"The Call to stop offending God" (Sister Lucia of Fatima)

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today I began Chapter 17, “The Call to stop offending God” in Sister Lucia’s book, “Calls” From the Message of Fatima Sister’s style is simple and direct and yet she is never “opinionated” but rather quotes from Scripture or from Our Lady’s words in her apparitions to the three shepherd children at Fatima .

Sister begins Chap. 17 with this quote from Our Lady:

Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended. (Our Lady, 13th October, 1917)

Sister then adds: “The Call that the Message is making to us here reminds us once again of the need to observe first of all the commandments of God’s Law. The precept to love God is the first of the commandments, not only on account of the unique greatness of the object it contemplates, but also because it is this love which will lead us to fulfill faithfully , all the other commandments.”

Mary, our Mother, help us to hear what God has said in His Holy Revelation of Himself in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. Intercede for us that we may open our hearts as you did to His Holy Spirit, that we may learn to love God with our whole hearts, and to love all others because of our love for Him.

Come Holy Spirit, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Little Shepherd children of Fatima, whom Our Lady promised would be in heaven, pray for us.

 

[James248]

The fear of the Lord is a thing everyone should keep in mind.

 

[undead_rat]

It is correct to say that our Creator’s first and most important commandment is to love and trust in Him. This idea of trusting our Creator for our future wellbeing is also found in our Lord’s Gospels.
Of course the second commandment is known as to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Looking back at the Book of Genesis we see that what offended our Creator in Noah’s time was mankind’s unrelenting propensity towards violence against his fellow man. And for that reason YHWH decided to exterminate almost all of the human race.
YHWH said that He would never do that again (Genesis 8:21.) What is facing mankind now is destruction at the work of his own hands (Psalm 9:15-16.) Mankind’s propensity towards violence has led him to invent and build a massive machine of international destruction.
This, I believe, is what offends YHWH and is why the earth will be subjected to the fire of Isaiah 66:15-15 and the death toll of Jeremiah 25:32-33.

 

[MariaChristi]

The fear of the Lord is a thing everyone should keep in mind.

Dear James,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, Scripture assures us: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) . The Fear of the Lord is also a Gift of the Holy Spirit.

We need to be careful, however, to discern the difference between “servile fear” and “filial” fear which is closer to reverence for God – such that we never want to offend Him because we love Him so much.

Servile fear – a fear of punishment which a slave or servant may fear from his master or superior can however, by God’s Grace, lead a person to the beautiful filial fear which we see in the saints. God is a Merciful God as well as a just God. Filial fear is what we want to keep in mind, more than servile fear. God works all things unto good …(Romans 8: 28)

For more see article HERE

 

[MariaChristi]

It is correct to say that our Creator’s first and most important commandment is to love and trust in Him. This idea of trusting our Creator for our future wellbeing is also found in our Lord’s Gospels.
Of course the second commandment is known as to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Looking back at the Book of Genesis we see that what offended our Creator in Noah’s time was mankind’s unrelenting propensity towards violence against his fellow man. And for that reason YHWH decided to exterminate almost all of the human race.
YHWH said that He would never do that again (Genesis 8:21.) What is facing mankind now is destruction at the work of his own hands (Psalm 9:15-16.) Mankind’s propensity towards violence has led him to invent and build a massive machine of international destruction.
This, I believe, is what offends YHWH and is why the earth will be subjected to the fire of Isaiah 66:15-15 and the death toll of Jeremiah 25:32-33.

Dear undead rat (hard for me to use that username),

Thanks for your reply. We can go back further than Noah to our first parents, Adam and Eve to see how our human family began to offend God. They were tempted by satan who told God “I will not serve” and was cast down from heaven. The sin of Lucifer brought him to hell. In his continuing disdain for God, satan lied to our first parents and tempted them to commit the sin of disobedience and join him in offending God. Sins, not only of violence against his fellow man, but it seems to me, human distain for the Good God who created us, caused God to send the flood on all except his obedient and faithful son Noah and his family.

We have all sinned and gone astray, since the time of Noah’s emergence from the ark, except Jesus and Mary – the New Adam and Eve. God in His Mercy continues to call us to union with Him, but He leaves us free to serve the one Master Who has created us in Love or to choose to serve another master of our own choosing. We cannot serve two masters. St. Augustine put it well in writing about the two cities being built: “The City of God” is being built by those who Love God to the contempt of themselves or “the city of man” built by those who love self to the contempt of God.

Jesus came that we may be born again and enter again into that union with God He desires – which our first parents lost by committing the original sin. However, because of our free will, we can choose another master. We face those choices every day and need to ask ourselves: “Whom do I serve?” or “Whom will I continue to serve”

Sister Lucia in her book maintains that Lucifer fell because of his pride. I wonder if that is what causes most of us to offend God. Like Adam and Eve we too can believe lies, and pridefully decide for ourselves what is good to do or what is evil, without any reference to what God has commanded in love for us – to do or not do. In His Will is our peace.

May this 100th Anniversary of the Apparitions of Mary at Fatima bring many graces to us all. May we pray the Rosary as Mary asked, and learn from Jesus, by the power of His Holy Spirit, and from her intercession and human example, to be Humble as Jesus told us: “Learn of Me for i am Meek and Humble of Heart.” Jesus and Mary always did the Will of The Father.

 

[James248]

Dear James,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, Scripture assures us: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) . The Fear of the Lord is also a Gift of the Holy Spirit.

We need to be careful, however, to discern the difference between “servile fear” and “filial” fear which is closer to reverence for God – such that we never want to offend Him because we love Him so much.

Servile fear – a fear of punishment which a slave or servant may fear from his master or superior can however, by God’s Grace, lead a person to the beautiful filial fear which we see in the saints. God is a Merciful God as well as a just God. Filial fear is what we want to keep in mind, more than servile fear. God works all things unto good …(Romans 8: 28)

For more see article HERE

God calls us to keep His judgment in mind.

Matthew 10:28
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

 

[MariaChristi]

God calls us to keep His judgment in mind.

Matthew 10:28
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Yes, indeed, we need to keep His judgment in mind, James,

Thanks for your reply and for the quote from Matthew’s Gospel. It is so important for all of us to remember that hell is real. That is one of the reasons the three little children were given that vision of hell. Sister Lucia wrote, if Our Lady had not, before their vision of hell, told them they would all go to heaven, they would have been more frightened, but as it was they prayed and offered sacrifices for sinners.

Mary our Mother expressed God’s Mercy and her own compassion by telling the children:

“You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save future souls God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved.”

By God’s Grace may we remain in His Love and pray fervently as Mary asked us to pray the Rosary, pondering the mysteries of Jesus Life – all He said and did – even as Mary kept all these things in her heart, and continues to “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen”