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 Who is Jesus? Family The Fall The Apostasy The Keys Power of the Keys New: Mother Teresa History of the Church in Utah Lost Innocence Trinity Conversions Who are they? Saints Index Sound Scriptures Scandal Apologetics Conversions Doctrine of Faith Why the Cross? Cross In Scriptures Church Fathers Melchizedek The Eucharist Church Authority God Our Father Order of the Mass Line of Succession Apostolic Succession Original Sin |
  Is your faith the Faith of the Apostles? Do you believe what the earliest Christians believed? Find out here! Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold
on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate
one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in
spirit, and serve the Lord.
.....Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute (you), bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, on your part, live at peace with all. Rom 12:9-18 The Fall "In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully "divinized" by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to "be like God", but "without God, before God, and not in accordance with God" ...More And much good it did me! Indeed, it was harmful, because it encouraged me to think of You, O Lord, as if you were part of what you had made, instead of being its essence and origin....More The 2000 Year Old Catholic Apostolic Faith was not built on the fall of another's faith. It was built by Christ so that we could have hope in Christ because of the fall of Mankind. We will never be a perfect people here on earth, but we have a perfect Christ, and in Him we will be set free. Catholic RCIA Treasures "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Matthew 11:29-30 ..Catholic RCIA Treasures Catholic RCIA Treasures  Evangelization The word itself sends chills down the spine of most Catholics today. We tend to think of two young men dressed in suits knocking at our door and asking us questions we can't answer or zealous Christians wondering if we are saved. It makes us uncomfortable. Too often, we adopt the attitude of: "Here I am Lord, send someone else!" Yet evangelization is referred to as the "essential mission of the Church" by Pope Paul VI so it seems important for us to gain a deeper understanding. Evangelizing
is in fact the grace and
vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in
order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach,
to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God,
and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the mass, which is the memorial
of his death and glorious resurrection...
The Church is an evangelizer, but she begins by being evangelized herself. She is the community of believers, the community of hope lived and communicated, the community of brotherly love; and she needs to listen unceasingly to what she must believe, to her reasons for hoping, to the new commandment of love. She is the people of God immersed in the world, and often tempted by idols, she always needs to hear the proclamation of the "Mighty Works of God" which converted her to the Lord; she always needs to be called together afresh by Him and reunited." Pope Paul VI, Apostolic exhortation on Evangelization, # 14 &N 15 Evangelization in the Catholic sense is not proselytizing; getting others to join our Church. It is not a program that can be followed to ensure a certain level of success. Evangelization is a call, a way of life, a way of being. It is sharing the good news of God's love through Jesus Christ by our words, our actions, our very selves. It is making use of all our gifts and talents to love others in Christ. while evangelization is the duty of every baptized catholic, the holy spirit is the one who brings about conversion of heart necessary for a transformed life. This presents another difficulty for many Catholics: we have no control over the outcome of our life's vocation. The holy Spirit "blows where he will". We can only do our part in sharing and living the Gospel and praying for the Holy Spirit to open hearts. What
might evangelization
look like in the life of today's Catholic? We are first of all called
to
our own continuing conversion. Our participation in the Mass and the
sacraments,
our time spent in personal prayer and study of God's word, and our
reaching
out to those in need are definitely on the
short list of ways to be open to the Holy Spirit and His plans to
transform
us.
