Faith and Hope

 

Faith, Hope and Charity are the tree theological virtues,

they are the foundation of the entire Christian life.

They do not directly concern morality, as morality 

has to do with behaviour.

Theological virtues means that they have God as object.

The object of a theological virtue is God, and God alone.

The moral virtues has to do with our own actions.

The theological virtues has to do with being connected 

to God.

The word religion means to be reconnected.

Faith is a purely supernatural virtue and it is 

fundamental for a Christian life.

Whereas the moral virtues can be both natural and 

supernatural in character, 

e.g. prudence can be natural;

I take care when I cross the street in order to not be 

run over by a car, but it is supernatural when I take 

care to live in God's grace in order to save my soul.

With the 3 theological virtues of Faith, Hope and 

Charity it is not a question of natural or supernatural, 

they are always purely supernatural; 

they exceed the force of nature. 

And why so?

Because God is only accessible as a free gift from

Him. It is He that grants the ability to come to

Him, it is not something that can be earned.

We can arrive at the certainty that God exists, 

we can gain the knowledge that He exists through 

philosophical studies, but that is not what we call

Faith in the theological sense. What we are talking

about is handing ourselves over to God, to throw 

ourselves into His arms with every aspect of our lives,

to trust in Him. That is Faith.

"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who 

live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live 

in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved 

me and gave Himself up for me."

Galatians 2:20

We could say that we do not believe in God 

when we have faith in the existence of God, we do 

no longer believe, because we know. 

It is not the same thing.

These virtues can be lost, due to our own negligence,

or by turning our back to Him, but if we keep them, 

they will continue to grow, because when God gives 

a gift He never takes it back.

"For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn."

Romans11:29

The virtue of Faith is located in the Intelligence, 

whereas Hope and Charity are located in the Will.

The seat of Faith is Intelligence, because it is a 

knowledge of God and God's mysteries. 

And for humans, the capacity for knowledge is in 

the Intelligence. 

Faith is an accession to a truth: the truth of God and 

the truths that God makes known, it is therefore the 

Intelligence that has the faith.

Hope is in the Will, because to hope is wanting to hope: 

it is a decision.

Faith is a supernatural virtue by which we firmly believe 

all the truths that God has revealed and which the Church 

teaches. We believe in revealed truths. All the revealed 

truths, and nothing else.

 

We do not believe by Faith in what our intelligence 

is capable of guessing, to know e.g. that God exists,

we do not need Faith to know that, we can arrive at that

by intellectual and philosophical work.

We believe in the things that God has revealed, and 

which the Church teaches. 

By ourselves it would be impossible 

know that there is 3 Persons in God, 

that God sent His Son, 

that His death on the Cross has redeemed

us from our sins, 

that He resuccitated from death and that 

He ascended up to Heaven where He is seated 

at the right hand side of Divine Majesty.

All those things has been revealed.

We believe in what God has revealed, 

the role of the Church 

is only to certify to us what God has revealed.

We do not believe in what the Church teaches, 

we believe in what has been revealed by God which 

is what the Church teaches.

The Church teaches, passes on, truths revealed by God, 

by her Magisterium, similarly to a schoolteacher who 

shows the teachings on the board to his students, it is thus 

all about what is shown on the board, and it is not really 

about the teacher at all. 

However we do believe in what the Church teaches, 

but only because that what she teaches are the things 

that God has revealed. They are the same thing.

But fundamentally and ultimately it isn't even the truths 

that God has revealed that we believe, it is God we believe.

We believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist; Body,

Blood, Soul and Divinity; because the Church teaches it, 

but ultimately it is God's authority we believe. 

It is God we believe.

It is the same faith regardless of how much knowledge

we have of it, because the level of knowledge is very

variable. We are however bound to cultivate and deepen 

our faith.

Faith is in the Intelligence, it makes us know.

The fuel of human intelligence is evidence.

As we do not start off equipped with evidence, the 

role of the Will comes into play. 

The Will, by a supernatural grace, pushes the human 

intelligence to accept truths which are not evident to 

start off with.

The good Will wants to be fair and just and adhere to

God from whom all good comes. 

We believe God.

That means that we are responsible ourselves if we do 

not have Faith.

