Friday, May 10, 2013
The First Sin
Original Sin, the first sin, is a core part of Catholic Church teaching, and can only be understood through the creation story, along with some background on of Jesus Christ. In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in a state of Original Justice and Holiness in communion with God. They were commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because it would kill them. When they disobeyed God and trusted the Devil's temptation, they losed communion with God and the advantages that came with being in communion with our creator. Before Original Sin, we were free from the burdens of sin like death. Adam and Eve's children would also not inherit the communion with God, and humans would be born in a state of lost grace. This Fall from communion is the direct effect of the Original Sin, which could only be atoned for by Jesus Christ. In order for us to be brought back into communion with God, we needed a human to repay the infinite debt that we owed to God. Only Christ who is fully divine yet fully human could redeem a sin committed by humans against God.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bum or Human
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AusCA28efa0&feature=youtu.be
In this blog post I would like to reflect on the video that I liked above. The video documents someone interviewing a homeless man. I am going to talk about our views of homeless people by the general public and then I want to talk about how we can help homeless people.
In this video, the homeless man gets very emotional and upset because he talks about how badly people treat him and how terrible some of the things people say to him are. We, as a general population, treat homeless people very badly because of stereotypes. Many people do not want to give homeless people money because they are afraid that they are going to go spend the money on drugs and alcohol and not actually use it to buy food and shelter. Some people also do not like to help homeless people because they think that they have become homeless because they are too lazy to go get a job. As Ronald Davis, the homeless man from the video, says, some people walk past him and say go get a job, you bum. This upsets him a lot because he is trying to get a job but he can't get the job because he doesn't have enough money to buy nice clothes, so they don't hire him. We are just making his life and the lives of other homeless people worse when we make fun of them instead of helping them.
I think the best thing to give to a homeless person is food. The 2 main things that homeless people like Ronald Davis need are food and shelter. He talked about this in the interview. A homeless person still needs money to buy a room, but giving them food is half of what they need. Of course giving a homeless person money is a lot more helpful to them, but then you run the risk of them spending it poorly. We need to help them out in whatever way we see most fitting. If you aren't comfortable giving money to the homeless then you should at least give them food. Giving them bad looks and saying mean things to them only makes things worse for them and makes their life harder than it already is. The little things that we do to help a person can make a world of difference to them.
In this blog post I would like to reflect on the video that I liked above. The video documents someone interviewing a homeless man. I am going to talk about our views of homeless people by the general public and then I want to talk about how we can help homeless people.
In this video, the homeless man gets very emotional and upset because he talks about how badly people treat him and how terrible some of the things people say to him are. We, as a general population, treat homeless people very badly because of stereotypes. Many people do not want to give homeless people money because they are afraid that they are going to go spend the money on drugs and alcohol and not actually use it to buy food and shelter. Some people also do not like to help homeless people because they think that they have become homeless because they are too lazy to go get a job. As Ronald Davis, the homeless man from the video, says, some people walk past him and say go get a job, you bum. This upsets him a lot because he is trying to get a job but he can't get the job because he doesn't have enough money to buy nice clothes, so they don't hire him. We are just making his life and the lives of other homeless people worse when we make fun of them instead of helping them.
I think the best thing to give to a homeless person is food. The 2 main things that homeless people like Ronald Davis need are food and shelter. He talked about this in the interview. A homeless person still needs money to buy a room, but giving them food is half of what they need. Of course giving a homeless person money is a lot more helpful to them, but then you run the risk of them spending it poorly. We need to help them out in whatever way we see most fitting. If you aren't comfortable giving money to the homeless then you should at least give them food. Giving them bad looks and saying mean things to them only makes things worse for them and makes their life harder than it already is. The little things that we do to help a person can make a world of difference to them.
The Church for Everyone
In an article I just read a Catholic Cardinal brought up how the Catholic Church includes everyone and loves everyone. He brought up a parallel between the washing of hands and the sinnful actions that we may do. For example, the child was welcome at the table if he washed his hands just like how we are welcome at the table of God after we confess our sins and have been cleaned. He also mentioned the four marks of the Church and how they show the Church is universal.
I also found the part about how the Church loves everyone but condemns their actions interesting. It mentioned some controversial topics like abortion and homosexual marriage. He said that the Church still loves those who may chose to have an abortion as long as they repent and confess their sins. The Cardinal made a good point in that God will forgive all sins and wants everyone to come to him. All in all, this article has some good points about the universality of the Church.
I also found the part about how the Church loves everyone but condemns their actions interesting. It mentioned some controversial topics like abortion and homosexual marriage. He said that the Church still loves those who may chose to have an abortion as long as they repent and confess their sins. The Cardinal made a good point in that God will forgive all sins and wants everyone to come to him. All in all, this article has some good points about the universality of the Church.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Ronald Davis Video Reflection
The Catholic Church teaches that all humans were made in the image of God, and as such are equal in their dignity. In short, the Catholic Church believes every human person is equal in the eyes of God and in should be equal in the eyes of everyone. But as you can see in Ronald Davis's video, many people do not recognize this fact. Ignorance clouds people's thoughts to make them believe people like Ronald are just bums, and inferior. It's dehumanizing to have no home and have to beg for food and shelter; such ignorant people only humiliate the homeless even more.
