Christians have been persecuted throughout the centuries. In fact, they are still being persecuted today by ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. While Christians are being killed by radical Islamists, their martyrdom is increasing Christianity in numbers. Muslim refugees entering Europe have converted in large numbers. This comes as a huge surprise. In the Muslim world, a Muslim who converts to Christianity would be killed or imprisoned whereas a Christian converting to Islam is welcomed. Naturally, it is possible that some of these Muslim refugees are converting to Christianity only to increase their chances of winning asylum into Europe. Then again, this could be God's work because they continue to attend church and read the Holy Bible.
Muslims in Syria, Northern Iraq, and Afghanistan are converting to Christianity in huge numbers despite the fact that they risk rejection and possibly death from family members who chose to remain loyal to Islam. One Christian Church in Germany has gone from 100 to 600 in its congregation as a result of these conversions. (See the stories here and here.) In areas hit by ISIS, Christians are either being killed or driven away. However, the persecution of ISIS has also strengthened Christianity and allowed it to grow in non-radical Muslims who are sick of all the violence.
Persecution strengthens us. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and remember his teachings.....to love thy neighbor and thy enemy, to pray for all those who persecute us, to turn the other cheek rather than to retaliate in hate and anger. We are called to be witnesses. Hate only breeds more hatred and causes bitterness in one's soul.
Tim Rohr tries to persecute even the Vatican, the capital of Catholic faith. Look and be horrified by his senseless assault:
ReplyDeleteTim February 4, 2016 at 2:04 PM
Unfortunately the mess that the Vatican is willing to accept is an indication of just how bad things are in the Vatican itself.
This is not persecution of the Vatican. But JW is pointing out the Satanic influence and the work of Lucifer in Vatican. That Satan is alive and well in the halls of the Vatican is not speculation. You'll better understand if you read JW.
DeleteIt is a Spiritual Battle that Satan has been winning over the last several decades. The old Warfare the saints wage against the Devil, so often spoke of. So join them. Gird your loins. Put on buckler and shield. And let your daily prayer be: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in BATTLE..."
The Battle of Agana is part of a much larger battle. It is more than just a cult's takeover of our resources. It is more than just your being bumped out of your parishes and your positions. It is the same age old battle between heaven and hell that was been raging since Michael threw Lucifer to the earth.
http://www.junglewatch.info/2016/01/a-battle-plan.html
Dear Anonymous at 11:53 am.
DeleteSatan is winning against the Church that has stood for over 2000 years??????? Oh ye of little faith!
Satan is enclosing on the Vatican and the Pope and high priests do not show resistance. Jesus Christ was betrayed by the high priests and was given up to death. Beware of the high priests. The road to hell is paved by their skulls.
DeleteYou removed the communion rail from our churches. What are girls doing as altar servers? Come on! You eat real bread for Eucharist and never on the tongue. Why don't you ever kneel? You sing country music and rock while you play the guitar at the holy mass. This has never been authorized at Vatican II! This is a big fat lie of Satan who had been a deceiver of people from the beginning! Still, all of these exist today and with permission from the high priests. Why, Diana, tell me why?
I tell you why. We are in spiritual battle against Satan. This is the same age old battle between good and evil that has always been in the world. Vatican and the high priests sided with Satan when they do not listen to the plight of faithful traditional Catholics. What did they do after the apostolic delegation? Nothing! You and your NCW are part of the equation right here on Guam, Diana.
Now you tell me whom do you side with? Do you side with us faithful Catholics and the One and Holy Catholic Church or with Lucifer? This is your dilemma and you either don't know the answer or don't want to share. It's too bad, Diana. But don't worry, we know the reason why.
Dear Anonymous at 12:52 pm,
DeleteDo you honestly believe that the removal of the communion rail is going to lead people astray???? Since when has removing a communion rail considered a sin? The things you say about the music and everything else are in error. All the music from the NCW comes from the Book of psalms, which you can find in the Holy Bible.
Between these two people, who do you think sinned? Is it the priest who removed the communion rail or the priest who had sexual relations with another man? Which action was really a sin???
Which priests are you talking about, Diana? The NCW presbyters?
DeleteDear Anonymous at 1:08 pm,
DeleteThat was not the question. Are you going to answer the question or not?
That's a good one, Diana. You haven't answered my question! You go first.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 1:43 pm,
DeleteExcuse me. My question came first. Therefore, you should be the one to answer first.
I'm sorry Diana, but I had my question at 12:52 p.m.
