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Carolyn
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Torrington, Connecticut USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Carolyn | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Im a married catholic, with four children Devoted to Mary ... |
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Posted: Tue May 1st, 2007 03:40 pm |
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| what a morning I had...but I must say while hosing down the driveway I met a neighbor who was jogging, she stopped to chat,I said I was planting a marian garden soon, she smiled and said her name was Mary, I assume she was catholic,but its like a secret, she wouldnt speak about faith,its like I stumble upon catholics while shopping ect..we are not like the protestants,they are all over shouting from the roof tops../my sons new friend stayed over night hes 19 years,,,I asked if he went to church,,,he wa waiting for me to say what faith I was before he said he was catholic.......he definitly had alot of protestant lingo with the great tribulation and such,I shared the love we have as a family for our faith and said its good to just find something in common with others of another faith, like Jesus,,,,,we spoke about how we shoulnt even mention Mary the saints and the eucharist to protestants, unfortunately,the point here....is you have to really share the love of your faith the catholic church for real catholics to come out of hiding and when you do share this beautiful faith the true catholic comes out of our catholic brothers and sisters,my son and this boy were doing yard work and he said to my son joseph, im glad were friends its so nice to be able to speak about the catholic faith.. and be understood ..I smiled.thanks for reading my post
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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Posted: Tue May 1st, 2007 04:10 pm |
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My son’s new friend stayed overnight. He’s 19 years. I asked if he went to church. He was waiting for me to say what faith I was before he said he was Catholic.
I don’t blame him for being gunshy. We Catholics often take a pummeling.
We are not like the protestants, they are all over shouting from the roof tops.
Quite true. But talking about religion is one thing and practicing it is another. Mostly the Catholic way is to preach the gospel by example, not by words. But the Protestant way does not much admit of deed, since they tend to believe in “faith alone.” Perhaps the ideal approach is to do both, but if I have to choose, it will be to live my faith quietly and be thought a hypocrite instead of opening my mouth and removing all doubt.
David
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CajunRick
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Posted: Tue May 1st, 2007 04:38 pm |
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Carolyn wrote: I assume she was catholic,but its like a secret, she wouldnt speak about faith,
At least a half dozen times, I have had RCIA candidates tell me that in the Protestant churches they heard God's word preached constantly, but in the Catholic church they see it lived. Given the option to do one or the other, I would much rather have people noticing that we live our faith than that we talk about it.
After Hurricane Katrina, a black Baptist woman from New Orleans had ministry teams from all sorts of different churches helping her in our Civic Center. She commented that groups from all sorts of churches preached to her, but when the Catholics came, she felt loved.
I have several T-shirts I wear. One says "Cool to be Catholic"; another is "Proud to be Catholic". They generate a lot of comments, and none of them have ever been negative.
When I do discuss my faith, it is my Christian faith. If someone does ask what religion I am, I'll often say I'm a born-again Catholic. But I don't normally bring it up. Maybe it's because the area where I live is more than 75% Catholic, and even a little Baptist church might have a statue of Mary in front.
But you're right, we should understand our faith better, and then we could talk more about it.
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Carolyn
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Torrington, Connecticut USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Carolyn | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Im a married catholic, with four children Devoted to Mary ... |
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Posted: Tue May 1st, 2007 06:09 pm |
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| thanks for your knowledge on how to LIVE The Faith,quietly,I find Im led to ask people if they pray when they complain about lifes sufferrings,in asking that Question,I found my new neighbor a sweet heart a catholic hasnt been to church in years, when i spoke of the mary gardenand how I love Mary,she told me she missed praying and going to church, Im praying for her and will have my little ones bring some cut flowers from the garden soon to her and hope I could get her to meet us at st.Peters church here in Town,,yes it is living the faith and being an example but I find also if you are trully concerned for that person and want to share our Joy of our faith its good to ask,my daughters friend 10, wanted a play date so I said let me talk to the mom,,,,,,,in talking to the mom and sharing how important God is in our life, and asking if she went to church,we found that they are catholics but the daughter was never baptised I said tio the mom in all love were you baptized,she said yes, i said do you know how important that was for you, you benefited by that blessing? smiling and joking she said yes, so I said shoulnt your daughter have that blessing too? she said yes,so ps,,,,she agreed to look into what it will take to have her daughter baptized and I promised We would be there to celebrate,I feel we have to search out our catholic brothers and sisters if we trully know Jesus Love for us,how could we do any less for him....I have work to do in following up , but I know thats what Jesus wants , he has rescued me, loved me, forgave me I want to shre that mercy, thanks for reading my post.....
