Sheen's Intercession Saved Their Baby
Born lifeless and without a pulse for 61 minutes, following prayers to the Servant of God, little James Fulton had a pulse:
By MARIANNE MEDLIN via the National Catholic Register:
“It had been a healthy pregnancy; it was a healthy labor. Everything was good,” Bonnie recalled.
But what the couple and attending midwife and birth assistant did not know was that there was a knot in James’ umbilical chord which tightened while he was descending the birth canal.
Her son, at 9 lbs. 10 oz., was a stillborn.
“I have a memory of repeating Sheen’s name, in my head, not out loud, but just kind of saying over and over again ‘Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen’ while they were still doing CPR,” she said.
Bonnie’s husband also baptized the baby James Fulton — “the name we had agreed upon” — before he was rushed to the St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill. During the transport to the hospital, a friend who had attended the birth called others to pray, with some of them invoking Sheen’s name as well.
...But at the hospital, a full 61 minutes after he was born and while doctors were preparing to declare the time of death, James Fulton suddenly had a pulse.
Although the medical team was stunned, they refrained from being optimistic, and simply told Bonnie’s husband that the baby had a heartbeat; but that was all they could say.
“My husband interpreted that as ‘He’s alive, but just for now,’” Bonnie recalled.
Doctors expected James Fulton to die within the week, or, at the very least, be on a ventilator or feeding tube — blind and strapped into a wheelchair — for the rest of his short life.
What happened in the following days, however, was nothing short of extraordinary.
...“There were people from all over the world who emailed me and left comments on my blog saying, ‘We’re praying for your son, and we are asking for Sheen’s intercession,’” Bonnie said. “It was really powerful and humbling.”
Within a week of his birth, doctors were shocked to find that James Fulton was breathing on his own.
“Everyone was just amazed by that — that wasn’t supposed to happen,” his mom said.
And day by day, after all of his vital organs were seen to be functioning properly, it became more apparent that little James Fulton was going to be just fine. "
Blogger Note: Apparently, Baby James Fulton, Life is Worth Living :) ...
Showing posts with label Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Archbishop Sheen on Antique Road Show
I joke with my wife I know I am getting old because I am finding myself watching the Antique Road Show more and more. Just a few years back my preference was watching contestants eat live scorpions on Fear Factor, but with the demands of 4 children I now need a more peaceful intake of viewing on my down time.Last week they ran an older show on one of the weekend editions. Here is a great story about Archbishop Sheen and a little Iowan girl. Now 60 years old, the woman on the show reflected back to her childhood in 1953:
"I was in the Brownie Scouts. And we had moved from Chicago, and mother had packed the Brownie uniform. We had found the dress, but not the hat. So every day, I came home from school saying, "Mother, have you found the hat yet?" This went on for several months, and every day, it was, "No, I haven't found the hat." So one night, I was watching Bishop Sheen on “Life is Worth Living,” black-and-white TV, and I saw his hat. And I ran into the kitchen, and I said, "Mother, I found my Brownie hat." And she said, "Well, where is it?" Because she was very relieved. I said, "Well, Bishop Sheen stole it." And she thought that was so funny that she wrote him a letter explaining the story. But she changed it slightly and didn't tell him that I said he stole it, that he had it, or he took it. So for Christmas, he inscribed [his zuccheto/skull cap], "To Frances, God Love You-- Fulton J. Sheen," and sent it to me as a Christmas present."
For those of you dying to know, the zuccheto was appraised for between $2,000-$4,000.
It has definitely been an Archbishop Sheen stretch for me lately. Here is a little Catholic trivia: Archbishop Sheen's baptized name was Peter John Sheen. Fulton was his mother's maiden name and became the Archbishop's preference.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Archbishop Sheen Vintage TV Clip: "Is One of Your Titles, "Servant of God?"
Here is an archive film that I found last night. Archbishop Sheen was a guest on "What's My Line." It was an early television game show where the panel wore blindfolds and plays "20 questions" to try to eventually deduct who is the guest on the show.
A few things here to notice:
1) How loved Sheen was. The audience applauds for close to 20 seconds when they see it is him, and the first panel guest mentions, "it is the most solid round of applause I have heard in a long time." To put this in some perspective, the Archbishop received a 19 second round of applause when on the show; Joe DiMaggio received a 17 second round of applause when on the show.
2) His humility. When the same panelist asks, "Are you a familiar figure in public life," Sheen answers... "A little bit." Remember he had one of the highest ranking shows on television at the time.
3) How playful the archbishop can be, speaking French to throw off the panel. We also see the personal side of Sheen. How much he enjoys the "weekly on television and non-profit???" comment. And his quick wit telling the same panelist after he won money, "It's profit!"
