Hate Crimes Against Catholics Increases

I have to wonder at some of the views people share about the Catholic Church. Now I know, not all non-Catholics view the Church so harshly, but my question is WHERE does it come from? Are people taught these things as children by their parents in an attempt to keep them from ever looking at the Catholic faith? Do people get these views from books? Their preachers sermons? Sunday school lessons? Movies? The media? Where does it come from? When I was a child and growing up I was never subjected to the horrid things I read some people believe about the Catholic Church. Was I a sheltered kid? Do other kids get fed this stuff as children? Teens? I was kept from all forms of anti-Christianity as a child. As a matter of fact, I didn't know people felt this way until the last ten years when I began to really study Christianity and it's history and I am now in my thirties. I had heard a few comments as an adult about what Catholics believe "Mary is worshipped", "those Catholics pray to statues", but I had never heard the... well... hatred people have towards the Church and in some cases toward Catholic people just for being Catholic. It's similar to the racism against African American's or Jews or Muslims. Last November, the FBI released a report that said crimes against Catholic's had increased 33%.
Here is the report:

Hate Crimes Against Catholics Show 33% Increase in 2006
November 20, 2007

According to USA Today, the latest FBI data shows that in 2006, there was an increase in the number of hate crimes motivated by bias against religion. While hate crime against people of faith in general shot up 19% from 2005, the increase in hate crimes against Catholics increased by approximately 33%. (The increase for crimes against Muslims and Jews was 22% and 14%, respectively.)
Anyone wishing to read the full report may do so by visiting the FBI's website at http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov07/hatecrime111907.html
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.*Material from this website may be reprinted and disseminated with accompanying attribution.

Seeing much of what I am responding to on this blog, I can see that this is very true and I think Catholics need to do more to share with others what we truly believe. We need to get rid of the misconceptions and out right lies about our faith. Set the record straight as the saying goes. I don't know if people feel threatened by what they think Catholics believe or if it stems from something else but Catholics in my opinion need to do more to clarify what they believe and why. And to the Catholics who don't really know or understand their own faith, learn it. Read your catechism and bible together. Ask your priest. Watch Catholic education programs like those found on EWTN. Learn your faith then share it. Make sure your children know their faith so they aren't led away by misconceptions and lies. You don't have to be bible thumpers out to convert the world, just tell the truth about what Catholics believe and God will do the rest.

Stop Them From Their Agenda

Lisa writes: THE roman catholic church FOLLOWS SATAN AND SATAN ALONE AGAINST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR. THEY MOCK GOD AND HIS HOLY WORD BY WORSHIPPING SATAN AND THEIR GODDESS. STOP THEM FROM THEIR AGENDA OF CONVERTING OUR CHILDREN TO THEIR CULT!!!!!

My response: Sorry you view my Church in such a horrid way, but all that you've said is entirely untrue. The Roman Catholic Church does not follow Satan. If we followed Satan we would not be worshiping God, spreading the Gospel of Christ or baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church does not "mock God and his holy word" in any way. We are certainly not a cult. If you feel our "agenda" is to bring the Gospel Message to the whole world so that all may be believers then I guess you would be correct. If we didn't love God and all His creation we wouldn't bother to do His will. Bringing unbelievers to the truth of God and salvation is the most important thing anyone can do for another. That is truly loving your neighbor. If you loved them you would not want them to go thru life without ever hearing of our precious Lord Jesus Christ. And I have mentioned this a few times in other posts on this blog, Catholics do NOT have a "goddess". No such thing for Catholics.

Jesus said (Matt. 28:19-20) "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is what the Catholic Church has done since Christ founded her two thousand plus years ago and we will continue until He comes again. If you think this "agenda" can be stopped you are wrong. Jesus told us to spread the word and baptize and teach and the Catholic Church will not stop following Christ's instructions.

"Christless Crossless Gospel"?

