Comments for Fr. Rick's Blog http://stthomasvt.com/blog Tue, 31 May 2011 13:20:56 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 Comment on Oh Rapture! by Bridget http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=66&cpage=1#comment-238 Bridget Tue, 31 May 2011 13:20:56 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=66#comment-238 Thank you Father Rick, I need to share this with my son, and adk you to please pray for my family, especially my son Andrew, who because of a thoughless banter about this rapture of a neighbor became scared and anxious. I'll share this with him and do thank you for hearing and answering the call to the priesthood so that we can find reconcilliation with God, and come to know him through the great sacraments you celebrate for us! Thank you Father Rick, I need to share this with my son, and adk you to please pray for my family, especially my son Andrew, who because of a thoughless banter about this rapture of a neighbor became scared and anxious. I’ll share this with him and do thank you for hearing and answering the call to the priesthood so that we can find reconcilliation with God, and come to know him through the great sacraments you celebrate for us!

]]> Comment on Mourning Osama? by Jim McMahon http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=58&cpage=1#comment-237 Jim McMahon Thu, 12 May 2011 17:37:16 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=58#comment-237 I am not sad that Osama bin Laden has died either. I feel a guilty joy that the last thing he saw before dying was the face of a US Navy SEAL. I do not rejoice, however, in any human being who dies without repenting. Where there's life, there's hope. And I agree, I hope Osama Bin Laden had time to repent for his deeds--I have to, I'm also a sinner. I am not sad that Osama bin Laden has died either. I feel a guilty joy that the last thing he saw before dying was the face of a US Navy SEAL. I do not rejoice, however, in any human being who dies without repenting. Where there’s life, there’s hope. And I agree, I hope Osama Bin Laden had time to repent for his deeds–I have to, I’m also a sinner.

]]> Comment on What The Pope Said (And What He Didn’t Say) by Bridget http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=52&cpage=1#comment-222 Bridget Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:08:36 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=52#comment-222 Thanks Fr. Rick, I have been wondering about this a while. I should check out your blog more often. May God continue to bless you in abundance, Bridget Thanks Fr. Rick,

I have been wondering about this a while. I should check out your blog more often.

May God continue to bless you in abundance,
Bridget

]]> Comment on It’s About Time……………. by Laura Wells http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=55&cpage=1#comment-35 Laura Wells Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:50:51 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=55#comment-35 "All time belongs to Him, and all the ages; to Him be glory and power, through every age for ever. Amen." AMEN!!! There is a view that time is merely part of a fundamental intellectual structure within which man sequences and compares events. But I do not hold with that. There is another view that time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence. As such time is part of creation. "Before" creation there was no time. As Fr. Rick said it hard for us to speak about things outside of time, so before creation, there is no before, no after, only present. only being, only GOD. The scriptures tell us, (Ps. 90:4) "A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday." and again, "(2Pt. 3:8) "With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." I have been thinking about this. It can be kind of scary to think that every moment of my life is present to God, the worst thing I have ever done and the best. They will both always be present to Him. That is why we need His mercy and His love. He accepts it all. We are His, we belong to Him. With Him is found mercy and fulness of redemption. ( I know I have heard this somewhere before :-) God bless you Fr. Rick and a very happy New Year!!! Laura “All time belongs to Him, and all the ages; to Him be glory and power, through every age for ever. Amen.” AMEN!!!

There is a view that time is merely part of a fundamental intellectual structure within which man sequences and compares events. But I do not hold with that.

There is another view that time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence. As such time is part of creation. “Before” creation there was no time. As Fr. Rick said it hard for us to speak about things outside of time, so before creation, there is no before, no after, only present. only being, only GOD.

The scriptures tell us, (Ps. 90:4) “A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday.” and again, “(2Pt. 3:8) “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”

I have been thinking about this. It can be kind of scary to think that every moment of my life is present to God, the worst thing I have ever done and the best. They will both always be present to Him. That is why we need His mercy and His love. He accepts it all. We are His, we belong to Him. With Him is found mercy and fulness of redemption. ( I know I have heard this somewhere before :-)

