Catechesis and Cafeteria Catholicism (by Danny Manthei)


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Does Prayer to Mary Take Away From Christ?

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...
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Pulling Back on the Reins

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Have you ever felt like your life was in full gallop, heading in the right direction and with no obstacles in your way, only to suddenly have things screech to a halt? An image comes to mind of that picture of a person on what they think is their life journey, with nothing but the hill they climbed behind them, and the goal in front. Then a second picture shows a zoomed-out version, “God’s Plan” so it is called, with many more obstacles ahead, but the goal no less achievable. Have you ever been indignant about that sudden stillness, or the additional obstacles? We should be thankful for these times. These are times of reflection and assessment and can stop us from galloping over a cliff in some situations. I’ve got a real-life example for you. Things at work have been going great, and I truly believe it’s because I have been growing in my faith-life. I have an opportunity to go to Mass pretty much any morning that I want, and I have decided on a couple days per week in parti...
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The Dying Wish of my Brother, Danny Manthei

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My brother died on Sunday, August 10, 2014. Just a week prior, on the feast day of St. Alphonsus Liguori ( August 1 or 2, depending on the Liturgical calendar you use ), he wrote a letter which he intended for all the Catholics in his area to read or hear from their respective Priests. Part of his dying wish was that all Catholics would be encouraged to learn their faith more deeply and thoroughly in order to grow closer to God and prepare for our eternal destination. By this time, he had held a catechesis meeting with the local parishes, and led a discussion with a local Confirmation class, which I had the honor of sitting in and listening to. Shortly after writing this, on Tuesday, August 5, he had a friend record a video message in which he delivered a catechesis/apologetics lesson, followed by a Q&A session. I made minor edits [in brackets] to this letter, but the message was not changed in any way. This is my brother's death-bed letter: [Recipients' na...
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Restoring a Piece of Church History - A Campaign

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Are you Church history buff looking for an opportunity to participate in the restoration of a historical Christian monument? Or an architectural history nerd who would love the opportunity to help restore the very last building design by the man behind Annunciation Catholic Church's bell tower? A philanthropist looking for a great cause to donate to for the betterment of society, history, and faith? Need to donate some money to a charitable organization for tax purposes, but want to find something really worthwhile? Or do you simply have some spare cash or other assets looking for a good place to go? Look no further! The " Hail, Full of Grace Capital Campaign " has exactly what you are looking for! From the campaign homepage, we learn that " Annunciation Catholic Church is a vibrant and historic parish community that dates back to 1869. For over 140 years, our church has been ministering to the needs of our greater Houston community. As the mother church...
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Pray for the Souls in Purgatory

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Purgatory is that state of final purification for the souls of the just, being made clean, before they enter into Heavenly bliss ( 2Samuel 12:13-14; 2Macc 12:46; Heb 12:22-23; 1Cor 3:13-15; Rev 21:27; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030-1032 ).  Think of it as the “mudroom”, or a hot steaming shower, before showing up to the great marriage feast of Christ.  Except the water in this case is more like lava.   The souls in purgatory likely have some sense of joy or hope, because they know they are bound for Heaven.  But first they must undergo temporal punishments and be purged of their imperfections and worldly attachments.  And unless you and I are living in perfect holiness at the time of our death, we will need to be purged as well.  Mystics who have communicated with these souls reveal that this purification is extremely painful, as through a fire to which nothing on earth can compare (see, for example “ An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ”, or ...
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Predicting the End of the World

I had a prediction for the end of the world come to me a week or two before Christmas. It was a comment by a fellow named "E", nestled as a comment in one of my other articles, automatically flagged as spam. Now that his predicted end of the world has come and gone, I thought I'd offer feedback on what went wrong with the prediction. I visited with the person who sent the message, and it turns out that this was much more than just another " I have predicted the end of the world " preacher.  The person actually believes himself to be, not just a prophet, but THE prophet.  Because of this, and my suspicion that there are some psychological issues, I have removed his identifying information, which includes his websites. "E's" comment began with a call to attention: " You are part of a search and rescue for lost Catholics. Regular updates to the countdown to the Day of the Lord by the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven at : [ website link red...
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