HONOR TO YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER

HONOR TO YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER (Fourth Commandment).
On several occasions we will meditate family matters, many important and urgent issues, because as we well know the family is under pressure trying to weaken it, and even some people would like to delete it from the map of social life, so as to be able to manipulate uneducated persons. Of course this is impossible because the nature of mankind is always imposed. But that is attacked and heavily at this time, this is a reality we must fight. ! what a sad reality !.
One of the most important things to consider is related to the way we understand  the fourth commandment:” Honor thy father and thy mother”. And today it is important to stress that, given the countless complaints from parents regarding the lack of respect that children should have with their parents. We are all children and most of us are parents, so we all lie in the issue.
Self-criticism should be the first thing to be addressed, see what our mistakes as parents may have been and how much of the blame is ours in this degradation of the parent progeny relations. If it is true that there is a natural authority over our children, but remember that the highest authority  is the moral one, and may there be that we have failed, generally speaking, and considering that perhaps we are paying for the lack of proper education or our sins in regard to our descendents, due even to parents who have taken their role as educators in the highest possible level, now suffer the consequences.
Therefore we should examine several questions:

                                               How we conducted the authority over our children?
                                               Have we argued bitterly among spouses in front of our children?
                                               Have we informed the Christian meaning of life?
                                               Have we really given our love, our respect and good treatment?
                                               Has been our example above reproach in every way?
                                               Have we prayed intensely for them, commending their needs?
                                               Have we over-protected, or have given too much money?
                                               Have we taught the human virtues beginning at the cradle?
                                               Have we fostered the love between brothers?
                                               Have they had orders to discipline and teach them to be subsidiary?
                                               Have we worked in schools with our presence in meetings of
                                                                                    parents and teachers?
                                               Have we taken seriously their intellectual development?
                                               Have you tried to be achieving its autonomy?
 AND THERE'S MORE, THESE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. So we can conclude that parenting is perhaps the most difficult role to play in life for humans, the most important, more urgent, more necessary, it is virtually impossible to adequately respond to all questions relating to paternity, which leads us to believe that it is very hard to be "perfect parents", so something must be analyzed  that has affected our children and that we need to pin. Moreover, we know that given the freedom of human beings, there is not warranty even if we have given our best to be the most good educators of our offspring, as we could, regardless of the influence of genes.
The problems from the widespread confusion between freedom and license are those who most influenced the current difficulties in parent-child relationship, so that education in freedom is taking on greater importance than ever. This will be the subject of another blog post. For now the parents of young children (under fourteen years, tell us experts in child education) should consider very seriously the above burning questions. And parents of children who have passed that age will need to enter in their family lives palliatives that they deem appropriate to conform as much as possible about the paternity of love and harmony, trying to get moral authority instead of that imposed by the natural hierarchy.
Jorge Casas and Sanchez

THE YEAR ENDS.

We have just had the anniversary, the celebration of the birthday of Lord Jesus Christ, about 2010 years ago was born of the Blessed Virgin and wrapped in swaddling clothes his mother put him in a manger, the Savior of the World, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

A week after, the new year begins, so these seven days are the best moments in time to meditate in the presence of the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mother of God, about what has happened in the past year, and sure,  we have much to thank the Creator, especially that He has preserved our life, and the ones of our family members. And in the cases of those that we have lost, our prayers will accompany the welcome they have received for being in the presence of the Beatific Vision. These are also days when family meetings or communication with those who are away are intensified. The forgiveness of offenses received most be forgiven from the bottom of our heart, and the ones made by us, should cause  true repentance.

