Jesus, hear my prayers because I am weak. As a single parent things are hard on me both of my sons are autistic and my hours to work are limited because I’m now homeschooling them. I’m constantly struggling to provide the basic necessities for them I’m so ashamed. I suffered an heart attack and I’m battling lupus I’m overwhelmed. Father God hear my prayers. I constantly struggle to pay my bills and struggle to provide groceries. BUT I KEEP FAITH. Even though I want to give up. Jesus please take the fear from my heart. Father God it is you that gives me the strength to keep going. I praise you Father even as I fear homelessness please continue to give me strength.
I was Agnostic for years. But this was a true agnosticism of not knowing. A big purpose of my life has been the pursuit of Objective Truth. I stumbled into the argument for God's existence from cause-and-effect myself. I kept pursuing truth and swam the Tiber last week. Praise be to God and thank you Father Mike.
Lord help me to only worship you but to ask for help from all the angels and saints and especially Blessed Mother Mary to bring me closer to you my God, Father,Son, and Holy Spirit !❤
Second comment of day 277 which means it is 88 days left of the Catechism in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension press #2023 is going to be over in 88 days. Viva Cristo Rey. Ave Maria Purisima gratia plena. Veni Creator Spiritus ❤❤❤❤❤Thank you Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension press 🙏💙❤
To GOD be All the Highest Glory❣️ i so agree with you Fr. Mike. as an example, we pray to the Blessed Mother Mary for intercession. however, knowing fully well that God is everything to us. Man sees our actions but God knows our truest motives. Thank you so much Fr Mike and Ascension. I am praying for all of you, as always. God Bless 🙏🏻
October 4, 2023 Please pray with me. According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that each time she piously recited the following prayer, it would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory: Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home, and in my family. Amen. In her account of another vision, St. Faustina describes Purgatory as a "great crowd of suffering souls" undergoing purification. Further, she says that the souls are "praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid" (Diary, 20)
Adore and worship. Fr. Mike. There are so many people even Catholics who do not know this part of Catechism and actually worship the statues in the church. Sometimes when Mass is being said. It becomes difficult to explain to them as they have done it from generations. The priests are trying to address this but it still goes on. So it’s less than 99.9% as you have indicated. Let’s continue to educate ourselves. God bless.
If 2 people are praying before a statue, one is worshipping the statue and one is worshipping God only in prayer. How do we know the difference between someone who is worshipping a statue vs praying to the Lord in front of a statue? I’d venture to suggest we don’t. Only Gid can judge the heart. In what ways are they worshipping the statue in your church out of curiosity?
Bless thy children Holy Francis Who thy mighty help implore, For in Heaven thou remainest Still the father of the poor! ST. FAUSTINA'S PRAYER FOR HEALING: Jesus may your pure and healthy blood circulate in my ailing organism. May your pure and healthy body transform my weak, unhealthy body. May a healthy and vigorous life throb within me once more if it is truly your Holy Will!
This is so important that I had to listen to it twice today. Once in my Hallow app without words because I don’t have my Original Catechism book that I bought earlier/late last year, and then, I read the word in the video.
please pray for a friend of mine her words exactly “I don't know if non-believer is the right word, I'm not affiliated with any particular religion, I'm probably agnostic right now, I do find value in the psychospiritual, maybe to say I'm questioning is more accurate.”
Holy smokes, at my Bible study yesterday the topic came up of divination / magic. My friend is Italian and her Italian relatives have some serious cultural practices (from log ago... malook) that are most definitely divination / magic.
