The Christian Conscience

Perhaps...

... with reports from this we can put to rest this.

What Mel missed...

Here is an interesting article on the upcoming movie The Passion by Mel Gibson.

There's a reason why the gospels don't dwell on the blood and gore of the crucifixion.

Will all that blood and gore distract people from the whole point of Jesus' death?

The *ahem* wisdom of Peter Singer...

Simply killing an infant is never equivalent to killing a person. - Peter Singer


Let us not forget folks, that monsters like this, who pass themselves off as "intellectuals" exist, and infect the minds of our youth. Peter Singer is a professor at Princeton.

O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide;
Take not Thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches that comfort cruel men;
From sale and profanation of honor and the sword;
From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord!

Tie in a living tether, the prince and priest and thrall;
Bind all our lives together, smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation aflame with faith and free,
Lift up a living nation, a single sword to Thee.
-GK Chesterton

As you can see...

I've updated my template. Me thought it was time for a change. At any rate, bear with me as I put all my links back in and stuff. It will take some time, but hopefully not too long.

O' Lord, remember not only the men and women of good
will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember
all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us;
instead remember the fruits we have borne because of
this suffering - our fellowship, our loyalty to one
another, our humility, our courage, our generosity,
the greatness of heart that has grown out of this. And
when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have
borne be their forgiveness.

+Found on a piece of wrapping paper near the body of a
dead child Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, May 1945

Prayer for the families of the victims of 9/11/2001

Lord, God,
you are attentive to the voice of our pleading.
Let those who lost loved ones on 9/11/2001
find in your Son comfort in their sadness,
certainty in their doubt,
and courage to live through this hour.
Make their faith strong through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Prayer for the victims of Sept 11, 2001

Saints of God, come to their aid!
Come to meet them, angels of the Lord!
Receive their souls and present them to God the Most High.

May Christ, who called them, take them to himself;
may angels lead them to Abraham's side.
Receive their souls and present them to God the Most High.

Give them eternal rest, O Lord,
and may your light shine on them for ever.
Receive their souls and present them to God the Most High.

Let us Pray.

All-powerful and merciful God,
we commend to you, the victims of 9/11/2001, your servants.
In your mercy and love,
blot out all the sins they had committed through human weakness.
In this world they have died: let them live with you for ever.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Shall we hope that all might be saved?

Yes.

Are there days I wish I didn't have to have this hope?

Yes, and today is one of those days.

For reasons such as this.

To those terrorists, gosh, how I wish I could wish that they're burning in hell. If however, I cannot afford them some hope for the forgiveness of their sins and their entrance into heaven (however miniscule that hope may be) how can I ever hope that God will forgive me for all the wrongs I have committed? Granted, I'm not directly responsible for the deaths of almost 3,000 people, but it only takes one mortal sin.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins! Save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

We Were There

This is a must-read!

We Were There : Catholic Priests and How They Responded In Their Own Words

After the Mass, one of the Jesuits pointed to a sign that someone had leaned against our altar. At the time, workers were in the habit of placing large plywood boards around the site, on which were scrawled, in bright orange paint, notices for the workers: "Hot Food," said one. "Eyewas Station," said one. "Morgue," said another.

On the sign next to our altar someone had written: "Body of Christ."

Perhaps the anonymous signmaker had concluded, after hearing us distributing Communion and saying, "The Body of Christ," over and over that this is what we were giving out. And he or she was right. But for me the sign pointed to something else. To me is said, Here is the Body of Christ, broken and bloodied and awaiting resurrection. Here is the Body of Christ, the church, gathered together in worship and to work. Here is the Body of Christ, with you.

For those who think drugs should be legalized...

It's time to rethink your position.

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say - Horatio Bonar, 1846

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
till traveling days are done.

Big word of the day: anthropomorphism...

It means: an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics.

And I mention it why? This article.

Birds do not get divorced. They do not get married, so how can they get divorced? Marriage, and divorce are human concepts, they are human ideas. They are legal concepts, and for those of us who are religious they are theological concepts as well. Birds do not "think", not on the level that humans do, so for them to even consider the concept of marriage, let alone divorce is pointless.

So why do it? It is further errosion of the family unit. You see, if we can see these behaviors mimic'd in the animal kingdom, man can say "See? It's ok for me to get divorced because some bird (that probably has a lifespan of no longer than five years) can do it too!" When we see things in the wild that differ from our behavior as civilized human beings, and it appears to be a behavior that we would find favorable and appealing to our baser instincts, we latch onto it, try to rationalize it and humanize it.

There is a difference though. Animals don't have a conscience, humans do. We are not birds, we are not cats nor are we dogs. We are humans, we act and think differently than every other creature in existance on this planet. Why then do people wish to bring us down to a lower level?