St. Patrick's Day during Holy Week may affect celebrations

bobrob2004 wrote:

I am Roman Catholic, I go to church every Sunday and my beliefs are very strong. I don't really appreciate all this bashing on this thread.

I am catholic, I just disagree with some of the things. Such as saying my mother can't recieve communion. She had her first communion, reconciliation, and cofirmation but because she wasn't married in church she is not allowed. I disagree that I am considered born out of wed-lock because my dad is of the baptist religion.

I go to a catholic school and I do consider myself to be of the Roman Catholic religion. I don't believe anyone is trying to be offensive, and I apologize if what I have said is.

I agree with you;

My comments weren't all directed to you gs. I agree with pretty much all that you have said. Every week my church asks for money because they've used it all up covering up the priests who have molested children. Do I give them extra money? Hell no. I think all those priests caught should go to jail for life. The reason why they don't is because there's a shortage of priests. If they would just allow priest to marry, there'd be plenty of them. Talk about an out-dated rule.

I would, however, never turn my back on the church. I go to church for God and not the priests. If I find out that my priest molested a child, I would find another church, (but still Roman Catholic).

Your beliefs are your beliefs and in no way am I telling you what to believe in. I just don't like it when people assume that everybody believes what they believe in. Because that is almost never true.

Oh, and I don't agree with this new Pope. I was never in favor of him being elected with Pope John Paul II died.

tigersgirl wrote:

bobrob2004 wrote:

I am Roman Catholic, I go to church every Sunday and my beliefs are very strong. I don't really appreciate all this bashing on this thread.

I am catholic, I just disagree with some of the things. Such as saying my mother can't recieve communion. She had her first communion, reconciliation, and cofirmation but because she wasn't married in church she is not allowed. I disagree that I am considered born out of wed-lock because my dad is of the baptist religion.

I go to a catholic school and I do consider myself to be of the Roman Catholic religion. I don't believe anyone is trying to be offensive, and I apologize if what I have said is.

I don't agree with everything either in the Roman Catholic church either. The main one is that I think Priest should be allowed to marry. My comments weren't directed entirely to you.

Good Point about the shortage of Priests!

I could be wrong about this; But I once read somewhere that Catholic Priests that were ministers and Reverends and converted to Catholisism were allowed to stay married

gs78 wrote:

I could be wrong about this; But I once read somewhere that Catholic Priests that were ministers and Reverends and converted to Catholisism were allowed to stay married

That is true. I only know because some friends of mine and I were talking to teachers and asking if there was anyway you could recieve all the sacraments and they said yes, for that reason.

WOW!

Questioning and doubting are not bashing.

I, too, hope my comments were not construed as "bashing". I was raised as a Catholic, and am one today. I just find it confusing how the different organized religions can be so different, yet be so similar. Every member of an organized religion (Christianity) pray to the same God, recognize the same holy days, and belive Christ died for our sins. That being said, how can they differ so much when it comes to interpreting the words of scripture?

I agree that the church has Many outdated rules, and I think some of them are in the process of being changed. However, I don't think we're going to see Priests being allowed to marry anytime soon. Nor will we have women as Priests. I remember back in High School...I was reccomended and "recruited" to go to the Seminary to become a Priest. Obviously, I said no....but would have NO problem with doing it today if I was allowed to do so....but being married....that's not going to happen.

As for ministers and Reverends that convert to Catholosism and be allowed to stay married...well...Yeah....One of the Catholic Church's biggest No-No's is Divorce! They certainly would not ask an ordained minister to get a divorce....that would be a cardinal sin!

that was pretty wild that they are thinking about changing the seven mortal sins to reflect more of today--or is that already a done deal?

I don't know how they could....weren't they a part of scripture? How can you change the original "mortal sins" if they are a part of written history?

I could be wrong...the church has been known to do all kinds of things...and not everything "they" do is very popular amongst the congregation.

ROME — Drug pushers, the obscenely rich, environmental polluters and “manipulative” genetic scientists beware — you may be in danger of losing your mortal soul unless you repent.

