Catholic Charismatic Movement - August 28th, 2008

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church emphasizing the release of more of the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit in a continuing and New Pentecost for all Catholics; the aim is to have the Renewal become part of the experience of all Catholics and not simply remain the experience of just one group or segment of Catholics. Worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy and sometimes glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues." This movement is based on the belief that certain charisms (a Greek word for gifts), bestowed by the Holy Spirit, such as the abilities to speak in tongues and to heal (which Christians generally believe existed somehow in the early Church as described in the Bible) should still be practiced today.

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Bishops: Democratic VP Nominee Should Refrain from Communion

On Monday morning in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is underway, Archbishop Charles Chaput told the Associated Press that because of support for abortion, Biden should refrain from taking Communion.

Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

DENVER (CNA) - The selection of Sen. Joseph Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate is drawing a chorus of disapproval from Catholic intellectual and pro-life leaders because of Biden’s longstanding support for abortion. Most recently, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has said that Biden should refrain from Communion.

Over the weekend, CNA spoke with several prominent Catholics regarding Biden’s nomination for the Democratic vice-presidential slot. The well-known Catholic intellectual and author George Weigel explained to CNA that Obama’s choice was expected. “Barack Obama is a pro-abortion radical, so there's nothing surprising about his choosing a pro-abortion running mate,” said Weigel.

According to Weigel, an Obama-Biden ticket is “deeply disturbing” because “neither Senator Obama nor Senator Biden seems to have taken Catholic arguments about the first principles of justice seriously.”

“The Church's pro-life position is not ‘sectarian;’ it can be engaged by anyone willing to work through a serious philosophical argument,” Weigel asserted. “Neither Obama nor Biden seems willing to do that -- which casts a rather large shadow over their claims to be the ticket of thoughtfulness and intellectual seriousness.”

Weigel predicts that the choice of Biden will present the public with the sight of "‘Catholics for Obama’ tying themselves into even tighter theological pretzels, as they try to justify a vote for what seems likely to be the most radically pro-abortion ticket in American history.”

Complete story here.

Bishops Ask Catholics To Pray Election Novena

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invites U.S. Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice, and peace called Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is a podcast and available for download.

Joan Rosenhauer, Associate Director for the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said that the special novena is part of “the bishops’ campaign to help Catholics develop well-formed consciences for addressing political and social questions.” The bishops issued their statement on forming consciences for faithful citizenship in November 2007.

Helen Osman, USCCB Secretary of Communications, expressed hope that the novena could help “Catholics enter into prayerful reflection as they prepare to vote.” Seventy-one percent of all visitors to the USCCB’s web site download the free podcasts of the daily NAB readings. These same visitors are encouraged to use the novena podcast for prayer. Osman said that the USCCB wants to support Catholics as they weigh pre-election issues and that “providing a prayer resource on the Web can help us focus on our common values and identity as Catholics.” The novena emphasizes the dignity of life, justice, and peace.

The Novena for Faithful Citizenship runs for nine days and can be used consecutively, one day each week, for nine days prior to the election, or “in any way that works best for a community or individual,” said Rosenhauer.

The novena will be available for download until the election and it can be downloaded online at http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts.

For other Faithful Citizenship resources and materials visit www.faithfulcitizenship.org.

Bishops respond to House Speaker Pelosi’s misrepresentation of Church teaching against abortion

WASHINGTON--Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, have issued the following statement:

In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.

The Church has always taught that human life deserves respect from its very beginning and that procured abortion is a grave moral evil. In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.

These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church has long taught that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.

More information on the Church's teaching on this issue can be found in our brochure "The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church".

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MMJ Calendar Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec 2008

Date	Topic	Presenter
Aug 14	Trust and Integrity	Joe
Aug 28	Speaking in Tongues, Kissing Snakes - Understanding Charismatic Christianity	Greg
Sep 11	Dolls and Trucks - Gender Matters Raising Children	Kris
Sep 25	Go To Hell? - Does it really exist and can I go there?	Tony
Oct 9	Barbarian or Wimp? - Becoming a Hero	Vince
Oct 23	How Should I Vote? - The Bishops Speak	Jack
Nov 6	Personal Demons - Removing the Thorn	Rob
Nov 20	Are You Really Happy? The Tru Secret	Tony
Dec 4	Natural Family Planning (NFP) - "What's it all about?"	Mike
Dec 20	MMJ Christmas Party	Tony

