![[img-0004-littlegirl.jpg]] # "If You Love Me, You'll Keep My Commandments" I love a good meme. I also have an [[img-20250716-004.jpeg|irreverent]] sense of humor, but sometimes - despite my best efforts - the fire of Elijah catches me in the whirlwind. This was one of those times, especially since the Eucharist and the Mass are mentioned. ## A devout Christian posted this on their Facebook: ![[img-pond-misleading-meme.png]] Maybe posts like this are meant to encourage people to trust in Jesus. If so, I share that desire. What struck me here, though, is the examples chosen: Mass, Eucharist, Baptism, even caring for the poor - Catholics don't believe in this as *opposed* to Christ, but as gifts and commands He gave us. I’ve learned through years of helping with RCIA (now OCIA) that I can’t convert anyone. The Holy Spirit does the work; the person still has to say yes. I’m only a messenger, and my task is to share the fullness of the truth, not just my opinions. That’s why I’m cautious about “gotcha” memes. They can oversimplify and leave people confused or feeling guilty, as though they’re doing something wrong when they’re actually following what Jesus taught. If I believe Jesus is Lord, then when He speaks, I obey-even when I don’t fully grasp the why or the how. He gave us reason to [[1.1.3.1.px#^1131px158|seek understanding]], but first comes trust. Jesus is the Word; He is Truth. Since the meme ends up giving a mistaken picture of Catholic faith., here’s what Jesus Himself says about the practices it dismisses: > [!Quote] Good Works > **[[matthew-25|Mt 25]]:31–46** - Judgment of nations: feeding, clothing, visiting = inheritance of the kingdom.   > [!Quote] Baptism > **[[john-03|Jn 3]]:3, 5** - “Unless one is born anew / of water and the Spirit, he cannot see / enter the kingdom of God.”   > [!Quote] Church Attendance > **[[luke-22|Lk 22]]:19** - “Do this in memory of me.”   > [!Quote] Charity > **[[matthew-19|Mt 19]]:21** - “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”   > [!Quote] Feeding the Poor > **[[matthew-25|Mt 25]]:40** - “‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”   > [!Quote] The Rosary > **[[matthew-07|Mt 7]]:7–11** - “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Also: the whole Gospel. [[img-20250716-006.jpeg|Also.]] > [!Quote] The Eucharist (Communion) > **[[john-06|Jn 6]]:53** - “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”   > [!Quote] Honoring your Parents > **[[matthew-19|Mt 19]]:17** - “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (See also [[exodus-20#^3e4678|The Commandments]])   > [!Quote] The Mission of the Clergy > **[[john-13|Jn 13]]:20** - To the apostles: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”  Also: - Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18; Jn 20:21–23 Actually, the Politics bullet point is just nonsense, nobody believes Politics will save anyone, right? 🤦🏻‍♀️ > [!Quote] > **[[luke-06|Lk 6]]:20–49** - Sermon on the Mount, Love your Enemies, Judging Others, Fruits of Believers, the Foundation. Slogans, parties, labels don’t measure discipleship nor do they bring people to Christ. Fruits do: feeding the hungry, forgiving enemies, keeping His commandments. The world doesn’t need more division. It needs more people living, loving, and serving like Him. That begins by knowing Him. And for that, we don’t need more memes. We need the Gospel. *“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”* (Jn 13:35). --- ## The Catechist Footnote In case anyone is wondering, this is the official teaching of the Catholic Church: ### **Faith As the Beginning, Not the Whole** - **CCC [[1.1.3.1.px|161]]**: “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation… But ‘faith apart from works is dead’ ([[james-02|Jas 2]]:26).” - **CCC [[3.1.1.7.p66|1815]]**: “The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it. But ‘faith apart from works is dead’ (Jas 2:26): when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ…” ### **Justification And Cooperation with Grace** - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p6y|1993]]**: “Justification… is conferred in Baptism… Justification establishes cooperation between God’s grace and man’s freedom.” - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p6z|2001]]**: “The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace. This latter is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification…” - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p6z|2002]]**: God’s free initiative demands man’s free response. “God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace.” ### **Merit And Good Works in Christ** - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p70|2006]]**: “The term ‘merit’ refers… to the recompense owed… for a good deed. With regard to God, there is no strict right… but God freely chooses to associate man with the work of his grace.” - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p70|2008]]**: “The merit of man before God… is due to God’s gratuitous justice. God gives the light and the strength… so that the merit of good works is to be attributed first to the grace of God, then to the faithful.” - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p70|2010]]**: “Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness… Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit… graces needed… for the attainment of eternal life.” ### **The Necessity of Charity (Love)** - **CCC [[3.1.1.7.p66|1821]]**: “We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will.” - **CCC [[3.1.1.7.p66|1829]]**: “Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it ‘governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification.’” ### **Perseverance In Faith and Works** - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p71|2016]]**: “The children of our holy mother the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with his grace in communion with Jesus.” - **CCC [[3.1.3.2.p72|2027]]**: “No one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification…” ### **Explicit Rejection of “Faith Alone”** - **CCC [[1.1.3.1.px|162]]**: “Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man… but ‘faith apart from works is dead’ ([[james-02|Jas 2]]:26).” - **CCC [[3.1.1.7.p66|1815]]** (already cited above) repeats this insistence. --- > In sum: the Catechism affirms that salvation begins in grace and faith, but must be _lived out_ through charity, obedience, and good works since “faith without works is dead.” # Angelus, Sunday August 24, 2025 [Pope at Angelus: Authentic faith is words and actions](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-08/pope-at-angelus-authentic-faith-is-words-and-actions.html) Before reciting the Angelus, Pope Leo reflects on the Gospel reading and how we are all called to pass through the “[narrow door](https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading)”, living lives of authentic faith of words and deeds. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7udQiim_KRg?si=-QcqJLtrA_U9V9ID&amp;start=223" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> # Also See Also See: [[20250828-quote-by-pope-leo|Jesus Alone Comes to Save Us]] ![[img-20250825-popeleo.jpeg]]