Conversations With Myself: INDULGENCES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you know what indulgences are? They were invented during the infamous inquisition by the church fathers to allow parishioners to buy their way to heaven. This is the reason why Martin Luther, \u201cprotest<\/strong>ed\u201d against the practice and eventually started the \u201cProtest<\/strong>ant\u201d movement. So I was surprised when I received a text from an old classmate who was excited about something he learned in church. Below is an imaginary conversation I had with Me, Myself and I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cGood news! I just learned that you can earn spiritual points towards heaven whenever you kiss this golden amulet. Not only that, wearing it also gives you more points. Wait! Wait! It gets even better — attend as many processions while wearing it, and they all add up to many more points!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I: Remained quiet. Didn\u2019t know how to react to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MYSELF: \u201cThat\u2019s great! BTW, how many total points does one need to get to heaven?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cDon\u2019t be silly. No one really knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I: \u201cIs it a thousand points? A million points? A gazillion points?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cI can\u2019t give you a definite number. But I know it\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MYSELF: \u201cSo how many points do you have already?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cDon\u2019t be silly. I can\u2019t even begin to count. This is automatically tabulated. Somehow, someone in heaven is keeping track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I: \u201cSo for sure, you are way ahead of us on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cI guess so. But don\u2019t worry, I can ask God to give you some of my points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MYSELF: \u201cWell that\u2019s mighty kind of you. But what if I need more than what you are offering me? After all, I\u2019m so far behind that even if you give me all of your points, I still won\u2019t have enough to get to heaven. I\u2019ve been a very bad boy, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I: \u201cIf I carry two amulets, will that double my points? What if I decide to give some of my points to my wife. I know she\u2019s been a naughty girl too (he! he! he!). And wouldn’t my generosity to her also add to my points? What a great deal! Who decides these rules anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ME: \u201cMy priest tells me all of this and he is beyond reproach. You can\u2019t question him. He\u2019s studied these things for years. It is beyond what either of us can comprehend. Besides, millions of people believe this. Millions of people can\u2019t be wrong \u2026 can they? If you are coming to the amulet meeting tonight, you need to bring your own amulet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MYSELF: Looking down at his cell phone. \u201cHey, lookie here! There\u2019s a sale for golden amulets at Walmart! It says they\u2019re gold-plated \u2026 made in China \u2026 two for $10.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
WARNING: Spiritual Topic<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To live by grace or to live by rules. There is a choice. You can live earning your salvation and never knowing if you earned enough. Or you can accept that it is impossible to do enough and instead latch on to the free gift of salvation by trusting in Christ. When they say \u201cJesus died for your sins\u201d \u2014- it means He doesn\u2019t need your \u201ccontribution\u201d to complete His sacrifice. This may sound either too simplistic or too complex. Indeed this is a difficult concept. Common sense is not enough. Much prayer is needed before this puzzle can be unlocked. Let this sink in. And yes, I\u2019m praying for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 15:56 – 57<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Thanks to all who prayed for my health. I\u2019m almost fully recovered from Covid. Still have a cough. Although it was mild, I\u2019m pretty certain things would have turned out so much worse if I didn\u2019t get vaccinated because I\u2019ve had flu before but this had a different sensation. Maybe it\u2019s my imagination but I felt it was a set of foreign bionic anti-bodies that were battling with the virus. I\u2019m just speaking for myself here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TGIF people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raoul<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JOKE OF THE WEEK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena. CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Parting Shots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to Ed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to Lee of Bakersfield<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
These I found<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you know what indulgences are? They were invented during the infamous inquisition by the church fathers to allow parishoners to buy their way to heaven. This is the reason why Martin Luther, \u201cprotested\u201d against the practice and eventually started the \u201cProtestant\u201d movement. So I was surprised when I received a text from an old classmate who was excited about something he learned in church. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[818],"tags":[6800,3373,6801,6804,6805,6803,6802,6806],"class_list":["post-32285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raouls-tgif","tag-amulet","tag-heaven","tag-indulgence","tag-inquisition","tag-martin-luther","tag-prayers","tag-rosary","tag-toilet"],"yoast_head":"\n
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