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The teachings of the Holy Scriptures and of the Church today are true and trustworthy.
The Lord invites women to dress in a modest way, as suggested in the Holy Scriptures, and so help foster chastity in themselves and in others.
The Lord invites women to dress in a modest way, as suggested in the Holy Scriptures, and so help foster chastity in themselves and in others.
The Lord invites women to dress in a modest way, as suggested in the Holy Scriptures, and so help foster chastity in themselves and in others.
Christ our Saviour is present in the Sacred Scriptures, present in the priest who is 'another Christ' for us, present in the assembly which is Christ's body - yet He is Present supremely, substantially, in the Eucharistic species. Under the appearance of bread and wine, Christ is as close to us as to His followers in Galilee long ago.
We meet Christ in the prayer and love of the Christian community, in the Holy Scriptures, and in our priests; and supremely in His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament
It is the desire of Pope Benedict that everyone come to what Holy Scripture calls 'the obedience of faith'. He enjoys a little leisure time; but his whole desire is to bring people away from dissent and disobedience. The really new, radical way of 'being Church' today is to believe everything the Church teaches, as he does, and to put it into practice.
A person who adopts a new country, and loves it, finds out all he can, studies its history, travels to beautiful places, and defends it to others - and a person who gives his allegiance to Christ should likewise find out all he can about Him, study the history of His People and His Church, and learn what the Scriptures tell about Him.
It is a fearsome thing, to take a person's life. But some who loudly criticise the 'God of the Bible' for his punishments think nothing of the fact that thousands of innocent babies are slaughtered in the womb, every year, in one country, and many more elsewhere.
If we visit the sick, we please Christ. In the Gospel story, the King at the Last Judgement praised those who had visited the sick, visited people in prison, or had carried out other works of mercy.
As Sacred Scripture tells us, we are certain to be attacked, as followers of the Crucified Christ. Whether we suffer verbal, physical or spiritual assaults, however, Christ sees what we undergo for love for Him; and He sometimes intervenes with Divine power, to banish the attackers and to bring refreshment and peace.
We are wise if we listen to the Pope and His teaching. A priest who is unorthodox misleads those he should guide. It is as if he has set up and climbed a short ladder, so he can look upon the Church and the world, and decide on a personal opinion to share. The wise priest hands on what he has learned from Christ and His Church - through the Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition - because Christ has seen everything from a higher place: from Heaven, which He once left for our own sake, and where He now reigns.
The husband deserves respect, as the head of the family: that is the truth shown out in Sacred Scripture and the constant teaching of the Church. A wife has an equal dignity, in God's sight, and deserves respect, love, and genuine care; yet she is not the head, and has a different role.
When we pray in the name of Christ for the poor or the needy, our prayers reach Heaven as swiftly as when shopkeepers once sent money speeding in a metal capsule from one department to the next - so great is God's concern for them. As scripture says: "The Lord hears the cry of the poor".
Even when there are few mourners at a burial or a funeral, or when people cannot find the words to express their grief, or to comfort one another - or are tempted to despair about the fate of the departed soul - they can be certain that the Lord is near. He Himself has told us, in Sacred Scripture, 'The Lord is close to the broken-hearted'.
It is to the Pope and the other Catholic Bishops that we look for an authentic interpretation of Sacred Scripture. The Church gave us the Bible. The Church guards and opens it. There are thousands of other people who, sad to say, prefer their personal interpretations.
Pride was the sin of the Angels, as described in Sacred Scripture, when some rebelled against God and fell from grace. Pride, too, with stubbornness, is the sin which the Lord sees in the hearts of those who persist in disbelief even until death, ignoring His invitations to believe and to repent, so that they can enter Eternal life with Him and not fall into Hell.
The closer is our union with Christ, in prayer and in everyday life, the greater is our understanding of Sacred Scripture. It can seem as if, by reading the Gospels, we are given a glimpse into Christ's life, Christ's mind, and Christ's purposes; and we seem to be brought even closer to Him by our act of reading with devotion.
It can be helpful to turn from habitual prayers to a Litany, or to Sacred Scripture. If our routine prayers are disturbed by assaults from the evil one, or unwanted images, temptations or suggestions, we can change our plans - not by, abandoning prayer, but by praying in another way, so that his plans are confounded; and we shall still give glory to God, and benefit our own souls and those of other people, as we remain in the 'bright cloud' which is God, our hearts full of love for Him.
The Scriptures say: 'Test the spirits'. Christ is the light of the world, and the love of God made visible; and He is alive, active in our world through His Spirit. We recognise Him in all that is done in His name in truthfulness, genuine charity, a desire to save souls, and a longing to glorify the Father in prayer. It is not Christ Who rocks tables as curious people call up unknown spirits, or claim to have new inspired Scriptures from God, or who shriek and dance, promising miracles to stir up interest in their own signs and wonders!
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