In “The War for Our Souls” Catholics may most meaningfully say: “Jesus I trust in You”
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Question 1: “Does The Bible tell Catholics that ‘Every person on earth is in ‘The War for Our Souls’“?
Answer: “We see one Battle in ‘The War for Our Souls’ in Today’s Reading from The Acts of God’s Cardinal-Bishops in Chapter 14, Verses 19-28: ‘In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived (in the city of Lystra, where Paul and Barnabas had been leading souls to Jesus) and won over the crowds.
It is easy for Catholics to identify those who cannot overcome their love of earthly concerns. They spend their lives fighting to ‘win over the crowds’!”
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Question 2: “What did they do when they ‘won over the crowds’?
Answer: “They did what they always do! ‘They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.’”
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Question 3: “St. Paul was knocked down and out and left for dead. What did he do?”
Answer: “He was one of Christ’s first Cardinal-Bishops. Jesus gave those Holy Men The Authority to ordain Catholic priests and Bishops in the new Dioceses they brought into The Church. They did not stop fighting for souls! ‘But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and re-entered the city.’ That showed the most intelligent people in ‘the crowds’ of every city that they should not be afraid of those who wanted to win ‘The War for Our Souls’!
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Question 4: “What led Paul to go back for more punishment from those who wanted to win ‘The War for Our Souls’?”
Answer: “Paul had seen The Light! He saw that the most important thing he could do with his life was to help people win ‘The War for Their Souls’. He was willing to die in that battle!“
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Question 5: “Where did Cardinal-Bishop Paul do next?”
Answer: “After he taught the people of Lystra that lesson in Apostolic Courage; ‘On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.’”
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Question 6: “What did he do in the city of ‘Derbe’?”
Answer: “‘After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.’”
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Question 6: “Why did he return to ‘Lystra’ and the other cities so often?”
Answer: “‘They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith.’ Then, The Twelfth Catholic Cardinal-Bishop taught The Word that only Catholics gratefully accept: ‘It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.’”
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Question 8: “What did The First Catholic Cardinal-Bishops do as they went to different cities and nations?”
Answer: “They Ordained Catholic priests and Bishops to provide The Catholic Sacraments that would feed The Faithful with The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in Catholic Communion. ‘They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to The Lord in Whom they had put their faith.’”
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Question 9: “Were these early Catholics obeying God’s Instructions in The Psalms, written a thousand years before?”
Answer: “Today’s Psalm 145: 10-13 and 21 still give us God’s Teaching about what His Obedient Catholic ‘friends’ do! ‘Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom.’
‘Let all your works give You thanks, O Lord, and let Your faithful ones bless You.
Let them discourse of the glory of Your Kingdom and speak of Your might. — Making known to men Your might and the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and Your Dominion endures through all generations. —
Every Catholic wants to be among these people described in The Psalms: ‘May my mouth speak the praise of The Lord, and may all flesh bless His Holy Name forever and ever.’!”
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Question 10: “Did Jesus want His First Catholic Pope and Cardinal-Bishops to give their lives to obey Him and fight ‘The War for Our Souls’?”
Answer: “Today’s Reading from Jesus (John 14:27-31) proves how well they fought ‘The War for Our Souls’!
‘Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.’
Then, Jesus gives us His Direct Order to every Catholic who has fought ‘The War for Our Souls’ for the past 2,000 years!
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.’ Then, He explained why He gave that direction: ‘You heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
He then explained what Catholics must do: ‘If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.’
Jesus then warned us of the coming ‘War for Our Souls’:
‘I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over Me (even though he will ‘win over’ many people in ‘the crowds’!), but the world must know that I love The Father and that I do just as The Father has commanded Me.’”
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Catholics are blessed to love The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit enough to get these “keys”: “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.”
Catholics are also blessed to let God raise us above the confused ‘crowds’ who are ‘won over’ by worldly concerns in “The War for Our Souls.”