Oh, St. Nicholas of Myra, through your intercession, may the Almighty God grant graces abundantly upon the people of the Earth so that there may be peace. Amen.

Confession

For people who want a biblical answer:

"Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

-John 20:21-23

There are other passages too that can help, but this is the most important one to know.

Homosexuality

I was talking to my brother about this topic and did a pretty bad job at arguing against homosexual actions. I am going to write this out before I present my reasoning to him.

Most people would accept that sex with animals is wrong. We know that the natural sex partner for a human is another human. Most people would also accept that sex between a father and daughter is wrong. Thus, we know that sex is not for just any two humans. If someone can legitimately believe these things than it is also legitimate to believe that the natural sex partner for a man is a woman, and for a woman a man.

Additionally, the male and female sex organs are complimentary along with the male and female gametes that produce offspring. Procreation and bonding are both end results of sex; this is the purpose of the sex organs. Homosexual activities use the sex organs in a way that is contrary to their purpose in order to obtain pleasure. In contrast, a person may eat excessive amounts of candy and throw it up later to avoid the effects of eating that food. In this situation, the person is still using their body in a way that is contrary to its purpose in order to gain pleasure. Many people would view it as immoral to eat an excessive amount of food just for pleasure and then throw it up. Thus, it is legitimate to say that homosexual acts are immoral.

Infanticide video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYRpIf2F9NA&feature=related

A simple answer to why artificial contraception is wrong

Artificial contraceptives take away from the authority of God that is his alone. Only He can choose when whether sex leads to procreation. That is one of the two ends of sex (the other unity). Killing is another example of taking away God's authority, but it has it's own motivations of hate, anger, and cause of pain to loved ones. Artificial contraception has motivations such as selfishness and greed.

Priestesses? - Peter Kreeft

Excellent explanation of why women cannot be priests.

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/09_priestesses.htm

Another article from Catholic.com

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2008/0804fea3.asp

Passover Regulations - Communion Regulations

In Exodus 12:43-51 it details the requirements to participate in the Passover. Basically, the males just needed to be circumcised.
I think this could possibly be used to show why only Catholics can receive Communion and our requirements for it.

Sites for Evangelization/Apologetics

http://pjpiisoe.org/Resources_Pamphlets.html

http://users.binary.net/polycarp/#TRACT

http://pjpiisoe.org/Resources_Pamphlets.html

http://www.catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets.htm

Found a great article on Contraceptives

It's really long and it gets boring at times, but it makes tons of good points.
I would recommend at least skimming through it. If someone reads this I think they would have a great possibility of accepting this teaching of the Church as long as they have an open heart.

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html

The Harms of Artificial Contraceptives

The Pill
- If a woman conceives she will often have an early miscarriage due to her uterus lining being changed.
-For every year that a woman is on 'the pill' she will have 1 very early miscarriage
-Increased risk of breast, liver, and cervical cancer, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, blood clots, depression, weight gain, migraines, dark spots on the skin and difficulty with breast-feeding.
-Costs $200 for every year of use

Depo-provera and Norplant
-Changes lining of uterus, thus it can cause early abortions when conception does occur
-Woman using it will likely have more than one very early miscarriage per year
-For Depo-Provera: Increased risk of breast cancer, may reduce a woman’s bone density, and may worsen a woman’s cholesterol level
-50,000 woman have participated in lawsuits alleging irregular bleeding, scarring, painful muscles, and headaches.

I am using this article:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=268

I plan on adding more to this post tomorrow. I need to go to sleep now.

An Article I found

I found this article interesting and thought-provoking. It's about Catholics going door to door evangelizing.

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9012fea1.asp

Mary, Our Spiritual Mother

Jesus says that those who follow him are his brothers and sisters. Thus, if Jesus is our brother, then Mary is our mother and of course we have God the Father. Additionally, the fourth commandment says to honor your father and mother. Since, Mary is our mother, we should honor her.

that's all i have for now, I may write more later

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9805fea3.asp

Mary Ever Virgin

In the Protoevangelium of James (aprox. AD 120), it is said that St. Anne decided that Mary's life would be dedicated to the Lord. Mary served in the temple which meant that she was vowed to a life of perpetual virginity. Joseph, a widower, was chosen by the Lord to be her husband, so that he would protect Mary while respecting her vow of virginity.

Most people before the fourth century accepted Christ's "brethren" to refer to the children of Joseph in his previous marriage. Jerome introduced the idea that "brethren" could also refer to His cousins.

During the Lord's Crucifixion, Christ gives Mary to His beloved disciple John as his Mother, but if she had more children why wouldn't they take care of her.

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2009/0907btb.asp

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0007sbs.asp

The Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception is the dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin. This is a belief held since the time of the apostles.

-Often when explaining this dogma, the angel Gabriel is referenced as saying ""Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28) In the original Greek, "kecharitomene" is used, which is translated to the English "full of grace." The Greek work, "kecharitomene" means that she recieved this grace in the past not because of the angel's visit and that its effects are continuing.

-This teaching is often rejected by Fundamentalists because in the Bible it says "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). However, not everyone has sinned. One example is of course Jesus Christ. Additionally, before reaching the age of reason no one can sin because they cannot choose between good and evil. Someone might say that they have original sin which is true, but that is not their sin that they committed but the effects of the fall. The phrase "have sinned" implies that one actually committed a sin. Thus, not everyone has sinned.

-Another objection is that if Mary had not sinned then that would mean she would not need a savior which is contrary to the Gospel - Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). However, lets say someone was walking and fell into a hole. Then a person got them out of that hole and saved them. Another person was walking the same path, but before they fell into the hole the person held them back and prevented them from falling into the hole. This person was also saved. This is the way Mary was saved from sin - she was saved by Christ's grace at her conception.

An Update

I have decided to post an update because different things are going on in my life and I just felt like I should even I don't think anyone reads this blog. Today, I just graduated from high school. I plan on going to Central Ohio Technical College to get an Associates in Cardiovascular Diagnostic Medical Sonography - that means I'll be using medical technology to do ultrasounds and EKG's. My lifes going very well. I have had a job at Kroger for more than a year now and I'm a cashier now. It's a pretty good job. Anyways, to get to a more spiritual side, I think the Lord is calling me to apologetics, and for some reason I think that he may eventually call me to the diaconate later in my life. In order to get better at apologetics I've decided to start researching and posting useful apologetics. I have decided to start with the Blessed Virgin Mary and then I think I'll go on to the Eucharist. I may also post reflections on random things whenever I feel like it. However, I've been kind of slovenly lately, but I've been getting better so hopefully that won't affect my posts any.