Monthly Archives: January 2026

Holiness

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By Cynthia Aralu

Hello everyone! Remember to pray the Rosary!

The meaning of holiness has been blurred by some Christians such that you may hear phrases such as holy Muslim, holy Jew or holy non-Christian. Could it be a lack of vocabulary or perhaps the snare of the tongue or a trap they have fallen into? Whatever the case may be, when such language is presented without careful reflection, they risk confusing or misleading Catholics and Christian denominations about what holiness truly means.

Those who know and live the truth of the Bible understand that our righteous acts are like “filthy rags” to God. Our good actions resemble a child’s crude drawing, treasured not because of its artistic merit, but because the parent loves the child. The drawing has value only because the parent gives it value, simply because it is the work of their beloved child. In a similar way, the righteousness Christians possess is not a holiness that arises from their own “good” efforts. It is a holiness given to they who in and through Jesus have been adopted as heirs of God with Him. We who are a Holy Nation, believe we are saved by grace through faith; it is entirely God’s gift through Jesus, so that no one may boast in themselves or in their works. The righteous or holy actions of Christians do have merit, but only because Jesus Himself gives them merit. In Jesus, Christians have the justification of a clean conscience before God. Moreover, if The Law being perfect in Itself, could not save imperfect men, because of man’s carnality and sinfulness, how far away are those who neither have nor follow The Law? Although, none is too far gone for God’s grace.

One might say, what about the gentile Cornelius and his household? However, he was described as a devout man who feared God and who gave alms liberally and prayed constantly to God, and the bible explains that to fear God is to keep His Commandments, and the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and to know God is to have understanding. “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man“, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…“. Cornelius was a man predisposed by God’s grace to accept Jesus the moment He heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to convert because He had wisdom and understanding, because he truly loved God, not an audio love but an actionable love; and God does not discriminate.

That said, it is difficult to understand how anyone can read a passage like Romans 11 and still insist that it is impossible to fall from grace through disobedience or grave sin, or to be cut off from God, even after having been claimed by Him. The text itself makes the distinction: God’s gifts and call are irrevocable, meaning “once claimed, you are always claimed”, but this is not the same as “once saved, always saved”, since St. Paul himself warns plainly, “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.”

There is hope if you repent, and God can graft you back in for sure, as St. Paul continues in the passage with hope: “And even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”

Why, then, do some insist they remain saved regardless of their actions? Is it ignorance of Scripture, or a difference in language they use or a fear of acknowledging the seriousness of their unrepentant sins, because acknowledging that truth might force them into despair or a crisis of faith?

If they do not believe for the sake of St. Paul, they should believe The Words of Jesus, “Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”.

Jesus is the True Vine, we are the branches and His Father is The Vine Dresser. It is the branch which Jesus claimed for Himself that His Father cuts off because it does not bear fruit. In John, Jesus also said, “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned“. Given The Words of Jesus which will never fade away and will be fulfilled for all eternity, how is it that there are groups who claim to follow Jesus, who still say, “once saved, always saved”?

If I were to be even more critical, I’d say that the ones who are doing this are wicked in heart or they have been misguided by others to the point that their action has become wicked without them suspecting it. If they were to have children who stole obscene amounts from them daily, or had orgies in their homes every night despite knowing it is not allowed in their homes, being unrepentant and unwilling to change, they would kick those children out. The children do not stop being children, since they have a mother and father, but they are cut off and will not reap all the material benefits of being children unless they reform; albeit they may benefit materially or spiritually leading to their reform or if they remain unrepentant, they cannot be trusted to an inheritance. Even the prodigal son repented before his father reconciled with him (ran out to meet him), because in reality when we sin, we are turning away from God and saying we do not want God, and the prodigal son, in returning (wanting his father), repented. How much more should we want better for God? Where is the zeal and love for God to suggest such a thing?

