Katholisch Leben!

Dreifaltigkeitssonntag

“One in essence, distinction of persons, such is the mystery of the Trinity, such is the inner life of God. The three angles of a triangle do not make three triangles but one; as the heat, power, and light of the sun do not make three suns but one; as water, air, and steam are all manifestations of the one substance; as the form, color, and perfume of the rose do not make three roses, but one; as our soul, our intellect, and our will do not make three substances, but one; as one times one times one times one does not equal three, but one, so too in some much more mysterious way, there are three Persons in God and yet only one God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Divine Romance)

Glorious Processions: Scott Hahn Reflects on Trinity Sunday

Readings:

Proverbs 8:22–31

Psalms 8:4–9

Romans 5:1–5

John 16:12–15

In today’s Liturgy we’re swept through time in glorious procession—from before earth and sky were set in place to the coming of the Spirit upon the new creation, the Church.

We begin in the heart of the Trinity, as we listen to the testimony of Wisdom in today’s First Reading. Eternally begotten, the first-born of God, He is poured forth from of old in the loving delight of the Father.

Through Him the heavens were established, the foundations of the earth fixed. From before the beginning, He was with the Father as His “Craftsman,” the artisan by which all things were made. And He took special delight, He tells us, in the crowning glory of God’s handiwork—the human race, the “sons of men.”

In today’s Psalm, He comes down from heaven, is made a little lower than the angels, comes among us as “the Son of Man” (see Hebrews 2:6–10).

All things are put under His feet so that He can restore to humanity the glory for which we were made from the beginning, the glory lost by sin. He tasted death that we might be raised to life in the Trinity, that His name might be made glorious over all the earth.

Through the Son, we have gained grace and access in the Spirit to the Father, as Paul boasts in today’s Epistle (see Ephesians 2:18).

The Spirit, the Love of God, has been poured out into our hearts—a Spirit of adoption, making us children of the Father once more (see Romans 8:14–16).

This is the Spirit that Jesus promises in today’s Gospel.

His Spirit comes as divine gift and anointing (see 1 John 2:27), to guide us to all truth, to show us “the things that are coming,” the things that were meant to be from before all ages—that we will find peace and union in God, we will share the life of the Trinity, we will dwell in God as He dwells in us (see John 14:23; 17:21).

(Source: https://stpaulcenter.com/glorious-processions-scott-hahn-reflects-on-trinity-sunday/?fbclid=IwAR3AM4Wf8QgRFiZukOBE9cHEk_m1ODixrcAwQZsSBo3QivANTxTvNMDhfPM )

Trinity Sunday – Is it Relevant?

Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy)

Trinity Sunday celebrates the Church’s faith in the triune God, one God in three persons. This doctrine has baffled people for 2,000 years. Given that it is so hard to accept, why bother with it? What difference does the trinitarian dogma really make to how we live our Christian lives?

Many are ready to give a polite nod of some sort to Jesus of Nazareth. Most honor him as a great moral teacher. Many even confess him as Savior. But the Incarnation of the Eternal God? Second person of the Holy Trinity? God can’t be one and three at the same time. Such a notion is at worst illogical, at best meaningless. “This Trinity business was invented by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 AD,” scoff a motley crew ranging from the Jehovah’s Witnesses to the Da Vinci Code.

Did Constantine invent the Trinity?

Of course this charge has no historical leg to stand on. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote seven brief letters around 110 AD in which he called Jesus “God” 16 times, beating Constantine by over two centuries.

True, the word “trinity” is not in the bible. But everywhere the New Testament refers to three distinct persons who seem to be equally divine, yet one (e.g. 2 Cor 13:13). So over 100 years before Constantine, a Christian writer named Tertullian coined the term “Trinity” as a handy way to refer to this reality of three distinct, equal persons in one God. It stuck.

Why the Doctrine Matters

But if the doctrine of the Trinity is authentically biblical, is it relevant? Does it really matter?

If Christianity were simply a religion of keeping the law, the inner life of the lawgiver would not matter. But if Christianity is about personal relationship with God, then who God really is matters totally. Common sense tells us that some supreme being made the universe and that we owe Him homage. But that the creator is a trinity of persons who invites us to intimate friendship with Himself — this we never could have guessed! We only know it because God has revealed it.

God is Love – a community of Three Persons

God is love, says 1 John 4:8 (see too John 3:16). If God were solitary, how could he have been love before he created the world? Who would there have been to love? Jesus reveals a God who is eternally a community of three persons pouring themselves out in love for one another. The Father does not create the Son and then, with the Son, create the Spirit. No, the Father eternally generates the Son. And with and through the Son, this Father eternally “breathes” the Spirit as a sort of personalized sigh of love. “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.” That’s what the conclusion of the Glory Be really means, that the self-giving of the three divine persons did not begin at a moment in time, but was, is, and is to come.

Persons made in God’s Image & Likeness

If we are truly to “know” our God, we must know this. But if we are ever to understand ourselves, we must also know this. For we were made in the image and likeness of God, and God is a community of self-donating love. That means that we can never be happy isolated from others, protecting ourselves from others, holding ourselves back selfishly from others. Unless we give ourselves in love, we can never be fully human. And unless we participate in the life of God’s people, we can never be truly Christian either. Because Christianity is about building up the community of divine love which is called the Church. If God is Trinity, then there really is no place for free-lance, lone-ranger Christians.

Family, an icon of the Trinity

The family, the domestic Church, is a reflection of trinitarian love – the love of husband and wife, distinct and very different persons, generates the child who is from them but is nonetheless distinct from them, indeed absolutely unique.

And that is the final point. One of the greatest treasures of Western culture is the concept of the uniqueness and dignity of the individual person. You really don’t find this idea in the ancient societies of Greece and Rome or in other great world religions, such as Islam.

Personhood – Dignity, individuality, freedom

The concept of the irreplaceable uniqueness of each person came into Western culture straight from the doctrine of the Trinity, three who possess the exact same divine nature but who are yet irreplaceably unique in their personhood.

The irony? As it progressively abandons the triune God, the Western world is undermining the very foundation of personal dignity, individuality, and freedom.

So yes, the Trinity does matter.

This essay on the Church’s trinitarian faith in the triune God, one God yet three persons, is offered as a reflection on the scripture readings for Trinity Sunday (Exodus 34:4b-9; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18). Trinity Sunday is observed annually the Sunday following Pentecost.

Links

katholisch.de: Gott sind drei: http://www.katholisch.de/de/katholisch/glaube/unser_kirchenjahr/zeit_im_jahreskreis/dreifaltigkeitssonntag.php

Kathpedia: Dreifaltigkeitssonntag: http://www.kathpedia.com/index.php?title=Dreifaltigkeitssonntag

New Advent: Trinity Sunday: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15058a.htm

Reflections by St Josemaria on The Blessed Trinity http://ow.ly/2bt9q8
Posted by Opus Dei Communications Office on Sonntag, 31. Mai 2015

With the feast of the Holy Trinity yesterday, this article by Fr. Brendan seemed appropriate. What do you think?
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Montag, 1. Juni 2015

Some reflections on the readings from Sacred Scripture for this Sunday's Solemnity of the Holy Trinity...
Posted by Scott Hahn on Freitag, 29. Mai 2015

Trinity Sunday | Doctrine Dogma of the Holy Trinity | Three Persons in One God -Welcome to The... http://t.co/1u8FX13Rft
— Robert Gollwitzer (@gollwitzer) May 31, 2015

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"Es gibt nicht mehr als 100 Menschen auf der Welt, die die Katholische Kirche wirklich hassen, aber es gibt Millionen, die das hassen, was sie für die Katholische Kirche halten…Wenn wir Katholiken all die Unwahrheiten und Lügen, die gegen die Kirche gesagt wurden, glauben würden, würden wir die Kirche wahrscheinlich Tausend Mal mehr hassen als sie es tun."

Erzbischof Fulton Sheen

A Response to “Forum I” of the German Catholic Synodal Path

An Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops of the World

by Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/pdf/a-response-to-forum-i-of-the-german-catholic-synodal-path.pdf

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Father Joseph Ratzinger 1969 Prediction of the Future of the Church

In a 1969 German radio broadcast, Father Joseph Ratzinger offered this prediction of the future of the Church:

“The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing moment or from those who merely criticize others and assume that they themselves are infallible measuring rods; nor will it issue from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic, all that makes demands upon men, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves.

To put this more positively: The future of the Church, once again as always, will be reshaped by saints, by men, that is, whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality. Unselfishness, which makes men free, is attained only through the patience of small daily acts of self-denial. By this daily passion, which alone reveals to a man in how many ways he is enslaved by his own ego, by this daily passion and by it alone, a man’s eyes are slowly opened. He sees only to the extent that he has lived and suffered.

If today we are scarcely able any longer to become aware of God, that is because we find it so easy to evade ourselves, to flee from the depths of our being by means of the narcotic of some pleasure or other. Thus our own interior depths remain closed to us. If it is true that a man can see only with his heart, then how blind we are!

How does all this affect the problem we are examining? It means that the big talk of those who prophesy a Church without God and without faith is all empty chatter. We have no need of a Church that celebrates the cult of action in political prayers. It is utterly superfluous. Therefore, it will destroy itself. What will remain is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church that believes in the God who has become man and promises us life beyond death. The kind of priest who is no more than a social worker can be replaced by the psychotherapist and other specialists; but the priest who is no specialist, who does not stand on the [sidelines], watching the game, giving official advice, but in the name of God places himself at the disposal of man, who is beside them in their sorrows, in their joys, in their hope and in their fear, such a priest will certainly be needed in the future.

Let us go a step farther. From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge — a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so it will lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, it will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, it will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly it will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Along-side this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly. But in all of the changes at which one might guess, the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world. In faith and prayer she will again recognize the sacraments as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship.

The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed. One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism on the eve of the French Revolution — when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain — to the renewal of the nineteenth century.

But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. It may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but it will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.”

https://www.romancatholicman.com/father-joseph-ratzinger-1969-prediction-future-church/

Michael Card: "Why?"

Why did it have to be a friend who chose to betray the Lord?

and why did he use a kiss to show them, that's not what a kiss is for?

Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain.

and only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.

Why did it have to be a thorny crown place upon his head?

It should have been a royal one, made of jewels and gold instead.

It had to be a crown of thorns, because in this world that we live,

all that would seek to love a thorn is all the world has to give.

Why did it have to be a heavy cross he was made to bear?

and why did they nail His feet and hands; His love would have held him there.

It was a cross for on a cross, a thief was supposed to pay.

and Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.

Yes, Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.

“In this world are many people who do not master their bodies. Such people say that no one can tell them what to do, not even God, and they think that in this way they have no master. In the end they become slaves to anything.”

― Michael D. O'Brien, The Island of the World

"Interesting that they call it "gay pride" because pride is the worst of sins and the root of all other sins - in essence a stubborn rebellion against God and his commandments. This parade in Tel Aviv is awful and shameful not only because Israel promotes sexual perversion and the distortion of God's purpose for the human person, but it's even worse because they celebrate it with "pride". Remember that God will extend His protection upon you, Israel, only to the extent that you keep his commandments. In other words, you are inviting disaster upon your nation. Repent!"

Andre Villeneuve on the Gay Pride in Israel

"Nur weil du dich nicht für Politik interessierst, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass die Politik sich nicht für dich interessiert."

— Perikles (um 495 - 429 v. Chr.)

“We do not want a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.”

― G.K. Chesterton

If the Church becomes more and more like the world, why would we need the Church then anymore? The world does what the world does - and it can do that way better than Church people will ever be able to. If we don't have more than this, if we are no different than anybody else, what's the point of being a follower of Jesus Christ?

Wisdom of the ancients:
"Should we look to kings and princes to put right the inequalities between rich and poor? Should we require soldiers to come and seize the rich person's gold and distribute it among his destitute neighbors? Should we beg the emporer to impose a tax on the rich so great that it reduces them to the level of the poor and then to share the proceeds of that tax among everyone? Equality imposed by force would achieve nothing, and do much harm. Those who combined both cruel hearts and sharp minds would soon find ways of making themselves rich again. Worse still, the rich whose gold was taken away would feel bitter and resentful; while the poor who received the gold from the hands of soldiers would feel no gratitude, because no generosity would have prompted the gift. Far from bringing moral benefit to society, it would actually do moral harm. Material justice cannot be accomplished by compulsion, a change of heart will not follow. The only way to achieve true justice is to change people's hearts first - and then they will joyfully share their wealth."
-- St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople (died in 407 A.D.)

My goal in life? I want to cross the finish line with nothing else left to give for my Lord, hearing those words: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter in!"

Private Website:

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Wetter München

"But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church building to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves"

David Platt

Wenn man aus dem 2. Vatikanischen Konzil eine Lehre ziehen kann, dann die: das Gegenteil von "gut" ist "gut gemeint". Das "aggiornamento" - der "frische Wind", der in die Kirche wehen und sie "zeitgemäßer" machen sollte - ist schwer nach hinten losgegangen.

Dennoch profitieren gerade hier in Deutschland viele Berufskatholiken (noch) von diesem System. Anstatt die Zeichen der Zeit zu sehen und die Notbremse für jeglichen Liberalismus und Modernismus zu ziehen, wird noch mehr davon gefordert.

Was dieses "noch mehr davon" bedeuten kann, sehen wir momentan bei der Evangelischen Kirche. Trotz (bzw. WEGEN) des Zölibats und der immer liberaleren (und immer weniger christlichen) Grundhaltung laufen die Menschen in Scharen davon.

In der Katholischen Kirche kann ich nur jeden aufrechten Priester, Bischof und Laien auffordern aufzustehen und zu kämpfen. Wir dürfen die Kirche nicht denen überlassen, die drauf und dran sind, sie völlig zugrunde zu richten!

Pfarrgemeinderäte sind eines der gescheiterten Experimente in Folge des 2. Vatikanischen Konzils. Frei nach dem Motto "Das Gegenteil von gut ist gut gemeint".

Da bilden sich - in der Regel theologisch kaum gebildete - Laien ein, dem Pfarrer vorschreiben zu können, was er zu tun oder zu lassen hat (oder zumindest einen Einfluss darauf und auf die Angelegenheiten der Pfarrei zu nehmen). Laien, die kaum wiedergeben können, was die Kirche lehrt und warum (gemäß dem Katechismus der Katholischen Kirche) - und deren Privatleben auch nicht notwendigerweise mit den kirchlichen Lehren zu Ehe und Familie übereinstimmt.

Laien haben eine wichtige Funktion innerhalb der Kirche - Priester spielen zu wollen gehört aber nicht dazu (ja, auch innerhalb der Messe maßen sie sich immer mehr an). Folge davon ist, dass Priester oftmals einen psychischen und spirituellen Albtraum erleben, ständig unter Stress sind und Probleme mit ihrer Identität haben.

Auch ohne Pfarrgemeinderäten kann und soll man den Pfarrer tatkräftig unterstützen.

Ein absolutes Unding aber sind die Pfarreiverbände. Da werden einfach bestehende Pfarreien zusammengeworfen und die Priester funktionieren bestenfalls als Sakramentenspender und sind sonst nur einer von vielen.

Nein, das geschieht nicht deshalb, weil wir zu wenig Priester haben. Weltweit ist die Zahl der Priester eher am steigen und viele unserer Geistlichen kommen eh aus anderen Ländern.

Hier wollen Menschen die Kirche übernehmen, die mit dem traditionellen katholischen Glauben nicht mehr viel zu tun haben und den Rest der Kirche auch noch zugrunde richten.

