Catholic stance on marriage

Marriages are both wonderful and challenging. Marriage is designed to be an insitute of love, commitment and support. Praying to God for help in a marriage is often needed and works to improve the quality of the relationship.

The Catholic belief is that marriage is defined between a woman and a man. Both genders are important because they bring unique aspects to the table. A man has different attributes than a woman and vice versa.

President Obama says he supports homosexual marriage. Some rejoice and some are saddened. Catholics are often unfairly judged as being 'homophobic,' but that is simply not the case. Catholics don't fear gays but do not agree or think its in God's plan to have sexual relations with the same sex.

Marriage, as discussed in many parts of the Bible, is designed for creation of human life. It is such a unique and sacred union that it should be protected for what it is. Men and women are different and shouldn't be judged for being different.

With that said, Catholicism is not against gay people. Catholicism is against the behavior that takles away from a marriage that God intended. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies . . . must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."³

For more information, go to CatholicAnswers on Gay marriage

Catholic Prayer for Marriage
God please bless this marriage in warmth and strength. Give these two people guidance, love, and understanding to be the best that they can be. Be with them through the difficult moments and the beautiful ones. Teach them that marriage is a loving process and challenge. Thank you God.
Amen.

Atheists oppose Pennsylvania having "Year of the Bible"

Christianity is getting more and more pushed away. A leading atheist group is fighting Pennsylvania for calling 2012 "the Year of the Bible." In February 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared "Year of the Bible for America." Similar atheist groups protested but a resolution came that explained that they weren't forcing Christianity. They wanted to reinforce that history does evolve from the Bible as well.

The priest at my church made some great points on Sunday. Society expects Christians to keep our faith silent. It's something to do privately but not something to discuss or act on. Now our President expects Catholics and others to help support abortion and birth control even if it's killing a human life.

I feel very close to Jesus. Most of my decisions (good or bad,) rely on my basic Christian beliefs. I'm not perfect but try to remember what a loving life Jesus led.

Currently, I'm teaching the beatitudes to my PREP class. As I was teaching, I had an epiphany that Jesus was right. If we live by the beatitudes, we will have a happy life.

Loving others, being unselfish, giving to others, respecting others and respecting ourselves lead you to be happy. Jesus Christ knows what He is talking about!

St. Patrick - March 17

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. People who aren't Irish like to be Irish, and the people who are, enjoy the day to the fullest. Many people wear green to signify Ireland. Who is St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate him?
Surprisingly, St. Patrick isn't the man many imagined. He didn't chase snakes out of Ireland, but he still deserves honor and respect. Over 1,500 years ago, a teenager was kidnapped to Ireland and was forced to be a slave for six years. He escaped, but returned to help others. This teenage boy was St. Patrick.
St. Patrick was convinced that he was chosen by God to convert Ireland to Christianity. After he escaped, he returned home to become a priest. He returned to Ireland to convert the Irish. Through his work, Patrick grew an understanding of God. He converted several people to Christianity. Patrick died in Ireland, and he was never forgotten.
Patrick is the only individual that we know about in fifth century in Ireland or England. He was born with the name Patricius somewhere in Britain. As a boy, he wasn't religious and his family had wealth. The chronology of his life is very mysterious. No proof exists of when he was born, ordained a bishop, or even died. However, experts agree that Patrick wrote two important documents. He wrote Patrick's Confession and his Letter to Coroticus. In these writings, we see a deeper insight of who he was.
His writings clearly show his strong bond to God. He prayed often and thought he was doing exactly what God planned for him. Patrick didn't have a very good education due to being in slavery. He self educated the best he could.
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He grew very close to the people that lived there. He hated slavery, and he became the first human being to speak against it. Slavery wasn't considered immoral until the end of the 19th century. He was against excluding any type of person. Women liked him because he advocated for women's rights. He had deep sensitivity for women.
He had visions of where his life was headed. The first vision came when he was in Ireland for six years and it told him to go home. The second one came when he was at home and told him to go back and help the people. Shortly after Patrick died, the Irish stopped slave trading and never did it again. Human sacrifice was never done again. War became more confined and limited. Patrick died knowing that he accomplished his dreams. Ireland became a better place due to him.

Prayer to end school violence

Not Just News: Shooting at high school: Five students were shot around 7:40am by a fellow student at Chandron High School in Ohio on February 27, 2012. The student threatened to br...

Please God help keep our students safe and healthy while they are in school. Be with them in time of need and offer comfort. Help the soul for those who wish to be violent to others. Guide them in the direction of truth. Amen.

