Testemunho de Neil Velez

Testemunho

Eu estava morrendo na cama de um hospital. Especialistas do Texas e da Califórnia viajaram à cidade de Nova York para me dizer que não podiam fazer mais nada por mim e que eu teria somente três meses de vida.

As válvulas do meu coração não estavam funcionando corretamente e surgiram tumores em minha cabeça, os quais faziam com que eu tivesse convulsões. Além do mais, um desses tumores oprimiu o nervo óptico deixando-me cego. Eu tinha hemorragias internas, vomitava sangue e caía banhado naquele líquido vermelho. Também padecia de meningite.

Enquanto me encontrava prostrado naquele quarto, debatia dia e noite com Deus. Minha discussão com o Senhor se centrava basicamente na seguinte passagem bíblica: 1 Pd 2,24, que dizia: "Por Suas chagas fomos curados". Eu tentava esquecer esse versículo mas não conseguia. A cada segundo que passava me sentia mais irritado com o Senhor. Por que eu estava tão irritado? Porque esse versículo me falava em um tempo passado. Não dizia que eu ia receber a cura ou que esperava ser curado, mas que eu já estava curado, há pouco mais de dois mil anos em uma cruz. Enquanto aquele versículo atestava que eu tinha saúde, o meu corpo me mostrava exatamente o contrário. Nasci enfermo e minha condição foi piorando até perder a vista e ficar prostrado em uma cama. Toda essa situação chegou a tal ponto que começei a gritar e a brigar com Deus, dizendo-lhe textualmente essas palavras: "Duas coisas estão acontecendo aqui: Tudo isso é mentira ou eu não te conheço". Nesse momento, escutei uma voz muito clara que me respondeu: "Meu filho, verdadeiramente tu não me conheces".

Eu passei minha vida inteira dentro da igreja. Pertenço à segunda geração de um ministério, meus pais e meus tios me levavam desde pequeno com eles a retiros e vigílias. Em outras palavras, não conheço outra vida que não seja de igreja em igreja. Dediquei toda minha vida ao Senhor, me formei e me preparei na Igreja, passando inclusive por um seminário. Com 12 anos eu já estava ministrando. E Ele dizia que eu não o conhecia.

A verdade é que eu acreditava conhecê-lo. E aí está a confusão de muitos que estão convecidos da mesma coisa que eu pensava naquela ocasião. Alguns consideram que – por não faltarem nunca à Missa, receberem a Eucaristia diária e serem constantes na oração do rosário – conhecem o Senhor profundamente. Outros estão convencidos de que por estudarem Filosofia, Teologia ou Psicologia o conhecem. Assim como há aqueles que até pregam sobre Jesus Cristo e ainda não sabem sobre quem estão falando. E eu era um destes! Acreditava saber sobre Ele, não só pela minha preparação como também pela minha educação e experiência, mas eu estava equivocado. Naquela noite descobri que eu estava longe de Deus. Representava o personagem bíblico, que fala de coisas sobre as quais não entendia, conhecia-nas somente de ouvir falar (cf. Jó 42, 1-6).

Quando o Senhor voltou a me falar eu compreendi a razão das palavras d'Ele. Como pude, desci da cama, me ajoelhei e começei a chorar como uma criança. Entre gemidos lhe disse as seguintes palavras: "É verdade, meu Deus. Eu não te conheço! Mas hoje quero te conhecer". Foi o dia em que fiz a oração mais importante da minha vida. Naquele momento, humildemente, abri mão de tudo o que eu pensava ser e ter, incluindo estudos, talentos, dons e formação. Naquele dia morri para mim mesmo e para tudo que eu tinha convicção de conhecer. Assim pude permitir que Deus nascesse em mim. Momentos antes de concluir a manifestação daquelas palavras, algo aconteceu comigo. Era uma dor tão forte que dava a sensação de que minha cabeça iria explodir. Quando senti que não podia mais resistir àquele tremendo sofrimento, começei a gritar como um louco naquele quarto. Gritei tanto que os médicos vieram correndo e entraram no quarto. Logo, de repente, aquela dor desapareceu e reinou a calma. Quando parei de chorar e sequei minhas lágrimas, abri meus olhos e notei que minha visão havia voltado. Estava contemplando o rosto daqueles médicos que me olhavam atônitos. Eu lhes dizia, cheio de emoção e alegria, que podia ver. Eles estavam maravilhados e em seguida começaram a fazer vários exames em mim e descobriram que os tumores e a meningite também haviam desaparecido.

