What Will The Neighbours Think

There is a great fear shared by many people that if we correct another we are then 'judging' them, this is a misalignment of compassion for to not correct another if we know them to be committing a serious sin is to leave them open to the Judgment of God. What many don't understand is that when we fail to correct another who is going astray, we also stand condemned for it is not love that stops us from speaking the Truth, but fear.

So many of us are terrified to speak God's Revealed Truth, in case we upset our neighbour, so rather than speak the Truth many instead take the option of the fence sitter, who simply wants to get along with everyone. This is a perverted form of loving one's neighbour for it is in essence a love of oneself, in that the focus is not your neighbours well being but rather one's own.

There are many people who instead of living to please God instead place their emphasis on being pleasing to man even if that means accepting sinful lifestyle choices, vulgar and crude behaviour or immodesty, they accept all this not in a spirit of love but in a spirit of fear. This does not spring from God for perfect love drives out all fear, this springs from the enemy who incites us to fear that our friends will turn against us if we correct them. When correction is done in the right spirit then none should take offense but if it is done in the wrong spirit or in a superior attitude then it does a lot of harm, it comes down always to the intent. Even when we correct with love and compassion it still maybe misconstrued but what matter is that if it may cause another to re-think their misguided views when dealing with sin, for when we don't correct another who is living a sinful lifestyle we are then an accomplice in that persons sinful actions. We must face the fact that no-one likes to be corrected, as President Harry Truman once said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it is hell." This is the same with our friends, they may not wish to hear the Truth but that should not prevent us from speaking it.

To correct another is never a comfortable position to be in, but Christians were not meant for save havens. We are not here to make our own lives easier, we are here to live as our Faith requires irrespective if it offends our neighbours as an anonymous source puts it so eloquently and simply, "Live in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God will come to know God because they know you." When we stand by our principles and what we believe to be true, then we become a beacon of light in a world grown dark with sin.

We need to remember it is not love that enchains a soul, but sin. It is this that holds a vice like grip on the individual and stops it from truly enjoying life to the full. We cannot enjoy spiritual freedom when our soul is immersed in the dark, as the great writer Evelyn Underhill wrote, "Heaven is to be in God at last made free." There is no freedom in sin, only despair, for when one willfully sin's they are then separated from God not because God Wills it, but because man wills it by his own choice. When we read the Prodigal son we also rejoice that the son that was once lost has now been saved, we do not read that the son who was once lost returned home the same as he left, unrepentant.

To worry over what others may think of you is to lose focus on why we are Christians and it is not so that we can gain friends and influence people, as Thomas Kempis wrote, "Great tranquility of heart is his who cares for neither praise nor blame." When we spend inordinate time worrying over what others think of us, what does this say about our level of Faith and what we hold to be true? Even if our friends turn away from us it should matter not if we have spoken the Truth with compassion and love.

Our focus should never be on ourselves or in worrying if others will find us offensive it should be to not only speak the Truth but to live the Truth in our own lives, Cardinal Mercia says this very thing, "We must not give only what we have; we must give what we are." We must abide with each other in our faults and failings in full knowledge that none of us are perfect for as Thomas Merton instructs, "In humility is perfect freedom." What we cannot do is accommodate sin as if it were merely a mere trifle, for sin is not a fault it is not a failing it is a choice.

In ending as the Word of God and the Catechism reminds us, "You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ...For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them." The Catholic Catechism also says, "Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it: "It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth."

Let us always remember to speak in Truth rather than live with a lie.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

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Counterfeit Catholics

It is not enough to say one believes in God yet fails to not only live their Credo in everyday life, but also fail to speak the Truth to those who need to hear it. Faith is not making sure we are saved but that ALL may be Saved by following the Word of God and the Tenets of our Church, and it is when we see many going astray that it is incumbent upon the faithful Catholic to gently correct the one in error. As Scripture instructs us, 'I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.' If this is not enough to convince those who refuse to correct another let us look to the Teachings of our Church, "The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant...Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it: "It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth." This should be a warning to all that we are obligated to speak God's Truth as revealed to us through Scripture and the Doctrines of our Church.

If we choose not to speak the Truth in fear of one's popularity this then shows an inordinate love of self over and above that of God and neighbour for it behooves no-one to allow another to continue to sin by giving wrong advice. As the Catechism teaches us, "Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord. In situations that require witness to the faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of St. Paul before his judges. We must keep "a clear conscience toward God and toward men...The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known." As we see in order to show true and sincere love to our neighbour we need to speak the Truth in all gentleness as we also realise that none are perfect and we all fall short of the Glory of God.

At times there is such an inordinate fear of 'judging' others that many fall prey to over scrupulosity and rather than speak the Truth they instead encourage the sinner to continue in the same manner thereby making themselves complicit in another's sin. Once again the Catechism instructs the faithful in regards to correcting others, "Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation , or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages." When we correct another in error this is not judging for as we correct we also pray for the person, which is an act of selfless love. We also acknowledge that we too are sinners therefore all judgments over the outcome of the person caught in error should be left in God's Hand as we pray for their salvation.

Unfortunately though many Catholics have been led into folly be embracing the latest trends including that which God has condemned such as the active homosexual lifestyle, the right for women to murder their own unborn babies, adultery, immodesty and profane language. Rather than be seen to stand on Truth alone, many instead compromise their beliefs in order to fit into what is a dysfunctional society. Once again Scripture warns against this false sense of priorities, "Nevertheless, many, even among the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly in order not to be expelled from the synagogue. For they preferred human praise to the glory of God....And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak." We need to remember that it is not our own truth we testify too but is God's Revealed Truth, which needs to be spoken even to those who have closed their ears to the Truth.

To withhold the Truth from one in error is an act of the highest form of self love, for the intent of hiding the Truth is not so much to avoid hurting another's feelings as to protect one's own popularity to the detriment of the one in need of hearing the Truth as it is. Indeed some may even join in on actions which would displease God in order for them to maintain their popularity and also so as not to be called 'pious' or 'holier than thou' as if man's opinion were greater than Gods! As St. John Vianney admonished his parish with these words, "One section, and perhaps it is the largest section, of people everywhere are wholly wrapped up in the things of this world. And of this large number there are those who are content to have suppressed all feeling of religion, all thought of another life, who have done everything in their power to efface the terrible thought of the judgment which one day they will have to undergo. They employ all their wiles, and often their wealth, during the course of their lives to attract to their way of life as many people as they can. They no longer believe in anything. They even take a pride in making themselves out to be more impious and incredulous than they really are in order to convince others and to make them believe, not in the verities, but in the falsehoods which they wish to take root in the hearts of those under their influence." Will any heed these warnings concerning not only an acceptance of sin but of encouraging it?