Ich kann nur alle verbliebenen traditionellen Katholikinnen und Katholiken auffordern, aufzustehen, tätig zu werden und für ihre Kirche zu kämpfen!

Wenn die Hirten es nicht tun, müssen eben die Schafe tätig werden!

Hat immer ein offenes Ohr für Besucher - unser Kollege am Empfang. #Caritas #München #Oberbayern

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Caritas München und Freising (@caritasmuc) am Aug 16, 2018 um 6:42 PDT

Glaubensmanifest

"Euer Herz lasse sich nicht verwirren!" (Joh 14,1)

Angesichts sich ausbreitender Verwirrung in der Lehre des Glaubens, haben viele Bischöfe, Priester, Ordensleute und Laien der katholischen Kirche mich um ein öffentliches Zeugnis für die Wahrheit der Offenbarung gebeten. Es ist die ureigene Aufgabe der Hirten, die ihnen Anvertrauten auf den Weg des Heils zu führen. Dies kann nur gelingen, wenn dieser Weg bekannt ist und sie ihn selber vorangehen. Dabei gilt das Wort des Apostels: "Denn vor allem habe ich euch überliefert, was auch ich empfangen habe" (1 Kor 15,3). Heute sind vielen Christen selbst die grundlegenden Lehren des Glaubens nicht mehr bekannt, so dass die Gefahr wächst, den Weg zum Ewigen Leben zu verfehlen. Es bleibt aber die ureigene Aufgabe der Kirche, die Menschen zu Jesus Christus, dem Licht der Völker, zu führen (vgl. LG 1). In dieser Lage stellt sich die Frage nach Orientierung. Nach Johannes Paul II. stellt der Katechismus der Katholischen Kirche eine "sichere Norm für die Lehre des Glaubens" (Fidei Depositum IV) dar. Er wurde mit dem Ziel verfasst, die Brüder und Schwestern im Glauben zu stärken, deren Glaube durch die "Diktatur des Relativismus" massiv in Frage gestellt wird.[1]

1. Der eine und dreifaltige Gott, offenbart in Jesus Christus

Der Inbegriff des Glaubens aller Christen findet sich im Bekenntnis zur Allerheiligsten Dreifaltigkeit. Wir sind durch die Taufe auf den Namen des Vaters und des Sohnes und des Heiligen Geistes Jünger Jesu, Kinder und Freunde Gottes geworden. Die Verschiedenheit der drei Personen in der göttlichen Einheit (254) markiert im Hinblick auf andere Religionen einen fundamentalen Unterschied im Gottesglauben und im Menschenbild. Am Bekenntnis zu Jesus dem Christus scheiden sich die Geister. Er ist wahrer Gott und wahrer Mensch, empfangen vom Heiligen Geist und geboren aus der Jungfrau Maria. Das Fleisch gewordene Wort, der Sohn Gottes, ist der einzige Erlöser der Welt (679) und der einzige Mittler zwischen Gott und den Menschen (846). Daher bezeichnet der erste Johannesbrief denjenigen als Antichrist, der seine Gottheit leugnet (1 Joh 2,22), da Jesus Christus, der Sohn Gottes von Ewigkeit her eines Wesens ist mit Gott, Seinem Vater (663). Mit klarer Entschiedenheit ist dem Rückfall in alte Häresien entgegenzutreten, die in Jesus Christus nur einen guten Menschen, Bruder und Freund, einen Propheten und Moralisten sahen. Er ist zu allererst das Wort, das bei Gott war und Gott ist, der Sohn des Vaters, der unsere menschliche Natur angenommen hat, um uns zu erlösen und der kommen wird zu richten die Lebenden und die Toten. Ihn allein beten wir in der Einheit mit dem Vater und dem Heiligen Geist als den einzigen und wahren Gott an (691).

2. Die Kirche

Jesus Christus hat die Kirche als sichtbares Zeichen und Werkzeug des Heils gegründet, die in der katholischen Kirche verwirklicht ist (816). Er gab seiner Kirche, die "aus der Seite des am Kreuz entschlafenen Christus" hervorgegangen ist (766), eine sakramentale Verfassung, die bis zur Vollendung bleibt (765). Christus, das Haupt, und die Gläubigen als Glieder des Leibes sind eine mystische Person (795), weshalb die Kirche heilig ist, denn der einzige Mittler hat ihr sichtbares Gefüge verfasst und erhält sie unablässig (771). Durch sie wird das Erlösungswerk Christi in Zeit und Raum gegenwärtig in der Feier der heiligen Sakramente, vor allem im eucharistischen Opfer, der heiligen Messe (1330). Die Kirche vermittelt mit der Autorität Christi die göttliche Offenbarung, die sich auf alle Elemente der Lehre erstreckt, "einschließlich der Sittenlehre, ohne welche die Heilswahrheiten des Glaubens nicht bewahrt, dargelegt und beobachtet werden können" (2035).

3. Sakramentale Ordnung

Die Kirche ist in Jesus Christus das allumfassende Sakrament des Heils (776). Sie reflektiert nicht sich selbst, sondern das Licht Christi, das auf ihrem Antlitz widerscheint. Dies geschieht nur dann, wenn weder eine Mehrheit, noch der Zeitgeist, sondern die in Jesus Christus geoffenbarte Wahrheit zum Bezugspunkt wird, denn Christus hat der katholischen Kirche die Gnaden- und Wahrheitsfülle anvertraut (819): Er selbst ist in den Sakramenten der Kirche gegenwärtig.

Die Kirche ist kein von Menschen gegründeter Verein, über dessen Struktur seine Mitglieder nach Belieben abstimmen. Sie ist göttlichen Ursprungs. "Christus selbst ist der Urheber des Amtes in der Kirche. Er hat es eingesetzt, ihm Vollmacht und Sendung, Ausrichtung und Zielsetzung gegeben" (874). Die Mahnung des Apostels gilt bis heute, dass verflucht sei, wer ein anderes Evangelium verkündet, "auch wenn wir selbst es wären oder ein Engel vom Himmel" (Gal 1,8). Die Vermittlung des Glaubens ist unlösbar mit der menschlichen Glaubwürdigkeit seiner Boten verbunden, die in einigen Fällen die ihnen Anvertrauten im Stich gelassen, sie verunsichert und ihren Glauben schwer geschädigt haben. Hier trifft das Wort der Schrift diejenigen, die der Wahrheit kein Gehör schenken und sich nach eigenen Wünschen richten, die den Ohren schmeicheln, weil sie die gesunde Lehre nicht ertragen (vgl. 2 Tim 4,3-4).

Aufgabe des Lehramtes der Kirche ist es, das "Volk vor Verirrungen und Glaubensschwäche zu schützen", um "den ursprünglichen Glauben irrtumsfrei zu bekennen" (890). Dies gilt besonders im Hinblick auf alle sieben Sakramente. Die hl. Eucharistie ist "Quelle und Höhepunkt des ganzen christlichen Lebens" (1324). Das eucharistische Opfer, in dem uns Christus in sein Kreuzesopfer einbezieht, zielt auf die innigste Vereinigung mit Christus (1382). Daher mahnt die Heilige Schrift im Hinblick auf den Empfang der hl. Kommunion: "Wer also unwürdig von dem Brot isst und aus dem Kelch des Herrn trinkt, macht sich schuldig am Leib und am Blut des Herrn" (1 Kor 11,27). "Wer sich einer schweren Sünde bewusst ist, muss das Sakrament der Buße empfangen, bevor er die Kommunion empfängt" (1385). Von der inneren Logik des Sakramentes versteht sich, dass standesamtlich wiederverheiratet Geschiedene, deren sakramentale Ehe vor Gott besteht, nicht voll mit dem katholischen Glauben und der Kirche verbundene Christen, wie alle, die nicht entsprechend disponiert sind, die heilige Eucharistie nicht fruchtbar empfangen (1457), weil sie ihnen nicht zum Heil gereicht. Darauf hinzuweisen entspricht den geistigen Werken der Barmherzigkeit.

