Come follow me

 

These words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles, over two thousand years ago, has continued down through the centuries to this present day.  Religious vocation is a very precious gift which is reserved for a few who are frowned upon, especially at this present time.  The Church weathering these storms, could elevate its position in the world to a dimension of love and safety.  The Apostles opened the way, which was followed uninterrupted by their successors.  The Apostles and their successors were called to fulfil Christ’s Ministry, in the preaching of the truth, administration of the Sacraments, the celebration of Holy Mass, Confession, comforting the afflicted, the poor and all of God’s people.  It is a great gift of God, that of a vocation, a ‘double gift’ for the priest himself and for the people who benefit from his assistance.  However a vocation carries with it a great responsibility to respond to this call.  The Priesthood has taken a devastating hammer-blow by the evils and scandals over the last hundred years.  But the resilience by the many faithful priests who remained steadfast to their calling for the Salvation of the souls of all God’s people who still remain faithful.  Many people do not grasp the true value of the Priesthood, that to spread God’s word entails great sacrifices, living in isolation, and much prayer.  For example when we gather to celebrate Holy Mass, it is the Priest who is the Celebrant and who invites us to join with him.  If for instance nobody turned up for Mass, the Priest will still celebrate Mass to the Glory of God.  When we fall from God’s grace by sinning, a Priest is there to reconcile us to God in the Confessional, the Anointing of the sick, the Blessing of Marriages, Christening of new born babies, Funeral Services and much more is done on our behalf.  So the next time we come in contact with any Priest, treat them with love and respect, for they are truly worthy of it.  It is easy to criticise, but criticism is acceptable only if it is constructive.  Criticism for its own sake is useless and empty.  I plead guilty to judging Priests because sometimes i would want things done differently for my own selfish reasons.  The many, many sacrifices young men have made to join the Priesthood should prove they care about us, and truly love us.  So whoever reads my blogs, I implore you to Pray daily for our Priests, from our Holy Father the Pope to the Parish Priests.

 

LIFE        AFTER        DEATH

 

I have been thinking about this topic for some weeks as it is something Catholics fail to reflect on daily.  Most lay people like myself have little or no learning in theology.  Christ’s words to us are mysterious and call on us to ponder things we cannot fully know or understand.  The words Christ speaks in the gospels are words of life.These words are spoken regularly by priests celebrating mass every day.  I will attempt then to highlight a few thoughts all to become more aware of heaven using extracts from the book: Life After Death: by FR. BENEDICT  J.  GROEESCHEL.  C.F; R  and ST. AUGUSTINE.  These thoughts are not to inform everybody of all the theological work that has been done concerning life after death.  It is vital we have an awareness of the promise of eternal life, the life that the Son of God won for us by His terrible death  and glorious resurrection.  Knowing that should fill us with hope and strength to face this life and its challenges, looking forward with courage to what comes next.  We all know that happiness can be changed to sorrow in the space of a few minutes.  The news of a personal loss or illness can make all the difference.  We should also know that no earthly is final.  Our heavenly Father earnestly yearns roar our salvation.  The world tells us our lives are our own and
 and can be lived as we see fit.  On reflection Christians would see it differently.  Our lives are a gift from God and one day we will surrender them back to Him.  The daunting and liberating standard that God gave us, what human life can be and should be , namely Jesus Christ.  Obviously none of us can live up to such a standard completely, but we must strive for this constantly.  Like it or not ;God will finally judge us by this standard. We must all then strengthen our belief that our lord and saviour Jesus Christ has indeed gone to prepare a place for us and will call us to eternal life.

 

 

 

MOTHER OF GOD, QUEEN OF HEAVEN, MOTHER TO THE HUMAN RACE

 

The (Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin) affirms that together with the nature which she inherited from her parents, that is her own nature, she had a complete fullness of Grace, and that from the first moment of her existence.  Is it surprising then that on one hand she should be Immaculate in her Conception?  Or on the other hand that she should be Honoured with an Assumption and exalted as a Queen?  Only God and he alone has an entrance into our souls, speaks to our heart, applies to us personal spiritual strength and pardon.  Mary only our Mother by Divine appointment. So as the Mother of God, Mother of Humanity, she is also Mother of the Eucharist.  She knows what it means for us to be with God, in the way he is offered in the Eucharist.  For this reason she invites us to live the Eucharist, so that Mass is life and life is Mass.  Let us never forget that our Holy Mother’s work is not one of Administration toward us, her power is indirect.  It is her prayers as the Mother of our Saviour that benefits us in our daily struggles.

