Profits and Christianity

Enemies of Holy Mother Church often feign sarcastic concern about the wealth of our beloved Catholic Church. Since none of these people contributed anything to its wealth, such ridiculous aspersions against Holy Mother Church would be rejected as infantile nonsense by people with any intelligence. Today’s Blog is the first of an occasional series that will present expert and reasoned knowledge that will not only expose the ridiculousness of the curmudgeonly critics (both outside and within the Church), but also demonstrate to thinking people that nothing less than a celebration of our beloved Catholic Church’s wealth would be an abdication of its solemn call to spiritual duty.

Mr. John Theodore Ralph AO was formerly CEO of CRA Ltd, Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank and Deputy Chairman of Telstra. He is a Catholic layman active in Church organisations.

The following is a transcript of a compelling talk presented by Mr. John Theodore Ralph AO, to the Senior Business Executives group of the Inter-Church Trade and Industry Mission (Victoria) Melbourne on 25^th July, 1984. (As ignorance of the facts still persist and in the backdrop of the current Global Financial and Global Debt Systemic Crises, the topic is even more relevant now than it was then). Complementing this is an intelligently reasoned video from Archbishop Fulton Sheen on “True and False Compassion”. (incidentally, a few days ago – on June 28, 2012 Archbishop Fulton Sheen was decreed “VENERABLE” by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI):

“I welcome the opportunity of speaking to you this morning, though at first I felt rather diffident about the prospect. I thought that some of you may come along expecting to hear a sermon. I can assure you that I am not equipped to deliver that, even though it may be currently fashionable for mining executives to venture into quoting biblical texts.

My topic, “Profits and Christianity”, may seem somewhat incongruous to many. The two concepts are rarely linked and may seem mismatched. Yet I believe that it is important that Christians should speak up in favour of profits. We often tend to be apologetic and feel uncomfortable about defending the role of profits, particularly when discussing matters in an ethical or social context. Too often however profit is confused with profiteering and is equated with greed.

Profits are frequently attacked as somehow being bad, and the integrity of those of us who are involved in the often difficult task of earning them is under attack, even within our Churches. Yet the role of profits and of those involved in the productive economic system are fundamental to alleviating the economic and many of the social problems which are of concern to our Churches and their members. I believe that we are more involved in providing the means for curing society’s ills than we are in their causes.

This is not to suggest that everything about our economic system is good, nor that there are not flaws and abuses, nor that there is lack of charity, nor many inequities. We can focus solely on these negative aspects, as many do, and fail to weigh the other side of the equation – that the systems in which free enterprise is allowed to operate have permitted the lifting of the living standards of their people and have permitted greater freedoms of the individual than have other systems, whether they be totalitarian of the right or the left.

Profits and the Community

Profits are fundamental to all the freedoms we enjoy – not just the freedom to make profits or losses. A state cannot begin to constrain the ability of its citizens to make their own decisions on how they will earn their incomes and how they will spend them, without beginning to place shackles on the liberty of those citizens. (No reasonable member of the community would argue against there needing to be some constraints on individuals in the interests of the common good. The question is where that line is drawn.)

The more a Government constrains enterprises and individuals in their abilities to earn profits, the more it must continually attack the freedom of its citizens in their decision-making processes. The two are inextricably inter woven. When economic freedom is removed, other freedoms cannot survive. History confirms this.

Profit has become an emotive word. For many, it is associated with capitalism, yet it is not really a feature of any particular economic system. It is simply a word to describe the surplus or residual remaining after deducting the costs from what is received for providing goods or services. It is fundamental to any exchange of goods and services, and is equally relevant to any economic system. Sometimes it is called profit, sometimes it is called surplus.

Profits (or earnings) can be consumed currently, or part can be put aside for later consumption. That which is saved provides the capital to fund investment which, if wisely undertaken, generates an increase in the wealth-creating capability of the community.

From the wealth created the community has to decide how this wealth is to be distributed. There is no lack of debate on that topic and there will always be differences of views on the priorities of claims for the shares of the economic cake. It is fundamental to democracy and to the freedoms we cherish that this should be so.

What should be crystal clear, but unfortunately seems to be so frequently overlooked, however, is that the first and prior objective should be to ensure that the cake is as large as we can reasonably make it. Then it will be possible to come closer to satisfying au those demands for shares of it.

Jobs and Economic Growth

There is little evidence to suggest that those most concerned with a fairer distribution, or those who just want more of what others produce, have significantly changed their views about the role of profits. But this is not the case with those more closely involved. I believe that many in the working community, and particularly those who represent them in the union leadership, have come to understand much better the link between profits, investment and jobs. They have seen the inevitable consequences of higher unemployment, and the misery that this brings, when profits become inadequate and investment dries up.

The surest way of alleviating unemployment is through the rejuvenation of the economy. This goes hand in hand with, and will be enhanced through, the opportunity of making profits. The evidence for this is to compare the U.S.A. and Europe. In the last 18 months, 2 1/2 million new jobs (equal to nearly half of all the jobs in Australia), have been created in the U.S.A., while there has been no net increase in jobs in the E.E.C. [European Economic Community] The result is that the U.S.A. has been able to accommodate a much greater participation in the workforce, while at the same time dramatically reducing its level of unemployment. Yet in the E.E.C. the number out of work continues to show no sign of declining. The marked difference between the two economies is that in the former the market has been encouraged to work through deregulation, lower taxes, etc., while in the latter, rigidities abound.

On the basis of this we should expect that more of those who are genuinely concerned about the unemployed would be calling for measures to encourage profits and new investment. The silence is deafening!

It can be argued that people should be motivated to work on an unselfish basis and contribute to the best of their abilities for the good of others. Many, of course, do, but not in sufficient numbers to keep the economy going. Because they are less than perfect most people need to see that the benefits for themselves outweigh their personal costs or inconvenience. Throughout history, people have understood the need to work to enable them to satisfy their current needs, and have appreciated the wisdom of putting something aside for less propitious times.

Our society is founded upon individual initiative, private enterprise and the market economy. Yet increasingly these principles are attacked, and attacked savagely, by those who benefit greatly from them. What is more surprising to those of us with a close association with one branch or other of the Christian Church, is that some of the attacks come from within the Church itself and are couched in moral and even theological language. To anyone familiar with the relationship between the Christian work ethic and the surge in the standard of living in Western economies since the industrial revolution, this is extraordinary. To any responsible Christian in business, it is offensive. But perhaps we have mainly ourselves to blame, because of our relative silence in a world of mass communication where almost any idea, however spurious, will find a ready reception if it is put forward insistently and repetitively.

Having said all this, I would also wish to emphasise that I do not regard profits as the be-all and end-all of business enterprise. While they are ultimately essential, they are not an end in themselves and in no way should one advocate their pursuit at the expense of freedom or justice. Christians in business do have a major responsibility for ethical behaviour and for influencing their colleagues in that direction. In my own Company, for instance, we have published a booklet “Good Business” which not only provides guidance to employees of what the law requires but also informs them of the Company’s expectations in relation to ethical behaviour

Christian Principles Regarding Work

Today I want to address these philosophical and theological questions and to assert that not only is the pursuit of profits appropriate for the Christian, but that if property qualified by relevant ethical considerations it is a high calling for Christians to be so engaged. While such an assertion is far from new in the history of Western civilisation, especially since the Reformation, I believe it needs careful restating today.

At the most fundamental level, work is itself intrinsically good. In Genesis 1 & 2 we see that God himself is creative and productive and that his work results in order. Creation reveals the character of God, and in particular mankind is made in his image and is appointed to have a representative function in the world. Therefore work as creative endeavour by man is the most natural and appropriate aspect of his existence. It expresses his responsibility in the world, as distinct from the modern emphasis on rights.

It follows from this that people’s creative work should and will steadily improve our lot on earth. We have been given the resources of the earth to enable this, and for the most part human history has shown the benefit of applying work to those resources. The concept of ‘value added’ starts in Genesis and gains reinforcement in New Testament Writings. Writing to the Ephesian Church for instance, Paul echoes the creation theology In talking about regenerate people being created for good works which God has prepared for them.

Pope John Paul II pointed out in his 1981 encyclical Llaborem Exercens’ that the Church has constantly emphasised work as ‘a fundamental dimension of human existence on earth’. He goes on to canvass its application in spheres of science and technology, he emphasises the dignity of work and finally he asserts that it is man himself ‘who is the purpose of work’, i.e. work is for people and not people for work. This is strong stuff for an age when work is too often seen as something.to be avoided and where the purpose of life is understood more in terms of leisure than toil.

The reformers were no less forthright in their time. With perhaps a streak of asceticism, they preached the strong message of works as a sign of grace and expressing a continuation of God’s commission to Adam in Genesis. Thus arose the so-called Protestant work ethic, which regarded ‘the fulfillment of duty in worldly affairs as the highest form of moral activity’ and encouraged ‘restraints . . . . on the consumption of wealth’ to provide for ‘productive investment of capital’ (Max Weber). These concepts are arguably responsible for the productive endeavour and generation of capital which is the basis of our Western civilisation! Certainly it at least had a major positive influence on the standard of living we all take for granted today. Surprisingly to some, Australia may be well placed in respect to attitudes to work. Last year’s Australian Values Study Survey showed that Australians, when asked what they sought most in a job, gave top priority to “a job that is interesting”, second priority to “a job where you feel you can achieve something” and, uniquely in the wor1d, placed “good pay” as low as sixth place. Whether this is some long-lasting hangover of the Christian work ethic or whether it relates to some other aspect of our national ethos I will leave to others to speculate.

Our Common Wealth

But let me return to profits. Creative, constructive work we can understand but why this disreputable economic concept? The answer is simply that all this work is able to generate capital which one way or another can be invested to yield more capital nd so our common wealth grows. Profit is simply the indicator of whether the tender economic plant is growing or not. If some earnings from work are saved and are invested as capital and if this capital does produce a profit, then there has been growth and the creation of wealth. If not, then we are regressing in economic terms. The likely consequence is greater deprivation for the less fortunate. This is equally true whether it occurs in Melbourne or Moscow.

So Christianity and profits are linked through work, which is fundamental both in a secular sense of providing for our material needs and adding value to resources or in the Christian sense of expressing and fulfilling created human nature. Profits are the means by which that work is ultimately manifest as improvements in our global real estate, cultural heritage and standard of living. And despite the nuclear weapons threat, there is little reason to suppose that the future is not even brighter.

There is enormous scope to improve the lot of hundreds of millions of people on earth both materially and culturally. It will require both our hard work and theirs and it will require the creation and reinvestment of resultant profits over many years. Our children and our grandchildren will have exciting opportunities and responsibilities before them.

This leads me to the question of objectives. In this context I want to risk stating the obvious in .order to outline future objectives concerning which I believe there is general agreement.

A desirable objective for any community, I suggest, is wealth creation and economic growth. This is not so we can have bigger cars or houses but because as Christians and citizens of “the lucky country”, we should be acutely aware that many people on the face of the earth (and indeed some in Australia) are living in absolute poverty. Without economic growth they will remain where they are. In the case of the Australians, they will be dependent on those who are working to earn enough to pay the taxes to fund the welfare which supports them. This is an increasingly unstable situation as the welfare bill grows and national productivity fails to keep pace. We need to reverse these trends, not only from an economic viewpoint but more importantly in the interests of social cohesion.

It is intriguing and desperately sad that so many people in addressing the needs of the poor, especially in the Third World, can come up with only the prospect of more handouts in redistribution of wealth away from where it is being produced.

Social and Economic Freedoms

They apparently cannot see how wealth has been created in the West and fail to appreciate how, over only a few short generations this has substantially lifted the living standards of the average citizen. Why are the lessons of the West’s economic growth not applied in the Third World? Vigorous economic growth in Third World countries certainly has the capacity to do more than foreign aid is ever likely to achieve. This is not to suggest that there is not a role for foreign aid. There is, and we should encourage developed countries to give generously to those who are less fortunate. But there is also another requirement of Third World countries which want to achieve better living standards for their people; that is, adequate levels of freedom for the individual. History tells us, of course, that one is not achievable without the other.

Socialism of course is an attractive doctrine, especially to those noble souls who forever see human nature in terms of what it should be. If we were all perfect, or nearly so, and were prepared to work without further incentive for the common good, then socialism would probably work. Christian thought regarding mankind’s role in the world has oscillated between socialist Ideals and an emphasis on the depravity of human nature. While it is all very well for people to justify socialism on the basis of what it ought deliver, I believe we have to look at the track record. For countries which have embraced socialism, in the sense of highly regulated centrally-planned economies, the results have been mostly disastrous or at best unimpressive, while free enterprise and mixed economies have much more to show. But competitive free enterprise cannot be put forward on its own. It must go with other freedoms – freedom of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom to invest or not to invest, freedom to fail. We cant divorce these freedoms from one another and capitalism without other freedoms is a cruel parody.

In respect to the economic system best able to cater for human needs and aspirations I cannot do better than quote the words of Sir Peter Walters, head of BP in London, when speaking to a Christian business men’s conference last year: “I am opposed to businessmen feeling shame or embarrassment over their involvement in the process of wealth creation. While we in the West may regrettably over-indulge ourselves when others are lacking life’s essentials, I still believe that both history and experience point to the competitive free-enterprise system as being the most efficient method of increasing wealth on both a local and an international scale, and of ensuring that the benefits are widely spread”.

“Secondly, I do not believe that free enterprise should be pilloried for working with, rather than against. the grain of human nature. If there is a need for a moral resurgence in the West, free enterpise at least allows the individual the freedom to take his own moral decisions and accept responsibility for his actions”

I was also interested to see that Mr. Edward Seaga, Prime Minister of Jamaica, had some strong words recently about the need for developing nations in the Caribbean to pay for progress out of economic growth, rather than through a levelling or ” pulling-down” process, as he put it. His policies set out to prove that domestic private enterprise and deregulation coupled with extensive foreign investment are the best hopes for underdeveloped nations. Surrounded as he is by various socialist experiments in government and inheriting the legacy of another one, he can claim some authority in the matter.

Economic and Political Power

Allied to freedom is power. According to the comic-book caricatures published by the Commission of Justice and Peace in my own denomination·, I and certain mining industry colleagues are supposed to be some of the most powerful people in the country! Presumably this is because we have responsible roles in large companies which bring together a lot of financial assets. But I put it to you that there are one or two well known union executives who have demonstrated that they are far more powerful than I, as a senior company man, can ever be. I cannot at my whim, put builders out of business or decide the limits of a city square. I can, however, in a modest way contribute to decisions which set up new businesses and add value to the nation’s resources so that productive jobs are created. And yet who does our enlightened Church agency attack, with the short-lived blessing of my bishops?

At the root of this is confusion about the nature of power. In our society economic and political power have traditionally been separate, though regrettably politicians seem to be intent on closing the gap. In popular left wing or ” new class” myth, economic power dominates politics and this gives rise to the push for reversing the alleged situation, so that economic activities should become utterly subservient to politics, as in socialist states. But the protection of the community from dictatorship is best accomplished by a wide dispersion of economic power and the separation of economic power and political power. It is also vital that the holders of both political and economic power remain clearly accountable to their relative constituencies.

This then highlights some issues. How do we ensure a strong democracy without allowing its destruction by those who would destroy freedom for others? Do we need safeguards to protect us from those who would set out to gain political power to abuse it? Does democratic egalitarianism in Australia need always to be expressed as a pulling down rather than as creating opportunities for others to pull themselves up? These are some of the questions which Christian leaders, both lay and other, need to address urgently if they are not by default to concede the field to those who disparage the values and objectives I have outlined.

Conclusion

I believe that we, as active laymen in the Churches, need to take a much stronger role in how the Churches teach and act in relation to economic issues. It is just not good enough to have the sort of nonsense expressed in the anti-mining comic I have referred to and in ‘Changing Australia’ foisted upon the Australian public in the name of enlightened concern. It is bordering on scandalous that we meekly allow the concerned and well-meaning members of our Churches to be misled by that material, with hardly a word of dissent.

The Churches need, if they are to be credible in economic issues, to take a good look at how wealth is created, as well as (but not only) how it might be distributed. There is a need to dust off the theology of work, along with the doctrine of creation which undergirds it, and expound it to a hedonistic world.

And there is a need to help reinforce the strengths of democracy and freedom of speech, for where these are eroded, the Church is first to suffer.”

Ignorance of Evil

A Sermon by Blessed John Henry Newman.

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil.”—Gen. iii. 22.

It is plain that the temptation under which man fell in paradise was this, an ambitious curiosity after knowledge which was not allowed him: next came the desire of the eyes and the flesh, but the forbidden tree was called the tree of knowledge; the Tempter promised knowledge; and after the fall Almighty God pronounced, as in the text, that man had gained it. “Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil.”

The Power of Suggestion

You see it is said, “man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil,” because God does know evil as well as good. This is His wonderful incommunicable attribute; and man sought to share in what God was, but he could not without ceasing to be what God was also, holy and perfect. It is the incommunicable attribute of God to know evil without experiencing it. But man, when he would be as God, could only attain the shadow of a likeness which as yet he had not, by losing the substance which he had already. He shared in God’s knowledge by losing His image. God knows evil and is pure from it—man plunged into evil and so knew it.

Our happiness as well as duty lies in not going beyond our measure—in being contented with what we are—with what God makes us. They who seek after forbidden knowledge, of whatever kind, will find they have lost their place in the scale of beings in so doing, and are cast out of the great circle of God’s family.

Delight in Sin

It is, I say, God’s incommunicable attribute, as He did not create, so not to experience sin—and as He permits it, so also to know it; to permit it without creating it, to know it without experiencing it—a wonderful and incomprehensible attribute truly, yet involved, perhaps, in the very circumstance that He permits it. For He is every where and in all, and nothing exists except in and through Him. Mysterious as it is, the very prison beneath the earth, its chains and fires and impenitent inmates, the very author of evil himself, is sustained in existence by God, and without God would fall into nothing. God is in hell as well as in heaven, a thought which almost distracts the mind to think of. The awful God! “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I go from Thy Presence? If I climb up into heaven, Thou art there; if I go down to hell, Thou art there also.” Where life is, there is He; and though it be but the life of death—the living death of eternal torment—He is the principle of it. And being thus intimately present with the very springs of thought, and the first elements of all being, being the sustaining cause of all spirits, whether they be good or evil, He is intimately present with evil, being pure from it—and knows what it is, as being with and in the wretched atoms which originate it.

