Why Is “Christian” Music So Awful?

[fide]

Thank you for the criticism, it is well taken
When I appeal to reason, it is not as though it would be purely human reason, which could only take us so far, but rather to accept the invitation of God, come let us reason together says the Lord

Also we should not rely on feelings because the proposition that if it feels good, do it, is not only heretical but perhaps demonic
The demons are capable of tempting us and to do that they use feelings. They tempt us to make the evil seem good and good evil. Evil brings pleasure, virtue brings pain. Yes, I see your warning against reason, because if we try to reason with a demon, he can have us believing that evil is good, so our limited reason can only take us so far

What God gives us freely is our will. We need to use it to always will the good. Feelings are beautiful things if accompanied by proper will. God can and will give us enduring joy, when we will the good, but it may come with a dark night of the soul first. Feelings are not all bad, but if we pursue only what “feels good” and avoid all that “feels bad”, we will leave the straight and narrow and take the broad way to destruction

Your correction is well received and thank you
I was just trying to be humorous in saying the proposition that if it feels good do it is heretical advice

I'll add this one more thought - a matter, a truth for the End Times - that concerns me very deeply now, forcing me to consider these very times in which we are living may be within the End Times the Lord prepared us to expect.

The danger of trusting reason too far is proved in this prophecy, which we are seeing now. It is here among us, and widespread, and very dangerous:

2Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders,
2Thes 2:10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
2Thes 2:11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false,
2Thes 2:12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Do we not see this, fulfilled, in widespread acceptance of homosexual normalcy and full equivalency - and even more insane, gender "freedom" from reality. Men and woman can change their genders and are due full acceptance everywhere and in all matters, DNA irrelevant. Men can, by surgery, be implanted with a womb and can have a baby. etc. And these people believe this! The man believes he has an intrinsic right to walk into the girls shower room in the High School - or Middle School - because in his heart he is a teenage girl. Demosocialist politicians believe in their right to rule over others because they are truly superior, and all their unwoke enemies truly owe them everything and should be happy to surrender any so-called "right" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to them, their superior benevolent dictators. And words are mere sounds having whatever meaning they want them to have. Promise them anything for their vote - "we deserve power!"

Such disposal of reason and truth for their own self-glorifying ends is satanic, yet here we are, and it is in many "3rd world" "advanced" cultures. They refused to love the truth and so be saved; Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false. Pleasure, self-gratification, the idolatry of Self, is their only truth.

Authentic love of divine eternal Truth - that must be our hunger, our thirst, our goal which is the vocation given us by God! And He has shown us the Way. But few, very few, seek it. The world wants to show us a compromise, and there are many takers of the deal.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

I'll add this one more thought - a matter, a truth for the End Times - that concerns me very deeply now, forcing me to consider these very times in which we are living may be within the End Times the Lord prepared us to expect.

The danger of trusting reason too far is proved in this prophecy, which we are seeing now. It is here among us, and widespread, and very dangerous:

Do we not see this, fulfilled, in widespread acceptance of homosexual normalcy and full equivalency - and even more insane, gender "freedom" from reality. Men and woman can change their genders and are due full acceptance everywhere and in all matters, DNA irrelevant. Men can, by surgery, be implanted with a womb and can have a baby. etc. And these people believe this! The man believes he has an intrinsic right to walk into the girls shower room in the High School - or Middle School - because in his heart he is a teenage girl. Demosocialist politicians believe in their right to rule over others because they are truly superior, and all their unwoke enemies truly owe them everything and should be happy to surrender any so-called "right" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to them, their superior benevolent dictators. And words are mere sounds having whatever meaning they want them to have. Promise them anything for their vote - "we deserve power!"

Such disposal of reason and truth for their own self-glorifying ends is satanic, yet here we are, and it is in many "3rd world" "advanced" cultures. They refused to love the truth and so be saved; Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false. Pleasure, self-gratification, the idolatry of Self, is their only truth.

Authentic love of divine eternal Truth - that must be our hunger, our thirst, our goal which is the vocation given us by God! And He has shown us the Way. But few, very few, seek it. The world wants to show us a compromise, and there are many takers of the deal.

Yes the world is wants us to compromise, but it is not due to reason, rather the suspension of reason.
Reason tells us that only a woman can be a mother and only a man can be a father, but instead of accepting that, the feelings of the arrogant are hurt and they suspend reason and claim truth not so.

