Be at peace good friend. It is not always like this. I have never been attacked before. But I do believe it is meant with good intentions. Poor articulation can cause misunderstandings, and does not need to alarm you at all. I also am having trouble understanding where Padraig is coming from also.
James 3:3-5 3Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!…
Not to beat a dead horse here Julia, but since when is sterilization allowed by the Church? I thought thats what Saints are made of. Sacrificing their life for their husband and children. Several women have been made saints within the last 20 years doing just that. Having to make that decision would be terribly hard, but isn't that what we are called to? Giving up SELF for love?
Living out our faith in marriage with an uncooperative spouse may be the greatest cross of all. I have an idea that we prioritize sin differently than God does; that judgement will go easier for those humble souls who weep and suffer and struggle to live out his laws, than those who scourge their brothers and sisters for their sin, and walk away congratulating themselves for serving the Lord. (And this is not in reference to you, MS - your love comes through in your messages.)
Since this is a thread about Charlie, his latest post is a great one. Here is a sample: I sometimes think of Jesus as a Great Physician, who came to a battered world and healed us, His brothers. He set up a great hospital and called us to do the same, to bring the healing power of His word to our brothers and neighbors. Now looking about much of that Divine Hospital, I see some who, out of a false mercy and pity, enable the very disorders which have brought the sick such misery in the first place. At the other extreme, I see impotent physicians who simply denounce the sick for being sick. So I ask myself, who is doing the healing? If you content yourself with enabling disorder through justification or merely denouncing the sick for their misery, you may be doing work, but it is not God’s work. If you flatter yourself that you are more merciful than other men because you justify disorder, or more righteous than other men because you are quick to condemn those caught in disorder, you deceive yourself. You are not cooperating with God, but with the satan. You must always temper your mercy with justice and your justice with mercy. If the way you give witness causes others to give up in despair or indulge even further their disorder, you are engaged in vanity, not righteousness. You have chosen a part of what the Lord commands, not the fullness of it... https://charliej373.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/church-as-the-family-of-god/
We have unfortunately found out that Julia was in fact serious in her statement Charlie. Its pretty shocking and sad that she would encourage sterilization etc.
I think Julia I and others were not expressing concerns, 'Because I dared to speak words of compassion and Mercy to a soul....' but because you told her to and I quote from memory, 'Go ahead and get yourself sterilsed and have some nooky'. The difficulty I and others have had with this post is that it contravenes Catholic Teaching in a serious way; http://www.catholic.com/tracts/contraception-and-sterilization I think it was simply that you pointed Sparrows in the direction of commiting grave sin that threw me more than a little, so much so than in fact I (and others thought you were not being serious). I and others pointed out to you that this is worng and goes against Catholic Teaching in a very serious way. I am sorry you see this as, 'Attacking ' you. I would see it it more as Defending the Faith and helping correct you , which Scripture encourage. I never said you are a demon. But it seems to me you have been deceived by demons. It is not, 'Compassion', to set a soul on the road to hell. It seems to me the greatest compassion we can do for people is to set them on the road to heaven rather than hell. If you had done what you did here anywhere near Padre Pio he would have chased you with a walking stick and put a flea in you ear which you would never get over.
I wonder why nobody disputes The Rules of the Road, or the natural laws of physics? I mean, sometimes it's really, really hard to stay inside my lane (my steering wheel is defective) but if I end up drifting into oncoming traffic I am risking death. And when I'm at the Grand Canyon I really want to step over the boundary of the asphalt walkway and walk right up to the edge of the canyon, but again, if I lean over too far I risk tumbling over the edge and falling to my death. Just because a 'law' is really hard to follow or I am tempted to ignore it because I really want to do the opposite, doesn't mean it isn't a good law or a true law. I hope to heck I have other people who are willing to tell me the flat out truth about what can happen if I set aside that 'law' in my life. IF we believe what our Faith teaches THEN we know that mortal sin on our soul at the time of death means we spend eternity in hell. I don't think we should be pussy-footing around that fact.
