Lent - Day Six - Sheep and Goats

Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46 ©

I was naked and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

  ‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”

  ‘Next, he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”

  ‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.

I awoke on Sunday after a night where my bed had a tendency to spin merrily as I lay upon it as the vino projected its effects and wound me up for the morning's hangover.  The coffee pot was my savior that morning.  Everyone was around the fire which was burning low and the Master was enjoying a breakfast of figs and grapes. I sat down after claiming coffee and a hunk of bread, this was the most that my body would be able to accept.  A wise man once said, "The man drinks the first wineskin and the second, but the third, the wineskin drinks the man."   I felt that I was living proof of that wisdom. 

A man wandered into our camp.  He was dirty and disheveled and it was apparent that bathing was not his habit.  His eyes held the look of madness and I could not imagine how he had come here in this oasis in the middle of the desert.   I felt a tug at my heartstring for the man who was looking longingly at the great amount of food that was on display. My companions took no notice of the man, it is as if he were invisible to them.  They kept their eyes on the Master and tended to His every want.  I noticed that the man hand no sandals and his tunic was worn to a frazzle.  No one in the camp paid him any attention.   I got up and went to my collection of belongings.  I took out a pair of new sandals, a tunic, one of my best, and I approached the stranger and presented them to him and asked him to please accept them as a gift  He looked at me and tears formed in his eyes.  He said that this was the first kindness he had experienced in a long, long time.  I took his hand and set him in my place and gave him some of the dates and figs, and bread along with a large cup of water which had just been drawn from the well and was ice cold and he ate and drank and I was pleased to see him become more human as the food gave him energy and new clothing gave him dignity.  I bent down to ask if I could get him more food or drink and when he turned and looked at me,  I saw that it was the Master's face. 

Lord I Am Not Worthy...

When Jesus entered Capernaum,

a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."  He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply,

"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

For I too am a man subject to authority,

with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."

If you wanted to describe the passage from Matthew in one word, I would say that the word you could use would be "remarkable."  Here we have an official of the Roman Army approaching a Hebrew street preacher to ask for help in curing his servant from some sort of paralysis.  We can assume that the Centurion had already exhausted remedies suggested by Roman medical authorities who were very often nothing more than slaves with a little bit of knowledge on how to stop bleeding and not much more than that. Unsatisfied that his servant did not attain any relief from the Roman medical community, he decided to reach out to the locals who seem to have better medical care than the occupiers of the country.  The Jewish people were healthier than most people of the era and had such modern things as toothbrushes and toothpaste made out of grit and a bit of honey.  Even so, the Centurion did not approach a medical professional but rather Jesus.  This is interesting because a Centurion was an important official in the Roman army.  He was generally a professional soldier with several tours of duty under his belt. At various times in history the number of soldiers he was in charge of ranged from thirty to one-hundred.  At this time, the Centurion in the Roman Army was in charge of one-hundred Legionnaires.  The Centurion reported to the Tribune and was in charge of and infamous for brutal disciplines meated out to those who needed it under his command.  He was expected to be a leader and one that could rally the troops when things were not going Rome's way in battle.  He must always appear resolute and he could count on being executed if he showed any cowardice when engaging the enemy.  Most of those with this rank would retire as Centurions but advancement was possible.  He could be promoted to the emperor's bodyguard and even be promoted to various civil offices including the Roman Senate.   So it was remarkable that this man would seek out a Hebrew to solve a medical problem. It shows that Jesus was known, even to the Romans, who took little notice of the religion of Israel except where it affected the power of the emperor. 

Jesus for His part, takes pity on the sick person, even though the servant was obviously not a Jew and was ready to set off with the Centurion to effect a cure.  The Centurion would have none of it.  He told Jesus that he was not worthy to expect Jesus to come under his roof.  He explained that as a person with authority he knew how to get things done.  He would tell one soldier to go and he would go and another to come here and that soldier would come running to see what was needed.   He knew enough about Jesus to know that Jesus was a man with authority and if he commanded the sickness to be gone, it would be gone.  Jesus was struck by this pagan's faith in the authority of the Christ.  He cured the servant, the Centurion went about his business and Jesus remarked that faith such as what was displayed by the Roman soldier could not be found in all of Israel and Jesus prophesied that non-Jews coming from the East and the West will sit and dine with Abraham, Isaac, and  Jacob and that salvation would be for all that could accept it, not just the Jews. 

We say the words of the Centurion every time we go to mass.  We are called to express our confidence in the ability of Jesus to do what Jesus said He would do.  Then we take the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ inside of us.  No closer union is possible for us outside of being in heaven.  How many of us walk up to communion and receive it without really realizing what it is we are receiving?  Do we understand that Christ is inside of us as He is with all of the other people that have received?  Do we receive and then return to our place and take out the bulletin and catch up on parish news or do we open our minds and souls and speak to the God who is within us and who has given us this great gift?  Do we thank Him for all of the good things He has given to us in our life or do we look at our wristwatch and wonder if we will have eggs or pancakes when we go to breakfast after mass?  The Centurion was sure that Jesus could command nature and had the power to cure and he was a pagan.  We, on the other hand, have been brought up with this gift from a God who loves us and I fear some of us do not take it as seriously as we ought.  Next time you go to communion, communicate with Jesus, He IS present within you in a special way. Don't let Him come and go unrecognized.  

