Today’s question: Catholic Priest or Protestant Pastor/Minister – what’s the difference?

Question: What is a Catholic priest in reality??? Does anyone know?? Catholic priest or pastor?? What’s the difference?

Answer: The true nature of the Catholic Ministerial Priesthood is that of a man conformed to Jesus Christ, specially consecrated and set apart by God, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the laying on of hands, in order to offer acceptable sacrifice to God (most significantly, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Eucharist) on behalf of the whole Church, for the greater glory of God and for the good of the whole world.

As a duly ordained agent/assistant/delegate of the local Bishop, who is a successor of the original Apostles, the responsibilities of the priest also extend to preaching, teaching, sanctifying and governing.

Only duly ordained Catholic or Orthodox males can be empowered and authorized to act “In Persona Christi” (in the “person” of Christ) as priests.

A Catholic pastor is (typically) a priest who is in charge of managing a Catholic parish.

In contrast, anyone – male or female – can become a Protestant Minister or preacher and/or become the pastor of a Protestant congregation.

The power and authority of the Catholic Ministerial Priesthood is reserved to the Catholic Church alone, according to Jesus Christ, the head of the Catholic Church, who personally established the Priesthood and who remains our Heavenly High Priest as well as the one time, once for all, perfect and atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

In summary, the Catholic Ministerial Priesthood
was personally established by Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper,
some 1500 years before the first Protestant minister/pastor
ever “thumped” a Bible.

When the Protestants chose to separate themselves from the Holy Catholic Church, they also made the conscious decision to separate themselves from the awesome and unique power that God gave to the Holy Catholic Church and the Catholic Ministerial Priesthood alone, for the salvation of souls.

As such, there is no real comparison between an ordained Catholic Priest and a Protestant Minister or pastor.

One is a consecrated man who has been given awesome and eternal power, directly from God, through the Catholic Bishop and the Holy Catholic Church.

The other has only his/her congregation’s limited, personal understanding of a holy (albeit, totally Catholic) book (the Bible) along with his/her (often, contrary) beliefs about it, on which to “stand”.

Today’s question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? If God is love, how can such a thing even be possible?

Question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? Please explain how I deserve to burn in hell, from a human perspective and how can I possibly follow a religion that doesn’t make sense?

Answer: The problems related to “The Human Condition” are probably due as much to “circumstance” as to the personal “guilt” of we who are alive on earth, today.

That said, the problem of sin is and always has been, deadly serious!

Due to the Fall of Man (in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden) the default state of all humanity is to be born estranged from God; totally lacking the divine grace that is necessary to enter Heaven; perpetually enslaved to Satan, sin and death; having a natural attraction to sin, as well as an all too human propensity to commit sin.

The only known antidote to perpetual slavery and eternal damnation, is faith in Jesus Christ, the divine man who has demonstrated (as one of us and on our behalf) his total mastery over Satan, sin and death.

The fact that Jesus voluntarily took on flesh, became man, willingly sacrificed himself and then, rose again from the dead, in order to destroy Satan’s power over us (the power of death and hell) while asking nothing in return, except for our faithful allegiance, should be more than sufficient proof of God’s abiding love and tender mercies.

Christians typically swear faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ by being Baptized into his Holy Catholic (Universal) Church.

The Sacrament of Baptism, followed by a regular program of personal prayer and study, along with a lifetime of full, faithful participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the Holy Catholic Church, is the time-tested, “Jesus Approved” method of first, being justified by the grace of God and then, proceeding to live a holy life that will serve to glorify God, while preparing us to (hopefully) spend an eternity with him, in Heaven.

The bottom line: Nobody “deserves” Heaven. An invitation to Heaven is a free gift from God, subject only to his divine will, his justice and his mercy.

God typically reserves the gift of Heaven for those who are (or who will be) faithful to Jesus Christ – the one who redeemed all of mankind from Satan, sin, eternal death and hell.

Absent faith in Jesus – or a great miracle/divine exception – there’s only one other choice available.

So what will it be: The Smoking Section or The Non-Smoking Section?

Question of the day: If god loves us so much why does he go through all these games and shenanigans? Why did he send his son to jump through hoops and die?

Question: If god loves us so much why does he go through all these games and shenanigans? Why did he send his son to jump through hoops and die?

Answer: The Fall of Man unwittingly transferred dominion over the whole earth from Adam to Satan, with mankind ending up hopelessly and perpetually enslaved to Satan, sin and death.

So, mere forgiveness would have changed nothing.
The only hope for mankind
was divine intervention of a very particular type,
something only God was capable of accomplishing, for us.

Once redeemed from perpetual slavery to Satan, sin and death by Jesus Christ, it would be supremely foolish and wasteful for man to be voluntarily compromised by sin, once again.

That’s why God holds us to high standards, yet mercifully forgives, so long as we remain faithful (to him) and are truly repentant of our sins.

God typically accomplishes this for us by means of his grace and through our full, faithful and consistent participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of his Holy Catholic Church.

Today’s question: So when the mythical Jesus guy …

Question: So when the mythical Jesus guy was on Earth in the story, did he scare the Roman Empire enough to crush it or did the Roman Empire crush him?

