I was musing recently about subjective morality, and thought of something that I found rather amusing:

“There is no such thing as right or wrong.”<br/> [ ] Right   [ ] Wrong

CatholicDestination.com is a Catholic website whose vision “is to become the premier supplier for Catholic Goods, Gifts, Sacramental items, Services and Information”. Further to this, they offer free blog hosting.

CD has recently installed the CRE, so all CD bloggers will have the ability to have scripture and catechism references activated with little intervention or maintenance on their part.

Thank you for installing the CRE, CatholicDestination.com!

Version 0.8.13 of the Catholic Reference Extension for WordPress is now available. The texts were not changed, so upgrading can be accomplished by downloading only the package without texts, which is much smaller (zip 25kb | tar.bz2 23kb)

This version has the following changes:

• A checkbox now exists in the Edit Post sidebar to deactivate or activate the CRE on a per-post basis.

Report any bugs as a comment on this post.

Version 0.8.11 of the Catholic Reference Extension for WordPress is now available. The texts were not changed, so upgrading can be accomplished by downloading only the package without texts, which is much smaller (zip 25kb | tar.bz2 23kb)

This version has the following changes:

• You can now use the string “[nocathref]” anywhere in the post or page content, and the CRE will not operate on any references in the post. This is in lieu of using the exclamation mark in front of each of many references.

Report any bugs as a comment on this post.

I recently finished reading The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Dr. Francis S. Collins. If that title piques your interest, you should read the book. The book brings up many issues worthy of thought and pondering, but one which really stood out for me was the issue of the ensoulment of identical twins. I was disappointed that the book does not provide any answers, or even much coverage of the alternative viewpoints of this problem, so I went to investigate the matter myself. (more…)

Version 0.8.10 of the Catholic Reference Extension for WordPress is now available. The texts were not changed, so upgrading can be accomplished by downloading only the package without texts, which is much smaller (zip 25kb | tar.bz2 23kb)

This version has the following changes:

• The CRE is now compatible with sites that use other Javascript libraries, such as Prototype.
• Links in the popups now give text on hover informing the user that the links open in a new window.

Report any bugs as a comment on this post.

Version 0.8.9 of the Catholic Reference Extension for WordPress is now available. The texts were not changed, so upgrading can be accomplished by downloading only the package without texts, which is much smaller (zip 25kb | tar.bz2 23kb)

This version has the following changes:

• NAB and LXX now have the correct URI when referencing Psalms.
• Implementation of alternative window opening methods was completed (it was incomplete in 0.8.8).
• When configuration is set to open on click, the mouse cursor now changes to the usual “hand” icon for links.
• Some outstanding & -> &amp; conversions were taken care of.

Report any bugs as a comment on this post.

Version 0.8.8 of the Catholic Reference Extension for WordPress is now available. The texts were not changed, so you can upgrade by downloading the packages without texts, which are much smaller (zip 25kb | tar.bz2 23kb)

As per comments by Aristotle A. Esguerra, I have made the following changes:

& characters are now rendered with &amp; in query strings.

Administrators can now choose how they want external sites to load:

• in a new window via the target attribute on <a> elements;
• in a new window via Javascript;
• in the same window.

There is now support for Scripture citations from more than one chapter in the same book, such as Philippians 3:17-21; 4:1-3.

Report any bugs as a comment on this post.

(crossposted from simplyexplained.com)

[Are] there degrees or type of sins in the Holy Bible? If so, give [references] please.

The Catholic Church has constantly taught that there is a distinction between mortal and non-mortal sin. 1 John 5:16-17 supports this:

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

See also the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Sin and Catholic Answers’ article on Mortal Sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church expounds on this issue in Part Three, Section One, Chapter One, Article 8 (CCC 1854-1864), wherein these passages are cited: 1 John 5:16-17; Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10.

(crossposted from simplyexplained.com)

Under the Code of Canon Law, #917 through 921. notwithstanding the exceptions noted, may one receive Holy Communion outside of Mass? For example, one receives Holy Communion before Mass, because he or she can not stay for a Mass due to a prior personal commitment, say a doctor”s appointment. Or, one comes to Mass late, without good reason, to receive Holy Communion.

I am not a canon lawyer. You should consult one for definitive legal advice.

Canon #918 states

It is most strongly recommended that the faithful receive holy communion in the course of a eucharistic celebration. If, however, for good reason they ask for it apart from the Mass, it is to be administered to them, observing the liturgical rites.

As far as I know, “good reasons” only include severe restrictions such as illness which renders the person non-ambulatory. I would think that other personal commitments of a “normal” or commonplace nature are not sufficient justification for transgressing Church law.

Furthermore, from a more spiritual standpoint, one must consider whether one’s priorities are rightly ordered when one willingly chooses something over the very person of Christ himself, his very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

See also this good reference article by Fr. William Saunders from the Arlington Catholic Herald.