March 30, 2016 - Easter Wednesday

                R. Fortitude gives us courage, prudence helps
                us in having right reasoning – we are not
                frozen in fear, nor do we go ahead like a bull
                in a dish shop, we are not timid in fear
                or reckless in actions.

                    A saint who is martyred has courage to
                be put even to death in the face of danger
                rather than give up their faith in God –
                Courage or fortitude is at work and prudence
                to be able to even die for their faith.

                    We see a person who gives into fear when
                God is calling them to a job to do for them.

                    What drives the person is their fear – they give
                into fear and oppose the will of God – giving
                into fear is being a coward, when God is
                calling them to action - A coward runs away,
                holds out, endures their own will that gives them
                some immediate pleasure to not endure what God
                has asked of them.

                    The man who quickly does a job, without
                concern for its effects just to get it off their
                plate and say "I handled it" – "It was
                handled" and then the mess begins because
                they did what was fool-hearty to just get
                something done – They acted aggressively without
                right reason, without concern for serving God
                with the courage to endure its difficulty in the
                time and manner necessary for the right actions
                to be performed. This aggressiveness to move
                the job out of his way, without right reason
                leads to actions that make a big mess and
                opposes the proper attention where God
                had a plan and the man acting this way
                opposed the plan and made a mess.

                    He lacks fortitude to have the courage
                to do it right and prudence to use
                right reasoning according to God's will.
                Cowardice can lead a man to not do what
                right reasoning tells him to do –

                The other man moves ahead and performs
                his actions without right reasoning to
                get the problem off his plate and he says
                "I did something" – yes he made a big
                problem for everybody, doing things,
                opposing God's will with his hastiness
                to act without right reasoning.

                Whether a coward or a man doing things –
                to be moving ahead without doing God's
                will – Both lack fortitude
                and prudence –

                Either can be sinful when God calls a man to
                have responsibility to do something and they
                hurt everybody else by holding out and
                being a coward or doing actions they thought
                up quickly, just to be in control and
                using 'willy-nilly' power – A man who
                rushes in without consequences – not doing
                God's will, not even measuring his actions
                that hurt the program and work against
                God's plan – These actions like this can
                be because a man is prideful or
                acts without care or love or regard for
                others. The man can do the actions for his
                vain - glory –

                    God has a plan – We can operate in
                courage and prudence. A man can be tempted
                by satan to stir up things to provoke others –
                he acts without courage and prudence –
                Satan tempts a man to do this because of
                anger and they may not be acting where
                God is calling them and then acting in
                anger to hurt others because they were
                tempted in pride, jealousy, envy to do
                actions for attention, drama, vain glory,
                to block God's plan – when they could have
                acted in courage and fortitude and love
                doing what God asked of them, but they
                are prideful or angry or envious and
                they allowed this to control their actions.

                A person who cares about their greatness
                first and they are not even thinking of
                others or God's plan – only looking at –
                "how good am I", "what should I
                do to perform actions to make me
                look good", "What actions should I do
                to manipulate things to move in my direction
                for those I want to force in"

                These can be sins against fortitude to hold
                out and not do what God asks for, but
                to try to control events to force their
                plan – holding out – punishing – trying
                to force an outcome against God's plan –
                against the proper order, structure –
                under God –

                The actions are not governed by prudence
                according to God's plan, but governed
                instead by his anger, by his greediness,
                by his desire to usurp power for his plan
                and no regard for others that he has
                been called to serve – "it's all about him"
                Being a coward – not doing God's plan –
                Holding out to force his plan – against
                what is God's will –

                Trying to show all – he has the power
                operating against the structure God
                has put in place – operating for his
                control, his vain glory – he can
                hold out to watch others struggle
                when he has a responsibility and a title
                to do a deed and support the program God
                wants – These are sinful,
                acting contrary to God's plan and opposing
                the responsibility they have.

                    Man must have courage to do what
                God asks of him when it is difficult –
                a man must pray for strength to have
                patience and to endure.