There is the mistake also that many Christians fall into and that is thinking that they must be loved by all, therefore they will not correct anyone so as to maintain their appearance of 'niceness' and their 'tolerant' attitude to alternative lifestyles. Our Lord did not instruct us to accept sin as a right in order for us to be comfortable, rather He warns His followers not to become lukewarm, this means not accepting sin as lawful if it is against Gods Moral Law. There are too many Christians who have more fear of man than of Gods Divine Justice, for though God is Merciful still His Justice will be done to those who have committed grave offenses. To carry on in sin on the premise of Gods Mercy is the height of presumption, for God can only be merciful to those who acknowledge their sin and through the Sacraments of the Church are absolved of such sins with the intent of true and contrite remorse over their actions. We read in Acts Peters testament to the Truth, "We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging ! him on a tree....We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him."

If Peter testified that 'we must obey God' do we nullify this by agreeing that sin is normal and correct? It is when some feel that to speak the Truth may cause offense to those who live immoral lives that their own level of Faith needs to be examined, for do they follow the Truths of God or the lies of Satan? As St. Francis de Sales warns those who wish to appease the worldly, "It is an act of charity to cry out against the wolf when he is among the sheep." If some are thinking 'but this Saint is of another time and day, then we also have the admonishment of the late Pope John Paul II as he stated, "A failure to speak the truth because of a misconceived sense of compassion should not be taken for love. We do not have the right to minimize matters of our own accord, even with the best of intentions. Our task is to be God's witnesses, to be spokesmen of a mercy that saves 'even when it shows itself as JUDGMENT' on man's sin." Is this not enough to convince those who profess to be Catholics to speak as Catholics rather than make of themselves counterfeits to the Truth by proclaiming their own misguided self truths.

If we fear persecution then should our martyred Saints have chosen to live with a lie rather than die for the Truth? When we fail to speak Gods Revealed Truth and water it down because some may feel it is politically incorrect, are they then not in fear of spreading a false doctrine based on their own ill-conceived opinions on what they reason as their own acceptable 'truths' as they demand tolerance so sin can become acceptable to all. It would be a grave thing indeed to be ashamed to speak Gods Word in case it injures their own reputation and popularity, for this is not love of neighbour but love of self.

As Jesus warned us to paraphrase, who ever is ashamed of Him on earth He will be ashamed of them in Heaven. In order to discern ones motives when speaking about our Faith, do you worry that you will lose friends if you speak Gods Truth and the Teachings of our Church? Or do you instead speak Gods Truth irrespective of the consequences to your own person?

Do you wish to find favour with God or man for you cannot please both....

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Prayer The Ultimate Weapon

Each and every day we are faced with choices and decisions, but it is what is guiding our decision process that will define what we choose. What many are unaware of is that many of these choices are little more than temptations in disguise, why are we so blind that we fail to see the hand of the tempter?

Is it because our prayer life has lost it's meaning? We are so busy rushing here and there, that we basically have no time to pray at all, or we leave prayer to the last minute of our 'things to do list'. Then when the day finishes and finally many can collapse exhausted into bed some may then think of 'saying' the Rosary as they fall asleep half way through. Should the Rosary be treated as little more than a sleeping pill?

We are living in the land of the unaware, as our senses are made dull by the lurid images on our TV screens and our reading matter becomes more and more superficial. As if finding the latest skin cream will enhance our spiritual life, or the newest gadget will give us the inner peace we all seek. Then when temptation comes our way as it will we have no means of combating it hence we fall and fail, yet this is not what God wants from us, as we nourish our bodies and starve our spirit of any meaning.

Everyday we begin a battle against temptation this is called spiritual warfare, and yet few even know they are in a battle and so go forth into the day and into the fray unarmed and unprepared, why is this so? Could it be that we are being conditioned to ignore the one thing that will give us the means and the ability to conquer the eternal foe, Satan and his hordes of demons? Let us remember that Christ has already conquered sin through His Salvific death, yet many behave as if the battle had been lost and we are the vanquished! Once again we enter the element of 'conditioning' why fight a war which seems all but lost?

Through Christ we have the Word which teaches us how essential prayer and obedience is in order for us to fight the good fight, for though Christ has won the ultimate Victory, still the fight for individual souls continues to this day. Yet let us look at what Scripture says, 'Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I must speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.' There are many more prisons than just a jail cell many find their very minds are a prison if their minds are consumed with impure thoughts, one is also a prisoner if they are held captive by the tyranny of bitter memories which they allow to fester in their mind.

All sin begins and ends in the mind for what we think we will do, never underestimate the power of stray thoughts for when we linger too long on impurity this will gain a stronghold over us, but if we instead focus on God and godly things through prayer this then is our cure it is also our greatest weapon. Once again Scripture instructs us 'I beg you that, when present, I may not have to be brave with that confidence with which I intend to act boldly against some who consider us as acting according to the flesh. For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete. Look at what confronts you. Whoever is confident of belonging to Christ should consider that as he belongs to Christ, so do we.'

No object is sinful it is the intent of the person using the object for illicit purposes that it becomes sin. So no-one can say, they sinned but it is not their fault but rather it is the fault of that particular instrument, whether it be the TV, the internet or by any other inanimate tool for technology has no sense of right or wrong but the person using it does! In the words of St. John Vianney, "If we understood fully what it is to receive the sacraments, we should bring to the reception of them very much better sentiments than those we do. It is true that the greater number of people, in hiding their sins, always keep at the back of their minds the thought of acknowledging them. Without a miracle, they will not be any the less lost for that. If you want the reason, it is very easy to give it to you. The more we remain in that terrible state which makes Heaven and earth tremble, the more the Devil takes control of us, the more the grace of God diminishes in us, the more our fear increases, the more our sacrileges multiply, and the more we fall away. The result is that we put ourselves almost beyond the possibility of returning into favour with God. I will give you a hundred examples of this against one to the contrary. Tell me, my dear brethren, can you even hope that after passing perhaps five or six years in sacrilege, during which you outraged God...you would dare to believe that God is going to give you all the graces which you will need to emerge from this terrible state? You think that notwithstanding the many crimes against Jesus Christ of which you have been guilty, you have only to say: "I am going to give up sin now and all will be over."

