Latest / The Uncensored Catholic / Show 190: Temptation

Transcript

Show 190: Temptation · The Uncensored Catholic

0:59
Speaker 1: Hey, you're welcome today's show. Hope you're having a wonderful
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mid November day. It's a very chilly and very rainy
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and dark here, which I honestly don't mind in November,
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you know. I mean you get a fire going in
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the fireplace and tuck in with a book, you know,
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four glass of wine or something a little stronger. I too,
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love my bourbon, you know, and I like to sit
1:26
by the fireplace, maybe smoke a cigar and just relax,
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you know. Actually when I really do a lot this
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time of year. You know, I'm a wood carver, and
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if you haven't checked out my stuff for sale so far,
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do go to Judson Carrol Woodcraft. It's a subject page.
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You can just type in Juts and Carrol Woodcraft. It'll
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take you right to it. You can see my spoons
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and bowls and all things like carb. I also like
1:49
to make baskets. It's really relaxing this is time of year.
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I do a lot of pine needle baskets. It's a
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real North Carolina tradition. The natives were doing it the
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walka maws, the pad, the katawbas. At least we're doing it.
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Julio Sapony Chequora's before the settlers came in, and I
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do have some heritage, especially from probably the Chiquora tribe.
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So it's been a long tradition in my family to
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make baskets. My grandmother always said that I think it
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was her great aunt could weave a basket so tight
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it would hold water. You know, I'm not that good,
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but I do like to make baskets. The Cherokee and Katawbas, really,
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but especially the Cherokee. We're more into honeysuckle baskets. I
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love to work with vines and such. I'm gonna go
2:39
out and harvest some osteria probably next week. It's a
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Virginia creeper, so I'll be making some baskets, but pine
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needle baskets. It's actually called platting. Really well, it's time
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consuming to start out. Is gonna just to get the
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first little bit like four inches diameter? Yeah, I guess
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it'll be about diameter. It's probably gonna take you a
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good two hours, and then after that the bands get
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wider and wider and gets easy. It's actually very relaxing.
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And of course do my writing and if you haven't
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checked it out, you know, if you're looking for a
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good Christmas gift, of course, any of my spoons, baskets,
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anything like that'd be good. But my book of Gospel
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Reflections for January through June of next year is now
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available on Amazon, and I'm already writing the one for
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July through December. So you know, I have to stay
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at least six months ahead on these things so y'all
3:35
can get the books by the time they come out.
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So if you're interested, please check out my books, Please
3:40
check out my work. You know, this is how I
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make a living. The podcast actually doesn't make anything. This
3:46
is me just actually sitting down talking with y'all and sharing, sharing,
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you know, sharing some great stuff. Like we'll start today
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with Father's Rumble and Cartney from radio Replies, and then
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we're to get into Father Sparaga's exhaustive Catechism of the
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Catholic Church on the subject of temptation. So I think
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you'll find it very interesting and enlightening. So the questioner
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asks the priests and he's saying that Catholics, you know,
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typical Protestant charge Catholics aren't allowed to read the Bible.
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Totally true, totally untrue, I should say, totally false. In fact,
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the one of the popes, I guess this is Pisus
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the tenth. No, could have been later, could have been
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earlier actually, but anyway, it's been said by many saints
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and popes throughout the ages, ignorance of scripture or ignorance
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of the Bible is the ignorance of God. We're actually
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instructed to read the Bible. We receive an indulgence when
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we read the Bible. Often we're given Bible reading as penance.
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But I mean every pope, for I don't even know
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how far back, has said that every Christian who can
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read needs to read the Bible. What people don't understand
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is that for most of human history people couldn't read.
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I mean Protestants act like the you know, Catholic Church
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forbade people to read the Bible. No, they didn't. Now
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it's sometimes there were false, counterfeit bibles put out that
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taught heresy and really awful stuff in some cases, and
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they would say, you can't read that Bible because that's
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a work of the devil. And you know, if you
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find that Bible, destroy it because that is actually satanic,
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and that it did happen a few times that you
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have the Gnostic Gospels, going back to Simon the Magician,
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he set up a false church where he said he
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was the Messiah himself, and they wrote a version of
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you know, the Gospels that were totally satanic and heretical,
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I mean beyond heretical, I mean absolutely satanic. You know,
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happened over and over throughout the centuries, especially with the
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Gnostics though, But then you get to you know, modern times.