This is the case with one of my spiritual advisers in the treatment unit I am in, but they tried to respect my religion, and they let me in the prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, and add what I feel needs to be added, but it was such a gracious thing to an extent, because although she does not agree with me on some of the new terms used today, she respected me enough to try and help. She’s awesome is open to discussion, and I can tell her the things that I like about the Catholic faith so hopefully God can use this. she definitely does respect the existence of God to an extent, but she must be honest and tell me where she’s at so I know how to go about conversations because since I am sick part of the issue, I find is that I want to do this in honor of God and Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls but where is something complaint or asking for help I am I accepting my crush am I accepting that my life expectancy is what it is but the Lord is in control
The First Commandment is pretty Tricky and has caused many to go astray if we are not properly guided by a valid and trained authority. Agnosticism indeed is either "I'm searching for the true God" or "I don't care about God but I do believe that there is One". Thus, Jesus Christ is like a compass and an anchor that helps us to stay focused on God because by praying to God while focusing on Jesus Christ helps us to not go astray or be confused. It's like the bronze snake but even better than that due to Jesus Christ's eternal sacrifice, special relationship with God (The Son) and the authority over this world. In this way, Jesus Christ is the true Shepherd of us, the sheep and the true King of the Kings of this world (All humans irrespective of the country). Jesus truly unites us and leads us. May all of our confused and lost humans find the way! Amen. Thank you so much, Fr. Mike and Team Ascension. I'm praying for you and for the fellow listeners. God bless
We firmly believe in the transformative power of prayer and the significance of incorporating it into our lives consistently. Therefore, I invite you to join us in establishing a tradition of daily prayer. By dedicating just a few minutes each day to uplift one another through prayer, we can invite the peace and solace of the Lord into our lives and reap the numerous blessings that habitual prayer brings. Let us not underestimate the potential of habitual prayer - it draws us nearer to God, provides strength and guidance in challenging times, and instills a sense of peace and purpose in our lives. Together, let's make daily prayer an integral part of our daily routine and witness the transformational impact of steadfast prayer. We extend our heartfelt gratitude, and may the Lord bless you and hold you in His loving embrace through Christ our Lord. Amen. ❤❤❤
October 4, 2023 Have you ever considered listening to Saint Faustina’s Diary in a year and/or EWTN Mother Angelica’s Classics to add to your Catholic learning? Oh my goodness so much life guidance in conjunction with Father Mike’s Bible and Catechism in a Year!
Agnostics affirms that nothing can be known about God and involves indifferentism and practical atheism. God prohibits this in His first commandment. The commandment " You shall not make yourself a graven image" forbids the representation of God, who is absolutely transcendent. The veneration of sacred images founded on the mystery of the Son of God-made-man in whom the transcendent of God is made visible are justified as well the one who is represented in it e.g. Christ, Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and the Saints.
well nothing like studying the catechism and having the tornado sirens go off... phew... fortunately, it passed just south of us. God be with those in the path of the that thing... Momento mori
Greetings Father Mike, Thoughts :- -> Message reflect with, "The Holy Church is The Place of Spiritual Identification of God through symbolic interpretation in Sacred Relics of Lord Jesus Christ in all aspects." -> Thanks Father, Team Ascension Press for Wonderful Insights. With regards and Prayers, Ranjith Joseph (R.J)
Most agnostics I’ve met believe in God and believe in and obey God’s commandments but they were/are disillusioned by the churches and the scandals. It is so hard to get them back to Church.
DH is a declaration on religious freedom that was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Dec 1965. It simply means, present day man wants to profess his religion freely in private and public.............
Question for Fr. Mike: I understand veneration of images of people who were human or had bodily form, Jesus, Mary, the saints, even the angels that took visible form. However, how is it OK to make images of God the Father who has never taken visible form?
I'm not saying l have the answer but my friend Bríd had a near death experience and she talks about the" tinfoil man" because of the blinding light. The mystic Sr. Eugenia, received messages from God the Father(approved in Italy). The main point is that He wants the first Sunday in August dedicated to Him . I was disappointed because l forgot this year to honour Him privately and there is an image of God the Father seated,holding the globe and amazingly He has aged so well that He only looks about 33. I like that image! I try to give all my images a turn but l don't like a clutter of pictures.
This is not a real answer but just what Jesus said. If you see Me you see the Father. That is why a lot of times you see the Father shown as an older version of how Jesus is pictured.
So I guess images are just points-of-focus to assist you to reach those they represent. Kind of like those point-of-sale thingys that assist you in making purchases.
What about images that are “miraculous”? I see people who exteriorly (i may be judging wrongly) who seems to have faith that touching them can bring healing? Isn’t that like worshipping?
I know this comment is quite old, but if you're still wondering, I think you are referring to relics, which is a different class of thing. We know that when the woman touched Jesus' garment (not Jesus, although I'm should His body would do it too) power went forth from Jesus and healed her. We know that this applies for Saints too, When someone touched Peter's garment, they were healed.
BBQ, tnks. Seriously, it's the same *source* that tells you to use your right hand or your left to put food in your mouth to satiate that yearning in your stomach. Same one makes you grab some sand or shells to take home to remind you of the special holiday time you've had. Or keep your late daughter's fav toy in your car. Must everything be in the Bible for you to do? No. Must you limit God as being unable to guide before & beyond the written scripture? No.
"Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe." ~ T H Huxley It is basically scientific demarcation. If you have no verifiable/falsifiable evidence, then there's no reason to believe the claim.
@@TheTrueOnyxRose Yeah, well, good luck with that. Empirical justification is pretty much how we know anything. You might wander out into a busy street, if you stop believing that there's any evidence that a large metal object, moving at a high velocity, will cause you any discomfort.
