One of The Bible’s most helpful Teachings is a Blessing that saves many souls! Romans 1:16-25 begins: “Brothers and sisters: I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, for Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous by faith will live.’“ Paul quotes that from Habakkuk 2:4, showing his recognition of God’s approval of the Apochrypha.
Catholics are not the only ones able to understand what follows: “The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from Heaven against every impiety (Removing The Apochrypha from The Bible is a perfect example of “impiety”! We have to wonder if those who removed those Books are punished for every soul who is NOT Catholic because they didn’t know about them!) and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
St. Paul tells us why the disobedient are punished: “For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what He has made.”
We learn there is “no excuse” for choosing to sin: “As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God, they did not accord Him glory as God or give Him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.”
St. Paul tells us that all “senseless, darkened minds” do the same thing! “While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.”
We see the results in the sins that abound around us: “Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies.”
God does that to everyone who: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than The Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Catholics are blessed to not “exchange” The Church-Creating Word of Jesus to His First Catholic Pope for any “lie” that keeps us from obeying “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.”
Those “keys to The Kingdom of Heaven” include the Seven Catholic Sacraments: Baptism, Confession/Absolution, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Last Rites that Catholics are blessed to receive when we follow The Teaching of Jesus to the Pharisees in Luke 11:37-41 when “The Lord said to a Pharisee, ‘Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?'”
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Today’s Simple Rhyme: “Plundering fools / are blundering tools / of evil.”
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