DeleteDo you side with us faithful Catholics and the One and Holy Catholic Church or with Lucifer?
Dear Anonymous at 3:44 pm,
DeleteThat was not a question. That was an insult.
Dear Diana at 1.02 and elsewhere,
DeleteFirst of all, let it be pointed out that there is no musical notation in the book of Psalms. So when we speak of the NCW music, we must recognise that it is Kiko's style and a guitar based music which may or may not bear resemblance to the style of music originally supporting the Psalms.
Secondly, if one should say that Satan is at work in the Vatican, it would not follow that they are asserting that Satan is defeating the Church or that he will "win" as you put it. Satans goal is to snatch souls from God, and the apostasy of the modern age, specially since Vatican II, and even within the ranks of clergy, can have no other author that the devil.
He will not prevail, but he will do as much damage as he can and cause as many to be lost as he can.
The liturgy, or more accurately, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, preserves the ancient and faith and traditions that are seen in the lives of the holy people of God and in the teachings of the Church. The Mass comes first, then the holy life, then the teachings of the Church.
So when the Vatican, or actually when disobedient prelates, priests and laity mess around with the Mass, there is inevitably an effect on the piety of the faithful, and on what they believe.
So yes, even seemingly little things like the removal of altar rails or removing the tabernacle or the abandonment of traditional sacred music or Latin, make a difference and effect the faithful.
How about the other questions, about the work of Satan inside the church, inside Vatican! Do you still believe Pope Francis is with us?! Read again:
DeleteYou removed the communion rail from our churches. What are girls doing as altar servers? Come on! You eat real bread for Eucharist and never on the tongue. Why don't you ever kneel? You sing country music and rock while you play the guitar at the holy mass. This has never been authorized at Vatican II! This is a big fat lie of Satan who had been a deceiver of people from the beginning! Still, all of these exist today and with permission from the high priests. Why, Diana, tell me why?
Dear Anonymous at 5:06 pm,
DeleteYou say that there is no musical notation in the Book of Psalms; yet, the Catholic Church has determine these books to be songs written by King David. How do you explain the Catholic Church knowing this without the musical notation?
Satan has always been at work the moment he was thrown out of Heaven. But Christ said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church. Christ's words are truth. The Church has had evil popes in the past; yet, the Church still stands. We are not the ones who decide who is lost and who isn't. That judgment belongs to God alone.
Throughout the centuries, the liturgy of the Mass has changed. Where does it say that the Mass comes first, the holy life next, and then the teachings of the Church? The Church in Japan survived with only the Sacrament of Baptism. They did not have any priests to administer the Eucharist during the times they were persecuted? So, how does the Holy Mass comes first when there were no priests; yet, they managed to survive with only the Sacrament of Baptism and the transmission of faith from parents to children?
Dear Anonymous at 7:10 pm,
DeleteDo you really believe that it was Satan who caused the removal of the communion rails, allowed girls to become alter servers, and allowed the faithful to receive the Body of Christ by hand? On the contrary, Satan had nothing to do with these things. The sex scandal found in the Church was caused by Satan, but certainly not the removal of the communion rail. There is nothing sinful in removing the communion rail, in allowing girls to become alter servers, and in receiving the Body of Christ by hand.
"You say that there is no musical notation in the Book of Psalms; yet, the Catholic Church has determine these books to be songs written by King David. How do you explain the Catholic Church knowing this without the musical notation? "
DeleteWow, show me one shred of evidence that the Bible contains the musical notation to the Psalms.
" There is nothing sinful in removing the communion rail, in allowing girls to become alter servers, and in receiving the Body of Christ by hand. "
And there, dear readers, is the problem
Dear Anonymous at 10:53 pm,
DeleteAre you now saying that they are NOT songs or hymns????? Rather than saying, "and there dear readers is the problem" explain how removing communion rails, allowing girls to become altar servers and receiving the Body of Christ is such an evil thing??? Perhaps, you are confused as to what constitutes as a sinful action. Then I highly recommend that you study the Ten Commandments.
Dear Anonymous, I opened the link you gave and found a battle cry from Tim Rohr at his blog. First I wanted to dismiss as a usual rant with very slim content that he posts whenever he is running out of good topics to rally his handful of die-hard followers.
DeleteBut then I read that part in the post blaming many things on Satan, like the removal of communion rails, communion in the palm, standing during communion, altar server girls and guitar music. Then I said, wow! this is as impressive list indeed. These people truly believe with their whole hearts that communion rail is so important and guitar music is so evil that these things do prevent them from coming to Jesus Christ!