Os médicos diziam não compreender o que havia ocorrido comigo. Diziam que era conveniente que eu não tivesse ilusão, já que, em muitas outras ocasiões, ocorreram alívios passageiros. Insistiam em me recordar que só me restavam três meses de vida e que esse fato era irreversível. Recordo-me de que, logo depois de escutar o que os médicos me informaram, ter lhes dito: "Obrigado por tudo o que vocês fizeram por mim. Mas eu não vou morrer!" Eles continuavam insistindo que eram especialistas em casos como esse e que não tinham a menor dúvida de que meu fim estava próximo. Por curiosidade, igualmente, me perguntaram: "Quem te disse que isso não ia ocorrer?" E eu lhes respondi: "Deus. Por Suas chagas eu fui curado". Então, eles me proibiram de fazer atividades e eu decidi pregar incansavelmente. Recordo-me de que, na minha debilitada condição, tomava a Bíblia, começava a pregar e ensinava o que Jesus Cristo nos deu através de sua Cruz. Pregava sobre essa passagem (1Pd 2,24) e até dava testemunho da minha cura. Muitos dos que caminhavam comigo diziam que eu estava mentindo, porque a verdade era que meus dias estavam contados.

"Por Suas chagas eu fui curado"
Foto: Arquivo CNAo final da pregação, eles me levavam para um local reservado, pois, por conta das tonturas, eu desmaiava e caía no chão banhado em sangue. Meus irmãos tinham que sair correndo comigo para o hospital. Outras vezes, permanecia inconsciente por alguns minutos caído no chão. Depois de algum tempo, eu me levantava com algum esforço, pegava o meu lenço e tentava me limpar daquele sangue como podia.

Podem me chamar de louco ou fanático, ou seja, uma pessoa que cegamente crê em algo. Hoje eu estou em pé aqui, porque cegamente acreditei em Deus. Porque caminhava crendo em meu Deus. Porque quando eu desmaiava e caía no chão, logo em seguida me levantava novamente.

Deus não respeita homens, não faz distinção entre uns e outros, porque todos somos iguais diante d'Ele. Não olhe para mim como um super-homem. Você é filho de Deus! E o que Cristo fez na cruz – o fez por você também. Por Suas chagas, as chagas do Crucificado, você também foi curado! A você basta acreditar nesse sacrifício que Ele fez por todos nós e confiar plenamente n'Ele. Jesus Cristo hoje diz a você: "Toma teu leito, vai para casa, porque já estás curado."

Truly is shocking for a Judge and law enforcement to behave in such way, when ironically the US constitution which is based on Christian values is very clear, and says the following:

we hold these truths to be self evident, that all man are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator.

Meaning GOD.

Sounds to me as if the Judge, the Law enforcement officers and all other officials are the ones in need of therapy.

But sadly it does not surprize me, the world is heading for straigh for collapse challenging GOD.

Many would say that what the bible teaches about the evil one is just coincidence, take a look:

"How you have fallen from the heavens, Oh Lucifer! ... You said in your heart: 'I will scale the heavens; above the stars of God I will set up my throne ... I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will be like the Most High!"' (Is. 14:12-14).

In other words He thought that he could be God!

We can see the same thing happening in the Garden of Eden where the Evil one approaches Eve with the temptation to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:17)

Gen. 2:17 representing this way of thinking (Is. 14:12-14).

It is not the idea that we would simply know the difference between good and evil, but that we would decide the difference between good and evil. No more moral laws! What's right for me is right for me; what's right for you is right for you -- the decision is ours to make. So the tempter says, "You will be like gods" (Gen. 3:5).

Ironically this is exactly what is happening today, here we have the core of the thinking behind contraception, abortion, and euthanasia.