If there be this sort of connexion between God’s knowledge and sufferance of evil, see what an ambition it was in our first parents to desire to know it without experiencing it; it was, indeed, to desire to be as gods,—to know the secrets of the prison-house, and to see the worm that dieth not, yet remain innocent and happy.

Consent to Sin

This they understood not; they desired something which they knew not that they could not have, remaining as they were; they did not see how knowledge and experience went together in the case of human nature; and Satan did not undeceive them. They ate of the tree which was to make them wise, and, alas! they saw clearly what sin was, what shame, what death, what hell, what despair. They lost God’s presence, and they gained the knowledge of evil. They lost Eden, and they gained a conscience.

This, in fact, is the knowledge of good and evil. Lost spirits do not know good. Angels do not know evil. Beings like ourselves, fallen beings, fallen yet not cast away, know good and evil; evil not external to them, nor yet one with them; but in them, yet not simply of them. Such was the fruit of the forbidden tree, as it remains in us to this day.

We do not know in what the duty and happiness of other beings consist; but at least this seems to have been man’s happiness in Paradise, not to think about himself or to be conscious of himself. Such, too, to recur to the parallel especially suggested on this day, seems to be the state of children. They do not reflect upon themselves. Such, too, seems to be the state of those orders of Angels whose life is said to consist in contemplation—for what is contemplation but a resting in the thought of God to the forgetfulness of self? Hence the Saints are described as “Virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” But Adam, discontented with what he was, pined after a knowledge which he could not obtain from without—which he could only have from miserable experience within—from moral disorders within him, and from having his mind drawn to the contemplation of himself in consequence of those disorders. He obtained the wished for knowledge; and his first recorded act afterwards was one of reflection upon self, and he hid himself among the trees of the garden. He was no longer fitted for contemplating glories without him; his attention was arrested to the shame that was upon him.

Actions Have Consequences

What is so miserably seen in the history of our first parents has been the temptation and sin of their posterity ever since,—indulgence in forbidden, unlawful, hurtful, unprofitable knowledge; as some instances will show.

1. I ought to notice in the first place that evil curiosity which stimulates young persons to intrude into things of which it is their blessedness to be ignorant. Satan gains our souls step by step; and his first allurement is the knowledge of what is wrong. He first tempts them to the knowledge, and then to the commission of sin. Depend on it that our happiness and our glory, in these matters, is to be ignorant, as well as to be guiltless. St. Paul says that “it is a shame even to speak” of those things which are done by the sons of Belial in secret. Oh, thoughtless, and worse, oh, cruel to your own selves, all ye who read what ye should not read, and hear what ye should not hear! Oh, how will you repent of your folly afterwards! Oh, what bitter feelings, oh, what keen pangs, will shoot through your souls hereafter, at the memory, when you look back, of what has come of that baneful curiosity! Oh, how will you despise yourselves, oh, how weep at what you have brought on you! At this day surely there is a special need of this warning; for this is a day when nothing is not pried into, nothing is not published, nothing is not laid before all men.

2. In the next place I would observe, that the pursuit of science, which characterizes these times, is very likely to draw us aside into a sin of a particular kind, if we are not on our guard. We read, in the book of Acts, of many who used curious arts burning their books; that is, there are kinds of knowledge which are forbidden to the Christian. Now this seems strange to the world in this day. The only forbidden subjects which they can fancy, are such as are not true—fictions, impostures, superstitions, and the like. Falsehood they think wrong; false religions, for instance, because false. But they are perplexed when told that there may be branches of real knowledge, yet forbidden. Yet it has ever been considered in the Church, as in Scripture, that soothsaying, consulting the stars, magic, and similar arts, are unlawful—unlawful, even though not false; and Scripture certainly speaks as if at least some of them were more than merely a pretended knowledge and a pretended power; whereas men now-a-days have got to think that they are wrong, merely because frauds and impostures; and if they found them not so, they would be very slow to understand how still they are unlawful. They have not mastered the idea that real knowledge may be forbidden us.

3. Next it is obvious to speak of those melancholy persons who boast themselves on what they call their knowledge of the world and of life. There are men, alas not a few, who look upon acquaintance with evil as if a part of their education. Instead of shunning vice and sin, they try it, if for no other reason, simply for this—that they may have knowledge of it. They mix with various classes of men, and they throw themselves into the manners and opinions of all in turn. They are ready-witted perhaps, prompt and versatile, and easily adapt themselves so as to please and get acquainted with those they fall in with. They have no scruples of conscience hindering them from complying with whatever is proposed; they are of any form of religion, have lax or correct morals, according to the occasion. They can revel with those that revel, and they can speak serious things when their society is serious. They travel up and down the country perhaps, or they are of professions or pursuits which introduce them to men of various languages, or which take them abroad, and they see persons of opposite creeds and principles, and whatever they fall in with they take as so many facts, merely as facts of human nature, not as things right or wrong according to a certain fixed standard independent of themselves. Now whatever of religion or truth remains in our fallen nature is not on the surface: these men, then, studying what is uppermost, are in fact but studying all that is evil in man, and in consequence they have very low notions of man. They are very sceptical about the existence of principle and virtue; they think all men equally swayed by worldly, selfish, or sensual motives, though some hide their motives better than others, or have feelings and likings of a more refined character. And having given in to sin themselves, they have no higher principle within them to counteract the effect of what they see without; all their notions of man’s nature, capabilities, and destinies, are derived from, and are measured by, what goes on in the world, and accordingly they apply all their knowledge to bad purposes. They think they know, and they do know too truly on the whole, the motives and inducements which will prevail with men; and they use their knowledge to overreach, deceive, seduce, corrupt, or sway those with whom they have to do.

4. Another very different class of persons who study evil, and pride themselves upon it, and are degraded by it, are those who indulge themselves in contemplating and dwelling on the struggle between right and wrong in their own minds. There have been from time to time men of morbid imaginations, of any or no religious creed, who have so exercised themselves. Indeed there has been a large school of writers in very various departments, for years, I may say centuries past, though happily they are diminishing now, who delight in bringing out into open day all the weaknesses and inconsistencies of human nature; nay worse, take pains to describe bad men, and how they feel, and what they say; who interest the mind in bad men, nay in bad Angels, as if Satan might be thought of otherwise than with shuddering. And there are others, men of mistaken religious views, who think that religion consists in dwelling on and describing the struggle between grace and corrupt nature in the soul. Christ has brought us light and life, and would have us put off what we are, and follow Him, who knew no sin. But these men, far from rising even to the aspiration after perfection, do not advance in their notion of spiritual religion beyond the idea of declaring and lamenting their want of it. Confession is with them perfection; nay, it is almost the test of a Christian, to be able to discourse upon his inward corruption. It is well to confess sin in detail with shame as an act of penitence; it is a snare to speak of it vaguely and in public.

5. Lastly, even when used rightly, the knowledge of sin is not without its danger. As mediciners would not exist were there no illness or disease, so it is mental disease which gives rise to casuists. Pain leads us to think of our bodies, and sin of our souls. Were our souls in perfect harmony, they would act like an instrument in tune; we should with difficulty divide the sounds, even if we would; but it is the discordance, the jar within us, which leads us to a serious contemplation of what we are. The same remark obviously applies to a great deal of theological knowledge, on which men who have it are tempted to pride themselves; I mean exact knowledge of heresies and the like. The love of God alone can give such knowledge its right direction. There is the danger lest men so informed find themselves scrutinizing when they should be adoring, reasoning when they should be believing, comparing when they should be choosing, and proving when they should be acting. We know two things of the Angels—that they cry Holy, Holy, Holy, and that they do God’s bidding. Worship and service make up their blessedness; and such is our blessedness in proportion as we approach them. But all exercises of mind which lead us to reflect upon and ascertain our state; to know what worship is, and why we worship; what service is, and why we serve; what our feelings imply, and what our words mean, tend to divert our minds from the one thing needful, unless we are practised and expert in using them. All proofs of religion, evidences, proofs of particular doctrines, scripture proofs, and the like,—these certainly furnish scope for the exercise of great and admirable powers of mind, and it would be fanatical to disparage or disown them; but it requires a mind rooted and grounded in love not to be dissipated by them. As for truly religious minds, they, when so engaged, instead of mere disputing, are sure to turn inquiry into meditation, exhortation into worship, and argument into teaching.