God bless you Fr. Rick and a very happy New Year!!!
Laura

]]> Comment on “All of this is about politics” by Laura Wells http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=48&cpage=1#comment-34 Laura Wells Mon, 08 Nov 2010 22:24:12 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=48#comment-34 I must admit that I have not read the article that Fr. Rick comments on but I have seen statements in the same vein as he quotes here in his blog. I wonder if there is something of idolatry in the statement. Everything that we have is a gift from God. God has entrusted mankind with human freedom and asks us to choose the good, which beyond any material good is God Himself. The good things of this world are signs. Signs point toward something. Just as in John's Gospel, Jesus' miracles were signs, they pointed toward something - Jesus' divinity!!! The good things of this world are signs - gifts and signs as Peter Kreeft calls them, asking us to get the message. As gifts they point beyond themselves to God, the Divine Giver. "It is all political" ie: from the government or related to the government puts the government in the place of God. But we know that God is Love. God loves each of us individually. The government does not love and certainly has no care for us as individuals, only as voting blocks that can be used to obtain power for those running the government. God, however, through every gift that He gives is saying, "I love you." And He gives His gifts, in different measure to each of us, individually. Each of us is the beloved, we just need to accept that great gift which He gives. But God is a jealous God, not because He is self serving, but because if our love is divided we are harmed, individually and collectively, because when we freely love God, we love what He loves, and that always leads to our neighbor. Then we can love our neighbor freely with a new kind of love that we receive from God. We no longer need to have power over him to make him what we want him to be. We love him with a love that respects his freedom. Now we can freely pass on this tremdous gift that we have received, most especially the great gift of faith. So let us not be fooled into thinking that the gifts of God, like food, are "political" gifts of the government or related to the government and recognize them for what they are, gifts from God that point to His love. Amen. I must admit that I have not read the article that Fr. Rick comments on but I have seen statements in the same vein as he quotes here in his blog. I wonder if there is something of idolatry in the statement. Everything that we have is a gift from God. God has entrusted mankind with human freedom and asks us to choose the good, which beyond any material good is God Himself. The good things of this world are signs. Signs point toward something. Just as in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ miracles were signs, they pointed toward something – Jesus’ divinity!!! The good things of this world are signs – gifts and signs as Peter Kreeft calls them, asking us to get the message. As gifts they point beyond themselves to God, the Divine Giver. “It is all political” ie: from the government or related to the government puts the government in the place of God. But we know that God is Love. God loves each of us individually. The government does not love and certainly has no care for us as individuals, only as voting blocks that can be used to obtain power for those running the government. God, however, through every gift that He gives is saying, “I love you.” And He gives His gifts, in different measure to each of us, individually. Each of us is the beloved, we just need to accept that great gift which He gives. But God is a jealous God, not because He is self serving, but because if our love is divided we are harmed, individually and collectively, because when we freely love God, we love what He loves, and that always leads to our neighbor. Then we can love our neighbor freely with a new kind of love that we receive from God. We no longer need to have power over him to make him what we want him to be. We love him with a love that respects his freedom. Now we can freely pass on this tremdous gift that we have received, most especially the great gift of faith. So let us not be fooled into thinking that the gifts of God, like food, are “political” gifts of the government or related to the government and recognize them for what they are, gifts from God that point to His love. Amen.

]]> Comment on Where Eagles Fly by Rita Mantone http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=45&cpage=1#comment-33 Rita Mantone Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:12:43 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=45#comment-33 Smart bird! Smart bird!

]]> Comment on The Family That Dines Together…………………… by Jim McMahon http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=41&cpage=1#comment-32 Jim McMahon Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:36:15 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=41#comment-32 I think a lot of kids being raised today are being cheated out of their childhood by Sunday sports, evening activities when they should be having dinner as a family, and summers spent with planned events and activities that rob them of time that should be spent with their family and friends. What happened to Sunday rides, playing catch with your father in the back yard, and just reading books in the front room as a family? I know it's not PC, but when Mom was home and not working, parents had a much better idea of what their kids were doing. How many cars do we need, how many computers, cell phones, and toys? I could waste away a whole afternoon growing up just going down the the creek fishing, turning over rocks, and enjoying the company of my friends. I think a lot of kids being raised today are being cheated out of their childhood by Sunday sports, evening activities when they should be having dinner as a family, and summers spent with planned events and activities that rob them of time that should be spent with their family and friends.

What happened to Sunday rides, playing catch with your father in the back yard, and just reading books in the front room as a family?

I know it’s not PC, but when Mom was home and not working, parents had a much better idea of what their kids were doing. How many cars do we need, how many computers, cell phones, and toys? I could waste away a whole afternoon growing up just going down the the creek fishing, turning over rocks, and enjoying the company of my friends.