We believe because we want to believe, but that does 

not mean that it is self- hypnosis, it is a grace that

comes from God, a divine intervention, that gives us 

this grace in the Will .

Likewise the so-called atheisme is also in the Will.

As it is so obvious that God exists, the ones who say 

that they are atheists, say it from their ill-will.

To not believe God is a sin, a sin that God will condemn.

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but 

whoever does not believe will be condemned." 

Mark 16:16

Sins against the Faith: 

Doubt, Heresies and Apostasy.

Doubt: we are not talking about trouble or difficulty 

in understanding some aspect or another of the Faith

that we are trying to understand.

We are talking about doubting a revealed truth; e.g.

Jesus is Really Present in the Eucharist, or that 

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human.

Those that doubt this, have lost the Faith.

Heresy; this word means choice in greek.

It concerns persons who claim that they have Faith,

but who rejects one or several truths.

In fact, that person have not got the Faith,

he has lost the Faith.

Since I could not possibly imagine or guess myself 

the mysteries of the revealed truths of the Faith; 

e.g. the Incarnation, The Trinity, The Eucharist, The 

Redemption, they are the truths that we are obliged

to believe. 

 

We cannot see them directly, only through and with

God can we see them, by entrusting ourself to God

through the grace of supernatural Faith, we

can see for ourselves that they are true. 

Faith: trusting completely in God, living in His presence,

comes first, the evidence follows.

And it is not my own little reflections and reasoning

that gets me there.

Then you have the person who says; well, please don't 

exagerate, I'm unable to believe in the existence of Hell, 

God is too good for that, etc, etc, and also that the Eucharist 

is the Real Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus 

Christ, well sorry, I just don't believe it, etc, that person has 

simply lost his/her faith altogether, (even though he might 

consider himself to be a believer), because he contests the

authority of God, who revealed these truths.

Apostasy is more coherent; everything is rejected.

The Faith is like water to the fish, we live in it.

What is a "just" man ?

 

Is it somebody who is fair, 

gives back what he owes, shares equally and is nice to 

everybody?

No, a just person is somebody who lives at this level of 

God, at the tuning fork of God, in and of the truth of God.

That is what makes him just. 

It is the entry to the Kingdom of God.

Hope:

A supernatural vertu that makes us expect from God the 

supernatural blessings in this world, and in the next world; 

Glory.

Once we have Faith, and in the Faith, we understand straight 

away that to join God is something that completly exceeds

human power, we see our incapacities and impotence in regard

to God, like a bird without wings.

We understand straight away that without God, we cannot join 

God. So we must expect God of God. 

It is from God that we must expect God. We don't just expect 

graces from God, we expect God Himself,  it is God that we 

want to join, God that we seek, God who is the object of our search. 

We understand that we are incapable to join God by our own 

forces, so we hope it from God, 

we have a disposition that makes us expect God from God, 

and this disposition is Hope. 

It is a theological virtue; it is God we hope for.

It is God that is going to give it to us, there is nothing 

we can do to obtain God.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who 

comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a 

rewarder of those who diligently seek Him".

Hebrews 11:6

God gives us the means to go to Him. 

And from whom do we expect the means?

From God.

 

Just to be clear: the Hope we are talking about 

here is not the hoping for good news, good weather, 

good food etc, 

we are talking about the quest for God.

Hope is in the Will, which says; you are 

capable by God to obtain God.

It is a will to conquer God, 

while as Faith is seeing the truth in God, and 

also seeing that it is impossible for us to obtain

God by our own means, thus Hope.

Hope is the dynamism of all supernatural life, 

it transforms Faith; knowledge, into Charity.

Hope is the necessary motor in order to go 

from faith to charity.

Sins against Hope:

Presumption ("I'm sure I'll get there") because it means I

am depending on my own strenght.

Despair (I can't do it without God's help, but God is not 

going to give me the help I need, He has forgotten about me)

Both of those sins cuts the person off from God, which is 

catastrophic. 

God says:

"I am the vine; you are the branches.If you remain in me and I in 

you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:5

It is Hope that gives wings towards God, with the Holy Spirit

in the loving fear of God.  