The Shiny Bait Leads to Hell

Reflections such as these, followed up, show us how different is our state from that for which God made us. He meant us to be simple, and we are unreal; He meant us to think no evil, and a thousand associations, bad, trifling, or unworthy, attend our every thought. He meant us to be drawn on to the glories without us, and we are drawn back and (as it were) fascinated by the miseries within us. And hence it is that the whole structure of society is so artificial; no one trusts another, if he can help it; safeguards, checks, and securities are ever sought after. No one means exactly what he says, for our words have lost their natural meaning, and even an Angel could not use them naturally, for every mind being different from every other, they have no distinct meaning. What, indeed, is the very function of society, as it is at present, but a rude attempt to cover the degradation of the fall, and to make men feel respect for themselves, and enjoy it in the eyes of others, without returning to God. This is what we should especially guard against, because there is so much of it in the world. I mean, not an abandonment of evil, not a sweeping away and cleansing out of the corruption which sin has bred within us, but a smoothing it over, an outside delicacy and polish, an ornamenting the surface of things while “within are dead men’s bones and all uncleanness;” making the garments, which at first were given for decency, a means of pride and vanity. Men give good names to what is evil, they sanctify bad principles and feelings; and, knowing that there is vice and error, selfishness, pride, and ambition, in the world, they attempt, not to root out these evils, not to withstand these errors;—that they think a dream, the dream of theorists who do not know the world;—but to cherish and form alliance with them, to use them, to make a science of selfishness, to flatter and indulge error, and to bribe vice with the promise of bearing with it, so that it does but keep in the shade.

Resist Temptation through the Grace of God

But let us, finding ourselves in the state in which we are, take those means which alone are really left us, which alone become us. Adam, when he had sinned, and felt himself fallen, instead of honestly abandoning what he had become, would fain have hid himself. He went a step further. He did not give up what he now was, partly from dread of God, partly from dislike of what he had been. He had learnt to love sin and to fear God’s justice. But Christ has purchased for us what we lost in Adam, our garment of innocence. He has bid us and enabled us to become as little children; He has purchased for us the grace of simplicity, which, though one of the highest, is very little thought about, is very little sought after. We have, indeed, a general idea what love is, and hope, and faith, and truth, and purity, though a poor idea; but we are almost blind to what is one of the first elements of Christian perfection, that simple-mindedness which springs from the heart’s being whole with God, entire, undivided. And those who think they have an idea of it, commonly rise no higher than to mistake for it a mere weakness and softness of mind, which is but its counterfeit. To be simple is to be like the Apostles and first Christians. Our Saviour says, “Be ye harmless,” or simple, “as doves.” And St. Paul, “I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil[2].” Again, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation[3].” And he speaks of the “testimony of” his own “conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God,” he had his conversation in the world and towards his disciples. Let us pray God to give us this great and precious gift; that we may blot out from our memory all that offends Him; unlearn all that knowledge which sin has taught us; rid ourselves of selfish motives, self-conceit, and vanity, littlenesses, envying, grudgings, meannesses; turn from all cowardly, low, miserable ways; and escape from servile fears, the fear of man, vague anxieties of conscience, and superstitions. So that we may have the boldness and frankness of those who are as if they had no sin, from having been cleansed from it; the uncontaminated hearts, open countenances, and untroubled eyes of those who neither suspect, nor conceal, nor shun, nor are jealous; in a word, so that we may have confidence in Him, that we may stay on Him, and rest in the thoughts of Him, instead of plunging amid the thickets of this world; that we may bear His eye and His voice, and know no knowledge but the knowledge of Him and Jesus Christ crucified, and desire no objects but what He has blessed and bid us pursue.

[1] for Innocents’ Day.

[2] Rom. xvi. 19.

[3] Phil. ii. 16.

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In today’s blog we have reprinted Blessed John Henry Newman’s SERMON XVIII,  Vol VIII, “PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS” with kind permission from the Gutenberg Project. This forms part of an occasional series where we will be using outstanding Catholic scholars from the past to act as our “guest bloggers”.

The moral dilemma is never outdated: it’s always contemporary. Although technology has changed immensely, thousands of years ago  people also faced the same moral choices in exercising their free will, as we do today: good or evil; vice or virtue; truth or falsity; God or the Devil. Because we live in an age where information overload often overwhelms and confuses people’s judgment, one could say that the ancients were more perceptive of morality (knowledge comes but wisdom lingers, as great philosophers tend to say) than we are today.

As part of the Church Militant, we have a God given duty to rescue souls from the deceptively addictive temptations of the devil that only lead to eternal hell. Our only weapon is promoting God’s Truth,  in the face of widespread ignorance of the modern Godless world, where the devil is tolerated and allowed to cause havoc in our lives . Thus it is very appropriate that we focus on Blessed John Henry Newman’s  “Ignorance of Evil” in this, our first guest blog.

The architecture of the Blessed Cardinal’s argument gives as an insight into the genius of his reasoning. The Victorian era flourishes in his writing provide a stark contrast to today’s terse, “sound byte” communications. Using a set of simple words, he crafts his sermon to reflect his great philosophical intellect, building up a set of logical propositions but tailored to the understanding of the general congregation. Thus Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman persuades us to his thinking, using genteel Victorian flair and panache rather than crude philistine brutishness and vulgarity.  This makes it all the more endearing to civilized connoisseurs of language.

Complementing the Blessed Cardinal are videos on Temptation by the Emmy Award Winning Archbishop Fulton J Sheen.  Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen and Blessed John Cardinal Newman are now on the path to Sainthood. As such, in all probability they now fully witness God in heaven. The hypnotic power  of Fulton Sheen’s oratory combined with the simple written brilliance of Newman therefore provides us with a clear path linking our physical world on earth with the spiritual world of the Church Triumphant.

However, mere reading and viewing this blog from two giants of the Faith, without heeding the messages between the lines will not, of itself,  make you a better person. You don’t get a perfect figure merely reading a diet book. Likewise, you perfect a soul by taking action. No pain, no gain: as sporting champions fully recognise. To win any fight, you must be stronger than the enemy. To win the fight against evil, you must strengthen the good in your soul. The most efficient way of doing this is by celebrating the Holy Eucharist with the priest at your Catholic Church.

Our Lady of  Częstochowa Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong provides world class training to nourish and fuel your Soul the proven, traditional, disciplined and strict Polish way. Our beloved Catholic Church is an indestructible spiritual fortress of good securely protecting you against the corrosive forces of evil! It is a glorious symbol of God’s goodness before which all the forces of hell tremble in fear.

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below, if you intend to be a winning champion of spiritual virtue rather than a vicious loser. Also post a comment to share with us your inspirational stories about how you conquered pain to become a spiritual champion of God’s goodness.

God Gave You a Brain: Use It!

Devil Causes Disasters

A person without a soul is called a zombie.  Without a brain: an idiot. Marry the two and you get disaster.

Perhaps the greatest disaster the world has ever experienced was the Black Plague of the 14^th century, which killed about 100 million people worldwide. Europe lost half its population. Powerful people ignored the Golden Rule in the Formula of Catholic Faith: Do ye unto others as ye would have them do unto thee. The multitude of laborious poor were kept in unjust servitude and shamelessly exploited to feed the vanity of the powerful few acting like soulless, brain dead zombies. Whatever faith they had in God was shallow and mechanical rather than genuine: a sham merely to show off a false contrived piety rather than a heartfelt sense of charity. Peasants were treated like animals and worked to death by their so called masters. As they were given no time to wash, servants were mocked for their putrid smell. Streets were filthy, with live animals of all sorts scavenging and human parasites abounded. A transmissible disease spreads easily in such conditions and so it came to pass.

History is littered with massive disasters that always results when vain, Godless people, in their delusion attempt to transmogrify themselves into false Gods. In recent memory, atheistic Communist, Fascist and Nazi regimes were responsible for the soulless slaughter of hundreds of million innocents during the two World Wars and after. Families alive today are still ravaged by the experience. Despite these ravages, Evil still has its fans.

It is no coincidence that nuclear disaster senselessly threatening to blow up the whole world during the Cold War, was peacefully avoided by very spiritual people, with our Holy Father, Blessed Pope John Paul the Great providing the moral drive.

Evil Finds New Home

Yet evil is never fully defeated; it always re-groups, ever lurking in the shadows, perpetually probing and trying to find a weakness in character, in its never-ending battle to destroy goodness. So yesterday’s soulless, brain-dead zombies have again transmogrified themselves and fooled a new wave of idiots in joining them, under various euphemistic pseudonyms, leaving disaster in their wake. Likewise, it is no coincidence that the miseries inflicted by the current Global Financial Crisis and Global Debt Crisis correspond with the Global Moral Crisis and the Global Faith Crisis.

Disaster Proof Yourself

What can you do to disaster-proof yourself?

The number 3 seems to have spiritual significance: it represents an integrated harmony; a balance of perfect rational happiness. There are three (3) persons in the one God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Holy Mother Church is the Mystical Body of Christ comprising three (3) parts: Church Militant (Ecclesia Militans), Church Suffering (Ecclesia Penitens) and Church Triumphant (Ecclesia Triumphans). The perfect, civilized human being is made up of three (3) distinct but interactive parts: a healthy and fit body, an intelligent mind and a pure, unblemished Soul. When one part of the balance is diseased, it threatens the whole. When one engine of an airplane conks out; when everything else seems hopeless, even the most arrogant of atheists trembles in prayer, begging God’s forgiveness and mercy.

It’s only when things seem to be going well, that we neglect to keep our soul healthy: then tend to blame God for the resultant natural disaster. Actions have consequences!

