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Text Box: Catholic religious order was referring to the prohibition against eating meat on Fridays. This Church made law made it a mortal sin for Roman Catholics to intentionally eat meat on Fridays. As a Church made law it could be and was changed. But that does not mean it was an invalid law while in effect. The Roman Catholic Church, just like the Orthodox Catholic Church (and all Orthodox Church jurisdictions) has the ability to make laws and regulations which bind their members under various penalties or rewards. These laws and regulations are just as binding as God’s commandments. They are intended and designed to assist Christians in their following The Way taught by Christ. The former brother was wrong. You will go to Hell for eating that hot dog on Friday, if you ate it while that Church made law was in effect, knowing it was Friday, and knowing it was something you were not supposed to do. Of course there were exceptions. If there was nothing else to eat and you had to eat, or were in some similar situation, the prohibition was suspended. The former brother has done what many people do. He set himself as the arbitrator. He placed himself in a position God reserved for Himself and for His representatives under certain, select, circumstances. He decided he will pick and chose which of God’s requirements he will follow and which he will reject - which he has the right to do in accordance with the free will God has given to him. But he also apparently expects God will honor his intentional rejection of certain of God’s requirements for eternal salvation, and that eternal salvation will be granted to him anyway. In this he is wrong. While he has the ability and right to exercise his free will in a manner that is in opposition to God’s desires, he will, absolutely will, be rewarded in accordance with his use of that free will. A reward is normally thought of as a positive thing, but it need not so be. In its simplest application, God’s laws,

Text Box: His unchanging Dogma, are the minimum bench marks for acceptable attitude and behavior for eternal association with God. If one does not meet these minimum bench marks, but has generally attempted to meet them and has been somewhat successful in that attempt, it may be possible that one can be cleansed of his deficiencies and then enter into eternal union with God. But if one has consistently and intentionally disobeyed God’s instructions, whether they be directly from God or through His Church, and has generally ignored God’s desires, such a person probably will not be suitable material for cleansing, and will have no place to go upon death other than Hell. But why abstain from meat on Fridays (and Wednesdays for most Orthodox)? The discipline of abstention is relatively easy to practice and the practice of that discipline can be applied to abstention from various temptations as well as the practice of various virtues. Meat also increases carnality, and abstention from meat lessens the strength of the carnal attractions. Weakened carnal attractions interfere less with spiritual attractions than strong carnal attractions, thus assisting the individual in seeking to attain and attaining spiritual strength. If there is suffering associated with abstention, that suffering can be associated with Christ’s Passion, uniting the individual with Christ in a very special manner. For the true Christian, any form of union with Christ is desirable. Always remember that when you die you are immediately attracted to that which you love the most. If it is God, you will go towards him. If it is yourself, you will not go towards God, and the only other place to go to is Hell. +

Text Box: Ears seek information to be used for the advantage of the one listening to the detriment of others. They seek flattery, and the effects of the falsehoods uttered by the mouth. Only a fool would consider the trappings of power in the halls of government or industry to be something of intrinsic value. The possessor will soon lie entombed with bacteria and insects consuming what is left of the shell which once strode those halls, while the essence which strode those halls meets Reality. Only an idiot would consider an image of another person to be of the same value as the actual other person. And only a total fool would consider that actual other person to be of greater importance, value, or desirability, than the One Who made that other person. With our senses we can distinguish the vapor from the reality which it imitates. But it requires use of our intellect to decide there is that which is greater than ourselves and greater than any other of our nature. The senses are merely an aid to our intellect. Yet many consider pleasing the senses to be an acceptable goal. Your senses should be a blessing, but they can only be a blessing if they are under the control of your intellect. Even then it is quite possible your senses can be used for intellectual foolishness; for pursuit of the temporary rather than pursuit of the permanent; or even for pursuit of that which permanent, permanently horrible. Use your senses for that purpose for which they were created - for your eternal benefit. Smell the incense, hear the songs of praise and prayers to God as they come from your own lips and those of others, see the Sacred Eucharist as it is given to you by the Priest; smell the blossoms of heaven as you see the heavenly gates open to you and as you hear God say, “Well done My good and faithful servant.” +

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