Das Bekenntnis der Sünden in der heiligen Beichte wenigstens einmal im Jahr gehört zu den Kirchengeboten (2042). Wenn die Gläubigen ihre Sünden nicht mehr bekennen und die Lossprechung von ihren Sünden erfahren, dann läuft die Erlösung ins Leere, schließlich ist Jesus Christus Mensch geworden, um uns von unseren Sünden zu erlösen. Auch für die schweren und lässlichen Sünden, die wir nach der Taufe begehen, gilt die Vollmacht der Vergebung, die der auferstandene Herr den Aposteln und ihren Nachfolger im Bischofs- und Priesteramt übertragen hat. Die aktuelle Beichtpraxis lässt deutlich werden, dass das Gewissen der Gläubigen nicht ausreichend geformt ist. Gottes Barmherzigkeit ist uns geschenkt, dass wir seine Gebote erfüllen, um dadurch eins zu werden mit seinem heiligen Willen und nicht, damit wir der Forderung zur Umkehr ausweichen (1458).

"Der Priester setzt auf Erden das Erlösungswerk fort" (1589). Die Priesterweihe "verleiht ihm eine heilige Vollmacht" (1592), die unersetzbar ist, denn durch sie wird Jesus Christus in seinem Heilshandeln sakramental gegenwärtig. Daher entscheiden sich Priester freiwillig für den Zölibat als "Zeichen des neuen Lebens" (1579). Es geht um die Selbsthingabe im Dienst Christi und Seines kommenden Reiches. Im Hinblick auf den Empfang der Weihe in den drei Stufen dieses Amtes weiß sich die Kirche "durch [die] Wahl, die der Herr selbst getroffen hat, gebunden. Darum ist es nicht möglich, Frauen zu weihen" (1577). Hier eine Diskriminierung der Frau zu unterstellen, zeigt nur das Unverständnis für dieses Sakrament, bei dem es nicht um irdische Macht geht, sondern um die Repräsentation Christi, des Bräutigams der Kirche.

4. Das sittliche Gesetz

Glaube und Leben gehören untrennbar zusammen, denn Glaube ohne Werke, die im Herrn getan werden, ist tot (1815). Das sittliche Gesetz ist Werk der göttlichen Weisheit und führt den Menschen zur verheißenen Seligkeit (1950). Demzufolge ist die Kenntnis des göttlichen und natürlichen Sittengesetzes notwendig, "um das Gute zu tun und sein Ziel zu erreichen" (1955). Seine Beachtung ist für alle Menschen guten Willens heilsnotwendig. Denn wer in Todsünde stirbt, ohne bereut zu haben, wird für immer von Gott getrennt sein (1033). Dies führt zu praktischen Konsequenzen im Leben der Christen, von denen viele heute verdunkelt sind (vgl. 2270-2283; 2350-2381). Das sittliche Gesetz ist nicht eine Last, sondern Teil jener befreienden Wahrheit (vgl. Joh 8,32), durch die der Christ den Weg des Heils geht und die nicht relativiert werden darf.

5. Das Ewige Leben

Viele fragen sich heute, wofür die Kirche eigentlich noch da ist, wenn sich auch Bischöfe lieber in der Rolle als Politiker gefallen, denn als Lehrer des Glaubens das Evangelium verkünden. Der Blick darf nicht durch Nebensächlichkeiten verwässert, sondern das Proprium der Kirche muss thematisiert werden. Jeder Mensch hat eine unsterbliche Seele, die im Tod vom Leib getrennt wird, indem er auf die Auferstehung der Toten hofft (366). Der Tod lässt die Entscheidung des Menschen für oder gegen Gott definitiv werden. Jeder muss sich unmittelbar nach dem Tod dem besonderen Gericht stellen (1021). Entweder ist noch eine Läuterung notwendig oder der Mensch gelangt unmittelbar in die himmlische Seligkeit und darf Gott von Angesicht zu Angesicht schauen. Es gibt auch die schreckliche Möglichkeit, dass ein Mensch bis zuletzt im Widerspruch zu Gott verharrt und indem er sich Seiner Liebe definitiv verweigert, "sich selbst sogleich und für immer verdammt" (1022). "Gott hat uns erschaffen ohne uns, er wollte uns aber nicht retten ohne uns" (1847). Die Ewigkeit der Höllenstrafe ist eine furchtbare Wirklichkeit, die – nach dem Zeugnis der Heiligen Schrift – sich alle zuziehen die "im Stand der Todsünde sterben" (1035). Der Christ geht durch das enge Tor, denn "weit ist das Tor und breit der Weg, der ins Verderben führt, und es sind viele, die auf ihm gehen" (Mt 7,13).

Diese und andere Glaubenswahrheiten zu verschweigen und die Menschen entsprechend zu lehren ist der schlimmste Betrug, vor dem der Katechismus mit Nachdruck warnt. Er stellt die letzte Prüfung der Kirche dar und führt den Menschen zu einem religiösen Lügenwahn, um "den Preis ihres Abfalls von der Wahrheit" (675); es ist der Betrug des Antichrists. "Er wird jene, die verloren gehen, mit allen Mitteln der Ungerechtigkeit täuschen; denn sie haben sich der Liebe zur Wahrheit verschlossen, durch die sie gerettet werden sollten" (2 Thess 2,10).

Aufruf

Als Arbeiter im Weinberg des Herrn haben wir alle die Verantwortung, diese grundlegenden Wahrheiten in Erinnerung zu rufen, indem wir an dem festhalten, was wir selber empfangen haben. Wir wollen Mut machen, den Weg Jesu Christi mit Entschiedenheit zu gehen, um durch die Befolgung Seiner Gebote das ewige Leben zu erlangen (2075).

Bitten wir den Herrn, Er möge uns erkennen lassen, wie groß das Geschenk des katholischen Glaubens ist, durch den sich die Tür zum Ewigen Leben öffnet. "Denn wer sich vor dieser treulosen und sündigen Generation meiner und meiner Worte schämt, dessen wird sich auch der Menschensohn schämen, wenn er mit den heiligen Engeln in der Hoheit seines Vaters kommt" (Mk 8,38). Daher setzen wir uns ein für die Stärkung des Glaubens, indem wir die Wahrheit bekennen, die Jesus Christus selber ist.

Gerade wir Bischöfe und Priester sind angesprochen, wenn Paulus, der Apostel Jesu Christi, seinem Mitstreiter und Nachfolger Timotheus diese Mahnung mit auf den Weg gibt: "Ich beschwöre dich bei Gott und bei Jesus Christus, dem kommenden Richter der Lebenden und Toten, bei seinem Erscheinen und seinem Reich: Verkünde das Wort, tritt auf, ob gelegen oder ungelegen, überführe, weise zurecht, ermahne in aller Geduld und Belehrung. Denn es wird eine Zeit kommen, in der man die gesunde Lehre nicht erträgt, sondern sich nach eigenen Begierden Lehrer sucht, um sich die Ohren zu kitzeln; und man wird von der Wahrheit das Ohr abwenden, sich dagegen Fabeleien zuwenden. Du aber sei in allem nüchtern, ertrage das Leiden, verrichte dein Werk als Verkünder des Evangeliums, erfülle deinen Dienst!" (2 Tim 4,1-5).

Möge Maria, die Mutter Gottes, uns die Gnade erflehen, am Bekenntnis zur Wahrheit Jesu Christi ohne Wanken festzuhalten.

Im Glauben und Gebet verbunden

Gerhard Cardinal Müller

Präfekt der Kongregation für die Glaubenslehre von 2012-2017

[1] Die Nummern im Text beziehen sich auf den Katechismus der Katholischen Kirche.

