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catenaaurea · 2 years

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Do you have any Bible commentaries on the Resurrection and Jesus revealing Himself to Mary of Magdala and telling her not to touch Him?

So Saint Cyril of Alexandria has two extremely long expositions on this particular verse, I highly recommend downloading the Catena app (totally free and the best app ever created) and clicking on the verse to read those because they are too long to post here. I will post the entry by Cornelius a Lapide, which contains shorter quotations from various Fathers:

Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father. This is a difficult passage, and the connection between the two parts is even more difficult. Saint Augustine explains the connection thus, "Touch Me not, for as yet thou art not worthy to touch Me; for in thy thoughts regarding Me, I have not as yet ascended to My Father, for as yet thou dost not perfectly believe that I am the Son of God, and that I ascend to My Father." And Saint Jerome (Quæst. v. ad Hedibiam) explains it much in the same way. But this is a mystical rather than a literal explanation. As also is that of Saint Leontius (Serm. ii. de Ascens.), "I do not wish you to approach Me bodily, or recognise Me with thy bodily senses. I reserve thee for higher things. I am preparing for thee greater things. When I shall have ascended to My Father, then wilt thou touch Me more perfectly and truly, for thou wilt comprehend that which thou touchest not, and believe that which thou seest not."

Saint Cyril (Lib. xii. cap. i.) says, " He forbade her to touch Him, to signify that no one ought to approach His glorified Body, which was soon to be touched and received in the Eucharist, before receiving the Holy Spirit, which He had not yet sent." But, on this ground neither would the other women, or Thomas, or the rest have been able to touch Him—which yet they did.

Saint Chrysostom (in loc.), Theophylact, and Euthymius say that He forbade her to touch Him, because He wished to be touched with greater reverence than heretofore: since He would not henceforth hold converse with men, but with angels and blessed spirits. But it does not appear that the Magdalene failed in reverence. And after all, what connection has this with the reason given, "I have not yet ascended to My Father"?

[Pseudo]-Justin (Quæst. a Gentibus, propos. xlvii.), and after him Toletus and others, explain it thus: “Touch Me not: for I am shortly about to ascend to heaven, and I wish to withdraw you gradually from My accustomed presence.” Therefore, says [Pseudo]-Justin, "He did not constantly show Himself to His disciples after His Resurrection, nor yet withdraw Himself entirely from their sight, so that He was seen, and yet not seen." But this explanation is not clear, and requires many things to be supplied, besides misinterpreting the reason given.

The best explanation is this, "Do not waste any more time in thus touching Me. Go and bear the glad tidings of My Resurrection to My disciples at once. I do not just yet ascend into heaven. You will have ample time before then to touch and converse with Me." (See Suarez, par. iii. Disput. xlix. § 3 , Ribera (in loc.), and others.) Christ afterwards allowed Himself to be touched by her and the other women, because they were then on their way to tell the Apostles that He had risen. (Matt. xxviii9.)

It is said that Christ when speaking these words touched the forehead of the Magdalene, and that Sylvester Prieras saw those marks when her tomb was opened in 1497 (see Surius, in Vita S. M. Magdalen). Saint Epiphanius (Her. xxvi) gives a moral reason, viz, that Christ did not wish to be touched by any woman, except in the presence of others; an example followed by Saints Augustine and Ambrose, Saint Martin, Saint Chrysostom, Saint Charles Borromeo, and others. Rupertus gives an allegorical reason. Mary, he says, here represented the Gentile Church which was to come to Christ, not by corporal but by spiritual contact, after His Ascension. (See also Chrysostom, Serm. lxxv.)

It is most probable, as Saint Augustine (de Consen. Evang. iii24), Theophylact, and Euthymius (in cap. ult. Matt.), and Saint Jerome (Epist. ad Hedibiam, Qust. v.) say, that Mary hastened away, and came up with the other women who went away with Peter and John, and that she then saw Christ again when He appeared to them all; that she then touched His feet, and adored Him (see Matt. xxviii9). But Toletus says it was not so.

Tropologically. Hence learn that it is more acceptable to Christ to comfort those who are in any affliction, than to look only to one"s self. So that when necessity, or piety or charity require it, it is allowable to postpone the Sermon, or even Mass, on a Feast day, for the purpose of aiding the sick and suffering. (See notes on Matt. ix13.)

Symbolically. Saint Bernard (Serm. v. in Fest. Omn. Sanct.) says, "This is a word of glory, "A wise son is the glory of his father." Touch Me not then, says the Glory. Seek not glory as yet, rather avoid it. And touch Me not till we come to the Father, where all our glorying is secure."

But go to My brethren. He calls them "Brethren" out of His wondrous condescension, being, as He Isaiah, not only as God but also as Prayer of Manasseh, the Head and Lord of all. For all men are brethren as descended from Adam, and as the sons of God by grace. But the term properly applies to them as Apostles. And Christ was an Apostle, as being sent by God, and He associated with Him in His office Peter and the rest. The Pontiff calls in like manner the Cardinals and Bishops his brethren, though he is their superior. Christ speaks of them in this way to inspire them with courage, as though He said, Though they have forsaken Me, yet I do not forsake them; and by taking on Me the nature of man on rising again, I will show Myself to be their Brother. And say unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. Remind them of what I said to them before My Passion, that after a few days I should ascend to God the Father.

He says, "My Father and your Father," Mine by nature, yours by grace, as Saint Augustine says, to show that they had in common God as their Father. He as His Father by nature, they by adoption. So Says Saint Ambrose (de Virginitate). Moreover, Saint Hilary (de Trinit, Book xi.), "He is His Father, as of all others, in respect of His human nature; and God, as He is the God of all men, in that nature in which He is a servant for God the Only Begotten is without brethren." But it is simpler to say that He called Him "My Father," to designate His own Divine Nature, and "My God" to set forth the human nature He had assumed, and that thus He was Very God, and very man. So says Saint Ambrose (ut supra), referring to Hebrews 2:11.

It means then, Tell the Apostles to banish their fear and sorrow, for I have risen from the dead, and love them as brethren, and therefore shall soon ascend to heaven, to prepare a place for them, that they may follow Me thither, and that I may send them the Holy Spirit from thence, to make them resolute preachers of My Gospel.

This is also very long, but somehow Cyril was able to make both of his even longer.

#not catechism #ask

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 2 years

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK 65 BUT GOD! – (The Body of Christ – The Mysteries) - Part 1 MATTHEW 6:33 and Various Other Scriptures It is so good to have everyone back for the taping today. I might remind you that we’re just an informal Bible study. We’re not associated with any group. We depend totally upon the prayers of the saints and the gifts of God’s people to keep us on the air. Okay, now for those of you out in television, I’ve already got the studio audience turning to Romans chapter 16. We’re going to look at verse 25 to begin. Now, we’ve left all this on the board, purposely, from the last taping, because for the last several programs we’ve been talking about the difference between the terminologies of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Body of Christ. Now, those are all entities that are mentioned over and over in Scripture. The Body of Christ, which we began a study on in the last taping, you won’t find anywhere except in Paul’s epistles. But, it is part of the Kingdom of God, as is the Kingdom of Heaven. We have put both of these in the large circle, which we have designated as the Kingdom of God, the all-inclusive control of God over things that pertain to His righteousness. Now, the Kingdom of God won’t include the lost. It won’t include the hellfire, but everything that pertains to the righteous side of God is in the Kingdom of God. In other words, the angelic hosts and believers of every age, we’re all part and parcel of the Kingdom of God, and it will be that Kingdom that carries on into all eternity. That’s why, in Revelation, it speaks so specifically of the wicked who are outside. They will never become part of the Kingdom of God. All right, then as the weeks went by, we’ve been looking at the Kingdom of Heaven, which was specifically promised to the Nation of Israel. So, you really don’t have anything pertaining to the Kingdom of Heaven until after the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis chapter 12. Then it becomes specific when He starts dealing with King David. In II Samuel chapter 7 God promises David that through him would result a genetic line of kings, leading all the way up to the King of Kings, Jesus of Nazareth. The whole purpose of His first coming was not only to present Himself as the Creator God of the universe, but also as the Promised Messiah, Redeemer, and King of Israel. That’s why it was kept only for the Nation of Israel, because He had nothing to do with the Gentiles who were outside of the Covenant Promises. Now, when Israel rejected all the things pertaining to the King and the Kingdom, and we’re going to look at that in just a minute, then God does something totally, totally different. The difference, of course, is delineated in what we call "dispensations." We’re going to also look at that this afternoon, because you cannot get a comprehension of these various entities unless you understand the dispensational approach to Scripture. If people throw out the dispensations, then all they can pick up in its place is mass confusion. All right, now here in Romans chapter 16, we see a statement that pertains to this particular dispensation of which you and I are present. Romans 16 verse 25, where the Apostle Paul writes: Romans 16:25a "Now to him (speaking of Christ) that is of power (resurrection power) to stablish you…" Now, that word isn’t in there for nothing. What does that mean? That you know where you are spiritually. You’re not driven about with every wind of doctrine. Everything that comes across television isn’t something to just make you confused. You’re set. You’re established. Romans 16:25b "…to stablish you according to my (Paul’s) gospel,…" And what is Paul’s gospel? It’s faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. So, it’s nothing concerning what Paul has done, but rather on all that Christ has done. Romans 16:25c "…and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world (ages) began.

" Now, that’s plain English. Why people can’t understand it, I’ll never know. But all of these revelations, these mysteries that Paul speaks about throughout his epistles, were totally unknown, all the way from eternity past until it was revealed to the Apostle Paul. Now, God knew; it was all in His Divine purposes. But He saw fit never to give any indication of this period of time that is concerning the Body of Christ. Now, all of the Old Testament is full of prophecies concerning the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, but it is totally silent when it comes to the Body of Christ, until we get here. That’s why Paul makes it so plain that it was kept secret since the ages began. Now, maybe we need to define a dispensation before we go any further. I want you to move up to Ephesians chapter 1, because whenever I talk about these things that some people just almost get bent out of shape over, I have to show that it’s a Biblical term. The first one is Ephesians chapter 1, because we’re not just pulling words out of the woodwork, these are things that are part and parcel of the Word of God. It’s a scriptural term. Ephesians chapter 1 dropping down to verse 10: Ephesians 1:10a "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times…" In other words, the last of the seven dispensations of human history, which will be the thousand years reign of Christ, which will again be the period of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That’s going to be the final dispensation. All right, now go on over to chapter 3 and drop down to verse 2, and we have the same word used again. Ephesians 3:2 "If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me to you-ward:" Now, we have another reference like that in Colossians chapter 1. It’s much the same thing, but we might as well use it. Now, a lot of this is repetition, but fortunately I had a letter in the mail yesterday which always encourages me. The lady wrote, she said, "Les, when I was a young college student my teachers would always tell me the only way you can learn something is to have it repeated seven times." But she said, "I’m not even average, so I need more than seven times!" Well, that helps me, because I sometimes feel a little guilty about spending too much time in repetition. But it is the only way that these things will all finally settle in where you can understand it. All right, Colossians chapter 1, and these are the verses we were using in our last program coming all the way down to verse 24. Colossians 1:24 "Who now (speaking of himself up in verse 23, Paul a minister) rejoice in my suffering for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for the body’s sake, which is the church:" In other words, he’s speaking of the trials and tribulations that he went through to get the Gospel out to the then known world. Now, again, you always have to understand that the word "church" doesn’t always mean the same thing. It always means a called-out assembly, but it doesn’t always refer to the same assembly. We’ve got Israel in the wilderness - a church, and we’ve got the Jerusalem church of the Jewish believers that believed Jesus was the Christ. It was a church, it was a called-out assembly, but it wasn’t the Body of Christ. Then, when we come to Paul’s epistles, like here, he speaks of the body, which is the church. We are, again, a called-out assembly. We pointed out in our last taping program how God is calling out of the Gentile world a people for His name. All right, now verse 25. Colossians 1:25a "Whereof (Paul says) I am made a minister, (or a designated individual in God’s service) according to (What?) the dispensation of God which is given to me for you,…" Remember he’s writing to what kind of people? Gentiles! So, this dispensation of the Grace of God was the real outpouring of God’s Grace to the Gentile world. Now, it can also include some Jews, but for the most part, it’s Gentiles. Now, my pet definition of a dispensation is, as I’ve used it over and over, even on the program.

I used it up in Minnesota several times, it is when you have a prescription from your doctor and you take that piece of paper to the pharmacist and the pharmacist fills that prescription. That particular medication is put in a bottle, or whatever, and on the outside he puts directions. Directions. For what? How to handle what’s been dispensed. Now, isn’t that simple enough? So, you take that medicine home, and you set it in your medicine cabinet. The next day you grab one of your other bottles and you take the directions off of that and apply it to what you’ve just been given yesterday, will that work? Most generally – no, because you have to follow the distinct directions for that dispensation. Now, it’s the same way scripturally. For us today, we have to use what was dispensed to us from the pen of the Apostle Paul. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were in a dispensation. They were under a set of directions. What were those directions? "Everything in the Garden is yours, but don’t eat of that tree." That was the direction. That was their dispensation. Now, as soon as mankind goes against God’s directions for that dispensation, just like you and I would probably get in trouble using the wrong directions on a medication, Adam and Eve got in trouble. What happened? God expelled them. That ended that perfect dispensation. After that, God gives them a whole new set of directions, which will carry on for hundreds of years, until we get to still another one, not always in this order, but the next one you’re most aware of is the call of Abraham. Now, after 2000 years of various dispensations, and mankind failing every one of them, God finally comes to the place and says, "I’m going to do something totally different. Instead of dealing with the whole Adamic race, I’m going to bring one man to the fore, and out of that one man I’m going to bring one little nation. Through that little nation I am going to bring about the Word of God and the plan of salvation - a Savior for mankind." That dispensation, of course, worked into the giving of the Law, which was another one, another set of directions. That set of dispensing and directions lasted until the Apostle Paul. So, Israel was under all of the directions of Law, and it was difficult because they were such complex directions. But, when Israel rejected all of that, God now opens up a new dispensation, a new set of directions, or a new set of responsibilities. We call that the dispensation of the Grace of God, which we are currently under today. All right, now that’s what we’re going to be looking at for at least the next few programs. What does it entail to be part and parcel of this dispensation of the Grace of God? All these various mysteries that are going to be revealed through this Apostle become part of our directions for behavior in this dispensation. To me, that’s so simple. It’s so easy to understand and see, yet if you mix them all up, then you’ve got mass confusion. I think I used this example, maybe previously on the program. I think I used it a couple of weeks ago in Minnesota. I remember several years ago, I think it was at Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the professors was explaining dispensations, and he used a little different tack. He said, "The seminary has a catalog of courses offered for every school year. They are designated as the catalog for 1990, 91, 92, 93, 94…every school year has a particular catalog of the various courses being offered." "Now," he said, "What would happen to a student if he would come up and try to enroll and he’s doing it on the basis of a year 2000 catalog and it’s now 2005? Well, he’s five years behind the eight-ball." So, if you’re going to be in agreement with your dispensational directions, you’re going to use the catalog that is appropriate for the year that you’re going to school. Now, all those are simple illustrations of how a Biblical dispensation works. You have to obey the rules. All right, now let’s go on, for just a moment, in Paul’s revelation of the mysteries.

