More "extremists"...........

[kbot]

I agree - I hear ya.

At today's Mass, our pastor was giving his sermon, and he mentioned Mother Theresa. The sermon had to do with a reading from the first chapter from The Book of Ecclesiastes, and the "wisdom books" of the OT, as well as the NT reading for today - the sum of which was "why are we here"? If we're here to - as an older priest asked our pastor many years ago "Are you here with your life featuring Christ, or are you here with Christ featuring you?" - then, hopefully, we're all here to learn and help one another.

But, I'm afraid that (and I certainly count myself in here) that far too many people get wrapped-up in "the light show" and pass by all the opportunities we are being given to do good in this world.

As the pastor noted at one point in his sermon, one day Mother Theresa and her sisters took a dying man back to their place, who was literally dying in a sewer, where they washed and cared for him. As the man spent his final days with the sisters, he remarked that he thought that he would die in the sewer, but knows hat instead, he would die in the presence of angels.

That more of us (myself included) could emulate the life of Mother Theresa and her followers.

[Cherry Kelly]

I should add a bit more info - family - that is....having almost all of the major religious groups in the family - except Muslim - have attended all their various churches at one time or another.

MY biggest complaint - is too much doctrine - and not enough Bible. You have all the reverends, priests, pastors, etc. trying to tell you "interpretations" based on the doctrines of the various churches - rather than letting individuals decide what the interpretation means to them.

What also bothers me - are the "newer" editions of the Bible. I prefer my original one, and one of the not quite so newer ones that has the small center division that gives other references within the Bible -- ie: same info or more info.

I also have other religious holy books and find some to be quite interesting. (Often find very many similarities)

[voguy]

I don't mind "teaching", but I don't like personal interpretations of the meaning when it's good for a groups or individual agenda.

But I also take exception to the notion of "love your neighbor" when dealing with church cliques or a church that thinks they are holier than other churches.

[kbot]

I couldn't agree more with both of you. A number of years ago, our son was attending a local Catholic elementary school. as parents, we were required to attend some meetings during the school year during which the parish pastor excoriated us (as parents) because, in his words, "the children tel me everything". He had shrinks coming-in from Boston to lecture us on parenting skills, and he'd tell us often about how we were all bad parents.......Seems that after a few years of our son being at the school word leaked out that he had three kids of his own..... Needless to say, he was gone fairly quickly after that.

I find myself referring to older versions of religious books. To me (as a Catholic, purely personal opinion), I have a real difficult time with the post-Vatican II "touchy-feely psycho-babble - the "I'm OK, you're OK" version of religion, that self-help system that has erupted over the past few decades. If I wanted to be psycho-analyzed, I'd go to a shrink.