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Darlene
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 868 |
| First Name: | Darlene | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Christian, trusting His love and forgiveness |
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:14 pm |
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David W. Emery wrote: My son’s new friend stayed overnight. He’s 19 years. I asked if he went to church. He was waiting for me to say what faith I was before he said he was Catholic.
I don’t blame him for being gunshy. We Catholics often take a pummeling.
We are not like the protestants, they are all over shouting from the roof tops.
Quite true. But talking about religion is one thing and practicing it is another. Mostly the Catholic way is to preach the gospel by example, not by words. But the Protestant way does not much admit of deed, since they tend to believe in “faith alone.” Perhaps the ideal approach is to do both, ABSOLUTELY! but if I have to choose, Why should you have to choose? Scripture shows that we should both walk the talk and talk the talk. And/both not either or.it will be to live my faith quietly and be thought a hypocrite instead of opening my mouth and removing all doubt.
David
OK David. This is where I have a problem/disagree with the average Catholic's thinking. You have said many times on this forum, Catholics take the approach of AND/BOTH not EITHER/OR. So why not ESPECIALLY when it comes to sharing the faith? The call to evangelize is very explicit and for that matter, implicit, in scripture. There is no way to squeeze out of it. So you think Catholics get a pummeling, and yes, that is true. BUT SO DOES ANYONE BEARING THE NAME OF CHRISTIAN. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you." There are many scriptures which show that we will not be heartily received when representing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I will say it again, but there is no excuse to hide our light under a bushel and there are no scriptures to defend just living the holy, Christian life. How are they to know unless there is someone to both live the life AND point to the reason why we live the life we do? I have heard both Father Francis Mary and Father Corapi say that protestants put Catholics to shame when it come to evangelization. On one episode of Life on the Rock, one of the guests (a baseball player) said that he didn't know that a fellow player was a Catholic for almost two years until they bumped into each other at Mass. On the other hand, he said that the Evangelical Protestants had a visible fellowship among each other. Father Francis said that Catholics need to start evangelizing and letting others know the beauty of their Catholic faith.
Jesus said, "He who is ashamed of me before men, I also will be ashamed of before my Father in Heaven." Evangelization must be LIVED and VERBALLY PROCLAIMED. And/both, not EITHER/OR. I would like to think that there is a place for me to openly speak of my faith without fear or shame once I cross the Tiber.
And that's my two cents. 
Darlene
P.S. I think for one to speak of their Christian faith to others (whether it be Protestant or Catholic) means putting to death our flesh, which is opposed to those things of the spirit. We know that Jesus is not a popular topic in our culture and the world today. We know that to speak of His love to others means considering that others will reject us, mock us, or totally ignore us. Yet, the joy we have when we see the Lord allowing us to participate in His love for others outweighs our concerns about being rejected or unpopular.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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Darlene
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:21 pm |
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cajunrick wrote: Carolyn wrote: I assume she was catholic,but its like a secret, she wouldnt speak about faith,
At least a half dozen times, I have had RCIA candidates tell me that in the Protestant churches they heard God's word preached constantly, but in the Catholic church they see it lived. Given the option to do one or the other, I would much rather have people noticing that we live our faith than that we talk about it. Sorry, but I disagree. This is where, as I said to David, it must be an And/both approach. Do we really have any option to hide our light under a bushel?? Hmmm.
After Hurricane Katrina, a black Baptist woman from New Orleans had ministry teams from all sorts of different churches helping her in our Civic Center. She commented that groups from all sorts of churches preached to her, but when the Catholics came, she felt loved. And that is wonderful. But again, when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, we do it in Jesus name. Not Mohammed's name, not Budda's name, not Krishna's name. Jesus name. And those who are recipients of God's grace need to know this.
