Virtus In Medio Stat

Purgatory and the Judgment of our Works Laurence Gonzaga A coworker came to my desk. She asked where purgatory is taught in the Bible. I showed her 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. She read it. "Oh, there it is..." Exactly. That simple when you don't assume it's not there. It's pretty clear, once you have been taught by 2000 years of history and tradition. Not by some 2022 sola scripturist that hasn't been taught or sent by the Church to teach. Here are some ideas and passages to note... We are salted by fire: "49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[a] 50 (A)Salt is good, (B)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? (C)Have salt in yourselves, and (D)be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49, ESV) We are tested by fire: "12 Beloved, do not be surprised at (A)the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." (1Peter 4:12, ESV) Our works will be judged: "God “wi...

Prima Ecclesia By Laurence Gonzaga For many years now I've been sharing a concept which I don't think has been coined or written on. I'm thinking of finally writing something about it in a brief booklet. It's probably not worth the effort to get it printed. It's a simple enough concept. The Protestant Reformation had it's doctrine of sola scriptura, that the Bible is the sole/only rule of faith for the Christian. Protestant Calvinist Dr. James White claimed that Catholics practiced what he coined to be sola ecclesia, that the Church alone has the authority. In a Catholic debate in the 90s, Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid explained the concept he called prima scriptura, that the primary authority is the Sacred Scriptures. His Catholic teammates didn't agree to endorse such a concept. In a recent debate between Trent Horn and Gavin Ortlund, Trent Horn used the phrase "prior, not higher" of Scripture. I disagree. If anything is prior, Sa...

For all of us who think we are good without God... For all of us who think we are good on our own, so that God will hopefully approve of us... WRONG IF...we are good at all, it's only because of God, nothing of our own, other than a response of "Fiat". Luke 15:7 English Standard Version 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Romans 3:10 English Standard Version 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:23 English Standard Version 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

It always irks me. They genuflect facing the center of the church, towards the Novus Ordo altar. Then they walk by the Tabernacle (not in the center) without even a blink of an eye. Clearly, the English liturgy didn't help them understand what the faith of 20 generations is. They need to be taught. Who will teach them?

"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day." "Do you also wish to go away?"

Comments by Laurence Gonzaga Romans 10 New King James Version Israel Needs the Gospel 10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [a]Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness (A)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of (B)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (C)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For (D)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. -- Paul hopes for all of the Israelites to be saved. They have zeal, presumably sincere, but don't have the knowledge. Why? Because they don't have the truth. Partial truth is not enough. They lack the knowledge of the new covenant. They think they can be saved by their righteousness of Law (Old Covenant) rather than the rightousness of Grace (New Covenant). Christ ends the Law, so that all who believe will become truly righteous. --- 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which ...

The Protestant Claim: All of what is to be known, understood, taught, believed, and done by the Christian is found in the Bible/Scripture ALONE, the Reformation doctrine of "sola scriptura". The Catholic Claim: All of what is to be known, understood, taught, believed, and done by the Christian is found in the Bible/Scripture, the Oral Tradition of the Church, and the Living Teaching Magisterium of the Church. Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” --Where is this prophecy found in the Old Testament? If you can't find it, it must have come down to the time of Jesus by the Oral Tradition of the Jews. Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” --Where did the Apostle Jude get this story from? It's not recorded...