Where Else Shall We Go? by Randall Smith

 Where Else Shall We Go?

Randall Smith

Some say that people are leaving the Catholic Church over the current scandals.  This confuses me. In whom did you have faith?  The priest?  The bishop?  Or God?  If your faith was in a priest, a bishop, or even the pope, then what you professed was idolatry, not Christian faith.

Am I downplaying the seriousness of the scandal or the damage it has done?  No, but let’s put things into perspective.  If you ask, “How can I continue to have faith in the Catholic Church considering all these horrible acts?” you might put yourself in the place of the Jewish community after the Holocaust. They had to ask themselves: “How can I continue to have faith in God considering all these horrible acts?”

How can we continue to dedicate ourselves to a community so unfaithful to God?  Moses asked the same question when he saw the infidelity of his fellow Jews in the desert. The prophets asked the same question when they saw the injustices of the people in the Promised Land.  The early apostles must have asked themselves the same question when they saw that it was one of their own company who handed Jesus over to His enemies.  And Peter himself, the “rock” on which the Church was to be built, denied he even knew the Lord in His most desperate hour of need.  What could anyone do to compete with that?

How hard would it have been to stay in the Church when one’s friends, neighbors, and family members were being martyred, torn to shred by animals or burned alive, for refusing to deny their faith? How hard would it have been to stay in the Church when so many of one’s other friends, neighbors, and family members had given in and denied Christ in the face of the threats of the Roman authorities.  Life in the Church has rarely been simple.

What would you have done when the Arian crisis split the Church in two, with the supposedly “Christian” emperor Constantine and most of the empire siding with the Arians?  How about when three men all claimed to be pope in the fourteenth century? Or when the Protestant Revolt split Christendom and much of the Church hierarchy was corrupt and moribund?  The Council of Trent was a great gift of the Spirit, but it didn’t commence until 1545 (Martin Luther authored the 95 theses in 1517), and it didn’t wrap up until 1563, nearly twenty years later.

Imagine being a Catholic in the midst of these scandals. What would you have done?  Would you have been one of those who stayed and fought the good fight in faith?  Or would you have been one of the many who said, “That’s it. I’m out”?

But then where would you have gone?  That’s the question Peter asks Christ.  “Lord, where else shall we go?” Who else has the words of everlasting life?

I’m sorry, but did I miss something?  Did Christ found some other Church – the Church with the good people?  The Church with the perfect liturgies?  The Church in which all the clergy and laity are doctrinally correct and without sin? Because I’ve never seen it.  I’ve never read about it in the Scriptures, nor did the Fathers and Doctors of the Church mention it.  Quite the contrary; they repeatedly talk about the human element of the Church being sinful and in need of Christ’s redemption.

Are these scandals keeping people away from the Church?  Please.  People are staying away from the Church because the Church makes uncomfortable moral claims and because Catholics aren’t a living witness in society to the truth of that teaching.  Surveys have repeatedly shown Catholics to be little different from the general public in their opinions on fundamental moral issues.  Catholics in San Francisco threatened to sue their own bishop when he tried to enforce basic moral principles on the Catholic schools. Archbishop Chaput is held at arms’ length by many Catholic universities, while Cardinal Mahoney, supposedly under penance the way ex-Cardinal McCarrick was, travels freely.

Ask priests and editors of “conservative” Catholic websites what kind of blowback they get when they try to tell the laity they should pay a living wage, be fair and honest in their business practices, or exercise a preferential option for the poor.   What kind of priests and bishops would you expect to get when large portions of the laity revolt if they hear anything from the pulpit about abortion, contraception, fornication, and same-sex sexual activity?

Large proportions of American Catholics wanted bishops who would look the other way as they openly violated fundamental Catholic teaching.  Why are they surprised now to discover that some of these men “bent the rules” in their personal lives as well?  Was fidelity what people were looking for?  Or a winning personality and the ability to raise money?  Wasn’t the latter the reason why so many institutions now so self-righteously condemning McCarrick earlier lavished him with honors and praise?

