Body and Blood of Jesus -Eucharist
POPE'S "CONTROVERSIAL" STATEMENT ON PROTESTANTISM
REVEALS THE NECESSITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS
CHRIST
24/07/07 13:49 Permalink
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Who so eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." John 6: 53-58
I have encountered more than a few Protestants in my life who erroneously believed that they received the actual Body and Blood of Jesus at their communion service. They were genuinely surprised to find that their church rejected the belief in the true presence of Jesus and believed instead that He was only present "spiritually". In most cases this confusion involved a fallen away Catholic. Given the clear words of scripture, without question, many have been deceived with half-truths and/or the topic has been purposefully avoided in churches that feed on fallen away Catholics. The recent issuance of a Vatican document affirming the centrality of the Catholic Church clarifies, with precision, this confusion, and delineates those who do, and do not possess Jesus in the Eucharist.
Despite the fact that the liberal media sought to stoke the fire of division between Christians with headline grabbing fodder, the document should be a source of unity for those Protestants who truly seek Jesus in the most personal way possible on earth.
No Protestant denomination born of the Reformation believes in the Real Presence of Christ--this should not come as a surprise to any. At the heart of this rejection of Jesus is the rejection of apostolic succession. This is a critical distinction between Catholicism and Protestantism.
The document states that because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, and because the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery is not present in Protestant denominations-- they are therefore not really churches "in the proper sense" because they lack apostolic succession and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. Protestants are instead referred to as "ecclesial Communities" rather than true "churches"
If any offense should be taken, it should be taken at those Protestant leaders who purposefully keep their congregants in ignorance of Jesus' clear words about the necessity of His Body and Blood for salvation.
|
MEGA CHURCH EVANGELICALS ARE STARVING FOR THE BODY
AND BLOOD OF JESUS
04/06/07 10:40 Permalink
“The poll results indicate that 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography,” said Clay Jones, founder and President of Second Glance Ministries...60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust, 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year, and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.
“There have been dynamic paradigm shifts in the behavior of Christians over the last four years,” explained Jones. “Technology [the Internet] has allowed pornography to flood the market place beyond a controllable level.”
The paradigm shift which Mr. Jones is referring to is not caused by the proliferation of the internet, rather it is the inevitable consequence of christianity that is starving for the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Ignatius of Antioch stated in 110 A.D : "Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God..."They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 6:2; 7:1.
The media is awash in reports of protestant Christians shifting their focus from more traditionally conservative social issues like pro-life causes, to more wordly concerns like global warming and even "tolerance" of homosexuality. With leaders like Rick Warren of the "Purpose Driven Life" fame, there is a new more friendly face that is much more amiable and pleasant to the world than Jerry Falwell's version was. It is indeed a new day for protestantism.
This change has more importantly affected the individual lifestyles of the once saved always saved. Also see here for more of the same. I personally have many relatives who have left the Roman Catholic faith to be "born again". None of these converts were living their Catholic faith prior to their conversion, and most of the conversions were precipitated by a divorce. But years back when I was growing up, my newly saved relatives were very conservative in every aspect. The ladies wore dresses and skirts and carried their bibles. There was no drinking, no dancing and no compromise with the world. But over the years life without the Body and Blood of Jesus has not borne good fruit in the lives of these relatives. I have watched as those who years ago, had politely informed me that Catholicism was a cult, and that I did not personally know Jesus, have now become immersed in the world--conforming to every fad and fashion. The church lady modesty is gone. They and their offspring have contracepted, advocated withdrawl of food and water from sick and dying relatives, engaged in scandalous infidelities, and divorced, and remarried just like wordlings.
The days of starving evangelicalism may be numbered. Yes, they may have their mega-churches with mega-emotion provoking music, cushy theater seats and coffee shops, but Jesus is not present. The feel good wordly comforts and fellowship cannot sustain a soul.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:53–56).
Our God is not one of mere symbolism--as the Blessed Virgin Mary stated--"nothing is impossible with God".
PUBLIC OPINION POLLS ON THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS
25/05/07 10:38 Permalink
The poll wielding bullies are at it again.
The Pope believes that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be denied communion. Do you agree or disagree?
