Answers To Prayer

What do you think is the definition of prayer?  Is it when one of God's children approaches the throne of grace and asks for something that they need?  Perhaps it is not that, perhaps it is when we simply immerse ourselves in God and tell Him how much we love him?  Is prayer when you pray for a friend undergoing surgery that he is returned to health?  Prayer is all of these things and more.  Mother Angelica said something once that I have always remembered. She says, and I am paraphrasing here that prayer, no matter what kind of prayer is asking God if He loves us and his answer to our prayers is always; "Yes, I do."  But what about His answers to prayer? Does God actually take the time to listen to what you (I mean you personally) have to say to Him and then take the time to respond?  The answer to this is yes, God answers all prayers. Every prayer that we send up to heaven is carefully considered in the light of what will be best for us and for our salvation. God wants all of us to be with Him in heaven. If you pray for something and this something will be of value in the goal of getting you into heaven the answer will be "Yes" one hundred percent of the time.  If what you want does not aid in your journey, the answer will be "No." We all like when the answer is yes and we all are mighty disappointed when the answer is no. But there is a third answer to prayer that is probably the hardest one of all and that answer is "wait."  Let's face it we live in an age when the push of a button will get us whatever we want at the moment we want it. The word "wait" has very little meaning in our life and we have the devil of a time dealing with it. But God knows best what will help us and what will hinder us and He answers every prayer with one of those answers. The wait response is sometimes why prayer appears to go unanswered.  We want what we want when we want it.  God wants to give it to us when we are ready to receive it. So trust in God to know what is best for you.  Keep praying, keep asking for sure but remember that God will do for you what it takes for you to make your ultimate goal and that goal is eternal life in happiness with Him in heaven.

During this season of Advent, the nights get longer and darker until the Light of Christ arrives in our lives on Christmas day.  May the light of Christ guide you to Him this day and may the example you give in your life bring your family and friends with you.  

The Convert A Catholic Challenge is still open. There must be some reason why you are not a Catholic, tell me about it, make your best case, who knows, you may "save" me yet!  You can start by making comment below or send an email to michaeljspoula@outlook.com

Thanksgiving - Should God Continue to Bless Us?

Thanksgiving Day is a lot of things to us Americans. It is: 

• A day off from work or school.
• A day of eating, drinking, and making merry. 
• A day to watch parades with large balloons. 
• A day to be sit and watch football games. 
• A day to stuff a turkey and ourselves.

This day should also be a day to think very carefully about the blessings we have received from God, both the blessings we have received in common as a nation (supposedly) under God and for the blessings we have personally received. 

The very fact that the United States has lasted over two hundred years so far shows that God is still blessing us.  Why He continues his benevolence to such wayward children as we are is a mystery to me. We are very disobedient to Him.  America today is not the same America our ancestors could look up to.  In the olden days abortion was recognized as a repugnant evil by not only the Catholic Church but also by most main line denominations.  Today The Catholic Church stands almost alone in opposition to the murder of babies in the womb.  We also have forsaken the seven capital virtues for the seven capital sins.  Our Supreme Court has stepped in and reinvented marriage. No longer is marriage between a man and a women, a sacred covenant instituted by God. No, now it is a question of "equality."  Sadly, this same court has decided that even those of us who are opposed to birth control must furnish it for everyone who wants it in spite of the fact that we consider it sinful.  So I guess one thing we should be thankful for is for the fact that God continues to bless us in spite of our evil ways. 

As far as personal blessings go, I thank God for all of the things he has placed in my life, both the good things and the things that I view as not so good which are there to help make me strong.  I also thank Him for the things He has chosen to withhold from me because His wisdom is supreme in all things. 

The challenge is still open...Convert The Catholic - tell me why I should leave the Catholic Church, make your strongest case. Who knows maybe you will convince me!  

God bless you this day. 

Christ The King - Can I Say it Better than John?

