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Archangels

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 07:53:30 GMT

As Catholics were are encouraged by Rome to be devoted to the Archangels. The church is a good mother and champions our dedication because God’s Archangels are our holy brothers and they are worthy of honour. We celebrate their feast day annually on the feast of Michaelmas.

Archangels have always featured prolifically in church tradition with Prince Michael celebrated as the force of God who strenghtened the angels and overthrew Satan during the Great Temptation of the Angels billions of years ago.

Prince Gabriel is also venerated. A household name; famed for his association with the Blessed Virgin at the Annunciation. It was through this mighty Archangel that the message that God was sending his redeemer into the world through her was proclaimed.

And then there’s Prince Raphael who is also very close to our hearts. He too is mentioned in scripture because he was young Tobias’s travelling companion in the book of Tobit.

Here Prince Raphael refers to himself as one of the 7 Archangels who enter into the presence of God to present the prayers of the saints. Similarly, Gabriel also refers to himself as a being who “stands in the presence of the Most High God”. We can therefore assume that Archangels are indeed very holy and powerful individuals who enjoy a beautiful relationship with their creator.

Catholics are not the only ones who have born witness through the ages to the reality of the Archangels as alongside us there is also evidenence from the Jewish traditions and Judeo-Christian history where Apocryphal writings give us insights. These are coupled to the rich heritage of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Although these written works are non-canonical they cannot be completely dismissed as simply anecdotal musings.

Names and roles:

When one begins enquiry one soon discovers that works such as the book of Enoch make mention of a number of Archangels including Uriel. He is mentioned in the Second Book of Esdras which is included in the Clementine (Pope Clement) Vulgate. As this version of the bible was once the official bible of the Catholic Church (for quite some considerable time) then it may be safe to assume that the evidence pertaining to the existence of Uriel may have some authenticity.

He has traditionally been recognised as the angel who guarded the gates of God’s kingdom with a fiery sword after Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out. Certain Christian traditions, particularly the Russian Orthodox church, hold this belief.

As for the names of the other Archangels, there appear to be many. Camael, for example, although excluded from the Holy See’s list of named angels in 2001, is to be found etched into history through stained glass at Saint Michael’s church in Brighton. Here he can be witnessed holding a chalice and a staff. We are unsure what his name means but as all of the names of the Archangels are in some way related to God (and the task he has beset them) then we can be sure it reflects what is holy. Historically his name has translated to “One who seeks God”.

Further probing reveals the persons of Jegudiel, Barachiel and Raguel. The former is recognised by the Eastern Orthodox tradition whereas the latter forms part of Judaic heritage where he is listed with Sariel. Raguel's duties have remained the same across Jewish and Christian traditions. His purpose has always been to keep fallen angels and demons in check, delivering judgment upon any that are foolish enough to attempt to over-step their boundaries.

Which brings us to us and who we are in relation to the Archangels and fallen angels.

Many people think that the fallen angels can do whatever they want and that we are the lower order creatures who are literally defenceless against them. This is not so. Be assured that if this were the case then we would be done for. Of this we can be certain. Thankfully this isn’t the case as the choir of Archangels is vigilant and keeps everything in order – particularly the fallen angels. These once beautiful spirits were created to serve the Most High and originally destined to “serve those who are to inherit salvation” but they made the eternal and ultimatley selfish decision to end their service. They would have us believe that they’re given free reign to roam the earth in disobedience tempting and lying to the children of God. They are given a certain amount of permission but they have strict limits imposed.

Therefore, we must always be on our guard because we know from scripture that Satan has applied to sift us like wheat (Luke 22). If it were simply us against the fallen Archangel Lucifer and all of the dark forces of Hell then we wouldn’t stand a chance.

Let us never forget that the hordes of Hades stand with only one fallen Archangel whereas we stand with the entire might of the faultless choir or Archangels.

These sons of the most High God are beautiful creatures. To be made an Archangel, to continually reside in the presence of the infinite God for all eternity, to know the Universe intimately and to wield such power is an inordinately gracious honour. But let us always consider, as we contemplate the Archangels, what scripture says: “to whom much is given, much is required in return” . This doesn’t just apply to us, it’s also applicable to the entire angelic host. Evidence of this comes from our guardian angels. Close to God and enjoying his presence for all time, their work comes at great personal cost to them. This is the price the guardian angels pay so just consider how much of a price is paid by those who occupy a rank in the choir of the Archangels.

As mentioned earlier, the Archangels are particularly responsible for heavily policing the fallen angels. Once we grasp this concept, we know we can rely on the likes of Michael and his brothers to defend us; this frees us to then devote ourselves to honouring them and establishing a relationship with them and in doing so getting to know ourselves better. The church in her wisdom encourages this but she nevertheless discourages too much of a fascination with the angelic orders. She naturally seeks to focus our attention towards God and Kingdom living as she is aware of the fact that we can get through life very well without the need for much else. Jesus himself can be heard telling the rich young man in the gospels that keeping the commandments is sufficient. But being sinful, and being continually affected by original sin, we need all the help we can get. Thankfully we have the saints with the three Archangels in their number. It's a beautiful thing to belong to a church which has the authority to canonise Archangels.

As Catholics we know we usually only formally focus our attention on the three above mentioned canonised Archangels but other traditions believe the angelic sainthood extends also to all of the Archangels. So Jegudiel, Barachiel, Raguel, Camael, Samael, Salathiel, Jegudiel, Barachiel and Jeremiel and many more, through their martyred hearts and love of God proven during the Great Temptation, are all inherently and intrinsically saints.

We can see from the examples above that the Archangels have one thing in common and that’s the fact that all of their names make reference to God. Michael means “Likened unto God” - which means he reflects God’s humility. Raphael means “God’s healing” . We can extrapolate from this that Prince Raphael’s heart is an open wound since to heal is to love and love equals pain. Gabriel translates to “Strength of God” so it’s hardly surprising Lucifer was overthrown.

Simply put, their names infer service to the Most High. They serve him and also us (which is astonishing considering who they are). It follows then, that their entire essence will be that of service, reverence and gratefulness to Almighty God.

The fallen Archangel Lucifer.

In sum then, as the Archangels were primarily created to serve it follows that this desire flows through every aspect of their beings – it’s who they are/it’s what they are. So when satan rebelled he conflicted his nature. This can only cause him pain because he put himself at enmity with himself because (although he has accepted his own lie) he knows the truth. This is a self-inflicted wound which will never heal and it’s this which torments him the most. For him, this is the worm which never dies . In direct contrast, the Archangels enjoy the fullness of the presence of divine love. This is within themselves and also because of their closeness to Almighty God. Every Archangel knows exactly how much God loves him. But because of their superior intellect and power they are dependent on God in a way which makes us look like children. Their minds are steeped so deeply in God's will - they exist solely to glorify Him. Executing it is their prime purpose and this is why we should never fear Satan or his minions as they are powerless before the Archangels.

Archangel names.

For reference I have included a list of the Archangels mentioned in historical texts, Jewish mysticism, distant Catholic tradition and the Eastern Orthodox churches:

Barachiel – the Archangel of Blessings. Canonised in the Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Camael – Kabbalistic tradition and texts describe him as an angel of strength, justice and courage. As an angel of puissance, he empowers individuals to endure challenges and hardships, providing them with the resilience to overcome difficulties. As the Archangel of courage, he imbues people with the confidence to confront their fears and deal with uncertainty. His image is represented in stained glass at St Michael’s, Brighton.

St. Gabriel – Warrior of God. O ne of the 7 Archangels, Holy Saint Gabriel is famous the world over as the one who struck Zechariah dumb before announcing God’s plan to send the redeemer of the world through the Blessed Virgin. He is a great friend of Saint Joseph and guided him as the head of the holy family when they were under threat. Although many Catholic Churches are named after Saint Gabriel, there is also an orthodox church in Kulubi which bears his monikeer; here miracles occur and his feast is celebrated every year on 28th December and attended by thousands of pilgrims.

Jegudiel – Laudation of God. C anonised by the eastern orthodox tradition he is also believed to be one of the 7 Archangels who present the prayers of the people of God. In tandem with his subordinate angels , he is the advisor and defender of all who work in positions of responsibility to the glory of God. The classic Eastern Orthodox depiction usually shows him standing upright, holding a crown in one hand, and a three pronged whip in the other. He is regarded as the patron Archangel of those who work.

Jeremiel - Appointed by God. He is known in both Christian and Eastern Orthodox tradition. His image enshrined in stained glass at St Michael and All Angels in Buckinghamshire. I n classic Eastern Orthodox depictions he is usually seen standing upright and, like Jegudiel, holds a crown in one hand. In his other hand he holds a rod or staff the other and is known for inspiring hope in the children of God.

Jophiel – God is my Rock . He is often depicted holding a flaming sword such as in the stained glass in the churches of St Michael's in Brighton , St Peter and St John's Church in Kirkley and Holy Trinity Church in Coventry . Additionally he is found in a mural at St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee .

Prince Michael – known by millions as the Defender of the People of God. Michael is the Prince who leads the Archangels. He is a mighty warrior who is loved dearly by all of the angels because it was from his leadership that they all drew their strength during their time of temptation. Michael's words can still be heard echoing confidently and infinitely throughout the Heavenly Realm: "Hold your ground... stand firm!" Michael, during that day of great temptation where many from the Choir of the Holy Angels resisted tempation, is held in particularly high esteem by those he edified on that terrible day. Michael's love for the Angels is far reaching (to say the least) and during that battle he fought for the honour of the Holy Spirit. Michael’s enduring hallmark is his humility, his allegiance to Christ and his love for his human brothers. Michael’s name means “One who resembles God”. If he were mortal he would think nothing of laying down his life for the Christ. The feast of St. Michael the Archangel is celebrated on the 12th day of each month by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Phanuel . Saint Phanuel ( Countenance of God ) is also venerated and honoured by the Ethiopian Church. Additionally, there is mention of him in the book of Enoch. It stands to reason that he is seen as a warrior angel who helps souls turn to God and repent. It is believed that the world has a great debt of gratitude to Saint Phanuel.

Raguel – Friend of God. Also believed to be one of the 7 Archangels. Traditionally, his role has been seen as keeping fallen angels and demons in check, delivering judgment upon any that over-step their boundaries and despatching them to Hell.

Raphael – Prince Raphael’s name translates to “God’s healing Power”. He is the angelic personification of this and it radiates through his entire being. His work includes accompanying those who travel and who journey to the heavenly Jerusalem. Some dog owners have made him their patron Archangel because he walked with Tobias's dog Hera when he accompanied Tobias to what is now known as Iran. Some say he delights in canine kind because all are fashioned by the hand of the Most High God.

Samael - Venom of God. Often referred to as the Destroying Angel who passed over Egypt taking the first born children. He is to be found in ancient Jewish texts and Talmudic and Post Talmudic stories.

Sariel – Prince of God. Recognised by the Coptic Orthodox Church, Sariel is also believed to be one of the 7 Archangels. Along with Michael, Gabriel and Raphael he is mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Sebastion - Venerable or revered are two words which describe anyone called Sebastian. However, his existence is currently just hearsay. There is no evidence of him anywhere is scripture, holy texts, tradition or angelology. We therefore wait for revelation.

Selaphiel - Prayer to God. Canonised by the Byzantine church, Saint Selaphiel is believed to be the angel in the Book of Revelation who holds the golden censer/thurible and is believed to be one of the 7 Archangels who presents the prayers of those who pray to the Most High God. When depicted in iconography he is shown in an attitude of humble prayer , with downcast eyes and arms crossed over his chest. He is also sometimes seen kneeling with incense in a thurible, praying. Selaphiel is regarded as the Patron Saint of prayer and worship for members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In some Orthodox traditions, he is said to help people interpret dreams, break addictions, protect children, preside over exorcisms, and rule over music in heaven. Orthodox Christians will seek his help if their prayer is suffering from distractions, inattentiveness or coldness.

Schemiel – very little appears to be written about the Archangel Schemiel. It is believed that his principle work is to defend scripture. His delight is the Word of God; his name means “God is my Word/God's Word is my Light”. And he can be seen holding pages of scripture and a lantern. The lantern also represents Christ who is the Word of God made flesh and the Light of the World. He holds the written word of God close to his heart because it is the lamp to guide one’s feet and a light for one’s path . It is believed that he was given the task of protecting the Old Testament and enshrining the life of Christ in the New. His work will continue until the end of time.

He is the patron Archangel of Deacons because they too are ministers and defenders of the Word of God. It is believed that Schemiel is in charge of a large contingent of angels which are responsible for assisting priests and deacons. The significance of these angels is made clear by the work of Maurice B. McNamee S.J. who wrote the Vested Angels, Eucharistic Allusions in Early Netherlandish Paintings. Peeters (1998). The author highlighted something of repeated significance which not even the German art historian Erwin Panofsky had noted and that was the fact that the angels who appeared frequently in these paintings were always robed in some variation of the liturgical vestments worn by subministers (deacons) of the traditional Solemn High mass. However, they were never seen adorned with the priestly chasuble. McNamee concluded that the vested angels had a eucharistic significance in that they functioned as subministers of Christ’s eternal mass.

Schemiel is the angelic equivalent of an Archdeacon over all his angelic subministers. He presides over every mass as this is Christ’s priestly sacrifice. Although occupying a high estate, the honour of wearing the priestly chasuble has never been given to him or any of the angels - nor will it ever. This bears testimony to his humility because no matter how high an Archangel's office, none of them will ever be toged in priestly robes. Although all priestly knowledge is given to the angels, the celebration of mass will forever remain the vestige and honour of the human representatives of Christ Jesus.

N.B. Although St John Berchmans (SJ) is the patron saint of altar servers, it could be argued that there is nothing stopping any altar server making Schemiel their patron archangel.

Uriel - is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in the post-exilic rabbinic tradition and in certain Christian traditions. He is well known in the Russian Orthodox tradition and in folk Catholicism. He is also recognised in the Anglican Church as the fourth archangel. His image is cast in mosaic in the church of St John the Evangelist, Warminster where he is present alongside Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. He can also be found in stained glass as the Regent of the Sun in the cloisters of Chester Cathedral. Uriel appears in the Second Book of Esdras found in the Biblical apocrypha (called Esdras IV in the Vulgate Bible). The Coptic Christians venerate him and hold his feast on the 11th of July.

Zadkiel (Pronounced Zaydkeel or Zaydkiel). Stained glass window, St Michael’s, Brighton. “ God is my Righteousness”. Possibly the angel who stayed Abraham's arm and prevented Isaac's death. Often represented carrying a dagger .

Final word:

You can trust the angels and Archangels, they're great friends to mankind. So positive and charitable; always ready with a good word and some encouragement; always helping you keep your chin up; always keeping you safe. And they love God so much. They really do. They absolutely worship him with every fibre of their being. He is their world; they truly are servants of the Most High.

One of the most striking facets of the angels and Archangels is their unity. They are not divided on any level. They work in harmony with one another - they echo the words "Your will be done". They will never lie or deceive. They never serve their own appetites. They are absolutely contrary to the type of people Saint Paul warns about in Romans 16.

N.B. Uriel is mentioned in the Second Book of Esdras which isn’t included in Saint Jerome’s version of the Vulgate bible but is included in the Clementine (Pope Clement) Vulgate.

Be careful what you ask for

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 21:21:01 GMT

The downfall of the Evil One.

Be careful what you ask for.

It’s a saying which has been bandied about for centuries. It translates to the fact that what we think we want may not necessarily be very good for us but we often only discover this when we’re in possession of what was initially desired. It’s also a way of admonishing someone to stay out of trouble because it implies that when we do get our way then it’s rarely as we imagined and we could find ourselves between a rock and a hard place – rather like Damocles.

Those of us who have asked and received know this all too well. Sometimes it’s best to just let God be God and provide for our every need. The trouble is, even when inspired to ask, we can still find ourselves in a position where our weak faith finds us asking for assistance to deal with what God wants us to have. But there’s nothing wrong with this as “the righteous shall live by faith”.

Those who testify to familiarity with the ways of the Most High are very aware of the reality of asking and receiving. Jesus explains that receiving what you want is predestined of the ask. He says it’s guaranteed. Nevertheless, it’s often not handed to us on a silver platter. We have to work for it; we have to get our spade out. Because God knows what can happen to those who are given easy access to their desires: they can take their success upon themselves. The upshot of this can be an ascent to pride, which, as many will testify, is deadly. This rise is often born out of an increase in status which Jesus shows us can be humbling. This is evidenced by the people he met in his life and also by his parables. We see what wealth did to the rich man in Matthew’s gospel. The very wealthy man who asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life didn’t really want change. His wealth and status had ruined him and eventually made him miserable in the sight of God. We know this because he ended up walking away with a long face.

Then in the parable of the man who took a seat of honour at the banquet, Jesus explains how taking status upon ourselves can lead to embarrasment (Luke 14:7–11). Additionally we hear the Pharisee’s prayer in comparison to the publican where the one with high social standing thanks God that he’s not low-life scum like the publican. One can garner from these examples that Jesus was very serious when he told his disciples that whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

The problem we have is that ambition isn’t intrinsically bad, but of itself can be very destructive. Paul says we should only be ambitious for the spiritual gifts and declares that his most pressing desire is to preach the gospel.

The great saints (especially Saint Francis) have the same attitude because it is a fact that riches in themselves present us with temptation to avarice. The end result is that it becomes impossible for us to enter God’s kingdom - eye of a needle impossible.

