The Call of the Holy

We are all called to be Holy by God, and by the Church instituted by His Son. 

Why should we care in the first place?

To reach Paradise in the 'after-life' we must do good and be generous in this life, those teachings were given to us by Jesus Christ and the Father. 

What if we simply don't care or don't follow those teachings?

In short, you'll be stuck in perpetual and eternal torture and destruction, from which you seem to die, but only to return to the same torture and pain. 

Where does the aforesaid pain come from?

God. Every time you do, think, or even wonder to do something against the Church, you deny Christ. If you fully deny Christ and God, then you choose to go the other way, which ends up being pain and torture because you denied the Creation of yourself and the rest of existence. No matter what you do, you cannot escape God, if you deny Him, you will never escape Him, and you will end up being your own tormentor. 

To evade such fate, what should we do?

It's quite simple actually, all you have to do is follow Christ's teachings and the Father's Commandments. For us humans, this seems a little harder than it should be because of the effects and consequences of Original Sin, including concupiesensce. To avoid all the objectively 'bad stuff', we should remain ordered towards God and also evangelize using your actions, using words only when necessary.

Christ in the Temple of David for the First Time

Animal Abuse

Many people are confused as to what the roles of animals are in this God created world. It says in Genesis that we will have power over all the creatures that crawl about the earth. Some people use this as an excuse to abuse animals. However a further examination of scripture will prove that not only is this not the case, but it is our responsibility to take care of the world which God created.

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

A further examination of the original text will tell us that the word thought to mean dominion, meant steward. A steward is care taker, of which we all are for the world around us. We must care for it and nurture it as God entrusted to us.

Mission Work

Every human person has a divine calling, or vocation, to go out and serve Christ in various ways. Some are called to the priesthood, some are called to public service, and others are called elsewhere. However some are called to the awesome work of the missionary. A Missionary is a person sent on a religious mission. Most commonly we associate it with going out to impoverished area of the world to help the people there and to spread God’s word. There is nothing more holy than fully serving Christ in this type of work.

Matthew 28:19”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father. and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

How to be Man Fully Alive

The glory of God is Man Fully Alive. Well what does that mean? Man fully alive is each individual person living out their vocation as fully as possible. This is possible through the sacraments and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.  However in order to be man fully alive, we must embrace these gifts from God. This is found in abstaining from sin, and living a Holy life.
The Glory of God is the earthly embodiment of Himself. The earthly embodiment of himself is the Church. The Church is only a group of people. Therefore the glory of God is members of his church living to their fullest potential. As Christ said in Revelation 3:16”So, because you are lukewarm -neither hot nor cold- I will vomit you out of my mouth”. Thus Christ calls all of us to be the best that we can be.

Being Men Fully Alive

The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive.

We hear a lot during Theology, but what does it truly mean?

The Glory of God: The magnificent respect, reverence and worship towards God; the eternal, omnipresent, and ever-loving being that created us.

Man Fully Alive: If man was supposed to have a purpose in life, what would it be? Many have tried to justify and define this, but the most well known person is St. Augustine. He came to the conclusion that our hearts are restless until they rest in the father, the Creator. 

How are we supposed to reach the Father in Heaven if we are fallen beings? 

God is Love, and He loves us so much he even sacrificed His own Son for our lowly and undeserving sake. This sacrifice caused our magnificence as the pinnacle of physical creation higher. We had always had the option to choose Him or against, but now we had the help of a teacher, both Human and Divine: within the Mystery of the Incarnation and the Belief of the Hypostatic Union. 

His plan for us is to choose Him in our whole being, which in theory is not hard to do, but because of Original Sin and our concuipicense, we are disordered toward sin and we naturally find harder to find God in our path. All He asks us to do is follow the teachings of His Son and be a full, participating part of the Church. The Church that us instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Apostles, and then, through Apostolic Succession, handed down through the ages until today. 

