Pharisee or Sadducees - Who Were THey?

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,                   
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'

You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

Call no one on earth your father;

you have but one Father in heaven.

Do not be called 'Master';

you have but one master, the Christ.

The greatest among you must be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Today's reading is chock full of the things that make arguing with Protestants so much fun!   But, we've already covered these fun to fight subjects so, I wasn't quite sure how to approach this reading.  We notice that Jesus is coming down hard on the scribes and the Pharisees.  Was being a Pharisee evil in of itself?  Actually, there was a lot of things that they did that were good and worthy of being imitated.  They were pious, devoted to Yahweh and believed both in the afterlife and the resurrection of the dead. They did not get along so well with the Sadducees, the upper class, who made up the cadre of priests.  The Pharisees could spend hours endlessly speculating on the Law and its many interpretations while the Sadducees believed in black letter interpretation of the Torah and I guess would be what we would call today a fundamentalist.  The typical Pharisee was middle class while the Sadducee was born into the upper class. The Pharisee believed in an afterlife, the resurrection of the dead, and distrusted the Jewish leadership. The upper-class Sadducee believed in none of these things.  There was a third class involved in temple worship, these would be the common folks, people like you and I, who looked to these two groups for the proper way to worship Yahweh. 

Jesus was very critical of how the Pharisees acted and points out the things that they do that He does not like.  He mentions, for example,  that they widen their phylacteries, which were small boxes containing the Law that would be worn on the head so that one would always remember to keep the Law.  Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees made theirs larger than normal so that they were more noticeable.  As a matter of fact, He points out that they do everything so that they will be seen and appear to be holy and observant men.  Jesus is against all of these outward displays of religiosity since they do not match what is being carries inside the heart of the man.  The Pharisees were known as master debaters. They would debate the fine points of the Law and come up with regulations that regulated the regulations that they had made up and so made life harder for the people while they themselves would find reasons why such laws and regulations were not meant for them. 

This Lenten season we should make an effort to disguise our acts of penitence and keep them just between God and ourselves.  Yes, fast, but act as if you are filled to the brim with food!   Yes, pray, but pray in secret where no one can see and pour your heart out to God.  He will listen to you!  Be kinder, be more gentle, be ready to serve, all on the "QT."  The Lord will be pleased with your service if you do it for Him and desire nor expect a return favor or any acknowledgment from those you serve. 

Here is something you can do, keep secret, and accomplish a good work (one of the Spiritual Acts of Mercy) that will benefit others.  That is to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  An Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be prayed for them is very helpful and is needed.  There are millions of souls in Purgatory that no one prays for either because, like the Protestants, they do not believe in Purgatory so no prayers are offered for their loved dead or because we believe that members of our family or friends that have passed are already in Heaven.  Oh, I wish with all my heart that this is so.  But remember it might not be.  Please pray for your relatives and friends by name.  Do not allow your love for them stop at the grave.   Thank You!  

You're Gonna Get It Now!

Jesus said to his disciples:                                                     

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, 
shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."
Luke 6: 36-38

The messages that Jesus gives us should leave us feeling pretty good because they are all about loving one another, being kind, doing good, you know, the behavior that a Christian should be living in their daily life.  Today's message ends with a stark warning that some people may miss because they get all wrapped up in the thought of receiving a gift from God who is most generous.  The warning is there through the whole reading but it is most clearly stated in the last sentence. "For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."   So, how you judge other people, your definition of what makes a person good or bad will be applied to you when you stand before God.  Can you live up to all the expectations you have for other people?  Have you lived your life without ever deviating from the rule you have set for others?  Few, if any of us, could stand such a scrutiny because we often find excuses for ourselves that we do not apply to others. 

So today I suggest we spend a moment or two reconciling our inner and outer selves.  Do we judge others using the same measure as we do ourselves?  Does the color, creed, or economic circumstances of another person affect the way we think about and treat them?  Remember:  The defects you see in others most clearly are the ones you yourself have a tendency to display.  Remeber too that God sees what is in our heart.  Make His job easier by making the inner you the same as the outer you. 

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by St. Gertrude the Great

According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that the following prayer, each time she piously recited it, would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory:

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.”

The Transfiguration

Jesus took Peter, James, and John 

and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them, 

and his clothes became dazzling white, 

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, 

and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 

"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!