Pope urges people to shun artificial procreation

SATURDAY 2/25/12 - At the end of a three day conference on infertility. Pope Benedict XVI spoke about how infertile couples need to shun artificial procreation.

He reminded people that conception of human life should be reserved for the union of husband and wife - not a science lab. God created sexual intercourse to strengthen the bond between married couples and create new human life.


Artificial procreation like in vitro fertilization takes God out of the equation. Pope Benedict XVI agrees that we need to research infertility issues.

Often times when trying to create human life in a science setting, thousands of embryos are thrown out based on disability, gender, too many of them or any other reason. An embryo is a living human being and not trash used only if wanted.

Why abstain from meat on Fridays?

There are a variety of reasons that exist why Catholics abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. Technically and traditionally, Catholics should abstain from meat every Friday of the year as penance. Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten that, and just abstain during the Lent season.

 

Since the earliest days of the Catholic Church, on every Friday throughout the year, Catholics are required to do some kind of penance. Most Catholics do not eat meat on Friday as a penance. As far as research says, no Pope introduced this practice, but it gradually became a practice.

Abstaining from something helps us refocus on what is important and it cuts out the things that might have seemed important. By abstaining, we have better ability to concentrate on God.

During the Season of Lent, however, the Catholic Church asks Catholics to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Catholics also should carry on the tradition of not eating meat on Fridays through Lent.

One belief of why meat was chosen is because most people feel that giving up meat (beef and chicken) is an inconvenience. The Church asks us to inconvenience ourselves sometimes to serve as a reminder that they should always have God as a top priority and pleasures as a lesser priority.

Another belief is that in many poorer countries, beef is a specialty. For us to give it up, helps us to remember about people who are less fortunate than we are.

Why do we uses ashes on Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is the official start of the Lent season. Lent is a forty day season, excluding Sundays, to prepare and meditate about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Roman Catholicism uses ashes on Ash Wednesday. Ashes are a tradition in Catholicism. During the Ash Wednesday Mass or service, the priest places ashes on the middle of people's forehead if they want. This might sound a bit unusual, however, there is meaning behind it.

Ashes are an ancient symbol meaning repentance. Catholics repent for our sins. Having ashes reminds us that we need to apologize to God for sinning. Many Catholics attend confession during Lent.

Another reason for the ashes is to remind us that one day we are going to die. Our physical bodies will turn to dust, however, our souls will return to God. The ashes are a physical reminder that what how we live our life matters. We will not be on Earth forever, but our souls never die.

40 Ways to Celebrate Lent

Lent allows us to focus on Jesus and put our life back in perspective.

 

 Here are 40 suggestions to use during Lent. 

 1. Spend 30 minutes or more talking to your family about Jesus Christ.
2. Be active in Operation Rice Bowl.
3. Pray on a daily basis to deepen your connection to Jesus.
4. Shut off the computer or TV and read the Bible.
5. Attend Mass during the week and not just Sunday.
6. Plan a big Easter celebration.
7. Attend the Stations of the Cross on a weekly basis.
8. Spend time sitting quietly and praying.
9. Try out some new recipes during Lent.
10. Educate others about your faith and Jesus Christ.
11. Listen to your children and tell them how special they are.
12. Pray the Rosary together.
13. Say grace before eating meals.
14. Take the time to talk to your family about Lent.
15. Prepare meals for a shelter.
16. Donate clothes and toys to charity.
17. Pray for someone you do not know.
18. Smile more often.
19. Try to stop complaining and being critical of others.
20. Plan a garden to learn how to nourish living things.
21. Call a friend or relative you lost touch with.
22. Take someone to Mass with you.
23. Go to confession.
24. Be a happy and positive person.
25. Do some art projects related to Lent especially with children.
26. Pray every morning and night giving thanks to God.
27. Help someone with their projects or tasks.
28. Volunteer your time.
29. Have fun with your family and don't forget to play with them.
30. Send thank you notes to those that helped you.
31. Give some time helping at your Church.
32. Visit a nursing home and talk to people.
33. Research a charity you're interested in and help them out.
34. Pray as a family on a daily basis.
35. Create a journal on how Jesus helped your life.
36. Invite someone that might be alone over for dinner.
37. Try to let go of anger, hate, greed, and jealousy as fast as you can.
38. Try to look at the positive side of life.
39. Rid yourself of negative behavior and attitude.
40. Make some friends and share happiness.