for later
I grew up Catholic, spent 16 years in Catholic school and university, and was proudly Catholic for 32 years. NOT ONCE in all that time, did anyone ever explain to me how I could FOR SURE have eternal life.
Now I am a born again Christian, an adherent of the Reformed faith, and a disciple of Messiah Jesus.
Do you know FOR SURE that you are going to Heaven when you die?
If you don't understand how to get rid of your sin (you can't, by the way, but Jesus can), then you have an eternal problem to confront. Don't trust in what YOU do, rather trust in what Jesus did FOR you.
Blessings!
Every time you say the act of contrition and mean it, you are reiterating the call of Jesus into your heart.
As the Catechism says,
"Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before Him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the CONVERSION OF THE HEART, INTERIOR CONVERSION.
Every time you make a spiritual communion and mean it, you are calling Jesus into your heart.
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Every time you say an act of love and mean it, you are reiterating that relationship of deep commitment:
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.
Born again, and renewed constantly by his love, faithful Catholics can say:
I adore thee, O Christ, and I bless thee,
for by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world
and know we are in the heart of our loving God.
Being born again is not based on denomination. Like all Christian groups, there are probably many who are and some who aren't.
This could get fun. Of course, "Biblewonk" got banned, so you never know.
For a Catholic, that born again thing is a lot like the Mormonism....
I should say, as a Catholic, that born again thing is a lot like Mormonism....
People who get it right the first time don't need to be born again.
BRIAN: Are you the Judean People's Front?
REG: F- off!
BRIAN: What?
REG: Judean People's Front. We're the People's Front of Judea! Judean People's Front. Cawk.
FRANCIS: Wankers.
BRIAN: Can I... join your group?
REG: No. Piss off.
BRIAN: I didn't want to sell this stuff. It's only a job. I hate the Romans as much as anybody.
PEOPLE'S FRONT OF JUDEA: Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhh. Shh. Shhhh.
REG: Schtum.
JUDITH: Are you sure?
BRIAN: Oh, dead sure. I hate the Romans already.
REG: Listen. If you really wanted to join the P.F.J., you'd have to really hate the Romans.
BRIAN: I do!
REG: Oh, yeah? How much?
BRIAN: A lot!
REG: Right. You're in. Listen. The only people we hate more than the Romans are the f-ing Judean People's Front.
P.F.J.: Yeah...
JUDITH: Splitters.
P.F.J.: Splitters...
FRANCIS: And the Judean Popular People's Front.
P.F.J.: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Splitters. Splitters...
LORETTA: And the People's Front of Judea.
P.F.J.: Yeah. Splitters. Splitters...
REG: What?
LORETTA: The People's Front of Judea. Splitters.
REG: We're the People's Front of Judea!
LORETTA: Oh. I thought we were the Popular Front.
REG: People's Front! C-huh.
FRANCIS: Whatever happened to the Popular Front, Reg?
REG: He's over there.
P.F.J.: Splitter!
For those who need to re-educate themselves to the truth here is a simple timeline in PDF format Link to PDF formate Catholic Church timeline
**Are Catholics Born Again?**
Absolutely through the Sacrament of Baptism!
(Whether received as an infant or as an adult!)
"I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius" 1Cr 1:14
and we won't even get into the thief on the cross.
Golly. In grammar school I was always taught that “and” meant there were TWO things.
The only thing wrong about this article is that speaks about the "Fundamentalist at the door." Fundamentalists seldom come to one's door. Jehovah's Witnesses do, or young Mormon "elders." They hardly qualify as Fundamentalists.
-Theo
"he should discuss his living faith, trust and love of Christ; his desire to grow in sanctity and conformity to Christ; and his total dependence on Christ for salvation."
IF...
... we had more of the above type of discussion...
THEN...
... we might have less of the "other" types of discussion (that none of us really like), and which in most cases devolves into sinful, angry, arrogant, spiteful arguing.
"Hey, I can't help if he got it right the first time!"