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Post by RitaMarita on Apr 1, 2017 6:47:12 GMT -5
ART THOU WEARY By: Saint Stephen the Sabaite (Translated by: John M Neale in 1862)Art thou weary art thou troubled? Art thou sore distressed? “Come to Me,” saith One, “and, coming, be at rest.” Hath He marks to lead me to Him if He be my Guide? “In His feet and hands are wound-prints, and His side.” Hath He diadem, as a Monarch that His brow adorns? “Yea, a crown, in very surety, but of thorns.” If I find Him, if I follow, what His guerdon here? “Many a sorrow, many a labor, many a tear.” Is this all He hath to give me in my life below? “Joy unspeakable and glorious thou shalt know. All thy sins shall be forgive, all things work for good; Thou shalt Bread of Life from heaven have for food. From the fountains of salvation thou shalt water draw; Sweet shall be thy meditation - in God’s Law.” If I still hold closely to Him, what hath He at last? “Sorrow vanquished, labor ended, Jordan passed. Festal palms and crown of glory, robes in blood washed white, God in Christ His people’s temple, where there is no light." If I ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay? “Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.” Finding, following, keeping, struggling, is He sure to bless? “Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, all answer: Yes!” ____________________________________________________ catholicpoemsandstories.blogspot.com/2017/03/art-thou-weary.html
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Post by chestertonian on Apr 2, 2017 22:32:12 GMT -5
If I ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay? “Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.” Finding, following, keeping, struggling, is He sure to bless? “Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, all answer: Yes!” see this is the sort of place where i tend to get stuck we can't be good without God's assistance. can't grow in virtue without grace, can't repent without grace, can't respond to his grace without grace so...say you have a sin you want to overcome...you can desire to overcome it all you want, and desire a particular virtue that will replace the sin, but God could just say , "No, I don't want you to have that virtue, you can't have sufficient grace in order to be saved." He *could* just abandon us to our sins. in fact st alphonsus liguori said that there is a specific # of sins we can commit until God just stops extending mercy to us. it's like it hits a trigger and all of the sudden, grace is witheld and we are doomed to go to hell. i often worry that i've already committed the maxmum # of sins in m life and no matter what i do, i will just go to hell anyway i see no guarantee that God is "sure to bless" any "finding keeping fpllwig" etc that sounds like presumption. if we ask for His grace, what is to stop HIm from saying, "no" what if that is His will for us, to not have that grace? it's a frightening thought. the ball is in His court, and only He can decide whether to give us the grace to repent or not. He could say "no," no matter how much we want Him to say "yes"
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Post by chestertonian on Apr 2, 2017 22:36:00 GMT -5
And of course the martyrs and saints would say that He is "sure to bless" they are the ones who were predestined forthat "joy unspeakable" but f you're predestined to go to hell from the get go the answer is no
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Past Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 5:11:44 GMT -5
And of course the martyrs and saints would say that He is "sure to bless" they are the ones who were predestined forthat "joy unspeakable" but f you're predestined to go to hell from the get go the answer is no I thought "predestination" was what some Protestant's believed, not Catholic's, or am I misunderstanding it?
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Post by RitaMarita on Apr 3, 2017 6:57:41 GMT -5
If I ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay? “Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.” Finding, following, keeping, struggling, is He sure to bless? “Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, all answer: Yes!” see this is the sort of place where i tend to get stuck we can't be good without God's assistance. can't grow in virtue without grace, can't repent without grace, can't respond to his grace without grace so...say you have a sin you want to overcome...you can desire to overcome it all you want, and desire a particular virtue that will replace the sin, but God could just say , "No, I don't want you to have that virtue, you can't have sufficient grace in order to be saved." He *could* just abandon us to our sins. in fact st alphonsus liguori said that there is a specific # of sins we can commit until God just stops extending mercy to us. it's like it hits a trigger and all of the sudden, grace is witheld and we are doomed to go to hell. i often worry that i've already committed the maxmum # of sins in m life and no matter what i do, i will just go to hell anyway i see no guarantee that God is "sure to bless" any "finding keeping fpllwig" etc that sounds like presumption. if we ask for His grace, what is to stop HIm from saying, "no" what if that is His will for us, to not have that grace? it's a frightening thought. the ball is in His court, and only He can decide whether to give us the grace to repent or not. He could say "no," no matter how much we want Him to say "yes" I guess the key factor that we need to consider is that God will always give us the necessary grace unless we refuse to accept it. Yes, God could abandon us to our sins. Yet, the saints seem to indicate that no person who has ever truly had his heart open to God's will and tried their best unto the end to lead a good life has gone to hell. So, maybe that will help to encourage you a little? That being said, it is written in the Bible that: "Fear is the beginning of wisdom." It is people who are not afraid of what will happen to them if they lead a bad life that fall into mortal sin more often. Another common saying of the saints is that "People generally die how they live." So, as long as we try our best to live good and virtuous lives, we really ought not to worry too much. As Padre Pio would say, "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless." Hope this helps, Chestertonian! Keep fighting the good fight and may God bless you!
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