                    A man can act in courage in his
                position as God calls him to handle
                difficult tasks to help God's plan
                to unfold – or a man can hold out
                in fear, be a coward and further act in
                pride and anger to manipulate events
                to failure – against God's plan –
                this is sinful when a person has a title,
                a responsibility to do something with
                prudence and fortitude and then
                acts against God's plan and refuses
                correction or accountability for their
                evil actions, cowardly actions or
                punishing, manipulative actions
                and takes no correction – holding out
                becoming unavailable and demanding
                such behavior be accepted –

                Are their actions under God –
                Helping God's plan –
                Living by their title –
                or are their actions for their plan
                for vain glory
                being a coward not doing what they
                    are responsible for –

                A man can try to show others he is
                    great and can try to do things
                    for his vain glory – when it needed
                    the work and cooperation of many men –
                    working as one to bring about what
                    was needed –
 

Priestly Newsletter Book II - September/October 1997

                R. Presumption a man acts against God's plan,
                    without responsibility and without
                    right reasoning –

                A man can act for his own ambition –
                    his own honor, his own plan
                    and manipulate things in cowardly
                    ways by holding out, not acting as
                    he makes up reasons why he doesn't
                    do what he is supposed to do, but
                    acts aggressively creating problems he
                    shows he needed to handle.

                It is acting against God's will and it
                    is wrong when a man has a responsibility
                    to be a team and do simple requirements
                    to just keep moving to be moving and
                    acting in a manner he created to
                    block the work he should have
                    done to serve God. It is twisted
                    thinking and is evil when
                    one has a responsibility to be a servant
                    under authority and under God.

                Disobedience to just authority is wrong –

                Hypocrisy is wrong –

                Ignoring what a leader is to do and
                    acting pious while he cowardly
                    displays before others how he
                    disobeys.

                Because of baptism – the baptized
                    man can perform supernatural
                    acts of loving and knowing.

                The baptized man has been given these
                    capabilities to develop to know
                    God's plan – through the eyes of
                    God and to serve God as He
                    wants him to serve –

                Why would a man settle for pride
                    and anger, vain glory, twisted
                    thinking – giving into satan –
                    when God has called Him to
                    such an honor to work for Him
                    in the building of the Kingdom of God –
                    of helping souls to have eternal life – 

                    Why would a man hold onto jealousy,
                    envy – seeking power for power sake,
                    selfishness and say "no" to his
                    calling – his office – his gift
                    of authority to serve others –
                    given by God –

                We can see a person who helps in God's
                    plan – contributing to great things
                    in the building of God's Kingdom –

                We see the vice opposed to this where
                    a person is 'mean' opposing God's
                    work and using his position
                    to tear down the house –
                    It is evil – it is from satan –
                    it is rooted in manipulation,
                    twisted thinking, pride, anger
                    and giving into temptation from
                    satan –

                We can be patient and wait on the
                    Lord – We see Jesus who endured
                    such suffering for us –

                A man who knows God – endures the
                    difficult – knows suffering is
                    redemptive –

                A weak-willed man does not want
                    suffering – he gives into evil
                    and vices of pride and anger
                    and envy and slothfulness,
                    jealousy – greediness etc. –

                A man can become so attuned and
                    enslaved to vices his will is
                    not disciplined against evil, but
                    his will becomes diseased.

                We pray for the strength of a strong
                    will to live virtuously and to
                    be able to not give into
                    evil and vices.

                Perseverance in suffering is because
                    of the strong will and the grace
                    God gives a man – how he
                    cooperates with it –
                    being more and more in the image of Jesus –
                    following Jesus.

                What we need to see is all our actions in right
                    reasoning to be for our eternal happiness.

                We need God's grace –

                We need the virtue of fortitude –
                    the gifts of the Holy Spirit –

                We need the virtue of prudence and
                    justice and temperance.

                We seek the vision of God –
                    not a selfish vision –

                We pray to the Holy Spirit for this grace and
                    for His gifts –

                We need strength and virtue –

                We need to pray for the vision of God
                    and want it –

                We need to love and pray for grace –

                We need to love good and pray
                    to not give into satan
                    in evil –

                Death / Resurrection