Posted on 03/30/2010 10:38:29 AM PDT by NYer
WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- This Easter, thousands are planning to become Catholic, including a man who almost lost his life five times.
The U.S. bishops' conference shared the story of Jeremy Feldbusch, 30, from Blairsville, Pennsylvania, who is among the thousands preparing to enter the Church Saturday evening.
Feldbusch was in the armed services in Iraq, and on April 3, 2003, he was wounded with shrapnel from the conflict, which resulted in blindness in both eyes and traumatic brain injury.
He was expected to die shortly after, or if he lived, to sustain extensive brain damage. Doctors put him into a coma with a ventilator for six weeks in order to reduce brain swelling.
The medical professionals attempted to remove the ventilator five times, but on each attempt, Feldbusch "died" and had to be resuscitated. On the sixth try, he finally regained consciousness.
The patient, who had been baptized a Methodist, asked his father, "Why did God take my eyesight?"
His father replied with a different question, "Why did God let you live?"
The bishops' conference reported that through the process of rehabilitation, Feldbusch "began to think that things happen for a reason and resolved to spend his life helping other wounded service members."
He decided to enter the Catholic Church, and will be received on Saturday, the 7th anniversary of his life-changing injury in Iraq.
Growth
The conference press release noted that thousands more will join Feldbusch, with especially high numbers of new Catholics expected in the South and Southwest regions of the United States.
The Diocese of Dallas, Texas, is preparing to receive 3,000 new Catholics. Of these, 700 are catechumens (never before baptized) and 2,300 are candidates (already validly baptized into the Christian faith, but seeking full communion with the Church).
Also in Texas, the Archdiocese of San Antonio is reporting that 1,112 people will enter the Church. A good number of these are young people, who have already reached the age of reason, including 214 child catechumens and 124 candidates.
The Diocese of Forth Worth in that same state will welcome around the same number of new Catholics.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta is preparing for 1,800 new Church members, which is the largest group ever recorded for that region, the press release reported.
On the West Coast, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is the largest diocese nationwide, will receive 2,400 new members.
In Seattle, 682 people will be baptized into the Church, and 479 welcomed into full communion.
The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, will welcome 842 new Catholics.
Other dioceses who are expecting over a thousand new members are: Detroit, Michigan (1,225); Cincinnati, Ohio (1,049); Denver, Colorado (1,102); Arlington, Virginia (1,100); Washington, D.C. (1,150).
In the Archdiocese of Washington, 18 of those preparing to enter the Church are students from St. Augustine School, the oldest African American school in the nation's capital.
The conference communiqué noted that the Catholic Church, which is the largest denomination in the United States, with over 68 million members, has shown a 1.5% increase in membership numbers this past year.
Matthew 5: 43 27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors 28 do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 29 48 So be perfect, 30 just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
We greet you brother Dutch.
1 Timothy 3: 14 6 I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.
Those who profess Christianity, at least on the surface, ought to know how to behave in the household of God, the Catholic Church. If you do not, we are beholden by Christ to teach you.
Let's prove it at the ballot box. :)
Your inability right now is of epic proportions and growing. I keep posting Gospel and the defenders of Calvinism keep resorting to men of various doctrines and trying to keep them under a single roof.
I took the Westminster Confession of Faith up several years back on here and examined its Scriptural proofs. The Gospels are rarely mentioned and even more rarely mentioned as primary proofs. The overwhelming references were of Paul and the OT. Paul is a great and holy Apostle, but he is not dominant over Jesus and neither is the OT.
If you wish to proclaim that you are a follower of Christ, you may do well to actually read His words.
Matt. 7:12 (a continuation of the same Sermon) "Therefore whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them for this is the Law and the Prophets"
More of that same old broken hermeneutic, eh Mark? Do Catholics really think they can be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect? Do they actually teach this? No understanding that this is Jesus teaching the heavy burden of the Law, but rather good Christian living?
If that is not what you are getting at, what does your quote imply here? Why post it? To remind me to do this? I am the one saying it cannot be done. But, you throw it up as if you are doing it and I should, too. This may explain part of the self-righteous theology of Rome.
And we greet you Mark.
That is the very definition of fruitless. That one statement shows that the hundreds of words you have posted in this thread was just an exercise in futility.
then you may do well to actually DO His words.
That is Rome's gospel, is it not? You folks do this stuff?