In direct contrast though, God does not have to warn the angels concerning the perils of ambition, pride and wealth. They saw, to their deep sorrow, where the path of ruthless desire and selfishness ends when the angels who sinned made their ascent to pride. They have also seen many of us mortals descend into the abyss because we were too proud to repent.

One of the problems with ruinous ambition is that the path to perdition is often slow and progressive. So much so that we barely notice our departure from God as the serpent tightens his coils. People lose their souls because of the way they live their lives – not because of an isolated incident. It is believed that the course of Lucifer’s downfall was equally incremental.

Once a holy, humble and venerable Archangel, somewhere along the line he stumbled into chaos and wrong doing. God is generous and granted Lucifer his desires. There is a school of thought which postulates that he gradually amassed more responsibility and status. But nothing was ever sufficient and ruin was his destiny. Ezekiel spoke of him in chapter 28 vs 3 when he said “Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods”. Reference is made to him as “the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Anointed as a guardian cherub”.

We then witness the Evil One's banishment from Zion after his defeat against Michael and his follow Archangels. Perfunctorily expelled in disgrace. “Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.”

Then, jealous of the fact that we too are made in the image and likeness of God, he began his war of lies. Our ancestors fell into sin and the affects of this has been passed on through every generation. God, angered by Lucifer, uttered the immortal words found in Genesis: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field!”

And to this very day, spiritual warfare between us and the once diademed light-bearer has been waged. Satan, who desired power, rank and status is now known as the fallen one – corrupted beyond the imagination of any angel and beyond our ability to comprehend. People think the war between the angels in the heavenly realm was an isolated incident but it’s still waged today. With the spoils of this war being our souls.

Paul says we should “approach our salvation with fear and trembling”. He’s not wrong because if an Archangel can fall because of pride and ambition - and take one third of a countless multitude with him - then rest assured we are even more susceptible. Take it as read that the enemy will try and get you to follow the same road as him. Amongst other things, he’ll seek to blind you with worldly trappings such as wealth, status and ambition: All for the glory of God, of course ��

The moral here is to let God exalt you, don’t go looking for it. Wait for him to offer.

Guardian angels of the churches

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:08:01 GMT

We know that churches have guardian angels because the book of Revelations makes reference to the angels of various churches. In John’s vision, where he sees 7 stars and 7 lampstands, Jesus points out that the angels are the stars and the lampstands the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. John is then instructed to write to the angels of the churches. Not the members or leaders of the churches: not even the guardian angels of the priests, but the guardian angels of the churches.

We can therefore accept this as reason to assume that all churches have guardian angels.

Angels are present in historic churches in the form of statue, carving, stained glass and mosaic. These are only artistic representations but they nevertheless beckon us to the reality that the angels continually worship before the Blessed Sacrament. During the mass we hear the words

“ In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.”

Before the consecration, Jesus adds his prayers to ours and the sacrifice (and us) then becomes divinised once the priest places his hands over the chalic and pattern and the body and blood ascends to God's throne.

As angels continually present our prayers to God then we can trust that they will add their prayers to ours for our edification and provision.

This is part of the work of the Holy Guardian angels. They are with us during the mass and their eternal Hosanna is echoed throughout time and space during the eternal sacrifice. This is testimony to the fact that the angels labour and pray. Therefore, when you go into a church always greet the angel of that particular church. If you’re troubled then talk to him, if you seek guidance then share your quandary with him because he is listening. And if you’ve been married in a church remember that he will have prayed for you.

He will pray for everyone who comes into church to pray silently or to weep. He will rejoice with those who come to give thanks and he will guard the steps of those who set foot on this holy ground.

It's worth mentioning here that there is a particular rank within all of the Choirs and it’s the rank of the Sarageel. The closest we get to it here on earth in our armies is the rank of sergeant. All guardian angels of all of the established churches i.e. those who have as their head a monarch, a papacy or a patriarchy are all Sarageel drawn from the choir of Angels. Except for one church and that’s Saint Peter’s in Rome whose guardian angel is an Archangel named Michael. He is guardian of the Catholic Church in its entirety.

Padre Pio always urged the faithful to seek the help of angels. We are known to them by name. They intercede for us and continually ask God's blessing upon us.

So don't be a stranger to your church's guardian angel. And don't forget to ask God to bless the Sarageel (and all the angels). They are fearless warrior angels who have been given much responsibility and their office of guardianship comes at great personal cost, to them. Remember: "To whom much is given, much is asked in return". These angels know the meaning of the words "self sacrifice" and we would be well served to learn by their example.

The angels are full of love and speak the language of love. Which, as we know from Saint Paul's teaching, is patient, kind and never ends. The angels are eternal and when we are living in the kingdom and are perfected we shall like them.

Jesus and the rich young man

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:31:20 GMT

Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18-30

In this scenario we see a unique sequence of events unfolding as Jesus is questioned by a wealthy young man about what he must do to inherit eternal life.

Under normal circumstances a man of such great means would rarely have anything to do with Jesus unless Our Lord was pricing a job. Another reason is because Jesus was one of the least assuming Jewish men. He was ordinary. He was so quintessential that the Pharisees immediately dismissed him as far too normal to be who he said he was. They expected someone far more worldly than Jesus. When they discovered that he was claiming to be the Son of God they were appalled that somebody so everyday, so unremarkable and humble, should make such a grand assertion.

Although of noble birth, Jesus did not mix with aristocracy. Although having two working men in the family provided well for their needs (they were not poor), they were not rich. Although literate, Jesus was shunned by sages and rabbis because his status in life was not sufficiently high enough to merit their ears. He was a social pariah as far as the religious upper echelons of the Jewish community were concerned. So much so that when Nicodemus came to him, he hid his embarrassment by coming to him under the cover of darkness.

Not so this wealthy ruler. As he came to Jesus with a religious question then it was highly likely he was Jewish. He came to him in broad daylight which probably meant he was above criticism. He then made an apparent gesture of a respectful deference. Scripture tells us he bowed. But why? Why would someone with such high social standing bow to the one who referred to himself as meek and humble of heart? I hope to answer this further down.

But first, back to Nicodemus: when he asked how a man could be born again Jesus’s response was challenging. “You! A teacher of Israel! And you don’t know such things!!”

But when the rich young man approached him all Jesus did was to make a factual statement. He never followed it up with anything more than “Keep the commandments”. My guess is that the rich young ruler did not come alone. I would wager that he had a little entourage. Perhaps some friends and others whom he wished to impress. It's my belief that he wanted to be seen to be doing the right thing.

If he'd have really believed that Jesus was who he claimed to be then things may have been a lot different. We know from the book of Samuel that “the Lord looks into the heart”. We also read in Matthew 9:2 and also John 2 that Jesus could look into a man’s heart.

The wealthy ruler, eager to justify himself (perhaps in front of his friends) and to tick a few boxes then stated that he’d kept God's word – and from a young age. Jesus, without any condemnation, respectfully told him he hadn’t.

Many scriptural commentaries portray the rich man as an eager and morally upstanding citizen who perhaps knew there was something missing but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Jesus knew different and was very aware that the rich man had always put himself and his wealth before God. What the ruler had done is to vastly under-estimate Our Blessed Lord. He’d tried to catch Jesus out and failed miserably. His plan backfired and this is why he walked away with a long face. He’d been tripped up by his own hypocrisy - and he'd done it right in front of Jesus. The same Jesus who had told his disciples that if their virtue went no deeper than the Pharisees then they would never enter the kingdom of heaven. The man was sad because Jesus had told him that he’d failed to serve God where it’s most important because he’d actually made money his God. And we know that this is a false God. We also know that one can’t serve both God and wealth.

So, in his stupidity and arrogance he’d made himself look particularly fraudulent. He'd mistaken Jesus for a zealous idiot. Of course, anyone who knew Jesus knew that assumptions like this are only for the brave or the foolish.

But Jesus, always the perfect gentleman and unwilling to cause this man any embarrassment, dealt with him beautifully. He subtly told him he had not kept the commandments and then went on to prove it to him by telling him to go and sell everything he owned and to give the money to the poor. The rich young man, having tried to catch Jesus out, suddenly found himself having caught himself out.

He’d have been OK if he’d walked away as soon as Jesus gave him his answer. But no, he had to try and be clever. With Jesus. Seriously! He decided to take on a site carpenter who was Joseph’s son AND God incarnate. What was he thinking?!

In it though, we encounter the love of God. “Jesus looked at him and loved him”. Our Lord didn't recoil when he saw the evil in his heart. And then the invitation: “Come, and follow me”.

Now Jesus was getting to the point. The rich young man had come asking what he had to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus was giving him the answer. Then we see the lack of sincerity in the young ruler as he walks away, having just experienced the unconditional love of God.

You see, he never really wanted to know what he had to do to inherit God’s kingdom. And Jesus proved it to him. The original gesture of respectful deference was simply a show; it meant nothing because it was superficial. What he'd actually done is insult Jesus's intellegence. This fellow lacked empathy. He lacked it for the poor, he lacked it for God and he didn’t show any to Jesus. He was playing games and now he’d been shown up. He arrived thinking he could dupe Jesus but left under a much different impression. The likelihood is he’d been duping people for a long time. He came with a very self-righteous attitude and perhaps delusions of grandeur. He went away all the wiser for his experience because he’d met true humility, real wisdom and a superior intellect. Sadly though, he refused to walk with Jesus who offered him a deep relationship and the true riches of his kingdom.

Christmas

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 19:09:43 GMT

Mary was found to be with child, by the Holy Spirit.

It’s Christmas. And for the world this is tinsel, Christmas decs, giving and receiving presents and time with family. But once the dinners have been eaten and the crackers pulled then thoughts get mulled with the wine as many sink deeper into the comfort of a well chosen couch.

Soon enough the star from the top of the tree will be put in a box for next year. No thought given. But why should there be? In this modern age, we know that there’s very little chance of there really ever being a star which hovered above the stable like some kind of wintery bauble. This is because many people will have arrived at the conclusion that stars cannot travel as they’re fixed celestial bodies which have an energy source that creates light born out of radiation.

Stars are formed because of nuclear fusion and the light from this can take many thousands of years to reach earth. So even if the Star of Bethlehem was some kind of object floating around in the Universe, what the Wise Men (Magi) would have seen would have been light generated many thousands of years before.

We can therefore now speculate that in all likelihood the "Star of Bethlehem" was indeed a comet as the actions of such uniquely fits with the description in Matthew’s gospel. It's described as a newly appeared star which travelled slowly through the sky against the star-background and which then appeared to stand over Bethlehem.

What further substantiates the claim was its positioning directly over the ‘House of Bread’. This is because its forward trajectory made it look like it was diving down with its tail in the air thus creating the illusion that it was actually hanging in the sky.

If we delve a little further we discover that current scientific research now proposes a remarkable sequence of three astronomical events stimulated the journey of the Magi. Firstly the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 BC. Secondly the massing of the three planets Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in 6 BC; and lastly, the appearance in 5 BC of the “Star of Bethlehem”. Experts estimate this to have originated in the constellation Capricornus. It is argued that each of these three aforementioned events would have been rich is significance, and the combination would have provided a very clear sign that a mighty new king was about to be born in Israel. The conclusion is then drawn that Jesus was probably born somewhere within the timeframe of 5 BC March 9th – May 4th. More exacting study suggests his birth actually coincided with Passover which was April 13th – 17th.

Jesus's birth in the Spring is consistent with Luke's account because here we see shepherds living in the fields nearby and keeping watch over their flocks at night. The arrival of the Messiah in 5 BC is also consistent with the census of Caesar Augustus. Therefore, the date of the Nativity presented here enables a new chronology of the life of Christ to be constructed which is consistent with what has been verified to date.

These events and the appearance of the Three Kings raised Herod’s suspicions and he secretly sent for the Magi to ascertain from them the date of the appearance of the star (Matthew 2 vs. 7).

After being warned in a dream, the Wise Men then made their way back to their homeland via a different road.

Soon after their departure, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem for his presentation and circumcision. Whilst there, Simeon pronounced the immortal words concerning Mary receiving the sword of sorrow which was to pierce her heart. Whilst in the temple Anna, who had spoken many prophesies, saw Jesus and recognised him as the one of whom she had spoken.

Shortly after the presentation in the temple, Joseph was warned by Gabriel to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt and to stay there “until I bid you return”. Then Hosea’s words (which were spoken over 700 years before the birth of Christ) were fulfilled: Out of Egypt I will call my son (Hosea 11:1).

Following approximately 3 years of exile in Egypt (1260 days according to the book of Revelation), with Herod being reported dead, they came back to Israel and returned to life in Nazareth – a quiet dusty backwater of a town in Galilee to which Gabriel first brought the good news to both Joseph and Mary.

This is all a far cry from our modern-day celebration of the Christmas season which is often regarded as only for children. The adults may attend the occasional party or family get-together, give and receive presents and watch a lot of telly but I wonder what the holy family would make of all the glitz? It all seems very far from their reality of hardships, fleeing, starting businesses in foreign lands and being wrenched away from their family and friends. Or is it?

Once the outward signs of Christmas are gone, we’re all cast back into life’s harsh realities. What this means is that we’re all going to continue to have difficulties - just as the holy family did. They knew their scripture and were aware that it was written that ‘as surely as sparks fly upward you are born into trouble’ (Job 5:7). The holy family were certainly no exception. And just because he was the son of God did not make Jesus immune. To the astonishment of the angels he was thrust into life just as each and every one of us is cast into a living cauldron of – what appears to be – chaos. But it’s not. We may often think it is, but in really isn’t.

The fact is, God’s hand is present in everything. His divine precision is just the same now as it was over 2000 years ago. Every one of our days has been numbered, all decisions have been made an our lives have already been lived. All we have to do is catch up with the reality that God is in control and that we are nestled under his pinions (should we choose to be).

Jesus was born into a world with alcohol abuse, prostitution, theft, dishonesty, false witness, hypocrisy, murder, rape, fraud, lust and atheism. Nevertheless, to the astonishment of the angels, he was born. I use the word ‘astonishment’ without reserve. After all, this is Almighty God who has taken flesh. By his own volition he became one of us. Someone who, like us, was made a little lower than the angels. When one considers the majesty of the angels it’s very difficult to imagine how it was possible for this to happen. No wonder the angels desired so much to see Jesus.

What they will have been interested to see is how Jesus’s grace-filled life panned out. They’d seen so many who’d lived lives without God but never one which was solely for God and completely free from sin. He would be subject to the same issues and challenges as us but he would be the only one who would not sin and would be obedient even to death.

Jesus was to see strength, weakness, sickness, the demon possessed, the narcissists, the psychopaths, the lame, lazy, blind, deaf, disabled and those not in their right mind. He lived in a society where he saw ‘the wicked spring up like grass’. Because of his divine nature, he was to see just exactly what the extent of lives lived without God looked like. And because of his human nature, it would be a unique experience. Due to his untainted view of the world he would be able to speak the complete truth. He was – as the prophet Simeon stated - the one who was set to be responsible for the fall and rise of many. This is simply because many would not accept the truth.

He was God and possessed all wisdom, he saw into the depths of a man’s soul. And yet – because of his love - he didn’t recoil. He was determined to go through with the act of redemption. As it is written, “I have set my face like flint”

And he is still the same God who is steadfast and unwavering. He is as unfaltering in his goodness now as he was during his life on earth. And his angels continue to have dominion.

We experience life just as uniquely and we are all unique. But none of us are without fault or problem. What we are charged with is the same task as Jesus which is to live our lives for God. Our aim is to try and place ourselves in the hands of the Most High and have faith in his goodness. As Joseph and Mary did.

Full of faith, they set off for Jerusalem in the knowledge that she’d probably deliver Jesus there, or on the way. Mary and Joseph knew life and were prepared to guide the Saviour of the World into adulthood. Joseph never forced him to do anything. Jesus made a free choice when it came to the workshop. Joseph never had any expectations of Jesus. It was his own choice to follow his father into his trade. Joseph was the role model Jesus sought to emulate. Their friendship grew in the workshop and on-site. Jesus listened to his father, learned wisdom from Joseph’s words and from how he lived his life. And when it came time for him to be crucified, one of the reasons he went to the cross was to save his dad. It was also so that he could be united with Mary and give her to us as our mother. The birth of Jesus and his subsequent crucifixion was God's generosity made visible for all to see.

For our part, we are also called to live generous and sacrificial lives. Our left hand must not know what the right is doing. God calls us into existence just as he did Jesus. We are born into a world faced with the same realities as it was when the biblical Jesus walked the often noisy and dusty streets of his home town. But we must be wiser than the three kings. They saw that the star was still moving yet went into Jerusalem expecting the infant king to be in the capital city. They spoke to king Herod expecting him to know the location of the infant King. The result of their lack of wisdom was the murder of thousands of innocent children by a raving lunatic who let his paranoia and jealousy get the better of him. The wise men assumed incorrectly that the Saviour of World could not possibly have been born anywhere other than the great city. Instead, the star carried on travelling to Bethlehem. Around that time it may have had no more than 1000 inhabitants. Today it has less than 30,000. The wise men supposed that Jesus would be with the royals and those who carried the most status. They went to where they thought he’d be.

If the wise men had known their scripture then they would have been familiar with the expectations of the Jewish people. Israel expected the Messiah to be born in David’s place of birth. If they’d studied the book of Micah then they’d have known that it is written the although Bethlehem is small among the clans of Judah, out of it was to come forth a rule r over Israel— One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity. ”

Jesus, like us, was born into the crucible of life. He learnt to read and write and his mother and father taught him scripture. He learnt the importance of the first commandment and probably asked his dad the question “Who is my neighbour?”. Jesus learnt the truth from his parents. Many of the things Jesus said about the Pharisees were passed from father to son. It was Joseph who told Jesus to do what the Pharisees said but not to do what they did. Jesus subsequently passed on much of Joseph’s knowledge and advice to us. We owe Joseph (and Mary) a great debt. This Christmas, let’s not forget that the holy family are in this life with us. They never stopped praising God and neither should we.

Are we the sacrament of the guardian angels?

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 20:09:28 GMT

A little controversial, but worth thinking about.

Sub-heading one: The genesis of the angels.

We weren’t here first. God created his angels well before us. When exactly we are not sure, but of what we can be certain is that it was well before the genesis of man. We may though, take a calculated guess that the angels were around when God created the Universe out of nothing. Being higher order creatures in comparison to us means that the least in the angelic choir is still above all of us in intellect. In addition to the knowledge God infused into them in the beginning they also have their own experiential knowledge. Therefore, it must be considered a given that they have an intimate understanding of all created matter.

They were willed into existence with the sole intention of serving God. They live in the fullness of the presence of the Most High and are all without fault. It’s difficult to imagine a time when angels never were. But by one single act of generosity they were given free will, and simply existed. The one who is without limit and infinite in charity called each one by his name and in that moment each one heard the voice of Almighty God for the very first time.

The Holy Guardian Angels are drawn from the choir closest to us known as Angels. Sacrificial in nature, they exist purely to give God greater glory in the heavenly realm. And yet they stoop down to his footstool and – in their humility – they “serve those who are to inherit salvation”. We are God's footstool children whereas the angels are throne room servants.

It is therefore posited that somehow the sacrificial bond of guardianship between every angel and his charge enables the angel to express his love for God through us in a similar way to the way men deepen their relationship with God i.e. through service, sacrifice, sacrament, revelation and obedience.

Augustine developed the theory that a sacramentum is a sign that sanctifies – makes holy – because it is efficacious – produces the intended effect. We know that for the angels, guardianship comes at great personal cost to them. Could it be that even angels in their perfected state benefit from their experiences of meeting and serving God through us, the Alter Christus? Does their work with us in some way build them up? When they are called to step forward and meet us in our lowly state, does their sacrifice in some way edify them in their finiteness?

Each angel’s guardianship is something deeply personal to him. He may have waited Millenia upon Millenia upon Megayear for the time to step forward. He will only ever be a guardian angel once and it is his honour to serve God in this way. Therefore, reason dictates that a deeper state of sanctity could be born out of the discipline of guardianship because of the experience.

Although they themselves are whole, they can never totally fathom God, and, unlike God, they have not lived tomorrow. They are not infinite beings and therefore guardianship means it’s likely they get to know God in a unique and deeply personal way because of the uniqueness of their charges.

Just as Jesus made his sacrifice, and just as we are called to make ours, the angels make theirs too.

It must be assumed that the title of this essay isn’t something which will sit easily with everyone. This is possibly due to the supernatural element of the word sacrament . Perhaps it shouldn’t be this way but sacraments are mystical and our worship, liturgy and spiritual lives revolve around holy mother church’s sacraments – therefore the response to the interpretation of the sacraments can contain both the subjective and objective i.e. it can be based on personal experience and also church teaching. Ergo, it follows that our sacramental value to the angels could very well be mystically personal and also as per our objective speculation.

In our case, because of the mystical element of the sacraments, there is always an air of the unfathomable about them. This may be due to the fact that it’s in them and through them that man meets God. Non-Catholics may not agree but the fact is that the mercy of the most Holy Trinity is deeply, profoundly and truly present in the sacrament of reconciliation. That is why we can declare the words laus et jubilatio because we know that God is an infinitely loving and forgiving person.

But because the sacraments are born out of love it means that there is a mystical depth to them whch means they are are a phenomenon. Therefore, sometimes it’s best to look at them from a phenomenological perspective. They are grace-filled which means they lead to greater holiness. However, to better understand them we perhaps need to take a conceptual view in addition to the objective and subjective viewpoints if we are to begin to unpack the statement concerning our possible sacramental value to the angels.

But first, let’s examine the species of both man and angel in the light of our knowledge concerning sin. Both have sinned (although angelic sin was a one-time isolated incident). One of the differences in psychological functioning is that the angels were initially given infused knowledge which meant that no ignorance or reasoning was present or required before their fall. They didn’t have to make much of a journey into sin, they didn’t need to dig around in the dirt and mire of wrong doing in order to fall into a weakened state. There was no need to figure out what was bad and why they shouldn’t do it, they didn’t need to be slowly and seductively corrupted and then make a decision based on poor reasoning and lack of understanding where consequences were concerned. They knew that their departure from holiness would result in total separation from the love of God. Whereas we become sinful and eventually separate ourselves from God in a different and more progressive way.

The fact is, the result of the action of the sin of the angels was fully known in all its expansiveness. It could be argued that the absence of deceit in their temptation meant that they were simply tempted with something which they were close to actually desiring in the first place. This is because the level of discipline to which they were called was high and somehow self-governance became more appealing. It meant that the seductiveness of “independence” could be employed quickly and effectively. They chose to accept this, knowing it was a lie. Whereas, in the Garden of Eden, our first parents did not fully grasp the complexity of the implications of their decisions.

This is why demons are beyond redemption.

The upshot of the Great Temptation of the angels meant that – astonishingly - those of such high intellect who occupied the heavenly realms chose to turn away from God. Their fate is described by Saint Jude who says that they “left their proper habitation” and are now “kept in everlasting bonds under darkness…”.

It is possible that the decision to sin, in all likelihood, happened pretty quickly. Likewise, in an instant, the angels who chose God formed themselves into fighting legions with the sole intention of overthrowing the newly formed Satanic hordes. Each angel which sinned had rapidly concluded that being at enmity with God was preferable to being a warrior for him. This was their Achilles heel – this was their weakness. And the great temptation enabled them to know themselves fully.

What made their fall worse was that they plunged to their destruction in the perfect knowledge that they were siding with an Archangel. One could perhaps have sympathy for them should they have accepted the temptation of one of the mighty Seraphs or even a lie (if it were at all possible) from the ranks of the majestic Cherubim. But princely Archangels, although occupying far higher positions than any angelic foot-soldier, would stand very little chance of tempting anyone from the loftier Choirs. It is now very clear that those who occupy such elevated positions would never stoop so low as to cease desiring God with all their hearts.

Lucifer, having hatched his plan and administered his attack with precision, brought down many angels. Michael, in his justice and humility, gathered together a handful of his best warriors and defeated the will of Satan.

In direct contrast, our temptation lasts from the cradle to the grave and Michael and his fellow warrior Archangels continue to fight for our salvation. Thankfully we have all of the angels and God’s grace to aid us in our battle against the world, the flesh and that fallen Archangel we call the Devil. And it’s this outpouring of grace which the angels are interested in.

N.B. Likewise, the fallen angels.

An example of the angelic collaboration with grace is seen in Gabriel who fully recognised the outpouring of it in the life of Mary. In fact, it was so prominent throughout her life that Gabriel made her his queen during the annunciation when – in his humility - he set the precedent for all angels when he went down on his knees. In the moment when he called her “full of grace” he righted Lucifer’s wrong. Lucifer had broken the rules because of his angelic refusal to serve God in Mary. Gabriel had rebuilt that bridge. The other angels, from the lowliest Angel to the highest ranking Seraph, showed their humility by accepting her elevation beyond their glorious state.

Sub-heading two: The sacramental journey:

The word sacrament comes from the Latin sacro which means hallowed/consecrated or sacred. As Saint Augustine says, a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of the sacred grace of God. As we meet God in and through his sacraments, it could be argued that the angels meet God in us in a similar, particular and profound way i.e. in a comparable way to the way they met God in Christ. We are, after all, tabernacles of the Incarnate Word. The same Incarnate Deity the angels adored at the first Christmas is present in us. Later in the life of Christ we see angels minister to him after his temptation in the wilderness and particularly in Gethsemane when the angel strengthens and comforts Our Lord. This depths of love for God must surely have been sacramental.

As Catholics we’re called to live a sacramental life. We are instructed in the value of the sacraments and that makes us a knowledgeable consecrated people. This consecrated way is an ongoing way of life and requires saving grace. Let us never forget that once we are saved, we can always un-save ourselves if we let the Evil One tighten his coils around us and then fail to repent.

It was the same at the genesis of the angels. The knowledge they were given included insight into their service to God through man. None of them had consecrated themselves fully to God. They had what’s called evening knowledge . Their new life had yet to begin. They were given the choice – this choice is also regarded by many as a test. Their consecration to God was the beginning of their deepened relationship with him. The angels who chose God over themselves were brought closer to him and fully integrated into his provision for us ( morning knowledge ).

These angels continually consecrate themselves to God and do so through the way they comport themselves in his creation. They are totally and fully incorporated into it in a complete and holy way. They praise God through it and because of it. It just so happens that we are very much part of their world. As we are temples of the Holy Spirit, the angels can serve and worship God through their service to him in us.

This dutiful worship is a particular aspect of the intrinsic nature of sacrament. Likewise we are able to worship God in a more complete way because of the sacraments. In baptism we meet the sanctifying grace of God through the cleansing waters which are poured out throughout our lives. During our lives our angelic brothers are continually striving to serve the hand of God; the economy of his grace astounds them - they see it in its fullness whereas we can only catch glimpses.

It's the same with other aspects of our worship such as mass and holy communion. From Christ on the cross two thousand years ago to his victory over sin now and forever. Worshipped on the altar by both us and the angels, He dwells in us and they serve him through us. Every aspect of their beings is caught up in service to God in every way. It's the natural order of things. The angels are beings of order. By being in order it means that everything they do is done for the service and greater glory of God. This means that they are totally whole and therefore at peace.

In direct contrast, the fallen angels are at all times conflicted because by their created nature they have a natural will to serve God too but choose not to out of hate and spite. They are a direct contrast to the holy angels, they see all the opportunities where they could serve the Most High in a holy way but at all times are disgusted with themselves for not doing so.

Nevertheless, in their pain and conflict they still have to be obedient to God’s command. The result is that their psyches are split in two because their angelic intelligence continually informs them at all times that their actions are wrong. Let’s not forget that the angels were also all made in the image and likeness of God. And the fallen ones hate themselves for this and because of the fact that they have to serve God. They are appalled at themselves and each other when they carry out malevolent acts. And yet they seek, at all times, to oppose God. Hence they are eternally at enmity with the Most High. This enmity is born out of the weight of the chains with which they are bound. They are eternally snared in their own anger and hatred for God. And because of their superior intellect they suffer much more than the fallen children of God. What enables the evil angels to torment the ruined souls is their clarity of mind and their knowledge of what these souls have done and who they are. In direct contrast to the Holy Angels, demons desire to see the face of evil in us and not that of God’s only son.

Sub-heading three: Conclusion.

I hope that the aforementioned prose may lend itself as “evidence” to support the hypothesis that we are in some way of sacramental value to the angels. As mentioned earlier, during our sacramental life in the church we meet the love of God. We also meet him intimately in our relationship with him and catch glimpses of his provision for us in other ways. But it’s our Guardian Angels who see this in guilted detail. In their holy estate they experience God is a particular way through his love for us in our brokenness. It could therefore be argued that the angels meet God in a profound and particular way. They see the suffering Christ, they bear witness to our battles and temptations, they come to minister to us and to strengthen. They see the mercy of God in repentance and confession, they stand by our side during holy communion and they worship in the sanctuary or at the altar with us. The heavenly Sanctus is echoed during the celebration of holy mass and we partake of something mirrored in Tchaikovsky’s Hymn of the Cherubim.

Factually, living a sacramental life is being immersed in prayer and the life of the church. This is the angels. Although they cannot offer mass, they possess all priestly knowledge (including everything which is known and can be known about the liturgy) and are fully present in the celebration – they too sing the Sanctus.

The angels are very exact in everything they do. Their praise is perfect.

Therefore, we must make a particular and special effort to present our praise and adoration in a way which befits the fact that we are their protégés. We meet God in his angels and our worship should, in some way, reflect the fact that they encounter God through us.

What to do about those who reject God.

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 09:05:32 GMT

The proof of the pudding is in its eating.

The UK is a very diverse place where the Christian faith is concerned (if you hadn’t noticed). Despite all of the historical, liturgical, traditional and theological differences, everybody appears to have realised that arguing makes no difference. Catholics tend to just get on with it and let the Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostalists and Anglicans go their own way. Apart from the Evangelicals feeling the need to convert every single Catholic on the horizon to their way of thinking, everyone seems reasonably happy to quietly coast along.

However, if you were to go looking for noise and conflict then it wouldn’t take you much time to discover that the volume has been turned up between believers and nonbelievers – especially on social media. A little foray down the Youtubes will reveal debates, monologues and examples complete with running text battles in the comments sections.

It appears that people regularly fall into one of two camps: they either believe or they don’t. The nonbelievers are disparaging where God is concerned, goadingly spelling his name with a small ‘g’. In direct contrast, the adamant believers are constantly trying to provide evidence for a divine creator. At one time it was enough for a believer to point to the stars and remind the atheistic that the Universe can’t come from nothing. But not now. How the Universe was created is generally seen as something which really doesn’t matter anymore. It’s just a fact that it wasn’t “god”. The absence of whom is now disproved by celestial teapots, the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Pink Unicorn. Although conceptual, they are all very real.

We are now told that the burden of proof sits squarely upon our shoulders and that if we wish to influence die-hard and embittered atheists and ex-Christians that there is indeed a God then we are the ones who must provide empirical evidence which is unfalsifiable. I could, at this point, present many different strategies, techniques and evidence for winning arguments concerning the existence of God but I’m not going to because I don’t believe there can ever be clear “winners” where God vs. no God arguments are concerned.

The fact is that common sense should dictate that the Almighty does indeed exist. St Paul explains everything perfectly in Romans 1 when he says that “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.”

What this means is that people choose not to believe.

Nevertheless, we are charged with going out into the world and making disciples of all nations (Matt 28 19:20).

As all are all capable of grasping the concept of God then surely this shouldn’t be difficult. All we have to do is tell the nonbeliever and hey-presto, another one enters into salvation, right? Au contraire. What usually happens is that we engage with someone who has made the decision to reject the truth and the inevitable stalemate results. Why though? Well, first of all people don’t like being told what to think. It’s also likely that somewhere along the line they have been hurt or forced to do something against their will.

The upshot of further discussion is that both sides will take their fair share of knocks and bruises as dialogue can often get heated and sometimes downright abusive. Nobody ever comes away unscathed from a battle – least of all the God one. Even if nobody is metaphorically wounded then at least battle fatigue will take hold. It doesn’t matter how well you present your case or how many unbelievers you smite with your mighty tongue or keyboard, you will never do yourself or your opponents any favours. You certainly won’t have won a soul for Christ because the job isn’t about proving the existence of God by arguing.

So what do we do? The directions are clear in scripture and from scriptural commentaries: we should not engage in debate with non-believers. What we’re instructed to do is to shake the dust of the town off our feet (Matt 10:14).

For our part we must listen to Jesus plainly stating that he had been sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. He came for his own. And so it must be the same for us. We must look within our own ranks and care for those whose faith is weak. The ones in danger of giving up. The ones who have been wounded by parents, religious professionals and anyone who has been the victim of an errant teacher or a blind guide. But how do we do this?

We’re meant to be fishers of men. So how do we do this fishing? We must not ask ourselves How can I change this person’s belief to suit me? but What might I, or the church, a priest or another Christian from another denomination have done which has resulted in someone making the decision to decide against God or the church?

An example of this is from Quora where a very charitable lady answers the question “Why are you an atheist?”

She says: “I grew up in the Catholic Church. Mass every Sunday, etc.

I knew I was an atheist since I was little. I’m sure Sister Mary Margaret didn’t help when she told me that god hated questioning little girls with no faith. She then told me that if I didn’t find some faith quick, I was going straight to hell.

Even at the tender age of six, I thought punishing me with eternal damnation and hellfire for asking why there were no dinosaurs mentioned in Genesis was a bit over the top. That made me doubt everything I was being taught.”

It’s pretty obvious that Sister Mary Margaret shouldn’t have ever really been let loose as a nun never mind a teacher of six year old girls. The likelihood was that her faith was compromised because of her own shaky belief in God. I’m kinda guessing she never got that theology degree either. But it’s such a shame that the little girl had her tiny packet of faith destroyed in such a brutal way.

The bottom line is that the nun simply wasn’t emulating Christ who told us that he is the way, the truth and the life. He also says that we should learn from him because he is meek and lowly. So this is the answer: If we are Christ-like then we are living the same kind of life as Christ and can therefore be effective witnesses by the way we live our lives. We cannot be hypocritical. In John’s first letter he spells it out and says that if anyone says “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.”

Tough call. Basically it means that Christ will become present in us if we keep his word. He showed us the way, he told us the truth, he lived the exemplary life. He leads, we follow. If we do this then we will be the abode of the living Trinity. But we know the cost for us: it’s the narrow gate. It’s the discipline of the sainthood. It’s not about cherry picking the bits of our faith we can live easily. It’s about going up against the things which make us sin.

It won’t matter how many times we pray in tongues, quote scripture or go to church services, we will not turn a nonbeliever’s heart to God. Only the way we live the Christian life – complete with its hardships, obedience to church teaching and sacrifice – will have any influence.

