Video Documentary: Mother Teresa - The Legacy

If I had to pick one person that I find the most inspiring, that person would be Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She had a simple yet powerful love for Jesus. Her life was a prime example of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. If she isn't canonized a saint someday, I don't know who would be. She was Christianity personified.

A friend of mine on Twitter posted a link to a video documentary on the life and passing of Mother Teresa. The video was so excellent, I decided to post
the entire six part documentary below. A special thanks to my Twitter friend @StMotherTheresa for posting a link to this documentary.

Part 1:



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Part 2:



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Pray the Rosary Using Rosary Podcasts

A rosary is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. Each set of ten is separated by another bead. It also contains a crucifix. It is used in saying special prayers, usually to Mary where the rosary is used to count the prayers. Below are links to the different prayers of the rosary in MP3 podcast format, courtesy of http://www.rosaryarmy.com/. If you have a cell
phone with a QR Code scanner, you can scan the accompanying QR Code to
listen to the podcast on your cell phone.

Joyful Mysteries – Prayed on Mondays and Saturdays

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Luminous Mysteries – Prayed on Thursdays

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Sorrowful Mysteries – Prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays

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Glorious Mysteries – Prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays

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Oprah Winfrey and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

A friend of mine on the Pro-Life committee at my church sent me links to the four part video series below about a convent of Dominican nuns who were featured on the Oprah Winfrey television show. It was very refreshing to see how full of the love of Christ these nuns are. It was also refreshing to see a secular television show do such a nice job in showcasing their work and faith. I hope you find these videos as inspiring as I did.

Part 1:



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Part 2:



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Part 3:



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Part 4:



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The Problem With "A La Carte" Catholicism

If you were to ask 10 Catholics what it means to be a Catholic, you would probably receive 10 different answers. I would hope that they would be 10 minor variations of the same answer, but I'm not so sure they would be. There seems to be a lot of confusion in modern society as to what it means to be a member of the Catholic Church. Before we delve into that, let's first take a look at the definition of the Catholic Church:

Catholic Church
- noun Roman Catholic Church
A visible society of baptised Christians professing the same faith under the authority of the invisible head (Christ) and the authority of the visible head (the pope and the bishops in communion with him).

An important point to glean from this definition is that members of the Catholic Church share the same faith. What does it mean to share the same
faith? That means Catholics share the same beliefs and values. Catholics are united with other Catholics in what they believe about God, and what it means to live as a Christian.

One of the most beautiful explanations that I have ever heard of what it means to be Catholic can be found in a highly publicized letter written by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I., to U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy regarding the congressman's support of abortion rights. Here is an excerpt from that letter (the full letter can be found here):

What does it mean, really, to be a Catholic? After all, being a Catholic has to mean something, right? Well, in simple terms – and here I refer only to those more visible, structural elements of Church membership – being a Catholic means that you’re part of a faith community that possesses a clearly defined authority and doctrine, obligations and expectations. It means that you believe and accept the teachings of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals; that you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish; that you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly; that you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially.

Notice that Bishop Tobin says that being Catholic means that you "believe and accept the teachings of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals". If that is true (and I believe it is), why do so many Catholics think, like Congressman Kennedy, that they can violate Catholic Church teachings and support laws that are in opposition to Church teachings and still consider themselves Catholics in good standing with the Church? Such Catholics are deluding themselves. The Catholic faith isn't like an a la carte menu at a restaurant where you can pick and choose which doctrines you want to believe, and which ones you don't. If you profess to be a member of the Catholic Church, and go against Church doctrine, you are not being "progressive", you are being sinful.

Catholics need to understand the difference between theological rules, and dogma. Theological rules can be changed, but dogma cannot change. An example of a theological rule is priestly celebacy. The Catholic Church currently requires priests to take a vow of celebacy before they are ordained. This rule could be done away with at any time by the Church. It is not unchangeable. Dogma, on the other hand, cannot be changed. An example of Catholic dogma is the belief that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is not possible for the Catholic Church to one day change its mind and declare that the Eucharist is only a symbol of Jesus Christ, and not his actual body. For a list of the dogmas of the Catholic Church, go here.

Catholics that disagree with a dogmatic teaching of the Church needs to seek deeper understanding of the teaching. They might come to agree with the teaching if they know more about it. Unfortunately, many Catholics think it's OK to disagree with dogmatic Catholic teachings, and take an "a la carte" approach to determining what teachings they believe and don't believe. The problem with being an "a la carte Catholic" is that it not only puts their salvation in jeopardy, but it causes scandal, both inside and outside the Church. When a Catholic publicly declares "I'm Catholic, but I support a woman's right to abortion", uninformed listeners might think that the official position of the Catholic Church is that it is ok for Catholics to support abortion rights, when in fact it is not.

If you are a Catholic, and disagree with a Catholic Church teaching, seek deeper understanding of the teaching. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can pick and choose what teachings you want to believe of not believe, and remain in good standing with the Catholic Church. If you do, you're putting your salvation in jeopardy, and causing damage to the body of Christ, which is the Church.

They Have Ears, But They Do Not Hear

The Gospel reading from today's Catholic Mass reminded me, in a way, of some of the people I've met on Twitter that support abortion rights (Pro-Choice). In the reading, Jesus tells a parable about the lives of a rich man, and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man lives a life of wealth, and Lazarus lives a life of poverty. After they die, the rich man finds himself in hell, and Lazarus finds himself in eternal happiness with God in heaven. The end of the story is what reminds me of many of the pro-choice people I've encountered. The rich man calls out to God and asks him to send Lazarus to his brothers' house and warn them so they don't suffer the same fate as he did when they die. God responds by telling him that his brothers can listen to Moses and the prophets. The rich man basically tells God that his brothers won't listen to Moses or the prophets, but if God would send someone from the dead, the brothers would listen to him. Here's the kicker: God says to the rich man, "If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead."

This reading reminds me of my discussions with many pro-choice people because the stark truth about abortion can be presented to them, and it's as if they didn't hear a word that you said. For example, it is extremely obvious to me and others who oppose abortion that a human being exists from the moment of conception, but pro-choice people refuse to see this simple reality. How can they not see something so obvious? It's as if they have ears but do not hear.

Here is today's scripture reading from Luke 16:19-31:

Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.” ‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them..” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’