rhemes1582: Frater! Don't be miffed that I didnt reply sooner, twas time to go to work here! Here is a copy of what I said to Maria in a message:
"Yes, in Europe the faith has moved from being luke-warm among
› numerous people (ie having a FULL church) to distilled and fervent in smaller numbers. One just has to look at the overflowing Beneditine Solesmes Abbeys of Europe and the traditional parishes!! But they are rather poor in the liberal ones. This is the distillation of which I speak.
› So smaller but more fervent: The Holy Father says that 'the church must see herself as a minority which influences the majority". I think the church in Europe is doing just that.'

However, we are rebuilding from the utter depravity of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.... So tis an uphill battle, but forward progressing all the same.

I am sure ACL will answer as he is a good hearted soul as we all are here. Being half Spaniard myself I actually was VERY happy to see that ACL mentioned that the faith is still very much alive in Europe!! I too have the impression that our faith was dwindling there for the same reasons Rhemes mentioned. I had the opportunity to message ACL and he put it in very good terms for me to understand taht we are indeed doing well in Europe. I know he will answer (gotta love these time differences though!) If there is something I truly admire about this site, it's the people here can discuss things and get any and all misconceptions out of the way through discussion. Very nice indeed!

It would be nice to hear frome everyone all over the world in regards to how our faith is growing and stilll very much alive! What a great advantage to hear it straight from the source in that country! I think we would all agree that our hearts rejoice when we hear of our Faith being strong no matter where it is! I know i did!

Pax!
Maria

rhemes1582: Join me, in exploring, the Ascent to Mount Carmel....I am having the time of my life, trying to make sense of St. John of the Cross, and his amazing contemplative style, and teaching, in his great writings, I have found on Audio. I have found audio, of the gospel, that EJG, has, and I am getting hooked, on listening to stuff, on audio, rather than reading it. I have found some of the books(audio), on this site from St. John of the Cross, but there are only a few chapters. It just started to get interesting, really good, and the books ended....lol.....so now I am on a search, in my cell, this evening, looking for more audio, on the Saints, great teachings......

rhemes1582: Brother, you didn't offend anyone. If ACL does not reply, to your question, its because we are Americans. lol...he thinks less of us, because of our culture. He forgets, many in the world, would be speaking German, if it wasn't for us.....

Don't take things personally......

In Jesus and Mary

rhemes1582: I am British and my Father is a Spaniard!! My Catholicity comes to me from recusant England and Catholic Spain. I can say to you that the faith is NOT dying: it has returned to the traditional state, i.e. pre-1962 in terms of Liturgy and very Thomistic (Classical if you will) in terms of Theology (and social praxis).

So if you mean to imply that the faith is dying in Europe, I challenge you to describe WHICH faith, the liberal Roman Catholicism OR the traditional!

rhemes1582: Thankyou, my brother: I am very hopeful, as I try and listen to St. John of the Cross, and the Accent to Calvary....and his wonderful work, the Dark night of the Soul, as I type this.....I am very hopeful, because I have a brother, that is not yet Catholic, and he lives in the mountains, an isolated cabin....and I am discipling him. His best friend, had an apparation of Our Lady, at a place in Idaho called Warm Lake. I was evangelizing, using my phone, texting all I knew, and anyone I ran into...and this friend of mine, started listening to me, and now he is hooked...lol....what makes me so happy, is...he noticed, here in Boise, we just got two new Catholic radio stations. And I have been racking my brain, how he can get, good Catholic Teaching into his cabin, other than what I have been given him. He watched INTO GREAT SILENCE, 3 times, and loved it. He also loves Scott Hann. God is really doing a work in his life. His friend that had the vision of our Lady, at warm lake, in Idaho, converted instantly from the Jewish faith, and then died a month or two later. This had a great impact on Dave, my friend, and he is now working with me....and struggling of course, to take that next step into the Church. Because he loves sin....lol....sad to say, that is what is at the core of our Wordly dilemna, we as humans love sin....and when the Light shines, into there world....they realize they have to give up sin....and they don't want to......those who choose the Light as you know, have to go through the Dark night of the Soul.....as St. John of the Cross, so adequetly describes....so I am hopeful, and satisfied, that the Lord, is carrying my friend Dave, and now the Lord has made him aware of 2 new Catholic radio stations coming into the Boise Valley....this has been really exciting for me to witness.....I only pray, my friend, can get to confessional.....he knows he needs that sacrament....and I scold him in love, daily....not to wait....for you don't know when the Lord, will come......so many people, brother, reject the Lord....it amazes me.......so sad....but I can see the Lord, raising up an army of those who haven't rejected Him.....I can't wait, until the 13th Day comes out.....I am going to send it, to all the Fundamentalist Churches, in the Boise Valley.....lol....as EJG...so adequatly describes us Americans......hit and run.....if need be, and taking the Kingdom by Force.....is not anything, we are afraid of......
in Jesus and Mary

My dear brothers in Christ,

I am curious to know why it is so wrong to stand up for our Faith? Why are we so worried about speaking the truth? I understand we should not come to others in a disrespectful, rude or abrasive manner.No one listens when we do that, that is obvious. But I think to stand up for what we are, believe in, defend our church and be very grounded in that isvital especially in todays world.