4) He instructs to send his earnings to leper colonies.
5) At the end one of the panelist even kisses his ring. Wouldn't see that today.
This is a time capsule of a time when Catholicism in America was held in high esteem by even non-believers.
Enjoy!
A few things here to notice:
1) How loved Sheen was. The audience applauds for close to 20 seconds when they see it is him, and the first panel guest mentions, "it is the most solid round of applause I have heard in a long time." To put this in some perspective, the Archbishop received a 19 second round of applause when on the show; Joe DiMaggio received a 17 second round of applause when on the show.
2) His humility. When the same panelist asks, "Are you a familiar figure in public life," Sheen answers... "A little bit." Remember he had one of the highest ranking shows on television at the time.
3) How playful the archbishop can be, speaking French to throw off the panel. We also see the personal side of Sheen. How much he enjoys the "weekly on television and non-profit???" comment. And his quick wit telling the same panelist after he won money, "It's profit!"
4) He instructs to send his earnings to leper colonies.
5) At the end one of the panelist even kisses his ring. Wouldn't see that today.
This is a time capsule of a time when Catholicism in America was held in high esteem by even non-believers.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Who Inspired Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen?
This month, Masses across America marked the 30th anniversary of the passing of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Servant of God. On a televised show he was asked who inspired him, the answer was riviting:
"A couple of months before his death Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was interviewed on national television. One of the questions was this: "Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world. Who inspired you? Was it a Pope?"
Bishop Sheen responded that it was not a Pope, a cardinal, another bishop, or even a priest or a nun. It was a little Chinese girl of eleven years of age. He explained that when the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church. After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly the number of Hosts in the ciborium; thirty-two.
When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn't pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened. That night the little girl came back.
Slipping past the guard at the priest's house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, since (at that time) it was not permissible for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.
The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.
When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day of his life. If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true, to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The little girl showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really is; how faith could overcome all fear, how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself. What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst. As the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love."
"A couple of months before his death Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was interviewed on national television. One of the questions was this: "Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world. Who inspired you? Was it a Pope?"
Bishop Sheen responded that it was not a Pope, a cardinal, another bishop, or even a priest or a nun. It was a little Chinese girl of eleven years of age. He explained that when the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church. After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly the number of Hosts in the ciborium; thirty-two.
When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn't pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened. That night the little girl came back.
Slipping past the guard at the priest's house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, since (at that time) it was not permissible for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.
The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.
When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day of his life. If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true, to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The little girl showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really is; how faith could overcome all fear, how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself. What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst. As the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love."
Friday, December 25, 2009
7 Centuries Foretold of the Messiah
Bishop Sheen once gave a sermon that if he was at the beginning of a human search to look for a true Messiah to follow, he would look for signs from the Almighty that the Messiah he chose was without a doubt from God, His Chosen One. No other religion can claim such specific and fulfilled prophecies on the central figure of their Faith. They were so specific that the Roman authorities, Jewish community and traveling wisemen all knew that the birth had happened without firsthand knowledge.
700 years before the birth of Christ, Christ's lineage was from the House of David was prophesied:
"In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it--one from the house of David--one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness." Isaiah 16:5
700 years before Christ's birth in Bethlehem the location was prophesied:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come . . . one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2
700 years before the Blessed Mother conceived from the Holy Spirit it was prophesied:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (Blogger Note: Bishop Sheen always pointed out that this unthinkable notion of a virgin birth has always been accepted as an unquestioned truth in world history. Unbelievers will argue many ways that Christ was not Divine, but surprisingly will rarely argue that a virgin can't conceive, which would seemingly be an easier argument to win for a non-believer - again reinforcing the Doctrine's world acceptance. In fact, St. Luke who wrote about the virgin birth was a doctor, and one would think he would be the most skeptical out of the four evangelists, but he actually gives the testament.)
700 years before Christ's birth the incarnation was prophesied, that our God would become human... "a child is born"... that would be called "Mighty God":
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. ..." Isaiah 9:6-7
Merry Christmas!
700 years before the birth of Christ, Christ's lineage was from the House of David was prophesied:
"In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it--one from the house of David--one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness." Isaiah 16:5
700 years before Christ's birth in Bethlehem the location was prophesied:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come . . . one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2
700 years before the Blessed Mother conceived from the Holy Spirit it was prophesied:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (Blogger Note: Bishop Sheen always pointed out that this unthinkable notion of a virgin birth has always been accepted as an unquestioned truth in world history. Unbelievers will argue many ways that Christ was not Divine, but surprisingly will rarely argue that a virgin can't conceive, which would seemingly be an easier argument to win for a non-believer - again reinforcing the Doctrine's world acceptance. In fact, St. Luke who wrote about the virgin birth was a doctor, and one would think he would be the most skeptical out of the four evangelists, but he actually gives the testament.)
