No we're not kidding you..... a valium tablet makes us feel better than communion. And if you cant tell us why then we'll walk away and go to the `feel good' church up the road. The answer of course IS faith like you say father. That's all very nice Father, but...where does faith come from? I didn't have an answer until I realized that faith hope and charity were theological virtues, i.e. they don't come from us but are infused into us by God. If they don't come from us we cant produce them. We have to pray for them. Bingo! Now I can stop beating myself up about the fact that I cant produce these things through my own efforts but simply ask God for them. St. Paul said it; No-one can say Jesus is Lord unless the spirit is in him. Even our belief is a grace. I know the Lord's prayer is prime but my favorite `I'm a weak human' prayer in the bible is the man who says to Jesus, `Lord I believe, help my unbelief'. What a silly thing to say I first thought but I'm beginning to get it now. The more I endure this `night of wrestling with one like a man' like Jacob did by the river the more I empathize with this story. In the morning the man changed Jacob's name to `Israel' which means `struggle'. That's what God wants us to do with Him. He wants our fallen nature to wrestle with His Goodness. Satan on the other hand says Come with me and I'll make you feel good. Forget the struggle; give up.
I’m so glad I found you on UA-cam! Thank you for sharing your faith. Happy New Year, Father.
My mom and I were just talking about this. I shared this with her. Pray she gets it. Please.
Please Consider me a friend Father Larry Richards. God Bless you!
No we're not kidding you..... a valium tablet makes us feel better than communion. And if you cant tell us why then we'll walk away and go to the `feel good' church up the road. The answer of course IS faith like you say father. That's all very nice Father, but...where does faith come from?
I didn't have an answer until I realized that faith hope and charity were theological virtues, i.e. they don't come from us but are infused into us by God.
If they don't come from us we cant produce them. We have to pray for them. Bingo! Now I can stop beating myself up about the fact that I cant produce these things through my own efforts but simply ask God for them.
St. Paul said it; No-one can say Jesus is Lord unless the spirit is in him. Even our belief is a grace.
I know the Lord's prayer is prime but my favorite `I'm a weak human' prayer in the bible is the man who says to Jesus, `Lord I believe, help my unbelief'. What a silly thing to say I first thought but I'm beginning to get it now. The more I endure this `night of wrestling with one like a man' like Jacob did by the river the more I empathize with this story. In the morning the man changed Jacob's name to `Israel' which means `struggle'. That's what God wants us to do with Him. He wants our fallen nature to wrestle with His Goodness. Satan on the other hand says Come with me and I'll make you feel good. Forget the struggle; give up.