Jesus Christ is the only Way and Truth and Life - No one comes to the Father except by Him.

For as it was not possible that the man who had once for all been conquered, and who had been destroyed through disobedience, could reform himself, and obtain the prize of victory; and as it was also impossible that he could attain to salvation who had fallen under the power of sin,-the Son effected both these things, being the Word of God, descending from the Father, becoming incarnate, stooping low, even to death, and consummating the arranged plan of our salvation, upon whom [Paul], exhorting us unhesitatingly to believe, again says, "Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring down Christ; or who shall descend into the deep? that is, to liberate Christ again from the dead." Then he continues, "If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved." And he renders the reason why the Son of God did these things, saying, "For to this end Christ both lived, and died, and revived, that He might rule over the living and the dead." And again, writing to the Corinthians, he declares, "But we preach Christ Jesus crucified; "and adds, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? " - St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter XVIII, Section 2.

See: Traditional Catholic Prayers: Traditional Catholic Prayers: January 1 is the Feast of the Circumcision - January 6 Epiphany

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

God, His Infinite Existence and Governing Presence in His creation and His forgiveness of sin


GOD is the Truth. The Most Holy Trinity is God and none other is God. The Most Holy Trinity is Three Persons Who are One God. These Three Persons are The Father and the Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the fountainhead of the Trinity, the Son proceeds from His engendering in the Father’s bosom, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father in the unity of the engendering of the Son from the Father. This procession of the Son and the Holy Spirit from the Father is immortal from before all time and creation and unto eternity never-ending. This Triune God alone has Aseity, that He is immortal without beginning and without end, self sustained in His existence which preceded all time and creation and, His existence, continues forever; God’s existence is infinite. This God is above all that He has created and transcendent in all that He has created. There is nothing apart from nor outside of God that He has not created. He created all that has been created ex nihilo, that is from nothing by His infinite power. Nothing that is created has aseity. Time is only an aspect of that which has been created by God. Time is therefore part of God’s creation. God is not limited by His creation, this includes that God is not limited by time. God is Omnipotent and Omniscient and Ubiquitos and with eternal complete foresight: Almighty and All seeing and knowing and equally present everywhere and knowing all things before their creation and all events before they come to pass unto eternity. There is no way to God but through the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity Who is the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom alone there is salvation by His Most Holy Cross and Resurrection. Creation had a beginning but will continue unto the eternal ages to come. At the return of Jesus Christ from God the Father’s right hand in the third heaven and the just judgement of Christ of His creatures, creation will be cleansed by fire (the damned, both angels and men consigned to hell forever) and renewed with paradise restored, with the presence around God of all His elect angels and saints, and continue in this way forever.

Salvation by Christ is by His Kenosis (the elect angels do not stand in need of salvation for they never sinned and are God’s servants forever).

Holy Holy Holy Lord God of hosts who will return in glory and in flaming fire taking vengeance upon those who know not God and who obey not the Lord Jesus Christ

Heb:5:
1 ¶ For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins:
2 Who can have compassion on them that are ignorant and that err: because he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3 And therefore he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4 Neither doth any man take the honour to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was.
5 So Christ also did not glorify himself, that he might be made a high priest: but he that said unto him: Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee.
6 As he saith also in another place: Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, with a strong cry and tears, offering up prayers and supplications to him that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence.
8 And whereas indeed he was the Son of God, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered.
9 And being consummated, he became, to all that obey him, the cause of eternal salvation:
10 ¶ Called by God a high priest, according to the order of Melchisedech.
11 Of whom we have much to say and hard to be intelligibly uttered: because you are become weak to hear.
12 For whereas for the time you ought to be masters, you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God: and you are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that is a partaker of milk is unskilful in the word of justice: for he is a little child.
14 But strong meat is for the perfect: for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil.
(DRV)

St. Paul explains this same thing with different wording in Philippians.

Phil:2:
5 For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man.
8 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.
9 For which cause, God also hath exalted him and hath given him a name which is above all names:
10 That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth:
11 And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
(DRV)

This is crucial to our understanding of Christ’s mission to save us. In the above “emptied” is kenosis in the Greek. Christ’s kenosis (He Who is the Immortal Son of God and has always existed from before He created anything, His emptying out of Himself for us and to us) consists of “taking the form of a servant” at His incarnation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, “being made in the likeness of men” extremely important — His incarnation in the flesh, “in habit found as a man” this part explains phrases like “learned obedience”. Jesus never had to learn anything for Himself since He is God and Omniscient – All Knowing. But He willed to be born and grow up and be taught by Joseph and Mary. Think about it, it was the Blessed Virgin who taught Him the Psalms that He was the Mediator for David to receive by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and record for us. In simple terms He taught David the Psalms and willed that Mary would teach Him on earth the same psalms, though, of course He knew them already. So all references to His learning and growing and being perfected are only those things that He willed to go through for two basic reasons for our sakes. Number two first: to show us what our attitude and efforts should be on His behalf as His ambassadors to the rest of mankind. He “learned” but is actually teaching us. Number one in importance: “being made in the likeness of men” extremely important — His incarnation in the flesh. St. Athanasius Contra Mundum (against the world [opposing heresy]) addresses this when he explains that had Christ the Immortal Son of the Father in the Unity and Power of the Holy Spirit simply have erased Adam’s sin then the natural debt we all inherited to die from that sin would have meant that all men would die forever and be lost since God doesn’t lie and He pronounced that the separation of man from God due to sin would by the natural property of human nature make anything else impossible. In other words if God simply erased the sin He would have erased men as well thereby. Worst yet, St. Athanasius tells us, the devil would thereby have won that round. But what God did, the Son, Who because of His Divine substance/essence – nature cannot die, is to take upon himself the real human nature of all men subsumed from Mary — and therefore of Adam (see the genealogies in St. Matthew’s, Chapter 1, and St. Luke’s, Chapter 3, Gospels; in St. Luke’s Gospel all the way back to Adam). Since of Adam, then, of all men. Since He had and has that nature in total union with His divine nature, when he suffered and died (it is in this sense that St. Paul says “learned obedience”) in our place as the ransom from death then we become sons and daughters by adoption unto real eternal life at the future Return of Christ and the General Resurrection of the flesh, each of us, our bodies reunited with our same soul and same spirit. Therefore death, which insured that God’s law would be obeyed, was originally God’s way to insure that man would not become a diabolic creature totally in bondage to the devil, incapable of being in union with the Holy God, Himself. Christ took death, merited by all men, upon Himself preserving what God had said to Adam and Eve “upon that day (of disobedience) you will die”. Therefore, Christ’s death, then becomes the ransom to bring us out of thralldom to the devil and into union with God in Christ. Christ’s Resurrection then becomes the guarantor of our resurrection — which will absolutely happen. This is a brief description of Christ’s kenosis. Christ’s kenosis is the weightiest subject in the whole Bible. Christ’s obedience loosed the debt of Adam’s disobedience as Mary’s obedience undid the knot of Eve’s disobedience (that last is from St. Irenaeus). A note of warning: those who retie the knot of Eve’s disobedience and who bind themselves again in the debt of Adam’s disobedience by becoming part of pagan religions, who profess atheism or agnosticism, who follow after the Antichrist or who walk not in God’s commandments though they pretend to be Christ’s, will certainly be resurrected, but to eternal undying destruction in the lake of fire with the devil and all the fallen angels and all of the demons. Only the saints will inherit paradise with the elect angels in this universe recreated by God at the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of this age of grace.

STARTING HERE THIS IS ADVANCED THEOLOGY; YOU MAY CERTAINLY SKIP DOWN BELOW TO "BOOK OF THE ACTS CHAPTER 8" AND CONTINUE THERE IF YOU ARE A BABY CHRISTIAN OR NOT GIVEN TO THEOLOGICAL ISSUES. JUST MAKE SURE YOU OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS.

Note, before we go to the below, Islam teaches people to pray to Allah (swt), who the Holy Qur'an explicity says is the Triune God of Allah (Father), Word (Son), Spirit (Holy Spirit). Therefore when they confess their sins to Allah (and they certainly do), then they are confessing to Jesus Christ, the Son, according to the Holy Qur'an. Jesus Christ, 'Isa al Maseeh, is the one that Muslims and Christians both also profess is the only Messiah. See Final Trial.