As an institution family is a wonderful place  for the life, happiness and development of man, we must protect it, it deserves our  respect, we have to love and cherish it,

May this meditation help us improve our family relationships, in this time in which we have a more solid union that reigns in respect of children to their parents, and good example of them to their children. Let us ask the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph to help us meet the motions that the Holy Spirit gives us on how to improve our family relationships.    HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Jorge Casas y Sánchez.

we have an example received from the Holy Family,that should motivate and give us lessons of full of love and wisdom, we see a San Joseph solving the emerging needs of his poor family, the Virgin collaborating and providing the solutions essential to the family, son and husband, enough for that intimate family life, that had  to travel, move, restart, again what had already been achieved and must be left behind. But is this the ingredient of LOVE, a sense of responsibility, collaboration, in most current language we would say living the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. In true love, we give each other, the basics of love are in giving, not receiving, this is the great lesson of the Holy Family, that we learn, and should practice in our lives, despite the current circumstances, perhaps different, but the substrate of love should not miss its essential foundation  

LOVE (The largest, mostperfect, most necessary and indispensable).

In relation to the entry I wrote earlier in December (EVENT) I should clarify questions that arise, in the first place, we can raise the question "why”, (why the Second Person of the Holy Trinity comes from Heaven to Earth) which leads us to an explanation that can be summarized in three words “due to love”, as it is for love that the Second Person of the divine Trinity takes mortal flesh, like ours, without losing his divinity becomes a  man, a perfect man with a human soul, and perfect God in the same person, and that man is destined to give until the last drop of his blood, die and resusitate suffering a  painful passion, due to the perfect, divine love He has for each one of the humans beings. And the reason for this? because us humans  had an outstanding debt, we receive such a pardon because the offense of our first parents, was measured not by the offender, but by the offended, God Creator, and only a God could obtain such a pardon. So God Himself, the second person of the holy Trinity became a man to cancel the debt.  So here is another most perfect act of love, the father who gives his son to become the victim of the most valuable SACRIFICE to exist, and through this, pardon the debt. But these acts of love that humans receive will go even further, not only to cancel the debt, but the sacrifice fills us with the most precious gifts that can be performed, the Christ, the Redeemer, the Son of God, on instructions of his Father, leaves us a Doctrine of salvation, the Holy Gospels, trough the Apostles founded his one and only Church, the Roman, Catholic, Apostolic, and its Holy Sacraments, a Church that teaches us and will continue to teach us until the end of time, he also won for us the divine paternity, nothing can compare to this, in spiritual wealth, since it  makes us adopted children of God the Father.

Jorge Casas y Sánchez

THE HOLY VIRGIN

We need to know best what we love, since the raise of knowledgement  of what we love  increases the love of it. Lets try to think of the Blessed Virgin from certain points of view, to know Her better, and love her more.

The Catholic faith is Christ-centered  and Jesus Christ is the link between God the Father and men, He raised us to the life of grace, it is He who has broken the chains that bound us to sin, making us partakers of the supernatural life, that  is this what we call the Economy of Salvation, and amid the Blessed Virgin is playing the very important role of co-redeemer.

Her role is outstanding, as, She is:
Daughter of God the Father,
Mother of God the Son and
Spouse of the Holy Spirit .

 Her motherhood is divine, Her conception immaculate, as the delivery of her Son Jesus. She has the privilege of sinlessness, and is the most dignified human person possible and the most holy, just after Jesus Christ.

In her life there are scenes that show us her perfect  and constant presence of God, let us look at her at the "Serviam", (Her answer to angel Gabriel), at the Presentation of the Child in the Temple,and the child found in the Temple among the learned, the ordinary family life, her remarkable intercession of the wedding at Cana, her presence on the Via Dolorosa in the midst of passion, and at the foot of the Cross, and the moment that She receives her dead son on the Descent of the Cross,  her Dormition, her Assumption, and Coronation in front of all Choirs the of the Angels.

EVENT (subject of meditation)

 Should we ask what has been the biggest event, the most important event of our western civilization,  we have enriched with a multitude of events, we can name some of the most prominent, for some it would be this or that , due to its influence, that  has been felt in this or that aspect, ie.Greek philosophy, Roman legislation,  or the art of the time of Pericles, the conquests of the Roman Empire, the influence of Egyptian geometry, arithmetic and arabs algebra, contributions from China that Marco Polo brought the impressive development of print, the beautiful Renaissance, with its innumerable works of architecture and paintings, to move to other areas such as the discovery and colonization of the new world, or  the golden age of Spanish literature, the romantic music of Beethoven and Mozart,  or music from the beattles the impressive development of the printing. We can not stop thinking about the effects of the two world wars or the discovery of penicillin, some would attach importance to the toothbrush, all these events and many more have left a profound mark on our way of life, ancient  and current issues are shaping our destiny

 The gap is noticed, right? clearly that it is noted, the biggest event that has occurred in the history of mankind took place in a poor manger, in late December near a town called Bethlehem. Nothing has had such a positive influence, continues to influence and will affect us until the end of times, as derived from the presence here on earth of the Man-God.

