Analysis of St. Paul's Teachings on Justification and Faith

Romans 3:28

26 Through the forbearance of God, for the shewing of his justice in this time; that he himself may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ. 27 Where is then thy boasting? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.

Thats how the Douay says it. Here's how the quintessential Protestant Bible says it:

Romans 3:26-28 (King James Version) 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

I see no big difference. The two versions are virtually identical as far as the meaning goes.

When speaking to Protestants about this verse, they generally quote it as Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith. Some will say, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works. But they generally leave out “of the law.” And these words are very important to the idea that St. Paul is expressing.

Why? Because of the example which St. Paul is using. Abraham.

Continue reading until you get to Chapter 4 verse 2:

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now we know that St. Paul is speaking of works of the law because that is what he was speaking of in the last chapter. He didn't suddenly change subjects. However, he has omitted the words of the law at this point.

Lets keep reading:

4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 

Here, St. Paul says that to the person who works, the reward is a wage or a debt, not a free gift of grace.

5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. But to the person who does not work, but only believes in God who justifies the sinner, that person's faith is counted as righteousness.

6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Now, here it gets a little confusing. If you go back to Psalm 32, you will find that David is speaking of a repentant sinner who has asked forgiveness. As we said before, he is speaking of himself and the sin committed with Bathsheba. And then he confessed his sin to Nathan the High Priest and God forgave him. Catholics will recognize this ritual. It is very similar to the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation. But the Jews did not have Sacraments. They had a Covenant. This Covenant imparted grace from God, but not Sacramental or Sanctifying grace. God imparted His grace, then as now, only to those who believed. Only to those who had faith. This is the first type of Justification of the sinner by God.

Ok, lets keep reading because St. Paul mixes both types of justification into this discourse. 9Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Did you get that? This is very important. At the time that God reckoned Abraham was righteous, ABRAHAM WAS NOT YET CIRCUMCISED. This is the idea that St. Paul was expressing by saying, “apart from works of the Law”.

Circumcision is a requirement of the Old Testament Law. Therefore circumcision is a “work of the Law”. And Abraham was reckoned just or righteous, APART FROM WORKS OF THE LAW.

Now, for brevity's sake, we're going to skip around a bit. But you can read the entire text yourself. The point I want to make here, is that Protestants always point to Romans 3:28 and say that St. Paul was teaching “faith alone”. At this point however, I want to direct you to Romans 4:17-24. Lets continue reading from there:

17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 

St. Paul reminds us that God made Abram the father of all nations. That is what Abraham means.

18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

And Abraham believed IN HOPE. St. Paul describes hope as being a step higher than faith:

2 Corinthians 10:15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, 

You see, we hope when our faith is increased. So Abraham didn't just have faith in God. He hoped in God.

19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

Ok, now we're getting to the part I wanted you to read. St. Paul says that Abraham was not weak in faith. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. Abraham was one hundred years old, because he is not weak in faith he does not consider his own body dead. What does that have to do with anything? God has just promised that Abraham will be the father of nations. In modern lingo, that means that Abraham has to get busy. Abraham and Sarah have to get busy. But St. Paul says even more. Abraham and Sarah have been married close to 70 years and Sarah has never conceived. But Abraham has so much faith and hope in God that he doesn't even consider that little detail. In one short verse, St. Paul tells us that Abraham puts his faith to work. Lets continue.

20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And he did not doubt in God's promises. Thus giving glory to God. 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

And because he was completely convinced that God could bring to accomplishment what He had promised...

22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Therefore, God credited to him as righteousness.

You see? Abraham's faith was strong and vibrant. It wasn't dead. How do we know? Because St. Paul says that Abraham acted upon the promises of God, thus giving glory to God. How did he act upon those promises? By uniting himself with his wife in the conjugal act. Even though he was a hundred years old, even though her womb had never borne a child before. He believed God and put his faith to work. As St. James would have said:

James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

It can't be any plainer to me. St. Paul and St. James agree completely. THEREFORE, because St. Paul believed, he did not consider his body dead or Sarah's womb closed, and he performed the duty, the work, which every husband must perform who wants to have a child by his wife. THEREFORE it was counted to him as righteousness. He was credited as just. Not because of faith alone, but because of faith and works. Not works of the law, but works of obedience.

Alrightee then! Its time to skip again. This time, to

Romans 5:9 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Notice that he doesn't mention our works at all at this point, but only the Blood of Christ. Catholics are very familiar with this Sacrament. It is the Eucharistic Chalice which makes present the Blood He shed on the Cross. Again, this is a reference to Sacramental Justification.

Moving on to

Romans 9: 31But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

This is another idea which St. Paul frequently expresses, the ineffect of works without faith. What we would call, “works alone”. Frequently, Protestants unfairly accuse the Catholic Church of teaching works alone. But the Catholic Church teaches that the Sacraments are works of God and that justification is by faith AND works. Not by works alone and not by faith alone.