C.S. Lewis once complained about a culture that produces “men without chests” and then expects of them virtue. “We laugh at honor,” wrote Lewis, “and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.  We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”  An American Catholic Church that laughed at Catholic social teaching and Catholic sexual morality should not be shocked to find doctrinal and moral traitors in its midst.

What do we do now?  Demand the truth?  Certainly. But as the Czech dissident Vaclav Havel insisted, you demand truth by living in the truth.  We should say of authentic Church teaching what St. Augustine said about the Gospel: “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Are you a Catholic?  Then stop worrying – and act like one.

The Presence of Angels at the Eucharist by: JEAN DANIELOU

The Presence of Angels at the Eucharist

JEAN DANIELOU

 The angels are present especially at the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Mass is, actually, a sacramental participation in the liturgy of heaven, the cult* officially rendered to the Trinity by the full host of the spiritual creation. The presence of the angels introduces the Eucharist into heaven itself. They help to surround it with a sacred mystery.

“The angels surround the priest,” writes St. John Chrysostom. “The whole sanctuary and the space before the altar is filled with the heavenly Powers come to honor Him who is present upon the altar.” And elsewhere: “Think now of what kind of choir you are going to enter. Although vested with a body, you have been judged worthy to join the Powers of heaven in singing the praises of Him who is Lord of all.” “Behold the royal table. The angels serve at it. The Lord Himself is present.”

There is only one priestly activity, and that is Jesus Christ’s. By it the whole of creation glorifies the Trinity. This is this same activity that is offered by the angels in heaven and the saints on earth. This participation appears in the New Testament, where the liturgy of the Church is presented as a participation in that of the angels. Thus, in the letter to the Hebrews, we read: “But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in the heavens, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new testament, and to a sprinkling of blood which speaks better than Abel.”

As for the Apocalypse, it is the vision of the Christian Sunday worship that the visionary sees as prolonged in the liturgy of heaven.

The Heavenly Liturgy

The angels are associated with the different parts of the sacrifice. Theodore of Mopsuestia shows them symbolized by the ministers who arrange the offerings upon the altar: “By means of the deacons who minister in what is being accomplished, we can see in spirit the invisible Powers ministering as they assist in this ineffable liturgy.”

Further on he adds, “You must realize that there is an image of the invisible Powers in this service that the deacons are charged with now, as they bear the offering for the oblation . . . And when they have brought it in, it is placed upon the holy altar by the angels for the perfect fulfillment of the Passion. The deacons who spread the cloths upon the altar recall the burial linens; and those who, once the sacred Body has been produced, stand on either side and fan the air around it, represent the angels who remained by Christ all the while He was dead, to honor Him, until they had seen His Resurrection.”

It is easy to see how the display of the liturgy of earth is a visible reflection, an efficacious symbol, of the heavenly liturgy of the angels. This unity of the two cults is expressed by the liturgy itself in the Preface, where it invites the community of the Church to unite with the Thrones and the Dominations, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, to sing the angelic hymn of praise, the Thrice-Holy:

“Reflect upon whom it is that you are near and with whom you are about to invoke God — the Cherubim. Think of the choirs you are about to enter. Let no one have any thought of earth (sursum corda), but let him lose himself of every earthly thing and transport himself whole and entire into heaven. Let him abide there beside the very throne of glory, hovering with the Seraphim, and singing the most holy song of the God of glory and majesty.”

Elsewhere St. John Chrysostom remarks that the Gloria in Excelsis is the chant of the lower angels. Even the catechumens are permitted to join in it. But the Sanctus is the chant of the Seraphim; it leads into the very sanctuary of the Trinity, and thus “it is reserved for the initiated, the baptized.”

Holy, Holy, Holy

Theodore of Mopsuestia also stresses this participation in the angelic liturgy in the Trisagion [thrice holy]. This point is especially dear to the tradition of Antioch.

“The priest here mentions all the Seraphim who raise this song of praise toward God, the same song that blessed Isaiah heard through a divine revelation and transmitted in Scripture. This is the praise which we all assemble together to sing at the top of our voices, so that we sing the same hymns as the invisible natures. . . By this means we show the greatness of the mercy He has bestowed freely upon us. A religious fear fills our conscience, either before or after we have cried out, ‘Holy!’ ”

This chant of the Seraphim expresses holy fear. It describes the awe felt by even the highest creatures in the presence of the infinite divine excellence. And this enables us to understand better the holiness of the Eucharist, which leads us, with the Seraphim, into the presence of the all-holy God, hidden only by the fragile species of bread and wine.