Baptist Grandma returns with: There is one gospel ..it centers upon Christ and the cross and if you are not saved by THAT one you are not SAVED . period .I reckon for someone willing to accept the Christless Crossless Gospel of the Catholic church , such does not matter to you and you think it hateful of me and others who actually CARE enough to share the truth ..for the Record , I understand perfectly about saving faith or faith that has an action/works to it actually BELIEVES the word and works of God / trusts in HIM and walks in it without adding things they have to do to be saved (RCC's saved by works doctrine), as opposed to walking in their OWN actions ..It takes humility to actually put all you are in God's hands you Catholics deny the work of Christ and make it out to be of ZERO power to do anything or of ZERO importance if we do not add to it by some work of our own , or some obedience to your church ..you're parroting a basic Catholic ERROR ..whenever I see it I am going to correct it lest some come reading in here who do not know and believe a lie .

My response: Welcome back Baptist Grandma. I am sure you think you explained yourself and maybe you did to others, but for the life of me, I unfortunately do not and can not understand what you mean by "Christless Crossless Gospel of the Catholic Church". The Catholic Church is neither "Christless" nor is it "crossless" as we have crucifixes in all our parish churches and Christ is the very center of our mass and worship. If you care to further explain what you mean, my email is always available or you may comment at the end of this post. You also mention "RCC's saved by works doctrine", "Catholics deny the work of Christ" and ironic in my opinion you tell me about "humility". Then, your last comment insinuates I am lying about something. Let me assure you I am not lying, I am sharing my faith and responding to misconceptions about my faith to the best of my abilities. Now if a Catholic who knows the faith better than I (and I am sure there are hundreds of thousands who do) sees an error I hope they will let me know as it is not my intention to post any Catholic belief in error. I welcome their correction and likewise when someone writes to me with something in error I am going to correct them.
In response to all you've said above, I will begin with what you THINK Catholics believe about "works". Number one, we do not believe we are saved by "works". Salvation comes by the Grace of God. Period. Number two, if you read Matt. 25 about the "sheep and the goats" you will see that action "works" is part of our faith and it is a requirement for all Christians. We can't just pay lip service to our Lord, we also need to show that we truly love and care for others as He did by serving others. Christ came to bring salvation and while he was here he helped and served others. He didn't ignore those in need and neither should Christians. THAT is what "works" is about, following the actions of Christ. We are not earning our salvation, we are living out our faith as Christ did. Can you understand the difference in that and what you erroneously called "saved by works doctrine"? How are the sheep and goats separated may I ask you? Are they separated by their faith or by their actions "works"? Where do those who do works spend eternity? Where do those without works spend eternity? You need to answer those questions and then re-evaluate your views on "works". A few scripture verses for you to consider while thinking about the faith and works in our salvation is James 2:24 "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:26 "As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (NIV Bible)
Next you mention "Catholics deny the work of Christ". I have to ask "How?". Jesus Christ brought salvation to the world. Christ was sacrificed for our sins. Catholics do not deny the work of Christ in anyway. If you have something specific in mind, would you clarify what it is? We look upon the image of Christ's death on the cross each and every time we look at a crucifix or go to mass. Catholics do not make Christ out to have "zero power" or "zero importance". Like I said before, Christ is the very center of our worship. Christ is our Savior and Lord of our lives. He is the King of Kings. I truly have no idea where you get this "zero" theology view from but I assure you, it is not part of our Catholic faith in any way.
And for the record, here is the definition of "humility" from my Webster's desk dictionary: "modesty in self-estimation; humbleness."
I'd like to suggest, that if you truly want to know what Catholics believe you get yourself a Catholic catechism and take a look for yourself. I believe you are picking up anti-Catholic views and erroneous information about the Catholic faith from anti-Catholic sources. And as always, you are welcome to write to me or comment here on this blog, it's open to anyone who wishes to share their thoughts and opinions on Catholic beliefs.

The RCC doesn't follow the Scriptures

Mr. S writes: I HAVE MANY ISSUES WITH THE RCC BUT I THINK THEY ALL PROBABLY STEM FROM ONE- THE RCC DOESN'T FOLLOW THE SCRIPTURES (EXAMPLE CALLING PRIESTS 'FATHER' WHEN SCRIPTURE CLEARLY FORBIDS IT). ALL THE PROPHETS WERE CHOSEN BY GOD TO WRITE DOWN WHAT GOD WANTED WRITTEN DOWN FOR US, CHRISTIANS. WITHOUT SCRIPTURE, WE WOULD BE LOST--THE CHURCH IS NOT RELIABLE IN THE LEAST BECAUSE IT PUTS ITS TRADITIONS ABOVE GODS WORD AND THINKS IT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DO SO.