Let us make three tents: 

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; 

from the cloud came a voice, 

"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but

Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,

he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,

e xcept when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So they kept the matter to themselves, 

questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Ask any realtor and they will tell you it's all about location, location, location.  Once again, Jesus proves without a doubt that He could have planned things better.  This moment when He was transfigured before the eyes of His three most favorite apostles could have been put to much better use if it had been staged at a better location, for example, perhaps let's say, in the outer courts of the temple.  Had the Transfiguration happened there, well, there would have been no stopping the Jesus Thing from that moment on!  Instead of this, we have Jesus doing this more or less in private and whats more, He tells the three apostles to not say a word about it until "The Son of Man had risen from the dead."  This saying "risen from the dead" also causes no little bit of confusion to the favored three. 

Okay, so if you are not going to transfigure in public, why do this at all. what is the point?  Why transfigure at all?  First of all the location is very important.  Like all of the important moments in the story of salvation, a mountain is involved.  A mountain is where Man goes to meet with God for example as Moses did when God provided the ten commandments or when Jesus went up the mountain to deliver the Beatitudes. God speaks and teaches from the mountaintops so it is fitting that Jesus would reveal His true self to His apostles from this spot. 

In the Book of Malachi, it is prophesized that in the day of the Messiah that the prophet Elijah would return and in this Transfiguration he does return with Moses himself and they speak to Jesus, who is shown as the connection between Heaven and Earth.  To emphasize and legitimize this point the voice of God is heard saying "This is my Beloved Son, listen to Him."  So, the prophecy is fulfilled in the sight of the apostles and they are given the incentive to believe in Jesus because they see His glory revealed to them at the same time they see Jesus speaking to the "who's who" men of the Old Testament.  This is a very important moment because Moses and Elijah represented The Law.  The fact that Jesus speaks to them and they are shown as listening testifies to the fact that the old law is dismissed in favor of the new law that is being taught by Jesus.  To emphasize the point the voice of God is heard instructing us to listen to Jesus. 

So we can look at this moment of wonder as being the time of the legitimizing sign of Jesus.  The story of the Transfiguration is given to us so that we might believe and understand that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the true light of the world.   What amazes me is that at least one of the apostles, Peter, would fail Jesus and deny Him three times in spite of being a witness to the Transfiguration.  Faith, no matter how deep it is carried in our soul, can be a fragile thing, can't it?

A HEARTFELT PLEA...PLEASE READ AND RESPOND

So I know you probably are tired of reading about Purgatory in each of my posts, but, I find compelled to do everything that I can to help promoting prayer for our dead.  Purgatory DOES exist and many, many souls are there RIGHT NOW!  and they are hoping that they are not forgotten by those that they have had to leave behind.  Can you bear the thought that Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Cousin, or a friend might be there waiting for your prayers and are not receiving them?  Pray for them by name today.  

Remember also the millions upon millions of souls that have no one to pray for them, for example, Protestants in Purgatory have no one to pray for them because their belief structure does not include a Purgatory or prayers for the dead.  Disbelief in Purgatory will not make it go away. 

Leave A Name in the Comment Section and I will 

Do the Praying For You ! ! ! 

If you leave the name of someone who may be in Purgatory (just their first name is all I need, God will know who I pray for) in the comment section I will pray a rosary for them today. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim or Jew. I will pray for them all.   Please do not let your love end at the grave.  Your help is needed and longed for.   Thank you!        Michael the Lesser.. 

Love Your Enemies ?

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  MATTHEW  5: 43-48

There is a reason why Christians are the most persecuted religion on the face of the earth and that is simply because what we publicly proclaim to be one of our most important teachings makes no sense at all.  It is black letter doctrine that we are to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.  No other religion has such a doctrine of loving one's enemies and no doctrine espoused by any other religious leader has caused so much fury to be expended against it by those on the outside looking in.  Now, keep in mind what riles up the persecutors is the theory of the doctrine.  Based on history, they have no worry about it actually taking hold and changing the way day to day life operates.  

At the outset, Christians were persecuted by the Romans who saw them not as a religion but as an anti-religion.  In Rome, it was traditional to at least pay lip-service to gods of the age.  One would offer a pinch of incense here and there, purchase meat that had been offered to one of the gods and generally behave as Romans would in Rome.  Christians would refuse to do these things and they were seen to be enemies of the gods and as such, the cause for whatever that was wrong which was afflicting the masses.  The biggest thing in recorded history was Nero's burning of Rome which he blamed on those damned Christians and so he had them gathered up and made to provide entertainment for the crowds.  Bread and circuses kept the Roman people happy and Nero was glad to provide them at the expense of the hated Christian cult.  This was one time in history when we actually followed the advice of our Lord and Savior.  The blood of the martyrs watered the seeds of the Church and she grew in spite of the risk to life and limb. 