There's another idea which is addressed by St. Paul which is not addressed by any other Scripture writer. It is the idea of grace vs. works. Romans 11:6 (King James Version)

6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

At first glance, this statement is about “justification by grace”. And it is, but primarily it is about “election by grace”. What is “election”? Election is the idea that, because God is all knowing, He PRE selected or predestined those who would be justified and then saved. This is a very difficult topic which we will only touch upon right now. But you can look it up under the heading of “predestination”. Catholic and Protestant ideas of “predestination” are very close but not identical. Especially distinguished because of the Protestant idea of “irresistible grace” which is not taught by the Catholic Church. Anyway, that is what Romans 11:6 is about. It is about why God chose the Jews to be saved in the first place and explains that they did not lose their election although many of them lost their salvation. Lets look at the context:

Romans 11 1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. In Romans,

I have been taught that St. Paul is speaking to a Gentile Church. That is to say, a Church composed mostly of former Gentiles. At this point in the Epistle, he is explaining why the Jews were cut off and the Gentiles grafted on the tree which is the body of Christ.

2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

And he explains that God has not cast away the Jews. They will still be saved.

3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

He uses as an example an episode from the Old Testament with Elijah wherein God had set aside 7000 men, prophets, who did not bow down to Baal.

5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

And he explains that God did not choose them or those present because of their works, but because of His Mercy and Grace.

6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Therefore, he says, we were elected by grace. It is not something which we could earned. Perhaps I need to explain this a bit further. There are many things which God has done for our salvation with which we had nothing to do except that God loves us. For instance:

1.The Incarnation. God did not become man because of our faith or because of anything else we may have done. He became man in order to give us another opportunity to be united to Him because of His Love and Mercy.

2.The Crucifixion. God did not die on the Cross because of our faith or because of anything we have done. In fact, it is more because of our lack of faith that God died on the Cross thereby giving us an example of self sacrifice that we could follow.

3.The Resurrection. God did not come back from the dead because of our faith or lack there of, but because He wanted to inspire in us hope for our salvation by providing for us evidence of what would happen to everyone who was faithful and obedient unto death.

7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. In this long section,

St. Paul says that the Jews were not thrown away, but were permitted to stumble that the Gentiles would be saved and the Jews provoked to jealousy.

12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

And just as Jesus Christ came back from the dead, God may bring the Jews back from the dead.

Anyway, I hope that is enough to prove that this idea is not about justification of the individual, but about election, first of the Jewish nation and then of the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:16 (King James Version) 16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 

Here's another instance of the terminology, “works of the law”.

But if you read the entire chapter and the next, you will find that the idea expressed is about the Sacraments, Baptism in particular.

26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In essence, it boils down to the idea that those who are baptized are children of God. And if we are children of God then we belong to the Body of Christ, who alone was given the promise through Abraham. In other words, if we have faith in Jesus Christ, we will be baptized, justified by God and inherit the promise given to the Son, whom we have become, having become Abraham's seed.

Ephesians 2:8 (King James Version) 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

This is a beautiful verse, which is frequently mistaken for a teaching on faith alone, but which really needs to be broken down into its separate parts to be understood correctly.

 8For by grace are ye saved

The main idea being addressed here is that we are saved by God by His Grace. through faith; And that faith itself is a form of grace. This is why it says “by grace, through faith”.

and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

And that idea is confirmed here. Faith doesn't come from us, it is a gift of God. Therefore, we owe everything to God.

If we continue reading, he also addresses “works”:

9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

If we combine verse 8 and 9, we see that we are not saved either because of our faith or our works. Our salvation is the Gift of God. Jesus Christ died on the Cross because He loves us. Not because of anything we did.

10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

This verse is has a subtle double meaning which we need to explore.

1st. We are His Workmanship-All mankind was created by God. If we read Genesis, we see that God rested after He created us on the sixth day.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

2nd. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

All mankind was created in and through Christ Jesus. He is the first and the last. We were created in Him and without Him nothing was made.

Col 1:15-16 15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

3rd. But we are also recreated in Christ in Baptism. We become new Creations putting on Christ Jesus. Wherein we are born again in Christ Jesus. And created to perform good works which God fore ordained that we should obey Him.

4th. And in neither circumstance were our works necessary. God did not create us because we did anything. We didn't exist. He created us because He wanted someone to give His love. And God didn't become incarnate, die on the Cross and come back from the dead because of anything we did that was good. But because of His great love and mercy which impelled Him to save us.

5th.Why does He love us? Because He created us in Christ Jesus, His Son. That covers most of the verses which many interpret and say that St. Paul is teaching faith alone. At this point, I'd like to introduce one verse which I believe shows that St. Paul does not ever teach faith alone:

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Generally, Protestants believe that salvation and justification occur at the same time. Some even say they are the same thing. So, if Jesus saved only those who obey, then it is by faith and works that one is saved, because obedience implies works.

