and reading the Catholic posters. Some of them are still here and still a source of edification and education for me and for countless others. Some of them no longer post here, but I’ve certainly not forgotten them.**
I agree with those sentiments, and I remember many of whom you speak.
LOL! Love your sense of humor.
Amen!
**Again, sorry if I am the cause, and would enjoy talking to you later in this forum if you would change your mind at a later time.**
What a sincere post.
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