Jesus Christ is The Faithful Witness,
the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the Earth,
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega." says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

On this the last Sunday of the Church Year, I silence my voice, put down my pen, and adore the King of Glory.

A Crusade To End ISIS

Some time ago, when Christians were united in one Church there arose a scourge in the land that called itself Islam.  Islam itself is said to be a religion of peace but through the generations the followers of this religion have spawned many men whose only desire was to plunder, rape, and savage people in the name of their god.  They robbed and killed Christians who were making pilgrimages to the Holy Land.  The Pope called for the faithful to rise up and mount a crusade to protect the pilgrims and to take the Holy Land back from the pagans. 

Today we face a similar gang of ruffians who in the name of God are killing Christians, both Catholic and Protestant.  The soil of the killing fields are being enriched daily by the blood of the martyrs. The cowards have now declared war on unarmed innocent civilians that have done no wrong to them.  Hundreds have been killed in the name of their moon god. 

Like our ancestors, it is time to call for a Crusade to wipe out the cowardly killers.  We must not however resort to violence ourselves. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit waits on his children to call on His Name.  Our crusade must be a prayer crusade and we all must be Knights of the Holy Cross of Prayer.  Our sword is sharp and our enemies are defenseless against the Son of God. 

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we can defeat the Isis and Al Qaeda menace if we use a weapon that is more powerful than the hydrogen bomb, more deadly to them than anthrax spores.  That weapon is the weapon of prayer.  Fall to your knees and pray that God moves his mighty hand against the devilish murderers. Pray that our Christian brothers and sisters are protected from these heathens,  Prayer, fasting, sacrifice, are what is needed.  If we storm heaven with our cries, can our Father ignore them?  God's uses the weak, us, to show His strength.  He waits for our request and He will act and the enemy will be confused and will be routed. 

Join the Great Prayer Crusade against the evil of ISIS! 

The Cornerstone of Faith

In the time of Jesus as you know there were two parties in the Temple, The Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were the conservatives of the temple. They also represented the rich people of the time and had more seats in the Great Sanhedrin than their rivals.   They believed only in the written word of God and disavowed Oral Tradition. They did not believe in the afterlife and said that the soul died when the body died.  They therefore denied that the body would be resurrected on the last day.   Generally the High Priest was taken from this caste.  They were more concerned with politics and not so much with religion.  When the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. they ceased to exist.

The Pharisees on the other hand were more middle class and were more respected by the people.  They believed in both the Word of God and in Oral Tradition, spiritual life, and angels.  They also believed that God did have control of life and had a hand in history.  After the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. they were the first to make peace with the Romans. So we can see that battle lines were drawn even in the ancient times and importantly in the time that Jesus was on earth. 

We Catholics believe in the Bible.  The Bible is revered, taught and loved by Catholics.  If you don't know the Bible it is very hard if not downright impossible to know Jesus. If a person were to attend Mass daily eventually he would hear most of the Bible proclaimed to him over the course of four years.  As a matter of fact there are some denominations that use the same readings as the Catholics do on a weekly basis.  

The "reformers" decided that Scripture Alone should be the basis of Christian life. This sounds like a really good idea.  That the words of Scripture, the inerrant, infallible Word of God should be the guide of the followers of Christ is a great idea.  Unfortunately, it does not work and it never did.  The issue with Sola Scriptura first of all is that it is not taught in the Bible.  Another issue we have is that what about those poor people in the first century church?  The only written scripture was what we call the Old Testament.  The teachings of the Apostles were handed down orally until they were eventually written down.  The next problem we have with Sola Scriptura is that the Bible does not list which books are supposed to be in it and which books are not.  The Church under the inspiration and protection of the Holy Spirit made the decision as to which books belonged in the Bible.  They decided, for example, that the the Gospel of Matthew was inspired and belonged in the Bible while the Gospel of Thomas was not.  

One principle of Sola Scriptura is that the Bible can be interpreted by everyone and they will interpret it truly. Since the 1500's we have seen what fruit this has grown because of Sola Scriptura.  The Christian Church once one as Jesus prayed it to be was torn asunder. Today there are thousands of denominations each believing a separate version of "the truth." 