Let’s go to one of the more obvious. Again in Romans chapter 11 verse 25, and it’s a verse that I use fairly often. It’s designated as one of these mysteries, or one of these secrets, that make up the dispensation of the Grace of God. Romans 11:25a "For (he says) I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this (What?) mystery,…" Paul is pleading with his readers, whether it was then or whether it’s now, don’t be ignorant of this, which has been kept secret all the way from Adam until revealed to Paul. That’s what every mystery is – that which has been hid in the mind of God until revealed to this Apostle. All right, what’s this mystery? Romans 11:25b "…that blindness (a spiritual blindness) in part has happened to Israel, (In other words, it’s not forever, but for a period of time.) until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Now, why that kind of language? Well, I’ll reconstruct all the way up through the Old Testament. God is dealing with Israel only, with a few exceptions. Pleading with them to be ready for the Messiah, Redeemer, and King when He comes. Well, He came. Was Israel ready? No! No, they couldn’t believe that He was that promised Messiah. That was the whole crux of His ministry, to prove who He was. But Israel in their unbelief rejected Him. They called for His death, and we’ll be looking at that later this afternoon. But through it all, you see, God is going to open up a period of time that we’re now in. A period of time that nothing in the Old Testament revealed, and nothing in the four Gospels mentioned, including the early chapters of Acts, and nothing in the later books of Peter, James, John, Jude, and Revelation. They never, ever referred to this secret period of time that we call the dispensation of Grace. All right. So, when God set Israel aside way back there in Acts chapter 8 and 9, not only did He set them aside, He put a spiritual blindness over their eyes, so that they couldn’t comprehend anything spiritual. At the same time He did that to Israel, He sends this new Apostle out into the Gentile world. That’s the BIG difference in Scripture. All right, now let’s go back and pick that up in the few moments that we have left. We’ll just run through this real quickly, because we’ve done it over and over, but again I’m going to take the young lady’s advice and repeat and repeat and repeat. Come back to Matthew, because I have to use it in this order or it just doesn’t make sense. This is what I tell people when they call on the phone, "How," they ask, "Can I show this to people?" Well, you can’t just jump into the middle of something, you’ve got to go back and build how all these things progress. Otherwise, they’ll never believe it. Matthew 9:35 "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, (See, it’s all Jewish, no church is mentioned here.) and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, (Whereas we call Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God. All right, so he’s preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and in association with that--) and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." That was part of it. Now, go across the page, at least in my Bible, to chapter 10. Like I said, we’re going to do this quickly, Matthew chapter 10. He has chosen the Twelve, now drop down to verse 5. Matthew 10:5-6 "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans (Who were half Jews, they were not true Gentiles.) enter ye not: 6. But (Here are the instructions, now, in this dispensation of Law that Jesus and the Jews were in, and He’s appealing on His basis of a Messiah.) but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Now, how many Gentiles are in the house of Israel? Well, none! So, He’s not going to the Gentile world. He’s going to Israel and appealing to them to accept the fact that He’s that promised Messiah and King over the Kingdom of Heaven, which will be on the earth. That’s all He’s pleading. To believe that He was that promised Messiah. But they would not.

All right, now I like to jump all the way over to Acts chapter 7, I think it is, where Stephen, not even one of the Twelve, but he was one of the chosen men to wait on tables, as we say, in Acts chapter 7. He goes through the whole Jewish history. We’re not going to take time for that today, but he winds up his message to the leaders of Israel, the High Priest is in their attendance. Let’s just bring it all the way down to verse 47, because now you can pick up what you recognize as Israel’s history, where Solomon builds the Temple. That’s where we’re going to jump in. Now, all this is back in Israel’s history, and this was stuff that they all knew. Stephen is just proving that he knows what he’s talking about. Acts 7:47-50 "But Solomon built him an house. 48. Howbeit the most High (That is the God of Israel, the God of our world today.) dwelleth not in temples made with hands: as saith the prophet. 49. Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? 50. Hath not my hand made all these things?" Now, Stephen comes back and he points the accusing finger at his listeners, and he says: Acts 7:51-52a "You stiffnecked, uncircumcised in heart and ears, (In other words, they had no faith.) ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did (back in Old Testament times) so do ye. 52. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them who showed before the coming of the Just One;…" In other words, when the Old Testament prophets would go to Israel and condemn their wicked lifestyles and plead for them to get spiritually right with God because their Messiah was coming, what would they do? They would kill them. One of the last ones was Jeremiah. They didn’t kill him, but the Babylonians found him down in a dungeon someplace. That was how Israel treated the prophets. All right, Stephen is reminding them. Oh, he’s putting them on a guilt trip, isn’t he? Okay, now he says: Acts 7:52b-54 "… and they have slain (they’ve killed them) them who showed before the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murders: (The people are listening to him, including the High Priest remember.) 53. Who have received the law (That is the Mosaic Law of which they were so proud.) by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (Boy, he’s laying it on them isn’t he?) 54. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, (They were convicted.) Acts 7:55-58. "But he, (Stephen) being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. 56. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man (Jesus the Christ) standing on the right hand of God. 57. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord. 58. And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: (They put him to death.) and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul." Now, we’re introduced to the next major player on the stage of Biblical history. Peter and the eleven are going to fade away in a few more years. This man is going to come to the ascendancy. All right, Saul of Tarsus. Now, verse 1 of chapter 8 and see how this is all unfolding now, day by day, month by month. Now verse 1 of chapter 8: Acts 8:1a "And Saul (the next major player) was consenting unto his (Stephen’s) death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church (assembly) which is at Jerusalem;…" Acts 8:3 "As for Saul, (of Tarsus) he made havoc of the (Jewish) church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."

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thetruthshallsetyoufre · 4 years

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Occult Symbolism

The Illuminati are said to be a group of globalist elite who secretly worship Lucifer, which is revealed in the highest degrees of Freemasonry, and rule the world systems using money. From Biblical scripture, we can see Satan offered the worldly kingdoms to Christ Jesus if He would bow down to him:

On our United States money, there is a pyramid with the eye of Lucifer on the captstone, showing Lucifers' rule and dominion over the world systems. Under it reads Novus Ordo Seclorum. The motto Novus ordo seclorum can be translated as "A new order of the ages." It was proposed by Charles Thomson, the Latin expert who was involved in the design of the Great Seal of the United States. We also see the words "Annuit Coeptis" which translates to "announcing the birth of." It seems this alludes to the Annoucing the Birth of the New World Order once the Capstone is in place, which I theorize represents the One World Leader - the AntiChrist who will soon appear as a false savior.

The Latin 'E Pluribus Unum' means 'One out of many' and probably refers to the AntiChrist rising out of many nations and people. According to Manly P. Hall, a known 33° Freemason and member of the Illuminati indicated that this Eagle is rather a conventional Phoenix, which is known as the firebird of ancient pagan religions that causes destruction of itself in order to bring about a stronger self. This seems to coincide with the Freemason motto "Ordo Ab Chao" which means "Order out of Chaos." https://www.watchmanalexander.com/blog/the-occult-symbolism-of-the-phoenix-part-1 According to Watchman Alex, Manly P Hall had a book titled Phoenix and revealed the following: The legend of the phoenix got its start in ancient Egypt, where the bird was known as the bennu. As with many Egyptian ideas, the tale of the bennu passed into Greece and was restyled. As the Greeks tell it, the phoenix is a striking, eagle-like bird with brilliant purple feathers, and plumes of alternating red and blue in its tail. It is extremely long-lived and essentially immortal because it can resurrect itself at its time of death. Some say that the bird's former body opens up to reveal its new form, whereas others say that the bird consumes itself with fire before its new body can rise from the ashes. After recreating itself, the phoenix takes its nest, still filled with its own remains, and transports it to the city of Heliopolis to be burnt on an altar to the sun god, Helios/Ra. These Luciferian puppets of the Illuminati and secret orders do the work of Satan for their own gain, and believe that through the ashes of destruction, the Antichrist will rise into power with the Final Beast System (Daniel 7). According to Bible prophecy, this will be the 7 years before Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom (Jude 1:14-15). This rise out of ashes is symbolized as the Rise of the Phoenix in the occult.

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Lucifer - Fire and Ashes In the below Old Testament passage, we see that the LORD used Ezekiel to send a message to the King of Tyrus, yet there is more to the story, a lot more. We can observe that the below passage is really a message to Lucifer, who was working through the King of Tyrus. We can say that because there is no way that the King of Tyrus was in the Garden of Eden, nor was he the most anointed Cherub who was banished from Heaven, that alone speaks of Lucifer:

Ezekiel 28:11-19 KJV - Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [12] Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. [13] Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. [14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so : thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. [15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. [16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. [18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. [19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. In verses 18 and 19 of Ezekiel 28, we clearly see that YHVH God is telling Lucifer, the fallen angel and god of this world, that YHVH will send a fire to destroy him and all of his work will be ashes. We also know that at the end of the dispensation of the ages to come, the LORD will cast Lucifer into the fire for ever and ever: Revelation 20:10 KJV - And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I assume that Lucifer bitterly took this message from the LORD YHVH and made it into a prideful and rebellious religion of rebuilding kingdoms and nations after God sends judgment and justice by fire and ashes. In some cases, I believe Satan creates the chaos and fire himself to persuade the people into a new agenda or deception via Ordo Ab Chao, and God will allow it because the sins of the people. This has happened throughout the ages of the earth since the first sin by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan also uses this Firebird motif to represent his spirit being reincarnated into the wicked rulers of the world, yet I believe those rulers and kings were just normal people who were fooled and possessed by Lucifer. Yet, it appears this is the Religious narrative of the Luciferians. The False Messiah, Pagan Sun God, Phoenix An article by the Gnostic Warrior purports the following information concerning the Pheonix or Bennu bird in relation to the Sun god Ra and his son. • Gnostic Warrior Article The Phoenix is one of the most sacred symbols to the brotherhood we know of as the Order of the Quest. It symbolizes the morning star who is the son of the sun, the father in which we celebrate through the rising of this most glorious fire-bird from the flames into immortality and reincarnation. The phoenix is the son and the messiah that has risen to become the soul of the Sun-God Ra. This is represented today with the obelisk of the Porta del Popolo in Rome pictured to the right where we can find near the top an adoration of Ra with the words, ‘Rameses II, son of Ra, who rilled the temple of the Phoenix [ha-t-bennu] with his splendors.’ There is also seen in the Vatican on the wooden coffin of Hetepher-t-s a picture where it seen a hawk and a Phoenix with the words, ‘Glory be to Ra in the underworld!’ ‘Glory be to Ra when he rises!’ As Manly P. Hall said in his book, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry – “These were the immortals to whom the term ‘phoenix’ was applied, and their symbol was the mysterious two-headed bird, now called an eagle, a familiar and little understood Masonic emblem .” It is in City of the Sun or in Greek, Heliopolis where the first written records were given to us by Herodotus in his work titled Euterpe had written how the Phoenix was first seen in Heliopolis during the reign of Sesostris and then in the reign of Amasis shortly after the days of Ptolemy. The most important temple in the City of the Sun at this time was the “Mansion of the Phoenix” or “Mansion of the Benben.” It has also been called the temple of the sun. In Utterance 600 of the Pyramid Texts speaks of Atum as you rose up, as the benben, in the Mansion of the Benu in Heliopolis (Hart, p.16). In Heliopolis there in the middle of the Temple of the Sun stood an Obelisk with a capstone resting on top that was symbolic of the sun (son), the “Benben Stone” (pictured to the left). A stone obelisk is the material embodiment of the divinity of the Sun Ra, the Father, Zeu pater (“O, father Zeus”) or Saint Peter from the Greeks and Romans, because he was the father of gods and men. The holy of holies in his temple was called ” the house of the benben.” The cap stone is the son, or Ben. The name Ben signifies “son.”

This is why many persons in both in the Old and New Testaments, are distinguished by the addition of the name “Ben” to that of their father in ancient times because they were the sons, AKA bright morning star of Venus and of the father, the Sun.

The Egyptian name of the Phoenix is bennu, from a root meaning ‘to turn/ so that the bennu signifies, as it were, the returning traveler. The Bennu bird serves as the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix, and is said to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra. The Book of the Dead says, “I am the Bennu bird, the Heart-Soul of Ra, the Guide of the Gods to the Tuat” and other refrences to the Bennu bird such as “He Who Came Into Being by Himself,” “Ascending One,” and “Lord of Jubilees.” So according to this article the Phoenix represents: 1. The son and the messiah that has risen to become the soul of the Sun-God Ra. 2. Immortals represented as two headed eagles which became the Freemason emblem. 3. The Sun Ra, the Father, Zeu pater (“O, father Zeus”) or Saint Peter from the Greeks and Romans, because he was the father of gods and men. 4. “He Who Came Into Being by Himself,” “Ascending One,” and “Lord of Jubilees.” It seems all of these definitions could allude to the coming AntiChrist who I believe the Luciferians consider to be Tammuz, the son of Nimrod the Babylonian Sun god who impregnated Semiramis (Isis/Ishtar).

The AntiChrist I believe similar to the Phoenix will be birthed out of orchestrated death and destruction by the Globist Elite Luciferians and hence the Freemason Motto "Ordo Ab Chao". The tip of the obelisk of Ra, known as the Capstone called "Benben Stone" is said to embody the blasphemous "divinity" of the sun god Ra and Zeus which is the false light of Lucifer. This Capstone is probably referenced on the US Dollar as you see the Eye of Horus or Eye of Lucifer shining upon his pyramid which is symbolic of his decieved kingdom on earth. When the Capstone sets on the Egyptian Pyramid, it probably alludes to the soon to appear AntiChrist, the reincarnated Sun god Ra (Tammuz, Zeus, Apollo, Nimrod, Etc.) who will be crowned and sit on his throne of deception as the New World Leader (Daniel 7 - Little Horn).

It also appears as though the Children of Israel at one point fell away from the Most High God of the Bible and began sacrificing their sons and daughters to the Pagan sun gods Baal/Moloch. Likewise, it seems Americans and lukewarm Christians do the same today without knowing it in the name of freedom (Lady Liberty/Ishtar): Baal Canaanite Pagan Sun Diety https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/baal

It seems that the blood of the innocent is a form of spiritual currency which advances Satan's Kingdom on earth and greatly grieves the LORD YHVH. Modern Day Molech By Charles Patrick on Jul 14, 2015 https://swbts.edu/news/releases/modern-day-molech/ "With the release of an undercover video today, the world learned, I hope, that a modern day Molech exists. Molech, as described in the Old Testament of the Bible, was an Ammonite god who required propitiatory child sacrifice. A couple sacrificed their firstborn by burning the child on a metal idol of Molech, believing that Molech would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children. The Israelites were strictly forbidden to practice this form of worship (Leviticus 18:21, 20:2-5; 2 Kings 223:10; and Jeremiah 32:35) as it is in stark contradiction to the sanctity of life espoused throughout the Bible. Today’s Molech is the abortion industry, sacrificing babies for the idol of financial greed, veiled in the hopes of the development of new cures through biomedical research. Biomedical research, like all the sciences, is ethically and morally neutral. The application of biomedical research, however, can be right or wrong. I have no problem with biomedical research in general. In fact, I had a previous 18-year career in biomedical research and can attest that the majority of biomedical research is ethically sound. However, basing bioethics on the truths of the Bible, abortion and the associated harvesting and selling of body parts from aborted babies is ethically, morally, and biblically wrong." Osiris, Horus, and the Phoenix It seems the Phoenix bird was also a motif in the ancient Egyptian culture although with small variations. The most prominent Sun god figure in Egypt was Osiris, who was said to be the incarnate form of the sun god. In the same manner as Nimrod and Tammuz, the spirit of Osiris was said to have been reincarnated or resurrected through his son Horus. This is a classic story of the pagan Father Sun god, Mother Moon god, and Son Sun god as the reincarnated form of the Father sun god. This is the pagan Trinity of the occult and pagan religions which is essentially Lucifer worship, the false sun god and false light (2 Corinthians 4:4) of the world.

