Another video from the same guys as before...

One thing I've been reflecting on a lot lately is how many people there are who believe in the Gospel and then just sort of put it to the back of their minds.

To serious believers, it's just nuts!

A priest friend of mine used to say that the Gospel is either completely false or completely true. There's nothing in between. It's not going to be half true, or true for some people, or some of the time etc etc. It's either totally true or it's not. It either changes everything, or it changes nothing. Once again, there's nothing in between.

But yet, millions of people have found just that - something in between. A way to make the Gospel half true, and so to put it into the background. The 2011 UK census reports that 59% of people self-identify as Christian. Yet, a 2007 Tearfund survey suggests that only 7% if us go to Church every week. So, in other words, 51% of people in the UK have found that something in between.

I mention this because Pope Francis had something to say a few days back about not being content with a mediocre faith, by which, I guess, he means that something in between. Take a look...

I like this...

In the feeds and pages I monitor, I keep seeing a series of videos called 'Catholics Matter.' I don't know a lot about them, but I thought I'd stick one on the site in case it's useful. This one is about marriage and family. You can find the rest here...

Most of you will have heard of Scott Hahn. (If you haven't... sort it out!) He has a blog which he occasionally contributed his thoughts to. This week, he posted something interesting about the Council of Jerusalem, which we heard all about in the First Reading at Mass this Sunday. Here's a slice...

The first Church council, the Council of Jerusalem we hear about in today's First Reading, decided the shape of the Church as we know it.

Some Jewish Christians had wanted Gentile converts to be circumcised and obey all the complex ritual and purity laws of the Jews.

The council called this a heresy, again showing us that the Church in the divine plan is meant to be a worldwide family of God, no longer a covenant with just one nation.

Today's Liturgy gives us a profound meditation on the nature and meaning of the Church.

The Church is One, as we see in the First Reading: "the Apostles [bishops] and presbyters [priests], in agreement with the whole Church [laity]."

The Church is Holy, taught and guided by the Spirit that Jesus promises the Apostles in the Gospel.

The Church is Catholic, or universal, making known God's ways of salvation to all peoples, ruling all in equity, as we sing in today's Psalm.

And the Church, as John sees in the Second Reading, is Apostolic - founded on the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

All these marks of the Church are underscored in the story of the council.

Notice that everybody, including Paul, looks to "Jerusalem [and] ...the Apostles" to decide the Church's true teaching. The Apostles, too, presume that Christian teachers need a "mandate from us."

Go, read the rest...

Fascinating stuff from ChristianPost.com:

The third installment of Marvel's "Iron Man" film series hits theaters Friday, but will it be a hit with the Christian community?

Adam Graham, a fiction author and superhero blogger, says the most successful superhero movies are those that evoke Christian themes.

"They've focused on the battle between good and evil without many shades of gray," said Graham in a statement. "Themes such as self-sacrifice, redemption, and responsibility really explain the appeal of these films. It makes them stand out from other films with less noble heroes. While some films have focused on comic book anti-heroes, such as Watchmen and The Punisher, these films have not had nearly the wide-spread commercial appeal."

In "The Avengers," the most recent Marvel film, Iron Man helped rescue New York City from an alien attack by escorting a nuclear missile into outer space, nearly sacrificing his own life in the process. In "Iron Man 3" the man behind the mask, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), tries to cope with the sleeplessness and anxiety that plague him following the incident as well as protect those dearest to him from a powerful enemy.

"'Iron Man 3' will be darker," said Graham. "What that means, we don't know. Tony Stark's dark side has been explored in the films, but to a lesser extent than in the comics. Stark's struggles with alcoholism have been well-known. In addition, the comic book version of Stark has been willing to lie, manipulate, and cross ethical lines in pursuit of what he wants. How Stark is portrayed will definitely be key to the film's success."

Go, read the rest...