I thank God that I have the Catholic Church that is able to tell me just what scripture means. I can be one hundred percent sure that the Church's interpretation is true. 

But just what is Sacred Tradition?  Sacred Tradition cannot be confused with mere human tradition.  Sacred Tradition begins with the Bible and all that the Bible teaches. That is kind of ironic, isn't it?  Sacred Tradition is the handing down from one generation to the next the teachings of the Church.  But doesn't the Bible specifically condemn traditions?  Here are some examples of traditions (note lower case "t".) 

-Christmas Tree

- Rosary 

- Priestly Celibacy

- Lighting votive candles 

- Statues

- Stained Glass Windows

Notice that the above are traditions that do not represent doctrine of the Church. Each of the above could be changed.  For example, it is not a requirement of the Church for her members to pray the Rosary. Priestly Celibacy is a discipline of the Church and there is no reason why the Pope, if he wanted to, could not dispense with it.  A Catholic Church is still a Catholic Church no matter if it has votive lights, statues, or stained glass windows.  All of these things are traditional in the human sense. 

Sacred Tradition, on the other hand is Doctrine of the Church. It can be identified because it is the beliefs handed down by the Apostles.  The Bible itself is part of the Sacred Tradition of the Church.  In the first century the teachings of Jesus were carefully passed down from one generation to the next. The Bible as we know it today did not exist, only the books of the Old Testament existed in writing.  So it was not possible for most of the people in the first century to follow Sola Scriptura, as it did not exist. Paul in 1 Cor. 11:2 says "I commend you because you remember me in everything and and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you."

Okay, but lets get into the chapter and verse that Fundamentalists and Evangelicals use to defend their condemnation of the Catholic Church. "So by these traditions of yours you have made God's laws ineffectual.  You hypocrites, it was true prophesy that Isaiah made of you, when he said, "This people does me honor with its lips, but its heart is far from me. Their worship is in vain, for the doctrines they teach are the traditions of men. " (Matthew 15 6-9) 

Jesus was not condemning Sacred Tradition here, but if you take the text in context, he was condemning the tradition of the Pharisees dedicating their possessions to the temple so they could avoid having to use them to support their aging parents, violating the fourth commandment that states we are to honor our mother and father.  (Exodus 20:12)  

Why do we have a Church?  Why did Jesus feel the need to start one?  He knew that his return was going to take some time.  He knew that his Apostles would be called home to heaven.  Sacred Tradition is nothing more or less that the handing down of the teachings of the Apostles by the Church who is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error.  

Finally, if you ask any Protestant what the pillar of faith for a Christian is he will no doubt tell you that it is the Bible.  This is not correct. The Bible itself does not make this claim. As a matter of fact in 1 Timothy 3:15 we learn that the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth.  I just wonder how my Protestant friends can gloss over this declaration.

Remember, I am challenging the Protestant World to convert this cradle Catholic.  Challenge any and all of Catholic beliefs.  Prove to me unequivocally any one piece of Catholic Doctrine wrong and I will convert to the Protestant denomination you recommend. 

May the light of Christ lead you home to His most Sacred Heart where you will find mercy and rest. 

With Great Sorrow but With Hope

The cowardly attacks that took place in Paris fill me with great sadness.  Innocent people were cut down in the prime of life, their contributions to the common welfare cut off from those that remain on this troubled world.  The perpetrators of this atrocity, those that were killed or those that killed themselves have already stood before God and have rendered an explanation for their actions. God has pronounced his sentence which I will not comment upon.  The innocent too have had their moment of judgement, each standing before the judgement seat of God.  I suspect that their interview may have went differently then that of their murderers. 

The world we are living in is sliding towards lawlessness. In America we have allowed the cancer of disobedience to God's law to creep into the fabric of our society.  We murder babies in the womb.  We approve of and have made legal "marriage" between people of the same sex, showcasing our disobedience with parades and presidential speeches.  We have allowed our egos to edge God out of our world. 

