The Catholic Defender: Men Will Render Account For Every Careless Word They Utter

There is pollution in the air that is effecting the hearts and minds of many people all over the world. Children often are the target of much of the pollution taking place which is seated in the deepest recesses of the heart. Rebellion digs deep into the soul when it turns away from God for the beautiful side of evil.

Unfortunately, we are seeing people who purposefully hack into family oriented websites with a Christian base throwing their porn of words and or pictures on the internet. Please pray for these people who seek to hurt children who pervert their minds, hearts, and bodies with their pollution.

Ephesians 5:1-5 says, “So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among the holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God”.

St. Paul takes this deeper writing to the Galatians 5:16-21, “I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,

idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warned you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”.

St. John 5:16-17, refers to these as “deadly sins” from which the Catholic Church calls “Mortal Sins”. St. John states, “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrong doing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.”

When St. Paul speaks about sin that will prevent a person any “inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” that is a mortal sin.”

Consider Jesus (Matthew 12:36-37) clear warning. “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Basically, the Lord is saying, out of the heart, the mouth speaks. I will say, garbage in, garbage out. It does matter what a person accepts and brings in. The sad thing is that many are being raised by this standard from their own parents. Children will imitate whom they admire and grow into what they imitate.

Jesus gives a clear warning on this as well, Matthew 18:6 says,“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that case sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!”

How sad it is when it is from the parent s that a child learns to sin. It is especially important that Fathers lead by example, the good things of God.

Consider Colossians 3:5-8, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths.”

Ephesians 4:29 states, “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”

Is there a constant theme in all this? It is clear that we must reform our lives and transform our lives to the way of the Lord. The Church calls us to constant conversion. Bad habits is a choice, it is important to see yourself as a work in progress and work on cleaning yourself up. To cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit implanted in your life through Baptism and Confirmation.

Hebrews 13:1-2 states, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels”. When I see a small child, what an opportunity for God’s grace and yes, God’s angels are present! Which leads to another warning of Jesus.

Matthew 18:1-5 states, “At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” Jesus would continue, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”.

Consider the Angels at Sodom to get Lot and his family out of the city, do we respect the messengers of God or do we cry out for evil upon them?

How terrible it is to teach a child to sin, and there is great evil out there. Recently, I was at the Thomas Moore Troop Medical Clinic and CNN was talking favorably of a singing artist who has a song about a man with a love for another man. How terrible this is and woe to those who promote this kind of sin and place it in the hearts and minds of the young.

The Culture of Death is far more reaching than abortion and the killing of innocent human beings. It is also anything that leads to death.

The Talking Dead is very dangerous because they seek only selfish desires from the recesses of their heart.

1 Samuel 15:23 states, “For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry."

Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he too, has rejected you…” Romans 1:32 echos all of the above saying, “Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Hosea 4:6 warns, “My people perish for want of knowledge! Since you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons.”

That is scary, I do not want the Lord to ignore my Sons and Daughter, not at all.

If we think about it, hopefully, none of us would. By virtue of your baptism and confirmation, you can truly echo Isaiah, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God…”

The Catholic Church is celebrating this Jubilee year, “Mercy” to inspire strong faith in an increasingly faithless world, to inspire the Faith for the world, to inspire love in a fallen world.

Principally, we are typically known for what we say, for what we do, and for what we love. Father Kevin Drew of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Trenton Missouri, gives a great homily why our Shepherds should match their words with their deeds:

“Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture … You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.

That’s Jeremiah the prophet writing in Jerusalem about 600 years before Christ, a particularly evil time in Jewish history. King, priest and people had become more interested in politics than God. All sorts of abuses took place in and around the temple, which was run more like a business than a place of worship.

Due to their disloyalty to God, Jeremiah told the Chosen People that their city and temple would be destroyed, and they’d be exiled to Babylon. So, Jeremiah wasn't very popular. He actually ended up being murdered by his own people.

Jeremiah took special aim at the leaders, the shepherds: You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. What was the problem? Were these shepherds mean or cruel; too authoritarian? The text doesn't say that. It just says they “misled and scattered the flock.”

Maybe the rulers and the priests were nice guys. Maybe people liked them because they never challenged anybody by teaching the truths of the faith. Perhaps that was their business model that assured an uninterrupted stream of money flowed into the temple. So everyone was happy; the people were comfortable in their sin, and the leaders led pretty easy lives.

