Greed (Avarice) vs. Charity (Generosity)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath." Sirach 5:10
"For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it." 1 Timothy 6:7
"For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains." 1 Timothy 6:10
"Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17
"Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never forsake you or abandon you." Hebrews 13:5
"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:3-4
"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasure in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Matthew 6:19-21
"It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25
"Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Luke 12:15
"If therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you that is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:11-13
"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Luke 6:38
"Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share." 1 Tim. 6:18
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure." Malachi 3:10
"...nor thieves, nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10
"Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7
Greed is the desire for wealth (money), power and material things or earthly treasures as well as other people's property. Greed is about more than money, and it is a kind of selfishness. It can also mean that you want the honor of the world and the best for yourself instead of pleasing God first. It is thinking you can never have enough money or possessions and that more is always better. We often assume that money exists for our own benefit, rather than for God or others. You start being a slave to these objects. God doesn't care how many toys, electronics, trading cards or other trinkets you have, He just wants you to follow Him. When you want to get your share and more, you don't make room for the spiritual reward of Heaven. For if your treasure is on earth, your heart will experience disappointment.
Charity is having an unselfish attitude which causes you to perform actions out of love for God. To be charitable is to have authentic love for others, which means to want what is really good for them. Charity or generosity will open your heart as well as the hearts of people who receive from you. It means being willing to share with others, and realizing that all you have belongs to God. It is also the ability to give to those in need without feeling superior or wanting to show off to others in a public way. And the more generously you give, the richer you will become. If you give, God will give back to you in some form of a blessing. You have to ask yourself, "Are you giving all you can to the Lord's Kingdom?" Giving at church and giving to your community is a selfless act. Tithing or almsgiving (10% of what we have earned) is bringing an offering to God or giving to a need. Charity may mean letting others get the credit or praise. You can also share the credit of successes with others or even share in the blame. You also need to remember to accept the help from others gratefully, knowing you can't do it all.
You are most like God when you give to others and doing good for others honors them and God. You need to give to God by enjoying what He gives to you. You cannot outgive God so give what you can of the money you earn and/or the services you provide with your time. In fact, He is the God of More - more of Himself and His goodness, more of His kindness and His mercy. He gives us not only eternal life, but the very presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
The best way to give is to give with cheer - it has to be from the heart, having a heart willing to give. You should give your time, attention and energy without expecting anything in return. Even being anonymous or doing your good deed in secret can bring about a lot of fun planning your surprise strategy. Too often our actions are good, but our reasons are not. Time and again people serve and give not from compassion, but from selfish motives. God knows sincere faith and loves a pure heart. You cannot give while expecting to get something in return. You must give and serve in response to God’s love not for others approval or recognition.
You can't take money or possessions with you when you die. You don't want your possessions to own you. It may be nice to bless others by giving maybe your toys, books or clothes to other children who don't have much. You can reach out in many ways with good works like cleaning a park, give 10% of your Halloween candy to missionaries in Africa or Operation Shoebox or perhaps shoveling, washing a car, doing yardwork for a neighbor. So start now to reserve a little extra money, time and energy so you can share it with those around you. As Catholic Christians, we should serve and give, even if no one notices because we know there is One who always sees.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Envy vs. Kindness (Love)
Envy vs. Kindness (Love)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue (Fruit of the Spirit)
"Anger is relentless, and wrath overwhelming-but before jealousy who can stand?" Proverbs 27:4
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth." James 3:14-16
"Let not kindness and fidelity leave you; bind them around your neck;" Proverbs 3:3
"A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself." Proverbs 11:17
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you, This is the law and the prophets." Mathew 7:12
"And the king will say to them in repky, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
"See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all."
1 Thessalonians 5:15
Envy is the desire for your neighbor’s property, status or situation. It is also the last Commandment, “Thou shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” In other words, it is when you wish you had it and they didn't have it. No matter what we have (own), you always want more, and more and more. It is also not being happy for the well-being of others, not caring about their joys and successes. It's thinking how good things always happen to someone else or that person doesn't work as hard as you and doesn't deserve the good things they have received. It is wishing you were as smart, popular or as good at sports as someone else and thinking you should have these characteristics instead. Sometimes it’s being jealous of that person for getting away with something. It makes you so angry, resentful that you start feeling sorry for yourself because someone has more than you. You may start wishing them ill and you behave badly to them, plotting evil plans for them.
Has something like this happened to you? You set your eyes on something that your friend has and you want it so badly. You know you'd be much happier if you only had what your neighbor has. Then you realize there's no way you can have it and that makes you want it even more. "That person doesn't deserve it then since I can't have it!" Then it becomes more about the desiring of the object than the possession itself. You want to rise above others and become better than them. This will backfire and only make you suffer and experience negative emotions and feel inferior to them.
Kindness is having a friendly and good-natured attitude toward others. It is having a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor, and this quality can help you make and keep friendships. It is having the attitude of knowing, liking and accepting other people, even someone you may not like very well. It is accepting them the way they are because that is how God made them. Kindness means taking a tender approach and having patience and compassion. It is the "golden rule" of treating others the way you would want to be treated. It encourages you to be good to everyone and having unconditional love towards all others. That way you can really care, help and trust others and you can inspire others to do the same. Kindness is also when you make sacrifices for others which helps you to be in God's image and likeness.
You are commanded to love your neighbors as ourselves as Jesus did. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan showed a great deal of kindness for the Jewish man who was hurting, even though Samaritans were not liked and often mistreated by the Jews. It is easy to be kind to those you like and those who like you. Are you willing to put your own hurt feelings aside to help someone that has not been kind in return? Jesus tells us that we are to show mercy to all ... not just the people we like. Jesus not only forgave his enemies but loved them and so should you.
You can speak a kind word or do a good deed. You should practice saying lots of kind words and do lots of kind things and be especially kind to your loved ones. When you do good deeds for others, you've done a good deed for God. Gentle words are better than harsh words, and good deeds are better than the other kind. Kind words help and cruel words hurt. That means to not gossip about others or listen to people who do (saying something about them that you wouldn't normally say if they were standing in earshot of you). It may be tempting to say bad things about people, and it can even make us feel important for awhile. But those bad things hurt others and they will come back and hurt you, too. You can also pray for the needs of others and ask God to place kindness and mercy in your heart. If someone doesn't treat you kindly or mistreats others, ask God to give you a merciful heart and kind attitude toward that person. And don't forget to thank God when someone treats you with a good and kind heart.
God wants you to be good and kind to everyone, especially the less fortunate. He will show you the needs of others and fill your heart with joy as you help people. When we are in trouble, it is God who sends us help through others. When God gives us a way to help others, that is what we must do. He will bless us and them too! We should treat both our friends and our enemies with kindness. If you're waiting for other people to be nice to you before you be nice to them, then you have it backwards. It starts with you. When someone is discouraged or sad, you can take the matter into your own hands and think of something you can do to cheer them up. When you say the right words at the right time to someone, you give them a gift that can change someone's day or even someone's life. It's up to you to step in and lend a helping hand and encourage others.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue (Fruit of the Spirit)
"Anger is relentless, and wrath overwhelming-but before jealousy who can stand?" Proverbs 27:4
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth." James 3:14-16
"Let not kindness and fidelity leave you; bind them around your neck;" Proverbs 3:3
"A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself." Proverbs 11:17
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you, This is the law and the prophets." Mathew 7:12
"And the king will say to them in repky, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
"See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all."
1 Thessalonians 5:15
Envy is the desire for your neighbor’s property, status or situation. It is also the last Commandment, “Thou shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” In other words, it is when you wish you had it and they didn't have it. No matter what we have (own), you always want more, and more and more. It is also not being happy for the well-being of others, not caring about their joys and successes. It's thinking how good things always happen to someone else or that person doesn't work as hard as you and doesn't deserve the good things they have received. It is wishing you were as smart, popular or as good at sports as someone else and thinking you should have these characteristics instead. Sometimes it’s being jealous of that person for getting away with something. It makes you so angry, resentful that you start feeling sorry for yourself because someone has more than you. You may start wishing them ill and you behave badly to them, plotting evil plans for them.
Has something like this happened to you? You set your eyes on something that your friend has and you want it so badly. You know you'd be much happier if you only had what your neighbor has. Then you realize there's no way you can have it and that makes you want it even more. "That person doesn't deserve it then since I can't have it!" Then it becomes more about the desiring of the object than the possession itself. You want to rise above others and become better than them. This will backfire and only make you suffer and experience negative emotions and feel inferior to them.
Kindness is having a friendly and good-natured attitude toward others. It is having a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor, and this quality can help you make and keep friendships. It is having the attitude of knowing, liking and accepting other people, even someone you may not like very well. It is accepting them the way they are because that is how God made them. Kindness means taking a tender approach and having patience and compassion. It is the "golden rule" of treating others the way you would want to be treated. It encourages you to be good to everyone and having unconditional love towards all others. That way you can really care, help and trust others and you can inspire others to do the same. Kindness is also when you make sacrifices for others which helps you to be in God's image and likeness.
You are commanded to love your neighbors as ourselves as Jesus did. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan showed a great deal of kindness for the Jewish man who was hurting, even though Samaritans were not liked and often mistreated by the Jews. It is easy to be kind to those you like and those who like you. Are you willing to put your own hurt feelings aside to help someone that has not been kind in return? Jesus tells us that we are to show mercy to all ... not just the people we like. Jesus not only forgave his enemies but loved them and so should you.
You can speak a kind word or do a good deed. You should practice saying lots of kind words and do lots of kind things and be especially kind to your loved ones. When you do good deeds for others, you've done a good deed for God. Gentle words are better than harsh words, and good deeds are better than the other kind. Kind words help and cruel words hurt. That means to not gossip about others or listen to people who do (saying something about them that you wouldn't normally say if they were standing in earshot of you). It may be tempting to say bad things about people, and it can even make us feel important for awhile. But those bad things hurt others and they will come back and hurt you, too. You can also pray for the needs of others and ask God to place kindness and mercy in your heart. If someone doesn't treat you kindly or mistreats others, ask God to give you a merciful heart and kind attitude toward that person. And don't forget to thank God when someone treats you with a good and kind heart.
God wants you to be good and kind to everyone, especially the less fortunate. He will show you the needs of others and fill your heart with joy as you help people. When we are in trouble, it is God who sends us help through others. When God gives us a way to help others, that is what we must do. He will bless us and them too! We should treat both our friends and our enemies with kindness. If you're waiting for other people to be nice to you before you be nice to them, then you have it backwards. It starts with you. When someone is discouraged or sad, you can take the matter into your own hands and think of something you can do to cheer them up. When you say the right words at the right time to someone, you give them a gift that can change someone's day or even someone's life. It's up to you to step in and lend a helping hand and encourage others.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sloth (Laziness) vs. Diligence (Self Discipline)
Sloth (Laziness) vs Diligence (Self Discipline)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
“ The soul of the sluggard craves in vain, but the diligent soul is amply satisfied. ” Proverbs 13:4
“In the seedtime the sluggard plows not; when he looks for the harvest, it is not there.” Prov. 20:4
"Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have" Ecclesiasstes 9:10
“When hands are lazy, the rafters sag; when hands are slack, the house leaks.” Eccl. 10:18
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31
Sloth is the failure to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. It is the deadly sin of avoiding physical and spiritual work. Physical sloth includes laziness and procrastination. It is not doing things at the proper time. Procrastinating is not getting around to doing things and leads you to have excuses. Sloth can also mean spiritual laziness in our relationship with God. It is about not caring about the things that should matter and that are meaningful to the soul. It is also failing to seek the spiritual growth that God calls you to and not making good use of the talents God has given you. Being busy all the time may even be more of a deadly sin than “doing nothing.” Have you heard yourself ever breathe these words?:
When your parents ask you to do them a favor or help out around the house, they don't want to give you an extra 15 minutes to finish that last level of Super Mario Brothers. It may be easy for you to see how your dad never gets around to do what he promised you, but do you see the same sin in your own life? Did you know that when you are lazy, you are committing acts of selfishness, extreme arrogance and irresponsiblity?
Diligence is the virtue and the opposite of sloth. You need to have the kind of self-discipline that does not wait to be asked to serve, that does not need to be reminded a second time even when you’d rather be lying down on the couch in front of the TV. God wants you to be diligent in taking care of your soul. That means you need to pray and learn about God. Sometimes you are so busy and your lives are filled with distractions and interruptions with noise, that you do not listen to God. You should set your heart on making the most of the time you have, so you need to evaluate your priorities.
You need to put God first in your life instead of filling your life up with so much busyness or activities where you don’t have anything left over for God. Otherwise, this may lead you into temptations and give you no time to serve others. If you fill your life with things that are not important or are low priority commitments, you don’t even have the energy left for those closest to you. You shouldn't waste time or effort on things that don’t really matter. You should not be lazy about making, maintaining or deepening relationships since these are the things that you should value and give your effort toward. So take action in the present moment and spend your time more wisely in loving and serving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength. God has called you. He has something for you to do. How are you spending your time? Are you productively making a positive difference with your life? Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You can choose to make it a wonderful day with God. So rise up and do it!
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31
- What fun is that?
- I shouldn’t have to do it.
- This is boring.
- Do I have to say my prayers?
- I’ll do it, I’ll do it!
- Why does Mom always have to be such a nag?
- Hang on mom, I'll do it after.
- I don't feel like it.
- I'll do it tomorrow?
When your parents ask you to do them a favor or help out around the house, they don't want to give you an extra 15 minutes to finish that last level of Super Mario Brothers. It may be easy for you to see how your dad never gets around to do what he promised you, but do you see the same sin in your own life? Did you know that when you are lazy, you are committing acts of selfishness, extreme arrogance and irresponsiblity?