To disaster-proof yourself you must re-balance your life. You must change! You must strengthen that part that you have neglected for so long: your soul! The correct medicine to transform a diseased soul to super-fitness is called Sanctifying Grace. A soul constantly needs to fuel itself with the power of Sanctifying Grace to be fit to conquer the evil always trying to poison it. You get petrol from a petrol station. You get Sanctifying Grace from the Sacraments provided by Holy Mother Church. The power of Sanctifying Grace is derived from your Faith in God.

The Devil is terrified of Faith. That is why he ceaselessly plays tricks on your mind to cast doubt about God’s existence. If you could video Christ’s resurrection, there would be no doubt whatsoever and no faith required. Unfortunately people hadn’t invented video cameras when Jesus was alive. You just have to use the tools that are available: God gave you a brain. Use it, or lose it!

There are none so blind as those that look but can’t see.  Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not ( Jeremiah 5:21). God gave you knowledge: which is far more powerful that any invention now or in the future. Knowledge of the traditions that Holy Mother Church is so meticulous in preserving, because preserved tradition acts like a virtual video camera filming the practices of Jesus Christ. Knowledge of the line of Popes from St Peter to the present. Knowledge of the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church. You know all this is true because practicing the Faith will make you feel good and the Devil hates it.

From zero to infinity: billions of years ago, God created the universe out of nothing and science is only now just catching up to this fact. Now look at every instance of the world’s progress since the very beginning. It’s Faith that determines reality and not the other way around.

Action a Better Person

Today, God has entrusted you with the power of the social media to break away from the shackles of the Devil. Truth is clearly identifiable in the social media. Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong uses the whole force of the social media interactively to inform you about God’s Truth. Your first step in transforming your soul to peak fitness is to share our information with your social media friends. Doing this, you reflect the actions of Christ’s disciples. Like us in Twitter (which opens your window to amazing sites packed with Catholic wisdom). Like us on Facebook. Like us on Pinterest, in You Tube, on Flikr and in this blog. Love us in total as we attempt bring together in these sites the heavy artillery from other forces of Good, such as the writings and wisdom of the  Church Fathers (Christians who lived with people that were close to Jesus, or soon after and were inspired to Faith by Christ’s resurrection). Heavy artillery such as the role models provided by the exemplary life of the Saints. Indeed, nowadays we also have video access to the teachings of modern day Saints. Love us in total as we learn together by networking with other, like-minded social media sites from around the world, to smash the Devil’s attempt to divide us.

Modern information technology brings you more knowledge than the ancients could ever imagine. All this wisdom is instantly at your fingertips only a mouse click away. It’s up to you to burn it into your brain.

However, all this passive knowledge will be totally inadequate to feed your soul unless you use it as a supplement to a more active commitment by personally celebrating Holy Mass at your local Catholic Church. Your local Catholic Church is the source of Sanctifying Grace necessary to energise your soul and infuse balance and harmony that is a pre-condition for perfect life. You will find the Holy Mass and Confession timetable for Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong by clicking on the highlighted link or on the link in the Menu Pages, above. All you need is to bring the right attitude and we welcome you!

Credo In Unum Deum …

We cannot avoid death! Common sense, guided by the Holy Spirit, tells us that our life must mean something. The ancients, with fewer distractions around them than we have now, were more sensitive to Divine inspiration and knew the meaning of life: to know love and serve God. Death is the living proof that God exists. Let’s drive this point home another way by assuming the nihilistic approach: that God does not exist. In that case your life is as meaningless as your death – and that is horrifying to your Soul. Conversely therefore, if God does exist: His Church tells us that those that know, love and serve God faithfully will be eternally rewarded in heaven; and those otherwise will forever be tormented by their stupidity in the everlasting fire of hell. The ancients wrote in the Proverbs that hell is a place to be avoided by the wise. At this point let’s pause to contemplate the actions of an unwise fly as it surrenders unto temptation in its pursuit into hell:

For every action there is an opposite re-action: short term pleasure always leads to long term suffering. As an aside, housewives treasure great recipes for terrific food (to the heart, through the stomach, as it were). Did you know that God’s own Church also has a perfect recipe? Its called the Formula of Catholic Faith and Doctrine. If you follow the Formula you will receive eternal reward in Heaven. If you don’t, you’ll perish (beyond redemption) in hell, like an unfortunate fly. The choice is yours!

FORMULAS OF CATHOLIC FAITH

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (© Copyright 2005 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana) provides in concise form the essential and fundamental elements of the Church’s teaching, usually in a question and answer format.

On the matter of faith, the Compendium says: “Faith is the supernatural virtue which is necessary for salvation. It is a free gift of God and is accessible to all who humbly seek it. The act of faith is a human act, that is, an act of the intellect of a person – prompted by the will moved by God – who freely assents to Divine truth. Faith is also certain because it is founded on the Word of God; it works “through charity” (Galatians 5:6) and it continually grows through listening to the Word of God and through prayer. It is, even now, a foretaste of the joys of heaven” (Q28)

30. Why is faith a personal act and at the same time ecclesial?

Faith is a personal act insofar as it is the free response of the human person to God who reveals Himself. But at the same time it is an ecclesial act which expresses itself in the proclamation: “We believe”. It is in fact the Church that believes and thus by the grace of the Holy Spirit precedes, engenders and nourishes the faith of each Christian. For this reason the Church is Mother and Teacher.

31 Why are the formulas of faith important?

The formulas of faith are important because they permit one to express, assimilate, celebrate and share together with others the truths of the faith through a common language.

The Church has two formulas of faith: The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed.

PROFESSION OF FAITH – THE APOSTLES CREEED:

I believe in God the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son,  our Lord,

(at the words that follow up to and including “the Virgin Mary”, all Catholics bow)

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day
He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at
the right hand of God the Father
almighty, from thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting.
Amen.

Symbolum Apostolicum

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipoténtem, Creatorem cæli et terræ, et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui concéptus est de Spíritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Póntio Piláto, crucifixus, mórtuus, et sepúltus, descéndit ad ínferos, tértia die resurréxit a mórtuis, ascéndit ad cælos, sedet ad déxteram Dei Patris omnipoténtis, inde ventúrus est iudicáre vivos et mórtuos.

Et in Spíritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclésiam cathólicam,
sanctórum communiónem,
remissiónem peccatórum,
carnis resurrectiónem,
vitam ætérnam. Amen.

PROFESSION OF FAITH – THE NICENE CONSTANTINOPOLITAN CREEED:

I believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

I believe one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation,
He came down from heaven:

(at the words that follow up to and including “and became man” , all Catholics bow)

by the power of the Holy Spirit He was
born of the Virgin Mary,
and became Man.

For our sake He was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered, died, and was buried.

On the third day He rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the Giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and
the Son. With the Father and the Son
He is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic,
and apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Symbolum Nicænum Costantinopolitanum

Credo in unum Deum,
Patrem omnipoténtem,
Factorem cæli et terræ,
visibílium ómnium et invisibilium
Et in unum Dóminum Iesum
Christum,
Filium Dei unigénitum
et ex Patre natum
ante ómnia sǽcula:
Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lúmine,
Deum verum de Deo vero,
génitum, non factum, consubstantiálem Patri: per quem ómnia
facta sunt;
qui propter nos hómines
et propter nostram salútem,
descéndit de cælis, et incarnátus est
de Spíritu Sancto ex Maria Víirgine
et homo factus est, crucifíxus étiam
pro nobis sub Póntio Piláto, passus
et sepúltus est, et resurréxit tértia
die secúndum Scriptúras,
et ascéndit in cælum, sedet ad
déxteram Patris, et íterum ventúrus
est cum glória, iudicáre vivos et
mórtuos, cuius regni non erit finis.

Credo in Spíritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificántem, qui ex Patre
Filióque procédit, qui cum Patre et
Fílio simul adorátur et conglorificátur, qui locútus est per prophétas.

Et unam sanctam cathólicam
et apostólicam Ecclésiam.

Confíteor unum Baptísma
in remissiónem peccatórum.
Et exspécto resurrectiónem mortuórum,
et vitam ventúri sæculi.

Amen.

FORMULAS OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

The Appendix of the Compendium also contains formulas of Catholic doctrine.

The two commandments of love:

1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The Golden Rule (Mathew 7:12):

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

The Beatitudes (Mathew 5:3 – 12):

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

The three theological virtues: 1. Faith, 2. Hope, 3. Charity.

The four cardinal virtues: 1. Prudence, 2. Justice, 3. Fortitude, 4. Temperance.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1. Wisdom, 2. Understanding, 3. Counsel, 4. Fortitude, 5. Knowledge, 6. Piety, 7. Fear of the Lord.

The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit: 1 Charity, 2. Joy, 3. Peace, 4. Patience, 5. Kindness, 6. Goodness,       7.  Generosity, 8. Gentleness, 9. Faithfulness, 10.  Modesty, 11. Self-control, 12. Chastity.

The five precepts of the Church:

1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and remain free from work or activity that could impede the sanctification of such days.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.