God’s omniscience and his forgiveness of sin.
God alone forgives sin. That is, christ alone forgives sin since he is god in the flesh and the only mediator between god and man, for no one can come to the father except through jesus christ, and he is the high priest of god appointed by the father to be the only one we can approach for forgiveness of sins. See Apostle.
In the passage from hebrews quoted below saint paul affirms that god is present everywhere and sees everything – totally knows all things; that god is omnipresent and omniscient. God is equally present everywhere, this is the truth that god is ubiquitous.
In the following, the word of god is jesus christ himself.
12 For the word of god is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword, and reaching unto where the soul and the spirit unite, and of the joining with what is enclosed within, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 And there is no creature hidden from his sight; but all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom we have to answer.
14 Having therefore a great high priest who has passed into the heavens, jesus the son of god, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we have not a high priest, who can not have compassion on our infirmities, but one tried in all things like as we are, except without sin.
16 Let us therefore go with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
St. Paul's epistle to the Hebrews chapter 4
God is ubiquituos (totally present and all seeing and all knowing equally everywhere throughout his creation), and he has given men free will.
Therefore it is very important concerning where the mark of sin is in a man.
Memory is the knowledge of the experience of (retained by) the self, i.e. Sentience of self experience – sentience = consciousness. My memory = my sentience of my experience; sentience of sentience = memory, self is created, one’s soul, a person’s memory is of his experience of his own self not another’s – man or demon or devil – god’s holy angels, with god’s permission, see more.
God has the total experience of every creature of his known by his (nous) mind, but not all are encompassed by his (uncreated) wisdom – that which is outside of his wisdom, which is the holy spirit who is given to and through jesus christ god’s immortal son, is sin, i.e. Darkness –no part in life eternal who is his immortal son jesus christ. These sins abide in the memory of the self which is a man’s soul, unless a man confess his sins to christ and be forgiven and therfore cleansed by him alone who is ubiquitous and therefore present with all men in this life. (those who do not are therfore headed for hell. This is where, at the bottom of the abyss, beneath the universe, the abode of the damned is; the outer darkness consumed eternally by the unquenchable fire of god’s wrath; which jesus christ also referred to as gehenna [ge-hinnom in hebrew]. This is hell; the one place of damnation, which by god’s command exists and will continue to exist eternally, but where god’s presence by the holy spirit who is his uncreated wisdom, is not. It exists by the power of god with an energy given by him to keep it in place but totally without the holy spirit and therefore also totally without any sanctifying grace. This is forever, with no redemption there at all ever. This is the abode of the damned: the devil and all the rest of the fallen angels, all the demons and all men who are not saved by coming to christ, in repentance of their sins, and receiving the forgiveness of christ. Young children are not held accountable, for they cannot form the requisite intent to be held guilty of any sin.)

Four basic elements created by god are fire, spirit, water, earth (do not confuse this with the scientist’s theories)

Pagan has 6 and is disordered (we do not need to involve ourselves in their confusion)

Four realms of god, which he made from the elements he created, are:
1) inanimate realm
2) simple life realm
3) sentient realm
4) eternal life realm


Pagan –
1) confusion about anything
2) totally seared conscience
3) will do anything evil
4) utter destruction comes upon them


1) the nature of good is life – god the holy trinity, the father and the son and the holy spirit is the author thereof:
1) the inanimate realm, god created the universe of the four basic elements of fire, spirit, water ,earth and then made from this inanimate realm living creatures and man who he made sentient and destined for eternal life before the fall of adam; again destined for eternal life at our redemption in christ.

This is creation in one day encompassing the six days which also show forth the ages of the church from the time of adam to christ and the seventh day, christ’s future return, and the eighth day, the endless ages of ages of christ with the saved and his elect angels in this universe recreated then at the second coming of christ. This is opposed by
#2) the nature of evil, belial (nothingness), the devil, which is death – the devil (diabolos) is the author of sin and death.
2) simple life realm, which is god creating man (the first formed man – adam) from the moist earth and breathed into him and he became a living soul. This is opposed by
#3) the devil’s temptation to abandon the source of life who is god.
3) the sentient realm, which is adam the living soul quickened by the spirit of god. This is opposed by the
#4) devil’s prompting to sin (causing death) which is evil which is trying, with others trying to do the same or tempting others to do the same, to be your own god.
4) the eternal life realm, which are those creatures who possess an eternal self and are faithful to god. These are the holy angels and men who are christ’s (the saints). This is opposed by
#4) the lie which is that the evil that comes from the devil actually comes from god.
This #2) nature of the devil (evil nothingness death) is to envy god prompting the devil’s sin (trying to replace god) #3) the devil’s lie (that god did not tell the truth when god said to adam that for adam to abandon god would cause adam’s death) #4) to cause adam to sin #3) and men to continue to tell the lie #4) therefore cutting them off from the life that is in christ jesus the only redeemer and therefore saviour of the whole world of those who are saved (the saved includes adam who repented).

The nature of the devil is evil (envy), death-sin, liar;
therefore the devil, the antichrist, the false prophet are the ultimate evil.


Cry out, do not cease, like a
trumpet raise thy voice,
and reveal to my people their
wicked deeds and to the house
of jacob their sins.
Isaias 58, 1


Say this prayer of repentance, daily:
Against you, you alone, Jesus Christ, have we sinned and done evil in your sight, forgive us our sins, purge us with hyssop and we shall be cleansed, wash us and we shall be made whiter than snow, make the bones you have numbered to rejoice.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Word of the living God in the unity and power of your Holy Spirit, through the intercessions of your all-pure mother and of all your saints and elect angels, have mercy and deliver us.


The following is Saint Polycarp's prayer at the stake just before he was burned to death for refusing to compromise his faith in jesus christ by worshipping ceasar and the roman gods. Saint Polycarp's faith is a saving faith, anything less is not.


He was not nailed but bound. and bound thus, with his hands behind his back, he seemed like a lamb chosen from the flock for the sacrifice, prepared as a holocaust pleasing to God; and raising his eyes to heaven he said:

"Lord, God almighty, Father of Jesus Christ, your blessed and beloved Son who has taught us to know you.

God of the angels, of the whole of creation, of the whole race of the just who live in your presence: i bless you because you have judged me worthy of this day and of this hour; worthy to be added to the number of the martyrs; worthy to drink the chalice of your Christ, so as to rise up to eternal life in body and soul in the immortality of the Holy Spirit.

May i today be numbered among the martyrs in your presence as a precious and acceptable victim; bring to completion that which your will has prepared and revealed to me; God, faithful and true, for this grace and for all the others, i praise you, i glorify you, and bless you through our eternal heavenly priest, your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Through him, with him, and with the Holy Spirit, may you be glorified now and through all ages."
amen.

Polycarp of Smyrna

Prayer to Christ

The following is a theological explanation of how God is ubiquitously present (totally present everywhere at all times); since God created everything (except himself, always having existed, which quality is called aseity), the willful misuse of anything or anybody including oneself, is sin against God himself, who is present in all of his creation. God’s creation is composed of elements (the basic biblical elements are: fire, spirit, water, earth, called in Greek, ‘stoichea’). There are also four basic realms which are all part of God’s created cosmos: the realm of those who are created with a beginning and an eternal life, i.e. angels and men, the realm of creatures with a sentient soul but no eternal life, i.e. animals, the realm of those things created with life but not a thinking or an aware mind, i.e. plants, the realm of things created and therefore having an existence sustained by God but with no self, no consciousness, nor life, i.e. the realm of the inanimate. In all of this all misuse of any of this is sin, the misuse of the elements is sorcery and magic, the misuse of the creatures of God is idolatry and when the two misuses are combined it is the sin of witchcraft – all of these sins are instigated by Satan whom Jesus told us in St. John’s Gospel is a murderer and liar from the beginning (Gospel of St. John chapter 8 verse 44). In this verse, in which Jesus condemns those who held a superficial profession of faith in God, is the absolute definition of sin from the sin of Satan and the other fallen angels and then the fall of Adam and Eve and every other sin there ever has been or will be: “the Father from whom you are is the devil, and the desires of the Father of you it is your will to do. That one was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie he speaks from his very nature, because he is a liar and the Father of lies.” in this extremely important verse is the definition of what Jesus also informs us of in his rebuke to the devil in St. Matthew’s Gospel chapter 4 verse 10: then Jesus said to him, “begone, Satan! for it is written, the Lord your God shall you worship and him only shall you serve.” angels are created noetic spirits (spirits, each with a self identity and an individual mind) and their nature at the moment of their creation is good; they are endowed with a free will. Satan and the rest of the fallen angels chose to deny God and all worship and service of God, i.e. to apostasize from God, and be their own gods (they are the false gods behind all of the pagan religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, false Islam which uses idolatry and magic (as opposed to true Islam which does not) etc., and idols and are the instigating spirits of sorcery and magic and all sin). This decision on their part immediately and irrevocably separated them from the Holy Spirit of God and therefore, at that moment their natures became evil forevermore. Men are a different case; their souls are where their self exists. Men possess free will to make the decision whether or not to worship and serve the true God; however, unlike the angels, men’s existence is in the flesh. Therefore a man’s decision is made in the flesh. God fixed the nature of man’s flesh to remain incorrupt and not know death ever, as long as man did not transgress God’s commandment not to stray from the worship and service of God who is the only Creator of all and source of life (which commandment is given universally to all angels and men). The nature of man’s flesh, as created by God, parted from perfect obedience of man and therefore indwelling of God by his spirit with incorruption, has a limited life span by God’s command. Therefore, unlike the angels who cannot die as men die in the flesh, man has a time here on earth in his flesh to make his decision whether or not to worship and serve the living God and inherit life eternal, i.e. incorruption. Adam was created in the flesh and sinned in the flesh and therefore men inherit, not sin, but death in the flesh because of Adam’s sin. Men’s decision is irrevocably fixed at the moment of their death. Beginning with Adam (the first formed man and there are none of any sort before him) all men’s souls are formed to their bodies; their souls are where their self exists eternally. Man at his creation (Adam) and each man thereafter at his soul’s creation by God at the moment of conception in the man’s body is a person. Each person is a threefold existence of spirit from God, soul created by God and body made of the elements created by God. Unrepentant sinners who go to hell upon their death and the lake of fire at the final judgement are devoid of any spirit of God forevermore. Their same souls and bodies alone (no spirit) are resurrected reunited by Christ forevermore at the resurrection of all men in the future and then condemned at that time to the lake of fire (at the bottom of the abyss beneath the universe). The saints (all of the saved from the first adam on) will be resurrected with their same spirits souls and bodies reunited (all diseases of the former life healed) and inherit life eternal with Christ incorrupt as he is uncorrupt, in this universe (God’s creation) recreated at that time unto the endless ages of ages to come. The reason for our resurrection is that Christ, by virtue of his being God, in taking the flesh of the blessed virgin Mary (who was descended from Adam 70 generations before, as well as all men – recounted in the Gospel of St. Luke chapter 3 verses 23-38) therefore took the flesh of all men, Adam and all men ever descended from Adam, and thereby took the punishment of death (upon his cross) that had been decreed by him upon men for Adam’s sin, upon himself.