“Every sin is a choice to turn a miraculous being into an object for consumption. It flattens the human person, one’s self and one’s victim, into a one-dimensional universe.”

― Michael D. O'Brien, Father Elijah: An Apocalypse

“One of the most pathetic—and dangerous—signs of our times is the growing number of individuals and groups who believe that no one can possibly disagree with them for any honest reason.”

Thomas Sowell

Es häufen sich die Zeugenaussagen, dass die Päpste Franziskus, Benedikt XVI und St. Johannes Paul II offenbar tiefer in Skandäle verwickelt waren und sind als gemeinhin angenommen - und davon ist der Missbrauchsskandal nur ein Teil. Möglicherweise hat das Ganze sogar strafrechtliche Ausmaße.

Die Katholische Kirche ist an einem historisch einzigartigen Tiefpunkt angelangt, der so manchen an das Eintreten der Endzeit denken lässt.

Jedenfalls muss Papst Franziskus zurücktreten. Hier gibt es inzwischen so viele Zeugen, dass eine (Mit-)Schuld nicht mehr so einfach vom Tisch gewischt werden kann.

Ein Trost bleibt uns Katholiken in dieser dunklen Zeit: Der Herr hat uns versprochen, dass Er immer bei Seiner Kirche bleiben und dass diese niemals untergehen wird...

"Es ist völlig irrelevant, wie viele der 1,6 Milliarden Muslime sich in die Luft gesprengt haben. So, wie es irrelevant ist, wie viele Deutsche ein Parteibuch der NSDAP hatten. Oder wie viele als IM der Stasi zugearbeitet haben. Das Einzige, worauf es ankommt, ist, dass so gut wie alle, die sich in die Luft gesprengt haben und dabei andere mitgenommen haben, es mit dem Ruf „Allahu akbar!“ taten. Oder fällt Ihnen einer ein, der „Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!“ oder „Baruch ha’Schem!“ gerufen hat, während er die Leine zog? Es ist mir übrigens völlig egal, seit wann in islamischen Ländern gesteinigt wird. Es zählt nur, dass es heute gemacht wird, in Anwesenheit von Menschen, die mit einem Bein in der Barbarei und mit dem anderen in der Moderne stehen und die Steinigungen mit ihren Handys filmen. Ich verweigere jede Art von Verständnis für diese Art von Kultur. Ich will sie auch nicht importieren. Ich will keine Debatten führen über Kopftücher im öffentlichen Dienst, über Schwimmunterricht für Mädchen, über Männer, die Frauen keine Hand geben wollen, über Schweinefleisch in Kantinen und „kultursensible Pflege“ in Krankenhäusern. Und auch nicht darüber, wie viel Islam im Islamismus steckt. Ich will auch nicht genötigt werden, mich mit dem Koran zu beschäftigen, weder von weiß gewandeten Salafisten in der Wilmersdorfer Straße noch von Ihnen. Bleiben Sie bei Ihrer Wertschätzung für das „klassische islamische Recht“, das offenbar von den Kolonialherren versaut wurde. Und sobald Sie den Islam gefunden haben, der mit Demokratie kompatibel ist, sagen Sie mir bitte Bescheid." (Henryk M. Broder)

Manche scheinen ein Problem damit zu haben, dass andere reich sind. Die eigene Eifersucht wird dann schön geredet, indem man sie politisiert und von der "Notwendigkeit der Umverteilung" spricht und davon, dass man "umverteilen" müsse. In anderen Worten: diejenigen, die zu faul waren, kein Glück hatten oder aus welchen Gründen auch immer erfolglos geblieben sind wollen den Reichen ihr Eigentum wegnehmen. Wer meint, er brauche mehr Geld, hat bei uns ja Gott sei Dank die Möglichkeit, dieses durch mehr Leistung und klügere Investitionen und Projekte zu erlangen.

Ich habe, was ich zum Leben brauche. Von meinem Arbeitgeber (dem Caritasverband der Erzdiözese München und Freising e.V.) will ich nicht mehr Gehalt, weil ich denke, dass ich fair entlohnt werde. Ich arbeite für einen gemeinnützigen und mildtätigen Wohlfahrtsverband, der die Spenden für die Bedürftigen verwendet. Es würde gegen mein Gewissen verstoßen, diese Spenden für eigennützige Zwecke einzufordern.

Das Problem mit dem Sozialismus ist, dass einem irgendwann das Geld der anderen ausgeht.

Aufruf an alle Priester und Ordensangehörigen!

Viele von euch wissen Bescheid, wenn eure Mitbrüder sich sexuell unangemessen verhalten - sei es, dass sie Minderjährige missbrauchen oder sexuellen Kontakt mit Menschen desselben oder des anderen Geschlechts haben.

Die "Täter" gehen hierbei quer durch alle Hierarchie-Ebenen.

Trotzdem ist kaum jemand bereit, mit diesem Wissen an die Öffentlichkeit zu gehen. Über die Gründe hierfür kann man nur spekulieren - Angst, Bequemlichkeit, Desinteresse etc.

Jeder dieser Gründe ist eine Schande für sich.

Wer selbst Vergebung finden will, muss auch seinen Anteil dazu leisten, Sünde auszurotten. Wer dies nicht tut, wird zum Mittäter.

Diejenigen, die nun bereit sind, mit ihren Informationen an die Öffentlichkeit zu wenden, dürfen sich gerne an mich wenden. Wir werden einen Weg finden - und wenn es bedeutet, dass euer Name dabei verschwiegen wird.

Seid nicht weiterhin Teil des Problems - werdet Teil der Lösung!

"Unser Herz ist unruhig, bis es ruht in Dir."

Hl. Aurelius Augustinus

"Die reinste Form des Wahnsinns ist es, alles beim Alten zu lassen und gleichzeitig zu hoffen, dass sich etwas ändert."

Albert Einstein

Press Release:

Yesterday German Parliament approved of an "anti-conversion therapy law". Christian and Social Democrats and the Liberals voted in favor of it. The Left, the Green Party and the right-wing AfD abstained. Only one (!) of the AfD had the guts to oppose.

This law will probably come into effect mid-2020. "Medical interventions" aimed to change or suppress self-perceived identity are forbidden when it comes to minors. They may only be applied to adults with their free consent. Acting against that law may lead to jail time (up to one year) or a fincancial fine.

Also public publicity for conversion therapies (in case of minars also non-public), offering such activities or mediating conversion therapies will then be outlawed. Excluded are pastoral care or psychotherapeutic conversations dealing with the life situation of the client, religious commandments or conversations on dealing with one's sexual orientation.

When discussing this law in Parliament, all political parties opposed of conversion therapies - "where there is no disease, there is no need for therapy".
Such therapies allegedly cause physical and mental damage like depression or suicidal thoughts. Conversion therapies are said to focus on the therapist's views and not the well-being of the client.

Only the AfD-member Robby Schlund pointed out that there is no legal security for therapists treating clients who have problems with finding their sexual identity.

All political parties, all churches and the vast majority of the public have fallen for gay propaganda - without even thinking twice.

This law has no groundings whatsoever. Apart from (maybe!) some individuals there is no substantial "threat" of conversion therapies. This alleged "danger" seems to be a pretext for something much more hidden: Silencing all opposition to gay ideology. Yes, gays will claim now religious views are not part of that law and neither is pastoral care, but the threat of punishment is real - and will have lasting effects.

Why? Take outlawing "publicity for conversion therapies". What is that supposed to mean? If I give testimony in front of a church congregation sharing how a Christian organization helped me find freedom from same-sex attractions, does this already count as "publicity"? Even if it doesn't - the mere threat will be enough to shut most people up.

Many among us have lived for years in the gay scene. We made our experiences. Based on that, we can say that during that time many of our beloved gay friends died or fell mentally or physically ill also due to their many sex contacts (no, a condom does not protect you against all STDs!) and/or the drugs that went along to get a greater kick out of it.