We move ahead to the sixteenth century, a critical one for the Church where a fairly regarded ordained monk rightfully protested against certain practices that some renegade clerics were guilty of.  One of the greatest was the sale of indulgences.  An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due because of sins committed.  These indulgences were obtained through the practice of prayer and piety.  Certain clerics decided that since one of the pious practices one could use was the giving of alms to the poor, that they could provide an indulgence for a proper sum of money.  Keep in mind that penance in this period of Church history could be on the rough side.  If you were guilty of some major sin you could petition to be admitted as a penitent for a period of time.  This period of time would pass with you wearing sackcloth, not daring to enter the church, but rather, sitting on the outside and begging people to pray for you.  Depending on the sin, you could be on the outside looking in for years.  An indulgence would lessen the time required for your penitential servitude and could be earned by prayer and fasting and could be bestowed on you by another one of the faithful.  The rich, therefore, gave "alms" and received an indulgence from certain clerics who pocketed the money and therefore was able to remain in the good graces of the Church without all of this messy repenting by using his wealth.  This payment for forgiveness was never official church doctrine and the practice was cleaned up in the time following Luther.

But, Martin Luther still had other grievances against the Church and instead of working inside the Church to correct what was wrong, he took it upon himself to break asunder the unity of the Church and he founded his own church and set himself up as its head.  The Church was patient with its out of step employee and meeting after meeting was taken in order to bring reform and closure.  Unfortunately, it became evident that the differences between The Church of Rome and the monk were too great and Luther had no intention of compromising or accepting any explanation of the Church. The Church, after exhausting all of her wisdom and patience did the only thing she could do, she excommunicated the errant cleric and thus removed the cancerous growth from the Body of Christ.  Luther, for his part, simply renounced his vows and set up his own church.   Once this was done, it provided the precedent that if one disagreed with doctrine, one could simply shed one church and found another with yourself as its head and the one who would interpret doctrine and make the rules, it was very convenient.  This act of division has occurred over thirty-thousand times since it was first practiced by Martin Luther. 

There followed Protestant persecutions of loyal Roman Catholics, Catholic persecutions against Protestants, Protestant persecutions against other Protestants and the whole thing was rather messy and blood was shed on all sides leaving this love your enemy thing in the dust to be trampled upon by Catholics and Protestants alike. Today, there is an armistice in place.  We no longer go from town to town looking for those who are not of our denomination in order to try and burn them at the stake.  But it is just an armistice for the war can be likened to a lava field where a crust has formed.  It gives the appearance of solid ground but underneath their lies a bubbling caldera of molten lava waiting to burn through the crust and cause bloodshed once again.  We can see symptoms of anti-Catholic bigotry through the poison pen of Jack Chick and other anti-Catholic presses.  On the Catholic side, I am not familiar with any campaign to rekindle the fires of oppression but they may be out there.  But my point is that instead of spreading love and unity, the history of Christians is awash in an acid sea of animosity and discord. 

But we are all, Protestant and Catholic alike still being persecuted for the radical sayings of Jesus Christ the Son of God even though we do not effectively seem to put His teachings into practice, even among ourselves.  Our enemies know that they will suffer defeat after defeat if we were to start following what our Lord has asked us to do.  But it is a hard saying.   In the days following 9/11 how many prayers were raised by Christians for Osama bin Laden?  I know I never prayed for him and I would wager that you did not either. "Pray for those that persecute you."  When will we start to believe in the Good News?

Not every person who dies goes directly to heaven.  We wish that Mom or Dad or Grampa or our good friend, our wife or husband who have passed away are in heaven, but what if they are not?  Our love for them pulls us in the direction that leads them to heaven and I hope we are right.  But do not leave your love for them at the lip of the grave.  Purgatory is a real place.  The Poor Souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves, pray for them by name today.  They need our help - show them that you still love them and that you still care

Upon This Rock

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply, 
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

For the Church, Christ made no more important pronouncement than the one that He makes here.  On this day the Church celebrates the Chair of St. Peter.  Are we celebrating the purchase of some new furniture?  Of course not!  Today we are celebrating the establishment of Peter as the first leader of the Church that Jesus founded on earth.  But, we actually celebrate much more than that.

