Ad

Thursday 12 June 2014

BOOK OF REVELATION THROUGH CATHOLIC EYES

Seven Angels and Seven Trumpets of the Book of Revelation
 
A CATHOLIC STUDY OF
THE BOOK OF REVELATION

The Book of Revelation has always been a mystery to me.  What does it all mean?  Until now I had no clue as to what it meant in Catholic understanding.  Yes, I've read some of the stuff that is out there... about the 'rapture' and other stuff --  really???? Is that really the truth of the matter???  Does anyone really know what the symbolism means???  It's all a fuzzy area to me...
 
Well, I think that I have found someone who can teach us.   Karlo Broussard of Divine Child Institute www.divinechildinstitute.com
 
Here is his introduction that explains the lessons.
 
In this talk, which is lesson 1 of a 6 lesson entitled, "Unveiling the Mystery: A Catholic Study of the Book of Revelation", Karl gives a posture with which the Catholic can approach the Book of Revelation.  He introduces the Pre-70 A.D.dating theory and highlights as an introduction the themes of liturgy and judgment. 

I really can see now what the symbolism means through the eyes of the Church.  I hope that you will find this a great means of understanding by pulling back the veil to this book of the bible.

His series is on YouTube.  Here's the links.

A CATHOLIC STUDY OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noBWDHXS_OQ
 
A CATHOLIC STUDY OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGVSzmhLTfM
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you Mr. Karlo Broussard!!!!




Wednesday 11 June 2014

St. Chromatius, Bishop --- Shine with the Light of Truth

From a treatise on the Gospel of
Saint Matthew
by Saint Chromatius, bishop
You are the light of the world
You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Not do men light a lamp only to put it under a bushel basket; they put it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house.  The Lord called his disciples the sale of the earth because they seasoned with heavenly wisdom the hearts of men rendered insipid by the devil.  Now he calls them the light of the world as well, because they have been enlightened by him, the true and everlasting light, and have themselves become a light in the darkness.
Since he is the Sun of Justice, he fittingly calls his disciples the lights of the world.  The reason for this is that through them, as through shining rays, he has poured out the light of the knowledge of himself upon the entire world.  For by manifesting the light of truth, they have dispelled the darkness of error form the hearts of men.
Morever, we too have been enlightened by them.  We have been made light out of darkness as the Apostle says: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.  He says another time: For you are not sons of the night and of darkness, but you are all sons of light and of the day.
Saint John also rightly asserts in his letter: God is light, and whoever abides in God is in the light just as God himself is in the light. Therefore, because we rejoice in having been freed from the darkness of error, we should always walk in the light as children of light.  This is why the Apostle says: Among them you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.
If we fail to live in the lights, we shall, to our condemnation and that of others, be veiling over and obscuring by our infidelity the light men so desperately need.  As we know from Scripture, the man who received the talent should have made it produce a heavenly profit, but instead he preferred to hide it away rather than put it to work and was punished as he deserved.
Consequently, that brilliant lamp which was lit for the sake of our salvation should always shine in us.  For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandment and spiritual grace, to which David referred: Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  Solomon also ways this about it: For the command of the law is a lamp.

Therefore, we must not hide this lamp of law and faith.  Rather, we must set it up in the Church, as a lamp-stand, for the salvation of many, so that we may enjoy the light of truth itself and all believers may be enlightened.

Taken from Liturgy of the Hours, June 11

 


Who was St. Chromatius???


