St. Paul, that Great Catholic Cardinal-Bishop, carried The Cross of Jesus into Europe! The first “Smart Woman” he met became Catholic and received The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ from Him.
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Question 1: “What reason does Today’s ‘Daily Reading’ give us to be Catholic’?”
Answer: “It tells us that ‘Smart Women’ quickly see why to be Catholic!”
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Question 2: “Where does Acts 16:11-15 tell us that?”
Answer: “In Yesterday’s Reading, ‘the spirit of Jesus’ led Paul and Barnabas to bring early Catholic Teaching into Europe! Today’s Reading tells us they ended up in ‘Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia and a Roman colony’. There was a ‘place of prayer along the river outside the city where they sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.’”
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Question 3: “What led Paul to understand that these women were ‘smart’?”
Answer: “They were ‘smart’ enough to be part of Rome’s complex society and seek to be closer to God. One of the most successful of them was ‘a woman named ‘Lydda, a dealer in purple cloth.’”
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Question 4: “How did Paul and Barnabas know that Lydda was smart?”
Answer: “For the preceding two thousand years, ‘Purple’ had been the most complicated color in the world: ‘twelve thousand snails of Murex brandaris yield no more than 1.4 grams of pure dye, enough to color only the trim of a single garment.’
Lydda was smart enough to understand the complicated chemistry, work, and business involved in turning 12,000 snail shells into less than a teaspoon of ‘purple dye’! She was smart enough to have ‘herself’, and the household she supported, ‘be Baptized’ after hearing Paul and Barnabas talk about Jesus.”
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Question 5: “Does Today’s Psalm tell us that God loves people who are smart enough to understand and obey His Word?”
Answer: “A thousand years before Jesus, Psalm 149, 1-9 has included: ‘The Lord takes delight in His people!’ Catholics repeat that before and after each Psalm:
‘Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their Maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. —
Let them praise His name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to Him with timbrel and harp. For The Lord loves His people, and He adorns the lowly with victory —
Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all His faithful.’”
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Question 6: “Does Jesus confirm That Teaching of The Psalms?”
Answer: “Yes! John 15:26-27 tells us: ‘The Spirit of Truth will testify to Me, says The Lord.’ Then, Jesus gives a Very Short Prophecy about what His Faithful Believers will do: ‘and you will also testify.’ That is proven by Paul, Barnabas, Lydda, and every ‘household’ in the world who ‘testifies’ to the Joy of being Catholic!”
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Question 7: “Did Jesus tell us of others who would ‘testify’?”
Answer: “Today’s Reading between John 15:16 and 16:4 tells us! ‘Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When The Advocate comes Whom I will send you from the Father, The Spirit of truth who proceeds from The Father, He will testify to Me. And you also testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.’
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Question 8: “What makes ‘The Testimony’ of His Disciples so important?”
Answer: “Jesus gave His Disciples The Power to Ordain Catholic Bishops, priests, and religious in the cities and parishes to whom they brought The Word of God. These first ‘Cardinal-Bishops’ allowed The Church-Creating Word of Jesus Christ to take Living Form around the world: ‘And I say unto you thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys to The Kingdom of Heaven.’”
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Question 9: “Why isn’t everyone who believes they are ‘Christian’ grateful to be part of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?”
Answer: “Some are genuinely confused. Others consciously choose to let the self-serving vanities enshrined in Willful Protestantism keep them from thinking as clearly as ‘Lydda and her household’.
How smart is that?”
