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How does a person become Catholic? The short answer is to contact the local Catholic Church in their community and ask to speak with the RCIA director or the Adult Education Dept. They will explain the process and periods. The process can take about a year unless you have some type of issue that will not allow you to complete your sacraments. Those type impediments would be former marriages that need to be annulled, use of birth control and co-habitation. Additionally if you have a strong background and understanding in another faith, it may not take as long. Along the way you will hear the word Journey and that.s what the conversion to the Catholic Church will be, a spiritual journey.

So what is RCIA and what is involved with that process? First, RCIA stands for the Rite of Christian initiation of Adults. The year is divided into several parts and each person who are first known as inquiries, will travel though these periods. The Pre-Catechumenate is the first stage. It.s also known as the Period of Inquiry.

Once you have decided to proceed, you will go through3 other periods. They are the Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, which are the 6 weeks of Lent, and Mystagogy, the period after you make your sacraments that runs right though Pentecost.

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There are circumstances when non-Catholics may receive Communion from a Catholic priest, More About Non-Catholics Receiving Communion. This is especially the case for Eastern Orthodox Christians, who share the same faith concerning the nature of the sacraments. Christians in these churches should, of course, respect their own church’s guidelines regarding when it would be permissible for them to receive Communion in a Catholic church. The circumstances in which Protestants are permitted to receive Communion are more limited, though it is still possible for them to do so under certain specifically defined circumstances.

Canon law explains the parameters if the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full Communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed. It is important to remember that, under the rubrics specified above, even in those rare circumstances when non-Catholics are able to receive Communion, the same requirements apply to them as to Catholics.

Because non-Christians have not received baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments, they cannot receive Communion. However, in emergency situations, they can be received into the Church via

baptism, even if no priest is present, and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may bring them Communion.

There are a few websites that offer personalized Holy Communion Invitations Cards.

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In Roman Catholicism, the theology of the body is based on the premise that the human body has its origin in God. It will be, like the body of Jesus, resurrected, transformed and taken into heavenly glory. Theological anthropology is based on this premise. The 1950 dogma of the bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the latest dogmatic manifestation of the Catholic theology of the body. It states that Mary, who is in Christian theology Mother of God but also a human being, “was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Anyone, who should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt, has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.

History

The theology of the body has a long history and tradition within the Catholic Church. Early Church fathers wrote on the role of the body and its relation to the soul, often elevating soul over body. But like the soul, it is also created by God in his image. This is important even today, as the existence of a soul is the basis for much Church teachings on the human body, in areas such as abortion. Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo applied these views in their teachings on the human body, virginity and celibacy. Thomas Aquinas developed a systematic view, which dominated Church teachings and ecumenical councils including Vatican II. All recent Popes contributed from different angles to the theology of the body. Current issues include the dignity of the body in light of its divine origin and destination, its eventual resurrection; virginity, the Christian sacrament of marriage, and derived issues such as faithfulness and contraception. The latest official Church teaching on the subject was the encyclical Deus Caritas Est (On Christian Love) from Pope Benedict XVI, promulgated on Christmas, December 25, 2005.

Augustine of Hippo

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Is Visualization Safe for Christians

Any form of the word visualization seems to cause a lot of controversy in the Christian world.   I’m not talking about conjuring up your spirit guide or anything like that.  What I’m referring to is in the area of setting goals.  Seeing what it is you want to accomplish.  We all do it but without attaching the “mysterious” word–visualization.

When you were a child listening to Bible stories were you able to see Jonah in the belly of the whale?  Did you have a picture in your mind of the Exodus when all God’s people crossed the Red Sea?  When we are told about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on our behalf, are we able to see him on the cross suffering for us?

That’s visualization.  We think in words and pictures which also causes emotion in us.  If you saw the movie “The Passion” did it wrench your gut to think about the terrible things Jesus had to endure but did so willingly to save you?   You visualized his terrible pain and his great love for you. 

We don’t know the exact detail of what Jesus went through.  Someone had to visualize the scenes for that movie to bring it to life

I would agree there are different types of visualization.  I absolutely don’t agree with calling on the spirit world, chanting or anything like that.  The only spirit I will ever call upon is the Holy Spirit.

I think we would all agree that Dr. Charles Stanley is one of the most knowledgeable theologians of our time.  He’s not a preacher that would have you believe nothing bad ever happens in the life of a Christian.  He understands the discipline of God as well as the blessings of God.