Please pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. They are souls full of joy and yet they suffer for they long to see God.  Pray for them and they will remember you in your time of need.  Remember, as they are, one day you may be. 

Jesus 102 - THe Gospel of John

For many Christians, this beloved passage from John is where they get their first taste of Christianity.  John the Apostle was the last of the apostles to be called home to heaven.  His Gospel is different than that of the other three evangelists. I believe that his Gospel is Jesus 102.  By this, I mean that the Book of John has to be read after you have a familiarity with the Synoptic Gospels. I do not mean that it does not stand on its own, it does.  I mean that its lessons are better understood after reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke and becoming conversant in the story of Jesus.  For example, you would not tell a new Christian to begin his journey with Christ by reading Revelation, would you? The symbolism would be beyond what they could understand. 

A reader could spend the rest of his or her life studying the Gospel of John and daily come up with fresh ideas to inspire their life.  The one chapter that gets the least amount of attention is John Chapter Six.  Protestant preachers just do not know what to make of this chapter that discusses in great detail Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. 

I've never understood why people who read Genisis and claim that the world was created in six days because it says so, do not believe that Jesus meant what He said about eating his Body and drinking His Blood.  Reading John 6 leaves no doubt as what the intent of Jesus was at the Last Supper when he took bread into His sacred hands and He blessed it and broke it and gave it to His disciples saying, "This is my Body."  He then took the cup filled with wine and passed it to them saying "This is my Blood."  He then said, "Do this in memory of me."  The word "this" refers to the action Jesus had just completed, changing the ordinary bread and wine into His Body and Blood.  The apostles were to do this over and over again. This was to be how Jesus would remain with His people through all generations until He returned at the end of time. 

It is in the Body and Blood that God demonstration how much He really loved his errant children on earth.  Not only would His Son take upon himself all of the sins of the world, but He would make Himself available to all of His people in the Eucharist.  To take the Eucharist is to absorb the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus into your body. In a most intimate way, Jesus is physically present in you!  It is difficult to understand why Jesus would choose to do this except that He loves us without end and it is his fondest desire to do this for us. 

May Jesus be adored, praised, and loved, in all of the tabernacles in the whole world and especially when He is with me as I receive him in the Bread and Wine at the table of the Lord.  Amen.  

It's good to be a Catholic! 

Please Explain Yourself !

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

Always be ready to give an explanation

to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,

but do it with gentleness and reverence,

keeping your conscience clear,

so that, when you are maligned,

those who defame your good conduct in Christ

may themselves be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good,

if that be the will of God than for doing evil.

Yesterday, I wrote about the world and how if the Church is doing a good job the world will hate us. Today, we are asked to always be ready to explain why we are a Christian.  We are told to do so gently and reverently.  So, what do you say if someone asks you why you are a Catholic Christian?   How do you respond? 

First, how would someone determine if you were a Christian? Could they tell just by looking at you?  Could they tell by a close examination of your conduct that you were different than someone who does not profess to be a friend of Jesus?  If we go back to our roots in the first century we can see that Christians of that era were known because they loved each other so much. Do we exude the aura of love in what we do and say?  Or, are we just another regular Joe (or Jane) that works nine to five and collects a paycheck to pay the bills and maybe, just maybe, have a little bit of transient joy by engaging in the things of this world.  If we could not be convicted in a court of law of being a Catholic Christian than it is unlikely anyone would bother asking why we seem different because we aren't.  If we practice our religion on Sunday and that carefully pack it away for the rest of the week, then it makes no difference in our lives.  We in effect become an undercover Catholic.  We keep our pious lives safe and secure and  no one is the wiser. 

But, if you get asked, what do you respond?  Do you break out your Bible and thump it and scream that they had better accept Jesus as their savior or suffer the pains of hell forever more?  There is nothing like going for the jugular vein.  The direct approach wastes no one's time and unfortunately discourages the person because the yelling and screaming gets lost in the noise generated by the world itself.  There will be nodding and agreement and once you walk self-righteously away, everything you have said will be filed away in the same place that the person files the information attained in late night infomercials.  

It is important to have a reason for your belief that is both honest and true.  And this reason should be self-evident in the way you conduct yourself and your words should simply confirm that what you have shown them on the outside is matched by what comes from inside. What could the reason be?  Can you put it into words?  I think our hope comes from the fact that in the Church we are united by one Bread and one Body.  I think that we are united in a spirit of love and honest and responsible conduct and gentle treatment of all we meet. We are that way because we know and believe that we are special.  We are not just ordinary Joes or Janes.  We are adopted children of the Father who loves us with a love that is impossible for us to fully understand.  It is this love, that we have in our hearts that we just have to share with those around us.  This sharing of love, this kindness in a world where a smile might be met with a fist, is what we have that the world does not have and what it longs for. 

