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MyCatholicSource.com Newsletter - January, 2015
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IN THIS ISSUE:
* Greetings
* MCS News & Notes
* The Month of January: Dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus
* Prayer for the New Year
* Kindness & Kind Interpretations
* Liturgical Feasts in January
* 'Catholic Trivia'
* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - How Do You Know Which Books Comprise Scripture?
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Dear Friend,
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom. 15:13)
We send our best wishes to you for a blessed and holy new year! Whether or not you join the many in making resolutions this time of year, we encourage you to at least consider making one good spiritual resolution for 2015 for which you will earnestly try to keep. As some saints have said...
"In the spiritual life, whoever doesn't go forward goes backward. It's the same as with a boat that must always go forward. If it stands still, the wind will blow it back." (St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina)
"I earnestly pray you not to forget your own progress in virtue: for you are well aware that one who does not make progress in virtue, goes backwards." (St. Francis Xavier)
To that end, we'd like to remind of this prayer to be faithful to one's resolutions: "Grant, O Lord, that I may be faithful to my resolutions. Alas! I cannot depend upon myself, incapable as I am of fulfilling the least commitment. But I confide in Thee alone, Who art Goodness and infinite Mercy and Who cannot fail in Thy promises. O Supreme Goodness, when I failed, the failure was on my side! Henceforth, I desire Thee to act in me. Grant, O Lord, that I may keep my resolutions exactly and without fault. I firmly hope this from Thee, O Thou inexhaustible Treasure!" (St. Gerard Majella) Also, please see below for a link for assistance with spiritual resolutions.
We wish you much success on your good resolutions for 2015. May the Lord bless you and help & guide you to achieve your worthy goals for this brand new year and may He bless you & yours abundantly throughout all the days to come.
Thanks for your support of our site and newsletter.
Warmest regards,
Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com
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"Rejoice in the Lord, you just, and praise his holy name." (Ps. 97:12)
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MCS News & Notes
* MCS Daily Digest Maintenance Update: We are happy to report that the MCS Daily Digest maintenance we mentioned last month is now complete. Thankfully, we were able to complete this challenging project without affecting the availability of the Daily Digest page. To view the MCS Daily Digest, please go to http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp . Should you have any comments or encounter any issues with the page, please let us know (you can use the 'quick feedback' page at http://mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fdb/quick_feedback.htm to submit comments). Thanks to all who prayed for the timely completion of this project!
* 2015 Resolutions: For assistance with spiritual resolutions for the new year, please try the 'Spiritual Growth' Topic Page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-spiritual_growth.htm
* Reminder: For your free 2015 liturgical calendar-flier (Jan.-Dec.), go to http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_liturgical_year.htm and click your choice of "fliers" links [Note: Fliers are based on the traditional calendar]
* Pro-Life Resources: January marks another anniversary of the terrible tragedy of 'legalized' abortion in the U.S. For pro-life resources on our site (including: Life is a Gift From God, Scope of Abortion, Abortion Kills, Abortion is a Grave Sin, Risks & Aftermath, The Abortion Procedure, and More...), please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-pro-life.htm
* Please invite your friends to visit MyCatholicSource.com. For our "easy to use" invite-a-friend page, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fdb/invite_a_friend.htm . Please invite some friends today! Your support helps keep us going!
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The Month of January: Dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus
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"And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." (Lk. 2:21)
"...at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:10-11)
"And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)
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Related Resources...
* Jesus (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Jesus.htm
* Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_litanies.htm
* More Prayers to Jesus - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_Jesus.htm
* Jesus (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/catholic_basics_reflections_Jesus_Christ.htm
* Jesus (Papal Writings) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/classic_encyclicals_by_category.htm
* Jesus' Teachings (A-Z) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/jesus_teachings.htm
* Jesus' Emphasized Statements - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/jesus_emphasized_statements.htm
* Jesus' Parables - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/parables.htm
* Jesus' Miracles & Signs - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/jesus_miracles_and_signs.htm
* Who Jesus is and Why You Should Believe - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/who_jesus_is_and_why_you_should_believe.htm
* Fulfilled Biblical Prophecies Concerning Jesus - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/biblical_prophecies.htm
* Who Jesus Is / The Divinity of Christ (Apologetics) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Divinity_of_Christ.htm
* Jesus Christ, Our Lord (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_Jesus.html
* Jesus Christ, Our Lord (Word Search) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/word_search_Jesus.htm
* Jesus (Coloring Pages) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_coloring_activities.htm
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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"No voice can sing, nor heart can frame, nor can the memory find a sweeter sound than Thy blest name, O Savior of mankind." (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)
"With the Name of Jesus we shall overthrow the demons; we shall put them to flight." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk." (St. Peter, Acts 3:6)
"[W]hatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jn. 14:13-14)
"It is during the first shedding of thy Blood, by the Circumcision, that thou didst receive this Name of Jesus, dear Lord! And it was fitting that it should be so, for this Name signifies Savior, and we could not be saved but by thy Blood. Our immortal life is to be purchased at the price of thy Death! This truth is expressed to us by thy Name, O Jesus! Savior! Thou art the Vine, and thou invitest us to drink of thy delicious Wine; but the heavenly Fruit must be first unsparingly pressed in the winepress of thy Eternal Father's justice; we cannot drink of its juice, until it shall have been torn from the branch and bruised for our sakes. May thy sacred Name ever remind us of this sublime Mystery, and may the remembrance keep us from sin, and make us always faithful." (Dom Gueranger)
"If thou dost debate or converse, I find no pleasure in thy words, unless I hear there the name of Jesus. Jesus is honey on the lips, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Yet not alone is that name light and food. It is also a remedy. Is any one amongst you sad? Let the name of Jesus enter his heart; let it leap thence to his mouth; and lo! the light shining from that name shall scatter every cloud and restore peace. Has some one perpetrated a crime, and then misled, moved despairingly towards the snare of death? Let him but invoke this life-giving name, and straightway he shall find courage once more... Whoever, all a-tremble in the presence of danger, has not immediately felt his spirits revive and his fears depart as soon as he called upon this name of power? There is nothing so powerful as the name of Jesus to check anger, reduce the swelling of pride, heal the smarting wound of envy." (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)
Prayer for Love of the Holy Name & Increase of Religion: "O God of all power, to whom belongs whatsoever is best: implant in our hearts the love of thy name, and grant us an increase of religion: that thou mayst nourish what is good in us, and, whilst we make endeavors after virtue, mayst guard the things thus nourished. Through Christ our Lord. Amen." (Collect)
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Prayer for the New Year
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The following 'Universal Prayer For All Things Necessary to Salvation' was composed by Pope Clement XI. [Notice: We have made some changes to the original text (e.g. capitalization change)]
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O my God, I believe in Thee; do Thou strengthen my faith. All my hopes are in Thee; do Thou secure them. I love Thee; teach me to love Thee daily more and more. I am sorry that I have offended Thee; do Thou increase my sorrow.
I adore Thee as my first beginning; I aspire after Thee as my last end. I give Thee thanks as my constant benefactor; I call upon Thee as my sovereign protector.
Vouchsafe, O my God! to conduct me by Thy wisdom, to restrain me by Thy justice, to comfort me by Thy mercy, to defend me by Thy power.
To Thee I desire to consecrate all my thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings; that henceforward I may think of Thee, speak of Thee, refer all my actions to Thy greater glory, and suffer willingly whatever Thou shalt appoint.
Lord, I desire that in all things Thy will may be done because it is Thy will, and in the manner that Thou willest.
I beg of Thee to enlighten my understanding, to inflame my will, to purify my body, and to sanctify my soul.
Give me strength, O my God! to expiate my offenses, to overcome my temptations, to subdue my passions, and to acquire the virtues proper for my state of life.
Fill my heart with tender affection for Thy goodness, hatred of my faults, love of my neighbor, and contempt of the world.
May Thy grace help me to be submissive to my superiors, condescending to my inferiors, faithful to my friends, and charitable to my enemies.
Assist me to overcome sensuality by mortification, avarice by alms-deeds, anger by meekness, and tepidity by devotion.
O my God! make me prudent in my undertakings, courageous in dangers, patient in affliction, and humble in prosperity.
Grant that I may be ever attentive at my prayers, temperate at my meals, diligent in my employments, and constant in my resolutions.
Let my conscience be ever upright and pure, my exterior modest, my conversation edifying, and my comportment regular.
Assist me, that I may continually labor to overcome nature, to correspond with Thy grace, to keep Thy commandments, and to work out my salvation.
Make me realize, O my God! the nothingness of this world, the greatness of heaven, the shortness of time, and the length of eternity.
Grant that I may prepare for death; that I may fear Thy judgments, and in the end obtain heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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For more prayers, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_prayers.htm
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Kindness & Kind Interpretations
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Note: The following is taken from a 20th century book by Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance. The publication bears an imprimatur. [Notice: We have made some changes to the original text (e.g. formatting/shortening/combining, capitalization & wording changes).]
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Some Thoughts on Kindness...
* Kindness is the overflowing of self upon others. We put others in the place of self. We treat them as we would wish to be treated ourselves. We change places with them. For the time self is another, and others are self. Our self-love takes the shape of complacence in unselfishness.
* Kindness adds sweetness to everything.
* Of great consequence is the immense power of kindness in bringing out the good points of the characters of others.
* Kindness is infectious. One kind action leads to another. Our example is followed. This is the greatest work which kindness does to others - that it makes them kind themselves.
* A proud man is seldom a kind man. Humility makes us kind, and kindness makes us humble.
'Kind Interpretations'
There is one class of kind thoughts which must be dwelt upon apart. I allude to kind interpretations. The habit of not judging others is one which it is very difficult to acquire, and which is generally not acquired till late on in the spiritual life.
Now, the standard of the Last Judgment is absolute. It is this -- the measure which we have meted to others ["For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." (Mt. 7:2)]. Our present humor in judging others reveals to us what our sentence would be if we died now. Are we content to abide that issue? But, as it is impossible all at once to stop judging, and as it is also impossible to go on judging uncharitably, we must pass through the intermediate stage of kind interpretations. Few men have passed beyond this to a habit of perfect charity, which has blessedly stripped them of their judicial [ways] and their deeply-rooted judicial habits of mind. We ought, therefore, to cultivate most sedulously the habit of kind interpretations.
Men's actions are very difficult to judge. Their real character depends in a great measure on the motives which prompt them, and those motives are invisible to us. Appearances are often against what we afterward discover to have been deeds of virtue. What mistakes have we not made in judging others! Have we not always found in our past experience that on the whole our kind interpretations were truer than our harsh ones? How many times in life have we been wrong when we put a kind construction on the conduct of others? We shall not need our fingers to count those mistakes upon.
But while common sense convinces us of the truth of kind interpretations, common selfishness ought to open our eyes to their wisdom and their policy. We must have passed through life unobservantly if we have never perceived that a man is very much himself what he thinks of others. Of course his own faults may be the cause of his unfavorable judgments of others; but they are also, and in a very marked way, effects of those same judgments. A man who was on a higher eminence before will soon by harsh judgments of others sink to the level of his own judgments. When you hear a man attribute meanness to another, you may be sure not only that the critic is an ill-natured man, but that he has got a similar element of meanness in himself, or is fast sinking to it. A man is always capable himself of a sin which he thinks another is capable of, or which he himself is capable of imputing to another.
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"He who pursues justice and kindness will find life and honor." (Prov. 21:21)
"By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by the fear of the LORD man avoids evil." (Prov. 16:6)
"One thing God has said; two things I have heard: Power belongs to God; so too, Lord, does kindness, and you render to each of us according to our deeds." (Ps. 62:12-13)
"If you do good, know for whom you are doing it, and your kindness will have its effect. Do good to the just man and reward will be yours, if not from him, from the LORD. No good comes to him who gives comfort to the wicked, nor is it an act of mercy that he does." (Sirach 12:1-3)
"Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil: rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth" (1 Cor. 13:4-9)
"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Gal. 5:22-3)
"(And) be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ." (Eph. 4:32)
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do." (Col. 3:12-3)
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For more reflections, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/reflections_categorized.htm
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Liturgical Feasts in January
The following is a listing of all liturgical feast dates for January as they appear at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/saints/feasts.htm
Note: (T) = Traditional, (N) = New (Novus Ordo)
Reminder: Feasts may be superseded / transferred / etc.
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January 1 - Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ (T) *
January 1 - Octave Day of Christmas (T)
January 1 - Octave of Christmas (N)
January 1 - Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (N) *
January 2 - St. Basil the Great (N)
January 2 - St. Gregory Nazianzen (N)
January 3 - The Most Holy Name of Jesus (N)
January 4 - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (N)
January 5 - St. Telesphorus, pope (T)
January 5 - Vigil of the Epiphany (T)
January 5 - St. John Neumann (N)
January 6 - Epiphany of Our Lord (T)
January 6 - Epiphany [Note: Epiphany is celebrated on 1/6 in the universal calendar, but in the U.S. it may be transferred to the Sunday after the first Saturday in January] (N)
January 7 - St. Raymond of Penyafort (N)
January 11 - St. Hyginus, pope (T)
January 13 - St. Hilary of Poitiers (N)
January 14 - St. Felix of Nola (T)
January 14 - St. Hilary of Poitiers (T)
January 15 - St. Maurus (T)
January 15 - St. Paul the First Hermit (in Thebaide) (T)
January 16 - St. Marcellus I, pope (T)
January 17 - St. Anthony the Abbot (T)
January 17 - St. Anthony the Abbot (N)
January 18 - Chair of St. Peter the Apostle at Rome (T)
January 18 - St. Paul (T)
January 18 - St. Prisca (T)
January 19 - St. Canute (T)
January 19 - Sts. Marius, Martha, Audifax & Abachum (T)
January 20 - St. Fabian, pope (T)
January 20 - St. Sebastian (T)
January 20 - St. Fabian, pope (N)
January 20 - St. Sebastian (N)
January 21 - St. Agnes (T)
January 21 - St. Agnes (N)
January 22 - St. Anastasius (T)
January 22 - St. Vincent (T)
January 22 - St. Vincent (N)
January 23 - St. Emerentiana (T)
January 23 - St. Raymund of Pennafort (T)
January 24 - St. Timothy (T)
January 24 - St. Francis de Sales (N)
January 25 - Conversion of St. Paul (T)
January 25 - St. Peter (T)
January 25 - Conversion of St. Paul, apostle (N)
January 26 - St. Polycarp (T)
January 26 - Sts. Timothy & Titus (N)
January 27 - St. John Chrysostom (T)
January 27 - St. Angela Merici (N)
January 28 - St. Agnes (T)
January 28 - St. Peter Nolasco (T)
January 28 - St. Thomas Aquinas (N)
January 29 - St. Francis de Sales (T)
January 30 - St. Martina (T)
January 31 - St. John Bosco (T)
January 31 - St. John Bosco (N)
* Holy Day of Obligation
Please Note: Above may exclude moveable feasts. For moveable feasts, see below and try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_liturgical_calendar.htm . For other feasts, try the MCS Daily Digest each day at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
Also...
1/4/15 - Holy Name of Jesus (T) | Epiphany (N) [U.S.]
1/11/15 - Feast of the Holy Family (T) | Baptism of the Lord (N)
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'Catholic Trivia'
1. Which martyred saint was a disciple of St. John, has a name that name signifies "much fruit", and called the heretic Marcion "the eldest son of Satan"?
2. When was the first ecumenical council held?
3. The word Apocalypse derives from what term? What is another term for the Apocalypse?
4. When is knowledge and education of no use?
5. What does the name Ezekiel signify?
6. What is a heresiarch?
7. What does St. Augustine say are the three unions in this world?
8. Does St. Alphonsus Liguori say the acts of God's mercy are infinite?
9. Can dogmas evolve and change from one meaning to another different from the one which the Church held previously?
10. It is acceptable to attribute dogmatic changes to a "deeper understanding"?
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Answers:
1. St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John, has a name that name signifies "much fruit", and called the heretic Marcion "the eldest son of Satan".
2. The first ecumenical council (Niacea I) was held in 325 A.D.
3. The word Apocalypse derives from the verb apokalypto, meaning "to reveal". This last book of the Bible is also called the Book of Revelation.
4. "Of what use to me is all knowledge and education, if I do not become holy?" (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)
5. The name Ezekiel signifies "strong is God" (or "whom God makes strong").
6. A heresiarch is a originator or founder of a heresy (e.g. Martin Luther).
7. According to St. Augustine, "There are three unions in this world: Christ and the Church, husband and wife, spirit and flesh."
8. "The mercy of God is different from the acts of his mercy: the former is infinite, the latter are finite. God is merciful, but he is also just." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
9. No. According to the Oath Against Modernism: "I entirely reject the heretical misrepresentation that dogmas evolve and change from one meaning to another different from the one which the Church held previously." All clergy members were to swear this oath promulgated by Pope St. Pius X in 1910.
10. No. As the First Vatican Council has stated: "Hence, too, that meaning of the sacred dogmas is ever to be maintained which has once been declared by holy mother church, and there must never be any abandonment of this sense under the pretext or in the name of a more profound understanding." And: "May understanding, knowledge and wisdom increase as ages and centuries roll along, and greatly and vigorously flourish, in each and all, in the individual and the whole church: but this only in its own proper kind, that is to say, in the same doctrine, the same sense, and the same understanding." And: "If anyone says that it is possible that at some time, given the advancement of knowledge, a sense may be assigned to the dogmas propounded by the church which is different from that which the church has understood and understands: let him be anathema."
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For more information concerning the topics above, try our General A-Z Index at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
Like trivia? You might enjoy our crossword puzzles located at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_crossword_puzzles.htm
You might also be interested in the Q & A and historical information which may be found each day on the MCS Daily Digest at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
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Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - How Do You Know Which Books Comprise Scripture?
It is good for Catholics to be able to defend their faith against attacks (or even simple questions) from those outside the Church. We therefore hope you may find the following "apologetics brief" helpful.
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Note: Text below is taken from http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__bible.htm
The following may be used as discussion points when discoursing with those outside the Church (or even among Catholics).
Topic: How Do You Know Which Books Comprise Scripture? [Note: Topic is directed at Protestants]
Consider:
* Considering that Scripture does not indicate which books are inspired, how do you know which books actually belong in the Bible?
* Considering that the beginnings of Christianity saw numerous spurious writings that some considered as Scripture (cf. 2 Thes. 2:2), how do you know that the books actually appearing in your version of the bible actually contain all applicable books? Remember that since no original copies of these spurious books still exist, you would never be able to review them.
* Even the earliest Christians did not know with infallible certainty which specific books comprised the Bible, so how do you - so many years later - know with infallible certainty which books should comprise the bible?
* If a book appears in your version of the Bible how do you, personally, know (not believe or feel, but KNOW) that the book should be included as part of the bible?
* Who told you that the books in the New Testament were Scripture? Would you be surprised to know it was the Catholic Church? If you reject the authority of the Catholic Church, why are you depending upon this same Church to determine the canon of Scripture? If you place your faith in the Catholic Church to determine the books of Scripture, why do you withhold your submission to this Church which gave the world the New Testament? Remember that the only way you can know a book of the New Testament is inspired is because the Catholic Church has said that it is!
* Are you aware that Protestant leaders initially rejected even more books of Scripture than the deuterocanonical books - for example, they rejected certain books of Scripture that couldn't be squared with their new theologies? If you don't condemn them for such actions, how do you purport that they had the authority to do this? If you do condemn them for such actions, why do you follow in their footsteps by rejecting the deuterocanonical books?
Note: For more biblical apologetics, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__bible.htm
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"The Church was gathered and the faith was believed before every any part of the New Testament was put in writing." (St. Thomas More)
"If anyone either believes that any scriptures, except those which the Catholic Church has received, ought to be held in authority or venerates them...let him be anathema." (Creed of the Council of Toledo, 400/447 A.D.)
"After God had granted the gift of inspiration to the sacred writers, He entrusted the Bible to the Church, which His only begotten Son founded, for its safekeeping and authentic interpretation." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad Salutem", 1930 A.D.)
"If anyone, however, should not accept the said books as sacred and canonical, entire with all their parts, as they were wont to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition, and if anyone should knowingly and deliberately he should condemn the aforesaid traditions let him be anathema." (Council of Trent, 1546 A.D.)
"If any one shall not receive as sacred and canonical the books of Holy Scripture entire with all their parts, as the holy synod of Trent has enumerated them, or shall deny that they have been divinely inspired; let him be anathema." (Vatican Council I, 1870 A.D.)
"Now this supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal church, as declared by the sacred council of Trent, is contained in written books and unwritten traditions, which were received by the apostles from the lips of Christ himself, or came to the apostles by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and were passed on as it were from hand to hand until they reached us. The complete books of the old and the new Testament with all their parts, as they are listed in the decree of the said council and as they are found in the old Latin Vulgate edition, are to be received as sacred and canonical. These books the church holds to be sacred and canonical not because she subsequently approved them by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill, nor simply because they contain revelation without error, but because, being written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and were as such committed to the Church." (First Vatican Council)
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For more apologetics resources, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/non-catholics.htm
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In Closing...
"[The New Year is] a gift fresh from the hand of God, like a parchment rolled, unsullied, unmarked by good or bad." (Manual of the Catholic Church, 1906 A.D.)
"Jesus! A sweet name, a delightful name! A name that comforts sinners and offers blessed hope. A name that is a joyful cry from the heart, that is music to the ear and honey in the mouth." (St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church)
"Praise be to Thy holy name, O Lord Jesus Christ, and adoration to Thy majesty, always and for ever. Amen." (Sts. Adaeus & Maris)
"Think upon the Name of Jesus, and it will break up thine enemies plans, conquer them, and put them to flight. This is the Name deserving of all honor, at which the wicked spirits ever tremble. This is the Name of salvation, and the wonderful consolation which comforts the sorrowful." (Bernardine de Bustis, as quoted by Dom Gueranger)
"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them: Ye princes of the people and ancients, hear. If we this day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man, by what means he hath been made whole: Be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him, this man standeth here before you, whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:8-12)
"Blessed be the Name of Jesus. (Benedictum Nomen Iesu.)" (From the Divine Praises) [English / Latin]
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