Chromatius was born in Aquileia in about 345 A.D. He was ordained a deacon, then a priest; finally, he was appointed Bishop of that Church (388). After receiving episcopal ordination from Bishop Ambrose he dedicated himself courageously and energetically to an immense task because of the vast territory entrusted to his pastoral care: the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Aquileia, in fact, stretched from the present-day territories of Switzerland, Bavaria, Austria and Slovenia, as far as Hungary.
St Chromatius of Aquileia exercised his ministry in the ancient Church of Aquileia, a fervent centre of Christian life located in the Roman Empire's Decima regione, the Venetia et Histria. In 388 A.D., when Chromatius assumed the Episcopal throne of the city, the local Christian communities had already developed a glorious history of Gospel fidelity.
Martyrs of the Christian Faith
Between the middle of the third century and the early years of the fourth, the persecution of Decius, Valerian and Diocletian had taken a heavy toll of martyrs. Furthermore, the Church of Aquileia, like so many other Churches of that time, had had to contend with the threat of the Arian heresy. Athanasius himself - a standard-bearer of Nicene orthodoxy whom the Arians had banished to exile - had for some time been in Aquileia, where he had taken refuge. Under the guidance of its Bishops, the Christian community withstood the snares of the heresy and reinforced their own attachment to the Catholic faith.
Trinitarian Mystery
Chromatius was a wise teacher and a zealous pastor. His first and main commitment was to listen to the Word, to be able to subsequently proclaim it: he always bases his teaching on the Word of God and constantly returns to it. Certain subjects are particularly dear to him: first of all, the Trinitarian mystery, which he contemplated in its revelation throughout the history of salvation.
Then, the theme of the Holy Spirit: Chromatius constantly reminds the faithful of the presence and action in the life of the Church of the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. But the holy Bishop returns with special insistence to the mystery of Christ. The Incarnate Word is true God and true man: he took on humanity in its totality to endow it with his own divinity. These truths, which he also reaffirmed explicitly in order to counter Arianism, were to end up about 50 years later in the definition of the Council of Chalcedon.
Virgin Mary by Lyubomir Kanelov
The heavy emphasis on Christ's human nature led Chromatius to speak of the Virgin Mary. His Mariological doctrine is clear and precise. To him we owe evocative descriptions of the Virgin Most Holy: Mary is the "evangelical Virgin capable of accepting God"; she is the "immaculate and inviolate ewe lamb" who conceived the "Lamb clad in purple" (cf. Sermo XXIII, 3: Scrittori dell'area santambrosiana 3/1, p. 134). The Bishop of Aquileia often compares the Virgin with the Church: both, in fact, are "virgins" and "mothers".
Chromatius developed his ecclesiology above all in his commentary on Matthew. These are some of the recurring concepts: the Church is one, she is born from the Blood of Christ; she is a precious garment woven by the Holy Spirit; the Church is where the fact that Christ was born of a Virgin is proclaimed, where brotherhood and harmony flourish.
Ship in a Storm
One image of which Chromatius is especially fond is that of the ship in a storm - and his were stormy times, as we have heard: "There is no doubt", the Holy Bishop says, "that this ship represents the Church" (cf. Tractatus XLII, 5: Scrittori dell'area santambrosiana 3/2, p. 260).


 

Living for Christ and not the world

St. Ignatius of Antioch
From a letter to the Romans

by Saint Ignatius of Antioch,
bishop and martyr
My earthly
desires
have been crucified
 
The delights of this world and all its kingdoms will not profit me.  I would prefer to die in Jesus Christ than to rule over all the earth.  I seek him who died for us, I desire him who rose for us.  I am in the throes of being born again.  Bear with me, my brothers; do not keep me from living, do not wish me to die.  I desire to belong to God; do not give me over to the world, and do not seduce me with perishable things.  Let me see the pure light, when I am there, I shall be truly a man at last.  Let me imitate the sufferings of my God.  If anyone has God in him, let him understand what I want and have sympathy for me, knowing what drives me on.
The price of this world would snatch me away and destroy my desire to be with God.  So let none of you who will be there give him help; side rather with me, that is, with God.  Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips and the world in our hearts.  Give envy no place among you.  And if, when I get there, I should beg for your intervention, pay no attention to me; no, believe instead what I am writing to you now.  For I write to you while I yet live, but I long for death.  My early desires have been crucified, and there no long burns in me the love of perishable things, but a living water speaks within me, say: “Come to the Father.”
I take no delight in corruptible food or in the pleasures of this life.  I want the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was David’s seed, and for drink I want his blood, the sign of his imperishable love.
Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch by Cesar Fracanzano
I no longer wish to live, as men count life.  And I shall have my way, if you wish it so.  Wish it, then, so that you too may have God’s favor.  With these few words I beg you to believe me.  Jesus Christ will make plain to you the truth of what I say; he is the true voice that speaks the Father’s truth.  Pray for me that I may reach my goal.  I have written to you not prompted by merely human feelings and values, but by God’s purpose for me.  If I am to suffer, it will be because you loved me well; if I am rejected, it will be because you hated me.  Remember in your prayers the church of Syria: it now has God for its shepherd instead of me.  Jesus Christ alone will be its bishop, along with your love.  For myself, I am ashamed to be counted among its members, for I do not deserve it, being the least of all, born out of due time.  Yet, if I attain to God, by his mercy I shall be something.  I greet you from the heart, and so do the churches that have welcomed me in love not as a mere passerby but as the representative of Jesus Christ.  Yes, even the churches that were not on my route humanly speaking, though spiritually on the same journey, were there to meet me in city after city.
 