700 years before Christ's birth the incarnation was prophesied, that our God would become human... "a child is born"... that would be called "Mighty God":
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. ..." Isaiah 9:6-7
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter's Lesson: Evil's One Mortal Wound
"... Two days later, early in the morning, a converted sinner is found walking in a cemetery — she whose heart had been captured by Him without, as other men had done, laying it waste. She was in search of a tomb and a dead body which she hoped she might anoint with spices. The idea of the Resurrection did not seem to enter her mind — she who herself had risen from a tomb sealed by the seven devils of sin. Finding the tomb empty she broke again into a fountain of tears. No one who weeps ever looks upwards. With her eyes cast down as the brightness of the early sunrise swept over the dew-covered grass, she vaguely perceived someone near her, who asked: "Woman, why weepest thou?" (John 20:15).Mary, thinking it might have been the gardener said: "Because they have taken away my Lord; and I do not know where they have laid him."
The figure before her spoke only one word, one name, and in a tone so sweet and ineffably tender that it could be the only unforgettable voice of the world; and that one word was: "Mary."
No one could ever say "Mary" as He said it. In that moment she knew Him. Dropping into the Aramaic of her mother’s speech she answered but one word: "Rabboni"! "Master"! And she fell at His feet— she was always there, anointing them at a supper, standing before them at a Cross, and now kneeling before Him in the Glory of an Easter morn.
The Cross had asked the questions; the Resurrection had answered them.
The Cross had asked the question: How far can Power go in the world?. The Resurrection answered: Power ends in its own destruction, for those who slew [their God] lost the day.
The Cross had asked: Why does God permit evil and sin to nail Justice to a tree? The Resurrection answered: That sin, having done its worst, might exhaust itself and thus be overcome by Love that is stronger than either sin or death.
Thus there emerges the Easter lesson that the power of evil and the chaos of any one moment can be defied and conquered, for the basis of our hope is not in any construct of human power, but in the Power of God Who has given to the evil of this earth its one mortal wound — an open tomb, a gaping sepulchre, an empty grave. " -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Thursday, July 24, 2008
An "Upside Down" Faith
One of the most beautiful revelations about Catholicism, is that since Christ’s establishment of this Faith over 2,000 years ago, it has turned everything in this world upside down. This Faith is so contrary to anything in the history of human thought, and so far away from any religion that could have been established by the human mind, it must have had a Divine origin.
It is a Faith that strips away all the distractions and materialistic prizes treasured by our world. It, in its true essence, denies everything of this world for the Divine. I believe a saint once said being Roman Catholic prevents you from being a slave to the ages. Society will change around you with every flux, fashion and desire, but your Faith will remain a constant through the ages based on its inherent Truth.
In this backwards paradox that our Faith has established, a homeless person who sleeps under a bridge and whom society mocks and shuns, may have a better reward on judgement day than a Hollywood actress, or a billionaire that our society fawns over.
Two of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s quotes come to my mind and should be touched upon in this post.
He pointed out that our Almighty God humbled himself and became vulnerable to join us in our mortal existence. He bled and felt pain. He had head colds and the stomach flu. His body became fatigue to the point that He craved sleep. He had to overcome all the human shortcomings that we wrestle with each day. Sheen beautifully pinpointed this Immortal God taking on a mortal form and the unfathomable nature of this event (paraphrasing the Archbishop), "A totally helpless baby lying in the poverty of a manger who also controlled all the stars in all the galaxies." What an "upside down" concept. What a great Faith!
Another one of my favorite Archbishop Sheen quotes spoke of this "upside down" incarnation. He said the reason why violent storms raged when Christ dropped his head in death on the cross was that "Nature could not tolerate Deicide." A God who would allow His Creation to kill Him in order to save His creation. We will never be able to fully grasp this "upside down" concept.
I thought of these quotes today when hearing PZ Myers’ despicable actions. An Almighty and All-Powerful God who created and controls everything in existence but allows a scurvy of his creation to sacrilege Him without just fury raining down on him (and all of us). This event is definitely "upside-down"; as our Beautiful Faith.
Two scripture passages came to mind to make sense of this horrible event:
The first shows who is really in control of this and every situation despite what Myers and his minions think:
Matt 26: 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels [to protect Me if needed]?