St. Paul vs. St. James - justification

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

That's it folks. I'm not sure how clear this explanation of the doctrine of justification or should I say, the doctrines of justification were for all of you. I know that my own wife and daughters did not understand what I was trying to say. But I don't know how to simplify it any further. I will try below however. St. Paul and St. James agreed with each other on “the justification of repentance or conversion”. A very good example of this shown in the following two verses:

Romans 2:13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

However, St. Paul wasn't only speaking about that type of justification. In many of his teachings, he dug deeper and explained the justification which only God can perform for us in the Sacraments. And not only that but he also touched upon the fact that no amount of faith and works on our part brought Jesus into the Virgin's womb nor persuaded Jesus to die on the Cross and claim back His life in the resurrection. NOTHING we did could have brought about those graces. Only God's great love and mercy could do so.

May God bless you.

November 27, 2012

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 504

Reading 1 from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 14:14-19

I, John, looked and there was a white cloud,
and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man,
with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

The Son of Man on the clouds is Jesus:

Matthew 24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Another angel came out of the temple,crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud,"Use your sickle and reap the harvest,for the time to reap has come,because the earth's harvest is fully ripe."So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth,and the earth was harvested.

Then an angel came out of the heavenly temple and called out to Jesus that it was time to harvest the earth.  And Jesus swung His sickle and the earth was harvested.

In the time of the harvest, remember what Jesus said in the Gospels:

Matthew 13:37-40
King James Version (KJV)
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

And so, at this point in the recounting of John's vision, Jesus has begun the harvest.

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven
who also had a sharp sickle.
Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire,
and cried out in a loud voice
to the one who had the sharp sickle,
"Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth's vines,
for its grapes are ripe."
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth's vintage.
He threw it into the great wine press of God's fury.

Now, another angel comes from out of the temple and this one also has a sickle like the Jesus.  And another angel calls to him from the heavenly altar, the one who is also in charge of the fire and this one says to the other, "Use your sickle and cut the grapes off of God's vines for they are ripe."  And that angel does so and the grapes are thrown into God's wine press of fury.

Remember the symbolism from John 15.

John 15
King James Version (KJV)
15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Christ is the grapevine.  Therefore, grapes are the Christians which are on united with Him.  Note that they will be the first to be Judged by God:

1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

This wine press is Purgatory.  Because the grapes tossed in there are ripe.  Note how they must suffer although they have produced good fruit:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
King James Version (KJV)
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13

R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

The earth is firm and not to be moved-it is not a reference to the idea that the earth rotates around the sun.  It is a reference to the fact that the earth has its place in God's plan, right here where it sits, rotating around the sun and holding the creatures which Scripture reveals are God's beloved.

God governs all people with equity-that means that God does not consider the rich more important than the poor.  Every person will be judged according to God's perfect justice on Judgment day.

Romans 2:5
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 21:5-11

While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here?
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Jesus foresees the day that the Romans will destroy Jerusalem in 70ad.

Then they asked him,"Teacher, when will this happen?And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"He answered,"See that you not be deceived,for many will come in my name, saying,'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'Do not follow them!

I believe Jesus is here, speaking in a veiled manner, both about the events that occurred after His crucifixion and of the events that will occur in the end of time.

When you hear of wars and insurrections,do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,but it will not immediately be the end."

Wars and rumors of wars have been heard of until now.  And yet the end is not here yet.

Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky."

These things occurred after His crucifixion and have continued to this day.  Therefore, be prepared:

 Luke 12:39-48
King James Version (KJV)
39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Sincerely,

De Maria 

Grace Before Meals - Purple Sauce

November 26, 2012

Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 503

Reading 1 from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5

We continue reading the vision of St. John.

I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,
and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

This sounds very much like another verse to me:

Revelation 12:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I heard a sound from heaven
like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.

That is an intriguing sound.  It sounded like the roar of rushing water.  Have you ever been to Niagara Falls?  The sound is deafening.  At the same time, it sounded like a peal of thunder.  I know you've heard thunder?  And then, it also sounded like the sweet wound of harps?!!!

What a contrast!

They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne,
before the four living creatures and the elders.

The four living crreatures and the elders were not singing this song.

No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousandwho had been ransomed from the earth.

Only the 144,000 could sing this song.  I'm thinking this song was Alleluia and Glory to God in the highest.  Because that is the only song that fits the description.

I think I've mentioned before that the 144,000 is a mystical number of perfection.  It is 12x12000.  The number 12 is repeated 12000 times.  Therefore, the number 144,000 does not represent the finite figure of 144,000 but a much larger number which can't be counted.

These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
They have been ransomed as the first fruits
of the human race for God and the Lamb.
On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.

They are unblemished, in my opinion, means they are virgins.  These are the Priests and Nuns who have given up husband, wife, father, mother, and children in order to be united to God.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Those who seek righteousness are they who seek the Lord in faith:

Isaiah 58:2
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

This is a very important teaching about indulgences.  Note that the widow stored her treasure in heaven and that God multiplied its worth because of her faith.  These are the merits of the Saints which the Church has the authority to reapportion according to the prayers of her disciples.

Sincerely,

De Maria

I say a little prayer

What a wonderful world

St. Paul vs. St. James - justification

INTRODUCTION

The topic of this document is really “justification”. But I hope to address this topic from an angle which I have never seen presented before. That angle is the relationship of the Apostles to the new guy, Saul of Tarsus, aka, St. Paul the last Apostle ordained by Jesus Christ.