Answer: Shortly after Jesus Christ rose again from the dead, he founded a universal Church, for the purpose of our salvation.

Jesus promised that the Gates of Hell (which is the Power of Death) would never prevail against his Church and that it (the Church) would last, until the end of time.

By about the 4th century, the Church had successfully converted the entire Roman Empire to Christ.

When the Roman Empire eventually declined and fell, the Church went on to rebuild all of modern western civilization, in the image of Heaven.

The Church (known today as Roman Catholic) constitutes the longest reigning, continuous government on Earth and has managed to continue to honor its divine mandate in spite of the many generations of corrupt people who have worked to subvert it, control it, overthrow it, and plunder its great treasures for themselves.

It’s really no wonder, since that “mythical Jesus guy” you asked about is still alive, is still the head of his universal Church and is still God, Almighty.

Today’s Question: How is it that Saint Pope John Paul II was able to stand before the Polish people, invoke the Holy Spirit and bring down the mighty, Soviet Union … but he was totally unable to root out any of the homosexual corruption that was … infesting every level of the Catholic Church?

Question: How is it that Saint Pope John Paul II was able to stand before the Polish people, invoke the Holy Spirit and bring down the mighty, Soviet Union (without a single shot being fired) but he was apparently totally unable (or unwilling) to root out any of the virulent, homosexual corruption that was (and still is) known to be infesting every level of the Catholic Church?

Answer: Perhaps there’s only one of those extraordinarily rare, totally unexpected, “Black Swan Events” that instantly change the world, allowed, per customer?

Perhaps the “homosexual collective” within the Catholic Church
is actually more powerful than the Soviet Union,
courtesy of “The Smoke of Satan” that was duly noted
by Saint Pope Paul VI, way back in the 1970’s?

Pope John Paul II was able to successfully galvanize the faithful, Polish people into action, but it’s clear that nothing remotely similar has taken place, regarding the clerical scandals, by any high, Church official.

If anything, the opposite is true.

Diocesan priests have been forced to simply “shut up” and keep their heads down, indicating that silence is the price they must pay for being allowed to continue to do their priestly work.

Other priests – and even, bishops – particularly those with something to hide – are routinely blackmailed into submission – if they’re not summarily shipped off to Soviet style, reorientation (mental) facilities, run by the Church, for just that purpose.

John Paul II’s successor, Pope Benedict XVI,
was allegedly forced to resign,
when he dared to oppose the Church’s powerful,
“Lavender Mafia”.

To this day, nobody knows precisely why he quit.

What we do know, is that Pope Benedict was quickly replaced by “Jorge, the Bergoglion Menace, from Argentina” and the Catholic Church hasn’t been quite the same, since. In fact, if we continue to let “let Jorge do it”, the Catholic Church may never be the same, again.

Jorge Bergoglio – Pope Francis – evidently believes in keeping his enemies close, since he has promoted scandal ridden, openly homosexual clerics to many of the highest offices in the Vatican. Francis prefers to “room” with them, too – in the Vatican’s Santa Marta Hotel – rather than occupy the more traditional, Papal Apartments. The apparent justification: “Who Am I To Judge?”, says Francis.

I can think of at least one person who is totally qualified to judge!
Maybe it’s time we Catholics all got together
to invoke the divine help of Jesus Christ,
in combating Church corruption.

After all, Jesus founded the Church. Jesus remains the head of the Church. And of course, Jesus had his Judas, so he knows how it feels to be betrayed.

It should be noted that Judas constituted
about 8% of the Apostles, at the time.

Jesus is evidently, the only one who has the power and authority to “fire” a corrupt, heretic Pope, who has yet to display any truly Catholic, spiritual credentials.

Maybe Jesus is merely waiting for an appropriate request,
from “The Body of Christ”.

Let us pray…

A technical question about the Bible, ransom and redemption, in Jesus Christ

Question: Does the bible describe the purchase of righteousness as a purchase like money?

Answer: Not exactly. The Bible describes the salvific act of Jesus Christ as that of a Kinsman Redeemer purchasing his enslaved relatives/family members from bondage: Not by paying a ransom to the slave holder, who illicitly obtained control over the slave(s) through malice and larceny (and hence, deserves nothing) but by selflessly offering himself as a propitiatory sacrifice to a just and righteous God, in order obtain justice for all and righteousness, for many.

What do we mean when we say “Peace Be With You” at Mass?

Question: Precisely what type of “peace” are we hoping for when we say “Peace Be With You” at Mass?

Answer: The “peace beyond all understanding” that the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity became man in order to declare, is the peace between sinful mankind and God, which could only be achieved by the salvific work of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son.

When we say “Peace Be With You” at Mass, we should be thinking something like this: “May God, according to the grace obtained for us by his divine son, forgive all our sins, justify us in faith and personally invite us to spend eternity with him, in Heaven.”

For people of true faith, that should also be enough to mitigate any of the temporarily anxieties and worries brought on by the stresses and strains of our mundane existence here on earth, until the day that we might be privileged to experience God as he really is.

