Canada this is CBS and Mercer host David Ross welcome to episode 8 we're just gonna jump right into it last time I rushed as I often do it the tail end of these I learned how to relax and calm down at the end I hear that music kick in and I just want to burn through whatever paragraph I'm on so I'll just continue from where I left off I guess I'll read the last paragraph because I really rushed it but when either the Roman pontiff or the body of Bishops together with him defines a judgement they pronounce it in a court with Revelation itself never apart from Revelation in other words all are obliged to maintain and be ruled by this revelation which is written or preserved by tradition is transmitted in its entirety to the legitimate succession of Bishops and especially through the care of the Roman pontiff himself so here we have the sacred deposit of faith the sacred tradition sacred scripture and we have the living Magisterium the Pope and the bishops who teach in union with the Pope these are the three pillars of the faith and it comes to the sources of infallible truth under the guiding light of the Spirit of Truth the Holy Spirit of God that is revelation is less religiously preserved and faithfully expounded in the church the Roman pontiff and the bishops in view of their office and of the importance of the matter strives strive painstakingly and by appropriate means to enquire properly into that revelation and to give up expression to its contents but they do not allow that there could be any new public revelation pertaining to the divine the positive faith so the public revelation closed with the death of the apostle st. John beloved apostle so moving on now the past or the pastoral office or the habitual and daily care of their sheep is entrusted to them completely nor are they to be regarded as vicars of the Roman pontiff or they exercise an authority which is proper to them the bishops and are quite correctly called prelates heads of the people whom they govern their power therefore is not destroyed by the supreme and universal power on the contrary it is affirmed strengthened and vindicated thereby since the Holy Spirit unfailingly preserves the form of government established by Christ the Lord in His Church so very important to note that it is Christ himself who established the church who gave it its structure and who maintains and preserves that form of government visible government which is in the holy roman catholic church it's essential that we understand that as Catholics and as Christians and as human beings generally many people outside of the church obviously don't understand that or believe that and sadly many even within wisdom of the church are confused about it because of the influences of modernists on the left or others on the left or traditionalists instead of antis on the right or others on the right it's only those of us who strive to be with Christ in the center who have fully cooperated with the grace to be Catholic to be in full communion with the Holy Roman Catholic Church we need to be docile in our submissive obedience I emphasize this I'm a time again so continuing now with the document our takers of the function of Christ the sole mediator on their level of ministry they announce the Divine Word to all they exercise the sacred function of Christ most of all in the Eucharistic liturgy or sin axis they're acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery they join the offering of the faithful the sacrifice of their head Jesus Christ until the coming of the Lord they represent and apply in the sacrifice of the mass some said that mechanists say that the father can do did away with his notion of this sacrifice of the mass that it's no longer deemed to be a sacrifice but here we have the word sacrifice of mass they represent an apply in the sacrifice of the mass the one sacrifice of the New Testament namely the sacrifice of Christ offering himself once and for all to his father as a spotless victim so this lies in the face of that Protestant accusation that Christ is the only mediator and he died once for all and we don't need to we don't need to have multiple sacrifices well there's only one sacrifice it's a supernatural mystical sacrifice because it's God Almighty the Godman Jesus Christ who makes the sacrifice oh it's there is no past there is no future for God everything is the eternal now the present moment that's why when we go to Mass we have to enter into that mystical state of mind whereby we understand that we are communing with the Almighty God the God that is not bound by space and time although he chose in His infinite wisdom to incarnate to take on flesh and to be fully man in all things but sin the great deep mystery which will never ever fully comprehend or understand but will have all of eternity to enjoy that mystery the mystery of the Incarnation and the church is an extension of the Incarnation as we've seen in this document continuing now saint augustine puts this very beautifully when he says i am what i am for you terrifies me what i am with you and souls me he's speaking about his role as bishop now what I am for you bishop terrifies me what I am with you Christian and Souls me for you I am a bishop but with you I am a Christian the former is a title of duty the latter one of grace the former is a danger the latter salvation this is what I talked about last episode when I was sort of in awe of the great burden of responsibility of being a cleric being a priest being a bishop being a cardinal being the Pope the great and enormous burden of responsibility that these that I read once I think it was st. I'm not sure I read once that all priests responded to a call but not all respond at all priests