ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS. Part: 3.

In my first part 1 I tried to give some light on the office of priests and were did the priesthood came from and in my second part I emphasised on giving the idea on trust towards todays priest which has been damaged and to put total trust in man which is also against the word of God, please remember I quoted one scripture in the end of my second part from Jeremiah 17: 5 . in my last part which I am sure you all will allow me to be very honest and practical to put forward before you all the truth which is only and only is through the word of God.

The problem was, like all human mediators, the priests were sinful themselves and which is also today. They began to neglect their job and Lord their authority over the people. Isaiah 28:7-10 gives us a picture of how far the priests degenerated. “And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. “Who is it He is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there.” The priests, or some of them at least, began to concentrate on piling up power for themselves, indulging themselves, while tying burdens on the backs of the people. This is the kind of abuse that sparked the protestant reformation. When Martin Luther traveled to Rome, he saw the opulence of city and staggering wealth that the Renaissance Popes had amassed — and he knew that much of it had been done on the backs of the German peasantry.

That is why there was and is a need for a perfect priest. All the blood shed in the Old Testament looked forward to the perfect priest who would make sacrifice once and for all. That is precisely what Christ did. The whole book of Hebrews spells out how Christ functions as our high priest, and we don’t have anywhere near enough time to mine the riches of that imagery, consider that Hebrews 9:26-28 teaches that Christ, who is fully man, and is thus able to be our priest, is also fully God and his self sacrifice is sufficient to cover the sins of the whole world, past, present and future. So, it was a one-time offering that covered all the sins of the faithful. Christ is High Priest and the sacrifice all rolled up into one.

Additionally, Christ, our high priest, sits in God’s throne room and makes intercession for us. Hebrews 9:12, 24 shows that Christ has gone into the real throne room and there he makes intercession for us. He prays for us. I want you to think about that. Because of your faith and trust in Christ, your sins past present and future have been paid for. And because of your faith and trust in Christ, you have a representative before God’s throne who pleads your case.

We don’t need any one to approach or to stand in front of His Holy throne, cause what Jesus our high priest has done once and for all is enough for Catholic (universal) people. Remember I wrote in my second part that It is a humbling reminder that we live in a fallen world, a world prone to sin and deceit - a world not in need of organized religion, but a world in need of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.

We have an unchangeable priest which we can understand in Hebrews 7: 24-27. it is better we put our whole trust in perfect High priest then rather to put our trust in man and bring cruse upon ourselves and also then we have no fear that our trust will ever be damaged.
Allow me to give you a bitter truth and we all have a right to get and to say the truth and the truth is in 1 peter 2: 9 it says ‘ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.’

Take your guilt. Take the burdens that you bear. Take the things that keep you up at night. Take the images that haunt you from your past and the things you done this week. Hesitate not one moment and take them to the High Priest. I promise you, he’ll take away the guilt. He won’t erase the past, but he’ll take away the guilt. And if you go to him, the surprise is that he won’t be angry.

There is much to write and much you to read about our perfect priest and time and space doesn’t allow us to do so.Finally I would like to ask Are you glad that Jesus is your High Priest? Why? (We have already discussed several ways in which Jesus is superior to the high priests of the line of Aaron. Jesus is always on the job. Added to all the other great things about Jesus being our High Priest, is that He is working as our High Priest right now. He never takes a break, never takes vacation and never will die. Friend, would you like Jesus to be your High Priest? If so, the time to ask Him to intercede on your behalf is right now!

Concluded.

Arn D'Souza.

3RD DEATH ANNIVERSARY MASS.

THE LATE SEBASTIANA FLORA PEREIRA


Third Death Anniversary Mass.

In Everloving Memory Of Sebastiana Flora Pereira (Navelim, Goa/Kuwait).
Died: 23-08-2007

A Rememberance Third Anniversary Mass will be held at The Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City for the repose of the soul of Sebastiana Flora Pereira on Monday, 23rd August 2010 at 7:00 a.m. Offered By Her Sorrowful Sons/Daughters-in-law Santan/Lucy, Romeo/Thresa, Norberto(Tony)/Maria, Evaristo/Luiza, John Daughters/Son-in-laws Fatima/Custodio, Felomena/Salvador, Bompatina and Grand-Children.

Relatives And Friends Kindly Accept This As The Only Intimation.
Source: LGF.

ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS - Part: 2.

In my first part I attempted to give an idea on Roman Catholic priest and how this priesthood came into existence, as a Christians or as a non Christians we should have an idea about priesthood. In my second part allow me to put some light on the difficult and unfolding issue on today’s priests who are also humans like you and me.

There are many wonderful Catholic priests who have dedicated their lives to God and their church community. This is not a priest-bashing essay, but rather, a reminder that none of us are exempt from our sinful nature, even the "clergy." This is not just a "Roman Catholic problem" catholic means universe. In fact, many believe that there's another "story to unfold" that is just as far-reaching as the scandal within the priesthood. Specifically, there is no reason to assume the rate of child sexual abuse to be greater among Roman Catholic clergy than among Protestant clergy. For instance, in California alone during 2001, there were six convictions involving Protestant ministers and sex-related crimes with minors. There are approximately 46,000 Catholic priests in the United States and 300 cases filed to date, which is under .7% of the priesthood. There are approximately 324,000 Protestant churches in the United States. If the math is correct, the number of cases among Protestant denominations could potentially dwarf the size of the Roman Catholic scandal.

Roman Catholic Priests are facing a dramatic moment in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. It seemed like only yesterday when we heard about the initial allegations of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic priesthood that were surfacing in the Boston area. Since that time, over 300 lawsuits have been filed in the United States. This scandal has shaken faith in the Roman Catholic Church, and raised questions about basic tenets of the priesthood, including the vow of celibacy and the ordination of women. These allegations are especially disturbing for three reasons. First, parents trusted these men with their teenagers and children in the parochial education system, as well as in church service. That trust has been severely damaged. Second, the Catholic Church leadership has known of these abuses for years, yet it took a public outcry in order for them to be motivated to take remedial action. Third, Jesus Christ spoke specifically about the victimization of innocent children: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea"(Matthew 18:6 KJV).

These acts of molestation and lewd conduct seem to be rooted in homosexuality, rather than pedophilia. The exploited victims have been teenage boys (rather than prepubescents of either sex, the normal victims of pedophiles). This "Church secret" has been hidden for decades, with dialogue limited to lowered voices, and with lawsuits settled quietly.

What does all this mean? Why are we focusing on this terrible tragedy? It has nothing to do with Catholicism, Protestantism, or the truth of Christianity in general. It is a humbling reminder that we live in a fallen world, a world prone to sin and deceit - a world not in need of organized religion, but a world in need of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.

Lets us all know one thing that no one is superior to God, so then let us not bring curse on ourself cause Bible says in Jeremiah 17: 5 Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord’.

Will Learn More in Part-3.

Arun D'Souza.