Envangelicals Should Stop Evangelizing

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but heck, I really just have this blog for my own amusement. :)  Today, however, I was checking the news and this heading caught my eye:

"Why evangelicals shouldn't evangelize:  An evangelical Christian author argues that Jesus never tried to convert people -- and that Christians shouldn't either"

I was certainly intrigued and jumped on in to read his blog post.  It was extremely well written and had excellent points.  I'm sure that there are people that could whip out some gospel verse to counter any of his points, but I generally ignore people that take gospel out of context to serve their own purposes and disregard the rest of the faith.

Wouldn't our would be a much better place if we could respect each other?  Respect each others faiths?  Shoving religion down anyone's throats never did work well throughout history.  People seem to forget that.

Hope you enjoy the article!

The Politicization of Religion

What Jesus NEVER said.

You've seen it.  We all have.  We hear on the television about how people fear the radicalization of America.  Even the radicalization of it's politics by those pesky, evil Muslims.  What people seem to forget is we already have radicalization in our politics, and it's not from any faith outside Christianity...and it's scary as hell.

Catholics (and other Christian faiths) are not Republicans.  We are not Democrats.  We are not Tea-baggers (yes, I will refer to them in that manner as this is my blog).  I am a Democrat.  I used to be a Republican.  That is me.  Just because I am, does not mean my religion is, nor does it mean that I am in any way at odds with my faith.

The hubby and I actually had a brief discussion about this after church this morning.  One of the reasons we like our faith so much is that while the Church is Pro-Life, they do not abandon you after the child is born.  Not like you would see many (not all) Republicans we see today..."Abortion stops a beating heart!  Save the life of the innocent!  But now that you're born, get a job, you lazy bastard!"  Not very Christ-like, is it?  We value our Church because we know that while we may be Pro-Choice (and that does not mean Pro-Abortion, regardless of what any political hack wants to spit out), we know that life is valuable and the Church does not abandon someone in need.  The Church is not charitable only until the child is born.  Charity is universal and everlasting.

Republicans are seen as Pro-Life, which is an important tenant of the Catholic faith, but as far as I can see it's the only tenant that Republicans value, and there are some Republicans, believe it or not, that are Pro-Choice.  There are also Democrats that are Pro-Life (but try to convince that to some Republicans!)

Democrats, are more charitable in general.  Mindless Americans that do not think for themselves, but prefer to spew out "talking points" would undoubtedly disagree with that statement.  I'm not saying that Republicans don't tithe, but I'm not referencing tithing.  I'm talking about being charitable every day of their lives.  Not judging someone because of their position in life.  Jesus was not rich.  In fact, I daresay that if Jesus walked among us today, most Republicans would turn their back on him because of his appearance and lack of a proper job.  He would be labeled as a nut-case, and they would continue to put on superior airs.

Jesus walks among us always and in every person, born and unborn.  He is in every person, whether they believe in him or not.  Each and every one of us regardless of our gender, color, religion, sexuality, etc. are God's children and how you treat God's children will be something you will need to answer for when you stand before Him some day, and none of us knows how soon that day will come.

To paraphrase a good friend and her blog, to politicize religion is blasphemous.  I agree entirely.  Catholics are not Republicans.  Catholics are not Democrats.  People are Democrats and Republicans.  You do not bring yourself closer to God...you are not more Christ-like, simply based on your political views.  You bring yourself closer to God, to Christ, to salvation, by your actions.  Period.

WWJD?  Well if you honestly think that Jesus would look at either political party and smile, you are truly delusional. As I've said, I'm a Catholic and I'm a Pro-Choice Democrat.  I believe in helping the less fortunate, the poor, those that need health care, and I believe in the right to choose.  Having said that, I would do all I could to convince someone to keep their baby and not choose abortion.

Miracle at Hiroshima

I had never heard about this miracle until this morning when I saw this new post by A Catholic Life.

Don't those stories just make you smile?  How can you doubt they were being watched over!

Traditional Prayer of Reparation from the Irish

I found this on the Catholic News Agency and just loved it! Although I've got to say that I don't quite understand why it's called a Prayer of Reparation from the Irish.  Odd.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.
O God, forgive me for all the sins of my life;
The sins of my youth and the sins of my age,
The sins of my body and the sins of my soul,
The sins I have confessed and the sins I have forgotten,
The sins against others in thought, word, and deed,
My sins of omission.
O, my God, I am sorry for all my sins, because You are so good;
And I will not sin again with the help of God.
God be merciful to me, a sinner.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying,
Deliver the holy souls in purgatory.

Ash Wednesday - A Reminder of Our Mortality

It's Ash Wednesday, and I don't know why, but the idea of doing this blog came to me out of the blue today.  I know many of my friends don't understand Catholics and why we do the "crazy" things that we do.  Sadly, I've never really been the best at explaining why.  Like many other Catholics of my generation (and perhaps many past) I do things because I always have and with little questions regarding the "whys".

A perfect example is receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.  Why do you Catholics do that?  Well, as we were reminded in mass this morning it is a reminder that we are mortal, and to ashes we all shall return.  So where do the ashes come from?  The palms from the previous Palm Sunday mass are turned to ashes, are blessed and exposed to incense.  Usually the priest says, "You are dust and to dust you shall return" or something along those lines.  Today, the priest said something different, but my memory tends to forget these things the moment they've passed.  Regardless of what the priest says the message remains the same.

Being reminded of our mortality reminds us not only to "Live life to the fullest" but to remember that none of us knows when the day will come that brings us to meet our Lord and when we will be called upon to answer for how we've lived our lives, so be sure you are living today in a way that you will be able to say tomorrow "I have done my best".