In our mail, we constantly receive letters requesting money for various causes. One this week that I found interesting was from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Although it was addressed to “Dear Faithful Catholic,” I read it anyway. It made me all the more appreciative of God’s calling and the opportunity to separate from error.
What stood out to me in the eight-page spiel was the absence of the Father and Jesus Christ. As the name implies, Mary was the focus. They are a group of nuns who are committed to teaching about their religion. “We believe it is our duty to receive God’s truth from the Magisterium of His Church – and then carry it forth, unaltered and undiluted, to others.” In other words, the authority for what they teach is the Catholic Church and the Pope in particular.
A standout comment accompanying a photograph was, “Mother Assumptia, our Princess General, with our beloved Pope Francis. We are uncompromising in our loyalty and obedience to him….”
Do you ever take the time to meditate on the incredible freedom God has given you? He has given you the freedom to know the truth. “… If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). However, the freedom God’s truth gives carries obligations. We are not free of those things which forge a relationship with God, especially law and obedience.
Christ said to the woman of Samaria during a conversation at Jacob’s well, “You worship what you do not know …” A comment that seems to fit well with the above-mentioned letter. Jesus went on to point out for our benefit, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:22-24). The word “must” enforces the obligation for those set free by truth.
In the literature referred to above, there is not one word in reference to the scriptures – the Word of God. All references to their source of truth are their Church and the men in authority in it.
Paul told Timothy that in the last days, there would be people who are “… always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). God has opened our eyes and minds to the word of God. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s Holy Spirit gives spiritual life to the truth of God’s Word. When the Holy Spirit is given, it will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual life to the scriptures. It enables our minds to perceive and comprehend the truth contained in the words. Without the Holy Spirit, they are just words written on paper, and all the “learning” in the world will not yield the knowledge of the truth.
If we can read with spiritual understanding, then we need to embrace the scriptures, read them and spend time with them, absorb the meaning and act upon it. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Let us value the freedom we have been given and work toward being “complete.”
Brian Orchard
