Communion of Saints

 

The Communion of Saints

        How do we define th Communion of Saints as mentioned in the Apostles Creed? Well, first, let us look at the Creed. The origin of the Apostle's Creed dates back to, as the title explicitly states, the Apostles. In a 4th century commentary by Rufinus (Commentarius in symbolum apostolorum) he states the long accepted belief that the Apostles themselves wrote the Creed shortly after Pentecost, in Jerusalem before they split up to go out and preach. The oldest existing writing comes to us in a letter Marcellus of Ancyra wrote to Pope Julius about 341 AD (Logos Staff, 2022).

        Below is the Creed in its present form and is not only used by Catholics, Eastern and Western, but also widely used by many, if not most, Protestant churches too (though some Protestant groups change the word "Catholic" to "Christian." Those that retain "Catholic" or "catholic" express that it means "universal" - which the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is that universal church - though Christendom has gone through several splits and schisms as well as heretical divisions. Still the Body of Christ in His Church is not divided - those who have separated from that One, True, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church while they may be retaining a portion of the truth, the fullness of truth is only found in the One Church which Jesus Christ Himself founded and left His Apostles to lead and spread it throughout the world.

        The phrase "the Communion of Saints" is generally retained throughout the Christian professions which have retained the Apostles Creed. It references not only those Christians living today, but also all those faithful Christians who have gone before us and live now in Heaven. Those who have gone before us we refer to as "the Church Victorious" (or "Triumphant") and we, here and now, are "the Church Militant" and then there is "the Church Suffering" (which are those who have gone before us, but are in a state of cleansing or purging, aka: Purgatory). These three communities are what make up the Communion of Saints (Staff, 2016).

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of
Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord  Who was conceived by
the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell;  the third day He
arose again from the dead;  He ascended into
Heaven and is seated 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 Ghost,
the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion
of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection
of the body, and life everlasting.  Amen.

And for some Scripture references which support the concept of the Church Triumphant, or saints in Heaven: 

Mark 9:4-5

⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Old Testament saints, Moses and Elijah were physically present, alive, and conversing with Jesus Christ at the Transfiguration).

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Revelation 5:8

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

Revelation 8:3-4

³ Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

References

Catholic Encyclopedia, (1912). Communion of Saints: The doctrine expressed in the Apostles' Creed. Catholic Answers. https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/Communion-of-Saints

Logos Staff (2022). The Apostles' Creed: Its history and origins. Logos.  https://www.logos.com/grow/the-apostles-creed-its-history-and-origins/ 

Scripture Passages: New International Version, from https://www.biblegateway.com

Staff, (2016). Our Church: Suffering, Militant, Triumphant.  Diocesan. https://diocesan.com/church-suffering-militant-triumphant/

 

 

Happy Birthday to the Catholic Church!

 It is Pentecost! The birth of the Catholic Church! Come Holy Ghost, Creator blessed, and in our hearts take up Thy rest!

Scripture of the Week

From my professor:

 Here is some scripture for motivation this week!

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." -1 Corinthians 16:13

I reply:

With this Sunday being Pentecost Sunday, we are reminded of the Holy Ghost descending upon the Apostles, filling them with the courage to speak to the crowds whom they had previously been hiding from. When we stand firm in the faith, we have security in knowing the Holy Ghost is with us too, so we need to be courageous and strong, as St. Paul encourages us.

Thank you for this verse and the encouragement to remain courageous and strong!

As we reflect upon how we spent our Eastertide, now that it is drawing to a close, ponder on what we accomplished, and what we could have done better so that we can be better prepared for next Eastertide. Some of that preparation we need to incorporate into our daily walk as we go into ordinal time. It is all part of the process of becoming more Christlike - or saints.

 

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Scripture of the Week - Be Ye Doers of the Word

So, this is the second Scripture of the Week for this week - the first one was shared by my professor - this one I had to share from today's Epistle reading in the Extraordinary Rite...