Responsibility is doing what is expected of you. Work is not being lazy, but doing the tasks God gives you. If you put off the voice from heaven telling you what God’s will is, then that is sloth. Even Peter, James and John did not remain with Jesus and stay awake with Him in the Garden. Jesus could not rely on them and they let Jesus down. You may wait to do your chores or school work and decide to take a break or figure you’ll just do it in the morning. If this is the case, you are just plain lazy and if you don’t correct it, it may become part of your character. You become a real slacker.
You may put off making commitments and living life to the fullest. You may have every excuse in the book, "When I get out of school, then I'll commit my life to God" or "As soon as I have some money, my life will change." You may have no time to even think or listen. We know what God wants us to do, but we pause and make an excuse. You shouldn't make excuses and waste you life by putting off the important long-term priorities for the less important short-term ones. You need to hear God’s will and hear what others need. You may need to give advice or listen instead of talking. You might need to listen and rest instead of being on the move. You have a responsibility to God to make use of the gifts He has given to you.
You may put off making commitments and living life to the fullest. You may have every excuse in the book, "When I get out of school, then I'll commit my life to God" or "As soon as I have some money, my life will change." You may have no time to even think or listen. We know what God wants us to do, but we pause and make an excuse. You shouldn't make excuses and waste you life by putting off the important long-term priorities for the less important short-term ones. You need to hear God’s will and hear what others need. You may need to give advice or listen instead of talking. You might need to listen and rest instead of being on the move. You have a responsibility to God to make use of the gifts He has given to you.
You need to put God first in your life instead of filling your life up with so much busyness or activities where you don’t have anything left over for God. Otherwise, this may lead you into temptations and give you no time to serve others. If you fill your life with things that are not important or are low priority commitments, you don’t even have the energy left for those closest to you. You shouldn't waste time or effort on things that don’t really matter. You should not be lazy about making, maintaining or deepening relationships since these are the things that you should value and give your effort toward. So take action in the present moment and spend your time more wisely in loving and serving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength. God has called you. He has something for you to do. How are you spending your time? Are you productively making a positive difference with your life? Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You can choose to make it a wonderful day with God. So rise up and do it!
Pride vs. Humility
Pride vs. Humility
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Likewise, you younger members, be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 and 6
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others."
Philippians 2:3-4
Pride is the 1st of the 7 deadly sins and Humility is its opposite heavenly virtue.
Pride is when you give yourself credit for things that God has done. It’s bringing praise and honor to yourself instead of God who is really the one accomplishing something though you. Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I’m the best. I’m always right. I’m the greatest. I’m more talented that you.” If you have mouthed these words, then it shows you have a big ego. In other words, you’re saying, “It’s all about me and my interests and I’m above everyone else.” It may even lead you into thinking that you are even superior to God. False pride takes on the form of self-worship also known as arrogance. This is when you pretend you are better than everyone else and are unwilling to admit mistakes. It means bragging about how good you have it.
When you think only of yourself, you are being conceited. It can mean being unkind to people by being hurtful or sarcastic to them or even angry with them because they aren’t doing what you were planning on doing. It may mean you are talking too much, thinking that what you have to say is more important than what anyone else has to say. You may even feel the need to act out with bizarre behavior or dress differently to get noticed because you want the attention. It is thinking you don’t need other people or feel so down on yourself to the point that you think you have no gifts, talents or special abilities. In this case you are not respecting who you are or what you can do without getting the approval from others. You are rather wanting others to acknowledge that you are a more important human being.
When you have such a high value placed on yourself, it usually means you have a low value of others. When you are self-concerned and overly consumed with yourself and your own desires, you are in your own little world and become selfish or not other-concerned people that God has called you to be. Selfishness can ruin friendships, work relationships and, ultimately, pulls us further from Christ and lead to despair and lonliness. To be Christ-like, you must put others before yourself.
Humble people live differently than proud people. To them, it is all about God and putting your relationship with God at center stage. When you are humble, you have the attitude that you need God and that you can accomplish things only under God’s power and authority. Being humble has to do with respect for yourself without having it confirmed by others and not trying to seek outside approval. It’s a matter of controlling what you say or holding your tongue. Having true humility is putting others first and ahead of yourself. It’s offering help to others as well as accepting help given to you. It’s accepting each other for who they are and supporting each other with their struggles and problems. You shouldn't think of yourself first but think of other people ahead of yourself. Your friends are just as important to God as yourself. It is selfish to want your way all or most of the time. I'm sure you've heard, "It is so much more wonderful to give than to receive," and it is really true.
Thinking of others and caring about your friend's interests and concerns is what you are called to do. It is a call to unity, a call to be others-focused.It is better to put others’ needs before your own. It is easy and natural to look after and care only for yourself, but the Lord wants you to look out for more than just number one. He tells you to love your neighbors. Understanding that everyone is equal in God’s eyes will help you walk in true humility. It allows you to work better together with those in your church, neighborhoods and communities when you realize that your needs are not any greater than the needs of another. It is easy to get so wrapped up in yourself-your schedule, your problems, your stresses—that you do not take time to think about what others around you are going through. So each day, ask the Lord to give you a humble spirit and an eye for the needs of others.
Why is it difficult for you to love our enemies? It is because of pride. You think to yourself: how can I love someone who does not see my kind gestures, does not understand what a wonderful person I am? How will I do good unto someone who does not value me? And how do you love your enemies or someone you find hard to love? What is the key? Humility.
Try to be nice to someone, no matter how the other person acts towards you; try to do something good for him or her without expecting anything in return. If you are able to do this, an entirely new world will open up to you, a higher world, and you will feel the extraordinary power and energy of love that you get from God and the Holy Spirit within you. Then you will clearly realize that it is much more wonderful to give than to receive – both things and feelings. How is your sensitivity toward other people? Do you take time to care about the needs of your friends and family? Sometimes we get so absorbed with our own personal problems we forget that others are hurting inside and may need our attention. The strange thing about it is that when we give love and concern to others, we usually forget about our own problems. Who can you make feel special or like royalty today? How can you show them that you care about them?
We are all imperfect people and we can turn our brokenness over to God and find love and support in a community of other not so perfect people. You can walk a mile in someone else's shoes and seek God’s will above all else. Just don’t forget that all your capabilities and skills come from God. You will then have peace with God and others. After all, the humble will inherit the earth.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Likewise, you younger members, be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 and 6
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others."
Philippians 2:3-4
Pride is the 1st of the 7 deadly sins and Humility is its opposite heavenly virtue.
Pride is when you give yourself credit for things that God has done. It’s bringing praise and honor to yourself instead of God who is really the one accomplishing something though you. Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I’m the best. I’m always right. I’m the greatest. I’m more talented that you.” If you have mouthed these words, then it shows you have a big ego. In other words, you’re saying, “It’s all about me and my interests and I’m above everyone else.” It may even lead you into thinking that you are even superior to God. False pride takes on the form of self-worship also known as arrogance. This is when you pretend you are better than everyone else and are unwilling to admit mistakes. It means bragging about how good you have it.
When you think only of yourself, you are being conceited. It can mean being unkind to people by being hurtful or sarcastic to them or even angry with them because they aren’t doing what you were planning on doing. It may mean you are talking too much, thinking that what you have to say is more important than what anyone else has to say. You may even feel the need to act out with bizarre behavior or dress differently to get noticed because you want the attention. It is thinking you don’t need other people or feel so down on yourself to the point that you think you have no gifts, talents or special abilities. In this case you are not respecting who you are or what you can do without getting the approval from others. You are rather wanting others to acknowledge that you are a more important human being.
When you have such a high value placed on yourself, it usually means you have a low value of others. When you are self-concerned and overly consumed with yourself and your own desires, you are in your own little world and become selfish or not other-concerned people that God has called you to be. Selfishness can ruin friendships, work relationships and, ultimately, pulls us further from Christ and lead to despair and lonliness. To be Christ-like, you must put others before yourself.
Humble people live differently than proud people. To them, it is all about God and putting your relationship with God at center stage. When you are humble, you have the attitude that you need God and that you can accomplish things only under God’s power and authority. Being humble has to do with respect for yourself without having it confirmed by others and not trying to seek outside approval. It’s a matter of controlling what you say or holding your tongue. Having true humility is putting others first and ahead of yourself. It’s offering help to others as well as accepting help given to you. It’s accepting each other for who they are and supporting each other with their struggles and problems. You shouldn't think of yourself first but think of other people ahead of yourself. Your friends are just as important to God as yourself. It is selfish to want your way all or most of the time. I'm sure you've heard, "It is so much more wonderful to give than to receive," and it is really true.
Thinking of others and caring about your friend's interests and concerns is what you are called to do. It is a call to unity, a call to be others-focused.It is better to put others’ needs before your own. It is easy and natural to look after and care only for yourself, but the Lord wants you to look out for more than just number one. He tells you to love your neighbors. Understanding that everyone is equal in God’s eyes will help you walk in true humility. It allows you to work better together with those in your church, neighborhoods and communities when you realize that your needs are not any greater than the needs of another. It is easy to get so wrapped up in yourself-your schedule, your problems, your stresses—that you do not take time to think about what others around you are going through. So each day, ask the Lord to give you a humble spirit and an eye for the needs of others.
Why is it difficult for you to love our enemies? It is because of pride. You think to yourself: how can I love someone who does not see my kind gestures, does not understand what a wonderful person I am? How will I do good unto someone who does not value me? And how do you love your enemies or someone you find hard to love? What is the key? Humility.
Try to be nice to someone, no matter how the other person acts towards you; try to do something good for him or her without expecting anything in return. If you are able to do this, an entirely new world will open up to you, a higher world, and you will feel the extraordinary power and energy of love that you get from God and the Holy Spirit within you. Then you will clearly realize that it is much more wonderful to give than to receive – both things and feelings. How is your sensitivity toward other people? Do you take time to care about the needs of your friends and family? Sometimes we get so absorbed with our own personal problems we forget that others are hurting inside and may need our attention. The strange thing about it is that when we give love and concern to others, we usually forget about our own problems. Who can you make feel special or like royalty today? How can you show them that you care about them?
We are all imperfect people and we can turn our brokenness over to God and find love and support in a community of other not so perfect people. You can walk a mile in someone else's shoes and seek God’s will above all else. Just don’t forget that all your capabilities and skills come from God. You will then have peace with God and others. After all, the humble will inherit the earth.
Gluttony (Excess) vs. Temperance (Moderation)
Gluttony vs. Temperance
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
*omit if not age-appropriate
“For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty.” Proverbs 23:21a
“He who keeps the law is a wise son, but the glutton's companion disgraces his father.” Proverbs 28:7
Gluttony is not being able to control yourself - whether it is eating, drinking too much or allowing yourself to be guided by what you feel. It is also the desire for obtaining more than you really need. In other words, it is being self-indulgent.. It is also worshiping your things too much, making them idols. It can apply to toys, television, entertainment, *sex or relationships. Instead, we should obey the First Commandment of "having no other gods before Me, the Lord, your God."
Have you ever heard yourself or others say
A glutton can never get enough to fully enjoy and it can harm your soul as well as not be healthy for your body.
While gluttony is about being a slave to something, the virtue of temperance brings freedom. Temperance is having balance or moderation in what you do and how you live. You must have moderation in all aspects of your life. For example, moderation in your speech would be to not gossip or tell stories that aren’t true or hurtful to someone. There’s moderation for your eyes, not looking at indecent and inappropriate things. What about moderation for your temper by managing your anger and not bursting into flames at someone? It is having the will power to stop since you want to honor the body God gave you instead of turning into a fat slob.
We live in a world that tells us that if feels good, it must be good for us. Just because it may fill our senses with a thrill, it does not always bring us the best of circumstances. Instead of consuming too much or focusing on things that give us pleasure for only a moment, we should practice temperance. True pleasure is found through awareness and appreciating the practice of moderation and self-control.
You can try to strengthen your will and the ability to control yourself with God’s help. You may be too concerned about what makes you feel good that you forget the ways of God. You need to make a point to leave room for God instead of filling your life with too much so God can be your reason for living. We must also put your own wants and needs aside for the good of others.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
*omit if not age-appropriate
“For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty.” Proverbs 23:21a
“He who keeps the law is a wise son, but the glutton's companion disgraces his father.” Proverbs 28:7
Gluttony is not being able to control yourself - whether it is eating, drinking too much or allowing yourself to be guided by what you feel. It is also the desire for obtaining more than you really need. In other words, it is being self-indulgent.. It is also worshiping your things too much, making them idols. It can apply to toys, television, entertainment, *sex or relationships. Instead, we should obey the First Commandment of "having no other gods before Me, the Lord, your God."
Have you ever heard yourself or others say
- Super size it!
- I just got to have that
- I might as well have a third one because I want to enjoy myself
- Fat genes run in my family so I can’t help how I take care of my body.
A glutton can never get enough to fully enjoy and it can harm your soul as well as not be healthy for your body.
While gluttony is about being a slave to something, the virtue of temperance brings freedom. Temperance is having balance or moderation in what you do and how you live. You must have moderation in all aspects of your life. For example, moderation in your speech would be to not gossip or tell stories that aren’t true or hurtful to someone. There’s moderation for your eyes, not looking at indecent and inappropriate things. What about moderation for your temper by managing your anger and not bursting into flames at someone? It is having the will power to stop since you want to honor the body God gave you instead of turning into a fat slob.
We live in a world that tells us that if feels good, it must be good for us. Just because it may fill our senses with a thrill, it does not always bring us the best of circumstances. Instead of consuming too much or focusing on things that give us pleasure for only a moment, we should practice temperance. True pleasure is found through awareness and appreciating the practice of moderation and self-control.
You can try to strengthen your will and the ability to control yourself with God’s help. You may be too concerned about what makes you feel good that you forget the ways of God. You need to make a point to leave room for God instead of filling your life with too much so God can be your reason for living. We must also put your own wants and needs aside for the good of others.