The second passage shows the same exact incident millenniums ago - - of another (Pilate) desecrating the Body of Christ - - and our God’s similar response, with all of His Almighty power and glory as intact back then as it is today:
Matt 27:12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. [He stood silent in the presence of his accusers].
This logic of this silence was understood a few days later at the Resurrection, as the logic of His silence now will be understood someday as PZ Myers stands in front of Him.
It is a Faith that strips away all the distractions and materialistic prizes treasured by our world. It, in its true essence, denies everything of this world for the Divine. I believe a saint once said being Roman Catholic prevents you from being a slave to the ages. Society will change around you with every flux, fashion and desire, but your Faith will remain a constant through the ages based on its inherent Truth.
In this backwards paradox that our Faith has established, a homeless person who sleeps under a bridge and whom society mocks and shuns, may have a better reward on judgement day than a Hollywood actress, or a billionaire that our society fawns over.
Two of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s quotes come to my mind and should be touched upon in this post.
He pointed out that our Almighty God humbled himself and became vulnerable to join us in our mortal existence. He bled and felt pain. He had head colds and the stomach flu. His body became fatigue to the point that He craved sleep. He had to overcome all the human shortcomings that we wrestle with each day. Sheen beautifully pinpointed this Immortal God taking on a mortal form and the unfathomable nature of this event (paraphrasing the Archbishop), "A totally helpless baby lying in the poverty of a manger who also controlled all the stars in all the galaxies." What an "upside down" concept. What a great Faith!
Another one of my favorite Archbishop Sheen quotes spoke of this "upside down" incarnation. He said the reason why violent storms raged when Christ dropped his head in death on the cross was that "Nature could not tolerate Deicide." A God who would allow His Creation to kill Him in order to save His creation. We will never be able to fully grasp this "upside down" concept.
I thought of these quotes today when hearing PZ Myers’ despicable actions. An Almighty and All-Powerful God who created and controls everything in existence but allows a scurvy of his creation to sacrilege Him without just fury raining down on him (and all of us). This event is definitely "upside-down"; as our Beautiful Faith.
Two scripture passages came to mind to make sense of this horrible event:
The first shows who is really in control of this and every situation despite what Myers and his minions think:
Matt 26: 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels [to protect Me if needed]?
The second passage shows the same exact incident millenniums ago - - of another (Pilate) desecrating the Body of Christ - - and our God’s similar response, with all of His Almighty power and glory as intact back then as it is today:
Matt 27:12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. [He stood silent in the presence of his accusers].
This logic of this silence was understood a few days later at the Resurrection, as the logic of His silence now will be understood someday as PZ Myers stands in front of Him.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Conquering Addiction
In this month’s Faith and Family magazine, there is a feature where readers tell how they avoid unhealthy eating. There was a brief suggestion from a mother that supplied all the answer this section needed. She said when tempted to have a fattening dessert, she offers it up to God as a sacrifice for her intentions for her children. I have never met this woman, but I need to know no more of her to know her soul.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen gave words of wisdom in one of his lectures on conquering addiction. He said, paraphrasing, to overcome any addiction, you must "force it" out of your psyche by replacing it with something just as consuming. Such words of wisdom and no psychiatrist payment needed.
This woman sacrificing for her children meant more to her than the pleasure that a dessert would bring. Her love for her children conquered her temptation to eat.
In this Sheen counseling lies the reason why so many diets fail. The dieter starts with the best intentions in the first of the month, but the uncontrollable craving to eat remains and is allowed to run freely within his psyche and still possess him. Nothing has forced this addiction out. It is lurking and waiting to conquer again.
One of my heroes of this world, Msgr. James McDonald - now rector of Long Island’s seminary- once spoke in a homily addressing the addiction of alcohol. He passionately and in a booming voice told the congregation, "Don’t tell me you can’t put down that drink when Christ thirsted for you on the cross!" Msgr. McDonald was coming at the same angle as Archbishop Sheen. Your love of Christ and gratitude of his suffering can push out that addiction.
My grandfather was a very good man but an alcoholic. He never harmed anyone but was his own worse enemy with his drinking problem. When my siblings and I were very small children, my father told my grandfather we could not ride in his car, spend time with him, because of my father’s obvious concerns. As the story goes after this difficult conversation, my grandfather quit cold turkey. Not one more drop. His love for his grandchildren was more consuming than his drinking problem. The last few years of his life were spent sober, and this is how he went home to God.
We are all imperfect people, with shortcomings and addictions. How much progress would we make towards Divine Grace if those parents with addictions (alcoholism, smoking, drugs, sex, anger-management, gambling, over-eating, shopping) offered their pain in denying their addiction up to God with the specific intention that Christ will protect their children in the future from acquiring the same addiction? How could the loving heart of Christ not accept an offering so beautiful, noble and selfless? How could we not eventually succeed in conquering our addictions through this act of love?