So begins the Epistle for the Fifth Sunday After Easter, "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). This passage, along with James 2:17 which says "So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself" scream the denial of sola fide, faith alone. Calvin and Luther preached this and stole away many Catholic souls to follow their lies. It is hard to imagine the blindness of the Protestants who adhere to this false teaching - yet - I was one of them for 29 years! I look back now and cannot believe how I could not see this plain truth. The fact is, I truly do not recall my Lutheran pastor ever preaching on James 1:22 or James 2:17 - like they were avoiding it! It is also said that originally Luther wanted to omit the book of James altogether from Scripture, but was advised against doing this an ultimately included it in his German translation of the Scriptures.

Saving faith is not merely a theoretical construct or a belief - for keep in mind even the devils believe in God - and they tremble - for that faith will not save them (James 2:19).

So let us reiterate - BE YE DOERS OF THE WORD AND NOT HEARERS ONLY! For, FAITH ALSO, IF IT HAS NO WORKS IS DEAD IN ITSELF!

James 2:17 is the only passage of Scripture which uses the words "faith" and "alone" in the same sentence, and it stands in outright DENIAL of sola fide (faith alone). Say NO to sola fide! The teaching of sola fide is not only unscriptural - it is anti-scriptural!

Please share!
 

 

Back to Class - Scripture of the Week

 I am a little late posting this as this week in my course ends today, but I wanted to share the Scripture of the Week from my professor still. He wrote:

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" - Isaiah 30:21

I like to know that the LORD guides us when we don't know which way to go. May this scripture send you blessings this week!

 I responded:

I could not help but think of the Mandolorian after reading this passage!

So, that verse could be taken at least a couple of ways:

1. Trusting in the Lord, whichever path we take – we can be confident that the Lord has guided us to the correct path.
2. Trusting in the Lord, whichever path we take – we can be confident that He will let us learn something from it.

In both scenarios, “walk in it” as this is the way the Lord wants us to be, faithful and trusting in His Will in our lives.

Scott<<<

 

Third Sunday of Lent - Scripture of the Week

For the Third Week of Lent:

The Epistle this Sunday (Extraordinary Rite) is taken from Ephesians 5:1-9 wherein we are reminded to be followers of God and to not stray into sins of fornication. covetousness. obscenity, foolish talking and all uncleaness for those who do will not inherit Heaven. You were in darkness but are now in the Light of the Lord.

The Gospel this Sunday (Extraordinary Rite) is from Luke 11:14-28 - In this passage, Jesus casts out a devil from a person who was dumb - and immediately the person began to speak. Some who witnessed this claimed he cast out demons by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Jesus responds that a kingdom divided against itself shall be desolated. He also warned that when a demon is cast out and wanders around looking for a new home, if finding none it returns to the host in which it once resided. Seeing the former host is now clean and inviting, it goes out and brings back seven other spirits to inhabit - making the later state is worse than the first. This is a warning to be on one's guard against evil spirits who will want to come into those who have been delivered to the Lord. It is also evidence against those who preach OSAS (once saved, always saved) for clearly one who was delivered from evil has been "saved" but there is danger of not only falling away, but to be in an even worse situation than their previous state.

From my professor this week:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23

I respond: Not only does this fit well with this Sunday's Epistle (Extraordinary Rite) to remain faithful and also with the Gospel to be diligent after being delivered to Christ, but also reminds me of our motto as apologists from 1 Peter 3:15 - to always (unswervingly) be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us!

Here's to persevering in Lenten devotion and penance.

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Second Sunday of Lent - Scripture of the Week

 From my professor this week:

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." - Micah 7:7

This verse reminds me of Joshua 24:15:

But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

This reminds me of when Moses came down from Sinai with the Ten Commandments to find the people singing and dancing around a golden calf - Exodus 32:26 - 

So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

Of course shortly after that, Moses had the Levites smite the idolators - and over 3000 were killed that day.

