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Spread the good news

John 20: 11-18
"But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she replied, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that he had said these things to her." 

Word of God: preserved and transmitted

3/2/2020

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Pope Francis proclaimed the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time as Word of God Sunday. Of course, with this proclamation, the Catholic Church continues to highlight the centrality of the Word of God in the Catholic faith.When there were disputes in the early Church on interpreting the Gospels or the Letters, the role of the Catholic Church was to help us understand what the Christian Scriptures teach. It was not until the fourth century that Pope Damasus I confirmed at the Council of Rome (382) that there are 27 books in the New Testament and of course 46 books in the Old Testament.
 
If your OT does not have 46 books it means you are missing 7 books. Only Catholic Bibles have 46 books in the Old Testament. These Biblical books reveal the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Receiving Baptism, and going to Confession, partaking in the Body and Blood of Christ, to give us light, understanding, strength, so we can live and die in holiness -- in  a state of Grace.
 
The Word of God is meant to lead us to eternal life.
 
And so we need to thank the Holy Spirit, active in the Church, teaching us true doctrine and, showing us what is false. To instruct us on holiness, and sin that is to be avoided.
 
The Catholic Church has preserved the Word of God from the time it had been transmitted and recorded by the early Christian communities almost 2000 years ago. When there were disputes and disagreement over understanding the Scriptures as happened throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit was entrusted to the Church Jesus Christ left us, so we would be protected from teaching moral or doctrinal errors. 


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Love -- it’s not about me

2/2/2020

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February 14th is Valentine’s day. And on this day we see red hearts, cards are exchanged, chocolates offered, to people whom we love. Yes, love. This raises the question, of course, “What do you mean by, love?”

There are many senses to “love.” Not all are “true” love; this is where people fall into love that is not true love.

The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, tells us friendship is a kind of love, and there are three kinds of friendship. Utilitarian, pleasure-based, and true friendship. Each of these presupposes that the other is something “good” for us, because what is good makes us happy. We “love” the good that makes us happy.

But the friendship distinction is important because it tells us what kinds of love exist, and if they are true love, or at least, the need to be purified from their imperfection.
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Utilitarian friendship is seeing the other as a good that is useful and therefore we “love” this person because in fact they are useful. We even hear the expression, “I feel used…” We then become like a took to others. This intuition or experience sends red signals that this is not the red heart we are expecting.


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Presentation of the Lord – Day of Consecrated Life

2/2/2020

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Presentation of the Lord – Day of Consecrated Life
February 2
For Truth, and For Love

What is the connection between Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:22-40), and men and woman who have consecrated themselves to God? February 2nd unifies the Biblical event of Jesus being offered to God, and the religious expression of offering oneself to God in response to God’s call.

In the liturgical celebration of the Presentation men and women Religious carry candles in procession signifying the light they bring to the world: their vocation to radically follow Christ -- a sign of love. This is the light of Christ and the light of the Religious consecrated to God through their Vows/Promises of Obedience, Poverty, and Chastity. None of these three Vows has ever been “popular,” but all three Vows/Promises, and this is precisely why they are Vows/Promises: it means to choose and live a supernatural state which is not possible without God’s grace. Following Christ engages the very core of our being, and fundamentally, these three Vows/Promises penetrate our very being – the being which God Himself sustains.

Before entering Religious life, I often wondered why Religious Vows/Promises are not a Sacrament like the Ordination to the Priesthood -- one of the Seven Sacraments. I then understood during my religious formation, that the Sacraments prepare us for eternal salvation -- the eschatological life meaning the life with the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with Mary, the Angels and Saints. This is the eternity for which we are being prepared through the Sacraments of the Church. Jesus’ offering of Himself to the Father as Sacrifice on the Cross makes these Sacraments possible.
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    Author

    Fr. David Bellusci, O.P.
    is a Roman Catholic Priest, and Assistant Professor 
    of Philosophy and Theology at Catholic Pacific College in Langley, B.C.

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    Authority Christ Entrusts to Peter
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    Who is My God?

    Are we too secure, too comfortable to think about God and the poor?
    ​Faith and Pride
    ​Fighting the Enemy: Satan
    ​Time for Conversion
    What are your Weapons?
    ​​Presentation of the Lord - Day of Consecrated Life
    Love--it's not about me
    ​Word of God - preserved and transmitted
    Time to Move On!
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    Observers and Participants
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    ur-Lady-of-Victory Our-Lady-of-the-Rosary
    All Saints! All Souls! Our Prayers!
    A Capable Woman

    Removing the Clutter
    ​Does the Birth of Christ change our lives?
    Transformed by the Resurrection

    ​St. Joseph: Terror of Demons
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    Is Jesus Lord of your life?
    Do you need a Saviour?
    Radicality of the Gospel
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© David Bellusci
  • Home
    • About Father Bellusci
    • Contact
  • TALKS
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
  • ARTICLES
    • Homilies
    • Blogs
    • Catholic Pilgrim >
      • Photos
    • Book Reviews
  • FRASSATI
    • Reflections
  • Books
    • Pier Giorgio Frassati Truth, Love and Sacrifice
    • Age of Innocence
    • Roman Incense
    • Love Deformed, Love Transformed
    • Ontology Of Blue
    • Amor Dei in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
    • Beating The Drums
    • Readers Review >
      • Age of Innocence
  • Sexuality
    • Humanae Vitae
    • Theology of the Body >
      • Introduction
      • Lessons 1-9
    • GENDER IDEOLOGY
  • Guest Bloggers
    • Andrzej Skulski
    • Br. Gavin Rodrigues, O.P.
    • Lara Paniagua