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Most Protestants do not know that Gutenberg was Catholic. His
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first thing he did was print Bibles, and the church
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thought it was fantastic because from before then the Bibles
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had to be written out by hand, one page at
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a time, copied, and so a copy of the Bible
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was probably the only copy within one hundred miles of
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wherever you were, and so the church would keep it
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and they would lock it away so it wouldn't be
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stolen because it was worth in Well, I think I
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read something in the early nineteen nineties the author said
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that the Bible would have been equivalent to fifty thousand
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dollars in modern money. Well, now we've had all this inflation,
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and so that Bible was worth at least a half
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a million to a million dollars and people would steal them.
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I mean you can go throughout Oh gosh, I mean
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how many churches were sacked, and you know, the chilice
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stolen and anything crosses stolen, anything that might have been
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made of gold or silver. The Bible would also have
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been stolen. But every mass the people would come and
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the priests would read to them from the Bible. Because
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illiterate people, that was the only way they would know
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what was in the Bible. Universal We still don't have
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universal literacy. I mean about half a kid's in public
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school system in the United States are functionally illiterate. Hand
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them a Bible, you think they can understand it? No,
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So I mean they heard the Bible read out loud
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in the language they can understand. And we had stained
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glass windows which depicted the stories in the Bible, and
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paintings and all kinds of stuff like that. The Church
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has done its best for two thousand years. I guess
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I should say her best for two thousand years to
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give people the information contained the Bible, but most importantly
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to help them understand it. Now we have you know,
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Protestants say everyone can read the Bible and the Holy
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Spirit will guide them into perfect understanding. If that was true,
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how could you have approximately fifty thousand Protestant denominations, each
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of which claims to have based it total doctrine, theology,
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and everything on the Bible on that one man, that
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founder's opinion of the Bible, and yet they all disagree
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with each other, and all of them reject and disagree
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with the Catholic Church. It's not possible. Jesus gave to
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the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church alone, the ability
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to infallibly interpret and teach both what's in the Bible
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that was written down and what he told the apostles
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that have been passed down orally, and doctrine as it's
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developed over time, as he has enlightened the minds of
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his church. The Catholic Church only has that authority. So
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the person says, then, why did Pope Clement the eleventh
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in seventeen thirteen condemned the doctrine that the Bible was
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for all to read? And they answer, he did not
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condemn the doctrine that it is good to read scripture.
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He condemned the theory that is necessary to do so
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in order to attain Christian knowledge. Think about it. If
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that were true, and then all the illiterate people for
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fifteen well this was seventeen thirteen, seventeen hundred years before,
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couldn't have been saved, as surprostants like to say, because
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they couldn't read the Bible. Christ's method was to establish
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a teaching church, it being necessary to be taught by
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that church. He did not order the apostles to multiply
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and scatter copies of the scriptures if reading of the
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scriptures were necessary to salvation. What of the immense number
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of Christians throughout all the centuries prior to the invention
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of printing, when it was impossible to transcribe by hand
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sufficient copies for the multitudes? Could Christ make the possibility
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of his religion dependent upon the invention of the printing machine?
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And did he intend his religion to remain forever impossible?
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As far as the illiterate or concerned, it is absurd
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to say that his religion essentially depended upon a printed book.
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The pope wisely condemned the proposition that the reading of
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scripture is necessary to all. Every reasonable man would condemn
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so unreasonable a proposition. And the person says, may a
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Catholic read the correct word of God, or only the
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Bible as written by the Catholic Church. See a lot
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of Protestants believe that the only real Bible is the
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King James version, which is ridiculous. I mean they say
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that because it says authorized, it means authorized by the
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Anglican Church. You've got Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists who
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will say, I read the King James version because it's authorized.
