ICONIC
1 Like
A lovely afternoon in Mid Cork at my niece’s communion yesterday. Fr John really struck a chord with the communicants and the congregation when he mentioned Napoleon Bonaparte in his homily.
In his later years, Napoleon was once asked what was the greatest day of his life……he responded with “the day of my first holy communion”. He could have chosen his wedding day, or one of his famous military victories at Austerlitz or Marengo. Instead, Bonaparte saw the day he received Our Lord into his life as the greatest. Truly powerful.
God bless Pope Leo and all his flock.
2 Likes
1 Like
The ironing
2 Likes
We’re only a poor intermediate-level RC country now
1 Like
We’ve been neglecting the underage
4 Likes
Bastards taking our jobs and criticising our mass.
1 Like
A priest is waffling is mass goes on for more than 35 minutes
Crazy how many mass-going ‘practicing’ catholics you ask if they’ve read the bible, and reply that they havn’t.
I mean, if I was going to sign up to a religion. I’d first read their book to see what they’re all about.
I wouldn’t classify myself as a christian, but I do read excerpts from Emmett Fox’s spiritual interpretation of Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel of Matthew more days than I don’t, for many years because it’s interesting and holds an ancient wisdom.
…and it’s funny, the more I learn about christianity, the more I realise that any Irish catholic I’ve ever got to know are completely unaware about what their religion actually entails.
1 Like
“pride” is one of the many “evil things [that] come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23)
I admire Kevin’s obvious sincerity and faith and good for him.
But I just think that’s a pile of oul superstitious mumbo jumbo, invented so the Church can fleece money off the faithful.
Too few of them believe in or even attempt to follow the greatest commandment
And apropos of that, does anyone know more about the story of the lad featured in the self build program on rte last night?
Belief is the thing is probably more important than knowing the full in and outs.
1 Like
It’s a very personal thing. There’s definitely some people who would say ‘no, I haven’t read it’ rather than get into it. Good cohort of people in the Redemptorist Church at 7 every morning for 50 or 60 years, they surely know the Gospel by now.
In American prisons, black Muslims are seen as lesser Muslims than Arabs so there are some that will go out of their way to seem more knowledgeable and devout. To me, it’s not what Religion is about.
I touched on it in another thread but as beings built to have meaning in our life, then god / faith is almost a necessary. Without it you make yourself god and all meaning is derived internally, which is the catalyst for narcissism.
I like what @Alphakrul1 says about ancient wisdom… the old testament is more or less mythology- how our ancestors made sense of the world and psychological states of being in the world.
3 Likes
Reliance. Most people in this country are religious out of a fear of going to hell.
1 Like
I think most people who go to Mass nowadays, at least in rural areas, do it for the social side of it, to meet their neighbours etc. and have a chat afterwards and to feel a sense of belonging and community; not because of some notion of being afraid to go to hell if they don’t go
2 Likes
It’s habitual, ingrained to the culture of the old stock. The overwhelming majority of folk in the world follow a specific religion, because their parents who inherited from their own without question, passed it on.
No different from the young fella in our class years ago who wore a Newcastle shirt, because his Dad supported the team.
I suppose my argument is that we were taught that if you take communion at mass, go to regular confession, say a few prayers, don’t murder, fuck your neighbors wife or kill anyone…you’ve nailed it.