When you look at Christendom today, you would observe that whereas some Churches are folding up, others are expanding tremendously. Again one would observe that the quality and level of faith of Christians differ from one Church to the other. So clearly, some Churches are growing and others are dying. A Church can only grow when it receives the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. The last part of Acts 9:31 reads “encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they (i.e. the Churches) continued to grow.”) What is this encouragement of the Holy Spirit? From the two events (one at Lydda and the other at Jaffa) narrated in Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42 “the encouragement of the Holy Spirit can be said to be signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit (miracles) that boost the faith of those who witness it”. These concrete actions of the Holy Spirit in the early Church were possible because the Church built themselves up and lived in the fear of the Lord (cf. Acts 9:31). If we want to see miracles in our parishes, we must build ourselves up and live in the fear of the Lord. To build one’s self up is to live a life of prayer. To live in the fear of the Lord is to be obedient to the Word of God. So these two- Prayer and obedience to the Word of God – bring about encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Our parishes ought to be places of prayer and reverence for the Word of God. This will make us grow and not fold up.
“Come Holy Spirit and take control; we need you every hour, we need you every day. We need your encouragement in our times. Come in your own special way. Amen.”
Friday, April 30, 2010
WORKER'S MAY-DAY.(ST.JOSEPH THE WORKER).
WORKER’S MAY-DAY (ST.JOSEPH THE WORKER).
We celebrate today, the memorial of St.Joseph the Worker. This memorial was established by Pope Pius XII. As we reflect on the life of St. Joseph, we also celebrate all workers and the role that they play in the growth of any economy. A striking element about St. Joseph is the fact that he was neither a priest nor a person consecrated to the service of the Lord in the strict sense of a religious. Joseph was a carpenter who practiced his trade. He, however, had a deep relationship with his creator and that relationship bore fruits in his relationship with Mary, Jesus and the whole of creation. The call to bear fruits is a universal call. In fact, it is mandate given to us by God as observed in the Acts of the Apostles (9:1-20). Our ability to bear good fruits is directly proportional to the depth of our relationship with God our creator. When one is in good relationship with God, one will not condone corrupt practice sat his/her work place. A person in good relationship with God cannot, in conscience, be lazy at his/her work place. There ought to be no dichotomy between our faith as Christians and our socio-economic activities. The memorial of St. Joseph the worker is a call for Christain workers to be Christians both in the Church and at their workplaces.
“Lord God, you raised St. Joseph to be a model for all workers in our quest to build a better society. Through his intercession, may we become more Christ-like in our dealings with the world, Amen”.
We celebrate today, the memorial of St.Joseph the Worker. This memorial was established by Pope Pius XII. As we reflect on the life of St. Joseph, we also celebrate all workers and the role that they play in the growth of any economy. A striking element about St. Joseph is the fact that he was neither a priest nor a person consecrated to the service of the Lord in the strict sense of a religious. Joseph was a carpenter who practiced his trade. He, however, had a deep relationship with his creator and that relationship bore fruits in his relationship with Mary, Jesus and the whole of creation. The call to bear fruits is a universal call. In fact, it is mandate given to us by God as observed in the Acts of the Apostles (9:1-20). Our ability to bear good fruits is directly proportional to the depth of our relationship with God our creator. When one is in good relationship with God, one will not condone corrupt practice sat his/her work place. A person in good relationship with God cannot, in conscience, be lazy at his/her work place. There ought to be no dichotomy between our faith as Christians and our socio-economic activities. The memorial of St. Joseph the worker is a call for Christain workers to be Christians both in the Church and at their workplaces.
“Lord God, you raised St. Joseph to be a model for all workers in our quest to build a better society. Through his intercession, may we become more Christ-like in our dealings with the world, Amen”.
JUDGEMENT OF GOD,HOW WILL IT BE?
Our God is a perfect God, so perfect that His judgment is altogether absolutely perfect. For this reason, the justice of God is dreadful as He punishes with extreme rigour even the most trivial faults that we commit. The reason is that these faults though light in our eyes are very serious in the perfect and faultless eyes of our God. A typical example is found in the words of Jesus that anyone who even looks at a woman lustfully is already guilty of the sin of adultery (Matt.5:28). It is for this that Eliphaz, a friend of Job, the servant of God, the Psalmist, the letter to the Hebrews and the Prophet Habakkuk say:
i. Job 4:17 “If God places no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth”.
ii. Psalm 143:- “Do not bring your servant to judgment for no one is righteous before you”.
iii. Hebrew 10:31:- It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.
iv. Hab.1:13:- “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong”.