The seven corporal works of mercy: 1. Feed the hungry. 2. Give drink to the thirsty. 3. Clothe the naked. 4. Shelter the homeless. 5. Visit the sick. 6. Visit the imprisoned. 7. Bury the dead.

The seven spiritual works of mercy: 1. Counsel the doubtful. 2. Instruct the ignorant. 3. Admonish sinners. 4. Comfort the afflicted.
5. Forgive offenses. 6. Bear wrongs patiently. 7. Pray for the living and the dead.

The seven capital sins: 1. Pride 2. Covetousness 3. Lust 4. Anger 5. Gluttony 6. Envy 7. Sloth

The four last things: 1. Death, 2. Judgment, 3. Hell, 4. Heaven

The part of this blog relating to the Formulas of Catholic Faith and  Formulas of Catholic Doctrine were adapted from the pamphlet titled “What we Believe: Formulas of Catholic Faith and Doctrine”  © Copyright St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta – revised Nov 2011.

Keeping your Soul pure is very simple! The strength of your Faith purifies your Soul.

Prowadzenie swą Duszę czystą jest bardzo proste! Moc waszej Wiary oczyszcza waszą Duszę.

God told us to celebrate the miracle of the Blessed Eucharist at Mass in His Catholic Church, to keep our Faith strong and our Soul worthy of His eternal reward.

Oznajmił nam Bóg zebyśmy uczcili cud Eucharistii Świętej przez naszą obecność na Mszy Świętej w jego Katolickim Kościele, by utrzymać silną Wiarę i czystą Duszę godne Jego wiecznej nagrody.

Celebrating the Blessed Eucharist and practicing your Faith in the traditional, disciplined and strict Polish way, by attending Masses at our Catholic Church, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland at Marayong, will provide you with world class training to nourish and fuel your soul, guaranteeing that you will develop rational happiness and perfection as a civilized human being.

Obchodzenie Eucharistii Świętej i praktykowanie Wiarę waszą oparte na tradycyjny, zdyscyplinowany i ścisły Polski sposób, przez uczęszczanie na Mszy Świętej w naszym Kościele Katolickim. Najświętszej Maryi Panny Częstochowskiej, Królowej Polski, w Marayong, zapewni Państwu światowej klasy szkolenia na karmienie i rozpaliwanie swą Duszę, gwarantując, że państwo będzie się rozwijać racjonalnego szczęśliwości i doskonałość jako zcywilizowany człowiek.

Our beloved Catholic Church is an indestructible spiritual fortress of good securely protecting you against the corrosive forces of evil!

Nasz ukochany Kościół Katolicki jest niezniszczalną, twierdzą duchową dobra, bezpiecznie broniący nas przed korozyjne siły zła !

I Hate Religion

Many people say that one should never discuss religion in polite company.  Yet many of these same people don’t hesitate to publicly slander Holy Mother Church. Unfortunately, some may have had bad experiences within the Church from people abusing their power. Most hate the Church because it does not condone sin and are fearful of the truth that is God.  People are generally ignorant, not just of the natural laws of existence imposed by God, but, more importantly, they rarely consider the social consequences of breaking God’s natural laws.

From the beginning of creation, people have easily surrendered to temptation. It’s no coincidence that there are no living saints. God constituted His Church to be run by sinners. Look at the first bishops: mostly fishermen, a tax collector and a betrayer. Look at Saint Peter’s (our first Pope) denial of God. And so the list continues: Saint Paul, Saint Augustine up to the present day’s numerous faulty Catholics. God formed His Church to be run by sinners for the redemption of sinners. But in no way does this excuse vicious behavior. Judas, one of the original apostles refused redemption and betrayed God. Modern Judases within the Church, who abuse their power and poison people’s faith in God, know the horrible fate that awaits them, for their selfish decision to shut God out of their lives. Actions have consequences!

God promised that He would be with His Church till the end of the world. Thus, for all the faults of the people belonging to the Church, Holy Mother Church itself is a paragon of virtue. God’s innocence was drowned out by the rabble baying for His blood. In consanguinity with the symbol of the Holy Cross, Holy Mother Church, from inception, had to endure savage persecution vindictively prosecuted with special vigor by Her oppressors. 

Likewise, even today, enemies of Holy Mother Church are experts in misusing modern communications in contriving to make a lot of false noise to amplify their unrelenting vigorous persecution of Holy Mother Church.  Google and you will find numerous examples of anti-church haters corrupting science and promoting themselves as gods. The hatred of God is so great that politicians are misusing their powers and forcing laws down our throats that masquerade evil as good and good as evil.

The most powerful weapon Holy Mother Church has to defeat Her enemies is the weapon of God’s truth.  Truth gets its power from communication. People who are frightened to talk about God’s truth probably have insufficient knowledge of it. It is the divine duty of every Catholic to be educated about God’s Church. They will then find that Catholic religion is indeed, very fascinating subject to talk about. They will also be equipped to argue factually against the logical fallacies used by the enemies of Holy Mother Church which not only hurt God’s Church itself, but go to the heart of attempting to destroy personal faith and individual freedom.

Regularly celebrating the Blessed Eucharist and practicing your Faith in the traditional, disciplined and strict Polish way, by attending Masses at our Catholic Church, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland at Marayong, will provide you with world class training to nourish and fuel your soul, guaranteeing that you will strengthen your knowledge of absolute truth to better equip you to defend your liberty..

We hope you enjoy these powerful videos from the Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton J Sheen’s education about God’s Freedom and interpreting the Signs of Our Times. The points raised in these videos are ageless and thus, always contemporary. Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below if you want to improve your knowledge of God’s Church and consequently, strengthening your freedom.

Our Beloved Marayong

Historians say that Aborigines from the Dharug tribe lived in the area we now know as Marayong.  There is no record how they got there. How long were they the predominant tribe in the area? Did they share the area with other tribes or did they fight others to claim the area for themselves? Nevertheless, the word Marayong is derived from an Aboriginal word ‘Marriang’ meaning “emu” or “place of cranes” in the Dharug language and was the name the Aborigines gave to the area.  This probably inspired New South Wales Government Railways to name the railway station “Marayong” when it opened in October 1922, although the area was still part of Quakers Hill.  But in 1926 the local  Progress Association applied to have Marayong made a suburb, in its own right.

Marayong  was mostly a rural region with market gardens and poultry farms at the turn of the 20th century. Urbanisation started in the 1960s with Housing Commission (public housing) estates predominantly south of the railway line and an industrial area was to the north of the railway line. To service people’s natural need to worship God, this period also marked the genesis of the development of what was to become our beloved Polish Catholic Church at Marayong. The following videos, produced by Sister Ewa Pliszka and narrated by our Priest, Rev Dr Antoni Dudek document a conspectus of these beginings. The photos were arranged by Mrs Barbara Madry and Mrs Helen Minol. Technical assistance was provided by Mr Bogdan Rabantek.

Blessed Pope John Paul the Great,  said in his address to the Polish community of Melbourne (November 28, 1986):  “People who remember where they come from, people who value their traditions, can make a valuable contribution into the life of every country “. This chronicle is dedicated to those who remembered – people who had faith in God and the Fatherland.  Marayong is their achievement. These photographs don’t represent everything that happened in Marayong. They only illustrate part of the development and help to refresh our memory and feelings of gratitude towards those who were the pioneers.

Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote that great works have small beginnings. This was to be confirmed in a remarkable manner, in relation to the Polish space at Marayong.  Three Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (Sisters Jolanta, Casylda and Louisa) arrived on the 26th August, 1954 to care for destitute Polish children. They came from America to answer the plea of the Building Committee for the Polish Childrens’ Home.  Fund-raising enabled the purchase of a neglected farm to house the Sisters. Life returned to the farm.

Two new buildings were constructed in 1957. One was used to house the Sisters and the other became the Childrens’ Home.  The Polish Saturday School  was formed in the same year. Children who attended Australian Schools on weekdays, acquainted themselves with the culture and language of their parents at the Polish schools. The Sisters also engaged in activities at the local St Andrews Parish and in 1967 opened the High School at Marayong in the name of the Holy Family.

Polish Scouts gathered at Marayong from its inception. The centenary of Polish Scouting was celebrated here in 2010.

A decision was made in 1988 to close the now redundant Polish Childrens’ Home and open a day care centre:  the Holy Family Children’s Center. In 2008 the Long Day Child Care Center was opened which was a significant sign of the Sisters of the Holy Familyof Nazareth’s incessant concern for the family. Thus ended the first stage in the reconstruction at Marayong.

Brother Albert’s Home was given to house 30 residents in 1977 . This was in response to the sign of the times: Polish people were beginning to age. Marayong was the place that enabled them to be close to the Church, under the care their chaplains and the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

In 1990 the Polish Nursing home was opened under the care of the Holy Family. This was the place for the most seriously sick Polish seniors.

12 homes were released in 1993 as part of the Aged Care village under the patronage of Blessed Franciszka Siedliska, the foundress of the order of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Another 16 homes were constructed in 2008. The Polish Aged Care Village now comprises 28 homes.

2009 marked the completion of the new nursing home: Holy Family Aged Care Services. The existing nursing home was extended to house a total of 90 residents. The first to be housed here were residents of the former Brother Albert’s Home. Today, the Center provides care to 146 residents. The aged service profile developed at Brother Albert’s Home is being continued at the new Center and its fundamental mission is to provide a family atmosphere between the residents and workers.