I have several T-shirts I wear. One says "Cool to be Catholic"; another is "Proud to be Catholic". They generate a lot of comments, and none of them have ever been negative. Wonderful. I would say that shows you are unashamed of your Catholic faith and are willing to talk to others about it.
When I do discuss my faith, it is my Christian faith. If someone does ask what religion I am, I'll often say I'm a born-again Catholic. But I don't normally bring it up. Maybe it's because the area where I live is more than 75% Catholic, and even a little Baptist church might have a statue of Mary in front.
But you're right, we should understand our faith better, and then we could talk more about it. Amen, brother Rick. As St. Paul said, "Outdo one another in showing honor." How about surprising Evangelical Protestants by showng them that Catholics can evangelize just like them!
Darlene
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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CajunRick
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:27 pm |
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Darlene wrote: You [David] have said many times on this forum, Catholics take the approach of AND/BOTH not EITHER/OR. So why not ESPECIALLY when it comes to sharing the faith?
David and I would not disagree with you, Darlene. After all, we're here evangelizing every day. I think his comments are an attempt to explain the attitude of the average Catholic.
Many Protestants are trained to shout from the rooftops. Many others are not. You will seldom hear Methodists, Lutherans, or Episcopalians/Anglicans evangelizing in the way we we typically hear evangelicals or fundamentalists. That's not necessarily a good thing. We need to do a better job of training our faithful in how to defend their faith. Fortunately, that effort is underway in many areas. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.
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Darlene
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania USA |
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:36 pm |
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Carolyn wrote: thanks for your knowledge on how to LIVE The Faith,quietly,I find Im led to ask people if they pray when they complain about lifes sufferrings,in asking that Question,I found my new neighbor a sweet heart a catholic hasnt been to church in years, when i spoke of the mary gardenand how I love Mary,she told me she missed praying and going to church, Im praying for her and will have my little ones bring some cut flowers from the garden soon to her and hope I could get her to meet us at st.Peters church here in Town,,yes it is living the faith and being an example but I find also if you are trully concerned for that person and want to share our Joy of our faith its good to ask,my daughters friend 10, wanted a play date so I said let me talk to the mom,,,,,,,in talking to the mom and sharing how important God is in our life, and asking if she went to church,we found that they are catholics but the daughter was never baptised I said tio the mom in all love were you baptized,she said yes, i said do you know how important that was for you, you benefited by that blessing? smiling and joking she said yes, so I said shoulnt your daughter have that blessing too? she said yes,so ps,,,,she agreed to look into what it will take to have her daughter baptized and I promised We would be there to celebrate,I feel we have to search out our catholic brothers and sisters if we trully know Jesus Love for us,how could we do any less for him....I have work to do in following up , but I know thats what Jesus wants , he has rescued me, loved me, forgave me I want to share that mercy, thanks for reading my post.....
I couldn't agree with you more, Carolyn, speaking from the perspective as one who is a Protestant on the journey toward the Catholic faith. I cannot but be in awe of the beauty of the Catholic faith. Within this beautiful bride, there is such a rich history of liturgy and a witness to the truth. I was just listening to a Protestant radio station yesterday, and they were reading about the Reformation. Believe it or not, they spoke of many Catholics being martyred for their faith at this time, St. Thomas More being one of them.
Please Carolyn, keep doing what you are doing. You are such a lovely testimony of witnessing to the love of Jesus and pointiing others to your Catholic faith. God bless you.
Darlene
____________________
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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David W. Emery
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:37 pm |
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Darlene, there is nothing in my message that contradicts what you say. I agree that to do both is best and most effective. Why do you think I have associated myself with this apostolate for the past five years? Certainly not because I am a loudmouth, because in reality I am a shy introvert who has hidden himself away in an isolated part of the world.
However, because of circumstances beyond our control, there are people who are unable to do both and times when those of us who are otherwise able cannot do both. Some of us are not able to talk the talk. Some struggle with walking the walk. Some people are extroverts, others are introverts. But overall, the Church needs both. So we work, each individual, in a complementary way with our neighbor to allow the Church to do both.
As I stated in my previous post, in the event that I were not able to do both, you would see me preferring to live my faith than to speak about it. Why? Because without that walk, any talk I might produce, no matter how small, would be hypocrisy. We have to build on a solid foundation, not a hill of sand (cf. Matthew 7:24–27).