Is ISIS a punishment or plague sent by God as a chastisement? No, I don't believe so.  But I do believe that it is a result of the lowering of our morals so as to the lowest common denominator rather than trying to raise our brothers and sisters up. 

The people of Paris have endured the unendurable and have come together as a people united against ISIS and all that it believes. This fills me with hope for the future.  Someday we will realize what we have done.  We will turn back to God and we will once again, after wiping Isis from the face of the earth enjoy the peace that comes with the obedience to the Word of God. 

There will be trouble ahead, ISIS will attack again.  I believe that they are already planning a strike against us here in the United States.  To defeat these blasphemers we need to bring out our greatest weapons.  We must pray that God moves His mighty hand against them.  When we do this, when we turn back to God, He will step in and defeat ISIS.  It is good to remember that no matter what, the victory is already won and that any gains that the ISIS marauders achieve will be temporary. 

Be at peace Paris for the Lord God is on your side. 

Be at peace America for the Lord is waiting for your return. 

Be at peace our world for the victory is already ours. 

   

Trusting In Jesus - His Mercy

My Jesus I Trust In You

We put our faith into many things over the course of our usual day. We trust that the others on the road will in fact obey the red light so we can enjoy using the green light.  We bury our noses and out attention into our smart phones and trust that when the elevator door opens that the elevator will certainly be there.  We trust that the doctor has a diploma and that he or she has prescribed the correct medicine.  We trust that the electrician has wired the house up properly and that we will not get electrocuted the first time we turn on the dishwasher. So you see that we place our faith into many things routinely every hour if every day.

Through Sister Faustina, a Polish nun who spoke to Jesus we are told to trust in the mercy of Jesus. We are being given an extraordinary time to accept the mercy of Jesus as the final sunset draws nearer every second.  Jesus loves you so much and He wants you to be happy with Him in heaven. He died for our sins, His Sacred Heart was pierced because of them. Mercy flows from His Sacred Heart and we need to accept it.  Each of us has to look at how we are living our lives and we have to give up those things that offend God. We have to turn to God now while there is still time to do so.  If we do not repent and accept the mercy of Jesus then we will have to accept His justice when he comes again. 

I myself am a poor sinner.  I do not mean that my sins can compare with some of the most offensive behaviors in the world today.  For example, I have not murdered anyone, I have not counseled any person to seek an abortion, I don't even read the horoscopes, since I believe in Christ and not in some goofy Greek and Roman gods. I have sinned in the past, I have repented in the past, and I have been forgiven in the past because I professed both my sorrow and my firm resolution to mend my ways. I've confessed my sins to my pastor who gave me absolution acting in persona Christi in accordance with Jesus' instructions in John 20:23, "Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you retain, they are retained." 

So, if this is the case, why am I crowing about trusting in Jesus? I believe that all sin, no matter what sin we are speaking about, has its origin in a basic lack of trust in the providence of God.  We set up false god's because we don't trust in Him to give us all of the good things that we need. The best example we find in the Bible is that of Adam and Eve, they had everything they needed.  Yet they did not trust God enough to stay away from what was not allowed. In our world today we touch enough forbidden fruit to make a snazzy fruit salad!  We kill children in the womb in the interest of making our own life easier.  Our families are but a shadow what they were in previous generations.  We do not take care of our children,  we put them in day-care and put their early nurturing into the hands of strangers because we are afraid that the sacrifice of caring for them will cost us too much financially and our lives will be less comfortable than they could be.  We do not honor our father and mother anymore but we send them to nursing homes where strangers care for them on a daily basis and we console ourselves that this was for their own good while it makes our life easier.  In previous generations parents would be cared for and loved in person by their sons and daughters.  We steal, we cheat, we look to take advantage of our neighbors, we envy and allow greed to control our lives.  I think you get the idea here. Each sin we commit or cause to come into being by omitting a good demonstrates a lack of trust in Jesus. 

