Patron Saint of U.S.greenspun.com : LUSENET : Catholic : One Thread |
what is the Pope's hobby and who is the patron saint of the U.S.?
-- Myrlene Cuccio (merlehair@aol.com), February 09, 2000
The patron saint of the U.S.A. is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, under her title, "Immaculate Conception." That is why the National Shrine (in Washington, D.C.) is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the nation.
The pope, to my knowledge, does not have a hobby -- such as collecting things. But he enjoys watching some sports competitions and used to participate in skiing and hiking. He now swims daily and takes shorter hikes in the mountains and strolls in the Vatican gardens. You could say that his "hobbies" are writing (philosophy and theology) and travelling! He used to be a poet, dramatist, and actor too.
God bless you, Myrlene.
JFG
-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), February 09, 2000.
In earlier days when the Pope's body was as vigorous as his mind and soul, he enjoyed outdoor activities like camping, cross country skiing, and kayaking. I understand that one of his passions that had to be curtailed due to the demands of his office was the reading and writing of Philosophy. He also was at one time an actor, playwright, and poet, but has not written anything like this since shortly before his election as Pope.Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of all the Americas.
God Bless
-- ubi (ubi@petros.com), February 09, 2000.
I was just wondering if there are supposed to be multiple Marys? (Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadelupe, etc), or is each simply a different attribute of the Goddess?
-- Franklin DiMarco (PipingN@aol.com), February 19, 2002.
Franklin, you don't know anything about Catholics.Nonetheless, I'll answer. Back in "The Day" (Fuedal society, perhaps?) it was entirely possible for men and women of nobility to pick up numerous titles depending on where they had generous friends in power. I fancy there were several well-travelled nobles who had earldom over a diverse set of lands.
This is similar to, but not absolutely the same as the reason why Mary the mother of Jesus has such titles. Mary was and is still human; God's single most glorious creation (but all the same, still a creation, and never more). Through God, Mary appears and speaks to Christian faithful where ever her voice is needed. Appearences by Mary have nearly always been incredible catalysts for faith in Jesus Christ, and often she appears in ways compatible with local thought. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a perfect example; the moon under her feet, the angel, the turquoise mantle--all of these are intimately relevant to Meso-American culture.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law." (1Co 9:20)
Perhaps Mary was taking Paul's advice. :)
All the same, Mary is not God and it is a sin and a heresy to worship her; to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit alone does our solemn adoration belong.
-- Jeffrey Zimmerman (jeffreyz@seminarianthoughts.com), February 19, 2002.
Thank you very much for your informative response, my friend. In addition to this, I was wondering if you could perhaps share with me any specific messages or appearances that Mary has made recently, or what are the more notable ones and what were the messages she brought?
-- Franklin DiMarco (PipingN@aol.com), February 19, 2002.
Franklin,
You asked about "messages or appearances that Mary has made recently". It would not be prudent for us Catholics to refer to what has happened "recently," because recent events fall into the category of "alleged apparitions" that have not yet received the Church's approval as "worthy of belief." [All approved apparitions are "private revelations," and no Catholic is required to believe in any of them unless he/she has actually received one.]I would like to provide you with a link to a site that will help you to learn about the nine major approved apparitions that have occurred between 1500 and 1940. Statements attributed to Our Lady are quoted. (Unfortunately, the site does not yet refer to the apparitions of Akita, Japan, of the 1970s, approved by the Vatican in 1988.)
God bless you.
John
-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.
Thanks for the link my friend. As I was scanning it, I noticed that one of the mysterious appartitions said the following: 13 September 1917She spoke to Lucia: "Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world." Note that here, the mysterious spirit says that it will return, as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. This makes it sound that there are going to be not one, but three spirits claiming to be Mary at the next rendez-vous. How can this be? (To me, it sounds as if the spirits pretending to be "the Virgin" are going to come in threes on the following visit. But I understand that Catholicism has declared this to be a genuine appearance of the Virgin Mary.) How would you explain this? Just wondering. Thank you
-- Joel (BlueshoundgE@Yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.
I noticed that too, Joel. I found this, which might explain it a little:"After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it was Our Lady of Dolours. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel."
