Jesus and the Mud Puddle..heartwarming story

Jesus and the Mud Puddle

Howard County Sheriff Jerry Marr got a disturbing call one Saturday afternoon a few months ago.

His 6-year-old grandson, Mikey, had been hit by a car while fishing in Greentown with his dad.

The father and son were near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph.

Sheriff Marr had seen the results of accidents like this and feared the worst.When he got to Saint Joseph Hospital, he rushed through the emergency room to find Mikey conscious and in fairly good spirits.

'Mikey, what happened?' Sheriff Marr asked.

Mikey replied, 'Well, Papaw, I was fishin' with Dad, and some lady runned me over. I flew into a mud puddle, and broke my fishin' pole and I didn't get to catch no fish!'

As it turned out, the impact propelled Mikey about 500 feet, over a few trees and an embankment and in to the middle of a mud puddle. His only injuries were to his right femur bone, which had broken in two places. Mikey had surgery to place pins in his leg. Otherwise the boy is fine.

Since all the boy could talk about was that his fishing pole was broken, the Sheriff went out to Wal-Mart and bought him a new one while he was in surgery so he could have it when he came out.The next day the Sheriff sat with Mikey to keep him company in the hospital. Mikey was enjoying his new fishing pole and talked about when he could go fishing again as he cast into the trash can.

When they were alone Mikey, just as matter-of-fact, said, 'Papaw, did you know Jesus is real?'

'Well,' the Sheriff replied, a little startled, 'Yes, Jesus is real to all who believe in him and love him in their hearts.'

'No,' said Mikey. 'I mean Jesus is REALLY real.'

'What do you mean?' asked the Sheriff.

'I know he's real 'cause I saw him,' said Mikey, still casting into the trash can.

'You did?' said the Sheriff.

'Yep,' said Mikey. 'When that lady runned me over and broke my fishing pole, Jesus caught me in his arms and laid me down in the mud puddle.'

Kids and The Bible...humour

Kids and The Bible...

The following comes from a Catholic elementary school test. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments. Incorrect spelling has been left in:

In the first book of the bible, Guinessis. God got tired of creating the world so he took the sabbath off.

Adam and eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of ark. Noah built and ark and the animals came on in pears.

Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.

The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic genitals.

Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.

Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.

Moses led the Jews to the red sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients

The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up to mount cyanide to get the Ten Commandments

The first commandments was when eve told Adam to eat the apple.

The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

Moses died before he ever reached Canada then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.

The greatest miricle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.

Solomon, one of Davids sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.

When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager.

Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.

Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. He also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.

It was a miricle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

The people who followed the lord were called the 12 Decibels.

The Epistels were the wives of the apostles.

One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marraige.

Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

Does the Bible teach reincarnation?

Does the Bible teach reincarnation?

Answer

No. Scripture teaches that "it is appointed that men die once, and after this comes judgment" (Heb 9:27). There is absolutely no biblical evidence for reincarnation.

Sometimes people try to find biblical warrant for reincarnation in Christ's words about John the Baptist. In Matthew 17:12 Christ says, "I tell you Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him." Matthew adds, "Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist" (Mt 17:13).

Is Jesus saying that John was the reincarnation of Elijah? No. Here's the simple reason. According to 2 Kings 2:9-18, Elijah was taken up bodily into heaven without seeing death. Thus, he wasn't a candidate for reincarnation because he was still in his original incarnation.

In Matthew 17:1-8, Moses and Elijah appear to Christ and some of his disciples at the Transfiguration. This occurs after John the Baptist has been executed by Herod Antipas. Why is it, then, that Moses and Elijah appear to Christ and his disciples, and not Moses and John the Baptist?

If Christ doesn't mean John the Baptist is the reincarnation of Elijah, what does he mean? Jesus is speaking figuratively in Matthew 17:12. He's comparing the prophetic ministry of John in the New Testament to that of Elijah in the Old. Similarly, Luke 1:17 says John "will go before him [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah."

So there's no biblical basis for reincarnation. A person who is considering reincarnation is faced with a choice of believing other alleged sources of religious truth or believing the biblical witness. To accept the former in this instance is to reject the latter.

Answered by: Catholic Answers Staff 

what's the difference between an Eastern Orthodox, an Anglican or Episcopalian priest?

From the Catholic point of view, what's the difference between an Eastern Orthodox priest and an Anglican or Episcopalian priest?