Precious insights into the family life of the Blessed Virgin Mary – and our families, as well

Saint Joachim, the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Mediatrix of All Graces, knew the contempt that would be visited upon His Divine Grandson, Our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Joachim sent himself into voluntary exile after he was denounced by a priest of the Old Dispensation for not producing a child after twenty years of marriage to his wife, our good Saint Anne.

There, he was visited by an angel, who reminded him of the fact that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, did not conceive a child until she was ninety years old, telling him that his wife, Saint Anne, would conceive a daughter named Mary, who would be the Mother of God.

Saint Joachim and Saint Anne brought their daughter to the Temple when she was three years old, giving their long-awaited child back to the good God Who had given them to her, so that she could be the Mother of their own Savior, Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ.

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The Pope cannot change fundamental Catholic Church doctrine – so why does he go out of his way to make it look and sound like he’s going to?

St. Peter and St. John at the Beautiful Gate

by Doug Lawrence

Vatican II has already fundamentally changed Catholic Church doctrine, so those who claim the Pope cannot or will not do so are being somewhat disingenuous. Our present pope is the biggest “cheerleader” for Vatican II that the world has ever seen.

A “New Evangelization” is necessary in part, because in the wake of Vatican II, the people who ran (and still run) the Catholic Church led many of the faithful (and most of the known world) into ignorance, confusion and apostasy.

Top Church management is not much better enlightened today, so it’s necessary to question precisely what the “New Evangelizers” are asking faithful Catholics to do, that they haven’t been doing all along.

If they’re asking us to spread a “new” gospel that’s based on “freebies alone” (that’s what it sounds like) then we have a big problem, since the secular governments of the world have learned to inflate their tax rolls and and leverage their currencies in ways that allow them to finance massive wealth transfer/social programs which dwarf anything in that regard that individual Catholics (or Catholic parishes, or national bishops councils, or the Vatican) might be able to offer.

So, in a contest based solely on temporal goodies and give-aways, the New Catholic Evangelization is not only bound to fail – it will fail miserably! The sad record of The Catholic Campaign for Human Development and other high-profile Catholic Charities already provides ample evidence of this. When the Church takes government money, supposedly in order to accomplish charitable things, it invariably becomes subject to that very same secular government and the result is almost always something much less than truly charitable – and also something much, much less than authentically Catholic.

True charity, as it’s faithfully described in the authentic Gospels, is freely sharing the grace and love of God with others – not just by providing a modicum of necessary PHYSICAL GOODS – but also – and principally – making freely available those SPIRITUAL GOODS which ONLY the Catholic Church is capable of providing in UNLIMITED, SUPERNATURAL ABUNDANCE.

Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. And a certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was carried: whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, that he might ask alms of them that went into the temple. He, when he had seen Peter and John, about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms. But Peter with John, fastening his eyes upon him, said:

Look upon us. But he looked earnestly upon them, hoping that he should receive something of them. But Peter said: Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk. And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up: and forthwith his feet and soles received strength. And he leaping up, stood and walked and went in with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they knew him, that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him. And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran to them, to the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

But Peter seeing, made answer to the people: Ye men of Israel, why wonder you at this? Or why look you upon us, as if by our strength or power we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged he should be released. But you denied the Holy One and the Just: and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. But the author of life you killed, whom God hath raised from the dead: of which we are witnesses. And in the faith of his name, this man, whom you have seen and known, hath his name strengthened. And the faith which is by him hath given this perfect soundness in the sight of you all.

And now, brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance: as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had shewed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. That when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send him who hath been preached unto you, Jesus Christ. Whom heaven indeed must receive, until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the beginning of the world. For Moses said: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: him you shall hear according to all things whatsoever he shall speak to you. And it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. And all the prophets, from Samuel and afterwards, who have spoken, have told of these days.

You are the children of the prophets and of the testament which God made to our fathers, saying to Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed. To you first, God, raising up his Son, hath sent him to bless you: that every one may convert himself from his wickedness. (Acts 3:1-26)

We Catholics have no need of any other model or paradigm.  Hence, our reliance on the “Great Commission of Jesus Christ” which explicitly charges Catholics with the duty of continuously, clearly, charitably and unambiguously preaching the divine truth of the authentic Gospels to everyone, without exception – day in and day out – all around the world – as we pray without ceasing!

And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And seeing him they adored: but some doubted. And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. (Matthew 28:16-20)

The post-Vatican II Catholic Church leadership has already reasoned, preached and politically negotiated their way around these explicit commands of Jesus Christ, cleverly inferring that some people have no need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his Holy Catholic Church. Now, as part of this “New Evangelization” they want us to do the same. That’s certainly new and novel, but it’s also material heresy – and that’s not something that any Catholic should be preaching!

Pope Francis’ attempt at projecting an image of a kinder, gentler, “big tent” modern Catholic Church is something that would be laudable if such had not already been the case since the very beginning, courtesy of its’ divine founder and finisher, Jesus Christ.

If things have gone off the track in recent times, the hierarchy might consider going back to and once again learning to rely on what God has already provided, that which the Catholic Church has always possessed in unlimited, supernatural abundance and which – in every age except perhaps, this present, wicked one – has always proved to be sufficient.

