Posted on 09/18/2010 8:26:32 PM PDT by markomalley
Its my company.
And of course, there’s the internet bill, the electricity to run the computer, ....
"Followers of Protestantism are rising in number and if the evangelical Christian movement continues to spread at the pace it has in recent years, statistics suggest that by 2022 Catholics will be a minority in a country that was about 90 percent Catholic in 1980..."
Thank you, God, for your many blessings.
The home that houses it all, the food on the table, the beds to be slept in...
Hit a nerve, did she?
That’s not even a personal question; it about goes without saying that people own cars.
The question might be better, *How many?*. But that would be personal.
Leave the thread.
I meant to ping you to the good news in post 404, too.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2592022/posts?page=404#404
Such Christian charity......
I agree completely! That is why I do not pretend to know what is in a person's heart. I can only be faithful to the calling to preach the gospel to everyone, to speak the truth in love and to give an answer in gentleness and respect to anyone who asks me of the reason for the "hope that is in me". What a person does with the Gospel is between them and the Lord - he alone sees the heart.
It’s unlimited.
What I know of Catholic lifestyle, though first hand observation, does not bear witness to the denial of oneself of much of anything for the good of others.
Lent is about it, and I know people who’ve given up things like liver for Lent.
But nothing long term.
Besides, for all Mother Teresa gave up personally, she had no assurance of her salvation, apparently by her own admission.
LOL
I meant 60 years :-)
Sometimes it feels like 600 though.
It’s possible that this is a very limited view of Catholics.
You are not describing the Catholics that I know.
AMEN! AMEN!
Ooops Sorry. Posted before seeing that down the page a ways.
Standard boilerplate answer number......
Simply a variation on the theme of *That's not what the Catholic church REALLY teaches.*
On the contrary, I was raised Catholic in a very large extended Catholic family on both sides and grew up in a heavily Catholic area. You'd be hard pressed to find a Catholic who would deny himself his beer or cigs, or anything else for that matter, without direct divine intervention demanding it so. If they can justify holding on to those, they will not deny themselves the more basic necessities of life.
And, yes, these are (were, in some cases) faithful, observant, practicing Catholics.
All one has to do is look at NO and see that that is not out of the ordinary for those who call themselves Catholic.
In virtually every aspect of Catholicism, there is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between what FReepers put forth that Catholicism is (really "should be" or what they'd like it to be) and what the reality of what Catholicism in practice is.
The fairy tale version of Catholicism FRoman Catholics put forth does NOT mesh with reality. It can only exist in their minds as it does not exist in reality in the physical world.
People can convince themselves of anything.
Anything.
We've got God's holy word that clearly and resolutely tells us that "there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus."
And knowing that verse, Roman Catholics can STILL say, with a straight face, "Mary and the saints are mediators between God and men."
Jesus was clear about this kind of delusion. He didn't say people are confused or ignorant or leaning one way or another. Jesus said people are blind to the truth because the truth is not in them.
No doubt there are Roman Catholics who love Jesus Christ alone and thus are saved. But they are saved in spite of Rome, not because of Rome.
I certainly can grasp despair and feelings of doubt and loneliness. We all go through those times, but for her to suffer so for so many, many years is just painful to think about. I pray that by her opening up to others in her writings, the Lord brought strong Christian brothers and sisters as friends to lift her up and lighten her load. I hope they were able to encourage her and that the Lord reached through the fog of despair and gave her peace at last. Jesus said that he is near to those that are of a broken spirit. I hope and pray she is at rest with him now.
The fairy tale version of Catholicism FRoman Catholics put forth does NOT mesh with reality. It can only exist in their minds as it does not exist in reality in the physical world.
Are some Catholics hypocrites? Sure. Were the Catholics in your circle hypocrites? You say they were. But if I were you (thanks be to God I am not) I wouldn't judge anyone else for what you see or don't see of their Lenten observances. As an adult convert, I was taught to make a meaningful Lenten sacrifice and keep it between myself and God for the most part.
Considering your outspoken criticism of all things Catholic, I do not imagine any serious person would voluntarily share something so personal with you, just so they could be fodder for ridicule.
You are not describing the Catholics I know, either.
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