This is why it is absolutely necessary to make prayer the most important part of our day, for it is through prayer that we gain the strength to not only fight the good fight but to recognise our foe, which is Satan. When we make prayer a non essential this allows the devil a foothold into your soul and also allows your senses to be dimmed when it comes to recognising sin, and how grievous it is for those who no longer fight it. Without prayer we are like lackluster warriors who throw their weapons down rather than fight and would sooner remain slaves than free men and women, did God make us this weak? As St. Augustine wrote, "God does not command impossibilities, but by commanding admonishes you do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and aids you that you may be able....Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet."

We already have the power within us to conquer the evil that Satan tempts us with and that power is the indwelling Spirit, but as St. John Vianney suggested above we need to get serious about sin and realise the harm it does to our relationship with God. When we choose repeatedly to sin this causes a domino affect so that soon the entire fortress that is our heart, body and soul will crumble. This need not happen if we keep prayer as the priority of our day and to remain in the Presence of God throughout the day no matter where you are or what you are doing, God is always Present.

Throughout the day whether at home, school or work keep a running dialogue with God and at the end of the day spend quality time alone with God so that He can strengthen that which is weakest in your nature. Our Heavenly Father knows our lives are busy, therefore how much joy He has when a child wishes to spend precious time with Him in the solitude of one's heart. We should all long to spend this time with our loving Heavenly Father as no-one on earth will love you to the degree that God does. As St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, "Jesus needs neither books nor Doctors of Divinity in order to instruct souls; He, the Doctor of Doctors, He teaches without noise of words." This great Saint teaches us that Jesus is not looking for great words from us nor even great deeds, what Jesus wants from us is our time, for the time that has been given us comes from Above.

We don't have to impress God, for the Almighty looks not at our achievements but at our humility and with what love we undertake each task. It is Satan who longs to boost our pride so that we become so busy trying to impress others we lose sight of God. Once again St. Therese says, "Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing." Let us not become too busy for God but rather let us use every available moment to offer God all our work and then complete the day by being alone with the indwelling Spirit, who fills us with the Grace needed to fight our foe.

We have not been left orphans therefore let us go forth in full knowledge that with God nothing and no-one can destroy us, not even Satan himself without our consent.

God is Victorious the question is...are we?

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness. Just what is forgiveness? According to the Pocket Catholic Dictionary by Father John A. Hardon, S.J., the following applies:

• FORGIVENESS. Pardon or remission of an offense. The Catholic Church believes that sins forgiven are actually removed from the soul (John 20) and not merely covered over by the merits of Christ. Only God can forgive sins, since he alone can restore sanctifying grace to a person who has sinned gravely and thereby lost the state of grace. God forgives sins to the truly repentant either immediately through an act of perfect contrition or mediately through a sacrament. The sacraments primarily directed to the forgiveness of sins are baptism and penance, and secondarily, under certain conditions, also the sacrament of anointing.

Yet, we are also called to forgive. Time and again, we are asked by Jesus to forgive those who have wronged us, those who have hurt us. Yet, we being too human for own good, sometimes find it almost impossible to forgive others for wrongs that they have committed against our person. I think that a good example of this is a quote from President John F. Kennedy: "Forgive your enemies, but, remember their names."

That quote I think, shows our true "human" character. We say we forgive, but, is it true forgiveness, or do we say we forgive in order to try to fool ourselves, fool our "enemies", or are we trying to fool God?

When we say we forgive, then we are to forgive others, as Our Lord forgives us. To do otherwise is not living up to his example in forgiving us. Saint John said, he who hates His brother, and says he loves the Father, is a liar. He has no love in him. I will also say, he that says he forgives his brother, but, will not forget his brothers offense, is a liar. For any man or woman who cannot and will not forget the offenses against him by his/her brother/sister, is placing themselves above God, and saying their giving or refusing forgiveness is above God's forgiveness. When we are told to forgive, we are to totally and completely forgive, and we are to totally and completely forget the wrongs done unto us. When God forgives us, our sins, our wrongs are completely forgotten by Him, as if we had never sinned. If we do not forgive as completely as God does, then we are in the wrong. By not forgiving completely, and by not forgetting what was done to us, then we are saying that we are above God. "Mary Jane was just so mean to me. I can forgive what she said, but, I'll never forget what she said!" Is that the kind of forgiveness Jesus wanted us to show? Or is the kind of forgiveness He shows us, the same kind He showed to the woman caught in adultery?

John 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst,
4 And said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou?
6 And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground.
7 When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground.
9 But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?
11 Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.

Is that not the same kind of forgiveness that we should show? For if we truly forgive, then there is nor was any wrong against us. If we say we forgive, and still manage to hold onto a grudge, still have memories of the wrongs, then we have not forgiven them as we have asked God to forgive us. We see from this that not only was she forgiven, but, her sin was forgotten, because there is no one to accuse her. In God's sight, when He has forgiven us our sins, there is no one to accuse us, no one to remember our offense, so it is as if our sin never happened.

In His prayer, He said for us to pray: "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". How much more clear can it be?

Forgive us Father, as we forgive them who have hurt us. So that we may strive, to make our forgiveness as true, perfect, and loving as yours is to us. Strengthen us, encourage us, and embolden us, to be as loving and forgiving unto others as You, Our Lord and Master, are unto us.
Amen

James 2:8 If then you fulfill the royal law, according to the scriptures: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; you do well.
9 But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, being reproved by the law as transgressors.
10 And whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all.
11 For he that said: Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also: Thou shalt not kill. Now if thou do not commit adultery, but shalt kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak ye and so do, as being to be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy. And mercy exalteth itself above judgment.

So, let us always strive to forget the offense of those we have forgiven. Granted, we are human, we are weak, but, rely on His strength, His Love, His forgiveness to guide us, strengthen us, and encourage us to forgive others as we have been forgiven by Him. Remember, asking for forgiveness, and then bestowing forgiveness to another, is a two fold occurrence of humility. One must humble him or her self to ask forgiveness, and we being only human, must also humble ourselves, and as true Christians grant forgiveness to those who are truly sorrowful. Now, that having been said, that does not mean that once you have forgiven someone, you have to become "best friends", hang out together, have them over to your house for dinner, etc., etc. It just means you have to love them, as He loves you.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.

Copyright © 2006 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.