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen gave words of wisdom in one of his lectures on conquering addiction. He said, paraphrasing, to overcome any addiction, you must "force it" out of your psyche by replacing it with something just as consuming. Such words of wisdom and no psychiatrist payment needed.
This woman sacrificing for her children meant more to her than the pleasure that a dessert would bring. Her love for her children conquered her temptation to eat.
In this Sheen counseling lies the reason why so many diets fail. The dieter starts with the best intentions in the first of the month, but the uncontrollable craving to eat remains and is allowed to run freely within his psyche and still possess him. Nothing has forced this addiction out. It is lurking and waiting to conquer again.
One of my heroes of this world, Msgr. James McDonald - now rector of Long Island’s seminary- once spoke in a homily addressing the addiction of alcohol. He passionately and in a booming voice told the congregation, "Don’t tell me you can’t put down that drink when Christ thirsted for you on the cross!" Msgr. McDonald was coming at the same angle as Archbishop Sheen. Your love of Christ and gratitude of his suffering can push out that addiction.
My grandfather was a very good man but an alcoholic. He never harmed anyone but was his own worse enemy with his drinking problem. When my siblings and I were very small children, my father told my grandfather we could not ride in his car, spend time with him, because of my father’s obvious concerns. As the story goes after this difficult conversation, my grandfather quit cold turkey. Not one more drop. His love for his grandchildren was more consuming than his drinking problem. The last few years of his life were spent sober, and this is how he went home to God.
We are all imperfect people, with shortcomings and addictions. How much progress would we make towards Divine Grace if those parents with addictions (alcoholism, smoking, drugs, sex, anger-management, gambling, over-eating, shopping) offered their pain in denying their addiction up to God with the specific intention that Christ will protect their children in the future from acquiring the same addiction? How could the loving heart of Christ not accept an offering so beautiful, noble and selfless? How could we not eventually succeed in conquering our addictions through this act of love?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A Marian Crossroad of Religions
While I am on Our Lady of Fatima, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen put together his thoughts that the conversion of the Muslim world will come through Our Lady of Fatima. By his writing below, you will see this little obscure Portuguese town where the Blessed Mother chose to appear is at the crossroads of Christianity and the Muslim religion. He wrote these words in 1952."It is our firm belief that the fears some entertain concerning the Moslems are not to be realized, but that Moslemism, instead, will eventually be converted to Christianity ... through a summoning of the Moslems to a veneration of the Mother of God.
...The Koran, which is the bible of the Moslems, has many passages concerning the Blessed Virgin. First, the Koran believes in her Immaculate Conception and in her Virgin Birth. The third chapter of the Koran places the history of Mary's family in a genealogy that goes back through Abraham, Noah, and Adam. When one compares the Koran's description of the birth of Mary with the apocryphal Gospel of the birth of Mary, one is tempted to believe that Mohammed very much depended upon the latter.
...The Koran has also verses on the Annunciation, Visitation, and nativity. Angels are pictured as accompanying the Blessed Mother and saying, "O Mary, God has chosen you and purified you, and elected you above all the women of the earth."
...The only possible serious rival to her in [the Moslem] creed would be Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed himself. However, after the death of Fatima, Mohammed wrote: "Thou shalt be the most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary." In a variant of the text, Fatima is made to say, "I surpass all the women, except Mary."
This brings us ... to why the Blessed Mother, in this twentieth century... should have revealed herself in the insignificant little village of Fatima, so that to all future generations she would be known as "Our Lady of Fatima."
Nothing ever happens out of heaven except with a finesse of all details. I believe that the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as "Our Lady of Fatima" as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son, too.
Evidence to support these views is found in the historical fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Moslem chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but even embraced the Catholic faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.
...Moslems attended the Catholic services in honor of Our Lady; they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques...
...[As the Moslem devotion to the Virgin Mary grows,] Our Blessed Lady will carry the Moslems the rest of the way to her Divine Son. As those who lose devotion to her lose belief in the Divinity of Christ, so those who intensify devotion to her gradually acquire that belief."
For people who think the thought of a mass, Marian conversion is unprobable, you should direct them to what is left of the Berlin Wall.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A True Church; A Church Not of this World
I have been remiss. One week of blogging already and I have not quoted Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen yet. This one will give you chills:"If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world, in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils.Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infalliable, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other-worldly, since it is other-worldy, it is infinitly loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hate and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine"
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