Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire!

 

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "What St. Paul taught was all the truths and precepts of Christ, even the most demanding ones, without silencing or watering down any.   He spoke of humility, of self-denial, of chastity, of detachment from earthly goods, of obedience…And he did not fear to stress that one had to choose between serving God and serving Baal, because it is not possible to serve the two together. He taught that after death all had to undergo a woeful judgment; that no one can bargain with God; that one can only expect eternal life if one has kept God’s laws; that seeking pleasures by breaking these laws one can only expect eternal damnation…Never did the Preacher of truth think he had to omit these things because   they might seem harsh to his listeners, especially in view of the corruption of the times…Since when does a doctor give useless medicine to his patients, being afraid to prescribe useful ones?" Pope Leo XIII    

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) "The natural law is written and engraved on the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin…But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted." (From Pope Leo XIII – Encyclical - Libertas praestantissimus)