Norman Cardinal Gilroy consecrated Our Lady of Czestochowa Church at Marayong on 27th December, 1966 which also marked the millennium of the Baptism of Poland. A beautiful House of God was built in the shape of hands clasped in prayer. A House of God that brings honor to those who sacrificed their lives  fighting for the independence of Poland. Likewise to those who decided to remain in Australia forever. A House of God that welcomes everybody whose  Mother awaits them – everybody’s Mother: a heartfelt Mother – Our Lady of Jasna Gora.

Many Bishops and Cardinals have visited this Church: Cardinal Rubin and Archbishop Wesoly amongst others. In 1973, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla prayed in this Church with his countrymen: Blessed Pope John Paul the Great, himself.

All this germinated from the small step back in 1953 when the Polish community bought 10.5 hectares of land and entrusted it  to the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1955.  In this manner, Polish emigrants have their own place on Australian soil. Many of them see Marayong as their second home: a place where they feel comfortable.

Cognizance of this provided the impulse of massive teams of volunteers who sacrificed their precious time, each according to their own ability, to work in the development of this place. Buildings come and buildings go but such spontaneous outburst of sanctification is the work of the Catholic Church in spirit: the body of Christians who profess the faith of Christ and believe in all the teachings of Jesus, united under one visible head, the Pope, who is the vicar of Christ on Earth. This fusion of the physical with the spiritual Church creates an indestructible fortress of good securely protecting believers against the corrosive forces of evil! It represents a symbol against which all hell trembles in fear!

The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth served and prayed with the Polish community since the begining of Marayong. Polish Chaplains commenced their service in 1961 with Priests from the Society of Christ. Both the Sisters and the Priests deserve special thanks for their Apostolic service and spiritual care for those that developed and continue to build Marayong.

So, the Pope asked the Polish community to remember and to build their lives on this memory, during his meeting in Melbourne in 1986. Blessed John Paul the Great: we ask you to bless our Marayong!

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below if you recognise yourself or members of your family amongst the mass of happy volunteers in the above videos, that helped build our beloved Marayong.  Also, share with us by commenting in the box below, your memories of those pioneers.

Whose Side Are You On ?

When the sun sets, darkness takes over. When goodness weakens its position, evil gains in strength! Evil is always persistent. Evil never gives up. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance! Evil prospers when good men do nothing! Strengthening your Catholic Faith weakens the muscle of evil.

One Song Can Spark A Moment

One Flower Can Wake The Dream.

One Tree Can Start A Forest,

One Bird Can Herald Spring.

One Smile Begins A Friendship,

One Handclasp Lifts A Soul.

One Star Can Guide A Ship At Sea,

One Word Can Frame The Goal.

One Vote Can Change A Nation,

One Sunbeam Lights A Room.

One Candle Wipes Out Darkness,

One Laugh Will Conquer Gloom.

One Step Must Start Each Journey,

One Word Must Start Each Prayer.

One Hope Will Raise Our Spirits,

One Touch Can Show You Care.

One Voice Can Speak With Wisdom,

One Heart Can Know What’s True.

One Life Can Make The Difference,

You See, It’s Up To You!

Don’t Ever Forget How

Very Important You Are!

The Courage of being a True Polish Catholic sketches cases where heroic action by Polish individuals in the face of overwhelming adversity, has immensely strengthened the power of good for the world. Polish courage helped the world defeat Hitler in World War 2 and was the master key in ending the Cold War and related threat of world nuclear holocaust.

 But let’s now uncomfortably focus the spotlight on you. Yes, You! 2000 years ago, would you be one of the cowards in the crowd, yelling out to crucify Jesus. During World War 2, would you be part of the Polish underground, standing up to Hitler? Just what part did you play in the destruction of the evil international communist empire? Do you have enough faith and courage to stand up to evil?

Hitler, Himmler, Bormann and all the other goose stepping Nazi criminals would never have achieved power without apathy of the common people and active support of men of learning. People from the medical mafia, like Drs. Eduard Wirths, Josef Mengele, Horst Schumann, Carl Clauberg, Berthold Epstein and Miklós Nyiszli amongst many others perpetrated cowardly acts of sadistic horror on helpless human beings.

Today, the Nazis are rejoicing from hell, as their medical counterparts, legally encouraged by apathy and Godless, perverted laws, are boasting of their passion to kill millions of helpless unborn children EVERY YEAR, simply for the sake of convenience. Faith has imbued courage into the inspiring Gianna Jessen and made her stronger than most people, to enable her stand up against such legalised murder. How much goodness has been lost to the world because of the arrogance of the medical mafia who makes immense profits from legalised murder of unborn infants.

Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong follows Gianna Jessen’s inspiring messages in Twitter.

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below if you think that the fetus, now called Gianna Jessen has right to life. Also, share with us by commenting in the box below, how you intend to join Gianna and help fight against the evil of abortion to save the lives of unborn innocents, using the potent weapon of God’s truth. 

Life is…

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

(Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) 

The Courage of Being a True Polish Catholic

Privilege and responsibility are kissing cousins!  The leading attribute of responsibility is courage. The great British wartime leader Winston Churchill once said: “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” Moral courage to proclaim and practice God’s truth in the face of ridicule from an atheist, secular world is the hallmark of responsible leadership. Great leaders understand that truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Lastly, it is accepted as being self-evident.

The antonym of courage is cowardice.  Cowardice is a failure to accept responsibility in the face of danger or pain. Some cowards run away from fear and let danger, suffering and pain defeat them.  Yet many cowards also overcome fear in their quest to perpetrate evil. Nobody likes being a coward. In times of war, cowards are shot like animals. Cowards are losers.

Thus the reason for overcoming fear also distinguishes the coward from the hero.  Evil outside the Church is easy to identify and defeat. More sinister is the enemy attempting to devastate the Church from within. Just before his election as Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger denounced this fifth column of filth rotting the Church from inside. Sometimes quislings are surreptitiously planted as part of an organized infiltration to deliberately weaken and subvert Holy Mother Church. Other times, proclivity to sin poisons the mind of the individual. Every time a Catholic sins, he makes Christ suffer in his own Church.

Cowards like to lurk in the shadows. The way to defeat them is by turning the spotlight on them and exposing them with the potent weapon of truth and reason.  Only courage will defeat cowardice. Being a coward is easy: being brave is difficult. Courage accepts the challenge of pain and suffering needed to defeat fear, in order to do good. The warrior most feared by the evil Nazis during World War 2, General George Smith Patton said courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

Everybody loves a hero. Heroes are celebrated in society. A courageous person is a winner. The greatest example of courage the world will ever know is the Life and Death of Jesus Christ. As God, Our Lord knew the greatest suffering His Life and Death meant, but He accepted it all so people could go to Heaven. Yet God is the fount of all good and truth. So, the greatest good one can do is to love God and to do everything for the Love of God. God the Son, Jesus Christ is the founder of Holy Mother Church.

As expected, it takes courage being a true practicing Catholic. But God showed us the way. Catholics have a long history of being ridiculed and violently opposed by ignorants.  The martyrology catalogues the multitude of people throughout history who distinguished themselves by sacrificing their lives to defend the goodness of Christ and His truth from persecution by the agents of evil. Holy Mother Church grows and thrives through the blood of Her martyrs.

God, Honor and Fatherland. Polish people have a distinguished heritage of defending God’s truth. A real Polish person loves Jesus Christ to death. History is strewn with the names of Poles liberated by pain, suffering and death to promote the cause of good. In the Middle Ages, when Jews were persecuted throughout Western Europe, Poland opened its doors to them. Poland was the only country in Nazi-occupied Europe where a death penalty was mandatory for assisting a Jew in any way.  To help a Jew during the war in Poland was act not just of “mere” courage but of the greatest heroism. Yet Polish people make up the greatest number of “Righteous among Nations” at Yad Vashem. Polish Priests and nuns were very prominent in hiding fugitive Jews during the entire occupation. Martyrs like Irena Sendler, Saint Maximilian Kolbe and not forgetting the famous Polish Dr. Janusz Korczak of the Old Testament, Jewish faith. More recently, Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko was ruthlessly tortured and killed by murderous atheist communists for proclaiming Christ’s truth and love for His suffering people and Blessed Pope John Paul II the Great who was the spiritual inspiration behind the peaceful downfall of the Cold War.

Culture cannot be confused with its eternal enemy: barbarism. Responsibility to sow good around the world, awareness that doing good is heroic and that good stems from defending God’s truth is welded into Polish culture at a very early age. Polish grandmothers inculcate the Sign of the Cross to their grandchildren, as the indestructible foundation of civilised behaviour, at an early age. The centre of Polish Family life is Holy Mother Church. Courage, therefore, comes naturally to a practicing Polish Catholic. Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong is the Champion  in  actively promoting the goodness of Polish Catholic Family Culture and its heroic love of God.

Now, click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below, if you think that the world would be a better place if there were more courageous people to proclaim God’s truth. Also post a comment to share with us your stories of how God helped you to act with courage in your everyday life that inspired people around you.