Agree 23%
Disagree 53%
The arrogance and futility of such a poll borders on hilarity. The topic of the poll is the Body and Blood of the Son of God--the Messiah. It is as if they were asking if the pope's selection of cologne or his choice of sunglasses is proper? The reverence due to the Body and Blood of the Son of God is not subject to public opinion. Nor is anything else that the Church does or does not do.
The issue is authority--which Americans cannot grasp, and which is seen as down-right un-American. The pollsters seek to exert public opinion pressure on the Church in order to make it conform to the world. This has been satan's mission since his failed attempt to convince Christ to bow before him.
BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANITY, THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS
CHRIST & THE DEATH OF THE WEST
30/12/06 12:38 Permalink
So many in
the West have fallen away from Christianity and
continue to do so. The popular churches of the
day do not adequately arm Christians to do battle
with the seductions of the world, let alone the
onslaught of Islam.
Two recent articles reveal how young people who have been "born again" in the protestant fashion are nevertheless falling away.
"As Pentecostalism advances across the world, winning converts faster than any other Christian denomination and siphoning believers from more established faiths, it is also suffering its own slow leak: young people who are falling away from the faith."
One teenager stated “[t]he pastor is cool...He doesn’t lie to us. He is a little kid, like us.”
"One of [the pastor's] biggest dreams is an after-school center where they could study, play — and convert.
“Imagine if we had a place where they could play basketball,” he said. “We could play some Christian music in the background, too. I promise you, after a week like that, you will see changes. ”
Yet the conversions do not stick. "Some others had visited but never returned. And one mainstay was drifting away: a 16-year-old who had stopped attending regularly, just before she was to preach her first sermon — and around the time her father went back to prison.
"National Youth Director Jay Mooney for the Assemblies of God, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the United States, does not hide research findings about the some 60 percent fallout in church attendance. "We wish that we were doing better than we are," Mooney told The Christian Post.
"After high school graduation, especially, students are dropping out of the Pentecostal pews "immensely," according to Mooney."
What happens to these youths who undergo a "born again" experience and end up leaving faith behind? Are these the future atheists and agnostics of the West?
The book of Hebrews states: "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." Hebrews 6:4-6
Some may say that religion has evolved. Some churches possess every comfort to attract adherents from upholstered stadium seating, to skateboard parks and coffee shops. The music sounds no different than pop radio fare. The pastor is the star of the show and must be proficient at bringing forth emotions so that the congregants can feel their faith. Church leaders speak in terms of the numbers of congregants in the same way Wall Street speaks of earnings reports. However the souls of human beings is a serious matter and the "retention" and "fallout" rates are something that these spiritual leaders are going to have to answer for.
The formulaic type of preaching that presses for a decision and highlights the reality of heaven and hell does indeed produce conversions. A soul that has never heard these truths and longs for meaning and something solid is eager to make a "decision for Christ". These churches can attract but ultimately produce a stunted Christianity that is incapable of real sustained growth in the human soul.
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment....But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
How are the youths of today supposed to follow these words of Christ with the world's temptations all about them?
Great fellowship, basketball courts, Christian rock music and even the coolest pastor will not fortify, nor will it enable one to follow the hard teachings of Christ. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
To do battle and to actually heroically prevail, there is no earthly replacement for the Body and Blood of Jesus. Conversion without the Eucharist is a call to battle without ammunition. It is grievously unfair to expect a person to fight against the dark powers of this world without being fortified by the Body and Blood of Jesus. Without Him we cannot withstand temptations and confront the enemies of Christ--to think that we can is no less than presumption. A very holy book and a "personal relationship with Jesus" does not make the Christian soldiers that the West is in dire need of.
"To understand how indispensable the Eucharist is to the practice of Christian chastity is to understand the meaning of Christianity. When Christ told us, "Without me, you can do nothing," He meant this to be taken literally. Without the constant help of His grace to enlighten our darkened minds and strengthen our weak wills, all the moral precepts of the New Testament are so much pious rhetoric or religious jargon." Fr John Hardon
Religion that rejects the Eucharist has run its course--it took 500+ years but we are finally at the end of the line. Christianity without the Eucharist is a half truth that fails to feed and fortify souls. Protestantism has failed us and we are now seeing the devastated fruit of its spread throughout the West. Protestantism does not and cannot condemn the sins that threaten to wipe out Western Civilization i.e., contraception. Protestantism does not and cannot with a unified voice confront Islam. Only with the Eucharist can the West again produce true counter-cultural soldiers for Christ. The sword of our enemy is at our backs and non-denominational, do whatever you feel Christianity does not have the divine fortification to resist the world and the onslaught of Islam. If we won't kneel at the true physical presence of Jesus then we will be made to kneel before the god of Islam.