The Land of Frightened Christians

We are taught that God is a God of love, and neglect to mention that God is also a God of Supreme Justice. Both descriptions of God are true, but it is when we neglect to think of the latter that we may fail to understand Gods Revealed Truth.

Through God's Word we understand His Will when we look to Jesus as our prime example and to accept that through the Father, Peter became the Rock upon which the Church was built. The Church which began with a smattering of Christians who upon the death of Jesus were in total disarray, and even when Mary Magdalene revealed that Jesus was risen still many of the Disciples including Peter were disbelieving of her 'story'. They believed when they saw the Lord standing before them and Thomas only believed once he had placed his finger in Jesus pierced side. The examples shown by the Disciples shows us that they were human, frail and at times frightened at what may lay before them. Another point to ponder is that though the Disciples could have moments of grave doubt, the one who stood before them never doubted for with Jesus lay the path to Eternal Light and Life with the Father in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Our Lord had endured 40 days in the desert, fasting and praying, think about this aspect for a moment, over a month with no food can anyone doubt the agony going on within the Lords body? Let's face it if we go one day without food, our stomach growls, our head aches, just imagine enduring 40 days of no food and little rest? Then the devil chooses this moment to tempt Jesus when He is at his most vulnerable, the Lord rebukes Satan who then slinks away to plot and plan what he thinks will be the Lords downfall. Fast forward to Gethsemane, where Jesus asks the greatest of his Disciples to stay with him one hour, 'He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." While Jesus withstood the devils temptations for 40 days and nights the Disciples in contrast could not last an hour, the warning here is do not rely on your own strength for it is faulty our strength lay entirely with God and how much we allow Him access to our souls. Once again Peter proves this point, 'Then Jesus said to them, "This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed'; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him in reply, "Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be." Jesus said to him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you." And all the disciples spoke likewise.' Peter was speaking from bluster rather than Faith, he also questioned Jesus inability to acknowledge Peter's sense of his own worth, not once but twice. In the end who proved correct?

This is a testament not only of mans inner weakness but also a testament of where lay his greatest strength and that is through prayer. It is God who gives us the strength and the Graces we ask for through prayer and the Sacraments of the Church, we are not our own strength nor are we the source of our own Grace. When we neglect prayer we leave ourselves in peril and open to the devils temptations for unlike Jesus we are not Divine in nature but through Jesus we gain divinity through adoption within the Triune Spirit.

We also have another example of perfect Faith and this is displayed by Mary who though she may not have known fully God's Way Mary did understand God's Will and unlike Peter, Mary did not question Gods authority but instead pondered all things in the depths of her heart. The reason why Satan loathes Mary is the fact that this was one woman who remained obedient to Gods Will, and was full of God's Grace, therefore like her Son, Mary also never fell into temptation. The hatred of Satan towards Mary lay in the fact that Satan was created in perfect beauty of angelic qualities, whilst Mary was human! How could one as beautiful as Satan honour a human! At the heart of Mary lay perfect humility, meekness and gentleness, while at the opposite spectrum we have Satan, prideful, cruel and evil.

It is the examples of Jesus and May's obedience that we need to follow and we can do this in our own age by following the Church's Teaching with filial love and obedience without open dissent by its children. Let us also look at the beginnings of our Church as it gathered itself together upon the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.

Though the Lords words proved true, Peter did not allow this to totally paralyse him with fear, he instead chose to trust Jesus Word and began to understand his own frail weaknesses when it came to a longing to impress those around him. Peter like many men wished to be acknowledged for his strengths and not his weaknesses but this is not how God works as Peter found out and many others who followed in his footsteps. Peter's greatest strength was found through his greatest weakness, an inordinate belief in his own worth and ego, it was ego that first drove Peter, it would be humility that guided him later. Peter would show this by the means of his death to be crucified upside down rather than permit himself the very same death as his beloved Lord.

Others would pick up Peter's lead. John the only Disciple who stood beneath the Cross was also the only Disciple to die a natural death, and through John and the remaining Disciples we also have the beginnings of the Church.

The first Christian martyr we know is Stephen who spoke so eloquently about our Lord and Saviour that his face would shine as if lit within by a Divine light, this infuriated the learned Pharisee's who could not bear that this man knew so much whereas they grasped so little, as we know Stephen was martyred as Saul watched. Ignatius and Polycarp were also strong Christian leaders who lived their Faith courageously, both of whom were followers of John, the beloved Disciple. Both of these men and many more early Christians would become the Church's Martyrs, when facing death Bishop Ignatius proclaimed to all, "No one ought to call Theophorus wicked; for all evil spirits have departed from the servants of God. But if, because I am an enemy to these [spirits], you call me wicked in respect to them, I quite agree with you; for inasmuch as I have Christ the King of heaven [within me], I destroy all the devices of these [evil spirits]." When it came to Polycarp's turn, and he was captured and led before the proconsul after being ordered to deny Christ and give his allegiance to Caesar thereby betraying his Christian beliefs Polycarp looked with disdain at the Proconsul and said, with a wave of his arms towards the crowds of gleeful atheists, "gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, 'Away with the Atheists'." When we look at these Christian hero's it begs the question where are today's Saints and hero's?

Our lives are easier, there are no more stadiums where we can be thrown to the lions, yet when faced with defending our Faith many Christians remain silent rather than risk the wrath of public opinion. Though we read about and admire the Early Christian martyrs we fail to remind ourselves that we are today's Christians. Who fail to speak up for fear of offending those who willfully participate in sinful acts and who with full knowledge vote for politicians who take a Pro-Choice stance towards abortion, these politicians who are today's 'little herods'. We live in a world where rather than say 'Merry Christmas' many Christians choose to instead follow the liberal led media and greet each other with 'Happy Holidays', will saying Merry Christmas to each other offend God? If not then who are we afraid of?

It is not enough to read about the early Christian Martyrs then fail to live the meaning of their deaths for when we do this, we make their martyrdom pointless. As many live a life as 'champagne christians' who may say they love Jesus just don't ask them to live it, lest it cost them their popularity, but not their lives!

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Gnosticism

Alive and Well In The 21^st Century

Catholics and other Christians read or hear about Gnosticism, and think it a heresy that was well defeated almost 2,000 years ago. The truth is, that although Gnosticism in and of itself is “dead” as a religion (thanks mostly to the work of Saint Irenaeus of Lyons for his work “Against Heresies”), it is a major component in all heresies, and in many heresies, it is the largest contribution to those heresies. In truth, many works read and believed...unfortunately...are rampant with Gnosticism. As are many “New Age” religions. Gnosticism, has just been reworked so to speak, with new names but the same tenets.

