i Catholic
By Pat Miron
What does this ADVENT message
mean?
My dear friends in Christ,
Another KEY to understanding the Bible message, is “how often a
particular theme is repeated.” For example The Holy Eucharist appears by five
different authors; “Take up your Cross and follow Me,” appears five times by
four different authors, and the message above appears, by Matthew three times,
by Mark three times, by Luke twice, and by Paul also three times. That makes a TOTAL OF eleven TIMES! TWICE AS OFTEN AS THE REAL
PRESENCE. And the same message appears another
eight times in the Old Testament.
I’m no bible expert, but this is astounding! The more often
a message is repeated, the greater importance it has.
Even more astounding and adding a GREAT sense of urgency to
the message is this fact: In my copy of the OT, the account covers 1,047 pages;
while the NT is recounted in only 401 pages [New American Bible s.c.] That’s less than 60% of the space and nearly
30% MORE OFTEN! SURELY, this is a message
for our times!
Matt.13: 9 “He who has ears, let him hear." 15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears
are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should
perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and turn for me to heal them.' 16 But blessed are
your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 43 Then the righteous [Those
HUMBLE enough to actually allow TRUE teachers of the Faith to over-rule there
own pride] will shine like the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Mark.4: 9 “And he said, "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear." 23
If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." Mark.8: 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And
do you not remember?”
Luke.8: 8 “And some fell into good
soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out,
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 14: 33 -35 “So therefore, whoever of you does not
renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. "Salt is good; but if salt
has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is fit neither for
the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let
him hear."
Acts.7:51 "You stiff-necked people,
uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your
fathers did, so do you.”
Acts.28: 27 “For this people's heart has
grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed; lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.”
and their eyes they have closed; lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.”
Rom.11: 8 “as it is written, "God gave them a
spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down
to this very day."
MEANING: Rom.9: 18 “So then he
has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he
wills.”
It seems
prudent, even necessary to ask WHY this is?
Isa.6: 10 “Make the heart of this
people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see
with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."
Isa.42: 20 “He sees many things, but does not observe
them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.”
Jer.5: 21 “"Hear
this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have
ears, but hear not.”
Jer.6: 10 “To whom shall I speak and
give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, they
cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn, they
take no pleasure in it.”
Ezek.12: 2 "Son of man, you
dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not,
who have ears to hear, but hear not; “
Zech.7: 11 “But they
refused to hearken, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears that
they might not hear.”
First a few
different views of what the message means; what the messenger is actually
saying.
From the
Protestant Matthew Henry’s Comprehensive Commentary of the Bible:
RE: Mt. 11:15 “to those who will receive the truth concerning them.
Lastly, Our Lord Jesus closes this discourse with a solemn demand of attention (v. 15): He that hath ears to hear, let him hear;
which intimates, that those things were dark and hard to be understood, and
therefore needed attention, but of great concern and consequence, and therefore
well deserved it. "Let all people take notice
of this, if John be the Elias prophesied of, then certainly here is
a great revolution on foot, the Messiah’s kingdom is at the door, and the world
will shortly be surprised into a happy change. These
are things which require your serious consideration, and therefore you are all
concerned to hearken to what I say.’’ Note, The things of God are of
great and common concern: every one that has ears
to hear any thing, is concerned to hear this. It intimates, that God requires no more from us but the right
use and improvement of the faculties he has already given us. He requires those
to hear that have ears, those to use their reason that have reason. Therefore
people are ignorant, not because they want power, but because they want will;
therefore they do not hear, because, like the deaf adder, they stop their ears.
“
From
Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary Matt. 13: 9 [same quote]
Ver. 9. He that hath ears to hear. “By
these words, we are exhorted to examine the meaning of the parables. (St.
Jerome) We are also taught that not all, but
only such as have had the sense of the Scriptures opened to their understanding
from above, can properly understand them. The apostles themselves were in
ignorance till Jesus Christ gave them the true meaning: "he
opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." (St. Luke xxiv. 45.) It is
God who speaks in the Scripture, and it is God who givs us to understand what
is therein delivered. His truths he conceals from the proud, while he reveals
them to the little and humble. How can any
persons pretend that the most mysterious, as well as the most sacred book in
the world, is open to every understanding?….
[St.
Paul [ACTS 13:26-27... "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you
that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who
live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor
understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath,
fulfilled these by condemning him.”] added by PJM
tells the Jews, that although
the Scriptures were read to them every Sabbath-day, their very rulers did not
understand them; and St. Peter, in his 2d Epistle (2
Peter iii. 17.) assures us, that there are many passage hard to be
understood. --- All comes from God. It is He who
opens our ears to hear, our heart to believe, and our mind to understand. Agar
was near a well, and yet she wept, because she had no water to give her son to
drink. God opened her eyes, and she saw the well that was close to her. Thus, says Origen, [An
EARLY Church Father] we may read the Scripture,
and find no nourishment for the soul, unless God opens our mind, to see therein
on what we are to nourish it. It contains
salutary waters, but only those can be benefited by them, who see how to drink
of the heavenly source. It is the Holy Ghost alone who can effectually open our
eyes, to see these waters that spring up to life eternal; and this special
grace we are to obtain by humble and fervent prayer. Knock, and it shall be
opened to you.”
