How did a few atheists and secular humanists stop prayer in the public schools despite the fact that the great majority of Americans wanted prayer in the schools? How did a few anti-life people get control of the Supreme Court, mass media, Congress, presidency, and business community when twenty-five years ago they were a very small minority? How can a few homosexual activists change our government's definition of the family and make sodomy a civil right despite the fact that a little over a decade ago these things were unthinkable for a vast majority of Americans?

"A large force is defeated by a few people when the 'moral majority' is not very moral, when many of them have abandoned the Lord (see 2 Chr 24:24; see also Josh 7:3ff). When we transgress the Lord's commands, we cannot prosper (2 Chr 24:20).  Because we "have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned" us (2 Chr 24:20). Only when we are under the Lord's authority are we in authority over Satan and the forces of evil. Only the totally committed win. Only the obedient conquer (see 2 Cor 10:6)."  email@presentationministries.com,  Saturday, June 21, 2014, Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062114.cfm WHEN THE MAJORITY DOESN'T, OneBreadOneBody-AMER@presentationministries.com, Jun 21, 2014

So what should we do about the state of affairs? We must return to God.  We must repent.  It can all begin with us!

Was Jesus’ last name Christ? - Josh

Josh,

It does seem logical to us in 2014 that Christ should be Jesus’ last name, however, it was not!  In the days of Jesus, the Jewish custom was to call a man the son of his father.  Like the apostles James and John were called the sons of Zebedee.  And, Sometimes people were identified by the name of the town from which they came.  For example; the man who helped Jesus carry the cross was named Simon of Cyrene.  He was from that area in northern Africa.    

‘Christ’ is actually a Greek translation of the Hebrew word meaning  ‘anointed.’  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how those meanings are actually an excellent description of who Jesus is:  Christ “became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that ‘Christ’ signifies.  … In Israel those consecrated to God for a mission” given to them by God “were anointed in His name.  This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets.  This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate His kingdom  … It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet.  Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and king.”  (CCC436)

I’ve heard that Jesus is the New Adam. I’ve also heard that Mary is the New Eve. What does that mean? Mary is Jesus’ mother, not his wife. - Mel

I just love what good questions come to this blog!  Thanks for asking it. :)

Let’s start at the beginning:  God created perfect man and a perfect woman.  Their names were Adam and Eve.  They lived in perfect union with God until they came to a moment in a garden by a tree with a snake – who was Satan.  They had a choice:  They could continue to follow God’s commands or they could choose not to.  By choosing to say, “No,” to God and to eat of the tree, they were banished from the Garden and we – humanity- became in need of salvation.

However, God in His perfect knowledge of who we are knew that this was going to happen, so He had a plan already in place to send Himself – in the form of His Son – who is the 2^nd person of the Trinity – to Redeem us.

To bring this about, God sent the 3^rd person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit – to a young girl named Mary – whom he blessed by allowing her to be formed in a perfect state (The Immaculate Conception).  When she was a young teen, God sent a messenger to present her with a choice.  She said, “Yes,” and through this, that Daughter of God became the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and the Mother of the Son.

This Son – Jesus – was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit into the womb of Mary.  He was without Sin because He is God the Son. … Now, fast-forward 33 years from that conception:   We have this perfectly formed woman, this perfectly formed man, and Satan (this time in the people who taunted Jesus and told him to call upon his angels to get him down from the cross etc.) gathered at a tree… This time, the Man and the Woman said, “Yes” to God an followed His will for them.   Jesus in dying, Mary at watching her beautiful and perfect grown child be tortured and killed.   It caused great sorrow for both of them.

See the parallel to the Garden:  the perfectly formed man and woman, the tree, Satan, the temptation to turn away from God’s plan?  … So, this story from Adam and Eve is played out again in Jesus and Mary.  Where the 1^st Adam and Eve failed and lost their intimacy with God and hence made a need for a Savior, the 2^nd Adam and Eve did not fail and they gave us back the ability to be in intimacy with God.  Hence, they are called the New Adam and the New Eve.