First, let us take a look at the work that is so full of Gnostic beliefs and ideas, that it is mind boggling that many Christians took this work of fiction, which is what it has always declared itself to be, as a work of fact! The title of this infamous novel, is “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown. Yet, many people who attend Mass, who attend services at their church, who will call themselves true believers, grabbed onto this book, and began exploring this work of fiction as truth. The dictionary tells us what fiction is:

1. a. An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented.
b. The act of inventing such a creation or pretense.

2. A lie.

3. a. A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
b. The category of literature comprising works of this kind, including novels and short stories.

Amazingly enough, people forgot all about this warning from Christ Himself, as recorded in the Gospel of Saint Mark:

Mark 13:22 For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, and they shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce (if it were possible) even the elect.

And people were seduced, and are still being seduced into believing a work of fiction, instead of believing the Holy Word of God. They would rather accept as fact, the words of a man who is willing to get paid for what he wrote, as opposed to accepting as fact the words of men who were willing to die for what they wrote.

People who are accepting “The Davinci Code” as fact, accepting it as truth, and are ready, willing, and able to throw away the truth of Holy Scripture, are not Christian, but, are in fact apostates and heretics, who have thrown the truth of Jesus Christ out the window, and have thrown their salvation away as well. Apostasy is the total rejection by a baptized person of the Christian faith he once professed. Heresy is an opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs, especially dissension from or denial of Roman Catholic dogma by a professed believer or baptized church member.

Now, there is the National Geographic Channel, who is pushing a special in April, that touts a discovery that exasperated 21^st century Bible scholars, The Gospel of Judas. Now, it seems that the National Geographic Society, through its television channel, is out to destroy it's own credibility. Saint Irenaeus himself, showed the fallacy of this so-called “gospel” in “Against Heresies” about the “Doctrines of the Cainites” Book 1, Chapter 31, paragraph 1:

“Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.”

Now, I ask you...if you have read the truth of the Holy Scriptures, especially the Gospels, how could a person be so ignorant, so intellectually challenged, as to actually believe that there was a “Gospel of Judas”?
Especially, as that “gospel” is widely acknowledged to have been written in the 2^nd century!

Why do people make such a great effort to read those Gospels known as the Gnostic Gospels, such as The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and others? Yet these same people cannot and will not take the time, or make the effort to read the Gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. The Church has consistently advised the faithful to not read the Gnostics as they are heretical, and lack genuineness and canonicity. They have none of the truth that is Christ Jesus, but, they do have all of the deceit and lies of a false heretical belief system known as Gnosticism.

If people have grown weary of the teachings of the one true Church, have grown weary of professing their faith by the reception of the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, what hope is left for them? I am afraid that all we can do is pray for them, and gently remind them, that although they are weary of the Church, God, and His one true Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church are not weary of them. For the Shepherd always welcomes His lost sheep back to the fold.

These people are like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They willingly defy what God wants for us all. Eve's first mistake, was not eating the apple. Her first mistake, was listening to Satan to begin with. The people who are so ready for these heresies, have also made the mistake of listening to Satan. Adam and Eve allowed their pride to overrule what God had told them. It was pride which made them eat the apple, to not just be “like God” as the serpent said, but, to surpass God. They, like Satan, wanted to become greater than God Himself. The people who so readily latch onto this modern day Gnosticism also are allowing their pride to lead them into believing that they can have a knowledge that is only obtainable by God, and that with this knowledge they can surpass God. Adam and Eve had no predecessors to warn them of the consequences of their actions. All they had, was the Word of God, and in the end, who did Adam and Eve follow, and whom did they obey? Adam and Eve, like us, had God's Word, because as Saint John says in his Gospel:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In the end, as always the choice is ours. Do we follow our first parents, and allow our pride to lead us to a fall? Or, do we follow Christ, and His Church, and like Jesus and Mary, remain obedient to God and His word? For whoever or whatever fills your heart, mind, and soul, is your God, your faith.

Copyright © 2006 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.

Spiritual Alchemy - The Devils Brew

There is a great longing within each soul to become more than what it presently is, a yearning for some meaning and also to embrace the wonder years we left behind once childhood finished. In our yearning for this unspoken longing to become that which is the promise of who we can become has led many to embrace a spiritual alchemy of various different spiritualities which lack the solid foundation of the Catholic Church's Teachings.

We see this in those who wish to embrace various forms of 'spiritualities' in their daily life as they try and fill the void they feel within the depths of their soul with alternative beliefs such as embracing 'the feminine spirit' or a belief in 'the cosmic Christ' another belief is that all things both spiritual and temporal have their own 'karma'. All this sounds very enticing and radical, but it is not the spiritual elixir that will fill the longing that we all have to become the promise of whom we are meant to become.

The word that is missing in all this spiritual alchemy is religion, those who embrace this form of superficial spirituality deny that we need an 'organized religion' as if religion had become a dirty word or that it has dictatorial overtones. Another word that is missing from this mixture of beliefs is the diabolical for to those who believe and embrace this spiritual alchemy deny the existence of the Devil, therefore there is no Satan and no hell. Does this mean there is also no God? No Jesus? And therefore no Resurrection? What then is their guiding principle? Or is principles another 'dirty word' for this spiritual melting pot?

When one denies the existence of the Devil then they also must call God a liar, for sin came into the world through the temptation of the Devil as Eve and then Adam were seduced into a longing to become like gods, does this have a familiar ring? Does not all these radical spiritualities also promise us that we too can become our own gods? As many race out to buy their crystals, sacred rocks, wiccan staffs, tinkling cymbals all of this so they may feel a temporary spiritual fix rather like a drug addict who needs their next injection of illicit drugs to maintain their imaginary and transient feeling of 'nirvana'.

All of these spiritual alchemies have the element of the occult within them therefore they will deny the existence of the Devil, by rationalising sin and evil as mere expressions of our 'woundedness', but what they fail to explain is where is the source of evil? If evil can only be overcome through man's own 'power' does this not lead to an endless hopelessness as evil perpetuates itself with no end in sight for if there is no source of evil then there is also no source of goodness. This kind of spiritual mumbo jumbo must acknowledge that if Satan does not exist neither does God exist, therefore there is no hope for any of us.