 Jorge Casas y Sanchez.

LITURGY

What is Liturgy?
 
________________________________________
It's called liturgy the public worship of the Church as the Church does it on behalf of rituals and ceremonies to express worship to God.

The main liturgy  is the Mass.
"Through the sacramental signs drink from the wells of salvation to be embodied and transformed to conform our lives to Christ"

Meaning of the word "Liturgy" according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1069 The word "liturgy" originally meant "work or public affairs," "service on behalf of and for the people." In the Christian tradition it means that the People of God participates in the "work of God" (cf. Jn 17.4). Through the liturgy Christ, our Redeemer and High Priest, continues in his Church, with her and for her, the work of our redemption.

The sacred liturgy is central to the life of the Church and of every Christian because it celebrates the mysteries of our redemption. The main mystery is the Paschal mysterywich includes suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
Definition of liturgy at Vatican II:
Conciliar documents, especially Sacrosanctum Concilium, speaking of the liturgy as an essential element of life in the Church determines the present situation of the people of God: "No wonder, then, sees the liturgy as the exercise of priesthood of Jesus Christ. In it, the sensible signs mean and, each in its own way, made the sanctification of man, and so the mystical body of Christ, ie the Head and its members full public worship is performed. Accordingly, any liturgical celebration be the work of Christ the Priest and of his body, which is the Church, is a sacred action par excellence, its efficacy by the same title and the same grade, the unmatched by any other action of the Church. "(SC 7).
The Council has sought to highlight the one hand, the liturgical dimension of Christ's redemption in his death and resurrection, and, secondly, the mode-liturgical sacramental or symbolic in that it has to carry out 'work salvation. "
Thus, the notion of liturgy that gives the Vatican II, include the following:
a) total is the work of Christ, Christ primarily, and the Church by association;
b) Its purpose is the sanctification of humanity and the worship of the Father, so that the priesthood of Christ is done in two aspects;
c) It belongs to the people of God, who by virtue of Baptism is a royal priesthood to the right and duty to participate in the liturgy;
d) As constituted by "words and gestures" and perform effectively mean salvation, it is in itself an event which expresses the Church, sacrament of the Incarnate Word;
e) Sets up and determines the time of the Church from the standpoint of eschatology.
f) For all that the liturgy is "source and summit of the life of the Church" (SC 10, LG 11).
Thus, the notion of liturgy that gives the Council the function can be defined as sanctifying of the Church, Bride and Body of the Incarnate Word  to continue in the time the work of Christ through the signs that make up your mind .

To be a liturgical celebration there must be these elements:
 An assembly of baptized, confirmed or not,  some ministers, including at least one, with the  holy orders for this service, that is: a deacon, a priest or a bishop, otherwise, the Spirit and the bride would have no meaning. God gives us, through his minister, that living water.The reading of the Word, proclaimed by a minister and heard by the assembly, pondered by each and kept in the heart. No personal opinion, but the truth of God transmitted by the Church.
The word of the Church, explaining the Word of God and updated by the sermon or homily.

Symbolic actions that introduce into the mystery. A space for the liturgy, God's house, where we celebrate the liturgy. The altar is the converging point of all lines in this space. This space is waiting for the presence of its inhabitants. It is open to all who are or not in the observance, and unaware that his true home is the Body of Christ. Father expected. The Spirit cries.