I know that Dr. Stanley believes in setting goals.  I looked at his website this morning and he has a CD series by the name of “Set Your Goals and Live by Faith.”  I found it interesting that he used the word “visualize” in his promo of the series.  It read as follows:

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Saint Paul’s epistles and the Acts of the Apostles have laid down descriptions of community gatherings to commemorate the Lord’s Supper, also known as the Eucharist. According to history, the earliest types of Mass gatherings was reportedly, held in the tombs of martyrs in Rome. It has been noted that Mass gatherings are not simply celebration in the memory of the Lord’s Supper, but also have an element of recognition of the sacrifice made by the martyrs in the name of Christianity. The Church ordains that Mass gatherings are obligatory and is a way of following the Lord’s instructions. Every, Christian, and especially catholic Christians, must attend Mass gatherings on Sundays. On this day, believers around the world congregate willingly at their churches to conduct service and express their reverence and devotion for the almighty.

The ritual is something that every Christian around the world, whether child or adult, performs diligently throughout the year. But, as with most religious rituals, a majority of them do not understand the significance of the ritual. The day was chosen as Sunday, because this was the day of the Sabbath, and this was the day of resurrection when the Son of Man returned to Earth in His glory. Previously, people looked at the Sunday Mass times as a time for mourning the sacrifice of Christ. On this holy day, the Church asks all believers to make an act of faith and attend church Mass service, and also to abstain from all unholy activities. The third commandment of the Father directs every Christian to keep the day of the Sabbath holy.

The Mass service is conducted as a holy banquet in commemoration of the Last Supper and brings all faithful believers of the Lord together in congregation. While the Church does not make it mandatory for all Christians to join the Sunday communion, it is suggested that they make their regular sacramental confession. The Sunday Mass and the Saturday Vigil Mass usually involve congregational singing, often led by musicians. In many neighbourhoods churches have their groups of choir singers, who lead the devotion with songs in the praise of the Lord. Usually, Mass gatherings are held on Sundays, but several churches also hold Mass service on weekdays.

The Internet is a great resource that lists all Catholic Church Mass times and Mass schedules for the benefit of people, who are travelling or otherwise require information. People who are travelling and are in foreign cities find these listings extremely helpful in finding a Church mass service near them and at a suitable time. There are several websites on the Internet that provide information about Church Mass times and allow searches by place, by country, or by postcodes. A search in the name of city, for instance, immediately returns results that include all shrine, church, or cathedral in the area and list out their schedule for weekday and weekend Mass timings. Users can also verify this information once they visit the church and later mark the information available on the Internet as correct or incorrect for the benefit of others.

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America experienced social turmoil and racial discord during the 1960s. Black Americans rejected segregation and discrimination, unprosecuted racial violence, and second-class citizenship as status quo. Some believed that peaceful marches and nonviolent sit-ins would accomplish racial equality. Others argued that oppressors will never willingly grant equality. Therefore, it must be demanded, and if necessary, taken by force. As a result, the civil rights era, black power movement, protestors, segregation, bombings, murders, marches, assassinations, racism, the calling up of the National Guard, and riots are all images that evoke the historical period of the 1950s and 1960s. In the midst of this turbulent period, a relatively unknown theologian from a rural town in Arkansas emerged to confront the abstract and irrelevant definitions of white mainstream theology and to speak to the social conditions of black Americans.

James Cone has been called “the father” of black theology, “the leading exponent of black theology,” and the “premier black theologian” (Burrow, 1993, p. 1).   Grenz and Olson (1992, p. 206) acknowledge, “Cone was able to emerge as an important voice for the new Black theology in part because he shared the plight of Blacks through his upbringing in the South. This qualified him to understand their feelings and speak on their behalf. At the same time, his voice was significant because he had obtained the academic credentials necessary to gain a hearing in the largely White-dominated theological circle.”

Cone wrote the first systematic treatment of black theology.  His books, articles, and lectures launched black liberation theology into the national and international theological arena. As Hopkins (2002, p. 16) argues, “I believe he was the first person in the history of the United States to position liberation of the poor as the central and foundational preaching and teaching of Jesus … And Cone was one of two people in the world to first write books on liberation theology.”  To better contextualise this assessment, it would be pertinent to point out that Hopkins (2002, p. 14) defines black liberation theology as “the name given to a movement created by a group of African American pastors in the late 1960s who felt that the gospel of Jesus Christ had a positive message for black people.”  Arguably, there were three historic events that provided the context for the formation of black theology as a movement: (1) the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, associated with Martin Luther King Jr., (2) the publication of Joseph Washington’s book, Black Religion: The Negro and Christianity in the United States (1964), and (3)the rise of the black power movement, strongly influenced by Malcolm X’s philosophy of black nationalism (Burrow, 1993).