First of all, Jesus came to establish not a republic on earth but a kingdom. By definition, a kingdom must have a king.  Jesus, as the Son of God, fills this unique role as no one other could, so He is the king.  Now, a king needs help administering his kingdom so he appoints ministers. The twelve apostles fit this role perfectly so each of them is a minister.  The king also may be absent for a while in which case there needs to be someone in charge of the kingdom, a sort of super-minister or as we would call him a prime minister. The prime minister has the power and authority to undo the decisions of the other ministers and to act for the king in the king’s absence. The other ministers cannot question or undo that which the prime minister has done. This means that the interests of the absent king are being looked after by one of his loyal servants.   As a sign of his authority, the prime minister is given the keys to the kingdom.  He can unlock every door, or lock them and none but the king himself can overrule him.  So, Peter has been appointed by Jesus to be the head of the Church on earth.  We can see that all of the other apostles understood the role of Peter because as problems arose, discussions took place but when Peter spoke the discussions ended and what Peter said was carried into action. 

Jesus appoints Peter and says that upon this Rock, that is Peter, He will build His Church.  There are two things worthy of note in this statement. First, Peter is called rock, which is a solid foundation.  Second, Christ calls it His Church, so while Peter will be the prime minister, Christ Himself will be the founder and the owner of it.  Jesus then gives the guarantee by which the Church is protected from spreading heresy when He stated that the gates of hell will not prevail against her. He then gives the keys to the kingdom not to all twelve apostles, but to Peter.  I wonder what Peter made of all of this.  His life once he met and started to follow Jesus had changed radically.  At one point he was a simple fisherman with a home, a wife, nets, and all that he needed to catch fish.  Then this Jesus comes around and his life is turned around and it takes turns that he had never expected.

Oh, there was to be a learning curve for the newly appointed chief of the apostles as there would be for all of the men Jesus chose. Here, therefore is the beginning of the Church that we know today.  The Catholic Church is the only Church founded by Jesus. It is the only Church that has the whole truth and the only one that teaches with the authority of Jesus.  It is the only Church that can trace its origin to the time of  Jesus and the apostles. While other denominations have some of the truth, only the Catholic Church has been entrusted with the keys to the kingdom and has the entire truth of the Gospel.

Purgatory is a real place and new souls arrive there every second of every day. Blessed are those that have friends and relatives that pray and offer sacrifices for them so that their time in this place is shortened.  Millions of souls have no one to pray for them either because they are thought to already be in heaven or during their lives Protestantism was their religion and Purgatory was thought as a Catholic invention.  Catholic man, Catholic Woman, please pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  Pray for your friends and relatives so as not to let love stop at the graveside and pray for the millions of souls of the Protestant tradition that have no one to pray for them. 

Time to Move Out Of Nineveh!

"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed," when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

Well, the Church seems to be getting into rerun season.  We had the story of Nineveh not too long ago.  Jonah, you know the guy who spent some quality time inside a whale, was not thrilled with the assignment to go and save Nineveh. God took the time and trouble to show him the error of his ways. And Jonah reluctantly preached the message of repentance that God wanted him to preach.  The citizens of that great city, remember, it took three days to walk through the place, took both Jonah and God at their word and proclaimed a fast and spent their time repenting of the evil that was causing the displeasure of God.

We all are marked in this life for a mission.  It is a mission that only we can do, no other out of the billions of people who have ever lived have had this mission, because it was designed by God to further His kingdom in ways that only our unique talents could do.  This mission may appear to be something simple, but we know not the effects of our work.  Imagine a rock thrown into a lake.  In the scheme of things not so consequential.  But from the center of where that rock hit, every molecule of water is affected and affects the one next to it and so on. So, our mission may not be a huge undertaking like that of Mother Angelica who built a Catholic Broadcasting empire, As a matter of fact, it might be something so small as giving a cup of water to a stranger who, touched by your generosity goes on to do great things. We never know what our smallest of actions can mean in this world of ours but we have to trust that God does. 

Please remember to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory.

This is How We Should Pray

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Matt 6: 7-15

Jesus knew that man liked to believe he was 

in control and that he could manipulate God if he said the right words.  The pagans would spend hours babbling at their gods hoping that the sheer volume of words would convince Mars or Neptune or whatever god they were trying to influence with their hope being that they would impress the gods and they would get what they wanted. 

What does Jesus tell us?  He tell us, he says that we should cut down on the number of words we say, and pray in this fashion.  We begin by praising God, then we tell Him that we surrender our will to His and that His will should be done.  We ask for our daily bread, for our bodies and our souls and he tells us to ask God to forgive us in the same measure as we have forgiven others the wrongs that they have done to us. Jesus was quite aware of how things worked in this world.  A man would say something to another man who would take exception to what was said who would say something back and the incident would escalate until fisticuffs would erupt, and this was just his apostles, the rest of the world was even crazier!  What He tells us is that forgiveness should be our watchword and we should forgive others because God the Father, whose dignity we offend when we sin, has forgiven us what we have done to him.  