The greatest suspension of reason that purports to be reasonable is cosmology and origin of life
There is no creative force that has been identified in the material universe that can account for the existence of life as we see it today. It has to come from intelligence outside the material world. Much like when we see a book, we reason that an author of some intelligence wrote it, we do not envision the ink and the paper evolving over time into words and a story which we can then read.
We know that based on our knowledge of ink and paper, the book does not write itself. A book consists of ink and paper, yet is more than ink and paper, it is an idea which is not contained in the material universe. The material book can be burned and utterly destroyed but if the idea were stored in alternate media or the mind of the author, the book can be rewritten
The idea of us aka our soul is in the mind of God and our bodies can be rewritten aka resurrected by the same power that brought us forth in the first place, and even if our bodies are destroyed aka died, our idea or soul lives on until the bodies are resurrected, much like a book lives on in the conversations of those that read it.

The analogy is not perfect but it gives us an idea


The fool says in his heart there is no God, while His existence is plainly evident by what we see around us. Denial disguising itself as reason leads some to be ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth

That is not the fault of reason, rather the suspension of reason. Much like what we see in science today where philosophy is not acknowledged as a science because it is not material

 

[fide]

Yes the world is wants us to compromise, but it is not due to reason, rather the suspension of reason.
Reason tells us that only a woman can be a mother and only a man can be a father, but instead of accepting that, the feelings of the arrogant are hurt and they suspend reason and claim truth not so.

The greatest suspension of reason that purports to be reasonable is cosmology and origin of life
There is no creative force that has been identified in the material universe that can account for the existence of life as we see it today. It has to come from intelligence outside the material world. Much like when we see a book, we reason that an author of some intelligence wrote it, we do not envision the ink and the paper evolving over time into words and a story which we can then read.
We know that based on our knowledge of ink and paper, the book does not write itself. A book consists of ink and paper, yet is more than ink and paper, it is an idea which is not contained in the material universe. The material book can be burned and utterly destroyed but if the idea were stored in alternate media or the mind of the author, the book can be rewritten
The idea of us aka our soul is in the mind of God and our bodies can be rewritten aka resurrected by the same power that brought us forth in the first place, and even if our bodies are destroyed aka died, our idea or soul lives on until the bodies are resurrected, much like a book lives on in the conversations of those that read it.

The analogy is not perfect but it gives us an idea


The fool says in his heart there is no God, while His existence is plainly evident by what we see around us. Denial disguising itself as reason leads some to be ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth

That is not the fault of reason, rather the suspension of reason. Much like what we see in science today where philosophy is not acknowledged as a science because it is not material

You mentioned briefly in a previous post (#20), the dark night of the soul. How familiar, if I may ask, are you with that spirituality?

 

[boughtwithaprice]

You mentioned briefly in a previous post (#20), the dark night of the soul. How familiar, if I may ask, are you with that spirituality?

John of the Cross was the saint that brought me back to the Church in obedience. I have yet to plumb the full depth of his writings, but his words touched me personally.
The revelation of truth has hit me so completely that I cannot remember the reason that I had for thinking differently. If you have the desire to know, I will summarize
Prior to reading John of the Cross, I had a doubtful conscience regarding Church teaching on contraception. I believed that humanae vitae was written by a man that has no knowledge of relationship of a man and a woman. I believed that the teaching was not infallible and the Church would eventually see that contraception does not equate to Onanism, because children are not refused but the number and frequency of births can be chosen by the couple. I say doubtful conscience because although I believed that the teaching was reformable, I could not bring myself to use anything other than natural family planing. The woman that I was with at the time had regular cycles, and my knowledge of ovulation viability had me reason that 20 days was sufficient. I would wait the the start of the cycle and refrain from intercourse until the 20th day of the cycle to have natural intercourse. No child was ever conceived in over 7 years. I say the woman that I was with, because that relationship has been annulled by the Church as if no marriage had taken place. It is a point of shame for me, yet I am eternally grateful to Our Lord Jesus for redeeming me.
I tried to get answers to the contraception question here on CF and elsewhere around the internet. On CF, I was met with scorn and called evil for even asking the question. On the internet I was met with pleas for money to see a conference on how to practice natural family planning. No one had a clear answer, and I was still held captive to sins against the sixth commandment.
When I read John of the Cross, he was explaining that in order to follow Jesus, we must mortify the desires of the flesh. I can’t explain why or how, but the through came to me, how can you practice mortifying the deeds of the flesh if you are arguing that your flesh cannot be mortified and the Church must allow you to indulge that flesh? I was dumbfounded and had it answer. I thought immediately that the Church is right and her teachings are of God, not men.
It was when I behaved in full obedience and had not only my marriage annulled, but the marriages of my non-Catholic wife annulled and our marriage radically sanated by the Bishop, which means sealed forever and no annulment possible, that the desire to break and indulge in sins against the sixth commandment left me. I was as if I were before Christ caught in my sin, and He said neither do I condemn you, Go away and don’t sin anymore, and I have not in over the last six years. It is not because of some super strength of will on my part. I am not that great, but it is a word of knowledge placed into my will because of my submission to Christ and His Church that I no longer desire to sin. Godly reason is that intercourse is for having children. It need not happen every time but if I desire intercourse with another without the possibility of conception, that is sin and profanation of the marital act.
Sex is not a need as secular society makes it out to be. Satan uses all kinds of lies to get us to break the sixth commandment, but the truth is that intercourse must be under control of the will to have true pleasure. If the will is under the control of desire for intercourse, it may feel good at first, but it will lead one to abject misery