 

The hidden treasure

 

The Novus Ordo created a new religion; they removed 

the supernatural, the divine, and left us with a church 

"of the world", deformed and protestant,

a banal and impoverished one.

But Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world. 

He spoke in parables; using worldly concepts and things 

to explain spiritual realities and the truth of the Infinite 

Power and Love of God.

He was talking about a world that is not directly visible to 

the naked eye, and so the people had great difficulty in 

grasping what He was saying. 

The people He was talking to were not academics or 

philosophers, they were fishermen, farmers, tax collectors.

The were not able to understand Him when they were with 

Him, only until after His Death and Resurrection, and Pentecost.

From then on The Catholic Church went on to produce Martyrs 

and Saints on a massive scale.

As I, like so many others, am obliged to sometimes go 

to the N.O.  as the Latin Mass is not a local one for me,

I was listening to the homily of the Parish priest on the 

Gospel of the buried treasure in the field, and of the pearl 

of great price. 

Jesus compared them to the Kingdom of Heaven and in 

both instances the person that finds them goes away and 

sells everything that he owns, and buys "the field with the 

treasure", likewise  "the pearl".

I knew a man from Cork; Finbar O'Leary, a wealthy and 

successful business man, with many enterprises.  

He had a sudden conversion, an instant internal change, 

he had a personal encounter with God; "the hidden treasure", 

"the pearl of great price".  He was a changed man.

He sold his businesses and dedicated the rest of his life to 

the Church by his prayer groups and pilgrimages.

He was a literal example of somebody that I knew

personally, of this particular Gospel.

My own conversion is more of the common type, progressive 

but steady, and I know that the more I grow in God's presence, 

the more I want to get rid of material possessions.

So what did the parish priest make of this gospel?

He said for him it was comparable to when he is looking to buy a 

new car, of just finding the right one, or when single people are 

looking for a spouse; finally finds the right one for them. 

An example of emptying a deeply spiritual reality of it's meaning,

making it banal, a platitude. The Church of the world.

But God's Kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD. 

The Catholic Faith is supernatural;

natural human nature superimposed by Godly nature, this is what 

produces Holy Saints, living life in the divine while still in this 

low dimension of ours. 

 

God is still in charge

 

The devil is well pleased when he can spread ambiguity, confusion, 

misunderstanding or downright lies. 

The authentic Catholic faith is clear but nuanced, 

in it's codification of dogmas. 

It has but one goal; to sanctify us; to reconcile 

us to God, while we are still here in this dimension. 

Since Vatican 2 this doctrine has been undermined by the spirit 

of the world, where things are relative and subjective, where we

can interpret according to our own opinions, and it is still "true".

In most Novus Ordo Masses there is an absence of the sense of

the supernatural and mystical; the flatness 

of it in comparison to the Tridentine Mass, where one can enter

deeply into the absolute miracle that is taking place on the Altar.

The modern Mass: the N.O., has it's focus on human dignity, it 

honours earthly fruits rather than spiritual fruits, 

it puts man, rather than God, at the centre.

Proof: Pope Leo XIV first Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas 

(Magnificent Humanity).

Having said that, sometimes at the new Mass, largely 

depending on the priest who celebrates the Mass, but 

also depending on our own internal disposition, a sense of

the sacred, a moment where we can unite ourselves with 

Jesus's sacrifice for us by giving ourselves entirely to Him;

can be experienced.

It is a valid Mass, it is the Real Presence in the Eucharist. 

How often do we hear when trying to encourage people to 

come to church,

they say "you can make friends, have a social life, keep busy", 

etc,

not even knowing that the sole reason for the existence of the 

Catholic Church, that God Himself established,  is to draw us 

up to Him, to make us holy, restore us to His 

friendship, it has 

nothing to do with being a social past time.

Neither is the Church a political movement; although 

she does have a social doctrine,

but to see today that our current Pope is using his 

position in a political way, to push for unlimited illegal 

immigration by going to Lampedusa, disregarding the 

terrible effects upon Christian nations, is sad, to say 

the least. 

Having said that; I like the Pope in many ways; he seems

to have many great human qualities, and he comes across 

as a sensitive and intelligent man. 