Grace
Grace
"But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 3
Grace is love given freely by God to you. It is God's powerful force of love within us. It fills your body and your soul to the very top so you can love. There is sanctifying grace and actual grace. Sanctifying grace is the life of God within you. In other words, it is God's gift of divine life into man's soul. It's what stays in your soul and it's what makes your soul holy. It IS supernatural life. God's free and generous gift is also called the "state of grace." Baptism puts sanctifying grace into your soul for the first time. You need sanctifying grace so you are able to live in Heaven (to share in God's happiness) and be in the perfect union with God, the source of all life. It really transforms your soul, actually wiping away our sins, makin it spotless and holy. If this kind of grace is in your soul when you die, you can live in Heaven (but you may need your soul first purified in Purgatory). If however, you are in a state of mortal sin (the serious kind), you cannot live in heaven. So you can lose sanctifying grace by committing a mortal sin because it destroy God's life in your soul. Once you have achieved sanctifying grace, you can increase it by doing good actions, receiving Communion and other sacraments, saying prayers, performing good works. You can serve the community of God through good works toward the sick and needy, and keeping God's commandments. You can also serve God through acts of charity through His love and acting out the virtues. You need to work on it to keep it by responding to His actual graces and continue to seek these actual graces ... a totally different kind of grace.
Actual grace is an undeserved favor or gift from God or you can think of it as a push of encouragement. You can think of it as a kind of helping grace or God's support for us in our day to day life. It kind of acts on the soul from the outside. It gets you moving so it's like a kick in the pants. With God's help, it allows you to act above your nature. When God gives you these divine pushes, all you have to do is go along with them. He may move you to do an act of faith or go to confession where through your reconciliation you will receive more sanctifying grace. Then you can have supernatural life again, But you can lose it very easily by committing a mortal sin. Venial sins don't do this but they can weaken us making you more distant from God. Using God's gift of free will or freedom of choice, you are called to accept the divine love of God. Grace gives you the ability to live life according to the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is received and celebrated in community with each other. You are empowered to forgive, to accept without judgment, to give without asking for return, to love without end. This is a power that can do marvelous things! It can heal and bind people together, give comfort and peace, offer affectionate love and create new persons, rest peacefully and disturb the comfortable! So remember no matter what you do, there is nothing that can separate you from God's love. It's not about what you've done ... we really can't do enough. It's about God extending his grace to you because of God's crazy love for you! There's really nothing else like it in all the world!
Examples of grace from the Bible:
Jesus showed grace to Zacchaeus, a rich cheating tax collector when he invited himself to to stay at his house. He even said the name of Peter, the disiple who denied knowing Christ when Jesus returned from the dead and asked him if he loved Him....now that is God's amazing grace! Just think, the disciples didn't even get the concept of grace. Although everybody in town hated Zaccheus and looked down upon him as a crook, Jesus saw something different. He saw that Zaccheus had a new heart. Jesus saw that Zaccheus was sincerely seeking Him out. Zaccheus came seeking the Lord's forgiveness, he came seeking Him for direction, and Jesus told him then and there that He would come spend time with him at his house. Zaccheus may not even have known that he was lost, but he obviously knew that something in his life wasn't right. Fortunately for him, he went to the right person (Jesus Christ), and Zaccheus went from being a known sinner to becoming a child of God!
Jesus gave Peter a second chance. After Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. In front of everybody, Jesus specifically asked Peter if he loved Him. And when Peter said, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you," Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-19). What the Lord meant by that was that He wanted Peter to take on the role of a leader. Jesus knew that Peter was truly sorry for denying Him in the past, and he showed Peter that He still believed in him and that He wanted to use him for great things.
"But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 3
Grace is love given freely by God to you. It is God's powerful force of love within us. It fills your body and your soul to the very top so you can love. There is sanctifying grace and actual grace. Sanctifying grace is the life of God within you. In other words, it is God's gift of divine life into man's soul. It's what stays in your soul and it's what makes your soul holy. It IS supernatural life. God's free and generous gift is also called the "state of grace." Baptism puts sanctifying grace into your soul for the first time. You need sanctifying grace so you are able to live in Heaven (to share in God's happiness) and be in the perfect union with God, the source of all life. It really transforms your soul, actually wiping away our sins, makin it spotless and holy. If this kind of grace is in your soul when you die, you can live in Heaven (but you may need your soul first purified in Purgatory). If however, you are in a state of mortal sin (the serious kind), you cannot live in heaven. So you can lose sanctifying grace by committing a mortal sin because it destroy God's life in your soul. Once you have achieved sanctifying grace, you can increase it by doing good actions, receiving Communion and other sacraments, saying prayers, performing good works. You can serve the community of God through good works toward the sick and needy, and keeping God's commandments. You can also serve God through acts of charity through His love and acting out the virtues. You need to work on it to keep it by responding to His actual graces and continue to seek these actual graces ... a totally different kind of grace.
Actual grace is an undeserved favor or gift from God or you can think of it as a push of encouragement. You can think of it as a kind of helping grace or God's support for us in our day to day life. It kind of acts on the soul from the outside. It gets you moving so it's like a kick in the pants. With God's help, it allows you to act above your nature. When God gives you these divine pushes, all you have to do is go along with them. He may move you to do an act of faith or go to confession where through your reconciliation you will receive more sanctifying grace. Then you can have supernatural life again, But you can lose it very easily by committing a mortal sin. Venial sins don't do this but they can weaken us making you more distant from God. Using God's gift of free will or freedom of choice, you are called to accept the divine love of God. Grace gives you the ability to live life according to the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is received and celebrated in community with each other. You are empowered to forgive, to accept without judgment, to give without asking for return, to love without end. This is a power that can do marvelous things! It can heal and bind people together, give comfort and peace, offer affectionate love and create new persons, rest peacefully and disturb the comfortable! So remember no matter what you do, there is nothing that can separate you from God's love. It's not about what you've done ... we really can't do enough. It's about God extending his grace to you because of God's crazy love for you! There's really nothing else like it in all the world!
Examples of grace from the Bible:
Jesus showed grace to Zacchaeus, a rich cheating tax collector when he invited himself to to stay at his house. He even said the name of Peter, the disiple who denied knowing Christ when Jesus returned from the dead and asked him if he loved Him....now that is God's amazing grace! Just think, the disciples didn't even get the concept of grace. Although everybody in town hated Zaccheus and looked down upon him as a crook, Jesus saw something different. He saw that Zaccheus had a new heart. Jesus saw that Zaccheus was sincerely seeking Him out. Zaccheus came seeking the Lord's forgiveness, he came seeking Him for direction, and Jesus told him then and there that He would come spend time with him at his house. Zaccheus may not even have known that he was lost, but he obviously knew that something in his life wasn't right. Fortunately for him, he went to the right person (Jesus Christ), and Zaccheus went from being a known sinner to becoming a child of God!
Jesus gave Peter a second chance. After Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. In front of everybody, Jesus specifically asked Peter if he loved Him. And when Peter said, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you," Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-19). What the Lord meant by that was that He wanted Peter to take on the role of a leader. Jesus knew that Peter was truly sorry for denying Him in the past, and he showed Peter that He still believed in him and that He wanted to use him for great things.
The Mass
"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55-56
At Mass we come together as members of God's family. We listen to God's Word and we gather around the table of the Lord to remember God's gift to us - Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God. The most important part of Mass is not the Homily but the Eucharist (or Communion). Mass was how Jesus set it up almost 2000 years ago so the Church gets its authority from Jesus. He made Peter the head of the Church - our first Pope. Jesus gave Peter and the Church "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus established a new covenant when He started His ministry of teaching and when He died for our sins. It is then that we became His new people or the Church. The priest at Mass has been given the authority from Christ to be Jesus to us during the liturgy as the priest accepts the simple gifts of bread and wine and consecrates the Eucharist to change it into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Church houses Jesus Himself in the Eucharist so He is giving His very self to us - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - a kind of self-giving when we receive Him at Communion. The Mass is God's precious gift to us when God comes to us. God has invited us to enter into the Eucharistic ceremony in which the Sacrifice of Christ is offered to the Father through the priest just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross.
We repeat the Last Supper when we remember His great act of love for us on the Cross. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" That is a pretty specific command - "Do this." He didn't just say "Remember me." He told us exactly how to celebrate His passion, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world by taking our sins so that we, if we follow His commandments, can live with Him forever in heaven.
It is because we are baptized into the Body of Christ (the Church) at your baptism, it is important to worship with other members of the Church who are all a part of His one body. So it's not a "Jesus and me" religion. In fact, at each Mass we celebrate with the Church past, present and future. This includes the saints, your deceased loved ones and all who live in Christ are praying together. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass with the whole community of Catholics around the world … and in heaven. So if you're not holding both hands with someone during the Our Father, your other hand is really holding the hand of an angel!
You should not feel like you have to go to Mass even though honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's Day is a Commandment, but you should feel like you want to. We shouldn't treat Mass as an obligation or a duty or something we want "to get out of the way." Mass is not supposed to be entertainment for us, to get something out of it but instead it is what we bring to Mass. We not only go to praise Him but also give Him thanks for all He has done for us and act sorry for our sins. We get our own personal audience with God and get a glipse of Him in Heaven on his Throne.
So we go to Mass to worship our Creator, develop a relationship with God, keep our faith strong, and help build up the Church - the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, His family of believers. You can also pray your petitions or personal needs for yourself and others. We all need the sacrament of the Eucharist to remain in the state of grace when our venial sins (or less serious sins) get wiped away off our soul.
In fact, at Mass we find everything else we’ve talked about: celebration, our community, our shared values, and the call to serve others. This is what Catholics mean when they say Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. This sacrament nourishes us so that we can be the Body of Christ on earth and live like Christ.
You can even look forward to hearing the Gospels by preparing for them (reading them ahead of time online), reflecting on your week and offering it to God, singing, praying, sharing with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mass can then be more of a moving experience if we participate and get involved with the Church. You should come open and willing to be touched by God. If you miss a Sunday, He will truly miss you. The Church should be your second home to celebrate and chill with your extended family. It should give you a sense of belonging when you participate with people of the same faith.
There are two parts to the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is a sacrifice, a perfect and holy sacrifice. It is also a meal. At the consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation. Not a symbol, but Jesus' real flesh and real blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. With Holy Communion, we get to eat at his table like his apostles did and share in Jesus' body who is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
When we receive Christ, He lives within us in a special way and gives us the real food for our soul. Holy Communion will strengthen our bond with Jesus, rid us of our venial sins (mortal or more serious sin require forgiveness in Confession), it increases our love of God and neighbor and gives us the grace to avoid sin in the future. The Lord is not wanting to condemn us for our sins but heal us. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist gives us the strength to go on with our daily lives, get healed of our brokenness and hurts and become whole again so we can follow Him and respond to others....we're lifting all our troubles up to the Lord and carrying him with us every week to go out into the "mission fields" and do Hi work. We should always say thank to God when we go to Mass and pray boldly for yourself and others, asking your favors be conformed to God's will. Your gift of an hour of good attitude and attention is even a way to thank Him. So when you participate, be alive and not say your responses like they are a throwaway word...say the Great Amen with what it means, "Yes, I believe." Afterall, God doesn't need to hear it but we need to say it and God speaks to us directly when we listen to the readings and the Gospel, He's really proclaiming His story.
Jesus wants us to share in His own divine life. You are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And what we share is Jesus Christ Himself, His special gift to you. You live in Jesus and He in you and you need to give to others in faith, hope and love. This means that you must see Christ in one another. The Body of Christ unites us and strengthens you for the week ahead as you take on the work of being Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. You can do this by performing some works of mercy, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and welcoming the stranger. So have a positive effect on other people's lives!
There is proper conduct to follow while you are at Mass. Try and finish your breakfast early to allow an hour before Mass begins so you'll be able to receive Jesus. Respectful silence is to be observed in the church, so don't forget to turn off any cell phones. Dressing appropriately for Mass is simply a matter of showing respect, not only for God, but for others around you. You should wear clothes that are modest and clean and the nicest clothes you have. So just say no to street clothes like t-shirts (especially with any writing on them) and denim. Think about how you would dress for an important event, and then recall we are meeting Almighty God at Mass. It doesn’t get more important than that! You are free to leave once the priest finishes walking down the aisle. The best part about Sundays is that you get to keep holy the Sabbath by making it a day of rest for you … it means no shopping or heavy duty chores for you!
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55-56
At Mass we come together as members of God's family. We listen to God's Word and we gather around the table of the Lord to remember God's gift to us - Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God. The most important part of Mass is not the Homily but the Eucharist (or Communion). Mass was how Jesus set it up almost 2000 years ago so the Church gets its authority from Jesus. He made Peter the head of the Church - our first Pope. Jesus gave Peter and the Church "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus established a new covenant when He started His ministry of teaching and when He died for our sins. It is then that we became His new people or the Church. The priest at Mass has been given the authority from Christ to be Jesus to us during the liturgy as the priest accepts the simple gifts of bread and wine and consecrates the Eucharist to change it into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Church houses Jesus Himself in the Eucharist so He is giving His very self to us - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - a kind of self-giving when we receive Him at Communion. The Mass is God's precious gift to us when God comes to us. God has invited us to enter into the Eucharistic ceremony in which the Sacrifice of Christ is offered to the Father through the priest just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross.
We repeat the Last Supper when we remember His great act of love for us on the Cross. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" That is a pretty specific command - "Do this." He didn't just say "Remember me." He told us exactly how to celebrate His passion, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world by taking our sins so that we, if we follow His commandments, can live with Him forever in heaven.
It is because we are baptized into the Body of Christ (the Church) at your baptism, it is important to worship with other members of the Church who are all a part of His one body. So it's not a "Jesus and me" religion. In fact, at each Mass we celebrate with the Church past, present and future. This includes the saints, your deceased loved ones and all who live in Christ are praying together. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass with the whole community of Catholics around the world … and in heaven. So if you're not holding both hands with someone during the Our Father, your other hand is really holding the hand of an angel!