Here in Germany we have the "Robert Koch Institut" that tracks the number of people with STDs and the high percentage of MSM (men who have sex with men) among them.

Many are sick or have even died due to their gay life - and yet you claim conversion therapies cause physical or mental damage or suicides? Taske suicides: This is a complicated problem with many contributing factors. To say one factor only is to blame means using a tragedy to further your personal political agenda.

Here we touch another topic: Science obviously has stopped being objective and become a target for political activism. What cannot be, must not be. Using commonplaces like "no disease/no therapy" shows how little understanding some seem to have. Using terms like "disease", "therapy", "natural", "normal" without going deeper into their definition only shows you use them for propaganda purposes.

Is there change? Many factors take part when it comes to the development of human sexuality. A good part of it still is not reasearched yet. Let's only look at some:

Genes: to say that one gene causes someone to "be gay" and for that reason it is "normal", "natural" and "morally right" is not science. Epigenetics tells us it is the environment which decides which genes are activated, which are deactivated and which genes or changes thereof will maybe even formed anew. Aside, to add moral statements to scientific foundings is inacceptable.

We are not slaves of a genetic code either and will not fall sick or die of we choose not to live out our same-sex attractions.

Same-sex parent: How come so many people with same-sex attractions (especially men) had problems in building a bond with their same-sex parent? In many cases this parent was either emotionally not accessible or not there altogether - leading to the inability of identifying with ones own sex (through the mediation of the same-sex parent). Later in life with upcoming puberty we are attracted by what we perceive as being "other". If we were unable to find our way to our own sex, we will be attracted by what we see as "other" - in case of men that means other, mostly "masculine" men that are supposed to fulfill our need for identity.

Early exposure: If you expose youth with sexual "alternatives" all the time telling them how great that is, they will most likely try them out. As their sexual development is not finished yet, that could lead to a totally different life!

So what, some may object. Well, that does not matter if you buy gay propaganda that gay sex and gay relationships are like any other heterosexual one.

No, they are not. Based on our experiences we can say that the average gay sex is a lot (!) more extreme that the average heterosexual one and that gay relationships are a lot less lasting than heterosexual ones and often include other sex partners. Oftentimes the same-sex partner is obviously subconsciously abused of in order to fulfill ones social, emotional or sexual needs - hereby becoming exchangeable.

When it comes to sex practices among gay men, almost everything seems to go according to our experience. It can be very violent including S/M practices, even fecies and physically and mentally damaging things. No, not every homosexual act is like that, but certainly much more than in heterosexual relationships. A lasting relationship needs two strong and stable partners who stand firm and know their place in life and their identity. Many of us made the experience that in gay relationships one part (mostly unvoluntarily) becomes the dominant one and the other one clings to him in a sometimes emotionally dependent way.

We had enough and turned to the Church for help. Unfortunately, in many cases there was none. Quite on the contrary - we were told to "live it out".

Now many among us used sex to numb past hurts or unmet legitimate needs. To tell us to "just go for it" is very bad theology and psychology. It does not help at all.

Luckily we found people that did help us. Unlike gay activists are saying, none of us had negative physical or mental consequences for choosing another lif than the gay one. For many of us it meant that our lives became a lot better in many areas. We do not suppress our same-sex feelings, we use our sexual energies in much more creative ways now!

We want to be able to find the therapy with the goal we (!) choose! We want to help our children in other ways than the gay activists suggest!

You are telling us that if a man (even a boy?) says he is a woman trapped in a man's body he may get surgery and medication - hereby breaking the hippocratic oath by physically mutilating a healthy body - you call that acceptable therapy? Like that you treat inner problems by cutting off something or adding to the body?? But if a boy says he has same-sex and heterosexual feelings and rather wants to live out his heterosexual ones and needs therapeutic help for that, this is allegedly damaging and bad for the boy? You claim that there is no set sex, but a "gender" that everyone can define and change according to his/her preferences?

We made the experience (and some scientists seem to back that) that there is some fluidity in human sexuality. Taken the above example, we cannot understand how science seem to be forbidden in that area.

We have never offered therapy and never will. We offer pastoral care and Christian counseling.

However, we hold on to our Christian faith and are shocked to see how few "people of God" still seem to have the courage to do that. Some seem to rather want to change clear biblical statements so they fit their own views instead of letting the Bible change them.

Yet in all we trust in God and will continue to do so.

Munich, May 8th 2020,

Robert Gollwitzer

www.homosexuals-anonymous.com

www.jason-international.org

www.misererenobis.net

www.gaysandexgays.org

www.katholisch-leben.org

“The Church of the living God - the pillar and the bulwark of the truth”

(1 Tim 3:15)

Declaration of the truths relating to some of the most common errors in the life of the Church of our time

The Fundamentals of Faith

1.The right meaning of the expressions ‘living tradition,’ ‘living Magisterium,’ ‘hermeneutic of continuity,’ and ‘development of doctrine’ includes the truth that whatever new insights may be expressed regarding the deposit of faith, nevertheless they cannot be contrary to what the Churchhas always proposed in the same dogma, in the same sense, and in the same meaning (see FirstVatican Council, Dei Filius, sess. 3, c. 4: “in eodem dogmate, eodem sensu, eademque sententia”).

2.“Themeaning of dogmatic formulas remains ever true and constant in the Church, even when it is expressed with greater clarity or more developed. The faithful therefore must shun the opinion,first, that dogmatic formulas (or some category of them) cannot signify truth in a determinate way,but can only offer changeable approximations to it, which to a certain extent distort or alter it; secondly, that these formulas signify the truth only in an indeterminate way, this truth being likea goal that is constantly being sought by means of such approximations. Those who hold such an opinion do not avoid dogmatic relativism and they corrupt the concept of the Church's infallibilityrelative to the truth to be taught or held in a determinate way.” (Sacred Congregation for theDoctrine of the Faith, Declaration “Mysterium Ecclesiae” in defense of the Catholic doctrine on the Church against certain errors of the present day, 5).

The Creed

3.“The Kingdom of God begun here below in the Church of Christ is not of this world whose formis passing, and its proper growth cannot be confounded with the progress of civilization, of scienceor of human technology, but it consists in an ever more profound knowledge of the unfathomableriches of Christ, an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, an ever more ardent response to thelove of God, and an ever more generous bestowal of grace and holiness among men. The deepsolicitude of the Church, the Spouse of Christ, for the needs of men, for their joys and hopes, theirgriefs and efforts, is therefore nothing other than her great desire to be present to them, in order to illuminate them with the light of Christ and to gather them all in Him, their only Savior. Thissolicitude can never mean that the Church conforms herself to the things of this world, or that shelessens the ardor of her longing of her Lord and of the eternal Kingdom” (Paul VI, Apostolic letterSolemni hac liturgia (Credo of the People of God), 27). The opinion is, therefore, erroneous thatsays that God is glorified principally by the very fact of the progress in the temporal and earthlycondition of the human race.

4.After the institution of the New and Everlasting Covenant in Jesus Christ, no one may be savedby obedience to the law of Moses alone without faith in Christ as true God and the only Savior ofhumankind (see Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16).

5.Muslims and others who lack faith in Jesus Christ, God and man, even monotheists, cannot giveto God the same adoration as Christians do, that is to say, supernatural worship in Spirit and in Truth (see Jn 4:24; Eph 2:8) of those who have received the Spirit of filial adoption (see Rom8:15).

6.Spiritualities and religions that promote any kind of idolatry or pantheism cannot be consideredeither as “seeds” or as “fruits” of the Divine Word, since they are deceptions that preclude theevangelization and eternal salvation of their adherents, as it is taught by Holy Scripture: “the godof this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the goodnews of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them” (2 Cor 4:4).

7.True ecumenism intends that non-Catholics should enter that unity which the Catholic Churchalready indestructibly possesses in virtue of the prayer of Christ, always heard by His Father, “thatthey may be one” (John 17:11), and which she professes in the Symbol of Faith, “I believe in oneChurch.” Ecumenism, therefore, may not legitimately have for its goal the establishment of a Church that does not yet exist.