We have to Trust in Jesus.  We have to repent and flee to Him for He wants us with Him. There is good news here.  THE MERCY OF JESUS IS GREATER BY AN INFINITE FACTOR COMPARED TO OUR SINS!  There is no need for a soul to choose hell over heaven.  Whatever we have done or failed to do we can throw ourselves on the mercy of Jesus and we will be forgiven. Think of some of the most terrible people on history.  Do you realize that in their last moment they may have converted in their heart and begged for forgiveness and thus became eligible to an eternity in heaven?  St. Stalin?  St. bin Laden?  don't laugh, while it is improbable you have to admit that it is possible. 

Every sin on our soul is important, those small white lies, stealing that box of paperclips, walking past the beggar, going to the game rather than to worship all these sins are important and if you don't think that they are, then simply look at a crucifix: 

Do you see the Man on the cross? He died for YOU in reparation for the sins you committed.  He died for perpetrators of the Holocaust, for the people ensnared in ISIS, for the child that disobeys his parents, for the young girl who had an abortion, for the man who stole the paperclips from his employer.  The arms of Jesus were stretched out on the cross for every human that ever lived and for every human that will live after our turn on earth is done.  The Sacred Heart of Jesus in an inexhaustible well of mercy that was and is being poured out on His children.  The nails were not needed because Jesus would have held himself on the Cross because of His great love for us, his children. 

The time to rely on the Divine Mercy is NOW.  If we refuse the Divine Mercy, committing the one sin that cannot be forgiven, the refusal of God's mercy, than be ready for eternal darkness, sorrow and suffering. But, if we accept the Divine Mercy, make a firm commitment to repent, now our sins will be forgiven and we will be shown to our place in Heaven next to others who will love God and be with Him forever. 

Challenge:  Remember my Protestant friends, I am waiting for you to tell me where the Catholic Church is wrong and why I should convert to your denomination.  So far, no one has been brave enough to take on the challenge.  I will take on all comers.  Bring your evidence that the Church is wrong and that Protestantism is the way to go.   I am waiting, ready and willing.   

Wars and Rumors of Wars - A Call to A New Crusade

Once again Islam shows its true nature and over one-hundred innocent people are senselessly murdered in the name of the moon god. I know Pope Francis tells us that Muslims worship the same God as we do. Be advised that his pronouncement on this issue is not an infallible statement so it is okay for a good Catholic boy like me to dispute albeit softly and respectfully this statement. I have no doubt that the vast majority of the followers of the prophet are decent human beings that are horrified at the senseless bloodshed perpetrated in their name in Paris. My criticisms do not target the vast majority, although their silence makes them somewhat less innocent. The average man on the prayer rug should be joining with the rest of the world in acclaiming horror at the bloodletting terror that was unleashed in Paris, Beirut, and I understand that there was a suicide bombing in Turkey yesterday as well. Yet these is nothing but silence from the vast majority of Muslims.  

We in the United States have tasted the cup of jihad because blood has already been spilled in our own land on September Eleventh in New York and at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and at the hand of an unbalanced jihadist officer who shot fellow soldiers.   ISIS has changed the game by sending their foolish and ignorant suicide bombers to cities outside of the sphere of their influence.  I am afraid that here in the United States some misguided follower of the prophet will someday soon release more spores of hate and more Americans will become victims of the moon god. 

Are the jihadists actually the tools of God? Are their presence among us signs that the Apocalypse is upon us? In our readings this week at Mass we hear Jesus speak of the end times.  I think our pastor made a good point in his homily when he said that no matter what happens, no matter what disaster may strike in our lives, God is always with us, Jesus is there to comfort us and Jesus has already won the ultimate victory.  

