I hear you loud and clear! I wasn't allowed to go to those parties when I was your age either. I didn't understand it then, but now that I'm a mother, I have a different view of it. I'd like you to think about this question: Why do you want to go to such parties in the first place? If underage drinking and 'stuff' is happening and you're not joining in, how much fun would you really have anyway? Simply going to socialize isn't such a good answer. There are many other fun things you could do to socialize with your friends. And, think about what would happen when you got to that party. Those friends, and others who see you not participating in the drinking and stuff will get a kick out of teasing you about not doing it, and most likely try to convince you to just try a little of it. They may even make bets as to who can get you to do it. The pressure to participate will be extremely strong.
Although I know you want to hear that I think it's alright for you to go, what you are describing in your question is not only something that a mom doesn't want for her kid, it's illegal for people your age. And, it is also what we call in Catholic theology an occasion of sin. An occasion of sin is " 'any person, place, or thing that of its nature or because of human frailty can lead one to do wrong, thereby committing sin.' We have a moral obligation to avoid occasions of sin because of what they can lead us to.
"If you go to wild parties like the ones you describe, you are putting yourself at risk of joining in the bad, sinful (and illegal) behaviors that are taking place. Even if you don't actually fall into sin, you are still silently supporting and giving approval to sin just by being there. ...
"When faced with an occasion of sin, always pray to get yourself out of the situation. Just as in the Lord's Prayer we ask the Father 'lead us not into temptation,' we must always be on guard against those things that can lead us into danger."
You have your entire adult life to drink. Enjoy being a teenager and do the things teens do. Invite your friends to go bowling, or play laser tag, or have a movie night, or walk the mall or have a game night. Do with them whatever it is teens like to do these days! By choosing now to do what is Godly and good for your soul, you will be building character and gaining the strength you will need after high school to discern between those things which will enhance your dignity or not.
Don't allow others to cause you (or lead you) to sin. To help you make these often difficult, but better, choices, be sure to frequent the sacraments. Reconciliation and Eucharist especially "provide us the necessary graces for strengthening our resolve to do what is good and avoid what is evil."
Thanks for the thoughtful question. I will pray for you!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Was Sampson a good guy or a bad guy? - Lee
Lee -
That question tells me you have really read the story of Sampson! For those people reading this blog who might not remember, you can find his story in the book of Judges (Chapters 13 - 16). Sampson was one of the judges in Israel before the time of the Kings. The judges were people whom God sent to rescue the Israelites out of oppression. In Sampson's time, the Philistines were the oppressors.
"Sampson fulfilled that job well. But Sampson also did some cruel and foolish things, just as most people do. God didn't force him to do everything right. Like us, Sampson had the freedom to choose to use his God-given abilities (in his case, strength) for good or bad. Sometimes Sampson chose to go his own way instead of God's."
What we can learn from his story is that God uses imperfect people to work out His perfect plan. We also can learn that God will accept our heartfelt repentance and give us a second chance. The story is an interesting one.
* Quotation section from #145 in the book "Over 200 Questions Children ask about God and the Bible," by David R. Veerman, M.Div., James C. Galvin, Ed.D., James C. Wilhoit, Ph.D., Daryl J. Lucas, and Richard Osborne. (c) 1997, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL
That question tells me you have really read the story of Sampson! For those people reading this blog who might not remember, you can find his story in the book of Judges (Chapters 13 - 16). Sampson was one of the judges in Israel before the time of the Kings. The judges were people whom God sent to rescue the Israelites out of oppression. In Sampson's time, the Philistines were the oppressors.
"Sampson fulfilled that job well. But Sampson also did some cruel and foolish things, just as most people do. God didn't force him to do everything right. Like us, Sampson had the freedom to choose to use his God-given abilities (in his case, strength) for good or bad. Sometimes Sampson chose to go his own way instead of God's."
