"Keep watch over yourselves and cover the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he aqquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. Acts 20:28-30.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed. As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one you recieved, let that one be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9
Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please peple, I would not be a slave of Christ. Galatians 1: 10.
Anyone who is so "progressive" as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoeve remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:9
Were do we fit today in relation to these teachings? Christ is telling us about our world 2000 + years ago. We have plenty of wolves out there telling us that Christ's teachings (the teachings of his Church) are "Old Fashioned". "Why can't we use birth control?" "It is better for society to have children we can handle. " "Abortion is fine, it reduces crime, and unwanted children who are a burden on society". "Ms. So and So has lived a good life, but now she can't feed herself. She broke her hip...and does not have health care... she is ready to die...maybe she would be better off" These are arguments the secular world (wolves) want you to listen to. If you keep hearing this, they hope, you will start to think they "have a point". The Church has direct authority from Jesus Christ in questions of morality. This article is not indended to be a point by point debate on these issues (that would take much more time than I have now), but instead an argument against the popular "Cafeteria Catholic".
The points here, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, are all political hot buttons in today's world. It seems as though the birth control issue has completely fallen away, abortion is very hot today, and euthanisia (I'm afraid) is comming soon to a theatre near you. There are many aspects of the Church that people seem to make light of. They seemingly elect themselves Pope for their own convienience. As Catholics, we have a moral obligation to obey the Pope. We are given such wonderful gifts in the sacraments.
Through Baptism, we are washed clean of original sin. Through Confession we are forgiven (absolved) of any sin...ANY SIN...that we truly are sorry for...understand this, GOD loves you so much...all you have to do is ask for forgiveness through the sacrament of Confession. Lesser, venial sins, are normally forgiven through prayer and the Mass, but Mortal sins need the sacrament. Through Confession, we are able to be in a state of grace in order to properly recieve Jesus through his greatest gift: HIMSELF! You must love the Eucharist. You MUST believe that he TRULY IS PRESENT in the HOST. If you don't, you truly commit sacreliege by still recieving. The other sacrements are Holy Orders, Marriage, Annointing of the Sick.
We find in today's world, many people trying to justify living in sin. Not attending Mass, Confession, Birth Control, no prayer, Failure to defend the faith, are all things many people (Catholic people) who are good people do everyday. These types of things don't seem as evil as adultery, abortion, murder, etc. The problem is that they can do just as much damage to one's soul as any other sin. When one convinces himself that these seemingly "harmless" things are ok, the Devil starts to smile. Electing yourself Pope is very dangerous. Instead of changing the rules, one can ask for forgiveness and try their best to change. Go to Confession, recieve the Eucharist. The forgiving power of GOD is amazing. Believe the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Strive to live up to the faith, knowing that we are all sinners. Utilize the loving forgiveness Jesus through the Church to stay in good standing with GOD.
Please understand that the Church has authority from GOD. We are lay people, and most of us are not theolgians. We have such as wonderful tool in the Church. As Catholics, we do not have to interpret the Bible for ourselves. We do not have to decide tough moral questions for ourselves. Jesus lives through the Church to do this for us. We must be humble before the Lord and realize that we need the Church and all of it's wisdom, however "old fashioned" it may seem. Please read on my Divine Mercy Page Sister Faustina's vision of Hell (http://www.divinemercysunday.com/vision.htm) . Read this and decide if you want to take the chance that you know more than 2000 years of the Church. Eternity is...well...eternity...and in Hell...well...it's Hell...
Remember that GOD Loves each one of us more than we can imagine. I recently heard an analogy (not to be taken literally) that God loves us so much, that we are like Gods to him. While not taken literally, because we are not Gods, it gets the point accross on the love GOD has for us. Take advantage of this. God Bless you...
God have mercy on me, a sinner.
Amen
2 comments:
I find your blog both thoughtless and frightening. But don't let thaqt deter you. I just believe that humanity has progressed in spite or, not because of, religion...especially the Catholic religion.
I say this as a catholic and a human being.
Nice trolling, Mr. "catholic" and "human being". Of course, what you say is true, only if you have a thoughtless notion of what it means to "progress." Since you were raised in the late 20th century, liberal culture seems best to you, and therefore, the more a culture approaches liberalism, the more it has "progressed." Your implied criticism of Catholic tradition is simply that it isn't liberal. No kidding. Try judging things on their merits, rather than with an empty criterion like "progress."
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