The Offering

Finally, the presence of the angels in the Eucharist appears in the very act of offering the Sacrifice. The Roman liturgy itself witnesses to this when it asks of God that “the offerings be borne by the hands of Thy holy angel unto Thy high altar.” The Apocalypse already shows the angels, in their heavenly liturgy, offering “the prayers of the saints” under the appearances of “cups of gold filled with perfume.” This intercessory role appears in the prayer of all prayers, the central act of worship, the priestly activity of Christ.

Thus, John Chrysostom can write,

“It is not only men who raise this cry filled with holy awe, but the angels prostrate themselves before the Lord, the archangels pray to Him. Just as men cut palm branches and wave them before their kings to move them to think of love and mercy, so at this moment, the angels present the very Body of their Lord as if it were a palm branch and they pray to Him for all humanity.”

The Annunciation and Resurrection

This participation of the angels extends to the whole liturgical life and especially to the celebration of the Christian feasts. The mysteries of Christ are celebrated by the heavenly powers at the same time as they are by the Church on earth. Thus, Gregory Nazianzen writes, regarding the feast of the Epiphany, “Together with the shepherds glorify God; sing His praises with the angels; join the choirs of the archangels. Let this festive occasion join the powers of those in heaven and those on earth. For I am certain that they are rejoicing today and celebrating this feast together with us, since they are friends of God and man just as those whom David shows us rising with Christ after the Passion, going on ahead of Him and vying with each other to lift up the gates.”

The last sentence is an allusion to Psalm 23, where tradition shows the Powers that ascend with Christ at His Ascension bidding the keepers of the gates of heaven lift their lintels to let the King of Glory enter. Just as they participated in His mysteries at the time of their historical accomplishment, the angels continue to be associated with their liturgical commemoration.

But it is John Chrysostom who develops this idea to its greatest extent. He explains that, in order to lend greater splendor to the feast of the Ascension, he has invited the faithful to celebrate it in the Martyrium of Romanesia:

“The angels are present here. The angels and the martyrs meet today. If you wish to see the angels and the martyrs, open the eyes of faith and look upon this sight. For if the very air is filled with angels, how much more so the Church! And if the Church is filled with angels, how much more is that true today when their Lord has risen into heaven! The whole air about us is filled with angels. Hear the apostle [Paul] teaching this, when he bids the women to cover their heads with a veil because of the presence of the angels.”

And again, in regard to the Resurrection he writes, “It is not only earth, but heaven as well which has part in today’s feast. . . The Angels exult, the Archangels rejoice, the Cherubim and the Seraphim join us in the celebration of today’s feast. . . What room is there for sadness?”

*Editor’s note: the term “cult” is here used in its older sense, as a system of worship and devotion towards a particular object. 

 

This article is adapted form a chapter in The Angels and Their Mission, which is available from Sophia Institute Press.

image: By © Ralph Hammann – Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

By Jean Danielou

Jean Cardinal Daniélou was a French theologian, historian, and author. Ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus in 1938, Father Daniélou went on to gain great renown as a scholar, particularly in the field of Patristics. Apart from his scholarly research and writing, Father Daniélou also penned many books, making his theological ideas- about prayer, worship, the early Church, the loving self-revelation of God through human history – accessible to a lay audience.

 

Light Shining on Hidden Things by Carlos Caso-Rosendi… reblogged

Light Shining on Hidden Things

Carlos Caso-Rosendi

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

In the last month or so, various Catholic news outlets have asked me to research the veracity of various accusations made against Pope Francis while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Did he cover up wrongdoing? Was he involved in financial scandals? What was his level of collaboration, if any, with the corrupt Kirchner administration?

The German magazine Der Spiegel, one of Europe’s most prestigious publications and generally supportive of liberal positions, found reasons to believe that scores of abuse victims may have been kept from speaking with Cardinal Bergoglio. In addition, he seems to have taken a central role in defending at least one abuser, and perhaps others.