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And we ought to say to them, why aren't you
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in the church that's authorized by the Anglican Church. Why
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are you Baptists not Anglican That's the only church that
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authorized as Bible, which is not as old as say
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the Dewey Reems, and certainly not as old as the
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Biblious Sacra, and has been revised countless times and is
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still incomplete and full of errors. Not anyway, they answer,
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he may read the correct word of God in those
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translations which are approved by the Church. He is forbidden
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to read Protestant versions in which there are many mistranslations
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and in which the text is often distorted to suit
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the enemies of the Catholic Church. But then distorted texts
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are no longer the word of God. Now, this is
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hard for a lot of people to understand. A lot
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of Catholics I talk to will say, you know, I
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have my Catholic Bible, but I really like this Protestant
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version of the Bible. We're not actually supposed to actually
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acknowledge that as a real Bible, because it isn't. When
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Martin Luther changed the words of Jesus to suit his doctrine,
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he changed the word of God, he became a heretical, counterfeit,
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false Bible. Any Bible that says by faith alone is
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a Protestant Bible and false. Any Bible that does not
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contain all the books of a Catholic Bible, the Book
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of syrac and Wisdom and Toba and Maccabees, etc. That's
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a false Bible. And now you know, we're taught to
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revere all Bibles, and to an extent we should, But
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a Protestant Bible isn't a real Bible. What should you
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do with a Protestant Bible. I've heard people say, well,
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you know it does contain the Word of God, therefore
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you have to treat it with respect. Yeah, you do,
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but what culpability do you have in passing on a
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fake Bible, a Bible in which the words of Jesus
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are changed to someone who may misinterpret it. I actually
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think we ought to do with Protestant Bibles, even though
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they don't really actually deserve this honor, but because they
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do contain some of the words of God, as we
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do with like you know, broken crucifixes, worn out scapulars,
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any sacramental that has been blessed. Now those bibles are
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not blessed, so they don't actually deserve this honor. But
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because they do actually contain the words of Jesus, they
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should probably be buried or burned. Now that's going to
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freak out a lot of people. You would burn a Bible. Well,
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if you take the words of God and change them
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to actually mean the opposite of what he said, is
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that the word of God or the work of the devil.
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So in all those motel rooms where the Gideons have
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put Protestant Bibles, do we treat those Bibles with respect? Yeah,
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I think we should treat them with some respect. But
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should they be available to all to be read by all? Well,
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I've heard some people have had conversions. They've read the
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Bible and they become a Christian. Okay, you know, I'd
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leave it alone if it's in a Bible. But if
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I have a Protestant Bible in my collection, and I do,
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it may be a family heirloom. Okay, I think if
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that in that case, you should write in there for
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future generations, this is a Protestant Bible as a false Bible,
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but it belonged to my great great grandfather and it's
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a family heirloom. We'll keep it for that reason. But
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if you have a bunch of these little, you know,
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Gideon Bibles and little Bibles that people hand out, maybe
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really the best thing to do is give them a
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proper fitting burial so that they don't lead others astray.
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I'm not sure on that point. This is only my opinion.
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I'm sure a priest may have a better answer. But unfortunately,
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most Catholic priests don't understand that the Protestant Bible is
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different and counterfeit and false because they haven't read it,
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and they want to be acumenical, and they want to say, well,
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we all believe in Jesus, we all believe in God,
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we all revere the Bible. But then you know it's
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a false Bible. What are you supposed to do so.
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They're probably some that do understand converts and scholars that
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would have a better answer than I do. But anyway,
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person says, you seem to be afraid that Catholics will
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be harmed by the reading of Scripture, and they answer,
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even granted a correct version, thousands of people have been
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harmed by the reading of Scripture, thinking themselves capable of
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interpreting it. A rite. The Pharisees read Scripture, yet managed
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to use or misuse quotations for the Bible as an
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argument against Christ, just as men today quote scripture as
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an argument against the true Church of Christ, the Catholic Church.
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Person answers, you say that Catholics may read the Bible,
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but do they do so? And they answer, some do,
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some do not. All are free to do so, but
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it is not an absolute necessity that they should give
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themselves to private reading of Scripture. And that's it's actually
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a huge maine of contention among Catholics and Protestants. First
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of all, Protestants say that we're not allowed to read
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the Bible, which is absolutely false. But no matter how
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many times you prove to them that the Catholic Church
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actually instructs us to read scripture, admonishes us to read scripture,
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you know, really vehemently says you must, you know, become
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familiar with the scriptures. It doesn't have to be through
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actually reading the Bible, can be through hearing the scriptures.
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At mass. Protestants say you have to read the Bible
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and interpret it for yourself. That is absolutely false. And
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actually that is the influence of Satan. You know. That's
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like when you know, Adam and Eve were at the
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tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Satan said, well,
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you know, God wouldn't really wants you to remain in ignorance.
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You need to have this knowledge so you can interpret
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things for yourself. That's actually at the heart of Protestantism.