So if the Glory of God is Man Fully Alive, then the magnificence and full splendor of God is Man, the pinnacle of Physical Creation, Fully and Completely fulfiling their purpose to pick up their cross and follow Christ. 

Love your neighbor, not his Deeds.

All Catholics are called to emulate Christ. Christ was perfectly just with his actions and in his judgement  However regular humans are not. therefore it is the goal of each person and the church to strive for perfection. We can achieve most closely perfection through communion with each other and with Christ. Therefore it is our duty to God and neighbor to assist them in their pursuit of holiness. Therefore we must kind to our neighbors and love them as ourselves. In order to do this we must also hold them accountable for their actions.
Christ does not allow sin and thus we must do the same. we must tell our neighbors when they sin and not approve of it. for example, the Church does not bar homosexuals from its rankings, but it does not condone the activity. we must love our neighbors, but we must not let them sin.
http://blog.archny.org/index.php/all-are-welcome/comment-page-1/#comment-132281 

No one is a Bum.

Christ calls all people to love their neighbors. Homeless people are no exception. They too are children of God and members of the Body of Christ. Therefore we should reach out to struggling members of the community with the same love and affection we would show our own family. By ignoring the homeless we are ignoring the plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We must help the homeless with our deeds and our charity. In the video at the end of this segment a man describes his hardships associated with being homeless. People criticize him and tell him to get a job when they themselves would not give him a job. We must learn to love our neighbors no matter what they look like or how successful they are.
All people, including the homeless have the same dignity in the eyes of Christ. And since we are called to be like Christ, we too must see all poeple with the same dignity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AusCA28efa0&feature=youtu.be 

Christian Goals

What does it mean to be Christian?

To follow Christ. 

How can one follow Christ? 

By trusting in him and setting His teachings as mantras to live by. 

Most, in fact all, fail at some point; but God is eternal, everlasting Love.

He loves us to the point of forgiving us if we truly mean it and want to reconcile our relationship with Him. (Sacrament of Penance / a.k.a Reconciliation / a.k.a Confession)

We physically have to order ourselves towards God with all our actions, made and denied, thoughts, decisions and words. As a Canonized Saint once said: "Evangelize with all your heart, use words when necessary."

Science v. Religion

People have an eternal debate over which side should people believe in, Religion or Science. 

The interesting thing is that both go hand in hand. There is no conflict between the two, in fact the Church has had great scientists. 

Fr. Nicolas Copernicus: Early Astronomer, credited with the first sighting of Jupiter.

Br. George Mendel: Father of Modern Genetics

Fr. Georges Lemaître: First person to ever talk about the 'Big Bang' theory to Einstein, before the Theory of Relativity.

Br. Roger Bacon: Credited with publishing the Scientific Method

Pope Francis: Master's Degree in Chemistry

Fr. Solanus Casey: Only known man to ever beat Babe Ruth at Baseball

Br. Andrew Gordon, O.S.B; Fr. Eugenio Barsanti; Fr. À‎nyos Jedik: Credited for work on Internal Combustion Engines and Electric Powered Motors

Louis Pasteur: Disproved chemical Spontaneous combustion; devout Catholic, constant devotion to Mary

The Permanence of Matrimony

Jesus re instituted marriage as a Sacrament, the same status it had with Adam and Eve. Therefore marriage is permanent, so if someone remarries after divorce, that person is considered to be in a state of adultery. "Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery" (Luke 16:18; cf. Mark 10:11–12).
"Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. . . . Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive" (Rom. 7:2–3).

Despite popular culture the Catholic Church in that past and present stands firm in its denial of Divorce. A Divorce is only allowed if the marriage was never consecrated, which means the two parties did not exchange matrimonial consent, and it is annulled.
If, however,
the parties are genuinely and sacramentally married, then, while in some cases there may be good reasons for them to live apart and even to obtain a legal separation, in God’s eyes they are not free to remarry (CCC 1649).

"To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband)—and that the husband should not divorce his wife" (1 Cor. 7:10-11).

