I am giving a Talk in Cincinnati

“The Big Picture of our Catholic Faith”

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Where: Parkland Theatre

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DIRECTIONS: HERE

When: Wednesday, May 15^th ,7:00pm   

Will Only A Few Be Saved?

The Bible Tidbit below is based on a sermon by St. Leonard of Port Maurice. The sermon is long, but worth it.

Here is a link - CLICK HERE

In this Bible tidbit we are asking the question – will many people be saved?

It would seem as though Jesus himself is the source of the teaching that few would be saved. I don’t mean few out of the world, I mean few Catholics.

^RSV Luke 13:23 And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, ²⁴ "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, `Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, `I do not know where you come from.' ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, `We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' <sup>27</sup> But he will say, `I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!'

Here is a similar verse that is more explicit.

^RSV Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Now it is not as though God wishes that more people be damned than saved. ^RSV 1 Timothy 2:3 … God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Right and Jesus says the same in:

^RSV Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen."

             

This parable is a great example of this:

^RSV Matthew 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' <sup>7</sup> Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. <sup>8</sup> And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' ⁹ But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' <sup>10</sup> And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. <sup>11</sup> Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.' ¹² But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

                    

Some from this parable we could say that 50% would be saved.

Another parable that enlightens this topic is the parable of the sower and the seeds.

This is from Mark 4 where the sower – who is Jesus – throws the seed of the good news into the world. Some of the seed falls on the road that is picked up by birds, meaning the devil – They reject God word outright. Some of the word falls on stony ground that sprouts up real fast but withers because the person is persecuted by the world because of what they believe. Some of the seed falls on thorny ground and grows but is choked by the thorns which represent the cares of this world. Finally some falls on good soil which bears fruit.

So here is the breakdown: 25% will reject God’s word outright. 50% will hear God’s word, believe it and for one reason or another fall away from the faith. The remaining 25% will be faithful and bear fruit.

Why then are people having a hard time getting into heaven?

I would suggest two reasons. The first is holiness. St. Paul says this:

^RSV Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

I don’t often hear conversations about getting holy or the struggles of living and growing in holiness and maybe this is part of the reason why so many perish.

Another reason might be obedience:

^RSV Luke 10:16 "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

To reject the apostles and those who come after them is to reject Christ. We can’t pick and choose for ourselves what is true and what is false. We can’t say, “Jesus that whole business about divorce offends me and my new lover, but I still love you and want to follow you.” We must be obedient to what the church, which is truly the body of Christ, teaches. We can’t say, “I love Jesus but can’t stand your bride.” This is offensive to God.

So Holiness and obedience are two keys to heaven. This information sounds like a lot of bad news – Why present this to you dear reader?

This is a call to get serious out your faith. We have so many blessings in the Church – The Bible – The Saints – The Sacraments – and it feels like there is an attitude, which I am guilty of as well, that to get to heaven you just have to be a nice guy.

We aren't called to be nice – we are called to holiness where Christ and the Saints are our guides and models. 

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they help Develop the Virtues

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are our topic today and how they help develop the Theological and Cardinal Virtues. First we had better define our terms in case people do not know what we are talking about. Name the Theological and Cardinal virtues and state their purpose.

The Theological Virtues are Faith, Hope, and Charity. They are called theological because they are gifts that come from God that are for the purpose of leading us back to God.

The Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. The word Cardinal means, hinge, like a hinge in a door. These four virtues are a hinge to all of the other virtues.

What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

I have made an acronym to help remember these, it is KFCPUFWings. Kentucky Fried Chicken Puf Wings.

It is kind of silly but it helps remember them. These are Knowledge, Fear of the Lord, Counsel, Piety, Understanding, Fortitude, and Wisdom.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are connected to the Virtues – How so?

CCC 1831 … They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

Let’s go through each one and see how these are connected exactly.

The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of Understanding to nourish the virtue of Faith. Understanding helps us to have insight into the truths of our faith and be confirmed in our belief. When you have that Ah-ha moment when you hear a good program on this radio station and say – so THAT’s how it all fits together. That is the gift of Understanding strengthening your faith. We can exercise this gift through studying the faith.

^DRA Psalm 118:73 Thy hands have made me and formed me: give me understanding, and I will learn thy commandments.

Piety is the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our Hope. Piety turns our feelings, or affections to God and Religion so that we can have a holy joy. This gift develops respect, love, and obedience toward God and things that belong to God like Mary, the Angels and Saints, the Bible, the Church and the Pope. We can develop this gift by meditating on the parts of the Bible that reveal his goodness and mercy toward men. Another way to develop this gift is to take your ordinary actions and then do them to show God that you love Him.

^RSV Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"

The next Gift of the Holy Spirit is Wisdom which perfects Charity. This gift of wisdom, like Charity perfects all of the others gifts. Wisdom shows us that all things come from God and that all things lead us to God. We can cultivate this gift by begging for it, pursuing it, and longing for it continually.

Wisdom 9:1 "O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things by thy word, ² and by thy wisdom hast formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made, ³ and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul, ⁴ give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne, and do not reject me from among thy servants.

What gifts help us develop the Cardinal Virtues.