As Christians, Catholic and Protestant, we tend to see the Apostles as one big happy family. Especially after the Pentecost. However, as I read the book of Galatians and consider the other circumstances surrounding the events of that day, when St. Paul felt compelled to confront St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, I get the feeling of undercurrents in the Christian family which I've never seen addressed in print.

These undercurrents are not official Catholic Teaching. I bring them up because they make Scripture reading more fun and exciting for me when we identify some of the drama which possibly was going on in the higher echelons of the Church. I hope it does the same for you.

If these undercurrents did exist, I wonder what effect they had on doctrine, if any?

The immediate question, I suppose many will have, is, “after 2000 years, you think you can come up with a new angle?”

The Background

(Redirected from THE BACKGROUND)

I do a great deal of discussing, well, to put it bluntly, of arguing, on the internet, with Protestants. The discussion is frequently about “faith alone” and I'm generally explaining why “faith alone” is a false teaching.

It is during these discussions that I have had the opportunity to study the Scripture passages which support the Catholic and the Protestant positions.

During these debates, it has become sort of politically correct to say that St. James and St. Paul were in complete agreement with each other. Protestants will say that St. James and St. Paul agree with each other on faith alone. And Catholics will agree that they agree with each other, but that they both teach faith and works.

But the Scriptures don't bear this out. St. Paul and St. James do not appear to be agreeing with each other. In fact, non-Christians and Atheists go as far as to say that St. Paul started another religion apart from Christianity.

In order to see what, in my opinion, is really going on, we need to back up to the beginning, even before St. Paul was de-horsed. When he was still known as Saul of Tarsus.

Reading the Scriptures, we see that Saul was a hard, even a cruel, man. Completely consumed with zeal for the traditions of his father, he approved of the martyring of St. Stephen:

Acts 7:57 And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul.

And he asked for permission to persecute the Church:

Acts 9:1 And Saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 And asked of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues: that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

And his conversion to a Christian didn't break his spirit. St. Paul was a tough man, no doubt about it! And an unforgiving man. In the following verse, St. Paul fights with St. Barnabus, because St. Paul won't forgive John Mark's so called “desertion” on a previous missionary journey.

Acts 15:38 But Paul desired that he (as having departed from them out of Pamphylia, and not gone with them to the work) might not be received. 39 And there arose a dissension, so that they departed one from another; and Barnabas indeed taking Mark, sailed to Cyprus. 40 But Paul choosing Silas, departed, being delivered by the brethren to the grace of God.

No sir, forgiving was not something that came natural to St. Paul. But we've gotten a little bit ahead of our story, you see when St. Paul first came into the Church, he was mistrusted:

Acts 10:13 But Ananias answered: Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that invoke thy name.

And St. Paul didn't do a lot to endear himself. Straightway, he began to teach in such a way that he was accused of contradicting Moses by the Christians of Jewish background:

Acts Of Apostles 21:21 Now they have heard of thee that thou teachest those Jews, who are among the Gentiles, to depart from Moses: saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor walk according to the custom.

And this brings us to St. James. Irresistable force meet the immovable object. The entire group of Apostles and disciples seemed to be composed of tough men. St. Barnabus hadn't let St. Paul phase him when they had their ruckus over St. John Mark. He just took St. John Mark with him and departed from St. Paul's company. And St. James was no push over either. In fact, he literally manhandled St. Paul. Listen to this:

Acts 21:22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee. We have four men, who have a vow on them. 24 Take these, and sanctify thyself with them: and bestow on them, that they may shave their heads: and all will know that the things which they have heard of thee, are false; but that thou thyself also walkest keeping the law.

You're in my diocese now Buddy! Tomorrow you shave and take a vow and show everyone that YOU ALSO KEEP THE LAW!

Yessirree Bob! St. James didn't play. You want to come over here preaching all kinds of novelties, we're going to straighten you out!

And what did St. Paul do? Did he kick and scream and object? No. He took a little weight off his head: 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day being purified with them, entered into the temple, giving notice of the accomplishment of the days of purification, until an oblation should be offered for every one of them.

But that's understandable. St. James is formidable.

St. Paul and St. James, St. James and St. Paul. I don't think they were BFF. I just don't get that impression from Scripture. What do you think?

Anyway, lets get back to St. Paul. Put yourself in his shoes. There you are on your missionary journeys and then you hear in Church, something cryptic from St. John, the beloved of Christ, “ 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us; but that they may be manifest, that they are not all of us. (1 John 2) ”? To whom is he referring? To me?

And then you hear something from St. James. “24 Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only? (James 2) ”! Is he contradicting ME?

And then, you hear your name mentioned: 2 Peter 3:15 And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation; as also OUR MOST DEAR BROTHER PAUL, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; IN WHICH ARE CERTAIN THINGS HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.

Wow! Thanks for the endorsement, Pete! No wonder he had to confront them.

Galatians 2

1 Then, after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. 2 And I went up according to revelation; and communicated to them the gospel, which I preach among the Gentiles, but apart to them who seemed to be some thing: lest perhaps I should run, or had run in vain.