We CAN defeat radical Islam without a doubt.  Force of arms has its role to play but I believe that we can do more good by mounting a crusade against Islam.  I am not speaking about taking up arms but relying on a powerful weapon that has defeated many of the opponents of God, that is prayer. God only needs to move his hand against ISIS and they will be routed!  I am inviting all Christians, Catholic and Protestant to pray to the Lord our God and begging Him to move His mighty hand and save us from the hands of the followers of the moon god.  

Catholics...Awake!  This is a call to arms.  Arm yourself with the Rosary and pray for peace.  We all know how powerful prayer is and how supremely powerful the Rosary is.  Let us pray.

Your Big Chance - Convert The Catholic to Your Denomination - All apologists welcome!

Okay, here is your big chance - I am inviting Protestants the world over to make their case why this Cradle Catholic should forsake the Church and join your denomination.   Here are the rules: 
Rule One - there are no rules.  

I do ask you to be kind and professional.  Please refrain from using profanity of any sort. Profanity will be cause for your ejection from the game.  If you use a Bible verse, please be good enough to give me chapter and verse.  I will give thoughtful, prayerful, consideration to what you tell me and my responses will be made in the same way. 

My Protestant brothers and sisters, this is your big chance to win a Catholic soul for your denomination - let the games begin. 

God Does Not Accept Visa, MasterCard, or American Express

If you went to Church this weekend, you heard the story of Elijah and the widow who had only a bit of flour and oil. The widow had just enough flour and oil to make her and her son a final meal.  Elijah asks first for a drink of water.  The widow starts to go for it and he says; "Oh yeah, bring me some bread too."  The widow explains her plight but Elijah tells her to do what she had planned to do but first bring make him a little cake. She went and did this and her jar did not go empty nor did she run out of oil. 

In our Gospel reading Jesus watched people giving their gifts to the Temple. Some people drop bags of silver and gold into the treasury but this one old widow drops in a couple of copper coins, worth almost nothing and certainly inconsequential when compared to the other contributions.  But we learn something important about God in these two readings. 

We learn from the first reading that God wants to take care of you and we simply have to have faith and He will do so.  Secondly we see that with God, it is not quantity that counts so much but it is quality. 

A gift given from the heart, given as a true sacrifice, such as the two pennies given by the widow are worth more to God because she gave her all, everything she had but the others gave only from their surplus.  The widow gave of herself and that is what proves her love of God. 

Questions about the Catholic faith?  I am ready to answer them. No question to simple, no question too hard. 

God bless and keep you in the week ahead and may the light of Christ shine through you to all of those you meet along the way. 

The Holy Eucharist - You don't have to wait for the second coming.! ! !

For fifteen hundred years there was no conflict when it came to the Holy Eucharist.  The Church believed that it was the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Some of the "reformers" took issue with this, notably not the prototype heretic Luther who maintained that it was a sacramental union between Jesus and man.  Other reformers such as Calvin and others believed it was only a symbolic memorial.  The Council of Trent at that time confirmed what everyone up until that time believed:

 Christ “instituted this Sacrament, in which He poured forth as it were the riches of divine love towards man” so that the Eucharist would be:

1.       A remembrance, “to venerate His memory” and “show forth His death until He comes to judge the world.”

2.       the “spiritual food of souls, whereby” He feeds and strengthens “those who live with His life.”

3.       An “antidote, whereby we may be freed from daily faults [venial sins] and be preserved from mortal sins.”

4.       a “pledge of our glory to come, and everlasting happiness”

5.       a “symbol of that one body whereof He is the head, and to which He would fain have us as members be united by the closest bond of faith, hope, and charity…   Source: Laura McAlister

The Council of Trent like many councils was a reactionary council called to combat issues that came to because of the rebellion of Luther and the others.  Contrary to what some critics of the Church say the Council of Trent did not invent transubstantiation but rather codified what up until that time had been believed by everyone, everywhere.  I can see why today's Protestants would have trouble with the concepts codified by Trent.  The Council rightly defined the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  This position taken to its logical end proves the Catholic point and thus was bitterly contested by the "reformers."  But for the sake of this blog let us suspend the tenants of the Council of Trent and go to what the "reformers" claim is the only source of Christian Doctrine, the Bible itself.  Let us also restrict ourselves to what the founder of the Catholic Church, Jesus, Himself said about the Eucharist.  (Please supply quotation marks where you think they should go,,,)

