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.

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.

Free Catholic Audio

Many times we don't have time to read. We have to go to work, to pick up our kids from school, we have a doctor's appointment, and many other things that take time away from us. That's why today's post is dedicated to giving you websites where you can download free audio downloads for almost any topic regarding Catholicism. If you are trying to explain your faith to someone, but might not know much about the topic, or if you just want prayers to hear on the go, then the chances are that there is an audio for that.

Apologetics
There are many audio files available for those trying to understand the Catholic faith better, or for helping other people understand the faith better.

Bible Christian Society
Fulton Sheen
Contraception Debate

Catholic Audio books
These are some free Catholic audio books that are available. These audio books are made by knowledgeable  Catholic authors.

Search and Rescue
Pope Fiction
The Lamb's supper
Our Father's Plan

General Audio
These audio files are for simple Catholic prayers, talks, and general Catholicism.
Sonitus Sanctus
Salvation History
Peter Kreeft
Ewtn Multimedia




 

The Friday of penance

                                     
It is Friday today and thus we are called to treat it as a day of penance for the preparation of the Lord's day on Sunday. Many of us abstain from meat today, yet many of us forget, or fail to do this as well. There are many we could practice penance on Fridays, this ways include what make up penance, praying, fasting, and alms giving.

We must first come to know what penance is, this way we could practice it. Penance is a sacramental mean instituted by Christ for the forgiveness of sins. During Lent we practice penance and are also called as baptised Catholics to renew our baptismal commitment. Friday is ought to be our weekly Lent, and thus Friday is meant to be our weekly Lent.

Praying

Prayer is one of the most important aspects of penance. we are to pray a decade of the rosary, and to read scripture. We thus surrender ourselves to pray and to read scripture. We should do our best to pray when we can, and to read even a small passage of scripture.

Fasting

We are called to fast from certain periods of time, and should fast certain foods. We are told not only to abstain from food, but from certain activities as well. There are many foods that you can abstain from for the Friday penance. One thing that I do, is to abstain from candy and soda. These are thing that I eat and drink a lot, thus fasting from these things are a big offering for me.

abstaining from meat is something we should all do more, including me. I usually fail at this. We could substitute eating red meat and instead eat fish for example. If we are running late and need to get fast food, instead of getting a hamburger, substitute it for a fish taco instead.

Alms giving

The last thing we ought to do for penance is to give alms. The giving of alms is meant for us to share the given to us by God with others. Giving alms doesn't just include money, but sharing our time, and our talents with others as well.

After all penance is not only refraining from sin, but also includes the conversion of our hearts to Christ.

Rosary Series 1: Is the Rosary biblical?

Many Non-Catholics claim that the Rosary is not only unnecessary, but that it is also unbiblical. They fail to see the biblicality of the rosary and the importance of it.
  
   What is the Rosary?

The rosary is merely a reflection on the life of Jesus and Mary, thus there is nothing unblicical, nor unchristian about it. The first 18 mysteries of the rosary which make up the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and the beginning of the glorious mysteries can all be found directly from scripture. This includes the nativity of Jesus, his passion, and his resurrection, which are all biblical. The last two mysteries, the Assumption, and the Coronation of the Virgin Mary can be taken indirectly from scripture.

As to the assumption of the Virgin Mary it is to be noted that there are passages in the old testament that give a glimpse to the possibility of an assumption, this includes Enoch and Elijah. In 2 Kings 2 it says "And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal." This passages is saying that although Elijah was probably not assumed into heaven, it is possible for this to happen.

The quotes below can be of use

   "That privilege has shone forth in new radiance since our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the loving Mother of God's Immaculate Conception. These two privileges are most closely bound to one another. Christ overcame sin and death by his own death, and one who through Baptism has been born again in a supernatural way has conquered sin and death through the same Christ. Yet, according to the general rule, God does not will to grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the end of time has come. And so it is that the bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul."
  
"Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body."- The Vatican

As for the coronation of the Virgin Mary

In revelations 12, scripture depicts a woman in heaven with a crown in her head. This can be alluded to the Coronation of Mary. Paul then says in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 " As to the rest of us there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the lord will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love is coming. These two verses can allude that we can in fact get coronated once we are in heaven, and thus explains that Mary was in fact coronated.

   Prayers of the Rosary

   The Our Father
  
One of the main prayers in the Rosary besides the Hail Mary is the Our Father. Not only is it biblical, but it is one of the most important Christian prayers. In Mt 6:9-13 and Lk 11:2-4 Jesus tells us the way we should pray, and thus gives us this prayer.

   The Hail Mary
  
The second prayer of the rosary, the one most people know, The Hail Mary, is made up all from biblical passages.  In Lk 1:28 The angel Gabriel greeted Mary and said "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Then in Lk 1:41-42 it says "And Elizabeth filled with the holy ghost, And she cried out with a loud voice, Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

   Glory be

Finally as for the Glory be, doesn't the bible mention praising God and the Lord many times both in the Old and New Testament. In Psa 150:1 It says "Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power." So how could it be unbiblical for the rosary to have this prayer included. What better method to pray the rosary than for praising our Lord.

This is to say that both the purpose of the rosary, and the prayers in the rosary are all biblical.

 

Defending Mary

    
Many protestants tend to be opposed to Mary in many ways. This includes their opposition to Mary's perpetual virginity, including from the time she had Jesus, to after she had Jesus. The second opposition comes from the claim that Jesus denounced Mary and his family.  This is commonly seen in the verse of Mt 12:48 "Who is my mother and who are my brethren? This can also be seen in other passages including Mk 3:32-35, and Lk 11:27-28.
  
What Protestants don't know is that these verses are talking about the eternal family of Jesus. If you look at the verses after Mt 12:48, Mt 12:49-50 Jesus says "Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." Jesus explained that any one who does the will of God is considered to be part of Jesus's eternal family. This passage helps explain that rather than denounce his mother, he is saying that more important than biological connections, are those who do God's will and keep his word. Thus this explains that Mary is important to God, not just because she is the mother of God, but because she does the will of God.

As for the attack on Mary's perpetual virginity, including losing her virginity while giving birth to Jesus, and her having more children comes from the passage of Mt 13:55 " Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude?"

These two claims can be refuted by knowing other passages of the bible that help explain how this is simply not true. One of this passages comes from Lk 1:34-35 While Mary was talking to the angel Gabriel  And Mary said to the Angel : "How should this be done because I know not Man? And the angel answering, said to her: The holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, And also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God"

This passage helps explain that Mary's ignorance of men is the reason why God had given her the grace of bringing the child of God into the world. St Augustine takes notice that if Mary had not made a vow to God of remaining a virgin, then it would not serve a purpose to be given her this grace. Notice that the angel is telling Mary that God has no limit, and if God wills Mary to remain a virgin it will be done. It is not that sex in marriage is sinful, but it is that virginity is much holier and special than sex. This is the reason the blessed Virgin Mary was given this special grace.

As for the passage about the brethren of Jesus, it is to be noticed that it is likely that they are to be his cousins or part of his extended family. both Hebrew and Aramaic, which are the languages spoken during Jesus's time did not have a word for cousin. cousins and people of an extended family were all called"brethren".  Another thing is that Jesus gave the care of his mother to the disciple John. If Mary did have more kids, then it would make sense for one of them to be the one taking care of her. Rather Jesus gives John the responsibility.

In the end Mary is the mother of God and for this reason deserves our attention. If you have respect for your own mother, then it is that we should have even more respect for the mother of God. It is not that we should worship her as many believe Catholics of doing, but rather it is about giving a devotion to one who was close to God.

  

  

Why did God make me?

  

One of the many questions asked by people is why did God make me? People want to understand the reason for life, the reason for us being here. It's not until we learn that we were created in God's image that we may know and love him that we start to understand the purpose for our creation.

Yet many people don't know how we are supposed to know God. For many people today God is someone who doesn't seems to play a role in one's life. To many people he is simply the "Unknown God". But rather we get to know God through his son Jesus. We see the work and life of Jesus and through him we know God. It is by the love we see in the cross, as Jesus says "Greater man no man has than to give your life for your friends"

 By coming to know Jesus and living how Jesus lived we get to know God, and we get to know the purpose for our creation. We can see that Jesus was born in a manger, someone who rejected worldly comfort, and recognition, as Jesus said that we are not to be of this world but of the world to come. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and give his life for his brethren. In the last supper Jesus told his disciples to do the same. Jesus told his disciples as he was preaching "What you do to the least of this my brethren you do to me". By serving and knowing Christ we are called to be another Christ, meaning that we are to act as Jesus Christ and serve as Jesus served. We are called to be the salt of the world, giving purpose for all of life. It is through love, charity, and kindness that we follow Jesus.

This is why by living as Jesus lived, and by living by what he told us is when we start to know why God created us. It is so that we may know and love God, and it is through his son Jesus that this becomes possible. through his son Jesus we know who God is, as Jesus said that he is the answer and only through Jesus do you know God.