After 1,500 years the Vatican has brought the seven deadly sins up to date by adding seven new ones for the age of globalization. The list, published yesterday in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, came as the Pope deplored the “decreasing sense of sin” in today’s “secularized world” and the falling numbers of Roman Catholics going to confession.

The new deadly sins include polluting, genetic engineering, being obscenely rich, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice.

The Catholic Church divides sins into venial, or less serious, sins and mortal sins, which threaten the soul with eternal damnation unless absolved before death through confession and penitence.

It holds mortal sins to be “grave violations of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes,” including murder, contraception, abortion, perjury, adultery and lust.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell.”

Although there is no definitive list of mortal sins, many believers accept the broad seven deadly sins or capital vices laid down in the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great and popularized in the Middle Ages by Dante in "The Inferno": lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride.

Christians are exhorted instead to adhere to the seven holy virtues: chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness and humility.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences, said after a week-long Lenten seminar for priests that surveys showed 60 percent of Catholics in Italy no longer went to confession.

He said that priests must take account of “new sins which have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalization.” Whereas sin in the past was thought of as being an individual matter, it now has “social resonance.”

“You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos,” he said.

Bishop Girotti said that mortal sins also included taking or dealing in drugs, and social injustice which caused poverty or “the excessive accumulation of wealth by a few.”

He said that two mortal sins which continued to preoccupy the Vatican were abortion, which offended “the dignity and rights of women,” and pedophilia, which had even infected the clergy itself and so had exposed the “human and institutional fragility of the Church.”

The mass media had “blown up” the issue “to discredit the Church,” but the Church itself was taking steps to deal with it, according to Girotti.

Addressing the Apostolic Penitentiary seminar, the Pope said there was “a certain disaffection” with confession among the faithful. Priests had to show “divine tenderness for penitent sinners” and admit their own failings.

“Those who trust in themselves and in their own merits are, as it were, blinded by their own ‘I’, and their hearts harden in sin. Those who recognize themselves as weak and sinful entrust themselves to God, and from Him obtain grace and forgiveness.”

The Pope also complained that an increasing number of people in the secularized West were “making do without God.”

He said that hedonism and consumerism had even invaded “the bosom of the Church itself, deeply undermining the Christian faith from within, and undermining the lifestyle and daily behavior of believers.”

Eastern Catholics do not recognize the same distinction between mortal and venial sins as the Western or Latin Church does, nor do they believe that those people who die in a state of sin are condemned to automatic damnation.

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The new deadly sins include polluting, genetic engineering, being obscenely rich, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice.

I guess Politicians are ALL damned to Hell....they cause a social injustice on a daily basis!! :haha:

Oh...we can't forget Lawyers, too!!

we all fall short!

Yeah...that we do....

The one thing I always keep in mind though...There was only 1 perfect person to walk the face of the earth...and he could walk on water. Untill I can do that....I don't think God will expect me to be perfect...but he loves me anyway!

And his death made all sin disappear!

Absolutely!!

I think that's why I like Easter and Thanksgiving best of all the holidays...there isn't so much consumerism/materialism BS...

yeah...it's nice having holidays where you are not pressured into buying so much or making a mockery of the reason for the Holiday

although whomever the dolt was that invented the Easter Bunny should be....well, you decide!

sad too when so many well-meaning parents and grandparents give bunnies to kids! Most of them end up being set free or dropped off at the humane society!

hmmm didn't I see a recipe for Braized Rabbit??

THAT'S what needs done to that

How about Braised Human?

Sounds like a good idea..but I'm not much into canibalism.

grrr. disgruntled vegetarian here...

when I was Catholic, I always got a good laugh about not eating meat on Fridays! I NEVER eat meat! and many cloistered nuns, such as the Poor Clares, don't either! Next penance, please!

Sadly, even Easter has has a pagan origin, and was Christianized in modern society and, Believers and non-believers, get caught up in the commercialization of it.

I myself, as well as many Priests and Pastors, have changed from calling it Easter to "Resurrection Sunday." My cousin's Roman Catholic church was one of the first places that I learned of this, through her (my cousin). I have since learned about it in Protestant churches.


Sadly, Babylon was rebuilt by Saddam Hussein, and a Pagan ritual play is held yearly in Iraq.

