5.  There are times when we must use violence and courageously resist our sensual appetite, having no regard for the likes and dislikes of the flesh; but rather, making sure that the body, despite its protests, becomes subject to the spirit.
   It must be chastised and compelled to serve, until it is ready to obey in all things what the soul commands, and until it learns to be content with little, to delight in simple things and not to complain at any inconvenience. 

   (from) The Imitation of Christ Book 3:  Interior Conversation by Thomas A Kempis

Fasting

  My brothers, there are days when you volunteer to fast, and there are days when you are obligated to fast. The volunteering fast days, without a doubt, can benefit your spiritual life greatly.  It has the ability to cast out your darkness that you would be unable to without the fast, but mandatory fasting that the Church appoints is to benefit the whole Church and to help fight off the demons who seek to bring smoke into the Holy Church.  Why is the Holy Church struggling today?  It is a question that all the clergy must examine. If they look upon the Doctors of the Church, the solution is there, yet they struggle from modifications.  They do not seek the Traditions that held up the Church for centuries.  Today there is no sacrifice in the Church.  They make following our Lord as easy as possible, but to follow our Lord means utter suffering and sacrifice.  Who today in the Church is willing to sacrifice for her?  They remove the Holy Days of Obligation, the days of fasting, and because of this the Church is weak and frail, and the smoke has entered.  If no one is willing to fight for Traditions, to make sacrifices, the pain of the Church will grow, and many of her children will flee and apostasies will come in and lead many astray.  The Church will not fail, but many will fail in her.  I tell you, the Church has become a place of comfort and convenience when it should be a place of penance and sacrifice.  How sad you have become?  It should be a place of penance and sacrifice where pain and sorrow is felt in every heart for the great abominations that are taking place within the world today.  Fasting on days appointed is not an option; it is mandatory, but many refuse to do this which weakens the Church greatly.
        (from) For the Love of the Sinner by John F. Bernardone

The First Commandment (continued)

   Many in the world today question God's existence.  They search for the meaning of life and how this planet came into existence.  They have theories, and then they bear false witness to back up their theories, and because of this they call down upon us the justice of God.  Children are taught in our schools that man did not come from God, but through evolution.  This is clearly a violation of the First Commandment and should be cast out from all schools that teach this blasphemy, for God is the Creator of Heaven and earth.  His is a Good and Gracious God, slow to anger, but His Justice is profound.


   God gives us the Commandments so that we can recognize the authority He has over us.  Those who hear the Word of God and refuse the authority He has over them, shall feel His punishment upon their death, where suffering is eternal.  God is a Good and Gracious God to those who love Him.  And to those who journey along the narrow path that God has given them through His Glorious Ten Commandments shall find eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven.  We should contemplate each and every day on the Generosity of God and on His Mercy and on His Justice.  It is important that we contemplate on our death as a reality and where our heart will be at the time of our death.  Will it be with our Lord or with the world?  It is important that we contemplate each day on our Almighty God, whether it is through the light that the Holy Gospel gives, or through the writings of the Saints that have gone before us.  Each day we must recognize our need for God and call upon Him through the means of prayer, for prayer is an act that strengthens the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.  Prayer is unity with God, and it relates our confidence in God, our reverence for God and our love for God.  Prayer of thanksgiving renders God honor.  Prayer is completely essential in our ability to obey the Commandments of God, for without prayer our spiritual life becomes weakened and becomes fragile, and that will eventually lead us into violating the Commandments of God. 


              to be continued...

The First Commandment (continued)

   There is great error in the world today.  Many believe that the ownership of the world belongs to mankind, when in all actuality it belongs to God.  The world is in such a confused state as they make gods of the land, of the sea, and of the air.  In our world today many worship false gods which is a direct violation of the First Commandment, and because of this the world is eclipsed by confusion.  One cannot serve two masters.  In today's world, many put more emphasis on money than upon our Almighty God.  When one begins to worship money, the light of faith becomes extinguished, leaving them in a state of emptiness.  Money has crippled many of us, for we have allowed it to possess us and to lead us in our decisions many times.  The monetary possessions in our life should hold no possession over us, nor should we ever become enslaved by them, for it is God Who we must serve, and we should put nothing before Him.  It is important that we give great glory to God.  We must worship Him and love Him for all that He has done for us, for He who is Almighty has blessed us with wisdom to know the reality of His Divine Presence in the world; for He is the One True God Who had made Heaven and earth.


