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We can say that Jesus the God-man came to earth to found the Church. In and through the Church we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; we receive the Divine life and power Christ brought to earth at His Incarnation, and the Divine Food (the Holy Eucharist).
When the bread and wine are consecrated by a Catholic priest, they are changed into the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ; and Christ transforms the Communicant, by His Divine life. It is no small matter, that many people, perhaps through no fault of their own, or through not knowing the truth, receive only bread and wine, in Christian bodies which do not have valid Orders.
It is the Will of God to draw us up, to share His Divine life, so that each of us, after death, might live eternally within the interpenetration and communion of the Three Divine Persons in the ecstatic Unity within the Godhead. Yet this is not possible for those who oppose His Will or refuse to believe in the Son Who died to save us.
It is possible in the world to follow the inspiration of God; yet those who are transformed by Baptism are full of Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity. Only God can see who loves and serves Him and is on the Way to Heaven; but, outside the Church, it is difficult to live as a Saint among sinners if a person is ignorant of what God's Will really is, and does not have the ordinary channels of grace given unfailingly through the Church. All the more reason why we should spread the good news about Christ: the Way, the truth and the life, Who promises Heaven to forgiven sinners.
All who are sent as missionaries, to share the Faith with other people, should listen to the Church, that is, to the Holy Father and the other Bishops who hand on the truth - that Christ is the only Saviour, and that Baptism is the gateway to Divine Life. No other Gospel should be preached.
To receive Christ in Holy Communion, with His Divine life and light and love, is to receive Fire from Heaven: a transforming fire from the heart of the God-man. How foolish we are if we rush away straight afterwards. How foolish is the priest who does not pause in prayer and recollection, but rushes towards the end of the Mass.
Whoever wants to know about a religion should look at the Founder. Jesus Christ, who founded the Catholic Faith and Catholic Church, came down from Heaven! He proved His claim by rising from the dead, as He had predicted. If we go to His Church we can share His Divine life, and receive forgiveness, light and strength for our journey, and the sure hope of Heaven.
To be near the tabernacle, where Jesus Christ is substantially Present, hidden under the appearance of bread, is to be close to Christ's Divine Life and power. It is as if a fire burns, at the tabernacle, just as in the heart of the bush, as Moses looked on, long ago, when the Lord told him that where he stood was 'holy ground'.
To be baptised is to have received a wonderful gift of Divine Life. But many people outside the visible Communion of the Catholic Church receive no clear instruction about faith, and holy living, as their own leaders argue about the need for sacraments, and about sexual morality. It is sometimes as tragic a state as if a person had received a wonderful computer, but without a user's manual. It could remain inactive or ever useless.
If we live in a state of grace, having received Divine Life, in union with Christ, through Baptism, we pray in the Name of Christ, in the light of the Holy Spirit; we can pray in confidence that the Father hears every prayer. It's as though Christ is leaning from Heaven, lowering a pail, as if down a well, so that He can draw up our prayers, to read each one to the Father, telling the Father of our needs and desires.
If a person imagines that he can achieve union with God by his own strenuous efforts, he is mistaken. Christ, God and man, has told us so, and invites us to have faith in Him and to share His Divine life through Baptism. We can do penance for sin; but no-one achieves union by building a tower to be closer to Heaven, or by walking painfully, barefoot, round the world, or by walking on hot coals or by any other efforts.
We receive the free gift of Divine Life in Baptism. That is the start of our journey with and through Christ towards Heaven; but we choose at each moment whether to persevere. Some people do so, but some seem to throw the gifts away, and they will be lost, unless they repent.
At the end of human life, we shall ultimately make our way towards Heaven - by the grace of Christ - or to Hell, as a consequence of our own choices and actions. Hell can be pictured as a hole in the ground, from which no-one can return, whether to earthly life or to Heaven. It is a life of utter misery and regret, shared with others who have resolutely refused, until death, to accept Christ's invitation to turn to Him in repentance, to receive the gift of Divine Life.
Christ knows that a person whose love for Him is sincere, who recognises the wonderful graces given to him, and realises his privileged state as a sharer in Divine life, is truly grateful; and such gratitude expresses itself in praise and thanks, offered to God with outward as well as inward expressions of reverence. A person who acts in this way opens his heart to receive an even greater number of graces.
Through the Sacraments we receive Divine Life; and so the Lord wants everyone - especially every Catholic - to remember that a Catholic church is God's House: a place of holiness. It should therefore also be a place of reverence and dignity, worthy worship of God, and beauty, as well as having artworks that tell out the truth about the Gospel message or symbols, and God's plan of salvation. It is not a place for frivolity and silliness.
Our Blessed Lady assists her son, the unique Saviour, Jesus Christ, in making known the Father's plan. It is His desire for each of us to accept His invitation to repent of sin, to be transformed by the Divine life given in Baptism, and to follow the Way of His Son: a Way that, for all who persevere, leads to a sharing in Divine Glory in Heaven, at the heart of the Blessed Trinity.
Holiness, by Elizabeth Wang
This text is the complete version of the pamphlet entitled 'SPEAK ABOUT HOLINESS'. It is based on a talk given by Elizabeth Wang.
Preface.
This little book contains the full version of the text I …
What is Mary Like? by Elizabeth Wang
This text is the complete version of the pamphlet WHAT IS MARY LIKE?
“Now having met together; they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied,…
The Purpose of the Priesthood, by Elizabeth Wang
‘The Purpose of the Priesthood contains encouragement and advice for Catholic priests. It reminds them about the central meaning of the Priesthood, and about the need to teach the Catholic Faith in it…
How to Pray: Preparation, by Elizabeth Wang
This text is published as Chapter 1 of How to Pray (Part One: Foundations), entitled 'How to Prepare'. An introduction to the life of prayer with much practical advice about how to deepen your prayer…
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