Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.’ JN 14:23
ACTS 15:1-2,22-29 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Within and without the Church there will always be wolves in sheep's clothing waiting to devour Your flock. Some are well-meaning but half-formed in the Truth and are oftentimes blissfully unaware of the great harm they inflict on the Body of Christ. Catholics unformed and ignorant of the faith handed down to them from You through the apostles and their successors are easy prey and ripe for the picking.
Today, Beloved, we praise and thank God not only for the Church and the Magisterium but also for the many, many Catholic men and women who have made it their life's work to study extensively, delve deep into salvation history, pray on it, meditate on it and allow the Holy Spirit to illumine their hearts and their minds and they, in turn, illumine the hearts and minds of anyone who truly desires to walk in the Way of Truth leading to Life.
From the very first Council that took place in Jerusalem to settle a dispute that arose between trouble-makers who sort to sow seeds of dissension, to this day and to the end of time, the Church will always be the sole arbiter of faith and morals and we can rely on her always to steer us safely to harbor through every storm.
‘Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’
The Church's doctrines are handed down to us by oral tradition and by the written Word - both, not either-or. And she alone has the authority to proclaim that when she speaks on matters of faith and morals she does so in union with the Holy Spirit.
REVELATION 21:10-14,22-23 ©
MySoul's Beloved,
John sees this glorious City of God in a vision. He sees the Lamb upon the Throne, he sees the 12 Apostles representing the 12 Tribes of Israel, and he sees the Lamb that was Slain whose light is so great, so brilliant it needs no other to illumine the heavens and the earth.
We thank You, Beloved, for the great privilege accorded to us at every celebration of the Holy Mass to glimpse the City of God and to partake of the Wedding Banquet of the Bridegroom as His Bride. All glory and honor to You my Lord and my God.
JOHN 14:23-29 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
I am a liar if I profess to love You but I do not keep Your words. Grant me this grace to remember this when I balk at doing things Your way rather than mine. When I refuse to align my will with Yours. When I pay lip-serve to the faith I affirm but my life is a far cry from holiness and perfection.
Lord, You know that I love You. I would lay down my life for You at least that is what I believe yet I also know that I am a great coward who turns tail and rains at the first sign of suffering. You command me to love and You command me to keep Your Word in season and out of season. I fail miserably at this more times in one day than I can count.
Thank You, Beloved, for knowing perfectly well that no one can live righteously without divine assistance hence You have given us Your Holy Spirit to be our Helper, our Paraclete, our Guide, our Teacher who will supply all that we lack.
You promised Your disciples that the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in Your Name will teach them and remind them of everything You said in the three years they were with You and this same Spirit dwells in fullness in the Church and will do so to the end of time. Leading, guiding, inspiring, strengthening her, and providing all she needs and the gates of hell are powerless against her.
Peace is Your wondrous gift to all who believe in You and are called by Your Name. It is a peace that abounds in tribulation, persecution, suffering for Your Sake, and the sake of the Gospel even unto death.
The Holy Spirit takes up residence in us and this is why You assure us that we need not be afraid or troubled about anything. The enemies of Truth may kill the body but they have no power over our soul - those who belong to You body and soul have nothing to fear.
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