And note how he speaks of them. Surely this is a man whose feelings are hurt:

6 But of them who seemed to be some thing, (what they were some time, it is nothing to me, God accepteth not the person of man,) for to me they that seemed to be some thing added nothing. 7 But contrariwise, when they had seen that to me was committed the gospel of the uncircumcision, as to Peter was that of the circumcision. 8 (For he who wrought in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, wrought in me also among the Gentiles.) 9 And when they had known the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship: that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision: 10 Only that we should be mindful of the poor: which same thing also I was careful to do.

Surely the Holy Spirit had informed St. Paul that St. Peter was first annointed to the mission of the gentiles.

Acts Of Apostles 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter, rising up, said to them: Men, brethren, you know, that in former days God made choice among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

But St. Paul here seems to belittle not just St. Peter's mission but also his authority. As well as St. Jame's and St. John's.

What a soap opera folks! The Apostles were human!

And then of course, the famous confrontation wherein St. Paul, the man who had St. Timothy circumcised, the man who boasts that he is everything to everyone, accuses St. Peter of being a hypocrite?!

Its lucky for St. Paul that St. Peter was transformed and at a higher level of holiness at this point in their faith journey. Otherwise, St. Paul may have been out on his ear. He was talking to the man to whom Jesus Christ said:

What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

And that's where they were folks. St. James had heard many things about St. Paul's teachings. Perhaps he had even read the manuscripts. And in my opinion, he either understood that St. Paul was teaching “faith alone” OR he understood that many of his parishoners thought that St. Paul was teaching “faith alone”. And St. James was preaching against faith alone in no uncertain terms. Lets look at the first chapter of his epistle and I'll show you:

James 1:22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. 24 For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was. 25 But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty, and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Those who read his Epistle and somehow get faith alone out of it are simply twisting his words. St. James said, “by works a man is justified and NOT BY FAITH ONLY. (2:24)”

That's pretty clear.

BUT, the Catholics will say, St. Paul was not teaching faith alone either.

No, I don't believe so either. And we'll go through a thorough examination of his words in order to show that he wasn't in a little while. However, I think we need to understand something else about St. Paul. St. Paul was taught by one of the greatest Jewish Theologians of all time. GAMALIEL.

Acts 22:1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye the account which I now give unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence.) 3 And he saith: I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, as also all you are this day:

The rest of the Apostles were mere fishermen. Except for Matthew, a tax collector. None, except St. Paul, were trained theologians. So when St. Paul taught the Christian faith, he spoke in terms which St. Peter said were, “...hard to be understood...(2 Peter 3:16).

And this explains, to me anyway, why in Galatians, he questioned whether he was running in vain, and spoke so disparagingly about the Apostles. He was thinking, “they just don't get it!”

And he was right. Again, that's just my opinion, but I think he was right. They were talking past each other. He was speaking over their heads.

Ok, so the difference between St. Paul and the other Apostles is that they were Jews brought up by Jews, but he was a Jew brought up by Jews and taught by one of the greatest Jewish Theologians of all time.

So, lets tackle a few of the “hard to be understood” points that he makes to see if I'm making sense.

The first thing we must consider is that St. Paul used the word “justification” differently than did the rest of the Apostles. In order to understand what I'm talking about, we must understand the word.

“Justification” means to make one “just” or to become “just”. What does “just” mean?

“Just” means that:

a. one is free of sin. b. one has been forgiven of sin. c. one is reconciled with God

Ok, so how is one made just or how does one become just? How is one “justified”?

From a Jewish perspective, and all the Apostles were born Jews, in order to become just, one must keep the commandments. In this way, one “becomes just” in the eyes of God.

Matt 19:16 And behold one came and said to him: Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting? 17 Who said to him: Why asketh thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

But St. Paul, a student of Gamaliel, knew that the most important work of all towards justification was FAITH.

John 6:28 They said therefore unto him: What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered, and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hath sent.

Therein lies part of the dilemma. But there's more. You see, St. Paul understood that all the Christian Sacraments are forms of justification. It is not apparent to me, from Scripture, that the other Apostles realized this as yet.

Lets briefly go through the Sacraments and see how they are all forms of justification.

Baptism-Forgiveness and remission of sin. Born again a child of God. Confirmation-Sealed with the Holy Spirit. Become a soldier of Christ. Communion-United to God in the Person of Jesus Christ. Remission of venial sin. Reconciliation-Forgiveness and remission of sin. Reunited to God. Marriage-Matrimony-the public vow to God to do His will and remain united to Him through one's spouse until death. Holy Orders-becoming a special minister to God's people, essentially representing God. Anointing of the Sick-sins forgiven and reconciliation with God. Especially important during the Last Rites when one is expecting to die imminently.

Ok, lets review what justification means. Becoming just or being made just.

Everyone of the Sacraments falls in the latter category. God makes us just. The Sacraments are God's work. Not ours.

