Jesus is God

"Jesus is God

Jesus is God! the glorious bands

Of golden angels sing

Songs of adoring praise to Him,

Their maker and their king.

He was true God in Bethlehem's crib,

On Calvary's cross true God,

He who in heaven eternal reigned,

In time on earth abode.

Jesus is God! alas! they say

On earth the numbers grow

Who His divinity blaspheme

To their unfailing woe.

And yet what is the single end

Of this life's mortal span,

Except to glorify the God

Who for our sakes was man?

Jesus is God! let sorrow come,

And pain, and every ill;

All are worth while, for all are means

His glory to fulfil;

Worth while a thousand years of life

To speak one little word,

If by our Credo we might own

The Godhead of Our Lord!

Jesus is God! O could I now

But compass land and sea,

To teach and tell this single truth,

How happy should I be!

O had I but an angel's voice,

I would proclaim so loud,---

Jesus, the good, the beautiful,

Is everlasting God!

----Oratory Hymns."

Chapter 5

"(History, not Legend)


I.   Pagans thought out for themselves many things concerning the being of God, and then related their imagines as if they were facts. Such imaginings may be counted by hundreds. But since the world began, no man has ever imagined, in the remotest manner, that the charity of a God could go so far as to lead Him to appear amount men in the form of a man, and for their happiness and salvation to deliver Himself up to death. However, this marvel of divine love which it never entered into the heart of man co connive, and which is sufficient to astonish heaven and earth, found its accomplishment in the only true religion, which is the Christian.  "God so loved the world, as to send His only begotten Son into the world." Such is the voice which for more than nineteen hundred years has echoed throughout the universe.
   Jesus Christ is the name of the only begotten Son of God, who was sent into the world; He in every deed lived and labored in the world; This is an historical fact, no mere tradition, legend, myth, or fable. Listen to some proofs of this.
II.   History teaches by means of the most reliable facts that from the beginning the greatest and most noble among mankind have readily accepted the Christian faith, the holy Gospel. Amongst these we find a proconsul of Paphos, a captain of the Roman cohorts, Deonysius, the Athenian sage, Flavius the consul, a cousin of Emperor Dointian; the most learned, moreover, amount the men who lived in those times; Justin, Athnagoras, Mintuius, and many others, men prominent among the scientists of the day, jurists, and government officials.
   But it can not be supposed that all these men accepted the new doctrines, the new gospel, with careless indifference. On the contrary, they thoroughly examined in the first place the holy Gospel and the writings of the apostles, and more particularly they convinced themselves of the facts relating to the life of Jesus.
III.   Furthermore, the disciples and apostles of Jesus bore witness to the truth of their convictions, to the facts of the life of Jesus Christ, by confessing these truths with their blood. When have there ever been impostors in the world, especially where religion was concerned, who have not striven either covertly or openly after notoriety, pleasure, dignities, and riches? Did the apostles, perchance, look for any of these things, or at least aim at attaining them? No, indeed! On the contrary, they knew perfectly well that they had nothing to expect but mockery, contradiction, shame, persecution and death.
   With such a prospect as this could the apostles have lied and deceived, could they have invented the history of the life of Christ? No reasonable man could seriously assert such a thing.  No; the apostles were themselves completely persuaded of the truth of everything which they preached to the world, and wrote down in the Sacred Scriptures concerning Jesus Christ. Nor did they hesitate for a moment to lay down their life as a testimony to the truth.
IV.   Moreover, even Jewish and pagan historians bear explicit witness to the fact that Christ really lived. For example, a Jewish writer, Josephus Flavius, thus expresses himself in the first century: "At that time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed he may be called a man. For he performed many wonderful works. . . .  When Pilate, in consequence of an accusation brought against him by the most prominent men of our nation, condemned him to be crucified, his disciples still adhered to him. He rose again, and appeared to them alice on the third day, according to what the holly prophets had foretold of him in this, and a thousand other marvelous respects."
   Similar is the testimony borne by heathen writers such as Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the younger, in regard to Christ. The first mentioned says that the founder of the Christian religion was condemned to death by Pilate, the Roman governor, during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. Heathen philosophers, such as Celsus and Porphyrius, who lived in the first and second centuries, did indeed write against Christ and His doctrines, but they never called in question the fact of His existence.
   "Rejoice in the Lord," then, my youthful reader! Christ has in very deed lived on earth, and, as the Apostle says: "Christ is our peace." Christ alone can unite us to God, to the God who created the heavens and the earth, and in whom, to quote the words of the same apostle, "we live and move and are." And this Christ is now present in the Holy Eucharist, our Emmanuel, of whom the Angelic Doctor sing: Lauda Sion Salvatorem

Sion, lift thy voice and sing:

Praise thy Saviour and thy King,

Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:

Strive thy best to praise Him well;

Yet doth He all praise excel;

None can ever reach His due.