In the 1960s, the notoriety of the civil rights movement emerged under the leadership and direction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He confronted racism and discrimination using a social-oriented theology and a nonviolent method of protest. His pastoral concern and academic training gave a theological and biblical voice to the debilitating implications of racial oppression. Second, Joseph Washington’s (1964)  book Black Religion was one of the major writings to argue that black religion is not identical to white Protestantism or any other expression of Euro-American Christianity.  “Rejecting the thesis of earlier studies that viewed Black religion as one aspect of the broader category of North American Protestantism, Washington asserted that it was actually a distinctive phenomenon in North American religious life” (Grenz and Olson, 1992, p. 204).  Finally, with the influence of Malcolm X, phrases like “black nationalism,” “black pride,” and “black power” emerged to raise black consciousness and reclaim black identity in American society.

The three historical benchmarks – the civil rights movement, Black Religion, and the black power movement  -provided the context in which black theology emerged as a formal theological movement. King’s theological voice merged with Malcolm’s Black Nationalism to construct a theology oriented towards black people (Burrow, 1993).  While it is difficult to impose a single definition on black theology because of its numerous strands and wide spectrum of tenets from modem to radical, Cone and Wilmore  (1993, p. 370) define it as “that theology which arises out of the need to articulate the religious significance of [the] Black presence in a hostile White world. It is Black people reflecting on the Black experience under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, attempting to redefine the relevance of the Christian gospel for their lives.”  Black theology deals with the relationship between the experiences of African Americans and the ability of their Christian faith to speak to their socio-economic  oppression. As Cone (1993, p. 106)  writes, “Black theology puts black identity into a theological context, showing that black power is not only consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ: it is the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

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A misconception that plagues the mind of people is that it is obligatory to attend a mass. However, very few know that it is not compulsory to attend a mass. Generally, Catholic Church Mass Times is on Sunday. However, you can attend the masses that are held everyday. Very few people are aware of the significance and the importance of the mass. Other Church mass times that you can attend are during Christmas. One should know the significance and the importance of the traditional celebrations.

Some historical references imply that it is important to attend a mass. Hence, you need to be aware of the mass schedule too. It has been said by the Rome’s second bishop that it was important to attend the masses as well as they shall be commemorating Jesus Christ’s birth. In 354 AD, the first mass was held. To announce the Catholic Church mass times, bells were first seen in 500 A.D. As part of the mass, Christmas, carols were sung first in the year 1223. Only three exclusive masses take place at the time of Christmas to mark the birth of Christ. They are mainly the Midnight Mass (Angel’s Mass), the Dawn Mass (Shepherd’s Mass), and the Christmas Day Mass (Mass of the Divine Word). The regular Sunday Mass is held to mark the resurrection of Christ. It is like an acknowledgement of Christ’s sacrifice.

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Alcoholics Anonymous and

Bill Wilson’s Bible Witnessing

Fragment Number Eight

By Dick B.

© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved

The Bill Wilson that many do not know became an “evangelist” almost immediately after he was discharged from Towns Hospital, having had a spiritual experience. For example, Lois Wilson’s biographer wrote:

The doctor [Dr. Silkworth] always allowed Bill to share his God-experience with some patients, hoping somehow it might help. . . . Dr. Shoemaker [the Episcopal rector at Calvary Church] encouraged Bill to spread the message of change and spiritual recovery to others like himself. Bill took the preacher at his word. With Lois’s full support, he was soon walking through the gutters of the Bowery, into the nut ward at Bellevue Hospital, down the slimy corridors of fleabag hotels, and into the detox unit at Towns with a Bible under his arm. He was promising sobriety to every drunk he could corner, if they, like he, would only turn their lives over to God. [See William G. Borchert, The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough: A Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2005), 170.]

In fact, Rev. Sam Shoemaker wrote to Bill on January 22, 1935, commending Bill for his witnessing to Frederick E. Breithut who became known as the “chemistry professor.” Shoemaker wrote:

I hope you realize the guided-ness of your having known Jim Williams previously, as I understood you did, in business. His wife, Margaret, is fulltime in the Group and he has held out for a long while. You may be just the person that cracks the shell and brings him over. He drinks a lot and is desperately unhappy and inferior and needs what you have got for him. I am grateful for what you did for Breithut. [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., new rev. ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1999), 531.]

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The term ‘theology of religion’ is to be understood here as the branch of Christian theology that attempts to theologically and biblically evaluate the phenomena of religion. Three important schools within this field are pluralism, inclusivism, and exclusivism. Each of them will be briefly examined here.

