Kamugisha Devis

86th GRC MAKERERE UNIVERSITY,
Intellectual property enthusiastic

[Catholic Answers @catholiccom]

Just a few paragraphs earlier, in section 30, St. Clement says, “Let us clothe ourselves with concord and humility, ever exercising self-control, standing far off from all whispering and evil speaking, being justified by our works and not our words.”

So did Clement just blatantly contradict himself? Did he deny sola fide in one paragraph only to turn around and affirm it two sections later?

No, because early Christians describe justification in very different ways than later Protestants do. Early Christians don’t think of justification as a one-time event. Justification is about being alive in Christ. And so we can distinguish between initial justification and remaining justified.

If this sounds overly technical, consider the analogy of bodily life:

How are you made alive? Not through anything you did; it was just a gift of God. Your birth was not something you had any control over. Your conception was just a gratuitous gift. There was nothing you could have possibly done to earn it.

But once you receive that gift, it's not like you simply do nothing and remain alive. You have to do things like eat, drink water, sleep, and the like to constantly maintain being alive. You can’t just say, “I can’t do any works, this was a gift.” That would be insane.

Again, if someone gives you a car, you don’t say, “I can’t put gas in it. That would be reducing the gratuity of the gift.” No, it’s an unmerited gift and you still need to maintain it.

And so, justification—being alive in Christ—is a gratuitous gift from God. There is nothing we can possibly do to earn that. In fact, Christ says we must be born again, and as we just saw, our birth is not something we earned!

But once we are made righteous before God—once that initial justification has happened—then you cooperate with it and you have to do works to remain justified.

So this is why St. Clement can say, in 1 Clement 32, that justification is apart from works, but also say in 1 Clement 30 that it is by works. God does the initial justification without you, but that process of maintaining justification is something God will not do without you. You did nothing to merit being born again in Christ, but you must do works to maintain that new life.

None of this matches the Protestant doctrine of sola fide. St. Clement of Rome was Catholic, through and through.

[Saint Adaugoijele ✝️ @JustAdaugoijele]

Have you ever heard or seen the "CROSS OF FORGIVENESS "❓

Inside the monastery of Santa Ana and San José in Cordoba, there is an ancient cross known as the Cross of Forgiveness.
This unique crucifix depicts Jesus with His right hand hanging down towards the ground, a distinct and significant feature that has a remarkable story behind it.

One day, a sinner approached the priest under this cross to confess his grave sins. The priest, known for his strictness, imposed a severe penance. The man repented but soon fell into sin again and returned for another confession. This time, the priest warned him that it would be the last time he forgave him.Months later, the sinner succumbed to the same temptations and came back for confession. Kneeling beneath the cross, he begged for forgiveness once more. The priest, frustrated, refused absolution and sternly rebuked the man, telling him not to play with God’s mercy.
At that moment, a noise was heard, and the right hand of Jesus on the cross suddenly dropped down. A voice resonated, saying,
“I am the one who shed blood on this person, not you.”
This miraculous event left everyone in awe and since then, the right hand of Jesus remains in this position as a powerful reminder of the infinite mercy of our divine Savior.

The Cross of Forgiveness stands as a testament to the boundless compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ. It serves as a profound symbol that no matter how many times one falls, God’s forgiveness is always available to those who are truly repent.
This story from the monastery of Santa Ana and San José continues to inspire and remind the faithful of the depth of God’s love and forgiveness.

[𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐒.🧸🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @chelsznn]

To get any book you want on the internet, type the name of the book followed by doctype:pdf

E.g The Alchemist doctype:pdf

[Kamugisha Devis @MweneSilver]

@Emma506131772 @marvin_lule68 True. Same as Veronica

[Kamugisha Devis @MweneSilver]

@Emma506131772 @marvin_lule68 Some traditions say he was completely naked, that cloth is shown to sanitize

[Jim Gorman🇻🇦 @RomaEvangelist]

So I guess you don’t pray to the Holy Spirit either, because you won’t find a single person in Scripture offering a direct prayer to Him. That argument fails because the Bible is not a record of every acceptable Christian practice. And your historical claim is backwards the Church existed before the New Testament was compiled. Paul was writing letters to already established churches, not creating Christianity through a Bible. The Church gave us the Bible, not the other way around.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

The architect this drone show honors died because Barcelona mistook him for a beggar.