Sorry if TMI, but I cannot let you think highly of my flesh. Oh he knows John of the Cross, he must be holy. Not true. I am worse than all men, yet even in my misery, God had redeemed me, as He will any one that repents toward Him In obedience He will set free, anyone of the sin that so easily besets them

 

[fide]

John of the Cross was the saint that brought me back to the Church in obedience. I have yet to plumb the full depth of his writings, but his words touched me personally.
The revelation of truth has hit me so completely that I cannot remember the reason that I had for thinking differently. If you have the desire to know, I will summarize
Prior to reading John of the Cross, I had a doubtful conscience regarding Church teaching on contraception. I believed that humanae vitae was written by a man that has no knowledge of relationship of a man and a woman. I believed that the teaching was not infallible and the Church would eventually see that contraception does not equate to Onanism, because children are not refused but the number and frequency of births can be chosen by the couple. I say doubtful conscience because although I believed that the teaching was reformable, I could not bring myself to use anything other than natural family planing. The woman that I was with at the time had regular cycles, and my knowledge of ovulation viability had me reason that 20 days was sufficient. I would wait the the start of the cycle and refrain from intercourse until the 20th day of the cycle to have natural intercourse. No child was ever conceived in over 7 years. I say the woman that I was with, because that relationship has been annulled by the Church as if no marriage had taken place. It is a point of shame for me, yet I am eternally grateful to Our Lord Jesus for redeeming me.
I tried to get answers to the contraception question here on CF and elsewhere around the internet. On CF, I was met with scorn and called evil for even asking the question. On the internet I was met with pleas for money to see a conference on how to practice natural family planning. No one had a clear answer, and I was still held captive to sins against the sixth commandment.
When I read John of the Cross, he was explaining that in order to follow Jesus, we must mortify the desires of the flesh. I can’t explain why or how, but the through came to me, how can you practice mortifying the deeds of the flesh if you are arguing that your flesh cannot be mortified and the Church must allow you to indulge that flesh? I was dumbfounded and had it answer. I thought immediately that the Church is right and her teachings are of God, not men.
It was when I behaved in full obedience and had not only my marriage annulled, but the marriages of my non-Catholic wife annulled and our marriage radically sanated by the Bishop, which means sealed forever and no annulment possible, that the desire to break and indulge in sins against the sixth commandment left me. I was as if I were before Christ caught in my sin, and He said neither do I condemn you, Go away and don’t sin anymore, and I have not in over the last six years. It is not because of some super strength of will on my part. I am not that great, but it is a word of knowledge placed into my will because of my submission to Christ and His Church that I no longer desire to sin. Godly reason is that intercourse is for having children. It need not happen every time but if I desire intercourse with another without the possibility of conception, that is sin and profanation of the marital act.
Sex is not a need as secular society makes it out to be. Satan uses all kinds of lies to get us to break the sixth commandment, but the truth is that intercourse must be under control of the will to have true pleasure. If the will is under the control of desire for intercourse, it may feel good at first, but it will lead one to abject misery