Catholic churches are becoming more and more empty.Especially in Europe. It's happening as a whole. This is cause for alarm, sadness and above all ACTION!! People say they are Catholic but do not live it and many do not understand it completely. We need information like this to help us spark that passion and faith in our own church. It may come off as"evangelical" but we are called to evangelize. If we keep quiet then other "christian" religions come out stronger and their message to others are way more abrasive and judgemental and thus people view Christianity as this judgemental entity and it pushes people away.

I think as Catholics we should be more open and more into understanding our faith, our religion its tradition and NOT be afraid to "evangelize" in the sense of promoting it and sharing it- IN LOVE but also with a sense of conviction. We can't be too careful on how we do this as far as what we stand for. I don't believe as Catholics we should put others down or make them feel badly for not believing what we believe in-but we can't back down from the one true faith either.

But my point is that we need to be stronger on our stance of what and who we are.No one will go for a "product" that is neither 100% backed up by the maker or that has no the proper "marketing" and packaging. We need to be firm in our beliefs so others can see our total devotion to such a wonderful Faith that we share and thus want to also be a part of such an amazing community of bretheren
.
with much love and respect,
maria :)

Rhemes1582: Its worse than that, my brother.....and yes, the Vortex is filling in the gap, of the horrible, levels, of Catechising in America. The hardest souls, to reach in my experience, are the cradle Catholics, and the fallen away cradle Catholics. I am horrified, at what comes out of the mouth, of almost. 20 of my friends, whom I have worked with, once I converted to the Church, and started Evangelizing. I was stunned, at how many souls, I worked with for years, were none practicing, Catholics, and I had no clue. Its shameful....I mention the cradle Catholics, because they don't know how to defend OUR faith.....fortunatly, there are very powerful, Saints, like soon to be Saint Sheen....and Dr. Scott Hann....and so many others, that are being brought into the Church, from the fundamentalists camps. The priest, and Father at my Church, our Lady of the Valley, gave one of the worst Homilies, I have ever heard, last Sunday, telling his sheep, to stay quiet, when it comes to Evangelizing.... his heart is right, but he had to admit, awkwardly in his homily, he himself, doesn't know how to Evangelize the faith. Little does he know, he has cradle Catholics, in his own Church, that have gone to war, with radical Baptists...on the job, and they are learning the hard, way they better know how to defend there faith.....lol.....lol.....I love it.....I want to see, Catholic Converts, in America, sharpen there swords, razor sharp on there fellow Baptists brothers..... and then we will deal with the Muslims.....with the help of our Lady....and the Lord........
In Jesus and Mary

EJG: As far as attack quick-moving apologetics, here in America you are just starting to see, the high level of intellect, sophistication, and spirit to win, that we Americans are so proud of. Its just starting EJG: There is an army of converts, coming into the Church here in America. the Cradle Catholics...prayers are being answered.....Warrior fundamentalists, such as Dr. Scott Hann.....and others....are answering to the call of Pope John Paul II......TO EVANGELIZE.....AND WE AMERICANS, ARE EXPERTS AT...ATTACK QUICK....AND MOVE.....And I am going to enjoy, watching the radical zeal of the Southern Baptists, come up against, the Muslims, that are flocking into our country......God, has an army of radical born-agains, on the front line also.....you are very correct...in your orbservation, as usual.....you have the wisdom of a typical Convert.

i think some object/ tune out, to the very USA style of attack-quick moving apologetics and personality of the host, which,beyond the 'evangelical American context, is hard to understand....my very faithful-conservative catholic friends in Europe , France etc, totally do not like this style, and do not understand how it advances the kingdom, so cultural expression comes into play on the international website.
pax

Thanks REVTHREEVS21- I agree with you as well. I think its VERY important that we know who we are and what our faith stands for and what we believe. Michael Voris is very clear in how he says we can't deny our one true faith and that we have to stand up for what we believe because we just tend to "go with the flow". We dont know what we believe in, we don't read about our faith, we get lukewarm and just stagnant. It's very frustrating for at times when I hve others come at me w/misconceptions of who we are so what I decided to do is get educated in my faith, to know what we stand for, where we originated from, what we believe. With respect of course to others but NEVER denying that we are truly the one true faith in the sense that we are teh UNIVERSAL church. We are not a denomination of anything we are the real deal. its not that we are superior or that we need to treat others w/disrespect but to know who we are and be able to defenc our church and the fact that we are strong is vital, I believe in showing soildarity.

It saddens me to see that even within our faith we see separation as well as far as tradiitons that have been "watered' down or pushed aside. .This is the perception we give out and makes us vulnerable to being attacked even more. So I believe. It's not enough to say "I am Catholic". We have live it day in and day out and KNOW it .