Scientific fact: The Blessed Virgin Mary carried Jesus inside her body for a lot longer than nine months.

The report examined the increasing evidence that “when a woman has a baby, she gets not just a son or daughter, [but] an army of protective cells–gifts from her children that will stay inside her and defend her for the rest of her life.”

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Editor’s note:  And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49)

Isn’t literal, biblical truth grand? Consider all the awesome ramifications!

Now, what about those Christians who hold that Mary is no different than the rest of us? Does that not constitute an explicit denial of scientific fact, as well as an implicit denial of the power, holiness and divinity of Jesus Christ? 

The closer you look and the more you come to know about the unique relationship between Jesus and his blessed mother, the easier it is to accept and appreciate Catholic dogma on the subject – including her total sinlessness, her absolutely holy life and her assumption into Heaven – body, as well as soul – all according to God’s grace and plan.

Related slide show

Jung Replaces Jesus In Catholic Spirituality

Walk into a typical Catholic bookstore and browse in the “spirituality” section, and you’ll see the best-selling books of such popularizers of the Jung Cult as priests Basil Pennington, Richard Rohr, and Thomas Keating.

Read the listings for “spirituality” programs and retreats in many diocesan newspapers. You will see that programs on Jungian dream analysis, discovering the child within, contacting your “god/goddess,” or similar such Jungian therapy programs predominate, even though they have nothing to do with Catholic spirituality and are inherently antithetical to it.

Forty years ago, the great Catholic psychiatrist Karl Stern in <The Third Revolution> (Harcourt Brace & Co.. 1954), wrote that most Catholic scholars recognized that Jung and Catholicism are incompatible-irreconcilable-and he warned that the Jungian who begins viewing religion as existing on the same plane as psychology ends up viewing all religions as equally irrelevant.

“As a German philosopher friend of mine once remarked with a pun,” wrote Stern, “<Das gleich Gultige wird gleichgutig> (that which is equally relevant becomes irrelevant). The curtain of the temple is conjured away with an elegant flourish. The border between nature and grace exists no longer, and no longer are you mortally engaged. Matters of the spirit are part of a noncommittal therapeutic method; Jacob no longer wrestles with the angel in a horrible grip which leaves him forever limping -instead, he takes his daily hour of gymnastics.”

In the years since, however, Catholic scholars, priests, religious, and laity have gone over to Jung with the fervor of Athenians flocking to the Oracle at Delphi.

Related article

Pope Francis and the Post-Vatican II “New Church”: Solid proof that casting pearls before swine is perilous folly.

by Doug Lawrence

Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.  (Matthew 7:6)

The violent deconstruction of the Catholic Church during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s was the literal fulfillment of the above scripture, as the post-Vatican II revolutionaries were allowed to rage virtually unrestrained – tearing down, trampling and desecrating all that was holy, within the Catholic Church.

For the most part, obedient and faithful Catholics were taken aback, not knowing what to make of it all. And by the time things became clearer, it was already too late. In hindsight, it’s evident that the majority of Catholics chose to quit, rather than fight. That’s a real shame, since there’s no medals for deserters – in either the military services – or the Church Militant!

Now, after a short, moderate respite, we have a very popular pope, “cut” from Post-Vatican II revolutionary cloth – who eschews tradition, has little regard for dogma, and claims to be a humble man of peace – all the while shamelessly plotting a final and definitive coup de grâce to what is still barely recognizable as the venerable Roman Catholic Church. Should he and his minions actually succeed in this pernicious work, the result will be a spiritual and physical holocaust of epic proportions, possibly culminating in nothing less than the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to start paying very close attention – since you don’t want to be on the wrong side of things when the Master finally returns!

And this is charity: That we walk according to his commandments.

For this is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same: For many seducers are gone out into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a seducer and an antichrist.

Look to yourselves, that you lose not the things which you have wrought: but that you may receive a full reward.

Whosoever revolts and continues not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that continues in the doctrine, the same hath both the Father and the Son.

If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him: God speed you. For he that saith unto him: God speed you, communicates with his wicked works.
(2 John 1:6-11)

Why homo sex and shacking up will always be considered immoral, by the Holy Catholic Church

(Click graphic to enlarge)

by Doug Lawrence

1) According to the Bible and the Catholic Church, there is no doubt that virtually all deliberate, willful homosexual acts – as well as sexual intercourse and similar types of activity between men and women, not married to each other – are objectively sinful.

The only question that remains is whether God will choose to judge any particular person to be worthy of eternal punishment, as a result.

As far as we humans can know, anyone who is fully aware of the biblical/Catholic Church teachings on such matters and who still freely chooses to engage in them, will be subject to divine judgment.

There’s absolutely no way to honestly reinterpret the Bible in order to avoid this conclusion. Anything to the contrary is mere “spin” and/or deception. For more on this, see: The 4 sins that cry out to Heaven for vengeance.

2)  The prohibition against homosexual depravity, adultery, fornication and other related sexual sins is DEFINITELY NOT something that was long ago consigned to the dust bin of history.