The solution to the thinking of the evil one is the thinking of the Holy One. As Isaiah lifted the veil to show us the mind of Lucifer, so St. Paul lifts the veil to show us the mind of Christ: "Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. It was thus that he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him" (Phil. 2:6-9).

This attitude, which St. Paul says must be ours, counteracts the attitude that we exalt ourselves by our own choices. Rather, our exaltation, our freedom, and our fulfillment come from a humble acceptance of and obedience to a truth that we did not create. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil marks the limit of our choices. True freedom is the power to choose what is right, and to love as Christ did, by giving ourselves away for the good of the other person. Let this attitude of Christ's permeate our lives and the fabric of our society!

Homossexualismo e Candomblé 2/2

pt.gloria.tv

Homossexualismo e Candomblé 1/2

es.gloria.tv

oops, wrong section was ment to have been posted under the Portuguese speaking section.

Is there a way to change it now?

If we all visit, link, comment, vote, on such videos, these videos will then become highly visible in the Youtube ratings, and hopefully will start to have high visibility for those who do not know or care about abortion.

Is truly sick and for that reason alone that is why we must help others understand that these are human beings.

This video has no link or anything to do with religion.
The video tries to demonstrate a conspiracy run by the American secret services to plot 911.
Let me also say that I personally took part of the millions round the world who demonstrate against the war against Iraq, and this video did not convince me of any conspiracy. Let me give you one example, it was report just after 911 that someone in NY had made a statement prior to 911 where the person knew that 911 was going to take place, and if I recall correctly the person I’m talking about was not an American Christian descended. Another question the people behind this video should ask themselves why should the American or any other government need to answer any such questions put in this video, would that in fact make any such people happy? No, doing so will in fact weaken the country security even further, in my opinion the media themselves already say to much about security that probable could be used against innocent people by some fanatic loony.
I got a recommendation, In 30 year time everyone who thinks there was a conspiracy shell be able to access the British secret archives (that is how long takes the British government to release such information) and then better understand what actually did the government knew about it 911.
To me the video was a waste of time and I cannot see the link to religion let alone Catholicism.
By the way... I’m sure I read somewhere that 5% of the population suffers from paranoia, that is your answer.

“Our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore, having received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed those who have already been mentioned, and afterwards added the further provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry."
St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians, 44:1-2, c. AD 80

"You must follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as you would the Apostles. Reverence the deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8:1-2, AD 107

"The Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although she is disseminated throughout the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she occupied but one house. She likewise believes these things 'just as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart and harmoniously she proclaims them and teaches them and hands them down, as if she possessed but one mouth. For, while the languages of the world are diverse, nevertheless, the authority of the Tradition is one and the same."
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1, 10, 2, c. AD 190

"They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again."
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 7:1, AD 107

“We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration, and is thereby living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.”
St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 66, A.D. 151

“Owing to the sudden and repeated calamities and misfortunes which have befallen us, we must acknowledge that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the matters in dispute among you, beloved…Accept our counsel, and you will have nothing to regret…If anyone disobey the things which have been said by Him through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger…You will afford us joy and gladness if, being obedient to the things which we have written through the Holy Spirit, you will root out the wicked passion of jealousy.”
St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians, 1: 58–59, 63, A.D. 80

“Ignatius…to the church also which holds the presidency in the place of the country of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification, and, because you hold the presidency in love, named after Christ and named after the Father.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, 1:1, A.D. 110

"It is possible, then, for every Church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the Apostles which has been made known throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the Apostles, and their successors to our own times…But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the Churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient Church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, that Church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the Apostles. For with this Church, because of its superior origin, all Churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world; and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the Apostolic tradition."
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3, 3, 1-2, c. AD 190

“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ He says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’…On him He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was; but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?” [see endnote]
St. Cyprian of Carthage, The Unity of the Catholic Church, 1st edition, A.D. 251

“(T)hey have not the succession of Peter, who hold not the chair of Peter, which they rend by wicked schism; and this, too, they do, wickedly denying that sins can be forgiven even in the Church, whereas it was said to Peter: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven.” And the vessel of divine election himself said: “If ye have forgiven anything to any one, I forgive also, for what I have forgiven I have done it for your sakes in the person of Christ.”
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Penance, Book One, Ch. VII, v. 33, c. A.D. 390.