Except for one thing. We must believe. Let me give you a few Bible verses:

Matthew 9:27 And as Jesus passed from thence, there followed him two blind men crying out and saying, Have mercy on us, O Son of David. 28 And when he was come to the house, the blind men came to him. And Jesus saith to them, Do you believe, that I can do this unto you? They say to him, Yea, Lord. 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it done unto you.

And that is the way the Sacraments work. According to our faith. There are two examples in Scripture I've which I'm aware to illustrate this issue.

Baptism:

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned.

We can fill in the blanks. If we believe, we will be baptized and be saved. But if we don't believe, even if we are baptized, we won't be saved. Because faith is necessary for the GOOD effects of baptism to be actuated. I capitalized “GOOD” for a reason. That reason may become clearer in the next example:

1 Cor 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. 24 And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. 25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. 26 For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. 27 Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. Do you see? If a man eats unworthily, that is, without faith, that man is committing a mortal sin. Let me quote the rest of that verse: 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

So, faith is necessary for justification by the Sacraments. If faith is lacking, one actually will condemn himself. And, although Scripture is silent on the matter as pertains to the rest of the Sacraments, I believe the same requirement applies. It is probably the reason why so many marriages fail in this era. But back to St. Paul. I believe St. Paul is using the word justification to apply to the Sacraments. I see no indication in Scripture that the other Apostles are doing the same.

OK, I know, you're a Protestant and you don't see St. Paul using the word justification and Sacrament in the same sentence. Well, lets go through a couple of his verses and see what we can understand: Romans 4:6 As David also termeth the blessedness of a man, to whom God reputeth justice without works: 7 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin.

Does anyone see the resemblance between this description and the Confessional?

I'm not a theologian. But I understand that King David is alluding to himself here. He is alluding to the sin he committed with Bathsheba and he was forgiven by God. He repented of his sin before a Priest of All Mighty God, Nathan. And God heard his prayer:

2 Kings 10:13 And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David: The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die. And St. Paul, in using this example is alluding to the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation. Is there another example? Yes.

Titus 3:5 Not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost;

Huh? Most Protestants deny that this verse refers to Baptism. But there is no other WASHING (i.e. laver) of regeneration and renovation by the Holy Ghost. This is precisely what Jesus was talking about when He said that Baptism was necessary:

John 3:5 Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So, we see again, that St. Paul is connecting justification with the Sacraments. SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Its a disconnect. Although St. James and St. Paul, used the same word, “justification”. They didn't use it in the same way. St. Paul, as I said before, is including the Sacraments as forms of justification. That is why he says that faith apart from works, justifies. All we do is believe, God does the rest. Our Protestant brethren are probably saying, “isn't that what we've been trying to tell you all this time?” My answer is, “only if you believe in the Sacraments of Jesus Christ.” You see, most Protestants believe they are simply “symbols” which do not effect what they symbolize. But we believe they are symbols within which God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, effects precisely what they symbolize, IF WE BELIEVE. This is a sort of Catholic “faith alone” doctrine. St. Thomas Aquinas says it best with regard to the Source and Summit of our Faith, the Eucharist: "Word made flesh, by Word He maketh Very bread his flesh to be; Man in wine Christ's Blood partaketh, And if his senses fail to see, Faith alone the true heart waketh, To behold the mystery.(Pange Lingua)"

What remains unsaid here, is that we also believe that we share in the life of God, we partake of God's grace when we partake of the Eucharist. Ok, we said it once and we said it twice. When St. Paul says faith apart from works justifies, he is speaking mainly of the Sacraments.

So, then, when does St. Paul ever speak of justification not in reference to the Sacraments? Right here: Romans 2:13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Does this sound familiar? Listen to St. James:

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

They are both on the same page when it comes to this form of justification. What is this form of Justification? It is when a man makes himself as just as he can by repenting for his sins.

You see, in Catholic doctrine, there are two types of justification.

1.Justification of repentance or conversion, which is the ongoing justification of the sinner from the moment of his awakening of faith to the time of his death and even to the time of his salvation or condemnation, as the case may be. 2.Sacramental Justification of Baptism, Confession, Confirmation, Anointing and Eucharist. The action of sanctifying grace in our souls.

Number 1 above, is what St. James is talking about. But we have been comparing St. James describing number 1 to St. Paul describing number 2.

However, when we compare their sayings discussing number 1, we find that they are in complete agreement.

Are they in complete agreement about number 2. YES. But St. James never discusses number 2. At least, not as far as I'm aware. So, how do I know that they are in agreement? FAITH ALONE. I have faith that the Holy Spirit imparted to St. James the information he needed to finally understand what St. Paul was teaching.

St. Paul, in my opinion, was way ahead of the curve. But if St. James and more importantly, St. Peter, had not understood what he was teaching, St. Paul would not have been an Apostle for long.

So, enough of the drama and the background. Lets examine the actual words they spoke according to the Douay Rheims and the King James Bible. Why those two Bibles? Well, they are highly respected in the Catholic and Protestant communities. But more importantly, they are in the Public Domain and I won't get sued if I copy their texts extensively.

Cont'd

November 25, 2012

The Solemnity of Christ the King

Read more about the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Next week, Sunday begins the first week of Advent.  I thought you might like to be ready for Advent by following a particular devotion published by Creighton University of Omaha, Neb. I hope you like it.    Read more.