David
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Katy
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:38 pm |
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Darlene wrote: So you think Catholics get a pummeling, and yes, that is true. BUT SO DOES ANYONE BEARING THE NAME OF CHRISTIAN. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you." There are many scriptures which show that we will not be heartily received when representing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This may be true in many cases, Darlene. But personally, after being a non-denom Bible church Christian all my life, I have never experienced this...until I became Catholic. And since then, I have experienced quite a bit of pummeling, all from self-professed Christians. Not that it stops me from proudly saying that I am Catholic.
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Lord, by Your cross and resurrection, You have set us free. You are the Savior of the World.
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Darlene
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 03:44 pm |
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I understand what you are saying Katy. And no doubt, there is a vicious hatred toward Catholics out there. But I can only speak from a nonCatholic point of view. And I have had people spit at me, mock me and say irreligious and vial things about Christ. No doubt, I will experience ignorance, rejection and ridicule when I become Catholic as well. Perhaps even more.
Darlene
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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Candlemass
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| First Name: | Mark | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, AOG, Baptist, non - denominational, Anglican, RCC for life! |
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 04:03 pm |
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| "Preach the Gospel, and if nessasary, use words."- St. Augustine
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JasPax
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 05:12 pm |
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Hello There:
A small correction.  I think that quote is usually attributed to St. Francis. As I undestand the story, he and a fellow friar went to the nearby town to spread the Gospel, when Francis only served people and did not speak, he wa questioned as to why he didn't tell them about Jesus, and your quote was his response.
A good lesson for all of us. I admire St. Francis greatly.
Maybe St Augustine said it also; correct me if I'm wrong.
God's Blessings,
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James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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Candlemass
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 05:53 pm |
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JasPax wrote: Hello There:
A small correction. I think that quote is usually attributed to St. Francis. As I undestand the story, he and a fellow friar went to the nearby town to spread the Gospel, when Francis only served people and did not speak, he wa questioned as to why he didn't tell them about Jesus, and your quote was his response.
A good lesson for all of us. I admire St. Francis greatly.
Maybe St Augustine said it also; correct me if I'm wrong.
God's Blessings, I will check into this, I've been wrong before, just can't remember when?
____________________
"For I the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for me!"
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miles Dei
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 06:12 pm |
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Candlemass wrote: "Preach the Gospel, and if nessasary, use words."- St. Augustine
What a great quote, Candlemass :3
As for myself, I've never had any trouble finding Catholics in the open where I live. Maybe it's just because of where I live (~50% Catholic, heh), but my friends and I have never been harassed for our faith by anyone for as long as we can remember. Our church maintains great relationships with the Episcopalian and Lutheran (ELCA) congregations in the area, and we often organize group events and fundraisers together. As for the other Protestant denominations in our town (United Methodist, Congregational/United Church of Christ, and Northern Baptist), we have never had any conflicts with them or their parishioners. Inter-denominational strife is, as far as we're concerned, nonexistant... as a result, nearly all of the anti-Catholic ethos I've been forced to deal with has come through the anonymity of the Internet or (occasionally) TV.
I'm only beginning to appreciate now the seeming Christian harmony that our dusty little town has enjoyed all the years I've lived here. I'm hoping that this will be maintained as we are beginning to see the rise of Evangelical/SBC denominations in neighboring cities (Lowell, Nashua NH, etc.).
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There's only one true path in life,
The road that leads to All leads to One,
There's only one true path in life,
The road that leads to our Vision.
-Serj Tankian
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BodRod
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Posted: Thu May 3rd, 2007 10:12 pm |
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cajunrick wrote: At least a half dozen times, I have had RCIA candidates tell me that in the Protestant churches they heard God's word preached constantly .......... This statement brings back one of my first memories of my attending the RCC. In my Prot. days a verse or two was read before each sermon. However, from day one, the RCC service included three readings, all related in some way and each set ended with a reading from the Gospel. Not only did the Lector or the Pastor read some verses but rather she/he read ALL the verses of the story being read. After being raised with/in the notion that Catholics were not a Bible based religion, I was amazed!!! I have come to like that procedure very much. It gives the Bible continuity, in my thinking.