Teaching the truths of the faith. The Code of Canon (Church) Law states, “By Divine institution bishops are constituted pastors in the Church, to be teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship, and the ministers of governance.” (375.1) “Divine institution” means it comes from God. It’s right there in the last sentence of Matthew’s gospel. Christ says: Teach them to observe everything I commanded you. A key word there is everything; not just the things people want to hear. Shepherds seeking popularity of course fail to do that. Due to their lack of courage their flock becomes indifferent and scatters.

This is being played out in a tragic way right in our own time. We’re living through a sexual revolution that has turned morality on its head. And the modern Church, wanting to be popular and accepted, many have gotten in bed with the culture; just like they did in Jeremiah’s time. Now look what’s happened to us: Forty million Americans are now former Catholics. For every one person that comes into the Church, someone leave.

Catholic schools and parishes are closing all across the country, because there’s no children to put in them.

Two “Catholic” Supreme Court justices recently broke with all legal precedent, human ethics and history to inflict on us the absurdity of “same-sex marriage.” The legal, financial and social ramifications of this will be brutal.

So there it is. When we run with the pagans, when we love the world more than God, the world will swallow us up. Christ’s command of course was to be in the world but not of it. He said to hate the world, which means to love him first, to keep his commands, all of them. Otherwise we exile ourselves. But though we walk in a dark valley we will fear no evil, for our shepherd will bring us to the right path. King David, who was a huge sinner, wrote that. And Jeremiah promised the true shepherd would come from David’s branch. And there the shepherd was, 600 years later, living and preaching on the Sea of Galilee.

The bible tells the story when the Apostles returned from their mission to headquarters in Capernaum, on the Northwest shore of the lake. They’re tired and hungry so Christ gets them in a boat and they head to a deserted spot on the eastern shore. But the people watch, and then run across the northern shore of the lake. They beat the boat to the deserted spot, so it’s no longer deserted when Christ comes ashore. But Christ doesn’t send them away. Instead he begins to teach. You see, he has pity on them, because they look like lost sheep.

Now, listen to Jeremiah again: The true shepherd will gather a small remnant of the flock, and bring them back to the meadow. They’ll multiply and he’ll appoint shepherds to watch and care for them.

These would be bishops, with headquarters not in Capernaum, but in Rome, the city to which all roads lead.

You see, we need bishops to teach, to pastor, and to govern the flock. This is the “business model” Christ put in place.

To deny the authority of our bishops is to become Protestant. When the Protestants revolted 500 years ago they claimed they just needed a bible and faith. So what has happened?

They've all become their own bishop. In the end they give final authority to themselves. As a consequence there are now something like 40,000 different Protestant sects and we live in a world of relativism, where sheep without a shepherd make up their own truth. Now what kind of business model is that? Is everyone the boss at your place of employment? Or is there hierarchy; is there order? Does your child’s ball team have a coach? Or does your child just need a ball bat and faith?

People want the Church to be more like a business; one that will adapt with the times and supply the market with what it demands. There’s nothing original in this. That’s what they did in Jeremiah’s time — and we see how well that worked out. That’s what the Protestants have done, and what some in the Church want us to do. The problem is that the Church is not a business. It is the instrument started by Christ to bring us to the truth. And the truth doesn't change with the times. The truth is the truth, regardless of markets. Whether everyone’s buying it or no one is buying it, the truth remains.

Here’s the truth: Christ wasn't very popular and he ended up being murdered by his own people, who represent us. It was our sins that nailed Christ to the cross. But look at his business model:

An uninterrupted stream of mercy flows from the true temple, from Christ’s pierced side. It flows down on us at every Mass.

This doesn't change, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So take heart. All those lost sheep on the shore in the gospel weren't saints.

And yet Christ had compassion on them. Christ has compassion on us, because he came to call sinners. It doesn't matter how far one has strayed because no sin is bigger than God’s mercy.

So don’t stay comfortable in your sin. Go to Confession and make things right. Confession is your guarantee of forgiveness. Call out to your true shepherd, “the Lord our justice,” and he will bring you back to the right path; the path that leads to the truth, who is Christ.”

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” We Do well by following what the Lord has GIVEN us, He gave us the WAY, we have the Truth, that gives us His LIFE.

Let us aspire to the true gifts of God, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon you, a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” Let us seek out the higher gifts of God!

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because you have revealed them who are eternal truth and wisdom, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. In this faith I intend to live and die. Amen.