Chosen - Little Flower Catholic Church: Fill & Download for Free

Prologue:The basic tenet of democracy and free speech entails that there are no holy cows. Nobody's immune to criticism, however high and mighty he/she might be! So, I don't think a Nobel Peace Prize should in anyway stop valid questions being raised regarding Mother Teresa.What did Mohan Bhagwat actually say?Even though Mother Teresa did healing and charity which was indeed a good act, her's was not a selfless act. The underlying motive of her social service was to convert people to Christianity.What's exactly wrong in that? Or even earth shatteringly new? Why has this snowballed into such a huge controversy?Simple answer: Media.The duplicity of Indian media is that anything the RSS or an Hindu Organization speaks/does gets cast in a negative light whereas religious organisations pertaining to other religions can get away with anything!Here are some snippets of that duality:1. While I agree that the 'Gharwapsi' campaign run by the VHP is a brain-dead idea and needs to be condemned vociferously, I also believe that the conversions by Christian missionaries and evangelists need to be criticized with equal ferocity.Does that even happen? Your answer is as good as mine!P.S. I passed my I.C.S.E. exams from a missionary school and hail from Gajapati district of Odisha, a relatively poorer district with a high tribal population; so I am acutely aware of the scale and semantics of this 'conversion business' carried out by missionaries and evangelists.2. There have been a series of attacks and petty thefts in the churches of Delhi, an extremely condemnable act. However there have been higher no. of thefts and attacks on Delhi temples in the corresponding period.However, the media focussed only on the churches part and completely left out the temple portion. Not only that, the RSS was blamed for the church attacks without a single piece of evidence supporting RSS' involvement.Source: Crying wolf: The narrative of the ‘Delhi church attacks’ flies in the face of facts - FirstpostNow that we have made the priorities of the Indian media clear, let's move on to Mother Teresa; her views, ideologies, faith and scientific temper(or the lack of that!).Mother Teresa's sources of funding:a) The Duvalier family of Haiti (dictators);b) Charles Keating of Lincoln Savings and Loan (a proven and testified money swindler);c) Robert Maxwell (another money swindler).Mother Teresa's political connections:a) Indira Gandhi and the Gandhi family - She also was a supporter of 'Emergency'. A so-called champion of poor supporting government's emergency. If this is not irony, I don't know what else is!b) Enver Hoxha of the Albanian Communist party - Famous for religious suppression, human rights violation and mass killings.c) Licio Gelli - accused of multiple murders and corruption cases in Italy.Mother Teresa's views:a) On Abortion and Contraceptives:“Let us promise our Lady who loves Ireland so much, that we will never allow this country a single abortion. And no contraceptives.” ~ Open air mass in Knock, Ireland in 1992.""Abortion is the worst evil, and the greatest enemy of peace... Because if a mother can kill her own child, what will prevent us from killing ourselves or one another? Nothing.""Abortion can never be necessary... because it is pure killing."b) On suffering, poverty and population:“I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”In one interview she was asked, “So you wouldn't agree with people who say there are too many children in India?” She said, “I do not agree, because God always provides. He provides for the flowers and the birds, for everything in the world He has created. And those little children are his life. There can never be enough.”Healthcare in the overrated Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata:a) Overcrowded and small rooms with patients sharing beds with others;b) People suffering from tuberculosis and AIDS treated in subhuman unhygienic conditions;c) Absolute distaste for pain killers;d) Primitive outdated medicines and old syringes washed in lukewarm/ cold water.One of the various interesting anecdotes regarding the treatment methodology of Mother Teresa:According to Mother Teresa's bizarre philosophy, it is "the most beautiful gift for a person that he can participate in the sufferings of Christ". Once she tried to comfort a screaming sufferer: "You are suffering, that means Jesus is kissing you!" The man got furious and screamed back: "Then tell your Jesus to stop kissing."Money laundering charges:The "Missionaries of Charity" used to get millions of dollars in funds from across the world, mostly from dubious sources; yet the healthcare system was primitive and lacklustre. There are numerous questions as to where that money was being siphoned off to, the most popular answers are being:a) The Catholic Church;b) Sponsoring conversion activities across India;c) Building nunneries around the world for conversion purposes.Mother Teresa in her own words:This is as irrational and unscientific as it can get!Q. What does he need more - love or bread?A. Love. When there is suffering, man needs relief. But, in the end, he needs love most. I once met a Catholic woman who was a cancer patient. I said to her that her cancer was the kiss of God. She replied: "Mother, please pray to God to stop that kissing." Poor child. I only looked at her. Two days later when she died there was a beautiful smile on her face.Q. As a Christian missionary, do you adopt a position of neutrality between Christian poor and other poor?A. I am not neutral. I have my faith.Q. Do you believe in conversion?A. To me, conversion means changing of heart by love. Conversion by force or bribery is a shameful thing. It is a terrible humiliation for anyone to give up religion for a plate of rice.Q. Just as the caste system in Hinduism is a fetter, do you feel that the labyrinthine regulations of the Catholic Church too are a fetter?A. I never felt that way. Nor did I feel the necessity to change the rules of the Catholic Church. It is not relevant, too. In the hour of death, we are going to be judged by what we have done to the poor. We have consecrated our lives to give wholehearted and free service for the poorest of the poor.Q. Can the Church do any wrong?A. No, as long as it stands on the side of God.Q. Mother, if you were born in the Middle Ages, and were asked, at the time of Galileo's inquisition, to take sides, which would you have chosen - the Church or modern astronomy?A. (Smiling) The Church.Source: India is my country, and I am an Indian: Mother Teresa : Cover StoryChristopher Hitchens' opinion:Most of the critical analysis of Mother Teresa has been done by the ultimate rationalist Christopher Hitchens in his book, "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practise". It's only but fair that the last word goes to him:"MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction. And she was a friend to the worst of the rich, taking misappropriated money from the atrocious Duvalier family in Haiti (whose rule she praised in return) and from Charles Keating of the Lincoln Savings and Loan. Where did that money, and all the other donations, go?"Epilogue: We need more rationalists, atheists and agnostics like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Neil deGrasse Tyson in this country and less Mother Teresa and Mohan Bhagwat. I rest my case!Sources:1) The fanatic, fraudulent Mother Teresa.2) Criticism of Mother Teresa3) "India has no reason to be grateful to Mother Teresa" by Sanal Edamaruku4) Shattering the Myth of Mother Teresa5) Canadian researchers discuss ‘The dark side of Mother Teresa’6) Academics suggest Hitch called it right on Mother Teresa

It’s about the pagan worship of the Goddess (the maid and the mother and the crone that’s grown old). Chrissie Hynde is rumoured to be a pagan (I dress as your daughter when the moon becomes round).My personal take is that many of the lyrics are about the fact that the Goddess (there were many of them, but I believe this is specific to the Earth Mother) was worshipped extremely widely before Christianity and all worship of her was basically forced underground and turned into Christian worship.England is actually known as Mary’s dowry (Jesus’ Mother) in the Catholic Church and she is worshipped in Catholic Churches here almost on the same level as Jesus. She is also hailed as the Queen of the May, which is a title that has always belonged to the Goddess. When I was a little girl we always sang special May hymns to her and one little girl was always chosen to be the May Queen, we would make a procession to church and crown Mary’s statue with flowers.All incredibly pagan of course, but that’s how they managed to persuade people to take up the new religion of Christianity hundreds of years ago, by adopting many of the rituals that people were familiar with.So basically, my interpretation is that the song is about the old religion being able to re-emerge safely in the modern era & the enduring power of the Goddess through all the years when she was demonised, with more than a smidge of Chrissie Hynde’s personal belief system.Plus, it’s a great song!