Time: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time. And the Church walks to the beat of this liturgical season. Christ is our time again

EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE

 

 

EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE.As I said I have occasionally put an entry for informational purposes only, this time it is to make available an important activity of the Church.CELAM, are the abbreviations of Latin American Bishops' Conferences. These conferences are a permanent institution of the Church and important instrument of evangelization.
 This is an agency of the Church founded in 1955 to the parts of Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Come together to investigate, to plan the training, vocational aspects, human rights, the pastoral, the legislative government, ethics and moral anthropology of every nation, have a pyramidal organization, with assembly, presidential and departments. And related to nearly all the bishops' conferences around the world. As one of the major concerns the legislatures of the countries that do not properly an anthropology of place to the moral or have failures of justice.
 Highlighted recently the Brazilian document APARECIDA same should be consulted and see its videos   with the participation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Conferences in different countries also meet, in particular to encourage the care of national legislation on ethics and moral family life, sexual and reproductive health, responsible parenthood, caring for all violence against women and of different forms of discrimination. Other considered issues such as divorce, and the pursuit of integral development of people and the dignity of coexistence.Particular care is the matter of LIFE, as seen from conception to natural death, so that it is considered in National Constitutions, and to have an anthropological concept of human beings to protect their dignity, to avoid handling because only from the guidelines of ethics and Christian morality is possible parenting personal development, allowing for a natural family planning, proper sexuality and sense of responsibility for their actions. In education in particular is the careful supervision of parents of the educational institutions as an extension of paternal and maternal education, as subsidiary  and not otherwise, being adolescents the more sensitive period where the need of good influence of parentsis a must.

Theye deliver important documents issued by the various meetings that are taking place. That are widely distributed, in which we must be participants.

Jorge Casas y Sánchez.

Diccionario - Ver diccionario detallado

THE CREATION

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth", with this phrase begins the biblical account, it is the first sentence of Genesis, and the first truth of Scripture, in the first book of the Bible. What is needed is to meditate carefully that before Creation all that existed was the Holy Trinity, there was nothing else.

 When we talk about creating something in everyday language, such as creations of man, we refer to issues that have "previous material", for example, the Privileged Church of the Sagrada Familia of arquitect Gaudi in Barcelona, or the most famous tower in the world,  the one of engineer Eiffel in  Paris, are human " creations "  made from previous materials, iron structures, stone, etc.  things are frowned upon, rather than creations they are transformations, by great genius, but "strictly speaking" only God's creation, which was made from scratch, from nothing, is the real Creation.

Previously it was only the spirit of triune God, and only the immeasurable power and limitless intelligence could carry out such work, and only his will keeps it in existence. Governs the millions of stars in a wonderful order, and in our world all things, from microscopic life and things to large masses of water or land with its millions of living beings, including the man who is on top of everything in this world . In the Catholic Creed the second sentence refers to this wonderful dogma that throws the bright light over our existence, and the existence of everything else, the spiritual beings, the angels, with all other material entities. And the human race, the case of man that is spirit and flesh.

For those who have Faith, this is a wonderful reality, that lets us see the falsehood of evolutionary theories, which are absolute materialism, which  claim that everything comes from a single starting material, and of course deny the man's spiritual component.  Mechanistic theories are false, due to human intelligence that is able to understand that matter is inferior to the spirit, that spirit is superior to matter and therefore the higher can not come from the lower. The world, the universe can not be uncaused, ie. cause of itself, it is by force or by necessity that it comes from something, something that has caused it. It´s creator, God all migthy.

The last part of creation is the human being, made in the image and likeness of God, a creature with intellect and will, with a soul created for eternity, a truth-seeking intelligence and a will seeking the good, which should give glory to God precisely using his freedom, God has willed it so, as men use their freedom to choose the grace to give to God. 

The rest of the Creation gives it, by the fact of it´s sole existence, the sparrow or the Tiger give grace God one or the other just being a sparrow or a tiger. But man was given the freedom to give it or not, and if yes, to get the grand prize prepared for us, and for eternity, or to deny it, and fall into eternal punishment.

READING OF THE SCRIPTURES (BIBLE)

In these times there is a growing interest in reading the Bible, we can say that is fashionable, and there can be no better reding. But we must be guided by specialists who know profoundly and will guide us to be more profitable our reading. It is not  advisable to apply our personal opinion only  but follow what we are told, in order to have a clearer understanding.
"Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" St. Jerome, S. IV.
Let's see what we are told by those who know, after many years of study of the Scriptures, and have come up with a Catholic´s true view.