Horus is connected to the Egyptian sun God and the colorful falcon which is a symbol of ressurection and reincarnation of the pagan sun diety. It seems this colorful Horus falcon is likened to the Occult Phoenix or Bennu Bird. https://www.ask-aladdin.com/egypt-gods/horus/ "Every pharaoh of Egypt is said to be an incarnation of Horus who as per legends is said to have conquered the evil god Seth in Upper Egypt. Seth is said to be the god of confusion and turmoil who killed Osiris who was the father of Horus. Horus in order to take revenge for his father’s death then became the god of justice and order. Thus the pharaoh Horus in ancient Egypt became Horus on earth who was the ruler of both upper and Lower Egypt. Horus is represented by the Hawk as the god of the sky. It’s a symbol of divine kingship and the protector of the one who is ruling." It seems the famous "star" and now Luciferian songstress "Katie Perry" glorifies her father Lucifer by dressing as this colorful Horus Falcon which is a symbol of the pagan Sun god of Egypt. This appears to be analogous to the Phoenix or Bennu bird, and is a representation of the coming AntiChrist figure who the Luciferians believe was reincarnated and brought forth through the ashes of death and destruction.

The Crown - The AntiChrist The word "Corona" in Latin means a Crown, or a wreath-crown or garland. The interesting thing is that in the Book of Revelation the AntiChrist will recieve a Crown at his appearing, and will deceive the nations as a false Savior with a false peace covenant (a bow): Revelation 6:2 KJV - And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

One fascinating historical fact is that many if not all of the major pagan leaders and Kings of ancient times, and perhaps even of recent times, have equated themselves with being an incarnation of a god if not the so called all powerful pagan sun god. We see in the below article from the encyclopedia that the Crown was associated with the pagan sun god: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/culture-magazines/crowns "Along with height, some accessories on crowns also linked the wearer with the divine. The solar disk, for example, was often a central element of a crown and associated the wearer with the sun god, Re. The Uraeus-snake (cobra) was also often part of the crown and symbolized the sun god's eye. The god's eye represented the fire and radiance of the sun that consumed potential enemies. The Uraeus thus represented divine protection for the wearer." The Crown is actually a physical representation of the shining light that emits from the face of the literal Sun in the heavens, as we observe the below pictures.

We also see a Center for Disease Control article also gives insight as to the link between the pagan sun gods and the deification of pagan kings and emperors, in relation to the Coronavirus appearance:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/9/ac-2609_article

Our modern-day corona conceptualization of club-shaped spikes on the coronavirus surface comes from traditional representations of crowns as radiate headbands, worn as symbols of sovereign power, to liken that power to that of the sun. Solar deities have been integral in the development of cultures across the world. In predynastic Egypt, Atum was a solar deity associated with the sun god Ra, and Horus was the god of the sky and sun. In Buddhist cosmology, the bodhisattva (one who is on the path toward Buddhahood) of the sun, SūryaprabhaExternal Link, and the bodhisattva of the moon, Candraprabha, are both classically represented as human figures with a background of radiate halos. In traditional Western art, such a solar crown is often represented as a curved band of points representing rays. Representations with radiate crowns date from the 4th century BCE onward, beginning with their frequent inclusion in representations of Alexander III of Macedon (commonly referred to as Alexander the Great), who was likened to the sun deity, Helios (Figure 1)." Furthermore, it is my understanding that the Luciferian Elite, perhaps since the ancient of days, have believed their rulers to be the physical incarnation of their pagan sun Diety. Therefore, it would only prove logical to assume they believe the final AntiChrist and One World Leader Revelation 13, is their pagan sun god reincarnated. We see this idea of the pagan sun god being reincarnated in the story of Nimrod and his son Tammuz as well as the Egyptian story of Osiris and his son Horus.

This idea of pagan rulers thinking they are the pagan sun god would fall in line with Bible prophesy as we see the AntiChrist who will soon appear will call himself the Most High God - which Christians know to be false because Jesus Christ is the Most High God and the only manifestation of God on the earth (John 1, Colossians 1, 2 Corinthians 5:19). 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 KJV - Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Therefore it seems the AntiChrist, as the false pagan sun Diety which I believe to be Lucifer himself, will rule the New World Order for the final 7 year period before Jesus returns to the earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 19-20). Corona (Crown) Virushttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1sR-CEGtNG0q9a1waN2gZD8I23hfK3g9md2kPALuRl8A/edit?usp=drivesdk

Phoenix Mural - United Nations According to Wikipedia (Article Here), the United Nations Security Council features a huge Phoenix Mural. The United Nations is AntiChrist in nature and is seeking global unity for the One World Order. It is interesting to note, the same symbolism of rising into a new age is presented in the Mural:

The artwork was commissioned by the Norwegian government as a gift from Norway to the United Nations. The mural is a 16 x 26 foot long canvas located on the Security Council's east wall and displays a central image of a rising phoenix. The phoenix is surrounded by images of war and disharmony near the bottom of the mural, and more tranquil images at the top. In 2013, Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, stated that Krohg's ambition "was to give the United Nations a chamber that could inspire those working in it to carry out the core of the United Nations mandate".

Through a vaginal shaped canal it seems we can see a peek at their "New Age of Luciferianism" that will be birthed by the coming of the AntiChrist and One World Order. It is a symbolic gesture of a golden age being birthed from chaos and death. It also seems to hint at the Nimord, Semiramis, and Tammuz pagan story, whereas, it seems the AntiChrist will be a sort of Nimrod reincarnated, the Tammuz which is the false light of the world (Revelation 6:1-2). It could also allude to the AntiChrist figure proposing to his Bride, the decieved and unsuspecting world who will worship the Beast (AntiChrist) and his image (Revelation 13). A union of deception and death in which will carry over to the Lake of Fire for eternity (Revelation 19-20). This luciferian globalist's New World Order agenda is reiterated in another discription or commentary on the UN Security Council Phoenix Mural. Full article can be found here: • Michael More Jones Commentary Per Krohg’s painting is some five by nine metres, and is divided horizontally; the lower-third is executed in dark colours, the upper two-thirds much lighter with UN-white and blue motifs. Colour alone gives much of the work’s message: the lighter colours suggest peace, progress and truth, while the darker colours depict a hellish landscape. “Symbolising”, the UNSC tells us, “the promise of future peace and individual freedom”, the work shows a phoenix rising from a dark landscape into a light-filled world of progress. Though complex, with many panels depicting separate scenes, the painting’s overall message is simple: technology, justice and truth, united by the nuclear family and the UN-led world order, are forces that progress humanity. The Bennu Bird (Phoenix) http://m.landofpyramids.org/bennu.htm Name: Bennu is the Egyptian word for Phoenix. The name 'bennu' derives from the Egyptian word “weben,” meaning “to rise brilliantly” or “to shine.”

Description: The Bennu bird is described as resembling an eagle with beautiful red and gold feathers Representation in art: The sacred Bennu bird is often represented in ancient Egyptian art as a heron, that is characterized by two long feathers streaming from the back of the head Symbol: The Bennu (Phoenix) was was one of the most potent symbols of ancient Egypt symbolizing resurrection and the rising sun. It was also associated with the rising of the Nile

Significance: The sacred Bennu bird (Phoenix) destroys itself in flames and then rises from the ashes. Sanctuary of the Bennu: The Bennu was located in the Sun Temple of Atum Ra at Heliopolis. Phoenix Symbolism - Genki Sudo We also see the former MMA fighter Genki Sudo who became the lead band member for the Japanese Band named "New World Order" came out with hits such as "Let's Start WW3" and has his part in the Occult symbolism of the Pheonix:

#pheonix #bennu #nwo #jesus christ #devil #fallen angels #occult

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years

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The Difficulty of "Unanswered Prayer"

"My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare: look Thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor. "My eyes are forever turned towards the Lord: for He shall release my feet from the snare; look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am abandoned and destitute. " — Psalm 24 (25): 15, 16.

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT: MARCH 11th, A.D. 2012 THEME: The difficulty of "unanswered prayer".

The following homily was written by Reverend Charles J. Higgins, Pastor Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish, 270 Elliot St. Newton, Massachusetts (Published with permission) (He also is our Pastor)

This Introit Psalm which sets the tone for our Lenten Sunday Mass today is the expression of a soul praying to God in the midst of great distress — indeed, it is the prayer of a soul who finds itself without any recourse to ordinary means: only God can help.

One thing we are taught with certainty, and which is reinforced with great emphasis during these days of Lent, is that God will always respond to the humble prayer of faith. Think of it: God commands us to pray so that He might help us. When Christ’s disciples asked of Him, "Lord, teach us how to pray," He taught them that perfect prayer of petition which is the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father (the "Pater Noster" in Latin). To put it simply, through Our Lord Jesus we are both commanded and invited to ask of God every worthy thing — no matter how small and personal to us.

The difficulty is, of course, as every person who struggles with the life of faith knows, prayers do not work like magic with God. We are commanded to pray and yet many of the things we pray for remain seemingly unanswered — and I stress that phrase seemingly unanswered, because, in truth, there is no such thing as an "unanswered prayer".

I want to consider then, how are we to make sense of the difficulty of seemingly unanswered prayer. Why is it that certain prayers seem to be unanswered by God?

First of all, we have to discount prayers which are made with a bad heart and are not reflective of faith. (In St. Luke’s Gospel, Chapter II, for example) there were those who when Jesus delivered a man from a demonic spirit, they attributed it to the power of Satan: "He casteth out devils by beelzebub, the prince of devils. And others, tempting, asked of Him a sign from heaven." At other times and places, such as in his own town of Nazareth, Our Lord could work few miracles on account of their lack of faith.

Why? Because He had not the power? No, because He would not act where he did not find humble hearts. Where He found defiance and a "show me" attitude, He held back. And so God does…

Secondly, God will reject prayers for bad or foolish things, or that betray a fundamentally unreal approach to the duties of life— the prayer to win it big in the lottery for example.

But what about prayers, our prayers, that do come from faith, and with an awareness of our unworthiness, and yet seem to be unanswered? Three things.

1) God may grant it, but not right away. For the sake of a greater good, especially our own, He will require us to pray for an intention a long time, maybe even a very long time. Yes, it is a test. And we just have to accept that.

2) God may refuse it. There was nothing wrong in us asking, but for whatever reason, God’s answer was no.

3) Finally — and this is crucial — God is saying yes, but at first glance it looks to us as if He’s not hearing or He’s not doing good by us.

It’s like this. We can only ask according to what seems best to us. But our viewpoint is so small. We’re limited human creatures and our thinking is often muddled and mistaken about the truth of things. We don’t see what God sees so we never really know what’s best for us. We have to trust in His Goodness and His Mercy. And when it comes to the life of prayer, we have to grasp this saying of Saint Ambrose: "God always gives more that He is asked."

So, do not lose heart in praying to God. He is hearing you and He is answering you. There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. Pray in the spirit of the opening verses of Psalm 24(25):

"To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in thee, O My God, I put my trust. Let me never be put to shame."

Lenten Prayers and Meditations

Lord Jesus, help me to walk with You each day of my life, even to Calvary. The sorrow and joy, the pain and healing, the failures and triumphs of my life are truly small deaths and resurrections that lead me closer to You. Give me the faith and trust I need to walk with You always. Amen.

Mary, Mother of our Redeemer and our most Blessed Mother, be with us through life’s journey. As you comforted Jesus on the road to Calvary by your silent and loving presence, as you held his lifeless body close to your Immaculate Heart, as you offered the sadness and suffering that only a mother can feel when she sees the suffering of her child, look upon me as you looked at Jesus.

See His marred image in my frail nature; hold me close to your mother’s heart in my moments of temptation and sin; and pray for me that I may be for God what I was created to be. A LIVING IMAGE OF JESUS. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gather your people during this holy season of Lent, and you call us to repent and believe the Gospel. Remove any barriers that keep us from you so that we might live fully the life we received at Baptism and carry our cross each day. You have given us Padre Pio of Pietrelcina as a modern image of the Suffering Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his intercession and your divine grace, may we turn to you in our need, thank you in our abundance, and share your love with the world around us. Amen. (excerpted from prayers of Padre Pio)

We should all remember that when praying there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer One way or another the Lord does answer our Prayers sometimes we are just too busy to recognize it!

Above story in Pamphlet Form - Click Below:

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_8b0543f5a0efdb65d8fd7bf0e708342e.pdf

From: www.pamphletstoinspire.com

#unanswered prayers

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fr-martin-gospel-reflections · 2 years

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19th June - ‘All ate as much as they wanted’, Reflection on today’s gospel reading (Luke 9:11-17)

The Body and Blood of Christ

The late Pope John Paul II, now a canonized saint, wrote an encyclical letter on the Eucharist. In the opening pages of his encyclical, he recalls the many places in which he has celebrated the Eucharist. He mentions that he celebrated Mass in the great basilicas and churches in Rome and throughout the world, in chapels built along mountain paths, on lakeshores and seacoasts, on altars built in stadiums and in city squares. He remarks that the great variety of places where he celebrated Mass gave him a powerful experience of the universal character of the Eucharist. As he puts it in his encyclical, ‘even when the Eucharist is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, it is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world’. The Eucharist, he says, ‘embraces and permeates all creation’. He is reminding us that the Eucharist is essentially outward looking. As we celebrate Mass here in our own parish church, we are in communion with all of humanity and, indeed, all of creation. Even when only a few people gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we are always part of something much bigger.

The reason the Eucharist has this universal dimension is because the Lord who is present through the Eucharist is always reaching out to all of humanity and to all of creation. In today’s second reading, Saint Paul gives us our earliest account of the last supper in the New Testament. Having quoted this tradition, he makes a comment about the church’s celebration of the Eucharist in response to the Lord’s call to ‘do this as a memorial of me’. He declares, ‘every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaim his death’. Every time the church in Corinth, every time the church here in Clontarf or wherever, celebrates the Eucharist, we are proclaiming the Lord’s death. We are proclaiming the Lord’s self-emptying love, which found expression in his death. This was a love which embraced all of humanity, all of creation. In and through the Lord’s death, and resurrection, God was embracing in love the whole world. In the gospel of John, Jesus says, with reference to his death, and resurrection, ‘when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself’. It is the Lord’s love for all that is being celebrated at every Eucharist, and that is present to us at every Eucharist. In that sense, in the words of Pope Saint John Paul, the Eucharist ‘is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world’.