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13). This text means that God gives us Sacramental aid in our dealings.

Works Cited

Brom, Robert H. "Tracts." The Permanence of Matrimony. Catholic Answers, 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 03 May 2013
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-permanence-of-matrimony
Photo: http://www.holycatholicmarriage.com/images/img_home.jpg

Penance

Catholics and Wealth

The Catholic Church and its members, especially the clergy, emphasize a life of poverty. However may Catholics are very wealthy especially within the Strake Jesuit community. Are these members sinful just because of their wealth? Shouldn't all Catholics live in a life of poverty? Doesn't it say in scripture, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven?
Wealth in itself is not sinful, nor is the pursuit of it. However living a life of excess, living beyond your means, and an improper mindset are sins. In ordinary circumstances those with extra wealth are called to give away the excess. Wealth is not a sin, but too much of it is.

How the Sacraments Correspond to Human Nature

Every human person has a common nature. As a result of Original Sin, we all have a natural inclination towards sin. Because of this god gave us the Sacraments. These Sacraments correspond to our sinful nature. These efficacious signs of grace allow us to become closer to god by correctly complementing our various errs. For Example, the Sacrament of Marriage helps us from being polygamous and sinful. The Sacrament of Baptism allows us to be cleansed of sins that we naturally accumulate. Every Sacrament Corresponds to human nature because we need God's expiation from Original Sin.

Obstacles in Christian Life

Anything could be considered an obstacle, even Life itself, it truly depends on your life and how you live and treat it. If one lives in a society of prayer and almost constant conversation with God, how will you direct your decisions if a girl comes up to have a conversation with you? Or let's say another slacks off a lot and does nothing to work, how would he respond to a job offer?

To truly understand one's situation, one has to analyze their surroundings and process their goals in life. From there, one will be capable of knowing what obstacles they face and how to overcome them to be able to achieve their goals.

St. Peter: Church is a Royal Priesthood

Yes, the Church is a Royal Priesthood because the faithful are called to be like Christ. We are called to be the 'salt and light of the world' and we should give witness to God and His Love. In a way we are all priests, showing the way to the One Way to Salvation, Jesus Christ. As Christians, we believe in Christ, and to trust in Christ means to be in Him and with Him. He asks us to become Beacons of Light for the world. But how? Why? Not only for our mutual loving relationship with Him, but for the Salvation of All. (In fact, blogs like The Official Guide to be a Man Fully Live hopefully this command, to spread the Word for the understanding the Truth that is Christ.)

If you have any questions or comments please email us at og2bemfa@gmail.com

The Universal Call to Holiness

It is the invitation to common man to sanctify the world. We are all called to be with the Creator, but only the righteous shall join Him. Therefore, if our goal, our objective in life is to be with Him; what is Righteousness? How much 'right' must we do to be simply worthy?

The Church has already answered these questions, we must "bare our Cross and Follow Christ", or "Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Christ gave us the Beatitudes, Moses presented the Commandments. This is the bare minimum we must achieve. But how are we even worthy, we, mortal creatures, created by him? The simple answer: God is pure and eternal Love. God loves us to His eternal Life. He wants us to return to Him, but that is our decision. He loves us so much that we can make our own decisions.

But if God is perfect, how can we be even close to perfection, if we are all simply Good and temptation to Sin? Lumen Gentium 40.2 answers this quite effectively: "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.(love)"

In Persona Christi; Ex Opere Operato

In questions with the 7 Sacraments, one that usually comes up is "Will the graces of the Sacrament still flow through even if the minister is not holy enough?"

Yes.
The beauty of the Sacraments is that the work of grace works through itself. For example, in the Sacrament of Eucharist, the priest only has to say the consecration and Christ's words "Do this in memory of me" and the transubstantiation of the bread and wine go to the Body and Blood of Christ. (The physical appearances "accidents" still look the same, but the substance itself has changed) The spiritual state of the priest does not matter because the graces of the sacrament flow through and works by itself.