@@TheHuxleyAgnostic: Generations of people lived for centuries without large metal objects moving at high velocities. In some parts of the world, they still do. What all has mankind sacrificed because of western science? What all is mankind about to sacrifice because of it? As of now, our personhood is all but irretrievably gone. I don’t know about you, but I like my personhood. I’d rather not be a statistic or a bot…irrelevant.
@@TheTrueOnyxRose Nothing you said refutes that you should accept the scientific fact that a high speed large metal object will flatten you. If you don't buy it, and wander out into traffic, it won't be good.
@@TheHuxleyAgnostic: Oh I *should.* I got it. Because I’m forced to. Because you said so. Very funny. The solution, if I realistically had one, is to not even be anywhere near places where such things are. They make things easier at first…until we’re wondering what’s wrong with *us.* We really don’t need them. We want them. Western science and technology has made us spoiled and empty…and even greedy. We’re so addicted to them, we can’t imagine life without them. Western science is something to tolerate. It’s not my job to embrace it as my surrogate faith. And then hunt for solid reasons to support it. I’m alright with what I got…if I could only unhook myself from that material madness. You can have your science and your large high speed metallic objects, and any other materialistic, mechanistic goods you might embrace, if you want them. Just because I have them in my life too, that doesn’t mean I didn’t grow a dependence on them. At least I admit it. And what other stuff from science should I accept too? As if life isn’t already full of pointlessly expensive science junk. I would have been alright with living neutrally alongside science, letting them say whatever. But apparently the scientific community wants to practically proselytize us into having curiosity and get excited over…what…ridiculously dull and boring subjects? You can’t make people enthusiastic over things they don’t care about, even if they *are* large thousand pound metallic objects traveling at high velocities. So what? All they’ll do is watch the clock, waiting for time to get out of class.
Or is it??? Maybe it's no different than askng a saint to intercede for us like a prayer to St Michael. Having those medals or statues are symbolic of their God given gifts.
Agnostic is one who says, I don't know; or there's no proof that God exists, or I'm indifferent or i don't care. This is the same as practical atheism. Graven images: In the Incarnation, Gid has revealed himself through Jesus and his Mother Mary. Catholics never worship statues of Jesus or any saint, but see in them a prototype of the person whom we love and venerate. Veneration is an expression of affection that grows our affection. It is NOT adoration, which we owe only to God and the Blessed Holy Trinity.❤ Amen 🙏 🙏
Please say that agnostics do not see GODSONHOLYSPIRIT because they do not see Christ. All people know in utero that there is a God. The problem is we think we are the god of self
"Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the first commandment." Some atheists take that position, but the denial or rejection is not a requirement for atheism. You cannot be an atheist unless you lack a belief in a god. Therefore the most common use of the word is a lack of belief. It is unfortunate that you didn't give the most commonly used definition of the word. Why am I not surprised.
Lack of belief implies denial. You don't believe because you deny He exists. Atheist, from its Greek roots, means "one who is without God". Like "amoral" means "one who is without morals."
@@wms72 Belief - being convinced that a proposition is true or likely true. Denial - refuse to acknowledge a proposition is true or likely true. They are not synonymous nor does one imply the other.
@@rjskeptic5273: If you “lack belief,” as you put it in a fancy way, it’s synonymous with denial, if not equivalent to it. Atheism replaces faith with ignorance. Are you *deliberately* trying to preach atheism? As if atheism is good news?
All doctrine unique to the Catholic church is unnecessary if Christ's sacrifice is complete. If Christ's sacrifice was perfect and he took away all sin past, present, and future than... Penance has no purpose. Purgatory has no point. Absolution is unnecessary. Need I go on? Yes, Christ's sacrifice on the cross is complete and Final. The Bible confirms this repeatedly. Flee this Anti-church. Trust In Christ Alone. Trust in him alone like you would trust a parachute. You can add nothing to a parachute by flapping your arms. Just as you can add nothing to the perfect and finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for all of your sins. Do not cheapen the saviors work by adding mans tradition on to it. Flee and find a church that allows all of its members to drink from the cup of Christ, not just the priests. ...
God is perfectly and unapproachably holy and he will not allow the smallest selfishness into his kingdom. He could have discarded us for our rebellion against him. Instead, he took upon himself the consequences for our selfish choices. Most people have heard that Jesus died on the cross. But he didn't die for any random reason, he died to take the punishment upon him. The punishment that we deserved for bringing selfishness into God's perfect, pure environment. God is going to win, he is going to get sin/darkness out of his presence. You can either be on his side and let him cleanse you and fix you or you can be against him and you can be removed... *permanently.* How many selfish things have you done? Does God have reasons to punish/remove you?
