God thinks my soul is worth:

My soul is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. God thinks my soul is worth the Father sending the Son to earth; the Son suffering and dying, giving his will, in perfect obedience unto death, and for the offering of himself for my sin to save me; the Holy Spirit is willing to live in my spiritually and morally broken body to empower me to live in with and through Christ, to suffer for His sake for His Glory. 

Christian Marching Orders

Christian Marching Orders:

Love must be true, not just to get something 

Detest Evil

Cling to Good

Be devoted to your spiritual siblings in love

Give to your spiritual siblings honor and preference

Contribute to your spiritual siblings in love

Be diligent 

Impassioned by the Holy Spirit 

Serve the Lord

Rejoice in HOPE

Persevere in Trial

Devoted to Prayer

Practice Hospitality

Bless, do not curse those that persecute you

Rejoice with those who rejoice

Weep with those who weep

Be of the same mind toward one another

Do not be prideful or think you are wise

Associate with the lowly. 

Never repay evil for evil to anyone

Respect what is right. 

Be at peace with all people. 

Never take your own revenge, leave it for the wrath of God “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 

If your enemy is hungry or thirsty, give him good and water

Do not be overcome by evil

Overcome evil with good

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (the Armor of Light v12)

Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Romans 12:9-21

Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ (the Armor of Light v12), and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Suffering is love

Jesus channels it into an embrace of the Father’s will: “The cup that I drink of you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.”

Jesus is speaking to you and me, is challenging you and me. The challenge is not an easy one. It would be easy for us to become discouraged. What Jesus shows us through his life and suffering and death is that the cup of sacrifice is also one of intimacy with God. Every willing act of death to self for the sake of the kingdom brings us closer to Jesus.

The more fully we are willing to drink of this cup, the more fully we learn that Jesus never asks more of us than he empowers us to give. Jesus is always inviting us to “draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus is reminding us that he knows what our suffering is like, and we never have to suffer alone. He is telling us that our suffering can be a time of grace – for us and others.

Are we willing to drink of our cup, as Jesus drank of his? If we are willing, then let us approach Jesus where we will receive mercy and find grace to help us.

Suffering

First, much grace is won in the life of the person suffering when that suffering is freely embraced.  Grace can also be won for the lives of others when physical suffering is offered as a prayer for their good.  The way this grace is won is not so much by the suffering itself; rather, it is won through the free choice to embrace that suffering as a sacrifice.  This denial of one’s own will becomes an open door to the storehouse of Mercy in Heaven.  God smiles upon these physical sacrifices and especially upon the free choice of their embrace. 

The physical pain our Lord endured may not have matched His interior suffering, but it was part of His perfect Will to offer His physical pain to the Father for the redemption of the world.  Do not doubt the value of your free embrace of every pain and discomfort.  Give it to God and you will be blessed as others are blessed through this offering.

Lord, I do offer to You, this day, all the pain and discomfort I feel now and will feel in the future.  Help me to embrace this suffering with a free embrace.  I choose it, dear Lord, and make it my offering to You so that You can transform it into Your Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Salvation outside the Church 💒

The question of salvation outside the Catholic Church is addressed in various Catholic teachings, which provide a nuanced understanding of the Church's position.

 

1. **General Principle**: The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is ultimately found in Christ and is mediated through the Church, which is considered the body of Christ. The phrase "Outside the Church there is no salvation" (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus) emphasizes the necessity of the Church for salvation, particularly for those who are aware of its truth and reject it[^3].

 

2. **Ignorance and Good Faith**: However, the Church acknowledges that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or the Church may still attain salvation. This includes individuals who sincerely seek God and strive to do His will as understood through their conscience[^2][^7]. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that such individuals can achieve eternal salvation if they act under the inspiration of grace[^8].

 

3. **Baptism and Good Faith**: The Baltimore Catechism specifies that a person can be saved without knowing the Catholic Church is the true Church if they have been validly baptized, believe their religion to be true, and die without mortal sin[^4]. This indicates that valid baptism and a sincere faith can play a crucial role in salvation.

 

4. **Divine Mercy**: The teachings also reflect God's mercy, suggesting that those who live according to natural law and seek to obey God, even if they are not part of the Catholic Church, may be granted eternal life[^9]. Pope Pius IX emphasized that God’s kindness does not permit anyone who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishment[^9].

 

5. **Role of the Church**: While the Church insists on the necessity of its teachings and sacraments for salvation, it also recognizes that grace can operate outside its visible boundaries. This is particularly true for those who are unaware of the Church's teachings due to invincible ignorance[^1][^3].