My response: I, as you probably expected, disagree with your views. First let me say, that the Catholic Church is reliable in teaching the faith because Jesus Christ created her to do so and promised that the "gates of hell" would not prevail against it. That is God's Word and you can trust in it. Now to what you view is the "stem" of all the issues you have with the Catholic Church: the Catholic Church isn't "sola scriptura", which from your comments I assume you are (my apologies if my assumption is incorrect). I too used to be "sola scriptura" or "scripture alone!". The problem with that is, God didn't drop bibles from Heaven nor did Jesus hand them out before he ascended. Jesus never even told believers to "listen to your bibles", in fact Jesus said to listen to the teachings of his Apostles (Mt.10) whom he left to run his Church on earth when He ascended. Let me ask you (general "you" to any one who's sola scriptura) to do something. Using your bible alone- no other source- tell me which books belong in your bibles and by what authority you have determined that. Have you come up with anything yet? Don't sweat it, you can't and neither could I. You know why? Because the bible doesn't tell you what books or verses belong in it, Church authority tells you that. The bible was never meant to be your authority or interpret its self. Jesus left a Church with authority to do that. The bible is not your authority, because it can't even determine what belongs in it nor can it interpret it's self to tell you what it's saying (I think you can agree that there are numerous differing- and bickering- interpretations of the scriptures among Christians). The bible is a tool for teaching but it isn't a better "tool" than Tradition. Sacred Scripture and Tradition are equal. Neither one more important than the other. They are equally important. What does scripture say about Tradition? 2 Thess. 2:15 "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." The "we" is the Church. The "word of mouth" is Tradition and the "by letter" is our written scriptures. The bible tells us that BOTH are equal and if someone claims to be "sola scriptura" how can they get around this scripture to deny Tradition? Notice the "we" again. It does NOT say "stand firm and hold to the teachings you interpret from the bible" it says "stand firm and hold to the teaching WE passed on..." both "by word of mouth" (Tradition) "and by letter" (Scriptures). This completely defeats any notion of "sola scriptura". It shows Church authority and that Tradition and Scripture go hand in hand, together equally. The bible proves there is no such thing as "sola scriptura". It's right there for anyone willing to look for it honestly.
Now to your other comment about "call no man father". This is terribly misunderstood and leaves many confused. Are we forbidden from calling our biological and stepfathers "father"? Of course not. Was it a sin for Jesus to call Abraham "Father Abraham"? Of course not. Are we forbidden from calling priests "father"? Of course not as Saint Paul himself shows in scripture that he became a "father" to believers.
1 Cor. 4:15 "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel."
Jesus says to "honor your father and mother", now if it was wrong to call a man "father" why would Jesus do so? Jesus also refers to Abraham as "Father Abraham", now if this was wrong why would Jesus do so? There are numerous occasions when "father" is used in scripture by Jesus and others. What Jesus meant by "call no man father" is we are not to ever elevate anyone to the level of our Father in Heaven, God. There is no way God is ever offended by us using the term "father" when we do not elevate any man to the level of God. We know this because of scripture it's self, as I've shown above.
You make one last comment about "authority" and your view that the Catholic Church does not have authority. No one has the authority (or power) over God. But Jesus did give His Church authority and you can see that in scripture.
Matt. 18:18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
John 20:23 "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Acts 16:4 "As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for people to obey."
Note the "decisions reached by the apostles and elders"..."to obey". This IS Church authority in action shown in Sacred Scriptures. This is not people reaching their own decisions by reading a bible. The people are listening to the teachings of the Church because of Church authority. I know its very difficult for Protestants to see this because they are not taught to see it. These verses are often skipped right over and ignored because to address them would bring up questions that can not be supported by Protestantism. As a convert to the Catholic faith, I know this because I went thru it myself. It's eye opening and it rocks the boat of Protestant theology.
In Matt. 7:24-27 Jesus talks about building a house on a rock because when the storm comes such a house will prevail and still be standing. He also goes on to talk about builders who build a house on sand and that when the rain comes and wind blows the house can not stand because it's foundation is not solid. It collapses. Later in Matt. 16 Jesus changes Simon's name to "Rock" (Peter) and he says in verse 18 "And I tell you that you are Peter [Rock], and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Here is the Catholic Church and two thousand plus years later she is still standing strong against the storms because her foundation is the rock. The gates of Hades will not prevail against her. Jesus promised us this and He keeps His Word. The Catholic Church is the church that Jesus Christ created in Scripture and He gave it authority on earth and in Heaven (Mt.18:18). That is what scripture says and I believe it.