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And that's why, honestly, I would say, that's why Protestantism
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is doomed to fail. We were seeing the Anglican Church
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and Lutheran Church lose up to seventy percent of its members,
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at least in the United States, but even more so
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in Europe. They're withering on the vine, they're dying. Those
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are the first Protestant denominations. It's only a matter of
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time before the Catholic Church is the only church left standing.
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The Orthodox will eventually rejoin the Catholic Church, and Protestants
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are going to have to get over their bigotry because
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Jesus left us one true church and one truth. That
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church produced the Bible. He didn't leave us a Bible.
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Nowhere did he say take the Bible and read it
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and figure things out for yourself, or the Holy Spirit
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will guide you. And understanding, he said the Holy Spirit
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would guide his apostles in understanding. Nowhere does the Bible
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say pick up this book and read it and start
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your own church. No, it doesn't. There's one true church.
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That church produce the one true Bible, and everything else
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is a matter of error and confusion. And we know
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who the father and the author of error and confusion is.
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It isn't God, It's the devil. So as holy and
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good as many Protestants, most Protestants are wonderful people, and
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as much we can agree on, as much as we
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try to worship the same God, at the founding of
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their denomination is a Satanic influence, and eventually it will
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fall because a house divide against itself cannot stand, a
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house built on sand cannot stand. Ours is built on
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the rock. Theirs is built on sand. Jesus said to
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Saint Peter, Now art the rock, and upon you, Saint Peter,
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the rock, I will build my church. And it will
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be a shining city set upon a hill, visible for
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all ages. And it's been there for two thousand and
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twenty four years now, well two thousand, okay, Jesus was
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thirty or so, what did okay? So two thousand years approximately.
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It will be there until the end of time. No
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Protestant church is more than about five hundred years old,
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and the oldest ones are falling away and withering and dying.
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So most Protestant churches are less than fifty to one
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hundred years old. About ninety percent of them are. You know,
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even if you get into like the various subcategories, like
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you take the Babtist church, or they're gonna say, well,
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we come from the Anna Baptist. Well, the Anabaptists don't
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really exist anymore, but there's there are a few. They
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were very very small, and they tend to be really
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nice people. Actually, you know, they're they're at anti Catholic
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at their core, but they tend to be good people.
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But then you get into the difference between the Southern
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Baptists and the Northern Baptist churches. You get the primitive Baptist,
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and you've got the charismatic Babtist, and you've got the
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free will Baptist. And yeah, and then Presbyterians. You got
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Presbyterians and reform Presbyterians. And what does reform mean, Well,
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it basically means they don't drink alcohol. Why don't you
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drink alcohol? Jesus made wine. If alcohol is evil, then
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Jesus committed evil and he can't be God. I mean,
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you just getting to the root of how these denominations
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are founded. And you always find error, conflict, confusion, and
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that always comes from the devil. And they and they won't,
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they won't. I mean, I know that's offensive to the
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majority of Americans. But as much as you may respect anybody,
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Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, Charles Stanley, we can go down
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the list, Pat Robertson, and as good as they were,
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as much as they loved God, they were in a
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false church, using a counterfeit Bible. And it's actually pretty amazingly,
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you know, we're as good at Christians as they were,
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to the extent that they were but you know, if
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they say that the eucherus isn't real, it's symbolic. That's
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absolutely false, Jesus said, truly, truly, I tell you, unless
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you eat in my flesh and drinking my blood, you
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have no wife in you. They say baptism is symbolic,
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that's absolutely false, Jesus. Unless you're born in the water
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and the blood, you have to be reborn. That's being
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born again. Being born again is baptized and confirmed able
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to receive the Eucharist. So I means as well intends
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them they have been how many people have gone to
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hell because they went to the church that taught falsehood?
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And eventually they're gonna They're gonna wither and die. That's
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all that it comes down to. So now let's get
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to the the uh topic of temptation from father Sparago.
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Temptation is the action of the evil spirit upon our
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soul in order to induce us to sin. He excites
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within us the concupiscence of the eyes or the pride
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of life. Here we're gonna come full circle again. We're
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back to out of and even the paradise. Remember the
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temptation of even paradise and the threefold temptation of our
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Lord in the desert. All the saints were greatly tempted.