 

In summary, while the Catholic Church teaches that it is the ordinary means of salvation, it also provides a framework for understanding how individuals outside its visible communion may still be saved, particularly through God's grace and their sincere efforts to seek Him.

 

[^1] [Catholic Encyclopedia The Church](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm)

[^2] [Compendium of the CCC 171](https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#I%20Believe%20in%20the%20Holy%20Spirit)

[^3] [Catholic Encyclopedia Religious Toleration](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14763a.htm)

[^4] [A Catechism of Christian Doctrine (The Baltimore Catechism No. 3) 510](https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14553/pg14553.html#id00603)

[^5] [CCC 843](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM)

[^6] [Evangelii Gaudium 113](https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html)

[^7] [CCC 847](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM)

[^8] [CCC 1281](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3O.HTM)

[^9] [Quanto Conficiamur Moerore ](https://www.papalencyclicals.net//pius09/p9quanto.htm)

Pledge To God

Pledge to Jesus

I, THE undersigned,--in the Presence of God and of all the company of Heaven, having

considered the Infinite Mercy of His Heavenly Goodness towards me, a most miserable,

unworthy creature, whom He has created, preserved, sustained, delivered from so many

dangers, and filled with so many blessings: having above all considered the incomprehensible mercy and loving-kindness with which this most Good God has borne

with me in my sinfulness, leading me so tenderly to repentance, and waiting so patiently for me till this-- (present) year of my life, notwithstanding all my ingratitude, disloyalty and faithlessness, by which I have delayed turning to Him, and despising His Grace, have offended Him anew: and further, remembering that in my Baptism I was solemnly and happily dedicated to God as His child, and that in defiance of the profession then made in my name, I have so often miserably profaned my gifts, turning them against God's Divine Majesty:--

I, now coming to myself prostrate in heart and soul before the Throne of His Justice, acknowledge and confess that I am duly accused and convicted of treason against His Majesty, and guilty of the Death and Passion of Jesus Christ, by reason of the sins I have committed, for which He died, bearing the reproach of the Cross; so that I deserve nothing else save eternal damnation.

But turning to the Throne of Infinite Mercy of this Eternal God, detesting the sins of my

past life with all my heart and all my strength, I humbly desire and ask grace, pardon, and

mercy, with entire absolution from my sin, in virtue of the Death and Passion of that

same Lord and Redeemer, on Whom I lean as the only ground of my hope. 

I renew the sacred promise of faithfulness to God made in my name at my Baptism; renouncing the devil, the world, and the flesh, abhorring their accursed suggestions, vanities and lusts, now and for all eternity. And turning to a Loving and Pitiful God, I desire, intend, and deliberately resolve to serve and love Him now and eternally, devoting my mind and all its faculties, my soul and all its powers, my heart and all its affections, my body and all its senses, to His Will. I resolve never to misuse any part of my being by opposing His Divine Will and Sovereign Majesty, to which I wholly immolate myself in intention, vowing ever to be His loyal, obedient and faithful servant without any change or recall. But if unhappily, through the promptings of the enemy, or human infirmity, I should in anywise fail in this my resolution and dedication, I do most earnestly resolve by the grace of the Holy Spirit to rise up again so soon as I shall perceive my fall, and turn anew, without any delay, to seek His Divine Mercy. 

This is my firm will and intention,-- my inviolable, irrevocable resolution, which I make and confirm without any reserve, in the Holy Presence of God, in the sight of the Church triumphant, and before the Church militant, which is my mother, who accepts this my declaration, in the person of him who, as her representative, hears me make it. 

Be pleased, O Eternal, All-Powerful, and All- Loving God,-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to confirm me in this my resolution, and accept my hearty and willing offering. And inasmuch as Thou hast been pleased to inspire me with the will to make it, give me also the needful strength and grace to keep it. O God, Thou art my God, the God of my heart, my soul, and spirit, and as such I acknowledge and adore Thee, now and for all eternity. Glory be to Jesus. Amen

God is the Perfect Father. 

God is Perfect Mercy. 

You are either experiencing his love or his wrath. 

Both are from MERCY. 

Love, you experience when you are following and in union with Him. Here is where you find the Peace that surpasses all understanding. 

Wrath, you experience when you are following your own thoughts and not in union with Him. This is you getting the consequences from your sin so that you will be in search of peace, which only comes from God and union with Him. 

If you want union with God, He will give His Spirit and you will have fruit. 

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

These fruits are available even in the crucible. It is in clinging to God, knowing you are doing His will that brings this peace.  The absence of trials and temptations is not true peace. Doing God’s will is Love and Peace.