Where Charity and Love are, God is There

I was listening to my "PS - Celtic" radio station on Pandora this morning, and heard a song by Connie Dover called "Ubi Caritas". After a little research, I discovered that "ubi caritas" is the opening words to a Catholic hymn. Here is a YouTube video of the song:




Here are the words to the hymn in Latin:


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:
Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.
Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,
Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:
Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum,
Saecula per infinita saeculorum. 
Amen.


Here is the English translation:


Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ's love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.


Where charity and love are, God is there.
As we are gathered into one body,
Beware, lest we be divided in mind.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,
And may Christ our God be in our midst.


Where charity and love are, God is there.
And may we with the saints also,
See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the ages through infinite ages.
Amen.

God's Ways are Above Our Ways

Isaiah 55:6-9 ~ Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let the wicked man abandon his way,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving;

for my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.

Yes, the heavens are as high above earth

as my ways are above your ways,

my thoughts above your thoughts.

The Undeniable Facts About Abortion

You can call the unborn a child, a baby, a fetus, a foetus, a clump of cells, a blob of flesh, or whatever you want. What is undeniable is the fact that if the unborn child, baby, fetus, foetus, clump of cells, or whatever you call it, is allowed to continue developing, it will be born a human being, and will continue to develop through childhood into adulthood. Another undeniable fact is that if the unborn child, baby, fetus, foetus, clump of cells, or whatever you call it, is aborted, it will not be born a human being, and will not grow through childhood into adulthood. Whether you support abortion or not, you cannot deny these facts. Abortion prevents the birth of a human being.

Learning About and Sharing Jesus Without a Bible

If you were a Christian in the third century, long before the printed Bible was widely available, how would you learn about Jesus if you didn't have a Bible? Once you learned about Jesus, how would you share your knowledge of Jesus with others if you didn't have a Bible to quote from?

Thinking Good Things

In the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians, the Christian community is encouraged to think of good things:


"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~ Philippians 4:8


Thinking about good things isn't always easy, especially when watching the news and hearing of the bad things that are happening in our world. One of the best ways I've found to think of good things is to listen to Christian music. When I was younger, I used to listen to a lot of secular pop and rock music. After a while, I realized that my mind was focusing more on the instruments than on the words. That's probably because the lyrics of many pop and rock songs are a bit random.


When I was living in San Diego in the early eighties, I started listening to contemporary Christian music. I quickly discovered that Christian music has a very positive and uplifting message. As I listened to more Christian music, I found myself thinking good thoughts more often. I actually listened to the lyrics of Christian music, not just the instruments.


At the end of 2007, I discovered a wonderful website called Pandora (http://www.pandora.com). Pandora enables users to create their own radio stations, and customize them to play the music they want them to play. To create a radio station, you choose a song or an artist that exemplifies the type of music you want the radio station to play. For example, if you want to create a radio station that plays 1950's era rock-a-billy, you might create a radio station based on Elvis Presley, or on one of the songs he wrote. I've found that it is best to base a station on a particular song, rather than basing it on a particular artist. Once the station is created, it starts playing songs like the song you based the station on, or songs that are like the songs played by the artist you based the station on. As each song plays, you can give it a "thumbs up" to indicate that the song is the type of song you want the radio station to play. If the song doesn't match the type of music the radio station plays, you give the song a "thumbs down". As you "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" songs, you "train" the radio station to play the type of songs you want it to play.


So far, I've created 38 radio stations that play a very wide variety of musical genres. One of my favorite radio station creations is my Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) radio station. If I'm in the mood to get my ancient Christian music groove on, I listen to my Gregorian Chant radio station. Both of these radio stations help me to think good thoughts, even when I'm feeling down in the dumps. When you get a chance, check them out. I hope they lift your spirits as much as they lift mine.


Here is an example of the music played by my CCM radio station. It's a song by Christian music artist Chris Rice, called Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus):


 


Here is an example of the music played by my Gregorian Chant radio station. It's a chant called "Veni Creator Spiritus", which is Latin for "Come, Creator Spirit":

Eucharistic Adoration: Adoro Te Devote

One of my favorite pastimes is sharing my Catholic faith on the social networking site called Twitter. This afternoon I was on Twitter sharing the Catholic Church's teaching on the sacrament of the Eucharist with a person I met. While I was talking to him, a friend of mine, a Catholic nun named Sister Lisa, noticed the conversation. When she saw that the topic of the conversation was the Eucharist, she sent me a link to a beautiful YouTube video of a Catholic hymn called Adoro Te Devote. It is a hymn that is usually sung during Eucharistic adoration. It is one of my favorite hymns. I shared the video with the person I was talking to, and now I share it with you:






Here is another version of Adore Te Devote that is equally awesome:







Thank you, Sister Lisa! :)

Video Series: Introduction to Theology of the Body

The following YouTube videos by Christopher West provide an introduction to the famous series of talks on human sexuality given by Pope John Paul II called "Theology of the Body".