That is why the Eucharist will always prompt us to look beyond the particular community who gather to celebrate it. At the Eucharist, we think of and pray for all of humanity, all of creation. Our prayers of intercession need to be global as well as local. We bring the sufferings of all humanity and of our planet into our celebration of the Eucharist. We remember in prayer our broken and suffering world. From the Eucharist we look out upon that world with the eyes of the Lord. He looked out upon the world of humanity with eyes of compassion and merciful love, especially as he hung from the cross. In today’s gospel reading, the Lord looks out upon the particular gathering of humanity that was there before him with compassionate and merciful eyes. The way he looks upon this large crowd is how the risen Lord looks upon all of humanity, each one of us, today, especially in the setting of the celebration of the Eucharist.

According to the verse just before our gospel reading begins, Jesus had originally planned to go away with his disciples to a quiet place after they had returned from a busy period of mission. However, when the crowd got to this place ahead of him, rather than being annoyed at this interruption, he welcomed them and immediately set about serving them. According to the gospel reading, he began by talking to them about the kingdom of God; he preached the gospel to them. He fed their spiritual hunger. Then he made the kingdom of God present by healing the broken. Then he set about feeding their physical hunger with the meagre, frail, resources that were given to him by the crowd, a few pieces of bread and fish. The actions of Jesus over the bread on this occasion point ahead to his actions over the bread at the last supper. He ‘took the five loaves… and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples’. However, at the last supper he said of the bread, ‘This is my body’. He fed his disciples with himself. The welcoming, loving, way that the Lord was present to the crowd is how he is present to us at every Eucharist. There, he proclaims the good news of God’s kingdom to us in the Liturgy of the Word; he works to heal what is broken in our lives and he feeds us with himself. What he did for that crowd, what he does for us at every Eucharist, is what he desires to do for all of humanity and all of creation. If that is to happen, he needs us to go forth from the Eucharist as ambassadors of his compassionate and merciful love to all.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarf RC

Facebook: @SJtBClontarf

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romancatholicreflections · 6 years

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15th December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 17:10-13 for Saturday, Second Week in Advent: ‘The Son of Man will suffer similarly’.

Saturday, Second Week in Advent

Gospel (Europe. Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Matthew 17:10-13

Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him

As they came down from the mountain the disciples put this question to Jesus, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True;’ he replied ‘Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.’ The disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John the Baptist.

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.

As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Reflections (6)

(i) Saturday, Second Week in Advent

Today’s gospel reading from Matthew follows on immediately after the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, in which the disciples saw Moses and Elijah speaking with the transfigured Jesus on the mountain. As they come down the mountain, the disciples ask Jesus a question about Elijah, whom they have just seen with Jesus. According to the Jewish Scriptures, Elijah was to return to prepare the way for the Messiah. If Jesus is the Messiah, where is Elijah, they wonder? In response, Jesus identifies John the Baptist with Elijah; John is the prophet who was to come to prepare the way for God’s anointed one. By this time in Jesus’ ministry John the Baptist had been executed by Herod Antipas, and Jesus now announces that he will experience the very same fate. Having witnessed Jesus in all his glory as Son of God on the mountain, it must have been difficult for the disciples to hear Jesus speak about himself as the Son of Man who must suffer as John did. As we approach the feast of Christmas we are being reminded that the baby in the crib became the crucified Son of Man, and that the wood of the manger points ahead to the wood of the cross. Mary’s child was, indeed, God’s loving gift to humanity. ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. The adult Jesus would, in turn, give himself completely to humanity, out of love, ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’. The same divine love which we celebrate at Christmas is celebrated again on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Both feasts, Christmas and Easter, call on us to share with each other the love which we have so abundantly received from God through his Son.

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(ii) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

We hear a great deal about John the Baptist in the Season of Advent. He has been rightly referred to as the great Advent Saint. He features particularly in the opening two weeks of Advent. After that, the other great Advent Saint, Mary, the mother of Jesus, begins to feature more prominently in the church’s liturgy. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus identifies John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah. There had been an expectation that Elijah would come just before the Messiah would come. Jesus indentifies John as that Elijah figure. Yet, by the time Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew John had already been beheaded. In the words of the gospel reading, ‘they treated him as they pleased’. Matthew presents Jesus in our gospel reading foreseeing his own death in the death of John. Both were prophets who disturbed certain vested interests and both paid the ultimate price. Even as we approach the feast of the birth of Jesus we are being reminded of how Jesus’ life would end. The fate of both John and Jesus reminds us that proclaiming the gospel of God in word and deed brings its own cost. It will not always be well received. That is why, if we are to be courageous in our living of the faith, we need to keep asking for the Lord’s help. A verse from today’s responsorial psalm would be a fitting prayer, ‘O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our help’.

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(iii) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus identifies John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah. It was believed that Elijah would come just before the coming of the long awaited Messiah. Jesus says of John the Baptist, the long awaited Elijah figure, that ‘they did not recognize him, but treated him as they pleased’. The experience of John the Baptist would become the experience of Jesus himself, as Jesus says in that reading, ‘the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands’. Both John and Jesus proclaimed the values of God’s kingdom and both of them suffered greatly for doing so. Even as we draw nearer to celebrating the joyful event of the birth of Jesus we are being reminded of the cross that awaited this child. I have a print of a painting of the birth of Jesus by the German artist Sieger Köderand at the bottom of the painting there is an image of the adult Christ under the beam of the cross looking upon the baby. At Christmas we celebrate the good news that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. This morning’s gospel reminds us that God’s giving was a giving-unto-death, a giving that cost not less than everything. It is this costly gift that we open our hearts to receive anew at this time of the year, so that we can give to others as God has given to us.

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(iv) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

There was a Jewish tradition in the time of Jesus that the day of the Lord’s coming would be preceded by the coming of a messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. According to the prophet Malachi, the last book of the Hebrew Bible, that messenger would be the prophet Elijah who would come from heaven to where he had ascended many centuries before. That is the tradition Jesus’ disciples give expression to in their question to Jesus at the beginning of today’s gospel reading, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’ This question reflects an objection to Jesus by the Jewish scribes, ‘if Jesus is God’s anointed one, why has he not been preceded by Elijah, as the Scriptures say he will be?’ Jesus replies by saying that Elijah has come; he is none other than John the Baptist, but people have not recognized John as the messenger of God, the Elijah figure sent before the Lord’s anointed one. Jesus draws attention to the human failure to recognize the messengers God sends. We live in the period after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the risen Lord is constantly sending us his messengers. We too can fail to recognize them. Advent is a time when we are invited to become more attuned to the various ways that the Lord comes to us. Very often he comes to us in ways that forces us to rethink who we are and where we stand. We can be tempted to reject the Lord’s messenger as John the Baptist was rejected by many of his contemporaries. Our resistance can sometimes be a sign that the Lord is trying to break through to us in some new way.

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(v) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

This morning’s gospel reading makes reference to Jesus and his disciples coming down the mountain. The mountain in question is the Mount of Transfiguration. The disciples have had a wonderful experience of Jesus in all his glory on that mountain, so wonderful that Peter wanted to prolong the experience, ‘Let us build three tents...’ As they come down the mountain, the mood changes somewhat. In response to the disciples’ question about the coming of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as that expected Elijah figure. Jesus goes on to say with regard to John the Baptist, ‘they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased’. Jesus makes reference there to the recent beheading of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. He also declares that how John was treated is a forewarning of how he himself will be treated, ‘the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands’. After experiencing Jesus’ glory on the mountain the disciples are now faced with the looming reality of Jesus’ violent death. As we are about to enter the third week of Advent and draw closer to the feast of the birth of Jesus, we are being reminded that the child in the manger, the son of Mary, would become the Son of Man who die on a Roman cross because of his faithfulness to the work that God gave him to do. At Christmas we celebrate God’s giving of his Son to us. This morning’s gospel reminds us that this giving was a giving unto death. As the fourth evangelist expresses it, ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’.

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(vi) Saturday, Second Week in Ordinary Time

Our parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and in the weeks prior to the feast of Christmas John the Baptist features prominently. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus refers to John the Baptist without mentioning him by name. The disciples ask Jesus about the Jewish tradition that the prophet Elijah will come before the coming of God’s anointed one. This tradition is based on a text in the prophet Malachi, ‘I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me… I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes’. In the gospel reading Jesus declares that Elijah has already come and they treated him as they pleased, which is a clear reference to the death of John the Baptist. Jesus sees in what happened to John a sign of what will happen to him, ‘the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands’. We are about to celebrate the birth of Jesus and prior to that we will read the gospel about the birth of John the Baptist. However, this morning’s gospel reading refers to the death of both John the Baptist and Jesus. We are being reminded that we cannot separate the birth of John and Jesus from their death. The cross casts its shadow over the crib. When we look at the baby in the crib, we cannot but call to mind the good shepherd who laid down his life for his flock, the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life for all. It is that same self-giving love of Jesus that we celebrate at every Eucharist and that is given to us anew at every Eucharist. As Paul reminds us, as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death.We are sent from the Eucharist to live what we have proclaimed, to give what we have received.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

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krujuice · 6 years

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The modern church, in its infancy, makes a godaweful amount of mistakes and presumptions. The teaching of modern churches often equates to "sand castles built on sandbars", which immediately lose all stability once the waters come forth. The latest in my area is a little church called "Old Brooklyn Christan Church".*1 Now before I go forward I have to make a few statements. First off the Pastor is a rather sincere person, that goes out of his way to visit prisoners and nursing homes; he's a very caring individual that does a lot of good, so in no way am I going to be defacing him or saying anything ill of him, I hold him in high esteem. That being said, like most modern evangelicals he doesn't understand ancient context, biblical languages or Greek or Hebrew vernacular; so he is presuming everything from a KJV, a tricky and muddled start for biblical interpretation. Especially knowing the history of the KJV. I'll go into greater details later, different story for a different time. However he's bashing the Catholic Church, ironic since it's been around since the beginning and he wouldn't have a church without it; however church history evades most modern church goers on the Protestant side. Not really their fault intrinsically, it is how they are taught. Thank God not all. Let's start with his presumption on infallibility. Like most he assumes (ass-u-me, always a bad idea) that everything the Pope says is gospel. That's not the case however: "Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25). *2 So "Papal infallibility" is the corporate teaching of the Lord through the body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Pope is "speaking infallibly" he is normally clarifying what was said at one of the council's or reiterating a dogma that the church stands by. He is not going to say something along the lines of "today all spiders are holy icons, so praise Saint Arachnid"!. So once again, when we assume without knowledge we look like fools gold (preaching nuggets of wisdom that are of no value). Do the Pope's have authority? According to Jesus they do: Jesus told Peter that in his place, he, not the Holy Spirit directly, but Peter, to "feed my sheep", John 21:15–17 (CEB): When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” He asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. So Peter, above everyone, as first Pope, was to tend to the flocks. Is there any other place Jesus gives him authority? Why yes there is: Matthew 16:17–20 (CEB): "Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. I tell you that you are Peter. And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ." Why is this significant? Once again this is where the ignorance of the modern church shows it's true color, as they do not understand what this means in context. Let me explain, Eliakim was given the keys to David's kingdom in Isaiah 22:15-25, where he literally had control of his entire kingdom (Jesus inherited the promise and kingdom of David). He was the acting official over all his lands. This is the same verbiage being used to describe what Jesus just gave Peter. This is the context of what is being said, Jesus is using verbiage that is familiar to them through the Old Testament passages. So literally he gave Peter all acting authority until the fulfillment of the kingdom. If that isn't proof enough, he made sure upon his resurrection that they understood that they were acting in his stead, John 20:22–23 (CEB): "Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.” Which is why a confession can be done in front of a priest. He is literally acting as God's Emissary on Earth. He is standing with you as a brother in Christ and helping you over come your sin. If I have to keep going then you're just in denial at this point. You can sum up everything else he said based on the context and verses I just gave you, in that alone the rest of his argument falls. Daniel prophesied that, Daniel 2:44–45 (CEB): “But in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will be indestructible. Its rule will never pass to another people. It will shatter other kingdoms. It will put an end to all of them. It will stand firm forever, just like you saw when the stone, which was cut from the mountain, but not by hands, shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. A great God has revealed to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain. Its meaning can be trusted.” Jesus is that Stone cut from the mountain, and we, as the body of Christ, are that kingdom, being fulfilled around the world, and it's come true, the Catholic Church is now throughout the entire world, end to end, as his kingdom on Earth. Amen KruJuice, BCS. *1 ( http://oldbrooklynchristianchurch.org/there-is-no-hope-in-the-pope/) *2 https://www.catholic.com/tract/papal-infallibility

#catholiscism #catholic #christianity #jesuschrist #evangelical #church

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iceshrouded · 4 months

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Solomon had not had this clear a head in . . . months. Maybe years. But he was entirely lucid, right now, and he was going to use this to make bold moves towards his goal. Even if this meant that he had to potentially delay what had been his initial goal, he was making his current one his priority. And for all his flaws, he typically had a good sense of what should be his priority.

He had always planned on coming back for her. But days had become weeks, then months, then years. To stay away had been to keep her and the . . . had been to keep them out of the line of fire. It had not had the desired effect---one almost-dead, one supposedly-dead, but hells.

He had not predicted the outcomes he was now seeking to change.

He had not predicted that the kid would be this stubborn either, but he supposed that while the cat had come, some birds of a feather still sought to flock together. And she deserved that kind of stubborn loyalty, really. It just meant that his secondary priority was now to keep the kid from getting himself killed. And this kid---Lyon, he reminded himself---was definitely not gifted with a good sense of self-preservation.

Thus, Solomon sighed deeply as he supervised the k--- Lyon as he purchased some travel supplies with the money Solomon had given him. They really should get going, rumour had it that some dark guild was making moves towards obtaining the "Glacified Demon" and Solomon really would prefer if they would not get it.

@emperorvastias

#emperorvastias #i. ( in character )#ii. ( not a saint‚ but do i have to be? / resurrection verse. )

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dalyunministry · 4 years

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Pastor. Johnraj Lamech

💗

Greetings in the matchless Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Topic: Faith Life : Part 03 “Consummation of Faith Life”

Rhema Word (1): Habakkuk 2:4(b) (NKJV) “The just shall live by his faith.”

Rhema Word (2): Hebrews 10:37-38 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”.

Let’s pray. Our Gracious Loving Father, thank you for giving us an opportunity to meditate your Word today. Thank you Holy Spirit for helping us to understand your Words which are living and active. Please help us to live a life as per your Word Lord. Father, we give all the Glory and Honour to you. We pray in the mighty Name of your beloved Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Faith is the foundation of Christian life. The importance attached to this truth about faith is made obvious by its emphatic recurrence in three of the New Testament Epistles. There are three key verses, which enlighten the message this truth imparts.

(i) Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

(ii) Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

(iii) Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

The Epistle to Romans talks about the Commencement of the Christian Faith Life. The Letter to the Galatians deals with the problems we face in the course of the Christian Life, and that to the Hebrews pictures the successful Completion of the Christian Life/Race. Yes, The COMMENCEMENT, the CONTINUATION and the CONSUMMATION of faith life!

