The Pope will be visiting Malta in April to Mark the 1950th anniversary (or there abouts) of St. Paul's visit (shipwreck) on the island during his ministry. St. Paul is the patron saint of Malta.
Viva la Maltese!
Maltese pride...
The Pope will be visiting Malta in April to Mark the 1950th anniversary (or there abouts) of St. Paul's visit (shipwreck) on the island during his ministry. St. Paul is the patron saint of Malta.
Viva la Maltese!
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Australia's traditional Anglicans vote to convert to Catholicism
Fantastic news! How wonderful it is to see the Lord brining His children back together as one!
"Traditionalist Anglicans in Australia have become the first to vote in favour of leaving their national church and converting to Roman Catholicism."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7249374/Australias-traditional-Anglicans-vote-to-convert-to-Catholicism.html
Thinkin' about Sedevacantists and the Early Church Fathers...
The Sedevacantists are a radical "Catholic" group that reject the validity of the Novus Ordo Mass, Vatican II and subsequently the authority of any pope since the death of Pope Pius XII (some may also argue since the death of Pope John XXIII). By definition, they're a schismatic group (essentially "protestant") and that got me thinking about what the Early Church Fathers had to say about schismatics.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his Epistle to the Romans says this:
"Therefore, follow the bishops and priests. Apart from them, there is nothing that can be called a church. Anyone outside is impure; he is worse than an infidel. In other words, anyone who acts apart from the bishop and the priests and deacons does not have a clean conscience. For, all who belong to God and to Jesus Christ are with the bishop. Make no mistake about it: no one who follows another in to schism inherits the kingdom of God." - St Ignatius of Antioch Epistle to the Romans – The Apostolic Fathers, Vol 1. Funk, 1956, p. 82
We need to pray for the salvation of those who leave the Church, especially Sedevacantists; for they were in the fullness in truth and they have willingly and knowingly rejected it. Heavenly Father, allow their reversion!
For more information about Sedevacantism, please visit these pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedevacantism
http://www.olfatima.com/exploded.html - Refuting 17 Sedevacantist myths
Getting called to the chief's office...
Pope summons bishops over Irish sex scandal
(Source: ABC News, Australia, February 16, 2010)
EDIT NOTE: Summit in progress; Pope and Irish bishops abuse summit continues
(Source: BBC News, UK, February 16, 2010)
Pope Benedict XVI is quoted to have been "disturbed and distressed" by the Murphy report detailing the investigation into the Irish Catholic Church's abuse scandal.
"Christ answers man's thirst for justice"
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, gave a beautiful message about Christ's life, death and resurrection being a "revolution of love"; a timely reminder for us all as we celebrate (or finish celebrating) St. Valentine's Day, a day known for diverse expressions of love.
Pax vobiscum.
Contrasting the Christian and Muslim faiths
Before I dive into this topic, I would first like to thank those people that have responded to my last blog entry and have been sending in questions for me to answer. There's been a good, steady flow of emails coming through but life, as you'd be aware, pulls you in different directions and if I don't answer your question immediately, you have my apologies. It will, however, not be ignored; I will get to it eventually!
The question being answered today:
"What are the similarities between Christianity and the Muslim faith? What is it that seperates our teachings?"
Let's begin with what Islam and Christianity have in common (in brief):
- both are monotheistic religions (they believe in one god/supreme being);
- both originated in the Middle East;
- both hold the Virgin Mary in very high esteem (the stories concerning the birth of Jesus differ substantially, however);
- both recognise Jesus as a great teacher (yet Islam does not recognise Jesus Christ as being divine, i.e. the Son of God/God incarnate);
- both recognise that Jesus died on the cross (was crucified);
- both believe that rejecting God will lead us to eternal punishment (Hell); and
- both believe in prayer, worship and fasting as essential elements of the faith.
There are more similarities I could list down, but that's enough to get us started for now.
As far as the differences are concerned, this table will easily point those out:
(Click on the image for the full-scale version)
The core differences that separates our two faiths is the fact that Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ whereas Christians acknowledge Him as the Messiah and Son of Almighty God. Jesus himself made this very clear to us as we read in scripture:
"I and the Father are one." - John 10:30
"Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." - John 8:58 (God identifies himself as "I am" to Moses in Exodus 3:14; the Jews knew the significance of this self attribution of identity).
"Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'?'" - John 14:8-9
For Christians, acknowledging and believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ is essential. One cannot call themself a Christian if they do not believe that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, and that he and the Father are one.
* * * * *
For more information about Islam, go here ("Islam in a Nutshell", Catholic Answers).
God bless.
Ask me a question!
If you're new to or unfamiliar with the Catholic faith or Christianity in general, then I would love to help you understand it a bit more.
I'm in the process of developing a Catholic FAQ ("frequently asked questions") for the blog and for it to work there of course needs to be questions and answers, so I would love to hear from you!
Feel free to shoot me an email here with your question and I'll get back to you as soon as I can with an answer. If it's a good question, I may even "video-ise" it and the response and upload it to my Youtube channel.
So what are you waiting for? Fire away!
God bless!
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