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Posted on July 5, 2020July 5, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope An Insight on Hope from St. Augustine The word “hope” in modern English has lost much of the vigor assigned to what we call the theological virtue of Hope. In English hope often means merely a vague wish, as in, “I hope it doesn’t rain.” But the theological virtue of Hope (which I capitalize to distinguish it from worldly hope) is more vigorously defined as the confident expectation of God’s help in attaining eternal salvation. Notice therefore it is no mere wish, it is a confident expectation based...

"Offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Praise consists of reciting God’s attributes and mighty works. "Praise the Lord" is a common expression today. Some see it as a catchy slogan, others commercialize it, still others reduce it to nothing more than "P.T.L." But despite such attempts to trivialize it, praising the Lord remains the believer's expression of love and gratitude to a God who has been abundantly gracious to him. That was the cry of David's heart when he said, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be...

JOSEPH THE SLAVE GENESIS 39 (NIV, excerpted,emphases added) 1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge...

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Sobering Spiritual Truths According to St. John of the Cross In today’s post I would like to ponder some hard and sobering spiritual truths, but ones that will set us free.In calling them “hard truths”, I mean that they are not the usual cozy bromides that many seek. They speak bluntly about the more irksome and difficult realities we face. If we come to accept them, though, they have a strange way of bringing serenity by getting us to focus us on the right things rather than spending our time...

"Offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Every faculty you have is to be used for God’s glory. In Romans 12:1 Paul pleads with believers to present their bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice, which is an appropriate and acceptable act of worship. But as someone has rightly said, the problem with living sacrifices is they tend to crawl off the altar. That's because sacrificial living demands spiritual discipline and constant dependence on the Holy Spirit. We as Christians aren't always willing to do that. According to Paul, the motivation and...

JACOB LOVES JOSEPH, SO HIS BROTHERS HATE HIM GENESIS 37 (NIV, excerpted,emphases added) 1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. by OTTAVIO VANNINI "Joseph and His Brothers" Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers...and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TdpMSMP9x4 A friend sent me this video of a Kentucky Pastor describing three very apocalyptic dreams. The dreams, as he describes them, are disturbing and scary. Another Pastor has posted a reaction to the video and offers that Pastor Dana's dreams are more metaphorical rather than literal. If you've seen Pastor Dana's video I'd like to hear your thoughts on what the dreams mean to you. To be clear, I'm not saying I think Pastor Dana is true prophet and should be believed. I'm still formulating my own opinions and need some collegial dialogue to help. And I'm buying guns...

When the Rapture of the Church finally takes place - in which Almighty God the Son calls out His body (saints and ambassadors) - it (The Rapture) will be a wondrous sign unto the apostate western world more so than a sign unto the whole world. For all had better be prepared, for Almighty God's "Day of Wrath" is now at hand (2 Thess. 2:3-12)! All these are the beginning of sorrows (birth pangs) Matt. 24:8. The official commencement of this horrific seven year period will be the breaking of the 1st seal (i.e., the "Confirming of the Covenant" -...

"You . . . are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Spiritual sacrifices are acts of praise and worship offered to God through Jesus Christ. The primary mission of a Hebrew priest was to offer acceptable sacrifices to God. That's why God gave detailed instructions regarding the kinds of sacrifices He required. For example, if a lamb was offered, it had to be perfect—without deformity or blemish. Then it had to be sacrificed in a prescribed manner. It was a serious...

Link to Part 1which told these events:GOD GIVES ISAAC AND REBEKAH TWIN BOYSxxxxx ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOBxxxxxxxxxx JACOB STEALS ESAU’S BLESSINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx JACOB FLEES FROM ESAUxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx JACOB’S DREAM Link to Part 2which told these events: JACOB TAKES A WIFE—ER, TWO WIVES! xx LABAN SWINDLES JACOBxxxx JACOB SWINDLES LABANxxxxxx JACOB FLEES LABANxxxxxxxx LABAN PURSUES JACOBxxxxxxxxxx JACOB CONFRONTS LABANxxxxxxxxxxxx JACOB HEADS TOWARD HOME and nowJACOB & ESAU, Part 3 JACOB HEADS TOWARD HOME -- AND ESAUGENESIS 32 (NIV, excerpted, emphases added;this section is repeated from Part 2 for context) 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in...