You Care Not One Iota...

Mr G writes: YOU CARE NOT ONE IOTA THAT YOUR POPES ARE ALL LEADING YOU SLOWLY BUT SURELY AWAY FROM WORSHIPING THE LIVING CHRIST AS SPIRIT IN HEAVEN. SATAN WANTS YOUR POPE TO INVENT NEW SUBSTITUTES FOR CHRIST (THE WAFER GOD, THE EUCHARIST GOD, THE "VIRGIN" MARY, etc.).


My response: I have to disagree with your view about the popes "leading you slowly but surely away from worshiping the living Christ". We Catholics worship Christ all the time, most especially during our mass. I am sure Satan wants a lot of things, that doesn't mean he's going to get it. Satan would love for people to fall away from Christ's Church and fall into one deception or another. Satan is a deceiver and liar and unfortunately many do fall into his traps and others willingly run to Satan rather than our Savior Jesus Christ. This is a tragedy beyond all else, as nothing is more important than the eternal souls of people. Jesus does not wish that any should be lost, but he doesn't force us against our will. We come willingly to Him, repenting of our sins and He forgives us and welcomes us to Him with open arms.

Your comments about substitutes for Christ are simply untrue in the Catholic faith. There is no substitute for Jesus Christ and Catholics know it. We don't have a "wafer god". Jesus Christ tells us in John 6:55 that He is truly present in the Eucharist. If that is what you call "the Eucharist God" then so be it. Scripture fully supports the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist.
John 6:53 "Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."
And as far as Mary goes, she was indeed a virgin, hence we call her "The Virgin Mary". Even the Reformers believed this to be true. Have you ever read their comments on Mary?

Martin Luther on Mary: 'Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.' {Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

John Calvin on Mary: 'Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ's 'brothers' are sometimes mentioned.' {Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. 2 / From Calvin's Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55} [On Matt 1:25:]

Huldreich Zwingli on Mary: "To deny that Mary remained 'inviolata' before, during and after the birth of her Son, was to doubt the omnipotence of God" {G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395 / The Perpetual Virginity of Mary . . ., Sep. 17, 1522}

John Wesley on Mary: 'I believe... he [Jesus Christ] was born of the blessed Virgin, who, as well after as she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.' {"Letter to a Roman Catholic," quoted in A. C. Coulter, John Wesley, New York: Oxford University Press, 1964, 495}

Catholic Mother's Prayer Manual

I have a Catholic Mother's Manual Prayer book dated 1941 by A. Francis Coomes, S.J. once owned by my great grandmother and gifted to me after she had passed away. It's a small prayer book designed especially for Catholic Mother's and full of prayers on parenting, children and motherhood in general. It also includes blessings and feast information and quotes from saints. As so many children (and their parents) are now preparing for their First Communion this spring, I thought I would share a few of the prayers for children.

For Protection of the Child

I put my little babe under your protection Mary, my Mother. Make its tiny mind grow up to love the truths of faith; consecrate its will to the service of God; fill its heart with love for its Creator. Fashion its little body in all perfection; let its organs be sound, its sense acute, all its members strong and healthy. You can obtain this favor for me and my child, most powerful Mother. I put my trust in you. Amen.

Consecration of a child to Mary

Holy Mary, Mother of God and Mother of all faithful. I place my little child under your mothering protection. To you I completely consecrate it- body and soul. Take it under your care and keep it always. Protect it in its infancy and keep it sound in body and mind. Guard over its youth and keep its heart pure, its thoughts ever holy and directed to God and spiritual things. Protect it always throughout life- in its joys and sorrows, in its dealings with others. Always and in all things be a true Mother to it, Mary, and preserve it. I commend it entirely to you. Remember Mother Mary, that through this act of consecration it is by a special claim your child as well as mine; guard it and keep it as your property and possession. Amen.

