Because the Saints Give the Best Advice

Last updated on: June 7, 2015 at 11:36 pm by Frank Weathers

Because the Saints Give the Best Advice 2015-06-07T23:36:12-05:00 Frank Weathers

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—Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous

I may be a new Catholic (relatively speaking, RCIA Class of 2008) but I’ve been around the block a few times. I like to think that I know the difference between noise and signal. I’ve mentioned before why I’m not a disciple of this priest, or that priest, but of Christ.

Remember the counsel of the Holy Spirit through St. Paul?

Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving in an ordinary human way? Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.

“But God caused the growth.”

I’m definitely not the follower of laymen like Michael Voris. Why? You mean besides not having enough time in a day for following his rants on video? Because he quite simply has as much authority as I do regarding teaching the Faith. In other words, none. He doesn’t speak for the bishops of the Catholic Church. And even if he means well, like I do, his “Vortex” is often times just that. I try not to go that route though, though I’m not always successful.

Here is an example of what I mean. Exhibit A of “Noise.”

If you were able to make it past 15 seconds before you hit the stop button, my hat is off to you. And if you made it through the next 20 seconds of product placement, you are a better person than I am. If you made it another minute without hearing St. Ignatius of Antioch whisper, “Therefore it is fitting that you live in harmony with the will of the bishop,” then perhaps you would like to spend some time (but not money) getting acquainted with his letters.

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Because this isn’t my idea, but the instruction of St. Ignatius of Antioch,

Beware therefore of such men; and this will be possible for you, if you are not puffed up, and are inseparable from God, from Jesus Christ, and from the bishop, and the ordinances of the Apostles. He who is within the sanctuary is pure, but he who is without the sanctuary is not pure; that is to say whoever does anything apart from the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons is not pure in his conscience.

St. Philip Neri also had some great advice for all of us in regards to becoming fully human as well as on how to spend our time learning about the Faith,

It is very useful for those who minister the Word of God, or give themselves up to prayer, to read the works of authors whose names begin with S., such as Saint Augustine, Saint Bernard, etc.

You can find authors like that (free of charge) in your Bible, and on the YIMCatholic Bookshelf. Your “signal to noise” filtering ability will improve markedly after your exposure to them.

St. Philip Neri

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