Jesus! Shepherd of the sheep!

Thy true flock in safety keep.

Living Bread! Thy Life supply;

Strengthen us, or else we die;

Fill us with celestial grace

Thou, who feudist us below!

 Source of all we have or know!

Grant that with Thy saints above,

Sitting at the feast of love,

We may see Thee face to face."

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 (Death is not Annihilation)


"I.   In These modern days, when faith has grown cold or vanished altogether, there are people, and even lads of fifteen or sixteen years of age, who, when they are exhorted to reflect from time to time upon death and eternity, merely reply: "I am no child to be frightened with nursery tales; who knows whether death is not annihilation!"
   Words like these, when uttered by youthful lips, fill us truly with horror and pity. But how is it possible to speak in this way? Simply because, in the case of those who this express themselves, the belief in one of the fundamental truths of all religion, the belief in the immortality of the soul, has been destroyed.
   Since you, dear reader, must go forth into like and be exposed to the dangers of unbelief, it is of the utmost importance that the conviction that "death is not annihilation" should be deeply rooted in your heart; wherefore, ponder carefully the principal grounds upon which this conviction is based.
II.   Death is not annihilation, but the soul lives on after the death of the body. It is immortal. The very nature of the soul proves this; it is a simple, indivisible being; it can not be separated into parts, or destroyed.
   Now, however, the unbelievers, the so-called materialists, appear upon the scene, and say: "Man does not possess a soul independent of the body, a soul which has its own separate existence." And as proof (?) of this they assert that since a violent blow upon the head destroys consciousness, the power of thought is therefore dependent upon the brain; the brain being the cause of thought, no spiritual soul is needed for this purpose.
   This conclusion certainly appears plausible, but it contains a grievous fallacy. In a similar manner I could "PROVE" that there is no sun! Just tell me whether, if you close the shutters of your room, the light does not disappear from it; but in proportion as you re-open them, the light streams in again more or less brightly. Therefore the light in the room depends upon the window, the window is the cause of it; hence no other cause is needed, no sun! Thus my young friend, if you had not seen the sun for yourself, you might believe that there is not a sun at all. In both instances, the fallacy of the deduction or conclusion is obvious. Just as certainly as there is a sun, so certainly does man posses an immortal soul, with an independent existence of its own.
III.   The conviction of all nations years witness to the immortality of the human soul; it is inscribed by the hand of nature in the heart of every man in characters which can never be effaced. Nature can never deceive. False representations concerning the future life of the soul by no means prove that it is not immortal.
   This belief in the immortality of the soul may indeed be dislodged from the head, but never torn out of the heart.  "It is difficult," a simple person once remarked to me, "to believe that those whom we love do not merely die, but are dissolved into nothingness."  And, truly, all our feelings rise in revolt and the voice we hear within us pretests against the assumption that death is annihilation.
IV.   No, no, thus it can not be: there shall be a "Wiedersehen" of our kindred; we shall meet again those whom we have loved and lost. If, indeed, there were no such future meeting, we should be justified in raising an accusing voice to Heaven, and exclaiming: "Thou hast deceived us by implanting affections within our breast which are only doomed to be disappointed!"  Is, then, everything to be ended at the close of this short life, so replete often with suffering, and is only nothingness to remain! Are love and friendship to be mere empty words, are virtue and justice to exist only in imagination?
   What then!  The robber and the robbed, the traitor to his country and he who gives his life for his fatherland, the martyr and his torturer, the unnatural son and the model daughter, are they all to share the same fate in annihilation ----- in the same nothingness?  No, it is impossible even to imagine anything so preposterous.
V.   But all has not been said. We have within us a heart which yearns after endless, everlasting happiness! Happiness! the mere mention of this word makes our heart beat more quickly, and stirs our being to its inmost depths. This craving for happiness, this intense longing, must be destined to be satisfied at some future period. But where? Where is this endless and complete happiness for which we long so ardently --- where is it to be found? Everything teaches us, everything proves to us, that it can not be found upon earth. Our heart is, indeed, not very large, but the universe does not suffice to fill it. Caesar, to whom at one time half the world was subject, said with melancholy discontent: "Is that all?"
   Therefore, if the longing for happiness is so firmly rooted in our heart, and yet can never find complete or permanent satisfaction upon earth, it follows that it must be possible for man to attain it after this life is ended, that means that death is not annihilation. This reasoning should suffice.
VI.   But we have kept the most conclusive argument to the last. We have the words of Christ Himself as a pledge that there is a future life; and He speaks as follows: "The just shall go into life everlasting, and the wicked unto everlasting punishment."