taken from the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) June 10
 
St. Ignatius of Antioch 
St. Ignatius of Antioch
 
Feast Day October 17
St. Ignatius of Antioch was the second bishop of Antioch, Syria.  He was the beloved disciple of John and was consecrated a Bishop around the year 69 by the Apostle Peter, the first Pope.  He was deeply loved by the faithful because of his holiness.  He defended “orthodoxy” (the right teaching) and “orthoproxy” (the right practice) among the early Christians.
He journeyed through Asia Minor and Greece and and wrote sevn letters of encouragement, instruction and inspiration to the Christians in those communities.  The letter written above is a prime example of his great faith and teachings.
St. Ignatius of Antioch was the first to use the term “Catholic” to describe the whole Church.  His letters serve as a unbroken and clear teaching of the Apostles which was given to them directly by Jesus Christ.
In the year 107, under the reign of Emperor Trajan, was sentenced to death because of his refusal to renounce the Christian faith.  He was taken under guard to Rom where he was brutally devoured by wild beasts in a public spectacle.  His holy martyrdom, the shedding of his blood, was a culmination of a life lived conformed to Jesus Christ.
“Permit me to imitate my suffering God… I am God’s wheat and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.”
Information gathered from Catholic Online

Thursday 5 June 2014

St. Bonfice - Standing up and Defending the Church



From a letter by Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr
St. Boniface
 
The Careful Shepherd watches over Christ’s flock
 
In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses.  Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course.
The ancient fathers showed us how we should carry out this duty.  Clement, Cornelius and many others in the city of Rome, Cyprian at Carthage, Athanasius at Alexandria.  They all lived under Emperors who were pages; they all steered the Christ’s ship—or rather his most dear spouse, the Church.  This they did by teaching and defending her, by their labors and sufferings, even to the shedding of blood.
I am terrified when I think of all this. Fear and trembling came upon me and the darkness of my sins almost covered me. I would gladly give up the task of guiding the Church which I  have accepted if I could find sucha an action warranted by the example of the fathers or by holy Scripture.
St. Boniface Icon
Since this is the case, and since the truth can be assaulted by never defeated or falsified, with our tired mind let us turn to the words of Solomon: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and dod not rely on your own prudence.  Thon on him in all your ways, and he will guide your steps.   In another place her says: The name of the Lord is an impregnable tower. The just man seeks refuge in it and he will be saved.
Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial.  Let us wait upon God’s strengthening aid and say to him: O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations.
Let us trust in him who has placed this burden upon us.  What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ.  For he is all-powerful and he tells us: My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Let us continue the fight on the day of the Lord.  The days of anguish and tribulation have overtaken us; if God so wills, let us die for the holy laws of our fathers, so that we may deserve to obtain an eternal inheritance with them.
Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf.  Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock.  Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and to the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season, as Saint Gregory writes in his book of Pastoral Instruction.
 
Who is Saint Boniface?
 
(Latin: Bonifatius) (c. 675? – 5 June 754), born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton, was an Anglo-Saxon missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany, the first archbishop of Mainz and the "Apostle of the Germans". He was killed in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others. His remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Facts about Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, since there is a wealth of material available—a number of vitae, especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, and legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence.
 ...Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed survive today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germany and in England. His cult is still notably strong today. Boniface is celebrated as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is seen as a German national figure.
 
St. Boniface felling the oak tree that was venerated as a God
The Incident at Thor's Oak 
To show the heathens how utterly powerless were the gods in whom they placed their confidence, Boniface felled the oak sacred to the thunder-god Thor, at Geismar, near Fritzlar. He had a chapel built out of the wood and dedicated it to the prince of the Apostles. The heathens were astonished that no thunderbolt from the hand of Thor destroyed the offender, and many were converted. The fall of this oak marked the fall of heathenism. Tradition tells us that Boniface now passed on to the River Werra and there erected a Church of St. Vitus, around which sprang up a town which to the present day bears the name of Wannfried. At Eschwege he is said to have destroyed the statue of the idol Stuffo. Thence he went into Thuringia.
Check out this website for more detailed information regarding this great saint.