See: http://architecture.about.com/cs/countriescultures/a/saddamspalace.htm


I recommend all Christians do a web search and study where the Easter name comes from (and it's not from the Bible).

One site that explains Easter (which comes from the fertility Goddess “ISHTAR”) is:

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html

And this is just one of hundreds of sites that explain the way this pagan holiday was "Christianized by the church (both Catholic and Protestant)



And the Easter Bunny, where is it in the Bible, it's not!

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The rabbit is well known as a sexual symbol of fertility. In various parts of the world, religions which developed from Babel also associate the rabbit with periodicity, both human and lunar (Egypt, China, etc.). As you may remember, the Mother Goddess Semiramis (Easter) is associated with the Moon. In other words, the Easter bunny symbolizes the Mother Goddess. Annual Spring time fertility rituals are associated worship of the Mother Goddess and Tammuz, the reincarnation of her husband Nimrod.

And Easter Eggs???

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Most children and families who color or hide Easter eggs as part of their Resurrection Sunday tradition have no knowledge of the origin of these traditions. Easter egg activities have become a part of Western culture. Many would be surprised and even dismayed to learn where the traditions originated.

“The egg was a sacred symbol among the Babylonians. They believed an old fable about an egg of wondrous size which was supposed to have fallen from heaven into the Euphrates River. From this marvelous egg - according to the ancient story - the Goddess Astarte (Easter) [Semiramis], was hatched. And so the egg came to symbolize the Goddess Easter.”[11]

The idea of a mystic egg spread from Babylon to many parts of the world.[12] In Rome, the mystic egg preceded processions in honor of the Mother Goddess Roman. The egg was part of the sacred ceremonies of the Mysteries of Bacchus. The Druids used the egg as their sacred emblem. In Northern Europe, China and Japan the eggs were colored for their sacred festivals.[13]

The egg was also a symbol of fertility; Semiramis (Easter) was the goddess of Fertility. The Easter egg is a symbol of the pagan Mother Goddess, and it even bears one of her names.

We need to worship our great Savior Christ Jesus, during this most Holy season, but with an understanding of what are true Christian symbols, and what is paganism.

In ending, the article this was taken from, states:

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“Easter” is simply one of the names of a woman who mightily deceived the world and whose religion has caused untold suffering and misery.[14] She was clearly an enemy of Christianity, and her son Tammuz was an anti-Christ, a false messiah that ultimately deceived millions.

If you are Christian, it is not difficult to discern the bizarre deception and confusion that Satan has successfully orchestrated. For example, notice the embarrassing irony in these traditions which are practiced innocently by most people. They are repeated year after year, because they have become traditional and their origin is unknown to many.

And

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The seductive symbols of ancient ungodly religions inspired by Satan have been incorporated into people's everyday lives, even to this day - continuing to obscure the truth of God .

One might wonder if there is a better way for Christians to celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection, the most important of all Christian holy days. In retrospect, it seems obvious that it would have been a better witness to the world if Christians had not attempted to “Christianize” pagan celebrations - adopting the name “Easter” (Ishtar/Semiramis) in remembrance of Christ. Jesus has been obscured by painted eggs and bunnies. Attention has been shifted away from spiritual truth and toward materialism (clothing, products and candies with the wrong symbolism). Stores merchandise the name of Easter (not “Resurrection Sunday”) and sell goods that have nothing to do with Christ's death and resurrection. Christians naively use symbols and practices that unknowingly perpetuate ancient anti-Christ traditions - symbolic customs followed by the same religious cults that inspired the destruction of great numbers of Christians and Jews. Is the Devil laughing at us?

Many church bodies recognize the problem and make every effort to keep the focus of Resurrection Sunday totally on Jesus Christ and the Good News that He brought.

I hope this does not offend anyone, but it was an eye-opener for me as I am sure it will be for you.

It's true! I saw most of this on A Rood Awakening, and while I don't agree with Michael Rood most of the time, these were great insights!

wow. i never would have thought that. Although, families should still do the easter eggs and stuff. I mean, it may not mean what poeple think it does, but it has been a tradtion for many years. Seriously, the youngest person in my family is 15 (me!) and we still color eggs, just because we always have.