There is not death! What seems so is transition.

This life of mortal breath

is but a suburb of the life elision

Whose portal we call death.

-Longfellow, Resignation."

(Wiedersehen German [auf ˈviːdərzeːən]

sentence substitute

goodbye, until we see each other again)

Chapter 3

"Chapter 3 (The Music of the Soul)


I.   A peasant betook himself to a priest in Rome, and laid before him the following extraordinary doubt.  "Your Reverence," he said, " I can scarcely believe that I have a soul!"   It may readily be imagined that this unexpected statement caused the priest no slight astonishment. It cost him an effort to discover how he could, in a brief and clear manner, convince the foolish man that he really had a soul. The Spirit of God taught him what to say.
   He questioned the doubter thus: "Now, my good man, why can not you believe that you have a soul?"  "Because I can not see it!" "Well, then think of whatever you like" ; and after the lapse of a few minutes he inquired: "Have you really thought of something?" "Yes, I have done as your Reverence bade me." "But," continued the priest, "I can not believe why not, may I ask?"  "Because I can not see your thought." In this convincing manner was the man freed from his doubt.
   For, indeed, it would be unreasonable to doubt that we are able to think, will and remember. On this account it would be equally unreasonable to refuse to believe in the presence within us of a should endowed with reason.
II.   Thus the power of thought is a proof of the existence within us of an independent and retinal soul. But stop! We have reckoned without our host, that is, without the modern unbelieving scientists! They think scornfully of our old-fashioned ideas, and exclaim: "O you silly people! Thought is nothing more than an act of the brain! In order to do this there is no need of a soul; that is to say, no need of a spiritual and independent being."
   But pause awhile, you wiseacres, and allow us to ask you a question. From a neighboring house the sound of a masterly performance on the piano reaches our ears. Do you mean to assert that the music is nothing more than an act of the piano, that the instrument plays of itself? Every child would say of you, "these people are too clever by half." Therefore, good gentlemen, we continue to believe that thought is the music of the soul; and that where thoughts exist, there must be a soul capable of thought, just as, where there is the sound of music from a piano, there must be also a performer.
III.   What now is the case of animals, especially those which are most highly trained, as for instance the dog, the horse, or the monkey? Have not they likewise a soul? Certainly the animal possesses sensible impressions, feelings, impulses, a memory, and as far as this goes, one may speak of a soul. But the soul of the animal is essentially and immeasurably removed from the soul of man, because it is not possessed of reason. Even, to use a common phrase, the most intelligent animal is destitute of self-consciousness and reason or understanding. Every child knows that "two and two make four," but no animal could comprehend the fact, though it were to try to do so for a century or more.
IV.   Upon us, however, there shines not merely the light of natural reason, but also the sun of faith. The rays of this sun enable us to see that our soul is like unto God, an image of God. Holy Scripture expressly teaches us this, for in the beginning of it we read that God solemnly pronounced theses words of vast import: "Let us make man to our image and likeness." Thus if man is like God, who is a pure spirit, this likeness can certainly not consist in anything physical or material, but in the possession of a soul, which is a spirit also, made in God's image, simple as God is, living as God is, immortal as God is. Wherefore, lay well to heart the following verse:

O man, to God's own image made,

Destined that God to see in light arrayed,

Keep thou His law, unto thy ways take heed;

Let love of Him rule every word and deed."

Continuation of Chapter 2

"IV.   To go yet further! Religion is the mainspring of all virtue, the solid foundation of all morality; and he who should attempt to found, extend, and perpetuate the kingdom of virtue apart from the kingdom of religion, would be like a man who should build a house upon the sand. Without religion, man is the sport of his passions. He resembles a ship which, being destitute of cable or anchor, is certain sooner or later to go to pieces on the rocks when overtaken by a storm. In a way, religion is to man what the flower is to the plant; if the flower is cut off, the fruit is destroyed at the same time.

