The past week

This past week has really been a week of prayer for me. Suddenly, it seemed as if the man (Pope John Paul II the Great) I'd held so dear to my heart was closer in death than in life. When I pray, it seems that he's here praying with me. Maybe that doesn't make sense to someone who's not a Roman Catholic. We get accused of a lot of strange practices.

Let's look at a few.

1- We're accused of being cannibals. After all, we eat 'flesh' and drink 'blood.' Well, if you are a Christian and you have a sacrament entitled Communion (or Eucharist), what do YOU eat and drink? Crackers and juice? Wafers and wine? NOT. Go back and read the Bible and read the words with new eyes and heart.
1Cor 11:23 ff For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.

2- We're accused of praying to Mary and the Saints. What? Don't you ever ask someone to pray for you when you have something very serious you need prayer for? What's the difference if we're "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) to ask one of those witnesses for assistance? Do you ask your Heavenly Father for your needs to be met? Well, if you knew there were friends of yours in heaven who had quick access to your Father, wouldn't you petition them for assistance? Of course you would. It's not 'what' you know, it's 'who' you know. Well, we Catholics 'know' our Blessed Mother, Mary, and a whole book full of Saints. And a good many "Blessed" who are waiting to assist us. We know and acknowledge that we are sinners and as such we petition those who are now Saints to go to our Heavenly Father on our behalf. And we show our appreciation by thanking them, by having sacramentals with their likenesses, by doing what any good Christian would do when someone has helped her. Why is that so foreign?

3- We aren't really 'Christians.' That is the funniest thing that can be said of a Catholic. HUH? We are the 'first' Christians. Follow me here: Jesus was born into a Jewish household. His parents went to Bethlehem to be registered along with all the other Jews. He is Jewish. In the upper room, right before He was crucified, He instituted the "NEW Covenant." No longer would Jews have to slaughter an unblemished lamb as an atonement for their sins. Jesus himself is the unblemished lamb and is the atonement for our sins. Acts 11:26 "For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians." So before that they were called?? The first believers were Jews, then Gentiles (non-Jews, just like me and maybe you) were added to the group. Then someone called these people of the "new covenant" CHRISTIANS. And since those Christians were the 'only' Christians and they were "everywhere/universal" Christians, they were called: Catholic Christians. Right! You get it now?

So, this past week, I've prayed with the heavenly assistance of John Paul the Great. Also known as Pope John Paul II.