St. Timothy Faith-Question

Skipping Out

2008-06-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Question: If I was tired from doing alot of activities and "skipped" out on something I promised my friend to go to, is that wrong?

Well, this actually deals with two things, promises and overcommitment, but both deal with one big thing...LOVE!
Our Lord tells us, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes" and your 'No' mean 'No'"-Matt. 5:37. That means if you give your word to someone you should keep it unless it is entirely something out of your control like illness, death in family, etc. This makes sense in light of the Great Commandment, love of self, neighbor, and God (see Matt. 22:37-39).
When you say "Yes" to everyone and everything, it hurts you. It makes you overcommit, wear yourself out trying to keep your word, and ruins your reputation making you seem like a liar when you don't show. It hurts your neighbor because they expect you to be there and so when you don't show up, can cause harsh feelings. We all know how bad it hurts when someone stiffs you. It's not a fun feeling and I've known many friendships that have broken up because of being "stood up." Finally it hurts God because we are his children and image here on earth. Scripture reminds us, "They shall know you are my disciples by your love"-Jn. 13:35. If you constantly don't keep your word, people will see your actions as a reflection of God, thus as someone who is a liar. This is why Jesus states the second part of Matt. 5:37, "Anything more is from the evil one." It is the evil one that wants to stop love and cause hurt and harm.
Therefore, if you feel you may be tired or can't make it, just tell the person that. Don't make up an excuse and add fuel to the fire. Honesty is always the best policy. It will save a lot of hurt feelings and friendships. Also, don't forget to love yourself. You are not just some "work-zombie". Get proper rest and don't over extend yourself. I reflect on Ps. 46:10 quite often, "Be still and know that I am God." Sometimes being still is the hardest thing to do, but when we do it we can see God and our own humanity (we're no just human doings, but human beings), and that's something not to skip out on!

Intercession of Saints and Sports-Review of Bible Study Week 1

2008-04-11T00:34:00.000-07:00

Intercession of Saints Using Sports

In order to explain 1Tim. 2:5 correctly, that is, the saints are go-betweens or mediators, not to take the place of Christ, but because of Him, some sports may be in order.

Imagine that you’re at a hockey game and the Washington Capitals are playing the New Jersey Devils. The game is tight with a 0-0 score in the 3rd period with only twenty seconds left. Both teams have been playing their hearts out. The Capitals get the puck with twenty seconds left and they pass the puck to Alex Ovechkin. He shoots and scores the winning goal right before the buzzer. The crowd goes wild!!!!

Or if you’re not a hockey fan, imagine you’re at a gymnastics’ meet. Your team has done vault, uneven bars, and the balancing beam, but are tied for first place before the last event, floor exercises. You all have worked hard and send your best athlete, Shannon Miller, to the floor. She does some amazing stunts and ends with a triple back flip with a remarkable tuck right at the corner of the mat. She ends up winning the meet and getting Team USA the gold medal.

Now in both of these instances you can say that Alex Ovechkin or Shannon Miller won the game or meet individually. They are some of the best at what they do and so when the team needed someone dependable, they went to their superstars. It is the same with the saints. We entrust our prayers to them because we know they are good at what they do, loving God and being a go-between or mediator. James 5: 16 tells us this, “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”

So we see that an individual person wins the game or meet, but at the same time, we have to ask, "Who does the individual person win for?" It is for the team, and it is only for the team that they play and because they are part of the team, that they even have the opportunity to win the game. Could you imagine me running out on the ice (well I’d probably slip) and throwing the puck in the net or trying to do a flip to get points to win the gymnastics’ meet? Then even worse, saying I won the game for the team? That would be crazy!! It is the same to think that the saints by themselves are the answers to our prayers. They have powerful prayers because they are part of God’s team, those who wear the Capital JC (Jesus Christ)on there souls and whose opponents are the devils.

So just as in hockey and gymnastics where both the individual and the team win because of the efforts of one person, so too with the saints in Christ. It is not either the Saints or Christ any more than it is Alex Ovechkin or the Capitals or Shannon Miller or Team USA. The saints want to help us because they, like us, belong to the same team of Christ. Thus, even if they assist us to score the winning goal or do that winning flip, we all, as the Church or body of Christ win.