While it’s true that Jesus Christ personally fulfilled and then respectfully set aside the entirety of the Old Covenant Laws, Ordinances and Statutes, making them void and of no further effect – the full moral authority described in the Old Law was transferred to the Catholic Church, the sole governing authority of the New, better and everlasting Covenant, which was given to us personally by Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper.

The condemnation of homosexual acts and culture, of abortion, adultery, fornication and related sexual sins was in fact, promptly reinterpreted and readopted by the divinely appointed leaders of the fledgling New Covenant Catholic Church, according to the extraordinarily high moral standards personally established by Jesus Christ, while he still walked the earth, which deemed not just the acts themselves – but even deliberately thinking about doing them – to be gravely sinful.

Sensible people would do well to spend some quality time working out in their mind precisely why Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, would according to his divine wisdom, so strongly caution his creatures (us) against even thinking about such things!

All those living in today’s New Covenant times are expected to live up to this higher standard, defined by none other than Jesus Christ – God himself – who redeemed us from the powers of darkness by his atoning sacrifice on the cross – and who thereby earned the right to judge both the quick and the dead, without exception.

These divine standards apply to all.  Not just Christians. The Catholic Church has been teaching and explaining this to people, all around the world,  for the last 2,000 years. In this age of instant information, there may still be some excuses for lack of faith in God or in his Catholic Church, but the case for invincible ignorance in  matters sexual is getting harder and harder to make, everyday!

3) The act of “shacking up” (living together as man and wife – whether homo or hetero – without benefit of sacramental matrimony) institutionalizes and makes permanent sinful, personal depravity.

Continuing to “live together in sin” – even if a firm purpose of amendment exists – means that genuine repentance is not possible – hence, these and other sins are not likely to be forgiven, unless and until the illicit living arrangement is discontinued. 

This is spiritually, an extremely dangerous condition in which to exist, since death and judgment might occur at any time. God prefers that we all live in peace, unafraid of death, according to his grace. See: A Last Chance for Lost Souls.

4) The necessity of enlightened prudential judgment and high personal moral standards, according to the clearly defined teachings, traditions and practices of the Catholic Church, as well as the absolute certainty of Divine Judgment by Jesus Christ, the Just Judge and Savior of ALL mankind, should as a practical matter, be considered a “given” – since the Bible and the Catholic Church unanimously hold that this sobering prospect applies to all – without compromise or exception.

The Bottom Line:

Legalizing, promoting and celebrating immoral, illicit heterosexual and/or homosexual lifestyles is the surest way of leading untold millions of souls to Hell. There’s absolutely no love in that!

The official Christian opposition to all forms of sexual immorality is based on inerrant, unchanging, divine mandate – plus thousands of years of practical experience in various world civilizations. The fact that many professed Christians fail to correctly practice their faith changes nothing.

The Catholic Church offers a number of practical and effective solutions for these and other major issues of the day – including complete and total absolution for a lifetime of sins, no matter how serious. The fact that corruption has always existed inside the Catholic Church, at one level or another, sadly diminishes but can never totally negate the Church’s divine power and authority, or its’ particular efficacy in the proper care of souls.

Jesus Christ remains the head of the Catholic Church and it his power alone that serves to keep the Catholic Church authentically holy and totally indefectible.

Please give all of this very serious consideration.

The Man They Still Hate

The world has long since forgiven Julius Caesar. Nobody today finds Socrates or Cicero irritating. Few of us resent Alexander the Great or his tutor, Aristotle.

No, only one man in the ancient world is still hated after two millennia: Jesus Christ.

This does not in itself prove the divinity of Christ, but it does show that his words and example haven’t dated. They still have an amazing power to provoke hatred as well as adoration.

Of course the hatred of Christ usually pretends to be directed at side targets: St. Paul, the “institutional” Church, or, more vaguely, “organized religion” (as if religion would be all right if only it were a solitary activity). The cliché of the Christ-haters, including many “liberal” theologians, is that he was a “great moral teacher” who “never claimed divinity,” but that his “simple message of love” was “corrupted” by his followers.

But why would anyone want a man crucified for preaching an innocuous message of benevolence? Jesus was accused of blasphemy for equating himself with the Father: “I and the Father are one.” “No man comes to the Father but by me.” And if his claim were untrue, the charge of blasphemy would be fully justified.

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Submitted by Mark H.

Pope Francis names Jews the “Big Brothers” of Roman Catholics. How can that be, since the Jews remain solidly anti Jesus Christ, who by virtue of our Baptism, is truly our “Big Brother” in faith?

The Jews stoning Saint Stephen
Our authentic “Big Brother” can be seen enthroned in Heaven above

(This is a repost of an earlier article, which contains a number of very pertinent, comments/arguments and observations. View the original post here.)

“We renew our closeness and solidarity to the Jewish people, our big brothers, and pray to God that the memory of the past and of the sins of the past helps us to be always vigilant against every form of hate and intolerance,” Francis told thousands in St. Peter’s Square in his Sunday mass.

Link

Editor’s note: To shed some badly needed light on this subject, we have a short excerpt from the venerable Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture regarding 1st John 19-29 and those who deny that Jesus Christ is the Messiah:

During this period truth and error concerning the person of Jesus Christ will be disseminated, the former by authorized apostles, the latter by false teachers.

