Mike Gendron is a former 30+ year Catholic that definitely does not see Catholics as true Christians. He puts the Catholic Church into the category of teaching another Jesus. That's interesting because in all my studies and all my attendance to 100 +/- Mass services at this point, I have NEVER discovered that or felt that way.
Why? Because it's not true. The Jesus of Catholicism is the same Jesus that most protestant Christian's believe in. That was a core litmus test for me as I began my Catholic journey. I have never in my life believed that Catholics taught another Jesus. However, I have wondered numerous times in my life why there is so much disagreement among protestant Christians like Mike Gendron and what is the true interpretation of scripture? Mike is just another individual with his own private interpretation of scripture that is passing judgment on Catholics based on his point of view. He is a man with an opinion that will be accountable to God like the rest of us.
Sadly, not only did Mike Gendron leave the Catholic Church over 20 years ago, he has become a ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED ( from what I gather ) Christian. I wonder if that's why he can freely talk against the Catholic Church like he does?
Matthew 12:36 "I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter;" may likely only get Mike a slap on the wrist on judgment day because Mike, unlike me, has ETERNAL SECURITY. I believe that he who endures to the end can spend eternity in heaven. I believe that I can turn my back on God, spew false words and die a sinner with eternal separation from God in hell. I do believe in being saved by grace through Jesus Christ, but I also believe that I have to live out the commands of Christ and the Apostle's.
Want to talk about an Oxymoron? I cannot be a Christian Adulterer, a Christian Liar, Christian Murder, a Christian Thief, etc. and correctly say no matter what I do that I have ETERNAL SECURITY through Christ. Yes, I may be taking that to an extreme. But Am I really? If I buy into Eternal Security and have a heart attack while committing adultery, will I spend heaven in eternity? My wife may not think so. Oh, but David, if you were really saved, you wouldn't commit adultery.
Come on folks, sadly adultery and other sins are committed by Christians all the time. That's why 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 are important verses in the Christian walk "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." If I commit adultery as a professing Christian, I'm not eternally secure bound for heaven unless I confess that terrible sin with a contrite heart and ask forgiveness. God knows the heart not man.
I stumbled upon something online from Mike Gendron; ©1999 Is a “Catholic Christian” an oxymoron? Is it possible for a Catholic to adhere to the teachings of his church and at the same time believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
If I were to break apart every point Mike Gendron is making, I could likely have a mini-book. Therefore, I will simply take his first of many points and show how non-Catholics or ex-Catholics attempt to prove their point by not sharing the full context of scripture and in this case, the full context of the catechism.
Personally, the authority of Mike Gendron means little to me compared to the authority of the 2,000 year history of the Catholic Church. However, that becomes a problem for many right from the start because as a former protestant convert to Catholicism, I believe in a visible Church that Christ established not an invisible one. I also don't believe in the confusion created by private interpretation. Unlike Mike, I was a protestant Christian for over 40 years, so I went the opposite way because I was seeking the truth not my own twisted view.
I kind of feel like the guy below when I see how some people don't share the full context of the Catholic position and try to use their own interpretation of scripture to prove a point that doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
When Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:15 "if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.," I believe that the Church Christ established is the pillar and foundation of truth and that the Bible is NOT self interpreting nor is it meant for individual private interpretation. There has to be an authority greater than the individual: THE CHURCH! THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!
Mike's Point 1 - Authority...
A Christian believes Scripture has authority over church. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). By setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience (2 Cor. 4:2).
A Catholic believes the Church has authority over Scriptures. The manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred commission, and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God (CCC, para. 119). ( FYI, Mike didn't not put the full text of CCC 119 or the full context here from CCC 101 to CCC 141. Hmmm... if you leave all that out, you will have a problem. )
Well, here we go.
I am a Catholic Christian and don't appreciate the compare and contrast of a Christian believes X and a Catholic believes Y. But from what I have discovered online about Mike Gendron. He doesn't put Catholics in the same category as his definition of Christians.
I think Christians are followers of Christ. The Christ who was born of a virgin, fully human and fully divine, is the Son of God, died on the cross for the sins of the world, rose on the 3rd day, sits at the right hand of the father and whose name is the only way to salvation.
Mike is also misrepresenting the position of the Catholic Church by the way he is presenting his argument. I have a long excerpt from the Catechism ( CCC 101 to CCC 141 ) further down this article. I could pull out some parts of the Catechism to show how what Mike is saying is a misrepresentation, but I will let you read it all in context for yourself in a moment.
2 Timothy 3:16 - "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"
That's a go to verse for a protestant defense about the Bible being our sole rule of faith.
Guess What? I agree with what the verse is saying, but I do not agree with what many protestants try to make it say. Furthermore, the Catholic Church teaches 2 Timothy 3:16 in its proper context.