Part 2 – The Privilege of being a Polish Catholic

To get the correct feel for this post, Part 1 – Power of Catholic Faith, which should be read first.

“By the grace of God, Jesus tasted death for every one.  In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only die for our sins, but should also “taste death”, experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell.”

“Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter as their head. Representing the twelve tribes of Israel, they are the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem. The Twelve and the other disciples share in Christ’s mission and his power, but also in his lot. By all his actions, Christ prepares and builds his Church”. 

To fulfill the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery. Holy Mother Church was founded by Jesus Christ, to be run by sinners for the benefit of sinners.

However, The Church, the pillar and bulwark of the truth, has received the solemn command of Christ from the apostles to announce the saving truth. Thus the Church has the divine right, always and everywhere, to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls.The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice. The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with Christ, teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for.

Look around you. Hardly a day goes by without some sort of unprovoked, unjustified and unsubstantiated attack on Holy Mother Church in the mass media. Atheists relentlessly use every opportunity devoting an extraordinary amount of their energy, to  zealously rage a never-ending battle against a God who they profess does not exist! To this very day Christ, through the persecution of His Church, continues to be crucified, for the sins committed by members of Holy Mother Church.

The intense level of  secular, anti-Church indoctrination in society is so high that it is extremely difficult for non-Churchgoers to emerge with an understanding of God’s truth.  Vice has become the new virtue and confused people readily believe the propaganda of the moment.

But actions have consequences!

With the Godless secular Socialist States around the world, doing their best to disintegrate families and seize power for its own self, society has deteriorated to a level of evil such that it is a threat to the spiritual, moral, and mental health of everybody who is forced to participate in it. Shallow, politically correct Godless social indoctrination has resulted in the proliferation of drugs, alcohol, and institutionalized immorality and leadership has abrogated all responsibilities for their actions.

Atheist domination of secular society has only resulted in peoples’ motivation being so terribly crushed that they look for fulfillment in demeaning ways. Society has now been transformed into a moral sewer, that actively opposes most Christian principles Yet pressure also creates diamonds!

God, Honour and the Fatherland has long been the motto of freedom loving Polish people. Suffering and persecution  is the heritage of Polish people. During the worst of these times, Polish people always placed their faith in Mary, the Mother of God. Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland, has always imbued faith in the souls of Polish people. Indeed, it was Mary, the Mother of God that inspired the Polish people to rebel against their Atheist Communist oppressor which proved the master key to the end of the terror of the Cold War. The full glory of Polish culture always bloomed when its people were in consanguinity with God.

The legendary Stefan Cardinal  Wyszynski himself donated the picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa that hangs prominently above the altar at Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong, thereby linking Marayong Australia through the Holy Spirit, with the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa at the Jasna Gora Monaster in Poland.

People all over Australia make regular pilgrimages to Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong. They make this sacrifice because they see real improvement in their spiritual health by taking part in Marayong Catholic Church’s liturgies since its inception in 1966.

Celebrating the Blessed Eucharist and practicing your Faith in the traditional, disciplined and strict Polish way at Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland at Marayong, will provide you with world class training to resist the degradation of society.

Attending the Liturgies at Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland at Marayong provides spiritual strength for the Faithful to take our country back from the secular humanists – back from those who have abandoned the proven Christian values and disciplines that have made Poland and Australia great – back from the evil that is destroying our society.

The superior spiritual training you will receive will enable you not only to resist the immorality corrupting the atheist secular world, but, more importantly, enable you to destroy, through your exemplary life as a Catholic, the corrupting influence of immorality itself.

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below now, to do your little bit to protest against the global moral degradation inflicted upon us by the powerful. Go further and share your success stories on how the Holy Spirit helped you resist the Godless people who want to destroy your faith, by leaving a comment in the box below.

Part 3 Understanding The Mass

 

 

To get the full benefit of these series of blogs, first read Part 1 – Power of  Catholic Faith and watch Mathew Kelly’s inspirational video therein, then do the same for Part 2 – The Privilege of being a Polish Catholic.

If you play sport, you well know that you will always be a loser if you come to training with the wrong attitude. Conversely,  bringing the right attitude to your sports training sessions will go a long way in transforming you into a champion. Remember, your body lives for only a short spec of time in all of eternity. How much more important is it then, to bring the right attitude with you to training your soul at Mass, given that your indestructible soul lives forever?

The purpose of this blog post is to explain the Mass for you to understand what’s going to enable you to approach it with the right attitude and imbue pure goodness into your soul. Without the right approach, attending mass will be a complete waste of time and you will be a loser!

Enjoy these sets of videos, do further in-depth research on this beautiful celebration so you can take the right attitude and maximise your benefits from your attendance at our Catholic Masses.

The above explanatory videos featured Jimmy Seghers. Here is a link to more of his fascinating work:

http://www.totustuus.com/essays.htm

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below, if you think that morally excellent habits are the master key to good character. Share with us, by posting a comment below, about how the right attitude to Mass helped you overcome your own anxieties and problems.

Part 1 – Power of Catholic Faith

Power

People naturally covet power to control their destiny because it bestows many benefits to the power holder. People with power of control over others feel a sense of achievement. The controllers feel like winners. Those controlled feel like losers. Everybody wants to be a winner: nobody likes being a loser.

Yet there is a limit to the number of people over which any single person can exercise control. Thus to exercise significant power, people need to share both power and its resultant benefits.

Power can be used for both good and evil. Power is evil when it is acquired through the suffering of others. Power is good when it brings benefits to all.

Some people like power for its own sake. As the saying goes: “power corrupts”. Corruption of power always results in evil.

Power of Faith

 

 

 

 

 

 

A person of Faith believes something is true without requiring proof. Faith is true! It is impossible for people to achieve anything without faith. We cannot get out of bed without faith. Faith even wins football games!

Our reason tells us that everything has a beginning. If we listen, our soul tells our reason that the beginning of everything is God! By definition, God is 100% pure good. As such, God is the source of all power.

 God created people to know, love and serve Him. God provides meaning to life! Attempts by people to seize power for their own selfish benefit, from the source of pure goodness, always corrupts. Darkness takes over when lights are switched off. Atheists are people who reject belief in God. Corruption of power by different types of Atheistic Socialist Regimes such as Communism and Nazism led the world to waves of unprecedented and horrendous suffering. Each year, Atheistic anti-Christian policies of abortion are responsible for at least 40 million deaths of helpless, unborn children.

Where God’s love is rejected, hate and intolerance always fills the gap.

Catholic Faith

A Christian believes Jesus Christ to be the incarnate Son of God and the redeemer of the human race.

A Catholic believes that the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is the sole institution founded by Jesus Christ, with the divine mandate to evangelize the world in the name of the Triune God. Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus.

The Catholic faith is what those who profess to belong to the Church are to believe: There are certain truths that the mind is to accept on the word of God. These truths are contained in concentrated form in the Apostles’ Creed.

The Catholic sacraments are a gift from Christ for His followers  to share in His own divine life, to grow in His life during their stay in this world, and, if necessary, to regain the divine life if it has been lost through sin.

The Decalogue are the main demands that God makes on our obedience to His will. They were first given to Moses on Mount Sinai, then confirmed and completed by Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the Mount. They are the conditions that God sets down for our sometimes painful submission to Him as our Creator, so we might return to Him as the eternal Destiny who will satisfy all our desires.

The Lord’s Prayer is both a summary and a guide. It summarizes all the ways we are to approach God as our loving Father in prayer. It also guides us in our conversation with Him, here on earth, as a preparation for our eternal communication with Him in heaven.

God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. To make sure we understand him, he guides the Church’s teaching authority (the magisterium), so it always interprets the Bible and Tradition accurately. This is the gift of infallibility.

Redemption

Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, people stand in need of salvation from God. Divine help comes in Christ through the law that guides and the grace that sustains them.

“Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root”.

Sin uses ephemeral pleasures to tempt a person, the consequences of which are long term pain and suffering.  For example, drugs might cause a short term delusion of pleasure that masks the reality of personal problems. This is the key to their addiction. But such addiction causes long term suffering as users are oblivious to the surreptitiousness of their irrevocable brain poisoning as they slowly turn into imbeciles.

If you’re diseased, you can cure yourself, but this would not be very efficient. Usually you would go to a qualified medical practitioner  for a cure. People who are obese or physically unfit, for best results,  usually turn to a reputable and qualified personal trainer to improve their figure. Likewise, you can educate your mind yourself. But attendance at School or University would prove a more efficient way of educating yourself.

You’ll find the cause of most of your personal problems are caused by a diseased soul. The most efficient way of purifying your diseased soul is by actively participating the Liturgies of God’s own Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and embracing the miracle of the Blessed Eucharist in communion with God.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland Catholic Church at Marayong, will provide you with world class training to nourish and fuel your soul, guaranteeing that you will develop rational happiness and perfection as a civilized human being.

Our beloved Catholic Church is an indestructible spiritual fortress of good securely protecting you against the corrosive forces of evil!

Click the twitter, facebook and like buttons, below if you think that actions have consequences. Also, share with us by commenting in the box below, how your faith helped you resist the temptations of vice.