We did not take in with only our minds,

But instead received it also in our hearts”

St. Nathaniel

August 24, 2022

“For what we had received from His mouth

We did not take in with only our minds,

But instead received it also in our hearts

Where it took root and became a part of our very souls.

For here was One who had not been shaped by the world,

But who, instead, had shaped the world,

And, therefore, He spoke with authority never before seen upon the earth.

For His authority transcended the earth,

And His words echoed throughout the spheres.

For, although He had consented to be confined to an earthly body,

In reality He could not be confined,

For just as surely as He was man,

He was just as surely God.

And, therefore, how could what was created

Impose limits on its Creator?

So we listened to all He said as creatures dying of thirst,

For we WERE creatures dying of thirst,

And He had the water that would quench our thirst.

The world as we knew it was a hostile place

Where our people were persecuted and trampled under foot,

But here was One who bowed not or bent His knee,

Before any man.

For, as He said,

Even the rocks and stones would testify of His presence

And could not be silenced.

What was contained in Him was truth.

Nay, a better way of saying it, is that He WAS Truth.

And what He entrusted to us was sacred and unalterable,

And was, in fact, saving truth,

And, therefore, we were more than willing to defend it with our lives.

Since truth by its very nature

Cannot be altered or augmented,

Then the Deposit of Faith which contains truth

Should serve to unify the faithful.

But you are in a time when what is false is declared true,

And what is true is attacked and trampled under foot.

Therefore, there is no unity among the faithful.

But, in thinking on this,

They can not really be called the faithful at all,

For what are they faithful to, if not the truth?

What we received from Christ,

And what we thought worth protecting with our lives,

Is now regarded as a flimsy curtain

Which can be changed, or even removed.

But they see not that what we received from Him is Truth,

Unalterable and solid,

Exactly as it was received.

And, therefore, how could one change it,

For then would it not cease to be Truth?

And if the bishops are truly called to be guardians of this sacred deposit given to us,

Then how has it come about that they defend it not,

But instead, sell off pieces of it

For 30 pieces of silver?

Woe to the bishops, and indeed to the whole Church,

For the Lord will not look kindly on those who have counted as naught

What we died to defend,

And indeed, they have in fact counted as naught the precious blood of Jesus.

The day soon comes that the Lord will call for an accounting

From those He has set as watchmen for His Church,

And if he finds silver pieces in their hands

Instead of the sacred Deposit of Faith,

He will strike them down.

For the Lord will not be mocked.

What He gave to us,

And what took root in our hearts,

Is sacred and precious

And contains the sure path to heaven.

Why, then, has it been treated as having no value?

Do men count their salvation so lightly?

Bishops, bring forth fruits of repentance,

And those who are called the faithful,

Also, must come carrying fruits of repentance and contrition.

For the Church is under siege,

And the Deposit of Faith is without question worth dying to defend,

For what has come forth from Him,

The One who shaped the world with His own hands,

Is that which will hold the world together,

And take men to heaven,

If they will but offer their lives

For that which is more precious than gold.

For it has been made precious

Because of the One who brought it forth,

And it took root in our hearts and there it flourished.

And we went forth that the world might behold

What we had received from Christ,

And allow it to take root in their own hearts

Until it covered the earth in the hearts of man.“