June 7, 1926. Antoni Gaudí was walking to evening confession when a tram struck him on the Gran Via. He carried no papers and his clothes were so worn that bystanders assumed he was homeless. Cab drivers refused to take him to a hospital. He spent a day in a pauper's ward before the Sagrada Família's chaplain recognized him. By then the injuries were untreatable. He died on June 10, 1926, with roughly 10% of his masterpiece standing.

On June 10, 2026, the Pope blessed the completed Tower of Jesus Christ. 100 years to the day after Gaudí's death. 120,000 people filled the streets.

The numbers behind the 144-year build are stranger than the timeline. The tower tops out at 172.5 meters, making the Sagrada Família the tallest church on Earth. Gaudí could have gone higher. He capped the design just below Montjuïc hill, which rises 177.7 meters, because he believed nothing made by man should stand taller than what God made.

The funding model is the part most people never hear. No government money. No diocese budget. The basilica has been financed for over a century by donations and entrance tickets, which means millions of tourists a year pay to finish the building they came to see unfinished. The construction site funds itself.

When critics asked Gaudí why the project moved so slowly, he had a standard answer: "My client is not in a hurry."

The client waited 144 years. Barcelona delivered.

[Father V @father_rmv]

St. Barnabas was one of the most influential figures in the earliest days of Christianity, a man whose generosity, encouragement, and missionary zeal helped shape the young church as it spread beyond Jerusalem. Originally named Joseph, he came from the island of Cyprus and belonged to the tribe of Levi. The apostles in Jerusalem gave him the nickname Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” or “son of consolation,” a title he earned through his warm and uplifting character.

Barnabas first appears prominently in the Acts of the Apostles when he sold a field he owned and laid the full proceeds at the feet of the apostles to support the growing community of believers. This act of radical generosity set him apart and earned the trust of the church leaders. When Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul, converted dramatically on the road to Damascus, the Jerusalem Christians were understandably wary of the former persecutor. It was Barnabas who took the risk of vouching for Paul, bringing him to the apostles and helping integrate the fiery new convert into the fellowship.

His pastoral gifts soon led to greater responsibilities. When the gospel began reaching Gentiles in Antioch, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to investigate. Instead of suspicion, he rejoiced at the grace being shown to non-Jews and encouraged the new believers to remain true to the Lord. Recognizing the need for strong teaching, he traveled to Tarsus to find Paul and brought him back to Antioch, where the two men worked together for a year. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

Barnabas and Paul were then set apart by the Holy Spirit for the church’s first great missionary journey. They traveled through Cyprus and southern Asia Minor, preaching in synagogues and to pagan crowds, enduring persecution, and planting churches. Their partnership, however, eventually strained over the question of whether to take John Mark, Barnabas’s cousin, on a second journey after Mark had earlier deserted them. The disagreement led the two apostles to part ways, with Barnabas sailing to Cyprus with Mark while Paul continued with Silas. Tradition holds that Barnabas continued his missionary work on his native island and was eventually martyred there around the year 61.

Though he wrote no surviving letters and is not numbered among the Twelve, St. Barnabas remains a model of bridge-building, courage, and selfless service. He opened doors for others, especially for Paul, whose towering influence might have been slower to develop without Barnabas’s early support. In an age when the church was navigating explosive growth and cultural tensions, Barnabas showed that encouragement and generosity are powerful forces in advancing the gospel. His life reminds believers that sometimes the most lasting legacy lies not in personal fame but in lifting up those who will accomplish even greater things.