Lectionary: 161

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Daniel
Dn 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;

Daniel had a vision of Jesus coming in the clouds:

Matthew 9:6
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.

This was a vision of the ascension of Jesus Christ unto His throne in heaven:

Revelation 12:5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

His dominion is an everlasting dominionthat shall not be taken away,his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Christ is God.  He is the King of Kings:

Revelation 17:14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

R. (1a) The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.

R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.

R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.

R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

God is eternal.  He was here before everything and will be here long after everything else is gone.

Revelation 1:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Reading 2  from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,

Jesus Christ is the only one who has been to heaven.  He is the faithful witness because He alone has seen the face of the Father and knows and does the Father's will without deviating one inch to the right or the left:

John 3:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

the firstborn of the dead

He is the first born of the dead because He came in the flesh and was raised into heaven before any of us who will follow Him:

1 Corinthians 15:20
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

and ruler of the kings of the earth.

He is the ruler of the Kings of the earth because He is God:

Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

This is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to Jesus Christ.

Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.

And a prophecy that all mankind will see Him come in the clouds.  Even those who pierced Him.  Which I think means even those who have sinned against Him.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and always:

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John
Jn 18:33b-37

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"

Jesus is before Pilate and is using a common play on words.  In Latin, Pilate would have said, "You are the King of the Jews?"  And Jesus, in essence says, "You have said that I am."  Because He ignores the inflection necessary for Pilate to make the phrase become a question.

Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?

Pilate, of course, denies that he said such a thing.

Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.

Then he takes Jesus comment as an admission that He considers Himself the King of the Jews.

What have you done?"

Then he asks, "What have you done that your own people want you dead?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.

Jesus replies, "No, they have not accepted me as their King.  My Kingdom is in heaven and if my attendants were here, they would not permit you to let the Jews kill me."

But as it is, my kingdom is not here."

But the Kingdom of my Father is not yet established upon this earth.

So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.

The same play on words is exchanged as when this conversation began.  Pilate asks whether Jesus has now admitted He is a King.  And Jesus responds that Pilate has said so.

For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

This is a verse with double meaning.  Jesus says that He was born to die upon the Cross.  Pilate may not, at this point, yet know that Jesus has already prophecied what will happen to Him.

He also reveals that He is the way, the truth and the life and that all who listen to Him will be saved.

Sincerely,

De Maria 

Please don’t take this wrongly

Hi Lutero,

Thanks again for the reply.Please don’t take this wrongly(these are just my opinions), but the more you answer my questions the more I felt that your “Roman Catholic Church” is not the same with the “Roman Catholic Church” I grew up with. It seems like, what you know is based on what you read and understand, mine is what i actually do as a Catholic and what is taught to me by those who are called leaders of the church.

I understand. I also fell away from the Church at a young age. I realize now that I fell away from the Church because I did not understand what my leaders were telling me. Further, I realize that I didn’t understand because I didn’t have faith. God does not grant understanding to people simply because they study. God grants understanding to those who obey His Word.

St. Augustine, probably the greatest teacher of the Christian faith, said, “believe that you may understand”.

You mentioned “We have that intimacy with God in the Eucharist.”This convince me that what you say is based what you read/studied. I have done this so many times yet i never felt God in my heart the way I feel for Him now. If this is what you called intimacy, I have been there and its not, there is more.

Again, I understand. When I was making my first communion, one of the reasons I fell away is because I was told that I would FEEL the grace pour through me. But I didn’t. Therefore, I thought it must be a lie.

However, just because I have never felt the grace pour through me, doesn’t mean that it isn’t real.

The fact is that our human feelings are fickle. If you rely upon your human feelings to believe in God, you will find yourself converting away from God all together when those human feelings fail you. Faith in God is a movement of the will. You must believe in God even when you can’t believe your eyes and your taste buds. God is in the Eucharist. Faith alone reveals this to you.

You said, “We don’t worship the Saints nor any images. If you were raised Catholic, you should know this”. I am not so sure if you really know what you are talking about. Tell it to the Pope because he approved this; in YouTube: watch?v=mI0ORjmXso4&feature=related.

The Pope does not approve of worshipping anyone but God.

LoL! “We kiss them and pray to them because the Saints whom they represent are alive in Christ. Have you ever kissed pictures of your mom or spouse or children? Same thing.” I know what you are saying, I used this before when I was a Catholic and made the Baptist classmate of mine cry in an argument. But again I know what you are saying but his not what I mean.And by the way, I was born-again by accident, nobody tried to convert me. I was attending 2 churches at the same time for a year. My Catholics friends told me its wrong, the other group said they don’t mind if I still attend to the Catholic church. I just pray to God and ask Him to bring me to the right path.

If you have left the Catholic Church, that was not the answer to your prayer.

Thank you again for your time. God Bless.

Thanks for your cordial messages and God bless you also.

Sincerely,

De Maria

November 24, 2012

Memorial of Saint Andrew Düng-Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs

Read more about Saint Andrew Dun-Lac and his companions.

