More Catholic Beliefs (from CCC): Ch. 2 Article One, Section III. Jesus is the Fullness of God's Revelation and There Will Be NO FURTHER REVELATION

Catholics believe (CCC, p. 28) that after Jesus' life on earth, there will be NO FURTHER PUBLIC REVELATION OF GOD until the glorious manifestation of our Lord. God's covenants with our first parents, with Abraham, Noah, and Moses, and their descendants will remain in force as long as the world lasts and there will be no further Revelation (1 Tim 6: 14; Titus 2:13).

We Catholics believe that our Lord will return and that we have a life-long covenant with God!

We read in today's Psalms:

You gave food to those who fear you, mindful of your covenant forever.
You showed powerful deeds to your people, giving them the lands of the nations.
The works of your hands are right and true, reliable all your decrees,
Established forever and ever, to be observed with loyalty and care.
You sent deliverance to your people, ratified your covenant forever;

holy and awesome is your name.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it.

Your praise endures forever.

Psalm 111

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God is BIGGER than All of Our Problems -- We Need to Pray and TRUST HIM! Plus: Thoughts on Today's Gospel Reading Luke 10: 13-16

(Holy Card re-print permission granted from "Holy Cards for Your Inspiration"
http://thewindowshowsitall.blogspot.com )

Good Afternoon Amici (friends),

In today's reading in the Psalms, I just could not help but feel a connection between the words and the state of America at this point in time. What do you think as you read the following?

.
Bring us back, O God!

Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

How much longer, Lord God Almighty, will you be angry

with your people's prayers?

. . .

You have given us sorrow to eat, a large cup of tears to drink,

our enemies insult us.

Bring us back, Almighty God!

Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

. . .

Turn to us Almighty God!

Look down from heaven at us; come and save your people!

Come and save this grapevine that you planted,

this young vine you made grow so strong!

Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down;

look at them in anger and destroy them!

. . .

Preserve and protect the people you have chosen,

the nation you made so strong.

We will never turn away from you again;

keep us alive, and we will praise you.

Psalm 80

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and in PHILIPPIANS 4: 6-9 we continue to read:

"Don't worry about anything,

but in ALL your prayers ask God for what you need,

always asking Him with a thankful heart.
And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding,

will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Jesus Christ

. . .

Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise:

things that are true (honest), noble, pure, lovely,

virtuous, and honorable (worthy of praise).

. . .
Put into practice what you learned and received from me,

both from my words and from my actions.

And the God who gives us peace will be with you."
Phil 4: 6-9
. . .

Recently my husband was overcome with despair for quite a long time (I'm talking about weeks and months). Finally, I just had to ask what was wrong?!?!?!

He said that at age 65, he though that he would be in a more secure financial position as he approaches his golden years.

I offered my understanding, yet had to point out to him how blessed we are in that we have not lost our jobs (in education), that we have our home, a loving marriage, a loving and healthy family with the same blessings.

Yes, there are problems looming around us in America. And yes, people are filled with anxiety, stress, and even depression.

But isn't there something that you can see around you that God has blessed you with so that you can express GRATITUDE for? People would be so surprised if they practice gratitude and trust in the Lord. I know that it really helps me stay away from dread, worry, and "stinkin thinkin" that the devil enjoys seeing us feel.

Blessings to you this glorious Sunday in October!

~ Bella

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Posted by Bella Vita 1 comments

In today's reading from Sacred Sripture, we read about our Call to evangelize for our Lord.

Our Lord said, "Whoever listens to you, listens to me. Whoever rejects you, rejects me. And whoever rejects me, rejects the One who sent me."

After contemplating on these words, I read the "Meditation of the Day" from the current issue of "Magnificat". We are reminded of the CATHOLIC CHURCH'S "entire mission": TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL. . . TO EVANGELIZE through teaching and through our own words and actions!

Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to share the Gospel.

The PRIMARY MOTIVE to evangelize is "the love of Christ for ETERNAL SALVATION for ALL!" We do not do this through force upon others, but by the POWER of the Word of God in our teaching, through works of 'public relevance', and by personal witnessing . . . word and witness go hand in hand in our efforts.

Finally, "EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS, every Catholic has the RIGHT and the DUTY to give the witness and the full PROCLAMATION of the Catholic Faith."

Excerpts taken from Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization

As Francis Fernandez states in "In Conversation with God" (Friday, Week 26 Ordinary Time): God is not at fault when people do not have or accept the Faith. It is the 'unreadiness' of those individuals, their 'hardness of heart', their lack of desire, possibly their unwillingness to overcome a personal defect or shortcoming.

Just some thoughts to remember and reflect upon as Catholics!

