(CCC 328) 2) Every Christian has a guardian angel They are actively involved in our world and play a crucial role in human history. Here are 12 important things for all Christians to know about these mysterious beings from another realm: 1) Angels are absolutely realĪngels are not just a pious fiction or a superstition: they are absolutely, positively real – as a real as you and me and anything else. And they are up to all sorts of amazing things! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5.8Īre humans alone in the universe as intelligent beings? The Catholic Church has always believed and taught that the answer is no: the universe is in fact filled with many kinds of intelligent, other-worldly beings that we call angels. Our sin, our pain, our misery, the heartaches and failures that torment and taunt us are now subject to a new order, to a new, eternal, life in the Kingdom of God.“Be sober-minded be watchful.
Jesus challenged the mind and intellect of Nicodemus, then He got to the heart of the matter: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).īy the Holy Spirit of God, we pass from death to life, no longer bound by this world and its constraints. You must be born again, by the Spirit of God. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Only one way to enter into this other realm. We were all born “of the flesh" from our mothers’ wombs.īut there is another, spiritual, invisible world, inhabited by spiritual beings, where the Kingdom of God resides. There is only one way to enter into this world as well. “That which is born of flesh is flesh.” We all got here one way.
Yet, you can still be ignorant of the one essential, logical condition stipulated by Jesus for entering the Kingdom of God. You can be a religious person, versed in philosophy and knowledge-maybe even a leader in your church or temple. Jesus gently chided him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” With all his knowledge and intellectual prowess, he was still wondering, “How can these things be?” Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It left Nicodemus, the theologian, baffled as he asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” The phrase “born again” has been dragged through the media, maligned, made fun of, and often completely misunderstood. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He didn’t pursue philosophical discussions or polite conversation. The Bible says of Jesus, “He knew all men…for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). He was a good teacher, even capable of miracles. Nicodemus respected Jesus and had drawn certain conclusions about Him. “Rabbi,” Nicodemus addressed Him, “we know that You are a teacher come from God for no one can do the things You do unless God is with him.” Late one night a well-educated religious leader sought out Jesus of Nazareth, a controversial itinerant preacher. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."-John 3:3
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