Note: in the passage from St. John’s Gospel that “…the desires of the Father of you (the devil) it is your will to do. That one was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth…”. Men (who are old enough to form the requisite intention and never before that does any man sin) sin by their willing to do it. It is true, of course, that the devil tempted Adam and Eve with his own self temptation, i.e. to be their own gods, in order to draw them to the worship of himself. Adam and Eve could have said no. They chose to sin as do all men who sin. The devil was by virtue of his angelic nature (noetic), therefore having an immediate knowledge of right and wrong upon his creation, to be held immediately and irrevocably bound by his apostasy from the moment of his sin (see book of the holy prophet of God, Ezechiel, chapter 28 verses 12b through 19.)

The following describes God’s holy presence throughout his creation. Therefore, as said above, any and all apostasy from he who created all of creation and any and all misuse of his creation (that is: in transgressing his commandments in any of these cases) by any of his creatures is sin. All angels, and all men who have reached the age of reason, are responsible to God for their thoughts, intentions, words, deeds and in both commission and omission in all of this and will answer to him who is the just judge. We men absolutely need our redeemer Saviour Jesus Christ. The elect angels worship and serve him but do not stand in need of salvation since they have never sinned. The devil and the rest of the fallen angels are damned forever.

You Holy Holy Holy Lord God Pantocrator Ahiyah asher Ahiyah eth
Omniscient ubiquitous above all uncontained yet containing all through all
Baruch Adonai Yahweh El Olam Olam eth Our Father Holy through, with, in your only Immortal Son
only begotten Holy Jesus Christ our Only Lord and Saviour the only Lamb of God who alone takes away the sin of the whole world of those who are saved
are with – by your Uncreated Eternal Holy Spirit,
the only Immortal one hupostasis, co-equal three hupostasies, the absolute essential, substance, mind, wisdom, nature, energy, dominion
above and behind all, underpinning all, creating, framing, making, creation ex nihilo, underlying all, immanent within all, yet uncontained by any and all
living reigning ruler above, over all and always and forevermore
sustaining in existence all that has been created by your sovereign power. Absolutely untouched by evil, who by a special act of creation created the souls of all men at the moment of conception, quickening them with our spirits by your spirit, implanting our voice of conscience, your voice therein, permanently uniting our souls in the form of with our bodies by your energy, as first the Immortal soul of your Son Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour is united, beloved, in your bosom to you God our Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning, in your image and likeness in the unity of your Holy Spirit, life quickening breath of life energy
self existent, one essence, substance, threefold light of one undivided glory
Abba Our Father and the Son Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour and the Holy Spirit our Paraclete
worshipped and served by all your elect angels and saints at all times,
only author of creation, redemption, salvation, sanctification
creating each of us our self and endowing each of us with our capacity of memory

Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
God our Father deliver us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
God the Son Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour deliver us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit our Paraclete deliver us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Holy Trinity have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Adorable Unity have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Holy Holy Holy Lord God Pantocrator have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us

Baruch Adonai Yahweh Eloheinu Yahweh echad Emeth Huy Eloah Chay Melek Olam Olam eth deliver us into your kingdom inheriting life eternal unto the endless ages of ages to come
Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour in your true Gospel alone Holy God, the only author of covenant of salvation, of:

Adam’s covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a lion prefiguring the Gospel of John showing forth the royal power and authority of Christ the Immortal Son Word Wisdom and Power of God through whom God the Father by the Holy Spirit created all of creation Who became Incarnate for our redemption in the flesh as Adam had sinned in the flesh

Noah’s covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a calf prefiguring the Gospel of Luke showing forth the sacrifice of Christ who is our Holy Only Priest Victim Sacrifice Altar Temple Tabernacle Redeemer Salvation Immortal Immaculate Golden Ark of the covenant showing himself forth as the only begotten Redeemer in his Epiphany of fiery glory at his baptism in the Jordan

Abraham’s covenant shown forth by an Epiphany of the Lord and two angels prefiguring the Transfiguration of Christ with: Moses, a type of the faithful departed at the future resurrection, and Elijah, a type of the faithful living at the future resurrection, Christ condemning for all time the darkness of idolatry which has no communion with light – the grace of the Gospel of Christ

Moses’ covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a man prefiguring the Gospel of Matthew showing forth the God – man prophet, the Christ, who Moses and David and Isaiah and Habakkuk and Ezra foretold Israel would either heed or be destroyed by rejecting, he who is our only Lord and Saviour by his most Holy Cross by which he tread down Satan and cast him out of creation
David’s covenant shown forth by the gift of prophecy, especially of the resurrection of Christ
Daniel’s covenant shown forth by his vision of the ancient of days prefiguring the Gospel of Christ especially his Ascension

Christ Jesus Immortal Son most Holy Angel of Almighty Counsel, Captain of the hosts of the Lord, the giver of all covenants with God shown forth by his promise of the keys of Himself the Messiah to Peter and to all who believe in Him – Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour, the final covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of an eagle and through him to the Father does all glory redound in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit, he given at Pentecost, especially proclaimed by the Gospel of Mark of the preaching of the salvation of Christ Jesus throughout the world, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour who descended from the third heaven from the Father’s right hand and became flesh by the Holy Spirit, the immaculate conception and was truly born of the blessed virgin Mary on earth, 70 generations from Adam and your creation of all of creation, thus subsuming flesh of Adam and of all men to yourself to restore your Image and Likeness to all the saints from the first Adam to the last saint, by you Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the only Immaculate Lamb of God who alone takes away the sin of the whole world of those who are saved, by your most Holy Cross and Holy Blood, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour and Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, covering the whole earth and cleansing the whole universe, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the only first born from the dead in the flesh, the only one resurrected, ascended, assumed bodily in the flesh, seated at the right hand of God, Baruch Adonai Yahweh El Olam eth Abba Our Father in the third heaven in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete

Holy Holy Holy Lord God Pantocrator

and Who, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, shall return from the Father’s right hand in the same flesh with all the elect angels and raise, first, the saints in the flesh, our same spirits souls and bodies reunited and then all other men in the flesh, their same souls and bodies reunited, from throughout the whole world and all of time from the beginning of your creation until that time – known to you alone Holy Immortal undivided trinity, in the future at your Parousia Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, your saints to inherit paradise recreated then with all the elect angels worshipping you face to face in the glory of the Father and the union of the Holy Spirit unto the endless ages of ages – and the rest to be cast into the lake of fire forevermore unto the same endless ages of ages to come.
Baruch Adonai Yahweh Elohim eth He Creator and Artificer of all our only Teacher

He Spirit absolute intelligence Holy unique
manifold subtle agile
clear unstained certain
not baneful loving the good keen
unhampered beneficent kindly
firm secure tranquil
all-powerful all-seeing and pervading all spirits though they be intelligent pure and very subtle seven holy elect blessed orders
of mighty Doxas holy Seraphim, Cherubim, Kuriotetes, Arches especially Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel holy Archangelos
Exousias, Dunameis, Angelos
uncreated Wisdom mobile beyond all motion He penetrates and pervades all things by reason of His purity for He is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the Glory of the Almighty therefore nought that is sullied enters into Him for
He is the refulgence of eternal light the
spotless mirror of the energy of God the image of his goodness he who is one can do all things and renews everything while Himself perduing by His breath passing into holy souls from
age to age he produces friends of God and prophets for there is not God loves be it not one who dwells with wisdom for he is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars compared to light he takes precedence for that indeed night might supplant but wickedness prevails not over wisdom
indeed he reaches from end to end mightily and governs all
things well.