Jesus. 335 Mary. 1 Mary was so important to the apostles when they were writing their letters to the New Testament churches that she was only mentioned once after Jesus had ascended to heaven. (Acts 1:14) Jesus on the other hand was named 335 times. Mary was clearly unimportant to the early apostles. She has no role in salvation. She was an honorable young woman from Nazareth. She obeyed God.
Moving on to the gospel: The Catholic church does not teach the true nature of sin. It will not be allowed into the holy presence of God. Romans 3:10-18 ESV - 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
How do you get to hell? Very simple: claim that you're innocent. How do you get to heaven? Very simple: Admit that you're not Innocent, you're guilty and ask for mercy.
How many lies have you told in your life? Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you? Have you ever used God's holy name to curse, would you do that with your mother's name? How many times have you gazed with lustful intent at someone or entertained lustful desire towards them? Jesus offers mercy and access to his presence forever to those who will acknowledge their need for it. Heaven. The alternative is taking our just punishment. Hell.
You move me through your wisdom and I am grateful to the Lord for your teachings. Peace be with you ❤
Jesus, hear my prayers because I am weak. As a single parent things are hard on me both of my sons are autistic and my hours to work are limited because I’m now homeschooling them. I’m constantly struggling to provide the basic necessities for them I’m so ashamed. I suffered an heart attack and I’m battling lupus I’m overwhelmed. Father God hear my prayers. I constantly struggle to pay my bills and struggle to provide groceries. BUT I KEEP FAITH. Even though I want to give up. Jesus please take the fear from my heart. Father God it is you that gives me the strength to keep going. I praise you Father even as I fear homelessness please continue to give me strength.
Praying for you and your children
May God in his infinite mercy strengthen and provide for you and your family🙏🙏
I'm gaining wisdom from your wisdom. You inspire me to never give up. God bless your efforts. You're special!
I pray God continue to strengthen you in his hope and also send you help.
A
Praying that God bless you and your children.
Hello everyone & Happy Day 277!🙏😊
❤❤❤
Hi👋Happy day 277.🙏❤️ Happy Feast of St. Francis.
Wishing all a happy Day 277 late. as it is already time to listen to Day 278. ❤🙏
Happy Feast Day of Saint Francis! Pray for us. 🙏 Thank you Father Mike! God bless you all!❤️❤️❤️
Pray for us, our Seraphic father🙏😇
Thank you for praying for us, Fr Mike. I'm praying for you and all here, especially those in great need. God Bless. Claire.
I was Agnostic for years. But this was a true agnosticism of not knowing. A big purpose of my life has been the pursuit of Objective Truth. I stumbled into the argument for God's existence from cause-and-effect myself. I kept pursuing truth and swam the Tiber last week.
Praise be to God and thank you Father Mike.
Welcome home 😊
Amen!
Praise be to God! Welcome to the one, holy, Catholic, & Apostolic Church 🙏❤️
Welcome
Welcome home!
Father Mike, I will continue to pray that the love and passion you have for our Lord continues to grow each and every day🙏✝️
🙏❤️
God bless you Father Mike 🙏🙏🙏
St. Francis of Assisi please pray for all of us; and ask God to send special blessings to Fr. Mike Schmitz.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world. Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary pray for us sinners ✝️♥️🙏
❤
Amen!!!
Lord help me to only worship you but to ask for help from all the angels and saints and especially Blessed Mother Mary to bring me closer to you my God, Father,Son, and Holy Spirit !❤
Amen!🙏❤️
Amen
I am a cradle catholic and I completely agree with how you described the icons. I was shocked when i heard that others thought we pray to statues 😅😂
Thanks!
Thank you ❤
I have several “agnostics” in my family please pray for them with me.
Blessings to all who are participating in the CIY & BIY today🙏🏻🕊✝️🕊🙏🏻
Amen 🙏🏽
God bless you all in particular Fr Mike. Today's teaching was so good.. Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏
Fr. Thank you ❤. Praying for you and for all my CIY brothers and sisters. God bless ❤🙏
Praise you Lord Jesus Christ ❤❤❤❤ prayers Father Mike amen 🙏
I wasn't always Catholic, but was always sure. Thank you, God, for that grace and blessing.
Thank you Father Mike 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💞🙏💞🙏💞💞💞🙏
Second comment of day 277 which means it is 88 days left of the Catechism in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension press #2023 is going to be over in 88 days.