]]> Comment on The Choice******** by Jim McMahon http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=33&cpage=1#comment-31 Jim McMahon Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:28:19 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=33#comment-31 The time when the word "choice" comes into play is before the baby is conceived--as in, "I made a choice not to have sex." Once the baby is conceived, it is no longer part of the mother's body. The baby is a discrete, wholly human baby, with a completely different set of DNA than either parent. It's not a choice, it's a baby. The time when the word “choice” comes into play is before the baby is conceived–as in, “I made a choice not to have sex.”

Once the baby is conceived, it is no longer part of the mother’s body. The baby is a discrete, wholly human baby, with a completely different set of DNA than either parent.

It’s not a choice, it’s a baby.

]]> Comment on It Can Happen Here by Jim McMahon http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=36&cpage=1#comment-30 Jim McMahon Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:21:15 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=36#comment-30 Take a good look at Canada and the European Union to see where this law can lead. In Canada and the EU, people have lost their jobs, and some have even gone to jail for expressing what their religious beliefs are on the subject of same sex attraction. There is also a law on the books, put there by Lyndon Johnson, that can strip the tax exempt status of churches from them for expressing their opinions on political issues. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Take a good look at Canada and the European Union to see where this law can lead. In Canada and the EU, people have lost their jobs, and some have even gone to jail for expressing what their religious beliefs are on the subject of same sex attraction.
There is also a law on the books, put there by Lyndon Johnson, that can strip the tax exempt status of churches from them for expressing their opinions on political issues.
Love the sinner, hate the sin.

]]> Comment on The Family That Dines Together…………………… by Admin http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=41&cpage=1#comment-29 Admin Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:26:59 +0000 http://stthomasvt.com/blog/?p=41#comment-29 Thank you for your comments, they are not impertinent. The Americam Catholic author Flannery O'Conner is credited with the observation that Catholics are often called upon to suffer as much from the Church as they are with the church. Miss O'Conner was on to something, and that something goes right to the heart of the mystery of the Church. You no doubt know well that for Catholics the Church is far more then a building, far more then merely a organization of people who happen to believe the same things: the Church is, in fact a Mystery of the Faith. Like her Lord, the church is both human (and thus fallible and weak and prone to sin) and Divine (and thus Holy). You ask an excellent question and one that deserves an answer. What binds any Catholic (whether ordained or layperson) to obedience to Church authority is love and loyalty to Jesus. You write,correctly that authority is to a certain extent hierarchical and when the chain is broken, it is just that,broken. But , at the end of that chain is Jesus and, because of Him that chain can not really be broken because His power and His authority is the glue that holds the whole chain together. You wrote that all it will take to bring you back to Mass would be a simple matter of a priest who would ,as you put it, "say the black do the red" I don't know who you are, or where you live, but I do hope you would be able to find a priest who prays Mass, as it is ment to be prayed, with care,with reference, with faith and with love. I invite you to find such a Priest, go to Confession, and return to the Sacraments two years is too long. Again thankyou for taking the time to read and respond to my blog. Thank you for your comments, they are not impertinent.
The Americam Catholic author Flannery O’Conner is credited with the observation that Catholics are often called upon to suffer as much from the Church as they are with the church.
Miss O’Conner was on to something, and that something goes right to the heart of the mystery of the Church.
You no doubt know well that for Catholics the Church is far more then a building, far more then merely a organization of people who happen to believe the same things: the Church is, in fact a Mystery of the Faith.
Like her Lord, the church is both human (and thus fallible and weak and prone to sin) and Divine (and thus Holy).
You ask an excellent question and one that deserves an answer.
What binds any Catholic (whether ordained or layperson) to obedience to Church authority is love and loyalty to Jesus.
You write,correctly that authority is to a certain extent hierarchical and when the chain is broken, it is just that,broken.
But , at the end of that chain is Jesus and, because of Him that chain can not really be broken because His power and His authority is the glue that holds the whole chain together.
You wrote that all it will take to bring you back to Mass would be a simple matter of a priest who would ,as you put it, “say the black do the red”
I don’t know who you are, or where you live, but I do hope you would be able to find a priest who prays Mass, as it is ment to be prayed, with care,with reference, with faith and with love.
I invite you to find such a Priest, go to Confession, and return to the Sacraments two years is too long.
Again thankyou for taking the time to read and respond to my blog.

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