Paul says that the righteous will live by faith. For us, this is the only way to live. If we love God and ourselves and are genuinely at peace with who we are then we are the empirical evidence. This is because a person’s relationship with God is reflected in their relationships with other people. And one’s relationships with others is mirrored in one’s relationship with God.

We must always be alert. We’re told that the foxes have holes, that the birds of the air have nests and that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. So we know we can never fully put down roots in this world. This place is a passing place and we’re only here temporarily. The fact is, we barely have time for arguments. So we must strive to live the way of St Francis who always sought to please God. Francis was at peace. He was a gentle soul and he was meek. He inherited the earth.

Live this way and you’ll be beacons of hope.

Always bear in mind though, that even Jesus himself – by the way he lived his life (which incorporated exorcisms, breaking open the word of God for the people, healings and forgiveness) – was insufficient for some. He was often told he was unwelcome. They even accused him of being in league with Satan and tried to find fault with everything he did. Then they plotted to kill him.

Take it as read then, that there will be some who will never change. They are of this world and, as Jesus says, we must know that we'll be hated by the world. Even some of the ones who call him Lord will never enter the kingdom because their virtue will have gone no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees. These you will not change even if you become saints on earth and speak with the wisdom and love of the angels.

In sum then, no manner of persuasive talk will result in a conversion. We know this because there’s often pain which has resulted in the rejection of God. It may even be subconscious. We must be content that they’ll know we are Christians by our love and our fruits. If we produce the appropriate fruits then the non-believers will at least wonder if there’s anything in it. It is a fact then, that the proof of the pudding will be in its eating.

The problem with the atheists

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 19:24:33 GMT

“Anybody could be wrong. We could all be wrong, about the flying spaghetti monster, the pink unicorn and the flying teapot.”

Memorable words from Professor Richard Dawkins when asked “What if you’re wrong?” during one of his lectures about the existence of God.

His answer starts with the relegation of God to the realm of nonsense concepts which he then equates with mythologically cultural gods such as Zeus, Wotan, Thor and, of course, the Great JuJu up the mountain and the Great JuJu at the bottom of the sea. Although amusing in some ways, this reply is quite scathing because it reduces the beliefs of entire ancient civilisations to nothing more than ignorant sociological structures based on foolish thinking.

What makes it sound even more badly thought out is the fact that all of the gods Dawkins mentions are finite deities. Which means they would need to be created. By their restricted nature, none of them would be capable of creating the Universe. None of them can be considered almighty and unlimited in capability. They simply take their place in the pantheonic hierarchy. It could be argued that this is simply sleight of hand by Dawkins because it’s rather like trying to imbue a roadside puddle with the same credentials as all the mighty oceans of the world just because both are wet.

The fact is that the girl in the audience was asking what if Richard Dawkins was wrong about the omnipotent God. As mentioned above, Prof Dawkins immediately derogates him to nothing more than a myth. Clever. But not that clever.

Mythical gods have been around for a long time. Polytheism was rife in old testament days. So much so that when the God of Israel gave his commandments to the people through Moses he stated that it was wrong to put any gods before him. No graven images, no false gods.

“ You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”

One of the gods to whom the people used to give worship was Baal. In 1 Kings we find that the people have turned to him during a period of drought. The man of God, otherwise known as Elijah, in conversation with the prophets of Baal, instructed them to choose a bull, slaughter it and build an altar. Elijah would do the same. Whoever’s god consumed the sacrifice first would be the one to whom the people would turn their hearts.

So the prophets of Baal began their ritualistic dance but the sacrifice remained. Elijah even taunted them suggesting that Baal might be asleep or out of town. This only worsened things and the followers of Baal began (as was their custom) to cut themselves with knifes and lances until they were covered in blood. Still, the sacrifice remained.

Elijah, knowing exactly what he was doing, rebuilt the altar of the Lord, cut up the bull, laid it on the wood and instructed that everything was to be drenched. Three times. It was so wet that the trench he dug was full of water too.

Then Elijah called on the name of the Lord: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”

The God of Israel didn’t keep the man of God waiting and the fire fell. It fell so violently that it consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust and every single drop of water in the trench.

This is our God. This is the one we worship. This is why it can sometimes be very difficult when we see our faith mocked. And it begs the question: Why are there so many bright people who reject God and who seem so intent on diminishing him to the realm of invention?

Ricky Gervais, another celebrity atheist, regularly trots out a familiar chestnut which he uses to present ‘evidence’ that repudiates the reality of an all-powerful creator God. He’ll say that out of the 3000 gods he doesn’t believe in, the Christian is only a person who believes in 2999 fewer than him. However, we have to confront the fact that Gervais is only referring to a manufactured figure here and that he never actually mentions his source. In all likelihood he’s probably underestimating the number of gods in which he doesn’t believe because it's actually estimated that there have been around 18,000 worshiped since the genesis of man.

But the salient point is that Gervais’s gods are also minor in every respect.

So, from a point of ridicule, the atheists can’t actually have an argument where they even mention other gods because these are not comparable to the Christian God. They are neither infinite nor eternal. They are simply mythical and superstitious created personalities – rather like Baal: figments of the imagination.

The fact is, atheists don't actually have a dog in the fight. What happened in 1 Kings with the priests of Baal was that Elijah pretty much asked them what if they were wrong. In the only way they knew how, they then went on to demonstrate the authenticity of their god, and failed miserably. Dawkins is doing the same thing. However, the Elijahs of this world simply point to the obvious which is that you can’t get solid matter from nothing. The existence of time and space in a created realm should be sufficient to prove the existence of a Creator. Moreover, God goes way beyond this and fills the Universe with unnumerable worlds. It is a fact that there is intelligent design behind creation. For all Dawkins’s protestations even he will admit that the precision necessary to create life on earth does present a compelling argument. After all, it’s not just our existence, it’s also the existence of the richness of everything else which is necessary to make life sustainable – including all consuming fires. And it’s not like God has made everything unfathomably difficult to figure out. Nor has he made it impossible for us to draw the conclusion that all study of science should lead us to a greater understanding of who he is.

Nevertheless, they still appear to flounder to explain how, with or without God, nothing, eternity and infinity are possible. Scientists have actually tried in vain to create nothing but in doing so only end up creating something.

The least they can do is admit that they don’t know. But for some reason the existence of God is denied vehemently by so many. David Mitchell, the English actor, comedian and writer – when asked whether he believes in God - simply states that he is suspicious of the distain for people who find belief in God a comfort in their lives and the sort of desperation in some atheists to tear that comfort away from them. In fact, it’s because of this very visible distain that Mitchel says he is more likely to side with belief as he considers the often antagonistically viscious atheistic argument compelling evidence for the possibility that there might actually be something in it.

He has a point but let's not forget that he's an entertainer who completely negates the necessity for tough love and will always seek his popularity. Which means he'll skim over important aspects of faith such as the hardships of the apostolic calling and the necessary sacrifice inherent in God's love and our love for God. In the case of Christianity it's the fact that real, genuine Christianity is powerful and not for the faint of heart. It makes men of boys and strong women from girls. It is exacting and the mills of God do indeed grind slowly. They also grind exceedingly fine. Authentic Christians have been refined and sifted. There is certainly comfort in that but it can often feel like a harsh process so - should Mitchell experience the reality of discipleship - he (like many others) may not find it as comfortable as he imagines.

Dawkins too is unable to see this but he could at least try to sympathise with those who profess a belief in God. After all, many follow the way and yet blindly believe. They’ve never seen Jesus, they’ve never heard the voice of God. They may never have had one single spiritual or religious experience in their entire lives. But they keep believing. Jesus says that they are blessed. He also says that people are known by their fruits. Although Dawkins is polite and well-spoken there is very little avuncular kindness or empathy in him. Only a distain and desperation to try and disprove the existence of God by saying that only science can prove anything and that everything can be known through it. Even Professor Brian Cox is liberal minded enough to go beyond the known and into the realms of the philosophical don’t knows when he states that there’s so much we have yet to find out.

Of one thing we can be sure though, local gods don’t work anymore because most of them are tied to the earth. They’re supernatural deities born out of a need to worship something more powerful than we can ever be. So – as mentioned earlier - this is where the atheists cleverly place the God of the Israelites. And when on stage or a televised interview, the likes of Gervais and Dawkins skate over the big questions and slip away to receive their handsome cheques. Let’s not forget that talk-show hosts aren't paid to drill down into their guests. There’s also big money in celebrity atheism. There’s book revenue, after dinner speech money and talk show fees. All of which amount to spadefulls of cash. If you wish to listen to Dawkins banging on about the non-existence of God then it’ll cost you $100,000 dollars just for dinner. Ricky Gervais made history when he reportedly earned £1.41 million for just one single stand-up performance. His popularity means he earned 3 million just for presenting the Golden Globes.

In direct contrast we see that Jesus didn’t charge anything for barbecued fish on the beach nor did he levy a fee for his talks. Our Lord was empathetic and the people came to see him because he loved them, healed them and spoke at length about God with compassion.

By their fruits shall you know them.

Which brings us to us. Can we have sympathy – even empathy – for Dawkins?

Of course!

As an evolutionary biologist he has to deal with creationists who really do think that God made the entire Universe in 6 days. There are those who believe the earth is flat and those who believe in reincarnation. Some people are absolutely certain that Jesus is the incarnate God whereas others flatly deny that he is divine in any way. Even though around 84 percent of the global population define themselves as religious, there is so much diversity it actually means it’s simply not possible for everyone to be right. It’s rather like asking people about their driving ability. Research shows that most people, when questioned, regard themselves as ‘average’. However, the fact is, you can’t have a nation of average drivers. And so it is with religion: there are Hindus, Jews, Christian fundamentalists, Buddhists, witches, warlocks, bible belt theologians and folk dancing weirdos. Which means that there will be quite a few people who are, to put it simply, wrong. Nevertheless, it looks like Dawkins has completely thrown the baby out with the murky bathwater.

So could it possibly be that that he and his ilk: the very talented Ricky Gervais, the extremely knowlegeable Lawrence Krauss, the gifted Carl Sagan and Christopher Hitchens (both of whom sadly met an untimely end at 62), the treasured Stephen Fry are all just men who have simply struggled to see the hand of God at work in his Universe? If so then this is very surprising considering they are all particularly clever individuals.

Richard Dawkins’s response to the young lady who asked him what if he’s wrong was based on the central tenant that he believes she’d been culturally influenced. If so, then surely this is all that’s happened to the atheists. Dawkins is just another example of a capable individual who's been swept along in the wake of the secular belief that God does not exist and therefore certainly did not create the Universe. And yet they are at a total loss to explain it themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mmskXXetcg

He has given his angels charge over us.

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 13:00:48 GMT

Angels in our lives

When Satan tried to lead Jesus into sin, during his temptation in the wilderness, we sometimes think that - because he was at such a low ebb - the enemy might've been in with at least a small chance of success. Like it was somehow touch and go. Au contraire. Jesus was ready for him. It was a forgone conclusion and it wouldn’t have made any difference even if Our Lord was seconds away from death, Satan was never going to have this victory.

Jesus was there for a number of reasons. One was to right the wrong of our first parents by overcoming the Evil One. They fell easily into sin. They succumbed to the seduction and charm of the enemy. They lost their innocence. Jesus, the sinless one, the incorruptible one, was as ready for this test as he’d ever been. He knew it was coming and his face was set like flint. The fallen Archangel Lucifer stood just as much chance with Jesus as he would've if he'd taken his fiddle to Georgia.

And so it begins: Jesus is lead by the Holy Spirit into the desert. An arid and deserted place where he was without food. The human body can go without sustenance for between 30 and 50 days so we know Jesus was very weak. He was tired and drawn and at his most vulnerable as a man. And yet this was God the Holy Spirit’s doing. Jesus was being led into temptation. Later in scripture we hear him teaching people to ask God not to lead them into temptation. He also admonishes the sleeping disciples in Gethsemane saying that they should be praying not to be put to the test.

Jesus was very aware of the ways of God and was actually allowing us an insight into them: he tests and he allows temptation. He did it with the angels and many fell. He does it with us and many choose the broad way which leads to perdition.

There’s something to think about here in relation to our lives. There will be tests of faith and we will be tempted. The same Satan who was given permission to tempt Jesus is also given permission to tempt us.

What is surprisiing is how Satan attempts to use scripture to lead Jesus into error. Our Lord is taken to the parapet of the temple. This is the wall surrounding the highest part of the structure. Its purpose is a safety barrier which is there to stop people falling to their deaths. In this portion of scripture we find Jesus actually standing on this wall whilst Satan quotes Psalm 91.

It reads that “he will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up on their hands should you dash your foot against a stone”.

Jesus didn’t need to prove who he was. It was Satan who was always in two minds. If God did send his angels then he would know for certain that Jesus was the redeemer. But he would be the redeemer who sinned. On the other hand, if Jesus fell and was killed then it was one less miracle working prophet to worry about.

But Jesus - fortified by his prolongued fast and understanding perfectly that this was simply a formality - could see that it was a trap and that this leap of faith would result in him tempting God. Satan would have the double whammy: tempting God, and testing God. Should Jesus have acquiesced to the Evil One’s request then it would’ve made a mockery of God. This was obviously never going to happen.

But when we look a little further and ask why Satan chose this piece of scripture then it becomes a tad clearer why it’s important. For us.

Satan was absolutely correct when he quoted scripture. He knew full well the extent of angelic intervention in our lives. Let us never forget that he rejected God’s choice for him. This is mainly because he saw the role of the angels fully.

The words, “he shall give his angels charge over you” is no understatement. For Satan knows full well the extent of angelic intervention in our lives. We often think we’re in control. But we’re not. The angels are. They really have been given charge over us. We can do nothing unless our angels permit it. This is because we are indeed the wards of the angels. We have our free will, that’s a given, but if an angel decides to stop us in our tracks then we are brought to an abrupt halt. The fact is, God’s Holy Angels have far more authority over our lives than we can ever give them credit. We are children and we are partially sighted and God knows how much we need them.

The path which the Most High has chosen for us is the one along which the angel must prompt and lead. What this means is that the angels know where we are meant to be going in this life and it’s their job to get us through. It translates to the fact that God has given them unimaginable insights into our life journeys.

It is true that we are not complete until we have a relationship with God. We could have every material accoutrement in our lives and wealth beyond our wildest dreams. But if we don’t have God then what we have is an itch we cannot scratch. In this relationship with God it’s important that we try and build a relationship with our guardian angel as he will enable us to better see God’s will. He is the angel who will keep us in all our ways. It’s to him to whom we must submit because he speaks for God.

Like Jesus we are called to have a beautiful relationship with the angels. He knew they were there in the wilderness with him. It is true that, just like Elisha knew of the presence of the angels on the hills, he could have called on them during this tough time and they would have run to his aid. But he trusted God and the angels came to him at exactly the right time.

Like Jesus, we must also wait until it’s the right time. We know our angel is with us from the cradle to the grave. The church teaches us this. Like Jesus we must wait until the appointed times in our lives when our angel is allowed to bring us into his presence.

What helps us drawn near is this prayer: Promise to the Guardian Angel.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

Kneeling before Your Majesty, I thank You, O God, that You have given me a heavenly companion to be at my side, who leads me according to Your will, directs me to Your glory and reveals to me Your love.

I promise here in Your presence to love my holy companion like a brother, and to listen to him when he speaks to me through the voice of conscience. May he lead me safely to heaven!

Lord JESUS CHRIST, our Saviour, take my hand and place it in the hand of my Angel and make the sign of Redemption over it, as Your blessing, for my salvation.

In the name of the FATHER and of the SON and of the HOLY SPIRIT, Amen.

We must contemplate the fact that Jesus knew the angels well and that he was very aware of who and what he was. This is why he said to Pilate that 12 legions of angels would appear at his command. Jesus knew the Second Book of the Kings and had read about the angel who killed 185,000 men during one night. He knew that loosing this kind of destructive power would result in him being unable to complete his redemptive task. All he had to do though, was say the word. The angels would not have delayed.

We too must be aware of the strength of the angels in our lives. As scripture says, “Though and army encamps around me, my heart will not fear, though war breaks out around me, I will keep my trust”.

We must listen to the voice of the psalmist who says that “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling - my refuge, the Most High - no evil will befall you, no plague will approach where you dwell. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. ”

They harken to the voice of his word and “will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent. “

If we wish to live authentic Christian lives then we must go back to the desert and listen to the words of Our Blessed Lord before he dismisses Satan: “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him alone”.

This is our charge. We must learn to do this whilst also asking God to allow us not to be led into temptation or test.

We need to live clean and holy lives; angel clean.

Cum Sanctis Angelis

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 17:22:07 GMT

Consecration to one's Guardian Angel.

For those who wish to deepen their relationship with their guardian angel there's an organisation called Opus Sanctorum Angelorum which translates to Work of the Holy Angels.

The movement was founded by a group of priests and seminarians in 1949. The Holy See recognized it in 2010 as in full conformity with the Church's teaching. It is now under the direction of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross

The formation period is about a year and application for membership is through contacting Sister Maria Helena or Father Wolfgang Seitz on saintandrew.oa@gmail.com

An initial one off payment of $20 is required for study material and prayer cards.

Details of the organisation can be found at https://opusangelorum.org/about-us/

A little ramble

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 19:35:40 GMT

Just some thoughts

Some facts: We are flesh and have been made a little lower than the angels. We have emotions. We can’t be the same as the angels because they are spirit and don’t have emotions. They have feelings, of that we are certain, and are in a constant state of recognition for the works of Almighty God. Unlike ours, their hearts don’t rise and fall throughout the day. They are in a state of constancy and are perpetually before the Most High God. They enjoy the fullness of his love.