Sorry if TMI, but I cannot let you think highly of my flesh. Oh he knows John of the Cross, he must be holy. Not true. I am worse than all men, yet even in my misery, God had redeemed me, as He will any one that repents toward Him In obedience He will set free, anyone of the sin that so easily besets them

You and I have a moment in common, it seems, the moment being grace, the grace of God that changed everything.
Catechism 1997: Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life....
The first experienced encounter with grace - the first experienced, realized infusion of a participation in the very life of God is the experience of the supernatural. There is an infinite distance between the natural rational thinking and pondering of men, drawing conclusions, making logical deductions and extrapolations, and an insight seemingly out of nowhere of a truth known now, in a moment, with certitude. Such an insight is by grace, somewhat like an intuition, radically different from natural human reason. It is not natural it is supernatural; it is not of man it was and is of God. It is man given an experience, upon which a new life can follow, a life in our vocation, our calling, God's intention and truth infused into the human soul.
Thomas Aquinas, if I understand him correctly, called this the "First Truth". The first truth, to a typical unspiritual man, is: "There IS Truth." "God IS." God reveals Himself in a surprise, and opens a new world to a man.

I stress: this infused literal realization (that is, a Truth is become real within) is not by my reasonings, or a conclusion or deduction or extrapolation or anything I did, but a blessing, a treasure of great value given. And God wants, and expects, and is due obedience.

John of the Cross (and others following him) developed and experienced the process of maturation of this beginning. Similar to the stages of natural human life (childhood, adolescence, adulthood), there are three corresponding stages, or ages, of the interior spiritual life of persons "born/conceived again" or "from above" (possible translations of Jesus's words to Nicodemus in Jn 3:3 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." That newly conceived human person has a new life that is intended to grow - in stages, in ages - ultimately to full maturity in Christ. Many fail to grow! Most Catholics know nothing of HOW to grow! John of the Cross, led by the Lord, shared with us how.

 

[FaithT]

John of the Cross was the saint that brought me back to the Church in obedience. I have yet to plumb the full depth of his writings, but his words touched me personally.
The revelation of truth has hit me so completely that I cannot remember the reason that I had for thinking differently. If you have the desire to know, I will summarize
Prior to reading John of the Cross, I had a doubtful conscience regarding Church teaching on contraception. I believed that humanae vitae was written by a man that has no knowledge of relationship of a man and a woman. I believed that the teaching was not infallible and the Church would eventually see that contraception does not equate to Onanism, because children are not refused but the number and frequency of births can be chosen by the couple. I say doubtful conscience because although I believed that the teaching was reformable, I could not bring myself to use anything other than natural family planing. The woman that I was with at the time had regular cycles, and my knowledge of ovulation viability had me reason that 20 days was sufficient. I would wait the the start of the cycle and refrain from intercourse until the 20th day of the cycle to have natural intercourse. No child was ever conceived in over 7 years. I say the woman that I was with, because that relationship has been annulled by the Church as if no marriage had taken place. It is a point of shame for me, yet I am eternally grateful to Our Lord Jesus for redeeming me.
I tried to get answers to the contraception question here on CF and elsewhere around the internet. On CF, I was met with scorn and called evil for even asking the question. On the internet I was met with pleas for money to see a conference on how to practice natural family planning. No one had a clear answer, and I was still held captive to sins against the sixth commandment.
When I read John of the Cross, he was explaining that in order to follow Jesus, we must mortify the desires of the flesh. I can’t explain why or how, but the through came to me, how can you practice mortifying the deeds of the flesh if you are arguing that your flesh cannot be mortified and the Church must allow you to indulge that flesh? I was dumbfounded and had it answer. I thought immediately that the Church is right and her teachings are of God, not men.
It was when I behaved in full obedience and had not only my marriage annulled, but the marriages of my non-Catholic wife annulled and our marriage radically sanated by the Bishop, which means sealed forever and no annulment possible, that the desire to break and indulge in sins against the sixth commandment left me. I was as if I were before Christ caught in my sin, and He said neither do I condemn you, Go away and don’t sin anymore, and I have not in over the last six years. It is not because of some super strength of will on my part. I am not that great, but it is a word of knowledge placed into my will because of my submission to Christ and His Church that I no longer desire to sin. Godly reason is that intercourse is for having children. It need not happen every time but if I desire intercourse with another without the possibility of conception, that is sin and profanation of the marital act.
Sex is not a need as secular society makes it out to be. Satan uses all kinds of lies to get us to break the sixth commandment, but the truth is that intercourse must be under control of the will to have true pleasure. If the will is under the control of desire for intercourse, it may feel good at first, but it will lead one to abject misery