Video #1: "The Language of the Body"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #2: "Celibacy for the Kingdom"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #3: "Is the Theology of the Body all about Sex?"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #4: "How Can the Body have a Theology?"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #5: "The Playboy and The Pope"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Book Preview: Catholicism and Fundamentalism

Are you a Catholic whose beliefs have been challenged by a "bible Christian"? If you had difficulty answering their challenges, I strongly suggest that you read the following book by Karl Keating called "Catholicism and Fundamentalism". The book does an excellent job at answering the many questions that fundamentalist Christians ask Catholics.

If you'd prefer to preview this book on the Google Books web site, click here.

Book Preview: The Faith of Millions

When I was single, I read a book called "The Faith of Millions", by John A. O'Brien. The book is an easy to read overview of the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic faith. It is an excellent refresher for Catholics, and is a good book for non-Catholics interested in learning more about the Catholic Church. I gave a copy of the book to a good friend of mine, who eventually became a Catholic priest. He told me that the book inspired his calling to the priesthood.

Below is a preview of a book. If you'd rather view the book on the Google Books web site, click here.

Book Preview: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic

Below is a preview of a book called "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic", by K. D. Whitehead. Here is an overview of the book from the Google Books web site:

"Very often in the history of Christianity, "reformers", by whatever name, have aspired to return to "the early Church". The Church of their own day, for whatever reason, fails to live up to what they think Christianity should be] in their view there has been a falling away from the beautiful ideals of the early Church. Kenneth Whitehead shows in this book how the early Church has, in fact, not disappeared, but rather has survived and persisted, and is with us still. "Reformers" are not so much the ones needed by this Church as are those who aspire to be saints -- to follow Christ seriously and always to fulfill God's holy will by employing the means of sanctification which Christ continues to provide in the Church. Whitehead shows how the visible body which today bears the name "the Catholic Church" is the same Church which Christ established to carry on and perpetuate in the world his Words and his Works -- and his own divine Life -- and to bring salvation and sanctification to all mankind. Despite superficial differences in certain appearances, the worldwide Catholic Church today remains the same Church that was originally founded by Jesus Christ on Peter and the other apostles back in the first century in the ancient Near East. The early Church, in other words, was always -- nothing else but -- the Catholic Church."

If you'd like to view the book on the Google Books web site, click here.

What Catholic Christians Believe - The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is the profession of the Christian faith. Background information on the Nicene Creed can be found here. The video below is a musical setting of the Nicene Creed, recorded by Musica Sacra. Other musical settings of the ordinary of the Mass can be found here.

Music Video: 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes, by Corrinne May

Here's another inspirational music video by Corrinne May that I stumbled across on You Tube:



I did a little research on Corrinne, and discovered that she is Catholic and pro-life. :)

Read All About It: Announcing the Roamin' Catholic Daily

Earlier today I discovered a cool web site called Paper.li where you can create a free online newspaper that generates its content from Twitter. You can create a newspaper based on content from a particular Twitter user and the people that he or she follows, from a Twitter hash tag, or from a Twitter list.

I created a newspaper today called the Roamin' Catholic Daily. Catchy name, huh? The content of the paper consists of articles tweeted by myself and the people I follow. So, if a person I follow posts a tweet with a link to an article on LifeSiteNews.com, for example, the article will appear on my newspaper. Way cool. I was quite pleased with the first edition. The quality of the articles featured reveals the quality of the people I follow.

If you'd like to check out the newspaper, go to http://paper.li/Beatidude. If you like it, feel free to subscribe. :)

The Catholic Bible Has More Books Than the Protestant Bible

Did you realize that the bible that Catholics use has more books in it than the bible that Protestants use? The Protestant reformers threw out several books that had always been held as inspired by the Catholic Church.

Here is a video that explains how this came to be:



If you are unable to view the video, click here.

Becoming Catholic - Kirsten's Story

I met a person on Twitter who wrote a series of posts on her blog that tell the story of how she became a Catholic. She is an excellent writer, and her story is both inspiring and informative. It is a must read for both Catholics, and those interested in the Catholic faith.

Thank you, @Kirsten116, for sharing your journey of faith. I am honored to share your story here.



Becoming Catholic, Part 1

Becoming Catholic, Part 2

Becoming Catholic, Part 3

Becoming Catholic, Part 4

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

QR Code:

Luminous Mysteries – Prayed on Thursdays

QR Code:

Sorrowful Mysteries – Prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays

QR Code:

Glorious Mysteries – Prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays

QR Code:

How Do You Distinguish Right from Wrong?