ostensible priests responded to the call of God some of them the bad priests responded to the call of Satan to have the power the glory of the priesthood the income of the priesthood the prestige of the priesthood and in some cases some of the access to young boys whatever it was that these sick perverts wanted to get by way of this glorified job description of priests they were called to that they were called to that way of life that sick and perverted way of life this false priesthood this abusive misuse of the priesthood they were called to it by Satan by their passions and by the world and by all the pressures that don't come from God but those priests who are striving sincerely to be Catholic have a calling to be a priest that that calling comes from God so terrifying terrifying responsibility we hear Saint Agustin here talking about the burden of responsibility that he felt as bishop great responsibility moving on now oops the later the lady are gathered together in the people of God and make up the body of Christ under one head whoever they are they are called upon as living members to expand expand all their energy for the growth of the church and it's continuous sanctification for this very energy is a gift of the creator and a blessing of the Redeemer the universal call to holiness the universal call to give our energies which we receive from God back to God God and His Church so it's it's a very grave responsibility that the lay people have to as I mentioned last at Missoni moving on out for this reason the lady dedicated to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit our Marvin marvelously called and equipped to produce in themselves ever more abundant fruits of the spirit for all their works prayers and apostolic endeavors they're ordinary married and family life their daily labor their men to their mental and physical relaxation if carried out in the spirit and even the hardships of life if patiently borne all of these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist these sacrifices are most lovingly offered to the father along with the Lord's body thus as worshippers whose every deed is holy the laity consecrate the world itself to God this is what I mentioned last time that we are supposed to be priest prophet and King and we as human beings present all of creation to God in worship in our divine liturgy and our public worship and it's a great presentation of our joys and our sorrows as we'll see and some of the documents about it can do very very powerful stuff so moving on an individual layman by reason of the knowledge competence or outstanding ability which he may enjoy is permitted and sometimes even obliged to express his opinion on things which concern the good of the church now I want to make a clear distinction between what was just expressed they're expressing our opinion you know on things which concern the good of the church and claiming to be st. Paul to st. Peter I touched on this last episode it's absolutely absurd to stick your nose into the business of your bishop were but forbid the Vicar of Christ absolutely absurd but we are able to express our opinion in the proper channels and in the in what you know in a respectful and loving way and through the right channels when occasions arise let this be done through the agencies set up by the church for this purpose let it always be done in truth encouraged and in prudence with reverence and charity toward those who by reason of their sacred office represent the person of Christ with ready Christian obedience laymen as well as all disciples of Christ should accept whatever their sacred pastors as representatives of Christ decree in their role as teachers and rulers in the church let laymen follow the example of Christ who by his obedience even at the cost of death open to all men the blessed way to the liberty of the children of God nor should they omit to pray to God for those placed over them who keep watches having to render an account of their souls so that they may render this account with joy and not our channels in established by the church by which we can express our opinions by which we can communicate there's a lot of bottom-up communication from the laypeople to the priests and the bishops and even all the way up to and so we can make use of those channels of communication and it is right and good to communicate any concerns we have legitimate concerns and to make them known through the proper but we have to respect those who are in the hierarchy and we have to pray for them I pray for the Pope in the Bishop's daily and I hope you will too because of the great burden of responsibility they moving on the okay mmm faith teaches that the church whose mystery is being set forth by this sacred Synod is wholly the church is holy in a way which can never fail for Christ this is one of the four marks obviously the church is one Holy Catholic and Apostolic the church is holy in a way which can never fail for Christ the Son of God who with the father in the spirit is praised as being alone holy love of the church as his bride delivering himself up for her this he did that he might sanctify her he United her to himself as his own body and crowned her with the gift of the therefore in the church everyone belonging to the hierarchy or being cared for by it is called to holiness according to the saying of the Apostle where this is the will of God your sanctification that's the universal call of holiness be emphasized here again now this holiness of the church is unceasingly manifested as it ought to be through those fruits of grace that the Spirit produces in the faithful it is expressed in multiple ways by those individuals who in their walk of life strive for the perfection