I think that when we look at our church and we understand it's history, its value, its beauty we will understand why its so important to defend it's tradition and what the church is and stands for. we CANNOT sway from that. M Voris is huge on this. he wants us to know what the church stands for in terms we can understand and point blank.

We can be nice abotu things and polite and respectful thsi is very true but we still need to stand firm in what we believe as well. I guess that is what i am trying to say... :)

Pax!

Miss Maria: You are so-right, and I might add, that respecting Protestants, has gotten us, a luke-warm Mass. We have literally removed Statues of Mary, out of our Churches, to please Protestants....and all for what? So we can believe, that each believer individually, has the full knowlege to interpret scripture? Why do you think, there are over 33,000 different churches in America, what an embarrassment..... Until, Catholics, stop playing, games with who the Church is, as I noted in scripture below....the Protestants, are going to make little jokes, like....would you kiss, the hand of the pope if you got a chance. Or, the God I worship, left the cross, why do you guys, still have Jesus Crucified on the cross? That is just an example of how poorly, cradle Catholics have done, Evangelizing the CHURCH....NOW GIVE US CONVERTS A CHANCE ...What I do, with a Protestant, and I Evangelize constantly, is start with John 6. And ask them, one simple question. "Why did so many of the Lords followers, walk away from Him, when He said, You must Eat my Flesh, and Drink my blood." And then I just shut up, and watch them stumble, and ho-hum, for the answer that, only the Catholic has.......Remember, Miss Maria.......if Bill O. is not Catholic, do you really think he is worth watching?

I have been following Michael Voris for a while and have watched most of the seasons for "the one true faith" series and although is approach is very direct and may seem abrasive, he knows what he is talking about. He is coming at it more as a " spiritual combat" mind frame and a let's get real w/our faith attitude without sugar coating it as well helping us to know the ins and outs of our faith.

His show the Votex reminds me a little of Bill Oreilly and his show on Fox. To the point, no spin type attitude But m voris in his other show the one true faith really lays it down for Catholics as far as educating us on our Faith and that ours is the OnE true faith and we need to know it well so that we can address anything that comes our way to detract us from our faith including apologetics. He covers so many topics and does a great job of explaining it in his show. I do agree though that we need to treat our Protestant brethren with respect and as mentioned by ACL give them references to go by so they can further research. ;) But i just wanted to throw that out there that as a Michael Voris fan, I know that he does know what he talking about and if you can check out his show the one true faith. its really good :) i would actualy like to see more of his stuff here on Gloria

PAX!
Maria

fathersofmercy: Quite! HOwever, if Mr Voris gives no references in the video, how would the protestants go and do this 'research' of which you speak? Where would they start? And listen to what?

I really think that if our protestant bretheren are to at least 'listen', i.e. listen to 'the truth', they ought to be treated like the intelligent men that they are. This is not the 1800s when many chaps lacked tertiary education. THerefore, programmes like The Vortex, ought to have some concrete point of departure; not just sweeping generalisations!

Take EWTN for example. No talk show, discussion or programme is without a solid interllectual premiss [stated and referenced!]. Once this is done (even in commentaries), the 'sky is the limit'!

So all I am saying is that people ought NOT to accept this as it is. The world is filled with graduates these days; gone are the days when one could just say things, and expect others to accept it without question!

Fathersofmercy: I would like to see him do a piece on Ellen White: 7th Day Adventists(Sola Scriptura Only) which leads to, The Branch Davidians....which leads to David Koresh....which leads to the Oklahoma Federal buildings bombing. In other words, I aggree with you fathersofmercy, yes this is a commentary, and yes, you don't need scriptural proof, to see, how deadly, leaving the Church, or following a so-called prophet can become. Most Protestants, need to realize, that once the Authority has been taken away from the CHURCH, then crazy things, can happen. I would outright say....demonic things....such as David Koresh, thinking he was the 7th angle, that was called by God, to open up the seals in the Book of Revelation which led to alot of death for "Nada"....when you and I know, the book of Revelation, is a vision of the Holy Mass, which the Vortex has done a great job explaining. I find the Vortex very well done....sooner or later, a Protestant, or Fundamentalist, is going to try and figure out, why the Catholics have the correct interpretation of the book of Revelation....and when they do....they will know, we are the CHURCH, that brought the world, the Authority, the Keys, the Sacraments.....and the Bible. The Holy Spirit, is alive in the CHURCH.
Bravo: Rhemes1582

In Jesus and Mary.....I can't wait to see the movie, the 13th Day....all Protestants, and Fundamentalists, that read this......just wait....and no....we are not going to take the statues of Our Lady out of our Churches, to make you feel comforteable. GO CATHOLIC OR GO HOME!!!!!

ACLumsden,Do you think he needs to document that Protestants believe in the "Bible Alone"? This video is a commentary. The Protestants who see this video need to do research, and most of all listen.

God Bless You, John