Sorry if TMI, but I cannot let you think highly of my flesh. Oh he knows John of the Cross, he must be holy. Not true. I am worse than all men, yet even in my misery, God had redeemed me, as He will any one that repents toward Him In obedience He will set free, anyone of the sin that so easily besets them

Are you saying intercourse between a married couple who can no longer have children is a sin? Tell that to my priest.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Are you saying intercourse between a married couple who can no longer have children is a sin? Tell that to my priest.

No, that is a misconception, pun intended

To answer your question, you have to understand what marriage actually is and the marital debt.
Can a man use and abuse the woman he calls his wife? Would you say that is not sinful?

It is a mortal sin for a wife to refuse a husband’s reasonable request for the marital act. If a wife has sinned mortally, as head of household and priest of the family, it is also the husband’s duty to see that his wife goes to confession before having intercourse with her again, else he is showing complete disregard for her soul, and her sin will drag him down.
Scripture says he who sins sexually, sins against his own body. Most men would laugh at this but it would reveal that they do not care about their duty to their wife and seek merely their own pleasure. How is that not sinful?

Marriage involves the complete giving of the spouses to each other bodily. Any contraception renders the sacrament valid, but not consummated and therefore able to be annulled

Marriage is a spiritual union between a man and a woman. It is not the ceremony and it has specific duties for the man and the woman. Ephesians 5 tells men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church by giving himself for her. Wives are to be subject to their husbands as to the Lord

We can learn more about marriage by studying the fall in the garden of Eden and the subsequent curse of Adam and the curse of Eve, as how it relates to modern society. That study is very revealing

As to your question, I do not know you nor your priest, so the answer is “insufficient data to give a meaningful answer” can marital sex be sinful? Yes . Is yours ? I don’t know

 

[Wolseley]

I'll add this one more thought - a matter, a truth for the End Times - that concerns me very deeply now, forcing me to consider these very times in which we are living may be within the End Times the Lord prepared us to expect.

The danger of trusting reason too far is proved in this prophecy, which we are seeing now. It is here among us, and widespread, and very dangerous:

Do we not see this, fulfilled, in widespread acceptance of homosexual normalcy and full equivalency - and even more insane, gender "freedom" from reality. Men and woman can change their genders and are due full acceptance everywhere and in all matters, DNA irrelevant. Men can, by surgery, be implanted with a womb and can have a baby. etc. And these people believe this! The man believes he has an intrinsic right to walk into the girls shower room in the High School - or Middle School - because in his heart he is a teenage girl. Demosocialist politicians believe in their right to rule over others because they are truly superior, and all their unwoke enemies truly owe them everything and should be happy to surrender any so-called "right" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to them, their superior benevolent dictators. And words are mere sounds having whatever meaning they want them to have. Promise them anything for their vote - "we deserve power!"

Such disposal of reason and truth for their own self-glorifying ends is satanic, yet here we are, and it is in many "3rd world" "advanced" cultures. They refused to love the truth and so be saved; Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false. Pleasure, self-gratification, the idolatry of Self, is their only truth.

Authentic love of divine eternal Truth - that must be our hunger, our thirst, our goal which is the vocation given us by God! And He has shown us the Way. But few, very few, seek it. The world wants to show us a compromise, and there are many takers of the deal.

I have been contemplating the End Times myself lately, but within a different context.

Jesus warned of natural disasters---earthquakes, famines, pandemics; He spoke of astronomical disturbances, of the sun and moon being blotted out, of stars falling from the sky, of the sea roaring and huge waves. Today, we know that earthquake activity and vulcanism are intertwined---and in the last few years, we've seen volcanoes all over the world coming to life, some of which that have been dormant for millennia; in the last month, I have read news accounts of volcanoes in Bolivia, Alaska, Kamchatka, Sicily, Indonesia, the US Pacific Northwest, and Central America, all rumbling to life. I have also seen a lot of reports of tectonic shifts, of chasms opening or showing signs of splitting open.