The first thing we recommend is that we have a method, and to do so systematically as follows. The best method is to have a set time, if possible, and reading it daily, in addition to be thoughtful, not like reading a novel, but as we read a text and not excluding the meditation that we read.
We should start on the New Testament by the Holy Gospels and not the Genesis that is  the first book of the Old Testament and the reasons we give are very important. As the Old Testament is preparing, is precisely prophesy the coming of Jesus Christ, given the fullness of time.
We are told that only after learning the New Testament it will be possible to understand the totality of the Old Testament. Although once clarified, that the Bible is a whole, considering both testaments, that are not separate things, but an absolute unity,  which is not an objection to the order of the reading-study-meditation.
And the systematization will be that start at the first evangelist, San Mateo, to continue with San Marcos, San Lucas continuing to complete the Holy Gospels with San Juan. Here we must make an important clarification, the first three are known as "The Synoptic Gospels" this is due to the similarities in them. These books were written from notes of the catechesis held by these men of Christ, intended for different places and at different times. Always carrying the message of Jesus Christ, who received it from God the Father, as He himself made clear in different occasions. The Holy Gospels are therefore Christ-centered, He is the center of them as is the messenger of God. True God and true man, the Second Person of the HolyTrinity.
We are also clarified, that the Bible contains different genres, easy to read, but difficult to understand without prior knowledge of the New Testament  in many cases, that contain symbols, unintelligible to us laypeople, realy a field for exegetes and apologists, that have centuries of continued studying and discovering new aspects. This by the advances in understanding the meaning of the ancient languages, authorial styles, and other technical aspects.
After reading methodical, systematic, ordered the first three Gospels, one must be entered in the Gospel of John. The change in style and narrative that is before us, make a different but complementary view on the Synoptics in relation to Jesus Christ.
When finished with the Gospel of John we read the book called Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Tradition attributed it to St. Luke, which tell us in an  exciting form, in continuation with the objectives of the Gospels providing  the teachings of Christ. Then come the Epistles of St. Paul. Known as the Apostle of the Gentiles, needless to say they are written from a man who received an extraordinary revelation of Jesus Christ, on his way to Damascus to attack Christians. His conversion was immediate and became very active apostle for the rest of his hazardous life.
Then introduces the reader to the Catholic Epistles, which publishes  Santiago, San Pedro, San Judas Tadeo, and San Juan, all of the purest doctrine, and as enjoyable to read .
Here worth noting that the last book of the New Testament is attributed to St. John the Evangelist, and is called (APOCALIPSIS), Revelation, this is a book full of symbolism, which should be read in a Bible that is rich in reviews, because you can not understand without the help of the explanations of the exegetes. This book ends the divine revelation.
It is not difficult to be interested  in knowing certain episodes from the Old Testament, as the natural interest in reading the narratives of Genesis, Exodus, or the historical books, which for clarity are without much problem, if we are interested in breaking our order Read temporarily, on the understanding that we will return to our recommended system.
Jorge Casas and Sanchez.

INRODUCTION

Introduction
Friends I'm debuting as a blogger, I intend to work most days in this blog, and its contents will be varied, but most of all, will address spiritual issues, they'll be taken from the pens of prominent authors of supernatural life, and help us meditate and invite us to penetrate more on the topic in question in each case, so I propose to give timely guidance literature, when apropiate.

In this world, and it will go on with more intensity each day, the number of publications in all media is overwhelming and if we start to search for topics on our own, we will find them, and lots, but the use of time to invest but will take us away from other tasks therefore one of the things I propose is to summarize the issues and make room for every body´s  own meditation and facilitate direct consultations for those who want to delve into an issue. As my comments point out its origin, when appropriate, but the books of the New Testament are the eternal providers of what is said here.

I do not want to take more of your time for now, and waiting for your coments and  criticism as well as suggestions, I will start my work.  God Bless you.


Jorge Casas.