Words can be powerful things.  Writers are skilled at arranging words to make a point.  Orators are skilled at swaying emotions through the use of vocabulary, inflection, and gesture.  But what if you are a person who cannot write and you are too shy to stand before a group of people and to try to sway them with pearls of wisdom dropping from your vocal chords?  It is very simple.  You live your life giving love and patience to all, accepting the good and the bad with equal joy and people will notice that there is something different about you.  This will attract them to you and eventually they will see that you are you because of Christ within you.  Our Church is not built on great orators or writers, both of which are needed. Our Church is built by those that use their life to make a difference to each person that they meet. 

Finally, do not be too concerned if your good attitude and mode of living brings to you rejection.  It will come.  Do not be concerned if you are the victim of persecution for that goes hand in hand with being a Christian from the beginning.  Your hope and your strength are not centered in this world, they are centered in heaven.  Your victory has already been won and that is why you can hope while the world dwells in hopelessness.  Let the brightness of your soul shine forth with the radiance of a thousand billion suns and let the world come and see why you shine so brightly.

Lent Day 5 - Carrying A Heavy Load

"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."

You cannot say that we were not warned.  How many people are there on this earth that are carrying a heavy load of hatred on their backs? The saddest part of being burdened with hate is simply it is a burden that no one will help you carry.  It is yours, and yours alone to trudge around with. It affects your health, it affects your mental health, it does no one any good but you still carry it. 

Read the scripture passage again. Read it slowly, let it sink into your very soul. Forgiving someone is not just a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. Let me tell you about something that happened to me.  This is a true story.

My mother worked for a doctor. As part of her employee benefits, she was to receive free medical care.  One day she showed a growth on her shoulder to the doctor. The doctor though nothing of it and gave her some ointment to put on it.  after four months of this "treatment" it was no better.  My mother visited with another doctor friend and showed him the growth.  He immediately put her into the hospital where the cancer was removed.  She received treatments and scans showed that she appeared to be cancer free.  Them, about six months later the scans revealed the cancer was back in the form of a very aggressive form of lung cancer. Mom was scheduled for surgery and her children were there and she was sent off to the operating room knowing that she was loved.  The surgeon did the best he could and the surgery bought Mom about a year he said.  Four days later my mother lapsed into a coma, she had given up.  She died with her children around her. At the funeral I noticed two women sitting alone and I went up to them and thanked them for coming.  My sister came up to me afterwards and told me that one of the ladies, she pointed out which one, was the doctor that cared so very little that she could not be bothered to properly treat my mother.  At that moment my heart filled with hate for this so-called doctor.  We buried my mother and I went into depression.  I did not recognize it as depression.  I lost interest in things.  I was a great reader and kept reading the same books over and over. I quit taking care of the little things in life and felt sad all of the time.  Had that doctor come before me during this time, I think that I would have been capable of killing her and believing that I had done the world a favor.  The hate had possession of my soul.  Going to work every day I passed a Catholic Church.  It was my habit to make the sign of the cross when I passed a church because I knew that inside those walls was the Holy Eucharist, the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  One day i had followed my custom when I heard a voice inside me telling me to forgive that doctor.  I broke, then and there, with tears in my eyes I forgave that doctor.  At that very moment, the cloud I was living under disbursed, the depression left me and I was able to take up life again.  There was one lasting effect that I carry with me to this very day.  I cannot hate anymore. I have forgiven the woman that killed my mother. What more could you do to me that would be worse? 

I think that the important part of this story is that forgiving did much more for me than it did for the person I forgave.  It gave me my life back.  Besides, the person who was the object of my hate did not even know it. So, forgiveness will bring much more to you.  It will bring peace to your soul.  Mind you, I would not invite this woman to lunch, but I also would wish her no harm and I prayed that God would bless her.  Was this hard to do?  Well, it took me six months of misery and pain to do it, so it was not the easiest thing I have ever done. But the peace it brought to me was a gift from God

Do not forget that for a Christian, forgiving is not optional, it is required.  We cannot enter heaven with hate on our soul.  Heaven is a place of great joy and happiness and discord is not allowed there.  Imagine if I met this doctor in heaven and still had hate in my heart for her.  Hate cannot exist in heaven for God is Love.

