Devotion to Our Lady |
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False Hopes Built on a False Christianity
Thus it is clear that, in God’s eyes, the Catholic Faith is meant to be the religion of the world―and not just one religion among many―for “there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). “There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect” (Matthew 24:24) … “Such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ―and no wonder: for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14) … “There were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you―lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1) … “The Lord said to me: ‘The prophets prophesy falsely in My Name! I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor have I spoken to them! They prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination and deceit, and the seduction of their own heart!” (Jeremias 14:14). That is what Protestantism is―a seduction of one’s own heart; it is not a God-made religion, but a man-made religion. Protestantism is basically a child of Rationalism―which thinks what it wants, believes what it wants, says what it wants, teaches what it wants and does what it wants―that is why you have thousands of flavors of Protestantism and only one flavor of Catholicism. God is one―He is not a splintered God of thousands of pieces. The American flavor of Christianity―from the very beginning―has been a Protestant version of Christianity, a man-made Christianity and therefore a false Christianity which picks and chooses what it wants and not what God wants. American Protestantism had already lost its way before the Declaration of Independence. It was on the wrong road, headed in the wrong direction―even though it claimed to be Christian, it was not leading souls to salvation and Heaven. A perfect con of Satan―who is always seeking to divide and conquer―and Protestantism is essentially division and not unity. There can be no success for such a deformed Christianity―for it depends more upon man than upon God. It is independent of God and not dependent upon God. Modern-day Liberal Catholicism (or Modernism) is increasingly becoming a modern-day Protestantism (a Catholic version of Protestantism), whereby you can believe what you want and teach what you want and do what you want. This is proved by the ever-increasing numbers of Catholics who no longer believe certain dogmas and teachings of the Church. The majority of modern-day Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist (just like Protestants); the majority accepts divorce and remarriage (just like Protestants); the majority accepts contraception (just like Protestants); the majority no longer attend church on Sundays (just like the Protestants); the majority tolerate or accept homosexual relationships and same-sex marriages (just like Protestants)―the list could go on and on. |
The average American spends over 7 hours per day in front of an electronic screen―television, laptop computer, smartphone, tablet, desktop computer, etc. Television is still a major player―since it can also be accessed through the smartphone and computers via the internet. All these many hours of watching a screen bring to mind Our Lord’s complaint to His three Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” (Matthew 26:40) ― and by “watch” He did not mean watch television!
Our Lord says: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). Hence Holy Scripture adds: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32). |
Many youngsters (of old) must have been somewhat familiar with “Superman”—having read, or at least heard of the character. Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books. The Superman character was created in 1933 by two Jewish high school students at Glenville High School, in Cleveland, Ohio—writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. The character was sold to Detective Comics, Inc. (later DC Comics) in 1938 and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, newspaper strips, television programs, films, and video games. The Superman character helped create the modern “superhero”. Superman’s appearance is distinctive and iconic. He usually wears a blue costume, red cape, with a stylized red-and-yellow “S” shield on his chest.
Jewish Origins Comics historians, Gerard Jones and Brad Meltzer, believe Siegel may have been inspired to create Superman because of the death of his father, Mitchell Siegel, a Jewish immigrant, who owned a clothing store on Cleveland’s near east side. He died during a robbery attempt in 1932, a year before Superman was created. Although Siegel never mentioned the death of his father in interviews, “It had to have an effect,” argues Jones. “There’s a connection there: the loss of a dad as a source for Superman.” Meltzer states: “Your father dies in a robbery, and you invent a bulletproof man who becomes the world’s greatest hero.” Superman has fascinated scholars, with cultural theorists, commentators, and critics alike exploring the character’s impact and role in the United States and worldwide. |
A special lover of the Holy Name was St. Bernard, who speaks of it in most glowing terms in many of his sermons. But the greatest promoters of this devotion were St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistran. They carried with them on their missions in the turbulent cities of Italy a copy of the monogram of the Holy Name, surrounded by rays, painted on a wooden tablet. The emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus consists of the three letters: IHS. Wherever they blessed the sick with this monogram, it produced great miracles. At the close of their sermons they exhibited this emblem to the faithful and asked them to prostrate themselves, to adore the Redeemer of mankind. They recommended their hearers to have the monogram of Jesus placed over the gates of their cities and above the doors of their dwelling (cf. Seeberger, “Key to the Spiritual Treasures”, 1897, 102). Because the manner in which St. Bernardine preached this devotion was new, he was accused by his enemies, and brought before the tribunal of Pope Martin V. But St. John Capistran defended his master so successfully that the pope not only permitted the worship of the Holy Name, but also assisted at a procession in which the holy monogram was carried. The tablet used by St. Bernardine is venerated at Santa Maria in Ara Coeli at Rome.