You should not feel like you have to go to Mass even though honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's Day is a Commandment, but you should feel like you want to. We shouldn't treat Mass as an obligation or a duty or something we want "to get out of the way." Mass is not supposed to be entertainment for us, to get something out of it but instead it is what we bring to Mass. We not only go to praise Him but also give Him thanks for all He has done for us and act sorry for our sins. We get our own personal audience with God and get a glipse of Him in Heaven on his Throne.
So we go to Mass to worship our Creator, develop a relationship with God, keep our faith strong, and help build up the Church - the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, His family of believers. You can also pray your petitions or personal needs for yourself and others. We all need the sacrament of the Eucharist to remain in the state of grace when our venial sins (or less serious sins) get wiped away off our soul.
In fact, at Mass we find everything else we’ve talked about: celebration, our community, our shared values, and the call to serve others. This is what Catholics mean when they say Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. This sacrament nourishes us so that we can be the Body of Christ on earth and live like Christ.
You can even look forward to hearing the Gospels by preparing for them (reading them ahead of time online), reflecting on your week and offering it to God, singing, praying, sharing with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mass can then be more of a moving experience if we participate and get involved with the Church. You should come open and willing to be touched by God. If you miss a Sunday, He will truly miss you. The Church should be your second home to celebrate and chill with your extended family. It should give you a sense of belonging when you participate with people of the same faith.
There are two parts to the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is a sacrifice, a perfect and holy sacrifice. It is also a meal. At the consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation. Not a symbol, but Jesus' real flesh and real blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. With Holy Communion, we get to eat at his table like his apostles did and share in Jesus' body who is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
When we receive Christ, He lives within us in a special way and gives us the real food for our soul. Holy Communion will strengthen our bond with Jesus, rid us of our venial sins (mortal or more serious sin require forgiveness in Confession), it increases our love of God and neighbor and gives us the grace to avoid sin in the future. The Lord is not wanting to condemn us for our sins but heal us. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist gives us the strength to go on with our daily lives, get healed of our brokenness and hurts and become whole again so we can follow Him and respond to others....we're lifting all our troubles up to the Lord and carrying him with us every week to go out into the "mission fields" and do Hi work. We should always say thank to God when we go to Mass and pray boldly for yourself and others, asking your favors be conformed to God's will. Your gift of an hour of good attitude and attention is even a way to thank Him. So when you participate, be alive and not say your responses like they are a throwaway word...say the Great Amen with what it means, "Yes, I believe." Afterall, God doesn't need to hear it but we need to say it and God speaks to us directly when we listen to the readings and the Gospel, He's really proclaiming His story.
Jesus wants us to share in His own divine life. You are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And what we share is Jesus Christ Himself, His special gift to you. You live in Jesus and He in you and you need to give to others in faith, hope and love. This means that you must see Christ in one another. The Body of Christ unites us and strengthens you for the week ahead as you take on the work of being Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. You can do this by performing some works of mercy, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and welcoming the stranger. So have a positive effect on other people's lives!
There is proper conduct to follow while you are at Mass. Try and finish your breakfast early to allow an hour before Mass begins so you'll be able to receive Jesus. Respectful silence is to be observed in the church, so don't forget to turn off any cell phones. Dressing appropriately for Mass is simply a matter of showing respect, not only for God, but for others around you. You should wear clothes that are modest and clean and the nicest clothes you have. So just say no to street clothes like t-shirts (especially with any writing on them) and denim. Think about how you would dress for an important event, and then recall we are meeting Almighty God at Mass. It doesn’t get more important than that! You are free to leave once the priest finishes walking down the aisle. The best part about Sundays is that you get to keep holy the Sabbath by making it a day of rest for you … it means no shopping or heavy duty chores for you!
Pre-marital Sex
“God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” Gen 1:27-28
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
"Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving." Ephesians 5:3
"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God."
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
"Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body."
1 Corininthians 6:13 b, 18
"But because of cases of immorality every man should have his own wife and every woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his duty toward his wife, and likewise the wife toward her husband." 1 Corininthians 7:2-3
"Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry." Colossians 3:5
"So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart." 2 Timothy 2:22
"He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." Matthew 19:4-6
There is a lot of talk going on around you about pre-marital sex or fornication. Sex is just about in every song, magazine, newspaper, TV show and movie. The media makes you think that everyone is "doing it" but in fact, everyone's not doing it. Sexual talk, innuendoes and jokes are quite the norm in our sex-crazed society. Our highly sexualized culture tells us that sex outside marriage or premarital sex is okay because it feels good and will make you popular and feel worthwhile. The world may have nice, fun terms for pre-marital sex, terms such as "sleepin' around," "doin' it," "getting some," "foolin' around," "having an affair," "a fling," "one-night stand," "hooking up," "friends with benefits" and "losing your virginity."
Popular media show unrealistic expectations of what true love feels like. Romantic love isn't love at first sight since a trusted and committed love are qualities that take time to build. Exploring your sexuality with no strings attached will only harm you emotionally. Sex changes a relationship forever and can have powerful repercussions such as exploitation, pressure, disrepect and lowering your self-worth either during or after a sexual relationship. A lot of teens later wish they would have waited and wished they would not have disregarded the warnings and disobeyed God's laws. The Bible warns you not to believe it when the world tells us that "sex outside of marriage is okay as long as you are practicing safe sex," or that "same-sex unions are normal and they should have the same status as male/female marriages." God's Word warns you not to fall for these man-made standards of living.
Sex is not just the act of sexual intercourse, it bonds a man and a woman together. It is more than just an act. Any kind of pleasure to the body is sex, even if it is not the textbook way. It is intended to be a union that comes out of the marriage covenant. Sex isn't really what most people are probably looking for - they're looking for intimacy or the emotional need for closeness instead. It's the emotional intimacy that confirms a relationship, but you don't need sexual intimacy to connect. Love is the emotion and sex is the act so “having sex” and “making love” are two different things! Generally speaking, girls seek intimacy and guys seek sexual activity. God designed it that guys seek sex to feel loved and girls need to feel loved to have sex. In other words, girls use sex to get love and guys use love to get sex. The girl may give into sex to hold onto the relationship and they guy wants sex even more than the relationship itself. The girl may be picturing marrying the guys someday while they guy is picturing everything he wants to do with the girl before he goes back to tell his buddies about it.
Nonetheless, a sexual union is designed for the marriage relationship only. Hooking up, or physical pleasure for fun, will take away from the close bond and depth of a relationship. The couple is only treating one another as objects and using each other for their own gratification. There is no exchange of giving or receiving love and they'll never be satisfied or be relieved of their feelings of loneliness or boredom. This, in turn, will make them feel empty and may even lead to depression. It is then that they lose respect for the sacredness of their bodies. Sin is tempting and doesn't usually come with warning or stop signs. God calls us to control our passions and wait for marriage. If you keep your eyes on God, he will allow you to set boundaries so you can resist temptation. Studies show that if you "sleep around,” you will not be fulfilled in your marriage later in life.
Sex may seem very cool to you, but it can make you feel bad about yourself and your partner. It will bring a lot of emotional and spiritual struggles, too. Just saying “no” to it may not be enough. You have to think about it ahead of time, make a plan, and follow through with your plan. Be aware, since flirting can quickly turn into experimentation. The human body is designed to respond to foreplay, kissing, touching and other sexual stimulation and is not designed to just stop. So be sure to think before you act - use self-control, think about your future and the consequences. It's a lot easier too when you have support from your parents, friends and people you trust. It takes a strong person, one backed up by the strength of God, to resist temptation and be a good example to your peers. You can always have the comeback, "At anytime I could become like you, but you can never again be like me" You can better believe that they'd admire you and wish that they had waited in making their critical decision to have sex outside the bounds of marriage.
Your motto should not be "If it feels good, do it." Instead, you should be doing all you can to avoid those people and things that will cause you to stumble and give in to sexual temptations. It doesn't matter what all of your friends are doing or what you see in movies or videos or even what unmarried people who live in your own house are doing. God's Word has not changed. God wants us to have sexual relations with your spouse only. And as Catholic Christians, we are to use our body in ways that glorify God. God knows what is best for us. He has given us standards to follow because He wants to save you from yourself and from the pain you can bring to your life. There is so much pressure for you to be sexually active and as your sexual hormone production increases, you may think about it often. But giving up your virginity is not what makes you feel like a man or woman.
Remember that you are more than just a body. You are creation of God and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. When God creates something, He creates it with purpose and design. God created sex, so it is a beautiful thing. God created sex for the obvious reason of procreation, for creating new life, but God also wanted Adam and Eve to develop intimacy with one another. Sex is then a miraculous and sacred act. That God allows us to take part in co-creating lives with Him is such an unbelievable honor. The Bible says it is the way for a husband and wife to express their love for each other. Yes, husband and wife! God did create it to be a beautiful and enjoyable expression of love, but only between a man and wife.
Being abstinent and staying chaste is respecting God's gift as well as the dignity of the person you are dating. Your body may be sending you strong messages with the hormones you produce, but those hormones may only make it feel like you are in love. The desire to have sex can be very strong and you are adjusting to your new body filled with hormones. You need not give into your raging hormones. It is only by relying on God for strength that you can truly fight off the temptation to have sex. God wants you, His child, to choose obedience and self-control instead of instant pleasure. You should avoid situations which might cause you to compromise your commitment to sexual purity and have regrets later.
It is a lie to think that sex is what makes a relationship work. You don't have to have sex with someone to prove you like or love them. Intimacy is what it takes to make a relationship strong, that is, sharing time, thoughts, beliefs, feeling, mutual respect and being affectionate without having sex. The messages out there in the world are that you need to feel liberated and express your sexual identity, to not suppress who you are. These are the views expressed in the media and in movies. But in fact, sex won't fulfill you and you won't be a more complete person or experience a higher form of living. It is a complete myth in our culture and sex gets too much hype. It's not what the movies make it out to be. The movies never show that "love hangover" or the "emptiness" feelings that the characters may be experiencing the next morning.
The one thing that God desires most from you is your obedience. God wants you to glorify Him by the way we use our bodies. If you want to live for Christ, then you should no longer be living for yourself; but instead you should be living to glorify God. God's commands are not always easy to follow. Being an obedient child of God in this area requires you to see this sin the way God sees it. He wants you to turn our backs on the ways of this world. You cannot think of sex as just something exciting and fun to do. You must learn to treasure and respect your body as something that is beautiful and special, a work of art that is only to be shared with one person under God's conditions. And when you are disobedient to God in this area, you even run the risk of harming our relationship with our Heavenly Father. God still loves you and will forgive you, but you might feel too ashamed to go to God in prayer.
When you go against God's specific standards, it can become harmful and destructive. You can choose to do things God's way and experience the beauty of His plan, or you can choose to do things your way and experience the physical dangers like an unwanted pregnancy that may lead to abortions, the frightening realities of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual dysfunction, AIDS as well as the emotional dangers and shame. You may even rob yourself of the ability to have a fulfilling sexual relationship in the future when you do get married.
So are you're still why you should save sex for marriage? Let’s sum up why. God is the one who created sex. It is His gift to us. And God gave you the ability to enjoy sex not only so that we could reproduce, but it is also a way for husbands and wives to bond and experience intimacy. God wants you to experience fulfilling, joyful sexual relations with the person to whom you are married; otherwise, he wants you to lead a celibate life.
If God didn't want you to enjoy sexual relations, He would not have made sex pleasurable. He is the author of sex, love and relationships and His Word makes it clear that He only gives sexual relations His blessing when it occurs between a husband and a wife. The reason for this is because God wants what is best for you and knows that knowing Him will being you the most fulfillment and satisfaction.
What a lot of people don't realize is that sex is not just something that is to be done casually for temporary pleasure. When you are intimate with someone in a sexual way, you are actually "becoming one" with that person on a deep spiritual level that goes far beyond just temporary thrills.
Are you using your body in a way that you think would make God proud? Masturbation is a selfish act where you take advantage of and abuse God's gift. God cares about what we do with our bodies, in public or in private, and He doesn't want you to abuse ourselves in any way. This activity does not lift you up spiritually. It brings you down. God did not create our sexual organs so that you could fantasize and have sex by yourself. God created sexual pleasure as something to be shared and experienced between two people -- a husband and a wife. Masturbation will not truly relieve the sexual pressure that you may feel. It may for a short moment, but in the long run it only creates a deeper desire and capacity for sex, which will lead to more masturbation and, ultimately, the desire for sexual intercourse. And with masturbation, there is a vicious circle. You are only temporarily satisfied. And the more you indulge in this activity, the more addicted you become to it. When you fantasize and masturbate, you open your hearts and mind up to strange and perverse thoughts and possibilities.
You may feel weak within yourself, but God will equip you with His holy power to overcome any sin if only you ask in faith. Maybe you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the temptations that you face. But never underestimate the power that you have over sin. On your own you might not be that strong, but with God's power, you can overcome. You can fight and be victorious against your sexual thoughts and desires. Self-control takes effort. God will help you to reject those things that will cause you to stumble, whether it be sexually-themed movies, music, books, videos, anything that fills your mind with images and words that will make you weak and vulnerable. When you have unmarried sex or masturbate, there is shame, regret, and loss of self-respect. On the other hand, when you are intimate with your husband or wife, there is no shame. Every time you casually have sexual relations with someone to whom you are not married, a little bit of your soul dies in a way. You have given away something that is valuable and precious, and you may feel that your honor has been taken away. When you honor the opposite sex by not taking advantage of them, you are honoring yourself by doing what you know is right in your heart. You can have then that special bond and a lasting commitment without buying the cow and getting the milk for free. Then you will see how you can get to know one another emotionally, mentally and spiritually, not just physically.