Answer

The Catholic Church accepts Eastern Orthodox orders as valid. Eastern Orthodox priests really confect the Eucharist, just as Catholic priests do. Eastern Orthodox bishops are true bishops and have the power to ordain other bishops and priests.

Anglican orders, on the other hand, are not recognized as valid by the Church. Anglican priests do not really have priestly powers, and Anglican bishops do not really have episcopal powers. Properly speaking, they are Christian laymen.

Answered by: Catholic Answers Staff 

Are Angels depicted on holy cards just ancient superstitions?

Angels as depicted on holy cards are just ancient superstitions, right?

Full Question

I don't believe in angels as shown on old holy cards. That's just ancient superstition, isn't it?

Answer

Basing your theology on art is a bad idea, especially if the art is bad. It's little wonder people who think of angels as fat, winged babies can't take the idea of angels seriously.

People who look at angels this way aren't interpreting angelic representations as they were intended. The baroque artists who covered ceilings with these bouncy, Hosanna-singing messengers didn't really think that's how angels look (can any great artist be that dumb?).

Remember, if you're going to represent angels artistically, you have to show them as something. You can't leave a blank space labeled "Pretend an angel is here." That's why when angels appear to men in the Bible, they usually take on human form. By nature they're pure spirit and as such are incapable of being seen.

In art angels traditionally have appeared as youths (winged or unwinged) or as scantily-clad infants.

However inadequate the artwork, the fact remains that angels exist. It's unfortunate that "enlightened" people today discount the existence of angels. Actually, there's nothing enlightened about such an attitude--quite the opposite: It's a species of closedmindedness.

Answered by: Catholic Answers Staff 

"She will like it now" - by Fr. Antonio

"She will like it now" - by Fr. Antonio

It was Wednesday June 5, 2002, when I received a call on my pager. - “Father Antonio, there is a woman who is dying here at the hospital in Ann Arbor. Her family is asking for a Catholic priest to come and give her the last sacrament. Can you please come?”

Sure. It would be the first experience to anoint someone after 10 months of priesthood. My ministry as a priest was more focused on giving Jesus Christ to His people through the Eucharist (saying Masses) and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (hearing confessions). I was also offering spiritual direction to a good number of people. I drove 15 minutes from home. I arrived at the hospital and entered the room.

There was a woman lying in her bed, dying. Her eyes were closed. Her family was gathered around her: the husband, the sons & their wives. They were comforting each other. I opened the book of prayers and prepared the oil. We prayed. I anointed the woman. After the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, I asked the family to pray with me the rosary. I believe that the presence of Mary can give great comfort for the woman’s soul.

The husband approached me as if he was embarrassed. He whispered saying:- "Father, my wife never believed in rosaries. She never prayed the rosary. She never liked it."

"She will like it now," I said it, with my Lebanese accent and a Maronite spirit.

We started praying the rosary. When we reached the 4th sorrowful mystery, the woman opened her eyes. The sons approached their mother to see what was going on. They were crying, amazed.

At the end of the Rosary, I asked the sons:

"What did you see?"

"Her eyes were filled with peace," one of her sons answered.

I knew that Mary was present. I knew that she comforted that woman. It didn't matter whether that woman prayed the rosary in her life or not, whether she liked it or not. It doesn't matter for Mary for she is a mother not a judge. Mary, who was present under the cross at the moment of Christ’s death, is also present at the moment of our death. This is why we pray: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

I don't see why Mary had to be sinless to pass on a sinless human nature to Christ.

I don't see why Mary had to be sinless to pass on a sinless human nature to Christ.

Answer

Mary's sinlessness derives from the fact that she is the human vessel through which God himself became man. It was from her flesh that Christ received his human nature.

Because Christ is God, it's fitting that he took his humanity from a sinless human nature, although it wasn't strictly necessary that his mother be sinless for him to receive from her a sinless human nature. God could have done it another way.

Nor was it absolutely necessary that Christ be born of a virgin. He could have come into the world via the normal route. The fact that Mary was a virgin and conceived Christ isn't so much a statement about Mary as it is about the dignity of the child she carried in her womb.

Likewise (and ultimately) the Immaculate Conception isn't so much a statement about the dignity of Mary as it is a statement about the dignity of her son. It points out who he is--God incarnate.

Answered by: Catholic Answers Staff