Author: Daniel Pizarro

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What do I have to do to follow the footsteps of Jesus?

Just as Jesus Christ has called us to holiness (Matthew 5:48), our Lord has also called us to follow him (John 14:6-7). How can I be a disciple of the Lord? By following the vocation to which God is calling you, the vocation is not only those of priestly order or religious life, a person may also have the vocation to marriage (Matthew 19:5-6) or celibacy (Matthew 19:12). Vocation is a call that God himself makes us to serve him in the best way for the work of salvation (Matthew 11:28-30), just as he did with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2) and Samuel (1 Samuel 3:7-10).

What must I do then to be able to hear the call of the Lord? There is no better way to be attentive to the call of our Lord than prayer. In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ (CCC 2565).

Let us be open to the call that God makes us and let us respond with faith to this call, not all we will have the same vocation, since different gifts have been distributed to each one of us until all of us attain to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:2-14).

Let us discern with faith our vocation, whether to Holy Orders, holy matrimony or the celibate life, so that, as a holy people, we work for the edification of the body of Christ that is the Church. Let us not be sponge Christians who only receive the word without acting, let us rather be like a honeycomb, Christians overflowing with the sweetness of the gospel through our example of life in the vocation of service that God has called us to.

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Who are the saints?

The Church recognizes as saints those souls who left this world and find themselves in the glory of the presence of God (CCC 954), the souls of those who, amid worldly suffering, were able to reach perfect union with Christ, according to the state and condition of each one. Those who, being men like us, were transformed more perfectly into the image of Christ (LG 50). They are the witnesses who have preceded us in the Kingdom, they participate in the living tradition of prayer, through the model of their life, through the transmission of their writings and for his current prayer. They contemplate God, praise him and do not stop caring for those who have stayed on earth. Entering “into the joy” of the Lord, they have been “charged with much more.” Their intercession is their highest service to God’s plan. we can and we must beg them to intercede for us and for the whole world (CCC 2683).

Due to the fact that they are already glorified, these souls are more intimately united with Christ, they consolidate more firmly to the whole Church in holiness. They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus. By their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped (CCC 956).

Jesus Christ made a call to holiness to all his disciples (Matthew 5:48), “Be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy.” That call is open to all of us, because God has placed us in the world to know him, serve him and love him, and thus go to heaven. Having a clean heart makes us participate in the divine nature and eternal life. With it, man enters into the glory of Christ and into the joy of the Trinitarian life (CCC 1721).

The Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of Heaven. Sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we tread them, step by step, by everyday acts. By the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear fruit in the Church to the glory of God (CCC 1724).

Let us then purify ourselves with the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments that Christ Jesus gave us, so that we can follow the map towards holiness that He Himself left us in the beatitudes and we can enjoy, like the saints, being in the presence of God at the end of times.

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What must I do to inherit eternal life?

This is the question we must always keep in mind to evaluate our actions, our Lord Jesus Christ himself tells us: we must comply with the commandments, and abandon ourselves to the Lord (Mark 10:17-22). He was also very clear when he spoke with his disciples telling them that: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life ” (John 6:35-58). Our Lord also teaches us how we can eat his flesh and drink his blood, through the consecrated bread and wine in the mass (Luke 22:19). Jesus Christ is the spotless lamb who frees us from the slavery of sin (Exodus 12:3,5), the lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). So, we already know what we must do to be able to get to heaven, we must be in communion with Jesus whenever we can and when are in the grace of the Lord.

But, what do I have to do to be in grace and thus be able to take communion? Jesus Christ also indicates which path we must follow, since He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6-7), we must follow the example of Christ, love God above all things and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40).

Jesus Christ knows that we want to be perfect, but that we have flaws and that many times we succumb to sin, that is why He left us a way to be able to purify ourselves in life from our sins and that is why he gave authority to the apostles (John 20:22-23) and their successors to be able to forgive our sins (CCC 1461), by means of the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus left us these sacraments, so that as pilgrim people to the new Jerusalem where we have the abode that our Lord has prepared for us (John 14:2), we can battle against earthly temptations, and to be able to heal the wounds of our soul the times when sin takes its toll on us.

Let us be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, Therefore let’s put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, with the belt of truth buckled around our waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, let’s take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

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Does Purgatory exist?

“That’s an invention, purgatory does not appear in the bible!”, these are arguments that we have heard from other Christians and that sometimes make us doubt. Is purgatory an invention or are there really biblical foundations for its existence? The Church since its
inception has promulgated the purification of souls through fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) since nothing tainted will enter the eternal city of heaven (Revelations 21:27).

Although the sacrament of reconciliation cleanses us from sins, this is a sacrament that consists of several parts: contrition, absolution and penance (CCC 1448), it is necessary to comply with penance in order to be completely free of the sins committed (CCC 1459). The Church teaches us that the souls of the purgatory,  are souls who departed from this world in full charity with God, but who have not yet completed the penance for the sins committed (Council of Lyon II – 1274).

We can find references in the old testament about the purification of the sins of those who have already died being pious and the works that the living can do for the final sanctification of their souls (2 Maccabees 12:44-45), the tortuous wait and subsequent salvation (Micah 7:8-9), the final judgment and purification by fire (Isaiah 4:4).

