Monthly Archives: July 2013

7 things you need to know about what Pope Francis said about gays |Blogs | NCRegister.com

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The press is buzzing right now with claims that Pope Francis has taken a sharply different line than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on the subject of homosexuality.

Some are suggesting that the new pope has announced that “gay is okay.”

What did Pope Francis really say, and how unusual is it?

Here are 7 things to know and share . . .

 

1) Where did Pope Francis make these remarks?

He made them during an 80-minute interview with reporters aboard the plane returning from World Youth Day in Brazil.

 

2) What was he asked that led to the remarks?

We may not know exactly what the question was until a transcript is released, but apparently, he was asked about the reputed “gay lobby” at the Vatican.

More info on that here.

 

3) What exactly did he say?

According to the best current accounts, he said:

There’s a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I’ve never seen it on the Vatican ID card.

When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem … they’re our brothers.

 

4) What does this mean?

The first part of the statement seems to downplay the who “gay lobby” issue. He’s not denying that there is one there, but he’s suggesting that the talk is somewhat overblown.

He then explains his approach to dealing with gay people: He distinguishes between their “being gay” and “being part of a lobby.”

What he means by “being gay” is something he further unpacks.

In ordinary parlance, “being gay” can mean anything from having same-sex attraction to leading an active “gay lifestyle” to endorsing and advocating a pro-homosexual ideology.

The last of these would be functioning as a member of a lobby, and he indicates that this is not what he is talking about.

He then describes those he is talking about as people who “accept the Lord and have goodwill.”

He then seems to further clarify who he is talking about by saying that “The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem … they’re our brothers.”

Taking his statements together, what emerges is a portrait of individuals who have same-sex attraction but who nevertheless accept the Lord and have goodwill, as opposed to working to advance a pro-homosexual ideology.

This would definitely include people with same-sex attraction who strive to live chastely (even if they sometimes fail).

It also, possibly, could include individuals who are not living chastely but who are not actively lobbying a homosexual agenda. It would be nice if he’d said a little more to clarify the point further.

 

via 7 things you need to know about what Pope Francis said about gays |Blogs | NCRegister.com.

Wheelchair-bound man moves three million hearts in Copacabana :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

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Felipe, 23, spoke at the World Youth Day prayer vigil July 27 at Copacabana Beach.

He told how at the end of the past World Youth Day, held in Madrid in 2011, he made two spiritual promises. He promised to stay chaste until marriage and to work hard so his prayer group of Ponta Grossa, in Brazil’s southern state of Paraná, could participate in this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

With few resources, Felipe and his friends began saving money by working several hard jobs at the same time that they prepared themselves spiritually: praying, adoring the Blessed Sacrament, fasting and doing works of solidarity.

Then a horrible thing happened.

“In January of this year, two days before turning 23, two youths entered my house, armed, to rob the money we had gathered with so much sacrifice,” said Felipe.

“I thought of the months of great efforts, of my family’s sacrificing, of my friends and colleagues… in what would have been snatched from us and I decided I would not give it,” he added July 27.

Felipe saved the savings of the group, but received a gunshot wound that almost ended his life.

“I was clinically dead, I had several cardiac arrests, and the doctor told my parents in the hospital ‘this boy has no hope,’ but I’m here and my community is here because of God’s mercy,” remarked Felipe.

In front of a shocked crowd and in front of Pope Francis, who looked at him attentively, the Brazilian told how he was in coma, breathing through a tube, while his community offered prayer intentions and sacrifices so he would heal.

Finally, when he became conscience, the first thing he did was ask for the Eucharist and after receiving it, he recovered rapidly.

But Felipe, who was then bound to a wheelchair, stated “this is my cross, the cross the Lord sent me to come closer to him, to live more openly his grace and love.”

When the three million youths broke out clapping, Felipe interrupted them.

“Silence!” he said. “Let’s listen to the Holy Spirit!”

The 23-year-old then asked each of the youths present to take the cross they had hung around their neck, to hold it and look at it.

Felipe invited them to meditate in silence on the questions: “What is the cross that the Lord has given me? What is the cross that he wants me to carry for his love?”