of charity and thereby help others to grow in a particularly appropriate way this holiness shines out in the practice of the council's customarily called evangelical under the influence of the holy spirit the practice of these councils is undertaken by many Christians either privately or in some church approved situation or state and produces in the world as produce it should a shining witness and model holiness so the Evangelic accoun CIL's our obedience poverty and chastity and I think we should all strive for this priests make a promise to that effect but there's no solemn vow on the part of the priests but they do make a promise to their bishop to be obedient and to strive for holiness by being chaste we're all obliged to be chaste and so obedient strategy and poverty poverty the the priest is not under application of a vow solemn vow to be seeking poverty but he should as all Christians should be seeking spiritual poverty if not physical material poverty and I'm striving after poverty but right now I can't afford it I'm too too deep in debt be poor so my goal is poverty my goal is to have zero money but right now I mean the negative so I'm hoping one day to be poor and afford it right now the Lord Jesus the divine teacher and model of all perfection preaches holiness of life to each and every one of his disciples regardless of their situation you therefore are to be perfect even as your holy your heavenly Father is perfect he himself stands as the author and finisher of this holiness of life for he sent the Holy Spirit upon all men and he might inspire them from within to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul with all their mind and all their strength and that they might love one another as Christ loved them the followers of Christ are called by God not according to their accomplishments but according to his own purpose and grace they are justified in the Lord Jesus and through baptisms sought in faith they truly become sons of God and shares in the divine nature so being shares of the divine nature this is that sort of Theo sustentation concept being touched on lately here in this way they are really made holy so the holiness of the church is not fictional it's not a legal fiction it's not at any kind of fiction it's a in this way they are really made holy then to buy God's gift they must hold on to and complete in their lives as holiness by which this holiness which they have received so it's an ongoing process here below in the church militant it's not an established fact my holiness is underway I'm signed up I'm a member of the church I'm striving to be faithful to Mother Church and so I am wholly in that in that regard I plan on making it to heaven by God's grace not by my own merits but by the merits of Jesus Christ and so I will be purified either here or in purgatory and I will god-willing make it to heaven that's what it means for me to be holy I'm part of the church I've signed up for holiness doesn't mean that I'm without laws without foibles without pride without selfishness without sin it doesn't mean that if I say I'm without sin here below I'm a liar we just add that to my list of sins but I don't say that I'm without sin because I know very well that I'm a sinner so my holiness is being a member in good standing and the Holy Roman Catholic Church striving to obey in loving obedience docile submission that's that's how we can be holy everyone needs to get on board because there's no point in complaining about all the sinners in the church we just need to admit that we're all in the same boat and that boat is on its way to heaven maybe a pit stop in purgatory on the way for most of us but the boat is on the way to heaven we have to get in works and all and put up with each other's sins and weaknesses and failings on the way but we are holy if we're part of the church that's the point Vatican 2 is making continuing now the followers of Christ our call began awkward intercoms recording there's no progressives is it mm-hmm then to buy God's gift they must hold on to and complete in their lives of holiness which they have received they are warned by the Apostle to live as become Saints and to put on as God's chosen ones holy and beloved a heart of mercy kindness humility meekness patience and to possess the fruits of the spirit unto holiness since we are all since we all truly offend in many things we all need God's mercy continuously and must daily prayer give us our debts thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ whatever rank or status are called the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity by this holiness a more human way of life is promoted even in this earthly society in order that the faithful may reach this perfection they must use their strengths according as they have received it as a gift from Christ in this way they can follow in his footsteps and mold themselves in His image seeking the will of the Father and all things devoting themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor in this way to the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good as is brilliantly proved by the lives of so emphasis on the Saints as an example this is something I cherish and I'm constantly aware of example of the Saints the Saints were sinners the Saints made mistakes the Saints were not infallible in every way the Saints participated in the four manifestations of infallibility throughout their lives somewhere bishops some participated in that chemical councils some were Pope's some made ex cathedra pronouncements definitions right there different manifestations and all of the saints participated because they're Saints all of them participated in that infallible it that infallibility which