The Eucharist, the "source and summit" of our lives, it is the primary means of evangelization for Catholics. Christ becomes truly present in Word and Sacrament when we gather. What better time or place to introduce others to, and rekindle in ourselves, the immense love of God poured out to us through His Son than when time itself is transformed and we stand within the Paschal mystery? The rituals and music, the gentle hospitality of the assembly gathered, the Word proclaimed and the consecrated bread and wine, all work together to bring hope to our world. Serving the parish community is another way to participate in our call to evangelize, sharing our gifts through the many and varied ministries builds up the Church and helps us grow spiritually. Whether we minister at our liturgies, participate in missions and retreats, care for the poor, reach out to the sick and dying, serve on the council, catechise our children, join the RCIA team, become a member of Bible study or prayer group, help with finances, or simply bring joy and enthusiasm to social gatherings, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be bearer's of Christ's light to all. As Catholics, we might agree it is important to live our lives in a way that draws others to God, but we tend to struggle with the idea of actually telling another person about our faith and God's love. Whether we are a stay-at-home mom, an engineer, a farmer, a professor, a student, a social worker, a doctor, or unemployed, we share equal responsibility to draw others into the circle of God's love by living and proclaiming the Good News. We are each called to live out, and speak out about out faith, firmly grounded in a God of mercy and grace through Jesus. "Above all the Gospel
must be proclaimed by witness...Nevertheless this always remains
insufficient because even the finest witness will prove ineffective in
the long run if it is not explained, justified and made explicitly a
clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus. The Good News
proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed
by the word of life. There is no true evangelization if the name, the
Son of God, are not proclaimed." Pope Paul VI Apostolic Exhortation on
Evangelization, # 21 & 22
Being a follower of Christ has always involved risk and a leap out of the mainstream. The Holy Spirit empowers us, or in fact, compels us, to live an exciting and challenging life of evangelization. We enjoy the privilege of being used by God to impact the lives of others and be abundantly blessed in the process. As Catholics, let us embrace our true identity as disciples of Jesus Christ and refuse to be satisfied with mediocre faith. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe unless they have heard of Him? And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach? And how can men preach unless they are sent? Romans 10: 13-15 Margaret
Stepan
Ministry of Adult Formation \ Evangelization St.Thomas Aquinas Parish / Newman Center Logan, Utah Winning God Over
Do
you ever look back over your day and think,
“Not bad. I don't think I have anything major
to repent for”? It's natural to rejoice when God helps you resist the
sin that makes repentance necessary. But do you view repentance itself
as something to avoid? Does the thought of it dredge up feelings of
gloom and doom? If so,
then something is off. Think about the first son in Jesus' parable—the
one who said “I will not!” when his father told him to go work in the
vineyard. He later “changed
his mind and went” (Matthew 21:29). Don't you think he was glad he had
been able to get right with his father after his initial bad decision? Jesus came to call us to repentance so that we could get right with our Father in heaven. This means that repentance is a treasure! It's the entrance to the joy-filled life of God's kingdom—not just a one-time step, but a way of life that keeps us close to God every day. If your experience of repentance is guilt-ridden rather than joyful and freeing, perhaps you haven't discovered yet how truly loving and merciful God is. It can be so hard to believe, but we really don't have to win God over to our side, impress him with our goodness, or worry that he shakes his head in disgust when we let him down. God has always loved us. He will never back away from us. He knows our frailties and failures better than we do, and he delights in helping us overcome them. When we turn to him with a contrite heart and with trust in his love, we come to understand why one of the prophets cried out: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression?” (Micah 7:18). Forgive us, Father, for so often avoiding the way of repentance, for trusting in ourselves rather than in you. Forgive us for giving in to hopelessness when we fail and for not seeking and trusting you, the giver of every good gift. How good you are when we seize the moment of grace to open our hearts before you and reveal our neediness! You always respond by setting us free! “Holy Spirit, lead
all
people everywhere back to our merciful Father, who is waiting to pour
the
fullness of life into their hearts.”
From: wau.orgLet's always remember that God is not part of creation, God is creation itself. Let's never forget that we have been given a share in Gods spirit .But God is Spirit. That Christ is the light of God, the way and the truth. We can only come to know this way.... this truth. To enter into the light of Christ. See the Authentic Christian Catholic Creed It dates from very early times in the Church, 50 years or so from the last writings of the New Testament. The Church Is One
(
Humans can marry, look each other in the eye, and take their vows in the presence of the Lord. Then at will they can get a divorce. Jesus' love is not from below but rather from above. When Jesus vows to be faithful to His Church, Jesus remains faithful to His Church. The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ. In good times and in bad! He is the vow, He is the devotion. He will never divorce His bride. It's not in His nature. (Eph. "For the
law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
We
can only come to know grace and truth, on the other hand Jesus is Grace
and Truth.
