"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
I haven’t written a Bucket List entry in quite a while, so I thought I’d come back with a nice simple one:
Bucket List Item #3: Light a votive candle
In virtually every single Catholic church you’ll find a place where there are a collection of lit candles, often in front of a statue or icon. Every now and then you’ll see someone go up and light a candle, usually lingering for a few moments in prayer.
I’ve been working my way through my Blog’s “Drafts” folder in an effort to try and finish some of the many half-completed entries I have there. At the time of writing I still have 226 left… :-/
In looking through these drafts I came upon two entries, both concerning movies for which I was fortunate enough to see advanced screenings. The first movie was Warrior and the second was The Way. I’ll write about at The Way later this week, but today I’d like to look at Warrior.
The story of Warrior concerns Paddy and his two sons. The film begins with Paddy leaving church after Mass. We soon find out that Paddy used to be a horrible husband and father as well as an abusive drunk, but now, many years later, has found God and is 1,000 days sober.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” – Proverbs 17:17
Paddy’s two sons, Brendan and Tommy are both talented athletes who are soon set on a collision course towards the same Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament.
This week’s Readings focus on the distinction between the kings of this world and the LORD. The Gospel asks us the question: what do we owe to our rulers and what do we owe to our God?
In the First Reading we learn that it is the Lord, and not the King of Persia, who is subduing the nations. In the Psalm we are told repeatedly to give the Lord the praise which He is owed. In the Second Reading we hear the response of the Thessalonians to God’s great grace. Finally, in the Gospel we are told in no uncertain terms – give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God…
If you attend the liturgy in the Catholic Church you may encounter, in additions to hymns and a psalm, words of the liturgy that are sung.
Now, in some parishes there will be no singing whatsoever. In others, the priest and congregation may sing small parts of the liturgy such as:
Priest: “The Lord be with you…”
Congregation: “…and also with you”
Priest: “Lift up your hearts…”
Congregation: “…we lift them up to the Lord”
At the other end of the spectrum, my local Byzantine parish sings virtually everything. Only two things are actually spoken during that liturgy: the homily and a brief prayer before communion. Absolutely everything else is sung, including the prayers, readings, creed etc.
This begs the question why? Most Christian churches use music and will have some songs, but why is it that some churches (those who are more “liturgical”) sing parts of the liturgy which others will simply say?
I’m going to finish this today, I promise! This is the final part of a series responding to a comment which was left on a post I wrote about the Mother of God. This was the comment:
“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?
Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”
Today I’m going to conclude my exploration of Kelley’s comments and offer some closing thoughts…
Yesterday I began writing a response to a comment which was left by someone named Kelley on an article I wrote about Blessed Mary (Luke 1:42). This was the comment:
“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?
Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”
Today I’d like to look at some of the Scriptural evidence Kelley uses to develop the case against Mary’s sinlessness.
A few days ago I had a comment appear on my old blog by someone named Kelley. This comment was on the post I wrote some time ago in which I spoke of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. I have since transferred that comment over to this blog. Here’s what was said:
“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?
Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”
In this post I’m going to address some of the points raised here…but let’s first begin with a joke to lighten the mood 🙂
Jesus came upon a small crowd who had surrounded a young woman whom they believed to be an adulteress. They were preparing to stone her. Jesus said: “Whoever is without sin among you, let them cast the first stone.”
Suddenly a rock came whistling past from the back of the crowd. Jesus turned and said: “Mother, you’re not helping! I’m trying to make a point here…”
Aren’t theology jokes brilliant? 😉