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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/february.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101
February 9, 2010(Mat 5:11-13) Blessed
are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all
that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice for
your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the
prophets that were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if
the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for
nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.
ADDRESSES BY ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: The Prince of This World and the Evangelization of Culture
IN THE NEWS: Pope urges Scots bishops to tackle 'the increasing tide of secularism
Scotland is a country plagued by sectarianism and struggling with a
rising "tide of secularism", the Pope has declared, in an address to
the country's Catholic bishops in Rome.
He ended months of speculation when he confirmed he was to visit Scotland later this year.
But in remarks that contrast with those of John Paul II, the last pope
to visit Scotland, Benedict XVI attacked proposed new laws, and said
the country was battling with sectarianism as a result of a "great
rupture" with its Catholic past.
The Pope urged his Scottish bishops to "grapple firmly with the
challenges presented by the increasing tide of secularism in your
country".
He also used his speech to condemn euthanasia – comments widely
interpreted as a criticism of Margo MacDonald's attempt to pass an
assisted suicide bill at Holyrood.
"Support for euthanasia strikes at the very heart of the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life," the Pope said.
The Pope also paid tribute to what he said was the role played by
Scotland's Catholic schools in overcoming sectarianism – an analysis
that will not be shared by critics of schooling along religious lines.
But in a statement that accepted his views were not shared by all, he
said: "All too often, the Church's doctrine is perceived as a series of
prohibitions and retrograde positions, whereas the reality, as we know,
is that it is creative and life-giving, and it is directed towards the
fullest possible realisation of the great potential for good and for
happiness that God has implanted within every one of us."
The Pope's willingness to embrace contentious subjects has prompted
concern that his trip will not be met with the rapture that greeted the
previous papal visit. His predecessor John Paul II's pastoral
trip in 1982 prompted euphoria among the hundreds of thousands of
people who flocked to Glasgow's Bellahouston Park and Murrayfield
Stadium in Edinburgh.
MORE: Bishop Olmsted: Let's Not Be Silent About Life
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 25- "On the destroyer of the pasions, most sublime humility"
41. Humility is Christ's spiritual doctrine, noetically introduced into the inner chamber of the soul by those who accounted worthy of it. It cannot be defined by perceptible words.This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.