Month: September 2013

Claims Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer

By Deal Hudson

Freedom of speech is a great thing. Unfortunately, it comes at an unavoidable price: When citizens are free to say what they want, they’ll sometimes use that freedom to say some pretty silly things. And that’s the case with the 12 claims we’re about to cover.

Some of them are made over and over, others are rare. Either way, while the proponents of these errors are free to promote them, we as Catholics have a duty to respond.

  1. “There’s no such thing as absolute truth. What’s true for you may not be true for me.”
  2. “Christianity is no better than any other faith. All religions lead to God.”
  3. “The Old and New Testaments contradict one another in numerous places. If an omnipotent God inspired the Bible, He would never have allowed these errors.”
  4. “I don’t need to go to Church. As long as I’m a good person, that’s all that really matters.”
  5. “You don’t need to confess your sins to a priest. You can go straight to God.”
  6. “If the Church truly followed Jesus, they’d sell their lavish art, property, and architecture, and give the money to the poor.”
  7. “Dissent is actually a positive thing, since we should all keep our minds open to new ideas.”
  8. “Properly interpreted, the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Rather, it weighs against promiscuity — whether homosexual or heterosexual. Therefore, we have no reason to oppose loving homosexual relationships.”
  9. “Catholics should follow their conscience in all things…whether it’s abortion, birth control, or women’s ordination.”
  10. “Natural Family Planning is just the Catholic version of birth control.”
  11. “Someone can be pro-choice and Catholic at the same time.”
  12. “People’s memories of their past lives prove that reincarnation is true…and that the Christian view of Heaven and Hell is not.”

(Read more…)

The Pool of Siloam: Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick

The Pool of Siloam: Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick

Workshop Activity from SFC ICON 2009 Workshops

 

Workshop Activity:

 

In silence, come before the Lord in prayer. Acknowledge that only God can show us our hearts, how we have responded to His love and give us grace to change.

 

Contemplate on the life of Jesus and His love manifested upon the Cross. “They shall look on him whom they pierced” Jn 19:37. Contemplate on the sufferings that Jesus, our Lord and King, had to go through in order to redeem us.

With the infinite love that our God has for us, ask yourself: How have I responded to so much love, to so many graces?

 

Examine your conscience: Keep in mind that your examination is not just about numbering sins but about discovering the twisted attitudes of the heart and of being able to feel sorrow for your sins which includes a firm proposal to not commit them again. Keep in mind that there are always areas in which we are weaker and require special attention. Use the aid below.

 

After some time, the workshop leader will instruct you to breakout into small groups and go through the discussion guide questions. Share to others how God touched you through this activity.

 

An Aid to your examination of conscience:

 

1.    I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange Gods before me.

  • Do I seek to love God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength (Dt 6:5)? Do I put anything or anyone above God? Do I pray daily?
  • Have I had any involvement with the occult, witchcraft, wicca, Ouija, boards, séances, tarot cards, new age crystals, fortune telling, or the like? Have I put faith in horoscopes?
  • Have I received Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin?
  • Have I abused the Sacrament of Penance by lying to the priest or deliberately not confessing a mortal sin?
  • Have I denied a truth of the faith out of concern for the respect or opinion of others?

 

2.    You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

  • Have I used God’s holy name irreverently?
  • Have I blasphemed God, the Church, Mary, the Saints, or sacred places or things?

 

3.    Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day.

  • Do I try to keep Sunday as a day of prayer, rest, and relaxation, avoiding unnecessary work?
  • Have I deliberately come late or left early from Mass without a good reason?

 

4.    Honor your father and your mother.

  • Do I honor and respect my parents?
  • Have I deliberately hurt my parents?
  • Do I treat my children with love and respect?
  • Do I support and care for the well-being of all family members?
  • Have I neglected family duties?
  • Do I honor and obey my lawful superiors?