What seems confusing about this is that if the priest was not in good moral standing, it looks like he would not be doing his job of 'In Persona Christi' or in the place/person/role of Christ. The detail to remember here is that Christ was Human, but also Divine, therefore, those who are simply Human could never be perfectly exemplary of Christ on Earth.

We are all called to Holiness and to strive for God's Glory in all that we do.

The Rites of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has grown with time and branched out into many distinctive rites. A Rite is a type of catholicism that has specific expressions and modes of worship based on the local culture. Rites are not protestant. They are not a different denomination of Christianity but rather they are the Catholic Church's way of adapting to specific cultures. They all share Catholic beliefs but they have different ways of celebrating those beliefs. They are loyal to the Catholic Church centered in the Vatican.
There are 21 different Rites within the Catholic Church. These Rites compose 7 basic origins, with closely located regions falling into the same Rite.
The largest Rite is the Roman Catholic Church, who's primary language is Latin.
The Alexandrian Rite, sometimes called the Coptic Rite, originated in Egypt and includes the Ethopian Rite. Its liturgical languages are Coptic, Arabic, and Ge'ez.
The Antiochene Rite, named after Antioch, developed under the influence of the Church of Jerusalem. Within this group is also Syro-Malankara, Maronite, and Syrian Catholics. Its liturgical languages are Syriac and Arabic.

The Armenian Rite uses Armenian as its liturgical language and has no Rites closely associated with it.
The Byzantine Rite is perhaps the most encompassing because it contains Albanian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Greek, Greek-Melkite, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovak, and Ukrainian Churches coming from it. It originated from Constantinople(Byzantium).
The Last Rite, the Chaldean contains the Chaldean and Malabar Churches and is concentrated in India and the Middle East. Its liturgical languages are classical Syriac, Arabic, and Malayalam.

The Catholic Church's Stance on Evolution

"confess the world and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, as regards their whole substance, have been produced by God from nothing" (Canons on God the Creator of All Things, canon 5) in Vatican I. "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host [stars, nebulae, planets] by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6). It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul. "the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions . . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—[but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God" (Pius XII, Humani Generis 36) Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 159). , "The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers" (CCC 283). Genesis 1 is not meant to be understood as a literal chronological account. "What is the literal sense of a passage is not always as obvious in the speeches and writings of the ancient authors of the East, as it is in the works of our own time. For what they wished to express is not to be determined by the rules of grammar and philology alone, nor solely by the context; the interpreter must, as it were, go back wholly in spirit to those remote centuries of the East and with the aid of history, archaeology, ethnology, and other sciences, accurately determine what modes of writing, so to speak, the authors of that ancient period would be likely to use, and in fact did use. For the ancient peoples of the East, in order to express their ideas, did not always employ those forms or kinds of speech which we use today; but rather those used by the men of their times and countries. What those exactly were the commentator cannot determine as it were in advance, but only after a careful examination of the ancient literature of the East" (Divino Afflante Spiritu 35–36). "Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine ‘work,’ concluded by the ‘rest’ of the seventh day" (CCC 337), but "nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world began when God’s word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history is rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun" (CCC 338). When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains either that after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parents of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now, it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the teaching authority of the Church proposed with regard to original sin which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam in which through generation is passed onto all and is in everyone as his own" (Humani Generis 37). 

When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains either that after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parents of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now, it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the teaching authority of the Church proposed with regard to original sin which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam in which through generation is passed onto all and is in everyone as his own" (Humani Generis 37). "no real disagreement can exist between the theologian and the scientist provided each keeps within his own limits. . . . If nevertheless there is a disagreement . . . it should be remembered that the sacred writers, or more truly ‘the Spirit of God who spoke through them, did not wish to teach men such truths (as the inner structure of visible objects) which do not help anyone to salvation’; and that, for this reason, rather than trying to provide a scientific exposition of nature, they sometimes describe and treat these matters either in a somewhat figurative language or as the common manner of speech those times required, and indeed still requires nowadays in everyday life, even amongst most learned people" (Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus 18). 
Works Cited:
 Brom, Robert H. "Tracts." Adam, Eve, and Evolution. 2013. 15 Apr. 2013 <http://www.catholic.com/tracts/adam-eve-and-evolution>. Used for Quotes.