19. It is a cause of great distress to the beloved disciple that these teachers of error were once members of the Church. 20. In contrast to these apostates are those ‘who have the unction from the Holy One’, i.e. from Christ, whose name signifies ‘the Anointed One’, and who in baptism anointed them with sanctifying grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and enlightened them.

22. Who is the liar’. The falsehood of Antichrist is the denial that Jesus is the Messias, i.e. the Anointed One, and that he is the Son of God.

23. Anyone who denies the eternal generation of the Son from the Father, ‘hath not the Father’, i.e. has no fellowship with him.

26-29. There is reason for warning them against false seducers. Not that they need explicit instruction in the matter. They have received the unction of the Holy Spirit who will enlighten them concerning what they must know. His teachings are the truth, without any admixture of falsehood. Let them hold fast, therefore, to the faith which he imparted to them. Thus they will be able to meet their Judge with confidence; for he judges justly and approves those who lead good lives.

*****

In short, since we Christians became adopted children of God at Baptism, Jesus Christ is our “Big Brother” – not “the Jews”. This prurient papal patronizing of the Jews constitutes political correctness and modern-day Masonic apostasy run amok. According to the Catholic Catechism, the Jews do not even qualify as legitimate “People of God” – let alone as “Big Brothers” of any Catholic Christian.

The authentic Catholic truth of the matter

…It is a fact patent for all to see, that, in the world as it exists, the Jews, as an organised nation, refuse to accept Him Who is the Cornerstone of the building and the Foundation of right order, and look forward to a messianic era to be ushered in by another messias. Do they not proclaim this from the house tops?

Klausner, Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in his book, Jesus of Nazareth, writes as follows: “What is Jesus to the Jewish nation at the present day? To the Jewish nation he can be neither God nor the Son of God, in the sense conveyed by belief in the Trinity. Either conception is to the Jew not only impious and blasphemous, but incomprehensible. Neither can he, to the Jewish nation, be the Messiah: the kingdom of Heaven (the ‘Days of the Messiah’) is not yet come . . . [The ethical code of Jesus] is no ethical code for the nations and social order of today, when men are still trying to find the way to that future of the Messiah and the Prophets, and to the ‘kingdom of the Almighty’ spoken of by the Talmud, an ideal which is of this ‘world’ and which, gradually and in the course of generations, is to take shape in this world.”

Additional note: This last line pretty much defines the popular apostasy of the day – “The New World Order” – an order with man – instead of Jesus Christ – as head and King. This IS the definition of Anti-Christ – and our last few popes – including Francis – appear to have swallowed the lie, whole and complete!

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
(1) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,
(2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
(3) 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.
(5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
(6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
(8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
(9) [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
(10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
(11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
(12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The Vatican II document Nostre Aetate states neither what recent Popes nor today’s Jews often claim it does.

by Doug Lawrence

Reading this, try to keep in mind that the Tribe of Judah (a.k.a. “The Jews”) comes from the stock of Abraham – the Father of Our Faith – and not the other way around!

The segment of the Vatican II document Nostre Aetate specifically dealing with the relationship of the Catholic Church to the Jews: 

4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham’s sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch’s call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)

The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: “theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:4-5)*, the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church’s main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ’s Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people. *(This passage was badly misinterpreted in the original 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and was, after some controversy, later corrected by the U.S. Catholic bishops, in a secret ballot.)

As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and “serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Soph. 3:9).(12)

Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.

Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.

Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church’s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God’s all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.

5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8).

No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.

The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to “maintain good fellowship among the nations” (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)

Read the entire document

A Few Scriptural highlights:

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren… (Matthew 1:1-2)

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living… (Matthew 22:32)

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever… (Luke 1:55)

Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy [promised] to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham… (Luke 1:68-73)

Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am… (John 8:53-58)

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [him] go… (Acts 3:13)

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed… (Acts 3:25)

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob; and Jacob [begat] the twelve patriarchs… (Acts 7:8)

Men [and] brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent… (Acts 13:26)

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness… (Romans 4:1-5)

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law [be] heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, [there is] no transgression. Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all… (Romans 4:13-16)

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace… (Romans 11:1-5)

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though [it be] but a man’s covenant, yet [if it be] confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance [be] of the law, [it is] no more of promise: but God gave [it] to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one. [Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise… (Galatians 3:6-29)

Editor’s note: Despite all the flowery prose, along with certain modernist errors and omissions contained in the Nostre Aetate document, there exists a world of difference (as well as the practical hope of eternal salvation) between a Jewish person who is merely a naturally born child of God, still steeped in Original Sin, not yet redeemed from eternal slavery to Satan, sin and death – and a faithful, baptized Catholic Christian who is a living Temple of the Holy Spirit, a member of the Church, an adopted child of God, a Citizen of Heaven and co-heir with Jesus Christ to all the promises of God.

The purpose of genuine Evangelization is to reach out in love to all the unbaptized, without exception, and to freely offer them God’s wonderful gift of salvation and grace, according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to falsely patronize and mislead them!