Even if you have acted inappropriately in this area, it is not too late to stop what you are doing and to recommit your life and body to God. The Bible tells us that no matter how bad we think we are or how much we have already sinned, God is able to forgive us and make us whole again if we only confess our sins, repent and turning away from the sin. All of the above Bible verses show that it is still not too late for you to make a fresh start with God. Won't you stop chasing your own lusts and start letting God lead you? The cheap thrills that you could gain by living like the rest of this sinful world cannot compare to the beautiful, rich relationship that you can have if you obey God's Word and follow His standards for living.
You must go to God in prayer and ask for the strength you need to not give in to the temptations of the flesh. You will need to make it a point to not put yourself in situations where you are likely to stumble. God will reward you if you choose to honor Him and save sex for marriage. You'll have the joy of waiting for your future spouse and deepening your love with each other. Your Church and your family have expectations for you to live up to. May you have the wisdom and judgment to handle these commitments with the guidance of the Holy Spirit living within you, helping you to resist the temptation of engaging in pre-marital sex. You'll not only have a stronger relationship with God as a result of depending on Him, you'll have a better and stronger marriage someday because you waited.
You shouldn’t move in with someone or have sleepovers no matter how commonplace it is in this world. So it is a poor decision that goes against the will of God. Just because our society has lowered its standards does not mean that you need to. In fact, shacking up is a demeaning nickname and it’s not known as “living in sin” for nothing. It can cheapen and ruin the uniqueness of marriage. A healthy relationship does not require sex to be intimate. It is only waiting to receive each other from the Lord that allows you as a couple to establish real intimacy.
So sex is not something to base your relationship on because it was not designed to be a test to find a good spouse so waiting to share the gift of sex for your honeymoon will only train you in faithfulness. Even when you get engaged, it may feel that you are “almost married” but your vows and a permanent commitment has not been made before God. It is at this time that you should be preparing for marriage as a sacrament and laying the foundation for the rest of your lives. It is a time of serious discernment and sex can even blind your ability to see your relationship clearly. With love being patient, you can be better confident in your love knowing that you will have the rest of your lives to enjoy sex.
Give your child a blessing
We ask God for protection over your innocence and purity, and for that of your spouse. May He fill your life with good relationships including you, O Lord. May you feel accepted and influenced by good friends. We ask, too, for Godly people to positively influence your life at the crossroads you will face. We bless you and ask that You, O Lord, fill my child with "whatever things are true, noble, just, pure lovely, of good report, have virtue or anything praiseworthy ... may you think on these things." Go before my child and prepare the way for a life of purity and modesty. In Jesus' name, we pray.
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
"Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving." Ephesians 5:3
"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God."
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
"Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body."
1 Corininthians 6:13 b, 18
"But because of cases of immorality every man should have his own wife and every woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his duty toward his wife, and likewise the wife toward her husband." 1 Corininthians 7:2-3
"Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry." Colossians 3:5
"So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart." 2 Timothy 2:22
"He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." Matthew 19:4-6
There is a lot of talk going on around you about pre-marital sex or fornication. Sex is just about in every song, magazine, newspaper, TV show and movie. The media makes you think that everyone is "doing it" but in fact, everyone's not doing it. Sexual talk, innuendoes and jokes are quite the norm in our sex-crazed society. Our highly sexualized culture tells us that sex outside marriage or premarital sex is okay because it feels good and will make you popular and feel worthwhile. The world may have nice, fun terms for pre-marital sex, terms such as "sleepin' around," "doin' it," "getting some," "foolin' around," "having an affair," "a fling," "one-night stand," "hooking up," "friends with benefits" and "losing your virginity."
Popular media show unrealistic expectations of what true love feels like. Romantic love isn't love at first sight since a trusted and committed love are qualities that take time to build. Exploring your sexuality with no strings attached will only harm you emotionally. Sex changes a relationship forever and can have powerful repercussions such as exploitation, pressure, disrepect and lowering your self-worth either during or after a sexual relationship. A lot of teens later wish they would have waited and wished they would not have disregarded the warnings and disobeyed God's laws. The Bible warns you not to believe it when the world tells us that "sex outside of marriage is okay as long as you are practicing safe sex," or that "same-sex unions are normal and they should have the same status as male/female marriages." God's Word warns you not to fall for these man-made standards of living.
Sex is not just the act of sexual intercourse, it bonds a man and a woman together. It is more than just an act. Any kind of pleasure to the body is sex, even if it is not the textbook way. It is intended to be a union that comes out of the marriage covenant. Sex isn't really what most people are probably looking for - they're looking for intimacy or the emotional need for closeness instead. It's the emotional intimacy that confirms a relationship, but you don't need sexual intimacy to connect. Love is the emotion and sex is the act so “having sex” and “making love” are two different things! Generally speaking, girls seek intimacy and guys seek sexual activity. God designed it that guys seek sex to feel loved and girls need to feel loved to have sex. In other words, girls use sex to get love and guys use love to get sex. The girl may give into sex to hold onto the relationship and they guy wants sex even more than the relationship itself. The girl may be picturing marrying the guys someday while they guy is picturing everything he wants to do with the girl before he goes back to tell his buddies about it.
Nonetheless, a sexual union is designed for the marriage relationship only. Hooking up, or physical pleasure for fun, will take away from the close bond and depth of a relationship. The couple is only treating one another as objects and using each other for their own gratification. There is no exchange of giving or receiving love and they'll never be satisfied or be relieved of their feelings of loneliness or boredom. This, in turn, will make them feel empty and may even lead to depression. It is then that they lose respect for the sacredness of their bodies. Sin is tempting and doesn't usually come with warning or stop signs. God calls us to control our passions and wait for marriage. If you keep your eyes on God, he will allow you to set boundaries so you can resist temptation. Studies show that if you "sleep around,” you will not be fulfilled in your marriage later in life.
Sex may seem very cool to you, but it can make you feel bad about yourself and your partner. It will bring a lot of emotional and spiritual struggles, too. Just saying “no” to it may not be enough. You have to think about it ahead of time, make a plan, and follow through with your plan. Be aware, since flirting can quickly turn into experimentation. The human body is designed to respond to foreplay, kissing, touching and other sexual stimulation and is not designed to just stop. So be sure to think before you act - use self-control, think about your future and the consequences. It's a lot easier too when you have support from your parents, friends and people you trust. It takes a strong person, one backed up by the strength of God, to resist temptation and be a good example to your peers. You can always have the comeback, "At anytime I could become like you, but you can never again be like me" You can better believe that they'd admire you and wish that they had waited in making their critical decision to have sex outside the bounds of marriage.
Your motto should not be "If it feels good, do it." Instead, you should be doing all you can to avoid those people and things that will cause you to stumble and give in to sexual temptations. It doesn't matter what all of your friends are doing or what you see in movies or videos or even what unmarried people who live in your own house are doing. God's Word has not changed. God wants us to have sexual relations with your spouse only. And as Catholic Christians, we are to use our body in ways that glorify God. God knows what is best for us. He has given us standards to follow because He wants to save you from yourself and from the pain you can bring to your life. There is so much pressure for you to be sexually active and as your sexual hormone production increases, you may think about it often. But giving up your virginity is not what makes you feel like a man or woman.
Remember that you are more than just a body. You are creation of God and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. When God creates something, He creates it with purpose and design. God created sex, so it is a beautiful thing. God created sex for the obvious reason of procreation, for creating new life, but God also wanted Adam and Eve to develop intimacy with one another. Sex is then a miraculous and sacred act. That God allows us to take part in co-creating lives with Him is such an unbelievable honor. The Bible says it is the way for a husband and wife to express their love for each other. Yes, husband and wife! God did create it to be a beautiful and enjoyable expression of love, but only between a man and wife.
Being abstinent and staying chaste is respecting God's gift as well as the dignity of the person you are dating. Your body may be sending you strong messages with the hormones you produce, but those hormones may only make it feel like you are in love. The desire to have sex can be very strong and you are adjusting to your new body filled with hormones. You need not give into your raging hormones. It is only by relying on God for strength that you can truly fight off the temptation to have sex. God wants you, His child, to choose obedience and self-control instead of instant pleasure. You should avoid situations which might cause you to compromise your commitment to sexual purity and have regrets later.
It is a lie to think that sex is what makes a relationship work. You don't have to have sex with someone to prove you like or love them. Intimacy is what it takes to make a relationship strong, that is, sharing time, thoughts, beliefs, feeling, mutual respect and being affectionate without having sex. The messages out there in the world are that you need to feel liberated and express your sexual identity, to not suppress who you are. These are the views expressed in the media and in movies. But in fact, sex won't fulfill you and you won't be a more complete person or experience a higher form of living. It is a complete myth in our culture and sex gets too much hype. It's not what the movies make it out to be. The movies never show that "love hangover" or the "emptiness" feelings that the characters may be experiencing the next morning.
The one thing that God desires most from you is your obedience. God wants you to glorify Him by the way we use our bodies. If you want to live for Christ, then you should no longer be living for yourself; but instead you should be living to glorify God. God's commands are not always easy to follow. Being an obedient child of God in this area requires you to see this sin the way God sees it. He wants you to turn our backs on the ways of this world. You cannot think of sex as just something exciting and fun to do. You must learn to treasure and respect your body as something that is beautiful and special, a work of art that is only to be shared with one person under God's conditions. And when you are disobedient to God in this area, you even run the risk of harming our relationship with our Heavenly Father. God still loves you and will forgive you, but you might feel too ashamed to go to God in prayer.
When you go against God's specific standards, it can become harmful and destructive. You can choose to do things God's way and experience the beauty of His plan, or you can choose to do things your way and experience the physical dangers like an unwanted pregnancy that may lead to abortions, the frightening realities of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual dysfunction, AIDS as well as the emotional dangers and shame. You may even rob yourself of the ability to have a fulfilling sexual relationship in the future when you do get married.
So are you're still why you should save sex for marriage? Let’s sum up why. God is the one who created sex. It is His gift to us. And God gave you the ability to enjoy sex not only so that we could reproduce, but it is also a way for husbands and wives to bond and experience intimacy. God wants you to experience fulfilling, joyful sexual relations with the person to whom you are married; otherwise, he wants you to lead a celibate life.
If God didn't want you to enjoy sexual relations, He would not have made sex pleasurable. He is the author of sex, love and relationships and His Word makes it clear that He only gives sexual relations His blessing when it occurs between a husband and a wife. The reason for this is because God wants what is best for you and knows that knowing Him will being you the most fulfillment and satisfaction.
What a lot of people don't realize is that sex is not just something that is to be done casually for temporary pleasure. When you are intimate with someone in a sexual way, you are actually "becoming one" with that person on a deep spiritual level that goes far beyond just temporary thrills.
Are you using your body in a way that you think would make God proud? Masturbation is a selfish act where you take advantage of and abuse God's gift. God cares about what we do with our bodies, in public or in private, and He doesn't want you to abuse ourselves in any way. This activity does not lift you up spiritually. It brings you down. God did not create our sexual organs so that you could fantasize and have sex by yourself. God created sexual pleasure as something to be shared and experienced between two people -- a husband and a wife. Masturbation will not truly relieve the sexual pressure that you may feel. It may for a short moment, but in the long run it only creates a deeper desire and capacity for sex, which will lead to more masturbation and, ultimately, the desire for sexual intercourse. And with masturbation, there is a vicious circle. You are only temporarily satisfied. And the more you indulge in this activity, the more addicted you become to it. When you fantasize and masturbate, you open your hearts and mind up to strange and perverse thoughts and possibilities.
You may feel weak within yourself, but God will equip you with His holy power to overcome any sin if only you ask in faith. Maybe you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the temptations that you face. But never underestimate the power that you have over sin. On your own you might not be that strong, but with God's power, you can overcome. You can fight and be victorious against your sexual thoughts and desires. Self-control takes effort. God will help you to reject those things that will cause you to stumble, whether it be sexually-themed movies, music, books, videos, anything that fills your mind with images and words that will make you weak and vulnerable. When you have unmarried sex or masturbate, there is shame, regret, and loss of self-respect. On the other hand, when you are intimate with your husband or wife, there is no shame. Every time you casually have sexual relations with someone to whom you are not married, a little bit of your soul dies in a way. You have given away something that is valuable and precious, and you may feel that your honor has been taken away. When you honor the opposite sex by not taking advantage of them, you are honoring yourself by doing what you know is right in your heart. You can have then that special bond and a lasting commitment without buying the cow and getting the milk for free. Then you will see how you can get to know one another emotionally, mentally and spiritually, not just physically.
Even if you have acted inappropriately in this area, it is not too late to stop what you are doing and to recommit your life and body to God. The Bible tells us that no matter how bad we think we are or how much we have already sinned, God is able to forgive us and make us whole again if we only confess our sins, repent and turning away from the sin. All of the above Bible verses show that it is still not too late for you to make a fresh start with God. Won't you stop chasing your own lusts and start letting God lead you? The cheap thrills that you could gain by living like the rest of this sinful world cannot compare to the beautiful, rich relationship that you can have if you obey God's Word and follow His standards for living.
You must go to God in prayer and ask for the strength you need to not give in to the temptations of the flesh. You will need to make it a point to not put yourself in situations where you are likely to stumble. God will reward you if you choose to honor Him and save sex for marriage. You'll have the joy of waiting for your future spouse and deepening your love with each other. Your Church and your family have expectations for you to live up to. May you have the wisdom and judgment to handle these commitments with the guidance of the Holy Spirit living within you, helping you to resist the temptation of engaging in pre-marital sex. You'll not only have a stronger relationship with God as a result of depending on Him, you'll have a better and stronger marriage someday because you waited.