is referred to as the sensus fidelium the sense of the faithful it's a passive infallibility but whereby we regurgitate the established traditional truths of the church those established saving truths of Jesus Christ and His Church and in doing so we are participating passively in the church's infallibility but the emphasis that this you mentioned something about the mold are being molded into Christ let's see if I can find that the perfection of charity in this way they follow footsteps and mold themselves in following in Christ's footsteps and molding ourselves into the image of Christ what comes to mind for me here is st. Louie de Mol for when he talks about the easiest way to accomplish that is in Mary with Mary by Mary through Mary you think about the Incarnation you think with the Holy Spirit seeking permission from the Blessed Virgin Mary and then once the permission is given Holy Spirit molds literally molds the god man Jesus Christ in the body in the person of Mary so God but the father about the Holy Spirit God incarnates son are participating with the help in the instrumentality of the Blessed Virgin Mary they're molding second person of the Trinity the eternal second person the Eternal Word is being molded in Mary with Mary's operation with her ascent mind-boggling to meditate on the Annunciation for this very reason and we can be molded in Mary just as the god man Jesus Christ was molded in Mary by the Holy Spirit we can if we submit humble ourselves and we honor Mary as Christ once Blessed Mother to be honored so I think it's I believe that this is a teaching that has been endorsed by many Pope's including and especially saint john paul ii he endorsed this teaching of st. Louie de Mol for he took the slogan all yours he took that slogan from the writings of st. Louie them all for there are many many Pope's and bishops and other saints who have come the sized and re-emphasize this wholesome teaching of molding ourselves in marriage just as the god man Jesus Christ was involved in Mary very very interesting each now moving on must share frequently in the sacraments the Eucharist especially and in liturgical rites each must apply himself this is each each Catholic each Christian each must apply himself constantly to prayer self-denial active brotherly service and for charity as the bond of perfection and the fulfillment of the law rules over all the means of attaining holiness gives life to them and makes them work hence it is the love of God a neighbor which points out the true disciple of since Jesus the Son of God manifested his charity by laying down his life for us no one has greater love and he who lays down his life for Christ and his the earliest times then the Christians have been called on and some will always be called upon to give this supreme testimony of love to all men but especially to persecutors our enemies the church therefore considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the highest proof of love by martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his master who freely accepted death on he perfects that image even to the shedding of blood though few are presented with such an opportunity nevertheless all must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the cross through the persecutions which the church will never fail to suffer through that it is easy to fantasize it's easy to sit here in my comfortable office in Montreal Quebec Canada and to fantasize about going over to some remote and exotic part of the world and being slaughtered by a savage or Muslim or some anti-catholic and going straight to heaven it's it's easy it's tantalizing to fantasize about that but we have to be realistic and we have to realize that it's hard enough just to be a witness to Christ before our friends our family our neighbors that's hard enough and if we think about st. Peter denying our Lord three times you know before for peasants and women and strangers fire oh Jesus was being tried illegally if we think about st. Peter and how he struggled be a martyr in that way then we can put into perspective and we can humble ourselves we can put into perspective our own struggle to be martyrs in the most modest and humble circumstances of daily life at work and the family and our recreational activities whatever we're doing we have to be ready to witness to Jesus Christ and if we're faithful in the little in the little things then eventually I suppose we'll be given greater and greater challenges the Saints were always faithful in the little things that's why they were given greater and greater challenges harsher and harsher persecutions many of them and many of the Saints many of the canonized saints obviously were martyrs for the faith especially in the first three or four centuries of the church I think I think all of the Pope's were martyrs the first ones so murdered emmm a have a different form today for us or striving to follow Christ but there are many many opportunities this is a key word in my spiritual walk with God is opportunity I don't miss any opportunity to suffer for Jesus Christ and there are many many opportunities to suffer in Jesus Christ so I think I may continue this but right now for now it's over thanks for being here we'll talk soon for as little as $1 per month you can support a terrible mission of CBS which has already enrolled hundreds of guests and patrons and their immediate families in the Scalabrine League of divisionary fathers of st. Charles Borromeo by your generous support you to participate in these benefits a special Mass offered on each day of the year and the devotion and good works performed by the members of the society thank you for your of the society thank you for your generous support