8.Hell exists and those who are condemned to hell for any unrepented mortal sin are eternallypunished there by Divine justice (see Mt 25:46). Not only fallen angels but also human souls are damned eternally (see 2 Thess 1:9; 2 Pet 3:7). Eternally damned human beings will not be annihilated, since their souls are immortal according to the infallible teaching of the Church (seeFifth Lateran Council, sess. 8).

9.The religion born of faith in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God and the only Savior of humankind, is the only religion positively willed by God. The opinion is, therefore, wrong thatsays that just as God positively wills the diversity of the male and female sexes and the diversityof nations, so in the same way he also wills the diversity of religions.

10.“Our[Christian] religion effectively establishes with God an authentic and living relationshipwhich the other religions do not succeed in doing, even though they have, as it were, their armsstretched out towards heaven” (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 53).

11.The gift of free will with which God the Creator endowed the human person grants man the naturalright to choose only the good and the true. No human person has, therefore, a natural right to

offend God in choosing the moral evil of sin, the religious error of idolatry, blasphemy, or a falsereligion.

The Law of God

12.A justified person has the sufficient strength with God’s grace to carry out the objective demandsof the Divine law, since all of the commandments of God are possible for the justified. God’sgrace, when it justifies the sinner, does of its nature produce conversion from all serious sin (seeCouncil of Trent, sess. 6,Decree on Justification, c. 11; c. 13).

13.“The faithful are obliged to acknowledge and respect the specific moral precepts declared andtaught by the Church in the name of God, the Creator and Lord. Love of God and of one’sneighbor cannot be separated from the observance of the commandments of the Covenant renewedin the blood of Jesus Christ and in the gift of the Spirit” (John Paul II, EncyclicalVeritatissplendor, 76). According to the teaching of the same Encyclical the opinion of those is wrong,who “believe they can justify, as morally good, deliberate choices of kinds of behavior contraryto the commandments of the Divine and natural law.” Thus, “these theories cannot claim to be grounded in the Catholic moral tradition” (ibid.).

14.All of the commandments of God are equally just and merciful. The opinion is, therefore, wrongthat says that a person is able, by obeying a Divine prohibition - for example, the sixthcommandment not to commit adultery - to sin against God by this act of obedience, or to morallyharm himself, or to sin against another.

15.“No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsicallyillicit, since it is contrary to the Law of God, which is written in every human heart, knowable byreason itself, and proclaimed by the Church” (John Paul II, EncyclicalEvangelium,vitae, 62). There are moral principles and moral truths contained in Divine revelation and in the natural lawwhich include negative prohibitions that absolutely forbid certain kinds of action, inasmuch as these kinds of action are always gravely unlawful on account of their object. Hence, the opinion is wrong that says that a good intention or a good consequence is or can ever be sufficient to justifythe commission of such kinds of action (see Council of Trent, sess. 6 de iustificatione, c. 15; JohnPaul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 17; EncyclicalVeritatis Splendor, 80).

16.A woman who has conceived a child within her womb is forbidden by natural and Divine law to kill this human life within her, by herself or by others, whether directly or indirectly (see JohnPaul II, EncyclicalEvangelium Vitae, 62).

17.Procedures which cause conception to happen outside of the womb “are morally unacceptable,since they separate procreation from the fully human context of the conjugal act” (John Paul II, EncyclicalEvangelium Vitae, 14).

18.No human being may ever be morally justified to kill himself or to cause himself to be put to deathby others, even if the intention is to escape suffering. “Euthanasia is a grave violation of the lawof God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person. This doctrineis based upon the natural law and upon the written word of God, is transmitted by the Church'sTradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium” (John Paul II, EncyclicalEvangelium Vitae, 65).

19.Marriage is by Divine ordinance and natural law an indissoluble union of one man and of onewoman (see Gen 2:24; Mk 10:7-9; Eph 5:31-32). “By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, andfind in them their ultimate crown” (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et spes, 48).

20.By natural and Divine law no human being may voluntarily and without sin exercise his sexualpowers outside of a valid marriage. It is, therefore, contrary to Holy Scripture and Tradition to affirm that conscience can truly and rightly judge that sexual acts between persons who havecontracted a civil marriage with each other, can sometimes be morally right or requested or evencommanded by God, although one or both persons is sacramentally married to another person (see 1 Cor 7: 11; John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, 84).

21.Natural and Divine law prohibits “any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexualintercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means”(Paul VI, EncyclicalHumanae Vitae, 14).

22.Anyone, husband or wife, who has obtained a civil divorce from the spouse to whom he or she is validly married, and has contracted a civil marriage with some other person during the lifetime of his legitimate spouse, and who lives in a marital way with the civil partner, and who chooses to remain in this state with full knowledge of the nature of the act and with full consent of the will to that act, is in a state of mortal sin and therefore can not receive sanctifying grace and grow in charity. Therefore, these Christians, unless they are living as “brother and sister,” cannot receiveHoly Communion (see John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, 84).

23.Two persons of the same sex sin gravely when they seek venereal pleasure from each other (see Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Rom 1:24-28; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:10; Jude 7). Homosexual acts “underno circumstances can beapproved” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2357). Hence, the opinion is contrary to natural law and Divine Revelation that says that, as God the Creator has given to some humans a natural disposition to feel sexual desire for persons of the opposite sex, so also He has given to others a natural disposition to feel sexual desire for persons of the same sex, and thatGod intends that the latter disposition be acted on in some circumstances.

24.Human law, or any human power whatsoever, cannot give to two persons of the same sex the rightto marry one another or declare two such persons to be married, since this is contrary to naturaland Divine law. “In the Creator's plan, sexual complementarity and fruitfulness belong to the verynature of marriage” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons, June 3, 2003, 3).

25.Unions that have the name of marriage without the reality of it, being contrary to natural andDivine law, are not capable of receiving the blessing of the Church.

26.The civil power may not establish civil or legal unions between two persons of the same sex thatplainly imitate the union of marriage, even if such unions do not receive the name of marriage,since such unions would encourage grave sin for the individuals who are in them and would be a cause of grave scandal for others (see Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Considerationsregarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons, June 3, 2003, 11).

27.The male and female sexes, man and woman, are biological realities created by the wise will of God (see Gen. 1: 27;Catechism of the Catholic Church, 369). It is, therefore, a rebellion againstnatural and Divine law and a grave sin that a man may attempt to become a woman by mutilatinghimself, or even by simply declaring himself to be such, or that a woman may in like mannerattempt to become a man, or to hold that the civil authority has the duty or the right to act as if such things were or may be possible and legitimate (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2297).

28.In accordance with Holy Scripture and the constant tradition of the ordinary and universalMagisterium, the Church did not err in teaching that the civil power may lawfully exercise capitalpunishment on malefactors where this is truly necessary to preserve the existence or just order of societies (see Gen 9:6; John 19:11; Rom 13:1-7; Innocent III,Professio fidei Waldensibuspraescripta;Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent, p. III, 5, n. 4; Pius XII,Address to Catholicjurists on December 5, 1954).

29.All authority on earth as well as in heaven belongs to Jesus Christ; therefore, civil societies andall other associations of men are subject to his kingship so that “the duty of offering God genuineworship concerns man both individually and socially” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2105;see Pius XI, EncyclicalQuas primas, 18-19; 32). The Sacraments

30.In the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist, a wonderful change takes place, namely of the wholesubstance of bread into the body of Christ and the whole substance of wine into His blood, a change which the Catholic Church very fittingly calls transubstantiation (see Fourth LateranCouncil, c. 1; Council of Trent, sess. 13, c. 4). “Every theological explanation which seeks someunderstanding of this mystery must, in order to be in accord with Catholic faith, maintain that in the reality itself, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after theConsecration, so that it is the adorable Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus that from then on arereally before us under the sacramental species of bread and wine”(Paul VI, Apostolic letterSolemni hac liturgia (Credo of the People of God), 25).