Viva Cristo Rey. Ave Maria Purisima gratia plena. Veni Creator Spiritus ❤❤❤❤❤Thank you Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension press 🙏💙❤
Whoa!
Good point!
Thank you Father
Thank you Fr. Mike and the Ascension team for helping us all to grow in faith and love for the Lord.
Thank you Fr. Mike Schmitz 🛐
Thank you Father Mike.
Well explained Fr. Mike! I needed this today, thank you! As Jesus said " my flock hears my voice" Praying for CIAY community and BIAY!
Thank you Fr Mike. Praying for you and everyone here. God bless🙏❤️🙏
Praying for you Father 💞🙏😇💞🙏
Praise to God and Jesus Christ🙏❤🕊😇
Thank you for sharing your secret, Fr. Mike! God bless you! Thank you for praying for us.
Thank you Father Mike🙂🙏🙏🙏🐈
Day 277....Thankyou Fr.Mike...Blessings.. Blessings..Abundant blessings..Amen. PTL.
I like the analogy of the fighter pilot kissing the picture of his sweetheart
We all yearn for that connection
To GOD be All the Highest Glory❣️
i so agree with you Fr. Mike. as an example, we pray to the Blessed Mother Mary for intercession. however, knowing fully well that God is everything to us. Man sees our actions but God knows our truest motives.
Thank you so much Fr Mike and Ascension. I am praying for all of you, as always. God Bless 🙏🏻
Love “man sees our actions, but God knows our truest motives” May our motives always be pure & true.🙏❤️
@@TrixRN Amen 🙏🏻
Day 277 of the CIA,October 3,2024. God blessed everyone.. Thank-you Lord Jesus and Father Mike for learning all about the 1st commandment.🙏🙏🙏
God bless Father Mike
Thank you Father Mike. God bless 🌹
October 4, 2023
Please pray with me.
According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that each time she piously recited the following prayer, it would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory:
Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.
In her account of another vision, St. Faustina describes Purgatory as a "great crowd of suffering souls" undergoing purification. Further, she says that the souls are "praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid" (Diary, 20)
First comment of the day 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Day 277 ❤❤❤❤
Praying for you all.. God bless you ❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Adore and worship. Fr. Mike. There are so many people even Catholics who do not know this part of Catechism and actually worship the statues in the church. Sometimes when Mass is being said. It becomes difficult to explain to them as they have done it from generations. The priests are trying to address this but it still goes on. So it’s less than 99.9% as you have indicated. Let’s continue to educate ourselves. God bless.
If 2 people are praying before a statue, one is worshipping the statue and one is worshipping God only in prayer. How do we know the difference between someone who is worshipping a statue vs praying to the Lord in front of a statue? I’d venture to suggest we don’t. Only Gid can judge the heart.
In what ways are they worshipping the statue in your church out of curiosity?
Thank you so much dear Fr. Mike for a well explanation about the images and statues .
I know many like this.🙏🏻 for talking about it.
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.””
John 4:24
Bless thy children Holy Francis
Who thy mighty help implore,
For in Heaven thou remainest
Still the father of the poor!
ST. FAUSTINA'S PRAYER FOR HEALING:
Jesus may your pure and healthy blood
circulate in my ailing organism.
May your pure and healthy body transform
my weak, unhealthy body.
May a healthy and vigorous life throb
within me once more if it is truly your
Holy Will!
Amen🙏❤️
Amen
Thank u father Mike Amen Jesus
Thank you Father.
Thank you Fr. Mike! Blessings everyone ! 🙏
🙏🙏🙏
HaPpy day 277 ❤❤❤
A m e n ❤❤❤
May God bless you always 🙏
Day 277. 🙏❤🙏
I'm keeping you and your boys in my thoughts and prayers.
Divine Mercy image, commissioned by Our Lord Himself!
❤❤❤
This is so important that I had to listen to it twice today. Once in my Hallow app without words because I don’t have my Original Catechism book that I bought earlier/late last year, and then, I read the word in the video.
Me too
please pray for a friend of mine her words exactly “I don't know if non-believer is the right word, I'm not affiliated with any particular religion, I'm probably agnostic right now, I do find value in the psychospiritual, maybe to say I'm questioning is more accurate.”
🙏🙏🙏
Good luck agnostics. Just keep looking and you'll find the Lord.
Holy smokes, at my Bible study yesterday the topic came up of divination / magic. My friend is Italian and her Italian relatives have some serious cultural practices (from log ago... malook) that are most definitely divination / magic.