Have a blessed day!

~ Bella

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II. The Stages of Revelation (CCC)

God provides us wth constant EVIDENCE of Himself in His created REALITIES around us.

First he manifested Himself to or first parents (Jn 1:3, Rom 1:19-20).

After their sin, God made a covenant with Noah and grouped people in their own lands with their familes, in their nations, and each with different languages (Gen 10:5).

The covenant with Noah remains in force until the universal proclomation of the Gospel (p. 21, para 58, CCC).

God chose Abraham to be "the father of a multitude of nations" to gather together scattered humanity (Gen 17:5).

The descendents of Abraham would be the "trustees" of His promise and are called to PREPARE FOR THE DAY WHEN GOD GATHERS HIS CHILDREN INTO THE UNITY OF the CHURCH (Rom 11:28, Jn 11:52, 10:16).

Later God formed Israel as His chosen people when He freed them from slavery in Egypt and established another covenant through Moses at Mount Sanai by giving His law and so the people would look for the promised Savior, God's Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Israel's people were the first to hear the Word of God (Deut 28:10, Ex 19:6).

Through His prophets, God formed his people in the HOPES of SALVATION in the EXPECTATON of a NEW and EVERLASTING COVENANT for all and to be WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS. We believe that above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. The purest person among His people is Mary (Zeph 2:3, Lk 1:38).

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For Everything There is a Season ~ Ecc 3:1-11

I had read that the Internet can be somewhat like a 'black hole' in which to just get lost. With this blogging and Facebook and 4marks social networks, I think I can relate to that thought! How incredible is the Lord's timing in His messages to all of us.

Yesterday, the 25th of September, 08, we read the Gospel reading from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11 . . . Time is PRECIOUS, fleeting, elusive, a GIFT from God! As I read from the "In Conversation with God" for Friday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time:

• How faithful am I to the duties in my life?
• How miserly am I in the use of my time?
• Do I use my time well by working with love and intensity?
• Do I waste my time doing whatever I want instead of what God wants?
• Do I live in the present moment that God has given me?
• Do I put some order into my day with a schedule/plan that I stick to as best as I can?
• Do I overcome sloth and laziness so that I can help others, my family, my community, my students, my neighbors? Do I raise them up to a better mode of existence?
• Do I do what I should be doing?
• Do I give complete attention to what I am doing as if I were to offer it as a 'last thing' to Him.
• Am I using the present moment to enrich my spiritual life (faith, hope, and charity)?
• Am I using the present moment to progress in the human virtues (industriousness, order, optimism, affability, spirit of service)?

WE SHOULD WORK HERE ON EARTH AS IF WE HAD A LONG LIFE AHEAD OF US. AT THE SAME TIME WE SHOULD WORK AS IF WE ARE GOING TO DIE THIS VERY DAY (p. 98 In Conversaton With God, Friday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time).

With that said, my friends, I need to get back to the day's laundry and cleaning.

Blessings in Christ our Lord Jesus!

~ Bella

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I have just posted my morning thoughts on Chapter Two, Article 1, Section II. God's Revelation. It is important to me to understand my faith better as I continue my efforts to prepare for the evangelization that we are ALL called to as Catholics. It is a beautiful journey in Faith and I hope you join me!Blessings to you on this absolutely breathtaking autumn day in October.

.So for now, from the Carolinas, I'll stop in later to chat. But now it is time to do some housecleaning (oooooh, changing the kitty litter is at the top of the list so that I don't procrastinate this chore)! After the cleaning (first things first), I'm going outside into the garden.

Ciao for now,

~ Bella

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What Catholics Believe: Chapter 2 (CCC): The Revelation of God -- God Comes to Meet Us

God revealed himself by sending his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to us.

"It pleased God in His goodness and wisdom, to REVEAL HIMSELF and to make known ... His will...which was for us to have ACCESS to Him, through Jesus, the Word made flesh" (Article I. para 51, CCC).

God "dwells in an UNAPPROACHABLE LIGHT"

1 Tim 6:16, Eph 1: 4-5.

God wishes us to be CAPABLE of responding to Him, knowing Him, and loving Him, and He does this through revealing Himself through our Lord, who is GOD IN THE FLESH . . . just like us!!!

CATHOLICS BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY: God, the Father, along with Jesus Christ, His Son (who is also God), and the Holy Spirit.

