Another Rejection from those who should know better and live it

Another Rejection from those who should know better

Whom are we talking about?  It is those who once were Christian advocates and now the pull of evil influences speak louder than Christ’s Passion, the Bible, and the meaning of righteousness and holiness.  As most of us look forward to Lent and how this break between Ordinary Time and Christmas past has any influence on our decisions concerning morality it can create a questionable period in what all this means to the once-in-a-while Catholic and just how they should prepare for Easter.

As written before, too many church-goers look at their calendar and  prepare themselves according to what the dates tell them to do.  However, in spite of being correct in the period of fasting, alms-giving, and prayers, too many fail to grasp the essence of Christ’s Incarnation leading to Christmas, and the passion that Christ endured leading to our own resurrection.  Neither event was meant to begin and end following the dates set aside for each celebration.  

Even though the Christmas season ends with the baptism of Jesus and the Easter season ends with Pentecost, neither should be considered complete by a calendar’s dates.  If we begin to live our Christian adherence by turning our worship on and off and do not consider what Christ and the Holy Trinity had in mind to bring the mercy of Almighty God to fruition, we have missed the whole retinue of what God is all about.  

We cannot consider that our redemption was only a political quest that man should have a part in selecting how and when the obvious outcomes of each part are designed by man and not God.  Christ did not enter our world as one of us to place a voting opportunity and hope that we would adhere to the outcome by our own decisions.  For some it is like taking a side of the future that appeals the most to each person and looking for the final voting to see if we want to follow our choice.  

Eternity is not a human selection where man decides the best manner of existence.  Satan did that exactly by deciding his choice was to be debated by himself and God.  God is the creator of angels and human beings.  Each has free-will and that ended the role of the Arch-angel Lucifer  for all eternity.  If we do not use our gift of free-will as it was meant to be used, then our eternal life will be just like the devil; Eternal damnation!

None of us needs to become theologians, which is not that easy anyway, but to use discretion which only requires common-sense in many decisions.  We follow the guidance of theology and adhere to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for correctness and truth.  One thing we cannot do is make our own rules and decide we know better than those who prepared the Catechism and who also relied upon many saints and doctors of the Church to place these truths for our own Catholicism in undeniable print.

The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth.  His word is truth.  His Law is truth.  His "faithfulness endures to all generations.”  Since God is “true,” the members of his people are called to live in the truth.  (CCC 2465).

In Jesus Christ, the whole of God’s truth has been made manifest.  “Full of grace and truth,” he came as the “light of the world,” he is the Truth.  “Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”  The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know “the truth will make you free” and that sanctifies.  To follow Jesus is to live in “the Spirit of truth,” whom the Father sends in his name and who leads “into all the truth.”  To his disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth:  “Let what you say be simply “Yes or No.”  (CCC 2466).

“You say I am a king.  For this I was born and for this I came to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”  (Jn 18: 37 - 38).  

Ralph B. Hathaway