Der Spiegel made this claim – and several sharp complaints about ways that Pope Francis had divided the Church – in this week’s cover story, under the title: Du sollst nicht lügen, Der Papst und die Kirche in ihrer größten Krise (“Thou shalt not lie: The pope and the Church in their greatest crisis”).

 

If true, these charges could provoke a greater explosion than the 11-page Testimonyby the former nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. {And sadly the evidence seems to be verifible true,  … PJM}

 

Many uncertainties, of course, surround such charges. Given the present state of affairs in Argentina, it is hard to find unbiased answers to questions. But one thing is certain: “there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” (Luke 8:17)

In fact, light is now shining on many once-hidden things.

The lack of official response and the vicious attacks on the reputation of Viganò have had a clarifying effect. Just this week Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, a figure very close to the pope and his sometimes ghostwriter, described Viganò as suffering from a delusional mental illness “marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur.” He did not seem to care whether Viganò’s allegations, even if the ravings of a madman, are true.

 

I have the impression that we are living days like those described by St Paul in 2Timothy. The Church – infiltrated by her enemies – is now being shaken in her very structure.

Pope Paul VI said in 1972: “the smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God through some crack in the wall.” Through years of surreptitious action, seducers “made their way into the household” of God and began to hold sway over the weak. Homosexuality among the clergy has now “become plain to everyone,” as honest prelates, the media, and government investigators uncover the ugly truth.

As undeniable evidence piles up, it should not surprise us if evil is exposed even in the highest echelons of the hierarchy. We should not be confounded if “wicked people and impostors . . . go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived.” We’re at a point of no return.

*

Not content with having introduced false pastors among the clergy, the enemy is now trying to introduce a false religion. He wants to destroy the Church by destroying the faith. He needs to replace the Catholic religion with a counterfeit version.

The false spirit of that “counterfeit faith” produces many pseudo-commandments, interfaith gestures, ceremonies, and liturgical shows of unity. There’s plenty of praise for the disobedient and the heretic “holding to the outward form of godliness” but rejecting the doctrinal truth and the sacramental integrity of the true faith.

Holy Tradition, Holy Scripture, the Catechism, and even Natural Law are attacked:

You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

This is a very dangerous time because many souls may be lost. Many may walk away, disgusted by all that filth. That is why we have to reflect on the causes of the crisis, so we can counter that evil effectively. All the lies and half-truths taught to the faithful in this age of darkness are the result of bad Catholic formation.

The first part of the devil’s attack consisted in eliminating good catechesis. For the near future, the teaching of the true faith may have to rest with a handful of people remaining loyal to God. That is why we must be busy creating ways to develop a rapid, deep, and precise knowledge of the faith.

False pastors will not deceive well-formed Catholics. In fact, the folly of those false pastors will become evident as the light of the true faith shines on their wicked ways. It is true that “they will not make much progress” because they are the “wicked servants” of Jesus’ prophetic parable.

It is up to us to keep the faith by being “good servants” minding the counsel of Christ:

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. . . .But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is staying away a long time,” and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51)

Are the accusations against Pope Francis while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires true? All I can say is that no one can stop God from revealing the truth. Wise men will work with God, lest they end up working for the father of lies.

© 2018 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.orgThe Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.

Thee Portal of Salvation by Patrick Miron

According to Strong’s Greek Lexicon Search Results for the word “church” [1577]

It means: A compound of 1537 and a derivative of 2564; A CALLING OUT, i.e. [concretely a popular meeting}, especially a religious congregation {Jewish Synagogue, or a Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven, or both… [an] assembly, church”

This perspective comes too, from my friend Marianne. Pagans had their Temples; Jews their Synagogues and Catholics [the first Christians], their “Church.” In Greek: { ekklesia ek-klay-see’-ah}  That Christ deemed it important , even necessary, to use a different word to describe what He was founding through Peter; is highly indicative of the fact that this was something New and Different. It was Christ intent that this fact not be overlooked.

