Furthermore…

Catholic apologist to Protestant critic:

“No, the Church put the Scriptures in Latin because it was a language foreign to the people. At the time it was the language most widely understood!”

Priest’s ears prick up as he overhears one teenager, looking at a worn shoe, seated behind him in airport, say to friend:

“I really need  someone who can save my sole!”

It goes on every day. A person is faced with a tough decision having moral and spiritual ramifications. A ’sensible’ friend is sought out and presented with a summary of the situation. The advice offered is worldly, straight out of the culture, what everyone is doing, the ordinary. Reference is made to a few cases, perhaps involving mutual acquaintances, and how they were handled, with what outcomes. And oh yes: “no one follows those impossible rules of the church.”

Gossippy person sticking head into the sacristy:

“Father, there’s a suspicious looking stranger in the rear pew and he’s carrying a Bible!“

I heard a talk one time about how it is important for a father to give his son “the blessing” so that the son can feel approved at a deep level, at peace with the family values and traditions, and be able to move on in life with a sense of the rightness of all things in his world. It is done in an explicit, formal way on a particular occasion and not assumed or taken for granted. It was stated that a boy or young man needs and craves this, and that his life will be under a kind of pall without his father’s clear and unmistakable blessing. Something along this line is included in some of the episodes of the Old Testament, but I can’t think of a place where it is treated on the human level in the New Testament. We are familiar with the times when our heavenly Father gives His approval  to Jesus Matthew 3:17 and 17:5).

Mod couple stopping priest outside church:

“Hey Father, we have a question. Is there any patron saint of living together?”

Our mixed lay group discusses the Scriptural Readings from the previous Sunday. So we have 3 or 4 passages to consider in about an hour. We are structured along the lines of ‘faith sharing,’ so people open up about their personal experiences and outlooks. There are a few recurring  issues on which  there is not much consensus; one member, brought up Catholic, is something of a freethinker now, and doesn’t believe that Jesus is a Divine Person in the Trinity. My ‘Bible Study Leftovers’ posts are intended to bring out issues that went unresolved, or points of  commentary that, although interesting, were not explored, perhaps due to time restraints.

Sign by the Sea of Galilee.

NO WALKING ON THE WATER

I was listening on Relevant Radio to an encore version of one of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s  talks. It was about angels. He named a number of major religions that have belief in angels as a part of their faith. He mentioned that St. Michael the Archangel is revered as a protector of Israel. Then he went on to talk about how angels were recognized by some of the Pagan cultures. They saw that there is a hierarchy of  forms of being, lower to higher, and it only seemed reasonable that there would be something like angels situated above man.

He spoke before the burgeoning of the sappy and ridiculous ‘angel’ TV and pop culture manifestations, so beloved of  modern pagans. It’s so comforting to believe in Teddy Bears, Santa Claus, Oprah, and ever-watchful, solicitous Angels.  Sorry God, you’re not cute enough .

Preacher “marrying” same sex couple:

“I now pronounce you wan and mife, I mean wan and man, I mean mife and fife. Oh forget the whole thing!”