To Preach

 

What is preaching?

This can go in many different directions.  One can say they will "get on their soapbox" or preach about how bad the game was last night: even preaching about procedures at work. Some will even say they will rant about something.

All of this is correct; we all do this from time to time. But what is preaching from God's perspective?

This can be in a few forms, and I will elaborate more in an upcoming post.  Here is a short list:

• Speaking the Word
• In your everyday action
• Good knowledge of God's plan
• Knowledge of your faith
• Setting an example of a Christian
• Exposing the Devil for the liar he is to deceive the world

Preaching aims to get the Good News to people who have never heard of God or someone who is in despair that there is hope in God and saying the right words at the right time.  

Photo: Pixabay FotoRieth

Tridentine Mass

 

Practicing

We need to practice our faith everyday not just on Sunday.  We do this for us not for God.  God has everything, our prayers are a reflection of our love to God and with that makes stronger in our faith.  

Keep practicing until you get it right. 

Advent

Advent is the liturgical season to renew. 

Most people would think the first few weeks of December as the Christmas season. Well, I guess so. But up to the actual day of Christmas, it is the Advent season. This is the liturgical time of preparation for the day we celebrate Christ coming into our world. This is the time for renewal - the time to start a new self.  

Just like we make New Years resolutions, we can do the same for our Christian life. 

Here is a list of some possible ways to start the new liturgical year.

• Pray the Rosary
• Go to Mass during the week (Monday-Friday)
• Pray Novenas
• Visit the sick or elderly
• Go to confession once a month
• Pray the Liturgy of the Hours

  

Corpus Christi

Hope

Why is the symbol of hope an anchor?

“The anchor, because of the great importance in navigation, was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The Christians, therefore, in adopting the anchor as a symbol of hope in future existence, merely gave a new and higher signification to a familiar emblem. In Christianity's teachings, the virtue of hope occupies a place of great importance; Christ is the unfailing hope of all who believe in Him. St. Peter, St. Paul, and several of the early Fathers speak in this sense, but the Epistle to the Hebrews for the first time connects the idea of hope with the symbol of the anchor. The writers says that we have "Hope" set before us "as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm" (Hebrews 6:19-20). The hope here spoken of is obviously not concerned with earthly things but with heavenly things, and the anchor, as a Christian symbol, relates only to the hope of salvation. It ranks among the most ancient of Christian symbols.” Hassett, M. (1907).

What does hope mean to you?  Most would say longing for something they want or need, the hope for things in our lives. But what if we take the same question and say, what does hope mean from a spiritual point of view? I believe most would not have a quick answer.

Every new day is the hope of things to come and the hope of being with God. We must be careful not to let everyday needs override our union with God. In Catholicism, hope is one of the three theological virtues; faith, hope, and charity. The virtue of hope comes from the Divine. As we trust in God’s salvation that we will be in heaven one day united with the Trinity. 

What makes this difficult for most is that one can’t imagine what it would be like to live in eternity with God.

When we compare our spiritual hope to our everyday needs, it seems insignificant. This is not to say that our ordinary hopes and dreams should not be a priority, but we just have to put them in perspective. Our earthly hopes come and go, and as we grow older, our priorities change. But, our hope in God should be constant and never change.

“Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Doubleday (1989)

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can remain focused on our ultimate end.

So, what happens when we lose hope? First, we have to look deep inside and ask why?  Being honest with ourselves can usually determine the root of being hopeless. We can start with prayer. Our faith in God is our strength when we are hopeless. And the strength of the people we interact with can build hope. St. Thomas Aquinas states;

“Sometimes it is not we ourselves who have the capacity to make something possible but someone helps us. Perception of difficulty alerts us and perception of achievability quickens our efforts; so hope inspires us to apply ourselves to action and to enjoy it.” Doubleday (1989)

Once the glimmer of hope is in us, it will dwell inside and begin to grow. We have to kindle hope like fire, always feeding it fuel to keep it burning. We must pray along with the fire that comes with the Holy Spirit to keep faith in God for the hope of heaven and our hopes on earth.