 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE   SACRAMENTS    

 

If we extinguish God in us through serious sin; if we banish Him from our souls, we have separated ourselves and alienated ourselves from God.  We have chosen eternal nothing- ness.  We have chosen Hell.  Yet it would be foolish and lacking of our trust in God to focus unduly on the fear of hell.  Keep in mind, without God’s help we could slip and fall a great distance.  Our main concern should be about those who appear to be turning away from God’s Kingdom, promised by JESUS CHRIST.  Pray and reach out to those in danger of eternal loss.  Remember that this awful possibility is not imposed on us by God, but we impose it on ourselves.  It is imperative then we remain under the protection of the church  and avail ourselves of the sacraments.  Frequent attendance at Mass and monthly confession will keep us close to God.  The simple fact that Christs words in the gospel give the highest authority eternal punishment.  The words of Saint Paul and the author of the Apocalypse—when considered with Christs teachings make the presence of Hell un—deniable.  We must never forget the perfection of God’s justice demands it

 

 

 THE GUARDIAN ANGEL      

“Catholic belief” writes Father Husslein, S.J., “Does not rest with merely acknowledging the existence of guardian spirits given us by God.  It goes further and asserts as of absolute certainty that every human being has its own guardian angel . . . . . In the next place, it is also a catholic belief that not merely every just man, every child of grace, but in fact every single human being here upon earth whether Christian or non Christian, whether in grace or in sin, actually remains during its entire life under the care of a guardian angel.  It suffices to describe this as absolutely certain.  Moreover, it is generally held that each human being has its own distinct guardian angel not assigned to anyone else”.  The words of our Lord also point to this conclusion: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones he solemnly warned his disciples”, for I say to you their angels in heaven always see the face of my father who is in heaven.  They see in their charges souls of priceless value since they were redeemed by the Blood of God.

 

Although they cannot penetrate the inner sanctuary of human hearts which god has reserved for himself, they do all they can to help us.  However, it is in our power by an act of our free will to expose our intimate thoughts to our angelic companion.  And it is to our advantage for such confidence in his enlightened guidance is of great benefit to our soul.  After God and Our Blessed Mother, he is surely our best friend, and if we really love him, we will have no secrets to hide from him.  We do not sensibly perceive him.  We hear no whisper warnings in our ear.  Our hands cannot touch him, nor do our eyes look up to him.  Yet invisibly he is with us.  From the first moment of life he guards us and he will not have completed his task until as we trust, we shall gaze with him in the glory on the Vision of God.  Father Faber also describes the solitude of our guardian angels: ever at our side is being lived a golden life.  A princely spirit is there, who sees God and enjoys the bewildering splendours of his face even there where He is, than the limits of our outstretched arms.  An unseen warfare is waging around our steps, but that beautiful spirit let’s not so much of it vex our ears.  He fights for us and asks no thanks, but hides his silent victories and continues to gaze upon god.  His tenderness for us is above all words.  His office will last beyond the grave, until at length it merges into a sweeter tie of something like of heavenly equality, when on the morning of the resurrection we pledge each other, in those first moments, to an endless blessed love.  Till then we shall never know from how many dangers he has delivered us, nor how much of our salvation is actually due to him.  Meanwhile he merits nothing by the solicitudes of his office.  He is beyond the power of meriting, for he has attained the sight of God.  His work is the work of love, b because his sweet presence at our side he knows to be a part of Gods eternal creative love of our particular souls.

 

“Yes, in him we have an unseen friend and benefactor, an intimate and never failing companion in our journey through life.......  How often perhaps have we almost felt his presence and his power up bearing and rescuing us from danger!  How indeed shall we ever repay him for the love he has shown us?”  Let us ask Christ to be our thank offering for so great a favour as his companionship.