BOOK OF THE ACTS CHAPTER 8

4. Now those who were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. 5. And, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ to them. 6. And the crowds with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, listening to him and seeing the miracles that he worked (by the power of the Holy Spirit). 7. For many of those having unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out. {Note: this is the direct translation from the Latin and also from the Greek [by the late 1940's CCD Catholic translators] - those with the unclean spirits went out; i.e. they left, driven out by the Holy Spirit. It was a typical practice in ancient paganism, and also in the modern descendants of that infidelity to the true living God (Buddhism - especially Tibetan tantrism and Japanese esoteric/exoteric Mahayana - Nicherin Shoshu for instance, Hinduism, heretical Sufi mystics for instance, etc.), to purposely obsess themselves (cause their own possession) with demonic spirits. Doing the same thing is the basis of the so-called "catholic charismatic movement" which is total heresy. The true God, worshipped traditionally through the centuries by the One Holy Apostolic Catholic Church, Orthodox in doctrine and profession of the one true saving faith, will NOT tolerate the spirits of the false gods which God forbade by the first commandment "thou shalt not have strange gods before Me".}

8. So there was great joy in that city. {That the worshippers of the false gods had been driven out}

9. Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing sorcery in that city and astounding the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10. and all from least to greatest listened to him, saying, "This man is the power of God, which is called great." 11. And they gave heed to him because for a long time he had bewitched them with his sorceries. 12. But when they believed Philip as he preached the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13. And Simon also himself believed, and after his baptism attached himself to Philip and at sight of the signs and exceedingly great miracles being wrought, he was amazed.

14. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John. 15. On their arrival they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; 16. for as yet he had not come upon any of them {that had been baptized by Phillip, however at the miracles of Phillip the self possessed by demons had been driven out by the power of the Holy Spirit}, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18. But when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles hands {not laid on this Simon and the Holy Spirit absolutely not given to him}, he offered them money, 19. saying, "Give me also this power, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter. said to him, 20. "Thy money go to destruction with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. 21. Thou hast no part or lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right before God."

Note: Simony, using the Gospel for money making purposes (it is alright for a man to pray that God give him work to make a living, that is quite different), and blaspheming the Holy Spirit are both immediate and direct reasons for the complete damnation of infidels and heretics by God, which God will do! The complete history of Simon Magus (Simon the magician) who is referred to in the above passage is given in the Church Fathers, especially St. Irenaeus and St. Hippolytus, and others. Simon's final damnation is here prophesied by St. Peter, although for a while Simon pretended to repent, but went on to even more blasphemous and absurd and dirty schemes with a prostitute named Helen. Simon pretended that Helen was the reincarnation of Helen of Troy. According to St. Irenaeus and St. Hippolytus and the other Church Fathers writing on the subject, Simon is the father of the ancient heresy against the Church which is called Gnosticism. The Gnostics followed in the footsteps of the Naaseni (ancient serpent worshippers that had apostasized from the true God and turned, on purpose, to worship Satan). Amongst other offenses of which the Gnostics were guilty were: committing abortion, pretending to forgive sins by their own power and partaking in and encouraging sexual sins - especially taking advantage of women. The modern Gnostics would be those who, today, molest young people sexually, priests who take license with women parishioners sexually and/or brow beat them for money and the ecumenists who claim that the false gods of Buddhism and Hinduism and paganism in general etc. are to be tolerated. The Church Fathers further taught that the ringleaders of this sort of thing, especially priests and bishops, are to be driven out and not even offered absolution, but the little folks who have been mislead should repent of this and have nothing to do with the apostate priests and bishops, that means all of the Vatican II apostasy and the whole of the great apostasy that is upon us.

OUR CHOICE, THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL -- VERSUS CHARITY, IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER BUT IT CANNOT BE BOTH

In the Gospel of St. Mark in the 13th chapter, Jesus' discourse on the signs immediately preceding His second coming (in the same flesh in which He, the incarnate God was crucified, died, buried and resurrected and ascended to the Father's right hand in heaven, returning therefrom to raise and judge all men), in the 22nd verse Jesus gives us a severe warning: "For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." verse 23. "Be on your guard, therefore; behold, I have told you all things beforehand." In the 22nd verse the word 'astray' is the same word in the Greek as in St. Paul's 1st epistle to St. Timothy in the 6th chapter, the 10th verse, translated as 'erred': "For the desire of money is the root of all evils; which some coveting have erred from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows." (From Thayer's Lexicon: apo-planaoo, 1 aor. pass. apeplanethen; 'to cause to go astray', trop. 'to lead away from the truth to error': Mk. xiii. 22; pass. to go astray, stray away from: 1 Tim. vi. 10.) In both cases it means to deny Christ and the faith and therefore to not be saved but be judged and condemned by Christ into hell. Also, quoted under The Angel's Promise, see below in Apocalypse 18th chapter verse 23b: "because thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy witchcraft (pharmakeia) all the nations have been led astray." led astray here is a closely related word in the Greek, eplanethesan. In all these cases it means led to transgress against God and be damned by Christ, not saved by Him.

From "The Didache"; the Apostolic directions to Christians. This is the earliest Christian book in existence.
"Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion." 2:2
"The Way of Death is filled with people who are ... murderers of children and abortionists of God's creatures." 5:1-2

How Christians Should Live

13. For you have been called to liberty, brethren; only do not use liberty as an occasion for sensuality, but by charity serve one another. 14. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 15. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed or you will be consumed by one another. (signifies the complete ruin of the Christian Community)
16. But I say: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. 17. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you would. 18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, 20. idolatry, witchcrafts (pharmekeia), enmities; contentions, jealousies, anger, quarrels, factions, parties, 21. envies; murders, drunkenness, carousings, and suchlike. And concerning these I warn you, as I have warned you, that they who do such things will not attain the kingdom of God. 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is: charity, joy, peace; patience, kindness, goodness, 23. faith, modesty, continency. Against such things there is no law. 24. And they who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. 25. If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. 26. Let us not become desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another. - from Galatians Chapter 5

The Angel's Promise

21. And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, "With this violence will Babylon; the great city, be overthrown, and will not be found any more. 22. And the sound of harpers and musicians and flute-players and trumpet will not be heard in thee any more; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in thee any more; and sound of millstone will not be heard in thee any more. 23. And light of lamp will not shine in thee any more; and voice of bridegroom and of bride will not be heard in thee any more; because thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy witchcraft (pharmakeia) all the nations have been led astray. 24. And in her was found blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain upon the earth." - from Apocalypse Chapter 18

Pharmakoi: sorcerer (or sorceress); pharmakon: sorcerer's sacrifice; pharmakos: sorcery; pharmakeia: witchcraft - all the foregoing offered to Satan via idolatry (idoololatreia); in this description, especially including the idolatry of mammon that Christ condemned as being damned.


For Psalms see:



See below.

For the Office of the Hours (from the Coptic Orthodox Church) see the link below:

The Coptic Orthodox Book Of Hours,
___________________________________


The Catholic Creed: The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ

From the: CATHOLIC DICTIONARY The Catholic Press, Inc. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Imprimatur + Samuel Cardinal Stritch Archbishop of Chicago - Chicago, August 5, 1950
Resurrection of Christ. The greatest of all Christ's miracles and the proof of His divine mission. For although He worked many other wonders, yet without His Resurrection, as Saint Paul states (1 Cor. 15:17), our faith would be vain and we would still be in our sins. The reason for this is that resurrection from the dead was the sign which Christ Himself promised as the proof of His divine mission (Matt. 12:38 - 41; John 2:19), and had He failed to return to life on the third day He would have been convicted of being an imposter. His enemies, the priests and Pharisees, understood full well the importance of this sign, and therefore took precautions to seal the tomb and post guards (Matt. 27:62 - 66). Since these arrangements excluded the possibility of fraud, they thereby increased for posterity the certainty of the miracle. The Resurrection was not an apparent return or a mere hallucination of the Apostles, but resumption by Christ of His human body. It is a historical fact attested by witnesses who could neither deceive, wish to deceive, nor be deceived. Those whom the Bible mentions as having seen the Risen Christ include: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome; the Apostles; Cleophas and another disciple at Emmaus; Saint Paul; more than 500 disciples. Of the fact of Christ's Resurrec­tion, therefore, there can be no doubt (Matt. 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20). The Apostles bore witness to it constantly; in fact, it formed the basis of their entire preaching (e.g., Acts 2:24-32; 2 Cor. 5:15; 2 Tim. 2:8). Not only is it the foundation of our faith; it is also the pledge and example of our own resurrection. Easter Sunday is the Feast of the Resurrection. Resurrection of the Body. The doctrine that the souls of all men, both good and bad, will be reunited to their bodies at the second coming of Christ. Just as the body shares in the good acts or in the sins of the soul in this life, so it will share in its reward or in its punishment in eternity. Each soul will be reunited, by the power of God, to identically the same body which it inhabited in this life. The risen body, will be without any defect of human nature and will be invested with the special qualities of the glorified body. This doctrine is the 11th article of the Creed, and one of the principal doctrines of our Faith. This consoling truth was known to the orthodox Jews of the Old Testament (2 Mach. 7:9-11) and was more clearly and emphatically taught by Our Lord on various occasions (Matt. 22:23-32; John 5: 28-29). Indeed, by Himself rising from the dead, Christ gave us a pattern and a pledge of our own resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-23; 1 Thess. 4:13); for at His command on the last day our bodies will be restored to us in a condition like to His own glorified body: subject to our souls, and immune from decay, suffering, and death (1 Cor. 15:42-44).

Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Creed of the Whole and Undivided Church as Given by the Apostles

+

BOOK I CHAP. X. - UNITY OF THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH

THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD. { note that St. Irenaeus is the first to record the creed later called the apostles creed – with a lot more than we usually see }

I. The Church: all true Loving Catholic Apostolic Orthodox true brethren and benefactors each of us holding You Christ Jesus Our Only Lord and Saviour the Head directly, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith; in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator, Framer, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents and the birth from a virgin, and the passion and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His [future] parousia from heaven in the same flesh in which he suffered, in the glory of the Father, “to gather all things in one,” and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, “every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess” to Him, and that He should execute just judgment towards all; that He may send spiritual wickednesses,” and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire but may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept His commandments, and have persevered in His love, some from the beginning of their Christian course and others from their repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory.

2. As I have already observed, the Church,

having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully, preserves it. She also believes these points of doctrine just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. For, although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the import of the tradition is one and the same. For the Churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have been established in the central regions of the world { Jerusalem, the mother of all the Churches is here referred to }. But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the same throughout the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. Nor will anyone of, the rulers in the Churches, however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor, on the other hand, will he who is deficient in power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does one who is able at great length to discourse regarding it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say but little, diminish it.

3 It does not follow because men are endowed

with greater and less degrees of intelligence, that they should therefore change the subject-matter of the faith itself, and should conceive of some other God, besides Him who is the Creator, Framer, Maker, and Preserver of this universe ( as if He were not sufficient for them ), or of another Christ, or another Only-begotten.

…while the Catholic Church possesses one and the same faith throughout the whole world, as we have already said.

(Pg.) 332

(Pg.) 497

Book 4 Chapter XXVI Section 4.

( Concerning how we act towards heretics – the evolutionary Gnostics )

From all such persons, therefore, it behoves us to keep aloof,…but to adhere to…the doctrine of the Apostles.


Jesus Christ Our Only Lord and Saviour in Your true Gospel alone Holy God, the Only Author of Covenant of Salvation, of:

Adam’s covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a lion prefiguring the Gospel of John showing forth the royal power and authority of Christ the Immortal Son Word Wisdom and Power of God through whom God the Father by the Holy Spirit created all of creation Who became Incarnate for our redemption in the flesh as Adam had sinned in the flesh

Noah’s covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a calf prefiguring the Gospel of Luke showing forth the sacrifice of Christ who is our Holy Only Priest Victim Sacrifice Altar Temple Tabernacle Redeemer Salvation Immortal Immaculate Golden Ark of the covenant showing himself forth as the only begotten Redeemer in his Epiphany of fiery glory at his baptism in the Jordan

Abraham’s covenant shown forth by an Epiphany of the Lord and two angels prefiguring the Transfiguration of Christ with: Moses, a type of the faithful departed at the future resurrection, and Elijah, a type of the faithful living at the future resurrection, Christ condemning for all time the darkness of idolatry which has no communion with light - the grace of the Gospel of Christ

Moses’ covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of a man prefiguring the Gospel of Matthew showing forth the God - man prophet, the Christ, who Moses and David and Isaiah and Habakkuk and Ezra foretold Israel would either heed or be destroyed by rejecting, he who is our only Lord and Saviour by his most Holy Cross by which he tread down Satan and cast him out of creation

David’s covenant shown forth by the gift of prophecy, especially of the resurrection of Christ

Daniel’s covenant shown forth by his vision of the ancient of days prefiguring the Gospel of Christ especially his Ascension

Christ Jesus Immortal Son most Holy Angel of Almighty Counsel, Captain of the hosts of the Lord, the giver of all covenants with God shown forth by his promise of the keys of Himself the Messiah to Peter and to all who believe in Him - Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour, the final covenant shown forth by the face seen by Ezechiel of an eagle and through him to the Father does all glory redound in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit, he given at Pentecost, especially proclaimed by the Gospel of Mark of the preaching of the salvation of Christ Jesus throughout the world, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour who descended from the third heaven from the Father's right hand and became flesh by the Holy Spirit, the immaculate conception and was truly born of the blessed virgin Mary on earth, 70 generations from Adam and your creation of all of creation, thus subsuming flesh of Adam and of all men to yourself to restore your Image and Likeness to all the saints from the first Adam to the last saint, by you Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the only Immaculate Lamb of God who alone takes away the sin of the whole world of those who are saved, by your most Holy Cross and Holy Blood, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour and Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, covering the whole earth and cleansing the whole universe, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, the only first born from the dead in the flesh, the only one resurrected, ascended, assumed bodily in the flesh, seated at the right hand of God, Baruch Adonai Yahweh El Olam eth Abba Our Father in the third heaven in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete

Holy Holy Holy Lord God Pantocrator

and Who, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, shall return from the Father’s right hand in the same flesh with all the elect angels and raise, first, the saints in the flesh, our same spirits souls and bodies reunited and then all other men in the flesh, their same souls and bodies reunited, from throughout the whole world and all of time from the beginning of your creation until that time - known to you alone Holy Immortal undivided trinity, in the future at your Parousia Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, your saints to inherit paradise recreated then with all the elect angels worshipping you face to face in the glory of the Father and the union of the Holy Spirit unto the endless ages of ages - and the rest to be cast into the lake of fire forevermore unto the same endless ages of ages to come.


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Athanasian Creed

Whoever wills his salvation before all else let him profess the Catholic faith.
For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever.
Now the Catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity.
Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.
For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.
Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being.
So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three infinite beings, but one uncreated being and one infinite being.
Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being.

Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
However, there are not three gods, but one God.
The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord.
However, there as not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone.
The Son is not made, nor created, but engendered by the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son.

There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another.
So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshipped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.
He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity.

It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.

As God, He was engendered of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the flesh of His Mother.
He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh.
He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His flesh.
Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ.
And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God.
He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person.
As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ.
He died for our salvation, descended to the waiting souls of the faithful departed, and rose from the dead on the third day.
He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds.
Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire.
This is the Catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved.
Glory be to Thee, O equal Trinity, one God, before all ages, now and forever.
Amen.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Traditional Catholic Prayers: Jesus Christ the Son of God, who established His Eucharist

Traditional Catholic Prayers: Jesus Christ the Son of God, who established His Eucharist


This is the only Eucharist we must have part of.



At the Last Supper, Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist. This is for Baptized Christians only. One can believe in God with a salvific faith before Baptism or even without Baptism. St. Augustine makes an example of someone alone in a desert with no water to baptize with and no one to baptize the singular person there. If that person were to come to faith in the true Triune God, then that is a saving faith, even if he should die of thirst moments later. Is that salvation somehow retracted if he should live instead? Of course not. The water Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace that is established by the person's confession of faith in God and the Holy Spirit's response to that confession. The Holy Spirit actually prompts, but does not force the person's confession in the first place.





The Last Supper is the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament type of the Paschal Lamb of the Passover that God commanded the Israelites to eat at the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt. The last supper is where Christ instituted His real presence (recreated unbloody by the Holy Spirit in the epiclesis in our communions) as it would be offered the next day on His Most Holy Cross as the only Sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. This sacrifice was prefigured in the son, Isaac, that Abraham was willing to offer to God, but God substituted the Ram (prefiguring Christ) instead. Eid al-Kabir, "the Greater Eid," is the reverent Muslim holiday recalling the faith of Abraham in that sacrifice.







THE LORD'S EUCHARIST - CLICK ON PICTURE TO GO TO HOW TO CELEBRATE THE EUCHARIST



The Lord's Eucharist - Click on picture to go to how to celebrate the Eucharist
St. John 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to his disciples, after he was risen from the dead.









The Great tribulation is ever increasing in its proximity to us, though the exact time is known by God alone. The Church Fathers said that the faithful at that time would withdraw to private places to preserve the Eucharist in its purity. Below is the original house Church.


In the ancient Church there was no term such as "confect" the Eucharist. The Eucharist is present in the bread and in the wine and water (wine and water mixed approximately half and half) by the power of the Holy Spirit.


From the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles below:


Acts:2:
41 They therefore that received his word were
baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.
42 ¶ And they were persevering in the
doctrine of the apostles and in the communication of the breaking of bread and in prayers.

Notice what is the practice of the faith in Christ as per the preaching of the Gospel by St. Peter himself and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, which is when Christ told them to wait for and then preach the Gospel, when they would be guided to do so by the Holy Spirit.