Everyone present, including bishops and cardinals, contemplated their own cross around their neck. The wheelchair-bound young man’s words created a unique moment of profound silence along the entire Copacabana beach.

via Wheelchair-bound man moves three million hearts in Copacabana :: Catholic News Agency (CNA).

St Faustina wrote in Divine Mercy in My Soul

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St Faustina wrote in Divine Mercy in My Soul :
“1293 – It so happened that I fell again into a certain error, in spite of a sincere resolution not to do so-even though the lapse was a minor imperfection and rather involuntary-and at this I felt such acute pain in my soul that I interrupted my work and went to the chapel for a while. Falling at the feet of Jesus, with love and a great deal of pain, I apologized to the Lord, all the more ashamed because of the fact that in my conversation with Him after Holy Communion this very morning I had promised to be faithful to Him. Then I heard these words: If it hadn’t been for this small imperfection, you wouldn’t have come to Me. Know that as often as you come to Me, humbling yourself and asking My forgiveness, I pour out a superabundance of graces on your soul, and your imperfection vanishes before My eyes, and I see only your love and your humility. You lose nothing but gain much…”

Sunday Snippets–A Catholic Carnival

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It’s time once again for Sunday Snippets. We are Catholic bloggers sharing weekly our best posts with one another.  Join us to read and/or contribute. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets–A Catholic Carnival. Make sure that the post links back to here, and leave a link to your  snippets post on our host, RAnn’s, site, This, That and the Other Thing.

 

Known But by Grace

Aggie Catholics: Catholics Stop Too Soon In Evangelizing

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God won’t save us without us saying “yes” to His grace! This means our choice makes all the difference in the world, so why aren’t we offering more opportunities to others to make this choice?

It can be as simple as asking, “would you like to make the choice to turn your life over to God today?” or something similar. There are several reasons someone might choose not to do this:

we are uncomfortable with asking because we don’t know what it looks like ourselves.

we find ourselves not wanting to be “pushy”.

we are afraid they might say “no”.

we believe it sounds “too Protestant”, but that simply isn’t the case – look at the biblical evidence – God invites, we are to choose to respond:

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said -Matt 4:19

“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” -Luke 5:27-28

Notice that not everyone chooses to follow Jesus:

“Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be [a]complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” -Matt 19:21-22

The apostles and the rich young man have to respond to the call and grace of God for it to work within them. Some choose it, some do not. Just as Jesus did, we have to respect their freedom as much as God does – which allows them the freedom to say “no”. This does not mean we give up on them though.

The Eunuch chose to receive God’s grace:

“The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.” -Acts 8:34-38

Notice that Philip asks the Eunuch if he believes. It is his choice that is voiced publicly! The only place we Catholics have kept this explicit statement of faith is in the Sacraments – you have to choose baptism (or have your parents do it for you), choose reconciliation, choose to receive Communion, choose to marry, etc. The choice is paramount.

via Aggie Catholics: Catholics Stop Too Soon In Evangelizing.

via Aggie Catholics: Catholics Stop Too Soon In Evangelizing.

Known But by Grace

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Only, and far flung God,
Bursting upon the scene of Time
To start the clock
By uncreated might,
And usher forth
Your manifold good will,
In the splendor of creation,
Look on me,
In my becoming.
In this, the only now I know,
This precious fleeting instant,
Reveal Yourself evermore.

You entered Time
That Man might enter Heaven.
You, Who are Eternal Being,
Let me contemplate Thee
Wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Nursing at the Virgin’s breast,
Growing as men grow,
Yet knowing the Father Creator
As only Son.

I see Thee arrayed,
Transfigured in the Light,
Even as You are stretched
Between Heaven and Earth
On Your Holy Cross,
Becoming Sin,
And dying in my stead.
Lifted above the earth in Your divinity,
Higher than the mountains,
Yet pervading depth and breathe,
To shake and shape
The cursed land and Man anew,
In elegant Revelation of Mystery,
Rising from the dead,
To live in universal blessedness,
Across all time and space,
Known but by grace.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander