[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by silvertoken

At evening, Lord Jesus,
they brought the sick to you, and you healed them;
day by day, Lord Jesus,
you reached out to those who were ill, and you healed them;
throughout your ministry on earth, Lord Jesus,
you never turned away those who came to you in need,
but you healed them and gave them new life.
Hear us now, good Lord,
as we turn to you in our need;
be present with us and grant us the gift of healing and wholeness
that we may rejoice in your love and give you glory. Amen.

How appropriate. Wouldn't It be well worth the cost of a postage stamp for each of us to send a copy of this prayer to the priest in question, if only we had his name and address.

[rubicon]

JLK you have every right to be furious and unfortunately far too many people have lost faith and belief in the Catholic Church. Obviously despite the church's poor response as you explain your cousin's conduct surely met and exceeded God's expectation. I will say a pray for your cousin's soul. So sorry for your loss.

[marybb]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The priest certainly needs reeducation regarding his role as a priest. I know one thing for sure, Jesus never would have said no! I think a letter to the powers that be is in order. Again I'm so sorry

[tkret]

If Jesus was like this ignorant priest, and thank The Lord that He IS not, the blind would not be given sight, the lame would not walk again, and Lazarus would not have come forth from the tomb ........... unless, of course, they had the money to pay for it! Despicable but not surprising. Ask me about an immigrant woman who volunteered her time working in a rectory for 40 years and when she was waked in the funeral home no priest would come to say a Rosary for her because the funeral home didn't send a car to the rectory for one of them to be driven FOUR BLOCKS to the service. Apparently, it was too far to walk. Babylon is not only in Iraq!

[senior citizen]

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[thekeithfan]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

My 90 year old cousin lives in St. Petersburg. She was raised in my hometown of Weirton, WV and attended Catholics Schools there. She is a former Marine and was married to a Marine Colonel. They lived all over the world prior to his retirement. She was widowed about 12 years ago.

During the Korean war, he was seriously wounded. My cousin went to her parish priest and asked that a mass be said for him. The priest declined because her husband was not Catholic. Since that time, she has been an on again, off again Catholic. (mostly off)

She became extremely ill about a month ago and was given only a few weeks to live. Last week ,when it seemed that the end was near, her son called the priest in the St. Petersburg parish where she lived and asked if he would visit her in the hospice and administer the "anointing of the sick" rites. He declined, saying that she was not an active member of his parish and would not do it.

What right does a person have to call himself a man of God who refuses to tend to the sick . If he was walking down the street and saw a person dying on the sidewalk, would he check to see if the person was a member of the parish before he would tend to his spiritual needs. What if a devout practicing Catholic from Chicago was in St. Petersburg and fell ill. Would this priest refuse to visit the sick individual?

In her two greatest times of need, the church turned it's back on her.

My cousin died last night. She was a dear soul with never an unkind word about anybody. Some of her last words to me were, "when you speak to the man upstairs, please mention my name."


JLK

sorry for your loss.... I'm willing to bet we could fill a thousand TOTV pages with similar stories about the CATHOLIC Church! I'm really surprised they are still around!

[Bigben007]

I have a very similiar story. Sixty years ago my mother got pregnant and married my father. She was catholic and he was wasn't. Of course she was out of the church. But my Mother always keep her faith. She went to church on her own, never joined the church but went faithfully. When she died we knew that it meant so much to her to be buried out of the church, but that would never happen because she was excommunicated. BUT, guess what? The church needed a new organ, my brother made a very large contribution to the organ fund and my Mother was buried out of the church. Go figure! I know that isn't right, but she was buried out of the church and that's all that mattered to us.

[senior citizen]

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[The Villager II]

Catholic right. Right. I have said it before and I will say it again, There is most wonderful people in the Catholic Faith, but the Church Hierarchy is and always has been less than holy. Don't think for one minute that God was not with her. My sympathy and prayers are with your family.

[shcisamax]

Quoting IJUSTLUVIT: Which should be reiterated.

For Christians, Jesus said "If you believe, you will be saved" It sounds like your cousin believed.

The sacraments of the church, including the anointing of the sick and dying, are external rituals, meaningful and comforting, but not essential for salvation.

As you grieve, perhaps you also know that your cousin was a very good, christian person who did not need the external sign of a sacrament to be assured of a place in heaven, and that you can take comfort in that.

[joannej]

Talk Host,

What it really comes down too, is how much love we have for others; how much we spread that love around with charitable acts, following what Jesus said to love others as we love ourselves. It's all about love. That is what is important while we are here on earth. Your cousin will be accepted by Jesus no matter what. Think about people that die in accidents that do not have the last rites. Are they not accepted by Jesus? I, too, have been greatly disappointed by some nuns and priests, and the actions they took against me; but, I have eventually forgiven them. If God can forgive us for our trespasses, we must forgive others. Turn the other cheek, and say prayers for those that trespass against us. Just because some priests say they are men of God, they certainly fall short of that definition when things like this happen for whatever reason they give.

[ilovetv]

Faith in Christ is what matters for salvation and eternal life, not man-made rituals and human-chosen good deeds that try to outnumber someone else's good deeds.

Good works are the product of a changed life being lived out in thankfulness to God for the provision of His Son to present us holy and fit to be in His presence.

We cannot make ourselves fit to be in His holy presence. Only Christ can do that, and our belief of what He says is required.

John 5:24 "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

scripture (New American Bible) at U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Just an FYI: The original post from Talk Host was from Feb. 2011. I don't know if he browses TOTV any more.

Bill

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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