Life after Death

What happens after life on Earth?

Many people have asked that question, but no living man has found the answer. 

With God, nothing is impossible. 

According to the Church, there are 3 states of the Communion of Saints (ALL Christians: Past, Present, and Future). The states are the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant. The Church Suffering are those saints (ordinary Christians; all are saints because of our holy calling by Christ) in purgatory, waiting for their moment of complete holiness and entry into Heaven. The Church Triumphant are those saints who have entered the Gates of Heaven and rejoicing with God. Finally, the Church Militant is those saints still physically alive on Earth, walking towards and striving to become part of the Church Triumphant when their time comes. 

Now, do all Christians, and only Christians go to Heaven? 

No. Those who lived a Christ-like life, and some how lived out the values of a devout, honest Christian are those who enter the Church Triumphant.

Who goes to Hell?

Those who deny God. 

As part of the Church, all have to make decisions. We have free will (it's part of our nature as 'composite beings': Will, Intellect, and a Capacity to Love), which means that we can freely choose God in All things, or not. A sin, venial or mortal: small or large, is an action against God, and therefore against the Church's teachings. The more you sin, the more you deny God with your whole being (Mind, Body, and Soul). When your time with the Militant Church ends, all non-reconciled sins shall be accounted for and your final resting place shall be based on that. 

(A way to end this practically impossible task of never sinning is being with God. "Nothing is impossible for God" Truly apologize and reform your relationship with God, and great things will await you.)

Love

As the song goes: "What is Love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more..."

I pose the same question, What Is Love?
Through an extensive year of Theology, we come to learn that God is Love, true and eternal.

What does this mean?
God's Love is eternal, ever-present, ever-knowing, ever-omniscient, so large our human minds cannot comprehend to what level His Love for us reaches.

For us the magnificence of His Love is a Mystery, all we know is that He Loves Us forever.

The only thing comparable to His Love is a Mother's love to her child, other than that, it shall remain forever a Mystery of the Faith.

Subjectivity of Love

During the past week, and now that we are in the Easter season, I have been thinking about Love. Most of you may know the saying 'God is Love', which is true, because out of Love all is created, including offspring for the continuation of Life. But more importantly, is Love subjective?

For that, we need to know what we really mean by saying something is subjective. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines subjective as characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind.  This means that something subjective belongs to reality, it is not superficial and did not come out of someone's imagination.

So, lets rephrase the question, Does Love belong to reality?; Is Love superficial?

The answer is No. In human terms, love is an attraction, a feeling, a thought that holds the power to override any decision or action that a person makes. It is an incomprehensible force that can and will change lives. Love can seen only through its effects, but never in its simple existence. Those who are in love and their actions are the visible effects of Love, but it is not the Complete existence of Love, unconditional.

The only being capable of Unconditional Love is God, and He has showed us this throughout history, since our creation, to our salvation until today, and forever will. God loves us, no matter what happens to us or what we do, if we go back to Him, we will recognize His Love. The extent of His love is infinite, but to put it into physical human terms, it can be seen on the Crucifix. The image of Christ's brutal, inhumane Death is an example of just how much He loves us.

As for us, Love remains invisible, it will still affect us, and that incomprehensible force will always have its hold on our beings.

Vulgarity

Christ calls everyone to holiness. This is done by following his message. Christ teaches respect for every natural thing including human bodies. Vulgarity is a sin because is disrespects the inherent dignity of the body, which is a Holy instrument made by Christ. By putting that in a lesser place we are showing a blatant disrespect for the gifts God gave us. We must all be respectful to these gifts. Ephesians is the best place to find verses on this subject.

Ephesians 4:29”Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits occasion, that it may give grace to those who here.”