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Nigeria (94%)
Kenya (73%) Lebanon (69%) Philippines (56%) Colombia (54%) Poland (52%) Ecuador (50%) Bosnia and Herzegovina (48%) |
Mexico (47%)
Nicaragua (45%) Bolivia (42%), Slovakia (40%) Italy (34%) Peru (33%) Venezuela (30%) Albania (29%) |
Spain (27%)
Croatia (27%) New Zealand (25%) United Kingdom (25%) Hungary (24%) Slovenia (24%) Uruguay (23%) Australia (21%) |
Argentina (21%)
Portugal (20%) Czech Republic (20%) United States (20%) Austria (17%) Lithuania (16%) Germany (14%) Canada (14%) |
Ireland (14%)
Latvia (11%) Switzerland (11%) Brazil (8%) France (8%) Netherlands (7%) |
Evidence for the vast majority of US Catholics being in a spiritually comatose state is furnished by the overwhelming non-Catholic views held by Catholics today. Less than 10% of Catholics say that their Catholic Faith is “the most important part” of their life. Only 55% of Catholic say that they pray daily.
As regards marriage, 20% or 1 in 5 Catholic marriages end in divorce. Other surveys claim that anywhere from 28% to 34% of Catholics who have ever married have ended up in a divorce. Over 50% of U.S. Catholics say that living with a romantic partner outside of marriage, and remarrying after a divorce without an annulment, are not sins. Nearly 75% of Catholics in the United States are not opposed to couples cohabiting before marriage, even if they choose not marry eventually, despite the Church’s moral teaching. The number of couples who choose to live together without marriage has risen dramatically in the past fifty years, from near zero to 60%. For Catholics the percentage is almost 50%. And about four-in-ten Catholics (39%) say homosexual behavior is not a sin. Roughly a third of Catholics who attend Mass weekly (34%) say that children being raised by a same-sex couple is acceptable and as good as any other arrangement. More than half of U.S. Catholics (56%) said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Only 8% say contraception is morally wrong, with 89% say it was either morally acceptable or not a moral issue at all. Over 20 years ago, The National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR), conducted between July 2002 and April 2003, examined the religious, family and social lives of adolescents. Among the questions teenagers were asked was this: “Do you think that people should wait to have sex until they are married?” Only 51% of Roman Catholic teens said yes. Already back in 1995, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that only about half of high-school-age teens are still virgins―that was nearly 30 years ago! What is the case today? As Our Lady of Good Success warned: “Like a filthy ocean, impurity will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! There will be almost no virgin souls in the world! Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women!” |
Some typical average costs for common surgeries are:
Heart valve replacement: $170,000 Heart bypass: $123,000 Spinal fusion: $110,000 Hip replacement: $40,364 Knee replacement: $35,000 Angioplasty: $28,200 Hip resurfacing: $28,000 Gastric bypass: $25,000 Cornea: $17,500 Gastric sleeve: $16,000 |
Cost of one-year’s supply of the following medications/drugs:
Myalept $1,260,000 Zokinvy $1,070,000 Danyelza $1,010,000 Kimmtrak $975,520 Folotyn $842,585 Actimmune $819,000 Soliris $764,000 Brineura $755,898 Blincyto $754,720 Ravicti $695,970 |