Our Lady, at both Fatima and Akita, mentioned fire falling from the sky, three days of darkness, poisoned air, which sounds to me an awful lot like nuclear warheads, radioactive contamination, and nuclear smoke; this dovetails with what Jesus said about the sun and moon being blocked. What if all this, the natural disasters, coupled with nuclear war, and the destruction of the world's moral systems happening in front out eyes (and warned about by Peter, Paul, and John, among others) are coming together as the perfect storm? Are we looking at the end?

I don't know, but I am inclined to stay just as close to the good Lord as possible, to stay away from sin, and to try to be as ready as I can, if it *IS* the end of days. Stay tuned.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

You and I have a moment in common, it seems, the moment being grace, the grace of God that changed everything.
Catechism 1997: Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life....
The first experienced encounter with grace - the first experienced, realized infusion of a participation in the very life of God is the experience of the supernatural. There is an infinite distance between the natural rational thinking and pondering of men, drawing conclusions, making logical deductions and extrapolations, and an insight seemingly out of nowhere of a truth known now, in a moment, with certitude. Such an insight is by grace, somewhat like an intuition, radically different from natural human reason. It is not natural it is supernatural; it is not of man it was and is of God. It is man given an experience, upon which a new life can follow, a life in our vocation, our calling, God's intention and truth infused into the human soul.
Thomas Aquinas, if I understand him correctly, called this the "First Truth". The first truth, to a typical unspiritual man, is: "There IS Truth." "God IS." God reveals Himself in a surprise, and opens a new world to a man.

I stress: this infused literal realization (that is, a Truth is become real within) is not by my reasonings, or a conclusion or deduction or extrapolation or anything I did, but a blessing, a treasure of great value given. And God wants, and expects, and is due obedience.

John of the Cross (and others following him) developed and experienced the process of maturation of this beginning. Similar to the stages of natural human life (childhood, adolescence, adulthood), there are three corresponding stages, or ages, of the interior spiritual life of persons "born/conceived again" or "from above" (possible translations of Jesus's words to Nicodemus in Jn 3:3 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." That newly conceived human person has a new life that is intended to grow - in stages, in ages - ultimately to full maturity in Christ. Many fail to grow! Most Catholics know nothing of HOW to grow! John of the Cross, led by the Lord, shared with us how.

It is refreshing to speak with a fellow spiritual combatant. May God bless you and keep you, and may Our Lady keep you guarded beneath the mantle of her love

Peace be with you


I can’t explain it, but maybe you would understand. When formally surrendered to Church teaching, it was as though I had lost the desire for mortal sin. What once had brought false pleasure now seemed absurd. Why would I ever want to do that? And a feeling came over me, not in an audible voice, but it was as if saying and you better not do that ever again else you risk eternity. I was not afraid, but simply said Yes Lord. The real meaning of Psalm 23 came over me. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. It was strange, it was as I had not just lost the desire for the mortal sins I used to practice, I could no longer do them
That did not come from within me, and I thank God for His mercy

 

[boughtwithaprice]

I have been contemplating the End Times myself lately, but within a different context.

Jesus warned of natural disasters---earthquakes, famines, pandemics; He spoke of astronomical disturbances, of the sun and moon being blotted out, of stars falling from the sky, of the sea roaring and huge waves. Today, we know that earthquake activity and vulcanism are intertwined---and in the last few years, we've seen volcanoes all over the world coming to life, some of which that have dormant for millennia; in the last month, I have read news accounts of volcanoes in Bolivia, Alaska, Kamchatka, Sicily, Indonesia, the US Pacific Northwest, and Central America, all rumbling to life. I have also seen a lot of reports of tectonic shifts, of chasms opening or showing signs of splitting open.

Our Lady, at both Fatima and Akita, mentioned fire falling from the sky, three days of darkness, poisoned air, which sounds to me an awful lot like nuclear warheads, radioactive contamination, and nuclear smoke; this dovetails with what Jesus said about the sun and moon being blocked. What if all this, the natural disasters, coupled with nuclear war, and the destruction of the world's moral systems happening in front out eyes (and warned about by Peter, Paul, and John, among others) are coming together as the perfect storm? Are we looking at the end?

I don't know, but I am inclined to stay just as close to the good Lord as possible, to stay away from sin, and to try to be as ready as I can, if it *IS* the end of days. Stay tuned.