It must be fabulous to be an angel because they are elevated by his majesty and that must feel great. That must feel utterly fantastic because they have their faces – and therefore their hearts – united to God’s will. As for us, we try and grasp his will. We try and remain faithful but stumble about in the mud with the alcoholism, the schizophrenia, depression and eating disorders. We bear witness to human greed, avarice, materialism and temptations of all kinds. We see the love of money, the affects of sexual abuse, the drug addicted, the power-hungry psychopaths, the violence and war, the pathological narcissists and the Machiavellians. We’re bombarded with anxious thoughts, doubts and fear born out of a lack of trust. We’re on the footstool (Isaiah 66:1), whereas the angels are in heaven. They are so far removed from our lives on earth and yet they are also totally united to us.

They don’t have a sexuality because they are spiritual beings who have no need or desire to reproduce, whereas we do. They can’t cry but they can weep. Their empathy is off the scale compared to ours. They are in a constant state of real joy. Their cognitive processes are based around one thing: Laus et jubilatio. Which translates to praise and jubilation . They see us in the blood, mucus and vomit of life and yet they have such gratitude in their hearts for us because it means that they can serve God in his salvific plan. In their eyes we really are God’s children. And weirdly, strangely, to the astonishment of the angels, God became one of us. He walked, talked, forgave, healed and was tempted in every single way we are. And yet he remained without fault. That’s just amazing. For a human being to remain without fault. From cradle to grave he remained without sin. The reason for this is because Jesus is Truth personified. Nobody (least of all Satan) could get a lie past him.

He also had sensible, well balanced and adjusted parents who taught him well. Joseph and Mary were the best parents ever. Poor Joseph, having contended with his unworthiness he decided to divorce Mary informally. He wanted to spare her the humiliation so that she could find a more worthy husband who would be able to bring Jesus up better. And then Gabriel came and told him not to be afraid and to go and take Mary as his wife. The joy with which that man ran to tell Mary – whom he loved so deeply – will have spilt out into the world. I’d have liked to have been a pedestrian at that time just to catch a glimpse of what real joy looked and felt like. And Gabriel, forever diligent, would have been there to make sure he didn’t hurt his foot against a stone as he ran. Blessed Joseph, finally given permission by an Archangel to take Mary as he wife. Now there was nothing holding him back. He welcomed Jesus into the world and taught him about everything. Everything. But never pushed. Jesus made his own way into the workshop, he picked up the tools by his own choice. Why? Because he wanted to be like his dad. It was between the work benches and the lathe; amongst the chisels and mallets that Jesus grew close to Jesus.

And how Joseph's heart must have sank into such sadness as he brought Jesus into the realization that he was to be the saviour of the world who would be crucified for our sins. Sitting down at the table to talk to his mum whilst she prepared dinner and questioning the reality which was unfolding in the little house in Nazareth. And the workshop which has seen the father and son interaction where Jesus learnt about the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the Pharisees. Who broadened their phylacteries and lengthened their tassels to indicate their importance and closeness to God. And yet they were so far from the heart of the Most High that they wanted to kill Jesus. Kill him in the most horrible and tortuous way.

Although Jesus was no stranger to socialising, he often went looking for a lonely place. So he could be alone with God. To be with his father. The one he loved. To be alone in the presence of God. To know him intimately. That was Jesus’s joy. That was his life.

As for us, we forget to go and seek the presence of the Most High God. The one who is for us, the one who loves us unconditionally, the one who became flesh and felt so deeply. Our father, brother and best friend.

Lord, that we may know you deeply and drink of your love for us.

The problem with the world - and how to cure all of its ills

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 09:31:44 GMT

The greatest commandment

An American exorcist priest said of late that he believed the world has never been this far from God. Clearly this has done us no good. Homesexuality is now celebrated, transgenderism has garnered much support, Catholics are getting divorced and then remarrying (without having the previous marriage annulled), people are living with one another outside of marriage and marriage has fallen by the wayside, same sex marriage is now enshirined in law, abortion is rife with over 200,000 terminations performed per day worldwide, churches are emptying, atheism is openly preached by crusading academics, God is not allowed into schools and anyone who confesses belief in personified evil is viewed with suscpicion. And to top it all off the Church of England has now deleted any reference to Satan from it's current baptismal rite.

Society has changed: Lust and false religions are prevalent and people now practise "ethical" non-monogamy. There's no longer any sin. Satan doesn't have to hide as much because religious tolerance means that neo-paganism is now accepted as perfectly normal. Witchcraft goes under the guise of a nature-focused religion and everyone's new found freedom means they can do whatever they want providing it doesn't break man-made laws.

But what about God's law? What about Deuteronomy 6? What about The Greatest Commandment?

Read for yourselves and judge.

"These are the commandments and statutes and ordinances that the LORD your God has instructed me to teach you to follow in the land that you are about to enter and possess, so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah. You are to diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God and the testimonies and statutes He has given you. Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers, driving out all your enemies before you, as the LORD has said. In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?” then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household. But He brought us out from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.

And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day. And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”

We are all made in the image and likeness of God. If we listen and act on this portion of scripture and teach others by the way we live our lives and if everyone lived by this word then the world would be a different place.

It literally would be heaven on earth.

A little bit about me and some of my life.

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:15:09 GMT

I started building this website because I knew I had to teach and share. I began putting it together mainly because of the general lack of teaching and support for the laity in the Catholic church. I first became aware of this over 30 years ago when I went to see my newly arrived parish priest after I’d had a nasty run-in with a Satanist. It was my own fault because me and a mate were out on the town and we ended up trying to chat up these two girls - one of which happened to be a practising occultist. Her and I had the inevitable set-to and after taking her to scripture the spirit behind her gave me a right good kicking. Next day I made a beeline for the presbytery with my tail between my legs. Full of regret I was looking for a little sympathy, a bit of prayer and a measure of holy water.

However, there was no prayer for deliverance and certainly no laying on of hands. I felt a tad short-changed but put it down to the fact that our new parish priest had just moved in so must've been a little preoccupied. What I didn't realise was that I'd been to see a priest who was never going to be able to empathise or even sympathise with my situation because he didn't understand.

Still feeling a bit bruised and battered from the pummelling I'd had off that spirit, and still looking for that pastoral care, I found myself spending more time with this priest who had a preference for the Old Rite of mass. Let's call him Father T. He was very zealous and often to be found saying his latin Breviary or reading his Vulgate bible before the tabernacle. He was particularly influenced by the Cure d’Ars (St. John Vianney) and I was attracted to his personal level of holiness and aspired. However, I was somewhat concerned by the fact that whenever we got onto the subject of the gifts of the Spirit he always refuted any claims I made concerning their authenticity. I didn’t know very much at the time but what I did know was that I had a relationship with Our Blessed Lord, that the gift of healing was very real and that tongues was factual. I'd had hands laid on me a number of times and had been blessed with a very rich and powerful baptism in the Holy Spirit.

It was all so normal for me and I found it so strange that a parish priest could be so cautious of everything I said about renewal in the church. He warned that I shouldn't get involved because it was likely “of the Devil”. I was stunned because my experience of the charisms told me that they were indeed of God. I said "But it's scripture!!!" Then, in direct contrast to his previous claim he said that these things had been allowed by God in the early church to help get it started and were now no longer necessary. He sounded a bit confused and I wasn’t very convinced by either of his arguments so I busied myself trying to find out more. I had a housemate who prayed in tongues who was a member of a Pentecostal “church” and I wanted the gift. On his recommendation I read Baptised by Fire which is about the life of the well known Pentecostalist minister Smith Wigglesworth. I warmed to him tremendously and was in awe concerning the way he used to approach the enemy. He was a great advocate of glossolallia and his journey into it was inimitably Smith. The story of the simple Yorkshire plumber brought a smile to my face. They were fresh and crisp Spirit filled days and eventually, after much asking and trying, I slowly began speaking the language of angels. I was very pleased with myself. I now had a charism ��

Life at Saint Joseph’s continued and as Father T kept the church open until very late at night it meant I had access to the sanctuary pretty much anytime I liked. The result was that I too developed a very tabernacle-oriented prayer-life and spent much time with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. It also meant I met a number of Father’s traditionally oriented followers – many of whom were very Latin Mass Society. I attended talks and got involved in activities which often revolved around a Tridentine mass or the Rosary. There were times when I felt very close to God but I could not reconcile my affinity with the charisms with, what appeared to be, the ever widening gap between what I knew to be true and the staunch conservative beliefs of these very traditionalist Catholics. I even tried my hand at serving during the Tridentine mass. However, I found that whenever I mentioned the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual consolation or the Holy Spirit himself, the shutters came down. We were allowed to talk about things like the Legion of Mary, how women should go back to wearing manitillas and how outrageously sacrilegious it was to receive Our Blessed Lord in the palm of our hands. Obviously, spiritual warfare - as I knew it - was completely off the table as well. So was Medugorje and Taize. The former was considered Satanic and the latter regarded as an ecumenical abuse; dangerous things which we Catholics should avoid least we "lose our faith".

However, I’d actually been to Medugorje twice and told Father T about the many rosaries and open confessions. I may as well have sprouted horns and a forked tail because my report of the goings on in the little Bosnian village were met with derision. I now see that he failed to understand the concept of a kingdom divided against itself being unable to stand. Each week there were many hundreds (if not thousands) of people attending confession, mass was being celebrated and there was devotion to Our Blessed Lady, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the promotion of the recitation of the Rosary. This, and the proclamation that prayer from the heart was the only type of prayer, is something which clearly made the Devil mad but he was certainly never behind it.

As for Taize, he was set against it because he'd heard a rumour that the Blessed Sacrament was being housed in the tabernacle with the bread used in Anglican services. I went to Taize and can bear witness to the fact that this was far from the truth. And as for an ecumenical disaster: poor old Father T simply refused to accept that God had poured out his Spirit on this place. I could see that many masses were being celebrated daily in a place where young people were happy to spend time being themselves. I went to daily mass in just about every language, spent time before the Blessed Sacrament and praised God with the brothers during the evening service with other young people from different countries and denominations. Taize was a truly vibrant and ecumenical place of rest.

Nevertheless, I couldn't convince Father T whose main issue appeared to centre around the fact that it was started by a non-Catholic and run as a community consisting mainly of Catholics and Protestants . If the truth be known he was probably aware that representatives from Taize were involved in the Second Vatican Council. He resented Taize because he believed embracing it would somehow water down his Catholicism. I told him John Paul 2nd had gone there and enjoyed it but his response was to accuse him of being a weak Pope. What worried me was that this just simply wasn't true. John Paul radiated the love of God and was loved by so many young people. I've personally never seen such a strong individual but it's obvious now that I could never have won this one. I could see that Father T considered that anything which smacked of renewal or ecuminism should be avoided like leprosy. If the dynamic was influenced, even in the most minute way, by Protestants then clearly it would sufficiently dilute our faith so we’d all end up going to Hell in a handcart.

One thing we did have in common though was a devotion to Our Blessed Lady. He often talked at length about the power of the Rosary and I fully concurred because I'd done battle with the enemy which resulted in the closure of an occult shop through the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother. Three of us prayed a 54 day novena and came under heavy underworld artillary fire so I honestly thought I’d have a comrade in arms with this priest. But I was wrong. Apart from believing Medugorje a product of the Evil One he'd also discovered backmasking and was an advocate of many conspiracy theories.

I eventually realised I was being indoctrinated. His heavy influence meant that I actually found myself waking up in the morning concerned about the mark of the beast , the faults and failing of the 'new' mass, ignorant priests who couldn't see how errant the church had become and Papal inadequacies .

After seeing me get nowhere with Fr. T, and concerned about the damage he was doing, a close friend of mine - who worked under her bishop in the healing and deliverance ministry - suggested I try actually taking him to what's written in scripture about the gifts of the Spirit. So I decided to give it a go. I was only a young lad in my twenties and felt quite intimidated standing on the presbytery doorstep holding my bible. The Reverend Father was much older than me, had survived a Japanese prisoner of war camp and had been a Jesuit for decades. Nevertheless, I figured that, as scripture was the truth, he’d have to yield to Saint Paul and take onboard his teaching. Sadly, my labours bore no fruit. He did ask what tongues were but when I actually quoted Saint Paul and told him it was the Spirit interceding to God with a like mind, he just got perplexed - and a little afraid.

Although he believed in the fall of Lucifer (and his presence in the world), evil spirits, angels and Archangels, Hell, Purgatory, transubstantiation, eucharistic miracles, Lourdes, Fatima, the sacraments, sacramentals and the traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit he was unable to process anything Paul said about the charisms. He was always going on about what was sound and what wasn't and one day I asked him just exactly what he thought was sound. Angered, his reply was “everything pertaining to the 1545 Council of Trent”.

I eventually realised he was looking for Satan under every stone and in every corner but was failing to see that he was just being used. This became very apparent during a talk he gave about the legitimacy of Medugorje and how fraudulant it was.

Further evidence to support the fact that he was being led astray came from the fact that he lent very heavily in the direction of the teachings and practice of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Sadly, Lefebvre was unable to reconcile his differences with the Catholic church and was excommunicated by Pope John Paul 2nd for consecrating four bishops against his express instructions.

The ruling of the Vatican should've been a warning for my parish priest but unfortunately Lefebvre's excommunication was only seen as an authentic and justifiable reason why he was right. The fact was, Father T ended up walking a fine line between error and outright rebellion. He tried to convert many back to the Tridentine mass with his rationale being that it was somehow superior to the Novus Ordo Missae (new rite of mass).

I finally concluded that what Our Lord said about old wine skins (Luke 5: 37 - 39) was indeed true. I guessed it was best for everyone if I slowly withdrew. It’s not that I’m against altar rails and Latin masses but when false or superstitious doctrine is taught in a cultish way and scripture is refuted or negated then it's best to get out. Catholicism is about inclusiveness and anything cultish or bordering on mind-control is always exclusive and therefore never of God.

Sadly Fr T was never able to accept the changes brought about during the Second Vatican Council. He completely rejected its ecumenical emphasis on unity in favour of the outdated belief that there was no salvation outside of the Catholic Church.

And so it came to pass, that after three years of trying to convert everyone back to the old ways he eventually gave up and returned to London. He died at the ripe old age of 95 still maintaining the same beliefs. I look back and can see that the enemy gave me a hard time during this period of my life because - it's true what they say - the Devil resides in the details. He's very happy there because he can sow seeds of confusion but if he thinks you're on to him he'll throw everything he's allowed to at you. He'll kick dust in your face which ultimately leads to chaos. He wants you off the scent and getting into pointless arguments such as whether to stand or kneel to recieve Our Lord in holy communion.

Father T was soon replaced with.............. wait for it.............. an openly homosexual priest.

Sigh.

Still, at least a punishing God and the fires of Hell were off the table.

The arrival of our new priest meant we got a new church built but there was still the absence of a praying community. This I could just about live with but when I found myself working hard as a truck driver whilst my gay parish priest enjoyed lengthy and lavish holidays to faraway places with his boyfriend I got the hump. If this wasn't bad enough I also got to see first hand his indulgent taste for expensive food and fine wines as I was loading my meagre rations during a trip to the supermarket. I felt somewhat betrayed, frustrated and offended and yearned to fellowship with genuine committed christians. This desire for greener grass resulted in a move to the local University town where I started living a new and stimulating life in the city.

Still working hard as a trucker I found myself out of the frying pan and into the fire as I became acutely aware that my new parish church was also populated by a community of priests with very traditional values. Many of whom would have had us all back to pre-Second Vatican Council days. I found no fellowship. In fact, I found a closed shop. I discovered again that the priests were unfamiliar with important scriptural texts and had little to no idea about the reality of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Birettas were worn with pride and the rosary was rattled off like the times table but there was nothing resembling fellowship for anyone who longed to praise God with hands uplifted. I went to mass in work boots (I'm a biker) and was met by learned men-of-the-cloth who, sadly, had no idea about the tough realities of ordinary life.

I knew I needed community so I began fellowshipping with a little group of non-Catholic Christians in an upper room a few hundred yards from the church. New to the area and finding their way we had some beautiful times in the prescence of God as we sang and praised Him at the top of our voices. Although very grateful that the pastor played piano and guitar so perfectly and with such skill and resonance I realised I couldn't continue with this congregation because they harboured anti-Catholic sentiments and believed I needed converting.

I eventually took some advice from my spiritual director who said it wouldn't look good if a Catholic was seen as one of the founding fathers of the little gathering which they'd called a church. However, as it was non-apostolic it meant erroneous teaching. I found myself in a no-win situation so decided I'd probably be better off down the pub. They're still going nearly 30 years later but I feel sorry for them because they've yet to discover the reality of Our Lady, her Immaculate Heart and her coercive power. Nor have they ever received Our Lord in holy communion or enjoyed his radiating presence from the monstrance.

So life carried on but the only problem is that the Devil also carries on and I have sometimes found myself feeling very much on my own. With scant support I’ve had to fight on and it hasn’t been easy. I've come close to giving up sometimes. But in it all I’ve got closer to God. He’s taken me to some tough and lonely places and I’ve discovered an intimacy with him that I know many don’t have. I’m no saint, believe me. And I can personally testify to God’s patience and mercy. He really is slow to anger and rich in mercy - thankfully. But when you do kindle his anger then it's a scary place to be. Jesus is quite right when he says we should respect highly the one who has the power to cast any one of us into Hades (Luke 12 vs 5). Rule number one: be respectful of God and don't take your life or his mercy for granted. I like riding my motorcycle, don't like being told what to do and struggle to conform. But I don't actually want to end up with the real hell's angels.