In many forms of transcendental meditation, the spiritual guru will suggest that man use 'spirit guides', these 'spirit guides' are not to be confused with The Holy Spirit, the 'spirit guides' are little more than dressed up demons masquerading as enlightened beings to dim the senses of the unwary. As Scripture warns us, 'Let there not be found among you anyone who immolates his son or daughter in the fire, nor a fortune-teller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner, or caster of spells, nor one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the LORD, and because of such abominations the LORD, your God, is driving these nations out of your way. You, however, must be altogether sincere toward the LORD, your God. Though these nations whom you are to dispossess listen to their soothsayers and fortune-tellers, the LORD, your God, will not permit you to do so.' This means that even TV shows that promote communicating to the dead is an abomination to God, they too are mere 'soothsayers'. Even more seriously to those who seek to know where their loved one has passed on are lacking in trust of God and His Love, for is a TV presenter more worthy of notice than God's Word? What's next contacting God Himself for evidence that Jesus is in Heaven?

All these spiritual elixirs are taking the place of true religious Mysticism through sheer laziness, for to truly embrace the Word of God means we must become less focused on our self and more on service to others, whereas these bogus spiritualities focus entirely on self service and self seeking. We are not here to gratify ourselves that is not the message of Jesus, we are instead to empty ourselves of all self love and instead embrace and live the message of the Gospel, to love one another as God loves each of us. This form of love takes effort and unselfishness something that the bogus spiritualities would rather ignore as they promote self love and self gratification.

To deny the existence of evil is to deny the existence of the Devil and in order to do this we must also deny the existence of God as we are our own goodness our own source of enlightenment, this is the fundamental belief of all 'feel good spiritualities'. This teaching is also outside of the Catholic Church and to those who embrace it, who still proclaim themselves 'catholic' have become Apostates to the Faithful and a source of scandal!

This is an excerpt from one of these enlightened 'Catholics' who has written a book about what he perceives sin to be, " Is sin, then, not an energy (chakra) that is off center or missing the mark? Is sin not a love energy (chakra) that is misdirected? Might the chakra tradition of the East not shed light on what we in the West call sin? And might our understanding of sin also contribute to a deepening of the meaning of chakra? In Part III, when I discuss the seven capital sins and their "offspring" at some length, I conclude each chapter with a brief discussion of the traditional sacrament that corresponds to the chakra at issue and I offer practical exercises that persons can do to cleanse themselves of the "misdirection" associated with the particular chakra."

What does the Catholic Church say, "Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight." Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods," knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God." In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation." In the Catechism there is no mention of 'chakra' is the Church wrong? Is it misguided or deluded? When one questions the validity of the Church, they then even if the words remain unspoken are proclaiming that the Catholic Church is not only deluded it is itself in error! Let us look to Scripture, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our hearts and bestow on us righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin." Is the Word of God wrong was it written by deluded fools? For according to the new age spiritual soothsayers there is no sin!

Once again from a 'catholic writer' he see's sin as such, "All sin has a history. In this book I try to re-contextualize evil and humanity's complicity in it within a post-modern world view, one that begins with a scientific cosmology and a creation-centered spirituality....By returning to the sins of the spirit and the blessings of the flesh, we are paying attention to the wisdom of our ancestors whose awareness of spirit-sin was in many ways far more nuanced and developed than the moral agenda as it has come to us during the modern era. Life in the premodern era was lived closer to the earth and closer to the flesh. The mechanistic consciousness of the Newtonian era effectively removed the living flesh from the universe, assuring us that only humans and the food we ate were flesh. Today's cosmology, on the other hand, reintroduces us to the "fleshiness" of existence--all beings, even stars and galaxies--live, die and resurrect in their fashion and all are made of similar elements or stuff."

Once again we see this bogus 'spirituality' speak prattle that is not only nonsensical it is diabolical in nature, for it makes man as its own god its own creator and its own forgiver of their own sin for sin is no longer sin but a 'blessing! Once again let us look to the Catholic Catechism, and find out the reason for our existence, "God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. "

Once a person opens the spiritual 'Pandora's box' they also leave themselves open for the evil one to enter the hearts of the unwary as they embrace this new age way of believing in...nothing!

We have within the heart of the Catholic Church a deep and integral Mysticism that goes directly to the heart of God Himself. Through the Saints and Mystics of our Church they have shed light on a path that will bring us closer to God and allow God to transform us into living Christ's if we give the Triune Spirit our own fiat. We also have the Sacraments which also unites us with God through the Sacrament of Penance and the Receiving of the Eucharist, we are made whole in Christ and one within the Divine as adopted children of the Father, through the Salvific death and Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

There can be NO marriage between the Catholic Church and other forms of spirituality which deny the Revelatory Salvation found only through Jesus Christ, for to deny this Truth is to deny Christ Himself. Once again Scripture warns us, 'Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.'

We are not here to serve ourselves or to make others feel comfortable if they have embraced wrong beliefs or willfully choose to sin thereby making themselves in league with the Devil. We are here to bear witness to the Truth, not our interpretation of truth but Divine Truth as has been handed down by the Catholic Church. To believe anything other than this is to live outside of the one Holy and Apostolic Church, thereby making themselves...Apostates!

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

roman catholic

The Age Of UNreason

We all long to find our own utopia our own spiritual Shangri La, where the world can fit into what suits us rather than change who we are to a higher calling. In our efforts to find this societal utopia we have transformed the society we live in to resemble the 'collective man' where man is no longer allowed to think for himself but instead must obey the latest laws and trends so as not to cause offense to whom?

In our lawmakers efforts not to cause offense to anyone, have they not instead made themselves emperors with no clothes? As many buy into this political correctness, where the truth can no longer be spoken but a nice lie is acceptable rather than have the truth cause offense, once again to whom?

The very people who embrace this philosophy of anything goes so long as it feels good negate this very idea when anyone challenges this theory. If a group of people do not agree with this 'feel good' philosophy they are immediately attacked as either racist, a basher or intellectually backward, what happened to 'free thinking'? Is this form of intellectual dictatorship only correct so long as the majority fall into line to follow the minority? Have these very 'enlightened people who embrace this agenda not contradicted themselves when they attack others who may disagree with them, if so what happened to free thought?