Prudence is given to us to help us choose the good and avoid evil. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of Counsel so that we can make these decisions promptly and correctly especially in hard situations. We can help this gift grown by humbling ourselves and recognizing our weaknesses. Then we must listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who will send us little promptings and if we are docile to those then we will be accustomed to listening to him in larger matters as well.

^RSV Psalm 25:4 Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

The cardinal virtue of Justice is strengthened by the gift of Knowledge. This kind of knowledge is very specific because it communicates to us how things are related to God. This gift helps us to see clearly what will help us and our neighbor get holy. We can help this gift grow by looking on creation and created things and creatures as God sees them.

The gift of Fear of the Lord helps us be temperate. This fear is not a fear where we are afraid of hell or something like that. This is a fear where we are afraid to hurt God’s feelings because we love Him. We can practice this in three ways. 1^st Know that God is great and that he loves you more that you could ever imagine. 2^nd Have a sorrow for your sins that offend him. 3^rd Take care to avoid persons, places, and things that make you fall into sin.

We can help this gift by making a frequent examination of conscience – Most books that I read recommend every night. Also meditate on the Greatness of God.

Psalm 118:120   ¹²⁰ Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear: for I am afraid of thy judgments.

Finally the gift of Fortitude helps us practice fortitude.  The virtue of fortitude helps us to do hard things and stick with them. The Gift of Fortitude helps us do those same things joyfully and fearlessly. To help this gift grow we must keep our eyes fixed on Christ and know that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us to helps us to do all things.

Understanding - - Faith

Piety - - - - - - - - - -Hope 

Wisdom - - - - - - - Charity

Counsel - - - - - - - Prudence

Knowledge - - - - - Justice

Fortitude - - - - - - Fortitude

Fear of the Lord - Temperance

I could really use your help.

DEAR FANS OF BIBLE TIDBITS - The school where I teach - St. Edmund Campion Academy (to keep tuition low) - is having a raffle to raise funds. The prize is $1000 dollars. Tickets are 1 for $6 or 2 for $10. The drawing is this Saturday. If you are interested, please email me with the number of tickets you want (I will put your name on them from the drawing) and I will send you the school address where you can send the check. Thank you for your help. 

Here is a link to our school. 

http://www.stedmundcampion.info/Home.html

Dan - Catholic4areason@gmail.com

If you are attending Easter Vigil Mass - write me and I will send you a free copy of a commentary on those readings. This is good for everyone especially Catholics and non-Catholics.

Catholic4areason@gmail.com

BIBLE TIDBIT BELOW:

What is the significance of a cock crowing when Peter denies Jesus. Why a rooster?

It is Bob Salmon who saw this and I am passing this on to you all.

We have to back up to the garden of Gethsemene when Jesus warns his apostles to stay awake and pray, here is what Luke records:

Luke 22:40 And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." 43  44  45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

We see similar warnings in scripture like in revelation where Jesus is speaking of his second coming he says this:

Revelation 16:15 ("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")

What does this mean to stay awake but to keep alert in your spirtual life that you might not fall away from the faith. The garments mention in Revelation signify the same thing. All throughout scripture whenever someone lost their garments it means that they fell into sin and lost their righteousness. Think of Adam and NOah.

But this verse has ties back to the garden of gethsemene as well

Revelation 16:15 ("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")

 Now listen to St. Mark who records this events after Jesus is arrested in the garden:

Mark 14:51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body; and they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Because he runs away from Christ, the symbol of the lost garment signifies loosing his righteousness. 

Now back to Peter who was told by Jesus that he would deny him three times. After that third time that the Peter denies Jesus and the cock crows, Peter remembers what Jesus had said . So what is the significance of the Rooster crowing. What does a rooster crowing mean for everyone in the world. It means that it is time to get up. Peter, you have fallen into the sleep of sin - wake up!!

Peter and the Papacy Part 1

Whenever there is a change in the Papacy this gives us an opportunity to share our faith but we usually have to defend our faith at this time as well. The Papacy in the minds of common folk is thought of as a relic from medieval times when the Pope took over real Christianity and made it a political power. What does the Bible say?

The Bible says two things: First that Peter had a special role in the government of the Church and Second that this role would continue on through those who succeeded him.

How did Peter have a special role in the early Church?

This is something impossible to miss if you read the New Testament with this question in mind.

Peter is listed first in all of the lists of the apostles though he wasn’t the first chosen.

Peter speaks the most of all the apostles combined.

Sometimes Peter speaks for all of the apostles.

Sometimes it just says Peter and the apostles.

Jesus prays specifically for Peter alone.

IN Acts of the apostles it is clear that Peter is in charge

- He recognizes that the office of Judas needs to be filled

- He preaches the first Gospel on Pentecost

- He performs the first miracle

The most important thing that distinguishes Peter from the rest of the apostles is that Jesus gives to Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is the classic verse to point to show that Peter is given special authority.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

There is a lot going on here but concerning Peter and the government here is what you need to know.

1. Peter is the Rock

The name Peter is Greek and it means – rock – So Jesus was really saying – You are Rock and on this rock I will build my Church. So Peter is that rock that Jesus will build his Church on.