So with the intercession of the saints let us always follow the words of St. Paul, “Therefore, since we are all surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:1-2)

Person and Natures of Christ-Part 1 of Bible Study Review

2008-04-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

Pope John Paul II wrote in his first public writing to the world or an encyclical Redemptor Hominis: Redeemer of Man, “The Redeemer of Man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history.” Therefore, by looking at Christ, we can better understand ourselves and the people we are called to be.
Christ shows us two important points in himself: first that our nature cannot be separated from our person. Second, that our personhood has to come before our natures. This may sound strange at first, but once we really think about it, it will tell us a lot about ourselves.

We have to first look at the definitions of person and nature. A person answers the question “who.” A nature answers the question “what.” What you do can help define who you are. For example, if you study a lot, like most of you do, you are known as a student. If you like to dance, you may be known as a dancer. If you like sports you are an athlete. It is the same with Jesus; what he did was save us from our sins and redeem us. So he is known as our Savior and Redeemer.

What we do for the most part defines who we are, but it can’t just stop there because a nature also answers “what you are.” If it did just stop at the natural level, if we failed at various things in life, that would make us failures. If we sinned, we would simply be sinners. We can not stop at the natural level because we are persons and thus called to be supernatural or above or natures. This is because we are called to be with God. Besides, I don’t think any of us want to be labeled as just a sinner or someone who can’t do anything right.

This brings us to the second lesson Christ teaches us, that our personhood, or who we are, takes priority over our nature, or what we are. This is built into us. Again take yourselves for example. To the world you are a: student, athlete, math genius, or just another rebellious teen. This may be true, but you know that you are so much more. You are not just another high school student or rebellious teenager. You want people to see you that and realize you are more than ordinary or the same as everyone else. This is why when a boy likes a girl, he writes her poetry or sends her a sweet text message; why a girl likes to wear a different outfit than everyone else or draws hearts and smiley faces all over her notebook; why boys spike their hair, wear chains with rotating rims on the end, and show off at football practice. You want people to look beyond just what you are (nature) and see you for who you are (person). This is built into us because Christ is built into us. He is a divine person who wants us to see him as more than just “fire insurance” or someone who answers prayers. He is a Person and he wanted us to see him as a person so much that he took on another nature (human). Jesus tells us, “Yes, look at ‘the what’ or my natures. I am your Savior and Redeemer. I am both human and divine, but look deeper and you will see so much more. Look at me as a person and you will see that who I am is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. I am someone who has thought of and loved you from all eternity.”

The challenge that Jesus brings to us in showing that He has two natures (both divine-because he is God- and human-because he became man) in one person (The Second Person of the Holy Trinity) is first, that we are not to separate the nature from the person. This means what we do affects who we are. It also means that if we remember what we are, children of God, what we do will always be right. Secondly, it shows us to always look at the person first and the nature second. This is important because if you do this, you can see Christ in that homeless man on the corner, or the person at lunch who is so annoying, or even that teacher who’s giving a boring lecture, etc., etc. A person does not sacrifice for a nature, a state of being, or for humanity in itself. A person can only sacrifice when he or she sees a person or persons in that humanity; when he or she sees individuals. This is because we are made in the “image and likeness of God” (Gen. 1:26) and this is how God sees each one of us. He says, “Fear not, I have called you by name and you are mine” (Is. 43:1). So let us take up the challenge and try to give ourselves to God everyday, to live in the supernatural. He’s not just a thing, a what, or a nature, He is a Person, a who, a divine Person who loves us so much, that He’d rather die than spend eternity with out you!

Cross vs Crucifix

2008-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

Why do Catholics use a crucifix and Protestants the cross?

This is a some what complex question, but I will try to keep it simple. First, we must realize that there are many differnent branches of Protestants. What applies to the Baptist may not necessarily follow for the Anglicans. With that being said, I will talk about the Protestants in general to answer this question.

Catholics use the crucifix as a symbol because we realize that at Mass the sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented (not represented like a symbol) in a non-bloody manner. So the crucifix gives us a visible sign of what is happening on the altar. Catholics also embrace the crucifix because we believe in redemptive suffering. Because we are baptized, we are truly part of the Mystical Body and thus truly part of Christ. Therefore, when we suffer and "offer it up" we really do help sanctify ourselves and the rest of the world. This is why St. Paul says we "make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ"-Colossians 1:24. As Catholics, we acknowledge that suffering has value because Christ's suffering has value. It brings us eternal life. Thus, we promote the crucifix.