Lectionary: 502

Reading 1 from St. John's book of Revelations
Rv 11:4-12

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me:Here are my two witnesses:These are the two olive trees and the two lampstandsthat stand before the Lord of the earth.

St. John hears the voice of God again.  Now there is a mention of two witnesses.  Earlier we saw that candlesticks symbolized Churches:

Revelation 1:20
King James Version (KJV)
20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

If lamp stands are veiled references to churches, then this could be a reference to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.  Both of which have valid Sacraments.

On the other hand, this could be a reference to the two true religions of the world, Christianity and Judaism.  Both are religions which were established by God.  Both are based on the Ten Commandments.

Or it could be a reference to the two greatest Preachers of our time, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict the XVI.

If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies.

Fire coming from the mouth is a metaphor for preaching the word of God.

Jeremiah 5:14
King James Version (KJV)
14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 

In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain.

This is a reference to those who do not repent from their sins by the powerful preaching of the two witnesses.  They will die in their sins and be punished in eternity for eternity.

They have the power to close up the sky
so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying.

Their preaching will be as powerful as that of Elijah's:

1 Kings 17
King James Version (KJV)
17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 

They also have power to turn water into bloodand to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.

They will be as powerful as Moses and Aaron, who upon God's command, turned the Nile into a river of blood:

Exodus 7:20
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

When they have finished their testimony,the beast that comes up from the abysswill wage war against them and conquer them and kill them.

Apparently, Satan will be given control for a bit and will conquer these witnesses.  That reminds me of the vision of Pope Leo:

Just as suddenly, Pope Leo awoke and said, 'What a horrible picture I was permitted to see!' In this vision, God gave Satan the choice of one century in which to do his worst work against the Church. The devil chose the 20th century. So moved was the Holy Father from this vision that he composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.^[17]

I also remember that, during the Sixties, people were saying that Religion was dead.  They had counted Religion the opiate of the masses and were celebrating a new humanistic enlightenment.  It came as a great surprise to them, when Pope John Paul the II died, that Catholics came from all over the world, for days and days, to pay respects.  And after the occurrence of 911, when the Twin Towers were destroyed, Religion made a huge comeback in the United States.

Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city,
which has the symbolic names 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,'
where indeed their Lord was crucified.

That great city where Jesus was crucified is Jerusalem.  And in Scripture, God has castigated Jerusalem and said that it was worse than Sodom and Egypt:

Jeremiah 23:14
I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

According to what I've been told, Christianity is almost non-existent in Jerusalem.  It is now under the Jewish and Islamic shared custody.

The percentage of the Christian population within Jerusalem is 1.9%, as compared to 19% in 1946, during the latter days of the British Mandate. In absolute figures, the number of Christians in Jerusalem decreased from 31,300 in 1946 to 14,600 at the close of 2010. 

http://allaboutjerusalem.com/article/christians-and-christianity-jerusalem

However, Christian sites are always on display there.  They have many of the places where Jesus walked, taught, died, was buried and resurrected.

Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation
will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days,
and they will not allow their corpses to be buried.

So, in a veiled manner, the bones of Christianity are visibly on display in this town.  But the two witnesses of Christianity, the Catholic and Orthodox Church, could be said to be dead there.

The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them
and be glad and exchange gifts
because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth.

When everyone thought that the Church was dead, they gloated, that is true.  Many still think the Church is dead.  But Pope John Paul II's vision of a new Springtime is slowly appearing.  The Church is now thriving in many places in the world.

But after the three and a half days,
a breath of life from God entered them.
When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here."
So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.

I don't know what the three and a half days represent.  However, I believe this is a a reference to the Rapture.  When the Church is taken into heaven and the enemies of Christ become His footstool.

All of this is my own speculation on the words of the Apostle John in this part of the book of Revelation.  As far as I am aware, the Church has no definite doctrine on what these words actually mean.  The only thing I believe the Church teaches definitively is, "only the Father knows."

By the same token, I don't believe that any of my explanations above contradict the Teachings of the Catholic Church.   If they do, let me know and I'll correct myself.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 144:1, 2, 9-10

R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.

R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Yes, St. Peter is the upon which Jesus built His Church.  But God is the Rock for whom St. Peter is named.  This is how Christ indicated that St. Peter is God's representative on this earth.

Matthew 16:18
King James Version (KJV)
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

God is our Rock!  Allelujah!

Gospel
Lk 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,

The Sadducees were a group of Jews which did not believe in the resurrection of the body.  They wanted to lay a doctrinal trap for Jesus.

"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?

For all seven had been married to her." 

Their assumption was that at the resurrection, the world would remain a physical world.  They did  not realize that the physical would become spiritualized:

1 Corinthians 15:44
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.

Jesus corrected them in their error.  He told them that in this age people marry and remarry.  But in the coming age, those who are elected will be like the angels.  They will be children of God and will be united to Him.

That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called 'Lord'
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes said in reply,
"Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

And that bears very little explanation.  All who are known by God will live, even Moses said so, because God is a God of the living, not the dead.

Sincerely,

De Maria