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Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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Steven Barrett
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 12:25 am |
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Wow -- what a thread! I would agree that Catholics aren't the pushiest Christians when it comes to evangelizing THE Faith. We could at least be more outwardly enthusiastic when it comes to professing our Faith publicly.
In order to accomplish this, we've got to get rid of our reticence and shyness that's still a leftover from our "ghetto Catholic" period. We quietly, but effectively built the Catholic Church in America to be the biggest single "denomination" in the US. (We do not belong to a denomination: We belong to THE Mother Church, the origin, the font and everything else Protestant church leaders would give their eye teeth for (but lack the courage to admit it publicly.)
We sometimes find ourselves a little intimidated and put off by the exuberance of our more fundamentalist Protestant separated brethern. To hell with that. Once I was double teamed outside the Florida Bible College in Hollywood FL shortly after a frat brother and I unsuccessfully tried to enter a dance. Well, we obviously didn't have a very pious look, to say the least, but we were decorous and polite. So, out we went back in to the damp cool Florida humidity, only to find out that while we weren't good enough for their girls, we were nevertheless suitable for sheep rustling.
They worked us over good with all their arguments about the need for a personal Savior (which then I thought was awfully preposterously arrogant, but I was 35 yrs younger). And, of course, we had to base our lives on the Bible, etc., Well, I finally had enough and said politely, "Look at my jacket buddy, do you see the cross in the school emblem?" Well, from then on we were best of buddies, albeit still suspect I imagine.
I say let the evangelicals have their say, then we start working on their points, one by one. After all, we can say to ourselves when we get a wheelbarrow full of sola fide and sola scriptura, there's always going to be that magic moment when we can ask them, "Is that all you've got?" And that's when we go to work.
But we've got to decide that we're not going to be intimidated. The best way to avoid that is to bone up on our Catechism, etc. and be ready for any of their talking points. But, if they start giving us the Jack Chick "Death Cookie" type of baloney, it's time to do an about face because no matter how energetic our arguments are and how long we stand there with the more anti-Catholic types, our batting averages will be a minus .300.
Even if they're not in Jack Chick's minor, minor bush league corner, it's still no use arguing with somebody who'll never even think of giving us any benefit of the doubt. Remember, to these folks, we're as bad as pagans, if not worse. Again, be ready to just politely walk away: BUT, leave 'em with something to chew on with: "Folks this has all been interesting, if somewhat frustrating for me. But it's kinda hard to keep an intelligent discussion going with folks who can't figure out what happened when Jesus passed the keys to HIS Church to St. Peter? You can read all about it in Matthew 16."
Then you can bolt out of Dodge City. Because by that time you'll have 'em all whipped up to sack Rome all over again like they did during the Reformation. This sacking evan put the barbarians' parties to shame.
Seriously, though: don't give an inch, but always give them a smile no matter what they say to frustrate the anti-Christ and "whore of Babylon" out of us.
____________________
"This Old House's" motto is "Measure twice, cut once." My new motto is THINK at least twice or thrice, then you only have to write once, and maybe apologize nonce.
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Candlemass
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 12:30 am |
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| "Do you know Cheeses as your own personal sandwich?" - Bad Buddah
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Steven Barrett
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 12:39 am |
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I never heard the "Cheesus" line before, but you just gave me a good laugh before I turn in. Thanks!
s.
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"This Old House's" motto is "Measure twice, cut once." My new motto is THINK at least twice or thrice, then you only have to write once, and maybe apologize nonce.
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Talithacumi
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 01:15 am |
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Candlemass wrote: "Preach the Gospel, and if nessasary, use words."- St. Augustine
Mark,
As I was reading down through the posts, that's what came to my mind, too... Looks like you took the words right out of my mouth... or - er - computer. :? Except, as James pointed out, that the quote is usually said to be from St. Francis, not Augustine.
Anyway, for anyone else reading this, too... Just thought I'd throw in my two cents' worth... I pretty much agree with all of the posts to some extent or other. Sure, we should be willing to talk about our faith. Personally, though, I don't think it's a matter of talking so much. Talk is cheap sometimes. I think it's really a matter of each person using their gifts. There are thousands of ways to evangelize. "We are many members of the same body" and all that... We each have our own gifts, as St. Paul clearly tells us in Corinthians, and they are all to be used in conjunction with each other. Where one lacks abilities in one area, someone else can pick it up.