[Patrick Madrid ✌🏼 @patrickmadrid]

Sola Scriptura, “Scripture alone,” is the formal principle of the Protestant Reformation. Protestants claim to go by the Bible alone. So why do they disagree about so many things?

Lutherans teach from the Bible that baptism regenerates and justifies. Baptists claim the Bible teaches the opposite. Presbyterians and other Reformed Protestants say the Bible teaches infant baptism. Baptists say it teaches baptism for believers only.

Some Protestants say the Bible teaches that believers can lose their salvation. Others claim it teaches “once saved, always saved.” Some say the Bible teaches a pretribulation rapture. Others reject that entirely based on their own reading of the same Bible. Calvinists say Christ died only for the elect. Most other Protestants say He died for all.

Beyond these, sincere Bible-reading Protestants have reached contradictory conclusions on the Lord’s Supper, church government, women in ministry, the millennium, Sabbath observance, and predestination.

A Protestant might argue that these are merely secondary doctrinal disagreements. But where does the Bible itself classify doctrines as “primary” or “secondary”?

Lutherans regard baptism as a primary doctrine. Calvinists regard limited atonement as a primary doctrine. And how can the question of whether baptism regenerates be called secondary when the Bible places such extraordinary emphasis on it?

Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). He declares that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). He commands His Apostles to baptize all nations as the means of making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Peter tells the crowd at Pentecost to “be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). Peter writes that “baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21).

If God intended the Bible to serve as the sole, sufficient rule of faith, why can’t Spirit-filled, Bible-reading Protestants agree on whether the sacrament Christ Himself commanded produces the regeneration He said was necessary for entering the kingdom of God?

Why are there so many Protestant denominations that claim to go by the Bible alone yet teach so many contradictory interpretations of it?

[kentuckyliz @kentuckyliz3]

@Xtopher_Uzo Chi Rho (PX) Greek letters for Christ. Alpha Omega—the beginning and end. Also Greek letters.

[Today in History @TodayinHistory]

The choir in the Sagrada Família is putting on the performance of a lifetime.

The vocals perfectly complement the stunning visuals of Gaudí’s cathedral!

[Patrick Madrid ✌🏼 @patrickmadrid]

If sincere, Bible-believing Protestants who pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance all believe that the Holy Spirit has led them to correct doctrinal conclusions, why do they reach contradictory conclusions on foundational questions such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, predestination, and the nature of salvation itself?
Since they all appeal to Scripture alone in support of their conflicting interpretations, how can anyone determine which interpretation is correct? Is the Holy Spirit teaching contradictory doctrines to different believers? If not, by what authority can these contradictions be definitively resolved?

[Patrick Madrid ✌🏼 @patrickmadrid]

You and a fellow Protestant both read the same Bible, both pray sincerely for the Holy Spirit's guidance, and yet come to opposite conclusions about a doctrine that cannot be true both ways, such as baptismal regeneration. Which of you is mistaken? How would either of you know? And if both of you appeal to Scripture alone to defend your conflicting interpretations, what authority outside your own private judgment can definitively resolve the dispute?

[Father V @father_rmv]

In strictly theological terms, Catholics do not consider Mormons (Latter-day Saints) as Christians for these reasons:

Rejection of the Trinity: Catholicism affirms one God in three co-equal, co-eternal Persons (Nicene Creed). Mormonism teaches three separate gods (God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Ghost) united in purpose, not in substance (tritheism).

Different understanding of God: Catholics hold God as an eternal, immaterial Spirit who has always been God. Mormonism teaches God the Father has a physical body, was once a mortal man who progressed to godhood, and that humans can become gods.

Additional scriptures and revelation: Catholicism holds that public revelation ended with the apostles; Scripture and Sacred Tradition are sufficient. Mormonism adds the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price as equal or superior scripture, plus ongoing prophetic revelation.

Fundamentally different Christology: Catholic teaching is that Jesus is the eternal, uncreated second Person of the Trinity. Mormonism views Jesus as the literal spirit-brother of all humans, a created being who became divine (similar to other gods in their cosmology).

