Pages

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Saints that have influenced me: Anthony of Padua

                       This is the first of several articles of certain saints that have influenced my life


        
Anthony of Padua

Anthony of Padua which happens to be my confirmation saint, has influenced me in many ways. Through his love for God and Charity to God's creatures he has shown me simplicity through his preachings and good example.

Choosing God over Wealth

Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins on August 15, 1195 on Lisbon, Portugal. Saint Anthony was born and raised in a wealthy family. His father wanted him to be a great nobleman, but Anthony had other plans. Fernando had other plans, he chose to to the Cannons Regulars to study Theology and Latin. After he saw five Franciscan friars who were on their way to Morocco. Upon seeing their dead bodies on their return, Fernando was amazed by their faith in martyrdom. He chose to join the new Franciscan Order. In there he changed his name in honor of Saint Francis the Great.

Through his actions saint Anthony showed me that we must put God before all else, this includes money and worldly things. God should always be our biggest priority in all our daily lives.

His simplicity and fidelity

Saint Anthony's preachings were simple teachings of the Catholic faith. He was know as the "Hammer of Heretics" He fought diligently against the heresies of his time and refused to give in to them. Once when preaching to a group of people who would not listen to him, Anthony preached to the fishes. The fishes rose up in multitudes and the people that saw believed Anthony. Another time when staying at a friend's house in the city of Padua, Anthony was seen holding the infant Jesus standing upon an open book on a table.

Saint Anthony showed me that doing God's will is both by preaching the Gospels and by good example. Saint Anthony had great compassion for the poor and for sinners. He was always preaching the Gospel, but also showing charity to all. Anthony showed us someone who had both faith and works, faith by preaching about God, regardless of criticism, and works by his acts of love and charity to both the poor and sinners.













Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Video: The Church's Stand on Homosexuality

The other day I found an interested video I found on a blog I follow Brandon Vogt. The name of the video is called Yes To You.






The video does an excellent job giving a quick summary of church teaching regarding homosexuality. Many people have the wrong misconception that the church expresses hatred by its opposition to gay marriage and homosexual acts.

This could be further from the truth. The church states that we are to treat everyone with love, including homosexuals. The church understands the fact that several people have same sex attractions, but same sex attractions don't have to define you.