“For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of repentance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ. Do not err, my brethren. If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If any one walks according to a strange opinion, he agrees not with the passion of Christ.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians, 3.2, ca. A.D. 110

“There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for severing the unity of the Church.”
St. Augustine, Treatise On Baptism Against the Donatists, Bk 5, Ch. 1, A.D. 400

-----------------------
Endnote on St. Cyprian:

Immediately after the live Journey Home program, I received an email from Mark Bonocore of The Catholic Legate pointing out that I may have chosen a quote from St. Cyprian that is not the best to express his view of the papacy. This was one of the key quotes that helped me see the authority of the bishop of Rome in the early Church, but as Mark points out, there are some controversies surrounding St. Cyprian, primarily because at times he vacillated in his statements due to disagreements with the bishop in Rome. He even himself changed the wording of a later copy of the letter I quoted, which has led over the years to conflicting views of his thought.
As Mark points out below, he recommends a better quote to illustrate Cyprian’s acceptance of the authority of the papacy. I greatly appreciate Mark’s correction, apologize for any mistakes I may have made due to the haste of preparation, and rather than attempt a re-phrase, I’ll merely give you Mark’s fine explanation below:
“While Cyprian clearly did believe in the primacy of Rome, when the great bishop and martyr of Carthage spoke of the "Chair of Peter," he usually was referring, not to the Papacy, but to the teaching authority of the Church itself, which is shared by all the bishops of the Catholic Church, just as the "Chair of Moses" (per Matt 23:1-3) was shared by all the scribes and Pharisees collectively.
“However, while Cyprian clearly believed that all bishops share in the "Chair of Peter" (that is, the teaching authority of the Church itself), he did not believe that all bishops shared in this authority equally or to the same extent. Rather, when one reads all of Cyprian, his ecclesiology essentially worked like this:
a) On the local level, the "Chair of Peter" was held by the bishop of a particular city-church, who was responsible for maintaining unity among the presbyters and laity, just as St. Peter maintained unity among the other Apostles and disciples. This was Cyprians primary objective in the quote that you read. However...
b) On the regional level, the "Chair of Peter" was held by the metropolitan bishop of a particular region, which was Cyprian's own position as the Bishop of Carthage, and so metropolitan archbishop of all Africa and Numidia. In this role, he was responsible for maintaining unity among all the bishops throughout African and Numidia. However...
c) On the universal level, the "Chair of Peter" was held by St. Peter's own literal successor, who of course was/is the Bishop of Rome. And the Bishop of Rome was responsible for maintaining unity and orthodoxy throughout the universal Church.
“This is how Cyprian understood "the Chair of Peter."
“And modern Catholics can hold to this same ecclesiology today. When we commonly speak of "the Chair of Peter" in regard to Rome, what we really mean is that Rome holds the ultimate and literal "Chair of Peter." But, in the quote that you read …

Here are the 10 early Church Fathers quotes that Marcus Grodi quoted.

[url]www.chnetwork.org/ecf.html[/url]

melhor traducao dos commentario/more accurate translation of the comment
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It remains inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups established by Mrs Rydén

read more here
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

Continua a nao ser apropriado para Catolicos participarem em grupos de oracao organizados pela Sra Rydén

Para mais informacao leia mais aqui (ingles)
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

It remains inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups established by Mrs Rydén

read more here
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

Nao e apropriado para Catolicos participar em actividades religiosas organizadas pela Sra Rydén

Para mais informacao leia mais aqui (ingles)
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

It remains inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups established by Mrs Rydén

read more here
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

Nao e apropriado para Catolicos participar em actividades religiosas organizadas pela Sra Rydén

Para mais informacao leia mais aqui (ingles)
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

It remains inappropriate for Catholics to take part in prayer groups established by Mrs Rydén

read more here
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm

Nao e apropriado para Catolicos participarem actividades religiosas organizadas pela Sra Rydén

Para mais informacao leia mais aqui (escrita em ingles)
www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm