Joe Biden and Proverbs

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. (Proverbs 29:9)

Joe Biden fits the "fool" in Proverbs 29:9 to the letter.

Obama vs. Romney

For Actual Catholics the choice is clear this November



http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=36059

New York Times is Anti-Catholic

The Hypocrisy's of the New York times as shown on FOX News

Listen Up Liberal Catholics

Liberal Catholics are undermining the Church by trying to turn the Catholic Church into something they want in an effort to change the Church to reflect the teachings of modern secularism.

Hypocrisy of Ray Comfort

Just got kicked off the Facebook page called “Living Waters’” which is a ministry run by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, in regards to my reponse to their video below which was posted on their Facebook Page:

In response I post the follow video and explain how Ray misrepresented history and makes the same mistake as atheist… as their video points outs:

“They (atheist) paint a picture of Christians as a murderous group of people as a way to discredit Jesus and the bible”

So I pointed out that in the video below, Ray paints a picture of the Catholic Church as a murderous institution as a way to discredit the Catholic Church, and Catholics as well, as not Christian.

But Ray forgets that the crusades were started as a defensive response to the invasion of Islam where Christian were killed and forces to convert by the sword as well as converting Churches into Mosque that still exist today.

Maybe Ray Comfort should have watched his friend Todd Friel interviewing Peter Hammond on the real history of the crusades.

Now both Ray Comfort and Todd Friel do not believe that Catholics are Christians, that is not shocking news, but my point is that Ray Comfort misrepresents history and uses that to make a point that Catholics and their Church are not Christian and his very premise or tactic is contradicted by the video his ministry just put forth. by Dean Sampson

Many Protestants mistaking claim that the Catholic Church teaches that one can receive an Indulgence for the remission of sins.

The definition of indulgences presupposes that forgiveness has already taken place; they deal only with punishments left after sins have been forgiven.

CCC 1471 An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.

To acquire a plenary indulgence, it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the supreme pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial. (Paul VI, apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina )

The Catholic Church made it illegal to read the bible in English

It is often said that the Catholic Church made it illegal to read the bible in the vernacular. The council of Oxford is cited as proof that reading the bible in English was against the law in England. Actually in 1408 the third synod of Oxford, England, after the many errors found in Wycliffe’s English bible, BANNED UNAUTHORIZED English translations of the Bible and decreed that possession of English translation's had to be approved by diocesan authorities first before being used in Church or personnel devotion. This shows that the Catholic Church took seriously its role in protecting and preserving scripture. 


The Oxford council declared: "It is dangerous, as St. Jerome declares, to translate the text of Holy Scriptures out of one idiom into another, since it is not easy in translations to preserve exactly the same meaning in all things. We therefore command and ordain that henceforth no one translate the text of Holy Scripture into English or any other language as a book, booklet, or tract, of this kind lately made in the time of the said John Wyclif or since, or that hereafter may be made, either in part or wholly, either publicly or privately, under pain of excommunication, until such translation shall have been approved and allowed by the Provincial Council. He who shall act otherwise let him be punished as an abettor of heresy and error."

Was the Catholic Church against people hearing God's word in the vernacular? No, because the Catholic Church had already translated the bible into French, Dutch, Polish, Italian and Spanish in the 12th and 13th century. The approved English bible (Douay Rheims) started with the NT in 1578 and was finished by 1582 with the completion of the OT in 1609.

Pre-Wyclif English Translation:

Besides these versions of particular books of Holy Scripture, there existed numerous renderings of the Our Father, the Ten Commandments, the Life, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, and of the parts read on... Sundays and Feastdays in the Mass. In general, if we may believe the testimony of Archbishop Cranmer, Sir Thomas More, Foxe the martyrologist, and the authors of the Preface to the Reims Testament, the whole Bible was to be found in the mother tongue long before John Wyclif was born (cf. "American Ecclesiastical Review", XXXII, Philadelphia, June, 1905, 594).

Mary was reassured but Zachariah was punished

Why is it that Mary and Zachariah were treated differently by the angel Gabriel in the gospel of Luke?

Why is it that Mary was reassured after her question but Zachariah is punished after asking a similar question?

Lk 1:34-37 But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."

