Catholic Church in the US

Here's an email which I got from my Dad. I would like to share this to you.

Excerpts of an article written by non-Catholic Sam Miller - a prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman:

"Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States , namely the Catholic Church?

Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to that Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion  dollars. The graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%.

The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students.

The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today.

But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country.

They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.

Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember.  

For  example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 

38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church , 

41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior;  

17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed.

Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of  pedophilia. 

10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem.

A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the  choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.

The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.  The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of  the Church.  

You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.

Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher.  Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in theUnited States ...

Then remember what Jeremiah said:  'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'.   

Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions.

Be proud that you're a Catholic."

The above is also true in most of Europe, Africa & Asia

Does God Exist

I got this from one of the posts from my friend in Facebook. Hope you guys will appreciate it.

Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

...

...

Professor : So you Believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD Good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?

Student : Yes.

Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

( Student is silent )

Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella. Is GOD Good?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Is Satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor : Where does Satan come from ?

Student : From . . . GOD . . .

Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor : So who created evil ?

(Student does not answer)

Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor : So, who Created them ?

( Student has no answer )

Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you. Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.

Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?

Professor : Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?

Professor : Yes.

Student : No sir. There isn't.

( The Lecture Theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events )

Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat... But we don't have anything called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat. We cannot Measure Cold. Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.

( There is Pin - Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )

Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?

Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something. You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . . But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't. If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?

Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.

Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality. You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD. You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite something we can measure. Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought. It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing. Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?

Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?

( The Professor shakes his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument is going )

Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On - Going Endeavor, Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?

( The Class is in Uproar )

Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's Brain?

( The Class breaks out into Laughter )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . . No one appears to have done so. So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have No Brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?

(The Room is Silent. The Professor stares at the Student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.

Student : That is it sir . . . The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that Keeps Things Moving & Alive.

NB: 

I believe you have enjoyed the Conversation . . . and if so . . . You'll probably want your Friends / Colleagues to enjoy the same . . . won't you? Forward them to Increase their Knowledge . . . or FAITH.

It turned out later that the student is Albert Einstein.

How much, in your heart, do you believe that God exists?

The Wound, the itch and the healing (Originally written July 4, 2008)

But you – why do you return to these distresses
instead of climbing that shining Mount of Joy
which is the seat and first cause of man’s bliss?
– Virgil (Canto I, verses 74-76)

I have a wound in my left leg, and it was a long one. I forgot how I got it lately. Maybe I got it somewhere where it scratched my leg.

Although the wound is healed now, there are times that I really wanted to scratch it.

That was until last night when I just can’t take it anymore. I scratched it really hard and scratched it badly, until…

Oops!

Blood came flowing out because the healed cover was removed.

Thus, instead of healing it completely by leaving it and not minding it, I created another wound which will take many days before it will heal again.

In life, we are sometimes like this. Whenever we say to ourselves, “I will stop my drinking”, or “I will never engage in premarital sex again”, or “I will control my spending so that I can save money for my marriage”, there are times that we go back to where we were before: our drinking habits, sexual escapades or spending spree.

I came to a point that I experienced this, and it was a completely bad one.

Those of you who read my blogs know that I am in a relationship at this time. However, there is this someone in my past that I haven’t got through with for a very loooooooooooooooooooong time (as in literally long time).

Yes, this is the real me, and quoting from the words of my friend whom I told every single event in my life, “You are living a double life”.

It also came to a point that I told myself that I will focus all of my energies to my girlfriend, and totally forget that girl in my past. I went outside the country to do my “recollection”, my process of letting her go. I was living a good life with my beloved and focusing my energies to her alone.

But then did I find out that I was still attached to the other girl. I noticed that I continuously “prayed” that we will see each other again. Maybe it is because of the events and the circumstances that are going on that time.

And as I continued on with my so-called “double life”, I noticed that my heart was with her and not with my girlfriend whom God had sent to me. After many talks with my friends (luckily some of them are psychologists), I came to a realization that what was lacking in me is this: commitment. It was then that I recalled one of the messages in Talk 4 of our Christian Life Program in Singles for Christ: “Repentance is not a feeling but a commitment to change your life.”

Thus, on that blessed day of May 31, 2008, full of commitment and a firm decision to end this once and for all, I went to Angeles, Pampanga alone.

No one knew where I was that day except for my parents.

On my way there, many things were going through my mind. Will I see here there? What will happen to me there? But there was just one prayer that I prayed while on the way: “Father, if ever I did something wrong, lead me to what is right. All for Your glory and honor.”

Upon arriving there, I went to a chapel to where my heart led me. Later did I found out when I arrived home that the chapel was in front of the village which that girl was living.

I wept, honestly. Part of me was telling me to hold on to her, but part of me was telling me to let her go and give my all to my beloved. It was really hard for me to do this, but I felt God’s presence with me, speaking to me and embracing me. It was then that I took a big leap of faith, not knowing what will happen to me.

I did my earnest prayer and made my promise that once and for all I will turn away from everything that hinders me from loving my beloved fully and completely. I brought out from my bag pieces of torn paper which were concert posters. One of them was for her and the other was when we were together in a concert. I prayed and threw them in the garbage.

I planned on having my confession there, but there was no available priest. I planned to have a haircut, but I don’t know where to go because it was somehow dark then and I felt that they were already closed.

When I got home, I erased her in all of my contacts. The CDs that I used to have, I kept them in a place which I know for sure that I will never see it again. I threw away and destroyed EVERY EVIDENCE. Everything was a complete format of my life, of my point of view and my love.

I was never sorry or regretted every single thing I did.

I was happy and clean. Somehow, I wanted to jump and do crazy stuffs to show how happy I am. But most of all, I saw God smiling down on me and blessing me for what I did.

Friends, if you are encountering the same problem as I was, have a full and committed promise to God to turn away from what’s hindering you from living a fantastic life with God. Just like what I did when I asked for help from my “psychologist” friends, so can you do that if you feel that you are having a hard time alone.


Note: Illustration by Gustave Dore from "The Divine Comedy: Purgatorio"