Last two weeks, we meditated on the “Commencement of Faith Life” and “Continuation of the Faith Life”. Today, let us meditate upon the ”Consummation of Faith Life” with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The greatest incentive to our faith is the Second Coming of Christ. That will be a day of felicitation for the faithful saints. We began our study of the Faith Life with Habakkuk 2:4. The previous verse says, Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.” The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:37 ”He who is coming will come and will not tarry.” The prophecy in Habakkuk and the expectation in Hebrews have a beautiful coincidence in their implication of the Return of our Lord. We all long to hear that “Well Done!” from our Master.

It is well said by Solomon in Ecc 7:8 ”The end of a thing is better than its beginning.” Yes, the end or the con-summation of our faith life is of greater importance than the beginning of it.

The purpose of the long list of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 is given in 12:1 ”Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” In a race there are participants as well as spectators. We are the participants today. “The cloud of witnesses” – they are the spectators of our performance. They have finished their course successfully and are anxiously looking at us. All the forerunners of faith have done their part superbly well and have trusted us with the finishing part! Shall we make it? The Church of Christ is living the last days of its history on earth. Oh that we realise our great responsibility!

We require the spiritual stamina to become triumphant winners of the faith race. As we mount higher up in the Christian life we encounter greater and great difficulties on the way. Sufferings, doubts and darkness, persecutions and oppositions become part of our everyday life.

Let us try to understand and how to handle the following challenges and be a victor, with the help of the Holy Spirit, today:

1] Sufferings

2] Doubts and Darkness

3] Persecutions and Oppositions

1] Sufferings

There is a great deal of suffering among God’s children. In the hour of soul’s deepest anguish even the strongest faith has wavered at times. Elijah sank down on the desert sand and asked that he might die!

i) Sufferings: Part of Christian Life:

Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12 ”Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you!” Is not our Saviour’s following statement clear enough? ”In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul puts it this way: ”We must through many tribulations, enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Tribulations are but the pathway to our Heavenly Abode. That is why, Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7-9 ”Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

That suffering is the experience of every true Christian in the world must bring us spiritual encouragement and help us stand fast in faith. The Cross led Christ to glory and it is so with those who seek to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. There is no such thing as a saint without scars.

ii) Physical Afflictions:

Jesus took on Himself our infirmities and bore our pains on the Cross. But it does not mean a complete eradication of physical affliction from a believer’s life altogether. I can quote from the Bible some great saints to prove that even the loftiest saint is no exception from physical pains. Yes, the heroes of faith received God’s sufficient grace amidst severe afflictions and glorified Him bringing honour to His Holy Name!

What gave Paul the strength to overcome his physical affliction? He knew that ”If our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)

Oh! the Blessed Hope that our body will one day perish, along with it the afflictions and pains, and that we will be given a glorified body! Let not your temporary physical tortures deprive you of your spiritual joy.

iii) Suffering Wrongfully:

Sometimes doing the right brings you into unforeseen difficulty. You may have sown the seeds of love and good but will reap nothing but disappointment, hatred and suffering. Yes, you may be misunderstood, misinterpreted, accused falsely and punished wrongfully! David, the man after God’s own heart, had such similar experiences: “All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt; Even my own familiar friend whom I trusted, … has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:7,9). Yes, we trust people who pretend to be faithful but when we are made to see their true identities we moan just as David did.

Do not become vengeful when you suffer wrongfully. Are we not called to unjust suffering? (1 Peter 2:19). We can endure physical tortures but cannot bear the shame when our reputation is damaged. Let us remember we are the followers of the One who suffered wrongfully in the hands of sinners. We make mistakes in trying to clear and vindicate ourselves. Defend not your cause but let it go. Why can’t we trust God with our reputation and let Him take care of it if we can trust Him with our eternal life? Of course, we can afford to stop defending and keep quiet, till the last Day, when the brick and the beam will take their turn to speak for us; when God will bring out our righteousness as the light and our judgement as the noonday; and when death and resurrection will prove to the whole world who is who.

That is why Peter says in 1 Peter 2:20-21 ”For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”

iv) Trust Not in man!

The Bible warns us against trusting in any person other than God. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to pout confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8). Because, “every man is a liar” (Romans 3:4). May be your latest experience is to learn what it means to be betrayed by false friends. Turn to the Man of Sorrows for comfort. It was His own experience too!

You cannot trust even in the members of your own family. The prophet Micah says in Micah 7:5-7 ” Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonours father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.”

Remember, men fail us. Even the best proves to be false. At the turn of events they change their colours and their promises fade away. Turn from the failure and forgetfulness of man to the constancy and faithfulness of God. He says, “You will not be forgotten by Me” (Isaiah 44:21).

v) Trust Not in yourself!

Friends are unreliable. Men are liars. My family cannot be trusted. Am I to stand on my own legs, then?

No, dear friend. Trust NOT IN YOURSELF also. It is not less than total foolishness to trust in one’s own self. Here, I tell you the secret of God: He will take from your heart anything you love most; He will have everything you trust to be removed from you; and finally He brings you to the point where He purges you of your self-trust too. Lend your ears to Apostle Paul’s account of his experience. He says in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us”

Believe not in your facilities. Disappointment is sure to sweep your face if you put your confidence in your strength and talents, in your possessions and positions. David says in Psalm 20:7 ”Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” He further says in Psalm 44:6-7 ” I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us.” Paul confidently says in 2 Timothy 2:13 ”If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

vi) Trust in GOD!

We are too busy at times to God that He is forced to send us some difficulties in order to get our attention to Him. It is well worth to undergo some bitter experiences, to learn the new spiritual lesson that He does not want us to be ignorant of. If God has singled you out to be a special object of His grace you may expect Him to honour you with stricter discipline and greater suffering than many are called upon to ensure. Peter, whom God allowed to be “sifted as wheat” by Satan, explains it thus in 1 Peter 1:5-7 ”You are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Remember, faith needs to be tried by fiery trials. A faith that is not tested cannot be trusted. We pass through flooded rivers and burning furnaces. Neither the waters overflow us nor are we scorched by the fire, for the God of circumstances is in control (Isaiah 43:2). Though for a moment we are forsaken, with great mercies He gathers us to His bosom (Isaiah 54:7).

Sometimes we feel that God does not hear our cries of grief and the call for help. At such times we should simply trust Him and patiently wait for Him. Apostle James explains this in James 1:2-4 ”My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Suffering is inevitable in the perfecting work of our faith. So let it not make us bitter and cynical but increase our faith in God. Think of the perseverance and patience of Job and take him as an example. He testified, ”Though He may slay me, yet will I trust Him”(Job 13:15).

The fear of death should be out of a believer’s vocabulary. Our time is in God’s hands and not in Satan’s. We shall not die before God’s appointed time. The ship in which Paul once sailed was caught up in a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon. Disaster and loss dismayed everyone and all gave up hope. But Paul trusted in the Lord to whom he belonged and declared: ”I believe God, that it will be just as it was told me” (Acts 27:25). He was the one who passed through perils of waters, perils of Gentiles, perils in the city and perils in the wilderness. But he was sure that nothing could kill him before God’s time.

Apostle Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ”Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Let not our suffering weaken our conviction, tame our fervent spirit and quench our first love. Take courage from the Scripture: ”If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Do not flinch from suffering. Bear it patiently. Be assured that it is God’s way of infusing iron into your spiritual make up, for He needs steel saints and not chocolate soldiers. Faith rejoices, for it sees afar the “triumph of Christ” and is willing to endure any hardship to share in it. The Captain of our Salvation was made perfect through suffering (Hebrews 5:9), and it cannot be otherwise with us.

2] Doubts and Darkness:

Your life of faith had a buoyant beginning. But presently disappointment, sorrow, disaster and dismay overcloud the sky and blot out the sunny prospect. These will be times of inexplainable depression due to doubts and darkness upon the soul.

i) Discipline of Darkness:

The Bible says in Isaiah 50:10 ”Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.”

Darkness creeps into the lives of even the obedient children of God. Is your life woven with dark shadows of sorrow? Are the best years of your life slipping away in silent tears? Do not sit down in solitude to deplore and moan your unhappy lot. Let not the experiences which have befallen you in earth’s darker cells drain on your spiritual resources. When your urgent prayers bring no response, when His mercies seem to be withdrawn and His face hidden, when the waves toss you up and down and things go from bad to worse, you throw your face into your empty palms and cry, ”God, don’t you want me anymore?”

Not so, dear friend. God your Father has turned down the lights of your life because He wants to show you how great His mercies are. The night is the time to see the stars! Remember, there never yet has been a night which was not sure to end in the dawning light of a glorious morning. Lay hold on God’s promises and rest your weary head on them.

ii) Walking by Faith:

To overcome the spiritual depression the truth that the just shall live by faith must be well understood. Every other effort made and help sought to scheme out your deliverance will only prove to be a failure and can never give you permanent relief.

The prolonged period of darkness may make your faith life dry and tasteless and to some degree you may become a burden to yourself. To maintain faith at such times is a real struggle. No wonder Paul called it a fight in 1 Timothy 6:12 ”Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Yes, the “joy of unspeakable” ceases to be your experience and you find none of the inward sweetness you had enjoyed before. It is at this time you will know better the definition of faith! ”Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Now, you will learn how to walk by faith and not by sight, and it is this that God has intended to teach you.

There is no light but faith gives evidence! There is no support but faith gives substance! At moments of discouragement, when you are exposed and most vulnerable Satan is on the attack. He haunts you with his doubts: “Does God really exist?” Yes, “Questions” become your frequent visitors! “What have I gained by my integrity?”

Do not leave any loophole for Satan. ”Resist him, steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9).

iii) Remember God’s Fatherhood!

Some of our characters need to be taken to the dark dungeon where Joseph was once put so we can be emptied of our spiritual pride and other undesirable qualities. David relates this in Psalm 119:67,71 ”Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. …It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”

Yes, the Son of God, ”learned obedience by the things He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). And if you are God’s child you are sure to be taught obedience the same way. Remember His Fatherhood when you suffer. He chastens you for He so loves you that He cannot allow you go astray. The Bible records this in Hebrews 12:5-7 ”“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”

Remember, when God punishes us, He loves us as much as ever because there is not a shadow of change in His affection for us.

iv) Purposeful delay:

God’s delay in answering our prayers is always purposeful. Where faith is, there is no impatience. Patience is the mark of great faith. Remember, delay develops perseverance and patience in us. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick He stayed two more days in the place where He was. He delayed because He looked for a better opportunity to vitalise His disciples’ faith.

Had He gone atonce to Lazarus when he was sick it would have been only a matter of divine healing. But when He went four days after Lazarus’ burial He could demonstrate the power of resurrection. ”Jesus said to the plainly…I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe” (John 11:14,15). Delay is not denial, but God’s means of developing our faith. Do not be feverish and in a hurry. ”Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16)

Remember, impatience stems from unbelief, and faith is not afraid to wait. Palmist David experienced this in his life and says in Psalm 27:14 ”Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Yes, there is no other way out. He says in verse 13 ”I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. The delayed blessings will really be great!

v) Be not perplexed!

Sometimes the ministers of God to whom you go for counselling may add their share of confusions to your perplexities. Be watchful. Do not allow yourself to be made a puppet. No man is the master of your faith. Paul tells the believers in 2 Corinthians 1:24 ”Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.”

Remember, prophets or preachers are given the authority for edification and not for breaking the bruised reed and quenching the smoking flax. That is why the Bible says in 2 Chronicles 20:20(b) ”Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” If you believe in the prophets only, you may temporarily prosper, will never be established. God first, and then the prophets.

Remember, Satan often makes use of your past failures to discourage you and dis-illuminate your path. Let not your past falls make you feel frustrated. Only when we stumble we learn to walk better. Look up to your Redeemer! He will surely remove the stains from your life and the sting from your memory. Turn a deaf ear to Satan and answer him in these words: ”Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.” As Paul puts it in Philippians 3:13(b) ”forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

Be not surprised when dark passages come in your way. God allows it, because unbroken sunshine would madden our brains. We must be sometimes deprived of feelings so we may acquire the art of walking by faith. Wait for the Lord for He is working out everything for your supreme good. Yes, the time is coming when you will bless the Lord for your times of sorrow and misfortune, because then you will understand that many of your disappointments were God’s own appointments, and that He sent failures in some sensitive areas only to save you from missing the best that He has in store for you.

It is very sweet, as life passes by, to be able to look back on dark and mysterious events and to trace the hand of God where we once saw only the malice and hypocrisy of man. And no doubt you will be able to speak gratefully of all the dark passages of your life.

3] Persecutions and Oppositions

FAITHFULLY to proclaim Jesus as the Saviour and Lord is bound to evoke antagonism and enmity. You are sure to face two kinds of people:

i) Opposers of the Gospel

ii) Twisters of the Gospel

i) Opposers of the Gospel:

The Epistle to the Hebrews was written at a time of great tribulation for the believers in Christ: ”You endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in Heaven” (Hebrews 10:32-34)”

In the work of God oppositions are not something unusual. Do not shake and shudder when oppositions and persecutions show their faces. Paul encouraged the believers of the Church at Philippi thus in Philippians 1:27-29 ”Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

Yes, it has been granted to us the privilege to suffer for Christ’s gospel. Is there anyone who suffered so much for his faith in and love for the Lord Jesus as did the Apostle Paul? He was a man who hazarded his very life for the name of the Lord Jesus. He passed through trials and tortures. Nevertheless amidst these all he bore testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Paul was a man who knew the worth of his high calling and the immense responsibility involved in it. He says in 2 Timothy 1:11-12 ”To which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason, I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

As a faithful servant of God, Paul was most unreasonably persecuted by the wicked men. He needed the prayer support of other believers to be saved from the opposers of the gospel: ”Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith” (2 Thess 3:1-2).

Once Paul was stoned almost to death and immediately moved on to preaching in Debre making many disciples there and then returning to Iconium and Antioch strengthening the souls of the disciples. What a tireless running for Christ!! The Bible recorded this incident in Acts 14:19-22 ”But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Remember, when you are oppressed by the opposers of Christian faith nothing should you do except to pray. Avenge not yourself, for revenge is God’s. When you suffer for the sake of your Saviour, you are carrying His cross. There is only forgiveness in Christ’s cross and not revenge. Pray for the opposers that they too may be saved. Do not draw your sword to settle matters as Peter did!

Oppositions and persecutions are part of God’s ministry. Meet these with a spirit of submission and praise! As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, ”We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

Persecutions feed faith! In the midst of persecutions, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:13 “Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak!” Yes, the undaunted spirit of faith can never afford to keep quiet even amidst oppositions. It will obey Jesus’ command and keep on preaching the gospel, than to obey the persecutors who will not let it be done. No matter how great the opposition, no matter how difficult the time or how fierce the persecution, the good soldier of Christ Jesus can stand in the strength of the Holy Spirit and remain a victor on the battlefield.

ii) Twisters of the Gospel:

Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 ”Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” There is a definite prediction that in the last days people will depart from the pure faith of the gospel. Departure from faith can be seen in our Christian circles today with different names:

a) Legalism:

The principle of legalism advocates the adherence to the Law, even while living under the Spirit of grace. The Galatians were misled to believe such doctrines and so were flogged by the apostle Paul. He says in Galatians 4:30 “What does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Yes, Ishmael and Isaac cannot dwell in one place. The bondwoman and her son are not to be given even a portion in the backyard. They are to be turned out and cast away completely.