Acts

4 And eating together with them, he (Jesus) commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth.
5 For John indeed baptized with water: but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence.


Christians, read Catholics, are to be baptized


Mt:28:19:
19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.


(that is done with the above formula that Our Lord gave us and with water at that time, once in your life, with the proper intent, so that the Holy Spirit bestows actual baptism of the blood of Christ upon you)


Christians, read Catholics, are to persevere in the doctrine of the apostles

Christians, read Catholics, are to persevere in the communication of the breaking of bread (holy communion of the Eucharist)

Christians, read Catholics, are to be in prayers

Notice it is done house to house - in house churches:


Acts:2:

44 And all they that believed were together and had all things in common.
45 Their possessions and goods they sold and divided them to all, according as every one had need.
46 And continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart:


When you use the Didache, written by the Apostles in 49 A.D. at the council of Jerusalem, for the Eucharist, it would be proper to use the words of Institution and the Epiclesis (calling down of the Holy Spirit to bless gifts and make them into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) which were written by St. James the lesser of Jerusalem in his liturgy, he is the same person as the author of the Epistle of St. James (Jms:1:1: James, the servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ,...). See the attached file, "Original Eucharist", for complete Eucharist celebration for house Church.

Acts:2:
1 ¶ And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place:
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire: and it sat upon every one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit: and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Spirit gave them to speak.
5 ¶ Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue.
7 And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these that speak Galilean?
8 And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,
11 Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this?
13 But others mocking, said: These men are full of new wine.
14 ¶ But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you and with your ears receive my words.
15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day:
16 But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel:
17 And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord), I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And upon my servants indeed and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my spirit: and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord to come.
21 And it shalt come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you, as you also know:
23 This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain.
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of death, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it.
25 For David saith concerning him: I foresaw the Lord before my face: because he is at my right hand, that I may not be moved.
26 For this my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hades: nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David: that he died and was buried; and his sepulchre is with us to this present say.
30 Whereas therefore he was a prophet and knew that God hath sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit upon his throne.
31 Foreseeing this, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ. For neither was he left in hell: neither did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised again, whereof all we are witnesses.
33 Being exalted therefore by the right hand of God and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath poured forth this which you see and hear.
34 For David ascended not into heaven; but he himself said: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know most certainly that God hath made both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.
37 ¶ Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles: What shall we do, men and brethren?
38 But Peter said to them: Do penance: and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with very many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.
41 They therefore that received his word were baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.
42 ¶ And they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles and in the communication of the breaking of bread and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul. Many wonders also and signs were done by the apostles in Jerusalem: and there was great fervor in all.
44 And all they that believed were together and had all things common.
45 Their possessions and goods they sold and divided them to all, according as every one had need.
46 And continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart:
47 Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved.


Attached file Original Eucharist



Words in dark red are instructions and not to be said out loud. Words in light red and black are to be said out loud.


Mix the cup half and half with water and red wine, the hosts can be purchased from stores that sell Christian supplies. The people are those of the house Church there with the celebrant. The house Church selects the celebrant from among their own. The celebrant appoints the deacons in a house Church large enough to have them, otherwise their part is done by the people. If you are celebrating alone then you do the part of the celebrant and the people and the deacons.





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In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit



Our Father Who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.



(2) First, concerning the cup:



We give you thanks, our Father,

for the holy vine of David your servant, which you have made known to us through Jesus, your servant;

to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come.



(3) And concerning the broken bread:



We give you thanks, our Father,

for the life and knowledge

which you have made known to us through Jesus; your servant;

to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come.



Just as this broken bread was scattered

upon the mountains and then was

gathered together and became one,

so may your church be gathered together

from the ends of the earth into your kingdom;

for yours is the glory and the power unto the endless ages of ages to come.


The People: It is becoming and right.

Then the celebrant prays: Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise Thee, to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to worship Thee, to glorify Thee, to give Thee thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all:
Whom the heavens of heavens praise, and all the host of them; the sun, and the moon, and all the choir of the stars; earth, sea, and all that is in them; Jerusalem, the heavenly assembly, and church of the first-born that are written in heaven; spirits of just men and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; the six-winged seraphim, which cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two, and with two they fly, crying one to another with unresting lips and the many-eyed cherubim, dominions, archangels, especially St. Michael and St. Gabriel, authorities, powers and angels with unceasing praises: Holy, holy, holy, O Lord God Pantocrator

(Aloud.) With loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Thy majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:-

The People: Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The celebrant, making the sign of the cross on the gifts + , says: Holy art Thou, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom Thou hast made all things; holy also Thy Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Thy deep things, O God: holy art Thou, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Thy creatures; who didst make man from earth after Thine own image and likeness; who didst give him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Thy commandment, and fell away, didst not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but didst chasten him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards didst send forth Thine only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Thy image;
Who, having descended from heaven, and become flesh of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Godmother Mary, and having sojourned among men, fulfilled the dispensation for the salvation of our race; and being about to endure His voluntary and life-giving death by the cross, He the sinless for us the sinners, in the night in which He was betrayed, nay, rather delivered Himself up for the life and salvation of the world,

Then the celebrant holds the bread in his hand, and says: Having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and brake, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:-

(here break the bread and set back down on the plate)

The Deacons say: For the remission of sins and life everlasting.

Then he says aloud: Take, eat: this is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins.

The People: Amen.

Then he takes the cup, and says: In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins.

The People: Amen.



(set cup back down)

The celebrant: This do in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death, and confess His resurrection, till He come.

The Deacons say: We believe and confess:

The People: We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection.

The celebrant (Oblation): Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of Thee, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto Thee, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that Thou wilt not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities;
But that Thou, according to Thy mercy and Thy unspeakable loving-kindness, passing by and blotting out the handwriting against us Thy suppliants, wilt grant to us Thy heavenly and eternal gifts (which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man) that thou hast prepared, O God, for those who love Thee; and reject not, O loving Lord, the people for my sake, or for my sin's sake:

Then he says, thrice: For Thy people and Thy Church supplicate Thee.

The People: Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty.

Again the celebrant says (Invocation): Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty. Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour Jesus Christ Our Lord. Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Thy all-holy Spirit.

Then, bowing his neck, he says: The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with Thee, our God and Father, and with Thy only-begotten Son, reigning with Thee; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Thy New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Thy apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Thine all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts;

And rising up, he says aloud: That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Thy Christ.

The People: Amen.

The celebrant: And this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ.

The People: Amen.



Here receive Communion. Receive the host and say first "the Body of Christ" and then the cup and say first "the Blood of Christ".



We give you thanks, Holy Father,

for your holy name which you

have caused to dwell in our hearts,

and for the knowledge and faith and immortality

which you have made known to us

through Jesus your servant;

to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come.



You, almighty Master, created all things for your

name's sake,

and gave food and drink to men, Adam and Eve, to enjoy,

that they might give you thanks

but to us, from the first Adam to the last Saint, you have graciously given

spiritual food and drink,

and eternal life through your servant Christ Jesus Our Only Lord and Saviour.



Above all we give thanks because you are mighty

to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come.




Remember your church Lord,

to deliver it from all evil

and to make it perfect in your love

and gather it, the one that has been sanctified,

from the four winds into your kingdom,

which you have prepared for it

for yours is the power and the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come.



May grace come, and may this age pass away.

Hosanna to the God of David.

If anyone is holy, let him come;

anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha!



We give You thanks, Father, for the fragrant ointment Your Holy Spirit our Paraclete which You have made known to us through Jesus Your servant; to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come. Amen.



In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit




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Monday, November 14, 2011

Baptism into Christ Jesus


1 Peter 3:
In Christian Suffering13. And who is there to harm you, if you are zealous for what is good? 14. But even if you suffer anything for justice’ sake, blessed are you. So have no fear of their fear and do not be troubled. 15. But hallow the Lord Christ in your hearts. Be ready always with an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you. 16. Yet do so with gentleness and fear, having a good conscience, so that wherein they speak in disparagement of you they who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [verses 13 - 16, see fn. 1] 17. For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that you suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18. Because Christ also died once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Put to death indeed in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit, 19. in which also he went and preached to those spirits that were in prison. [fn. 2] 20. These in times past had been disobedient when the patience of God waited in the days of Noe [Noah] while the ark was building. In that ark a few, that is, eight souls were saved through water. 21. Its counterpart, Baptism now saves you also (not the putting off of the filth of the flesh [the water is referred to], but the inquiry [response] of a good conscience after God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; 22. who is at the right hand of God, swallowing up death that we might be made heirs of eternal life; for he went into heaven, Angels, Powers and Virtues being made subject to him.

