Bread of Life

BREAD OF LIFE
 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. (john 6: 50)
The miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus Christ celebrated the first Mass with His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before He died. He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The celebration of the Mass then became the main form of worship in the early Church, as a reenactment of the Last Supper, as Christ had commanded. Each and every Mass since commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Eucharist. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass—instituted by Christ and practiced by the early Church—with the whole community of Catholics around the world…and in heaven.

THE REAL PRESENCE

Why does the Catholic Church believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist?
The Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist—body, blood, soul and divinity. Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because Jesus tells us this is true in the Bible:

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” - John 6:48-56
Furthermore, the early Church Fathers either imply or directly state that the bread and wine offered in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is really the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrine of the Real Presence that Catholics believe today was believed by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago!

This miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

HOMOSEXUALS STRIVING TO BE CATHOLIC

The wicked sin of Sodom has existed for thousands of years, as have all sins. I remember one priest saying that "there are no new sins" in today's world. However, it is clearly obvious that the sins of impurity are on the increase, in particular Homosexuality, which is leading many souls to hell.

Almost everyone, whether you be a traditional Catholic or an atheist will know of someone who is a practicing homosexual. In fact, the epidemic of homosexuality is so wide-spread that many of us will have a gay relative or someone we know who is gay. The sin of Sodom is most ugly and belongs to one of the four sins which cry to heaven for vengeance.

As Catholics, we are often tempted to treat Homosexuals with contempt and many of us forget that we "must hate the sin and not the sinner". It is understandable why many of us may feel this way, as the perverse behaviour of Homosexuals can often be witnessed in public (by our children) and ultimately cause others to follow their example and rebel against human nature.

However, at the end of the day, we must remember that this sin (like all sins) is the result of human weakness and that these poor souls have fallen victims to the temptations of the Devil. This therefore brings us to the question: "How does one strive to overcome the temptation of committing Homosexual acts?"

A Catholic TV show, under the header "The Homosexual Reality," recently answered the above question and gave new hope to those trying to overcome same-sex attraction. The discussion was lead by Melinda Selmys, a former Lesbian who abandoned her promiscuous lifestyle, converted to a Catholic and got married. Also on the show was Richard Fitzgibbons, a leading Catholic psychiatrist who deals with those wanting to overcome Homosexual tendencies.
The program is most useful for Catholics wanting to reach out to Homosexual friends or relatives, in an attempt to help them forsake their sinful lives. It also gives useful information to parents who want to ensure that their children grow up without falling pray to this sin.
Just because you attend the traditional Catholic Mass, do not believe that your children will never develop such tendencies; I know of several traditional Catholics who have subsequently stopped going to mass and embraced this debauched lifestyle.

To view the video click here.

8 comments:

p160 said...

Here's what the late Bishop Sheen once said about right and wrong -"Right is right, even if no one is right. Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is wrong."

The bible says in Genesis 19:24 that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. This is where the term sodomite was coined. Why?

The people who say that homosexuality is not sinful don’t really have a good answer for this, but some say it was because of a lack of hospitality by Lot.

In some cases they deny that this even happened. Tradition says that it was because of immorality, pure and simple.

daveg4g said...

The bible condemns homosexuality in Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, & 1 Timothy 8-10. Notice, however, that it does not condemn homosexuals.

The bible says in Matthew 21:31 that harlots will be entering the kingdom of heaven before the self righteous hypocrites of the day, and the same could be said of homosexuals.

The problem here though, is that they have to first repent of their homosexual sinfulness, which they don’t even recognize as being sinful.

Anonymous said...

Why is homosexuality an "abomination", excluding from the heavenly kingdom?

A. Because homosexuality is against nature: In the natural order planned by God, the purpose of the carnal union is generation. Now, generation is the natural fruit of the carnal union of man and woman. Therefore the carnal union of two persons of the same sex goes against the natural order planned by God.

B. Because homosexuality is against reason: Reason presupposes things as determined by nature, before disposing of other things according as it is fitting.

Now, in matters of action, it is most grave and shameful to act against things as determined by nature.

Therefore, since the homosexual transgresses that which has been determined by nature with regards to the use of sexual actions, it follows that he acts against reason.

epsilon said...

Thank you so much for this link - the absolute beauty of it is that Melinda Selmys speaks in a way that secularised people can understand. There are so many people out there, both Catholic and non-Catholic who have been indoctrinated by the "everything is OK so long as you don't hurt anyone" dogma. Good people at their root, just as she was, but yearning for the Truth because somewhere in the back of their minds they know something is wrong.

The psychiatrist, Richard Fitzgibbons, was absolutely right when he said every bishop in the English-speaking world should hear what Melinda has to say. Her witness is too important for it to go unnoticed. Johnnette had every reason to be impressed with Melinda's simple honesty.

Many thanks again for the link - I am going to post about this too, Michael - we've got to spread the word no matter how few (or many) are listening:)

Unknown said...

Good people at their root, just as she was, but yearning for the Truth because somewhere in the back of their minds they know something is wrong.

Dear Epsilon,
I imagine Melinda Selmys had the courage - through the Holy Spirit - to face the TRUTH....not too many are!

God bless you
Michael Gormley

Nikki (Sarah) said...

hi....just read your bio and wanted to say...I'm sorry what happened to you..

Unknown said...

Thanks, Shelly!

God bless you
Michael Gormley

Tortoise said...

It is deplorable when homosexual persons are the object of malice in speech or in action or when they are deprived of their basic human rights.

Prejudice and discrimination against homosexual persons are not only uncharitable, they are unjust. However, in seeking to protect the rights of all persons, legislation can never be enacted which seeks to legitimate homosexual activity or even gives the impression of doing so.
<Such legislation is of itself immoral and an injustice is the natural rights of all men and women.

Likewise, any educational curriculum which seeks to instil in our children the belief that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable is to be considered as an immoral affront to the natural rights and dignity of our children.