You shouldn’t move in with someone or have sleepovers no matter how commonplace it is in this world. So it is a poor decision that goes against the will of God. Just because our society has lowered its standards does not mean that you need to. In fact, shacking up is a demeaning nickname and it’s not known as “living in sin” for nothing. It can cheapen and ruin the uniqueness of marriage. A healthy relationship does not require sex to be intimate. It is only waiting to receive each other from the Lord that allows you as a couple to establish real intimacy.
So sex is not something to base your relationship on because it was not designed to be a test to find a good spouse so waiting to share the gift of sex for your honeymoon will only train you in faithfulness. Even when you get engaged, it may feel that you are “almost married” but your vows and a permanent commitment has not been made before God. It is at this time that you should be preparing for marriage as a sacrament and laying the foundation for the rest of your lives. It is a time of serious discernment and sex can even blind your ability to see your relationship clearly. With love being patient, you can be better confident in your love knowing that you will have the rest of your lives to enjoy sex.
Give your child a blessing
We ask God for protection over your innocence and purity, and for that of your spouse. May He fill your life with good relationships including you, O Lord. May you feel accepted and influenced by good friends. We ask, too, for Godly people to positively influence your life at the crossroads you will face. We bless you and ask that You, O Lord, fill my child with "whatever things are true, noble, just, pure lovely, of good report, have virtue or anything praiseworthy ... may you think on these things." Go before my child and prepare the way for a life of purity and modesty. In Jesus' name, we pray.
Modesty
Modesty
"Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh." Romans 13:14
"For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love." Galations 5:13
"Similarly, (too,) women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control, not be braided with hairstyles and gold ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but rather, as befits women who profess reverence for God, with good deeds." 1 Timothy 2:9-10
"Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:3-4
"...it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes you brother to stumble." Romans 14:21
Did you know that your body is a temple that houses the Holy Spirit? Yep, and because a person's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it contains the real presence of Christ. Because of this, you should look the way that brings out the best in yourself and those around you ... not wearing revealing, racy, suggestive and even provocative clothing. It is not only your looks but your virtue, talents and gifts that defines you and gives you dignity. A lifestyle of modesty is not just about the way you dress, it's about the way you talk, act, treat guys/girls and even the way you dance. Instead of a lifestyle of lust, you should aim for a lifestyle of modesty and self-respect. The immediate gratification of someone gawking at your body will leave you feeling unfulfilled in the end for your desire for love. For God himself is the source of all love and He doesn't want someone else experiencing pleasure at your expense and not seeing your internal beauty.
Are you really wearing an immodest bathing suit because it is the accepted style, or are you using your body to get attention, appreciation and approval ... drawing attention to yourself in a sexual way? Wouldn't it be better if someone noticed you for your worth, mind and beauty instead of flaunting your body and sexuality with immodest attire? Who needs stares and turned heads over just your looks? Instead of begging for attention, don't you want be taken seriously and feel like you're being respected for who you really are as well as experience REAL love and acceptance? Your bodies can really make a statement...some choose to cover their body with the graffiti of tattoos or hostile punk hair styles, piercings, gaudy makeup and threadbare clothes that show cleavage. In these cases, the body is an expression of vanity and pride and even provokes passion and lust. Guys are very visual and they know how to read a girl's body language. You don't want guys treating you as if you were not fully human, making you feel like an object instead of a person. Dressing modestly does the opposite, it personalizes you and reveals your dignity. It also protects the treasure of chastity in not encouraging immoral practices.
Do you want the opposite sex more interested in your body than in your mind, heart and spirit? Do you want them to approach you with respect and honor or just think that your body is the greatest thing about you...not your personality, soul and true identity. You shouldn't dress to call attention away from your face to your body. You want people to look at who you are and that is found in your face and reflected in our eyes, the mirrors to your soul. Dressing modestly ensures that people keep their focus on your face, on you.
Modesty in dress is an important value that reflects your personal dignity and integrity. So you should make it a point to cover your body with dignity rather than reveal your flesh because the way you dress sends messages about yourself to others and often influences the way you and others act. It really has a positive effect on your behavior and self-esteem and shows respect for God, yourself, and others. God especially wants you to be a person of influence with your character, and we should dress to please and honor God, not the world and what the fashion lovers world dictate. Your value comes from God, your Creator, and not from you appearance and what others think of you. God gave you the sacred gift of your body for a specific purpose and that is to do His work. Dressing modestly will help you focus on God's purpose for you.
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are inside. Your outward dress should match your inner beauty. When your outward appearance is not living up to the standard you may want to set, it really contradicts everything you may stand for and you become a cheap version of yourself. Worse yet, posing for indecent pictures, working at Hooters or being in a wet T-shirt contest speaks volumes on your faith beliefs. Being party to such things is inconsistent with righteous living and certainly does not allow you to become more virtuous.
Girls, instead of "short" shorts, micro-mini skirts, sheer blouses, skimpy bathing suits, skirts with slits up the side, tight cropped shirts and low-cut shirts (bare midriffs), low slung or tight jeans that show every little curve, wear clothing that doesn't reveal too much skin. A good rule of thumb is wearing shorts and skirts as long as your middle finger when your arms are down.
Boys, you should only take off your shirts when swimming. Don't let your eyes stray to female body parts especially when talking to a girl.
We as Catholic Christians are called to serve God's will in holiness. Modesty in dress is one of the identifying characteristics of true saints. It serves as a physical and spiritual guard against immoral behavior. Immodesty however, cheapens your image and reputation, and causes a loss of respect. It is not likely to win the hand in marriage of a Christ-like person. You can really tempt the opposite sex to sin especially when physical intimacy is supposed to be reserved for marriage.
Men and boys should be called to a higher standard as well. They should never use, abuse or take advantage of girls or women. A boy with integrity does not look at pornographic imagery and have lust in his heart. Even though certain clothing or lack there of may be socially accepted, they can be weapons of lust. We should help each other journey with Christ, and bring each other closer to Christ and not provide ammunition for each other's sin and cause another to lust.
Today's fashion says that women are sex objects and plain ignores God's purpose for clothing. The fashion industry believes that the principle purpose of clothing is sexual attraction. The scantily clad women in the magazines should have a sense of shame on how they are posing. Sex may sell, but we don't have to buy it. You can show the world how adorable and pretty (good disposition/handsome) you really are by keeping your clothes on. Why not show how sexy and respectable you are by living your faith and backing it up with your actions. It will set you apart as a person with substance and because you were made in the image and likeness of God, you must reflect God's purity with the way you carry yourself and respect the body He has given you.
So dress decently to display your godly character and don't show the body parts that only your future spouse should be allowed to see. After all, you're not hiding yourself to them but revealing your dignity to them ... leaving room for mystery. Do you wanted to be treated like a child of God or be reduced to an object? Exercise care when you buy your clothes and ask yourself if it's decent and would it be approved of by Jesus. You don't want to harm your chances to being loved. You want to be drawn to the right kinds of person who will treat you as a child of God. Instead of distracting or tempting the opposite sex and leading them to sin, you have the power to educate, influence and inspire them to virtue and changing their hearts and bringing the closer to the Lord. Show them that you respect yourself and that you recognize your dignity before God.
Girls, don't be afraid to be feminine, pure and modest. You'll be glorifying God, the source of unconditional love, and no matter what your shape or size, your body will always be precious in the sight of God. Your body is sacred because it is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don't be afraid to be modest even in your behavior and speech. Be in control of your own actions. Your whole lifestyle, including your clothes should reflect Christ. Just ask God to change you from the inside out and He will help you make this commitment to yourself to be more like Christ in your daily life and give you the tools to live it out. You can change to live a modest lifestyle if this has been your flaw. Your past does not have to determine your future.
.
*Land's End and L.L. Bean offer fashion that keeps up with trends but in kid friendly and timeless styles.
"Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh." Romans 13:14
"For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love." Galations 5:13
"Similarly, (too,) women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control, not be braided with hairstyles and gold ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but rather, as befits women who profess reverence for God, with good deeds." 1 Timothy 2:9-10
"Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:3-4
"...it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes you brother to stumble." Romans 14:21
Did you know that your body is a temple that houses the Holy Spirit? Yep, and because a person's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it contains the real presence of Christ. Because of this, you should look the way that brings out the best in yourself and those around you ... not wearing revealing, racy, suggestive and even provocative clothing. It is not only your looks but your virtue, talents and gifts that defines you and gives you dignity. A lifestyle of modesty is not just about the way you dress, it's about the way you talk, act, treat guys/girls and even the way you dance. Instead of a lifestyle of lust, you should aim for a lifestyle of modesty and self-respect. The immediate gratification of someone gawking at your body will leave you feeling unfulfilled in the end for your desire for love. For God himself is the source of all love and He doesn't want someone else experiencing pleasure at your expense and not seeing your internal beauty.
Are you really wearing an immodest bathing suit because it is the accepted style, or are you using your body to get attention, appreciation and approval ... drawing attention to yourself in a sexual way? Wouldn't it be better if someone noticed you for your worth, mind and beauty instead of flaunting your body and sexuality with immodest attire? Who needs stares and turned heads over just your looks? Instead of begging for attention, don't you want be taken seriously and feel like you're being respected for who you really are as well as experience REAL love and acceptance? Your bodies can really make a statement...some choose to cover their body with the graffiti of tattoos or hostile punk hair styles, piercings, gaudy makeup and threadbare clothes that show cleavage. In these cases, the body is an expression of vanity and pride and even provokes passion and lust. Guys are very visual and they know how to read a girl's body language. You don't want guys treating you as if you were not fully human, making you feel like an object instead of a person. Dressing modestly does the opposite, it personalizes you and reveals your dignity. It also protects the treasure of chastity in not encouraging immoral practices.
Do you want the opposite sex more interested in your body than in your mind, heart and spirit? Do you want them to approach you with respect and honor or just think that your body is the greatest thing about you...not your personality, soul and true identity. You shouldn't dress to call attention away from your face to your body. You want people to look at who you are and that is found in your face and reflected in our eyes, the mirrors to your soul. Dressing modestly ensures that people keep their focus on your face, on you.
Modesty in dress is an important value that reflects your personal dignity and integrity. So you should make it a point to cover your body with dignity rather than reveal your flesh because the way you dress sends messages about yourself to others and often influences the way you and others act. It really has a positive effect on your behavior and self-esteem and shows respect for God, yourself, and others. God especially wants you to be a person of influence with your character, and we should dress to please and honor God, not the world and what the fashion lovers world dictate. Your value comes from God, your Creator, and not from you appearance and what others think of you. God gave you the sacred gift of your body for a specific purpose and that is to do His work. Dressing modestly will help you focus on God's purpose for you.
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are inside. Your outward dress should match your inner beauty. When your outward appearance is not living up to the standard you may want to set, it really contradicts everything you may stand for and you become a cheap version of yourself. Worse yet, posing for indecent pictures, working at Hooters or being in a wet T-shirt contest speaks volumes on your faith beliefs. Being party to such things is inconsistent with righteous living and certainly does not allow you to become more virtuous.
Girls, instead of "short" shorts, micro-mini skirts, sheer blouses, skimpy bathing suits, skirts with slits up the side, tight cropped shirts and low-cut shirts (bare midriffs), low slung or tight jeans that show every little curve, wear clothing that doesn't reveal too much skin. A good rule of thumb is wearing shorts and skirts as long as your middle finger when your arms are down.
Boys, you should only take off your shirts when swimming. Don't let your eyes stray to female body parts especially when talking to a girl.
We as Catholic Christians are called to serve God's will in holiness. Modesty in dress is one of the identifying characteristics of true saints. It serves as a physical and spiritual guard against immoral behavior. Immodesty however, cheapens your image and reputation, and causes a loss of respect. It is not likely to win the hand in marriage of a Christ-like person. You can really tempt the opposite sex to sin especially when physical intimacy is supposed to be reserved for marriage.
Men and boys should be called to a higher standard as well. They should never use, abuse or take advantage of girls or women. A boy with integrity does not look at pornographic imagery and have lust in his heart. Even though certain clothing or lack there of may be socially accepted, they can be weapons of lust. We should help each other journey with Christ, and bring each other closer to Christ and not provide ammunition for each other's sin and cause another to lust.
Today's fashion says that women are sex objects and plain ignores God's purpose for clothing. The fashion industry believes that the principle purpose of clothing is sexual attraction. The scantily clad women in the magazines should have a sense of shame on how they are posing. Sex may sell, but we don't have to buy it. You can show the world how adorable and pretty (good disposition/handsome) you really are by keeping your clothes on. Why not show how sexy and respectable you are by living your faith and backing it up with your actions. It will set you apart as a person with substance and because you were made in the image and likeness of God, you must reflect God's purity with the way you carry yourself and respect the body He has given you.
So dress decently to display your godly character and don't show the body parts that only your future spouse should be allowed to see. After all, you're not hiding yourself to them but revealing your dignity to them ... leaving room for mystery. Do you wanted to be treated like a child of God or be reduced to an object? Exercise care when you buy your clothes and ask yourself if it's decent and would it be approved of by Jesus. You don't want to harm your chances to being loved. You want to be drawn to the right kinds of person who will treat you as a child of God. Instead of distracting or tempting the opposite sex and leading them to sin, you have the power to educate, influence and inspire them to virtue and changing their hearts and bringing the closer to the Lord. Show them that you respect yourself and that you recognize your dignity before God.
Girls, don't be afraid to be feminine, pure and modest. You'll be glorifying God, the source of unconditional love, and no matter what your shape or size, your body will always be precious in the sight of God. Your body is sacred because it is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don't be afraid to be modest even in your behavior and speech. Be in control of your own actions. Your whole lifestyle, including your clothes should reflect Christ. Just ask God to change you from the inside out and He will help you make this commitment to yourself to be more like Christ in your daily life and give you the tools to live it out. You can change to live a modest lifestyle if this has been your flaw. Your past does not have to determine your future.
.
