We’ve been told that fathers are idiots. Consider the Simpsons.[/caption]
Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, gave a 13-minute homily on Christ the King Sunday, November 24.
Everyone will be saved – that’s our hope. The Bible says that the way is narrow, but this is our hope, that all will be saved.
Pilate doesn’t believe in Christ’s kingship at first. He says, you are king?
We cannot save ourselves, but He can save us.
We’ve been lied to all our lives, that there is no God, or that this Force doesn’t care about me.
That lie about atheism manifests in other consequential lies and fears.
There was an emergency cel phone alert about flooding on Friday, telling us not to leave our homes. But this was rain that gave us the water we needed for our crops. We were told by the media that the rain that God sends us is a scourge – that must be bravely rejected.
We’ve been told over the last 50 years that fathers are idiots and men are toxic. Consider the Simpsons. That’s just about par for the course in every major media.
We’ve been told that marriage is slavery and children are too burdensome, especially more than two children.
We’ve been told that sex is only recreation and that unborn babies are not human – scientifically preposterous.
We’ve been told that I define my own reality and there is no natural law.
We continue to listen to these lies because of spiritual laziness, – we don’t put our foot down.
We spread fear, negativity on our social media, at work, and lunchtime and in our Thanksgiving table. How much of our family gathering will be complaining and spreading negativity?
I was at the parking garage yesterday and a man said Happy Thanksgiving. I asked who are we giving thanks to? He said, I don’t know, everybody?
Loved Fr. Illo’s sermon. Weeks ago, I prayed for rain only on my yard as I knew some people might not want it. A few days later, while on my computer, I looked out the window to see rain gently falling on our fruit trees and realized we were going to have a bumper crop of delicious oranges all because we were getting a lot of rain. God had already provided us with baking apples and pomegranates, some of which we give to people who eat or juice pomegranates for cancer treatment. At our advanced age, we do not spray nor fertilize, just trim a little and they just grow. We have a whole lot for which to thank the Good Lord.
I did not mean that pomegranate juices was the only treatment these people were getting for cancer. They were under the care of physicians who were using other standard treatments such as radiation and chemo, but kale, nuts, and certain fruits and vegetables are recommend to keep cancer away.
The down-votes are coming from the vendors of cheese wizz, slim Jim sausages & diet soda.
“Everyone will be saved – that’s our hope.” I wonder if the desire that all will be saved is different from the hope that all will be saved. God desires all to be saved but does God hope all are saved? As I see it, hope is akin to faith. To have faith is to have confidence in what is hoped for (Heb. 11:1) Should we be confident that all are saved? There are warnings in Scripture that working out our salvation involves “fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) and discipline (I Cor. 9:27). To have a conviction that all are saved would render these warnings beside the point, and nullify Jesus’ warning in Matt. 7:13, only half of which is quoted in the sermon. But if God has a conviction that all will be saved then I do not doubt that it shall be so. Since it appears from many sides that the danger of hell is real, I have to think desire and hope are indeed different in God and also in us. But universalism seems rampant in popular theology, I have to think that the desire that all are saved moves to a conviction that all must saved with many arguments marshalled in support, I cannot argue with Fr. Illo’s hope–the pope has said the same thing. But this hope needs to be planted in the gospel requirements of repentance and faith, and the reality of free will.
If I am full of hogwash please note dear reader that I am a retired math instructor, not a theologian.
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