Understanding Sacrifice -- The Stations of the Cross - March 14, 2008

Overview

• The Stations of the Cross, also called Via Crucis, Via Dolorosa or the Way of the Cross, is a Catholic devotion to the Passion of Christ consisting of prayers and meditations on fourteen events (“stations”) experienced by Christ on His way to the crucifixion and burial.
• The Way of the Cross is not a work of profound scholarly knowledge. It is essentially a devotional exercise, a means which men and women can use to make contact with God, to adore Him, to thank Him, to increase their love for Him.
• Devotion to the sufferings of Christ, is particularly recommended for all who wish to live "upon the model of that charity which Christ showed to us when he gave himself up on our behalf" (Eph 6,2).

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Take This Job and Shove It! -- Catholic Teachings on Work - February 15, 2008

2427 Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.210 Hence work is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat."211 Work honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work212 in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.213 Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.B

Question: Have you ever thought that your work can actually be redemptive? Do you agree that simply by working you are helping continue the work started by Christ to save the world?

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Building Spiritual Toughness Part 1 - July 6, 2007

Prudence – guides one to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. It directs all other cardinal virtues: justice, temperance, and courage. It is synonymous with wisdom. It is the virtue that allows us to put our true priorities in action (i.e. God, others, self).

Justice – the habit and disposition to give others what is rightly theirs (charity is giving others what is rightfully our own). The most important area of justice is known as the virtue of religion – giving that which is owed to God. Therefore going to Mass on Sundays is a matter of Justice. Work is another area where we practice the virtue of Justice. Family is another area that is governed by the virtue of Justice. Justice demands that I give mercy to others.

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Islam - Why Are They So Angry? - May 25, 2007

Origin

• Islam means obedience
• Established through the prophet Muhammad, who lived from 570-632 A.D. in present-day Saudi Arabia
• Missionary tradition spread it deep into the Middle East, Spain and France, Turkey and North Africa

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How You Doin? -- A Look at Prayer - March 16, 2007

Prayer as God's gift

2559 "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God."2 But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart?3 He who humbles himself will be exalted;4 humility is the foundation of prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought,"5 are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."6

Prayer as covenant

2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

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Suffering -- What's the Point - September 15, 2006

References:

1. Apostolic Letter SALVIFICI DOLORIS, “On The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering” by Pope John Paul II, 11 February 1984 written for the Holy Year of the Redemption (1984).
2. “Does Suffering Make Sense” by Russell Shaw
   

Questions to think about: Why does man suffer? Didn‟t Jesus come to abolish suffering? If so, why does it still exist? If there is a loving God, why would he allow children to suffer? What is the good that comes out of suffering?

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Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius - June 9, 2006

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius – four steps

Challenge

Evaluate how well you are living your life according to the purpose for which God created you.
Who is Ignatius? … Who am I? … Do I rejoice in who I am? … How meaningful is my life? … How real is God for me? … What is God’s plan for me? … How open am I to God’s plan for me? … How aware am I of sin’s presence in my life? … that I will be held accountable for my life? … How does the thought of death impact the way I live? … How conscious am I of God’s forgiveness of me? … How grateful am I for God’s forgiveness of me?

Decision

Get to know Jesus more intimately, follow him more lovingly, and serve him more ardently in building up God’s kingdom on earth.

Why did Jesus live among us? … embrace the lifestyle he did? … submit to Baptism and temptation? … How did Jesus differ from other leaders? … How free am I to follow Jesus? … What did Jesus teach about how I should live? … How closely do I want to journey with Jesus? … How ready am I to love as Jesus loved? … pray as Jesus prayed? … serve as Jesus served? … decide to journey with Jesus?

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Will Catholics be Left Behind - February 17, 2006

Objective: to gain an understanding of the Catholic Church’s theology in regards to the end of the world and address some of the misconceptions behind the theology of the popular “Left Behind” books.

Important Definitions es·cha·tol·o·gy (ĕs'kə-tŏl'ə-jē) n.

1. The branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind.
2. A belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment.

[Greek eskhatos, last + –LOGY.]

End Times Primer

First, to answer the question posed above: NO!!! Secondly there is no such thing as a secret rapture! More to come….

It’s important to know that prophesy about the end of the world has abounded both in the Old and New Testaments. Most importantly Jesus talked about the end of the world and how it related to his coming again. Understanding the end times is key in how the Church leads it’s people (the body of Christ) in current times.

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