31.The formulations by which the Council of Trent expressed the Church’s faith in the Holy Eucharistare suitable for men of all times and places, since they are a “perennially valid teaching of theChurch” (John Paul II, EncyclicalEcclesia de Eucharistia, 15).

32.In the Holy Mass, a true and proper sacrifice is offered to the Blessed Trinity and this sacrifice is propitiatory both for men living on earth and for the souls in Purgatory. The opinion is, therefore,wrong that says that the sacrifice of the Mass consists simply in the fact that the people make a spiritual sacrifice of prayers and praises, as well as the opinion that the Mass may or should be defined only as Christ giving Himself to the faithful as their spiritual food (see Council of Trent,sess. 22, c. 2).

33.“The Mass, celebrated by the priest representing the person of Christ by virtue of the powerreceived through the Sacrament of Orders and offered by him in the name of Christ and themembers of His Mystical Body, is the sacrifice of Calvary rendered sacramentally present on ouraltars. We believe that as the bread and wine consecrated by the Lord at the Last Supper werechanged into His body and His blood which were to be offered for us on the cross, likewise thebread and wine consecrated by the priest are changed into the body and blood of Christ enthronedgloriously in heaven, and we believe that the mysterious presence of the Lord, under whatcontinues to appear to our senses as before, is a true, real and substantial presence”(Paul VI,Apostolic letterSolemni hac liturgia (Credo of the People of God), 24).

34.“The unbloody immolation at the words of consecration, when Christ is made present upon thealtar in the state of a victim, is performed by the priest and by him alone, as the representative of Christ and not as the representative of the faithful. (...) The faithful offer the sacrifice by the handsof the priest from the fact that the minister at the altar, in offering a sacrifice in the name of all Hismembers, represents Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body. The conclusion, however, that thepeople offer the sacrifice with the priest himself is not based on the fact that, being members of the Church no less than the priest himself, they perform a visible liturgical rite; for this is theprivilege only of the minister who has been Divinely appointed to this office: rather it is based on the fact that the people unite their hearts in praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving withprayers or intention of the priest, even of the High Priest himself, so that in the one and same offering of the victim and according to a visible sacerdotal rite, they may be presented to God theFather” (Pius XII, EncyclicalMediator Dei, 92).

35.The sacrament of Penance is the only ordinary means by which grave sins committed after Baptism may be remitted, and by Divine law all such sins must be confessed by number and by species(see Council of Trent, sess. 14, can. 7).

36.By Divine law the confessor may not violate the seal of the sacrament of Penance for any reasonwhatsoever; no ecclesiastical authority has the power to dispense him from the seal of thesacrament and the civil power is wholly incompetent to oblige him to do so (seeCode of CanonLaw 1983, can. 1388 § 1;Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1467).

37.By virtue of the will of Christ and the unchangeable Tradition of the Church, the sacrament of theHoly Eucharist may not be given to those who are in a public state of objectively grave sin, andsacramental absolution may not be given to those who express their unwillingness to conform to Divine law, even if their unwillingness pertains only to a single grave matter (see Council of Trent,sess. 14, c. 4; Pope John Paul II, Message to theMajor Penitentiary Cardinal William W.Baum, on March 22, 1996).

38.According to the constant Tradition of the Church, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist may notbe given to those who deny any truth of the Catholic faith by formally professing their adherenceto a heretical or to an officially schismatic Christian community (seeCode of Canon Law 1983, can. 915; 1364).

39.The law by which priests are bound to observe perfect continence in celibacy stems from theexample of Jesus Christ and belongs to immemorial and apostolic tradition according to theconstant witness of the Fathers of the Church and of the Roman Pontiffs. For this reason, this lawshould not be abolished in the Roman Church through the innovation of an optional priestlycelibacy, either at the regional or the universal level. The perennial valid witness of the Churchstates that the law of priestly continence “does not command new precepts; these precepts should be observed, because they have been neglected on the part of some through ignorance and sloth. These precepts, nevertheless, go back to the apostles and were established by the Fathers, as it is written, ‘Stand firm, then, brothers and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by wordof mouth or by letter’ (2 Thess. 2:15). There are in fact many who, ignoring the statutes of ourforefathers, have violated the chastity of the Church by their presumption and have followed thewill of the people, not fearing the judgment of God”( Pope Siricius, DecretalCum in unum in theyear 386).

40.By the will of Christ and the Divine constitution of the Church, only baptized men (viri) mayreceive the sacrament of Orders, whether in the episcopacy, the priesthood, or the diaconate (see John Paul II Apostolic Letter,Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4). Furthermore, the assertion is wrong thatsays that only an Ecumenical Council can define this matter, because the teaching authority of anEcumenical Council is not more extensive than that of the Roman Pontiff (see Fifth LateranCouncil, sess. 11; First Vatican Council, sess. 4, c. 3, n. 8).

May 31, 2019

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Cardinal Janis Pujats, Archbishop emeritus of Riga

Tomash Peta, Archbishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in AstanaJan Pawel Lenga, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Karaganda

Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana

Viele Menschen haben Probleme mit ihrem Selbstwert.

Wir sind nicht etwa etwas wert, weil wir positive Sachen tun, viele Menschen kennen und von ihnen wertgeschätzt werden, einen tollen Job, Geld und materiellen Besitz haben, uns als gesellschaftlich nützlicher Mensch erweisen oder im Leben etwas geleistet haben.

Nein, wir haben Wert und Würde alleine aufgrund der Tatsache, dass wir Mensch sind!

Die Christinnen und Christen unter uns werden dies noch ergänzen mit der Feststellung, dass sie geliebte Kinder Gottes sind!

Alles (!) andere hat nichts - aber auch gar nichts - mit unserem Selbstwert zu tun und kann und wird uns nur Probleme bereiten, da wir mit dem Wegfall desselben auch unseren Selbstwert verlieren.

Selbstwert kann nicht von außen kommen. Er muss dir innewohnen.

Before the age of 2, Helen Keller was stricken with a disease (the doctors don't agree as to what it was) that left her permanently blind and deaf. If you've not seen it, the movie The Miracle Worker, with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, is an excellent story of the beginning of her story. Today's attached devotional will reveal the secret of how she became one of the most celebrated women in the world! God bless you!

Because of Calvary,

John J.

“If I regarded my life from the point of view of the pessimist, I should be undone. Ishould seek in vain for the light that does not visit my eyes and the mastic that does notring in my ears. I should beg might and day and never be satisfied. I should sit apart inawful solitude, a prey to fear and despair. But since I consider it a duty to myself and toothers to be happy, I escape a misery worse than any physical deprivation.” [Helen Kellerin Don’t Forget to Sing in the Lifeboats and 366 Other Bits of Uncommon Wisdom forUncommon Times compiled by Kathryn & Ross Petras, (New York: WorkmanPublishing, 2009), p. 190]

"Toleranz", so wie sie heute größtenteils verstanden und angewandt wird, ist nichts anderes als egoistische und rücksichtslose Gleichgültigkeit, die im scheinheiligen Anstrich daher kommt.

Pfarreien, die die Regenbogenfahne hissen oder auf ihren Homepages zeigen, bekunden damit nicht ihre Liebe zu Menschen mit gleichgeschlechtlichen Neigungen, sondern zur Schwulenbewegung. Das ist ein riesiger Unterschied - das eine ist in Einklang mit dem christlichem Glauben, das andere ist ein politischer Aktivismus, mit dem man sich weit ins Abseits stellt. Das ist im besten Fall naiv, im schlimmsten berechnend. Auf jeden Fall aber bricht man damit mit dem eigenen Glauben und mit der Kirche, der anzugehören man vorgibt.