Search Page
Showing 101 - 120 of 322
Pope Pius X fought bravely against heresy, Christ said. It would be wonderful, the Lord said, if everyone could do what this Saintly Pope has done, and decide to fulfil the Father's Will, for His glory, and to save souls, rather than seeking personal satisfaction. It is sad that many Catholics criticise that Pope's life and works, and want to overturn the Church's teachings, even on moral issues.
People who want to arrive at the beautiful city beyond the mountains - in Heaven - need to take advice about the route from One who knows about it and speaks with authority. God the Son has shown in the way to Heaven, the Way of faith, hope and love, in charity and truth. People are foolish who say they can go in any direction.
A child who has a mother and a father who are married to one another, in a stable marriage, has an admirable start in life. There is 'imprinted' in the child the idea of family life, as God Wills it; and it is therefore easier for the child to appreciate the Will of God for society - and related teachings of the Church.
The Deposit of Faith is handed on in the Catholic Church from age to age. Some other Christians teach some of the truths which the Church proclaims - but the Church has no need to go to other Christians to learn what she should teach. Her teachings stem from Christ and the Apostles. Yet individual Catholics can learn from the virtuous example of charity, patience, etc. given by other individual Christians.
Although some people preach different versions of the Faith, even within the Church, we can be sure that if we listen to the constant teaching of the Pope and the other Catholic Bishops we are hearing what Christ is teaching us through them - even if we are labelled 'fundamentalist' or 'over-dogmatic' by fellow-Catholics.
Those who freely and deliberately decide to disobey Divine Law on sexual morality, as taught by Christ through His Church, and who lead unchaste lives, are like people who freely board a train, laid on by Satan. It steadily descends, then enters a great hole in the ground.
Just as Moses insisted that he wished all of God's people were prophets, so Christ insists that He wishes all of His friends in the Church were fervent in believing and defending the teachings of the Church.
Those Catholics who dissent from the Church's teachings on faith and morals, and even speak loudly about their mistaken views, disturbing the faithful members, are as foolish as dancers in a troupe who, by their decision to kick and stamp whenever they choose, ruin the dance for the whole troupe.
Christ told me that those few Catholics who believe in all the teachings of the Church and who are willing to proclaim and defend them are like a lamp set on an hill, to enlighten people around them. But many Catholics, even many of the Clergy, have little faith, and so give little or no light to people near them.
Far fewer persons would commit adultery - or any mortal sin - if they really believed the truths proclaimed by Christ through His Church, that He lavishes rewards in Heaven upon the Saints in Heaven, but that people who commit mortal sin and die unrepentant fall into Hell, and experience the loss of God, with all the damned.
Catholics who persist in disbelieving much of what the Church teaches are like men struggling to walk up a mountain, taking care not to fall into narrow gullies, water-logged ditches, or near loose boulders, when they ignore the fellow Catholic who calls out to them, asking them to join him on the safe, narrow path which leads directly to Heaven. Dissenters support one another, but do not move to the safe route.
Some clergymen try to forget that Christ said many 'hard sayings' about sin, Hell, judgement, and faithfulness to the Church; these are things often ignored or contradicted today, by those Catholic Bishops who are more keen to please their colleagues or their flocks than their Saviour.
A person's life can be seen as balanced if he believes all the truths of the Catholic Faith and tries to practice them; yet if he jettisons too much of the truth, he endangers his own soul, and might even fall away into the darkness. The boxes, here on the scales, represent our doctrines.
Jesus once said that, "The measure you give will be the measure you get". If we want Him to act towards us with a merciful and gentle judgement, we must act with mercy and gentleness towards those who displease or annoy us.
In asking me to paint a Last Judgement, the Lord intends (He explained) to sum up for everyone the entire message which He has been giving me during over twenty years of teachings-in-prayer: the message that we are each on our way to Heaven or to Hell, which is why Jesus said: 'Repent and believe the Good News' about His love for us, and our hope of salvation.
A firm and mistaken private judgement about a moral issue is like a boulder in the heart of someone who claims to have examined Catholic claims and found them inadequate. A private opinion that abortion is a right, for example, prevents sincere and fruitful exploration about the Catholic Church.
Whoever searches for an answer to life's questions can do no better than to listen to Jesus. He is the only one of Whom it can be said: He healed everyone, He killed no-one, and He rose from the dead, proving that He has the power to take His followers up to Heaven. Everyone looking clearly at the truth will appreciate that good news, which is worth having.
It is part of Christ's plan that this 'Last Judgement' picture serve as an image in a sanctuary, and as a restatement of truth, an illustration of the Catechism, a teaching aid, and a proof of my own understanding of the Gospel: that each of us is making our way to Heaven or Hell, through our freely made choices as we accept or reject the graces Christ won for us on the Cross.
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.
Catholics who believe what the Church teaches and who pray with faith, invoke the Blessed Trinity, use Holy water, and ask the help of the Angels and Saints, are given powerful help to resist evil; and they help others, too, not to be swept away - as if by a waterfall - by the spiritual enemies who would drag us into fear, resentment and gloom.
Showing 101 - 120 of 322