"A Humble Servant's Catholic Blog"

I was reading a debate thread online and the opening question was about why Catholics Baptize babies, even though babies cannot make a profession of faith. It was framed in terms of Baptism having a prerequisite of a profession of faith (no Scripture verse was provided that said a profession of faith is a prerequisite to Baptism...even though I know there ARE verses that show some people being Baptized after professing their faith). It went something like this: " How do infants know to ask God to be members of His Kingdom...? " Paul, in his writings to Timothy, tells us that "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2Tim 3:16). He also tells us that "...the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities..." (Hb 10:1) and he makes an explicit connection for us between circumcision and Baptism in Col 2:11-12, "In him a...

When it comes to praying to the Saints and asking their intercession, Catholics seem to be great at it. So great, in fact, that it is cause for many questions about whether we pray to them MORE than to Jesus. As a matter of fact, some people might even think that we pray to them to the EXCLUSION of Jesus...going to our brothers and sisters in Christ, who have gone to sleep in Christ and are part of His Body in Heaven (cf. Rom 12:4-6, 8:35-39, Mk 12:26-27, etc...) INSTEAD of to Jesus. One conversation I happened upon consisted of a person asking exactly these types of things: “ Why do Catholics pray to Mary more than Jesus ”...and “ why, when Pope JPII was shot, did he thank Mary for his recovery instead of Jesus? ”. Among the many answers this person received, that eventually led him to see that going to Jesus through Mary actually glorifies Jesus, in part because it honors the means by which Jesus chose to come into the world, there was one that stuck out to me in a particula...

Do Non-Catholics really believe and practice "sola Scriptura", the belief that the “Bible alone” is the sole, or final, rule of faith? After a careful look, and asking several non-Catholics to describe what “sola Scriptura” (SS) means (to them, to their faith group, their church…whatever definition they were willing to provide), I don’t think there are ANY Christians who actually believe and practice this…even though they claim to. For example, a Lutheran friend (a member of the LCMS), quoting the Lutheran Confessions, described SS as Scripture being “the only final norm”. He continued, “Tradition is, as a result, not equal to scripture, but accountable to it.” So I asked what happens when two groups of Lutherans come to a disagreement about what Scriptures are saying or allowing for. The answer was that, ultimately, “an Authority in the Church”, interpreting the Lutheran Confessions’ view of what Scripture is saying, “must decide on the proper meaning of Scripture”....

My wife brought home a Church bulletin from her trip to Florida, and showed me an article written by the Priest at the Parish where she attended Mass while she was away (St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church).  Admittedly, Briana and I have a particular fondness for this Priest...he celebrated our Marriage.  But that's not what made me want to post his article.  It is his plain and head-on way of addressing a real problem that every person, Catholic or not, is going to have to come to terms with, one way or another.  Without further ado, I am pleased to reproduce Father Edwin Palka's article.  From the Pastor: Gay "Marriage" Won't Affect Me, so What's the Big Deal?      The above question is being asked quite a bit right now by heterosexual people. Those needing to ask have unfortunately by and large embraced the falsehood that God made some people homosexual so they must act on their sexual urges. The rest of the ...

CATHOLIC QUIZ* Please choose the best response for the following ten questions. Prayer and Indulgences   1.          a) The Catholic Church considers praying the Rosary “vain repetition” because meaningful words are repeated throughout the prayer. b) The Catholic Church considers praying the Rosary “a form of meditation” because by utilizing memorized invocations we can more easily contemplate the mysteries therein. c) To pray the “Hail Mary” is to quote both the Archangel St. Gabriel and Mary’s cousin Elizabeth directly from the Gospel of St. Luke. d) All of the above e) Only b and c     2.          a) A mystery is a divine truth the human mind cannot fully understand.             b) There are 20 mysteries of the Holy Rosary.             c)...

...at any stage of the development of the baby...from the moment of conception. Since these tiny humans cannot speak for or defend themselves, I believe they deserve being defended by others who DO have a voice and who CAN stand up for them. If we don't, who will? Every human, from the moment of conception is a human that has the right to a life. He/she is NOT their mother or their father, they are a unique human with unique DNA and will [can] eventually grow up to be a unique human child, adolescent, adult... We hear so much about “a woman's right to choose what happens to her own body” when it comes to abortion. The problem is that abortion is not something that happens to the woman's body...it is happening to the baby inside her. If abortion truly “happened” to the woman, the woman would die because she'd be “aborted”...like the infant inside her. The woman having the abortion is not given a caustic saline dip. The woman having the abortion is not suc...