Today's sermon included a story of Jewish (though non-religious) musician, Hermann Cohen, who as a child prodigy, his father got him involved in piano and at a very young age he was performing concerts for nobility. As he grew up in the material world, he sought happiness in what the world had to offer. He never found it. He became a drunk and a gambler, and finding himself out of work and out of money, he took a job as choir director for a Catholic church of St. Valère in May of 1847 in Paris. One day, at benediction, the Holy Ghost hit him - and he saw the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the monstrance at benediction. In his words, "like the prodigal son facing himself." He was baptized on August 28th of that year, the feast of St. Augustine. In 1849 he joined the Carmelite Order and took the name of Fr. Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament. The happiness he had sought in the world, he found in the Eucharist and serving Jesus Christ as a Carmelite missionary.

The Second Sunday of Lent 

This Sunday's Gospel (Extraordinary Rite) is Matthew 17:1-9 - which is the telling of the Transfiguration of our Lord. Truly a sign of hope in the resurrection as Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus before Peter, James, and John.

Seeing Jesus with Moses and Elijah, Peter desired for this moment of happiness to continue and offered to build three tents in order to prolong their stay - but this happiness was not for this world at that time. The three Apostles, however, got a taste of the glory of Heaven - and they were the three closest to Jesus as He went through His Passion and death.

 

Seek happiness in and through Heaven - this world cannot provide it for you.

 

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Scripture of the Week

We did not get a Scripture of the Week last week from my professor, but we did this week! Here is the passage he quoted for me this week:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." 1 Peter 5:6

Such a great passage for the first week of Lent! A time of penance and offering up something in unity with the Sacrifice of our Lord. Doing penance is a humbling act, even doing a corporal act of mercy can be a humble act if done in the right frame of mind. We do penance, not for show - not to impress others, but to help convert ourselves into saints so that one day He may lift us up to be with Him in eternity.

Scripture of the Week

 This is the verse provided to me by my professor:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Interestingly, this being the last week in the Epiphany Season with tomorrow starting the Septuagesima Season, which is a rather short season - lasting only 3 weeks - afterward starts Lent. Now is the time we prepare for Lent, making straight our paths - and making straight the path of the Lord  as we are told to do in Isaiah 40:3 - prepare yourself for a great Lenten Season!

 

 

 

Peace - To Men of Good Will

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." -Luke 2:14

While this is a beautiful sentiment – this is really a poor translation of Luke 2:14 which largely stems from the King James Version (KJV). My favorite is the Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) which was published in 1609, (Bruno, 2011) 2 years before the KJV (1611 AD) (Wallace, 2004). My contention is the KJV copied much from the DRB, as in many verses the similarities are just too great to be wholly distinct translations. Where the KJV differs from the DRB, it leaves one to question the veracity of the novel translation.

Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. (DRB)

The meaning here is quite different! Yes, they are still pleading for peace on earth, but not necessarily to all men, as the KJV (and some other versions) state it – why would they be wishing peace to men of ill-will? No, the peace on earth is to go to men of good will.

Other versions considered to be quite literal, both Protestant and Catholic state the peace in a limited way as well:

Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favours! (NRSVACE)

Glory to God in the highest
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. (NABRE)

Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to all those on whom his favor rests. (NCB)

Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. (NIV)

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men ^[a]with whom He is pleased. (NASB)

 

References

Bruno, N. M. (2011). Matthew Carey’s Douay-Rheims Bible. https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wpmudev-hosting-hbu-files/uploads/sites/27/2015/12/Bruno_MatthewCarey.pdf

Wallace, D. B. (2004). Why I do not think the King James Bible is the best translation available today. Bible.org. https://bible.org/article/why-i-do-not-think-king-james-bible-best-translation-available-today

 

Scripture of the Week

From my Professor:

I just happened to come across this scripture in my daily devotional and liked it a lot, and thought I would share it with you this week.

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” -Psalm 18:1-2

I replied:

Thank you for that passage! My wife and I have been listening to Psalms nearly every night since my mom passed (using Alexa, "Read the Bible, Psalms") and the night before my mother went to be with the Lord I read to her, Psalms 146 (I just opened the Bible to that page, letting God direct me to what to read that night:

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

I will praise the Lord all my life;

    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,

    in human beings, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

    on that very day, their plans come to nothing.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Blessings to you and your family this Advent Season and the upcoming Christmastide.