Hope this helps clear that up for you!

Faith News: How one woman is coping with adult bullying!

Sadly, the problem of bullying doesn’t stop when we leave grade school – or even when we graduate from high school.  There are some adults in their middle ages, and even some in the over-the-hill-ages, who get their way by being aggressive and mean.  They went from being little kids who bullied others to being little kids in grownup bodies who still bully others.   And that stinks because being bullied hurts no matter what age we (or the bully) are.  A recent article In the Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) made me stop and ponder this issue a little more:  

The June 15th edition of the OSV told the story of an engaging woman who has figured out a way to combat the bullying she still experiences as an adult.  Lizzy Velasquez of Austin, Texas suffers from an unidentified syndrome that only two other people in the world are known to have.  She can’t gain weight. - I know, it sounds like a dream to us who have tried every way we can think of to lose some body fat.  However, she has never weighed over 62 pounds in her life. And she’s 25!  

When she was 17 she discovered that someone had made an eight-second video about her that went viral.  Over 4,000,000 people viewed it and thousands of them made mean and hateful comments.   They said things like she was the “ugliest woman in the world.”  She was a “monster.”  She “should do the world a favor and kill” herself.  It broke her heart and her spirit.  

However, this wasn’t new to her.  It's been happening since she was a little kid. She tells of her experience on the first day of kindergarten:  She smiled at another little girl and that little girl was terrified.  She reacted in a way that totally confounded Lizzie.  Throughout her entire life tons of kids have bullied her and many strangers have stared at her. 

How did all that make her feel?  She wanted to fight back.  She wanted to make those people hurt like she did.  But, she realized that she had a choice to make.  She says,  “I started realizing that my life was in my hands, … I could either choose to make this really good, or I could choose to make this really bad.   I could be grateful and open my eyes and realize the good things that I do have and make that what defines me.”  (OSV June 15, 2014 p 15)

  

Lizzie found support through her strong Catholic roots which include her parents and extended family.  And she realized that she could use 

use the pain she felt from the bullying to triumph over it.  She decided she would do something big for herself.  She made it her goal to graduate from college and write books.  

And guess what?  At the age of 25 she's already surpassed those dreams. Her third book is to be released late this summer!  Her topics?  Her inspirational journey, finding the beauty within, and choosing to be happy.  She has been such an encouragement to others that she has been invited to speak out against bullying and share her story by many groups.  She’s also been interviewed for the news, talk shows, and print media.  She has her own website (aboutlizzie.com), and is in the process of making a documentary about her life. 

At the apex of her message is faith.  Lizzie realizes that God is with her through all her pain and through all her successes.  She says, “God knew what He was doing when He made every one of us very different and unique.  … If we were all the same it wouldn’t be exciting.  We have something to look forward to in bringing our different personalities to the table.”

Lizzie's current goals, and perhaps her life's purpose, is to use her experiences to let people know how hurtful bullying is and to make social media a safer place to be.  She doesn’t want to lower herself to the mindset of all those people who have bullied and hurt her; she chooses to take the higher road of being kind.  She lives what she preaches by acting in ways that show others how to make a difference by being a positive and Christ-like example to the world.  (Our Sunday Visitor, Volume 103, No 7,  June 15, 201,   “Incredible strength at only 58 pounds”  by Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller, p 14-15)

How can I know what God's mission in life is for me? - Jack

That's one of the million dollar questions!  We all know that we have been made with a special task.  But how do we figure out what that task is?  First of all, we have to be relating with God.  Praying.  Meditating (listening at Mass, reading the Bible which is God's Word to us, etc).  Then we must be utilizing the strengths, the special gifts and talents which God has given us through our personalities.  

We can then determine which path we are to take by knowing what God desires, not just of us, but of everyone. He tells us in the Bible what that is.  And basically, God's desire for everyone is the same.  That's right, His goal for me, for you, and for all of us is is exactly the same! However, how each of us goes about reaching that goal is going to be different.