I know I don’t deserve to know what I know. And I will always be indebted to God for enabling me to walk the spiritual path which I’ve been set. One of his greatest gift to me was a friend who I will always refer to as my second mum. I discovered years later that she was actually one of God's chosen ones. A rare gift indeed. But as it is written, "I shall not leave you orphaned", he is always true to his words. She was indeed a mother to me and without her I could not have made it.

Almighty God has honoured me in so many other ways too. The battle I've fought hasn't been an easy one. I've met the fallen Archangel Lucifer face to face. I've received personal threats from him which have made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I've looked into the eyes of a demon.

I've worshipped and fellowshipped with angels and can testify to the reality of their society.

Most importantly I’m grateful for the Holy Spirit's advice and the Lord's holiness and kindness to me. He's been gracious and has never given up. Neither has the Father. He's been very patient and now it's time to share some of my journey and speak about what being a Roman Catholic means to me.

It's written that To whom much has been given, much will be asked in return. I am therefore required to live a celibate eremetic life. I have a relationship with God who, when he feels it will be of benefit, allows the Evil One a bit of slack for my edification - just as he did when I inadvertantly chatted up the Satanist in the pub that night. I don’t profess to be a saint but I am working on it. I don't pray my rosary as often as I should, I lack patience, get bored, suffer from worldliness, am somewhat materialistic and have heard the words of absolution many many times. Lately I've become more aware that the apostolic calling is a very costly gift and that any of the wisdom gifts are heavy crosses to bear. But my faith is strong. I don't argue with the Church and I fully get that she has authority over scripture because it was her who gave it to us. I genuinely understand that the Catholic church has total authority over marriage and sin and that it really is the true and authentic holy and apostolic church. I'm proud to be part of it and am grateful that I fall under the tutelage of the teaching magisterium. Holy mother church is a good and generous mother to her children.

I tend to be aware of my guardian angel a lot more these days so regularly bend his ear. I strongly recommend devotion to the Archangels and the recitation of the Litany of the Holy Angels to anyone who wishes to enter more deeply into the spiritual life.

So what have I learnt through it all? Well, I now understand that the gift of tongues is - as Saint Paul says - the least of the gifts. When the proverbial hits the fan you're much better off knowing someone with the gift of hospitality or any number of the other gifts - traditional or charismatic. But tongues will always help because it's the Holy Spirit praying within you.

I also understand that, when I knocked on the presbytery door of Saint Joseph's all those years ago, I represented the laity. I was just an everyday bloke but I carried knowledge and experience which was similar to that of the ordinary people of God who went to church every Sunday. But the priest just didn't see that - he failed to see that God is with his people. Nor did he see that the finger of God was behind Medjugorje, Taize, the gifts of the Spirit or the Second Vatican Council. He wasn't in favour of modern hymns. He thought the name Yahway was way too progressive and yet was quite happy to say Halleluia (Allelu Yah). I did tell him he was still saying it but he didn't want to know. Thus he allowed the kingdom of God to pass him by whilst he was face down blindly drinking the old wine. Poor Father T was absolutely scared witless that his catholicism would somehow get diluted or eroded by anything ecumenical and - like Archbishop Lefebvre - the spirit of the the second Vatican Council was unable to penetrate because pride really is deadly. I've learnt that trying to fill old skins with new wine can often be a fool's errand so I now tend to save my energy for sowing in fertile soil.

I've also learnt that there is fighting within the church. This doesn't look good. The Pope now has enemies and there is squabbling within the ranks. We are like children who are arguing and making too much noise. This has to stop because there is a war to fight. Satan is more then happy to have division within the church. Priests seem blind and inattentive to the fact that we're in conflict and simply get on with the business of marrying people, sermonising them, baptising them and celebrating mass by rote. However, there are frontline troops in the world who are battling evil face to face whilst many of our priests sleep. I find it frustrating that the gifts of the Holy Spirit aren't being preached and that people are missing out on their baptism in the Spirit. Jesus talked about it, the Apostles had it, they prayed for it for others and they were blessed with it - even before they were baptised with water. The presence and active ministry of the Holy Spirit is a beautiful gift and should be part of the church's pastoral care.

So why aren't we getting it? I don't think seminarians are being taught how to pray for this baptism and when they leave seminary and start work in parishes they are unprepared to teach the full message of Christ.

It reminds me of the following scripture:

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions."

As Catholics we are not studying our scripture so many don't know about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons for this is because we're not being shown how to study. This needs to change. I've taken priests to scripture on a number of occasions and I shouldn't have to. I've also taken a number of fellow catholics to their bibles. Sometimes to their chargrin or irritation. I remember speaking about the gifts of the Spirit at a life in the Spirit seminar many years ago. I was doing quite well until a man who was much senior in years asked me what I did for a living. I was an articulated lorry driver at the time. He humphed. Seriously. I'm sure that if I were Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford then I might have been taken more seriously. But then that's life. If you're on the tools then they won't take notice. We know this from the life of Christ.

On another occasion I went to a type of prayer meeting at my local church. It was our first gathering and I was talking about angels and how they are all male in nature. The group looked to the priest for confirmation and he just shook his head. I then got a hammering from everyone for not being inclusive - they thought I should make gender neutral references to our angelic brothers. In their eyes I was well out of order. I told them that although angels are spirit, all those in the bible appear as male. But they were unconvinced. The woman I was sitting next to said she wasn't sure whether she believed in angels at all. I was astonished. I recited the words of Gabriel to Mary ("I am Gabriel and I stand in the courts of the Most High God") and asked her what bit she'd missed. Thankfully another woman mentioned that there were some books on angels in one of the cupboards. She opened it and they cascaded everywhere. They were full of scriptural references to the angels. All of them were male. To my knowledge the group never met again because there was a huge flood which closed the presbytery.

So, in sum, I've taken both priests and those involved in the occult to scripture and I shall always have a place in my heart for Smith Wigglesworth because he was on fire for God. But this I know: Smith always said he believed there was something more. He couldn't put his finger on it. But if he ever did then he wouldn't have hestitated and he'd have become Roman Catholic.

I also have a deep respect for the faith of those in the church who wish to attend to God via the traditionalist ways. However (and there's always a however), it's important that they do understand and take to heart the Latin during the service of Benediction. When the Tantum Ergo is sung we must all pay attention to the words "Novo cedat ritui.
Præstet fides supplementum". Which translate to " And let the old practice [ documentum ] Give way to the new rite.

https://www.catholicireland.net/that-little-springtime-frere-roger-of-taize/

The hardships of the apostolic calling.

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 13:57:18 GMT

The dangers of wealth.

When one reads chapter 11 of St Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth one comes across verse 3 where Paul says he fears for the members of the young community. His concerns are founded on the fact that some charismatic men (who are heavily critical of him and full of their own importance) have been teaching and preaching and saying that they too are apostles.

These new teachers are being well paid for their work but Paul is concerned that his very tolerant and perhaps liberal minded Corinthian flock might have a false gospel preached to them by men who prize money highly. He refers (perhaps jokingly) to them as eminent ‘super apostles’. They’re clearly better speakers than him but he believes they are influencing the Corinthians negatively so he tries to discourage the church from giving them credence.

Paul writes about how he feels his continued apostlolic support is a way to protect the flock from opportunists such as these whom he regards as false apostles and deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

Aside from his concern that these ‘amazing’ men will lead the people into error, he is also acutely aware that they are being paid handsomely to spread their word. Paul points out that - in direct contrast - he didn’t take a penny from them and that to ensure their faith is kept intact that – whatever money the Corinthians are giving to support the new preachers - he will take much less. He goes on to justify his apostleship by highlighting the fact that he's no stranger to hardship for the Word by reeling off a list of the circumstances he’s had to endure including beatings, whippings, imprisonments and also being shipwrecked a number of times.

It's clear that Paul loves the gospel and the church in Corinth and his sentiments are matched by his willingness not to impose on them financially. He’s clearly emulating Christ’s teaching on wealth.

He does this also when he writes to Timothy where he warns in 1 Timothy that “Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction." He goes on to say that "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."

When speaking to Timothy he says that being a man of God he should “flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness” and that he should ”Fight the good fight of the faith. Paul goes on to say that Timothy should “Take hold of the eternal life to which [he has been] called when [he] made the good confession before many witnesses.

The main point of this article is that St. Paul’s visceral feelings concerning pastoral care dictate that it should be disenfranchised from money. In additon, self-righteous people who want to boast about their supposed apostolic ability and status should be sounding off about the hardships they've endured for the sake of their beliefs and not about how deserving they are in apostleship.

This is in direct contrast to the actions of those modern-day super apostles who promote the prosperity gospel. The likes of Jessie Duplantis, Paula White, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Crufalo Dollar, Gwen Shamblin-Lara (deceased), Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyers have made millions from preaching a non-suffering version of Christianity. Most of them own private jets and live luxurious and extravagant lifestyles which are far removed from the hardships endured by Saint Paul.

In his epistle to Timothy he suggests that he instructs “those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”

These multi-millionaire preachers (a billion in the case of Copeland) might be well served if they paid even a modicum of attention to the life and teaching of Saint Paul.

If they did then they’d find they were Instructed “to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life".

In our case, we must do as the Lord says and never put wealth before God because it’s impossible to serve both God and money. If we are wealthy then we should look for ways to serve the Most High. If we are not then there's nothing wrong with looking for ways to gain wealth so that we can serve God though it and with it. However we must continually be aware that we must always be on the lookout for the enemy whose ways are deceptive and lead to greed. Paul himself states that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" and says that "it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

We may be more likely to believe the prosperity gospel preachers if there was evidence that they share their wealth and could provide confirmation that they'd suffered a little for the gospel. Instead, they cite personal comfort as a reason for needing 3 private jets.

1 Timothy 6.8-9 : “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

Thank God for the angels.

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:35:56 GMT

The battles we fight.

Jesus nailed it when he told the scribe – who was adamant that he wanted to follow him - that foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests but that the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. So we know that trying to follow in the footsteps of the master will not be easy. We’re warned, in the gospel of John, that we’ll have trouble in the world. And Job 5:7 affirms this when the writer says that man is born into trouble. It’s a sure thing, as sure as sparks fly upwards. We are a nation at war and we fight the world, the flesh and the evil one.

But we’re not fighting a losing battle because Jesus has overcome the world. And we’re made in his image and likeness.

Although we might like to think we’re the only creatures who reflect this image of God. We’re not. The angels are too. They have a closeness to Almighty God which means that they can pretty much outshine any one of us in every way because they are all without fault. None of the angels in the heavenly realm have sinned. Not the most lowly nor the most powerful.

Because they have not sinned and enjoy a deep relationship with the Most High they are more ordered than us. They have no need for the confessional, they are stronger than us (they possess super-human strength) and they all enjoy an intimacy with God to which we can only aspire. They exist with their whole beings continually beholding the countenance of God. They see more, know more and have knowledge which is far deeper, complex and far reaching than ours.

Nevertheless, the holy angels cannot get any holier and the fallen angels cannot get anymore wicked. Conversely though, a holy person can rise to greater holiness and a nasty person can become more evil. This is because the demons which afflict them are so wedded to evil that those who allow them great influence over them become more entrenched in their sin and lies. This is why psychopaths rarely change and why those who have chosen the path of the Evil One find it extremely difficult to switch to the path of the righteous and walk the highway of holiness.

Demons know we can grow in holiness and seek to discourage us at every turn. They want us jealous, proud, selfish and lying. And totally in denial.

Their sin was centred around all of the above and the Godless display all of these traits. We see this in scripture when Jesus is accused of being a Samaritan demoniac. It was never Jesus who was being influenced by the enemy, it was his fellow countryman. In the same way the demons are jealous of our goodness. They were jealous of it before we sinned and utterly hate the holiness inherent in the saints.

They try to gain control over us and do it through nasty malevolent and manipulative people.

The result of all this demonic influence in others is often manifested in mortal sin. One of which is hate. Demons can get a person so focussed on such deep hate that they actually end up becoming detached from reality. It is a fact therefore, that people can actually be driven to lose their minds. Reason ceases to function and insanity rules. Hence the term insane with jealousy.

This is why we need our guardian angels so much. As scripture says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to possess salvation?'' ( Hebrews (1:14).

They serve God, for our sake. They see our walk. They know that we’ll experience trouble - even when we are in the womb. But they’re in this with us. Always positive, always fighting our corner. They always have our back. They ministered to Jesus during his time alone in the wilderness and they minister to us during our tough times.

Our angels constantly behold the face of Almighty God. This is the God who has given to every person who has ever lived a guardian angel. And every new life which comes into the world throughout every earthly generation will be guarded by an angel. And then there are the Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Principalities, Powers, Cherabim and all of the magnificent Seraphs. Hell doesn’t stand a chance. It never did.

Alleluia.

Wolves in sheep's clothing

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 14:58:37 GMT

In Matthew 22 verses 1 – 14 Jesus explains entry into the kingdom through the use of a parable about wedding guests who find excuses not to come to the feast. Of those who eventually do accept an invitation, there was one who had made no effort to dress up.

This is symbolic of those “Christians” who will have the front/the cheek to act as though they’re fully committed and deserving.

This is another one of those parables which doesn’t fit with what we would actually find happening in real life. If it were so then there’s probably little chance of a wedding guest getting as far as the table without proper attire. But for some reason the other guests in the parable didn’t take any notice, were unaware or were just too polite to say anything.

The parable implies that the guest did not come dressed as the others who had diligently prepared for the occasion and who were being respectful of the king and his son. Their attire was fitting for such a lavish affair.

The guest however, came looking only for the good things which might be on offer. On the lookout for some tasty morsel. The harvest fell in autumn so weddings were popular around this time. Perhaps the sartorially without had simply come to spend a few days drinking new wine - free of charge.

The point is this though, that he had no deference in his heart for the occasion and was admonished by the king for his lack of respect. Indefensible, he was bound hand and foot and thrown out.

The wedding feast is symbolic of the communion table. This is the meal where the sacrificial lamb has been slain. We partake of the body and blood of Christ during this meal. But Jesus warns us that there will be some in our midst who are simply sniffing around the church looking to see if there’s anything worth having. They’re the chancers, the opportunists, the charlatans. They’re also the wolves. They come prowling, making pretence.

Jesus clearly differentiates between them and us: he warns that some will come dressed in sheep’s clothing but are actually ravenous beasts.

We see this is Matthew 12 vs 14 when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus because they could see he was likely to heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. He did and in their jealousy they began to hatch a plan to murder him. The often missed point is that they did this on the Sabbath. Jesus the lamb had demonstrated his goodness by a justifiable work of charity on the the Lord's day. Whereas, in direct contrast, the wolves - dressed as men of God - were planning on how to put to death a good man. On the Sabbath. Let me just say that one more time: On the Sabbath. And yet the Pharisees were unable to see the hypocrasy and injustice.

Jesus warns us many times about this hypocrisy. In Matthew 6 vs 5 he states that we are not to be like the hypocrites who make a public show of prayers. Also in Matthew he says “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.”.

Other translations say “wise/cunning/cautious as snakes and as gentle/harmless/pure as doves”

The point is though, that there will be those who make a pretence of being like us but without the appropriate fruits. Without genuine kindness in their hearts, there is no gentleness and patience of God. But most importantly there is no love. They are the hypocrites who will tread your pearls under foot and then turn on you and tear you to pieces. They are the dogs of whom Jesus speaks.

Many of these people will be those who have stood in church and prayed out loud. Perhaps even whilst standing next to you. Many will have put their good works on show. Others will be false prophets spreading erroneous doctrine. We know their fate. Jesus will say "I do not know you".

We are in difficult times. Whilst the world hates us, we must be dressed for service. We must be waiting and prepared to give our account. We must be alert. If we do not pay attention; should we follow our own selfish desires: we will be destroyed. Remember how Jesus explained so beautifully in chapter 16 of Luke that the children of this world are very shrewd in their dealings. We, as Christians, must know this and understand what charlatanry is afoot.

The lowest level of Purgatory

Sun, 21 May 2023 21:29:15 GMT

Vanhedra

There is indeed a lowest level of Purgatory and the souls who inhabit this aspect of the realm disregarded the commandments. They are the dregs of humanity and should be in Hell. But God is infinitely good and cannot refuse a penitent soul - no matter how grievous their crime. Just the word sorry is sufficient. However, whilst they inhabit this harsh reality, their only consolation is that they're not in Hades. They have brought shame and reproach upon themselves and this underworld domain reflects their corruption and deceit.

It's true that the souls in purgatory cannot help themselves and that they're dependent on our prayers.

They suffer because they have been cast from God's presence and must sit in shame. In this domain there is no solace except for the fact that they're not counted amongst the ruined souls.

They are formally banished. They are "dismissed with discredit" to this shadow of Hades. There is no honour for them.

There are many who sit lamenting in chains the fact that they have done wrong. For it is written in the Book of Lamentations: "He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains." (3:7)

Manacled, they are consigned to the floor of a cell where they must wait until the Lord of Hosts favours them with an elevation born from the fact that some good soul has prayed.

Here it is written of them: "Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labour; they fell down, with none to help ." (Psalm 107:10-16)

The psalmist goes on to say that "they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart ". It is God who will eventually bring them out of this darkness and the shadow of death and free them from their afflictions with the truth.