   Now, my dear young friend, you know what you ought to think of the frivolous way of talking which those adopt who assert that people can get on very well without religion. Yes, they can get on, but after what fashion! Do you, therefore, repeat with heart and voice the following lines:

Come, sacred Light, from Heave above

With power the heart of man to raise

And teach to hymn his Maker's praise,

And with that brightness let him shine

In presence of the King divine."

Chapter 2

"Chapter 2 (The Creator and the Creature)


I.   In the studio of a sculptor a magnificent statue is standing. The famous artist has chiseled it out of pure white marble; the masterpiece is the object of universal admiration. We regard it as a matter of course that the sculptor has every right to do as he pleases with his work, and will only surrender this right to another for a very large sum of money. Yet it can scarily be said that he created the statue, since the form of it alone is the work of his hands, and not the marl out of which he fashioned it.
   Now, dear reader, look once more at the marvelous work of the universe, and all that it contains; look especially at man and tell me whether He who not only made all this, but created it out of nothing, whether God Almighty has not an absolute, unlimited, and immutable right of possession over it all? Must not, therefor, the whole of creation, and especially man, who is endowed with reason, serve and obey this God as the supreme Lord and Master of all, and do His will in all things?
   And it is this relation of dependence and subservience in which man stands to God which is termed religion.
II.   Religion (from religare, "to bind back, to bind fast") expresses the bond of piety by means of which God has drawn man to Himself, in order that we may were Him as our master, and obey Him as our father. Man must, indeed, serve God; that is, he must both do and suffer His will. But since man is endowed with free will, can he nor to whatever he likes? Most assuredly not! For his free will comes not from himself, but is the gift of God. And it is impossible that God can have endowed man with free will in order that he should do what he likes, but in order that he should do what he ought, and do it quite willingly of his own free will.
   All creation fulfills the purpose of its existence; the sun, the moon, and the stars revolve in their appointed orbits, not voluntarily, but in unswerving obedience to the laws of nature, with such mathematical regularity that astronomers can calculate their movements with perfect precision.  The animal world likewise, compelled by the law of instinct, fails not to fulfill the object for which it was created. Man, on the other hand, is so constituted that he ought to serve, honor, and worship God deliberately and of his own free will.
III. This consciousness, this conviction that he is bound to honor and worship God, is deeply and ineradicably implanted in the heart of every human being. Hence we find that in ancient times no nation was with our its own religion. It is impossible that this universal conviction of mankind can be a deception or a lie; it is, on the contrary, a plain proof that, to quote the word of a Christian writer of the early Church, "the soul is of its very nature religious."
   And indeed the most ancient books of Holy Scripture teach us that not only did Abraham and his descendants worship the true God, but that all nations with whom they came in contact had, and adored, their own deities.
   Both Greek and Roam historians tell a similar tale. Plutarch, for instance, expresses himself in the following terms: "If one were to wander over the whole world, one might find cities with our walls, with our literature, and without written laws, . . . but a city without temples and divinities no one has discovered as yet."
   In our own day research has been carried so far that scarcely any country has remained unexplored, or any nation unknown. And all honest explorers bear unanimous witness that just as it was of old, so also in modern times there is no nation which does not possess its own religion."

(Chapter two to be continued)

Continuation of Chapter 1

"III   Fix your gaze upon the splendors of the universe. Behold the countless multitude of the heavenly bodies, as they revolve in their orbits; he bold the wondrous creations which are upon this earth, as comprised in the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms. Does not the most consummate imaginable skill, everywhere meet the eye?
   But now listen to what certain unbelieving scientists, naturalists, and astronomers say to all this. The friend to whom reference was made above asserted that the watch had made itself. Our scientists go still farther and obstinately assert that the infinitely more wonderful machine of the entire universe, earth, sun, moon, and stars, likewise came into being of itself, having gradually developed out of a mass of primeval matter, which had always been in existence.
IV   How ridiculous and absurd! But let us for a memento assent to the theory of these over wise gentlemen, let us submit our understanding to them; they owe us, however, a clear and ample explanation of the most important point of all, and are bound to tell us whence came this primeval matter, and the forces at work within it, by means of which the entire universe came into being.
   The good gentlemen will thus find themselves driven into a very tight corner, and in order to get out of the dilemma they will be compelled to retreat to a certain extent from the positioning which they have entrenched themselves, and say: "If you persist in having a God, you may give the name of God to this primary matter." But this will not help settle the question, for to have such a God as a tantamount to having no God at all.
V   Look forth on some clear and beautiful night in autumn, and contemplate the star bespangled sky; see how the innumerable heavenly bodies have all their appointed orbits, so that none of them interfere with the others. Examine, moreover, the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and see how everything suits its purpose! Even the smallest plant is formed in its every detail with the most perfect exactitude. And every little creature, down to the insect which crawls in the dust at our feet, is so made as best to fulfill the object for which it was created. "What a piece of work is a man!" exclaims Hamlet; "how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!" Thus, wherever we look around us in the immense, the boundless universe, we everywhere perceive object, design, and order.
   Can not we then comprehend, by means of our common-sense, that all this is not the work of chance, and was not brought into being by unintelligent, unreasoning forces and laws? Must we not rather exclaim in the inspired language of David: "The heavens show forth the glory of God"? Yes, let us say with grateful joyous hearts: There is a God; an omnipotent, an all-wise, an infinitely good and bountiful God!
   Thank God, dear reader, for the most precious of all gifts, for the grace which enables you to say from the bottom of your heart, and with the most intense conviction: " I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth." Pray that you may always persevere in this faith.

