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.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Urbi et Orbi Message of His Holiness Pope Francis (Christmas 2013)


Every year the pope gives a message at Christmas to the city of Rome and to the world. Here it is:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours (Lk 2:14)
Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Christmas! I take up the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It is a song which unites heaven and earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to earth and all its people. I ask everyone to share in this song: it is a song for every man or woman who keeps watch through the night, who hopes for a better world, who cares for others while humbly seeking to do his or her duty. Glory to God! Above all else, this is what Christmas bids us to do: give glory to God, for he is good, he is faithful, he is merciful. Today I voice my hope that everyone will come to know the true face of God, the Father who has given us Jesus. My hope is that everyone will feel God’s closeness, live in his presence, love him and adore him. May each of us give glory to God above all by our lives, by lives spent for love of him and of all our brothers and sisters. Peace to mankind True peace is not a balance of opposing forces. It is not a lovely “façade” which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment, starting from God’s gift, from the grace which he has given us in Jesus Christ. Looking at the Child in the manger, our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think too of the elderly, to battered women, to the sick… Wars shatter and hurt so many lives! Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid. We have seen how powerful prayer is! And I am happy today too, that the followers of different religious confessions are joining us in our prayer for peace in Syria. Let us never lose the courage of prayer! The courage to say: Lord, grant your peace to Syria and to the whole world. Grant peace to the Central African Republic, often forgotten and overlooked. Yet you, Lord, forget no one! And you also want to bring peace to that land, torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty, where so many people are homeless, lacking water, food and the bare necessities of life. Foster social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state. Prince of Peace, in every place turn hearts aside from violence and inspire them to lay down arms and undertake the path of dialogue. Look upon Nigeria, rent by constant attacks which do not spare the innocent and defenseless. Bless the land where you chose to come into the world, and grant a favourable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq, once more struck by frequent acts of violence. Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted for your name. Grant hope and consolation to the displaced and refugees, especially in the Horn of Africa and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Grant that migrants in search of a dignified life may find acceptance and assistance. May tragedies like those we have witnessed this year, with so many deaths at Lampedusa, never occur again! Child of Bethlehem, touch the hearts of all those engaged in human trafficking, that they may realize the gravity of this crime against humanity. Look upon the many children who are kidnapped, wounded and killed in armed conflicts, and all those who are robbed of their childhood and forced to become soldiers. Lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet, frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. Help and protect all the victims of natural disasters, especially the beloved people of the Philippines, gravely affected by the recent typhoon. Dear brothers and sisters, today, in this world, in this humanity, is born the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Let us pause before the Child of Bethlehem. Let us allow our hearts to be touched, let us allow ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of God; we need his caress. God is full of love: to him be praise and glory forever! God is peace: let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day, in our life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world. Let us allow ourselves to be moved by God’s goodness.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

"Window in Heaven"

I wrote this song about 15 years ago to express the events of the Nativity from the perspective of a young shepherd boy. Feel free to download and share. God bless you and Merry Christmas from Crossed The Tiber!

Monday, December 23, 2013

The "O" Antiphons. Day 7 O Emmanuel= God is with us.

Jesus, thank you for being with us. Help me always desire to be with you!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

The "O" Antiphons Day 6. O Rex Gentium.= King of All Nations

Jesus, be my king. Let me be your servant.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

The "O" Antiphons Day 5. O Oriens= Radiant Splender

Jesus, shine your light anew in my heart, illuminate my mind and conscience always.

Friday, December 20, 2013

The "O" Antiphons Day 4. O Clavis David=Key of David

Jesus, open up my heart to be fully surrendered to you.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The "o" Antiphons Day 3. O Radix Jesse= Root of Jesse

Jesus, take deep root in my life being the foundation for all I think and do.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The "O" Antiphons Day 2. Adonai=Lord

Jesus, Give me the grace to let you be Lord of my life.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The "O" Antiphons Day 1 O Sapientia = O Wisdom

No, this is not about Obama, instead today begins the readings of the "O" Antiphons, each one is about Christ using a title for the Messiah from the Isaiah. O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel (God is with us) . Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. For the next week before Christmas, the Universal Church recites/chants the "O" antiphons in its universal office of readings. This tradition goes back as far as the fifth century! What a beautiful and fitting way to finish Advent and prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord on Christmas Day! Jesus, make we wise to love and follow you always. See this article tolearn more about the O Antiphons.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Reformed Pastor Jason Stellman Comes Home

Here is Jason's recent appearance on The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi. When he decided to learn about Catholicism from Catholics vs non-Catholics it made all the difference in the world. Also, he could no longer accept solo scriptura as a valid principle.
   His conversion last year made quite a stir in the blogosphere. It's not every convert who gets songs written about him!

Abolish Human Abortion Gets a History Lesson

The faux-pro-life group Abolish Human Abortion believes they are following the principles of Wilberforce as he battled to abolish slavery. They claim that the true Pro-Life movement has failed because of incrementalism and is a waste of time because it doesn't adhere to their unusual and narrow view of what Christianity is (hyper-Calvinism).
  Clinton Wilcox has done an excellent job refuting their contention that Wilberforce did not believe in incrementalism in his fight to end slavery. It seems that not only do they wish to re-create Christianity to fit their own twisted view of the gospel, but also are re-writing history too!
 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Pope Francis - Person of the Year



"2013 was the year that Pope Francis captured the world’s attention and admiration. 2014 and beyond will be the years in which Catholics of all walks of life must follow his example, take up their own apostolic work and lead people to Christ. Ultimately, Pope Francis’s goal is not to win accolades from magazines; his goal is to bring people to the Eucharist, where the mercy and love of God are most perfectly present. This is the goal of every Catholic around the world: to come into contact with the living Christ during our lifetime on earth, and to lead others toward an eternity in communion with Christ. This is the challenge that is set before our Pope — and each of us — as we move forward from a joyous 2013." (Christopher Crawford)

 Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-pope-of-the-people-is-the-person-of-the-year#ixzz2nEL07ncw

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