Prayer

Jesus, Help Me!

Let me come to You with humble trust in every need, saying, Jesus help me!

In all my doubts, perplexities, and temptations, Jesus help me!

In the hours of loneliness, weariness and trials, Jesus help me!

In the failure of my plans and hopes; in disappointments, troubles and sorrows, Jesus help me!

When others fail me, and Your grace alone can assist me, Jesus help me!

When I throw myself on Your tender love as a Brother and Savior, Jesus help me!

 When my heart is cast down by failure to see any good come from my efforts, Jesus help me!

When I feel impatient, and my cross irritates me, Jesus help me!

When I am ill, and my head and hands cannot work and I am lonely, Jesus help me!

Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls and shortcomings of every kind, Jesus help me and never forsake me!

Apostolic (2007)

Photo - pixabay - OpenClipart-Vectors

The Anchor (as Symbol). In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved June 28, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01462a.htm

Doubleday (1989) Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York , p. 499

Apostolic Publishing Co. (2007) The Catholic Devotional. Oakdale, MN. p. 29

Cathedral of the Incarnation Bell Tower

Test of Fire: Election 2012 (Official HD Version - Catholic)

Faith

Faith is the substance of what we hope for, the evidence of what we cannot see, says the letter to the Hebrews. Faith is a disposition we characterize by the activity of believing it disposes us to, and that activity we characterize by the object believed in. Now believing is an assent of mind commanded by the will, so faith's activity relates to its object both as to a good willingly pursued and as to a truth mentally assented to. Moreover, being a theological virtue in which goal and object are identical, the way the object is faith's goal will correspond to the way it is its object. Now faith's object is unseen Truth itself and whatever else we assent to because of that Truth. So faith's goal is also Truth itself as unseen, that is to say unachieved yet hoped for. So Hebrews expresses the way faith relates to Truth as goal, the object willed, by saying Faith is the substance, or seed, of what we hope for, since what we hope for is to see openly the Truth we already assent to by faith. 

From: Summa Theologiae
          A Concise Translation
          Timothy McDermott

God's Will

To exist is actually to possess our own natural form; to know actually to possess the form of what we know. When things haven't got their natural form and perfections they seek them and do not rest till they have them; and in things lacking awareness we call this tendency towards their natural good their natural desire. In the same way things with understanding have a natural tendency to seek whatever they understand as good, not resting till they possess it; and this tendency we call will. So anything that has understanding has will, just as anything that has sense-perception has animal desire. We call will a desire or an appetite, through it doesn't only desire what it doesn't have but also loves and takes delight in what it does have. And this is how will exists in God, who eternally possesses the good which delights his will, since it is nothing other than his substance.

Summa Theologiae
A Concise Translation
Edited By Timothy McDermott

The Magisterium of the Church

85    The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.  86    Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Sprit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication, and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as be divinely revealed is drawn form this single deposit of faith.

Catechism of the Catholic Church - Second Edition
                             

Faith

Christian faith is not just in the act of going to church on Sunday.  It is the action from your faith. The Grace received from God is what drives us to do good and avoid evil. The Church is a community of faith that bonds us in unity with Christ and his teachings. The Bible is the true guide for all Christians no matter the denomination. The Old and New Testaments are timeless.  The study of Sacred Scripture is now and forever the guidebook for a good and moral life.     

Update

In trying to stay committed to my resolutions here are some updates. I am currently working on finishing my undergraduate degree in Business Administration. However, I'm going through an accelerated program for students who work full-time. Also the college I attend is Catholic and this month I have spent a great deal of my time studying Moral Theology. The subject has enlighten me about the morals of achieving good character and making the right decisions in everyday life situations. It has also given me a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith of which I belong.
That's the latest news - more later.