What a glorious privilege to be under grace! The followers of the Law have fallen from grace. The Bible gives us a clear picture of the distinction between Law and Grace. That is why Paul says in Galatians 5:1,4,5 ”Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage…You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Jesus also said in Luke 5:37-38(a) ”No one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins’” I pray that our Lord may help us to discern this truth lest our faith be polluted by these poisonous winds.

There is yet another last day doctrine which the Bible warns us against in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 ”Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” This is the doctrine of the supposedly “holier” people. God saw it good to give Eve as a wife to Adam (Adam never asked for one!). But, these holiest people consider married men and women as second-class citizens of Heaven! Regarding food the New Testament teaching is: ”For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

b) Rationalism, Liberalism, etc.:

Apostle Paul cautions us in 1 Timothy 6:20-21 ”Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.” Apostle John also cautions in 2 John 7,10,11 ”For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist…If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”

These are the agents of the antichrist who are sent to deceive even the “chosen” people of God. Much more is there to tell you about the twisters of the Gospel of Christ. The twisters indeed attract big crowds to themselves and have a lot of followers too. Paul cautions in Acts 20:29-30 ”For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” I plead the pastors to guard their sheep against these wolves.

Apostle Jude said in Jude 3 ”Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”. Remember, faith is “once for all” delivered into your hands. It means that the written Word of God alone is sufficient and there no necessity to look for any kind of new revelation. Because, there lies the danger of being deceived by the prophets of the antichrist. All that a sinner needs to be cleansed, purged, made perfect and fit for the Kingdom of God is revealed in the Bible. New Revelations ended with the Book of Revelation. Amen!

”When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” asked Jesus in Luke 18:8. Let us answer Him, ”Yes Lord, we are LIVING BY FAITH and You will see FAITH IN US!”

Let us introspect ourselves..

Shall we lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith?

Shall we endure all the sufferings so that we shall reign with our Lord Jesus Christ?

Shall we live by faith trusting God fully during the fiery trials as He is in control of every situation in our lives?

Shall we trust in God fully by removing all the doubts and darkness when we encounter disappointment, sorrow, disaster in our faith life?

Shall we stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel?

Shall we meet oppositions and persecutions with a spirit of submission and praise?

Shall we have the undaunted spirit of faith and stand in the strength of the Holy Spirit and remain a victor on the battlefield?

Shall we identify the agents of the antichrist, who are twisting the gospel and be more cautious while dealing with them in our faith life?

Shall we live by faith till the end of our faith life?

Let us Pray: Our Heavenly Gracious Father, we thank you for helping us to understand about the “Consummation of our Faith Life” while living in this world by having faith on you and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God wholeheartedly, run with endurance the race that is set before us by looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, enduring all the sufferings so that we shall reign with our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, please help us in trusting You fully during the fiery trials as we believe that You are in control of every situation in our lives, helping us in removing all the doubts and darkness when we encounter disappointment, sorrow, disaster besides standing fast in one spirit with one mind for the faith of the gospel. Father, please help us in meeting the oppositions and persecutions with a spirit of submission and praise, having an undaunted spirit of faith, stand in the strength of the Holy Spirit so as to remain a victor on the battlefield besides identifying the agents of the antichrist and be more cautious and living by FAITH till the end of our FAITH LIFE. Father, please help us to LIVE BY FAITH as without faith it is impossible to please You Master. We give all praise, glory and honour to Your Holy Name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

God bless you all..

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jtq1844 · 5 years

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One day into this and I’m already behind ...

Where did the day go? So much for taking this opportunity to build in some writing discipline into my life. I actually have a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Antioch University -- Los Angeles, 2017). It started out as “an external goal” in 2015, something to try after we moved as empty-nesters up to Washington State from Santa Cruz. The program is “low residency,” meaning it is mostly online. I had had a few stories published already, so I had reason to think it was doable. I like story-telling. I like writing. What I discovered was that, while I have some writing competency, I don’t exactly have a passion for it.

Here is one of the CNF essays from my official portfolio to amuse you until I compose a more heartfelt and informative post for tomorrow … er, I mean, today … um. You know what I mean.

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Sister Clorina, Saint Blaise and Doubting Thomas by Jean Tschohl Quinn

It can take years to come to an understanding about something. Alternatively, an understanding can barrel into consciousness like a grand and glorious epiphanic elephant. Sometimes, both happens. I love paradox. I adore the celestial AND. It is in this sort of epiphany, decades in the making, that I found Bahá'u'lláh.

Sister Clorina hated me. No. That’s too strong. She simply did not like any girls not named Mary. She didn’t like me in particular because she had suddenly been “demoted” to second grade from fourth grade where my sister Mary was -- sweet, clever, pious and faithful. How could I compete? My best friend then was named Mary too. Mary Wirhanowicz was also sweet, clever, pious and faithful. I hold no grudge against the average Mary. They’ve got the whole Blessed Virgin Mother expectation thing to deal with and had no choice in the matter because that was their collective given name. It is, apparently, a lot of pressure. There is the occasional exception of the BVM standard when there are multiple Marys in a single classroom. Some of them get an out if they had, say, a younger sibling who called them something else and the teacher approved for clarity’s sake. One of my grandmothers was one of those. There were several Mary’s in her one-room schoolhouse in Nova Scotia. Her younger brothers and sisters called her Mayme already and so she was dubbed in the classroom and life in general. To this day, I consider her the sanest person I’ve ever met. However, in my second grade classroom, Sister Clorina felt she had reason to suspect me as nefarious. First, I was not named Mary. Second, I was “philosophical.”

Her move down to second grade was precipitated by Sister Marie Madison’s hasty withdrawal from the convent life after only a month with our class. We were informed that we had simply “driven her crazy.” Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. (That’s not quite accurate; it was post-Vatican-II. We didn’t actually learn any Latin.) The girls of the class all knew the blame rested solely on the antics of Vince Wederath, Brian Doherty, and Eddie Marx. They were the bad boys. Maybe Tim Relihan too. We were sure of it. Twelve or so years after the fact, I bumped into Eddie on a bus as I headed home from college for a weekend of free laundry and food. He was still proud of his part in the good sister’s loss of faith. We choose our triumphs; this apparently was one of Eddie’s.

Sister Clorina emanated a stern energy. I cannot tell you whether she was tall or short from my second-grader memory, but I do recall her immense energy. Sometimes, she’d fill in on the organ at Mass when the ridiculously cherubic Sister Acquitaine was overwrought or under the weather. Sister Acquitaine was the music teacher. She felt my brother Kevin’s musical talent was extraordinary -- it is – and so she kept him in at recess for violin lessons because we already had a violin that Grampa Hanson had picked up at St. Vinnie’s for $7 in 1967. Kevin did not like missing recess. He abandoned the violin at his earliest possible convenience. I still have and play that violin, mainly because no one else had a use for it. I have always felt that I have a right only to that which is of no use to anyone else. It’s a youngest child thing. In second grade, I even went so far as to claim my favorite color as moss green because I felt sorry for it.

In any case, Sister Clorina as a substitute organist kept the tempo “up” much to the consternation of the older folks. My family liked it that way; it was zippy. She would shout over her shoulder, “Hymn number 8.” Only I thought she was saying “Hit number 8” like Casey Kasem might, so I thought we were going to sing Winchester Cathedral or Last Train to Clarksville depending on the week. I somehow knew never to expect Wild Thing.

I had high hopes as Sister Clorina glowered over us in the hall outside the classroom. I reached for her hand, trying to be the brown-noser I knew myself to be. She sniffed and tucked her arm inside her surplus. Her disdain for me was immediate.

First grade had been a long line of substitute teachers after Mrs. Conti-Morgan left to give birth after an entirely crabby last month. She and Mrs. Lambert, a squat dynamic storyteller, in the fifth grade were the only lay teachers in the school. Second grade looked like the beginning of a whole new world. I was finally going to be close enough to a nun to touch one.

After Sister Marie Madison bailed on us in the second-grade, I suspect Sister Clorina took the move from her already beloved fourth grade class to our clearly evil second grade as a demotion. The smaller four and fifth grade classes would be combined with the incredible Mrs. Lambert at the helm. My sister Mary was immediately named co-chair with Mrs. Lambert of their mutual admiration society. Mary has that mysterious charm that immediately made her teacher’s pet. Every time.

My year with Sister Clorina should have been a good one. She did Science. We studied the classic simple machines: lever, incline plane, screw, pulley, wedge, and wheel and axle. She even pointed out that a screw is really just an incline plane wrapped around a pivot point. This was good stuff. We learned about meteorology and taxonomy. Why wasn’t it working? For one thing, she had no joy once Mary Wirhanowicz got really sick and was gone for weeks. I brought homework to Mary and back to school regularly. Did I get any credit for helping the BVM wannabe? No I did not. Looking for credit is always a sure way to not get any. I was dead last in the rankings of teacher’s pet, even behind Renee Kucze and she NEVER adhered to the dress code.

Mary eventually recovered and returned to class. My only hope was merit by association. No luck. Christmas rolled around and the requisite study of the Nativity. We learned about the Magi, those astrologers from the East. The question was obvious, so I asked it, “If they understood how important Jesus was before He was even born, shouldn’t we be studying their Religion?” Sister Clorina never called on me again.

Second grade crawled on. I was dying to ask about the blessing of the throats on Saint Blaise Day, February 3, but I couldn’t ask Sister Clorina. I thought the hubbub was kind of cool -- how we’d line up and have blest candles criss-crossed about our necks with a little prayer for health offered – but still didn’t understand it. My mom, who was much more informed and cynical than I could have realized then, knew a little about it. One of the miracles attributed to Saint Blaise was miraculously saving someone from choking. His “day” was the day after Candlemas, February 2, when families traditionally brought in all their candles to be sanctified.

“While this is completely pointless in the 20th century,” she postulated, “imagine what candles meant to a family three hundred, five hundred, seven hundred years ago.” Having them blest would be a prudent gesture to Christians throughout Old Europe and the Byzantine Empire, she hoped I would agree. In my limited comprehension, however, I continued to attempt reconciliation of all of this with Groundhog Day. Maybe the flicker of candles cast interesting shadows on any groundhogs popping out of holes on the same day.

By Lent, I knew better than to ask questions. During the required Tuesday-after-school Stations of the Cross, I languished with questions. It’s not three days between the afternoon of Good Friday and dawn of Easter Sunday. It’s two. Much later, I learned that the Jewish day starts at sundown, so it was definitely only two days. I did not dare ask. And the renaming of Simon to Peter, the rock. What was that about? That was a whole lot of palaver over one little verse and the power that Saul/Paul grabbed anyway. I didn’t get it and couldn’t ask.

At Pentecost, I remember sitting amiably in the pew, gently kicking at the kneeler after the Gospel Reading, followed by a rambling homily about Doubting Thomas. He misses a visit from the post-Resurrection Christ and demands physical proof. Christ does come to revisit and offers Thomas a chance to “probe the nail holes.” Thomas believes even though there’s no record of him poking his fingers anywhere – seriously not in a single one of the four Gospels -- just being with Him again is sufficient. Christ then adds “blessed are they that have not seen but still believe.”

Yes, I committed to myself – kick, kick, kick -- I will never be like Doubting Thomas, needing proof like that. To this day, I have never witnessed any firsthand wowza moment. Some friends of mine have hosted these remarkable, spiritual ongoing events where miracles of joy, epiphany and synchronicity are a regular occurrence for years. Long-lost friends reunite. Extraordinary fund-raising. Mysterious healings. You name it. Whenever I show up, it’s invariably an “off night.” My friend who has witnessed it all invariably shrugs and says, “I don’t know what happened this time. Maybe it was the traffic.” I trust their reality. I have to, because I wasn’t there.

I was still mindlessly kicking the kneeler. Why didn’t they recognize Christ as Jesus when meeting Him after the Resurrection? Seriously, they don’t recognize Him at first. Why would that be? What was the big deal about a physical resurrection anyway? The Old Testament was full of them. I could get the importance of a spiritual one – I thought: Peter … Rock … denied Him and the hiding … rock rolled away … blah, blah, blah … Didn’t Jesus call His followers His body? I was not about to ask questions. The symbolism worked so much better than literal story. Don’t ask; don’t tell. Just get through second grade.

By the end of that year, Father Podolak, that gentle, rambling soul who would eventually preside over my wedding years later, announced that the school would be closing at June. My sister and I were devastated. My brothers and older sisters were already going off to junior high and senior high school, mercifully saved from attending more Catholic school by the cost of tuition times six. Mary and I lay in bed with the blankets kicked off, feeling entombed by the muggy heaviness of Wisconsin in the summer bemoaning our fate, a public school education with their loose morals and strange ways. Of this we were sure. No potentially free music lessons from Sister Acquitaine; no exciting tales about WWI in Italy from Mrs. Lambert; no stern preparation for junior high from Sister Rhodelia whose great contribution to our family was her encouragement to my parents that my shy, nervous, older sister Jackie would achieve every regular thing, just in her own time. We were off to public school and weekly Catholic CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. I kid you not).

How wrong we were! At the public school, we got free music lessons on any instrument we chose from hip young musicians; one for band instruments, the other for strings (my choice, obviously). And Mrs. Grossman taught us singing. She really liked how Mary (either one) and I sang together. By the following Christmas, my sister now a fifth grader and I a third grader sang in front of an audience of hundreds a harmonized duet of Mel Torme’s A Christmas Song. Afterwards Brian Doherty spoke directly to me, probably the only time he ever did, “You have guts. Double guts.” Respect. I don’t remember seeing him after that.

We also had a regular dedicated art teacher, Miss Sanford. She got a nose job the following summer and nobody recognized her when she returned. The best part was, my third grade teacher, Miss Nawrocki. She looked like a Barbie doll. She wore wigs of different colors and lengths. She got married halfway through the year and became Mrs. Raniewicz. Dang. We had just conquered spelling capital-N A W R O C K I. She directed a class musical. I had lunch with her a couple of years ago. She is still awesome, although significantly shorter than I thought. Public school was fine. Better than fine. It was great. To heck with you, Sister Clorina.

Around ninth grade, Confirmation rolled around. It was time for me to publicly commit to God and His Church, whatever that meant. Among the somewhat arbitrary options for going through a Catholic Confirmation is taking a new name. It has little or no intrinsic meaning within Western cultures, but the vestigial tradition hangs on. My 15-year-old self was interested in saving the world by becoming a medical doctor – didn’t happen: boys, booze, and a reading disability derailed that vague idea during the first semester of college – so I chose the name “Blaise” as my Confirmation name. I had mistakenly thought he was the patron saint of physicians. I was a piss-poor researcher back then too. So many of his miracles had to do with healing, particularly having to do with throat ailments and choking. Who am I kidding? I claimed the name Blaise because the choice was due the week after the whole Candlemas/Saint Blaise weirdness -- exactly forty days after Christmas. What was this thing with forty days anyway?  Noah in the Ark, Jesus in the desert, Buddha under the Bodi Tree, the Prophet Mohammad in a cave.  There’s Lent.  There are periods of mourning, of fasting or of thanksgiving in most belief systems.  