Most people have a general sense of right and wrong. For example, people who drive automobiles know that it is right to stop for a red traffic light, and know that it is wrong to drive through (run) a red traffic light. Most people realize that it is wrong to steal from another person, and that it is right to help other people who are in need. But where does this sense of right and wrong come from? Are all human beings born with it, or is it learned?

In order to be able to determine whether a given action is right or wrong, a person has to have some sort of rule or guideline by which to judge the action. What rules or guidelines exist in the world that people can use to distinguish right from wrong? One guideline that immediately comes to mind is civil law. For example, a person can decide that stealing is wrong because it is against the civil law. Another guideline that some people follow is religious law. Many people believe that murder is wrong because their religion tells them it is wrong. Some people distinguish right from wrong by what society considers right and wrong. Some people believe that cheating is wrong because most people they know think it's wrong.

Unfortunately, the different rules and regulations in existance in the world don't always agree with each other on all issues. Take the issue of abortion, for example. As it currently stands on January 17, 2010, federal law in the United States says that it is legal for a woman to have an abortion. Some religious organizations, like the United Church of Christ, agree with U.S. federal law and teach members of their church that abortion is right. [1] Other religious organizations, like the Roman Catholic Church, disagree with U.S. federal law and teach that abortion is wrong. [2] There are other religious organizations that leave it up to their believers to decide if abortion is right or wrong.

How do you know which law to follow regarding the abortion issue? Hopefully, you want to follow the law that is right. Unless you believe in moral relativism, they can't all be right. In other words, you can't say that abortion is right if you belong to the United Church of Christ, but it's wrong if you belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Abortion is either right, or it is wrong, regardless of who teaches what. Either the United Church of Christ and the U.S. federal government is right in their support of abortion, or they are wrong. Either the Roman Catholic Church is right in its opposition to abortion, or it is wrong.

This brings us to the key question: How do you know which law is right regarding abortion? It is a difficult question indeed. I am not going to tell you how you should determine whether abortion is right or wrong, but I will share with you how I determine whether it is right or wrong. It is totally up to you to decide if what I'm saying is true or not. I'm not trying to force you to believe anything.

As a practicing Roman Catholic, I believe that I must follow God's laws above or before any other law. If God's law says that abortion is wrong, I believe it is wrong, even though the civil law says abortion is right. Since there are other religions that interpret God's law to mean that abortion is right, how do I know the Catholic Church is interpreting God's law correctly? I believe that Catholic Church is right about abortion and other moral issues because Jesus Christ, when he founded the church, promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the church to the truth regarding moral issues. Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, meaning that the church will always exist, and will never lose the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Since the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong, as a member of the church, I am bound to believe that it is wrong. Catholics that believe they can go against church teaching and support abortion are wrong. They mistakenly believe that the Catholic Church is a "Burger King® Church", where they can pick and choose what teachings they are going to follow, and which ones they aren't. If a Catholic disagrees with the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion, they should either seek deeper understanding of the teaching, or find another religion to belong to. That may sound harsh, but I must believe that way or fall headlong into the abyss of moral relativism.

How do you distinguish right from wrong?

[1] http://www.ucc.org/justice/advocacy_resources/pdfs/reproductive-health-and-justice/reproductive-health-and-justice.pdf

[2] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm#2271

NOTE: A reader by the name of ProChoiceGal made some serious accusations against the Catholic Church in a comment she left below, and my response was longer than the comment text box would allow to be entered. Since I believe it is important for the readers of this post to see my response in its entirety, I'm going to include it here in the body of the post. I can do that, because I own this here blog.  :)  Anyway, here is my response to her comment:


ProChoiceGal - Thank you for your response. The first link you provided was to an article by a group called "Catholics for Choice" (CFC). According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholics for Choice "is not a Catholic organization, does not speak for the Catholic Church, and in fact promotes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church as articulated by the Holy See and the NCCB." Their first president was a Jesuit priest that was eventually kicked out of the priesthood. I wouldn't give a lot of validity to what they say regarding Catholic history and teaching.

There are a couple things you need to understand about infallibility:

1. An act does not need to be declared wrong or evil via infallible pronouncement to be considered wrong or evil. According to www.catholic.com, an infallible pronouncement—whether made by the pope alone or by an ecumenical council—usually is made only when some doctrine has been called into question. Most doctrines have never been doubted by the large majority of Catholics.

2. The pope is not the only one in the Catholic Church that can make infallible pronouncements. The bishops can make infallible pronouncements also. According to the Vatican II council, "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25).