 

One of the consequences of the degradation or bastardisation

of the catholic religion is; 

"people don't come to Church anymore, 

oh what can we do to attract people to come?"

which seems to mean that they believe that the 

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a human effort endeavour. 

It was God who instituted the Mass, and it is still God 

who is Really and Truly present during each valid Mass. 

God is the Father of our soul. 

By Baptism we become His true children.

By Confirmation we receive The Holy Spirit; 

His indwelling Presence.

By the use of our willpower; by making conscious 

choices with our minds, 

we have the possibility of nurturing the growth of 

our soul. 

But this can not happen if we neglect it, if we have 

no interest, because without our participation nothing 

will grow. 

"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead 

is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will 

also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit 

who lives in you."

Romans 8:11

Believing and practising Catholics make up 

the Mystical Body of The Church of which 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head. 

The Pope is the head of the visible Church.

Unfortunately there are many Catholics who 

believe that the Pope is the head of the Mystical Body, 

and not Jesus Christ, 

which means that they believe that the Pope is divine 

and perfect in everything he says and does.

This is a serious mistake.

The Pope's authority resides in the revealed truths of God,

they do not change, and no pope can invent new revelations. 

If Popes, who are human beings and therefore sinners, 

goes off the rails and diverge into other things, then it 

is the obligation of the faithful flock to resist him. 

We are obliged, by God, to always engage our brains. 

That is why God gave them to us. 

By refusing to do that, by thinking we are "obedient" 

following blindly, without thinking, we do great harm, 

not only to ourselves, but to the Church.

 

With the implementation of Vatican 2 itself, not only did

proper catechism cease to be widely available, but also it 

discouraged Catholics from educating themselves in the faith.

I spoke to a French woman who became very interested in

learning the faith, she contacted her parish, who told her

that "that was no longer necessary or done."

Of course people would be disoriented and confused.

We have people active in parishes who have precious little 

knowledge of the faith, and who tells themselves that it is all 

so mysterious and complicated that they can't even try. 

("Sure, I wouldn't understand!....")

The infallibility of the Pope is only as regards 

Ex Cathedra;

In the official capacity as the supreme shepherd, on a subject 

concerning faith or morals, intended to bind the entire RCC 

and it must be made clear to be binding, but he also can not 

invent new ideas, or doctrines, it is only as a means of 

clarification of existing truths of divine revelation.

His own personal opinions are just that; his own opinions. 

But if we believe the Pope is divine, then we are going to 

be heavily influenced by his private opinions too.

So, 

The Vatican has "excommunicated" the FSSPX.

(Again....)

The FSSPX asked for bread (of the doctrine) 

they asked for the water (of the sacraments), 

they asked for the wine of the the Holy Mass.

There is no basis for these "excommunications" 

in Canon Law,  all FSSPX want is to be Catholic 

and to continue to transmit the unmodified 

doctrine to future generations.

It is their refusal to accept Vatican 2 which is the 

reason they were refused the mandate.

They received correspondence the day after 

consecrating the new bishops, laying out that

if they signed on the dotted line accepting Vatican 2,

the "excommunication" would be lifted immediately.

 

This part of the story goes back to 1988, but it stems

from the Vatican 2 council, where a fundamental change 

took place in the Church. 

I have read the detailed events of this drama from start 

to finish, written by the clergy who were the main 

characters in it. 

I have been at a silent Saint Ignatius retreat in France

(Thiviers)

where some of them ended up, forming  l'Institut

du Bon Pasteur, ( Institute of the Good Shepherd),

Traditional Priests who are in full Communion with 

the Church. 

While in the past, a Catholic would be 

excommunicated for not adhering to 

the laws of the Church, we have now

the inverse, if you are "too" catholic you 

are "excommunicated".

The fullness of the perennial Catholic faith, 

fully integrated, this seems to be the threat.

Integrated human beings used to be a goal to

aim for, but today the word intégriste is a 

pejorative and an insult in France.

Thanks to the immense sacrifice of  

Monseigneur Marcel Lefebvre, with 

or without the Vatican mandate, 

Tradition continues to flourish, and 

even if it has to go underground,

back into the catacombs, it will 

continue still.

There is no schism;

The Catholic Church is still united in Jesus

Christ and she is One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic.