1. Pluralism

Pluralism is basically the belief that the world religions are true and equally valid in their communication of the truth about God, the world, and salvation. The chief expounder of this view is John Hick of Claremont Graduate School in California, who first propounded it in his book God and the Universe of Faiths (1973). His view is not different from the popular Hindu view capsulated in Krishna’s saying in the Bhagavadgita:

By whatsoever way men worship Me, even so do I accept them; for, in all ways, O Partha, men walk in My path. [IV.11]

This is the popular view that all religions lead to the same God and all ways lead to heaven. According to Hick, Christianity is not the one and only way of salvation, but one among several. To a pluralist such as Hick, Christianity is not the absolute, unique, and final way to God. While pluralists assert the validity of all religions, they also deny the finality of all religions. According to Hick, in the evolutionary scheme of things in which at isolated ages and places the early religions are succeeded by higher religions, it is the same message of God that comes distinctly to a particular group but as different from the others. Hick challenges the older view that Christ or Christianity must be seen at the center of religions. Rather, he says, God must be seen at the center of religions. The pluralistic contention is that all religions are fundamentally the same though superficially different.

‘The attraction of pluralism,’ says McGrath, ‘lies not in its claim to truth, which are remarkably elusive and shallow, but in its claim to foster tolerance among the religions.’ To an evangelical Christian, however, such pluralism only means the abolition of kerygmatic mission, i.e., the mission of evangelizing the world with the salvific gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the reasons for rejecting pluralism go beyond the cause of evangelization. Any sincere study of world religions expressly reveals that contrary to the pluralistic contention all religions look superficially the same but are fundamentally different. Each of them differs from the rest in its view of God, sin, salvation, death, and eternity. Obviously, the pantheistic notion of the world as God and the monotheistic notion of the world as creation of God are not the same. The only way to call them same is by jettisoning the notion of absolute truth itself; however, that would mean that no absolute statements about anything can be made, including the statement that all religions are the same.

Another point against pluralism is the counterfeit posture it assumes. Pluralism contends that it is different from exclusivism in that it accepts the validity of all religions. Thus, truth is both relativized and pluralized. However, one basic feature of truth is exclusivity. Truth by nature excludes everything else contrary to it. Thus, every statement in order to be meaningful must exclude all its opposite. Thus, pluralism by contending the validity of all religions against the segregated contention of each to validity excludes all other views contrary to it. For example, it excludes the view that ‘all religions are not true.’ Therefore, though assuming the form of pluralism, it is none other than a variant of exclusivism itself.

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It is very important for us to study closely what the Bible says about money and from there we will see that Socialism or Communism does not quite achieve the sort of prosperity that God has promised each man. Firstly, we need to understand that at the core of Socialist thinking from Marx all the way through to Stalin and Mao, God is not the primary focus of their ideology. Instead it is Man and the collective need for social cohesion and harmony among everyone.

When we examine the reality of Communist countries many are dictatorships and have failed to bring about widespread social economic development that the promised, instead the brought about extreme poverty in Africa and the rest of the world where this economic system was practiced. Today all supposed Socialist countries (China, India and South Africa) are flirting with pro free market reforms and making a mess of it. But rather than blame their ineptitude they find scapegoats in multi-national companies, globalisation and the United States of America, the richest country in the world.

The Bible teaches that there are two aspects to human nature. First, we are created in the image of God and thus able to control the economic system. But second, human beings are sinful and thus tend towards greed and exploitation. This points to the need to protect individuals from human sinfulness in the economic system. Instead of changing people from the inside out as the Gospel does, Marxists believe that people will be changed from the outside in. Change the economic base (put the state in control), they say, and you will change human beings. This is one of the reasons that Marxism was doomed to failure, because it did not take into account human sinfulness and our need for spiritual redemption.

So Christians should not feel that economics is outside the domain of Christian thinking. If anything, we need to recapture this arena and bring a strong biblical message to it. In reality, the Bible speaks to economic issues more than any other issue. The scriptures tell us that true wealth is a tool to advance the Kingdom of God. Wealth is created by hard work and good stewardship, not only for our own benefit but to help others (I Cor. 10:24). The mistaken notion that work is a curse is not taught in the Bible.

Many have said and believe that money is the root of all evil. Wrong! When we look closely at this often misquoted verse in the Bible we find that Paul was addressing Timothy, as he was preparing him for public ministry. From the New International Version of the Bible, 1 Timothy 6: 10 states; “For the love of money (and all it buys) placed before the love of God (in reality) is a root of all kinds of evil.” It continues to say “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” A good example is the fall of our former President Chiluba and his Ministers and other cronies that are facing widespread corruption cases. These gallant men and women once in power became eager for money and today it has taken them nowhere.

A clear distinction must be made between THE LOVE of money and money itself. Let this truth sink deep into your spirit. God is not anti-money, or anti-wealth, He is anti-money WORSHIP. He has helped us to identify that money love (worship) is the root of all kinds of evil. In fact, God’s plan is that we are healthy, wealthy, and wise in this world — as a testimony of His greatness, power, and glory to come.