What we can learn from his story is that God uses imperfect people to work out His perfect plan. We also can learn that God will accept our heartfelt repentance and give us a second chance. The story is an interesting one.
* Quotation section from #145 in the book "Over 200 Questions Children ask about God and the Bible," by David R. Veerman, M.Div., James C. Galvin, Ed.D., James C. Wilhoit, Ph.D., Daryl J. Lucas, and Richard Osborne. (c) 1997, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL
Monday, May 9, 2016
My Sunday School teacher said we should offer petitions to God. I thought a petition was something you gathered names on and took to the mayor so you could get something done. I didn't want her to think I was being a smart alec, so I didn't say anything. But what did she mean? - Fred
Dear Fred,
Never be embarrassed to ask a question! If you have that question, probably someone else had the same question! You can always just say, "What do you mean?"
But, I am glad you had enough courage to ask me! You are right. A petition is a formal request, a plea, an asking for something, an appeal. Petition prayer
is a little bit more than that. It is a crying out to God, usually through a spontaneous prayer, which expresses a desire. Petition prayer
is what St. Paul calls “groaning” from the depth of our being. Holy Spirit helps us with this type of
prayer. Many times, the
first movement of petition prayer is asking for forgiveness.
An example of a
Petition prayer asking for forgiveness is, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
·
That said, we
recognize that we offer “petitions” at Mass. Those are called intercessory
petitions. During those petitions, we may ask something
of God for another person.
·
During
Intercessory petitions we may even thank Him for things. There are no
boundaries for petition prayers. We can
offer them up for all people.
Examples of an
intercessory petition are: “Lord, I ask that my
child will turn back to you in faith,” “God,
please help Marie heal as she grieves the loss of her husband,” “Lord,
we ask that you turn the hearts of the members of ISIS to You, the One True
God,” “May
we trust in You, Lord as we travel our journey every day.” :Lord, please help me remember what I studied when I take my history test."
·
Petitions may
also offer up Thanksgiving or Praise.
Examples of petitions
of praise &/or thanksgiving are: “Thank
You, God for the wonderful day today.” “Thank
You, Lord for good friends.” “Lord,
God You are an awesome God!”
“God,
we glorify Your Holy name.”
·
At Mass the
lector offers up a petition then says, “Let
us pray to the Lord,”
·
Then we respond,
“Lord, hear our prayer.”
If you would like to learn more about this type of prayer, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has a section regarding the various Prayers of
Petition: CCC 2629 -2645.
Thanks for your question - and good luck praying!
If God is everywhere, why do we have to go to church? -- suze
Suze ...
This is a really deep question encompassed in such few words! My answer to you is peels away a couple of layers I immediately see in it. ... First, I wonder what lies beneath your question. Is it that you find Mass to be boring? If that's the case, I would guess that it's because you are not fully engaging in the worship. Knowing the purpose behind the parts of the Mass, such as the songs, Communion, offering, and etc helps to keep the interest level high. When you attend Mass, participate in the prayers, read along in the pew missal, really listen to the sermon, sing the songs, and etc., and you will find that the Mass is much more interesting. It won't seem to last very long at all. You may actually even discover that you enjoy it! I mean, do you realize that Jesus comes to us fully - body, blood, soul, and divinity - at every single Mass? That's not boring at all. Nope, that's pretty exciting!
If your question is about whether you can worship God in other places, then that's an easy answer. YES! God can be reached everywhere you go. However, human beings were made to be in in fellowship with God from the very beginning. Although faith is a personal thing, it is not meant to be private. We should not keep our belief in God totally wrapped up in ourselves. We are to share the Word with others, to go make disciples, to spread the Good News (Gospel) to the ends of the earth!
To keep ourselves motivated and from getting over burdened in our alone-ness, we worship, not only alone, but also with others. That's a commandment too! In the New Testament, God tells us, through Jesus, to join other Christians to worship. Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath to worship God with other people. And yes, he went alone to the mountain to pray. He's our example of a model Christian.