God tells us through Timothy in his first letter (1 Tim 2:4) that He "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."  That's a pretty clear task!  
Logically progressing, we can first know that our purpose is to fulfill God's desire that we be saved.  Salvation is offered to everyone, but not all people will be saved.  Why?  Because we have a choice.  We can accept God's gift of salvation or we can deny it.  God wants us to accept it.  But He doesn't force us to accept it.  Once we say we accept, then we are invited to come to KNOW the TRUTH.   Know it - as in to be totally intimate with it.  Like a musician knows his instrument; he knows how to take it apart, how to clean it, how to put it away so it doesn't get scratched or damaged, how to tighten the screws, how to wet the reed, how to rosin the bow, etc.  Or to KNOW like I know that (God willing) my husband will be out hunting the Monday after Thanksgiving this year - because I am familiar with his likes and dislikes and his habits, passions, and desires.  I KNOW him.  God doesn't mean KNOW the TRUTH as in know what it/He is, not to just be familiar with it, to be able to talk about it.  He wants us to be intimately knowledgeable with it.  

What is the truth God means?   He told us through His son Jesus.  Jesus (the 2nd person of the Trinity) said, "I am the way and the TRUTH and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)  And, you know what?  Truth never changes.  God is immutable - unchanging.  And, Truth is God's standard.  

Truth is not what people in these postmodern times tout, 'what's right for me might not be right for you' - because they don't want to seem intolerant.  The Truth was set in stone, literally, over 4000 years ago.  God set the standard. He gave us the TRUTH.  

And, Jack, as uncomfortable as that might make you feel, if you really want to know how God wants you to use your talents and gifts, you have know God.  To know God is to know the Truth.   

Oh, another thought:  (Didn't you know this wasn't going to be a simple, short answer!)  Jesus told his disciples just before He ascended into heaven, "Go ... and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matt 28:19-20) That was part of the last statement he said to them!  That means it was a pretty important message.   

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that we as Church - that is the PEOPLE - must be obedient to the command of its founder. (CCC 849) We are to bring others into communion with God the Trinity and in that bringing, teach those people to bring others.  We are to reach out to everyone.   

Frank Duff - a holy Irishman who died and is being investigated for sainthood - wrote this:  "The Church is a society in which Jesus Christ lives, and which exists for the purpose of bringing Him to all men.  ... Action is paramount. ... Simple effort must come first. ... Nothing is expected of anybody except what he has got." (Maria Legionis Magazine:  'Each Soul' by the Servant of God, Frank Duff  pp 3-6  May - July 2014 issue)  

Those points make it fairly clear that our purpose is to find God, know God, invite others to find and know God, and to encourage those others to invite others to do the same. How we do that is by using our uniqueness, by taking our gifts and talents which God has bestowed upon us, and being a Christian voice through them.   Can I fulfill that mission as a teacher?  Yes.  Can I fulfill it as a parent?  Yes. What about as a professional skate boarder?  You betcha. What about as a lawyer or a politician?  Yes, even through those.  

Jack, whatever position you are called to be in is the best place you can fulfill your mission - and where you are called to fulfill it!  My gifts will only allow me to come into contact with people who have my interests.  Your gifts will allow you to come into contact with a whole different group of people.  Another person will come into contact with another group etc.   Together, all of us who make up the Church can reach everyone in the world.   

And that's pretty cool, isn't it?

Why didn't the bush burn up in Ex 3:2-4? Lucy

Dear Lucy;

You are talking about the bush that was totally in flames which Moses saw during his time in the land of Midian. Because it wasn't burning up, Moses had to go over and check it out. That bush didn't burn to ashes because God was making a miracle happen.  God wanted to get Moses' attention.  He wanted Moses to go back to Egypt, speak to Pharaoh and, with God on Moses' side, rescue the people of Israel from slavery.  By showing Moses that He could set a bush on fire without it being consumed by the fire, God was showing Moses that He had the power to do what He said He would do.