Change The Mass - An Ex Catholic with a Bad Idea and Lets Play Spin the Bottle Spin The Priest

Proposal By A Fallen Away Catholic

This week I skimmed over an article written by a young lady that styles herself as a former Catholic which in the olden days we would have called "fallen away."  She decided to take it upon herself to recommend to Pope Francis that the Catholic Church remove from the Mass the words of the Roman soldier, "Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, only say the word and my soul shall be healed."  Like many fallen away, excuse me, former Catholics she has suddenly become an expert on the Bible, sacraments, and the liturgy.  In her treatise she says that Jesus died for all and His death made us worthy so we should not say these words as they are not true and an affront to our humanity.  As many former Catholics, she has become blind to the beauty of the moment of when those words are said in the Mass.  She obviously does not or perhaps she chooses not to remember that this prayer is said as part of the communion rite, right before we receive.  She obviously has no respect for the Eucharist. I am sure that in her denomination any remaining grape juice and saltines are simply disposed of along with the stale cupcakes and used Styrofoam coffee cups used in the fellowship after their preacher finishes his sermon.  She should remember that in the Catholic Church the Eucharist is the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ who enters into us in the form of transubstaniated bread and wine.  The words of the soldier are very apt for each one of us. Because while it is true that we are saved by the Cross of Jesus, each one of us falls short, misses the mark, in some ways.  So the words confess that we are but a shack of a temple with a leaky roof and mud floors and in faith it shouts that when Jesus enters us in this most intimate way we become greater than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome because Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, the Triumphant Jesus, the Very Word of the Father  is physically within us.  This makes me just a bit on the humble side, as it should. 

SPIN THE PRIEST AROUND?

Since the reforms of Vatican II the priest has lead us in prayer by facing the congregation.  Prior to this the presider would face the altar with his back to the people.  First of all, let me say that whatever way the priest faces makes no difference to me.  But, if I had my choice, if the Church left it up to me, I would keep the priest facing the people, sharing prayer and better able to communicate with the people.  Some conservatives want to go back to the old way.  This week the Pope said that while it is permissible to face the altar instead of the people, it is not mandatory that the priest do so.  With Christians being slaughtered in the Middle East I think we should have more to worry about than this.  I will take what comes.  I have to confess that I was a bit put out when Pope Benedict vetoed using the name of God, "Yahweh" in our worship because I love the song "You Are Near" and really got into it when it came up as part of the music selected for worship, I put this in its place and realized that in the long run, this was something that does not matter.  I classify the position of the priest in the same way.  I would not be pleased if I started to have to watch the priest from behind, but I certainly would not stop going to Mass or give up the Catholic Church because of it.   What I say now, I say with all due respect to the Pope and to the Magistarium, but sometimes I think that breathing that holy rarefied air that seems to fill presidential offices, board rooms, and executive meeting chambers the world over sometimes makes those who inhale it lose sight of the little people below them that do not really care one way or the other.  So let's play spin the priest if we must but my fellow little people, let us not get caught up in a minor change in ritual that only makes a real difference to the Pope, the Cardinals, and the Bishops who make their living in and through the Church. Now, changing the words of songs to make them "inclusive," well, don't get me started on that...........

Walking The Road to Emmaus

The two men  were walking to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  Along the way they were talking about what had happened, how very disappointed  and sad they were that Jesus had been put to death. they were sure that Jesus was Messiah, the one that they had been waiting for to save Israel from the oppressive grip of the Romans. He had performed signs and wonders that were completely beyond explaining. It appeared that he had the hand of God upon him. Yet the chief priest and the temple staff delivered him over to the Romans and they had scourged, mocked, and finally crucified him.  They thought and talked and walked and were no closer to a satisfactory answer when suddenly a stranger joined them and he asked them what they were talking about as they journeyed.  They looked at the stranger in surprise and asked him if he was the only one in the area that did not know what had happened these last three days. Of course it was Jesus that they were speaking to but they were prevented from recognizing him.  He began to walk with them and as they walked he revealed to them the whole story and every verse in the Bible that referred to Him.  The men were pleased that they had struck up a conversation with this stranger.  They had now arrived at their destination.  The stranger made as if he were going to continue the journey. But they invited him in because it was getting late and they wished to offer him hospitality.  They reclined at table and the bread was broken and their eyes were opened. They had been speaking to Jesus!  Jesus handed them bread and He disappeared from their sight. 

The two looked in their hands and realized what had happened. Jesus had disappeared from their sight because He was still there, in the bread and wine consecrated by Jesus Himself.  They trembled as they ate His Body and drank His Blood. 

We too often walk the road to Emmaus.  We do not always understand where the road we are on will take us.  We have to tread with confidence because it is the road Jesus has put us on and in the end it will lead to Him.  We must keep our eyes on our destination, even if right now we are unclear as to where the road will lead us.  We must sustain ourselves on the journey by feeding on the Word of God by reading His story in the Bible and by frequently receiving Him in the Eucharist.  

The wonderful thing about the road we are on is that if we approach it with faith the destination will be an eternity with Jesus in heaven. 

