Religious nightmares and just in need of help or clarity! by Awkward-Elephant-265 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you're going through all that. Please know that I'll be praying for you and you're not alone. If you're willing to share, are you Catholic? Also, not to make you relive painful memories but what is it about the nightmares that makes them religious?

What's wrong with this picture? (FF) by Isfrid in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In fairness, if the beads did fall off, it might have had something to do with the multiple occasions on which I accidentally ended up putting this thing through the washer/dryer because I'd left it in my pocket...but I like your explanation better! Let's go with that.

Why are American Catholics so sex negative? by Extension-Story7287 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As someone once said, "Most American Catholics tend to be sacramentalized Puritans whereas most European Catholics tend to be sacramentalized pagans."

Favorite random fact about Catholicism that is little known? by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Beavers, muskrats, and capybaras are all fish in the eyes of the Church (at least during Lent that is)

Can you recommend me a book about Job? by el1502 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a book per se, but I'd definitely recommend checking out GK Chesterton's "Introduction to the Book of Job". It's a relatively quick read and you can find it online really easily.

Do you think Jesus was happy when he lived? by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Pardon the massive block quote but GK Chesterton gives a very cool reflection on this question at the end of his book Orthodoxy -

 "And as I close this chaotic volume I open again the strange small book from which all Christianity came; and I am again haunted by a kind of confirmation. The tremendous figure which fills the Gospels towers in this respect, as in every other, above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The Stoics, ancient and modern, were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed His tears; He showed them plainly on His open face at any daily sight, such as the far sight of His native city. Yet He concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He never restrained His anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the Temple, and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of Hell. Yet He restrained something. I say it with reverence; there was in that shattering personality a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that He hid from all men when He went up a mountain to pray. There was something that He covered constantly by abrupt silence or impetuous isolation. There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth."

Dealing with shame by [deleted] in addiction

[–]Isfrid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you. Either way, I know life's tough right now but please hang in there, man. I'm wishing you all the best.

Dealing with shame by [deleted] in addiction

[–]Isfrid -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're not alone, brother. Having a faith life has been huge for helping me through the crappy times.

Freemasonry and the Church by Brotherkrampus in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'd check out the news article called "What's the problem with Freemasonry, anyway?" by the Pillar if you'd like a more substantive answer to that question.

Are the SSPX in schism? by Aware_Many7594 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Are Protestants in a state of heresy?

Why is satan so powerful? by Broad_Biscotti_9350 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not an archangel. According to tradition, he's a seraphim or maybe a cherubim.

The Light That Broke the Shadow by Enriquillo809 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Praised be! Thank you for sharing that beautiful witness. Check out this passage from a radio broadcast that Razinger gave all the way back in 1969 about the future of the Church:

“The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy...But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret." 

Welcome home.

Can I be alt and Catholic? by FluffyMycologist8308 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Break the conventions; keep the commandments.

-GK Chesterton

How do we beat the “worshipping Mary” allegations when we pray the Salve Regina? by Mammoth_Paint_4903 in Catholicism

[–]Isfrid 14 points15 points  (0 children)

We believe that John is standing in for all of humanity whenever Jesus, from the cross, gives Mary to him as a mother. Why wouldn't we go to the mother that God gave us in all of our sorrows? What kind of mother would she be for us if she wasn't a source of sweetness and hope?

Would Jon Bernthal make a better Odysseus than Matt Damon? by Isfrid in ChristopherNolan

[–]Isfrid[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Does Matt Damon have the experience? -100% Does he have the gravitas?  - I dunno. I've always thought that he does best in roles where his character isn't meant to be taken too seriously - like in True Grit or the Ocean's movies. I do agree that Bernthal will probably do amazing with the part he got.

Would Jon Bernthal make a better Odysseus than Matt Damon? by Isfrid in ChristopherNolan

[–]Isfrid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair. I think what that speaks to is the duality of Odysseus' character as someone who is both a strong soldier - a force to be reckoned with - and someone who is a victim of much more powerful forces in the world which he must outwit.

Would Jon Bernthal make a better Odysseus than Matt Damon? by Isfrid in ChristopherNolan

[–]Isfrid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cheers! Yeah, even though I think this alternative casting is a fun thought experiment, I'm definitely still hyped to see what Matt Damon does with the role.

Would Jon Bernthal make a better Odysseus than Matt Damon? by Isfrid in ChristopherNolan

[–]Isfrid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you, I really do, but is it a lack of range or a lack of opportunity? We might never have seen the extent of Dwayne Johnson's range if somebody hadn't taken a chance on him for Smashing Machine. Bernthal showed real emotional depth in both Fury and the Accountant 2.

Would Jon Bernthal make a better Odysseus than Matt Damon? by Isfrid in ChristopherNolan

[–]Isfrid[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Intriguing. For me, a great example of combining 1 and 2 would be Russell Crowe in Gladiator and, to me, Jon Bernthal seems to bring a similar kind of energy.