(http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/fatima.htm)
It's all Mary; she is showing herself here as she has appeared to other people, perhaps emphasizing continuity between apparitions. It certainly wouldn't do for people to think that the Lady of Lourdes was a different person than Our Lady of Fatima. Her appearence here in the different clothes and such would be just such an indicator.
Bear in mind, as much as the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima has been an incredible blessing to those people (and the whole world, perhaps?) it is good to be prudent.
"In addition, an attitude of prudence will be adopted with regard to alleged apparitions, on the basis that it is almost certain that the vast majority of reported visions are false. The reasoning behind this statement is fully explained in subsequent sections of the site. St. Paul tells us that the devil can turn himself into an 'angel of light' (2 Cor 1:14), while St. John cautioned that it was necessary to 'test the spirits' because of the danger of false prophets (1 John 4:1).
Thus a sensible attitude towards modern reported apparitions is needed, one which avoids outright scepticism and also excessive credulity, but which nevertheless comes down on the side of caution and reserve, taking the view that such incidents are extremely rare and must be very carefully investigated."
-- Jeffrey Zimmerman (jeffreyz@seminarianthoughts.com), February 21, 2002.
Thanks Jeff. Do you know if there is any record of the continuation of the aforementioned apparition. That is, did three spirits indeed return? Thank you so much for the verse from 1 John saying that we should test every spirit, to see if it is from God, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. How have these apparitions' messages compared to the Bible?
-- Joel (BlueshoundgE@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.
Jmj"Do you know if there is any record of the continuation of the aforementioned apparition. That is, did three spirits indeed return?"
Read Jeffrey's message again. He GAVE the record of the October apparition that had been predicted at least a month earlier. (The record is in quotation marks.) He also explained that it was not "three spirits" -- but rather three consecutive revelations (probably in three different postures and clothing) of the living body-and-blood Blessed Virgin Mary (raised to heaven by God, at the end of her earthly life)
"How have these apparitions' messages compared to the Bible?"
We would not be talking about them here unless they were in PERFECT conformity with the Bible. If they went against the Bible, the Catholic Church would not have designated them as "worthy of belief."
But you don't sincerely care to learn about these things, do you, Joel? You pretend to care, but your only wish is to plant doubts in us and other readers, right? This whole subject disgusts you, doesn't it? And you think that Catholic "apparitions" are all satanic deceptions, right? (I would love it if you could prove me wrong by showing that you have suddenly become genuinely interested in, and respectful of, Catholicism.)
John
-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), February 22, 2002.
How about Elizabeth's proclamation: "(42)'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. (43) And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?'"Or this segment of the Magnificat: "for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations [note: well, the Catholic generations, anyway] will call me blessed;" (Lk 1:48)
I should hope it would be understood that the Holy Spirit, speaking in these two women, would not waste words on mere bursts of emotional fervor. There is prophecy here.
The Catholic Encyclopedia--a source Joel might call a sack of lies, but who really cares what he thinks anyway--explains it fairly well:
"Steeped thus in Scriptural thought and phraseology, summing up in its inspired ecstasy the economy of God with His Chosen People, indicating the fulfillment of the olden prophecy and prophesying anew until the end of time, the Magnificat is the crown of the Old Testament singing, the last canticle of the Old and the first of the New Testament. It was uttered (or, not improbably, chanted) by the Blessed Virgin, when she visited her cousin Elizabeth under the circumstances narrated by St. Luke in the first chapter of his Gospel. It is an ecstasy of praise for the inestimable favour bestowed by God on the Virgin, for the mercies shown to Israel, and for the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and to the patriarchs. Only four points of exegesis will be noted here. Some commentators distinguish the meaning of "soul" (or "intellect") and "spirit" (or "will") in the first two verses; but, in view of Hebrew usage, probably both words mean the same thing, "the soul with all its faculties". In v. 48, "humility" probably means the "low estate", or "lowliness", rather than the virtue of humility. The second half of v. 48 utters a prophecy which has been fulfilled ever since, and which adds to the overwhelming reasons for rejecting the Elizabethan authorship of the canticle."
-- Jeffrey Zimmerman (jeffreyz@seminarianthoughts.com), February 22, 2002.
The pope is known for years to be an avid reader of many subjects and it is in his reading of varied subjects that he arrives to his many teachings to our Church.
-- Fred Bishop (fcbishop@globaleyes.net), February 23, 2002.