Ephesians 5:4”Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk not crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”

Saints are the greatest Sinners

Many people praise the saints as a model for holiness, which we should, however it is important to understand that they are not free from sin. They themselves most admit that they are the greatest of sinners. This true because a sins intensity all depends on mindset. There are two types of sins venial and mortal. Venial is not as bad and does require confession or serious reparation. But mortal sins are conscious acts against the will of God. Thus sense saints are often in such a close relationship with God, their sins are violating a more intimate sin. For example, saying a put down to a stranger probably won't hurt them that much. But saying it to your best friend with whom you have constant contact and have a very intimate relationship with, would upset them greatly. Thus the closer you are to God, the more serious are your sins.

Holy Saturday

In this last day of the Holy Triduum, we remember those who have gone before us. As Christ enters the ranks of the Dead, we pray for the repose of those souls that are in the promised eternal life and communion with God and also compassion for those souls in cleansing, preparing themselves for the Kingdom of God in Purgatory.

Tradition holds that today, Holy Saturday, the Son of Man fights and is victorious against the Fallen Angels, which leads to the opening of the Gates of the Kingdom of God, now known as the Gates of Heaven. Today, in 2013, it seems a bit unimportant that Christ opens the Gates, because, well, they're already open. Yes, that is true, but back then, around 33 A.D., most believed the Afterlife was simply a continuation of life on earth, one place where nothing happens, simply a congregation of souls at peace. It did not matter what you did in this world, for you ended up in 'Sheol', Hebrew for 'place of the dead'.

The Importance of Christ's entrance into Sheol is that He, as the Son of Man, gives the Good News to All, and that includes everyone who has passed before us, those living now, and the people to come. In His life on Earth, He preached to those living, and passed His authority to teach, govern, and sanctify to the Apostles. (Matthew 26) This is now referred to as the "Great Commission." The Church obeyed Christ, and has been preaching, teaching, and sanctifying the same beliefs and morals that a humble carpenter from a small town in Northern Israel taught more than two thousand years ago. Now that the Church is preaching the word to the living, the only people left to preach, teach and sanctify were those who had not heard His word yet: The Dead. Therefore, He enters the place of the Dead, preaches the Good News there, and brings with Him the righteous who truly deserve to be in the Kingdom of God. This is the final step to be able to fulfill God's plan of Salvation promised to Adam and Eve in the Protoevangelium. (Genesis 3:15)

I know that now there are multiple questions that come up. Why does God want to save us in the first place?
Was it necessary to suffer and die a slow and painful death, only to achieve the opportunity to regain lowly and mostly disobedient things that He Himself created? These questions I will answer, but if you have any other questions, please email me at og2bemfa@gmail.com, and I will post the answers on here to the best of my ability.

For the first question: Why does God want to save us in the first place?

Well, to answer this question, we must go back to the question of "What makes applicable for Salvation?" If we need Salvation, someone must have done something wrong. Yes, most of us have done something wrong, therefore, who was technically the first sinner? To know the First Sinner, we must know the First Human. According to the Creation stories, that title goes to Adam and Eve of Genesis Chapters 1-3. Alright, what did they do wrong? According to the story, Eve was tempted by a talking snake, analogous to the Fallen Angel Satan, to eat an apple, but not just any apple, it was an apple of a specific tree, planted in the center of their home, the fabled Garden of Eden in the Kingdom of God. The tree, Tree of the Knowledge between Good and Evil, was the only tree in the whole Garden that both inhabitants were prohibited to eat from. Regardless of the rule, Eve, the story furthers, fell to the temptation and ate of the forbidden fruit, which she also passed onto Adam. Once this happens, the whole world changes forever. This action marks the beginning of sin in the world. This disobedience to God lead to the exile of Adam and Eve of the Kingdom and the Garden was forever closed, and guarded by Angels. The interesting thing is that while God exiles the First Humans, he also gives them a promise: that one of their descendants would save them, "I will put enmity between you [Satan, the snake] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel" (Genesis 3:15). This verse from the Bible is also referred to as the Protoevangelium, meaning First Gospel, because it is the first time in the Bible that God promises Salvation and reunion with Him. This makes us applicable for Salvation, and God has already showed a promise to save us from Satan, his temptations which lead us to Sin. 