The definition of the shadow of death is as follows: Purgatory is a shadow of Hades ; Hell is death. For them there could only be one further step down and that's eternal darkness.

We see their predicament revealed in psalm 91: "Friend and neighbour you have taken away; my one companion is darkness."

Prayer:

Lord, remember the forgotten souls in Purgatory, especially the ones in the lowest level. Have pity on them in their wretchedness. Especially those consigned to the nether realm of Disgrace where, bar the fact that they are not in Hades, there is no honour, no solace, no relief.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you amongst women and blessed it is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us who sin. Now and at the time of our death.

Amen.

The parable of the Good Samaritan

Sun, 21 May 2023 14:24:54 GMT

Unselfish acts are the way to my father's kingdom

The parable of the ‘good Samaritan’ consists of two Jewish men of God ignoring the plight of a man who lay injured by the side of the road. What makes it poignant is that they should have gone to his aid but instead they walked on the other side and ignored a fellow Jew. The job of first aid was taken on by a Samaritan.

The parable is a response to a test set by a lawyer who was trying to trap Jesus. This learned man asked what he has to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus, being a highly intelligent and spirit-led man, turns the question back to him by asking what he reads in the law. "How does that read?" Jesus does this knowing the man's more than capable of answering. But he also knew that the lawyer wouldn't leave it there. Jesus commends him on his response where he recites the first and second commandment but then the lawyer asks "Who is my neighbhour?". Rather than answer him directly, Jesus chooses to illustrate the kind of life one needs to live to inherit the kingdom. So he turns his heart to a parable.

Jesus had an amazing talent for putting things in the parabolic. This is another one of his stories which depicts a set of circumstances which many of the Jewish people will have found almost inconceivable and totally unpalletable.

They are narratives with a good beginning, middle and end to which all people can relate. In the case of this particular allegory we find Jesus refering to a road that most people would have known well: roughly 18 miles long with a steep elevation which made it easy to go down but difficult to go up, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a dangerous one where people could be easily ambushed. Therefore, travellers would often go in groups.

However, the main reason this parable is so powerful was due to the fact that Jews and Samaritans actively hated each other. Jews referred to Samaritans as half-breeds and would rather wade through the river Jordan than travel through Samaria. The feeling was mutual and in Luke 9:51-56 we find Jesus unwelcome in a Samaritan village. Nevertheless, this might not be solely down to him being a Jew but may have been more to do with the fact that he was going up to Jerusalem where the Jewish temple is located.

Much of the animosity between the Jews and Samaritans was born out of the fact that they worshipped in separate temples. Historically the Samaritans (early Israelites) worshiped on Mount Gerizim when they entered the promised land.

It’s here we find Jacob’s Well and Jesus taking his rest. As the scene plays out we encounter the Samaritan woman seemingly astonished – and perhaps quite indignant - that a Jewish man would ask a favour of her. One of the first subjects she raises during this “conversation” is the fact that the early Israelites worshiped on the aforementioned mountain and that the Jews no longer do so because their temple is located in Jerusalem. Therefore, storyline content concerning the neighbourliness between a Samaritan and Jew was a very topical way of answering the lawyer’s question.

In this case, the starting point for the parable is enmity. Unfortunately, the content is born out of the fact that the learned man was trying to trip Jesus up. In scripture we see this many times and that it always appears to be a big mistake. Take for example the rich man who also asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Although acting piously and saying he’d kept all of the commandments, he had, in fact, put money – and therefore self - first.

This is not the case with the Samaritan man when he finds the Jewish man badly injured on the road. Jesus’s response to the question “And who is my neighbour?” is revealed after both the Priest and the Levit have crossed to the other side of the road. From an early age Jesus had watched the hypocrisy of those who’s elevated positions meant they should have lived by good example. The characters of the Levite and the priest were chosen because they emphasised his experience. Their response to the plight of a fellow human being was very Pharisaical in that neither chose to practice the compassion of God.

Then the Samaritan man comes and administers first aid. This was Jesus uniting Jew and Samaritan by the word of God. This was him explaining exactly what loving one’s neighbour meant. We find ourselves eternally in debt to the lawyer who asked the question “Who is my neighbour?” because the answer will be with us for millenia after millenia. Jesus, always uniting. Jesus, Prince of Peace. Jesus, dissolving hate.

This parable inspires generosity. The Samaritan man had no obligation to tend to the Jewish man’s needs and certainly no further obligation to pay for his welfare at one of the inns. But his compassion went beyond the call of duty and spilled into a completely unselfish act.

This is Jesus explaining how we make our way to heaven. This is Jesus explaining that living a selfish life is not the way to inherit his father’s kingdom. This is Jesus showing us how the kingdom of his father works.

The parable of the talents

Tue, 16 May 2023 18:30:53 GMT

Matthew, Chapter 25 verses 14 - 30

Matthew 25:14-30

Not much attention is paid to this aspect of the gospel when read in church. Very often the priest will begin waxing lyrical about a totally unrelated topic – which is a shame because there is much to be gleaned from what Jesus is telling us.

The first thing I pick out is that the master is a very wealthy man indeed. He doles out 8 talents between his servants. This isn’t just a few grand, this is millions. Absolutely millions. Even just one talent is worth between 1.5 and 3 million in today’s money.

Jesus, always the master of understatement in many of his parables, is talking about a phenomenal sum of money. This is carefully divided amongst the master’s trusted men before he leaves for a distant location.

“immediately.

No business plan, no spreadsheets, no advice – nada. Off he goes. One may ask why no advice or guidance but the term servant was different then as to now. Servants were chief amongst staff. It was a title which was most highly esteemed and honourable – these men were trusted stewards and ran large estates. When taking care of business they operated by proxy. That is to say, if they said it or wanted it then it was as good as the owner of the estate saying it. They took care of the accounts, they took care of business.

One of the salient points of this parable is the fact that the master didn’t just dump insurmountable amounts of wealth on these poor fellows without thought. He gave it out according to ability. So he clearly knew his men well and was aware of their strengths and weaknesses. He knew he’d see a return on his wealth and he knew he could trust his managers to do a good job.

So the one who’d been given 5 talents worked hard and spent his time wisely and made 5 more. Which is a miracle in itself. The one who’d been given 2 also doubled his profit. We see this today in the world of merchant banking. Deals go down worth billions. But unlike today’s banking system, the deals of biblical times were not underwritten which means the master really had to trust his servants to make wise investments.

Then we come to the providing the accounts bit where we see that the manager who’d been given charge of 1 talent had made no effort whatsoever to make even the smallest commonsensical investment. He didn’t even put the money with bankers for it to gain interest, he hid the talent.

One can imagine the Jewish people of the time gasping in wonder at this. Firstly, if one hides a vast sum of wealth then there’s no guaranteeing it’ll remain where you left it. So doing so was just silly. Most people will have wondered why he didn’t put the money in the bank for safe-keeping alone.

Jesus explains that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. What he’s saying is that people in this aspect of the kingdom have to put in the effort just like the hard working servants in this parable. The thing is, this work starts now. It’s now we graft. It’s practise for the heavenly kingdom. Do we really think that all there is to do in God’s kingdom is to sit around like blobs? Seriously? If we were to spend an eternity lazing around thinking good thoughts about God then it wouldn't be heaven, it'd be a prison sentence.

The angels do their work on earth and we too must do our work. It's preparation for the next life.

“I knew you to be an exacting man who reaps where he has not sown and gathers where you have not scattered seed”. But what does it mean? Surely Jesus isn’t referring to the merciful and loving God here. But the fact is that it’s God who gathers from seed that we scatter; God who reaps what we have sown. We must do our share by living the life that we’re meant to live because many of us will be the first bible anyone ever reads.

We’re to be in a state of readiness ourselves. We’re are to be alert, have our lamps full of oil and ready to trim at a moment’s notice. We are no good to him if we’re not keeping the commandments, or adhering to the teaching of the church. If we’re involving ourselves in the deadly sins (mortal sins) or living our worst life then we are hiding the talent. We are like the lamp which is lit and then hidden (Luke 8:6). We are to be in the world but not of the world ; we must run like sparks through stubble.

Jesus's superiority over the angels

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 13:31:52 GMT

It's hardly surprising the Pharisees wanted him dead.

A. A. Milne, the legendary English author of Winnie-the-Pooh, wrote a closed-room whodunnit detective novel called the Red House Mystery - back in 1922. Although complementary about it, the murder/mystery was criticised by Raymond Chandler who took issue with the fact that one’s knowledge of reality had to be suspended a tad too far. In relation to a good plot he stated that: “ If the problem does not contain the elements of truth and plausibility, it is no problem; if the logic is an illusion, there is nothing to deduce.”

In direct contrast we find the exact opposite with the words of scripture. There is indeed a problem which has to be solved i.e. God’s children need to be saved. On the way to achieving this we discover heroes, love stories, mass-murderers, miracles and self-sacrifice.

The fact is, holy scripture is very plausible indeed and there’s much to deduce from it. Even if one were to argue that it’s a work of fiction then one cannot deny that it’s a damn good one. And one in which logic is abundant. Firstly it’s a compelling story, it’s totally original, full of drama, it has a good beginning, middle and an end and is packed full of intrigue and suspense.

In the bible one is transported back in history only to encounter the human condition again. Here we meet characters such as Abraham, Moses and Elijah. We enounter a God of fire who parts the Red Sea, wreaths Mount Sinai in smoke and who can command angels to destroy cities. Most importantly though, we meet Jesus himself. We get to know him a little as a man; we see how he handles people, the lengths to which he is prepared to go to deliver his message, how he expands on Old Testament scriptures but also how he does things which only God and his angels can do. He’s anathema to the Jewish authorities in that he makes claims – not only to be the only Son of God – but actually God himself. This is odious and reprehensible to the hostile Pharisees who – even when Jesus proves himself – still don't believe him.

Their main issue was that Jesus (a mere man), by his own admission, had equalled himself to God. What was upsetting them just as much was that he was healing the sick and saying he could forgive sins.

To the minds of the Pharisees only God could do this. The thing is, God was unapproachable, immortal and thunderous – a mighty man capable of despatching the angel of death. In direct contrast, here was a young carpenter who had slept rough but who was placing himself on a par with the Most High God.

What confounded the problem was that Jesus was saying and doing things which only angels could do.

By forgiving sins he did what the Seraph did when he forgave Isaiah’s sin as he repented. In the presence of the Seraphs Isaiah became aware of his own sinfulness and also of his people’s.

“Woe is me,

for I am ruined,

because I am a man of unclean lips

dwelling among a people of unclean lips;

for my eyes have seen the King,

the LORD of Hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And with it he touched my mouth and said:

“Now that this has touched your lips,

your iniquity is removed

and your sin is atoned for.”

The Pharisees believed they knew their scripture but Jesus knew it fully and spoke it in context to challenge them. But the whole forgiving of sins was just too much. By equalling himself to a Seraph he was saying he was very close to God. But because he healed and said it was of God he was also equalling himself to the angel who disturbed the waters (John 5:4).

It was bad enough that he was healing (and doing it on the Sabbath) but Jesus was also casting out demons. This rankled and perplexed the Jewish leaders to the point where they actually accused Jesus of being in league with the Devil. His comeback was the proof of his superiority when he told them that a kingdom could not succeed if it was divided against itself. He then added insult to injury by asking by whom their exorcists drove out demons. Not a good move if you wanted to stay alive.

The fact is that Jesus was putting himself on at least the same footing as the Angel of the Lord when he spoke in the burning bush to Abraham.

And to top it all off, Jesus was placing himself in the elevated position of being the one who delivered the ten commandments.

This, the influence he had on the people, his prophesies, teaching and challenging behaviour, was just too much for the learned men of the day. They wanted him dead. The Son of Man, of course, was very aware of this when he told them that they were of the same mind as those who had killed the prophets (Psalm 147).

Jesus was, and still is, equal to God and superior to the angels. St Paul clarifies this when he says:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.

The work has now been done. Jesus has redeemed the world by paying a horrific price. The problem has been solved.

If we step back to the beginning of this text, when the subject of a well written and credible book was first introduced, it’s hardly surprising then that the bible has been a best seller because we do not have to suspend our perception of reality at all.

Did Gabriel come in place of Lucifer?

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 15:11:00 GMT

The downfall of the angels

There are a number of opinions as to whether Jesus would've come if we had not fallen into sin.

There is a strong contingent who belive that God was always going to give us Jesus because he wanted to elevate us. It is a fact that many believe that Mary was always going to be Jesus's mother and that Our Lord was always going to have Saint Joseph as his father. God wished to bring us into a deeper relationship with him - just like he did with the angels. However, just as many of the angels rejected God, so have a great many of us.

As Lucifer dragged one third of a countless multitude of angels to their deaths, he also seeks to pay us all the wages of sin. But we know that there was a time before Lucifer's uprising and some who would argue that as the 'Morning Star' was the highest ranking Archangel then it was to fall to him to announce the incarnation to Our Blessed Lady. It's suggested that this was part of his downfall because it involved his refusal and rebellion.

The tempation of the angels.

Lucifer’s temptation of the angels was a coercive one. Scripture reveals the ferocity of it when it states that the dragon’s tail swept away one-third of the stars from the sky and threw them down to earth. Satan wanted the downfall of all of God's holy angels.

This was no heavenly caress, neither was it a gentle whisper. This was a furious dragon thrashing around the heavens. This was worse than an angry volcano; much more terrible than any torrid sea. One can imagine him challenging the angels under his authority saying things like “Do you wish to serve these puny mortals? Come with me to our own domain where you will be free from the tyranny of God and the discipline he demands”.

Lucifer hated the angels before they fell and he hates them even more because they fell. As the righteous angels chose to serve God with their whole beings, the fallen angels chose to reject God with every aspect of the force of their wills. This is why there cannot be any redemption for them. Their choice was complete and was without reservation.

In Revelations we are told that the ‘stars’ were thrown down to earth. Not to Hell, but to earth. Here we see Lucifer at his most violent. This was no mere tail swish which knocked a few baubles off the christmas tree. This was a creature who had emptied himself of all goodness and, like the Universe's greatest earthquake, was intent on the distruction of the angelic orders.

This really was war and it is true that Michael fought with Lucifer. Michael, always humble and totally devoted to God, took his best warriors and bound him.

What I have just written alludes to an answer which has been asked by many: Often, why, when one meets demons, can they be heard speaking in pathetic almost childlike voices. They are regarded as superficially boastful, adolescent, and shallow. Despite their innate intelligence, they act quite stupidly. Why is this? These evil spirits were once beautiful creatures who served Almighty God. They allowed themselves to be corrupted and fell. There is no maturity in them; they were the lowest of the angelic choirs and are now lost. Satan is their tyrannical master. This once beautiful Archangel, whose name means ‘Light Bearer’, could have actually been the one to whom the task of proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Light of the World was entrusted. Sin was never meant to be, God was to become incarnate in order to live as one of us. It was likely indeed that Lucifer was the one to whom the responsibility of delivering the message to the Blessed Virgin was to be given. It meant that with him gone, there was no Angel of the Lord to make the announcement to the the little Jewish girl. Either way, here we bear witness to Gabriel's lowly heart. Many now believe that he, in his humility, asked permission to take the place of the Morning Star and make the announcement. The rest, as they say, is history…

Now the evil spirits live in the spiritually arid places of this world and look for opportunities to oppress, suppress and - given permission - to possess. In scripture we see Jesus driving them out and casting them into Hell. The demons hate being cast into Hell. This is evidenced when we see those who were possessing the two men from the region of the Gadarenes. They begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. Anything but Hell.

On a side note, it's worth considering that these demons had to ask permission from Jesus to enter the pigs. This is evidence that they are all in a position where their movements are restricted. As St Jude says, they really are a chained race of beings.

These fallen ones hate suffering the humiliation of being driven out in the name of Jesus. But rather then give up their hold on the possessed person, they’d rather continue to take a beating through priestly prayers of exorcism. It doesn’t matter whether the prayers are imprecatory or deprecatory – demons hate to have to suffer the humiliation of futher defeat and a journey back to the Underworld where all there is is hatred. There are many occasions when they won’t go without a struggle. Evidence of this is provided in scripture where the use of the word ‘drive’ is used. Jesus was often found DRIVING out demons. This isn’t a polite request, this is forcefully clearing out demons. We know that some are very stubborn and will only come out through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17). But exit they must. And at the exact time ordained by the Most High.

Just as a point of information: It must be noted that Lucifer is rarely found to be possessing. This could be for a number of reasons.

1) It's believed that he may regard it as too much of a step down for him so he’ll just get one of his minions to do it.

2) Because he hates to be defeated and he knows that, at the Name of Jesus, he has to go. No contest, no argument.

3) That God denies him the opportunity to possess one of his souls.

You'll also find that Lucifer hates his name and never uses it because it was the name given to him by God. Naming someone or something denotes authority over it. Therefore, satan will refer to himself by any other name than the one which reminds him of who he was meant to be.

To see man disfigured by sin is a joy to the evil one. He delights in knowing that the souls who have been tempted to hell totally rejected the disfigured face of Jesus as he slowly and painfully became sin for us and redeemed the world.

And now the most vicious and nasty demon must be obedient to the lowliest and most humble of men or angel. Lucifer, the one who was to be the first to use the name of Jesus, must now depart at the very mention of it.