God bless you on this Divine Mercy Sunday, 

Infinity

When I was a boy you could be sure of a couple of things in life. First you could be sure that on a summer day you would find all of the neighborhood boys playing baseball in Winslow's vacant lot.  The other sure bet would be that when the show Ben Casey came on you would find my mother glued to the TV set.  Mom did not watch much TV but she had her favorite shows and Ben Casey was one of them.  If you've watched the You Tube video that is attached you know how it started.  A voice while drawing symbols is heard saying "Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity."  

Today we are going to talk a little bit about the concept of infinity. Numbers are said to be infinite but that just means for any number you can think of you can add one to it and have a larger number. This concept is useful for mathematicians.  In photography you can set your camera to infinity. That does not mean you can actually see into infinity, no, it just means that you are using the lens at its highest capability. Time is said to be infinite, but that is simply the number concept dressed up in a new suit of clothes. By its very nature time had a beginning and it will have an end.  I want to talk about infinity as it applies to us and as it applies to God, our heavenly Father. 

For us humans infinity began at conception when God breathed  life into us and created us in material form, the body, and us in our true form, the soul.  Our material form, our body is very finite indeed. When you compare the time our human form exists against the thousands of millenniums before we existed and the thousands of millenniums yet to come, our existence is but a dot on the timeline.  When we die it will be the material part of us that will stop working and decay back into the dust that it was formed of.  Our soul on the other hand will continue to live.  We will know who we are and where we have come from.  We will be completely aware and we will remember every detail of our life. It will then become time for the judgement.  We will stand before God and Jesus.  If we were friends with Jesus, took up our crosses and followed Him, if we had mercy, if we fed the poor, housed the homeless, visited the sick and the imprisoned, if we endured persecution for the sake of the Kingdom, then Jesus will be our savior. If we did not do any of these things He will be our judge.  The judgement will be rendered as either; "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the kingdom prepare for you by the Father since the beginning of time." Or we may may hear those dreaded words; "Depart from me, I never knew you."  

Either way our souls will be propelled to the eternal destiny that we ourselves worked for during our life. We will either be in heaven as one of the saints or suffering in hell as one of the damned.  (I am leaving purgatory out of this discussion as it is a temporary place where we are purified if necessary.)   We will be in either heaven or hell forever.  This infinite amount of time makes the seventy, eighty, or even one-hundred years we lived on earth very short indeed.  Therefore, I recommend that in this year of mercy we avail ourselves of giant portions of God's mercy keeping in mind just how long infinity (forever) is. 

God is Infinite. God always was and God will always be. Everything about God is infinite, especially His love for the creatures he created in His own image and likeness, the human race. God has infinite powers and has set the universe in motion and has written all of the laws that keep it in motion. God is not held in check by anyone or anything except Himself. He chooses in His infinite wisdom to be incapable of un-love. Every action he takes or has taken or will take, flows from the fountain of His love. Everything that he allows to happen in our life, either good or bad will eventually help us to attain eternal life with Him in heaven. 

God knows each of us by name and loves us and hopes we come to love Him and join Him in heaven.  As powerful as God is, he will never violate our free will. We can choose to be His friend or not by the decisions we make every day.   

God IS infinity. 

The Convert-a-Catholic Challenge is still on.  There are 33,000 or more Christian denominations out there each claiming to have the truth. There must be one brave man or woman able to step forward and "save" this poor cradle Catholic.  Prove to me where the Catholic Church has got it wrong and I will convert to your denomination.  Leave a comment below or click on the link to contact me by email. 

Michael, You gotta join my denomination  (Click Here) 

In this second week of Advent, I pray that Jesus Christ splits the darkness in your life and you come to Him as his friend and brother.

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.

Fun With Jack Chick As We Dunk "The Death Cookie:

warning - you are about to descend into the crazy anti-Catholic world of Jack Chick.
Reader discretion is advised.

Have you ever left mass on a beautiful bright Sunday morning and arriving at you car finding one of those cute little tracts from the poison pen of Mr. Jack Chick?  If you never have had the opportunity to review one of his little comic books you are really missing some of the best anti-Catholic pamphlets ever made.  Jack is totally anti-Catholic and never lets the truth get in his way to put the Church down. His pen is so evil and so radically nasty that even some Protestant book stores refuse to handle his merchandise.  But I degrees.  One of the most poison of his poison tracts is a little beauty with the name "The Death Cookie."  As you can imagine it is his view of the Eucharist.  We are going to go over this piece of ill-informed propaganda almost one panel at a time.  The piece can be found on his website so if you want to read it yourself, please google Jack Chick and you will easily find his website with great ease.   Under the copyright law's fair use provision I can make use of others materials for educational purposes.  All of the illustrations except the header of this post do not belong to me and I make use of them for criticism and educational purposes only. 

The first panel is setting the stage for what follows. A man is wondering how he can control the population. The devil says he knows how to do it.  So far pretty innocuous, it just shows an evil man doing what he does best and the devil assisting him. 