The Catholic Church… Portal of all salvation

This document was prompted by a discussion on the CAF Forum about salvation through the Catholic Church. As ought to be expected the root of the problem leading to this discussion is both a lack of clarity within the bible [God caused this by specific intent], further aggravated by what some wish to belief, and self- enabled to do so only by culling passages that seem to support their position; while ignoring or not knowing that contradictory teachings exist in the same book.

 Yet in the strictest sense of the word; we are truly “Brethren”. We share a common belief in One True God; The Blessed Trinity and a common Baptism, by water and in the name of the Trinity. And we ought to take seriously their love of God. While some branches of Christianity do not adhere to these essential elements and are further endangering their salvation. There is no substitute for charity. There would be no Christian faiths, were Catholicism not preexistent.

 This discussion seemed to me to elicit two important questions: 1. Why & 2. How?

So let us begin our own discussion by once again repeating the “Infallible Rule” for right understanding of the bible.

 “Never-Ever, can, may or Does one passage, verse, or teaching

  Have the power or authority to invalidate, override, or make void   

  another,

  passage, verse or teaching.”

 If this were even a possibility [it’s not] it would render the entire bible as worthless for teaching or learning ones faith.

  So if one seems to encounter such a teaching, be assured that it stems from Not using the entirety of God’s WORDS. … Jesus answered: “ It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God” Which in turn leads to 2^nd. Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”

 My dear friend Marianne has shared a bit of insight, as she herself is a convert from Christianity. She explains that a core cause is a complete, or near complete ,lack of understanding of God’s grace. What it is; what it can do, and how it is received.

 “. I trace their blindness about the Church to that core issue. Because they don’t know what grace is, they don’t recognize that humans are born without it due to Original Sin. And because they don’t know what it is, they don’t understand that the Christian life is created and sustained by God pouring grace into us. And because they don’t understand THAT, they don’t see the point of the sacraments, whose point is to allow God to pour grace into us. I trace their inability to understand the sacraments, their purpose, and value to this foundational blindness about what grace is and how we get it.”

 Because one can find and cull passages that seem to indicate salvation for “all”; and because even the passages that seemingly contradict it with “many” are assumed to include them, with little evident effort to seek truth beyond what seems to them as “the obvious”, and because non-Catholic Christians tend to lump the bibles teachings on the topic of salvation as including both “Redemption” and “Salvation” being synonymous terms, which they are not; …the Devil IS hiding in the details.

Matt.22: 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matt.26: 28 “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” Mark.10: 45 “For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Luke.13: 24 “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able”

John.1: 7 “He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.”  Heb.9: 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”  1Pet.3: 18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” Eph.1: 7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”

REDEMPTION

1 Timothy 2: 6 “Who gave himself [as] a redemption for all, a testimony in due times” Mark 10:45 “For the Son of man also is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many”

SALVATION

Titus 11:2 is rendered thus in the Douay Bible: “For the grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men”; In the Catholic RSV one reads the following:“ For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men,” & The King James reads: “ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” …Hebrews 5:9 reads “And being consummated, he became, to all that obey him, the cause of eternal salvation” and The King James: “And being made perfect , he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him… Romans 1:16 teaches “For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first and to the Greek”. The King James reads the same here”. So salvation seems to be clearly conditional; seemingly not a problem for our non-Catholic Brethren who often lump themselves into both the “all” and the “many” categories.

 The lack of a single clear message here is evidence of the Wisdom of God, and proof of a Divinely Inspired bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  … Christ was not inventing something “as new” in setting up His Catholic church, Matthew 16:15-19, He was in fact following His Own, Old Testament model for rightful and faithful practice of religion, where Yahweh freely selected only One chosen people, gave them only One set of faith beliefs and declared that He Alone would be their God.

 Lev. 26: 12  “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Exodus 15:26 “Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee” Lev. 18: 4 “You shall do my judgments, and shall observe my precepts, and shall walk in them. I am the Lord your God.”

 God obligates himself to be merciful and fair

Luke.12: 51 “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” John.5: 43 “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive” John.3: 36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him”,  Matt. 19:17 …”If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

Christ chose to manifest His Divine Mercy and charity by sticking to the Old Testament model of just, and only …”One”.  After all when there is only “one” there are no room for debates, or envy, and only one boss, with clear direction. That is precisely why God has always chosen “just one”. Then it’s His One way or it’s the wrong way.