Lk 1:18-20 Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel said to him in reply, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time."

Mary who is “Full of Grace” (Lk 1:28) and is blessed (Lk 1:48) is reassured and Zachariah, an elderly priest who is worthy of double honor (1 Tim 5:17) is punished.

The Catholic Church teaches that scripture is sufficient.

The Catholic Church teaches that scripture is sufficient. But Protestants and Catholic will defer on what they mean by sufficiency of scripture. A Protestant would say that scripture is “formally sufficient” while a Catholic would say that scripture is “materially sufficient”.

 Let me define these two terms:

1. Materially Sufficient- scripture contains or implies all that is needed for salvation.
2. Formally Sufficient – scripture contains all the data of material sufficiency, but scripture is so clear that it does not need any outside information to interpret it.

So sola scriptura, as argued during the reformation, is that scripture is formally sufficient for deciding all matters of Christian doctrine and practice.

Therefore,formal sufficiency must be proven from scripture alone that is that scripture is so clear that no outside information or authority is needed in order to correctly interpret scripture and an inspired interpretive grid must be provided from within the pages of scripture.
From The Catholic Catechism:


73 God has revealed himself fully by sending his own Son, in whom he has established his covenant forever. The Son is his Father's definitive Word; so there will be no further Revelation after him.

76 In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways: - orally "by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit"; - in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing".

107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures." inspired books teach the truth. should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.

The Catholic Church does not teach that scripture is sufficient

It is common to hear that the Catholic Church does not teach that scripture is sufficient. But the Church actually teaches that scripture contains or implies all that is needed for salvation.

Dei Verbum Chp 3 “Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the SAKE OF SALVATION.”

The Catholic Church teaches that God’s Word was handed down in two modes, written and orally, and both modes work in unison to give us a complete and full understanding of God’s Word. The proper interpretation of scripture is further explained in Dei Verbum 12.

76 In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways: - orally "by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit"; - in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing".

Dei Verbum, 12. Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work according to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature. For all of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God.

Much is made about the title “Co-Mediatrix”

Much is made about the title “Co-Mediatrix” in reference to the Blessed Virgin. I agree that the prefix ‘co’ in English suggest equality, so it is a naturally misleading term in English but the Catholic Church defines its doctrine in Latin and not English. Latin for the English prefix is “cum” which means “with” and Mediatrix is the feminine noun for mediator. A better English translation is “a woman who cooperated with the Mediator”

Lumen Gentium 62…… Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator….. For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer……. The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary

Why devotion to Mary is esteemed higher than any other Saint?

In Catholic  theology there is a distinction used in the type of honor that is given to Mary and the saints(dulia) and the type of worship that is reserved for God alone(latria). There is a special term used for the honor (dulia) that is given to Mary, hyperdulia (hyper [more than] + dulia = “beyond dulia”), this term indicates that the honor due to her as Christ’s own Mother is more than the dulia given to others. This honor, to a degree, is greater but still of the same form. Since Mary is a finite creature, the honor is different in kind from the latria owed to God the infinite Creator.

The practice of honoring Saints can be found in Scripture:

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you" (Ex. 20:12, Lev. 19:3, Deut. 5:16, Matt. 15:4, Luke 18:20, and Eph. 6:2–3).

 "You shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:32).

It was also important to specially honor religious leaders: "Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron [the high priest], to give him dignity and honor" (Ex. 28:2).

 "Let the presbyters [priests] who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5:17).

 "He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man [saint] because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward" (Matt. 10:41).

So we are permitted to honor others and even honor others at a higher degree. Indeed we are all equal in God’s eyes, but he has given us others that are worthy of honor and emulation. Since God has given us others that are worthy of honor and the most sincere form of honoring the saints is the imitation of them in their relationship with God.

 "I urge you, then, be imitators of me. Therefore I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church" (1 Cor. 4:16–17).

 "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:1–2).

 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7).

 Hebrews Chapter 12 is the “hall of fame” of the Old Testament saints for our imitation.

 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1)

So, the bible tells us that there or others we are to honor, others that are worthy of “double honor” and we are to be imitators of them in regards to their relationship with God. So it is biblical to honor Mary and even give her “double honor” but why did the Church decide to give special honor “hyperdulia” to Mary alone?