For a Child’s Vocation

Dear Lord Jesus, You have entrusted this child to my keeping. He [she] is growing older now and must soon decide upon a future state of life. Please help him [her], and help me to help my child to make the decisions You want. I would be very proud and happy if You called him [her] to make a complete consecration to his [her] life to You, but You know best. Whatever are Your designs, just let my child know and follow them. Amen.

You Are A Priest Forever

From: That Catholic Show
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EOevN8hFKs&feature=related

Give A Priest A Break!

Don't take your priest for granted. Have you or someone you've known complained about a priest? He talks too softly, he's too hard on you during Confession, he gives boring homilies, he doesn't have a sense of humor or he's too liberal- he's too strict. Give a priest a break! Can you think of a more momentous and crucial job than having the responsibility of nurturing and feeding people's souls to keep them from eternal hell? Talk about pressure! These priests often leave behind family and friends to devote themselves to serving God to the best of their abilities. They may not entertain you with humor or wow you with captivating homilies but that is not what they are called for. A priest is a servant of God. They teach and guide and bring you the sacraments. This should not be taken for granted when there are so many Catholics around the world who have to wait weeks or months before a priest can get to them. How they pray and look forward to a Catholic priest coming to bring them the Sacraments! Priests are a blessing.
The next time you get annoyed with your priest for something you see as a fault in what you deem should be perfection, remember they are human beings who sacrificed so that they can serve God. They are not perfect, but then again neither are you. Cut them some slack and appreciate that you have a priest who brings you the sacraments. Others around the world aren't as blessed as you.
Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."

Why Catholic's Sit, Stand and Kneel During Mass

From: That Catholic Show
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFuu6W392k

Put That in Your Mary Cult Pipe and Smoke it!

Baptist Grandma writes: I wish to Heaven there was a way you and some of your buddies could READ beyond a third grade level ..IF you could and IF you could actually think for yourselves in order to comprehend what scripture SAYS ,AS it is written you would KNOW that your immaculate conception thingy IS the heresy and the problem ..as is your whole Marian theology and the queen of heaven blasphemy God did NOT originate in Mary's womb ORIGINATE means began...you have a pagan worship religion and are worshipping the godess who in past times was called Cybele , Astarte , Isis , Diana etc ..all you have done is given her Jesus mother's name ,and what you are TRYING to insist upon is that SHE gave birth to God ..that would make HER over god ..before god ..higher than god ..and that is the MYSTERY Babylonian religion ..THAT is it ..mother godess giving BIRTH to God...so don't worry about me ..I will take my chances with the CREATOR of the universe and creator of all there is or ever was or ever will be..mary or the queen of heaven BY any other name did NOT bring HIM into being and IF you think so ,,, honey you are not EVEN a Christian put that in your little Mary cult pipe and smoke it .

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My response: Ah...wow, not even sure where to begin with this one, but I guess I will start off by saying, I don't own a "little Mary cult pipe" nor do I smoke and I'd rather you didn't refer to me as your "honey". I am sorry you think I can't read beyond a third grade level but I assure you I can and I do think for myself. For instance, I think your comments were rather rude and meant to be insulting but the Lord of my life Jesus Christ directs me to turn the other cheek and forgive those who trespass against me, so I shall do just that in obedience to Him.
Now, to address your comments about my Catholic faith. You seem to take issue with the Catholic view of Mary. Let me start off by saying we do NOT believe that Mary gave birth to God the Father in Heaven or that she existed prior to God. We KNOW that Mary DID give birth to God the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God incarnate- God on earth, and Mary did in fact give birth to Him, this makes her the Mother of God. Is it your belief that Mary gave birth to a man who at some point after birth became Divine? That is not a Christian belief, but brings to my mind Nestorianism. This belief began in the year 428. Is this what you believe? You say my Catholic faith is heresy while you cling to Nestorianism?
I can assure you that Catholics are not pagan and Mary is not our "goddess". She is none of the goddesses you named above. She is Mary, the Lord's Servant and Mother of God Incarnate. She is the Queen of Heaven, because of her Son. In the Old Testament we see, a King's mother was called "Queen Mother" (this title is still used today). Mary is that to us because Jesus Christ is King and she is His Mother. If you don't wish to believe this, you have the God given free will to disagree, but there is nothing "blasphemous" about it at all. It's a title because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ. Nothing wrong with that.
Moving along to your statement that Catholics worship Mary, Catholics do not "worship" Mary. The Catholic Church forbids the worshiping of anyone other than God. Mary is highly honored because she is the Mother of our Lord. The scriptures call her "highly favored one" and "full of grace". Catholic's believe the scriptures and also honor her as highly favored and full of grace. The scripture's say that "all generations will call her blessed" and Catholic's do, hence the name "Blessed Virgin Mary" or "The Blessed Virgin". There is nothing pagan or blasphemous about our beliefs. Mary is the Mother of God because Jesus Christ the King is her Son.