One God: 1Tim.2: 5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

 One Faith: Eph. 4: 5 “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”

One Church: Matt 16:18-19 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, [SINGULAR]  and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you [SINGULAR]  the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 28: 16-19 “And the eleven disciples [Apostles] went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.  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 [taught &] commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”

Hopefully, I have now answered the “WHY?” question.  Because God’s infinite and perfect wisdom choose only one, God; Faith and Church, so man could [& would] know where to find Christ truth. It then follows logically that because Redemption is offered to “All” and Salvation to the Many who hear and obey fully His teachings, precepts, Commandments and Mandates, that it HAS to flow through the Only Church and Faith that He founded under the New Covenant,  which supersede but do not replace OT Covenants. It is completely logical that because Salvation is from Christ; that it must FLOW through the only Church and Faith of Christ. READ: John 17:14-20.

Heb. 9: 15  “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant” Therefore ALL salvation must necessarily flow through the Catholic church; which is not proclaiming that all, necessarily, be actual members of Her. Still The Catholic Church has an essential role to fulfill in everyone’s salvation. That is WHY the CC is the Portal to ALL Salvation, and why this teaching has always been and continues to be a Doctrine of our Catholic Church.

So now I will attempt to clarify the “How“-  Question?

 From our Catholic catechism:

 CCC 780 “The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men.”

 CCC 846 “How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

 Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it”.

 CCC 847 “This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

 Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation.”

 CCC 1260 “Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.” Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity”

From this we ought to be able to understand the complexity of the TASK of Fair and Just Judgment God has created for Himself. Only God is able to judge our thoughts, motives and hearts. And because God MUST BE both fair and just; he alone is able to make a just and fair judgment on all; but especially those outside of the Catholic Church. … That “particular”- Judgment has to factor in not only our personal chosen beliefs and practices; but of critical importance, the OPPORTUNITY God has and must give to each of us to actually know his singular truth, His one- Faith in His one -Church. This is especially relevant to all those outside of His Catholic Church who choose not to be members of Her for a variety of reasons that THEY determined as important and relevant to themselves. Will God agree with them and their motives, seems to be the unanswered question?

James 3: 13- 18”Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew, by a good conversation, his work in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter zeal, and there be contentions in your hearts; glory not, and be not liars against the truth. For this is not wisdom, descending from above: but earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and contention is, there is inconstancy, and every evil work. But the wisdom, that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. And the fruit of justice is sown in peace, to them that make peace.”

Psalm 94: 11 “And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.  Psalm 118: 5 “O! that my ways may be directed to keep thy justifications” Ezek.  18:25 “And you have said: The way of the Lord is not right. Hear ye, therefore, O house of Israel [people]: Is it my way that is not right, and are not rather your ways perverse?”

Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

A final word of advice to my fellow Catholics. Because we are given so much more than our Brethren; especially Sacramental graces, & Jesus Himself in Person in the Most Holy Eucharist, very much more is to be expected from us. Matt. 13:11-12 “Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given. For he that hath, to him shall be given, [very much more] and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.”

the “Ones” add up to a highER probability of salvation.

One God- One Faith- One Church- One set of keys to heaven and only one

Portal; Christ Catholic Church. Amen

May Jesus Guide OUR Life Paths,

Patrick

Never even a DOUBT…. By Patrick Miron

 

Never even a DOUBT….

By Patrick Miron

This is not a time for the faint hearted. Life is “thee God Test”, and we, all of us are being tested. We either pass or we fail; there are no other options {going first to purgatory is passing the HARD way.}

Matthew 7:  [13] Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. [14] How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! [15] Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

[16] By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? [17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. [20] Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

[21] Not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. [24] Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.

[26] And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.”

I have been following the Vigano Saga closely. …Personally, I’m inclined to believe this Holy man who may have actually placed himself in grave danger???? {much evidence of his claims has already been verified}, and it is doubtful that the documents needing Rome’s approval to be released will ever see the light of day. They may have even been destroyed already?