 

 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I 

will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall 

not prevail against it."

Matthew 16:18

 

Faithfulness in the "small things"

"Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted 

with big things. 

Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big 

things too."

Luke 16:10 

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was made a Doctor of the Church 

due to her developing the "The Little Way"; to do everything, 

any little daily habitual action, with the utmost perfection,

"down to a tee", as we would say; something that is done with

absolute exactness.

To be aware of our daily behaviour and interactions, to be

awake, all the time, every "little" thing we do, reveals the 

disposition of our heart, if we disregard fundamental rules

that may appear insignificant ( "small") we will apply the same

attitude to things on a larger scale. 

The two are in principle the same thing.

It is about the integrity, or the lack thereof, of a person. 

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day

 your Lord will come."

Matthew 24:42

In any society there are rules and regulations.

In an apostolat of the Catholic Church,

the order of weekly meetings is of utmost importance, and must 

be strictly adhered to.  

The object is the glory of God through the 

sanctification of it's members, and is hence unlike

any other worldly organisation, (which exists for the leisure

and pleasure of convenience for it's members).

A basic principle of discipline is 

punctuality and faithful participation of meetings.

Of course, sometimes one is prevented from attending, due

to absence from home or illness, but when attending,

it is required to be on time; concretely that 

means arriving at least a few minutes before the start, so 

that one has the time to settle into one's seat.

Despite this, there are a few, always the same ones, who 

habitually arrives after prayers have started, and

even after the prayers have finished!, 

What is more, upon arriving, as the meeting

continues, they talk (loud whisper) to others, disturbing 

everybody, and making it all about themselves.

Then, when they get a chance, they will interrupt the 

proceedings by offering "heartfelt" apologies for them 

being late, and to top it all off, more often than not, that

is met with profuse expressions of gratitude for 

"having showed up at all!

Where is the respect for the others and for the Holy Catholic Church?

Are they serving the Church or is the Church there to serve 

them?

Pride is often said to be the deadliest of all sins.

If we are habitually late for the meeting that requires as a 

fundamental principle to be on time, if we are habitually late 

for Mass, which requires that we be there before it starts, it 

shows that we put ourselves above God, it is arrogant, we are 

so important so we are our own law. 

It goes without saying that they will also be late for everybody 

else as well, there is spiritual disrespect and dismissal of others 

as being less important than themselves.

 

And why is it that it is always the same ones who are 

always on time? They also have other things to do, but they 

arrange their day, they prioritise what is most important, they 

show respect. 

Yes, but they might say; "we do so much for the Church,  (We are important, the Church depends on us)

They have the same attitude to the Mass; they arrive

after Mass has begun, and they always have 

their phone at hand, in case they "have to take a call during 

Mass".

It is actually scandalous, to always hear somebody's phone 

ringing or bleeping during Mass, during the consecration, 

even in front of the Priest to receive Holy Communion, and 

they STILL do not turn it off for the duration of the Mass.

Do they really think that they are so important that they can 

not leave their phone behind during Mass, or at least turn on 

the silent mode? 

Are they all on Stand-By A&E doctors and nurses?

Are they really at Mass?

Do they believe in the Real Presence?

If they did, would they always be late for Mass 

and  would they be "Eucharistic ministers"?

(an abomination and an affront to 

The Body of Jesus Christ).

If they knew that it IS the Real Body of Christ 

they would not, (nobody would), put 

themselves forward to distribute it.

"The extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion" 

was a proposal brought in to help the priest

"to save time", supposedly only for "extraordinary" 

circumstances, like very large gatherings.

 

Is Mass something to be rushed, to 

get over with as soon as possible?

Or is it to enter into the Real Presence of God?

The only person who should handle the Host, 

is the Priest.

How come that a truly "extraordinary" large gatherings, 

like the Traditional Latin Mass's annual pilgrimage to 

Chartres, with over 20 000 faithful, manages without 

them?  

This practice, has in my opinion, hugely contributed to 

the loss of belief in the Real Presence among church goers, 

subsequently it has had a massive negative impact on the 

priesthood itself, thus the Church.

The attention to all things, first of all the "small" ones, 

is crucial, because everything leaves a mark, it affects

others, good or bad.