Protestants on the other hand, through a misunderstanding of the Mass in thinking that Catholics teach that Christ dies again and again at every Mass and that being blatent contradiction of Scripture (see Hebrews 7:27), in reaction, embraced the cross instead of the crucifix to show that Jesus only died once for our sins. The irony is that they embraced the cross instead of the crucifix to stop heresy, but in actuality the heresy of the "recrucifixion" of Christ at Mass is something that the Catholic Church does not teach and even has condemned (This by the way is part of the reason that many protestant Churches do not have a Liturgy of the Eucharist part to their Sunday services).

Protestants also generally do not see value in suffering. Some view suffering like poverty as a punishment from God. This is based on the Old Testament because when God's favor was with Israel, they were wealthy and did not have to suffer. They suffered when they were being punished. Of course, punishment is not the only reason for suffering because God was born poor and even counseled it to get to heaven. The rich young man asked Jesus, "What must I do to be saved?" Jesus answered, "Follow the commandments", then, "go, sell everything you have and you will have treasure in heaven"-Mt. 19:16-21. So we see the "health and wealth gospel" can not be a true Gospel and that suffering is not necessarily a bad thing.

Finally, because many Protestants believe in the sola fides or faith alone doctrine, they believe that redemptive suffering is a work and thus not necessary for salvation. What is important is to believe in Christ. Therefore, suffering is insignificant.

As Catholics, we believe that it is necessary to believe in Christ, but believing in Christ means to listen to his teachings as well. These teaching come from Christ and His Church. Jesus tells us that we all must "take up our cross daily and follow him"-Lk. 9:23. St. Paul tells us, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him"-Romans 8:16-17. St. Peter even tells us that suffering is a grace that we are all called to (see 1Peter 3:19-21). So we see that suffering leads us to salvation. The cross by itself or without Christ is empty and has no meaning, but with and in Christ it gives us the deepest meaning of all, the answer to life's questions. It gives us Heaven! That is why, we as Catholics promote the crucifix and like St. Paul, "proclaim Christ crucified"-1Corinthians 1:23.

Someone told me that we sing with the Christmas Angels at every Mass. Is this true?

2007-12-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Yes. Christmas comes from the old English "Cristes maesse" meaning Christ's Mass. We see that at the first Christmas, there were angels and notice what they say:

And suddenly there was a multitude of heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."-Luke 2:13-14.

At Mass, when we sing similar words, we sing with the angels (although some like myself do not sound like the angels) and also give glory to God at Christ's Mass. We must always remember the Mass always belongs to Christ, but he allows us to participate in the offering of himself to the Father, through the Holy Spirit because we are baptized into him. So remember next time you are at Mass, you are singing with the angels at Christmas!

Is Santa Claus real? Why does he dress so Wierd?

2007-12-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, Santa Claus is real. The name comes from Santa (holy) Nicholaus (claus or Nicholas). He was early church bishop of a place called Myra which is modern day southern Turkey. He lived around the 4th century and was a man who had a great love for Christ, both as the Head of the Church, and in his members, that make up the Church. Legend has it that there was a man named Arius who taught that Jesus was not God (this is a historical fact). This made Bishop Nicholas so mad, that when he was at a meeting of bishops from all over the world(this is called an ecumenical council), he went over and clocked Arius cold. He was imprisoned for this by the Emperor, but was released later once the council declared that Arius was teaching heresy (something that is not true about the Faith). It is for this reason that he became the patron saint of unjust imprisonments and keeping Christ in Christmas. He also did many great things like give money to the poor and help girls marry their future spouses. This is where the tradition of gift giving comes from to celebrate him. It was to imitate the saint.
The reason he dresses so "wierd" is because his outfit is supposed to represent the clothes of a bishop. The triangular hat is a "modernized" mitre ( triangular head wear that a bishop wears in formal liturgical ceremonies like Mass). He wears a red and white suit because red is the color used to represent the Love of God or the Holy Spirit, which he was filled with as seen by the fact that he helped so many people. The white represents purity because he helped so many young girls not have to do immoral things to raise money to get married (in those days a dowry-money a father would have to pay the husband for taking his daughteras his wife). So that's where the red and white suit with a white stripe and triangular hat comes from. As for the reason he always says "Ho, ho, ho", your guess is as good as mine!

The apostle that took the place of Judas

2007-05-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Question: What was the name of the Apostle who took the place of Judas?

Answer: His name was Matthias. This is shown in Acts 1:15-26. This is also important because it shows from the Bible Apostolic Succession. That the bishops were ordained and have a direct line to the Apostles who learned directly from Christ.

How did the differences between the Catholic and Protestant Bible come about

2007-04-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Question: How did the differences between the Catholic and Protestant Bible come about?

Answer: This is a somewhat complicated issue, but I'll do my best to make it short and sweet. We must first remember that God did not just drop a book from the sky and "Whomp, there it is," we had the Bible. The Bible developed over literally thousands of years. While the Jews were God's chosen people, they were inspired by God to put in writing the teachings, rules, beliefs, and history of the people. Eventually, these became books like Genesis, Joshua, Isaiah, etc. The Jews composed a list of these books that taught correctly what they believed. This list became known as a Canon. As time went on, the Jewish people were conquered by many people, and the world became dominated by Greek culture. The Greeks wanted a copy of all the books in the world, including this Jewish list of 46 books which comprised the Jewish beliefs. So 70 scholars translated these 46 books and this Greek translation of the canon became known as the Septuagint (from the Latin word for 70). This happened around the 2nd or 3rd century BC. This list was generally accepted by most Jews, but not all because nothing was definitively defined.
A few centuries later, some Jewish rabbis wanted to make a definitive list(canon)-some think due in part to a new sect of people known as Christians who were "changing the Jewish teaching"-and met at a place called Jamnia around 100 AD. They made a canon (list) that had only 39 books, rejecting the 7 books that were mentioned in the previous post mainly because they could not find the original Hebrew (there were 3 other criteria as well). The early Christians however used the Greek canon (the Septuagint) because Christ used this version. For example, Our Lord in Matt 5:34 quotes from Sirach 23:9; Romans 11:34 refers to Wisdom 9:13. The list can go on and on.
So for about 1400 years, all Christians used the Greek Canon. In 1400 years, Christianity spread to different parts of the world and many of them eventually did not know Greek or Hebrew. So they had to translate it into their native tongue (the vernacular). They would translate it with the Greek Canon however because this is the canon they Church unofficially promoted. Then, when the Protestant Revolt (the Reformation) came, the reformers started to make translations of Scripture as well, and for one reason or the other chose the canon (list) from Jamnia with only 39 books. This tradition is carried down by the descendants of the Protestant Reformers even to today and that's where you get the difference between Catholic and Protestant Bibles.

Why do we rub our face twice before the Gospel?

2007-04-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Question: Why do we rub our face twice before the Gospel is read at Mass?

Answer: Well, some people may rub their face because it needs washing, but the theological reason is that we are not actually rubbing our faces, but crossing ourselves. You make a sign of the cross on your forehead, lips, and heart and say, "May Your Word always be on my mind (cross your forehead), on my lips (cross your lips), and in my heart (cross your heart). You do this to prepare yourself to hear God's Word as He speaks to you through the Gospel. Your mind represents your thoughts and you want all your thoughts to direct you towards God. Your lips represent your words, so that your words may always be God-centered. Your heart represents your desires and will, so you give those to God so that your will always strive to be with God. Together, you devote your entire self to God and prepare to learn from Him through the Gospel, His living Word.

Differences in Bibles

2007-04-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Question: Someone told me that there are differences between Catholic and Protestant Bibles. Is that true?

Answer: Yes, it is true. The Protestant Bible has 7 books less in the Old Testament than a Catholic Bible. Those books are: Tobit, Wisdom, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Baruch, Judith and parts of Esther (known as Chapter F in New American Translation) and Daniel (Chapters 13-14).
You can tell a Catholic Bible from a Non-Catholic Bible by looking for these 7 books in the Old Testament or by looking for a "Nihil Obstat" and/or "Imprimatur" in the title pages. These two words mean there is nothing against the faith in them and is found only in books of Catholic doctrine as an official okay from clergy in the Church.

Where do we get the terms mortal and venial sin? Is it Scriptural?

2007-03-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Question: Where do we get the terms mortal and venial sin? Is it Scriptural?

Answer: The terms mortal and venial sin are indeed Scriptural. They are based on the 1Jn 5:16-17:

If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

Sin that does not lead to death is known as venial sin. It damages your relationship with God, but does not kill it. Sin that leads to death (God's supernatural life leaves you, your natural soul still stays with you) is called mortal sin because when someone gives you a mortal blow, they end your life.

Two quick points about mortal and venial sin. First, all sin is bad, even venial sin. We must remember sin is about a relationship, not just breaking rules. In any relationship, we wouldn't just punch our best friend in the face for example and say, "Well, I just punched him, I didn't kill him." Even though you didn't kill your friend or your friendship, your actions damage that relationship. Secondly, even if we do kill our friendship with God through mortal sin, we must always remember that Christ died so that we may have life. He can raise us from the dead and he does that through the Sacrament of Confession which is based on John 20:21-23:

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said,"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Explaining Mary and the Saints

2007-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

Question: How do we, as Catholics, explain to people that we so not worship the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints?

Answer: The first thing you must always do when explaining anything is to know your audience. You would not explain Mary and the saints to an athiest (someone who does not believe in God) in the same way you would explain it to a Protestant, or even a fallen away Catholic. With that in mind, I will give you a variety of ways to explain how Catholics don't worship Mary and the saints, but we do honor them and ask for their intercession.

With that being said, we honor the saints in heaven for one simple reason, because Christ honors them. We see this through countless examples in Scripture:

"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I call you friends"-Jn 15:5
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you."-Jn 14:2
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."-James 1:12
"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."-Rev 2:10

So we see that Christ honors us by calling us friends, by giving us a mansion in heaven, and even crowns us as royalty because we stay faithful to him. Mary herself is given a special crown as shown in Rev. 12:1:

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

Notice that this crown of the woman who would bear the "child destined to rule the nations with an iron rod"-Rev. 12:5 (who is Christ-see Ps 2:9, a messianic Psalm) is of 12 stars. This is the fufillment of the promise to Abraham through his desendant Jacob/Israel whose son Joseph, had a dream that was a to be fufilled in its fullest sense in Rev.-see Gen 37:9. The 12 stars are the 12 tribes of Israel which represented the people of God. So this woman is crowned as the Queen of God's people. God's people will all eventually be in Heaven (hence the title Queen of Heaven). She is crowned not by man, but by God Himself. So if, the saints are good enough to be honored by Christ, and thus God; if being a Christian means following Christ and His example; then we can't help but honor those whom God honors.

As for intercessory prayer, this is also because of Christ. In James 5:16, it says, "The prayers of a righteous man availath much." We see this truth presented all through out Scripture:

God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah because of the intercession of the righteous Abraham (see Gen. 18:16-32)
God spared Israel after they worshiped the Golden calf because of the righteous prayer of Moses (Ex. 32:7-14)
God himself even asked Job to intercede on behalf of his friends because of his righteousness, "Now therefore...go to my servant Job and offer a holocaust to yourselves; and let my servant Job pray for you, for his prayer I will accept, not to punish you severely"-Job 42:8

Just so you don't think this is simply an Old Testament practice, intercessory prayer is in the New Testament too:

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.-Eph 6:18
And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.-Rev 5:8
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.-Rev 8:3

Now these men while still on earth had powerful prayers because they were righteous in the eyes of God; how much more then, would the prayers of the righteous man in heaven who sees God face to face and lives with Him forever (see 1Jn 3:2) be! Even better still, how much more powerful the woman who is the most righteous human ever to live and has recieved a crown of glory in heaven as seen in Rev. 12:1.