*Land's End and L.L. Bean offer fashion that keeps up with trends but in kid friendly and timeless styles.
Purpose/God's Plan
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope." Jeremiah 29:11
"He made the whole human race...so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:28
"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;" Psalm 139:13-14
Did you know that God picked and designed you even before the world was created? God made you to know, love and serve Him in this world so that you might share in His happiness in Heaven. To get to heavem, you must worship God by faith, hope and charity. You must believe in Him, hope in Him and love Him with all your heart. Our Father in heaven is perfect. It is only if you know God, that you can love Him. God gave you life and from the beginning two things were true: You were all born weak and wounded by Original Sin; second, and most important, God has loved you each and every moment of your lives. Yes, He loves you on our best day and He loves us just as much on your worst day. He not only knows you when you are good and bad, but he loves you no matter how you are at any moment in your lives. Did you know Jesus gives you a standing ovation daily? He loved you enough to die for you. He wants you to make Him first in your life even if that means making a sacrafice sometimes. You were created to be with God for all eternity; that's why he gave you life in the first place. He loves you and wants to share his love, his life and eternity with you. God is good and you belong to Him! Actually, He is goodness itself. Your journey with God is a walk of faith and trust. The bible is God's love letter to you and the world. 1. He wants us to know and believe Him. 2. To glorify Him. 3. To find satisfaction in Him. 4. To experience His peace. 5. To enjoy His presence.
You are called to be holy or Christ-like in all you do. As Catholic Christians you are called to love your neighbor as yourself. Giving and loving and thinking beyond yourself can make a world of difference in someone else’s life. You are to imitate God and represent His love. Therefore, you need a personal relationship with God. Christ lives in you and you represent Jesus to the world around you. You may be the only Jesus somebody knows. He will use you to help others around you if you'll let Him. You need others to stick by, encourage and guide you so your faith can remain strong. As Catholic Christians we need to encourage and bring hope to one another. Even giving a stranger one of your smiles might be the only sunshine a person sees all day. And these kind of gestures will make a difference in their life and yours. As children of God, we are called to love one another, love our neighbors, demonstrate kindness, be generous and practice hospitality – all in the name of Jesus. The old hymn still rings true today, “They will know we are Christians by our love…”
You were born into this world for a purpose and you need to find out what He is calling you to do to be perfect like Him. God thinks that you are very special and a person of great worth. He thinks the world of you and loves you so much that He died for you. God is love and He will never stop loving you no matter what you do wrong. You are so important to Him. He loves you unconditionally, cares for you, knows what’s best for you and gives without asking for anything in return. God doesn't keep good things from you. He walks alongside you every step of life’s journey, its joys and its trials, never leaving us alone. You are so dependent on God for everything good. You need God and everything He has to offer. You depend on God as a baby depends on his mother.
Did you know that He has a plan for you, a plan of good, not evil and that only you can achieve it? That is why he has given us all different abilities, personalities, and talents called gifts to develop and use for his glory. He knows you will be able to do much for Him The Lord will reveal it to you as you do His will so you can live like Christ. Your life is not an accident. God loves you and calls you to a life of great significance, no matter your circumstances. Now, be aware that following God’s purpose often requires great sacrifice. But, living for God’s purpose makes a life worth living.
But sometimes you get in the way of what God wants to do in your life. He knows you will be able to do much for Him. You either listen to your friends instead of what the Bible tells us is right, or we listen to the devil's lies and get sidetracked. Or sometimes you are just stubborn and you don't have anyone to blame but yourself when you miss out on what God has in store for you.
How would you feel if God asked you to do something? Would you feel like you weren't worthy to be used by God? Would you feel kind of insecure about being able to do it? Sometimes you think that to be used by God you have to be really smart or speak really well. Moses obviously felt that he wasn't a very good speaker. And now we see that Moses just couldn't believe that God wanted to use him for such an important task. But you have to remember that God doesn't require you to be talented. God will give you whatever you need to accomplish His work. God only requires that you be obedient and that you go where He tells you to go and do what He asks. God wants to use humble people, shy people, ordinary people. He wants to use people who were once sinners. God wants to use people who will know that the greatness they achieve is a direct gift from Him. When you act as God designed you, you're able to be all he made you to be.
If you believe that you are greater than God and that you don't have to do God's will, you are probably teaching that same attitude of disobedience to those around you - your little brother, your cousin, and your friends. You are not being a good role model for them or a disciple of Christ. He wants your life to count for something so you need to live a life in which you follow God's will. You need to ask for God's special grace if we are going to be or do anything pleasing to Him. He can do lots of things in and through you if you make time for him ... He is waiting to hear from you.
How precious you are, How wondrously God formed you from the moment of your creation into the miracle that you are, unlike anyone else who has ever lived. God is at work in you. Not a single thing in your life will be wasted/ You will be used by God. You must trust your past, believe in your future and surrender your life to His plan. God want to reveal a wonderful plan for your life. "Living in Jesus" is giving Him your insecurities and fears and letting him draw out the very best in you. Are you willing to let God work in your life. Believe that He will equip you to do what He has called you do do!
"He made the whole human race...so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:28
"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;" Psalm 139:13-14
Did you know that God picked and designed you even before the world was created? God made you to know, love and serve Him in this world so that you might share in His happiness in Heaven. To get to heavem, you must worship God by faith, hope and charity. You must believe in Him, hope in Him and love Him with all your heart. Our Father in heaven is perfect. It is only if you know God, that you can love Him. God gave you life and from the beginning two things were true: You were all born weak and wounded by Original Sin; second, and most important, God has loved you each and every moment of your lives. Yes, He loves you on our best day and He loves us just as much on your worst day. He not only knows you when you are good and bad, but he loves you no matter how you are at any moment in your lives. Did you know Jesus gives you a standing ovation daily? He loved you enough to die for you. He wants you to make Him first in your life even if that means making a sacrafice sometimes. You were created to be with God for all eternity; that's why he gave you life in the first place. He loves you and wants to share his love, his life and eternity with you. God is good and you belong to Him! Actually, He is goodness itself. Your journey with God is a walk of faith and trust. The bible is God's love letter to you and the world. 1. He wants us to know and believe Him. 2. To glorify Him. 3. To find satisfaction in Him. 4. To experience His peace. 5. To enjoy His presence.
You are called to be holy or Christ-like in all you do. As Catholic Christians you are called to love your neighbor as yourself. Giving and loving and thinking beyond yourself can make a world of difference in someone else’s life. You are to imitate God and represent His love. Therefore, you need a personal relationship with God. Christ lives in you and you represent Jesus to the world around you. You may be the only Jesus somebody knows. He will use you to help others around you if you'll let Him. You need others to stick by, encourage and guide you so your faith can remain strong. As Catholic Christians we need to encourage and bring hope to one another. Even giving a stranger one of your smiles might be the only sunshine a person sees all day. And these kind of gestures will make a difference in their life and yours. As children of God, we are called to love one another, love our neighbors, demonstrate kindness, be generous and practice hospitality – all in the name of Jesus. The old hymn still rings true today, “They will know we are Christians by our love…”
You were born into this world for a purpose and you need to find out what He is calling you to do to be perfect like Him. God thinks that you are very special and a person of great worth. He thinks the world of you and loves you so much that He died for you. God is love and He will never stop loving you no matter what you do wrong. You are so important to Him. He loves you unconditionally, cares for you, knows what’s best for you and gives without asking for anything in return. God doesn't keep good things from you. He walks alongside you every step of life’s journey, its joys and its trials, never leaving us alone. You are so dependent on God for everything good. You need God and everything He has to offer. You depend on God as a baby depends on his mother.
Did you know that He has a plan for you, a plan of good, not evil and that only you can achieve it? That is why he has given us all different abilities, personalities, and talents called gifts to develop and use for his glory. He knows you will be able to do much for Him The Lord will reveal it to you as you do His will so you can live like Christ. Your life is not an accident. God loves you and calls you to a life of great significance, no matter your circumstances. Now, be aware that following God’s purpose often requires great sacrifice. But, living for God’s purpose makes a life worth living.
But sometimes you get in the way of what God wants to do in your life. He knows you will be able to do much for Him. You either listen to your friends instead of what the Bible tells us is right, or we listen to the devil's lies and get sidetracked. Or sometimes you are just stubborn and you don't have anyone to blame but yourself when you miss out on what God has in store for you.
How would you feel if God asked you to do something? Would you feel like you weren't worthy to be used by God? Would you feel kind of insecure about being able to do it? Sometimes you think that to be used by God you have to be really smart or speak really well. Moses obviously felt that he wasn't a very good speaker. And now we see that Moses just couldn't believe that God wanted to use him for such an important task. But you have to remember that God doesn't require you to be talented. God will give you whatever you need to accomplish His work. God only requires that you be obedient and that you go where He tells you to go and do what He asks. God wants to use humble people, shy people, ordinary people. He wants to use people who were once sinners. God wants to use people who will know that the greatness they achieve is a direct gift from Him. When you act as God designed you, you're able to be all he made you to be.
If you believe that you are greater than God and that you don't have to do God's will, you are probably teaching that same attitude of disobedience to those around you - your little brother, your cousin, and your friends. You are not being a good role model for them or a disciple of Christ. He wants your life to count for something so you need to live a life in which you follow God's will. You need to ask for God's special grace if we are going to be or do anything pleasing to Him. He can do lots of things in and through you if you make time for him ... He is waiting to hear from you.
How precious you are, How wondrously God formed you from the moment of your creation into the miracle that you are, unlike anyone else who has ever lived. God is at work in you. Not a single thing in your life will be wasted/ You will be used by God. You must trust your past, believe in your future and surrender your life to His plan. God want to reveal a wonderful plan for your life. "Living in Jesus" is giving Him your insecurities and fears and letting him draw out the very best in you. Are you willing to let God work in your life. Believe that He will equip you to do what He has called you do do!
Body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit
We Are His Temples
*omit if not age appropriate
"The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will join them in their prophetic state and will be changed into another man."1 Samuel 10:6
"... that He may grant you in accord with the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self." Ephesians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." 1 Cor. 3:16-17
"... and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us." Romans 5:5
"But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:9, 13
God made you special and He created you to be holy and faithful to His ways. Your body is what your soul wears when you're on earth. Your body is only temporary and your soul is what will go up to Heaven. Our bodies belong to God so we are not our own. We were bought by Jesus' blood when He died on the Cross for us. Your actual physical body then is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and great care was given in the design of you.
A temple is a sacred place and so too is your body. It is a place where we worship and honor God. He wants us to honor Him with our bodies and our minds. So you are the "temple of God" when you are faithful to Christ. He wants you to honor Him with our bodies and our minds. You are His temples!
You belong to Jesus. Loving Him first, others second, and ourselves last, will honor God. You are more than just flesh - you have a soul. If you're not faithful to Christ, He is available and knocking on the door of your body, so to speak, and you can invite Him back in by being sorry for your sins and going to Confession. The human body is a place where human life and love happen. The Spirit of God transforms your body into the grace of God which in turn moves you to pray and serve others.
By taking care of our bodies, you are taking care of your wonderful Holy Spirit's temple. Because the Holy Spirit lives within you, He is with you wherever you go and whatever you do. You are joined with Him as one. The Holy Spirit knows your every word, every thought and every deed. He knows you, your strengths and your weaknesses. He knows your sinful acts and you good deeds and Heaven knows you better than you know yourself.
In terms of our bodies, we need to be careful where it goes and what it does and make sure everything we do and say glorifies Him. It is our great responsibility to keep God's house clean because we can't expect God to live in an unclean temple. God does care what you have done or are doing with your body. He wants you to be the best person you can be since he has given you your gifts or talents, your abilities, your thoughts, your energy and opportunities.
The Holy Spirit is a Person, one of the three Persons in one God. The Holy Spirit forms you in Christ's body when we get baptized. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to build you up in the body of Christ to the glory of God. This happens by knowing God's Word, sharing in the other sacraments and virtues. This will help you grow spiritually and act according to what is good. Therefore, your body is meant for holiness in Christ since your body belongs to Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is available when you need it. He is a great encourager.
When you are filled with the Spirit, you are living in His presence, next to Christ. You can take up your Cross everyday and follow Jesus then. Wonderful things happen through your life when you're Spirit-filled. When you are filled with the Spirit, you have an attitude that you want to share the Good News of Christ. When you receive Communion, you are receiving the real presence of Christ so you are in Christ. You as a member of a Church, make up the Body of Christ. For where the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace.
You can put on the Lord Jesus Christ and live a holy life, loving Him, honoring Him, pleasing Him, worshiping Him and enjoying His endless presence. You need to control what you think, see and hear. So you shouldn't think unclean thoughts, watch unclean movies and listen to bad language in shows and music. *You must choose not to do some things even if you like to do them - drugs, binge drinking, underage drinking, smoking, sex outside marriage - and only choose to do the things that will make your true Master happy. There is only one Master and you can't serve an addiction too.
*Would you invite the Lord to a dirty, sexually explicit movie? Would you take the Lord to a public bar and ask Him to watch you get drunk? Would you cover your body with a whole bunch of tattoos and piercings? *Would you let your girlfriend/boyfriend do what he likes with your body and violate you? Would you take the temple of God and fill it with alcohol, illegal drugs, unhealthy food or cigarettes?
Never! These things would be totally insulting to God. Don't play with immorality but rather run from it or it will destroy your soul. As a Catholic Christian, you should follow the examples of Jesus and live the way He did, avoiding things that dishonor or displease Him. The Bible is God's Word and it is clear on what is appropriate for your body and your mind. You just need to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life by listening to Him and being obedient to God.