That God is in charge is evident and that Mary is even now stepping on Satan’s head is encouraging. {Genesis 3:15}

This is a test for Christ Church; for our Catholic Faith; and even for Christianity, whose foundations stem from the Roman Catholic Church.

We are to understand that what has so recently come to light is the fruit of a great many years of duplicitous-sabotage. This is yet another attempt to sink the Bark of Peter from within.  …. It is impossible that that the wideness and depth of this depravity {yes; homosexuality is depraved}, just “sort of happened”… this was {IS} a cleverly conceived, masterfully executed attack of the One True Church and Faith of Jesus Christ.

Despite its short term disastrous effects, which objectively we must admit were and are perversely highly successful; it was from the start, nevertheless doomed to failure.

Matt.28 Verses 18 to 20
[18] And Jesus came and said to THEM “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] {YOU}Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded YOU; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

The Captain perhaps has abandoned the ship {???}; BUT the Admiral {Jesus} is on board. This attack is to be seen for what it is, for what it was intended to do to Christ Catholic Church. This is not an excuse {nor an imagined reason} to abandon the One True Faith and Church of Jesus Christ. It is the time to pray very much; and like Peter, to cling to Jesus and His Truths.

John 6: [56] For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. [57] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. [58] As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. [59] This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.[60] These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum.

[61] Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it? [62] But Jesus, knowing in himself, that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you? [63] If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? [64] It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life. [65] But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning, who they were that did not believe, and who he was, that would betray him.

DOUAY BIBLE EXPLANATION} [63] “If then you shall see”: Christ by mentioning his ascension, by this instance of his power and divinity, would confirm the truth of what he had before asserted; and at the same time correct their gross apprehension of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood, in a vulgar and carnal manner, by letting them know he should take his whole body living with him to heaven; and consequently not suffer it to be as they supposed, divided, mangled, and consumed upon earth.

[64] “The flesh profiteth nothing”: Dead flesh separated from the spirit, in the gross manner they supposed they were to eat his flesh, would profit nothing. Neither doth man’s flesh, that is to say, man’s natural and carnal apprehension, (which refuses to be subject to the spirit, and words of Christ,) profit any thing. But it would be the height of blasphemy, to say the living flesh of Christ (which we receive in the blessed sacrament, with his spirit, that is, with his soul and divinity) profiteth nothing. For if Christ’s flesh had profited us nothing, he would never have taken flesh for us, nor died in the flesh for us.

[64] “Are spirit and life”: By proposing to you a heavenly sacrament, in which you shall receive, in a wonderful manner, spirit, grace, and life, in its very fountain.

• [66]And he said: Therefore did I say to you, that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my Father. [67] After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him. [68] Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? [69] And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [70] And we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

[71] Jesus answered them: Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil?[72] Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same was about to betray him, whereas he was one of the twelve.”

So Jesus expected {anticipated} Wolfs in sheep’s clothing to attack His Church from within…. Be calm; this storm to will pass, and if we persevere we will see Jesus walking on the water to save and gather Us up; to calm once again the STORM we are in, and continue to lead us home safely.

Pray very much the wolfs ARE still VERY much on the attack and hope to locate Archbishop Vigano, so they can put him on trial and deflect their guilt to him; and then change the focus of the cleansing which MUST proceed at all cost. Stay focused on what has been exposed; don’t permit distractions.

To Jesus THROUGH Mary,

Patrick

How to Be Catholic When Your Bishops Are Not by Jennifer Fitz

 

How to Be Catholic When Your Bishops Are Not

Now is not the time for simpering fecklessly. Now is the time to follow Jesus Christ and be more Catholic than ever.

Jennifer Fitz

The McCarrick scandals are proving to be a breaking point for many Catholics. Here we have not a man engaged in a struggle against temptation – who of us isn’t? – but a man whose shamelessly predatory behavior was tacitly condoned by countless church leaders at the highest levels, and whose depraved behavior was normal in many clerical circles. How many loving Catholic parents have sent their sons off to seminary never imagining the ordeal of sexual harassment, molestation and lifelong moral compromise that awaited?