Thank you father mike
We show our expression of affection to Our "Holy Reminders" (statues) to our Heavenly Helpers!💙
Thanks Father MIke Schmitz.
Amen 🙏.
This is the case with one of my spiritual advisers in the treatment unit I am in, but they tried to respect my religion, and they let me in the prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, and add what I feel needs to be added, but it was such a gracious thing to an extent, because although she does not agree with me on some of the new terms used today, she respected me enough to try and help. She’s awesome is open to discussion, and I can tell her the things that I like about the Catholic faith so hopefully God can use this. she definitely does respect the existence of God to an extent, but she must be honest and tell me where she’s at so I know how to go about conversations because since I am sick part of the issue, I find is that I want to do this in honor of God and Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls but where is something complaint or asking for help I am I accepting my crush am I accepting that my life expectancy is what it is but the Lord is in control
The First Commandment is pretty Tricky and has caused many to go astray if we are not properly guided by a valid and trained authority. Agnosticism indeed is either "I'm searching for the true God" or "I don't care about God but I do believe that there is One". Thus, Jesus Christ is like a compass and an anchor that helps us to stay focused on God because by praying to God while focusing on Jesus Christ helps us to not go astray or be confused. It's like the bronze snake but even better than that due to Jesus Christ's eternal sacrifice, special relationship with God (The Son) and the authority over this world. In this way, Jesus Christ is the true Shepherd of us, the sheep and the true King of the Kings of this world (All humans irrespective of the country). Jesus truly unites us and leads us. May all of our confused and lost humans find the way! Amen. Thank you so much, Fr. Mike and Team Ascension. I'm praying for you and for the fellow listeners. God bless
I always enjoy your good comments
Amen!🙏❤️ Great reflection.
@@StAlphonsusHasAPosse Thank you so much for encouragement! God bless you
@TrixRN Thank you so much for your kind words! God bless you 🙏
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼.
Very clear! Thank you again Fr Mike!
We firmly believe in the transformative power of prayer and the significance of incorporating it into our lives consistently. Therefore, I invite you to join us in establishing a tradition of daily prayer.
By dedicating just a few minutes each day to uplift one another through prayer, we can invite the peace and solace of the Lord into our lives and reap the numerous blessings that habitual prayer brings.
Let us not underestimate the potential of habitual prayer - it draws us nearer to God, provides strength and guidance in challenging times, and instills a sense of peace and purpose in our lives.
Together, let's make daily prayer an integral part of our daily routine and witness the transformational impact of steadfast prayer.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude, and may the Lord bless you and hold you in His loving embrace through Christ our Lord. Amen. ❤❤❤
ra
Prayers Father Mike amen 🙏
"It is veneration out of pure affection and NOT worship of the idols."
🙏
October 4, 2023
Have you ever considered listening to Saint Faustina’s Diary in a year and/or EWTN Mother Angelica’s Classics to add to your Catholic learning?
Oh my goodness so much life guidance in conjunction with Father Mike’s Bible and Catechism in a Year!
🙏🙏
Absolutely
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Agnostics affirms that nothing can be known about God and involves indifferentism and practical atheism. God prohibits this in His first commandment.
The commandment " You shall not make yourself a graven image" forbids the representation of God, who is absolutely transcendent. The veneration of sacred images founded on the mystery of the Son of God-made-man in whom the transcendent of God is made visible are justified as well the one who is represented in it e.g. Christ, Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and the Saints.
well nothing like studying the catechism and having the tornado sirens go off... phew... fortunately, it passed just south of us. God be with those in the path of the that thing... Momento mori
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Greetings Father Mike,
Thoughts :-
-> Message reflect with, "The Holy Church is The Place of Spiritual Identification of God through symbolic interpretation in Sacred Relics of Lord Jesus Christ in all aspects."
-> Thanks Father, Team Ascension Press for Wonderful Insights.
With regards and Prayers,
Ranjith Joseph (R.J)
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Most agnostics I’ve met believe in God and believe in and obey God’s commandments but they were/are disillusioned by the churches and the scandals. It is so hard to get them back to Church.
Firstly Thankyou father for your untiring service to the Lord.
I’d like to know what DH 15 in paragraph 2137 means
Anyone?
Dignitatus Humanae????? Maybe???
Dignitatis Humanae Ref: page 869 Ascension edition of Catechism of the Catholic Church.
DH is a declaration on religious freedom that was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Dec 1965. It simply means, present day man wants to profess his religion freely in private and public.............
Question for Fr. Mike: I understand veneration of images of people who were human or had bodily form, Jesus, Mary, the saints, even the angels that took visible form. However, how is it OK to make images of God the Father who has never taken visible form?