The above referenced articles appeared in the New York Times and The Christian Post.
Two recent articles reveal how young people who have been "born again" in the protestant fashion are nevertheless falling away.
"As Pentecostalism advances across the world, winning converts faster than any other Christian denomination and siphoning believers from more established faiths, it is also suffering its own slow leak: young people who are falling away from the faith."
One teenager stated “[t]he pastor is cool...He doesn’t lie to us. He is a little kid, like us.”
"One of [the pastor's] biggest dreams is an after-school center where they could study, play — and convert.
“Imagine if we had a place where they could play basketball,” he said. “We could play some Christian music in the background, too. I promise you, after a week like that, you will see changes. ”
Yet the conversions do not stick. "Some others had visited but never returned. And one mainstay was drifting away: a 16-year-old who had stopped attending regularly, just before she was to preach her first sermon — and around the time her father went back to prison.
"National Youth Director Jay Mooney for the Assemblies of God, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the United States, does not hide research findings about the some 60 percent fallout in church attendance. "We wish that we were doing better than we are," Mooney told The Christian Post.
"After high school graduation, especially, students are dropping out of the Pentecostal pews "immensely," according to Mooney."
What happens to these youths who undergo a "born again" experience and end up leaving faith behind? Are these the future atheists and agnostics of the West?
The book of Hebrews states: "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." Hebrews 6:4-6
Some may say that religion has evolved. Some churches possess every comfort to attract adherents from upholstered stadium seating, to skateboard parks and coffee shops. The music sounds no different than pop radio fare. The pastor is the star of the show and must be proficient at bringing forth emotions so that the congregants can feel their faith. Church leaders speak in terms of the numbers of congregants in the same way Wall Street speaks of earnings reports. However the souls of human beings is a serious matter and the "retention" and "fallout" rates are something that these spiritual leaders are going to have to answer for.
The formulaic type of preaching that presses for a decision and highlights the reality of heaven and hell does indeed produce conversions. A soul that has never heard these truths and longs for meaning and something solid is eager to make a "decision for Christ". These churches can attract but ultimately produce a stunted Christianity that is incapable of real sustained growth in the human soul.
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment....But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
How are the youths of today supposed to follow these words of Christ with the world's temptations all about them?
Great fellowship, basketball courts, Christian rock music and even the coolest pastor will not fortify, nor will it enable one to follow the hard teachings of Christ. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
To do battle and to actually heroically prevail, there is no earthly replacement for the Body and Blood of Jesus. Conversion without the Eucharist is a call to battle without ammunition. It is grievously unfair to expect a person to fight against the dark powers of this world without being fortified by the Body and Blood of Jesus. Without Him we cannot withstand temptations and confront the enemies of Christ--to think that we can is no less than presumption. A very holy book and a "personal relationship with Jesus" does not make the Christian soldiers that the West is in dire need of.
"To understand how indispensable the Eucharist is to the practice of Christian chastity is to understand the meaning of Christianity. When Christ told us, "Without me, you can do nothing," He meant this to be taken literally. Without the constant help of His grace to enlighten our darkened minds and strengthen our weak wills, all the moral precepts of the New Testament are so much pious rhetoric or religious jargon." Fr John Hardon
Religion that rejects the Eucharist has run its course--it took 500+ years but we are finally at the end of the line. Christianity without the Eucharist is a half truth that fails to feed and fortify souls. Protestantism has failed us and we are now seeing the devastated fruit of its spread throughout the West. Protestantism does not and cannot condemn the sins that threaten to wipe out Western Civilization i.e., contraception. Protestantism does not and cannot with a unified voice confront Islam. Only with the Eucharist can the West again produce true counter-cultural soldiers for Christ. The sword of our enemy is at our backs and non-denominational, do whatever you feel Christianity does not have the divine fortification to resist the world and the onslaught of Islam. If we won't kneel at the true physical presence of Jesus then we will be made to kneel before the god of Islam.
The above referenced articles appeared in the New York Times and The Christian Post.