While they were at super, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave to his disciples and said; Take and eat. This is My Body, And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them saying: Take and drink this.  For this is My Blood of the New Testament which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins.  (John 26: 26-28)

Amen, Amen, I say to you; Moses gave you not bread form Heaven, but my Father gives you the true Bread from Heaven.  For the Bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.

John 6:32, 33

I Am the Bread of life: He that comes to me shall not hunger and he that believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:35

I Am the Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert and are dead. This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.  I Am the living bread which came down from Heaven.  If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the Bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.

John 6: 48 - 52

Amen, Amen I say unto you: Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you.  He that eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.

John 6: 54-55

For my Flesh is food indeed and my Blood is drink indeed.  He that eats my Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in Him.  As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me, the same shall live by Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Not as your Fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats this Bread, shall live for ever.

John 6:56-59

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him.

John 14:23

From the above we can see that Jesus considered the gift of His Body and Blood essential to salvation. The Doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a hard thing for some people to believe. It was hard for the people in the time of Jesus.  In John chapter 6 verse 60 we read: " After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus does not say that He is only kidding, or what he said before should be taken as a symbol.  When he refuses to compromise or place a spin on what he said, the saddest moment of His life up until that time occurred because the people turned away and John says " After this, many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more."  (John 6: 66) This too is what the "reformers" did.  They rejected the great gift of Jesus and just walked away,

So, there you have it. The Blessed Sacrament is a gift that is misunderstood by some, laughed at by others, seen as a symbol, seen as a rite of passage, seen as something "you do."  The Blessed Sacrament is the union of Jesus and the recipient. You cannot get closer to God in this life than by receiving Him, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity into yourself.  If God can create the world in seven days from nothing, can He not also give us Himself in the form which appears to our senses as being bread and wine?  Does He not have the power and the will to do this?  If you say no then your God is too small.

I welcome questions about the Catholic Faith from anyone.  No question is too simple or hard for me to answer.  You can leave your question as a comment or if you would prefer a private answer you can email me at michaeljspoula@outlook.com   All questions will be responded to. Hate mail will be deleted without being read. I will pray for all.

May the Light of Christ shine brightly in your life today.  God Bless.

You Gotta Be Kidding ! The Titanic Sunk by the Jeusits?

Stop the Presses!  Get ready re-write history!  The Catholic Church, specifically the Jesuits sunk the Titanic on purpose.  Yep, a self appointed watch dog that keeps tabs on crimes committed by the Roman Catholic Church has published a YouTube video that accuses the Jesuits of ordering Captain Smith, a secret Jesuit they say, to sink the Titanic in order to kill three millionaires on board that were against setting up the Federal Reserve Bank!  

This is one of the most ridiculous anti-Catholic things I have ever reviewed. What surprises me is that there are comments from others thanking the author for the video and exposing Catholic treachery.

This brief video shows how far the Catholic hating community will go to justify their hate.  The sad part is that they do not hate the Catholic Church, they hate what they think the Catholic Church is. They would never think to engage in serious scholarship and learn the truth about Church.  It's not like what the Church believes is a secret, the Catechism is available free, online, and it exposes everything you might want to know about the Church.  But if they were to do that, they would have to start giving up some of their prejudices about the Church.

I pray for the people that hate the Church.  The Church is the Bride of Christ and they call her the whore of Babylon. They go through their whole lives never knowing the feeling of being forgiven for their sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  They never get as close to God as they can by taking him in the Eucharist.  Those that hate the Church that Jesus founded are to be be pitied.  

I am here to answer any question you may have about the Catholic Church, what we believe and why we believe it.  You can simply ask your question by leaving a comment.  No question is too hard for me to answer.