Now the most common objection, 1Tim. 2:5, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." As Catholics, we believe this with all our might and to say anything otherwise is heresy. However, we as Catholics believe that the saints are not mediators in spite of or instead of Christ, but we are mediators precisely because of Christ. Christ gives mankind a share in his power and offices. Some example are:

Christ is God, the creator of all things (see Heb. 1:1-2; Col. 1:16-17), but He gives man a share in that office in procreation. He even commands them to have a share in this when he says, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it."
Christ is the Supreme Judge (see Jn 5:27, 9:39). He however allows those who are united with him to share in his judgement. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel"-Mt. 19:28. See also 1Cor 6:2-3, Lk 22:30
God also is the only one who has the power to heal. He is the Divine Physician (2Cor. 5:18-21). Christ shares this healing power with man. Peter heals a cripple in Acts 3:4-10. Ananias gives Paul back his sight in Acts 9:13-19. In fact, the apostles were so well known for their healing powers that people "carried their sick out into the streets in order to be healed"-Acts 5:15

So if Christ chose to give mankind a share in his offices and glory in these things, why could he not do it in his office of intercessor. He clearly does if you read Scripture as a whole as noted in the examples cited above. We can all intercede for one another because we all are a part of his Mystical Body. Thus, when we intercede for one another, we do so in and through Christ (hence why we can pray for one another) and the saints in heaven intercede for us because they too are part of mystical body of Christ even though the have died. After all, St. Paul tells us, "What can seperate us from the love of Christ...For I am convinced that niether death..."-Rom 8:35-39. If the saints are not seperated from the love of Christ by death, then they must be in the love of Christ and thus can share in his love, i.e, interceding for others.

This is how 1 Tim 2:5 must be read. We know this because in 1Tim 2:1, just 4 verses before 1Tim 2:5, reads, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone." Paul is not refuting intercessory prayer, but he is asking for it. What sense would it make for Paul to ask for intercessory prayer and then in the next sentence condemn it. Better yet, what sense would it make for God to inspire Paul to ask for intercessory prayer and then condemn it. We know that God can't contradict himself and that the Bible is inspired and thus cannot contradict itself. Thus we know that 1Tim 2:5 can't mean a condemnation upon intercessory prayer. It actually is the exact opposite. Paul is writing that because we are in Christ, we can and should intercede for one another.

Therefore we ask Mary and the saints to intercede for us because Christ has arranged it this way and Scripture clearly shows this.

Here are the answers to some other objections:

Explanation 1 (explanation through reason): Some people say that Catholics worship Mary and the saints because we honor them with our prayers.

Honor does not necessarily mean worship. The claim is that we put Mary and the saints on a different level than human beings. We pay them special tribute and thus we, as Catholics must be worshiping them. This is false and unreasonable because we pay a different degree of respect to different people even here on earth due to their titles. We pay more respect to our parents than we do to our little brothers or sisters. If the President of the United States walked in, we would stand up and maybe even salute him. This does not mean that we worship him, it means that we are showing respect to his title. Now the saints in heaven have the title of being with God for all eternity. They are ones who "are righteous in the eyes of God" and thus deserve a respect beyond just the average human being. Mary, has the unique title of Mother of God, and thus deserves the uttermost respect because of that. She is the mother of our Lord and thus, we as Catholics honor her in a special way.

Explanation 2 (through reason and Scripture): We must worship the saints and Mary because we have statues and graven images through of them all over the place. This is expressedly forbidden in Ex. 20:4-7

Having statues of something does not necessarily mean that you are worshiping it. There are statues all over Washington DC of presidents, animals, etc., but they are not there for worship. They are there to honor the person who the image is made of. If simply building an image and remembering a person equaled idol worship, then our entire nation and the history of the entire world was built on idolatry for statues have been around for milienia. The reason that we have statues, pictures, etc. are the same reason that families have family portraits, pictures of loved ones who are far away, and tombstones of those who have gone before them. So we can remember and honor them. The saints who went before us remind us that sanctity is not only something that we should aim for, but in Christ, something that is possible. When we remember our loved ones that are far away of those who have died, we are not worshiping them, we are honoring them.

Posting a question

2007-03-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

To post a question:
1. Click under the "Introduction" blog the "Post a comment" link
2. Type in a question in the "leave your comment box"
3. I will look at the question and post a blog to that question so others can comment on the question or answer.
4. Note: If you want to remain anonymous, click the "create a profile" button and use a name other than your own such as "Student 1" or "Coolest dude" or whatever. God bless!!!!

or

Click on the "New Post" clip board in the top right hand corner of your screen and put your question.
2. Click on the "Publish" button (it's orange) at the bottom of the screen and I will answer it as another post so everyone can read it.

