Children of this world vs Children of the light (Lk.16:8)
God knew from all eternity that the human race would fall from grace, and would be in need of a Redeemer:
“But
when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ So
that he is no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir also
through God” (Gal.4:4-7).
God’s
plan was that those who desired to be saved should believe in the
Redeemer, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. But when God’s
only-begotten Son was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, even His own
chosen people would not believe in Him. Jesus looked for faith from His
disciples, promising to give them His own Body and Blood as their food
and drink:
“I
am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eat of
this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my
flesh for the life of the world” (Jn.6:51,52).
After
hearing this many of His disciples turned away, but when Our Lord asked
the chosen Twelve, “Will you also go away?” (Jn.6:68), Peter answered,
“Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life, and we have
come to believe and to know that thou are the Christ, the Son of God”
(Jn.6:69,70).
Still,
throughout history, many still turn away from the Mystery of Faith, the
Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. To most Protestants, and now to many
who call themselves Catholic, even among the clergy, the bread and wine
are merely symbols.
The
devil from the beginning managed to obscure God’s plan for our
salvation in every possible way. He has now set up a false church with
false prophets to lead it, and false bishops and priests with no
authority or power. This has resulted in the disastrous decline in the
faith and religious fervor among novus ordites. The practice of
ecumenism, has
destroyed their faith in the authority and uniqueness of the Catholic
Church. Bergoglio is preparing the way for the One World Church.
The
Lutherans believe in some kind of presence of Our Lord in the bread
they receive at their communion service, but they do not believe in the
Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, that is, that the substance of
the bread and wine are changed into the substance of the Body and Blood
of Christ. Lutherans do not believe that the Catholic priest has the
power to effect that change. They reject the authority of the pope and
the Holy Catholic Church, believing that the Bible alone is the sole
rule of faith. Lutherans believe in the total depravity of man after
Original Sin, and that justification does not mean an internal change in
the sinner, but only that the righteousness of Christ is “imputed” to
him. And now virtually the whole Catholic world is adrift in the muddy
waters of Bergoglio’s ecumenism. Bergoglio offers one of his conundrums:
“It’s
true that in a certain sense, to share means there aren’t differences
between us, that we have the same doctrine – underscoring that word, a
difficult word to understand – but I ask myself: but don’t we have the
same baptism?” And:
“Life
is bigger than explanations and interpretations. Always refer back to
your baptism. ‘One faith, one baptism, one Lord.’ This is what Paul
tells us, and then take the consequences from there” (Catholic Answers,
Nov. 20, 2015. And again:
“Today Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification. (Do we, now!). On this point, which is very important, he (Luther) did not err” (CNA, June 26, 2016).
Francis
is saying that the integrity of our faith is not important. He is
causing us to lose the integrity of our faith, our spiritual virginity,
by contaminating it with heresy. To Francis the differences don’t
matter, since we have the same baptism. But even that is doubtful.
Francis has incurred excommunication (again).
Supporting
heretics was condemned by the Fourth Lateran Council, which declared
that “Those who give credence to the teachings of heretics, as well as
those who receive, defend, or patronize them, are excommunicated.”
St. Thomas Aquinas writes that “the unbelief of
heretics, who confess their belief in the Gospel and resist that faith
by corrupting it, is a more grievous sin than that of the heathens,
because the heathens have not accepted the faith in any way at all.
Hence, the unbelief of heretics is the worst sin” (Summa Theologica II-II, Q.10, art.3, ff; art.6).
The war is on; the battle is already being waged, and we cannot just stand by and watch. You must
put on the armor of God, take up the sword of God’s word, and fight the
good fight of faith! There are no non-combatants in this war to end all
wars! But we are not alone!
The
Blessed Virgin Mary comes to our aid in these times. Her perpetual
virginity is symbolic of the ancient faith of the Catholic Church. The
Church is virginal like Mary because her faith is integral and
perpetual. Jesus
Himself gave Mary to us as our Mother when He spoke from the Cross to
St. John: “Behold, your Mother!” But John identifies himself only as
“the disciple” throughout his Gospel. St. John wished to say to each of
us, “See yourself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and to whom He gave
Mary as your Mother.”
When
the Church desires to see what she should be, she gazes at the Blessed
Virgin Mary, as though looking into a mirror. She must be the holy and
immaculate Bride of Christ, in imitation of Our Lady. For yourselves,
then, gaze at the Blessed Virgin Mary and ponder her holiness and
spiritual beauty. Strive to mirror her holiness and her virtues. If we
keep our eyes on Mary, the Star of the Sea, we cannot fail to arrive
safely at our desired port of Heaven.