Constantine paganized your church!

Someone writes: I read History every day ..in fact I got tired of being lied to by revisionists so I made it my business to go search out the truth . Constantine PAGANIZED your branch of the church ..he made himself pontiff..imagine a new convert who knows NOTHING about the church OR Christ suddenly being its head ..contrary to what Paul taught ..new converts do not know enough to lead..but he was emporer and HE is where your church ceased to be Christ''s church and starting with him , more and more unscrupulous men changed what God said and put in HIS rightful place teachings that lead people to be loyal to the church even when it means doing the exact opposite of what God says!!
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My response: I think its wonderful that you read History every day, that is admirable but what you seem to believe is History is in fact not. You see, Constantine was never a Pontiff. He converted to the Catholic faith on his death bed. That is historic fact. During Constantine's time in power, the pope was Pope Sylvester I. I strongly suggest you find better History books to read from than your current supply because you are being fed falsehoods with no historic support at all. I suspect what you believe is "history" is in fact something published by "Jack Chick"- a notorious anti-Catholic who spouts anything but true history.
As far as your other comments about "unscrupulous men changed what God said"... what's that? There are numerous unscrupulous people in history, but none has ever spoken for official Catholic teachings. All Catholic beliefs are from God and not "unscrupulous men". The Holy Spirit guides the Church in all Truth. Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church and that is something Catholics believe. You seem to feel that Jesus was wrong and that the gates of Hell did prevail (in this case your view that Constantine paganized Jesus Christ's Holy Catholic Church). That is just horribly wrong. Jesus said that would not happen to His Church and we believe Him.
You didn't specify what you mean by "doing the exact opposite" so I won't speculate on that, but I will say again, the Holy Spirit guides the Catholic Church in all Truth. Our teachings and beliefs are from God, not any "unscrupulous men" as you seem to believe.
Your view that the Catholic Church has been "paganized" is incorrect and I'd like to suggest you read this: http://www.catholic.com/library/is_catholicism_pagan.asp.
If you'd like to check out a book, I think you might benefit from Karl Keating's "Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Believing Christians". Should give you much to consider. I wish you the best in your endeavor to read History every day, please just be sure you are reading actual History resources.

You guys have been numbed down

DP writes: The truth is that Catholic teachings deny Jesus in favor of a lot of things saving you ..but because you guys have been numbed down to allow the pope to do your thinking, you do not know what scripture MEANS anymore...you just parrot official teachings and because you truly do not understand, you allow the torment and guilt and fear of being excommunicated to keep you bound rather than set free. ;-(The Hebrew words which your church likes to teach is mere veneration is worship ..praying to dead saints is communicating with the dead ..listening to false teachers and prophets is witchcraft and rebellion, defending your church traditions will not help you.Do not stay in a system that tells you its okay to ignore the word of God and rebel in order to be okay within the system.Gods true pastors and teachers do not teach rebellion choosing a church over God is adultery...pure and simple.