Translation is late 1940's CCD Douay Rheims Catholic
___________________________

[fn. 1]
These passages below from Saint Paul and Saint Peter are linked. See Mt. 5:10 "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Saint Peter affirms this in 1Pet. 3:14 below. This was seen in action in Thessalonica recorded in Acts 17:5-9 and referred to in 1 Thess. 2:14 below.
Acts 17:5-9 - [5] But the Jews, moved with envy, and taking unto them some wicked men of the vulgar sort, and making a tumult, set the city in an uproar; and besetting Jason's house, sought to bring them out unto the people.
[6] And not finding them, they drew Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying: They that set the city in an uproar, are come hither also; [7] Whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. [8] And they stirred up the people, and the rulers of the city hearing these things, [9] And having taken satisfaction of Jason and of the rest, they let them go.
Just as the Jews persecuted Our Lord Jesus Christ, they also persecute those who follow Him. Our Lord tells us we are blessed when this occurs just as the prophets were blessed by God for being faithful to Him when the Jews persecuted and killed them - which they did to Our Only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but He rose again and will return and raise and judge all men.
Saint Paul

1 Thess. 2: [14] For you, brethren, are become followers of the churches of God which are in Judea, in Christ Jesus: for you also have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they have from the Jews, [see Acts 17:5-9] [15] Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not God, and are adversaries to all men; [16] Prohibiting us to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath of God is come upon them to the end. (DRV)

Saint Peter

1 Peter 3: [11] Let him decline from evil, and do good: let him seek after peace and pursue it: [12] Because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers: but the countenance of the Lord upon them that do evil things. [13] And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good? [14] But if also you suffer any thing for justice' sake, [see Mt. 5:10] blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled. [15] But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you. (DRV)
[fn. 2] "19. in which also he went and preached to those spirits that were in prison." This is explained by St. Irenaeus in Against Heresies Book IV, Chapter XXVII, Section 2.
2. It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also, and [declaring] the remission of sins received by those who believe in Him.385 Now all those believed in Him who had hope towards Him, that is, those who proclaimed His advent, and submitted to His dispensations, the righteous men, the prophets, and the patriarchs, to whom He remitted sins in the same way as He did to us, which sins we should not lay to their charge, if we would not despise the grace of God. For as these men did not impute unto us (the Gentiles) our transgressions, which we wrought before Christ was manifested among us, so also it is not right that we should lay blame upon those who sinned before Christ's coming.
Notice there is no purgatory here, it is the "the righteous men, the prophets, and the patriarchs" who are in the place rendered a "prison" in the text here in 1 Peter 3:19. "Prison" has dual meaning here; it is the grave, first of all, since when Adam sinned then it was the lot of men to die - and secondly it is the "bosom of Abraham" that Our Lord Jesus Christ referred to as the place of the abode of the souls of the faithful departed awaiting the resurrection of the dead (Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell., which after the resurrection of Christ, the Church referred to Abraham's bosom as the "bosom of Christ"). At the same time, Saint Irenaeus is not saying that wanton disregard for God's commandments is somehow allowed for anyone. We must repent and ask for God's forgiveness. Also, he is saying that we must not impute sins recorded in the Old Testament to the prophets and patriarchs just as they do not impute our sins to us who would later come to the same Christ for forgiveness. This is also in Our Lord's Prayer He taught us to Pray: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen." We must, of course, confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness and at the same time we do not hold our fellows in the body of Christ as indebted to us but as Jesus told Peter, how often do you forgive - seven times? Nay but, seven times seven times. The meaning is there is no limit. This doesn't apply to those outside the body of Christ. Instead, if they are willing, tell them about the gift of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His forgiveness.

Matthew 26

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Neighbor in the above verse means our brothers and sisters in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, regardless of any other connection to us they may have or not have.

Note as well, that in the Apostles Creed there is a phrase that Our Lord Jesus Christ descended into "hell" incorrectly used by translators (the same word "hell" is also incorrectly used by translators in the Acts Of the Apostles 2:27 [Acts 2:27] and related scriptural verses). That is not correct, it is a bad translation from the Latin. It should read the same as the above place wherein Our Lord went to preach to those departed spirits of men that were in fact saved but awaiting the announcement that their Saviour, who is the same Saviour of us, Jesus Christ, had come. He went in to them in the time between His death on the Cross (a living death with NO bodily corruption [Acts Of Apostles 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in the abode of the dead, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.]) and His resurrection and announced the glorious and long awaited news that He had come with the salvation promised to Adam by God when Adam had sinned. This salvation is for Adam and Eve (who were among the ones awaiting Christ) and all of Adam's children that put their faith in the true God. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ went in to the abode of the dead, but He did not remain there. He never went into hell, the abode of the damned, nor did He ever preach any forgiveness to them - see Luke 16:22 above, the rich man went into hell, damned forever. At His ascension, after His resurrection, Our Lord Jesus Christ translated the bosom of Abraham to heaven with Him instead of an interim lower place. Therefore, as St. Paul and the Church Fathers attest, spiritual journeys into heaven are quite possible for those whom God grants the gift. We therefore have no reason to doubt the night journey of Muhammad (pbuh) to heaven. Three and seven heavens do not disagree. We don't mean the gnostic versions of any of it. God's throne is in the third heaven beyond and above the created universe. The first heaven is the atmosphere, the air. The second heaven is what we call outer space. The seven heavens are the journey anyone would make through the solar system past the seven visible planets. The second heaven extends to where the third heaven is, the uncreated throne room of the living God. It is not spatial as we think of created spatial places, it is the uncreated light and presence of the living God above all and beyond all, who created all that has been created and Whose presence (Tawhid in Islam, Nous in Patristic Christianity) is infinite, it is the mind of God and has the quality of His uncreated energy and is present transcendently throughout all of His creation. God is not present in hell. That is maintained by Him in existence by His will and is the abode of the damned. It is sheer terror and suffering and torment and darkness and has the quality present of nonphysical but extreme and utterly real fire that burns but does not consume, there is real pain. The "worm" of the damned souls does not die.

Monday, August 1, 2011

St. Irenaeus Against Heresies Book V. Chapters 1 - 3

...but following the only true and steadfast Teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.

    Chapter I.-Christ Alone is Able to Teach Divine Things, and to Redeem Us: He, the Same, Took Flesh of the Virgin Mary, Not Merely in Appearance, But Actually, by the Operation of the Holy Spirit, in Order to Renovate Us. Strictures on the Conceits of Valentinus and Ebion.

1. For in no other way could we have learned the things of God, unless our Master, existing as the Word, had become man. For no other being had the power of revealing to us the things of the Father, except His own proper Word. For what other person "knew the mind of the Lord," or who else "has become His counsellor? "2 Again, we could have learned in no other way than by seeing our Teacher, and hearing His voice with our own ears, that, having become imitators of His works as well as doers of His words, we may have communion with Him, receiving increase from the perfect One, and from Him who is prior to all creation. We-who were but lately created by the only best and good Being, by Him also who has the gift of immortality, having been formed after His likeness (predestinated, according to the prescience of the Father, that we, who had as yet no existence, might come into being), and made the first-fruits of creation3 -have received, in the times known beforehand, [the blessings of salvation] according to the ministration of the Word, who is perfect in all things, as the mighty Word, and very man, who, redeeming us by His own blood in a manner consonant to reason, gave Himself as a redemption for those who had been led into captivity. And since the apostasy tyrannized over us unjustly, and, though we were by nature the property of the omnipotent God, alienated us contrary to nature, rendering us its own disciples, the Word of God, powerful in all things, and not defective with regard to His own justice, did righteously turn against that apostasy, and redeem from it His own property, not by violent means, as the [apostasy] had obtained dominion over us at the beginning, when it insatiably snatched away what was not its own, but by means of persuasion, as became a God of counsel, who does not use violent means to obtain what He desires; so that neither should justice be infringed upon, nor the ancient handiwork of God go to destruction. Since the Lord thus has redeemed us through His own blood, giving His soul for our souls, and His flesh for our flesh,4 and has also poured out the Spirit of the Father for the union and communion of God and man, imparting indeed God to men by means of the Spirit, and, on the other hand, attaching man to God by His own incarnation, and bestowing upon us at His coming immortality durably and truly, by means of communion with God,-all the doctrines of the heretics fall to ruin.

2. Vain indeed are those who allege that He appeared in mere seeming. For these things were not done in appearance only, but in actual reality. But if He did appear as a man, when He was not a man, neither could the Holy Spirit have rested upon Him,-an occurrence which did actually take place-as the Spirit is invisible; nor, [in that case], was there any degree of truth in Him, for He was not that which He seemed to be. But I have already remarked that Abraham and the other prophets beheld Him after a prophetical manner, foretelling in vision what should come to pass. If, then, such a being has now appeared in outward semblance different from what he was in reality, there has been a certain prophetical vision made to men; and another advent of His must be looked forward to, in which He shall be such as He has now been seen in a prophetic manner. And I have proved already, that it is the same thing to say that He appeared merely to outward seeming, and [to affirm] that He received nothing from Mary. For He would not have been one truly possessing flesh and blood, by which He redeemed us, unless He had summed up in Himself the ancient formation of Adam. Vain therefore are the disciples of Valentinus who put forth this opinion, in order that they my exclude the flesh from salvation, and cast aside what God has fashioned.