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The One, True, Pure, Undiluted, Original Church Founded by Christ ALONE

From the web-site Catholic Apologetics in the "Evangelization" Forum under the topic/thread 'ecumenical discussions' with our non-Catholic friends and family:

"When we dialog as "equals", [with non-Catholics] we insult our faith. Since every other Christian church either split off from the Catholic Church, or split off from one which had already split off, we, Catholics, have the undiluted original. Remember that it is no sin to boast in the Lord, and that includes the Church He founded, since we are Christ's mystical body. Only one church is the most pure, the most true, the most ancient. All others contain truth and holiness, but the Catholic is the fullness, which can be experienced nowhere else."

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II. Ways of Coming to Know God

We discover certain ways of knowing God called "proofs". These "ways" are twofold: the physical world and the human person.We can come to know God through the world's order and beauty, we can know that God is the origin and the end of the universe.

For what can be 'known' about God is PLAIN to them, because God has SHOWN it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His INVISIBLE nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been CLEARLY perceived in the THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE."
Romans 1: 19-20, Acts 14: 15, 17, 17: 27-28, Wis 13: 1-9
.....

The soul of a human person, the "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material," can have its origin ONLY in God.
Thus, in different ways, we can come to know that there exists a reality which is the FIRST CAUSE and FINAL END OF ALL THINGS, a reality "that everyone calls 'God'". St. Thomas Aquinas
...

Our faculties make us capable of knowing the existence of a PERSONAL God. For us to to enter into intimacy with Him, God willed both of these "proofs" to reveal HIMSELF to us and to give us the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in FAITH.
...

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Even Though We Forget to Seek God, He NEVER Ceases to Call US !

Although we can forget or reject God, HE NEVER CEASES to call us to seek Him, because HE is the ONLY WAY to find HAPPINESS and life. This search requires, demands every effort of intellect and sound will, an 'upright heart'.St. Augustine said, "You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."

"Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice"
Acts 17: 26-28

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Catholics Desire for God

Our dignity as human beings comes from the fact that we are CALLED to communion with God. We are invited as soon as we come into BEING !CCC, p. 14

From one ancestor (God) made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and He allotted THE TIMES of THEIR EXISTANCE and the boundaries of the places WHERE THEY WOULD LIVE, so that they WOULD SEARCH FOR GOD . . . though indeed He IS NOT FAR from each of us.

For "in Him we live and move and have our being."
Acts 17: 26-28

We are no accidents; God gave each of us a purpose . . . to search for Him and fulfill HIS purposes!

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Part 1. Section 1 (CCC) What Catholics Believe: I Believe . . . We Believe

Faith is our response to God. Chapter One: Our Capacity for GodWe DESIRE God -- IT IS WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS!! God never ceases to draw us closer to Him. It is ONLY in GOD that we will FIND the TRUTH and the HAPPINESS we constantly search for!

We will never find happiness in anything external. . . only in God who calls us HOME to Him. Happiness here on Earth is elusive!

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1.3 What Catholics Believe: We are URGED to PROCLAIM the Good News EVERYWHERE in the World

Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's CALL and freely respond are URGED on by Christ's love to PROCLAIM the GOOD NEWS EVERYWHERE in the world. This TREASURE received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. ALL Christ's faithful are CALLED to hand this Good News dwn from generation to generation, by PROFESSING the faith, by LIVING it in FRATERNAL SHARING, and by CELEBRATING it in LITURGY and prayer.

Acts 2:42

Catholics are CALLED to PROCLAIM the good news as all of the apostles and their successors have done.

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1.2 What Catholics Believe: We are Called to SHARE the Gospel -- To Evangelize

So that God's CALL should resound THROUGHOUT the world, Christ sent His CHOSEN APOSTLES, commissioned to PROCLAIM the GOSPEL.

"Go therefore and make disciple of ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to OBSERVE ALL that I have COMMANDED

you, and lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the CLOSE OF THE AGE."

Mt. 28: 18-20.

Catholics are called to share the Gospel with everyone!

Catholics EVANGELIZE!

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What Catholics Believe - (Cathecism of the Catholic Church - I)

God freely created man to share in His own blessed life. At every time and in every place, God draws close to man. God calls man to SEEK Him, to KNOW Him, to LOVE Him with ALL his strength.

God calls together all men into the UNITY of the Church.To accomplish this, God sent his SON as Redeemer and Savior. Through his Son, God invites man to become, in the Holy Spirit, His adopted children and HEIRS to his His blessed life.

"Father . . . this is eternal life, that they may know you,

the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

John 17:3

"God our Savior desires all men to be saved and

to come to the knowledge of the Truth."

1 Tim 2:3-4

"There is no other name under heaven given among men

by which we must be save" than the name of Jesus."

Acts 4:12

That's what all of us are HERE for, in everything, we need to search for, seek and find the Lord and our Heavenly Father! That's what Catholics believe!!

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