Yes, we should spend time alone in prayer and in reading the Bible and listening to what God has for us to hear. However, Jesus showed us that it's also important to gather with other believers so we can encourage and strengthen each other. When we pray together, our prayers take on more power, more intensity, more oomph.
Let me give you an illustration: Think of playing on a basketball team. You can play it alone. And playing it alone can be very enjoyable and even challenging. You can put your efforts towards shooting foul shots, or practice lay ups over and over again, or work at ball handling. And it makes you a better and stronger player. But, you might build some blind spots which turn into bad habits when you only do it alone. You might not recognize that you only ever shoot right handed lay ups. Or you might not realize that you don't put enough backspin on the ball when you shoot. But, when you go to practice with other people, they sharpen you. They can see the things you don't. And, when you play a game with them , they add a dimension to it that playing by yourself doesn't have. It ups the level. It ups the fun. It ups the satisfaction and the thrill of playing.
Like basketball, our relationship with God takes on a new dimension when we pray with others. Of course we know that the most perfect prayer is the Mass. Where is Mass celebrated? At Church! So, when we pray together we encourage each other. We sharpen each other. We strengthen each other. We also learn from each other and accomplish something bigger than what each of us can when we pray alone.
Keep on praying!
This is a really deep question encompassed in such few words! My answer to you is peels away a couple of layers I immediately see in it. ... First, I wonder what lies beneath your question. Is it that you find Mass to be boring? If that's the case, I would guess that it's because you are not fully engaging in the worship. Knowing the purpose behind the parts of the Mass, such as the songs, Communion, offering, and etc helps to keep the interest level high. When you attend Mass, participate in the prayers, read along in the pew missal, really listen to the sermon, sing the songs, and etc., and you will find that the Mass is much more interesting. It won't seem to last very long at all. You may actually even discover that you enjoy it! I mean, do you realize that Jesus comes to us fully - body, blood, soul, and divinity - at every single Mass? That's not boring at all. Nope, that's pretty exciting!
If your question is about whether you can worship God in other places, then that's an easy answer. YES! God can be reached everywhere you go. However, human beings were made to be in in fellowship with God from the very beginning. Although faith is a personal thing, it is not meant to be private. We should not keep our belief in God totally wrapped up in ourselves. We are to share the Word with others, to go make disciples, to spread the Good News (Gospel) to the ends of the earth!
To keep ourselves motivated and from getting over burdened in our alone-ness, we worship, not only alone, but also with others. That's a commandment too! In the New Testament, God tells us, through Jesus, to join other Christians to worship. Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath to worship God with other people. And yes, he went alone to the mountain to pray. He's our example of a model Christian.
Yes, we should spend time alone in prayer and in reading the Bible and listening to what God has for us to hear. However, Jesus showed us that it's also important to gather with other believers so we can encourage and strengthen each other. When we pray together, our prayers take on more power, more intensity, more oomph.
Let me give you an illustration: Think of playing on a basketball team. You can play it alone. And playing it alone can be very enjoyable and even challenging. You can put your efforts towards shooting foul shots, or practice lay ups over and over again, or work at ball handling. And it makes you a better and stronger player. But, you might build some blind spots which turn into bad habits when you only do it alone. You might not recognize that you only ever shoot right handed lay ups. Or you might not realize that you don't put enough backspin on the ball when you shoot. But, when you go to practice with other people, they sharpen you. They can see the things you don't. And, when you play a game with them , they add a dimension to it that playing by yourself doesn't have. It ups the level. It ups the fun. It ups the satisfaction and the thrill of playing.
Like basketball, our relationship with God takes on a new dimension when we pray with others. Of course we know that the most perfect prayer is the Mass. Where is Mass celebrated? At Church! So, when we pray together we encourage each other. We sharpen each other. We strengthen each other. We also learn from each other and accomplish something bigger than what each of us can when we pray alone.
Keep on praying!
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