The rational logic of Nostre Aetate must also work both ways: Just as  what happened at Christ’s passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor (exclusively) against the Jews of today – neither can the horrors of the Holocaust be charged against all non-Jews, without  distinction, then alive, nor against non-Jews (especially Catholics) of today.

The simple fact remains that there is no basis for unjust discrimination against the Jewish people, or against any individual Jewish person. Our Christian faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbor, with very few exceptions.

There is however, a tremendous distinction between the beliefs and practices of various forms of modern Judaism, loosely defined as Jewish Naturalism, and the authentic beliefs and practices of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ – differences so great as to be irreconcilable by anyone other than God, himself. 

Due largely in part to their continued denial and rejection of Jesus Christ as God, Messiah and Savior and their emphasis instead, on justification under the Law (attempting to keep the Ten Commandments and all the other ordinances and statutes of the old, Mosaic Law) today’s Jews have much in common with the Muslims, as Muslim Sharia Law is essentially nothing more than a regional/national variation of the old, Mosaic Law – which never has been capable of saving a soul.

For, if that were the case, there would have been no need for Jesus Christ, our Holy Redeemer, to take on flesh, live, suffer, die and rise again, as our propitiation for sin, according to the will of God the Father.

Contrary to the novelties of the last fifty-sixty years, these very substantial differences in beliefs are  not something we Catholics would want to gloss over, condone, or celebrate – although friends may be able to agree to disagree on such matters.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

A Reflection on the Modern Error of Preaching Mercy without Repentance

There are of course many ways of describing the pastoral, liturgical and theological struggles of our day. But one very simple way of describing current problems that touches on all these areas is simply this:  that a presumptive attitude of mercy without repentance is both taught and widely held by far too many modern Catholics, and other Christians. (Editor’s note: And evidently – certain Roman Catholic Popes.)

Read more

Must see: Extraordinary video provides truthful, common sense answers to some of the Bible’s most intriguing mysteries.

Watch the 11 minute video

No smoke. No mirrors. Just a simple, totally “orthodox” explanation of key Old and New Testament Scriptures and the divine connections between the Bible, Jesus, Mary, the Evangelists, the Early Church Fathers, the constant teachings of the Catholic Church, and the authentic beliefs and practices of the Christian faithful.

Most people have probably never heard, read, or seen this information before – but it’s all true and it’s all right there in the Bible, for anyone to plainly see.

Watch the 11 minute video

A colossal Catholic Church failure of such massive proportions, it boggles the mind!

Upside-down flag as a distress signal

by Doug Lawrence

Reminiscing about going to Catholic school in the 1950’s and 60’s in Chicago, when the post-war baby boomers swelled the ranks of the student body by a factor of two or three, we remembered the wonderful, Jesus-centered teaching Sisters who somehow managed to maintain control of their classrooms, in spite of having over fifty young children in their charge. They even managed to do it with a certain dignity, grace (and yes, even serenity) that’s seldom seen in this day and age!

Monthly tuition was generally less than $5 per student ($45 per school year) – with substantial discounts available for families with several children – and the quality of the education was unsurpassed!

It wasn’t uncommon to have three or more classes per grade level, with fifty or more children in each – all of them good little Catholic saints-in-training.

Thanks to the dedicated sisters and the Baltimore Catechism, the children actually knew all of the basic Catholic prayers – as well as who made the world, who God is, who man is, why God made them – and many other critically important Catholic concepts and truths!

Common sense tells us that such a huge wave
of well trained, superbly disciplined Catholic children
should have soon blossomed into the mainstream world,
profoundly and permanently changing things for the better,
elevating the public status of the Catholic Church to new heights
and attracting a virtual flood of new converts.

Only that’s not what happened.

You see – somebody came up with the idea to call a Church Council – and to use that Council to introduce strange, radical changes – supposedly intended to reinvigorate the decrepit, crumbling and hopelessly out of date Catholic Church of the Ages.

This would almost certainly usher in a “New Springtime” for the Church and initiate an era of growth, peace and unity never before seen by mankind.

Yeah … right!

What we got instead was a Catholic Church in apostasy and chaos, dominated by radicals and wackos who held distinct Protestant, Communist and yes, even Masonic ideologies.

For a time, it became a “know-nothing” church – where you couldn’t get a straight answer about anything. It was also seriously divided along secular political lines. Because of all this, and despite the misleading public facade, the Catholic Church was able to function at only a very minimal level.

A mere shadow of its former self, the “new” Church, for a time, was of little practical use to anyone – except for a precious few of God’s very elect – and of course – for many of the incompetents, homosexual pederasts, clericalists, heretics and careerists who remained (and unfortunately, still remain) in power.

When chaos reigns, almost anything goes!

This is what we baby boomer Catholics were faced with, as we went out to make our way in the world. Our “train” had wrecked and we found ourselves wandering alone, through an unknown spiritual landscape that was fraught with unparalleled confusion, corruption and ruin.

When we eventually managed to make our way back and reestablish contact with Holy Mother Church, we found that she had become almost unrecognizable!

Mark H. – one of our regular readers and frequent commenters – recently pointed out the type of damage that can occur when unelected liberal elitists who happen to be in charge of things, band together to arbitrarily recreate a community, in their own tragically flawed image and likeness.