In any case, my choice of Blaise, a male name, upset a fair few people, so I had to write a couple of letters to some persnickety council of some kind. The request was okayed … with reservations. The actual Confirmation was forgettable other than choir director being in a car accident on the way there, so the choir – which included my mother, my sister Mary, Mary Wirhanowicz and me – had to wing it.

“So why was the name Blaise so important to you?” Father Podolak asked me months later.

“Well, if this spirituality stuff doesn’t work out, ‘Blaze’ is a good name for a stripper.” The words were out of my mouth before I ran them through my brain. I kept walking.

The next time I saw Fr. P, he said, “Jean, do you know how we make holy water?”

“You bless it?” I stammered.

“No, you boil the Hell out of it.” He smiled apologetically and gently clarified, “That was a joke.”

I chatted with a priest at a wedding I was hired to sing for a few years later, I mentioned the parish I grew up in. The priest said, “Ah! Bill Podolak, a kind man.”

“Yes, indeed.” I was running out of things to say.

“… not a dynamic speaker.”

“No, indeed.” We laughed, all too cruelly I believe.

In spite of my bad research skills, Saint Blaise continues to intrigue me. Having been martyred by being beaten to death with iron combs used for wool combing and carding, Saint Blaise has since been associated with any trade having to do with wool since the Middle Ages, not the healing arts. So, after all the hubbub about me picking a male saint’s name, perhaps it works for me. After all, what is my essay-writing but glorified wool-gathering?

The year after my Confirmation, I lived in Tunisia through a foreign exchange program the same summer that Monty Python’s Flying Circus filmed Life of Brian a mere 100 kilometers away. I did not find out until just after my return to the US, by watching an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Eric Idle. His monologue was about the long, sad love songs Tunisians sing with such relish and the ubiquity of jasmine there. Mr. Idle’s monologue went over like a fart in church as the saying goes. My family, however, laughed spasmodically as they recalled the similar stories from my letters home. Dad with his ever-present bowl of popcorn balanced on his chest, fell off the couch chortling. Mr. Idle’s underappreciated monologue notwithstanding, my summer in Tunisia changed my perceptions of just about everything. I had lived with a Moslem family in a Moslem neighborhood in a Moslem village. They valued education and kindness, respect and humor, the individual and the collective. The child peeking out of the doorway to see the American girl may have looked like an advertisement for C.A.R.E., but I came to know that her family loved her abundantly, fed her regularly if frugally, and had dreams and hopes for her. Neshua, the daughter of my host family closest to my age, and I were invited to several homes. Some of those invitations were offered because I was a curiosity to the village. In most of the humbler homes, there was a carpet in the works, a large frame taking up a wall in their main living space. A color plot hung taped to one of the loom’s posts. I learned to knot and trim the wool according to the plot, to shift the heddle and weft shuttle, to tamp work with the kleleh to compact the threads. We sat together, partly in fellowship, partly to contribute to the household. One little girl elbowed her way next to me knotting two to my one and announce that she would teach me the Arabic alphabet. “C’est très important” for me to learn how to read Arabic. I never did, except for “Coca-Cola” which I suspect had more to do with it being on large red billboards.

I was quite full of myself. Eventually the lessons of that summer, about the oneness of Religion, not the Arabic alphabet, sunk in. No longer would the coat of we’re-right/they’re-wrong Christianity fit me properly.

Eventually, I was off to college where at some point I made out with a guy who decided to become a priest. I think there may be something more to process about that. Maybe not. I ended up eventually working in Washington DC and met my future husband Mike at a Trivial Pursuit party in the apartment complex we both lived in. We were both Arabic-speaking (although mine was pretty patchy), left-handed (which has its own complications in Middle Eastern countries), green-eyed Catholics. It was Kismet. Oh, and we both preferred to drink milk with pizza. Like I said, Kismet. We went through all the Catholic wedding hoops and started our family when I got pushed onto a spiritual journey by a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses. While the JW logic never worked for me, I will forever be grateful to Betty and LaVonne for starting me on the journey. Here I will skip chapters full of synchronicities that only Baha’is would find amusing, we attended some meetings referred to as Firesides after moving to San Jose, California a few years later.

The speaker one evening expounded on the subject of Progressive Revelation. In brief, Progressive Revelation encompasses the idea that Religion is unfolding over time as humanity becomes ready for a fuller understanding of the true nature of Reality. The speaker went on to offer examples of how Judaism begot Christianity and primarily affected Europe in its initial reach and development. Likewise, Hinduism begot Buddhism which moved out to Asia. Islam is also Abrahamic but was couched in Zoroastrian customs as well. It spread into North Africa, the Middle East, Oceania. The Baha’i Faith was revealed just as the world needed to start thinking globally, in the mid-19th century. Any corruption of Religion has to do with mankind messing with it, not with the purity of the original Message. This made some sense to me, but I didn’t know anything about Zoroaster. The speaker recognized my raised eyebrow-of-confusion and explained.

The moment the speaker explained that the primary understanding of Zoroastrianism in the West would be the Zodiac. He also mentioned that the priesthood was referred to as the Magi, as in the “astrologers from the East.” In that moment, all the disparate thoughts from the time I was seven onward coalesced in my mind’s eye like a jigsaw puzzle completing itself. I wiggled in my seat in excitement, trying not to disturb the tiny middle-aged woman of Asian descent or the black man next to me who had fallen asleep. He was snoring full out and no one was perturbed by it. His wife, a white woman at least a head taller than he was, later explained that he had had a stroke during brain surgery a few years before and often fell asleep. The oneness of God, the oneness of Humanity, the oneness of Religion all made sense to me. In that blink of an eye, I saw the interlocking of fact and legend, of the Magi and the Baby, of tradition and skepticism. I was back with Sister Clorina, Saint Blaise, and my family in Tunisia.

It was both in an instant and over the course of my lifetime up to that point that I came to this understanding. A few weeks after that night, Mike and I together declared our Faith in Bahá'u'lláh, that is to say, became adherents to the Baha'i Faith. We have found our lives infinitely richer because of that choice, so have our children (so they tell me). It is not easy to always keep in mind that each and every person that exists or did exist or will exist is unique and beloved by God, or that our individual Free Wills can send us in all different directions, or that "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future" as Bahá'u'lláh says. In fact, it's mostly challenging. Building Heaven on Earth is not for sissies. However, I know it is the right thing for me to pursue.

I still do not get my faith confirmed by fantastical measures. I’d love to see a crowd of people collectively gung their foreheads with the heels of their hands that the oneness of Humanity is a fact and the work it will take for every person to feel loved and beloved as the family we are will be worth the effort and sacrifice. I’d love to see someone healed miraculously. I still get the sense that I won't ever witness events like that first hand.

Occasionally, I do witness people who die with grace or see a smile generated from a purely motivated kindness perpetrated on an unsuspecting grump. It is things like that -- tiny, lovely indications that my spiritual path is worth toddling upon – with which I chose to be satisfied. I promised myself so long ago that it would be enough.

Sister Clorina was only in my life for six months over fifty years ago. She still pops into my head, usually when I am accused of being “too sensitive” about something. I’d love to prove to you that she’s not important to me now, but you’ll just have to take that on faith.

#Tunisia #saintblaise #doubtingthomas #bahai #baha'u'llah #SisterClorina

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evolvedcatholic · 6 years

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The modern church, in its infancy, makes a godaweful amount of mistakes and presumptions.

The teaching of modern churches often equates to “sand castles built on sandbars”, which immediately lose all stability once the waters come forth.

The latest in my area is a little church called “Old Brooklyn Christan Church”.*1

Now before I go forward I have to make a few statements.

First off the Pastor is a rather sincere person, that goes out of his way to visit prisoners and nursing homes; he’s a very caring individual that does a lot of good, so in no way am I going to be defacing him or saying anything ill of him, I hold him in high esteem.

That being said, like most modern evangelicals he doesn’t understand ancient context, biblical languages or Greek or Hebrew vernacular; so he is presuming everything from a KJV, a tricky and muddled start for biblical interpretation. Especially knowing the history of the KJV.

I’ll go into greater details later, different story for a different time.

However he’s bashing the Catholic Church, ironic since it’s been around since the beginning and he wouldn’t have a church without it; however church history evades most modern church goers on the Protestant side.

Not really their fault intrinsically, it is how they are taught.

Thank God not all.

Let’s start with his presumption on infallibility.

Like most he assumes (ass-u-me, always a bad idea) that everything the Pope says is gospel.

That’s not the case however:

“Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith” (Lumen Gentium 25). *2

So “Papal infallibility” is the corporate teaching of the Lord through the body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

When the Pope is “speaking infallibly” he is normally clarifying what was said at one of the council’s or reiterating a dogma that the church stands by.

He is not going to say something along the lines of “today all spiders are holy icons, so praise Saint Arachnid”!.

So once again, when we assume without knowledge we look like fools gold (preaching nuggets of wisdom that are of no value).

Do the Pope’s have authority?

According to Jesus they do:

Jesus told Peter that in his place, he, not the Holy Spirit directly, but Peter, to “feed my sheep”,

John 21:15–17 (CEB): When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” He asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

So Peter, above everyone, as first Pope, was to tend to the flocks.

Is there any other place Jesus gives him authority?

Why yes there is:

Matthew 16:17–20 (CEB): “Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. I tell you that you are Peter. And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.”

Why is this significant?

Once again this is where the ignorance of the modern church shows it’s true color, as they do not understand what this means in context.

Let me explain,

Eliakim was given the keys to David’s kingdom in Isaiah 22:15-25, where he literally had control of his entire kingdom (Jesus inherited the promise and kingdom of David).

He was the acting official over all his lands.

This is the same verbiage being used to describe what Jesus just gave Peter. This is the context of what is being said, Jesus is using verbiage that is familiar to them through the Old Testament passages.

So literally he gave Peter all acting authority until the fulfillment of the kingdom.

If that isn’t proof enough, he made sure upon his resurrection that they understood that they were acting in his stead,

John 20:22–23 (CEB): “Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”

Which is why a confession can be done in front of a priest.

He is literally acting as God’s Emissary on Earth.

He is standing with you as a brother in Christ and helping you over come your sin.

If I have to keep going then you’re just in denial at this point.

You can sum up everything else he said based on the context and verses I just gave you, in that alone the rest of his argument falls.

Daniel prophesied that,

Daniel 2:44–45 (CEB): “But in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will be indestructible. Its rule will never pass to another people. It will shatter other kingdoms. It will put an end to all of them. It will stand firm forever, just like you saw when the stone, which was cut from the mountain, but not by hands, shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. A great God has revealed to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain. Its meaning can be trusted.”

Jesus is that Stone cut from the mountain, and we, as the body of Christ, are that kingdom, being fulfilled around the world, and it’s come true, the Catholic Church is now throughout the entire world, end to end, as his kingdom on Earth.

Amen

KruJuice.

*1 ( http://oldbrooklynchristianchurch.org/there-is-no-hope-in-the-pope/)

*2 https://www.catholic.com/tract/papal-infallibility

#catholiscism #catholic #christianity #church #jesuschrist #evangelical

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 4 years

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12th November >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 17:10-13 for Saturday, Second Week of Advent: ‘I tell you that Elijah has come already’.

Saturday, Second Week of Advent.

Gospel (Except USA)

Matthew 17:10-13

Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him

Reflections (8)

(i) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

There was a tradition among the Jewish people, present in the Jewish Scriptures, that the prophet Elijah would return to earth just before the coming of God’s anointed one, the Messiah, to prepare people for his coming. That is why, at the end of today’s first reading which was written less than two hundred years before Jesus, the author says, ‘Happy shall they be who see you’, in other words, ‘Happy shall they be who see Elijah when he returns’, because they can be assured that the coming of the Messiah is imminent. In the gospel reading, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the prophet Elijah who had been promised. He had worked to prepare people for the coming of Jesus. Yet, by the time Jesus spoke in today’s gospel reading, John the Baptist had been executed. As Jesus says, ‘they did not recognize him but treated him shamefully’. People should have been happy to have seen Elijah present in John the Baptist, ‘happy shall they be who see you’. Instead, many wanted rid of him. Jesus goes on to say, ‘the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands’. People should have been even happier to see Jesus, God’s anointed one, and, yet, some wanted Jesus dead. We don’t always respond well to the gifts and graces that God sends us. We fail to recognize the ways that God is blessing us. We reject God’s gifts to us, or carry on as if they are not there. Today’s gospel reading encourages us to grow in our appreciation of all that God is doing for us, all that God is giving to us, all that God is holding out to us in his love. Advent is a season when we are invited to learn to receive all that comes to us from God. The Advent prayer, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ is one expression of our desire, our openness, to receive the coming of the Lord and all the blessings he brings with him.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

We hear a great deal about John the Baptist in the Season of Advent. He has been rightly referred to as the great Advent Saint. He features particularly in the opening two weeks of Advent. After that, the other great Advent Saint, Mary, the mother of Jesus, begins to feature more prominently in the church’s liturgy. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus identifies John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah. There had been an expectation that Elijah would come just before the Messiah would come. Jesus identifies John as that Elijah figure. Yet, by the time Jesus speaks in this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew John had already been beheaded. In the words of the gospel reading, ‘they treated him as they pleased’. Matthew presents Jesus in our gospel reading foreseeing his own death in the death of John. Both were prophets who disturbed certain vested interests and both paid the ultimate price. Even as we approach the feast of the birth of Jesus we are being reminded of how Jesus’ life would end. The fate of both John and Jesus reminds us that proclaiming the gospel of God in word and deed brings its own cost. It will not always be well received. That is why, if we are to be courageous in our living of the faith, we need to keep asking for the Lord’s help. A verse from today’s responsorial psalm would be a fitting prayer, ‘O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our help’.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

And/Or

(iv) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

And/Or

(v) Saturday, Second Week of Advent

And/Or

(vi) Saturday, Second Week in Advent

In the weeks prior to the feast of Christmas John the Baptist features prominently. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus refers to John the Baptist without mentioning him by name. The disciples ask Jesus about the Jewish tradition that the prophet Elijah will come before the coming of God’s anointed one. This tradition is based on a text in the prophet Malachi, ‘I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me… I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes’. In the gospel reading Jesus declares that Elijah has already come and they treated him as they pleased, which is a clear reference to the recent execution of John the Baptist. Jesus sees in what happened to John a sign of what will happen to him, ‘the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands’. We are about to celebrate the birth of Jesus and prior to that we will read the gospel about the birth of John the Baptist. However, this morning’s gospel reading refers to the death of both John the Baptist and Jesus. We are being reminded that we cannot separate the birth of John and Jesus from their death. The cross casts its shadow over the crib of Bethlehem. When we look at the baby in the crib, we cannot but call to mind the good shepherd who laid down his life for his flock, the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life for all. It is that same self-giving love of Jesus that we celebrate at every Eucharist and that is given to us anew at every Eucharist. As Paul reminds us, as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death.We are sent from the Eucharist to live what we have proclaimed, to give what we have received.