Me:  Lord, how can I forgive you didn't hear what she said to me! 

Jesus:  I heard the taunts of the crowd and the words of Pilate and I forgave. 

Me: But lord, what he did hurt so much. 

Jesus: I have the scars that the soldier left on my back as he whipped me.  I forgave. 

Me:  Lord, if I forgive, I will be the laughing stock of the neighborhood, people will consider me a fool. 

Jesus:  I wore a purple rag and a crown of thorns and the spittle of the soldiers and  I forgave. 

Me: My Jesus, I will have to carry this burdon throughout my whole life.   

Jesus:  I carried the cross, I fell, I was kicked, I was beaten, I rose up and continued my journey.  I forgave. 

Me:  But they hurt me so deeply, I just cannot tell you how it hurts.

Jesus: See my hands, feet, and side? The pain was horrible.  I forgave. 

Me: But Lord, I died of embarrassment. 

Jesus: As I died, I forgave. 

Me: Okay Lord, I will forgive those who have trespassed against me. 

Jesus: This day you shall be with Me in Paradise.  

Faith AND Works - Sharing Is Not Optional

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him. 
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you? 
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,

'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left,

'Depart from me, you accursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'

Then they will answer and say,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty

or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,

and not minister to your needs?'

He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

And these will go off to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life

Matt 25: 31 -46

Faith alone?  I think not.  It is entirely possible that Martin Luther had some novel interpretation of Matthew 25 31-46 that helped bolster his statement that we are saved by faith alone.  I just do not see how he could come to that conclusion when Jesus says that you have to not only acknowledge Him as your personal Lord and Savior, but you have to follow Him and do what He would do and that is to spread love and charity wherever we went.  To believe in Jesus is the first step and is absolutely required but to believe and not do is not acceptable for the serious Christian. 

But let's not argue about this point anymore.  Let us taken as read that if we do not do as Christ did that He will not know us on the day of His return.  Lent is the season when we should be more willing to share and to give more than we receive because when we give from our hearts we give not to another human being but to Christ Himself.  So, have faith in Jesus and show that faith this very day by carrying your cross with dignity and pride and sharing what little you might have with those that have even less and do it in the name of the Lord. 

Remember our blessed dead in Purgatory, using your time to pray for then is a great act of charity that will be remembered by them for all eternity. 

."

Running On Empty

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

I remember once a buddy and I were on our way somewhere and as it happens sometimes the vehicle we were in showed that it needed for us to add some fuel if we expected to make it to our destination.  We were in the middle of nowhere, cornfields on one side of the road and soybeans on the other side. We pulled our car into something called Far, Co-Op Gas and we filled our tank and got back on the road among the cornfields and soybean fields.  It wasn't but a few mile down the road that the car suddenly began to lose power. My buddy had to keep his foot all the way to the floor to keep the engine going.  The gas gauge which had been all the way over on the full side was marching rapidly back to the empty side.  He kept the pedal to the metal and the car roared with displeasure.  It finally sputtered and died just as we pulled up to a name brand gas station pump.  It appeared that we had pumped the dregs of gasoline out the co-op tank which besides a bit of gasoline, contained a whole bunch of water

So, man does not live by bread alone but by the Word of God.  We Cattholics must be careful where it is we get our Word of God.  The Word we study should be approved by the Church so that we are sure that the Bible we are reading contains footnotes that go along with Catholic Doctrine.  We have many things in common with our Protestant brothers and sisters and a lot with even the most vocal of the fundementalists but not everything that we believe matches what they believe and some of the differences are striking.  The footnotes in the Bibles of both Catholics and Protestants are made from the particular view of the denomination(s) that publish them.  So make sure when you are studying that you are using Catholic resources so you don't get off the path the Church wasnts us to be on.  Always make sure that books that are discussing doctrine have the  "Nihl Obstat" which means that the work has been reviewed and that it contains nothing that would be against faith or morals as the Catholic Church defines them.  Caution, you must still use your good sense because the Nihil Obstat does NOT mean thata everything that you read is true.  Very often the author is giving his thoughts on a matter which may differ from Church teaching, but still may fall into the range of that you can believe.  A Catholic Bible with the Hihil Obstat can be trusted implicitly and you should reada and form your conscience using bothe a Bible with this mark and you should be guided by footnotes which have beeen checked. 

The Imprimatur is recognition by the Church that indeed the work is free of moral and doctinal errors and literally means "Let it be printed."  No theological work used to instruct the faithful can be used unless it has athe Nihl Obstat and Imprimatur of the Church.  Consider it a guarantee of authenticity.