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Saint Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, was tempted to blaspheme. Saint
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Francis de sal was tempted to despair. It's interesting, I've
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been reading a lot of rates. Saint Francis to Sally
21:50
seems so joyful hum anyway, Saint Francis of ASSISI was
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tormented by suggestions of impurity. Some saints experienced temptations against faith,
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Some temptations lasted for years. God tempteth no man James
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one thirteen. He simply permits man to be tempted. It
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is the devil who hammers at you when you're at tempted.
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Our wrestling is against the spirits of wickedness and high
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places Ephesians six twelve. On earth we are surrounded by robbers.
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Many of us are overcome or wounded by them. The
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conflict with the spirit of evil is even a more
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critical struggle. It is carried on covertly and against a
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more powerful adversary, one who spares no pains and knows
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no shame, who, when he has repulse, returns all the
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more definitely to the attack. For six thousand years he
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has tempted mankind. Such long practice has made him perfect perfect.
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He excites within us concupiscence of flesh, or concupiscence of
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the eyes, or pride of life. On one John two sixteen.
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In this threefold manner, he tempted our Lord. Many temptations
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come upon a man through no fault of his own
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witness job. Some are the result of culpable negligence, which
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should witness eve. The evil enemy, as a rule, attacks
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our weak point, our affection for creatures. Like a fowler.
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He attracts the birds to his net by offering the
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food they like best. Physical infirmities give the devil more powerful,
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more power over us. Everyone knows how apt the sick
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are to be. Fretful and patient and exacting. The devil
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sets to work craftily. He transforms himself into an angel
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of light Tewod Corinthians eleven fourteen. That is, he deceives
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us by assuming the appearance of candor and piety. His
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artifices prove his weakness. He would not resort to them,
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were he powerful enough to do without them. Temptation is
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not in itself sinful, only acquiescence to the suggestion of
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the tempter is sin. Hence, we ought not to be
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alarmed and uneasy when we feel the incentive to sin,
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but we should trust in God's help. Soa saying, O, Lord,
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make haste to help me, Jesus and Mary, be my
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help to tremble in the hour of temptation betrays a
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want of confidence in the divine assistance. The devil will
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sell the fearful soul only the more fiercely. Unless we
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remain calm, we cannot possibly conquer. Those who lose their
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composures are like birds continent. The more it flutters and
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tries to escape, the more it becomes entangled in the meshes.
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Our Lord promises us in your patience, you shall possess
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your souls Luke twenty one to nineteen. The good Christian
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is like a soldier who, as a rule, rejoices when
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war breaks out in the prospect of gaining rich booty.
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God allows us to be tempted out of mercy for
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the good of our souls. As the schoolmaster examines his
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scholars in order to give them a good testimonial, so
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God deals with the souls of men. He allows us
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to be tried by temptation to give us the opportunity
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of manifesting our loyalty to him and acquiring a claim
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to the recompense he promises us. Thus he has only
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our welfare in view. The tempter, however, the evil enemy
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means no good to us. He aims in our ruin,
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as the history of job testifies. The temptations may therefore
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be said to be a mark of divine favor. The
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archangel Raphael said to Tobias one of those books the
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protests cut out of their Bible, because thou wast acceptable
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to God, it was necessary that this temptation should prove
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thee to But twelve thirteen God sends temptations to those
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whom he trusts hints it is that those who fear
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him are more solely tempted than other men. The devil
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does not tempt those who are already in his power,
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but those whom he fears will elude his grasp, or
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who may be injurious to him. Saint Ephraim, in a vision,
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saw a large city, the inhabitants of which were very corrupt.
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Only one devil was sitting on the wall, and he
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was half asleep. But in the desert he saw a
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whole swarm of devils busily engaging within the cell of
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a hermit. Thus, the fact that a man as greatly
26:00
tempted proves him to be a friend of God and
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a stranger to an enemy of the devil. Pirates do
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not attack an empty ship, but one which they know
26:08
to be returning home with valuable cargo. A king does
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not take up arms against loyal subjects, but against rebels
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who resist his authority. Temptations have, besides the following advantage.