The same God is also abundantly merciful:
i. Psalm 25:6 “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old”.
ii. Psalm 103:11 “for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him”.
iii. Psalm 116:5 “The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is full of compassion”.
iv. Psalm 130:3 “If you, O Lord, keep a record of sins, O Lord, who will stand”.
Thus, the doctrine of purgatory contains the double mystery of God’s justice and mercy: of justice, which punishes and of mercy, which pardons.
i. Job 4:17 “If God places no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth”.
ii. Psalm 143:- “Do not bring your servant to judgment for no one is righteous before you”.
iii. Hebrew 10:31:- It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.
iv. Hab.1:13:- “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong”.
The same God is also abundantly merciful:
i. Psalm 25:6 “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old”.
ii. Psalm 103:11 “for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him”.
iii. Psalm 116:5 “The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is full of compassion”.
iv. Psalm 130:3 “If you, O Lord, keep a record of sins, O Lord, who will stand”.
Thus, the doctrine of purgatory contains the double mystery of God’s justice and mercy: of justice, which punishes and of mercy, which pardons.
HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO US?
Last time we arrived at the conclusion that, God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. To make sure we understand him, he guides the church’s teaching authority the magisterium so it always interprets the Bible and Tradition accurately. This is the gift of infallibility. Like the three legs on a stool, the Bible, Tradition, and the magisterium are all necessary for the stability of the Church and to guarantee sound doctrine. Then we saw that Sacred Tradition and the Bible are not different or competing revelations.
They are two ways that the Church hands on the Gospel. Apostolic teachings such as the Trinity, infant baptism, the inerrancy of the Bible, Purgatory, and Mary’s perpetual virginity have been most clearly taught through Tradition, although they are also implicitly present in (and not contrary to) the Bible. The Bible itself tells us to hold fast to Tradition, whether it comes to us in written or oral form (2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Cor.11:2). On the other hand we saw that Scripture, by which we mean the Old and New Testaments, was inspired by God (2 Tim.3:16). The Holy Spirit guided the biblical authors to write what he wanted them to write. Since God is the principal author of the Bible, and since God is truth itself (John 14:6) and cannot teach anything untrue, the Bible is free from all error in everything it asserts to be true. Today we are going to look at the Magisterium. (CCC 8587, 888892). Together the pope and bishops form the teaching authority of the Church, which is called the magisterium (from the Latin for “teaching”). The magisterium, guided and protected from error by the Holy Spirit, gives us certainty in matters of doctrine. The Church is the custodian of the Bible and faithfully and accurately proclaims its message, a task which God has empowered it to do. Keep in mind that the Church came before the New Testament, not the New Testament before the Church. Divinely-inspired members of the Church wrote the books of the New Testament, just as divinely-inspired writers had written the Old Testament, and the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit to guard and interpret the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Such an official interpreter is absolutely necessary if we are to understand the Bible properly. (We all know what the Constitution says, but we still need a Supreme Court to interpret what it means.) The magisterium is infallible when it teaches officially because Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles and their successors “into all truth” (John 16:12-13).
They are two ways that the Church hands on the Gospel. Apostolic teachings such as the Trinity, infant baptism, the inerrancy of the Bible, Purgatory, and Mary’s perpetual virginity have been most clearly taught through Tradition, although they are also implicitly present in (and not contrary to) the Bible. The Bible itself tells us to hold fast to Tradition, whether it comes to us in written or oral form (2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Cor.11:2). On the other hand we saw that Scripture, by which we mean the Old and New Testaments, was inspired by God (2 Tim.3:16). The Holy Spirit guided the biblical authors to write what he wanted them to write. Since God is the principal author of the Bible, and since God is truth itself (John 14:6) and cannot teach anything untrue, the Bible is free from all error in everything it asserts to be true. Today we are going to look at the Magisterium. (CCC 8587, 888892). Together the pope and bishops form the teaching authority of the Church, which is called the magisterium (from the Latin for “teaching”). The magisterium, guided and protected from error by the Holy Spirit, gives us certainty in matters of doctrine. The Church is the custodian of the Bible and faithfully and accurately proclaims its message, a task which God has empowered it to do. Keep in mind that the Church came before the New Testament, not the New Testament before the Church. Divinely-inspired members of the Church wrote the books of the New Testament, just as divinely-inspired writers had written the Old Testament, and the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit to guard and interpret the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Such an official interpreter is absolutely necessary if we are to understand the Bible properly. (We all know what the Constitution says, but we still need a Supreme Court to interpret what it means.) The magisterium is infallible when it teaches officially because Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles and their successors “into all truth” (John 16:12-13).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