Jesus is one spirit
with God, God is spirit, we on the
other hand have been gifted this spirit in
us".
As you read the following passages think about Gods faithfulness. (Mt 28:20)
The Church Jesus Established
"Behold,
I am with you always, until the end of the age".....KJV
Jesus as builder
"Therefore..
whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him
unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon
a rock. And everyone that hearth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, built his house upon sand: And the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it
fell: and great was the fall of it" (Mt 7:24-27) (Mt 18: 15-18)
"The Church has never been sheltered from the rain, from the floods, nor the wind. But the House of God has remained. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (1 Tim 3:15)
There will always be those that will fall away, (Mt 7:15; Acts 20:29; 2 Thess 2:3;and 2 Pet 2:1) But as the above has shown, there will never be a total Apostasy regarding Apostolic Authority. Line
of
Succession
Continuing Revelation (Heb
1:1-2)
"God, who at sundry times
and in
divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.."(Jude 3)"Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it
was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should
earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints" (Gal 4:4)"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent
forth His Son...(2 Tim 2:2)"And the things that thou has heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall
be able to teach others also" (Mt 28:18-20) "And Jesus came and spake
unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. Amen"We no longer need Phophets
to phophesize
the coming of Christ, for Christ has Come, Christ has died, Christ has
risen,
and we know that Christ will come again. He died for us to
reconcile
us to the Fathers loving Grace and Mercy. We have been given the
gift
of their Holy Spirit, through the Sacrament of baptism, this gift
of
their Most Holy Spirit has been planted in our hearts to guide
us.
To open our minds to what the first Apostles came to know.
To
come to know, to Love our One and Only Lord, God who we get to
hear, to know, through His only Son Jesus. To know God as Father,
Jesus as Brother, The Holy Spirit as their Love gifted to each of
us..
One God
We were born into the world
to come to know our God In Him we move, breath and
have our being
Christianity has always believed in One God Almighty. We were born out
of our One God's love for creation. That which He alone has created.
For God is not part of His Creation, God is Creation itself.
"I am the Lord thy God,
which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou
shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:2-3)
"Hear O Isreal: The Lord
our
God is one Lord"
Isaiah 43:10 "Ye are my witnesses saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 45:5) "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me" "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one" (Deut 6:4) "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all" (Eph 4:5-6) "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17-3) What did the first Early Church Fathers Teach about Gods nature? When the Bible mentions gods, it is always with a little "g"...those that judge others, and know not where this authority to judge lies. Our desire as Christians is not equality with God, to be a god. Our desire is to be pulled into love, to have what Christ has always had, to be with God. Not as "g"ods but rather as adopted sons and daughters given a great gift, to be royal heirs of His kingdom that has no beginning and no end. The first sin by our first parents on earth was the desire to be like God, to become a God. This desire has been with the human race ever since the first sin. It is life centered in self apart from Gods life giving grace, the only center worth living and dying for. Because of the first sin man dies as God said He would apart from Him. The devil told Eve "surely God did not mean this, that you would die if you ate from the tree of life in the middle of the garden." He, Satan lied....As he is the father of all lies... Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. For a Christian the fall away from God was a very bad thing, but inevitable as we are not God. The life of Christ on earth, God to us was to lead us back to God's life flowing Grace, by seeing ourselves as we are, God as He is. We must dye to our old nature to be risen to eternal life in Christ. If we think we can set out under the sea and survive on a limited amount of air, we will not survive, but only for a imited time. If we think we can take ;a mighty ship out into space on a limited amount of air and survive, we will not survive, but only for a limited time. If we think we can survive outside of the garden of Eden apart from Gods Grace, we will not survive, but only for a limited time. In short we all die. it is only because of Jesus given, that we might live. For in him God was pleased to dwell |