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They rouse us from a state of tipidity. They are
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what the spur is to a horse. They cleanse us
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from imperfections. They cleanse us from imperfections as a stormy
26:30
sea throws out foreign substances. They make us humble by
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acquainting us with our frailty. They increase our strength as
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a high wind makes the tree strike deeper root. They
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augment our charity as the breeze makes the flame burn
26:43
more fiercely. They afford us as a means. They afford
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us a means of expiating sin in this life. Finally,
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they add to our glory the hereafter, as the beauty
26:54
of a jewel is enhanced by polishing. Thus we see
26:57
that the tempter does us a good service, and his
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tim tmptations are steps in the latter which lead us
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to heaven. Therefore, let him who is tempted, rather pray
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for strength to resist temptation than for its entire removal.
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We read that Saint Paul thrice beside our Lord, that
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the angel of Satan might depart from him and ask
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in vain tewod Corinthians twelve eight. God permits every man
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to be tempted, but he never permits us to be
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tempted beyond our strength. Temptations come to every man. No
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one can be crowned unless he is conquered. No one
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can conquer unless he fight, and no one can fight
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without an adversary. Hence temptation must come. For this reason,
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God subjected the angels to a probation, and also our
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first parents, and subunsequently to the fall. Trials have been
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the lot of mankind witnessed job and tobias. The life
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of man upon earth is warfare job of seven to one.
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The apostle compares the Christian to one who runs the
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race First Corinthians nine twenty five. Yet God will not
28:00
suffer us to be tempted. Above that which we are
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able to bear. First Corinthians ten thirteen. The devil can
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only tempt man within the limit that God sits him,
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as we learn from the history of job. And when
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God permits violent temptations to assail us, he gives us
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the grace sufficient to enable us to withstand them. Second
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Corinthians twelve nine. The stronger the temptation, the more abundant
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is the grace. The greater the danger, the more potent
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the divine assistance. No sinner conventure to say as his
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excuse that the temptation was too great for him to resist.
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We ought to protect ourselves from temptation by assiduous work,
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by keeping our thoughts fixed upon God, and by continual
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self conquest. In order to hold a fortress against the enemy,
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two things are necessary, one strong fortification and a well
28:54
guarded gate, and two, in case of attack, valiant defense.
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In like manner, we must attackt our soul to prevent
29:01
the entrance of the evil enemy. Our fortifications will be
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continual occupation. It's very true, you know that they're saying
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idle hands or the devil's workshop. When people are not
29:13
continually occupied, that's when they tend to fall into trouble.
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If you don't believe me, go into the housing projects
29:20
of any large city, and where people are not working,
29:25
and they don't have to pay their rent or work
29:27
or buy their groceries because they've got food stamps, et cetera,
29:30
et cetera, et cetera. You'll find the most crime, and
29:33
the most drug abuse, and the most suicide, and the
29:35
most addictions, and the most miserable people in the face
29:39
of the earth. We actually it is good for us
29:42
to work in this life. One of the reasons I
29:45
do baskets and carve. I like to keep my hands busy,
29:48
even if I'm just sitting there in the evening watching
29:51
the news or something. You know, this continual occup patient
29:56
is the surest means of holding temptation. A loof thieves
29:59
do not break into a house where work is going on.
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Idleness is the parent of crime. We shall also find
30:05
it easy to resist temptation if we keep our minds
30:07
fixed on God. A traveler journeying towards a fixed destination
30:12
meets with few difficulties on his way, whereas the vagrant,
30:15
while they're wandering hither and thither, is sure to find trouble.
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So it is with a Christian who makes God his
30:21
final inn and one who has no aim. So it
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is with a Christian who makes God his final in
30:29
as opposed to one who has no aim in life.
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Hence Christ exhorts us watch ye and pray that ye
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enter not into temptation Matthew twenty six, forty one. Wolves
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do not approach a watch fire, and the devil leaves
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those alone who are on their guard. When Moses stood
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with arms uplifted to God Israel's victorious, But when through
30:49
weariness he let them fall, that moment the enemy prevailed.
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The majority of sins good people commit come from forgetfulness
30:56
of God's presence. The habit of self control also greatly
31:00
helps us to conquer temptation. He who is accustomed to
31:03
repress his impulses is like a soldier well trained in
31:06
the use of arms before he goes to battle. Practice
31:10
in self conquest strengthens the will, But attachment to creatures
31:13
makes a man an easy prey to the devil, just
31:16
as one who carries a heavy load cannot run away
31:19
when robbers attack him. When we are tempted, we ought
31:22
to betake ourselves immediately to prayer or to think of
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our last end, or of the evil consequences of sin.