   If one has spiritual sight they would be able to remove those things that have kept them blind and see the emptiness of this world. If only the world could recognize the Glory of the Father and the Wealth of His Righteousness, a Divine Peace would come into the world, blessing all people in His Holy Light, but in sadness, the world is too busy to take notice of the blessings that God has bestowed on them; for we must come to understand that the answers that lead to the Kingdom of Heaven are in the Ten Commandments of God.  Many in the world today rarely contemplate the Commandments enough, and because of this they become stagnant in their love for God.  Many souls contemplate and feel that the Commandments are simple, but in all reality they are complex, for the Commandments teach us that God must become the most important part of our life.  His light must radiate in everything that we do, everything that we have, and in everything we are.  We must never let a day pass without contemplating on our Glorious God and the many blessings that He has bestowed on us.  We cannot love anyone or anything above God, for God commands us in this Commandment to bless Him with our love.  It is most important that we glorify God through our love and obedience, but there is something that we must remember:  God has given us free will and it is up to us to decide for the Will of God to be done in us.  One might ask, "How can I decide for God's Will to be done in me?"  And the answer would be:  it is our duty to make available to God, self, mind, and spirit, which includes all of our possessions, both spiritually and physically. 


   God has been very patient and generous with us.  He has given us the time we have in order that we could convert back to His Love.  He has given us the food that we eat, the water we drink, and the home that we live in.  God has been very gracious with us by placing people in our lives that can help us in our journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, and God has blessed us with life itself, that many have taken for granted.

                            to be continued...   

The First Commandment

   The First Commandment that our Glorious God gave us reads, "I am the Lord your god, you shall not have false gods before Me."  The Almighty God is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. He is and always shall be.  He has created us out of love and in return, He expects and deserves all of our love.  In this Commandment we must love God with our whole heart and above all things, but in sadness many allow the flesh to lead them more than they allow the spiritual to lead them.  The devil is causing many to glorify the body more than glorifying our One True God.  God expects us to live in modesty, purity, and with self-control.  God expects us to be guided by the Holy Spirit, not by the flesh; but in sadness many have allowed the flesh to overwhelm them, to lead them, to imprison them; and by doing so they have already separated themselves from the Will of our Glorious God.  Many say that they believe in God, but then live a life in contradiction to what they have spoken.  If we live by the flesh then our flesh becomes our god, for we must come to understand that the flesh is a strong force that overwhelms many men and women of the world, crippling them in their spiritual journey.  Many allow the flesh to possess them, and then with their actions they are without fear when they displease God.  Many desecrate the flesh with marks upon their skin that are offensive to God.  Many in todays world violate the First Commandment indulging in sins of the flesh.  One who sows to the flesh shall receive its punishment, but when one sows to the Spirit, the First Commandment shall become clear and will be able to be lived sincerely, and they shall receive God's blessings.

to be continued...

Section One

The Ten Commandments

   Though we might think we are living a good life, based on the precepts of God and trying to follow all that His Son our Lord, Jesus Christ has come and revealed to us, is it possible that we are overlooking something and falling into the sin of presumption?

   In order to be doing all that we can, we must first look upon the Almighty God's Ten Commandments closer than we have; for how can we claim that we are living in the obedience of the Ten Commandments of God when in all reality we have not taken the time to examine each one on its own.  Though the Ten Commandments of God have been written upon our hearts, many today have forgotten their demands and cast them aside, making them an insignificant part of their life.  When in all reality they are a vital part of our spiritual journey to the Kingdom of Heaven.

   We must examine each Commandment on its own.  When our Lord Jesus was questioned, "Which Commandment in the Law is the most important?" Our Lord replied, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and love with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.  And the second Commandment is like it, you shall love thy neighbor as thyself.  With these two Commandments, the Law is fulfilled."  For when love of God and neighbor become a way of life, the Ten Commandments of God are fulfilled.

   The Commandments are not considerations or ideas; they are the commands that should not be violated in any form or way of life.  One might say, "I am weak," then they enter into their temptation, violating the Commandments of God, and another may say, "I will not allow my neighbor upon my property," revealing hatred towards their neighbor, which brings suffering upon their soul.  Our lives are to be a reflection of holiness, and in order to obtain this holiness we must strive with our whole heart to live in the obedience of the Ten Commandments of God, for they are the narrow path that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Those who refuse this path by violating the Commandments are on a path that leads to the fires of hell.  It is our duty to share these Ten Commandments from the Almighty God with you so that we may all learn of our failures and grow in the Wisdom of God.

(from) AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING IS NOW AND EVER SHALL BE  by John Francis Bernadone