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Possible Life Verses

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A while ago on this blog I shared my “life verse”, my favourite Bible verse by which I try to live my life…

But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”
– 2 Corinthians 12:9

I brought up the subject of life verses in my Theology On Tap talk. I told those attending that I wanted my talk to inspire those present to read the Bible, to be the kind of person who has a favourite book of the Bible and to be the kind of person who has a “life verse”.

Moses always enjoyed sharing his favourite Bible passages...

Moses always enjoyed sharing his favourite Bible passages…

I invited those without a life verse to keep their ears open for their life verse during future times of Bible study and during the Liturgy of the Word. Otherwise, what would they say if they got cornered at a party by some enthusiastic Christians, who asked for their life verse?!

Life Verse Lottery

I made the point that picking a life verse at random is a risky strategy since, if one decided to play it safe and pick psalm, one might end up choosing Psalm 38…

For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh
– Psalm 38:7

If your new friends know their Bible well, or if they look up your “life verse” on the spot…then things will get awwwkward! As they leave the party, don’t expect them to shake your hand…or even touch you in any way whatsoever!

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The name “Jehovah”

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Since I haven’t written about Jehovah Witnesses in a while, I thought that today I would address the origin of one of this group’s distinctive practices – exclusive use of the name “Jehovah”.

watchtower

If you ever come across Jehovah’s Witnesses, either on the street or if they come to your door, it’s not unusual for them to emphasize that God’s name is “Jehovah” and the only appropriate name to be used in reference to Him. They might even go further and claim that other Christian groups have “hidden” the name of God despite, as we will see, that this word was first invented inside the Catholic Church.

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What was so special about Joseph’s Coat?

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coat-of-many-colors-thomas-blackshearMAN WARNING! THIS POST WILL BE ABOUT CLOTHES…

This last weekend I went to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in San Diego.

It was an extremely nostalgic experience for me, since as a child I watched this show countless times at the theatre, as well as performing in it in a summer school production. Naturally, in that production I played the role of Pharaoh, the show’s coolest character by far. I even had my own backup dancers and everything! 🙂

In preparation for the trip to see the show, a few days before in Bible Study, we read through the Biblical text of the story found at the end of Genesis, beginning around chapter thirty-seven and continuing for about ten chapters.

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Shameless Publicity

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On this blog I regularly share edifying resources that I’ve come across in my Internet wanderings. Today I’d like to publicise a site that is probably my favourite Catholic blog on the Internet:

Shameless Popery is written by a chap in the DC area named Joseph Heschmeyer. He posts articles pretty much every day on a wide range of subjects pertaining to the Catholic faith.  He’s a lawyer by training and his systematic and methodical writing style is testimony to his logical and orderly way of thinking. I want to keep him humble so I’ll cease the adulation here, but I’d strongly encourage everyone to go subscribe to his blog.

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Smelling the conciliar coffee

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coffee Since this Year of Faith marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, I’d like to publish more posts concerning the Council this year.

Today I would like to share a little anecdote concerning the Council I came across in Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s autobiography, Treasure In Clay:

“Under the two great tiers which seated about 1,200 bishops on each side of the basilica, there were two coffee bars. It was not long before the Fathers found names for them. One was called Bar-Jona, which was part of the Hebrew name for St. Peter” – Fulton Sheen, Treasure In Clay, Page 302

How adorable is that?! Archbishop Sheen later writes that there was a lot of humour at the Council and that there were little poems written and passed around throughout the gathering. At the close of the Council, Bishop John P. O’Loughlin wrote the following:

As we bishops depart from old Roma
We can proudly display our disploma
     At the Council’s finale
     We say “buon natale”
And “goodbye” to Bar-Jona’s aroma

Out There: Eternal Security/Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS)

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Today I’d like to look at another doctrine that is out there in the Christian world.  It is usually called either the doctrine of “Eternal Security” or “Once Saved, Always Saved” (“OSAS”).

In case you haven’t heard of it, this doctrine basically says that once you have been “saved” (however one understands that to happen) you can never lose your salvation – it’s absolutely impossible.  No amount of sin can change that.  Your card has been stamped, the credit card paid off and your name added to the guest list….

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