Due to our mortality, we need not worry whether it is the end of days for the Earth. Our end of days will be coming soon enough
In the book of Acts, Jesus tells His disciples, It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority

We can look up and see that our redemption draweth near, but we need not make boastful predictions. Yes, I think it could be the end times also, but your better advice is to stick close to God, avoid mortal sins, and always be ready
Those are things we should be doing everyday as it our reasonable service

Peace be with you

 

[FaithT]

I usually listen to Contemporary Christian music in the car when I’m driving.

Not that I drive much. When my husband drives I keep putting on Contemporary Christian and he keeps changing it.

 

[fide]

I have been contemplating the End Times myself lately, but within a different context.

Jesus warned of natural disasters---earthquakes, famines, pandemics; He spoke of astronomical disturbances, of the sun and moon being blotted out, of stars falling from the sky, of the sea roaring and huge waves. Today, we know that earthquake activity and vulcanism are intertwined---and in the last few years, we've seen volcanoes all over the world coming to life, some of which that have dormant for millennia; in the last month, I have read news accounts of volcanoes in Bolivia, Alaska, Kamchatka, Sicily, Indonesia, the US Pacific Northwest, and Central America, all rumbling to life. I have also seen a lot of reports of tectonic shifts, of chasms opening or showing signs of splitting open.

Our Lady, at both Fatima and Akita, mentioned fire falling from the sky, three days of darkness, poisoned air, which sounds to me an awful lot like nuclear warheads, radioactive contamination, and nuclear smoke; this dovetails with what Jesus said about the sun and moon being blocked. What if all this, the natural disasters, coupled with nuclear war, and the destruction of the world's moral systems happening in front out eyes (and warned about by Peter, Paul, and John, among others) are coming together as the perfect storm? Are we looking at the end?

I don't know, but I am inclined to stay just as close to the good Lord as possible, to stay away from sin, and to try to be as ready as I can, if it *IS* the end of days. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your thoughts and observations on these things. Two years ago, a small Bible Study group in my parish began a Study/prayer/listening to the Book of Revelations. The Lord blessed that Study then, which He contuse to bless today with insights, entrustments, warnings, affirmations -- and calm assurances. I believe these times are at least near warnings of His Coming, if not the actual predictions already unfolding. You are prudent to be awake, watching carefully and holding fast to Holy Faith - His Truth - as satan grows increasingly enraged and bold in his assault on the Church. The Lord will keep safe in Him His own. It may be the safety of being with and in Him on the Cross! But all who are faithful will be safe in Him.

As the Blessed Mother exhorted the Fatima children: Pray and offer sacrifices for the poor sinners. Many among them may well be wheat whom the Lord wants to gather to Himself out of the darkness already here, for many.

 

[fide]

It is refreshing to speak with a fellow spiritual combatant. May God bless you and keep you, and may Our Lady keep you guarded beneath the mantle of her love

Peace be with you


I can’t explain it, but maybe you would understand. When formally surrendered to Church teaching, it was as though I had lost the desire for mortal sin. What once had brought false pleasure now seemed absurd. Why would I ever want to do that? And a feeling came over me, not in an audible voice, but it was as if saying and you better not do that ever again else you risk eternity. I was not afraid, but simply said Yes Lord. The real meaning of Psalm 23 came over me. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. It was strange, it was as I had not just lost the desire for the mortal sins I used to practice, I could no longer do them
That did not come from within me, and I thank God for His mercy

Yes it is refreshing - like sharing in the thirst for, and communion in, the cool Living Water in an oasis in the midst of the desert. It is those things, and the Lord delights to see it.

I do understand. The beginning of a share in the seven-fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isa 11:2-3; CCC 1830-31) normally begin to be realized after the purging trials of the first dark night, the Night of the Senses. These gifts are given by God for the perfection of the Virtues, theological and moral. Thus they are extremely important. These first realized and experienced ones include the knowledge, fear and understanding you describe here. I can recommend a book if you'd like - let me know - a humble but I hope helpful introduction to what I call "Carmelite spirituality" because it is so grounded in John of the Cross, but the Dominicans (and others) have done much to clarify and promulgate it.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Yes it is refreshing - like sharing in the thirst for, and communion in, the cool Living Water in an oasis in the midst of the desert. It is those things, and the Lord delights to see it.