Apostolic succession and authority: The Catholic Church traces its priesthood directly to the apostles through unbroken succession. Mormonism claims the original Church fell into total apostasy, requiring Joseph Smith’s restoration with new authority.

These are only a few of the differences which places Mormonism outside historic, orthodox Christianity as defined by the early Church councils. Bottom line: LDS theology is a radical departure from the fundamental tenets of what one holds as a Christian.

[MidnightMarauder 🇻🇦✝️ @MDnightMarawder]

Respectfully, Pastor Brennan, your post is a mixture of fair description and misleading framing. Yes, Catholicism claims that the fullness of the Church Christ founded subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him. Vatican II didn’t erase that claim; it reaffirmed it. But Catholicism doesn’t teach that Protestants have no Christianity, no Scripture, no baptism, no grace, no love of Christ, or no possibility of salvation.

The Catholic claim is more precise: Protestant communities possess many real Christian goods, but lack full visible communion, apostolic succession, valid sacramental priesthood, and therefore the Eucharist in its Catholic fullness. That is why Rome calls them “ecclesial communities” rather than “Churches” in the proper Catholic sense. But Rome also says baptized Protestants are truly incorporated into Christ, rightly called Christians, and accepted as brothers in the Lord.

So “separated brethren” isn’t a dishonest softening. It’s exactly the Catholic position: real brethren, truly Christian, truly possessing elements of sanctification and truth, but separated from the fullness of Catholic unity. Vatican II explicitly says Scripture, grace, faith, hope, charity, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and visible Christian elements exist outside Catholic visible boundaries, and that the Spirit of Christ uses separated communities as means of salvation.

As for Trent, yes, Trent still matters. Catholics don’t pretend its dogmatic definitions vanished. But anathemas against doctrinal propositions aren’t the same as saying every Protestant born centuries later is personally damned. Catholicism distinguishes objective separation and doctrinal error from subjective culpability. The Catechism explicitly says those born and raised in separated communities aren’t personally charged with the sin of the original separation.

And on “outside the Church there is no salvation,” Catholicism doesn’t mean “every Protestant automatically goes to hell.” It means all salvation comes from Christ through His Church. Those who knowingly recognize correctly that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ and necessary for salvation, yet refuse to enter or remain in her, place themselves in grave danger. That’s very different from saying every non-Catholic Christian is damned.

Finally, Catholics don’t need to defend the execution of heretics. Those acts should be condemned. But early-modern coercive politics do not refute apostolic succession, the papacy, the sacraments, or Catholic ecclesiology. They prove that Christians in power often sinned gravely. They don’t prove sola scriptura.

[Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch @FrUgochukwu]

ANIMA CHRISTI

Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Separated from Thee let me never be. From the malignant enemy, defend me. At the hour of death, call me. And close to Thee bid me. That with Thy saints I may be Praising Thee, forever and ever. Amen.

[Diana Henry @dianahenry]

“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love.

In return, I receive from the greater part [of humanity] only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love.”

Saint Mary Margaret Alacoque, pray for us

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Connecting young people to digital networks serves no purpose if they remain disconnected from themselves, others, and their own interiority. We must help young people rediscover silence, reflection, the ability to ask questions, the depth of relationships, and openness to transcendence. To listen to the soul, we must lend an ear, because the soul's voice is not a shout, but a whisper.

[Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch @FrUgochukwu]

MONTHLY DEDICATIONS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Dear Catholics, do you know that each month in the liturgical year is associated with particular devotions, saints, or aspects of the mystery of our faith?

1. January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus.
2. February is dedicated to the Holy Family.
3. March is dedicated to St. Joseph.
4. April is dedicated to the Holy Eucharist.
5. May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
6. June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
7. July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.
8. August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
9. September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
10. October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary.
11. November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
12. December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. #MagnificaHumanitas