I'm not saying l have the answer but my friend Bríd had a near death experience
and she talks about the" tinfoil man" because of the blinding light.
The mystic Sr. Eugenia, received messages from God the Father(approved in Italy).
The main point is that He wants the first Sunday in August dedicated to Him .
I was disappointed because l forgot this year to honour Him privately
and there is an image of God the Father seated,holding the globe
and amazingly He has aged so well that He only looks about 33.
I like that image!
I try to give all my images a turn but l don't like a clutter of pictures.
Good question
This is not a real answer but just what Jesus said. If you see Me you see the Father. That is why a lot of times you see the Father shown as an older version of how Jesus is pictured.
@@dianefrank3688 Good point, l hadn't thought of that!☀️
@@dianefrank3688 That’s interesting. I’ve never thought of that. Thanks!🤔🙏❤️
So I guess images are just points-of-focus to assist you to reach those they represent.
Kind of like those point-of-sale thingys that assist you in making purchases.
I think of them as holy reminders.😊🙏❤️
I have a secret. I am praying too. There is the inclusive body of Christ. T hank you.
What about images that are “miraculous”? I see people who exteriorly (i may be judging wrongly) who seems to have faith that touching them can bring healing? Isn’t that like worshipping?
I know this comment is quite old, but if you're still wondering, I think you are referring to relics, which is a different class of thing. We know that when the woman touched Jesus' garment (not Jesus, although I'm should His body would do it too) power went forth from Jesus and healed her. We know that this applies for Saints too, When someone touched Peter's garment, they were healed.
Sauce?
BBQ, tnks.
Seriously, it's the same *source* that tells you to use your right hand or your left to put food in your mouth to satiate that yearning in your stomach. Same one makes you grab some sand or shells to take home to remind you of the special holiday time you've had. Or keep your late daughter's fav toy in your car. Must everything be in the Bible for you to do? No. Must you limit God as being unable to guide before & beyond the written scripture? No.
@@lguevara586Amen!🙏❤️
"Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe." ~ T H Huxley
It is basically scientific demarcation. If you have no verifiable/falsifiable evidence, then there's no reason to believe the claim.
Fine. Then forget science.
Seriously, I wish I could cleanse the influence of western science out of my life. It’s caused *so much hollowness.*
@@TheTrueOnyxRose Yeah, well, good luck with that. Empirical justification is pretty much how we know anything. You might wander out into a busy street, if you stop believing that there's any evidence that a large metal object, moving at a high velocity, will cause you any discomfort.
@@TheHuxleyAgnostic:
Generations of people lived for centuries without large metal objects moving at high velocities. In some parts of the world, they still do. What all has mankind sacrificed because of western science? What all is mankind about to sacrifice because of it? As of now, our personhood is all but irretrievably gone.
I don’t know about you, but I like my personhood. I’d rather not be a statistic or a bot…irrelevant.
@@TheTrueOnyxRose Nothing you said refutes that you should accept the scientific fact that a high speed large metal object will flatten you. If you don't buy it, and wander out into traffic, it won't be good.
@@TheHuxleyAgnostic:
Oh I *should.* I got it. Because I’m forced to. Because you said so. Very funny.
The solution, if I realistically had one, is to not even be anywhere near places where such things are. They make things easier at first…until we’re wondering what’s wrong with *us.* We really don’t need them. We want them. Western science and technology has made us spoiled and empty…and even greedy. We’re so addicted to them, we can’t imagine life without them.
Western science is something to tolerate. It’s not my job to embrace it as my surrogate faith. And then hunt for solid reasons to support it. I’m alright with what I got…if I could only unhook myself from that material madness.
You can have your science and your large high speed metallic objects, and any other materialistic, mechanistic goods you might embrace, if you want them. Just because I have them in my life too, that doesn’t mean I didn’t grow a dependence on them. At least I admit it.
And what other stuff from science should I accept too? As if life isn’t already full of pointlessly expensive science junk. I would have been alright with living neutrally alongside science, letting them say whatever. But apparently the scientific community wants to practically proselytize us into having curiosity and get excited over…what…ridiculously dull and boring subjects? You can’t make people enthusiastic over things they don’t care about, even if they *are* large thousand pound metallic objects traveling at high velocities. So what? All they’ll do is watch the clock, waiting for time to get out of class.
So Father, is keeping a St Christopher medal in your car because he represents protection or burying a statue of St Joseph to sell a house improper?
If it’s done for good luck, then it’s superstition
Or is it??? Maybe it's no different than askng a saint to intercede for us like a prayer to St Michael. Having those medals or statues are symbolic of their God given gifts.
