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Personal Reflections

The Faith Journey of our Community

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onette
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 20:09
"Of what use is it to a man to gain the whole world, if he pays for it by losing his soul?"
Lord, my life's goal is to have my soul, body and spirit have the same ambition: to be with You in heaven together wil ALL the saints and hosts. Perhaps I will…
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edenj
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 14:06
FOR THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO SELF-LOATHE FOR PAST SINS
“One day in the fields around Pompeii,” Bl. Bartolo Longo, wrote, “I recalled my former condition as a priest of Satan… I thought that perhaps as the priesthood of Christ…
<em>CATHOLIC ANSWER:</em>Do you not see what they are doing in the streets of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.Geisler and MacKenzie comment: ".....the truth is: this text has absolutely nothing to do with the Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven for at least three reasons:Jeremiah here condemns the adoration of the Mesopotamian goddess Astarte (see Raymond Brown, S.S., Joseph Fitzmeyer, S.J., Roland E. Murphy, editors, <em>The Jerome Biblical Commentary</em>, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1968, p. 310). She is in no way related to Mary. In fact, “she” did not and does not exist in reality. Mary, on the other hand, was a real historical person who was—and is—a queen by virtue of the fact that her son was—and is—the king.Jeremiah condemned <em>offering sacrifice </em>to “the queen of heaven.” In Scripture, we have many examples of the proper way we should honor great members of the kingdom of God. We give “double honor” to “elders who rule well” in the Church (1 Tim. 5:17). St. Paul tells us we should “esteem very highly” those who are “over [us] in the Lord” (1 Thess. 5:12-13). We sing praises to great members of the family of God who have gone before us (Psalm 45:17). We bow down to them with reverence (1 Kings 2:19). We carry out the work of the Lord in their names (Matt. 10:40-42, DRV), and more. But there is one thing we ought never to do: <em>offer sacrifice</em> to them. Offering sacrifice is tantamount to the adoration that is due God alone. And this is precisely what Jeremiah was condemning. The Catholic Church does not teach—<em>and has never taught</em>—that we should adore Mary (see CCC 2110-2114; <em>Lumen Gentium </em>66-67; CCC 971). Catholics offer sacrifice exclusively to God.To the Evangelical and Fundamentalist, the mere fact that worshipping someone called “queen of heaven” is condemned in Jeremiah 7 eliminates the <em>possibility</em> of Mary being the true Queen of Heaven and Earth. This simply does not follow. The existence of a counterfeit queen does not mean there can’t be an authentic one. This reasoning followed to its logical end would lead to abandoning the entire Christian Faith! We could not have a Bible because Hinduism, Islam, and many other false religions have “holy books.” We could not call Jesus <em>Son of God</em> because Zeus and Hera had Apollo, Isis and Osiris had Horus, etc. The fact that there was a false “queen of heaven” worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia does not negate the reality of the true queen who is honored as such in the kingdom of God.
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on September 2nd, 2023 at 12:28
<strong> "All shall be well. and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." Juliana of Norwich</strong><strong> </strong><strong>And St. Teresa of Avila: </strong><strong>Let nothing disturb you, </strong><strong>Let nothing frighten you, </strong><strong>All things are passing away: </strong><strong>God never changes. </strong><strong>Patience obtains all things</strong><strong>Whoever has God lacks nothing; </strong><strong>God alone suffices.</strong>
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on September 2nd, 2023 at 11:36
Thank you Edenj for this post. I believe that all of us need to pray daily for our Church, as well as the Pope, all bishops, and all clergy to keep our faith strong according to the teachings of Christ as given to us in and through the Bible. Peace, Jim.
It is a Persian/Assyrian Pagan goddess. It is not a foreshadowing of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many Protestants try to weaponize that verse against Catholics saying that this is proof that the "Queen of heaven" title we give to Mary is Pagan idolatry, even though the two are entirely unrelated. If Protestants want to be consistent in this regard then they would also have to say it is idolatrous to call Jesus the King of Kings, since Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as such in Daniel 2:37, but that is simply preposterous.
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on September 2nd, 2023 at 9:46
A synod is not an authoritative body. They cannot impose doctrine that is binding upon the faithful unless the Pope explicitly says so. If lay people have attended ecumenical councils in the past, and protestants/rabbis also attended the synod on the Word of God under Benedict XVI, then it is not something drastically different for people of different opinions to be at this synod. The Pope is not going to bind error on the faithful, if you believe he will then you are straying from the Catholic faith. Have faith in Christ and the promises he made to his Church.
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carmelgirl13
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 9:01
Was going to ask. In first reading -last paragraph “ the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven “. Who are he referring to since this is in the Old Testament? ?
i want to ask anyone who may for sure knows Scriptire esp Old Testament Scriptures- in the first reading - last paragraph it wrote “….the women knead dough ti make…
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Ralph
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 8:48
Ralph on Morning Prayer for Saturday in the 21st week of Ordinary Time or Blessed Virgin Mary on September 2nd, 2023 at 8:23
Lord, free us from the dark night of death. Let the light of resurrection dawn within our hearts to bring us to the radiance of eternal life.
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edenj
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 8:11
GALATIANS 1:6-9, A CALL OF ALARM AND TO ACTION!
Heretical voices within the Catholic Church clamor for change. Their radical agenda at the Synod on Synodality is clear: Distort doctrine, subvert tradition, and dismantle the hierarchical nature of the…
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Leticias Y.
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 7:55
O Lord God thank ou for this beautiful morning You gave me, May you always be there for me.
O Lord God thank you for all the beautiful this provided us, all. Will you be there for me because without you I am nothing, so be with me to…
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Calvin Z.
posted in Personal Reflections
on September 2nd, 2023 at 0:39
Our purpose here on earth
To climb a mountain, one can not do it without sweat and hard work, and so is this, but short life to prepare oneself to go on high, by losing…
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