Catholic Teens 5-16-06
Hey All--
With the arrival of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" this weekend--it's time to talk about it some more. Some are saying that since this is just a work of fiction, Christians should just "get over it" and not get upset. Indeed, it can seem that we are overreacting. But are we?
The book says that the Vatican has been involved in assasinations and has covered up the "fact" that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. That Jesus wasn't really "God" but just a good teacher. And that the Church waged a campaign to keep all these "facts" silent. Plus, it portrays the religious order, Opus Dei, has being well evil---having their own assasin.
But it's all fiction right? No need to be bothered by it.
Now imagine someone wrote a book and then a movie saying that Sony Motion Pictures, (the producers for the 'Da Vinci Code) were behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You think they would be upset? You bet! But hey, it's only "fiction."
Or, say someone produced a movie saying Dan Brown was behind the assassination attempt of John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Think he would mind this "fiction"? You bet he would!
And for those same reasons, Christians, the Church, Opus Dei, and lots of others, are rightly upset.
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Question O' The Week:
"Has anyone ever actually gotten kicked out of the church?"
Actually, yes. Although it's rare and in reality, pretty difficult to pull off, at least in the public sphere. St. Paul talks about this in a few of his letters included in the New Testament of the Bible. If a person continues to sin, refuses to repent, and is trying to lead others into sin, St. Paul talks about removing them from the community. The purpose of that was two-fold. One to show the person in sin, the seriousness of what they were doing. And two, to protect the rest of the Christian community from being lead astray.
The Church does the same thing today, and the formal name for it is "excommunication." And again, it is pretty rare today. In fact, there have only been around 5 people excommunicated publicly in the last 30 years. That's out of over 1 billion Catholics! You have to really be doing something bad, refuse to try and be better, and be trying to lead others into major sin as well.
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Prayer Intentions:
I'm helping lead a retreat for the sophomores at Eau Claire Regis this Friday, for them, we pray to the Lord.
For all those graduating from UWSP this Sunday, that they may find good jobs and their vocations, we pray to the Lord.
For all our Catholic teens, we pray to the Lord.
--Lord Hear Our Prayer.
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Announcements:
-The next Generation JPII gathering is this Sunday, May 21st at 6PM @ St. Peter's. Fr. Dan Farley, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, and a military chaplain will be speaking about his year in Iraq. He's done this presentation throughout the diocese, so it's well worth your time!
-This Friday evening, there will be a prayer vigil outside Rogers Cinema from 6-9pm. This is in reparation for the blasphemy that the movie puts forth and a peaceful protest. Patty, myself and William expect to be there as well.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
With the arrival of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" this weekend--it's time to talk about it some more. Some are saying that since this is just a work of fiction, Christians should just "get over it" and not get upset. Indeed, it can seem that we are overreacting. But are we?
The book says that the Vatican has been involved in assasinations and has covered up the "fact" that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. That Jesus wasn't really "God" but just a good teacher. And that the Church waged a campaign to keep all these "facts" silent. Plus, it portrays the religious order, Opus Dei, has being well evil---having their own assasin.
But it's all fiction right? No need to be bothered by it.
Now imagine someone wrote a book and then a movie saying that Sony Motion Pictures, (the producers for the 'Da Vinci Code) were behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You think they would be upset? You bet! But hey, it's only "fiction."
Or, say someone produced a movie saying Dan Brown was behind the assassination attempt of John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Think he would mind this "fiction"? You bet he would!
And for those same reasons, Christians, the Church, Opus Dei, and lots of others, are rightly upset.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
"Has anyone ever actually gotten kicked out of the church?"
Actually, yes. Although it's rare and in reality, pretty difficult to pull off, at least in the public sphere. St. Paul talks about this in a few of his letters included in the New Testament of the Bible. If a person continues to sin, refuses to repent, and is trying to lead others into sin, St. Paul talks about removing them from the community. The purpose of that was two-fold. One to show the person in sin, the seriousness of what they were doing. And two, to protect the rest of the Christian community from being lead astray.
The Church does the same thing today, and the formal name for it is "excommunication." And again, it is pretty rare today. In fact, there have only been around 5 people excommunicated publicly in the last 30 years. That's out of over 1 billion Catholics! You have to really be doing something bad, refuse to try and be better, and be trying to lead others into major sin as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer Intentions:
I'm helping lead a retreat for the sophomores at Eau Claire Regis this Friday, for them, we pray to the Lord.
For all those graduating from UWSP this Sunday, that they may find good jobs and their vocations, we pray to the Lord.
For all our Catholic teens, we pray to the Lord.
--Lord Hear Our Prayer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements:
-The next Generation JPII gathering is this Sunday, May 21st at 6PM @ St. Peter's. Fr. Dan Farley, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, and a military chaplain will be speaking about his year in Iraq. He's done this presentation throughout the diocese, so it's well worth your time!
-This Friday evening, there will be a prayer vigil outside Rogers Cinema from 6-9pm. This is in reparation for the blasphemy that the movie puts forth and a peaceful protest. Patty, myself and William expect to be there as well.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
posted by Phil Lawson at 8:03 AM
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