The Apostles therefore, as we have said, being about to separate in order to preach the Gospel, settled upon this sign or token of their agreement in the faith; and, unlike the sons of Noah, who, when they were about to separate from one another, built a tower of baked bricks and pitch, whose top might reach to heaven, they raised a monument of faith, which might withstand the enemy, composed of living stones and pearls of the Lord, such that neither winds might overthrow it, nor floods undermine it, nor the force of storms and tempests shake it. Right justly, then, were the former, when, on the eve of separation, they built a tower of pride, condemned to the confusion of tongues, so that no one might understand his neighbour’s speech; while the latter, who were building a tower of faith, were endowed with the knowledge and understanding of all languages; so that the one might prove a sign and token of sin, the other of faith.
The doctrines of the Gospel were well known to holy and blessed David in his capacity of Prophet, and although it was under the Law that he lived his bodily life, he yet filled, as far as in him lay, the requirements of the Apostolic behest and justified the witness borne to him by God in the words: I have found a man after My own heart, David, the son of Jesse. He did not avenge himself upon his foes by war, he did not oppose force of arms to those that laid wait for him, but after the pattern of the Lord, Whose name and Whose meekness alike he foreshadowed, when he was betrayed he entreated, when he was in danger he sang psalms, when he incurred hatred he rejoiced; and for this cause he was found a man after God’s own heart. For although twelve legions of angels might have come to the help of the Lord in His hour of passion, yet that He might perfectly fulfil His service of humble obedience, He surrendered Himself to suffering and weakness, only praying with the words: Father into Your hands I commend My spirit (Luke 23:46). After the same pattern, David, whose actual sufferings prophetically foretold the future sufferings of the Lord, opposed not his enemies either by word or act; in obedience to the command of the Gospel, he would not render evil for evil, in imitation of his Master’s meekness, in his affliction, in his betrayal, in his fight, he called upon the Lord and was content to use His weapons only in his contest with the ungodly.
A New York State R.C. Bishop has decided to release all Polish priests from service in his diocese.
Many of those priests will have to return to Poland where there is a veritable glut of priests. A few have found postings in other R.C. Diocese in the United States.
I could go on and on with all the arguments normally posited about such matters: If there are priests available why close churches? You are always complaining about a lack of priests, why send some away? What’s wrong with Polish priests? Are Polish priests too beholden to tradition, such that they cannot fit in with the ethos in an American diocese? What’s up?
Rather than do so, I will play a little game. Let’s just say that the Holy Spirit were to send a letter to said Bishop. What might it sound like?
Dear Bishop,
Some years ago your brother bishops imposed hands on you and imbued you with My power. As you may recall, I provided you with the fullness of the Apostolic priesthood, my sevenfold gifts, and the authority to teach, shepherd, and govern in the local Church.
In addition to My gifts, I have touched the hearts of many men, and have attempted to fill them with zeal for souls. I have called many, but as you know, few have responded. Nevertheless, the Son has promised that I will remain with the Church, and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her (cf. Matt. 16.18-19). That being the case, I have sent you sons who, while few in number, are filled with zeal for souls, and who have hearts filled with love for Our people.
I am edified by the fullness of trust you have exhibited in Our commitment to remain with the Church. You certainly have shown that you believe that We can do everything. That is faith!
Unfortunately, Our gifts can only be made present through your hands and your administration. We need you to proactively build up the Church with the gifts and the men you have been given.
It may seem wise, property values being what they are, to send off the sons I have given you, close churches, sell buildings, and do what is expedient for the present. You may even deem this a difficult but courageous choice. I urge you to reconsider, taking the long-term, eternal view into consideration.
Often times what is foolish in the eyes of men is wise in Our eyes (cf. Cor. 1:18-25). Please take your tremendous faith, and the gifts We have given you, and stand firm knowing that whatever may come, the Church will stand. That means that you, My son, are a rock. Grow the faith, build up Our Church, and have courage.
