Crossed The Tiber

An Evangelical Converts to Catholicism

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Location: Pennsylvania, United States

I was born into the Catholic faith. At 14, I was "born again" and found Jesus personally but lost His Church. After thirty years as an evangelical protestant, I have come full circle to find that He has been there all the time, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I wish others to find the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith as I have found.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Divine Mercy Sunday

The Church celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy today. Based on the instructions Jesus gave to St. Sister Faustina in the 1930's, the Church focuses on the mercy Christ extends to all sinners. Placed appropriately at the first Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday is a call to return to Him and experience the mercy He offers through His passion and death on the Cross.

"For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world."


H/t to Susie for the video link.

4 Comments:

Blogger Pilgrimsarbour said...

Greetings Bro TJ,

I have a respectful question which is entirely fueled completely by my own lack of knowledge in this area. You said...

Based on the instructions Jesus gave to St. Sister Faustina in the 1930's..."

Since the RCC has recognised Saint Sister Faustina officially as a Saint, is her special revelation from Jesus considered as dogma necessary to salvation for the individual? That is, is the individual believer's conscience bound by that special revelation?

In addition, if someone had a vision which was verified by the Church, and yet that person was never formally recognised as a Saint, is the Catholic believer's conscience bound by it?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer this for me.

Best in Christ,

PA

March 31, 2008 10:14 AM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

"Is her special revelation from Jesus considered as dogma necessary to salvation for the individual?" That's a good question.

As far as I know, no private revelation is ever required to be binding on other's believer's conscience or the receiver of the revelation themselves, because private revelation is not considered part of the "deposit of faith" given to all believers.
Pope JP2 encouraged the faithful to use St. Faustina's revelation to help them gain further appreciation for God's love and mercy shown through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
But Catholics are not bound to accept private revelation even if it's from a saint.The Catechism states:
67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

Christian faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such "revelations".
An example: this past Sunday our congregants were encouraged to come back to Church at 3 PM for a holy hour where we had , prayer, hymns and Eucharistic adoration for one hour. The pastor gave a nice homily on the Mercy of God. About a third or less of the parish were present. So, this revelation is a nice "help" for the faithful but not binding.(sure wish there were more who would partake though!)

March 31, 2008 9:43 PM  
Blogger Pilgrimsarbour said...

Thanks, TJ.

Although I have a Catholic Catechism, I find it helpful for someone to direct me to the appropriate place in it for answers to my questions.

Besides, if I had the time to look everything up, it would severely cut into my blogging time with Catholics!

Best in Christ,

PA

March 31, 2008 11:59 PM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

Glad to be of assistance, PA.
God bless

April 01, 2008 7:35 AM  

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