“Love
and say it with your life.” ― Augustine of Hippo: (354 – 430: was an
early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the
development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy)
Gospel
Text: (MT 22:34-40)
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus
had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of
them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by
asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your
mind.
This is the greatest and the first
commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend
on these two commandments."
When we love someone, we try to give
our very best.. We wish to make the loved one happy. We show love in various
ways - in words of affirmation and love, in giving of gifts and service, in
presence and touch.
How have we shown our love of God? We
declare our love in our prayers. We spend quality time with God in prayer, at
Masses and religious services. We serve God through people and his Church. We
show love and respect to God by showing love and respect to religious objects
and places.
How do we
show our love of neighbor? Jesus' account of the Last Judgment is his model for
love of neighbor: "Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the
kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry and
you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed me into your house, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you
visited me, I was in prison and you came to see me." (Mt 25: 34- 36)
"Lord,
when did we see you hungry ... thirsty ... a stranger ... naked... sick or in
prison. . .?" "The King will answer, 'Truly, I say to you: whenever
you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it
to me."' (Mt 25: 37- 40)
Is there a better way to express or
describe how to "love your neighbor as yourself?"
Dear Catholic Crusader,
ReplyDeleteFive hundred years ago in 1517, Martin Luther made public his 95 complaints against the Roman Catholic church. Today, we shall do likewise, with another 95 reasons. However, in this critique, we will exclusively fixate on the nucleus of all Catholic doctrine called, Transubstantiation. This teaching is built on the premise that when the priest utters “This is my body” over bread and wine that the “combustible” syllables of these four words ignite with such power and energy that, unbeknownst to our cognizant senses, the substance of bread and wine miraculously change (“by the force of the words” says the Council of Trent; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1375). They are then abruptly replaced with something else entirely; namely, the very body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ in some mysterious form which leaves only the outward appearance of bread and wine (i.e., the color, shape, size, taste, weight and texture -- or "accidental" properties, remain unchanged in objective reality). It is claimed that the supernatural power that creates this miracle on a daily basis, 24 hours a day in Masses worldwide, “is the same power of Almighty God that created the whole universe out of nothing at the beginning of time” (Mysterium Fidei, 47). The question is: does the sacred rhetoric of Jesus lead us to conclude He intended it be recited like a magician recites his incantations? (Reason 6, 74). That at the recitation of these four words, the world is obligated to be transfixed on Transubstantiation???
We should think that a rollercoaster of 95 reasons against this doctrine should at least pique your curiosity, let alone make you wonder if, like the calmness of a ferris wheel, you can so calmly refute them. The issue is far from inconsequential, since it’s claimed our very eternal destinies are at stake. So while sensitive to the fact that many are captivated by this doctrine, we are persuaded that the theological framework of the Bible conveys a persistent and vigorous opposition to this theory. God's word tells us to, "study to show yourself approved" (2 Tim 2:15) and we have indeed done just that.
The almost “romantic fidelity” to Transubstantiation springs forth from the opinion that consuming the “organic and substantial” body of Christ in the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (CCC 1129 & 1355; Trent, "Concerning Communion", ch. 1 and “Concerning Communion Under Both Kinds”, ch. 3; Canon 1; Mysterium Fidei, intro). Our burden here is to safeguard the gospel (Jude 1:3). If a religious system professing to be Christian is going to demand that something be done as a prerequisite for eternal life, it is vital to scrutinize this claim under the searchlight of Scripture and with “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Proverbs 25:2 says, "the honor of a king is to search out a matter". We shall do likewise.
Determined to test all things by Holy Writ (1 Thess 5:21; Acts 17:11, 2 Cor 10:5), the following 95 reasons have been compiled to an extravagant length to provoke you to consider the cognitive complexities of this doctrine which we conclude are biblically unbearable. We are so convinced the Bible builds a concrete case against this superstition, that we will not allow the things we have in common to suppress the more urgent need to confront the differences that divide us, such as Transubstantiation. We are told this issue directly impacts our eternal destiny, so it must not be ignored. The Lord Jesus came to divide and conquer by the truth of His word. He said, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" (Luke 12:51-53).
For the full essay of 95 reasons, kindly e-mail me at
Eucharistangel@aol.com