I think Ronald's story can teach about judgement. People are quick to label homeless people as drunks and bums. Many of us look at someone like Ronald and assume he or she is just a good-for-nothing bum, but we do not know their story. We do not know what they have been through and how they got there. We cannot judge Ronald for not having a job when employers will not hire him due to his appearance. As humans we have no right to judge other humans and make assumptions about them. We must try to help others no matter what their situation. Next time you see a homeless person begging at the street corner I hope instead of judging you try to help them out.
Mathew 7: 1-5- “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
Monday, May 6, 2013
All Are Welcome
http://blog.archny.org/index.php/all-are-welcome/comment-page-1/#comment-132281
First off, I found this article to be a very good explanation of a lot of different Catholic teachings in the Church. The author uses very good and relate-able examples and parallels to the Church that a normal person might experience in the real world. If you, the reader, are trying to learn more about Catholicism whether you be separated brethren or non religious looking to see what the Church is about. I highly recommend reading it!
I like how in the author paralleled the washing of the hands when the boy entered the house before he ate dinner to baptism when one enters the Church. To enter the Church one must take the sacrament of baptism to cleanse themselves of original sin just as the boy must wash himself of all the mud before he eats dinner with the welcoming family.
"Hate the sin; love the sinner." This is another quote from the article that I found to be very interesting. He uses two very simple phrases to describe something that plays such a big role in the Church. One attribute that Jesus shows many times throughout his life on earth is his mercy and forgiveness. He reminds us that we should not stone the lady who is committing adultery because we are all sinners ourselves. We must learn to love everybody like they are our family and deal with their sins because we are all sinners too.
First off, I found this article to be a very good explanation of a lot of different Catholic teachings in the Church. The author uses very good and relate-able examples and parallels to the Church that a normal person might experience in the real world. If you, the reader, are trying to learn more about Catholicism whether you be separated brethren or non religious looking to see what the Church is about. I highly recommend reading it!
I like how in the author paralleled the washing of the hands when the boy entered the house before he ate dinner to baptism when one enters the Church. To enter the Church one must take the sacrament of baptism to cleanse themselves of original sin just as the boy must wash himself of all the mud before he eats dinner with the welcoming family.
"Hate the sin; love the sinner." This is another quote from the article that I found to be very interesting. He uses two very simple phrases to describe something that plays such a big role in the Church. One attribute that Jesus shows many times throughout his life on earth is his mercy and forgiveness. He reminds us that we should not stone the lady who is committing adultery because we are all sinners ourselves. We must learn to love everybody like they are our family and deal with their sins because we are all sinners too.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Female Priests in the Catholic Church
In this post I will be addressing the question: "Should women be able to enter the priesthood in the Catholic Church." The Church has always said no in response to this question and they use the teachings from the Bible to support the decision. The Church says "While women could publicly pray and prophesy in church" (1 Cor. 11:1–16), "they could not teach or have authority over a man" (1 Tim. 2:11–14), since these were two essential functions of the clergy. "Nor could women publicly question or challenge the teaching of the clergy" (1 Cor. 14:34–38). This means that the Catholic Church has not ever allowed a woman to become a priest in the Church. The Church Fathers rejected women's ordination, not because it was incompatible with Christian culture, but because it was incompatible with Christian faith. Thus, together with biblical declarations, the teaching of the Fathers on this issue formed the tradition of the Church that taught that priestly ordination was reserved to men. Throughout medieval times and even up until the present day, this teaching has not changed.
Recently, there was a woman ordained in Kentucky in defiance of the Catholic Church She has decided to be ordained and start her own congregation outside of the Catholic Church because she doesn't want to wait for the Catholic Church to allow women priest. Seventy percent of U.S. Catholics believe that women should be allowed to be priests, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll earlier this year. I found this interesting because although it says that it says in the scriptures that many of the Catholics believe that women should be allowed to become priests in the Church. Although many Catholics want females to become priests, the rule has stayed very strict. The former pope, Benedict XVI, reaffirmed the Catholic Church's ban on women priests and warned that he would not tolerate disobedience by clerics on fundamental teachings. Male priests have been stripped of their holy orders for participating in ordination ceremonies for women. From this, I gather that woman priests will not be allowed in the Catholic Church anytime soon.
Recently, there was a woman ordained in Kentucky in defiance of the Catholic Church She has decided to be ordained and start her own congregation outside of the Catholic Church because she doesn't want to wait for the Catholic Church to allow women priest. Seventy percent of U.S. Catholics believe that women should be allowed to be priests, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll earlier this year. I found this interesting because although it says that it says in the scriptures that many of the Catholics believe that women should be allowed to become priests in the Church. Although many Catholics want females to become priests, the rule has stayed very strict. The former pope, Benedict XVI, reaffirmed the Catholic Church's ban on women priests and warned that he would not tolerate disobedience by clerics on fundamental teachings. Male priests have been stripped of their holy orders for participating in ordination ceremonies for women. From this, I gather that woman priests will not be allowed in the Catholic Church anytime soon.
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