*omit if not age appropriate
"The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will join them in their prophetic state and will be changed into another man."1 Samuel 10:6
"... that He may grant you in accord with the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self." Ephesians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." 1 Cor. 3:16-17
"... and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us." Romans 5:5
"But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:9, 13
God made you special and He created you to be holy and faithful to His ways. Your body is what your soul wears when you're on earth. Your body is only temporary and your soul is what will go up to Heaven. Our bodies belong to God so we are not our own. We were bought by Jesus' blood when He died on the Cross for us. Your actual physical body then is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and great care was given in the design of you.
A temple is a sacred place and so too is your body. It is a place where we worship and honor God. He wants us to honor Him with our bodies and our minds. So you are the "temple of God" when you are faithful to Christ. He wants you to honor Him with our bodies and our minds. You are His temples!
You belong to Jesus. Loving Him first, others second, and ourselves last, will honor God. You are more than just flesh - you have a soul. If you're not faithful to Christ, He is available and knocking on the door of your body, so to speak, and you can invite Him back in by being sorry for your sins and going to Confession. The human body is a place where human life and love happen. The Spirit of God transforms your body into the grace of God which in turn moves you to pray and serve others.
By taking care of our bodies, you are taking care of your wonderful Holy Spirit's temple. Because the Holy Spirit lives within you, He is with you wherever you go and whatever you do. You are joined with Him as one. The Holy Spirit knows your every word, every thought and every deed. He knows you, your strengths and your weaknesses. He knows your sinful acts and you good deeds and Heaven knows you better than you know yourself.
In terms of our bodies, we need to be careful where it goes and what it does and make sure everything we do and say glorifies Him. It is our great responsibility to keep God's house clean because we can't expect God to live in an unclean temple. God does care what you have done or are doing with your body. He wants you to be the best person you can be since he has given you your gifts or talents, your abilities, your thoughts, your energy and opportunities.
The Holy Spirit is a Person, one of the three Persons in one God. The Holy Spirit forms you in Christ's body when we get baptized. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to build you up in the body of Christ to the glory of God. This happens by knowing God's Word, sharing in the other sacraments and virtues. This will help you grow spiritually and act according to what is good. Therefore, your body is meant for holiness in Christ since your body belongs to Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is available when you need it. He is a great encourager.
When you are filled with the Spirit, you are living in His presence, next to Christ. You can take up your Cross everyday and follow Jesus then. Wonderful things happen through your life when you're Spirit-filled. When you are filled with the Spirit, you have an attitude that you want to share the Good News of Christ. When you receive Communion, you are receiving the real presence of Christ so you are in Christ. You as a member of a Church, make up the Body of Christ. For where the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace.
You can put on the Lord Jesus Christ and live a holy life, loving Him, honoring Him, pleasing Him, worshiping Him and enjoying His endless presence. You need to control what you think, see and hear. So you shouldn't think unclean thoughts, watch unclean movies and listen to bad language in shows and music. *You must choose not to do some things even if you like to do them - drugs, binge drinking, underage drinking, smoking, sex outside marriage - and only choose to do the things that will make your true Master happy. There is only one Master and you can't serve an addiction too.
*Would you invite the Lord to a dirty, sexually explicit movie? Would you take the Lord to a public bar and ask Him to watch you get drunk? Would you cover your body with a whole bunch of tattoos and piercings? *Would you let your girlfriend/boyfriend do what he likes with your body and violate you? Would you take the temple of God and fill it with alcohol, illegal drugs, unhealthy food or cigarettes?
Never! These things would be totally insulting to God. Don't play with immorality but rather run from it or it will destroy your soul. As a Catholic Christian, you should follow the examples of Jesus and live the way He did, avoiding things that dishonor or displease Him. The Bible is God's Word and it is clear on what is appropriate for your body and your mind. You just need to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life by listening to Him and being obedient to God.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Temptation
Temptation
*omit if not age appropriate
"But Peter and the apostles said in reply, We must obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29
"Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him." James 1:12
"Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41
"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarily been tested in every way, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15
Temptation is when you are drawn to something or someone and you have a desire to do something (usually something evil or sinful) because you think that there is a pleasure or an advantage in finally getting the thing you want. During your lifetime on earth, it is as if you are on an island surrounded by temptation. When you are faced with temptation, God gives you the freedom to choose how you will react. And the only sure way for us to not give in to sin is for us to "put out" that temptation while it is just a thought. For sinful thoughts later become sinful actions. Your sin will always find you out or come back to you. Even if no one here on earth sees you commit your sin, God sees it. You can't hide any sin from God no matter how clever you think you are. And you will have to give an accounting to God one day when you die. So you have to have the power to overcome temptation before it turns into sin.
Life is a series of choices and you are faced with them daily. Things we choose are the things that are the most important to us. If we don't think about our lives and decide and clarify what's most important to us, we'll end up wasting it. We will face many temptations in life. God allows us the freedom to choose how we respond. We can overcome temptation with God's help. The Devil, also know as Satan, is the enemy. He exists all around us and especially can show up the closer you get to God. He roams around like a fierce lion. God gives you the escape route, but you have to move yourself away from the tempting situation. Are you willing to serve and worship God only? You can either do what others want you to do or do what God wants. We may get laughed at or put down but that shouldn't stop us from doing what we know is the right thing to do. God's ways are much higher than ours, Just shrug and say "Who cares what they think?" as God will give you the strength to stand up and be a witness to God. It makes God happy when we choose Him and His ways over what the world says. God's ways are so different than the world's ways. Something might seem right on the surface, and evil too often appears as good. But it's really lies that may seem like the truth to you.
At first temptation whispers, "Come get me. You will love what I have to offer. I will make you happy and satisfy your needs." But then later that same temptation will call out to you, saying, "Look at you. You're worthless. You're weak. You're pathetic. You are nothing but a loser." Temptation is like poison covered in candy coating. We know it is better to avoid things that will harm us. Sin will harm us but sometimes it is not easy to see sin for what it is. Like the forbidden fruit that Eve was tempted to eat, sin may look "pleasant to the eyes" and may satisfy our desires, but it is not good for us. So how do we overcome temptation? Run away from it.. Turn your eyes when you see it coming. Call on the Lord.
Sometimes the biggest sins start out very small. You might think, "I'll just go along for the ride. I'm not going to do anything." Then you end up being part of some criminal activity with your buddies. Or maybe you think, "I can handle myself. I know when to quit." And then you end up in a situation too deep, unable to quit even though down deep you want to. Temptation is like fire. And if you play with fire, you are going to get burned and lead to a blazing fire, destroying everything in its path. You can get deeper and deeper into sin and farther and farther away from God.
*This world and the people in it encourages us to cover up sin and evil. We try to cover up the sin of alcoholism and drug use by calling it a "disease" or an "addiction." If we fornicate or commit adultery and become pregnant, we try to cover up our sin by having an abortion so that we can kill our baby, and the world has given us the legal right to do so. If you want to disobey God's standards of what a normal relationship is and instead have a homosexual relationship, the world helps you to cover it up by calling it an "alternative lifestyle."
Sin carries with it a price that you do not want to have to pay! For example, a person who commits a crime may ask for and receive forgiveness from God, yet still have to serve the sentence given by the courtroom judge. And you will have to live with the choice you made. Do you sit and ponder whether you can get away with something and about how fun the sin will be? If so, it is no wonder that you struggle and give in to temptation. You need to put God and your relationship with God first! If you do, you will not be so likely to fall when you are tempted. There may be some people that you need to stop spending time with. There might be a hobby or pursuit that you need to quit doing. *Maybe you have a computer that is making you stumble. Remember, sometimes just one look is all it takes. So be cautious about where you set your eyes, and be on guard so that you can overcome temptation and lust.
Jesus is our example of how to overcome temptation. Jesus was tempted as we are but he never sinned.
No matter what the ungodly are telling you what to think and do, it is better to stand up for Jesus and the truth of God's word. God will show you the truth and counsel you and let you see the difference between lies and the real truth. You need to be on guard and recognize if something is of God or of Satan. Remember Christ in you is greater than Satan in the world. Many times you'll want to give in to how you feel, even thinking it's not that bad because it seems "everyone" is doing it. You can be easily fooled that something seems alright because Satan has a way of disguising it.
Instead of going by what you feel, you should go with what God says to do in His Word. You need to react against what you feel is the natural thing to do. You might feel that you should lie so you don't get into trouble, take something you want that is not yours, or say mean things because someone said mean things to you. Instead, you need to love your enemies, bless those who persecute or hurt you, turn the other cheek. Satan loves to tempt you to do things you shouldn't, but you can pray to Jesus to help you since he knows what it is like to be tempted. You need to walk in His ways and be firmly grounded in His Word. And let me warn you, this is usually not the easiest or most popular place to be. In fact, most of the time, it is difficult. That is why you must be prepared or sin will conquer. So don't walk down the wrong path and come under bad influence. If you ask God to help you, He will help you escape temptation and do the right thing. May God help you to make the right choice!
*omit if not age appropriate
"But Peter and the apostles said in reply, We must obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29
"Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him." James 1:12
"Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41
"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarily been tested in every way, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15
Temptation is when you are drawn to something or someone and you have a desire to do something (usually something evil or sinful) because you think that there is a pleasure or an advantage in finally getting the thing you want. During your lifetime on earth, it is as if you are on an island surrounded by temptation. When you are faced with temptation, God gives you the freedom to choose how you will react. And the only sure way for us to not give in to sin is for us to "put out" that temptation while it is just a thought. For sinful thoughts later become sinful actions. Your sin will always find you out or come back to you. Even if no one here on earth sees you commit your sin, God sees it. You can't hide any sin from God no matter how clever you think you are. And you will have to give an accounting to God one day when you die. So you have to have the power to overcome temptation before it turns into sin.
Life is a series of choices and you are faced with them daily. Things we choose are the things that are the most important to us. If we don't think about our lives and decide and clarify what's most important to us, we'll end up wasting it. We will face many temptations in life. God allows us the freedom to choose how we respond. We can overcome temptation with God's help. The Devil, also know as Satan, is the enemy. He exists all around us and especially can show up the closer you get to God. He roams around like a fierce lion. God gives you the escape route, but you have to move yourself away from the tempting situation. Are you willing to serve and worship God only? You can either do what others want you to do or do what God wants. We may get laughed at or put down but that shouldn't stop us from doing what we know is the right thing to do. God's ways are much higher than ours, Just shrug and say "Who cares what they think?" as God will give you the strength to stand up and be a witness to God. It makes God happy when we choose Him and His ways over what the world says. God's ways are so different than the world's ways. Something might seem right on the surface, and evil too often appears as good. But it's really lies that may seem like the truth to you.
At first temptation whispers, "Come get me. You will love what I have to offer. I will make you happy and satisfy your needs." But then later that same temptation will call out to you, saying, "Look at you. You're worthless. You're weak. You're pathetic. You are nothing but a loser." Temptation is like poison covered in candy coating. We know it is better to avoid things that will harm us. Sin will harm us but sometimes it is not easy to see sin for what it is. Like the forbidden fruit that Eve was tempted to eat, sin may look "pleasant to the eyes" and may satisfy our desires, but it is not good for us. So how do we overcome temptation? Run away from it.. Turn your eyes when you see it coming. Call on the Lord.
Sometimes the biggest sins start out very small. You might think, "I'll just go along for the ride. I'm not going to do anything." Then you end up being part of some criminal activity with your buddies. Or maybe you think, "I can handle myself. I know when to quit." And then you end up in a situation too deep, unable to quit even though down deep you want to. Temptation is like fire. And if you play with fire, you are going to get burned and lead to a blazing fire, destroying everything in its path. You can get deeper and deeper into sin and farther and farther away from God.
*This world and the people in it encourages us to cover up sin and evil. We try to cover up the sin of alcoholism and drug use by calling it a "disease" or an "addiction." If we fornicate or commit adultery and become pregnant, we try to cover up our sin by having an abortion so that we can kill our baby, and the world has given us the legal right to do so. If you want to disobey God's standards of what a normal relationship is and instead have a homosexual relationship, the world helps you to cover it up by calling it an "alternative lifestyle."
Sin carries with it a price that you do not want to have to pay! For example, a person who commits a crime may ask for and receive forgiveness from God, yet still have to serve the sentence given by the courtroom judge. And you will have to live with the choice you made. Do you sit and ponder whether you can get away with something and about how fun the sin will be? If so, it is no wonder that you struggle and give in to temptation. You need to put God and your relationship with God first! If you do, you will not be so likely to fall when you are tempted. There may be some people that you need to stop spending time with. There might be a hobby or pursuit that you need to quit doing. *Maybe you have a computer that is making you stumble. Remember, sometimes just one look is all it takes. So be cautious about where you set your eyes, and be on guard so that you can overcome temptation and lust.
Jesus is our example of how to overcome temptation. Jesus was tempted as we are but he never sinned.
No matter what the ungodly are telling you what to think and do, it is better to stand up for Jesus and the truth of God's word. God will show you the truth and counsel you and let you see the difference between lies and the real truth. You need to be on guard and recognize if something is of God or of Satan. Remember Christ in you is greater than Satan in the world. Many times you'll want to give in to how you feel, even thinking it's not that bad because it seems "everyone" is doing it. You can be easily fooled that something seems alright because Satan has a way of disguising it.
Instead of going by what you feel, you should go with what God says to do in His Word. You need to react against what you feel is the natural thing to do. You might feel that you should lie so you don't get into trouble, take something you want that is not yours, or say mean things because someone said mean things to you. Instead, you need to love your enemies, bless those who persecute or hurt you, turn the other cheek. Satan loves to tempt you to do things you shouldn't, but you can pray to Jesus to help you since he knows what it is like to be tempted. You need to walk in His ways and be firmly grounded in His Word. And let me warn you, this is usually not the easiest or most popular place to be. In fact, most of the time, it is difficult. That is why you must be prepared or sin will conquer. So don't walk down the wrong path and come under bad influence. If you ask God to help you, He will help you escape temptation and do the right thing. May God help you to make the right choice!
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