And now he must crawl on his belly eating dirt. Lower than a dog and cursed above all livestock. He is granted access to nowhere more lofty in God's Kingdom than the place The Most High calls his footstool.

https://catholicexchange.com/exorcist-diary-the-work-of-the-angels-in-the-ministry-of-exorcism/

Angels

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 21:17:46 GMT

Angels, guardian angels, spiritual warfare.

Spiritual warfare began originally in the heavenly realm. Satan bore down on those who occupied the rank of 'Angel'. He could not target the higher choirs such as the Virtues, Dominations or Principalities because he was not of their office. He was beneath their Choir and therefore lower in intellect. However, he was the highest ranking Archangel and part of his work was to infuse knowledge and strengthen the intellect of those in the lower Choir.

It was therefore natural for the Angels to be responsive to his promptings. Satan's inducement to sin was born out of his rebellion and discontentment with God and his kingdom. He allowed himself to bathe in jealousy, hatred, anger and lust for Evil. He brewed malice towards the Most High God and refused his discipline. He said that he would not serve and evoked thoughts of sinful disobedience within the Angels.

One must always bear in mind though, that this period of insurection and revolt was allowed by the Most High God. It was him who gave permission to the Archangel Lucifer (Satan) to test the angels. Being tested is a great honour. Hence Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness. Just like the obedient angels, Jesus in turn honoured God and also us by doubling down and resisting temptation - from which he emerged (like the victorious angels) without fault.

Those Angels who did not sin were then brought into a closer relationship with God. But for those who did wrong, part of the pain they must endure for eternity is that they made themselves unworthy of God. They must also suffer the fact that man proved mightier than spirit.

Satan utterly hates Jesus because he could not be swayed. He regarded himself superior and tried to trap Jesus but found himself helpless against a mere man. And don't forget, Jesus was at his lowest ebb during the ordeal so should have yielded.

Satan is now at war with mankind and is determined to bring as many down to his prison as he can. He despises the fallen angels because, like himself, they were given angelic nature and fell at his temptation. Whereas Jesus, being weak in his human nature, did not. What a hero. What a man. Because of Jesus’s total victory – on every level – we now can use his name to cast out demons because he reigns supreme. What an honour for us. Wow.

Satan not only has Jesus to hate but he also detests Our Lady because she was/is the receptacle of grace and sits as Queen of the Angels. A human being, as their queen. He can’t even bear the thought. Therefore, it follows that demons (although full of malice and entrapment) are conflicted in their nature because they know the truth. But their wills are fixed in evil which means that’s all they can do. They utterly utterly despise the fact that we sin and are forgiven because we are weak and short sighted. They see, on a daily basis, just how much God loves his children – who are so dependent on him. And bless him, Jesus knew our limitations so prayed to God for every single one of us on the cross. “Forgive them Father…”

That’s love. Totally unselfish.

During the battle in heaven, the number of Angels in the heavenly realm was reduced. Many now believe that there are gaps within angelic society because many of the Angels who should be at work in God's kingdom have now been consigned to the Underworld. Although many fell it is pure assumption that those from the Choir of Angels were undermined as a result of their reduction in numbers. It has been subsequently argued by some that the Angels simply extended their power and adjusted their governance to cover the depletion where task assignment is concerned. Angels aren't limited in the same way were are. Their strength was never put under any strain because of the loss sustained in battle. They're not like us who have to cover for those who don't turn up for work. It's not as if they're put under more pressure. It doesn't work like that with angels because they are pure spirits and they operate in the power of Almighty God.

There are others who have speculated that the holiness which flows through Mary now makes up for the alleged gaps. Some argue that her wholeness and the fact that God has poured out his favour on her in abundant grace now means that the angelic hierarchy has a channel of power, knowledge and fortitude flowing though it which it had not before the fall. The dynamic within the angels may have indeed changed because of her elevation but she was never elevated to Queen of Angels simply to plug the gaps, as it were.

This is because the angelic hierarchy is not actually a top-down chain of command but rather more linear in nature. They all stand on the same level and Our Blessed Lady and the Seraphs occupy positions closest to God. These Seraphim burn with charity towards the Almighty. Which means they are in constant praise before the Majesty of the Most High. Nevertheless, they refer to the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady. She is indeed their holy lady. To her they genuflect and are totally obedient. She is Queen of the Seraphim, Queen of All Angels. By her virtue, Saint Mary replenished the angels with the dignity which Satan tried to destroy.

Although the Seraphim occupy a place in the angelic hierarchy which is the most high ranking and therefore the most costly, never make the mistake of thinking that lower ranking angels are somehow inferior and that their sacrificial love is somehow less. It's far from that. Any angel is more powerful than any human can imagine. Angelic tasks are way beyond our capacity to fully understand. That’s because angels were given pure knowledge which was infused into their consciousness by the Holy Spirit. Each angel is given knowledge pertaining to his specific task. So if his work is somehow related to a star system then you can guarantee that his knowledge of it will be perfect. If he wishes another angel to know something about his sphere of activity then he will communicate what is necessary.

It has to happen like this otherwise, in the above example, every angel would need to do an astronomy doctorate in order to know something which pretty much means the Universe would grind to a halt very quickly. The links which Almighty God fashions every second of every day would not be formed because the angels would have to be constantly learning new things and trying to catch up. And this would leave room for error.

Although we need to learn through reason, angels don’t. They have no need as they have flawless and faultless infused knowledge. That’s why your angel doesn’t have to learn Italian to understand what’s going on when you go on holiday. And this is why people try and court the attention of demons because they have knowledge of history and still retain their infused knowledge and how it relates to God’s plan. This is why going to Spiritualist churches sometimes proves profitable to souls as the medium communicates with supposedly dead relatives. All this is, is a channel opened by the “medium”. If you ever go, try getting the spirits to declare that Jesus is Lord and see how far you get.

To get a clearer picture of the rank of angel it’s perhaps more appropriate to view them all as in command. Which means that, although some are more vassal in nature, they all have ultimate authority in their sphere. Their task is their task. They were made for it. This again does not make any of them inferior in any way as each angel is also his own unique species. As each angel is created for a specific task then (yes, I know it’s a poor analogy) it’s like the difference between bricklayers and plasterers.

Another way of looking at it is it’s like the difference between feline and canine. You can’t say one is superior to another because they are both totally different creations. Although they are both of the animal kingdom.

To give you an indication of how many angels there are, consider this: our galaxy, the Milky Way, has roughly 100 billion planets. Each of which has a guardian angel. And that's just us.

As a point of information: all demons are subject to all angels. This is because the fallen angels chose to step out of the natural order. They are outside of their allotted sphere. Which means that all of them are, technically, out of order. With their wills fixed in evil, they cannot change. They have no power and authority except to undertake activities which God allows and assigns. So if you are afflicted by a demon then give thanks to God because he has allowed it for your betterment because he cares about you. Even Saint Paul was given his thorn in his side. The fact is, it’s a mark of the sainthood to be afflicted by the enemy and during your time in battle you’re learning to give the enemy a proper beating. And this frightens the life out of Satan.

So hold your head up and remember that the Lord disciplines the sons he loves. It just could be that God wants you to get to know your guardian angel a little better. Remember, if he doesn’t want a demon going anywhere near you then that demon is subject to him. So in times of spiritual warfare then call on the angels for help. And never forget that demons do not have free reign. Satan and his emissaries can do nothing without the express consent of their creator. They are all bound in chains and Almighty God gives them a bit of slack, for his greater glory, as his wisdom dictates.

Whenever you pray to your guardian angel then you will have a unique way of making your request known. Even if you just call him Holy Angel. However, it's worth mentioning that it's not unheard of for angels to reveal their names. Particularly - as we know - Archangels. Nevertheless, as far as angelic names are concerned then it might be the case that you would not understand their meaning unless you are given knowledge of the area of his task. But this is not beyond him (no matter how complex his task or how far away his task may take him). So if you ever do wish to know the name of your guardian angel then there’s nothing stopping you from asking. However, it would be a mistake to think you can give him a name as that would signify that you have authority over him. And you don’t. Nor can you give him a throw-away nickname as that might be an insult or curse. He is just and righteous and stands in the courts of the Most High God. Therefore, it will be up to Almighty God as to whether or not he is allowed to reveal his name.

When you pray to your angel and tell him about your highs and lows remember that he is used to you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He sees humanity and its wars and is familiar with all of it. He too has been at war but conflict for angels is not physical, since they are pure spirits. War for him is spiritual and he still actively engages. He may have seen some of his some of friends die a spiritual death when they turned from God. He was at war with Satan in the celestial realm. But he did not fight with sword or dagger. The angelic war was one they fought with their wills. He won, he chose God, he’s on the winning side which means he’s on your side.

In sum then, this appears to be the sequence of events:

God is all powerful and eternal.

He created the angels and they lived by faith.

They were made in the image and likeness of God and (like us) they had free will.

Satan rebelled and tempted an uncountable number of them who chose his way.

God rewarded the angels who loved him with a deeper relationship with him. They have all beheld his face since that moment and are all therefore without fault.

In a similar way to us, the angels then designed and built everthing in God's heavenly kingdom. We know we have brothers in arms because many of the angels will have been employed in similar areas of expertise as ourselves.

We were created, we fell, we could not inherit the heavenly kingdom because of our sin.

Jesus came and saved us. The angels now serve those are to inherit the salavation Jesus won for us.

To help us achieve God's aim he gave us the sacraments and the gifts of the Holy Spirit

We now hold what Jesus did for us on the cross as the central tenent of our faith. We understand that we are ransomed by his blood and try to learn from Jesus how to serve the Holy Trinity and one another.

We make our sacrifice and try and walk in the footsteps of the Son of the Most High God by living a Christ-centred life.

During out time on earth we form ranks and engage in spirital warfare. We do this by adhering to scripture and abiding by the instruction of the church's teaching magisterium believing what we profess in the Creed.

We eventually leave our earthly home and take our place in the heavenly kingdom where we continue our work as members of the Church Triumphant. We live responsible lives and, like the angels, we also behold the face of Almighty God. We reside in his love and give him glory by offering ourselves in service to him and to one another.

Like the angels we also enjoy busy lives. Our lives on earth are echoes of who we are in God's kingdom where we enjoy all the things we enjoyed on earth but in a much deeper and richer way. As Jesus says, "They will be like the angels".

On earth we learn about the angels and their society so that we can enter into it here and enjoy their friendship.

So how come none of the angels feel things like envy, greed or jealousy? How come they don't suffer from pride like us or get competitive with each other? How come they're not susceptible like us? Well, they were. The angels who fell experienced all of that negativity - they experienced death and now live outside of the truth. They are jealous, envious, negative, angry, boastful and proud. They may not want what you've got, but true jealousy means that they won't want you to have what's available. So they'll try and dupe you out of your inheritance.

And when one of us rejects God then this is our inheritance for all eternity. Satan is out to disinherit every single one of us.

Jesus lives

Tue, 25 Dec 2018 10:28:42 GMT

Breakfast with Jesus

You find yourself standing on a stony beach somewhere between 4 and 5 in the morning. You can hear men’s voices echoing across the water as you look out over the still and shallow Sea of Galilee. You struggle to see from where they’re coming because the boats are shrouded in light mist. You know they’re the disciples and they’ve been rowing, casting nets, lifting, pulling and sweating all night. They’ve worked hard and there’s a chill in the air. To your right you feel the presence of Jesus. He hasn’t been up long and the scent of sleep still lingers. You can’t quite make out his face and as you’re looking he shouts towards the boats, “Have you caught any fish lads?”

In scripture we find the answer: empty nets. Jesus then tells the men where to make their cast and to their astonishment they have a legendary haul - a net breaking number of fish. Not minnows, big fish. The one who witnessed the event was so impressed with the catch that he made sure it was recorded for all eternity.

This is the book of John, chapter 21 where John makes sure he includes a significant amount of detail:

· How far they are away from the beach

· Whether or not Jesus had built a fire

· How many fish were caught

· To which side of the boat the net was cast and so on.

But what are we to make of it all? Why was it included in scripture? Why did God let those men graft all night before providing? Why did Jesus appear to the fishermen?

What Jesus is showing us is that he knew where all the fish were.

Catching fish was the work of the disciples and work is a gift from God. Jesus is showing us that he knows where all the work is. That haul provided a handome profit for those men.

Sometimes when we work it feels like we’re not achieving what we feel we could. In the worst case we don’t have any work. This passage of scripture gives us the confidence to go before Almighty God and ask for work knowing He’ll lead us into it. He can show us where it is. He is the God of provision, not of want, and he likes to provide for us.

Very often in scripture we see Jesus waiting to be asked by someone who needs something from him. Occasionally he even asks what that person wants him to do for them. However, in the passage, Jesus actively wants to prosper his disciples and he doesn’t wait to be asked. This is our discerning God.

Peter, who clearly loves Jesus very much, can’t wait for the boats to come ashore. He just jumps into the water and starts wading towards the beach. When he gets there he finds a fire already lit and fish cooking. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to wait for their breakfast. He knew they’d be hungry because he’d been fishing with them before – probably many times. He knew how hard they’d worked and how hungry they’d be.

Wait a minute. Let’s just go back a bit. What this means is that Jesus had been shopping for bread and fish. He’d collected firewood and was in the process of preparing a meal when he called to the disciples. Jesus was never a magician and the beach breakfast was no trick. He didn’t just wave his hand in the direction of where he wanted the fire and fish. No, Jesus brought with him what he needed to spend the night and just enough to get breakfast started.

He woke very early and began his preparation. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew what he wanted to show his friends. What we’re seeing here is the life of Christ post-resurrection. We see him in his physical body going about his business. Not an apparition. Not someone who has disappeared into the ether and reappeared out of thin air but someone who was very much alive and who had created an intimate sharing environment. What this alludes to is that when Jesus rose from the dead he carried on with his life but away from public gaze.

Do I have your attention yet?

Jesus heals

Sun, 09 Dec 2018 23:43:05 GMT

The healings of Jesus

Healing for Jesus was very natural. He healed because He was God incarnate. This was God made man healing and taking care of His children. He laid hands on his people and loved them, curing them of everything.

We know about Jesus's first miracle (water into wine) but we don't know about his first healing. All we know is what scripture tells us about Simon's mother-in-law. It could very well be that he'd healed before - and many times. What we definitely do know is the impact his healings had on the local inhabitants. Whole towns and villages turned came to see Jesus.

I'm guessing the crowds didn't form immediately as it takes time for word to travel but what Jesus did resulted in a great many people being cured of both affliction and the influence of the Evil One. Sadly we don't hear about all of the healings as not every one is documented. As John 20:30 testifies, " Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. " I would imagine there were probably many more incidents where Jesus visited towns and the whole population turned out.

I'd like you to imagine this: You're on a thin strip of beach and as you look down it there are houses to your left and sea to your right. The houses are painted white and it's quiet. It's likely it's early in the morning because there's nobody around. Jesus arrives. He's on his own and he finds a large rock on which to sit. It's big enough so that he can be seen from it. After an hour or two the first people arrive. Jesus continues to sit. Not saying a word. The people aren't noisy; they quietly bring the sick and the lame. When it's time, and the beach is full, Jesus gets off the rock and heads into the crowd. There aren't any great or long prayers, there there are no lengthy talks, there aren't any instructions, no lead in. You see him bend down (he doesn't stop moving, just stoops as he's walking) to touch someone. Nothing is said. He's barely finished laying a hand on one person before his other hand alights briefly on someone else. He knows whom to touch and everyone he touches is healed immediately.

What you're seeing here is Jesus at work. Everyone who he places a hand on is healed. Afterwards, the people begin to go back to their houses. There aren't any amateur dramatics, this is what they came for and this is what they got. Jesus didn't look for any affirmation. He didn't do it because he wanted to be liked. He himself wasn't in need. He just did his job because he was the one chosen by God.

Look now and see the beach is clearing. The crowd is depleted and many of the people have gone home. What's left behind are the crutches, sticks and stretchers. Hundreds of them. They're not needed anymore.

Alleluia.

10 Reasons You Should Love Blogging

websitebuilder@1and1.de — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 23:43:05 GMT

Blog posts are a great way to get recognised within your community and share your voice. Here are the top 10 reasons you should love writing blog posts.

Anyone can make one:
For better or worse, anyone can write a blog post about anything they want. Everyone has a voice and the best voices will rise to the top.

The writer can show their personality:
In blog posts, the writer has more leeway to add in their voice and personality than other types of writing.

Blogs are a great form of mass communication:
You can help people, learn new things, entertain your audience— the possibilities are endless and amazing. Blogging opens up all of these to a very wide audience.

You can make money:
Get the right blog going and you can make a lot of money through advertising and sponsored posts.

It allows people to craft better thoughts:
Instead of reading haphazard, uneducated Facebook statuses, it’s much better to see people’s thought process in a well-written blog post.

You can establish a community:
Blogging allows you to connect with other individuals who share the same interests. Sharing ideas and opinions within your community helps establish yourself as a thought leader.

Good for SEO:
Keeping content on your site fresh and relevant, you can use your blog to boost the search engine ranking (SEO) of your site and your business.

It brings people back to your site:
If your blog is strong enough and updated regularly, people will come back looking for more and bring traffic back to your site as well.

It’s free:
It costs you a grand total of zero dollars to post to the blog, so if you have something to say, there’s nothing to stop you.

You can establish yourself as a thought leader:
A blog is a great place for your original thoughts, and it can be a wonderful way to show off your individuality. If people like your ideas, you can become a thought leader in your industry!

What else do you love about blogs? Let me know!