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My response: You seem to be very misinformed as to what Catholics truly believe and what our Church teaches. There are no Catholic teachings that "deny Jesus in favor of a lot of things saving you". That's a complete falsehood. The Catholic Church was created by Jesus Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18) and His words are true. The Catholic Church has stood the test of time and still thrives bringing the gospel message and sacraments to people around the world. The Pope doesn't do all our thinking for us, where did you get such an idea? The Papacy is completely scriptural. Jesus changed Simon's name to "Rock" [Peter] and told him He would create a church on him the "Rock". This isn't much different than the "Chair of Moses" in the Old Testament. Repeatedly, in scripture Jesus points to Peter as the one to lead the Church once Christ ascended. In the last chapter of John, Jesus repeats over and over again to Peter to "feed my sheep". This was said specifically to Peter. What this shows is that Jesus had given Simon a new position, a position different from his other Apostles. Jesus had changed Simon's name to Rock [Peter] and he singled Peter out to "feed his sheep", leaving Peter in charge of the flock on earth once Christ ascended. This is biblical and this shows the papacy.
Next you say "you do not know what scripture means anymore, you just parrot official teachings because you truly do not understand". Did you mean me specifically or all Catholics? If you mean me, I will be the first to say I don't know it all and I have never claimed I did. But what I do know, is that you do not understand my Catholic faith. You seem to think you know what Catholics believe and why, but I can tell you that you are mistaken. That I know. As far as "parroting" goes, I can repeat official Church teaching because I know it to be true. I don't need a private revelation, as I know and trust Jesus when He said "the gates of hell shall not prevail against" His Holy Catholic Church.
You next say, and I quote, " you allow the torment and guilt and fear of being excommunicated to keep you bound rather than set free". I have no idea what you mean by this. What "torment"? What guilt or fear? It is a joy and pleasure to be Catholic. It's a blessing to have all seven of the Sacraments. I don't fear excommunication at all. Your next comment is "The Hebrew words which your church likes to teach is mere veneration is worship", what Hebrew words would those be? I can tell you that "mere veneration" is not always worship but I don't know which Hebrew words you are referencing here. You claim "praying to dead saints is communicating to the dead". Well the best response to that is there are no "dead saints"! Saints are alive in Christ! Jesus said so! Luke 20:38 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
I agree with you that listening to false teachers is wrong, but that has nothing to do with Catholic teachings as the Holy Spirit guides the Catholic Church in teaching truths. We have nothing to fear in believing Catholic teachings to be true and from God.
You say "defending your church teachings will not help you", well I am not defending my Church teachings to help me, but to dispel misconceptions such as those you hold. Your views on my Catholic faith are in error and I defend them to dispel misconceptions and hopefully stop even one person from spreading the falsehood further. If one person lets go of an erroneous belief because of something I have said or written here, then THAT is why I defend my faith. Understand?
Next you say, "Do not stay in a system that tells you its okay to ignore the word of God". My "system" (Catholic faith I assume you mean) does NOT say "its okay to ignore the word of God". I honestly don't know where a person can get such ideas as this. Have you ever attended a Catholic mass? We read the scriptures. We pray the scriptures. We sing the scriptures. Never is anyone told to "ignore the word of God". Never. Who told you such a thing about Catholics? It's really outrageous to hear someone believes that about the Catholic Church. Let me tell you that is completely untrue. There is no truth in it at all. You mention choosing a Church over God. Being Catholic isn't choosing anything over God, it's belonging to the ONLY Church that Jesus Christ Himself founded while on earth. This is where we are supposed to be. We aren't choosing anything over God, we are following our Lord in obedience.
I am truly sorry you have such horrid views of my faith. If I (and others) stopped defending our faith against the misconceptions and views such as yours soon the world would be over run with the falsehoods you believe to be true about my faith. I can't ignore that and to tell you the truth, it truly frightens me to think someone could believe as you do about the Church Jesus Christ founded. There is no basis for what you believe about the Catholic Church. If you honestly researched the truth and took the time to seek the full truth all these things you think are true would be revealed to you as false. But you have to want to find the truth and admit that what you believe may very well be wrong. If you can't set aside your pride to allow that you might be wrong, you may never know the truth. I know because I am a convert to the Catholic faith. I didn't share the views you have mentioned here but I certainly held several misconceptions and until I was willing to set them aside and be open to the truth I was as lost in falsehoods as you are now. Why hold on to that? Let it go and seek out what Catholics REALLY believe. You have the free will to agree or not, but at least do yourself the service of finding out the truth about what the Catholic Church believes and teaches. None of what you said above is true, we don't believe what you assume we do. Find out the truth for yourself. Seek answers. You want to know what Catholics believe? Read our catechism, that spells it out. If you don't understand something in it, please ask a priest he will be happy to clarify our beliefs for you. Please don't listen to a non-Catholic tell you what they THINK Catholics believe, they are bound to be in error knowingly or unknowingly. If I wanted to know what a Methodist believed would I ask a Lutheran?