They must have grown up with these beliefs, must have been socialized into having faith in the circumstances rather than in the real thing! Perhaps, being unruly kids their parents had to emphasize rules over content to make them behave. They must have had an awful childhood so they could never grow out of it even as adults. We don't know why and how they became so afraid from reality, so we should not judge them.
We have to look at these people with compassion. They miss so much in their lives, especially as Catholics. They don't know how to trust Jesus, how to trust the Bible. They are looking at everything with suspicion. All they want to find is something different from their childish rules so that they can pick on it and cry out loud. They like battle cries and blame everything on Satan.
But all they really need is courage so that they would not be afraid of the reality of Jesus Christ. In the Way we face reality all the time, our own reality as sinners. We know that the only thing we can trust is the love of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ that saves us. Please, do not be afraid to read the Bible every day. It gives you a warmth in your heart that you can trust and rely on no matter what! That would free you from the bondage of fear from things like altar serves girls, guitar music, etc. in the mass. You would focus on the real thing that is coming to you in the Word of the Lord!
Be courageous to rise and look up at the cross, because the suffering face of Christ that you see there will cleanse your soul from fear and minuscule worries. Then you won't exchange what is insignificant with what is important for your salvation. You need the Lord and you need Him every day! He is sufficient for releasing the captives from bondage and setting you free. Listen to Him and accept His love! This is His message. I'll pray that His message will find its way to your heart.
Dear Diana:
Delete"Are you now saying that they are NOT songs or hymns????? "
No, I am saying that the Bible does not contain the musical notation for those songs or hymns. Kiko supplies the music for those songs and hymns, doesn't he? And no one else?
And as an aside, the Dayenu, which is another of Kiko's musical compositions, is not in the Bible, nor is it an ancient hymn, but rather a rabbinic (pharisaical) "hymn" written in about 1000AD.
With regard to your latter comments, please refer to my post of February 5, 2016 at 5:06 PM
Dear Anonymous at 2:00 pm,
DeleteAccording to your February 5, 2016 at 5:06 pm comment, you claimed that the Mass comes first. Then the holy life comes second, and the teachings of the Church comes in third place. I asked you where you got this idea? You have not answered that question.
As for the songs and the hymns, the Catholic Church supplies the musical notation because some of the psalms are also sung in the Mass. Christians have also made up songs, which are also sung to this day. Dayenu is no different than Amazing Grace, which is also not found in the Bible.
"the Catholic Church supplies the musical notation because some of the psalms are also sung in the Mass."
DeleteHuh? Kiko supplies the musical notation dear Diana, not the Catholic Church. Or are you now claiming that the NCW sing the psalms in plainchant or polyphony?
"Dayenu is no different than Amazing Grace, which is also not found in the Bible. "
Amazing Grace was written by Jews? That's news to me.
The Dayenu is a Jewish "hymn". And it is wrong. It "wouldn't have been enough" if God did anything other than send his only begotten Son to die for us.
Dear Anonymous at 5:02 pm,
DeleteThe songs we sing are approved by the Vatican. Some of the songs and hymns sung in the regular Mass were also written by Jews since they came from the Book of Psalms.
Also, you did not answer my question. Where did you get this idea that the Mass comes first, the holy life comes second, and Church teaching comes in third place. Who taught you this idea? This idea is not Catholic.
"The songs we sing are approved by the Vatican."
DeleteThats a joke. Show me where the Vatican has "approved" your songs.
"here did you get this idea that the Mass comes first, the holy life comes second, and Church teaching comes in third place. Who taught you this idea? This idea is not Catholic. "
Stop thinking so linearly. I am referring to the maxim Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. Look it up
Dear Anonymous at 11:10 pm,
DeleteBelow is a Catholic website explaining Maxim Lex Orandi Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. According to the website:
"There is a Latin maxim that addresses the centrality of worship in the life, identity and mission of the Church; "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi". The phrase in Latin literally means the law of prayer ("the way we worship"), and the law of belief ("what we believe"). It is sometimes written as, "lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi", further deepening the implications of this truth - how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we will live. The law of prayer or worship is the law of life. Or, even more popularly rendered, as we worship, so will we live...and as we worship, so will we become!"
http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2367
There is nothing in that article that says the Mass is the first, the holy life is the second, and the third is Church teaching. So, where did you invent this idea that the Mass is the first, the holy life is the second, and Church teaching is the third. Nothing in that article gave any ranking order of what is first, second, and third.