One of the greatest blessings God has given me in this life is that he has put good and holy people in my path who have taught me a few home truths. My spiritual director when I was just 19 and in the process of loosing my Faith sent me a letter so harsh and direct in its tone that it is a wonder it did not go on fire or knock me out for the count. People are afraid to call a spade a spade not out of compassion but for a variety of other reasons such as moral corwadice, uncertainty of the truth themselves or simply ordinary everyday fear of human respect or the price we pay in that people usually cannot take the truth and react with rage and will become your enemy and savage you. So they pretend compassion and sympathy and run away and hide. We do no one any favours with such false compassion but simply allow the darkness to continue. The favours that such saintly souls did me by telling me hard home truths I pass on to others. If people want to leave the forum because such directness upsets them by troubling their conscience , they are very welcome to do so. The door is always open, no one is forcing people to stay as prisoners. I can see now why folks fled Padre Pios' confessional in terror. The greatest kindness we can do people is by telling them the simple truth , saving them from the road to damnation. Padre Pio was once asked by another priest if he was not afraid he was being too harsh to people in the confessional to which he relied, quite simply, 'The good ones always come back' . Come back or not at least people have the right to know the truth. What they choose to do with the truth when it is put to them is entirely up to them...and their consciences.
I was not of the opinion S was some sort of moron who was ignorant of the Church's teaching. And the INQUISITION that has followed my post, tells me Charlie's news about the Storm we all can expect in the coming months is well under way. So let us all remember; 'Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.'
1 Timothy 5:20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.
I hope this won't mean another INQUISITION about how many souls could end up in hell if your wonky steering wheel causes a crash and God only knows how many could die without the Sacraments of the Church. For God's sake, get your steering wheel fixed and have Mercy and Compassion on your neighbours.
I think there are more than a few little souls who need yo have a read of pascendi on his forum. I attach no blame for the ignorance of basic church teaching nor the reduction of faith to mere sentiment hence all the ultimately base sentimentality we are witnessing here and around us. This gas been a plan conceived and put into action a long time ago. The fact that it has twisted and deceived the understanding of those that consider themselves faithful Catholics is the measure of its success. This stuff isn't licked of a stone. I say the following with full confidence: If it were possible go bring back any of the saint's to a modern parish and invite them into for one of our weekly "liturgies" they would shriek in horror. The same goes for the garbage that is catholic education at primary level especially.
Julia, Which definition are you employing with the use of that word?: (forgive the wacky formatting) in·qui·si·tion ˌinkwiˈziSH(ə)n/ noun 1. a period of prolonged and intensive questioning or investigation. "she relented in her determined inquisition and offered help" synonyms:interrogation, questioning, quizzing, cross-examination; More 2. an ecclesiastical tribunal established by Pope Gregory IX circa 1232 for the suppression of heresy. It was active chiefly in northern Italy and southern France, becoming notorious for the use of torture. In 1542 the papal Inquisition was re-established to combat Protestantism, eventually becoming an organ of papal government.
You may not realise it but your advice for a person to get sterilized is a false compassion. It is based on a lie, a deceit. Let us compare your stance with the great Pope Saint John Paul II. Although the quote is about contraception it applies to direct sterlization also. “Contraception is to be judged objectively so profoundly illicit that it can never, for any reason, be justified. To think, or to say, anything to the contrary is tantamount to saying that in human life there can be situations where it is legitimate not to recognize God as God. Users of contraception attribute to themselves a power that belongs only to God, the power to decide in the final instance the coming into existence of a human being.” (Address on Responsible Procreation) I refer you also to St Padre Pio on the signs that a soul loves God We have a ready sign that these people really love God when we observe their readiness to keep God's holy law; their constant watchfulness so that they may not fall into sin; their habitual desire to see the heavenly Father glorified, while losing no chance to spread the kingdom of God as far as lies in their power; when we see them praying continually to God the Father in the same words of our Divine Master, Our Father -- thy kingdom come --- Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God to seek the will of God first and all these things shall be added onto you -- When we seek Christ and call on the holy names of Jesus and Mary then He will provide the grace for us to carry the cross and find solutions to our problems. We are children of the Father in heaven so we look upwards for grace. Life is never easy for anyone since Christ told us it would be so --- take up your cross and follow me. For those who fall and we often do we have the redress of the confessional but we need to enter that tribunal with true sorrow and purpose of amendment not to sin again. Mercy is never cheap as it was purchased by the blood of Jesus. Christ was compassionate yet tough on sin. To the woman at the well he offered forgiveness but at a price - she was to amend her life and 'sin no more'.
Yes , the Word of God sits on Judgement of us, we do not sit on Judgement of the Word of God and the same goes for the Teachings of the Church.
