Posted on 03/30/2019 8:12:59 AM PDT by Salvation
Question: I had reason to hope my niece was going to convert to the Catholic faith. But there were so many obstacles the Church set up that discouraged her. She was asked to go to classes, and they told her that her marriage was not valid and she would need an annulment. Further, it was necessary to wait until Easter, etc. The nearby evangelical church set up no such obstacles, and she was able to join at once and be considered a member. I hear so much talk of evangelization today, but I share my niece’s frustration. Can we not streamline this process?
— Name withheld
Answer: There is a kind of appealing simplicity that you describe in many Protestant denominations. But there are problems with the approach that should give us pause. Ultimately evangelization is more about conversion than mere membership. We are summoned to embrace the saving teaching of the Lord and to walk according to it.
Because adults make informed decisions, the Church considers it important to teach them the fundamentals of the Faith so that they can know what it is they are agreeing to when they enter the Church. Although some of the Scriptures portray an almost instant, on-the-spot baptism, the consensus in the early Church shifted to a lengthy, three-year period of instruction (called the catechumenate) prior to baptism. This likely was because of the insight that quick conversions often led to quick departures or a falling away when the true demands of discipleship became known.
Instructions are most insisted upon for those who are unbaptized. In the case of those who are baptized and come from different Protestant denominations, the length and content of instructions will depend on their background. It is up to the discretion of the pastor who discerns with each individual what is needed. It is certainly not required for those already baptized to “wait until next Easter.”
The concerns about a person’s marital status are rooted in the very words and teachings of Jesus himself. He teaches without ambiguity that for a person to marry, then divorce and enter another marriage, puts them in an ongoing state of adultery in the “new” marriage (cf. Mt 5:32; Mt 19:1-9; Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18, etc). He adds rather firmly, “What God has joined together, let no one divide” (Mt 19:9).
It will be further noted that when the Lord was evangelizing the woman at the well, he brought her to a moment of conversion, and she asked for the gift of faith. But the Lord Jesus saw fit to first raise with her the fact that she had been married five times and was now living with a man outside of marriage. Her conversion would not be complete or adequate until she was willing to live chastely. Then the graces could flow.
For reasons of their own, many Protestant denominations have decided to practically overlook such passages. But the Catholic Church takes the Lord’s teaching on these matters rather seriously, as he clearly intended that we should. In some cases, after an investigation based on evidence, the Church may use its power to bind and loose, to indicate that the previous marriage was not “what God has joined,” and it recognizes the first marriage as null. A person’s current marriage then can be blessed and recognized. But we simply cannot set the Lord’s words aside as if they were of little importance.
Thus some conversions to the Catholic faith will take some time to be faithful to the teachings of the Lord and the nature of true conversion. It is worth the diligence required.
He did what He came to do.
I have a friend here in the Philippines. He is an Australian citizen, but was born and raised in Greece. I showed him the Greek word Jesus spoke on the cross, "it is finished." He said, if one takes the word all by itself, with no other supporting words, he said it would mean, if one was given a task to do, he completed the task that was given for him to do.
He said if he was going to translate it into English, "it is finished," is exactly how he would do it.
However, Jesus had more to do. His working did not stop when that one duty was completed. If one is going to use "tetelestai" (translated) in a sentence, the hearer/redwer need to know what the "it" is.
Hebrews 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
John 19:30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. [Τετέλεσται] Literally It has been finished.
Having offered the Kingdom to the Jews and been rejected, the covenant was finished and the New Covenant would be offered to the world under neither Jew nor Gentile administration, but by The Holy Spirit as the Grace of God in Christ. The New covenant required the death of the testator, and Paul spoke of that very meaning:
Hebrews 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
Have you ever considered that Jesus may have been referring to the sealing of the new covenant, the New Testament of the Testator, AND the finishing of the previous covenant with the Jews? What happens in the Tribulation is not a fulfilling of a covenant, it is a testing of the whole world, with the Jews at the center of the troubles through THEIR Holy City.
I think inculcated works, too! ;o)
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
inculcate verb
in·cul·cate | \ in-ˈkəl-ˌkāt
inculcated; inculcating
Definition of inculcate
transitive verb : to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
We know that His MOM sure has taken on much more responsibility!
I didn't sign up for all this!!!
8 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Whenever I ask why God would save me, of all people, I get back to this verse and think, that explains it.
I heard that the humanly reason for changing the Sabbath celebration to Sunday was to avoid Jewish persecution by the Romans.
The Jews celebrate on the Sabbath and by this fact were both identified and thus were then being persecuted by the Romans.
To avoid being identified as Jews and to avoid this persecution being given to the Jews, “they” (not sure who “they” are or the identities of “they”) changed their Christian Sabbath to the first day of the week.
Perhaps this is something else we can blame the Catholics for? This tradition has remained with us ever since.
You are certain of your point of view and I certainly am not here to change it.
You can do what you wish, okay? Judge to your heart’s content, if that’s your predilection.
Free will is what it is and our consequences will be as they will be. That particular Scripture is one that haunts me in this area, so I passed it along.
If it speaks to you, too? Great! If not? That’s also okay with me, too.
There is a hierarchy to everything, especially so with knowledge, and we each have our own place in this hierarchy, as well as the perspectives and the truths that come with them.
As we climb or are lifted to a higher point of view or fall to a lower one, the perspectives and truths found there will also change for the better or for the worse, relatively speaking.
On the cross Jesus ended the covenant by which He offered the Kingdom to the Jews and sealed His new covenant of Grace with His blood, as He had instructed the disciples on the night He was betrayed, and that ritual is the bread and wine on resurrection day. That is what the New Testament scriptures tell us. We are in the Grace covenant, not the law covenant.
13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.Satan’s got this one covered.14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
What I often see is the fearful rational human ego claiming this knowledge of spiritual truths as its own, and then a tendency for the inner Pharisee to rise up and sit on that thrown as ruler.
Now full of ourselves, there is no room left for what the Holy Spirit wants to teach us. Our attitude is offensive to Wisdom and so she departs from us.
Take your own last sentence to heart. The scriptures say plainly the reason the disciples performed the remembrance on the first day of the week.
Would it be better to follow His example, per the Original, instead of the example of his human disciples?
If the story I’ve heard is true, the “they” who made this change “official” were just being prudent about their own well-being, however they may have justified it per Scriptures then or we do now.
But if that is the reason, it no longer applies. Rome isn’t persecuting the Jews now, yet the tradition remains.
This is Easter and it will be Easter again soon after. Why do we do this to him twice? Why are there 2 days instead of 1? Which is correct? Why can’t we agree?
I wonder, are we Christians today being rebels? And if so, are we rebels with a cause or rebels without a clue?
And yet...
14but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.’ 16So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:
...
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath. 43When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.
Quit hearing stories and just read the book!
No; I am able to read words on paper and understand what they mean.
Many people have DIED throughout history to bring these precious words to me; and to you as well.
If your ears itch to hear something other than the Scriptures; I cannot change that.
Genesis 3; again...
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