2. Christ is building the Church

It is Jesus who does the building. So many people today look at the Church without faith and see it as a human institution; this couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a divine institution as St. Paul says in:

1 Corinthians 3:6-9  ⁶ I planted (the seeds of the Gospel) , Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor.  ⁹ For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

3. The Church can’t be destroyed

The Douay-Rheims Translation says “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Now there are many groups today that claim the original Church of Christ was destroyed and that in these modern times Christ has rebuilt his Church in them. This is not true. The Church of Christ can’t be destroyed because it is being built by God himself. Listen to St. Paul again:

Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who is against us?

He means that if God is fighting on your side – who could the contender possibly be? There is none. Now in the book of Acts we see the testimony of a Jewish man who is talking about why Christianity should not be persecuted.

Acts 5:38  if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought; ³⁹ But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God.

This Jewish man said that if this work – meaning the Gospel and the Church are from God, then it can’t be fought because it would ultimately be fighting God.

4. Peter alone is given the keys to the kingdom of heaven

This point is a kind of bridge that not only points out Peter’s authority but also that Peter would have successors in that same authoritative role.

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

These Keys are given in context of the Kingdom of Heaven, which God promised to establish in the Old Testament. The Kingdom of David prefigured this Heavenly Kingdom, which is now ruled by Christ the King

Luke 1:32 He (Jesus) shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.

Jesus now sits on the throne of David and is ruling over the Kingdom of Heaven, and like David and those kings who would come after him, Jesus has put in place ministers of his Kingdom, like any Kingdom would have. In the Kingdom of David there was an office called the Mayor of the Palace who literally had keys that could open and shut all the doors. He would be similar to the Vice President or 2^nd in command. He answered to no one but the king himself and was given great honor by all.

We see in Isaiah 22:22-23

What is happening is that the mayor of the palace Shebna is being punished for his sins and is being replaced by Eliakim. It is here in Isaiah that the transfer of power is recorded:

²⁰ In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, ²¹ and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.

Listen to what Jesus tells Peter and then listen again to what God tells Shebna

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Isaiah 22:22 And I will place on his (Eliakim’s) shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

We see the keys and then the power of the keys to bind and loose, we also see the keys being associated with an office that when one person leaves another takes his place. This is called succession. One person leaves and another takes their place. Pope Benedict XVI is the 265^th person to hold this office that was established with Peter and the promised of Jesus are just as true today and they were where 2000 years ago.

The Poor in Spirit and the Apostles

In the Gospels we read about when Jesus sent out the apostles two by two. Yet when we consider this part in particular:

Gospel Mk 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.

Now when we read the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 10 he says to not take a staff or sandals.

Now there are those who would tell us that these two statements contradict one another. But this is not true. You know the gospels can all be read in about 4-6 hours if you read them straight through. Is this all Jesus did; 4-6 hours worth of work? Did Jesus only send his apostles out one time?

Certainly not. One time he sent them out with sandals and staff, another time he sent them out without sandals and staff. So when you should hear stories that some tell of the supposed contradictions in the gospels, believe none of it. But this isn’t what I wanted to focus on.

Why does Jesus send them out with nothing?

This was on the job training. Jesus is pushing them out into the street with training wheels and is telling them – you need to trust that you will be taken care of.

St. Bede says that preachers today should likewise trust in God, that they should take no thought for supplying their needs in the present world, and he should feel certain that these will be satisfied. These temporal things should not be a concern of his or he might start providing less of eternal things to others.

This is a great example of the beatitude – blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There is no better way to be detached from material things than to simply give them up. We can’t take them with us when we die and they tend to tie us down to earth. So Jesus here is helping them live out that particular beatitude. Religious take a vow of poverty which accomplishes that first step toward perfection and eternal life. Jesus here is helping the apostles to live that out.

The purpose, I think, of at one time sending them with staff and shoes and another time saying – even leave the staff and shoes behind is this:

He is meeting the apostles where they are in their spiritual life but calling them continually to something deeper. God meets us where we are, but continually asks us to love Him more than we love the world.  When Jesus first meets Peter, he doesn’t tell him that he will be crucified upside down. He hints at it slowly until 40 years later, Peter is glad to do so.

We all know how important shoes are and a staff would be used for support but also for defending yourself. To give these up would be a big step to both them and us.

In a spiritual sense St. Augustine has an interesting insight into why they were told at that one time TO wear sandals. (these sandals were padded under the foot but open to the air on the top) he says this: Mark, by saying that they are to be shod with sandals or soles, warns us that this mode of protecting the feet has a mystical signification, that the foot should neither be covered above nor be naked on the ground, that is, that the Gospel should neither be hid, nor rest upon earthly comforts.

So just as with sandals on that are open so as to see their feet, yet padded so as to not touch the earth; living the gospel is the same way: Our life is Christ is something that we should never hide, and at the same time our life is one that should not be attached to this earth.  

These kinds of insights come from commentaries, especially from the ones that I have compiled that are for sale to the RIGHT. These are not my own commentaries per se, but are a compilation of 4 commentaries put together into one, beginning with the Church Fathers to present day.