Random Thoughts

Aside

Random Thoughts

For several decades, the British scholar and author, Antony Flew, was the most consistent proponent of atheism. However, in the latter stages of his life, he conceded that scientific evidence convinced him of the existence of God. Flew said that the latest biological research “has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved.” Antony Flew conceded that many of his philosophical followers will be shocked by his announcement. But he told the Associated Press: “My whole life has been guided by the principle of Plato’s Socrates: Follow the evidence, wherever it leads.”

 One simple thought on suffering – God has never asked of anyone else what he himself had not suffered first.   JTE

When I was young and strong, it did not much matter to me that Jesus was crucified. Now, however, it is important to me that I cannot say to HIM “And what exactly do you KNOW about human suffering being GOD?” His crucifixion allows me to pray.  Unknown author

  “Truth and freedom are closely and necessarily related”. “Honestly seeking and aspiring to truth is the condition of authentic freedom. One cannot live without the other. The Church, which desires to serve unreservedly the human person and his dignity, stands at the service of both truth and freedom. She cannot renounce either, because what is at stake is man himself, because she is moved by love for man, ‘the only creature on earth which God has wanted for its own sake’, and because without this aspiration for truth, justice and freedom, man would lose his very self.”  Pope Benedict XVI In Spain  2010

“Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.” G.K. Chesterton 

“Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world,” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Salvation comes, not from human beings and their powers, but solely from God—from an act of his grace.”  Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

“Heaven cannot be populated by human beings who refuse to be there, whose lives indicate they do not want to be there.”  Fr. James Schall

“Our lives begin in time but we are destined for eternity. Our soul is what makes us what we are. It animates the body, enables us to sense and imagine, and most importantly to think and will. Life is a drama in which we are readying ourselves to die, that is, to save our souls. The deeds we do, with the grace of God, make us what we ought to be for all eternity. It is a sobering thought that we can fail at this.”  Dr. Ralph McInerney

Random Thoughts II

Aside

Random Thoughts II

“We have no modest aim, but the gaining of eternal life; that is the object of our striving.”  St. Cyril of Jerusalem

“The atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a policeman.” Author Unknown

“This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.”  St. Paul

“Faith and deeds worked together; his faith became perfect by what he did: that is why his faith was counted as righteousness.”  St. Paul   Letter to the Hebrews

“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.”  G. K. Chesterton

“Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities.”  G.K. Chesterton

“The real reasons that prevent people from becoming Catholic are not the lies about the Catholic Church but, rather the truth about it. There is a fear, not of the vices of the Church, but of its virtues. For example,  the fear of the Confessional.  A religion that has, as one of its foundations, the confessing of sins is a religion that deals in the truth. The fear of course is unfounded, for the penitent finds the confessional to be a place of mercy and gigantic generosity. This is a church that tells clearly to whom we are responsible and for what. The rest of the world finds such clarity not just uncomfortable, but frightening.”  Dale Ahlquist