Now we are starting to descend into the world as Jack Chick sees it. We are told that this man is to pray a lot, look mysterious and "burn lots of candles."  This man is to become the pope.  Okay Jack, let's start here. The Pope is not an invention of man. The Church on earth must have a leader.  Jesus knew he was not going to be on earth forever so he appointed a leader. This leader was Peter.  He said to Peter that he was the rock on which Jesus was going to build His church.  So Peter was the first leader and when he died the Church appointed his successor. So it is not the devil that created the Papacy as Jack Chick would have you believe, but it was Jesus.

 Here Jack heaps ridicule on the Eucharist which is the point of this tract.  The Eucharist is the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. It would seem that Jack is not very familiar with the Gospels.  We read about Jesus instituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. He said to His apostles that this bread was His Body, the wine was His Blood. He commanded His apostles to "Do this in memory of me."  The word "this" refers to the action he had just taken.  This was to be the new rite, this was to be how Jesus would remain with us until the end of time.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that we must eat His Body and drink His Blood if we are to have life within us.  The word eat refers to food, in the Greek it literally is translated as "chew" or "gnaw."  But Jack is blissfully unaware of this it appears. 

Now we descend even further into coco land as Jack explains that the Eucharist comes from ancient Egypt where they worshiped the sun and used wafers to worship the sun.  Well, maybe that is what the Egyptians did, I don't care what they did. Jack forgets that the Hebrews celebrated Passover using unleavened bread and wine.  The Eucharist is the new Passover and when Jesus said from the Cross, "It is finished!" He was stating that the Passover that began at the Last Supper had now ended on Calvary.  Jesus had drank the fourth cup of wine, the traditional last cup of the Passover feast when it was held up to Him on the Cross. 

Now Jack equates the prayers of consecration with magic. It amazes me because if you were to ask Jack how God created the world he would say in seven days out of nothing. Jack's God is powerful enough to create the world out of nothing, but unfortunately his God is too weak to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood as Jesus said He did in the Bible. The last picture in this series is hilarious.  He says that if the people read the Bible they will see that they have been lied to by the Church.  Well, Jack, hardly.  Again, read the Gospels, read St. Paul it is all there. Jesus was not kidding about the Eucharist.  When followers began to turn away He did not call them back, he did not say that he was only using a figure of speech. He rather confirmed what he said again.  Someone should point this out to Jack.  No, people, read the Bible, it will lead you to the Eucharist, not away from it. 

Now Jack gets into territory he is more familiar with. He says Catholics worship statues, crucifixes, Mary, the Pope and that priests are other forms of Jesus.  Then he explains what IHS means that he seems to think is imprinted on all hosts.  First of all it is not imprinted on all hosts but if it was it would mean "Jesus Christ." I would invite Jack to let Jesus into his heart some day.  About the pope which he says is a "type of Jesus" well that is complete and utter nonsense.  If the pope were another Jesus, to be worshiped, then it follows that he could not commit a sin, being God and all.  But the Holy Father goes to confession every week.  If he did not sin why would he confess?  So the pope being a type of Jesus is another thing dredged up from somewhere by Jack, but it has no basis in fact. 

Suddenly Jack shows that the peoples eyes are opened and they revolt against the Pope and the death cookie.  Jack says that worshiping bread as if it were God is idolatry and you know what I agree with Jack.  Worshiping my loaf of Wonder Bread would be very sinful but worshiping the Son of God, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is right, is just, and is required and it is approved by God the Son otherwise why would have He given us this great gift.  Jack crosses the line into blasphemy when he calls the Eucharist demonic. I pity his poor soul and I pity the thousands of souls he has drawn away from Christ. 

We come to the end of this devilish piece of propaganda and Jack ends by calling the Bride of Christ, the Church, names such as the whore of Babylon and then he tells us to pray the sinners prayer.  Jack, if everything is in the Bible, can you tell me where it says to say the sinners prayer or even where I can read the sinners prayer, which book is it in Jack?  

The sad thing is that there are people out there that believe the tripe that Jack is selling as fillet. Catholics CAN be drawn away from the Church and from the Eucharist if they are not solidly grounded in their faith.  On his website, Jack says that he does not hate Catholics.  I believe him.  But I don't think he really knows what a Catholic is. When Luther in sinful pride broke the unity of the Church, the unity that Christ prayed that we would maintain, he started a process that will never end. One church became two.  Then when a disagreement came up in the Lutheran Church, they split, two churches became three, three became six, six became twelve, and so on.  So when Jack Chick and his gang of cartoonists try to slip one over on you, simply remember that Jesus prayed for unity. The Church that was split from and is the original Church founded by Christ is the Catholic Church.  Accept no imitation.  All denominations have some of the truth, some have more than others, but the Catholic Church is the only Church guaranteed to be protected by the Holy Spirit. 

I will be happy to answer any questions about the Catholic faith and invite you to submit them to michaeljspoula@outlook,com  

No question is too simple or to complex.  I will tackle them all. 