God gave Mary the highest honor among all creatures, the honor of the Mother of our Lord (Theotokos) and that all generation will call her blessed. The fathers of the early Church taught that Mary received a number of distinctive blessings in order to make her a more fitting mother for Christ. This includes her role as the New Eve ( corresponding to Christ's role as the New Adam), her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption into heaven and her spiritual motherhood of all Christians.

Mary is a role model; she gave us the perfect example of embracing God’s will.  “And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.”(Luke 1:38). Mary, the first Christian and follower of Christ from beginning to the very end “And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). At the end Mary was at the foot of the Cross suffering greatly at the site of her Son's bloody body, before his last breath Jesus gave us his Mother as our spiritual Mother “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), "I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit”. (Jn 19:26-30)

Many claim that Catholic’s worship Mary

Many claim that Catholic’s worship Mary and will ignore that in Catholic theology there is a distinction used in the type of honor that is given to Mary and the saints(dulia) and the type of worship that is reserved for God alone(latria).

1. In the OT we find the Greek word for worship, Exodus 18:7: And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him: and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. Greek “proskuneo”

Same verse translated as follows:

KJV “and did obeisance, and kissed him”

Douay “and worshipped and kissed him”

NIV” and bowed down and kissed him”

Latin Vulgate”adoravit”

2. Same Greek word used in the NT, Mark 5:6 and when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him. Greek “proskuneo”

Same verse translated as follows:

KJV” and worshipped him”

NIV” fell on his knees in front of him”

Latin Vulgate”adoravit”

Douay “adored him”

Notice the same Greek word is used for the honor/worship given to a human in the OT and the adoration given to Jesus in the NT, but notice the distinction the Douay Bible (first English translation from the Latin Vulgate approved by the Church) gives to the same Greek word. Worship in regards to man but adore in regards to Jesus, this example is in keeping with the Catholic distinction given to the word worship, Greek word “proskuneo”.

Purgatory is one of those widely misunderstood doctrines of the Catholic Church

Purgatory is one of those widely misunderstood doctrines of the Catholic Church. One of the most common misunderstandings is that Purgatory is a place for bad Catholic’s to go for a “second chance” at Heaven. Purgatory is not necessary for all; the Church teaches that some will go directly to heaven while others who are going to heaven will be purged first. This can happens in the blink of an eye, the Church has never defined an amount of time for this process.


The Church teaches that someone’s eternal destiny is set and neither they nor anyone else is able to alter that choice after they die. Those who go through Purgatory are indeed assured of their eternal salvation. So after death we are judged for either Heaven or Hell and our eternal destiny is set, there is no “second chance”.


CCC 1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, -- or immediate and everlasting damnation.


CCC 1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.


This final purification may take place in the immediate presence of God (to the extent that God's presence may be described in spatial terms). In fact, in his book on eschatology, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger(Pope Benedict XVI) describes purgatory as a fiery, transforming encounter with Christ and his love:


"Purgatory is not, as Tertullian thought, some kind of supra-worldly concentration camp where one is forced to undergo punishments in a more or less arbitrary fashion. Rather it is the inwardly necessary process of transformation in which a person becomes capable of Christ, capable of God [i.e., capable of full unity with Christ and God] and thus capable of unity with the whole communion of saints. Simply to look at people with any degree of realism at all is to grasp the necessity of such a process. It does not replace grace by works[Gal 5:6 i.e., faith formed in love.], but allows the former to achieve its full victory precisely as grace. What actually saves is the full assent of faith. But in most of us, that basic option is buried under a great deal of wood, hay and straw. Only with difficulty can it peer out from behind the latticework of an egoism we are powerless to pull down with our own hands. Man is the recipient of the divine mercy, yet this does not exonerate him from the need to be transformed. Encounter with the Lord is this transformation. It is the fire that burns away our dross and re-forms us to be vessels of eternal joy."


Thus according to Cardinal Ratzinger's way of explaining the doctrine of purgatory, as we are drawn out of this life and into direct union with Jesus, his fiery love and holiness burns away all the dross and impurities in our souls and makes us fit for life in the glorious, overwhelming light of God's presence and holiness.