The Bible does not say of itself that it is the sole rule of faith. There was not even a full list of the New Testament to tell what the books of the New Testament were until well after the death of all of the Apostle's. Although some say it was much sooner in the 200's or so, the books to finally be affirmed in the Christian Bible were not fully, officially agreed upon until around the year 400. FYI, Jesus nor the Apostle's left a list saying, "Here are the correct books of the New Testament." Furthermore, Jesus nor the Apostle's never said, "The Bible is your sole rule of faith. Read it, interpret if for yourself and you are all set."
ALL scripture was not even completed by the time Paul wrote 2 Timothy. So would the authority be only for ALL scripture written by the time Paul wrote this verse or when scripture was ALL finally completed or when what was considered ALL scripture agreed upon as the Christian Bible hundreds of years after the death of Christ? Paul did not begin his writings until 20 or so years after the death of Christ and the New Testament was not completely written until 60 or so years after the death of Christ.
If the Bible "Scripture has authority over church" as Mike wrote, what did people do when they didn't have ALL the scripture to go by? People were very illiterate during the early centuries of Christianity. People didn't have ready access to Bible's like we do today until after the year 1,450 when the printing press was invented. How did they know how to live for 1400+ years? Ah, Houston, we have a problem!
Could it be that there was/is an AUTHORITY in place from the time of Christ that started with the Apostle's who ordained men who continued to ordain men until today and those men will continue to ordain others until Christ returns? Could it be THE CHURCH - THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? YES! by George, that's the answer. There has to be an authority in place. Willy, Nilly, private interpretation doesn't work.
Think about it: Once Saved Always Saved or One can lose their salvation? Baptismal regeneration or Baptism is symbolic? Catholics are Christians according to scripture or Catholics are "not" Christians according to scripture? One who has a living former spouse is living in sin if remarried or remarriage with a former living spouse is not a sin? And the list goes on. Who's right? There is ONLY one correct answer. Scripture doesn't mean two different things.
Jesus didn't leave a book. Jesus didn't say go hand out Bibles. Jesus left authority with his Apostle's: The authority of the Church. Jesus said GO PREACH! The Apostle's taught, preached, some wrote the New Testament and the Apostle's passed down teaching through Apostolic succession. Yes, the Apostle's ordained other men of God like Timothy and Titus who followed Paul's instructions of appointing even more men of God.
1 Titus 1:5-7 "This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,"
What about 2 Timothy 2:1-2?
"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Paul is writing to Timothy that what you have HEARD from me ( Paul ) to entrust to faithful men who will be able to TEACH others not write.
What about John 20:30-31?
"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."
What about 2 Thessalonians 2:15?
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."
What about 1 Timothy 3:15?
"if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.,"
Here's some great information on Sola Scriptura by Ken Hensley:
https://www.kennethhensley.com/blog/why-im-catholic-sola-scriptura-isnt-historical-part-i
https://www.kennethhensley.com/blog/why-im-catholic-sola-scriptura-isnt-historical-part-ii
https://www.kennethhensley.com/blog/why-im-catholic-sola-scriptura-isnt-historical-part-iii
I'm not going to continue on. I'll provide CCC 101 to CCC 141 to put this in better context. You still may not agree, but one will be hard pressed to prove something by scripture that is really not in scripture to begin with. Twisting scripture to fit a belief is not how it works. However, people do that all the time through their own fallible, non-authoritative interpretation of scripture.
____________________________________________________________
Context is key to any understanding. Although I have copied information below leading up to and beyond Mike's 119 reference, there could be even further expounding on understanding the subject of Authority like "What's Your Authority?"
Here's the full text from the Catechism:
SACRED SCRIPTURE
I. CHRIST - THE UNIQUE WORD OF SACRED SCRIPTURE
101 In order to reveal himself to men, in the condescension of his goodness God speaks to them in human words: "Indeed the words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men."63
102 Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely:64
You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time.65
103 For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God's Word and Christ's Body.66
104 In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God".67 "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them."68
II. INSPIRATION AND TRUTH OF SACRED SCRIPTURE
105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."69
"For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself."70
106 God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more."71
107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."72
108 Still, the Christian faith is not a "religion of the book." Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, a word which is "not a written and mute word, but the Word is incarnate and living".73 If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, "open [our] minds to understand the Scriptures."74
III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE
109 In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.75
110 In order to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression."76
111 But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written."77
The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.78
112 1. Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.79
The phrase "heart of Christ" can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted.80
113 2. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"81).
114 3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith.82 By "analogy of faith" we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.
The senses of Scripture
115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.
116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."83
117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.84
2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".85
3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.86
118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.87
119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."88 But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.89
( Here's what Mike wrote about CCC 119 above: A Catholic believes the Church has authority over Scriptures. The manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred commission, and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God. )
IV. THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE
120 It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books.90 This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the Old Testament (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New.91
The Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi.
