Today, Prophecies from Ezekiel 37:21-28 connect with John 11:45-56 to let us rejoice in the joy of “Being Catholic”!
Ezekiel is clear: “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all.” That “one prince” is a “Hidden Prophecy” of every Catholic Pope since the day that He Who Fulfilled the Messianic Prophecies Spoke His only Church-Creating Word to His First Pope!
“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.”
Today’s Psalm, from Jeremiah 31:10-13, predicts the joy God gives to Catholics! “The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock… Proclaim it on distant isles, and say, ‘He Who scattered Israel now gathers them together… they shall mount the heights of Zion… streaming to the LORD’s blessings: the grain, the wine, (“Hidden Prophecies” of the bread and wine of Catholic Communion first given to Abraham at Jerusalem by the Miracle of Melchizedek!) and the oil, … (A “Hidden Prophecy” of the Holy Oils used in Catholic Sacraments).
Then, another Catholic Prophecy from Ezekiel, 18:31, “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” That is a “Hidden Prophecy” of those who are blessed to bring their souls to peace with God by the Catholic Sacrament of Confession/Absolution. Even in their “last minutes on earth”, many are blessed to receive “The Last Rites” and may have their immortal souls spend eternity in Heaven! Hopefully, all who meaningfully repent may share that blessing.
Today’s Gospel, John 11:45-56, shows that some people did realign their thinking when they “saw what Jesus had done and began to believe in Him”! Others could not believe their own eyes! They “went to the Pharisees… So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, ‘What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave Him alone, all will believe in Him.”
Then, the bureaucrats made their usual surrender to personal and political interests: “If we leave Him alone, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”
Then, “Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation (including the worldly structures that support us) may not perish.'”
John understood the human thinking behind that “Hidden Prophecy”. He was the most “beloved” of the Twelve Catholic Bishops Ordained by Jesus to spread Catholic dioceses and parishes around the world. That is why Catholics listen to him as he tells us: “He (Caiaphas) did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. (That is among many “Hidden Prophecies” of all blessed to be “gathered into One” Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church! This one is especially moving because it shows the Power of God to reveal “prophetic truth” to those who reject the Prophecies that God used them to make!)
In the forty days before Easter, Catholics try to connect ourselves more closely to He Who Fulfilled the Prophecies by coming to earth in Human Form. We pray that we will appreciate what The Loving Programmer has done by letting The Creation Program be brought into being by The Holy Downloader, take Human Form as The Word of God, and come to earth to show His Love for us.
Catholics are the only people on earth who are blessed to understand: The Loving Programmer began to download The Creation Program over 13 trillion light-years ago. He made it so huge that we could not see an end to His Power, even with the most powerful telescopes ever made! Being Catholic lets us be among God’s Most Blessed People on Earth because:
We obey the call to Catholic Communion that His Son, “The Word of God” (John 1:1), died to leave on earth, telling us 14 times: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood, you do not have life in you.” Catholics are blessed to understand that our Loving God has chosen our Catholic priests to be Ordained with His Holy Authority to provide His Body and Blood by The Miracle of Transubstantiation at every Catholic Mass for the past 2,000 years!
May all be blessed to “Be Catholic” and bring our souls, minds, and bodies closer to God. Forever!
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Today’s Simple Rhyme: “May all be blessed to understand / and be as Catholic as we can!”
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