If Jesus thought images were not allowed in Christianity, He would have not left His image in Veronica’s veil or the Shroud of Turin.
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Agnostic is one who says, I don't know; or there's no proof that God exists, or I'm indifferent or i don't care. This is the same as practical atheism.
Graven images: In the Incarnation, Gid has revealed himself through Jesus and his Mother Mary. Catholics never worship statues of Jesus or any saint, but see in them a prototype of the person whom we love and venerate. Veneration is an expression of affection that grows our affection. It is NOT adoration, which we owe only to God and the Blessed Holy Trinity.❤ Amen 🙏 🙏
Please say that agnostics do not see GODSONHOLYSPIRIT because they do not see Christ. All people know in utero that there is a God. The problem is we think we are the god of self
"Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the first commandment."
Some atheists take that position, but the denial or rejection is not a requirement for atheism. You cannot be an atheist unless you lack a belief in a god. Therefore the most common use of the word is a lack of belief. It is unfortunate that you didn't give the most commonly used definition of the word. Why am I not surprised.
Lack of belief implies denial. You don't believe because you deny He exists. Atheist, from its Greek roots, means "one who is without God". Like "amoral" means "one who is without morals."
Why be concerned about the meaning?
Why say it is unfortunate?
Why do you care?
@@wms72 Belief - being convinced that a proposition is true or likely true.
Denial - refuse to acknowledge a proposition is true or likely true.
They are not synonymous nor does one imply the other.
@@rjskeptic5273:
If you “lack belief,” as you put it in a fancy way, it’s synonymous with denial, if not equivalent to it. Atheism replaces faith with ignorance.
Are you *deliberately* trying to preach atheism? As if atheism is good news?
@@rjskeptic5273:
Seriously, why should you care?
All doctrine unique to the Catholic church is unnecessary if Christ's sacrifice is complete.
If Christ's sacrifice was perfect and he took away all sin past, present, and future than...
Penance has no purpose.
Purgatory has no point.
Absolution is unnecessary.
Need I go on?
Yes, Christ's sacrifice on the cross is complete and Final. The Bible confirms this repeatedly.
Flee this Anti-church.
Trust In Christ Alone.
Trust in him alone like you would trust a parachute. You can add nothing to a parachute by flapping your arms. Just as you can add nothing to the perfect and finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for all of your sins. Do not cheapen the saviors work by adding mans tradition on to it.
Flee and find a church that allows all of its members to drink from the cup of Christ, not just the priests.
...
We aren't responding to this comment either. We don't respond to anti Catholics.
God is perfectly and unapproachably holy and he will not allow the smallest selfishness into his kingdom.
He could have discarded us for our rebellion against him. Instead, he took upon himself the consequences for our selfish choices.
Most people have heard that Jesus died on the cross. But he didn't die for any random reason, he died to take the punishment upon him. The punishment that we deserved for bringing selfishness into God's perfect, pure environment. God is going to win, he is going to get sin/darkness out of his presence. You can either be on his side and let him cleanse you and fix you or you can be against him and you can be removed... *permanently.*
How many selfish things have you done?
Does God have reasons to punish/remove you?
@@brianhale3678
Honest questions are happily discussed. Put-downs are not entertained. We Catholics are Christians. Treat us as such.
@@trudyfriedrich7416 Amen! Thank God also for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.🙏❤️
Jesus. 335
Mary. 1
Mary was so important to the apostles when they were writing their letters to the New Testament churches that she was only mentioned once after Jesus had ascended to heaven. (Acts 1:14)
Jesus on the other hand was named 335 times. Mary was clearly unimportant to the early apostles. She has no role in salvation. She was an honorable young woman from Nazareth. She obeyed God.
Moving on to the gospel:
The Catholic church does not teach the true nature of sin.
It will not be allowed into the holy presence of God.
Romans 3:10-18 ESV -
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
How do you get to hell?
Very simple: claim that you're innocent.
How do you get to heaven?
Very simple: Admit that you're not Innocent, you're guilty and ask for mercy.
How many lies have you told in your life?
Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you?
Have you ever used God's holy name to curse, would you do that with your mother's name?
How many times have you gazed with lustful intent at someone or entertained lustful desire towards them?
Jesus offers mercy and access to his presence forever to those who will acknowledge their need for it. Heaven.
The alternative is taking our just punishment. Hell.
You are wasting our time again. We don't listen to anti Catholics.
Thank God he gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation because we’re all sinners.
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AMEN 🙏.
Amen
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