And/Or

(vii) Saturday, Second Week in Advent

When Jesus says in today’s gospel reading, in response to a question of his disciples, that ‘Elijah has come already’, he is referring to John the Baptist. He was the Elijah figure, the prophet whom the Jewish people expected to come just prior to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus says of John the Baptist that ‘they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased’. By this stage in Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist had been beheaded by the ruler of Galilee, Herod Antipas. Jesus is saying that people did not appreciate who John the Baptist really was; he was indeed the prophet who was expected to come just before the Messiah. Because they did not recognize him for who he was, they treated him shamefully. Jesus was very aware that the fate of John the Baptist would be his own fate too. Many people would fail to recognize who Jesus really was, would fail to appreciate his true significance, and, as a result, they would do to Jesus what they please, treating him shamefully. The failure to appreciate others, to recognize their true significance, often leads to their being treated badly. Treating others with respect begins with the recognition of their full significance and dignity before God. How we see others will often impact on how we relate to them. Today’s gospel reading suggests that the way people see others can be very limited, and, so how they treat them can leave a lot to be desired. The gospels keep challenging us to refine our seeing, so that we see others in all their God-given dignity and relate to them accordingly.

And/Or

(viii) Saturday, Second Week in Advent

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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ascbh13 · 5 years

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Annual Review Sunday - Charlie Boyle - 28th April 2019

Matt 28 & 1 Cor 12

Time for change, time for challenge, the great commission of Christ This morning I want to talk about the need to fulfil the great commission to evangelise, the environment and the need to work together ecumenically, as we have been doing. We are facing globally and as a nation and as a church a time of change and challenge. Brexit is still undecided, the plotting, the protests seem to just carry on, God only knows where we will be in a few weeks time! Firstly let us remember the need to be evangelical, to be proud of our evangelical heritage.

At my first PCC, over five years ago here in the vestry, I mentioned the great commission given by Jesus to the 11 disciples on a mountain in Galilee. To go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Interestingly at our Wednesday morning prayer meeting, we had the same passage. Libby Lane the Bishop of Stockport to the diocese of Chester, who you may remember back in 2015 was consecrated as the Church of England’s first woman bishop, reflected on this passage saying that the disciples are to embark on a greater more difficult task – the evangelisation of the world.

This of course is not a short-term healing mission project like the one that Joshua and I went on to India, mentioned in the annual report. Instead this is to last until the very end of time itself. This is our calling as disciples of Christ and of course it is a challenge for the church, as well as us as individual Christians to be on mission. The resurrection of Christ which we celebrated last Sunday has transformed the Christ mission from a local matter, into a global movement transcending all differences of culture. Libby Lane went on to say this perpetual mission can be summed up using the very same words that I used on page 1 of the annual report, namely the five marks of mission. To remind us they are:-

i) Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, including teaching, baptising and nurturing new believers, ii) responding to human need in loving service, iii) transforming unjust structures of society, iv) challenging violence of every kind and pursuing peace and reconciliation, as well as v) safeguarding the integrity of creation and sustaining and renewing the life of the earth.

When I look at the annual report, I am pleased that in many different ways we have been very missional in our work here at All Saints, of course there is more to do. I am excited and encouraged by new homegroups and prayer groups being formed in the past year and in recent months, as well as people joining our Church. But when I see all that has been done, I remind myself of the baptisms, funerals, weddings, activities, large and small whether they are courses that we have run as a church or small acts of kindness and love. They are of course, not for our own benefit but to reach out to both new and old Christians, as well as those who don’t know Jesus yet. To embrace people at key moments in their lives, be they celebrations of new birth, a time to thank God for the safe arrival of their loved ones. Or funerals, often now called services of thanksgiving, as people give thanks for the lives of their loved ones. As they are comforted in their grief, as they reflect on their own lives. At these points and in our Christian lives we are to be faithful witnesses and evangelise.

Secondly we are to be engaged environmentalists. But we are in a time of change and challenge, as the old ways of doing things and new ways clash not just globally but also as a nation and also as a Church. I think this is shown for example in the debate over climate change, highlighted in programme like David Attenburgh’s film Climate Change – the facts or the Blue Planet series. In it David recently described climate change “as our greatest threat in 1,000’s of years. With greater storms, greater floods and sea-level rises (20 cms in the last 100 years), with ice melting faster and urgent action being needed. We are running out of time but there is still hope. 20 of the last warmest years have occurred in the last 20 years. We are the Lord’s creatures and the trustees of this planet. Whether you agree with the actions of Extinction Rebellion or not our way of life is changing the world. In one clip from the film there was a father and son driving through a frightening wildfire – crying out to Jesus to save them and protect them. But I have possibly like many of you been particularly struck by bravery and determination of 16 year old Greta Thornburg, who started missing school on Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament in her desire to see change a desire to see policies altered, to stand up and get politicians to notice. As she said change is coming whether you like it or not.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Britain’s largest money manager, Legal and General, with over 1 trillion of the UK pension funds investments, where some of you like me might have some of your pensions, stated that the world is facing a climate catastrophe. L & G has now place climate change at the top of its list of corporate governance concerns. This issue of climate change is not going away. But a bit like the call to evangelism that I mentioned earlier, it is all our responsibility.

How might we respond as a church? How might we do our bit to safeguard creation?

Here are a couple of suggestions, firstly we could progress the memorial garden project setting aside a space for reflection and the environment to flourish in our cemetery, as part of our commitment to enhancing the wildlife, biodiversity and beauty of this particular part of God’s creation. Secondly we could, like many of the churches in the Salisbury diocese commit to being an eco-church, through the AROCHA scheme, like many other Churches in the Diocese. Thirdly we all have a personal responsibility to lead our lives in a more sustainable way be it refusing plastic bags, picking up litter or not having plastic straws [what’s the point of them anyway?] So we can be committed as a church to evangelism and environmentalism. Thirdly we can work in an ecumenical way, alongside other churches who are happy to share our values, working together for the greater good. It’s great that new people have joined our church in recent months, I love the strength and depth of people’s different church backgrounds and spiritualties. In my view the breadth and depth of our spirituality, the wide variety of services, both in style and content is something to be celebrated, to give thanks for. We are a Church that, as well as doing Alpha, seek to embrace all ages and stages of faith from babies to people in their 90’s…

We have as a church continued to work with St Swithun’s Bournemouth, re-branded as love church, in promoting and working together the bereavement journey courses and marriage preparation courses, some of whom were unchurched.

In addition several of us have been into Lilliput school as well as St Edwards, to deliver assemblies, which whilst in the ecclesiastical parishes of Holy Angels and St George’s, Oakdale, have been well received and our help is always welcomed, both by other churches, teachers and pupils. Some of you might be thinking what can I do? I don’t have or haven’t been involved in some of the things you have said.

But as it clearly says in 1 Corinthians 12…. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one spirit into one body. As it says earlier in the chapter that we have just had read “ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 whether we have the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues interpretation of tongues or indeed administration, giving, serving, whatever we have we must use it to God’s glory. Not in our own strength. But these gifts are to build up the church and that is what we are here to do. To build the kingdom here on earth and each one of us has a role to play whether large or small, upfront or behind the stage. The church is only as good as the people in it.

The other reason I chose this particular passage for today were verses 25 and 26 so there should be no division in the body, but it’s part should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

When we have seen in the past week, on Easter Sunday, the church in Sri Lanka, being attacked and bombed by militant Islamist groups, leading to children as well as adults dying. My heart bleeds At a prayer meeting in the past week I literally cried. Of course we know the forces of evil are always out there, as well as sometimes in our own hearts but let us remember who the enemy is. Retaliation is not the answer, apparently the attack was in response to what happened to the Muslim community in Christchurch. We know that tit for tat, an eye for an eye, is not what Jesus teaches, revenge through violence is not what the Christian message is all about, instead we are to promote Christ’s message through love, through reaching out to the bereaved, the lonely, the lost, to embrace those who are different from us. If we are to be a Church that grows in the next year and All Saints and elsewhere, we must remember our evangelical routes, from the early disciples:

The power of prayer To be reconcilers That love triumphs over hate To be people who forgive quickly To be people who work together, ecumenically To be responsible stewards of our creation To realise our good fortune and relative privilege To be proud of the message that Jesus gave us To go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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Psalm 60 - Interpreted

Daily Plenary Indulgence

Per Vatican II, one of the ways to gain a daily plenary indulgence is to read Scripture for ½ hour per day. For Pamphlets to Inspire (PTI), the Scripture readings that inspire us the most are the Psalms. Reading the Psalms and understanding their meaning can sometimes be challenging. In an attempt to draw more individuals to not only read the Psalms, but to understand their meaning, PTI has found an analysis of their meaning by St. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine. The method that will be employed is to list the chapter and verse, and then provide an explanation of that verse. Your interest in this subject will determine how often we will chat about this topic. The Bible that will be used is the official Bible of the Catholic Church and used by the Vatican, that is, the Douay-Rheims or Latin Vulgate version.

A prayer for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, which shall have no end.

1. Hear, O god, my supplication: be attentive to my prayer.

1. “Hear, O God, my supplication: be attentive to my prayer.” A very brief preface, because it is the prayer of a just man or a Christian people, ask to be heard by God; not to turn away from them, but to take a considerate view of their case. The Hebrew for “supplication “conveys the idea of this being not an ordinary one put up in silence, but an ardent, loudly expressed appeal to God; and, therefore, more likely to arrest his attention. A cold prayer, coming from the lips alone, will hardly penetrate the clouds, much less the heaven of heavens.

2. To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth; when my heart was in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock. Thou hast conducted me;

2. “To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth; when my heart was in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock. Thou hast conducted me;” David was never an exile in “the ends of the earth,” nor were the children of Israel; and, therefore, he must speak here in the person of the Church, which has spread over the whole world, to its very extremities, according to Psalm 2, “ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.” He therefore says, I (the Church) having been propagated to the ends of the earth, from those extremities of the earth, through the voice of all my members, “having cried to thee” with a loud and earnest voice. The words, “ends of the earth,” seem also to convey an idea of the distance between him who asks and him from whom he expects. God, to whom the appeal is made, is in heaven, and he who asks it in “the ends of the earth;” and hence he should needs cry aloud. The same idea is conveyed in the expression, a loud voice who, from the depths, expects that God, who sits aloft in the highest heavens, they, nay, even on the Cherubim, should hear him; in other words, the person who, cognizant of his own nothingness, when compared to the divine perfections, yet presumes to commune with God in prayer. “When my heart was in anguish thou hast exalted me on a rock. He assigns a reason for appealing to God with such confidence, because he found the divine assistance never withheld from him when in trouble. “When,” on various other occasions, “my heart was in anguish,” by reason of various temptations that beset me, you heard me when I cried to you, and “exalted me on a rock;” the safest possible place I could be lodged in, afterwards called “a tower of strength.” That lofty rock is Christ; and anyone that will raise himself up to him in contemplation, considering how much he suffered from us, and what an end he had, will easily conquer, and despise the whole world beside.

3. For thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face of the enemy.

3. “For thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face of the enemy.” He explains the expression, “thou hast exalted me on a rock,” by the words, “thou hast conducted me;” because my guide when I fled from the enemy, who assailed me with temptation. “For thou hast been my hope;” your escort and guidance consisted in inspiring me with hope, which not only upheld me, but made me bear everything with the greatest coverage. And thus, you became “a tower of strength against the face of the enemy;” for he who trusts in God, and reflects on the sufferings of Christ, to what glory he came on his Resurrection, that he is our head, from looking on whom we are to learn what we have to suffer on earth, and what we have a right to expect and desire in heaven; he undoubtedly stands on a highly fortified tower, where he can not only avoid the weapons of the enemy, but even hurl weapons at them.

4. In thy tabernacle I shall dwell forever: I shall be protected under the covert of thy wings.

4. “In thy tabernacle I shall dwell forever: I shall be protected under the covert of thy wings.” He now tells us that, by the stronghold in the preceding verse, he does not mean the kingdom of heaven, but the resting place of the pilgrim here below; such is the force of the word in the Hebrew; and he says, I will take out my lodging in “that tower of strength;” and in the meantime, while there, “I shall be protected under the covert of thy wings,” as the hen protects her chickens from the birds of prey.

5. For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer: thou has given an inheritance to them that fear thy name.

5. “For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer: thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name.” His confidence arises from the fact that, at all times, “thou, my God, hast heard my prayer;” and that because, “thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name;” made me one of your heirs, your children. For if God has an everlasting inheritance for his children that fear him, will he not protect them on their journey thereto? What father ever despised or deserted his deserving children? “And if God be for us, who is against us?” We are absolutely sure and certain of the eternal inheritance in heaven, and God’s protection in this world, if we truly fear him.

6. Thou wilt add days to the days of the king; his years even to generation and generation.

6. “Thou wilt add days to the days of the king; his years even to generation and generation.” The Prophet, bearing in mind that the inhabitants of the saints is life everlasting, now informs us that this inheritance, so promised to the Church, should commence with its head; and, therefore, says, “thou wilt add days to the days of the king;” you will multiply the days of Christ our King, without end, “even to generation and generation;” to the day of eternity, which, though designated as a day, is equivalent to generation and generation, to ages of ages, and times of times without end. That expression means eternity is evident from Psalm 118, way he says, “forever, O Lord, thy word standeth firm in heaven. Thy truth unto all generations.” Which is similar to the expression in Psalm 134, “thy name, O Lord, is forever, thy memorial, O Lord, unto all generations.” From which we clearly see that the Psalm is not applicable to David as king, but to Christ as King; for David did not live more than seventy years, nor did the sovereignty remain in his family. The eternity, then, of both king and kingdom, foretold in the Scriptures, is accomplished in Christ alone, for “there will be no end of his kingdom,” Luke 1, “and he, rising from the dead, shall die no more. Death shall have no more dominion over him.” Romans 6.

7. He abideth forever in the sight of God: his mercy and truth who shall search?

7. “He abideth forever in the sight of God: his mercy and truth who shall search?” Christ, the head of the Church, “abideth forever in the sight of God” for us; the apostle testifies it was for such purpose he “entered into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of God for us.” Instead of “abideth,” the Hebrew word has “he sitteth;” to show that he sits as a Judge, instead of standing as a servant. “His mercy and truth who shall search?” His mercy, in redeeming fallen man; and his truth, by virtue of which he has kept and will adhere to his promises. “Who shall search them,” for they a great abyss; and, as the apostle to the Ephesians says, “the charity of Christ surpasseth knowledge;” is beyond our comprehension.

8. So will I sing a psalm to thy name forever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day.

8. “So will I sing a psalm to thy name forever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day.” As God’s mercy has been poured upon me in abundance, and his truth is so certain that I have no need of inquiring into it, “I will sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever;” I will praise you, my God, not only here on earth, but forever, with loud canticles and shouts of praise in heaven; that by doing so “I may pay my vows” of thanksgiving “from day to day,” all the days of my life, to the day that will not be succeeded by night.

End of Psalm 60

#psalm 60

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