3. Vain also are the Ebionites, who do not receive by faith into their soul the union of God and man, but who remain in the old leaven of [the natural] birth, and who do not choose to understand that the Holy Ghost came upon Mary, and the power of the Most High did overshadow her:5 wherefore also what was generated is a holy thing, and the Son of the Most High God the Father of all, who effected the incarnation of this being, and showed forth a new [kind of] generation; that as by the former generation we inherited death, so by this new generation we might inherit life. Therefore do these men reject the commixture of the heavenly wine,6 and wish it to be water of the world only, not receiving God so as to have union with Him, but they remain in that Adam who had been conquered and was expelled from Paradise: not considering that as, at the beginning of our formation in Adam, that breath of life which proceeded from God, having been united to what had been fashioned, animated the man, and manifested him as a being endowed with reason; so also, in [the times of] the end, the Word of the Father and the Spirit of God, having become united with the ancient substance of Adam's formation, rendered man living and perfect, receptive of the perfect Father, in order that as in the natural [Adam] we all were dead, so in the spiritual we may all be made alive.7 For never at any time did Adam escape the hands8 of God, to whom the Father speaking, said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." And for this reason in the last times (fine), not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by the good pleasure of the Father,9 His hands formed a living man, in order that Adam might be created [again] after the image and likeness of God.

    Chapter II.-When Christ Visited Us in His Grace, He Did Not Come to What Did Not Belong to Him: Also, by Shedding His True Blood for Us, and Exhibiting to Us His True Flesh in the Eucharist, He Conferred Upon Our Flesh the Capacity of Salvation.

1. And vain likewise are those who say that God came to those things which did not belong to Him, as if covetous of another's property; in order that He might deliver up that man who had been created by another, to that God who had neither made nor formed anything, but who also was deprived from the beginning of His own proper formation of men. The advent, therefore, of Him whom these men represent as coming to the things of others, was not righteous; nor did He truly redeem us by His own blood, if He did not really become man, restoring to His own handiwork what was said [of it] in the beginning, that man was made after the image and likeness of God; not snatching away by stratagem the property of another, but taking possession of His own in a righteous and gracious manner. As far as concerned the apostasy, indeed, He redeems us righteously from it by His own blood; but as regards us who have been redeemed, [He does this] graciously. For we have given nothing to Him previously, nor does He desire anything from us, as if He stood in need of it; but we do stand in need of fellowship with Him. And for this reason it was that He graciously poured Himself out, that He might gather us into the bosom of the Father.

2. But vain in every respect are they who despise the entire dispensation of God, and disallow the salvation of the flesh, and treat with contempt its regeneration, maintaining that it is not capable of incorruption. But if this indeed do not attain salvation, then neither did the Lord redeem us with His blood, nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of His blood, nor the bread which we break the communion of His body.10 For blood can only come from veins and flesh, and whatsoever else makes up the substance of man, such as the Word of God was actually made. By His own blood he redeemed us, as also His apostle declares, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins."11 And as we are His members, we are also nourished by means of the creation (and He Himself grants the creation to us, for He causes His sun to rise, and sends rain when He wills12 ). He has acknowledged the cup (which is a part of the creation) as His own blood, from which He bedews our blood; and the bread (also a part of the creation) He has established as His own body, from which He gives increase to our bodies.13

3. When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made,14 from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him?-even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that "we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones."15 He does not speak these words of some spiritual and invisible man, for a spirit has not bones nor flesh;16 but [he refers to] that dispensation [by which the Lord became] an actual man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones,-that [flesh] which is nourished by the cup which is His blood, and receives increase from the bread which is His body. And just as a cutting from the vine planted in the ground fructifies in its season, or as a corn of wheat falling into the earth and becoming decomposed, rises with manifold increase by the Spirit of God, who contains all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves for the use of men, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ; so also our bodies, being nourished by it, and deposited in the earth, and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God granting them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption,17 because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness,18 in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, and exalted against God, our minds becoming ungrateful; but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being, not from our own nature, we may neither undervalue that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, but that we may know what God can effect, and what benefits man receives, and thus never wander from the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, both with regard to God and with regard to man. And might it not be the case, perhaps, as I have already observed, that for this purpose God permitted our resolution into the common dust of mortality,19 that we, being instructed by every mode, may be accurate in all things for the future, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves?

    Chapter III.-He Power and Glory of God Shine Forth in the Weakness of Human Flesh, as He Will Render Our Body a Participator of the Resurrection and of Immortality, Although He Has Formed It from the Dust of the Earth; He Will Also Bestow Upon It the Enjoyment of Immortality, Just as He Grants It This Short Life in Common with the Soul.

1. The Apostle Paul has, moreover, in the most lucid manner, pointed out that man has been delivered over to his own infirmity, lest, being uplifted, he might fall away from the truth. Thus he says in the second [Epistle] to the Corinthians: "And lest I should be lifted up by the sublimity of the revelations, there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. And upon this I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me. But he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for strength is made perfect in weakness. Gladly therefore shall I rather glory in infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me."20 What, therefore? (as some may exclaim: ) did the Lord wish, in that case, that His apostles should thus undergo buffering, and that he should endure such infirmity? Even so it was; the word says it. For strength is made perfect in weakness, rendering him a better man who by means of his infirmity becomes acquainted with the power of God. For how could a man have learned that he is himself an infirm being, and mortal by nature, but that God is immortal and powerful, unless he had learned by experience what is in both? For there is nothing evil in learning one's infirmities by endurance; yea, rather, it has even the beneficial effect of preventing him from forming an undue opinion of his own nature (non aberrare in natura sua). But the being lifted up against God, and taking His glory to one's self, rendering man ungrateful, has brought much evil upon him. [And thus, I say, man must learn both things by experience], that he may not be destitute of truth and love either towards himself or his Creator.21 But the experience of both confers upon him the true knowledge as to God and man, and increases his love towards God. Now, where there exists an increase of love, there a greater glory is wrought out by the power of God for those who love Him.

2. Those men, therefore, set aside the power of God, and do not consider what the word declares, when they dwell upon the infirmity of the flesh, but do not take into consideration the power of Him who raises it up from the dead. For if He does not vivify what is mortal, and does not bring back the corruptible to incorruption, He is not a God of power. But that He is powerful in all these respects, we ought to perceive from our origin, inasmuch as God, taking dust from the earth, formed man. And surely it is much more difficult and incredible, from non-existent bones, and nerves, and veins, and the rest of man's organization, to bring it about that all this should be, and to make man an animated and rational creature, than to re-integrate again that which had been created and then afterwards decomposed into earth (for the reasons already mentioned), having thus passed into those [elements] from which man, who had no previous existence, was formed. For He who in the beginning caused him to have being who as yet was not, just when He pleased, shall much more reinstate again those who had a former existence, when it is His will [that they should inherit] the life granted by Him. And that flesh shall also be found fit for and capable of receiving the power of God, which at the beginning received the skilful touches of God; so that one part became the eye for seeing; another, the ear for hearing; another, the hand for feeling and working; another, the sinews stretched out everywhere, and holding the limbs together; another, arteries and veins, passages for the blood and the air;22 another, the various internal organs; another, the blood, which is the bond of union between soul and body. But why go [on in this strain]? Numbers would fail to express the multiplicity of parts in the human frame, which was made in no other way than by the great wisdom of God. But those things which partake of the skill and wisdom of God, do also partake of His power.

3. The flesh, therefore, is not destitute [of participation] in the constructive wisdom and power of God. But if the power of Him who is the bestower of life is made perfect in weakness-that is, in the flesh-let them inform us, when they maintain the incapacity of flesh to receive the life granted by God, whether they do say these things as being living men at present, and partakers of life, or acknowledge that, having no part in life whatever, they are at the present moment dead men. And if they really are dead men, how is it that they move about, and speak, and perform those other functions which are not the actions of the dead, but of the living? But if they are now alive, and if their whole body partakes of life, how can they venture the assertion that the flesh is not qualified to be a partaker of life, when they do confess that they have life at the present moment? It is just as if anybody were to take up a sponge full of water, or a torch on fire, and to declare that the sponge could not possibly partake of the water, or the torch of the fire. In this very manner do those men, by alleging that they are alive and bear life about in their members, contradict themselves afterwards, when they represent these members as not being capable of [receiving] life. But if the present temporal life, which is of such an inferior nature to eternal life, can nevertheless effect so much as to quicken our mortal members, why should not eternal life, being much more powerful than this, vivify the flesh, which has already held converse with, and been accustomed to sustain, life? For that the flesh can really partake of life, is shown from the fact of it; being alive; for it lives on, as long as it is God's purpose that it should do so. It is manifest, too, that God has the power to confer life upon it, inasmuch as He grants life to us who are in existence. And, therefore, since the Lord has power to infuse life into what He has fashioned, and since the flesh is capable of being quickened, what remains to prevent its participating in incorruption, which is a blissful and never-ending life granted by God?