For the Catholic Church, it meant the spiritual abortion
of nearly an entire generation of faithful Catholics.

For the world at large, it would soon mean
the literal abortion of millions of innocent babies,
along with the normalization
of many other abominable forms of moral apostasy.

This was, without a doubt, one of the most colossal failures
of moral leadership in the history of the modern world.

It should be noteworthy that it was the leadership
of the Catholic Church which was the first to fall,
opening the gates for all that would later come to pass.  

This “Mystery of Iniquity” is one of the reasons I keep coming back to 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-17:

(1) And we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and of our gathering together unto him:
(2) That you be not easily moved from your sense nor be terrified, neither by spirit nor by word nor by epistle. as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand.
(3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition
(4) Who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.
(5) Remember you not that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
(6) And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way.
(8) And then that wicked one shall be revealed: whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: him
(9) Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power and signs and lying wonders:
(10) And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish: because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
(11) Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying:
(12) That all may be judged who have not believed the truth but have consented to iniquity.
(13) But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of God, for that God hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth:
(14) Whereunto also he hath called you by our gospel, unto the purchasing of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
(16) Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God and our Father, who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope in grace,
(17) Exhort your hearts and confirm you in every good work and word.

*****

The violence – both spiritual and physical – continues unabated, to this day – and we Catholics have recently been advised by our Pope to stop obsessing about it.

Make of that whatever you like!

Miraculous survival, guardian angels and saintly relatives who have gone to their eternal reward

by Doug Lawrence

There is a horrific accident. Some people die. Some are spared.

Is it just a random game of numbers, or is there more to this than meets the eye?

Catholics and even some non-Catholic Christians will tell you about their guardian angels – powerful, pure spirit beings, personally assigned by God almighty, to keep us safe from harm.

Even less understood and appreciated are the “Kinsman Redeemers” who step forward to right wrongs and save their people from poverty, starvation, death – and worse.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, made man, is the ultimate Kinsman Redeemer, but the Bible shows us many more.

The story of Ruth and Boaz is probably the next most significant, since through their timely meeting and subsequent marriage, the sacred blood line of the coming Messiah was preserved. (See 4:22, below.) 

Ruth 4:9-22
(9) And he said to the ancients, and to all the people: You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and Chelion’s, and Mahalon’s, of the hand of Noemi:
(10) And have taken to wife Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of Mahalon, to raise up the name of the deceased in his inheritance lest his name be cut off, from among his family and his brethren and his people. You, I say, are witnesses of this thing.
(11) Then all the people that were in the gate, and the ancients, answered: We are witnesses: The Lord make this woman who cometh into thy house, like Rachel, and Lia, who built up the house of Israel: that she may be an example of virtue in Ephrata, and may have a famous name in Bethlehem:
(12) And that the house may be, as the house of Phares, whom Thamar bore unto Juda, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.
(13) Boaz therefore took Ruth, and married her: and went in unto her, and the Lord gave her to conceive, and to bear a son.
(14) And the women said to Noemi: Blessed be the Lord, who hath not suffered thy family to want a successor: that his name should be preserved in Israel.
(15) And thou shouldst have one to comfort thy soul, and cherish thy old age. For he is born of thy daughter in law: who loveth thee: and is much better to thee, than if thou hadst seven sons.
(16) And Noemi taking the child, laid it in her bosom, and she carried it, and was a nurse unto it.
(17) And the women, her neighbours, congratulating with her, and saying, There is a son born to Noemi, called his name Obed: he is the father of Isai, the father of David.
(18) These are the generations of Phares: Phares begot Esron,
(19) Esron begot Aram, Aram begot Aminadab,
(20) Aminadab begot Nahasson, Nahasson begot Salmon,
(21) Salmon begot Booz, Booz begot Obed,
(22) Obed begot Isai (Jessie), Isai (Jessie) begot David.

Nor are Kinsman Redeemers required to be presently alive, here on earth. Catholics will explain the concept of the Communion of Saints – that great cloud of faithful witnesses who have gone before us – now in Heaven – eternally perfected in God’s power, grace and mercy.

These holy souls have the right to approach the throne of the Most High God with their petitions – hopefully, interceding with him for us – their beloved progeny and “kin”.

This goes much, much further and it is much more powerful than we might imagine – since by virtue of our baptism, we are all adopted children of God – brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ – with his mother – the Blessed Virgin Mary, also ours.

Saint Paul sums things up quite nicely:

Romans 8:28-39
(28) And we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.
(29) For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be made conformable to the image of his Son: that he might be the Firstborn amongst many brethren.
(30) And whom he predestined, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified.
(31) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?
(32) He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?
(33) Who shall accuse against the elect of God? God is he that justifieth:
(34) Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died: yea that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
(35) Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword?
(36) (As it is written: For thy sake, we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.)
(37) But in all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us.
(38) For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might,
(39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, the next time things turn out miraculously better than you might ever have expected, don’t forget to thank God, thank your guardian angel, and thank your “extended family” in Heaven. (But why wait? Take a moment to give God thanks and praise, right now!)

The article that inspired this post:

Toddler cheats death after car crashes into buggy and crushes it against wall