It is no wonder that many who were lately warming up to the Church are now disgusted at the thought of conversion. It is no wonder that many lifelong Catholics are considering whether their faith can withstand such hypocrisy and corruption. Trite admonishments that “no one’s perfect” or “there is no perfect church” ring hollow when you consider that the man laying hands on your teens at Confirmation would not scruple to let a brother bishop go to bed with those same teens.

How does an honest Catholic hold on to the faith in such putrid circumstances?

Catholicism Not Clericalism

In a conversation recently, several friends shared childhood stories of molestation and sexual harassment openly tolerated in their parishes. I remarked what a blessing it was to be raised in a home where groping someone was never for an instant considered acceptable behavior.

When we set aside basic standards of moral decency out of so-called “respect for authority,” we are worshipping a false god. We are making the person in leadership higher than God’s law. We put God on a lower rung, and raise our parish priest, bishop, or cardinal to something higher than God. Is it any wonder in God’s providence the rotten fruits of that idolatry are being revealed as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae?

The first step in holding onto your Catholic faith is making the decision that you will worship God alone. Our readings over the past few weeks have made it clear what God thinks of bad pastors.

 Why Stay Catholic?

There are many reasons people are attracted to the Catholic faith. It could be the family heritage; it could be the beauty of Catholic traditions; it could be the exact right convergence of time and place and spiritual experiences. People become Catholic a billion different ways for a billion different reasons.

We stay Catholic for a single reason: Because it is true.

If you have never tested the evidence for the truth of your Catholic faith, may I suggest now is the opportune moment? Your logical reasoning won’t be swayed by any sentimental attachments, you can be sure of that.

There are historical and rational proofs for the truth of Catholicism. If you make the effort, you can know that Catholicism consists of a reasonable, evidence-based set of beliefs. You deserve this gift. Don’t settle for anything less.

 Evangelizing not Enabling

But here’s a challenge for you: Do you actually live as if the Catholic faith is true?

We now know that many of our bishops do not. We can look around the pews and see that many ordinary Catholics do not either. We go through the motions, but our lives are basically the same as everyone else’s. Jesus Christ is the one most important thing to every man, woman and child alive today, and yet we content ourselves with a vague hope that everyone will be fine, and that we ourselves have no particular responsibility in the grand scheme of things.

That’s not what Jesus Christ said. Jesus Christ gave every Christian a mission to go and make disciples. Are you doing that? Are you actively praying, sacrificing, and working to bring others into a deeper, fuller relationship with God?

We have seen that our Church is infected with nasty, self-serving, slothful men who would rather protect their neat little lives than take the courageous steps needed to carry out the mission God has given them. Are you one of them?

 God Gave You a Brain

When my dad was aggravated at us kids for some stupid foible, he’d mutter, “Use your head for something other than a decoration!”

It’s good advice. What are some ways you can use your head to confront the crisis in the Church today?

1. If you find yourself wanting to protect abusers, learn about boundary-setting and healthy relationships. Chances are if you grew up thinking “discretion” and “respect” meant covering up for Father Groper, then other relationships in your life aren’t that healthy either. Now’s a good time to start changing that.
2. Support good ministries. Not everyone in the Church is corrupt. Put your money and time into the good work being done by people you know. This might be official parish or diocesan programs, it might be formally-organized apostolates, or it might be just you and some friends carrying out the works of mercy on your own.
3. Demand accountability. What is the state of the Church’s leadership today? It is like a group of teenagers caught in the act and then crying, “Why don’t you trust me?” Is your parish or diocese transparent with the management of your money? Great. Be involved in maintaining that transparency. If not, when Father or Bishop comes to you asking for funds to cover a genuinely-needed expense, let him know the contractor can send you a bill directly and you’ll pay it. Men who behave childishly get treated like children.
4. Be more Catholic than ever. Now is not the time for simpering fecklessly. Now is the time to put on your grown-up clothes. God is Truth, God is Love, God is Justice, God is Mercy. There is no love without truth. There is no mercy without justice. Give yourself completely to God and you will not be able to help but carry out your part in reforming the Church. END QUOTES