The fool alone can not descry

God's work in earth and sea and sky;

The more enlightened eye can trace

His all-wise hand in Nature's face;

And where sight fails, there faith alone

The great Creator's skill will own."

(The end of "The Panoply of War".)

"The Young Man's Guide"

"The Young Man's Guide", Written by Father Lasance, Published by Keefer's Catholic Gifts.
(And this is were we begin in the book)
"Part First - The Panoply of War
Chapter 1 (Is There a God?)
I.    The young man's lot is to go out into a hostile life. What is necessary for him? Behold the warrior, as he goes forth to the field of battle. Is he not amply provided with all needful weapons? When you, my dear young friend, go forth into the world, your are going to encounter mighty enemies,the enemies of your soul. You must, therefore, put on the a strong suit of armor, on which is capable of protecting you. And what is the suit of armor? The apostle St. Paul describes it in the following words: "Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil"(Eph. vi. II).
       The first and most powerful weapon in this suit of armor is the shield of faith, as the same apostle says: "in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you main be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one"(Eph. vi. 16). And, indeed, faith is an impenetrable shield against the fiery darts of the devil. When the latter strives to lead us astray, by inciting us to voluptuousness, faith lays bare to our view the abyss of hell, in order that we may behold the torments which will be the punishment of the unchaste. When he desires to dazzle us with the glitter of the riches, honors, and glories which the world has to offer us, faith throws open the portals of heaven, where the highest rewards are prepared for those who persevere in the love of God and the pursuit of virtue. Wherefore contemplate this shield of faith on every side, in order that you may be convinced of its indispensable necessity, may gladly take it into your hand, and grasp it firmly. Let us turn our attention first to the foundation of all faith, of all religion: namely, to the existence of God. Is there a God? That is the first question.
II.    "Is there a God?"  What an unnecessary question, you are saying to yourself. And you are quite right. In regard to this point David says in one of his Psalms: "The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God." And truly; only a man destitute of reason, a man who is mad, could make such a an assertion, could question the existence of God.
   Let us suppose that you show your watch to a friend, and say to him: "Must not the individual who made this watch, and arranged the works, have understood his business very well? Must he not be a very clever fellow, and possess a first-rate head-piece?" Now, suppose he were to reply: "Oh, nonsense! The watch made itself!" Should you not gaze fixedly at him, and make such remark as the following: "My good friend, if you are in earnest, and really mean what you say, there must be a screw loose in you upper story." And you would be quite justified in addressing him. Yet wait awhile, and pay attention to the practical application of all this."
(to be continued)

This is the reason for blogging.

Hello All,
I have come across an amazing spiritual reading book that has not only strengthened my faith, but helped me understand it as well. I will be the first person to admit that i don't know everything, but when i come across truth I can't help but want to share and talk about it with others. Work will not allow me to share, and my wife can only take so much of my talking while she is taking care of me and the kids(She's the best). I really hope this book will reach out to those who want so badly to grow in their walk with Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to pick up their daily cross and carry forward with God's will. As you have already noticed I am not a great writer and do not plan on writing solo. I will be typing my blog out verbatim of the book, "The Young Men's Guide". I hope to put a blog out as often as i can, and look to share a section of the book for every blog. Everything i write in this blog i give full credit to the author Father Lasance. Even though i wish these were my words, I am not that creative with putting my words on to paper. I hope you enjoy and gain from these blogs so that our service here on earth may be fruitful and pleasing to God.

-Jimmy