The Catholic Church's teaching regarding abortion can be considered infallible because Pope John Paul II, while he was writing the papal encyclical Evangelium Vitae, took a survey of all bishops around the world as to whether they thought abortion was wrong, and that all agreed that abortion is wrong. Since all of the bishops believe, in union with the pope, that abortion is wrong, the belief can be considered infallible.

For a clearer understanding of the Catholic Church's teaching on infallibility, see http://www.catholic.com/library/Papal_Infallibility.asp. For more information regarding the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion and the value of human life in general, refer to the Catholic Catechism (http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm) and the papal encyclical Evangelium Vitae (http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0141/__PQ.HTM).

The second link you provided was to the ReligiousTolerance.org web site. The accuracy of the information provided by this site regarding the Catholic faith (and other faiths) is questionable at best. Your quote from this web site would have given a more accurate view of the Catholic Church regarding the subject of abortion had you included the statement from John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, which followed immediately after the text you quoted. Here it is:

"Pope Paul Vl declared that the teaching of the Church about the morality of abortion 'has not changed and is unchangeable.' Although some people point out that Saint Thomas Aquinas thought the soul did not come to the fetus ('ensoulment') until sometime after conception, the fact is that he considered abortion gravely sinful even before this time. He taught that it was a 'grave sin against the natural law' to kill the fetus at any stage, and a graver sin of homicide to do so after ensoulment."

The Catholic Church has always believed that the killing of human being, born or unborn, is evil and morally wrong. What has changed over the centuries is the Catholic Church's understanding of the point at which the fetus becomes a human being (is "ensouled") and has the right to be protected. As science and technology has advanced, the Catholic Church's understanding of when the fetus becomes a human being has become clearer. The Catholic Church now firmly believes that the fetus becomes a human being worthy of protection at the moment of conception, which occurs at fertilization (not implantation).

God bless you.

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice - Can't We Just Get Along?

There is a lot of bickering, back-biting, and name calling on Twitter these days between people in the pro-life and pro-choice movements. As far as I can see, these are the primary goals of the pro-life and pro-choice movements:

1. The goal of the pro-life movement is to protect unborn human life.
 
2. The goal of the pro-choice movement is to protect the rights of women experiencing unwanted pregnancies.

Believe it or not, these are both noble goals. Although many people in the pro-choice movement might think so, I seriously doubt that there are many pro-life people who would say their primary goal is to take away the rights of women who are experiencing unwanted pregnancies and "force" them to have their babies. Although many pro-life people might think so, I seriously doubt that there are many pro-choice people who would say their primary goal is to murder unborn babies.

Let's keep this in mind, pro-life and pro-choice people, as we engage each other in debates over the abortion rights issue. If we do, our discussions might be productive, rather than destructive.

To all pro-life and pro-choice people, I leave you with the first reading from today's Catholic Mass. It is one of my favorite scripture readings from the first letter of John, in the Christian (New) testament:


My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

1 John 4:7-10

Peace be with you, and with your spirit!

Everything Starts from Prayer

"Everything starts from prayer. Without asking God for love, we cannot possess love and still less are we able to give it to others. Just as people today are speaking so much about the poor but they do not know or talk to the poor, we too cannot talk so much about prayer and yet not know how to pray." ~ Mother Teresa

The Mother of All Christian Churches

Many people don't know this, but for the first 5 centuries after Christ, there was only one Christian Church. In approximately the 2nd or 3rd century, that church became known as the Catholic Church. The term "Catholic" is not a label, like "Methodist", "Lutheran", or "Baptist". The term "Catholic" refers to what the church is, which is "universal". For more information regarding the name "Catholic", please click here.

I found an interesting diagram on Wikipedia that graphically illustrates when the various branches of Christianity began. To view the chart and accompanying article, click here. It is interesting to note that before the Assyrian Church broke off and became a separate branch of Christianity in the year 431, the church prior to that point was referred to as "Early Christianity". In reality, the church that existed from the time of Christ was the Catholic Church. As was mentioned above, the term "Catholic" began to be applied to the church in the 2nd or 3rd century, but the church existed before that. The Assyrian Church broke away from the Catholic Church, not some generic Christian community. Further proof that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus himself, and was the first Christian church, can be seen in the list of Catholic Church leaders (popes), which began with the apostle Peter and continued in unbroken succession to the current pope, Pope Benedict XVII. For a complete list of popes, please click here.

This post provides just some of the reasons why I am a Catholic. If you are a non-Catholic Christian, why do you belong to the particular Church you belong to? If you consider yourself "non-denominational", why? Please provide any comments you might have in the comment box below. God's peace be with you!