Posted on 04/30/2010 8:03:48 AM PDT by Quix
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7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, --New Living Translation 7And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. [I Kings 18:25-29.] 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9Pray, therefore, like this: 15But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their [j]reckless and willful sins, [k]leaving them, letting them go, and [l]giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. --Amplified Pray with Simplicity 5"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? 6"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. 7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: 16-18"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well. |
Mark Kirby: O Mother of Good Counsel, I am all thine, Most Holy Mary, There is no part of my life that is not open to thee, I want to be completely transparent with thee, Praying in this way, I can be at rest, |
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Again, I claim EITHER very great depravity OR a kind of respectable humility because I once viewed these questions from perspective not unlike yours.
For me, in my thought, becoming Catholic has meant a richer experience of the pure gospel of salvation by grace through faith, and our talk of "merit",which so distresses so many brethren, is talk about the GIFT of merit, not merit that we acquire through our own efforts.
Some have made up their minds and no amount of proof will change it. This is mainly because of a spiritual pride that cannot concede an “inch” because it would mean giving up being the “ruler”.
I don't think this is a problem that would go away if I were to agree with you or you were to agree with me.
That is a terrifying claim to authority on the part of sinful men.
I bet a number of Judaizers responded:
*We’re the true church because we say that God told us we are* doesn’t cut it with people who can read and think for themselves.
... you expect us to believe that the Roman Catholic Church managed to do so through a series of corrupt churches [or popes] in its darkest period of Church history for hundreds of years?
You expect us to believe that the Holy Spirit went on vacation for 1,400 years, give or take, and then finally found a way to mount a successful rupture in the Church?
It seems to me our story is no more improbable than yours.
And I would be careful about "in its darkest period of Church history". One of the reasons it's dark is that people aren't taught about it. Another is that it's complicated. The political chaos was astonishing.
Take a look at this (which I put together for my chapter to put the life of Dominic and of a man called John of Vercelli in some historical context):
[I just left "our Holy Father Dominic" in there to tweak you. I don't think Dominic was God and I'm pretty sure both he and God know that.]
This is just about the chaos in one small part of the world. Look at historical maps of the British Isles, for an even deeper appreciation of the chaos -- or of the region now called France.
When one imagines that every couple of generations for a very long time some new group was going to come raping and pillaging over the next hill, I think it's pretty darn amazing that Christians did as well as they did.
MM-””Spiritual discernment and understanding is not about intellectual ability””
When speaking about the Saints I mentioned like Aquinas etc.. they have both spiritual discernment and have been given gifts of intellectual miracles
From the late FR John Hardon...
“To many people it must seem odd to identify the highest form of miraculous phenomena as enlightenment of the human mind. However, a moment’s reflection will tell us it is not unusual at all. St. Paul could not be more clear. He tells us, “Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for. The evidence of things that are not seen. For by faith the men of old had testimony born to them. By faith we understand that the world was fashioned by the Word of God, and thus things visible were made out of things invisible.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Everything in Christianity finally depends on our faith. The mind must be enlightened by the light of the Living God. In order to know what is God’s will at every moment of our lives. The more deep our faith, the deeper our hope. The stronger our faith the more selfless our love.
What are we saying? We are saying that the most important miracles we need in our lives are not physical or even miracles of the will. What we mainly need is enlightenment of our minds by the Incarnate Truth who is present in our midst in the Blessed Sacrament.” FR John Hardon
It's spiritually perilous to love any one or any thing equal to or more than God. There is only One Great Commandment.
And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. – Matthew 22:35-40
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Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And again,
We all struggle with idolatry because we are merely mortals, small minded and easily distracted. In the pressures of life, we might love ourselves or our spouse or child - properties, associations or whatever - more than God.
Thank God for the time He gives us to meditate and pray and keep our priorities straight.
God's Name is I AM.
Of His Truth . . . in/to very serious ways, aspects, DEGREES, truth:
No one can serve: GOD ALONE is the ALPHA AND OMEGA.
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GOD and macadamia nuts!
GOD and machines!
GOD and machismo!
GOD and mackerels!
GOD and Macs!
GOD and Macrame!
GOD and Madame!
GOD and madness!
GOD and madrigals!
GOD and maestro!
GOD and Mafia!
GOD and magazines!
GOD and magenta!
GOD and Magi!
GOD and magic!
GOD and magicsterical!
GOD and magistracy!
GOD and magma!
GOD and magnetism!
GOD and other magnificence!
GOD and other magnitude!
GOD and magnolias!
GOD and magpies!
GOD and mahjong!
GOD and mahogany!
GOD and maidens!
GOD and maidenhood!
GOD and mail!
GOD and mailman!
GOD and mainlining
GOD and mainsail!
GOD and any other mainstay!
GOD and maize!
GOD and any other majesty!
GOD and majorette!
GOD and majority!
GOD and make-believe!
GOD and makeshift!
GOD and makeup!
GOD and malady!
GOD and malaise!
GOD and malarkey!
GOD and malcontentment!
