I have been
looking into job leads, sending out my resume while still keeping a fulltime job
and all my other activities; thus, my schedule has been a bit constrained- with
the job search taking much of my thoughts and time…
Today, I
want to walk away from that topic and discuss something lighter – like the
arrival of fall! If I were a season, autumn
would be my name! Even though in
California the seasonal changes are quite subtle, I love this time of year. I love the crisp smell, the orange-mustard
hues, the crunch of the leaves and the lower temperatures. It’s sweater season. O’, how I love a good
cardigan let me count the ways (smile)!
And pumpkins – the sight of the orange spheres bring cuddles of happy to
my chest… But what I love most is the grey skies and the barren trees. If fall had a sound – it would be that of a “full”
silence as nature quietly sheds its skin.
Don’t be tricked by its understated change, deep within its roots, life begins
to fall asleep awaiting for the indication to rise again. This sleepiness of fall is what draws me
so. The hushed stupor feels like an
incarnation of an introverted spirit: one so calm and one so still. Unlike spring and summer with its loud colors and sounds, fall’s low vocal cords require a trained ear. During the fall things begin to look dead, like
they will no longer bear fruits, but if you look deeply a trained eye sees the
transformation happening - a change, from what was to what will be. At the beginning of fall, when I walk Dollar
I can taste the season, it lingers on my lips and caresses my body with its
large, breezy wings. It motions me to
listen, to quiet my soul. To hear and
see what goes unaware.
Many, many years
ago generations assigned gods for the many aspects of creation. The Greek
goddess Carpo was in charge of autumn and a bountiful harvest. Some cultures enamored by nature decided to
make mother earth a god. While I find
mythology quite beautiful, there’s not an ounce of reason that supports those
claims. Yet, the God with a capital “G”
that I believe in has shown me that reason and faith can stand side by
side. We live in such a perfect world,
where the laws of nature follow such an embedded code that they know when to
begin preparing for the long winter sleep.
God used science to create this complex universe; but, like the genius
that He is, He left us visual poetry that reaches the soul in ways no
scientific formula can. You can
understand scientifically the amazing process of the seasons, but when you’re
enveloped in that fresh gust of wind and see the long fingers of the branches saluting
the heavens – something like the most pure wonder caresses the spirit.
Fall prepares
nature for its upcoming rest and even when things look dead after a proper
period of waiting life will soon peak through again and all will be more
glorious. Great things happen during
autumn, but they are so muted that one needs to calm the spirit and will it to
listen. November twentieth is my last
day at the office, but I am at peace because life continues even when some channels
appear to be dying. Fall doesn’t panic because
it knows that spring will follow after the winter. God wrote a beautiful symphony with the
seasons, a song so full of truth that comforts those who dare to stop and listen. It’s cyclical and full
of change like our lives; but there’s beauty and hope in its continuous
stages. The year wouldn’t be complete
without fall just like our lives wouldn’t be complete without the moments of
shedding and even the moments of rest.
ReplyDeleteDear Catholic Crusader,
The essential substance of all Roman Catholic doctrine is called, Transubstantiation, and in this essay we will challenge you with 100 reasons why it is actually VOID of substance. While the essay is rather long, no one is asking you to read it in one sitting. The point is that the Word of God produces tremors like a ready to explode volcano, belching out an avalanche of evidence against this vacuous doctrine that it's enough to bury Transubstantiation like a lava-stricken city.
To find the answer, the mindset of an archeologist was employed to scratch not just the surface of the Bible, but to dig into even deeper depths to see if this doctrine is the “most precious treasure of all” as is claimed (Mysterium Fidei, intro). And yet, after going on this archeological expedition, we discovered the theological fossils did not at all fit the “mummified remains” of Jesus Christ being “buried” in the Eucharist. Rather, we unearthed 100 artifacts against it. To arrive at this "intellectual epiphany", our primary excavation tools were the unshakable Scriptures, which God likens to a hammer that smashes a rock into pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). Our thesis conclusion, set forth here at the beginning, is that the skeletal framework of Transubstantiation is a bone of contention that must be hammered into pieces.
Jesus commands us to be "fruit inspectors" (Matt 7:16-20). Even though the RCC "fruit tree" may offer "shade in the summer" in the forms of hospitals and soup kitchens, a naive person might conclude that because the fruit is genuine, the tree itself must be genuine also. But this is not always the case! (2 Cor 11:14). It is therefore vital to investigate and not just believe everything we hear (Prov 25:2; Luke 8:18; John 4:1). Either Transubstantiation is true, or it is an enduring deception that has run rampant, turning into a cataclysmic religious disaster which has "deceived the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Hence, it is crucial that we be “vigilant” (1 Pet 5:8).
The almost “romantic fidelity” to Transubstantiation springs forth from the opinion that consuming the “organic and substantial” body of Christ in the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (CCC 1129, 1355, 1359). Thus, if it’s true that in the Eucharist, Transubstantiation becomes the "center, source and summit of the Christian life" (CCC 1324, 1343), then we would agree the whole world ought to become Roman Catholic, and subsequently follow the intelligentsia of Rome which claims to be the center of all truth (CCC 834, 1383). On the other hand, if it is not true, then this doctrine becomes a devastatingly grim nightmare on the same level as those other false doctrines which Jesus says, “I hate” (Rev 2:15). Our burden here is to safeguard the gospel (Jude 1:3). If a religious system professing to be Christian is going to demand that something be done as a prerequisite for eternal life, it is vital to scrutinize this claim under the searchlight of Scripture and with “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Proverbs 25:2 says, "the honor of a king is to search out a matter". We shall do likewise.
Determined to test all things by Holy Writ (1 Thess 5:21; Acts 17:11, 2 Cor 10:5), the following 100 reasons have been compiled to an extravagant length to provoke you to consider the cognitive complexities of this doctrine which we conclude are biblically unbearable. We are so convinced the Bible builds a cogent, concrete case against this superstition, that we will not allow the things we have in common to suppress the more urgent need to confront the differences that divide us, such as Transubstantiation. We are told this issue directly impacts our eternal destiny, so it must not be ignored. The Lord Jesus came to divide and conquer by the truth of His word. He said, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" (Luke 12:51-53).
For the essay of 100 reasons, e-mail me at
Eucharistangel@aol.com