DO NOT COMPROMISE
Memorial of St. Athanasius
Mt 10:22-25
The nature of Jesus is absolutely crucial to us. Of course, for a great majority of us, Jesus is both God and man. But there are some who think otherwise. Others consider Jesus to be only divine and not human while still others believe that He is only human but endowed with divine nature at some point in time. To deny that Jesus is divine from all eternity is to fall into the heresy of a priest named, Arius. His heresy is labeled as “Arianism”. There are still many who are misled by this erroneous teaching. In the Philippines, the religious sect “Iglesia ni Kristo” is a local version of this heresy.
Arianism thrived in the fourth century. The Council of Nicea was convoked by the Emperor Constantine to settle the issue. Athanasius was the unyielding defender of the eternal divinity of Jesus.
Born in 295, Athanasius was bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. He suffered much for not compromising essentials of the Faith. He spent seventeen years in exile. After his tireless defense of the Faith, most especially through his apologetic writings, Athanasius passed away in 373. We celebrate his blessed memory today.
In an age when it is quite easy for many to compromise certain elements of the Faith, if not the whole Faith, we need to pray and emulate Athanasius. He endured persecution rather than deny essentials of the Faith.
Faith is not accommodation; it is oblation. Faith is not compromising; it is persevering. It is not accommodation of new ideas at the expense of apostolic tradition. It is oblation of the total person, which is more than mere intellectual assent to reveal truths. It is not compromising at the guise of diplomacy. It is persevering in the teachings of the Church. While freedom does have an important role in believing, faith is unlike choosing from a smorgasbord of enticing religious propositions. Let us not compromise essentials of the Faith.
Mt 10:22-25
The nature of Jesus is absolutely crucial to us. Of course, for a great majority of us, Jesus is both God and man. But there are some who think otherwise. Others consider Jesus to be only divine and not human while still others believe that He is only human but endowed with divine nature at some point in time. To deny that Jesus is divine from all eternity is to fall into the heresy of a priest named, Arius. His heresy is labeled as “Arianism”. There are still many who are misled by this erroneous teaching. In the Philippines, the religious sect “Iglesia ni Kristo” is a local version of this heresy.
Arianism thrived in the fourth century. The Council of Nicea was convoked by the Emperor Constantine to settle the issue. Athanasius was the unyielding defender of the eternal divinity of Jesus.
Born in 295, Athanasius was bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. He suffered much for not compromising essentials of the Faith. He spent seventeen years in exile. After his tireless defense of the Faith, most especially through his apologetic writings, Athanasius passed away in 373. We celebrate his blessed memory today.
In an age when it is quite easy for many to compromise certain elements of the Faith, if not the whole Faith, we need to pray and emulate Athanasius. He endured persecution rather than deny essentials of the Faith.
Faith is not accommodation; it is oblation. Faith is not compromising; it is persevering. It is not accommodation of new ideas at the expense of apostolic tradition. It is oblation of the total person, which is more than mere intellectual assent to reveal truths. It is not compromising at the guise of diplomacy. It is persevering in the teachings of the Church. While freedom does have an important role in believing, faith is unlike choosing from a smorgasbord of enticing religious propositions. Let us not compromise essentials of the Faith.
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 3:00 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
While it is indeed difficult to accept that a person can be both man and God at the same time, true faith makes one convinced beyond any conceivable doubt that this happened in the case of Jesus. A probable reason for the massive disbelief or "heresy," as you call it, is because Faith is also a grace. It is something God gives to those He chose to receive it.
I got here while googling CS Lewis. 'Great weblog, Father. It is nice meeting you here...again. :)
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