Unlike a certain front man for a Mexican beer, there is no “most interesting” saint.The most relevant depends on the current crisis, mood, or stage of life in which you find yourself.Put your foot in your mouth? St. PeterCan’t find something you lost? St. Anthony of PaduaCareer crisis? St. Anthony of Padua; St. JosephWriter’s block? St. John the EvangelistWorking mom? St. Zelie MartinVision problems? St. LucyCancer? St. PeregrineDaily holiness? St. Therese the Little Flower (Zelie’s daughter)Strength to stand against tyranny? St. Thomas MoreStruggling with addiction? St. Maximilian Kolbe; St. Mark Ji TianxiangSimply impossible situations? St. Rita; St. JudeWayward child? St. MonicaWorried about the environment? St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks”Healing? St. Luke; St. Raphael the ArchangelDefense against demons or active malice? St. Michael the Archangel; St. BenedictUtterly, utterly lost: Mary, our Blessed Mother, who always leads us to her son, Jesus.One of my favorite things about being a Catholic is the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.The saints are men, women, and children, of every nation, language, age, color, ethnicity, and era; every temperament from cool thinker to blazing feeler; people who saw forests, and those who saw trees; who made jokes while being roasted alive; who struggled with depression…they are the Church Triumphant who have faced every temptation and trial that we face in our own lives…and made it through the narrow gate. The list of saints is literally endless, and covers everything, everyone, every situation. Thieves; bakers; carpenters (no, not Him—this question is about saints, not God; His foster father, St. Joseph); sailors; soldiers; tinkers; tailors; wine makers; mothers in crisis; those looking for work; grieving a loss…and their life experiences allow them to become our shining examples and close companions. They give us hope. Ordinary humans relying on the grace of God can be holy.I wouldn’t be the same without their assistance, and I’ve never understood why Protestants ignore or actively reject the help of their brothers and sisters who live in the glory of Heaven as some kind of idolatry, but have no problem asking for the prayers of friends and family living here in the Church Militant.As an example…I was in a Barnes and Noble one day, and started chatting with a very nice woman who asked what I was doing. I explained I was editing a novel which had been picked up by an e-publisher. In the course of the conversation, I told her I had chosen my pen name based on my mother’s initials and my favorite saint—St. Anthony; because I can’t set something down without losing it, I have him on speed-dial—out of gratitude for his intercession. She raised an eyebrow and admonished me, “Well, I think God was the reason you found a publisher.”“Of course He is!” I replied. “But as a Catholic, I’m a firm believer in the Communion of Saints, and I rely on my friends in high places as much as I do on family and friends on this side of The Line. St. Anthony’s prayers had a lot to do with this.”She raised another eyebrow. “I’ve professed my belief in the Communion of Saints every Sunday all my life…and never had it explained to me that way.”I smiled. “You really should include the saints in your prayer circle. They’re easy to talk to, and you don’t have to worry about waking them up at 2 am when you can’t sleep.”Now why should we turn to the saints, and not just go straight to Jesus? Because Jesus Himself didn’t operate that way. He didn’t keep His ministry to Himself. Instead, He sent out His disciples (also known among the baptized as “us”) to evangelize every corner of the world, to teach and heal in His Name. In other words, He likes to see us serving God and helping each other. There’s that whole “Love one another as I have loved you” command. That bond of prayerful assistance doesn’t cease to exist once a holy person goes to Heaven. What kind of Heaven would forbid a saint to care and pray for those still struggling on earth? My mom prayed for me while she lived here. Do I think she stopped once she was in Jesus’ and the Blessed Mother’s presence? And miss such an opportunity? Uh-uh. If you do… well, you never met my mom. And mom was a “saint” not a “Saint,” raised to the altars of the Church. Again… we have friends in high places!While I can’t answer your question “who is the most important or interesting saint” for you, personally, right now… I can invite you to dive in and get to know the most interesting, fascinating group of people that ever existed. I guarantee one or more will speak to your heart, and lead you closer to God.God bless you in your explorations!