Joke of the week - a Jewish one

 A good joke, to lighten Advent's penitential air,  it comes courtesy of Thomas Peters of American Papist fame.

A Jewish businessman in Chicago sent his son to Israel for a year …to absorb the culture.

When the son returned, he said, “Papa, I had a great time in Israel….and by the way, I converted to Christianity.”
“Oy vey,” said the father. “What have I done?” He took his problem to his best friend, Ike.
“Ike,” he said, “I sent my son to Israel , and he came home a Christian.  What can I do?”
“Funny you should ask,” said Ike. “I too, sent my son to Israel, and he also came home a Christian. Perhaps we should go see the rabbi.”
So they did, and they explained their problem to the rabbi.
“Funny you should ask,” said the rabbi. “I, too, sent my son to Israel , and he also came home a Christian. What is happening to our young people!?!”
And so they went to temple and all prayed, telling the Lord about their sons.
As they finished their prayer, a Voice came from the Heavens:
“Funny you should ask,” said the Voice…
“I, too, sent my Son to Israel....

We miss you, we love you, please come home.....

American Papist has reproduced Bishop Thomas Tobin's moving letter to "inactive Catholics," those who have, for whatever reason, left the Faith.

 Here it is..

My Dear Brother or Sister;
in the spirit of the Advent and Christmas season, and as the Diocese of Providence nears the end of its "Year of Evangelisation," I'm writing to inactive Catholics of our Diocese - perhaps you're in that category - to let you know that we miss you, we love you and we want you to come home to the Church.

The first dilemma I faced was how to describe you - an "inactive" Catholic a "fallen away" Catholic or a "former" Catholic. I chose the first option.

I decided against “fallen-away Catholic” for it suggests someone falling off a fence or out of a tree. The image isn’t helpful.
And there’s really no such thing as a “former Catholic.” If you were baptized a Catholic, you’re a Catholic for life – even if you haven’t been to Mass for years, even if you’ve renounced the title and joined another Church. Your baptism infused your soul with Catholic DNA – it defines who and what you are.
Thus, I’ve chosen the title, “inactive Catholic,” because even though you haven’t been “active” in the Catholic community for awhile, especially by attending Sunday Mass, receiving the sacraments and otherwise participating in the life of the Church, you’re still a Catholic. Sorry . . . you’re stuck with us!
Perhaps the exact name isn’t very important though. What’s more important is why you drifted away from the Church, why you stopped coming to Mass, and what we can do about it.
Did you leave the Church because you disagree with some of the Church’s teachings and practices; or because you found it boring and “didn’t get anything out of it”; or because someone in the Church offended you or disappointed you; or because you just got a little complacent, spiritually lazy, in the fulfillment of your obligations? Let’s look at each of these reasons.
If you left the Church because you disagree with the fundamental teachings of the Church I’m afraid there’s not much I can do to help you. The essential teachings of the Church on matters of faith and morals aren’t negotiable – they weren’t made up arbitrarily by human beings but, in fact, were given to us by Christ. They can’t be changed, even if they’re unpopular or difficult to live with. I hope that you’ll take some time to really understand what the Church teaches and why. Sometimes, we find, good folks get bad information and that leads to confusion and then alienation.
If you left the Church because you found it to be boring and “didn’t get anything out of it,” well, I understand. Sometimes, it’s true, leaders of the Church haven’t fed the flock very well – sometimes we haven’t provided sound and challenging teaching and preaching, and sometimes our worship has been banal and bland. Perhaps we haven’t been very kind or welcoming. I apologize for that; we can and should do better.
On the other hand, when you attend Mass it shouldn’t be all about you – the focus is God! You should attend Mass to give, as well as receive – to worship the Lord, to ask forgiveness of your sins, to thank Him for His gifts and to pray for others. And for Catholics the most important reason to attend Mass is to receive the Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, the Bread of Life. You can’t do that anywhere else!
If you left the Church because another member of the Church offended or disappointed you, I’m truly sorry for that offense and in the name of the Church I sincerely apologize. I hope you’ll forgive us and give us another chance. Members of the Church – including priests and bishops – are completely human. Sometimes we say things and do things that are totally unacceptable, even immoral. But let’s face it – we belong to a community of sinners – that’s why we begin every Mass by calling to mind our sins and asking for God’s forgiveness. The virtue of forgiveness is an essential part of the Christian life – we all need to seek and grant forgiveness now and then.

