Be remembered by what you love not by what you hate.

Consider This

Pacifists vs. Peace

In Sowell's recent article he explores our (meaning, the general public) lack of understanding, not giving special attention to, or worse yet, lack of desire to learn, the precise meanings of words. Here he explore "pacificism" and the "peace" movement, and why they do not work.

Need proof? I thought you’d ask. Sowell lays it out. For example, he writes,

Take the Middle East. People are calling for a cease-fire in the interests of peace. But there have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than anywhere else. If cease-fires actually promoted peace, the Middle East would be the most peaceful region on the face of the earth instead of the most violent.

You have to read the full article. It's right here.

Do I?

Do I have an open heart?
Can I embrace new people, experiences, or ways of looking at god?
Does my heart reach out to strangers, but bristle when people I know make requests?

Do I have a prayerful heart?
Do I seek quiet time, reflection and study?
Do I respect the uniqueness of every human being?

Do I have a peaceful heart?
Does my heart waste itself on small stuff, losing sight of God’s far-reaching vision?
Do I need to rid myself of grumbling and complaining about every frustration?

Do I have a quiet heart?
Do I fill my days with busy-ness to avoid listening to God and others?

Do I have a hopeful heart?
Can I recognize the positive influences in our world?
Am I able to let go and accept outcomes which I disagree?

Do I have a grateful heart?
Am I aware that all that I have is a gift?
Do I appreciate the gifts and talent God has given those around me?

Do I have a loving heart?
Do others recognize that I am a follower of Jesus by how I treat people?
Is inner goodness shown in my actions?

Do I have a forgiving heart?
Am I ready to give up grudges, resentments and old hurts?
Can I look past being shunned and mistreated by others in my community?

Do I have a serving heart?
Do I share my spiritual and material gifts with others?
Am I willing to do what needs to be done, regardless of reward?

Letters

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1. Sunday Readings: August 13, 2006 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2006
   
2. Today: Relevant Articles For Catholics
   
3. Cath Humor
   
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Sunday Readings

August 13, 2006
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2006

First Reading: 1 Kgs 19:4-8

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.

He prayed for death saying:
"This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers."

He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.

After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
"Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!"

He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Second Reading: Eph 4:30—5:2

Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

Gospel: Jn 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
"I am the bread that came down from heaven,"
and they said,
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Do we not know his father and mother?
Then how can he say,
‘I have come down from heaven’?"

Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Today

Creation or Evolution?
Here Is the View of the Church of Rome

Creationists versus Darwinists, "intelligent design" versus random selection, the controversy is as heated as ever. The pope is studying the issue with a team of experts. Keep reading to find the truth he wants to reassert. And the confusion he wants to clear up.

This article by Sandro Magister is quite lengthy but it offers insight to the latest thinking on these controversial topics in the Vatican.

In his article, Father De Rosa sums up where the scientific controversy now stands point. He writes:

"A clear distinction must be made between what evolution is and what theories try to say about it. While it is certainly true that phenomenon itself is real, theories about it must be experimentally verified before they can be considered scientifically valid. So far this has not happened. And for this reason, the last word on evolution has not been said. Ahead of us therefore there is much work to do before we can fully understand the mechanisms of the evolutionary process."

Now, that should enough incentive to read the rest of the article, right? Welllll, see for yourself. Kidding aside, this is a really good article on the topic.

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References On Catholic Apologetics

I really encourage you to read at least the following:

• ¹What Catholics Really Believe-Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1992, by Karl Keating, director Catholic Answers, a lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization, and editor of the magazine, This Rock. He is also the author of the best-seller, Catholicism and Fundamentalism.

• ²Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide for Explaining and Defending the Catholic Faith, Basilica Press, San Diego, 1999, by Tim Staples, a former Assemblies of God youth pastor who converted to the Catholic Church.

• ³Catholic Source Book, Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2000, by Rev. Peter Klein. Rev Peter Klein is a priest of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota.

• ⁴Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington, Indiana, 1998, by Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, editor. Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the author of eleven books and more than 500 articles. He is the founding editor of Catholic Answer and the administrator of St. John the Baptist Church of Bayonne, New Jersey. He likewise serves as adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

For more great information about our faith, please read Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. This is an excellent addition to a Catholic family library. I refer to this book everytime I come across a questionable term. It is also a very good source of a summary of Catholic Doctines, without the deep and brooding terminologies.

Huh?!

• If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
• If you're born again, do you have two bellybuttons?
• One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.
• To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it.
• Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
• The older you get, the better you realize you were.
• I doubt, therefore I might be.
• Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.
• Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
• Women like silent men, they think they're listening.
• Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
• Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
• A fool and his money are soon partying.
• Do pediatricians play miniature golf on Wednesdays?
• Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
• Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery.
• If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?
• If God dropped acid, would he see people?
• If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?
• If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?
• If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?
• If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry

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