11/2/2018

Q: How do we know a man died for us or if the devil is real, or if we live eternal life? How do we know that the Bible is true?
 
Anna Cecilia Gessler
Mingo Junction
 
   A: I believe your question resonates with a lot more people now here in 2018 than it did half a century ago. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear in its instruction about the profession of faith. You and I possess the capacity for God, namely desiring his presence, as well as being able to know him. This requires both faith and reason. St. Paul in his pastoral letters is quite clear explaining how we come to know God in his Son, Jesus Christ, through the gift of faith and the gift of reason.
   We possess the faculties to ascertain the existence of God, especially on a personal level, and are able to encounter him if we predispose our faith accordingly. Our faith, better yet the church, reminds us that God is the first and last of all things, and he has given us his Son, Jesus, for our redemption.  Jesus gave us the first bishops, namely the apostles, who through the gift of the Holy Spirit were able to combine the revealed letters and books into the Bible we know today. 
   We know through divine revelation that Jesus died for our sins, so that you and I may have eternal life. Fundamentally, we know through our faith and reason that a man died for us; namely, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, so that you and I may have eternal life, and has given us the Bible, which is the revealed word of God, and within the Bible, we are instructed that the devil is very real and is the prince of lies and manipulation.
 
   Q: Why does Mary always wear blue? 
 
Emmy Martin
Steubenville
   A: We live in a world replete with symbols from colors to shapes. This is a very good question, for it seems to me there are many plausible answers. For one, blue can represent royalty in this world, of which we know the Blessed Virgin Mary is queen of both heaven and earth. We, also, know that blue can represent heavenly grace, as we recognize in a number of paintings portraying the Blessed Virgin.
   Another plausible explanation is that blue represents transcendence and mystery. The blue can represent the motherhood of Mary, namely being the Mother of God, of which blue symbolizes the divinity of her Son. A third explanation may come from Numbers, Chapter 4, Verses 6-7, in which a cloth of blue is spread over the Ark of the Covenant. Our faith teaches us that the Virgin Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, for she is the “Theotokos” or “God-bearer.” The common denominator here is the fact that the Blessed Virgin enjoys a privileged place in salvation history, and we recognize through the color blue her preeminent role in our salvation history.
 
   Q: Why are the mysteries of the rosary called “mysteries?”
 
Joshua Vetanze
Martins Ferry
 
   A: The very word mystery invites us into a deeper appreciation of the very subject of mystery. The mysteries of the rosary, that is the joyful, sorrowful, luminous and glorious mysteries each invite us into a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ. Through the assistance of the Blessed Virgin, we delve deeper into our salvation history, as we accompany Jesus and Mary. Through the mysteries of the rosary, we can explore the truth of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, and the Blessed Virgin Mary as the obedient mother of God.
   If we pay particular attention each time we pray the rosary, our knowledge of Jesus is deepened with each encounter.  A distinct explanation of the purpose for praying the rosary and to understand the mystery of each decade, (that means 10 prayers) is the prayer that completes each recitation of the rosary:
   “O God whose only begotten Son, by his life, death, resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.”
 
May God bless you and your family these final weeks of ordinary time 2018.