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If the enemy dares attack a fortress in spite of
31:32
the ramparts raised about it, it behooves us to defend
31:36
it manfully. When assailed, we must instantly assume the defensive
31:40
for all things. For of all things, it is most
31:43
important to repulse the first onslaught. The greater our determination,
31:48
the sooner or will our adversary be discouraged. If we falter,
31:54
he will force an entrance and gain mastery over our imagination.
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He acts like soldiers, who, when they obtained and the
32:00
enemy's guns, instantly turn them upon him. Saint Jerome says
32:05
that he who does not resist immediately is already half conquered.
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A conflagration can easily be extinguished. It's a fire, but
32:13
on the outset, but not later on. A young tree
32:16
is easily bent, not an old one. But since we
32:18
can do nothing in our own strength, we must strive
32:21
to obtain divine grace. Wherefore, let him who is tempted
32:24
to have recourse to prayer, let him imitate the apostles
32:29
when a storm arose on the Sea of Gennesareth, or
32:33
the child who, when he sees a large dog coming
32:36
runs to his mother. He who neglects prayer the time
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of temptation is like a general who, when surrounded by
32:41
an enemy, does not ask for reinforcements from his monarch.
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Adam fell into sin because when he was tempted, he
32:47
did not look to God for help. We should say
32:49
a hell Mary, or at least devoutly utter the holy
32:51
names of Jesus and Mary. These holy names, says Saint
32:55
John Christostom declares, as Saint John Christosom declare, have an
33:00
intrinsic power over the devil and are a terror to hell.
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At the name of Mary, the devils tremble with fear
33:07
when she is invoked. Their powers forsake them as wax
33:11
melts before the fire. Prayer is the weapon wherewith to
33:14
ward off the assaults of our spiritual foe. It is
33:18
more potent than all the efforts of the demons, because
33:20
by prayer we procure the assistance of God, and nothing
33:24
can withstand His might. Prayers exactly opposed to temptation, for
33:28
it delights, for it enlightens the understanding and fortifies the will.
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The sign of the Cross and holy water also have
33:36
great effect efficacy against the spirit of evil. He flies
33:39
from the cross as a dog flies from the sight
33:42
of the whip. Holy water derives its efficacy from the
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prayers of the church. Saint Thomas Aquinas and many other
33:49
saints may frequently made use of the sign of the
33:51
cross with excellent results. Saint Teresa, on the other hand,
33:55
constantly employed holy water. It is well to sprinkle on
33:58
the sick and the dying holy water, and we should
34:01
never emit on taking it on entering at church. A
34:04
second means of conquering temptations, turning our thoughts elsewhere, above all,
34:08
to think of the last things, of death, of judgment,
34:11
of eternal punishment. Remember thy last in, and thou shalt
34:14
never sin. I guess it's a set Ecclesiastes. I think
34:19
it is. Or we may consider the terrible consequences of
34:23
the end. In some cases, especially when temptations against the
34:28
faith or against purity presenting themselves, the wiser course is
34:32
to despise the temptation, rather than to grapple with it.
34:35
Proud people like the devil or soon ascott rid of
34:38
by ignoring them altogether. If the passerby takes no notice
34:41
of a dog, he soon leaves off barking. If one
34:44
keeps still, the bees do not harm him, but if
34:46
one drives him off, then they sting again. We may
34:50
follow our Lord's example. He resolutely forbade the tempter to remain.
34:57
Christ repulsed him with the word be gone, saying Matthew
35:01
four to ten. Saint James bids us resist the devil,
35:04
and he will fly from you James four to seven.
35:08
The devil is like an angry woman who blusters she
35:10
sees that her husband is afraid of her, but who
35:12
gives way directly if he exerts his authority. One may
35:16
also retort upon the temper by quoting the word of God,
35:20
as our Lord did in Ephesians six seventeen. Saint Peter says,
35:24
whom you resist, whom again? Saint Peter says, whom resists
35:30
ye strong in faith one Peter five nine. Another means
35:34
of overcoming temptations by humbling ourselves before God. To the humble,
35:38
he gives grace first Peter five. Saint Augustine, in the
35:42
hour of temptation, was accustomed to exclaim, thou knowest to
35:46
a Lord that I am but dust, and my frailty
35:49
is great. When we are pressed hard, by temptation as
35:52
well to confess to the priest those sins of our
35:54
past of which we are most ashamed. This is the
35:57
sure means of repelling repelling the severe temptation. It is
36:01
advisable to acquaint one's confessor with all one's temptations. Satan
36:06
would have us keep silent concerning them, whereas is God's
36:09
will that we should discover them, that we should yes,
36:12
that we should discuss well. I guess he means to
36:14
disclose them to our superiors and spiritual guides. For if
36:20
sinful thoughts are disclosed, the temptation is already half overcome.