I do understand. The beginning of a share in the seven-fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isa 11:2-3; CCC 1830-31) normally begin to be realized after the purging trials of the first dark night, the Night of the Senses. These gifts are given by God for the perfection of the Virtues, theological and moral. Thus they are extremely important. These first realized and experienced ones include the knowledge, fear and understanding you describe here. I can recommend a book if you'd like - let me know - a humble but I hope helpful introduction to what I call "Carmelite spirituality" because it is so grounded in John of the Cross, but the Dominicans (and others) have done much to clarify and promulgate it.

Which book do you recommend? I have read the Spiritual combat and treatise on the peace of the soul by Lorenzo Scupoli, and Preparation for Death by Alphonses Liguori
I also have the works of Teresa of Avilla and Teresa little flower

 

[fide]

Not that I drive much. When my husband drives I keep putting on Contemporary Christian and he keeps changing it.

Hello FaithT. I have known too many souls - men and women - who have experienced the strange, bewildering at times, sufferings of having what becomes a contradiction in the soul: a marriage which is a union, yet has a great separation within it. Forgive me for speaking of this if you are not in this group, if I am reading too much into your brief sentence.

But it happens, and the Lord understands and offers guidance:

1Peter 3:1 Likewise you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that some, though they do not obey the word, may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
1Pe 3:2 when they see your reverent and chaste behavior.
1Pe 3:3 Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing,
1Pe 3:4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
1Pe 3:5 So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husbands,
1Pe 3:6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are now her children if you do right and let nothing terrify you.
1Pe 3:7 Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered.

Yes some may be won, this faithful and trusting way. And God wants such fruitfulness even through suffering. As an extreme example, we are taught this (fruitfulness through suffering) when the Roman soldier, watching the way Jesus died on the cross, saw Truth.

Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
Mrk 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Elo-i, Elo-i, lama sabach-thani?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Mrk 15:35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah."
Mrk 15:36 And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down."
Mrk 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last.
Mrk 15:38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Mrk 15:39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

 

[fide]

Which book do you recommend? I have read the Spiritual combat and treatise on the peace of the soul by Lorenzo Scupoli, and Preparation for Death by Alphonses Liguori
I also have the works of Teresa of Avilla and Teresa little flower

I referred to, and recommend, the book The Ordinary Path to Holiness (3rd Ed.) (This link is to the author's website, to the page in which he briefly describes the book.) The book is sold through Amazon, (this link is to that Amazon site.)

I feel awkward referring this book, since I know the author "so well." But I do recommend it - I must - because I believe it to be the best offered introductory book on this spirituality, for many reasons. The book is discussed in an EWTN "Bookmark" video, linked on the author's website also. This interview can give more insight into the book, if you're interested.

 

[RileyG]

Not that I drive much. When my husband drives I keep putting on Contemporary Christian and he keeps changing it.

I don't drive either. I am usually on my phone during car rides, so the radio and music isn't on.

 

[RileyG]

They're trying to make Christianity 'cool.' You can't make Christianity 'cool'. Christianity is what it is

I agree/ the article as well

Absolutely! Spot on!

 

[Wolseley]

Due to our mortality, we need not worry whether it is the end of days for the Earth. Our end of days will be coming soon enough
In the book of Acts, Jesus tells His disciples, It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority

We can look up and see that our redemption draweth near, but we need not make boastful predictions. Yes, I think it could be the end times also, but your better advice is to stick close to God, avoid mortal sins, and always be ready
Those are things we should be doing everyday as it our reasonable service

Peace be with you

Agreed. And speaking of mortality, now that I'm well up into my 60s, my physical condition isn't so hot any more; injuries that I got while in the service are taking their toll on me. My back gives me pain 24/7/365, and my days are usually split into equal shares of good days (when I feel pretty good) and bad days (when I feel so lousy I don't want to leave my chair, let alone the house). I know my time is limited; if I live to be as old as my father when he died, I will depart this mortal coil in less than ten years.....but, my older sister is still going strong, so who knows?

Not that I drive much. When my husband drives I keep putting on Contemporary Christian and he keeps changing it.

I don't drive either. I am usually on my phone during car rides, so the radio and music isn't on.

Usually when I'm driving by myself, I'm either praying the Rosary, or I have Sirius satellite radio on, and I switch back and forth between various oldies channels, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Today's music leaves everything to be desired, I'm afraid.

 

[FaithT]

I don't drive either. I am usually on my phone during car rides, so the radio and music isn't on.

Do you have a valid license?