Scott<<<

 

 

I usually try to get to the Scripture of the Week sooner than this, but with all the family issues related to my mother's passing a couple weeks ago, it has been difficult.

From my professor:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6 - DRA).

These are the words the bishop says to the ordinandi, those who are being ordained, just after making their vows during the ordination Mass. (Ferguson, 2018).

Personal Reflection:

We are to be confident that what God has started, He can complete or perfect that work in us. St. Paul is quite pleased and confident in the Christian community he founded at Phillipi. They have remained strong in the Gospel and St. Paul is sure that they will continue to grow in Christ and grow His Church in the Phillipian community (Hunt, 2018).

References

Ferguson, A. (2018). May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment. RVA Priest. https://richmondvocations.org/discernment-tips/may-god-begun-good-work-bring-fulfillment/ 

Hunt, M. (2018). The Letter to the Philippians, Lesson 1, Introduction and chapter 1, Paul's greeting and present circumstances. Agape Bible Study. https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/Philippians/Philippians_Lesson_1.htm 

Scripture of the Week 11-28-21

This past week marks the passing of my mother, along with my wife and I celebrating our 40th anniversary, so I will include some other passages too:

From my wife:

Today's bible verse is: "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts" (Colossians 3:16, NIV).

My reflection:

We have been listening to Psalms as we go to sleep all week, actually since just before Mom passed. this has been such a blessing to us. Some psalms are rejoicing, some are in humility, some are in recognition of failure to follow the Lord, and all of them end up praising and acknowledging our God. 

This week my wife and I also recognized our 40th wedding anniversary (on the 27th), which we plan to do a "celebration" of which just before Christmas. The listening to the Psalms has been very enlightening and encouraging during this past week. Let Christ dwell among us richly for the next stage in our lives - not sure that I would make it for another 40 years (I'd be over 100 by then!), but, Lord willing, we will be around for as long as He has plans for us here. If He wants me here until our third Ruby anniversary (the second one is the 52nd anniversary), then we would celebrate our Ruby Jubilee Anniversary on Nov. 27, 2061. 

From my professor:

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - 1 Chronicles 16:34

My reflection:

Amen, Professor! "Forever" takes on that whole other dimension when thinking about the eternity my mother just entered. His love does endure forever and we have left our mom in His Hands. Her last spoken words were, "Yes Lord, yes Lord, thank you, Jesus." 

To anyone reading this, if you are in the Phoenix area and wish to come to her celebration of life at the First United Methodist Church in Glendale, Dec. 13th (Monday) at 11am. Click here for more details.

Happy New Year!

Today also marks the liturgical new year, I will make a separate entry for that.

Scripture of the Week - 24th Sunday After Pentecost

 

Matthew 13:24-30

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Personal Reflection:

As we go through our daily walk, trying to do our best, we often run into trials or troubles. Why could God not take away these hard times? Because we grow and learn from these trials. Because others seeing how we deal with these troubles can be inspired by how we handle the situations. By the same token, if we handle the troubles poorly, others, who know we follow Christ, can be pushed away from following the Truth. We need to walk in the path of our Lord - always - and turn to Him when we feel the pressures of the world and sin. We can rejoice in our sufferings because when we unite our sufferings to those of Jesus Christ on the Cross not only will we be blessed for this - but others who witness our faith may also be blessed.

AMDG,

Scott<<<

Scripture of the Week

 

My professor posted:

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

I respond:

Wow! Did you pick this one for me for this week or was this planned earlier on? After the week I had last week, caring for my mother (who is on hospice) and a change of positions at work - I needed to read this!

I was a bit dismayed, not really frightened, but dismayed is a good word for my thoughts after not accomplishing as much as I had hoped to get done last week. I accept His command! I will be strong and courageous and make up for missed time from last week. I know that my Lord and God is always with me!

I am truly blessed to have such a great chair working with me!

Cordially

Scott<<<