Finally, if you left the Church because of your own spiritual laziness – complacency – I guess the ball’s in your court. I can only encourage you to start over – to think about your relationship with God and try to understand how important the Church is in helping you fulfill your God-given potential and, more importantly, helping you achieve eternal life.
You see, the Church isn’t just another human organization, some sort of social club. We believe that the Church has divine elements – that it was founded by Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit. You need the Church – you need the teachings of the Church, the life-giving sacraments of the Church, and the support of a community that shares your faith and values. But the Church also needs you – we need the gifts of your time and talent, your faith and commitment. The Church has an awful lot to offer you, but if in fact we’ve been imperfect fulfilling our mission, in serving the Lord and caring for one another, perhaps you can help us to do better.
The irony of this letter, of course, is that if you’ve been an inactive Catholic, you might not see it. But I’m counting on a Catholic member of your family, or a friend, neighbor or co-worker, to see it and share it.
The Christmas Season is a wonderful, grace-filled time, a time when we remember that the Word of God became flesh and that Jesus is “Emmanuel” – God with us. God came to earth to search for us, to embrace us, to lift us up, and to take us with Him to eternal life. He came to invite you to be His friend and companion along the way.
Dear brother or sister, if you’ve been away from the Church for awhile, it’s time to come home. If there’s an issue or a problem we can help you with, please contact your local parish, or contact me here at the Diocese of Providence. I might not be able to solve every problem and meet every need, but I’ll try. Please know, however, that we miss you, we love you and we hope to see you soon.
Your brother in Christ,

Bishop Tobin

American Papist report on 'sinister' Catholic organisation

Taken directly from Tom Peters' report made Wednesday 1 December......

Witch-Hunt: Catholics4Equality debuts app to “report hostile activity” from the pew!

by Thomas Peters
9 hours ago
RSS

I have never witnessed such a blatant, systematic attempt to undermine the Catholic Church as the one I am writing about today.
The latest Catholic astroturf group “Catholics for Equality” (which I exposed a couple months ago) already had me deeply concerned when they introduced a “Report Anti-Equality Activity!” section on their webpage.
But now they have taken things to a whole different level. Aniello Alioto, one of their founding members, explains their group’s strategic plan to undermine the Church – yes, even in the pews of your parish (emphasis mine):

One of the most interesting aspects of this campaign is our understanding that we don’t need the consent of our hierarchy to effectively mobilize our fellow pro-equality parishioners inside our churches.  This Christmas we will be rolling out the Catholics for Equality line of smartphone apps, which will allow supporters to connect with each other while they’re sitting in the pews or attending an after-church social.   The apps will also allow them to report hostile activity in their parish or make a special contribution to the campaign as the Holy Spirit moves them.

Let’s be clear what Alioto is saying: their organization plans to encourage its membership during Christmas to bring their phones to Church and to “report” from the pew whenever a priest or bishop dares to preach about the family or issues related to marriage, and to conduct fundraising in our sacred spaces.
It’s hard to imagine a more intrusive attempt to undermine the freedom of Catholic parishes and pastors to preach what the Church teaches to Catholics who are already constantly maligned outside of Mass about their views. Catholics for Equality has decided to take their fight against the Church into the very heart of our sacred worship spaces.
Gay activists will claim their movement is about tolerance and getting along, but their actual tactics – tactics I have experienced personally – favor intimidation and forcing those who disagree (especially Catholics and other Christians) to “change” in response to their dictates, or else face sophisticated in-your-face campaigns like this one.
Furthermore, it goes without saying that I consider the claim that the Holy Spirit will move Catholics to fund at Mass organizations explicitly set against our priests and bishops to be blasphemous and offensive; a sin against the Holy Spirit, in fact.
I have uploaded Alioto’s full letter online and have mirrored it in case Catholics For Equality attempts to take the original down and hide the evidence later on.
For those of you who want to put together the pieces, Alioto is the Political Director for Progress Now, a George Soros-funded progressive organization. This places Catholics For Equality firmly in the family of catholyc astroturf organizations bent on undermining the Church’s identity and traditional teaching, turning Catholics against Catholic.
So what do we do?
An attack of this magnitude, one which causes bishops, priests and Catholics to look over their shoulder before daring to proclaim what the Church believes about the meaning of marriage and family, even at Mass, deserves a vigorous response.
1. Archbishop Broglio has already stated publicly that Catholics For Equality “cannot be legitimately recognized as Catholic”, I call on more bishops to echo Abp. Broglio’s statement, beginning with Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC (where Catholics for Equality is located). Gay activists are convinced this is the next stage in their efforts to foment dissent in the Church, if we do not respond quickly and firmly more damage to Catholic unity will be caused.
2. Catholics for Equality is hosting an open debate next Wednesday at Washington DC’s Georgetown University Intercultural Center Auditorium, 8:30-10:00PM. I call on local DC Catholics to show up and proudly support the Church’s teaching on these issues. Please help me spread the word and join this Facebook group if you can attend.
3. We haven’t heard the last of Catholics for Equaliy, or of outside groups attempting to undermine Catholic teaching and solidarity from the inside. Please join me in watching these pages over the next week for more on what we can do to defend our Church, and defend our right as Catholics to carry on the good news of Jesus Christ about marriage and family, in and out of season, and in the face of persecution.