With all graces,
The Holy Spirit
P.S.: Please remain loyal to My son and your brother Bishop Benedict who is your lawful Patriarch.
In my personal opinion the R.C. Church needs as many hands as are available, especially if they are good and loyal to the Church. While some church closings are inevitable, retrenchment should not be an option. Find new and different ways to use the buildings. Most importantly put all hands on deck to minister and build up the Church.
Just before Christmas I posted on gifts I would like to offer you, my readers. See My Gift to You for details.
I will close out this offer early next week and submit the order. Prior to doing so I would like to provide you with one more opportunity to make a request for one or more of these gifts.
In the original offer I stated that:
I will provide eight (8) annual subscriptions to God’s Field, the official newspaper of the Polish National Catholic Church and ten (10) copies of the Polish National Catholic Church’s wall calendar for 2008.
The first eighteen people that make a request will get one or the other.
Please send me an E-mail using my contact form and provide your name, mailing address, and the gift you would prefer.
In the near future I will be reaching out to those who have already requested items. I will need your mailing (postal) address so the gifts can be sent.
Here surely is an answer to your question as to what is the starting-point, and what the goal: we begin in faith, and are made perfect by sight. This also is the sum of the whole body of doctrine. But the sure and proper foundation of the catholic faith is Christ. “For other foundation,” says the apostle, “can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Nor are we to deny that this is the proper foundation of the catholic faith, because it may be supposed that some heretics hold this in common with us. For if we carefully consider the things that pertain to Christ, we shall find that, among those heretics who call themselves Christians, Christ is present in name only: in deed and in truth He is not among them. — Chapter V
For what reason, men of Greece, do you wish to bring the civil powers, as in a pugilistic encounter, into collision with us? And, if I am not disposed to comply with the usages of some of them, why am I to be abhorred as a vile miscreant? Does the sovereign order the payment of tribute, I am ready to render it. Does my master command me to act as a bondsman and to serve, I acknowledge the serfdom. Man is to be honoured as a fellow-man; God alone is to be feared,-He who is not visible to human eyes, nor comes within the compass of human art. Only when I am commanded to deny Him, will I not obey, but will rather die than show myself false and ungrateful. Our God did not begin to be in time: He alone is without beginning, and He Himself is the beginning of all things. God is a Spirit, not pervading matter, but the Maker of material spirits, and of the forms that are in matter; He is invisible, impalpable, being Himself the Father of both sensible and invisible things. Him we know from His creation, and apprehend His invisible power by His works. I refuse to adore that workmanship which He has made for our sakes. The sun and moon were made for us: how, then, can I adore my own servants? How can I speak of stocks and stones as gods? For the Spirit that pervades matter is inferior to the more divine spirit; and this, even when assimilated to the soul, is not to be honoured equally with the perfect God. Nor even ought the ineffable God to be presented with gifts; for He who is in want of nothing is not to be misrepresented by us as though He were indigent. But I will set forth our views more distinctly. — Chapter IV
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of our Lord. This is the day we commemorate the Lord’s appearance, manifestation, and shining forth to the entire human race —“ represented by the Magi, the Three Kings.
A shinning forth; we have all had that experience, that sudden realization, when something long struggled over becomes apparent.
Some refer to that as the moment the light is turned on, the ah-ha moment.
I would like you to place this imagine in your minds. Imagine a group of doctors working in a lab, attempting to develop a cure for a serious disease. They are doing their job. In an instant one of the doctors yells out, —There it is! I found it! It’s the cure!—
So I ask you, keeping those doctors in mind, when did the Magi have that ah-ha moment? When did they realize the totality and complexity of what they encountered? When did the light go on for them?
The Magi are well documented historical figures. The Greek historian Herodotus noted that of the six tribes or castes of the Medes, the Magi were a hereditary caste of priests. They were highly influential in Median society until the unification of the Median and Persian Empires in 550 B.C. The Magi continued to exist in unified Persia, and they became prominent once again between 226 and 650 A.D.