The Church teaches us that modesty is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit...one of the “perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.” ( Catechism of the Catholic Church , paragraph 1832) We also learn that “Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love . It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships ; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled...It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet ." (CCC 2522, emphasis mine) Modesty is directly tied to purity, which “requires modesty” and is “ an integral part of temperance ”...“ refusing to unveil what should remain hidden .” (CCC 2521) Not to offend any of the ladies...BUT...why is it that MANY women I know or meet feel the need to show off their cleavage, thighs, shape-li-ness, etc...? OR maybe it's not so much they feel like the “need...

When New York legalized gay “marriage” back around June of 2011, it sparked a large celebration amongst homosexual activists, groups, and their various supporters. My comment was: “ What a sad testament to the downturn of our country as people celebrate the legalization of offenses to God and offenses to humanity. ” It was indeed sad because there was being celebrated and promoted a lifestyle that is directly opposed to the well-being of souls. I went on to point out the sanctity of Marriage, and the purpose for which God created male and female, etc… I don’t’ recall who I quoted, but it was worth quoting then, and is worth repeating now: " Gay marriage/homosexuality is a grave offense. It is not a question of respecting people's rights or their feelings...it is a matter of a grave sin against God that could lead to damnation of a soul. We owe it to our brothers and sisters who have homosexual tendencies to tell them the truth and help curb them away from sin. Other...

The question went like this: "How do you refute this argument?" It was followed by ( I'll address it in its entirety, point by point, so don't feel like you MUST read the initial argument...I provide it here for context in case you come across this arguement in real life ) : PREVENTION IS NOT ABORTION! If there is no conception, there is no fetus or life. Having contraception available to the adults prevents conception and therefore prevents abortion. Irresponsible pro-creation has put many people in misery even using their children to beg on the streets to survive when they could have been in school. We cannot stop people from having sex! So why not give them the tool to plan their family? It's their decision to have sex and when or how many children they can afford to raise. To see people living on the streets with many children is heartbreaking. But it's the kind of life many of them can't run away from because NO ONE CAN PREVENT PEOPLE FROM HAVING ...

As a young child, and even into early adulthood, this question perplexed me, and the answer seemed so vague as to hardly be capable of any true meaning itself. I don't remember if it was in a movie, or if someone I knew revealed the "answer" to me, but ite was: "this"...as a single finger was held up. The meaning of life is "THIS [ONE THING]" that you find more important that any other thing and you live your life to achieve that [one thing] which can only be known to you, and you alone...only YOU know what is repreented by that finger you hold up. Well, that sounded fine enough at the time. All I had to do was figure out what was more important to me than anything else in the world...the one thing I'd want to live my life for. But there's a problem with that. What if my "one thing" directly conflicts with someone else's? OR what if my "one thing" necessarily subjects other people to my own will...is THEIR "one t...

What did the Early Christians Believe? Baptism by Blood (Martyrdom) [On the forms of forgiveness from sins] “First, that is that by which we are baptized unto the forgiveness of sins. A second forgiveness is found in the suffering of martyrdom.” (Origen, Homilies on Leviticus , 2,4 [A.D. 244] ) “If anyone does not receive Baptism, he does not have salvation. The only exception is the martyrs, who, even without water, will receive the kingdom. ...For the Savior calls martyrdom a Baptism, saying, “Can you drink the cup which I drink, and be baptized with the Baptism with which I am to be baptized [Mk 10:38]?” Indeed, the martyrs too confess, by being made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men [1Cor 4:9]. Soon you too will confess: - but it is not yet time for you to hear of these things.” (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures , 3,10 [A.D. 350] )

Probably the first thing to answer is, "what's contraception?".  "Contraception" literally translates to "against" + "conception".  It is something that is intended to prevent conception. It is a means by which a couple enjoys the unifying nature of sex, while also working to block (or attempting to) the procreative aspect of sex.  In other words...it's sex while trying to avoid kids...AND *doing* something to the sexual faculty to prevent conception...it is working "against conception".  Okay, so regardless of what the Church says about it (another time perhaps), some people are under the impression that Scripture does not address this topic AT ALL.  Well, I disagree.  I think Scripture has ALOT to say about it.  I won't go into the Catholic theology on the topic...I'll just let the Bible do the talking.  Here you go: Gen 1: 27-28…And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and fem...

What did the Early Christians Believe? Authority of the Bishop/Presbyters “ Now, therefore, it has been my privilege to see you in the person of your God-inspired bishop, Damas; and in the persons of your worthy presbyters, Bassus and Apollonius; and my fellow-servant, the deacon Zotion. What a delight is his company! For he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus.” (Ignatius of Antioch, 110 AD, Letter to the Magnesians, [2] ) “It becomes you not to presume on the youth of the bishop, but to show him all reverence in consideration of the authority of God the Father: just as even the holy presbyters, so I have heard, do not take advantage of his outwardly youthful appearance, but yield to him in their godly prudence: yet not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the Bishop of all.” (ibid. [3,1] ) “Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God and with the presby...