God Bless all of you and may His light shine brightly in your life today. 

Once Saved - Always Saved - A Lie Exposed ! ! !

Jesus is our Shepherd, our leader, our protector.  He is not like a simple hireling, no, he laid down his life for us.  He went through the agony of death on the Cross and He redeemed us, curing the sins of our late great ancestors Adam and Eve. 

What does Jesus expect from us?  To hear some people talk he expects not much from us.  Some say that by simply saying the "sinners prayer" that we merit heaven.  These same people say that the Bible is the source of all knowledge we have about God and heaven.  Yet, they cannot tell me where it says in the Bible to pray the sinner's prayer.  The notion of once saved always saved does not make sense in the natural world nor does it in the Kingdom of God.  What if I am "saved" when I say the sinner's prayer on day one.  I live the next ten years of my life blamelessly, promoting the Kingdom, leading dozens of others in praying the sinner's prayer - saving them all - alleluia !  Then after ten years of faithful service and psalm singing I take up a new career and become a bank robber, killing indiscriminately if someone resists and I then embrace another religion such as Islam. Are you telling me that if I died with these sins on my soul I would go to heaven because "once saved, always saved" is the rule?  Sorry, that defies logic and worse than that it defies what is revealed to us in the Bible.  Recall the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 beginning at verse 31. "

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory.  All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from goats.  He will place the sheep on His right hand and the goats on the the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right hand. "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. 

For when I was hungry you gave me food, thirsty you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome.  Lacking clothes you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison you cam to see me.

The upright will say to him in reply Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you as a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to see you?

And the king will answer "In truth I tell you in so far as you did this for one of the least of these brothers of mind, you did it to me. 

Then he will say to those on his left hand "Go away from me, with your curse upon you to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 

For when I was hungry you gave me no food, thirsty you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome.  Lacking clothes you did not clothe me, sick and or, in prison you never came to see me.

Then it will be their turn to ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison and did not come to your help?"

Then he will answer "In truth I tell you in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these you neglected to do it to me." 

And they will go away to eternal punishment and the upright to eternal life. "

So it is evident from this one story told by Jesus that simply saying the sinner's prayer is not enough to guarantee ones space in heaven.  What Jesus wants from us is more, much more.  He gave His all on the Cross, teaching us that God's love has no limits.  He lived his life not for Himself, but for our sake. He withheld nothing.  He calls us to imitate Him and to help our brothers and sisters.  

Do we have to do the heroic things? Heavens no!  In Mark Jesus tells us, "If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, then in truth I tell you he will most certainly not lose his reward."  A cup of water is a small thing but it is a great mercy to a thirsty man.  Look for the things you can do for someone else in the course of your day to day life.  Every mercy you extend you extend to Jesus. 

Please think very carefully about the "once saved, always saved" lie that the "reformers" came up with.  It has sent many to places where they did not think that they would end up. By the way we live our whole life will determine our choice of our eternal home. In order to be placed among the sheep when Jesus returns we must put our faith into action.  Believing is certainly a good first step. Studying the Bible and learning about salvation is also commendable.  We must guard against knowing more about God than loving God.  We must have knowledge of God but we must demonstrate our love by choosing to do the right for His glory and to do so expecting no reward. 

Remember, I will answer any question about the Catholic Church, her beliefs or Christianity in general.  I will not respond to hate mail.  May God bless you and light your path today.  Amen

In Love With The Bride of Christ - A Catholic Speaks His Mind.

I was born a Roman Catholic, and therefore in the jargon of the day I am called a cradle Catholic.  I thank God for my membership in His Church and want to share some of the reasons why being a Catholic makes me happy.