On the second question: Was it necessary to die a slow and painful death, only to achieve the opportunity to regain lowly and mostly disobedient things that He Himself created?

My answer in short: Yes. But let me explain why.

As we established earlier, God loves us, to the point where even if we turn our back to Him, He still wants us close. The only type of love that can relate to His love for us is Mother's to a Child. God is willing to do anything, literally anything to get us back. The story and the Historical proof of God's plan is called Salvation History, and the most famous written accounts of how He comes about achieving this plan is called The Bible. 

Throughout this Salvation History, we see great leaders of men: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Daniel, Isaiah, and many other Prophets and Men who accepted God's mission for them. All leading a specific group of people out of problems, but that group of people just seems to be clumsy enough to get into other problems. These people are the Hebrew Nation, later called Israelites, now known as Jews. Their story, and their laws make up the Old Testament. During this time, God gives His people clues, ideas of what the 'Messiah' or Savior could be. This is when the story of God's love reaches a climax. The birth of the Christ, Jesus comes in. By this time, there had been many prophecies about the Messiah: his lineage should be from the great King David: Joseph, his father was a descendant of David, he was to be born in David's City: Bethlehem  and to be born from a virgin Mother: Mary; among other clues and descriptions that can be found in the Old Testament. Interestingly enough, Jesus fits all of the descriptions. 

On another side note: How can a human being be born from a Virgin mother? This is not physically possible, but we Catholics believe that for God nothing is impossible. Therefore, Mary's womb could be filled with the Messiah and the Incarnation could take place. For further information, investigate Mariology.

Incarnation: The mystery and belief that Jesus is God Incarnate, both Human and Divine. Christology goes deeper, but for a short explanation, for God's plan to work, the sacrifice necessary would have to be great and be made by God Himself, but also a Human Being. Only Jesus is able to fit that description, also.

Once Jesus begins His public ministry: preaching, living, and teaching God's Word to the people, He gains popularity. He performs miracles, teaches on the Kingdom of God and a lot more. The chronicles of His life, death, Resurrection, and the story of His twelve best friends-Apostles- is recorded in the New Testament. 

After three hard years of preaching, he finally reaches Jerusalem. Remember my earlier posts on Holy Thursday and Friday. This is when they come in. Long story short, He is crucified on a cross, as if he was a vile criminal. Fortunately for us, He also left many proofs of His existence and His marvelous deeds. His famous words before dying, "It is finished." mark the end and completion of Salvation History and Our Salvation. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, now headed by Pope Francis, continues His work.

Good Friday

On this day of sorrow and silence, we remember one who loved literally to death. Tradition holds that today is the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus the Nazarene, betrayed by one the twelve, Judas Iscariot, for 30 silver coins. It is said that this morning, He was carried around Jerusalem until the final sentence was said: Death by Crucifixion  He was tortured, beaten by sticks, then flagellated and finally nailed to a cross, left there to suffocate His way to death.

Tradition and the Gospels that recount the events that happened today almost two thousand years ago hold that after sharing bread and wine with the twelve Apostles, Jesus went to pray to the Garden of Gethsemane. There, he prayed until he started sweating blood. He withstood many temptations until he was apprehended by the Sanhedrin, a council of the High Priests in Jerusalem, and sentenced to Death because of alleged blasphemy. From there, He answered questions from Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Jerusalem, and the Roman Governor of Galilee, Herod Antipas. Both found him innocent. The Sanhedrin later pushed Pilate to an ultimatum, crucify the Nazarene, but only after some general clamor and possible rioting. Pilate decided to punish Jesus to flagellation at the stake, but not death. Unfortunately, that did not satisfy the High Priests. They wanted Him crucified. Pilate finally gives in and orders the Nazarene, alleged King of the Jews, to be nailed to a cross, by hands and feet, left there to die of suffocation. Three hours later, the soul of the Son of Man returns to His Father.

