Episode 1708: You are only mortal - Mortalis es

“Mortalis es” – You are Mortal

These words were uttered by a slave into the ear of Ceasar when he triumphantly returned into Rome. Why?
Well even thou the Roman empire at its height was one of the most powerful or possibly the most powerful empire in history, even pagans knew they were merely mortal and there was something greater.
So you may ask why I would present that during advent.
Well I want to free fall a little today and so when we speak about Advent we use the word “Faith.” Faith is a gift from God that allows us to accept revealed truths with certitude, even though they may not be grasped by our intellect alone. In other words to have true faith me must remember we are only mortal or better yet Human.
To be human means that as humans we have the ability to reason, solve problems, and make conscious choices. We can discern.
First and foremost, humans are understood as being created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This signifies that we possess inherent dignity, creativity, and the capacity for relationship with God and with others. But we are not God.

So let me move to a discussion I had with two friends. One friend is a cradle Catholic but who walked away from the faith and embraced freemasonry enjoys to attack the church through the human errors of the Church. He will remind everyone who practices the Catholic faith that as long as there are Pedophile priests or prelates that steal from the church that we are somewhat foolish and need to wake up to the idea that the church is a sham. In other words he has reduced his understanding of the Mystical Body of Christ (Catholic Church) to humans and not Christ.
Now stop and think about it. We as Catholics do not believe in evolution but rather creation and so we know
That the Flood dated to around 2,348 BC. Therefore, the period from Adam to Noah would be approximately 1,650 to 1,700 years
The period from Noah to Abraham would be around 300 to 350 years. In fact, Noah’s father-in-law was around while Adam was still alive.
So we also know that from the time of Adam to Abraham there was 2,000 to 2,500 years.
From the time of Abraham to Christ there was 2,000 years. The time from Christ to now is 2,000.
Kind of interesting is not it. What do all these times have in common? MAN failing.
First God in his wisdom he wanted man to have complete free will he allowed Adam to Noah to do just that what a Human does. Discern and if man failed they suffered the conscience right. Okay and we know that God destroyed the world through the flood and waited another 350 years before Abrham came. Now why is this important? Because God allowed man to live as man for approximately 2,000 years and then came the law.
The founding of the Jewish faith (Judaism) in what they call the Patriarchal Period (2000 - 1500 BC): Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were considered the founding fathers of Judaism, which was the very beginning of the covenant with God, and groundwork of tradition.
Now we all know that God the Father in the founding of Judaism to the founding of the Mystical body of Christ (Catholic Church) humans fell constantly through the periods of Judges and Kings. Why? Because that is what man does. Now when I say Man I am not using that word in a male or female sense but a HuMan sense.
So too from the time of the new covenant (Catholic Church for 2,000 years – present day what do we see?

Good Priests, Prelates and Pope and bad Priests, Prelates and Popes. Right
How are we any different from the period of the old covenant and the new covenant? Well in both periods there is an understanding that man will fail God. It is a fact we fail God.
The difference however, is that God the Father allowed man to be led by men in the old covenant (Prophets, Judges and Kings) and then he sent his only begotten son from the second person of the Trinity. Why? Because he wanted to show Man
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" is not that what he said at the Transfiguration of Jesus, a significant event in Catholic theology.
Matthew, chapter 17, verses 1-8
"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' “This is my only begotten son listen to him.”
So you may ask “okay Wal what does this have to do with faith?”
When we as Catholic presuppose we know better than God the Father we fail miserably. Our Catholic Church never stumbles and falls or fails – man fails and so above all we must have faith in the mystical body of Christ. We must draw nearer to it when man hurts it because it is not of man but of God and so during this Advent system we must remember that instead of attacking the Church due to the failure of man we must unite and protect it with all our might. We must do this through constant prayer, devotion and acts of reparation and do all we can to make it better.

So how do we do that? Well to start have faith, then realize your are only mortal “Mortalis es.” You will fail Christ and you will fail each other. But as always remember your life here on earth is not a destiny but a journey. We all fail Christ, and we all fail each other. We all hurt each other directly and indirectly either through our words or our actions. Especially through our words we wound those closest to us. We simply stop and make an act of reparation because by so doing we are demonstrating to Christ the King he is in charge, and we are merely subject to him. During advent as we await his arrival part of our act of faith comes through our act of Charity. Rather than attack each other and the mystical body of Christ fix the problem instead of contributing to it. No good will come from attacking Christs Church he has plenty of people doing that. Unite each other to defend it through our words, actions, and deeds by simply remembering we are all fallen and Mortalis es.