The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of St. Paul to the Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, the Letter to the Hebrews, the Letters of James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude, and Revelation (the Apocalypse).
The Old Testament
121 The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value,92 for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.
122 Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men."93 "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional,"94 the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way."95
123 Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism).
The New Testament
124 "The Word of God, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful way in the writings of the New Testament"96 which hand on the ultimate truth of God's Revelation. Their central object is Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son: his acts, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church's beginnings under the Spirit's guidance.97
125 The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures "because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior".98
126 We can distinguish three stages in the formation of the Gospels:
1. The life and teaching of Jesus. The Church holds firmly that the four Gospels, "whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while he lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day when he was taken up."99
2. The oral tradition. "For, after the ascension of the Lord, the apostles handed on to their hearers what he had said and done, but with that fuller understanding which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed."100
3. The written Gospels. "The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already in written form; others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the churches, the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a fashion that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus."101
127 The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times:
There is no doctrine which could be better, more precious and more splendid than the text of the Gospel. Behold and retain what our Lord and Master, Christ, has taught by his words and accomplished by his deeds.102 But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto.103
The unity of the Old and New Testaments
128 The Church, as early as apostolic times,104 and then constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments through typology, which discerns in God's works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son.
129 Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself.105 Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament.106 As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.107
130 Typology indicates the dynamic movement toward the fulfillment of the divine plan when "God [will] be everything to everyone."108 Nor do the calling of the patriarchs and the exodus from Egypt, for example, lose their own value in God's plan, from the mere fact that they were intermediate stages.
V. SACRED SCRIPTURE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
131 "And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life."109 Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful."110
132 "Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology. The ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture."111
133 The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful. . . to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.112
IN BRIEF
134 All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, "because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ" (Hugh of St. Victor, De arca Noe 2,8:PL 176,642: cf. ibid. 2,9:PL 176,642-643).
135 "The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God" (DV 24).
136 God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth (cf. DV 11).
137 Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully "understood except by the Spirit's action' (cf. Origen, Hom. in Ex. 4, 5: PG 12, 320).
138 The Church accepts and venerates as inspired the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New.
139 The four Gospels occupy a central place because Christ Jesus is their center.
140 The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his Revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God.
141 "The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord" (DV 21): both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps 119:105; cf. Is 50:4).
63 DV 13.
64 Cf. Heb 1:1-3.
65 St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 103,4,1:PL 37,1378; cf. Ps 104; Jn 1:1.
66 Cf. DV 21.
67 1 Thes 2:13; cf. DV 24.
68 DV 21.
69 DV 11.
70 DV 11; cf. Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 3:15-16.
71 DV 11.
72 DV 11.
73 St. Bernard, S. missus est hom. 4,11:PL 183,86.
74 Cf. Lk 24:45.
75 Cf. DV 12 § 1.
76 DV 12 § 2.
77 DV 12 § 3.
78 Cf. DV 12 § 4.
79 Cf. Lk 24:25-27,44-46.
80 St. Thomas Aquinas, Expos. in Ps. 21,11; cf. Ps 22:14.
81 Origen, Hom. in Lev. 5,5:PG 12,454D.
82 Cf. Rom 12:6.
83 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I, 1, 10, ad I.
84 Cf. 1 Cor 10:2.
85 1 Cor 10:11; cf. Heb 3:1-4:11.
86 Cf. Rev 21:1-22:5.
87 Lettera gesta docet, quid credas allegoria, moralis quid agas, quo tendas anagogia; Augustine of Dacia, Rotulus pugillaris, I: ed. A. Walz: Angelicum 6 (1929) 256.
88 DV 12 § 3.
89 St. Augustine, Contra epistolam Manichaei, 5,6:PL 42,176.
90 Cf. DV 8 § 3.
91 Cf. DS 179; 1334-1336; 1501-1504.
92 Cf. DV 14.
93 DV 15.
94 DV 15.
95 DV 15.
96 DV 17; cf. Rom 1:16.
97 Cf. DV 20.
98 DV 18.
99 DV 19; cf. Acts 1:1-2.
100 DV 19.
101 DV 19.
102 St. Caesaria the Younger to St. Richildis and St. Radegunde, SCh 345, 480.
103 St. Thérèse of Lisieux, ms. autob. A 83v.
104 Cf. 1 Cor 10:6,11; Heb 10:l; l Pet 3:21.
105 Cf. Mk 12:29-31
106 Cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8; 10:1-11.
107 Cf. St. Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2,73:PL 34,623; Cf. DV 16.
108 1 Cor 15:28.
109 DV 21.
110 DV 22.
111 DV 24.
112 DV 25; cf. Phil 3:8 and St. Jerome, Commentariorum in Isaiam libri xviii prol.:PL 24,17B.