When a society decides to have as it's foundation the moral of the 'if it feels good then do it' should we then be shocked when children give birth to children? When children murder their parents rather than follow their parents discipline? Where mothers can lawfully murder their own unborn babies, at taxpayers expense! Where same sex marriages are being rushed into law while many universities and organizations promote casual sex rather than embrace the dinosaur idea of living a chaste life followed by a monogamous marriage. All of these mixed messages are subtly fed to the masses via the cinema, TV, internet and music, which no longer simply entertains us but rather promotes their own agenda's as they seek to distort the truth with their own warped version of what they think others should believe.

Though these organizations may try and distort the truth for their own nefarious reasons this very reason becomes unstuck when one disagrees with their agenda, for if one is for freedom of thought, does this only apply when one agrees with the liberal trend? If freedom of thought is to be truly embraced should not everyone's different ideas be respected rather than have a minority dictate to the majority what they think is right and moral? As G. K. Chesterton once wrote, "The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice." Have we reached a time where wrong is now right and right is now wrong?

Yet in all this free thinking one aspect is left out, who is the guiding principle behind this subtle attack on all that we hold to be decent and true, to quote Pope Benedict XVI, "Whatever the less discerning theologians may say, the devil, as far as Christian belief is concerned, is a puzzling but real, personal and not merely symbolical presence." As we touch upon the Demonic Principality what do these liberal thinkers actually think of the Devil, or have they spent so much time in the realm of darkness that their vision between good and evil no longer exists?

When we ignore the Devils very existence, how then are we to judge what is good and what is evil? Do we leave it to Hollywood to dictate what our moral compass should be? Do we leave it with our Judiciary who wish to protect child predators from the full force of the law in an attempt without foundation to 'heal' them of their 'illness'? These very same Judiciary bodies who believe it is a woman's right to murder the unborn and where some Judges decide to go against the law of the State and allow their office to administer same sex marriages? Who has the right to dictate what is good and evil? It is a dangerous thing to place the power of good and evil unto man for if this were the case was Adolf Hitler perfectly in his rights to commit genocide against those he deemed unfit to live? The same holds true for Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and other evil regimes, for as Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." More tellingly the famous Albert Einstein himself said, "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."

The thought that man can rationalise and determine what is good and evil is not new, the Catholic Church has fought against this very rationalism for centuries. As that wonderful Saint of the Church, Pope Pius X wrote, "With truly lamentable results, our age, casting aside all restraint in its search for the ultimate causes of things, frequently pursues novelties so ardently that it rejects the legacy of the human race. Thus it falls into very serious errors, which are even more serious when they concern sacred authority, the interpretation of Sacred Scripture, and the principal mysteries of Faith. The fact that many Catholic writers also go beyond the limits determined by the Fathers and the Church herself is extremely regrettable. In the name of higher knowledge and historical research (they say), they are looking for that progress of dogmas which is, in reality, nothing but the corruption of dogmas." Also Pope Benedict XVI continues in the same vein when he said, "The more one understands the holiness of God, the more one understands the opposite of what is holy, namely, the deceptive masks of the devil." It is when we ignore that evil has a source that we also deny the source of all goodness and purity! Once again Saint Pius X warns us, "Truly we are passing through disastrous times, when we may well make our own the lamentation of the Prophet: "There is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land" (Hosea 4:1). Yet in the midst of this tide of evil, the Virgin Most Merciful rises before our eyes like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace between God and man."

Two of the men who stood against the Church in the name of 'liberation' were Voltaire and Rosseau. Voltaire himself who seemed to have such affinity with the poor yet he failed to give them all his wealth and live amongst them, is it not more the case that he used the poor to further his own hatred of the Church by blaming the Church for every misfortune. This man who called for 'religious tolerance' yet did all he could to bring down the Catholic Church, surely that is a contradiction in terms? Religious tolerance except for the Catholic Church and those who remained devout Catholics? Yet this is exactly what Voltaire espoused, which shows that though one may be gifted intellectually that does not equate to wisdom. Another 'enlightened' figure is that of Rosseau who with the same zeal as shown by Voltaire spoke virulently against the Catholic Church, while he embraced the Protestant Church, though he had numerous children out of wedlock and various mistresses, this did not strike Rosseau as the very thing he accused the Catholic Church, hypocritical? Once again the gift of expressing one's thought need not imply that the person is at all wise, as is shown by the two individuals above!

In the world we live in now, evil has another name and that name is toleration. We are called not only to 'tolerate' evil but indeed we are being dictated to accept sin as good and wholesome. As we have seen the modernistic trend being expressed today is not new to the world they have been around since the garden of Eden when the devil enticed Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge and she too would be like god, unfortunately Eve believed him! Though many may like to live in a world where the devil is no longer acknowledged that does not mean that he does not exist, as the late Pope John Paul II wrote, "The devil, the 'prince of this world', even today continues his deceitful action. Every man, over and above his own concupiscence and the bad example of others, is also tempted by the devil, and the more so when he is least aware of it." Do we relegate these wise words from some of our great Saints and Popes as mere illusionary imaginings in favour of what?

Do we throw out the Teachings of the Catholic Church as a mere fairytale, for as the Catechism instructs the faithful, 'In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. the devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.' To the Catholic Church Satan is a being, the Church does not treat the devil as the imaginings of an over wrought imagination as many liberal thinkers would like to convey to the less discerning!

We are not called to follow the world or the worldly or to accommodate sin in order for others to be more comfortable as they embrace a sinful lifestyle, neither are we to judge those who fall into sin for we are all sinners. What we are called to do is correct those in error in a spirit of loving compassion, as Scripture teaches us, 'I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.' When we fail to correct those in error we have not only failed ourselves and God but most importantly we have failed the one in error who will continue to sin because some failed to love enough to correct those engaged in sinful behaviour.

Those who do not heed the Church and its Teachings are little more than Esau's who throw away their inheritance in order to gain what? The worlds acclaim? Is the price not only worth your soul but the soul of others who are guided by your words?

If we place our moral compass into the hands of the Esau's what price then Salvation...to paraphrase when the Son of Man returns will He find any Faith on earth?

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Good Angel-Bad Angel-Who Do We Listen To?

As Christians we all wish to do good but as St. Paul teaches us through Scripture, "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want." There is a continual ongoing war within our souls and our very beings of good vs. evil, it leads to spiritual tension that is as delicately strung as a violin, one wrong move and the string breaks, so it is when we move too close to sin, one sinful thought soon leads to sinful acts, for all sin begins in the mind, and it is here that Satan will tempt us, but that is all he can do is tempt.