Crucifixion is probably one of the worst ways to die. It is one of the most perfected ways of mortal torture. The way it works is quite simple, you pin down the victim's limbs by nailing them in the wrists and ankles-in this way there is less blood flow and connection to the rest of the body, this leaves the rest of the body to fall and put more weight on the feet, and an extended stretch of the arms. Consequently less oxygen is led to the brain, therefore to be able to breathe appropriately, one has to push on the nail wounds, which hurts it even more. In a regular crucifixion, the slow and painful death can last up from 5 hours to almost 3 days. The fact that it only took 3 hours for Christ to leave His corpse on the cross is quite astonishing, but looking at what he went through before reaching Calgary Hill makes it more reasonable.

Holy Thursday

Yesterday's sunset marked the beginning of Lent's last three days: The Easter Triduum. These three days of remembrance coincide with Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection and Christ's promise which is cataloged in the Gospel of John's Chapter 2:19. "Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days." During these three days, we accompany Christ onto his Cross on Good Friday and watch him resurrect from the dead on Easter Sunday, all of which was done for the sake of our salvation.

Holy Thursday, the first day of the Triduum, we remember a very important teaching that Christ gave us and we still practice today, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This stems off of an annual Jewish practice done since the Exodus from Egypt, Passover. The Jewish feast is a meal of unleavened bread, a 1 year old, unblemished male lamb, and bitter herbs. (Leviticus 23:4-14) The feast is done every year, just as God prescribed them to do. Jesus and the 12 Apostles were Hebrew men, which meant that they also participated in the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and partake in the celebration of Passover. But on one night, Jesus took the bread, broke it, blessed it, and passed the bread to the twelve Apostles. He explained his actions by saying that the bread was his body which was going to be sacrificed for their sake. At every Mass, daily, for the past two thousand years we repeat his very words and continue his actions, spreading the blessed Eucharistic hosts, transubstantiated into the Body of Christ. Jesus repeated the same actions with the chalice of wine. We also do the same, the wine transubstantiates into the Blood of Christ.

As a side note, the chalice of wine that Jesus drank of, blessed, and passed to the other twelve is now known as the Holy Grail, and has been searched for by many people and for many centuries.

Another important thing to note about Holy Thursday is that it is the last Liturgical celebration before the Easter Vigil. This is because on Good Friday we remember Christ's loving sacrifice of the Cross, and the opening of the Gates of Heaven to all on Holy Saturday. The Tabernacle, an ornate box which holds any leftover pieces of the Body and Blood of Christ to be used at the next mass, is left open. It usually is closed and is always a signal of God's Presence, but we accompany Him during his Passion on Holy Thursday evening until his death, traditionally held from noon on Friday to 3 p.m. The Body of Christ is left on an Altar of Repose after Thursday's Mass and remains there until Easter Sunday. All Churches are open for all to come and follow Christ in his sacrifice for us, for our sake, and for our salvation.

Objective

The aim of The Official Guide to be a Man Fully Alive is to teach-and hopefully correctly explain-the Church's teachings on different subjects, your personal doubts about the Church itself, and commonly asked questions. I feel confident that together we will be able to achieve the eternal goal of being Men Fully Alive.

Social Media

Today many Christians are becoming more and more involved in social media than ever before. Too many Christians becoming involved in twitter and face book and losing site of what really matters. What really matters is spreading Christ's message of holiness and forgiveness. Too many people are using it as a means to either put down or glorify themselves. We should find Christ in all things. The pope recently got a twitter. I also got a twitter. Now what makes this different is what we use this for. The pope uses this to spread the message and let people know about the Church. I use this for social selfish purposes. God does not disapprove of technology, he disapproves of its useless waste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEuwBo9gR50