I'm sure no one here means to sound judgmental. I just think, though, that we shouldn't judge too harshly - either Catholics or Protestants - for verbalizing or not verbalizing. To me, it's a matter of prudence and using your gifts to the best of your ability.
Certainly we should not be afraid of speaking about God, but to be honest, I think it's off-putting sometimes. I think people sometimes get turned off and turn a deaf ear when they hear people talk too much about God - depending on how it's done. But I know for myself, when I'm around someone who's always going around saying "Praise you, Jesus!" all the time, or everytime they say something, they turn to the person next to them and say, "Can I hear an amen, brother?" - I don't know... it kind of sounds too... showy? Almost as if they're trying to draw attention to themselves and hold themselves up as - well, sometimes they sound "holier-than-thou."
In my experience, that's where a lot of Catholics are coming from and that is why they don't like to talk "religion" too much. It isn't always that they're afraid or ashamed of their faith. They just don't want to sound show-offy or pushy.
I find that the most effective way to talk about one's faith is to plug it in where it's needed on a natural level. Like if someone is going through a hard time and you say something like, "Well, God loves you. You're precious to Him and that's why He created you, so we'll just have to pray and hope in Him and trust that He'll take care of things..." And say it with sincerity and a smile and a willingness to stand by that person - that kind of an approach seems to me to draw people more than the preacher on the corner holding a sign shouting into a megaphone that "You must be born again or you're going to Hell." Like I said, it depends on how it's done and on the situation. Sometimes words just aren't necessary. Sometimes they are. Timing.
Anyway, JMHO.
JMJ
- Cheri
____________________
“We do not want a Church that will move with the world; we want a Church that will move the world.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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CajunRick
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 02:15 am |
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Candlemass wrote: "Preach the Gospel, and if nessasary, use words."- St. Augustine
Actually, it's "Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words" and it's usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.
Here's a T-shirt that carries the message.
However, Friar Jack disputes that. He writes:
When did Francis say, "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary"? This is a great quote, very Franciscan in its spirit, but not literally from St. Francis. The thought is his; this catchy phrasing is not in his writings or in the earliest biographies about him.
In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars not to preach unless they had received the proper permission to do so. Then he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”
A few years ago, someone used the Internet to contact some of the most eminent Franciscan scholars in the world, seeking the source of this “Use words if necessary” quote. It is clearly not in any of Francis’ writings. After a couple weeks of searching, no scholar could find this quote in a story written within 200 years of Francis’ death.
So it was actually made up a couple of hundred years after St. Francis died, but has always been attributed to him.
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Carolyn
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| First Name: | Carolyn | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Im a married catholic, with four children Devoted to Mary ... |
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Posted: Fri May 4th, 2007 10:21 am |
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I have held True to my faith catholic faith only because My husband is quite anchored and because of the catholic spiritual director I have,,,,my sister who I dearly love became a shouting on the roof tops protestant,and the only common ground I can find that she will except is, Jesus Mercy,If I bring up anything like,the Eucharist,the blessed Mother, the saints,Im in for aguilt trip , big time, I could never pull the rug out from under her,she indeed knows Jesus but she dosent have the fullness of the faith,,I have to secretly share our Blessed mother with her by helping her plan her garden,little does she know,all the flowers I choose have meaning to Mary,,
shes been a protestant for over ten years now,,,,when she goes through storms in her life, she calls me,,..It hurts me that I cant share what relationship I have with Jesus in the Eucharist,,,or the true Devotion to Mary consecration,,,,,I have learned to protect my deep catholic faith, I wont let her near my heart where my faith lives,,,,,,,,,,I have watched over the years and listened to my sister,,and have just found Jesus In common,and I have such joy annd have healed so much because of my catholic faith,,,,,,,,,my sisters pastor and wife left their church and are getting a divorce,the same couple who left the catholic faith,,,,,to FOllow Jesus and teach the truth,,,,,
the same couple who took my sister and gave her books to read about catholics who left the church ,and taught her that the pope is the devil,and same for the eucharist,,,,and who told my sister I was possed because I wou | | |