GOD and malevolence!
GOD and malfeasance!
GOD and malfunctions!
GOD and malice!
GOD and maliciousness!
GOD and malignancy!
GOD and malingering!
GOD and the mall!
GOD and malted milk!
GOD and maltreatment!
GOD and the mambo!
GOD and managing!
GOD and management!
GOD and the Manchurian politico!
GOD and mandatory rules, rulership of man!
GOD and mandolins!
GOD and maneuvering!
GOD and mangoes!
GOD and manhandling others!
GOD and Manhattan!
GOD and manhunts!
GOD and manic living!
GOD and manipulating!
GOD and manna!
GOD and manners!
GOD and mannerisms!
GOD and manor!
GOD and mansion!
GOD and Mazorati!(sp?)
GOD and manufacturing!
GOD and manuscript!
GOD and maple sugar!
GOD and maple trees!
GOD and mankind!
GOD and Manhood!
GOD and mammy!
GOD and man!
GOD and men!
GOD and mama!
GOD and marriage!
GOD AND MOTHER MARY!
GOD ALONE IS WORTHY.
TO GOD ALONE BE ALL GLORY, MAJESTY, POWER AND AUTHORITY.
TO GOD ALONE BE ALL WORSHIP, ADORATION, VENERATION, SPIRITUAL AND GODLY SUBMISSION.
TO GOD ALONE. Not man. Never man.
By avoiding absurdities.
For YOU, I can MOSTLY believe that.
Good points.
True.
Though I don’t know that THAT excuses a lot of fleshy sins . . . or any fleshy sins
any more than our ‘modern’ excuses do.
Negative. Judaizing and the repudiation of it is in Scripture.
There is only ONE God: I AM.
He came in the form of a Jew and He will rule and reign for a thousand years as a Jewish King on the throne of David in Jerusalem.
I'm sure that you'll let us know when this happens. In the meantime, we'll be getting on with the worship of the Lord God Almighty.
There’s the Living Word, John 1:1, and the written Word, which is Scripture and is inspired.
The *Word* means both.
I've been avoiding a couple of these threads althogether, but when I saw your name on the forum page, I went ahead and clicked to see what you were saying. Some really good stuff from you, as usual.
The timeline goes thus: Jesus taught; the Apostles learned; the Apostles taught; the Apostles evangelized; many books were written; the Church decided which versions of which books were to be considered Scripture; Scripture was canonized; Scripture was set down in Greek; Scripture was set down in Latin; Church Slavonic was created and Scripture was set down in Church Slavonic. You can hardly get any account of anything passed word of mouth accurately for any length of time and you expect us to believe that the Roman Catholic Church managed to do so through a series of corrupt churches in its darkest period of Church history for hundreds of years?
You may wish to learn for yourself about Jewish oral tradition and its accuracy and longevity.
I find a lot of Roman Catholic Church justification for its teachings very much wanting, since it appears that its mostly made up, and based on *because we said so*.
It's not about you, which is why many poorly catechized Catholics leave the Faith.
*We’re the true church because we say that God told us we are* doesn’t cut it with people who can read and think for themselves.
Say 'hi' to that god that you have made for yourself.
Rather, what a testament to the truth of the Church, when the minions and useful idiots of satan attack it on a complete, continuous, shameless and mindless basis. Say hi to the lord of this world next time you see him.
At the very least, the attention and devotion given to Mary by Catholics is fraught with danger.
It is perilously close to worshiping her if they actually don’t as they insist.
If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. Unless someone is some kind of spiritual giant with exceptional discernment and self-control, I don’t see how one can avoid slipping over the edge in that matter.
Jesus told us how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. We have everything we need in Christ. On a purely practical level, there’s no point in praying to Mary or giving her that kind of attention since it detracts from time and attention that belongs to God alone.
No, it’s not a game.
I don’t pray the prayer as if it’s some kind of good luck charm, or that that prayer will do anything for me because it is not actually making requests.
I go through it line by line and first think of God’s holiness and thank and praise Him for it. ( Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name.)
I pray that He would work to build His church here on earth and turn people’s hearts towards Him, for the salvation of particular people. ( Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.)
For daily provision, food, health, financial needs. (Give us this day our daily bread,)
Forgiveness for myself from Him and towards others as He commanded.( and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,)
Protection for myself and my family and faithfulness to Him in temptation and to avoid sin. ( and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.)
And yet the Catholic Church makes just that kind of claim for itself and its popes.
John 1 makes it clear that Jesus is the Word, and Scripture is the word. I really despair of exCatholics and their understanding not only of things Christian, but things Protestant as well.
Thank you.
Praise God!
Quix said I posted something that was, if not absolutely godly, at least more godly (less ungodly?) than usual.
All I can say, really, is that it’s not MY fault (channelling Han Solo)! God is so amazingly GRACIOUS that it sometimes almost leaves me without words.
Almost.
If He chooses to use my words to speak something edifying and doesn’t burn my mouth, fingers, and mind to a crisp... well, His mercy endures forever.
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