Did You Know?

[odhiambo]

I am starting this thread for us to share anything interesting that we come across and think it information worth knowing.
I came across one today which I did not know but which I am sure many of you probably know already. All the same, I will still share it.
Did you know that Latin is the official language of the Church and as such, official documents are first written in Latin before being translated into other languages?
I was surprised to learn this because I thought Latin was dead and buried.

[odhiambo]

Did you know that among the 1,500 people who perished 100 years ago when the luxury liner, RMS Titanic, hit an iceberg and sank five days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, were three Catholic priests who, according to survival accounts all died selflessly and heroically?
Fr. Juozas Montvila, Fr. Joseph Peruschitz and Fr. Thomas Byles. Each of these three priests in their own way lived up to his calling to the very end.
Their presence in that ship was surely providential. Father Boyles reportedly calmed the passengers, led them in reciting the rosary, exhorted them to prepare to meet God and led them in an Act of Contrition and finally, gave them general absolution. 
May God rest all their souls in eternal peace

[Patricia]

I love this thread!  Thank you for this information, Odhiambo. I love the three heroic priests who probably saved so many souls alongwith their own by bravely facing death rather than despairing or trying to run away from the situation. God bless the priests who faithfully shepherd their flock!! 

[odhiambo]

I love this thread!  Thank you for this information, Odhiambo. I love the three heroic priests who probably saved so many souls alongwith their own by bravely facing death rather than despairing or trying to run away from the situation. God bless the priests who faithfully shepherd their flock!! 

True. Even when they had an opportunity to leave the ship and save their lives, they chose to stay and help both spiritually and otherwise. The very stuff saints are made of.

[odhiambo]

Did you know ?
There is a fictional conversation between a university student and a professor which you might find helpful in convincing some of those who claim that God does not exist and throw in science, the better to confuse you.
 It is available on line; this is the version someone sent me.

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?
Student : Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent.)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Is satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor: Where does satan come from ?
Student : From … GOD …
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor: So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer.)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them ?
(Student had no answer.)
Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.
Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class was in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter. )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

Guess who the student supposedly was?
Albert Einstein !

[Shin]

Haha, I think it's a myth that it was Einstein, but certainly this is a work of genius! 

[odhiambo]

Haha, I think it's a myth that it was Einstein, but certainly this is a work of genius! 

I thought so too

[odhiambo]

Did you know that Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, had a sister named Florentina who consecrated her virginity to God, became a nun and was later canonized as a saint on account of her holiness?
 I have namesake in heaven.
Great news!
Saint Florentina,
Pray for us all!

[Shin]

No I did not! Thank you odhiambo!

Saints Isidore and Florentia pray for us!

How wonderful to have a sister like that!

[odhiambo]

No I did not! Thank you odhiambo!

Saints Isidore and Florentia pray for us!

How wonderful to have a sister like that!

It is Florentina, Shin. You missed an "n" there.
I was baptized Florentina but when I was older, I sarted using the more Western form.
Was I ignorant or what 

[Shin]

Ah, forgive me for the mistake! St. Florentina!

You have a good saint there watching over you!

I wonder how much St. Isidore owes his success to his sister's prayers? 

[odhiambo]

Did you know that Saint Joseph never spoke a single word in the Bible?
That just goes to show that although "speech is silver; silence is golden"

[odhiambo]

Did you know that in some parts of India, parents willingly allow their infants to be subjected to what must truly be terrifying to the babies?
 The ritual of baby tossing!
The ceremony of baby tossing apparently is an annual affair in which babies are hurled from a temple balcony for good luck!
I thank the Almighty for my family. No rituals, no nothing 

[odhiambo]

Patricia, when you lived in India, did you witness anything like that?

[Shin]

Did you know that in some parts of India, parents willingly allow their infants to be subjected to what must truly be terrifying to the babies?
 The ritual of baby tossing!
The ceremony of baby tossing apparently is an annual affair in which babies are hurled from a temple balcony for good luck!
I thank the Almighty for my family. No rituals, no nothing 

 

[pebbles]

I am starting this thread for us to share anything interesting that we come across and think it information worth knowing.
I came across one today which I did not know but which I am sure many of you probably know already. All the same, I will still share it.
Did you know that Latin is the official language of the Church and as such, official documents are first written in Latin before being translated into other languages?
I was surprised to learn this because I thought Latin was dead and buried.

Latin is the official language of the Church because it was the language used at that time.  The Latin Bible was called the Vulgate because it's called the volgare(?) it is written in the "vulgar" language (Latin) since everybody uses the language.  Basically, I guess it's the "common" language.    And isn't it fascinating that it is still the official language of the Church?  Imagine, priests all over the world have to learn this language!  It's quite practical ... so that they don't have to learn all the languages of the world!