 

5.    You shall not kill.

  • Have I deliberately harmed anyone?
  • Have I had an abortion or encouraged an abortion?
  • Have I attempted suicide or seriously considered it?
  • Have I abused drugs or alcohol?
  • Have I led anyone to sin through bad example or through direct encouragement?

 

6.    You shall not commit adultery.

 

For the married

  • Am I faithful to my spouse in thought and action?
  • Have I used artificial contraception?
  • Was I married outside the Church without proper permission of the Church?

 

For the unmarried

  • Have I engaged in sexual activity with anyone of either sex?

 

For all

  • Have I deliberately viewed pornographic magazines, videos or internet websites?
  • Have I masturbated?
  • Have I used impure language or told impure jokes?
  • Do I dress modestly?

 

7.    You shall not steal.

  • Have I stolen or accepted stolen goods?
  • Have I deliberately destroyed the property of others?
  • Have I cheated anyone of what I owe?
  • Do I gamble excessively?
  • Do I share what I have with the poor and the Church according to my means?
  • Have I pirated materials: videos, music, software?

 

8.    You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

  • Have I lied? Have I sworn falsely?
  • Have I plagiarized or been academically dishonest
  • Have I gossiped? Have I revealed secrets or confidential information without good reason?
  • Have I ruined the good name of others be spreading lies or maliciously revealing their faults and sins?

 

9.    You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife.

  • Have I deliberately and consciously permitted sexual thoughts about anyone besides my spouse?
  • Do I guard my imagination and senses
  • Have I watched shows, plays, pictures or movies that contain impure scenes with the deliberate intention of being aroused by them? Am I responsible about what I read?

 

10.  You shall not desire your neighbor’s goods.

  • Am I envious of the possessions, abilities, talents, beauty, or success of others?

 

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

  • Do I love my neighbor? Is there anyone whom I do not love or refuse to love? Have I wished harm or misfortune on anyone?
  • Do I forgive from my heart those who have hurt me? Do I harbor hatred or grudges? Do I pray for my enemies?
  • Have I ridiculed or humiliated others?
  • Do I seek to help others in need?
  • Do I love myself as God loves me?
  • Do I care for my physical, emotional, and spiritual health?
  • Do I forgive myself for my sins after bringing them to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

 

Precepts of the Church

  • Have I deliberately missed Mass on a Sunday or Holy Day of obligation without a serious reason?
  • Do I go to confession at least once a year when I have serious sins to confess?
  • Do I receive Holy Communion, at least once during Easter time?
  • Do I take part in the major feasts celebrating Our Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints?
  • Do I abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent (for ages 14 and over) and fast on one full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (for ages 18-59)?
  • Do I fast for one hour before Holy Communion (water and medicine allowed)?
  • Do I contribute to support the materials needs of the Church?

 

Guide questions for group discussion:

 

1.    The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important element in our growth as Christians (sacrament being one of the 5 spokes in CLP Talk 10). Have I been regularly making the most out this grace that God is offering to us? If yes, share what enables or motivates you. If no, share what are the things or maybe wrong attitudes that keep you from regularly going to confession.

 

2.    What did you realize while going through the Aid to Examination of Conscience? How can you continuously improve your examination of conscience? As we grow into a deeper relationship with the Lord, we will continue to see our imperfections and God’s perfection.

 

3.    Read, reflect and share about this paragraph: In healing, Jesus did not perform some sort of divine magic, nor did He intend to take the place of all doctors and nurses by wiping out all sickness. He healed only a very small percentage of the sick in Israel. Even the relatively few who were cured in body by Jesus would gradually yield to old age and further ills. The real importance of the body-cures, then, was to act as signs of the more radical healing over sin and death, the salvation of the whole person. Jesus never healed the body as an end in itself, but always in view of bringing salvation to the whole person, body and soul. These healings involved faith in Jesus, and following him in loving obedience to God the father.

 

Sources:

·         Catechism for Filipino Catholics, CBCP, Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education

·         A Guide to Confession, Knights of Columbus (website)

 

Other readings:

http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu06.htm