Posts Posted on July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 What Does It Mean to Trust in God? We are often told to trust in God, and many of us have counseled others who are anxious or downcast to do so. But what does that mean?In some cases, when people give this counsel they mean this: Don’t worry, God will eventually give you what want. God will come around to your way of thinking at some point. Hang in there and wait for God to answer (your way). He’ll take care of things (in a way that pleases you).This is not...

"You . . . are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Christians share common spiritual characteristics with Old Testament priests. Peter identified believers as holy priests, but many Christians don't really know what that means because priests aren't part of our culture as a whole. The primary purpose of an Old Testament priest was to offer acceptable sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Priests were chosen by God Himself, specially cleansed through prescribed ceremonies, clothed in a prescribed manner,...

Link to Part 1which told these events:GOD GIVES ISAAC AND REBEKAH TWIN BOYSxxxxx ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOBxxxxxxxxxx JACOB STEALS ESAU’S BLESSINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx JACOB FLEES FROM ESAUxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx JACOB’S DREAM and nowJACOB & ESAU, Part 2 JACOB TAKES A WIFE— ER, MAKE THAT TWO WIVES! GENESIS 29 (NIV, excerpted,emphases added) 9 Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began...

"You . . . are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Christ’s death provided access to the Father for all believers. Throughout history, false gods have been portrayed as remote, indifferent, and apathetic to human needs and generally unapproachable by the common masses. Out of fear, a man might attempt to appease his idols but he has no desire or capacity to draw near to them. Even those in Old Testament times who worshiped the true God had limited access to...

Posted on July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope A Warning From The Prophet Amos Explains a Lot of Our Current Decline Continuing this small series on the decline of culture, a word from the Prophet Amos in today’s reading (Thursday of the 13th week of the year) paints a brief picture of what happens when we a nation demand that the Word of God be banished from it hearing. The picture is not complete and may need a bit of adjustment to fit our times but the basic parameters are clear. Let’s look at an excerpt...

Posted on July 4, 2020 Stop Yoking Around – A Homily for the 14th Sunday of the Year We in the West live in a place and at a time in which almost every burden of manual labor has been eliminated. Not only that, but creature comforts abound. Everything from air conditioning to hair conditioning, from fast food to high speed internet, from to indoor plumbing to outdoor grilling, from instant computer downloads to instant coffee machines. You don’t even have write letters anymore, just press send and a text or email is delivered nearly instantaneously. Yet despite all...

"You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:5). Christ is your life, and you are an integral part of what He is accomplishing in the world. The Jewish culture of Peter's time centered on the Temple in Jerusalem. Apparently drawing from that picture, Peter used vivid language to teach that God no longer dwells in an earthly, material, temporal house, but in a spiritual house. Christ is the cornerstone, and the spiritual house He is building is comprised of individual believers. That analogy introduces us to the first spiritual privilege Christians enjoy:...

Wanted to share this song about where our true national affections should lie and when this desire is our national supreme desire; our nation will only be healed, blessed and truly prosper! As our nation birth certificate (The Declaration of Independence) so soberly states, "that our firm reliance should be on Almighty God alone" Psalm 144:15! My Jesus, Tis of Thee - Song Lyrics set to music of My Country Tis of Thee My Jesus Tis of Thee, Author of liberty, of Thee I sing I love Thy righteous ways, Thy mercy and Thy grace I will FOREVER praise, Thy...

GOD GIVES ISAAC AND REBEKAH TWIN BOYS GENESIS 25 (NIV, excerpted, emphases added) 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the...

Posted on July 1, 2020July 2, 2020 Right Fear, Wrong Fear The readings from Tuesday (13th week of the year speak about the right and wrong kinds of fear. The wrong kind of fear is illustrated in the Gospel reading:As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up,...