At times in order to escape accountability many will blame Satan for the choices they have made this is not so, for we are not captured beings with no free will, indeed the old excuse of 'the devil made me do it' is as lame as it sounds. The Devil can do no more than what he did to Jesus in the desert and that is to tempt each of us with worldly delights by promising us what we most desire but that does not mean we must accept his evil invite. We must also not walk around fearing the Devil at every turn for did not Jesus Christ win the battle for our souls for all of eternity? Why then such timidity when God has conquered sin by the death and Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our iniquities. Jesus conquered over sin therefore we have the victory through His Salvific Atonement, let us then walk with confidence in God who guides our path, as St. Teresa of Avila admonished in her works, "I'm sick and tired of those people who go about saying: 'The devil, the devil, the devil,' when instead they should be saying 'God, God, God'. I fear these kinds of persons more than the devil himself."

To walk confidently though we need to make sure that we are on the path of Righteousness we do this by living a right life in the sight of God, for nothing is hidden from our Loving God who pierces the depths of our soul and knows our thoughts and deeds. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to remove ourselves from occasions of sin, where as weak human beings we may find ourselves falling into the seductive voice of the evil tempter who beguiles us with promises of pleasures but fails to tell the many who listen to this seduction that his promises are empty and will lead a soul to hell. As that wonderful Saint Teresa cautions her readers with these words, "Beware, for the devil, through very small things drills holes through which very large things enter." Temptation begins in our thoughts and gains ground when we listen to the wrong voice, the 'good and bad angel' that sits on our shoulders and beckons us to do that which we know is sin and the opposing voice that tells us our actions are wrong and will lead to a deadening of our senses. Once again St. Teresa warns her fellow Sisters, "The devil needs nothing more than to see a little door open before playing a thousand tricks." The thousand tricks is the seduction of our senses to do that which we know is wrong and spend our time on meaningless things in order to weaken the power of the indwelling Spirit.

These are especially difficult times for the unwary soul as we live in a century where sin is no longer recognised and what was sin is now recognised by liberal society as a good. We live in a society where our senses are constantly bombarded with the wrong messages, where music promotes a lifestyle of gratifying mans base nature, through sex, drugs and course language. We see sin being glorified on the cinema screen as same sex lifestyles are being promoted as normal, where adultery is seen as liberating and gruesome murder is seen as entertainment. Even though we are bombarded with these images it does not mean we must consent to what we know is wrong and sinful.

This does not mean we must walk around with dour and long faced mourning as if God were a killjoy, interrupting our 'good times'. Every Christian knows within their own hearts what is pleasing to God and what is not and by embracing the worldly philosophy of 'anything goes' we not only harm our own spirits but also those who listen to us, for if we do not set a good example, who will? For an example if a person is struggling with an inner compulsion towards pornography do we buy this person a subscription to Playboy? Of course not! We instead encourage them to read wholesome material and with prayer and support help them to overcome their addiction towards lust.

If we wish to know what spirit we listen too, then ask within yourself when the Catholic Church speaks out on an issue or bans a movie or books, do we listen and obey the Church's admonition or do many stamp their feet and become determined to flout the instructions given by the Church and read and watch that which has been designated as harmful? Where does this dissident spirit spring from? For Christ cannot dissent from that which the Church instructs the faithful, so then why do you wish to do the exact opposite of the stance which the Church has taken? What 'voice' is directing you to disobey the Church as if one were more knowledgeable and the Church outmoded and outdated? Though we live in the world we are not meant to be a part of it no matter how alluring it may appear as St. John of the Cross cautioned in his works, "Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing." One may say this Saint is old and his sayings are no longer relevant, do they also say the same thing of Gods Word?

During our day we come across many distractions and can become overly busy in an attempt not so much as to achieve things but to drown out the still small voice that cautions us to direct our thoughts towards Godly things and not worldly matters, in the end what voice did we listen too? When we ignore that still small voice we do so at our own peril, for if we ignore it enough in time many will fail to recognise the gentle voice of the indwelling Spirit in preference for the more raucous voices of the worldly and sophisticated. It is prayer that strengthens us against the temptations of the world and the seductive voice of the evil one, as Saint Rose of Viterbo said, "Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods and pleasures. It fills them with light, strength and consolation; and gives them a foretaste of the calm bliss of our heavenly home."

Though we live in the world we can still be God fearing souls when our entire focus is centred on God and what is pleasing to God. Our very work can be turned into prayer when we offer up our work for Gods Glory and not our own, this then ennobles the work done as God accepts our gift and returns it with His Divine Wisdom. It is through the indwelling Spirit that illuminates our own souls as to what is good and pleasing to God and what is displeasing and sinful for as the Word instructs us, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace." Nowhere does the Word of God instruct us to obey the standards of 'Hollywood's movies that promote sinful behaviour and lifestyle choices!

It is not open minded to believe that wrong is right and right is wrong, that is deception! It is what the tempter wishes all of us to believe, how many of us do exactly that? Do we listen to the standards set by a society grown gluttonous and greedy as they disregard and hold in contempt all that God and the Church teaches as right and wholesome? When we begin to believe what the world teaches in preference to what God, The Church and the Saints teach us then who do we follow and what voice has gained control of our interior? Do many consider the Saints who went before us as boring or out of date? Therefore they turn to the TV, the internet and the cinema to ascertain what is more pleasing to the world and the worldly? Our Saints should be our hero's and not the celluloid hero's who promote deviant lifestyles, to heed the words of Saint Antony the Abbot, "The devil dreads fasting, prayer, humility, and good works: he is not able even to stop my mouth who speak against him. The illusions of the devil soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross. The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He triumphed over and disarmed them."

There is an old cartoon where good and evil are represented as a good angel sitting on the right shoulder and the evil angel sitting on the left shoulder as both whisper into the ear of the recipient. The person in the cartoon is torn in two as he listens to one and a halo surrounds him, then the opposite voice whispers its seduction and the attention of the person turns to listen to the voice of the evil angel as he sprouts horns. This cartoon can be seen as representative of our own battle for in the end the voice that we listen to most will win our soul. In the words of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, "Owing to the spirit of the world and tepidity, if the Savior returned to earth today to announce His doctrine in person, He would find as many opponents as He did among the Jews."

Our Lord does speak out through The Catholic Church but how many listen and obey? Or do we disregard the Church as overbearing and dictatorial?

In the end do we sing praises to God or dance with the Devil if the tune sounds right or can many no longer tell the difference?

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.