Protestants often think that Catholics believe that one can earn their salvation

Protestants often think that Catholics believe that one can earn their salvation. This is exactly the opposite of what the Church teaches. The Council of Trent stressed: "[N]one of those things which precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification; for if it is by grace, it is not now by works; otherwise, as the Apostle [Paul] says, grace is no more grace" (Decree on Justification 8, citing Rom. 11:6).

The problem arises with the term “merit” and the American understanding that this word means “earning as in the strict sense” but in the second century the Latin word for merit was introduced as a synonym for the Greek word for ‘reward” thus merit and reward are one in the same.(The Fathers Know Best, Jimmy Akin)

Paul tells us: "For [God] will reward every man according to his works: to those who by perseverance in working good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal
life. There will be . . . glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality" (Rom. 2:6–11; cf. Gal. 6:6–10).

The Catholic Church teaches only Christ is capable of meriting in the strict sense—mere man cannot “With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator.” (CCC 2007). The most merit humans can have is condign—when, under the impetus of God’s grace, they perform acts which please him and which he has promised to reward “The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ” (CCC 2008).

Does Canon 9 of the Council of Trent teach that we are not saved by faith but by works?

Session 6, Council of Trent, Canon 9
If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone,[Chp 7,8] meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema.

Many will use this canon as a broad sweeping statement that the Catholic Church rejects a saving faith, that one must earn their salvation. By doing so they are ignoring the type of faith the Catholic Church is actually warning against.

So, what type of faith was the council warning against? The source for canon 9 comes from Chapter 7 & 8 of that session and it states the following:

For which reason it is most truly said that faith without works is dead [James 2:17, 20] and of no profit, and in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh by charity.[Gal 5:6,6:15](Chp 7)


This faith, conformably to Apostolic tradition, catechumens ask of the Church before the sacrament of baptism, when they ask for the faith that gives eternal life, which without hope and charity faith cannot give.(Chp 7)

Whence also they hear immediately the word of Christ:If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.[Matt 19:17](Chp 7)


Wherefore, when receiving true and Christian justice, they are commanded, immediately on being born again, to preserve it pure and spotless, as the first robe [Luke 15:22; c.31] given them through Christ Jesus in place of that which Adam by his disobedience lost for himself and for us, so that they may bear it before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ and may have life eternal.(Chp 7)

So the Church is warning against the type of faith that does not save a faith that is apart from hope, charity and obedience. This is the type of faith that James says will not save, please note that this is the only time the Holy Spirit inspired a writer of scripture to use the phrase “faith alone”. This is precisely why this phrase is problematic and why Catholic’s are cautious to immediately agree with a Protestant who asks “Are you save by faith alone”, further discussion is needed to determine exactly the type of faith that is being discussed. This is precisely what Pope Benedict XVI stated in his Apostolic letter “Doctrine of Justification: from Works to Faith, 11/19/08 General Audience”:

“Thus in communion with Christ, in a FAITH THAT CREATES CHARITY, the entire Law is fulfilled. We become JUST by entering into communion with Christ who is Love.”…..For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, IF IT IS NOT OPPOSED TO FAITH IN CHARITY, IN LOVE.”

So is the Church teaching with canon 9 that faith is not a free gift or that we must work for a faith that saves? No, chapter 8 goes on and teaches:


But when the Apostle says that man is JUSTIFIED BY FAITH AND FREELY,[Rom 3:24;5:1] these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God[Heb 11:6] and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be JUSTIFIED GRATUITOUSLY, because NONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT PRECEDE JUSTIFICATION,WHETHER FAITH OR WORKS, MERIT THE GRACE OF JUSTIFICATION.


For, if by grace, it is not now by works, otherwise, as the Apostle says, grace is no more grace. [Rom 11:6]

So when you are approached as asked if you are saved by faith alone and they proceed to use canon 9 to prove that the Catholic Church teaches a works based salvation making the Catholic Church unbiblical. First they are misrepresenting what the Catholic Church teaches and second, ask them if they believe that we are saved by faith apart from love, apart from hope, apart from obedience. If they say “Yes” then they are the ones who are not following the bible.