But, since you cannot, yet errantly preach that those in the RCC do, we can clearly see the difference between the RCC gospel and the true Gospel. As James said, if you wish to be rescued by doing the Law, you better be ready to do it perfectly or suffer the consequences. No wiggle room, Mark.
That puts Rome squarely in the cross-hairs of destruction: Claiming to be able to do something it cannot and teaching others to become more the sons of hell than they.
Tragically, there is great disparity between understanding actual righteousness and holding up that man-made junk from Rome as godliness. The Roman organization just cannot read the Book it purports to have delivered...which may tell us whether it actually delivered nothing more than lies from the pit.
Well, if you think you change hearts and minds, that is very definition of self-aggrandizing. The Bible calls that "pride".
Could you please point out where I was trying to change any "hearts and minds"?
So when Jesus calls for you to be perfect, you sidestep that as well? Those who call themselves Christians must believe:
Mark 8: 34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said 8 to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel 9 will save it. 36 What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? 37 What could one give in exchange for his life? 38 Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
You must take up your cross and follow Him or else you will be Judged accordingly. Do you now see the evil of Reformed theology?
If that is not what you are getting at, what does your quote imply here? Why post it? To remind me to do this? I am the one saying it cannot be done.
Okay. Jesus says to do this. You say that it cannot be done. Should I listen to you or to Jesus?
Matthew 24: 24 19 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, 20 take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 21 26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 27 22 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.
See? Jesus says that you are responsible for your conduct.
This may explain part of the self-righteous theology of Rome.
What it explains is that the doctrines of the Church are the doctrines of Christ. Reformed believers may not rest upon Calvin's shoulders when they attempt to explain at their Judgement that Calvin said that they are not responsible for anything.
As much as His Grace and my limited abilities allow me.
As James said, if you wish to be rescued by doing the Law, you better be ready to do it perfectly or suffer the consequences. No wiggle room, Mark.
Agreed. And we have Jesus telling us His Commandments. They are not His Suggestions, or His Asides, or His Footnotes. His Commandments. How many of His Commandments do you propose to follow, given your proclaimed inability to follow all of them? Is your indwelling Reformed Holy Spirit unable to direct your Reformed beliefs and practices sufficiently to practice what Jesus preached? Or have you set aside Jesus entirely, for the Gospel of Calvin?
That puts Rome squarely in the cross-hairs of destruction: Claiming to be able to do something it cannot and teaching others to become more the sons of hell than they.
But Jesus assured us that the Church will withstand anything thrown at it. Including the non Scriptural vitriol we experience here every day; the more so this Holy Week. Bring it on; we understand who authors your prose. The lord of this world is very busy this time of year.
Tragically, there is great disparity between understanding actual righteousness and holding up that man-made junk from Rome as godliness.
Such hate and anger. May I ask what harm you hold regarding the Church?
The Roman organization just cannot read the Book it purports to have delivered...which may tell us whether it actually delivered nothing more than lies from the pit.
Matthew 22: 34 19 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law] 20 tested him by asking, 36 "Teacher, 21 which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He said to him, 22 "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: 23 You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Your love is not easily discernible.
Oh Sister, don't read the Bible and get all confused. That is why I am here. (to confuse you) LOL
Your anger and hatred are so great that your need for prayer must be desperate. You’re in mine.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
Why are you (dutchboy) not being called on reading people’s minds?
xsmommy message
Words strike me — nasty defensive
Also, for something to be "making it personal" it must be speaking to the poster, personally.
For instance, if I said "that was a stupid thing to say" it would not be making it personal. But if I said "you're stupid" that would be making it personal.
I guess I try to make it more direct and own my own opinions.
“In my opinion, ———————”
-———, in my estimation, is in error.
Are you saying that __________?
Do you mean to say ________?
There are other ways to approach this. I choose to be more direct, I guess.
**The patient, who had been baptized a Methodist, asked his father**
Well, he apparently settled for one of ‘Ahab’s prophets’ instead of seeking out a prophet of the Lord. (I do thank the soldier for his service)
**That’s not how it works**
That line is right.
One is to be “...baptized in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the REMISSION of SINS...”. Acts 2:38
It is an act of obedience to the call of God, that he says is for the remission of sins. It is no more an act of ‘our own works’ than physically going to hear a preacher of the gospel for the first time.
When is one physically dead? When the blood is dead. When the blood is dead, the organs are worthless. Life is in the blood.
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