Note: This information is also under "comment" to the introduction section

Introduction

2007-03-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

This blog is for all the questions that I have been asked by all of you teens that I thought you all may like to read about. I will post some each week or you can write in and I'll reply. I hope you all write in and ask questions. You do not have to leave your name, just ask the question. God bless and look foward to your questions.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Mr. Anthony

Is God male or female

2007-03-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Q: Is God male or female?

A: Neither, He is pure spirit. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #370. We must always remember that man was made in God's image, not God made in man's image.

Different Races from Adam and Eve

2007-03-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Q: If Adam and Eve were white, how do we have the different races?

A: First, we must realize that Adam and Eve were not "white" like we imagine. Some believe they may have first been put in Africa, but from the Genesis account describing the rivers around the Garden (see Gen. 2:10-14), the were around an area that is current day Iraq.
Anyways, as the first man and woman, just as with us today, they had dominant and recessive genes and thus there could be different combinations of eyes, skin color, pigmentation, etc. Thus, there could be different "races." So we see that science can work hand and hand with Theology.

Fear and death in the Garden of Eden

2007-03-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Q: Why was Adam afraid of death in the Garden of Eden if death was a consequence of original sin?

A: I did some more research into your question last night about why was Adam afraid to stand up to the serpent. I found the missing link. Original sin did bring death into the world, but sacrifice, the necessary ingredient for love existed before original sin (hence the command of God to Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. They had to sacrifice that tree to show their love for God.). Now God allowed Eve to be tested and thus Adam also to prove their love for Him. Eve failed due to her own free will, but Adam failed all the worse because he did not look after his bride (also done from his free-will).
Now, there are, if you may, three ways you could give your life: naturally, unfreely, or freely. Natural death is when someone dies from natural causes such as old age because their body just decays. This did not exist before original sin. The decay of the body was not something that is natural to human nature, it's an after effect of original sin (So I would still have a decent hairline if it wasn't for original sin). Then there is the ending of life in an unfree way, for example murder. Remember the demons and Satan had all ready fallen at this point and honestly did want to murder man (both male and female). So this kind of death did exist before original sin and this was the giving of life that Adam was afraid of.
The last type of giving of life is as a free gift. 1Jn 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out all fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." Adam's fear was due to the fact that he would have to give his life, but if he really loved his bride with God's love (which was put in him from the very beginning), he would have laid down his life freely for Eve. Thus, it would not be fear of losing his life that drove him, but a glorification of His love for His bride. Our Lord tells us this, "No greater love than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends."-John 15:13. This laying down of life for love then no longer becomes murder, but marytrdom. Martyr comes from the Greek word martus which means witness. This laying down of Adam's life would be a witness/sign/sacrament-a visible sign of an invisible reality- to three things: the love Adam had for his bride Eve, his virginity (the togetherness of both his body and soul/emotions to make a gift of himself to his bride and God by laying down his life for them) and His trust that God is a Father and would look after him as such, not just as a master who could dispense with one of his creatures.
If Adam would have stood up to the serpent, he may have lost his life, but he would have obtained the beatific vision in light of it. He would not have died per se because death is simply the term for the seperation of body and soul (that's why I haven't been writing \nthere are 3 ways to die). He, as well as Eve, would have probably been assumed both body and soul into Heaven just as our Blessed Mother was after her earthly life because she never lost her virginity (in the true since of the word, not in the secular sense that the world defines it), hence her body never acted in a way that seperated her from the good of her soul. I say probably becasue we will never know if this were the case since Adam did fall. Hence, his reward is only something we can speculate about.
The laying down of one's life as a "gateway" to Heaven, was part of God's plan from the beginning because love was part of God's plan from the very beginning, and still is. Sin has not snuffed this out just as we noted in class. If you look in the book of Revelation, it shows us that there are two types of people that we know will be heaven: the virgins (Rev. 14:4) and those who have laid down their life for their spouse (whom it is revealed as Christ-see Rev.19:7) known as martyrs (Rev. 6:9; 14:13). Thus in the Eschaton (end times), we see that those in heaven are those who are virgins and martyrs, just as Adam and Eve were called to be in the beginning and as we are called to be now. Hope this helps. God bless and know that you're in my prayers!