[tag=PRP | tag=IN] | □
[tag=PRP | tag=IN] | □ □
[tag=PRP | tag=IN] | []
If our hearts are free of the barnacles that build up from refusing to forgive , we can hear quiet directions more distinctly , we see obscure spiritual markings more clearly . It should be written in essay form with a clear introduction , middle , and conclusion . But nothing stops them from praising , thanking , adoring , petitioning and the like but Thomas does not develop this notion of their prayer life . Dissent against the Magisterium of the Church has been a cottage industry since the rebellion against Humanae Vitae in 1968 . Thus , this book is a survey of the nature and degree of persecution and bias against Christians in every country or area of the world , together with a very perceptive analysis of why the churches have been so reluctant to see how their brothers and sisters in the faith have been killed , tortured , discriminated against in country after country , not back in the last century but all through this century including right now . So the feeling is not sinful but it can push them into doing something sinful like hurting the person who hurt them . This and so many other stories fall naturally into this pattern that ancient Eastern writers in general used this pattern again and again . If we may refer to this century as a century of the heart and specifically a century of the Heart of Jesus it is primarily because the popes of this century in various ways have followed the lead of Pope Leo XIII in promoting the devotion and spirituality of the Heart of Jesus . I wrote a letter to the public relations officials , asking if the university had any statistics on alumni who had renounced personal possessions ( in order to enter religious life ) or who had deliberately chosen a less lucrative career because of the service that could be rendered . A person who practices virtue because it is the reasonable thing to do is different from a person who is motivated to practice the same virtue in order to fulfill gospel teachings and walk in the footsteps of Jesus . Most priests in most parishes were mediocre at best . There have been untold thousands of martyrs for the faith in the 20th century under Nazis and Communists . Nevertheless , one remains under the irresistible feeling that by giving him these various tasks , the Catholic hierarchy was seeking more to keep him busy than to truly entrust him with their confidence . We need to recognize our possessions as the creatures they are , use them with simplicity , and learn the art of subordinating them to the praise of God and the better service of those God has entrusted to our care . Our Catholic priests have been under intense public scrutiny during the past several decades and , as their numbers diminish , it is hard to imagine that they will no longer be objects of curiosity , admiration , and concern . Many claim that the vocations are out there ; all we have to do is get them . Apparently not , because the national point-man for choice had gone international and on one well-reported occasion had gone head on against the Catholic Church universal . This company of dynamic men routed the Reformation in many areas because of their deep spirituality and high intelligence . For those of us who are not yet directly persecuted , it is our duty to know what countries and what laws discriminate against Christians , where there is active persecution and by whom . Questions of social justice or liberty are simply never of any concern to them as they have never known any nor will they receive any in this world . If knowledge is to be gained and properly evaluated , it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty . Those that wish to live chaste lives are ridiculed and made to feel guilty.44 In a society that places so much importance on freedom to choose , a double standard emerges if one chooses against popular opinion . In each instance discipline was undermined and secularization advanced among the very people who were supposed to oppose the growing secularization of civil society .