St. Paul gives an important warning to Catholics in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17! “We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with Him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, …”
Paul is warning us about those who want to “shake” our souls “out of our minds” and follow some profiteer who wants our allegiance and donations! They do not want us to be “assembling with Him” in the Catholic Masses. They hate for us to “assemble” His Body and Blood with us in Catholic Communion!
St. Paul tells us how those distractions take form so that we do not let ourselves “be alarmed either by a ‘spirit’ or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of The Lord is at hand.”
His advice to every Catholic for all the time to come is summed up in one sentence: “Let no one deceive you in any way.”
Those “deceivers” are possessed by seven tribes of demons: pride, envy, greed, gluttony, anger, lust, and sloth. Catholics have a New Catholic Word, “peggalas” to help us keep in mind what causes others to attack us.
Catholics are loved by God! “To this end, He has also called you through our Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
We see that both the Written and Spoken Word of God are important: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions tht you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.”
Catholics are blessed to “stand firm” in The Church-Creating Word of He Who Fulfilled the Prophecies to His First Catholic 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.'” Anyone who wants us to ignore His Church-Creating Word is a danger to the final resting place of our soul.
St. Paul finishes his warning to “Be Catholic and Stay Catholic” with this Prayer: “May our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and God, Our Father, Who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through His Grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.” He does not tell us to use physical and financial exercises to “strengthen” our bodies and amass assets!
Today, Psalm 96:10-13 tells us why it is important to be as Catholic as we can: “The Lord comes to judge the earth.”!
The fear of God’s Judgment blesses Catholics to heed Today’s “Alleluia” from Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”
Today’s Gospel from Matthew 23:22-26 specifically tells us how to recognize the self-serving nature of those who profit by leading people to follow them instead of God:
“Jesus said: ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin (little flowerpots full of herbs grown on windowsills instead of donating cash, crops, and cattle) and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.”
Then, Jesus describes those who keep donors from The Catholic Sacraments and tells us they are:
“Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self -indulgence.”
Then, Jesus tells us how even they may be saved by obeying His call to Catholic Confession and Absolution! “Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup so that the outside may also be clean.”
What does that mean to us? Each of us must “Be as Catholic as we can!”
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Today’s Simple Rhyme: “The more that we see / the more we will be / Catholic!”
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