• Eucharist - as a Catholic, every time I go to Mass I receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ - as He is in Heaven today!  You can get no closer to God this side of heaven.  Catholics take very seriously indeed Christ's instructions to eat His Body and drink His blood as found in the Gospel of John Chapter 6. 
• Bible - At every Mass besides being fed the Bread of Life we receive generous portions of the Word of God to further enrich our souls. 
• Preaching - At every Mass the priest explains to us what the readings we just heard mean and how to apply them to our lives.  I know Protestants say we can interpret the Gospel for ourselves but then why are there thirty-thousand denominations each with a slightly different interpretation of the same concepts?  I feel safer relying on the Holy Spirit working in accordance with the promise of Jesus to keep His Church, the Bride of Christ pure and safe until He returns.
• Reliability - The Catholic Church has never once changed her doctrine.  She teaches the same truths that were handed down to her by the Apostles.  It is the Sacred Tradition that assures me that her teachings are true. One example of how her teachings have not changes comes to mind.  Back in the 1950's all churches stood united against birth control and abortion.  These things were viewed as evil and against the Law of God.  One by one the denominations gave in to "modern thought."  One by one they began to allow birth control and later on abortion was seen to be okay.  The Catholic Church stands virtually alone today in speaking up for the rights of the unborn and continues to preach against the culture of death afflicting the world today.  
• Real First Century Christianity - Some denominations today are trying to get back to the original teachings of the Apostles and the Church Fathers.  Well, the Catholic Church is already there and as a matter of fact, she never left the teachings of the Apostles.  Remember that for the first fifteen centuries there was only one Church, the Catholic Church.
• Universality - The Roman Catholic Church is universal.  It is not a national church, it is open to all.  It has one leader, the Pope, successor of Peter whom Jesus appointed as the leader of His Church.  We can trace the origin of the Catholic Church to that day when Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter.
• Sacraments - The seven sacraments of the Church are opportunities for her members to experience the gift of grace of God in different ways.  I have already mentioned the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Triumphantly Raised Jesus but there are six more sacraments each providing grace for the soul.  
• Reconciliation - Yes, reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments but I have to mention it separately because it is such a powerful gift.  Some Protestants say that a priest has no authority for forgive sins. They do not take into account the words of Jesus when he said; "Those things you loose on earth are loosed in heaven, those things you bind on earth are bound in heaven."  This gave the power to forgive sins to the Apostles and to those that followed.  Some say that they go direct to Jesus and pray for forgiveness so they do not need to confess to another human.  Well, okay, but if we take the words of Jesus seriously we need to ask ourselves if a priest can forgive sins, how will the priest know if he is going to loose or bind unless we tell him our sins?  I go to confession regularly - because I sin regularly.  I confess my sins to God's minister and he in the name of Jesus and His Church grants me pardon and absolution for all of my sins.  I in effect get to start over again, grace floods my soul and I try to not commit the sins I confessed again. To experience forgiveness is to experience love in its most exquisite form.  To hear the words of absolution gives me assurance that the rend I created in the fabric of my relationship between God, man and His Church has once again been healed. 

These are but a few of the reasons that I have for the joy in my heart that I experience because I am a Catholic.  My Church is despised by those who think her ideas are outmoded.  She stands as a conscience to a world that has lost it's way.  She points in loving ways as to what should be and she, like her founder receives a crown of thorns for the trouble.  I will never, ever, leave the Catholic Church for She is the repository of all we know of God, His laws and His love. 

God bless you and your family and friends,  Come home to the Catholic Church.   Below please find some links that you may find helpful.   Remember, I answer questions about faith, I am happy to do so.  I do not respond to hate mail. 

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

http://chnetwork.org/converts/

The Bread of Life - Required Reading - Required Eating

Required Reading

The past four weeks at church we have been treated to an explanation of what the Eucharist is and how it affects the life of a Christian.  The readings have been all about bread and feeding many and how important it is.  Actually, important is not the word, essential would be the appropriate here. 

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is the Word of God and in there is found the wisdom needed to live a good Christian life.  But nowhere in the Bible will you find it stating that it is the sole source of Christian belief.  Keep in mind that like it or not my Protestant brothers and sisters have had to rely on the Catholic Church to provide them with their Bible.  It was the Church that kept the book whole and pure.  It was the Church that decided that the Book of Revelation was canonical and the Gospel of Thomas was not. Why am I making this point?  Simply said the Catholic Church is not Bible centered, no, it is Christ centered.  We use the Bible as intended by it's ultimate author, the Holy Spirit but we also depend on the Holy Spirit and Sacred Tradition.   That being said you still may be wondering why I have mounted the soap box. Read on young warrior.

If sola scriptura be true and the Bible is the only source for what is required to be a Christian, then I would like a clear explanation from a Protestant, backed up by quotes from scripture, on why they do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament?  What did Martin Luther, the "prime reformer" think about the Holy Eucharist?  Here is what he thought (emphasis added): 

     "If any person could persuade me that there is nothing 

       in the sacrament but bread and wine, he would do me

       a great favor.  I have trued to extricate myself from the

       belief in the Real Presence, for I know that thereby I 

       would greatly annoy the Pope; but the text of the Gospel

       is too plain."   

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is the place to go if you want to learn about the Eucharist and it's absolute place in the life of a Christian.  Jesus plainly says that if we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we cannot enter heaven. 

" Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. 54 Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." 

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is an inexhaustible source of the positive proof of the Real Presence of Jesus, the Son of God, triumphant as He is in heaven today.  How sad that because of the so called reformation that so many thousands of people have gone their whole life without the many graces that this wonderful Gift supplies.  Sad too is that they have not experienced the joy be being one with Christ as He Himself enter physically into you and you become one.  You cannot get closer to Jesus this side of heaven! If the angels were capable of jealousy then they would be jealous because the Eucharist is not for them.  Jesus chose this wonderful gift so that we would not be orphans and it is in this way that He will remain with us until the day of His return.  For the sake of your soul I urge everyone, Catholics too, to read, meditate on, believe and act on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. 

God bless you young warrior, pray for the Light of Christ and that light will shine brightly and show you the path you should walk on.