36:26
To open its grief, To open its griefs gives more over,
36:33
to open its griefs gives more over great relief to
36:36
the troubled heart. He who has conquered temptation will receive
36:40
more graces from God. When we have driven away the
36:44
spirit of the evil, the Holy angels come and console us.
36:47
We read that when the tempter had left our Lord,
36:50
angels came and ministered him. Matthew four eleven Feerce. Temptations
36:54
are generally the precursors of special marks of divine favor. Therefore,
37:00
let us see that we make a good use of temptations.
37:02
One in all, they are like examinations at school. Examinations
37:07
are not held every day, so the opportunity of gaining
37:10
a prize does not come within the reach of the
37:12
pupils every day. All right, y'all, we will wrap it
37:15
up there. I think it's a very interesting explanation of
37:21
temptation and how we can actually use it for our
37:24
good rather than let it conquer us or to be
37:29
afraid of it. You know, what was the word that
37:35
falls farrago, use manfully confront temptation. That's something we don't
37:41
see a lot in our culture now. We've become a
37:44
very effeminate, weakened culture, and I think that's especially true
37:49
among religious people, very true in the Catholic Church. We
37:53
have to remember that we are descendants of great saints
37:57
and martyrs, certainly, but also of warriors, of the knights
38:02
that fought in the crusades, of the great warrior kings,
38:07
you know, that spread Christianity, that established christiandom, and I
38:13
think that really needs to be taught more, especially to
38:19
children and both the male and female. I mean, to
38:24
stand firm and to be willing to fight, not just
38:27
against people, but against the forces of darkness and against
38:31
the temptations in your own life. We need a lot
38:35
more of that. I mean, what was it was a G. K.
38:38
Chesterson who said we were raising men without chess. We
38:41
need big, strong, at least spiritually strong people, and a
38:46
spiritually strong person ready to do battle can often be
38:50
in the most frail, weak, sick saint like you know,
38:54
Saint Teresa was up the little flower. You know, you
38:58
can be a warrior for God even if you're paralyzed,
39:04
completely paralyzed and bedridden. You know that that doesn't prevent
39:08
you from being you know, a great, a great saint truly,
39:15
and I do believe that men should be a whole
39:18
lot more masculine than they are these days. Perhaps women
39:24
should be a whole lot more feminine actually, but yeah,
39:27
I think you know my culture, men wear beards. You know,
39:30
I don't like just the whole like you know, little
39:33
baby faced boy look doesn't really cut it from me.
39:36
But you know, we also work with our hands and
39:39
chop wood and tend to have big shoulders and thick
39:42
thighs and big, strong, calloused hands. And to me that's
39:45
what a man is. Now, I know, a priest is
39:47
not gonna be that same, but you know, he should
39:51
still be manly in his priesthood, you know, obviously. But
39:56
that's a that's a subject for another day. I don't
39:59
whe effeminine men, and I don't like you know, feminists
40:06
militant feminists either. I think these are plagues, these are
40:10
evils upon our culture that have led to a great
40:12
deal of destruction. A man should be a man and
40:16
a woman should be a woman, and they should both
40:18
be strong in those roles. They shouldn't try to adopt
40:21
each other's roles. After all, the Bible does say neither
40:26
the effeminate, nor the homosexual way or the kingdom of heaven,
40:29
you know, and that it's a sin for women to
40:32
wear men's clothes and a man to wear woman's clothes.
40:34
So maybe we ought to get back to our biblical
40:37
roots and stand a little bit more firmly in our
40:41
conviction rather than doing the I'm ok, you're okay. We
40:45
all just get along. God loves everybody, and we accept everything. Now,
40:49
there's actually a lot out there we really shouldn't accept,
40:52
and it's what's called evil. Okay, But anyway, in the
40:56
words of Saint Padre Pio who never back down. I
41:00
mean that dude would kick your butt. I am telling you,
41:04
but in the words of Saint Padre Pio, pray, hope
41:06
and don't worry and I'll talk to you all next time.