A Summation
of both of the translations seem to be saying:
If your seeking the
truth; it IS Found in the Catholic Bible [complete and in Every way PJM].
Everyone seeking
salvation ought to hear what God Himself has to say on this Subject.
BUT Not
everything is easy to comprehend and understand Correctly. 2nd. Peter 3:16
In part because of the way the message is presented
In part because of pride-filled self -interpretation [Please see 2nd. Peter 1: 20-21, 2nd. Peter 3:16,
Rom. 10: 17 and confirmed by 2nd.
Tim. 3: 15-17]
In part because Faith is and always has been a gift
controlled by God Himself. We can and
should ask and PRAY for it; but it’s God’s decision alone in the end.
In part because some are simply too lazy or otherwise
occupied to seek the singular truth found
in God’s Holy Writ.
In part because some; too convinced that they know
“more,” know “better”; than the agency
founded by Christ for this purpose. [Mt. 16:15-19, Mt.
18:18 and Mt. 28:19-20], which
is often the result of wrongful instruction.
And
because some either are unable to understand or simply choose to ignore that on
every single issue; logically and morally there can be ONLY ONE TRUTH. [Catholics as well as non-catholics] Many folks are willing to take there
man-made religion, man-made faith and man-made understanding of the Bible NOT
factoring in that that these are RECENT innovations and teachings presuming [in error] that God’s One Church, One Faith, One
Understanding has been around for far more than a THOUSAND years before This
“new-enlightenment, ENCROACHED UPON TRUTH, attempting to usurp IT FOR
THEMSELVES” and that the CC could somehow be wrong! GOD
HIMSELF FORBIDS IT! God Himself assures Her truths. [Jn.14:16-17 and Jn. 17: 14-19].
And I point out that there are a GREAT multitude of
self-professed-“catholics“, who too
struggle with this lack of Faith and Understanding. They too need Spiritual hearing-aids!
All to frequently Catholic Catechesis has been
inadequate, incomplete or simply wrong in
the past fifty years are so.
So what’s a
person to do?
Two virtues
are absolutely essential in-order to attain heaven: They are FAITH and Humility. There is NOT a
single Saint in heaven who does not have both in great measure.
Faith
remains a GIFT from God, that we can ask for and PRAY for. Humility is somewhat
more under our own control [aided of course by the Holy Spirit]. We ought to
practice regularly self-sacrifice , and small acts of depriving ourselves of
something we desire, by acts of charity, and by swallowing our sinful Pride,
and listen to the message taught [in many cases’ consecutively and consistently
for 2,000 years] by the very organization devised and set -up by Jesus Christ
Himself for this very purpose. His Catholic Church.
John 14: 16 to 17 “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you
another Counselor, to be with you for ever, [A Done deal!] 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and
will be in you.”
John 17: 14 to 19 “ I [JESUS CHRIST] have
given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou should take them
out of the world, but that thou should keep
them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world. Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. [DONE DEAL] As
thou didst send me into the world, so I have
sent them into the world. And for their
sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.” ONLY Christ
Catholic Church is included in these two GODLY COMMITMENTS! [Historical FACT!] Because
there were NO other competing churches when it was both made and Codified!
So why am I sharing this now?
John.1: 29 “The next day [after Jesus had been Baptized by John] he saw Jesus
coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world! 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
Matt.3: 3 “For this is he who was
spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in
the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." John.1:
23 “He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, [JOHN the Baptist being quoted] `Make straight the way of the Lord,' as
the prophet Isaiah said."
Advent is a time of getting ready, being prepared, and so this seems an
ideal time for self-inspection; self-reflection and a “to thy own self be
true.” commitment. God most certainlyWill, because God Must, Judge each of us not only on what
we know; far more importantly is recognizing that we, All of us shall be judged
on what God PERMITS us to know. This goes to the very heart of today’s thought. So my friends in Christ: are YOU in need of
Spiritual hearing Aids?
Mt. 16: RE: PETER “15-19 “He [Jesus Christ]
said to them, [The Apostles] "But who do you say that I am?" Simon
Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock [ROCK = Foundation of
you Peter] I will build my [SINGULAR] church, [SEE Eph.2: 19-20 ]and
the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven."
These verses requires NO translation: READ them and either accept it for both what
they mean and plainly say; or exercise your freewill right to plug your own
ears. Each of us is called by GOD to make this very choice. “Let those who have ears HEAR!” …. Each of us is to hear and accept
the message of Isaiah: “Make straight the way of thee LORD!”
May Almighty God GRANT all of us the gift of TRUE FAITH,
that includes the Godly gifts of Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding.
Each of you continue in my daily thoughts and prayers,.
God Bless,
Pat
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