Why don't we listen to Jesus?

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There are many discussion threads on attaining salvation; faith VS works, Paul says, Pray the Rosary, Recite Litanies etc, etc.

Jesus tells us in very explicit terms what we must do to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 25
When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
33] and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.
34] Then the King will say to those at his right hand, Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; **35**] for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, **36**] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' **37**] Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38] And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
39] And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’
40] And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' **41**] Then he will say to those at his left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42] for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44] Then they also will answer, Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' **45**] Then he will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’
46] And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

So next time you are moved to spin the prayer wheel. why not feed or clothe a homeless person, or visit the elderly in nursing homes, or comfort the sick. It will be doing Jesus’ will.
 
Yeah I heard of a comma…have you learned how to USE ONE in the PROPER MANNER?

…besides…THAT is NOT how to abbreviate if you are intending to refer to the POPE… either say the Pope, JP II, John Paul…Holy Father…get it?

I have never seen a reference to the Pope as “Paul”… it comes across as not showing the proper respect for the Leader of the Catholic Faith.

what you wrote can denote nothing other than refering to St. Paul of the Bible.

and I knew who you were referring to…I just wanted to see what response was elicted from you.
 
why aren’t you guys posting in love? Jesus made it pretty clear He wants us to love each other. please let’s do so.

i would suggest, hermit, that this is not the only thing Jesus said we must do to be saved. He said we should be born again, and He said we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. my point is that salvation, and our lives, are more complicated than ‘just go do good deeds and help poor people’ and that’s it.

God leads us, through the church, the Bible, our friends, books, etc. to develop our inner person, to grow as disciples of Christ, as much as He calls us to love others and minster in an external fashion.

yes, what you said we should do is important. but i suggest that it’s important not to neglect the other means of grace while we’re at it.

peace and love.
 
There are two reasons people seem to act as you say, one good, one not so good:

The good reason: We do all the other and study all the other in order to be able to do what Jesus says. You cannot love your neighbor unless you love God, too, for it is the God in your neighbor that you love. You study the truth because it is easy to be self-deluded or misled. Paul gives us details about what Jesus did and did not mean by love of God and neighbor. (e.g., if I give all I have to the poor, but have not love… we read Paul and find that feeding the poor and feeding Jesus aren’t necessarily the same thing.) Prayer gives us experience of the love of God, without which we cannot act in love. If we serve our neighbor, but not with the reverence they deserve, we miss the point of the passage that you cite. That is, serving Jesus means serving the poor, but if we “serve” the poor, but still fail to recognize the profound dignity of the ones we serve, it will not be the kind of service Jesus meant.

The poor reason: Jesus is asking us to do something hard, and it is easy to get lost in the details of how to do it and then start acting and believing that the details of getting ready to go are the actual journey.

In summary: If our Rosaries and debates aren’t changing the way we love our neighbor, then yes, we are fooling ourselves. We are a clanging cymbal; all our noise means nothing. But if the rosaries and debates keep us on that path, then they certainly have deep value.

Good thread. It reminds me of a quote (I wish I knew the originator):
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
 
yes, to elaborate a bit on what you just said - the main thing, according to Jesus, was to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

both.

the prayers and rosaries and masses and adorations et al are part of the former.

the reaching out to our brother in need is the latter.

both.
 
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jeffreedy789:
yes, to elaborate a bit on what you just said - the main thing, according to Jesus, was to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

both.

the prayers and rosaries and masses and adorations et al are part of the former.

the reaching out to our brother in need is the latter.

both.
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Yes… because love of God and love of neighbor are, in truth, inseparable. If you think otherwise, you fool yourself.
 
One very wise woman once said that when we talk to Jesus it is called prayer but unfortunately when we listen to him or hear him calling out to us we are usually labeled psychotic. Prayer is very important and there are many types of prayer like in the before mentioned posts, the Holy Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours also known as the Divine office, the little office, and even the blue pieta prayer book are good ways to develop our relationship with Jesus. They teach us and get us to start thinking and then sooner or later you just start talking to him like I’m writing to you. But in order to listen to him you have to find some place of solitude in this mad chaotic world. One good way to start is to use Contemplative prayer. When you begin you wont find silence your head will be spinning with words , voices , ideas and you probably won’t want to commit to sitting quietly for 20 minutes 2 x a day in complete solitude. But if you do I can guarantee you will start to hear God you will recognize His Awesome voice and you will listen. Being obedient to prayers and meditations are one thing but listening and recognizing that amazing voice is something you won’t take for granted and dismiss. Try it I think yoou might like it.
He even might become your best friend. Sincerely Marmee 79
 
i wouldn’t call them inseparable - but they are only separable to the detriment of both.

i know lots of people who love others - but hate God. philanthropists and altruists who try to ‘better mankind’ but either don’t believe in God or have antipathy for Him.

i also know people who ‘just LOVE Jesus’ but they can’t stand the folks next door or the black people in their neighborhood.

true love of God involves love of your neighbor. truly loving your neighbor means loving God. when you separate them, you lessen them.

we’re called to both.
 
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jeffreedy789:
i wouldn’t call them inseparable - but they are only separable to the detriment of both.

i know lots of people who love others - but hate God. philanthropists and altruists who try to ‘better mankind’ but either don’t believe in God or have antipathy for Him.

i also know people who ‘just LOVE Jesus’ but they can’t stand the folks next door or the black people in their neighborhood.

true love of God involves love of your neighbor. truly loving your neighbor means loving God. when you separate them, you lessen them.

we’re called to both.
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I would go so far as to say they are inseparable.

If you try to love others without God, what have you to give to them? Where would this “love” come from? Those who love others but “hate” God must in fact either hate a false god or else actually serve others as a way to love themselves. They fool themselves.

If you try to love God and are not inspired to love others, must you not be blind and deaf? Those who “love God” without loving others worship a false god, most probably a version of themselves or a reflection of their fears and desires. They fool themselves.

Still, our love of both is always imperfect, lessened by the love we refuse. In that way, I do agree with you: an imperfect love is still love.
 
this may be the first time i’ve found scriptural proof to justify my OPPONENT’S argument 🙂 but the Bible does seem to agree with you.

whoever says he loves God, but hates his brother, is a liar. 1 john.
 
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jeffreedy789:
this may be the first time i’ve found scriptural proof to justify my OPPONENT’S argument 🙂 but the Bible does seem to agree with you.

whoever says he loves God, but hates his brother, is a liar. 1 john.
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Dear jeffreedy789,

It happens to the best of us.😉

Alan
 
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