Jesus Christ himself through the parable of Lazarus and the rich man explains to us that the souls that go to hell, cannot cross into heaven (Luke 16:25-26). So what does He tell us about purgatory? He also made reference to the final judgment and forgiveness of sins, in the Gospel of Saint Matthew we find His words: “Come to terms quickly with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him. If you fail to do so, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge will put you in the custody of the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Believe the truth of what I tell you: you will not be given your freedom until you have paid your debt down to the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26). What kind of prison could He be referring to from which you can get out by serving the penance if it is not the purgatory?

Let us receive the sacrament of reconciliation often, repent of all our sins, faithfully carrying out penance so that we may share the glory with our Lord. Let us offer masses and works of mercy for the blessed souls in purgatory for their complete sanctification.

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What are the states of the Church?

When we pray the apostles’ creed, we say: “I believe in the communion of saints…” What does this passage refers to? Let’s review what the successors of the apostles tell us: “Until the Lord shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him and death being destroyed, all things are subject to Him, some of His disciples are exiles on earth, some having died are purified, and others are in glory beholding «clearly God Himself triune and one, as He is»; but all in various ways and degrees are in communion in the same charity of God and neighbor and all sing the same hymn of glory to our God. For all who are in Christ, having His Spirit, form one Church and cleave together in Him.” (Lumen Gentium 49, CCC 954-955). Since all followers of Christ are called to Holiness (Matthew 5:48) and share with Him the grace of the Holy Spirit by virtue of our Sacraments of Initiation (CCC 1285), the Church recognizes holiness in the living and in the dead. Some of them being in the process of purification and others enjoying the glory of the presence of God.

We understand then the states of the Church, as those states in which the souls of the disciples of Christ are found, some of them, already in the Triumphant Church or Glorified Church, the Church in Heaven, in the kingdom of the Holy Trinity, the angels and the saints who have reached complete salvation with Christ (Romans 8:28-30). We, in the Church Militant or Pilgrim Church, walk through the world towards the Church triumphant, and we are militants because we are in a constant battle facing earthly temptations (Ephesians 6:13-16). Some souls find themselves being purified in the Suffering Church, those are the souls that left this world in charity with God, with true repentance of their sins, without having satisfied their sins of what they did or failed to do with true fruits of penance, purifying themselves after death with the pains of purgatory. These penance can be mitigated through actions of living beings, namely: masses, prayers, alms and other works of piety according to the provisions of the Church (Council of Lyons II).

Let’s keep fighting against earthly temptations, let us request the help of those who preceded us in the presence of our Lord, and let’s keep praying for the purification of the holy souls in purgatory.

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Do angels really exist?

When we pray the penitential act at mass, we ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints, who are the angels and how do we know if they really exist? Let’s go to the explanation given by St. Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church: “The name of an angel indicates his office, not his nature. If you ask about his nature, I will tell you that he is a spirit; if you ask about what he does, I will say that it is an angel” (CCC 329), then we understand that angels are spiritual beings created by God and we accept this as a truth of faith (CCC 328). We profess this truth of faith every time we recite the creed by saying: “…creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” The angels do the will of God (Psalms 103:20) since they are always in the presence of God and see his face (Matthew 18:10).

Being Catholics, we cannot deny the existence of angels, since they are mentioned multiple times in the Scriptures, starting in Genesis where God put an angel to guard the Garden of Eden after the expulsion of Adam and Eve after having fallen into sin (Genesis 3:24), all through the book of Revelations where angels are mentioned 73 times. Even the devil acknowledges their existence when tempting our Lord (Matthew 4:6), he takes Him to the
pinnacle of the temple and citing the Scripture tells Him to launch from there, since “the Angels will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (Psalms 91:11-12).

The tradition of the Church even tells us that each of us has a guardian angel (CCC 336) placed by God himself to guide us on the right path and protect us, just like they did to Moses (Exodus 23:20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:5), Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (Daniel 3:24-25) among many other prophets and faithful devoted to God.

Let us continue to join the heavenly choir of angels every time we participate in the mass by singing or reciting the Gloria, just as they did to announce the arrival of the Savior of the World and Redeemer of humanity (Luke 2:10-14)

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Three persons, One God… How is this possible?

The Holy Trinity, three persons, one God… how is this possible? The mystery of the Holy Trinity has long occupied the thoughts of Christianity. How is it possible to understand this? The first thing we must do is go to the scriptures to find out why we say that God is one but in three persons. The first clue is in the first commandment “I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:1-3) God himself is declaring that there is only one God, let us now turn to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets… For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law…”  (Matthew 5:17-18), Jesus did not come to change God’s law but to enforce it. After his resurrection Jesus sends the apostles on a mission saying: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), He does not just mentions God the Father or himself as God the Son, but names directly the three persons of the Holy Trinity. If Jesus did not come to change the law in the slightest, the first commandment stands even with the declaration of the Divine Trinity.

If we go deeper into the Scriptures, we don’t have to go any further than the first verse of the first book of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) If we take the original Hebrew in which this passage is written, the name of God used here is “Elohim”, in Hebrew the ending “-im” is indicative of a plural noun; but in this passage it is followed by a verb used in its singular conjugation, indicating that the three persons of the Trinity make up one God, not three separate ones. If we continue, in the creation of the human being we find the following: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) here God is using the plural to refer to himself.

The Old Testament has many passages that point to the Trinity, but let’s go back to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ addressing the apostles: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22), here again Jesus reveals to us the persons of the Trinity.

Let us joyfully declare this dogma of the faith every time we make the sign of the cross, saying “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, thus attesting that the name of God is one and God is expressed in the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

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What is Advent?

The word Advent comes from the Latin “adventus”, word that means “coming”, it is during the advent season that we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, both to commemorate his first coming into this world and for his second coming in all his Glory (CCC 524).

Advent begins a new liturgical year, that is, a new year for the Catholic Church, since with the birth of Jesus Christ the beginning of our faith was founded. During Advent we focus on the light of Christ in opposition to the darkness, since our Lord came into the world to throw away the darkness of sin to redeem us, and he will come again as the light of the world (Isaiah 2:4-5, Revelations 22 :5).

The season of Advent is divided into two parts, from the first Sunday of Advent to the Saturday prior to the fourth Sunday of Advent, we have a marked eschatological character, facing the second coming of the Lord at the end of times. And from the fourth Sunday of Advent to December 24, the Church intensifies the preparation of our hearts, directing them to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation.

The liturgical color of the Advent season that is used in the liturgy is purple. This color is a symbol of austerity and evokes a sense of penance. It is used because it helps the faithful to be aware of the need for conversion, to “be prepared”, that we must prepare our hearts for the imminent arrival of the Lord. But not everything is austerity and penance during the Advent season, on the third Sunday, we celebrate “Gaudete” Sunday or Sunday of rejoicing, because both comings of Jesus Christ, the first in which he redeemed us from sin and the second when he will come to reign and His Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, are cause for rejoicing for all of us who believe in Him, the liturgical color for this Sunday is the color rose.

Let’s use these weeks to prepare our hearts before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, may our preparation be austere but let us not lose sight of the joy that Jesus Christ arrival into the world means.

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How is it possible that Mary is the Mother of God?

Mary mother of God and mother of the Church, the concept of Mary as mother of God is sometimes complicated for us. Is not God eternal? How is it then possible to have Mary as the Mother of God? One way to understand this is by accepting the one God in the three persons of the Holy Trinity (CCC 233), thus Mary is the earthly mother of God the Son, Jesus Christ, eternal God (John 8:58) consubstantial with the Father.

Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus Christ is prophesied not only from the beginning of time (Genesis 3:15), but also throughout the Old Testament, symbolized by the tabernacle where Moses met with God (Exodus 33:9). and that protected the Ark of the Covenant with the tables of the law, the word of God given to the Israelites; Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, having housed in her womb the Word (John 1:1) that became flesh, the same Jesus Christ who came to dwell among us (John 1:14). It was Mary the virgin referred to by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus when he said: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son…” (Isaiah 7:14).

Mary accepts the role of mother of our savior and then the role of being our mother with humbleness, responding to the angel of the Lord: “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38), also when Jesus from the cross referring to the disciple says to her: “Woman, here is your son” (John 19:26) and then to the disciple “Here is your mother” (John 19:27), giving us Mary as mother through his disciple. Mary is the mother of the Church since we are one body with Christ (Romans 12:4-5) by receiving him in communion. Mary as our mother, intercedes for us before the immense mercy of her Son, and also guides us as she did wisely and humbly at the wedding in Cana, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:3-5).

Let us recognize our heavenly mother in Mary, since she intercedes for each one of us and obtains the graces we need. Just as for a mother her children are unique and different from each other, so we are for Mary.

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Do I really have to forgive him?

“That person is my friend/brother/boss, but he is really a pain in the neck”, this or worse things have passed through our thoughts when we have to deal with the way certain people behave; sometimes even directly offending them when we have already lost patience. There are even occasions when we feel that we have to control ourselves not to break the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) because sometimes we say or think: “If he does just more thing I will loose control and kill him!”. Let us remember that Jesus Christ during the Sermon on the Mount, teaches us the true meaning (Matthew 5:21-26) of said commandment, as we know the act of killing is an attempt against a being that has been made in the image of God, but also offending another is offending the very image of God, because our Heavenly Father has created us “in His image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27). Each of us are beings that are destined to be pure as God the Father created us (Matthew 5:48).

Just as we must reflect the light of Christ with our actions, we must also make an effort to see the light of Christ in other people. Jesus Christ was very clear in telling us that when we fulfill the works of mercy with our neighbor; clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting the sick, etc.; these works we are doing to Himself (Matthew 25:34-40), and he also told us not only to do this with those we like, but also with our enemies, because only then will we be considered children of our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:43- 48).

Let us renew our call to holiness, let us not hold grudges that the only thing they do is distance us from the kingdom of heaven, rather let us practice the works of mercy and so that at the end of time we will be considered children of our Heavenly Father.