Links of Interest

This is what happens when I have more than the few minutes I usually do. Here are a few links of interest I visited today:

Did Martin Luther go to Hell? A Catholic Answers thread including this gem: "Shortly before his death Luther and his wife (an ex-nun) were standing in their garden looking at the stars. Mrs Luther said it wouldn't be long before they would be up there among the stars. Luther replied, "Oh no, that isn't for us. We've gone too far for too long."


Buying relics: This is a thread from Steve Ray's discussion forum. In this discussion, you'll learn all about the morality of buying and selling allegedly sacred objects. Includes, "I can see that a blessed rosary itself cannot be sold, but I did think it could be sold for the cost of a carrying pouch or something like that, in the same way I thought that a relic could be "sold" for the cost of the reliquery. I agree that it sounds a bit too close to simony for comfort, but I thought it was permitted."

Drums At Mass, YIKES!!! : A Catholic Answers discussion including, " I don't ever remember drums being part of the traditional Mass, and I don't understand why this idea is being incorporated. I grew up in a Parish that had the traditional organ music with the occasional choir present, and then sadly, I was away from the church for many years. I now attend a different church that is in the community that I live in now, and it has a guitar Mass. I have grown accustomed to the guitar Mass, but now drums are being incorporated and I can't stand it. First of all, we have a drummer that apparently has no sense of rhythm and couldn't keep a beat if his/her life depended on it."

Saint enters Purgatory, returns to tell all: This one came via e-mail from the Roman Catholic publisher, Sophia Press. St. Catherine of Genoa takes a visit to Purgatory and returns to tell all. "...since official Church teachings tell us little more about Purgatory than that it's a place where souls undergo purification by cleansing fire to attain the holiness necessary to enter Heaven. In such circumstances, reliable eyewitness testimony is treasured, even when, as in Catherine's case, it is brief: you can read the whole transcript in less than an hour." "And what did she see?... Catherine saw that the eyes of the souls in Purgatory are lifted solely toward God alone, intent only on His goodness, which is drawing them ever closer to Him.... Oh, sure, reports Catherine:there's fire in Purgatory, even pains equal to those of Hell."

On a serious note...

An Update - Rejecting and Renouncing Roman Catholicism: Here's an interesting blog link I found on the sidebar at Catholic Champion. I have no idea who this person is, but he began by saying, "About two years ago I entered the Roman Catholic Church, convinced that it alone was the only true Christian Church... Thanks to organizations like Catholic Answers, or men like Steve Ray, ... Art Sippo, and other well-known Roman Catholic apologists, my way towards Rome seemed the best idea. Seemed...the best idea." He ends by saying, "In case any of you are wondering which church I'm leaning towards now, I'm sincerely seeking out the Reformed Christian faith. That's the "Calvinist" faith specifically, and believe me I'm just as much surprised about this as you are! But I haven't found the doctrine of grace preached and taught so faithfully according to the biblical texts as I have found in Calvinism."