The Pope is Coming!

It's official! Pope Benedict XVI will be coming to America this April (15th-20th). He will be visiting Washington D.C., New York and Boston. During this time he will be meeting with President Bush and Laura Bush and 350 Bishops. He will also address Catholic Educators, and meet with other religious leaders (Muslim, Jewish, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists) at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.

For more information visit: http://www.uspapalvisit.org/

Thank You

During Lent, Catholics have three traditional Lenten disciplines. We have fasting & abstinence for Catholics the age of 14 and over. These Catholics abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent. In addition, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays in Lent, Catholics age 18-59 fast only having one full meal and two smaller meals a day. The second traditional Lenten discipline is prayer. Catholics are encouraged to pray more often during this time and go to Confession. The third traditional Lenten discipline is almsgiving. Some Catholics give up something during Lent and offer the money once spent on that item to a charity to help the poor.
The second and third traditional Lenten disciplines are what I'd like to focus on and how they effect other's. When we pray, really pray and pour our hearts and souls into praying for others and loving others as God loves us, miraculous things happen. Things we may never know about while on earth but once we get to heaven all the little things we've done for others will be revealed. Have you ever prayed for someone you never knew just because you read a newspaper article about a tragedy or need in the world? You, while on earth may never know what that prayer did for the person or persons involved in that situation but God will not forget it. Have you ever listened to a priest from another country tell you how desperate things are where he comes from and while you didn't have much money you gave anyway? You, while on earth may never know what those few dollars did for someone else around the world, but God will not forget it. Have you ever heard the sirens of an ambulance speed by and stopped what you were doing to pray for whoever was in need? You, while on earth may never know what that prayer did, but God knows and has not forgotten. These little things we can all do and should be doing, helping others even if we never realize it on earth. These are the things that one day someone in heaven might say "Thank you" to you for and Jesus will say "Well done, my good and faithful servant".
Now think about who has touched your life. Who are you thankful for who's helped you in your life on earth and your walk with Christ? Did a priest share a particularly meaningful homily that effected your life and changed it? Has a religious educator given their time to make sure you understood your faith? Has anyone ever stepped forward to help you in a time of need when you least expected it? Has a virtual stranger offered to pray for you or with you? All these wonderful little things in life often go unnoticed here on earth, but God knows and doesn't forget.
The things we do for others, no matter how small they seem will one day be proclaimed in Heaven. Remember the story of the poor widow (Lk 21) putting in her two lepta (small copper coins)? She gave what little she had and for all of history that giving has been recorded in Holy Sacred Scripture for all to learn from. What a witness she has been for humankind! Yet I doubt she ever knew while on earth the effect her giving would have for generations to come. I'd like to share the lyrics to a touching song about just this and I will share the music video at the bottom of this post. I hope you enjoy it and it touches you as it does me each time I hear it.

"Thank You" by Ray Boltz
I dreamed I went to heaven
And you were there with me;
We walked upon the streets of gold
Beside the crystal sea.
We heard the angels singing
Then someone called your name.
We turned and saw a young man running
And he was smiling as he came.

And he said, "Friend you may not know me now."
And then he said, "But wait,
You used to teach my Sunday School
When I was only eight.
And every week you would say a prayer
Before the class would start.
And one day when you said that prayer,
I asked Jesus in my heart."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

Then another man stood before you
And said, "Remember the time
A missionary came to your church
And his pictures made you cry.
You didn't have much money,
But you gave it anyway.
Jesus took the gift you gave
And that's why I'm here today."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

One by one they came
Far as the eye could see.
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity.
Little things that you had done,
Sacrifices made,
Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven, now proclaimed.

And I know up in heaven
You're not supposed to cry
But I am almost sure
There were tears in your eyes.
As Jesus took your hand
And you stood before the Lord.
He said, "My child, look around you.
Great is your reward."

Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

Beautiful is the Passion of Christ

From; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsOkzUyrP3k

Don't forget your ashes!

Daniel 9:3 "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes."

A Lenten Prayer

Almighty and Everlasting God,
You have given the human race Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility.
He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man
And giving His life on the Cross.
Help us to bear witness to You by following His example of suffering
And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Amen.