The Magi appear in the book of Jeremiah. The Prophet Daniel may have carried a title specific to the head of the Magi during the Babylonian captivity.
Now let’s think of those doctors once again. Like the doctors the Magi were sitting back home in Iran and they were doing their job. They were searching the world, nature, and the sky for a sign, for an indication of what was to come.
In an instant one or more call out, —There it is! It is the sign! Something great has occurred.—
So the Magi set out and followed the star.
Brothers and sisters,
As the Magi traveled I am sure they discussed the possibilities. What would they see? What would they find? They were trying to do their job. They were focused on figuring it all out. As to faith, they may not have had any. The encounter with Messiah, the King, was yet to come.
The Magi finally arrive —“ not really twelve days after Christ’s birth, probably substantially later. They arrive and see a humble house, a young girl, and a baby.
What happens next?
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
When they finally got there their eyes were opened. They had their Epiphany. They fell on their faces before the awesome power of God. They came to the realization that this humble child was sent to, as Mary proclaimed:
show mercy to them that fear him;
to scatter the proud in the conceit of their heart;
to put down the mighty from their seat;
to exalt the humble;
to fill the hungry with good things; and
to send the rich empty away.
My friends,
The Magi are like us and we are like them. They were no surer than you or I. They did not fall into a deep and abiding faith in God. Like us they had to take a long journey —“ and by that journey they reached Jesus, the Christ. When they reached Him they had their Epiphany, their ah-ha moment. The light was turned on. They saw.
Some of us are still trying to develop that kind of faith. We are not sure, but we are doing our job. Like the Magi we have set out to find the answer. Like the Magi, what is at the end of the journey is that ah-ha moment, that epiphany.
We will each meet God in our own time, and according to His grace. I urge you to hold to that confidence. I urge you to recognize that your journey will end in the experience Isaiah prophesied:
you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow
Amen.
For, as we must often be saying, he is one and the same, truly Son of God, and truly Son of Man. God, inasmuch as “all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made.” Man, inasmuch as he was “made of a woman, made under the law.” The nativity of the flesh is a manifestation of human nature; the Virgin’s child-bearing is an indication of Divine power. The infancy of the Babe is exhibited by the humiliation of swaddling clothes: the greatness of the Highest is declared by the voices of angels. He whom Herod impiously designs to slay is like humanity in its beginnings; but he whom the Magi rejoice to adore on their knees is Lord of all. — Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), Session II
Since, then, we have shown that all of us are by Scripture called children; and not only so, but that we who have followed Christ are figuratively called babes; and that the Father of all alone is perfect, for the Son is in Him, and the Father is in the Son; it is time for us in due course to say who our Instructor is.
He is called Jesus. Sometimes He calls Himself a shepherd, and says, “I am the good Shepherd.” (John 10:11) According to a metaphor drawn from shepherds, who lead the sheep, is hereby understood the Instructor, who leads the children—”the Shepherd who tends the babes. For the babes are simple, being figuratively described as sheep. “And they shall all,” it is said, “be one flock, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16) The Word, then, who leads the children to salvation, is appropriately called the Instructor (Pædagogue).
With the greatest clearness, accordingly, the Word has spoken respecting Himself by Hosea: “I am your Instructor.” Now piety is instruction, being the learning of the service of God, and training in the knowledge of the truth, and right guidance which leads to heaven. And the word “instruction” is employed variously. For there is the instruction of him who is led and learns, and that of him who leads and teaches; and there is, thirdly, the guidance itself; and fourthly, what is taught, as the commandments enjoined.
Now the instruction which is of God is the right direction of truth to the contemplation of God, and the exhibition of holy deeds in everlasting perseverance. — Book I, Chapter 7
These things, beloved, we write unto you, not merely to admonish you of your duty, but also to remind ourselves. For we are struggling on the same arena, and the same conflict is assigned to both of us. Wherefore let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling. Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of Him who formed us. Let us look stedfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted unto Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens [to the covenant] of God. — Chapter VII