I will use another analogy from a real life situation which I watched on IG. It was a video of a mother and her sons. Both sons played in the mud that day and came home caked in mud, wanting to be let into their home. Their mom didn’t discourage their play but was firm in refusing them entry, since they would track mud into the house and cause havoc to their house and drain. They were instructed to be hosed down in their yard with cold water to get rid of as much mud as possible before going in, despite the younger son pleading. People applauded the mom for being sensible. So, it is not that people are not able to see the sense in being barred entry from your parent’s home, because they know love does not mean a lack of sense. You can even apply this to the topic of purgatory, although it is something different being purged in purgatory, though still uncleanliness. So, how much more should we wish the best for God? When it comes to God, there are people that would like to skip repentance and reconciliation to relationship. It is a disordered thought or desire to want that for God. My hope for them is that they find their love and their zeal for God. This is a case of false compassion where the offender is loved more than the One offended and what a great injustice this is! If indeed salvation happens once and one is saved forever, as opposed to being a process, why do we continue to sin?

In God’s providence, the virtues we fail to live out as Christians often reappear in other places, and that makes me believe that this is the reason ideologies which are anti-Christ are allowed to exist. For example, Muslims sometimes embody values such as discipline in prayer, modesty, or even a wife’s respectful submission to her husband that Christians themselves have neglected, even though they don’t get everything right. In the same way, an unbeliever may show generous or self-sacrificial or servant leadership towards his spouse while some Catholics or Christians fall short of that calling, though it may not be perfect. And among Protestants, there appears a visible confidence in faith that Catholics can at times seem to lack, even though Protestants, too, can go astray when personal desires overshadow God’s will.

It appears to me that everywhere Catholics have failed, God remains Sovereign and shows no partiality, and as such, God is glorified through His Creation, whether they are Catholic or a Christian denomination or neither. I also sense that unbelievers reveal to Christians the very areas where we fall short. Their unwitting witness can become a call to repentance to our benefit, though we may just as easily remain blind to it, to our condemnation. In the end, everything will come to a head on judgement day, and it seems they will rise up and condemn Christians who were supplied all the grace of God and yet did not live with more fidelity to God. This is not a new message. It takes inspiration from Jesus’ words: “The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here”. As baptised Christians, you have received something greater. How much more a Baptised Catholic who has received other Sacraments? And even so, the persecution I see approaching the Catholic Church arises from our own unfaithfulness, yet it is also permitted by God to purify us and draw us back to deeper fidelity. Through all of it, I see God’s love at work. The words of Pope St. Pius V suddenly makes sense to me: All the evils of the world are due to lukewarm Catholics.

It is easy to admire the virtues of an unbeliever but at the end of the day, any group of people who reject Jesus as God Incarnate, God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Son, are the anti-Christ and liars since they deny The Father and The Son. If anyone professes the Bible to be The Word of God, and claims to have the Mind of Christ, they would believe this too.

In any case, do not be deceived or fall into the trap of thinking any human is holy apart from abiding in Jesus.

That said, are we not obligated to God, as Christians, to carry out the works which correspond to the faith we profess? And when we have done so, should we not thank God Who enabled us to be able to do so one more time, since God supplies us with the grace/ability to even begin or carry on or to finish. “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” “Likewise, my brethren, you have died to The Law through the Body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

I fell into the trap of thinking that I would not suffer in my dream or in my mind or in my body any unwanted, intrusive impurity, if I am in a state of grace and I pray and I stay away from all that is impure (although now in the future after posting this, I wonder if the scene from a movie which I paused and stopped watching caused me this trouble). Though these are good things to do and the reward will be reaped in full in the future and in eternity, and even now, the benefit of it is already evident to me, all by God’s grace; it is just not the right heart to have, and I didn’t even realise I held such belief until it was revealed. I have come to realise that though the body has some value, the soul has more value for the present moment and for all eternity, and so I had to learn a lesson in detaching my mind from what happens to my body and trusting that I am still in Jesus. In fact, when I consider the life I have led, it is indeed necessary that I suffer in my body for my actions. What a privilege! For this is God’s Mercy to me and this is not forever.

A recent word I’ve embraced, one that has guarded me from confusion and kept my love for God from growing cold under stress and doubt, is this: I am cleansed by Jesus’ Words when I read the Bible (John 15:3), when I attend Mass and the Bible (His Word) is read or proclaimed over me, when I pray. In the same way, I can also believe that I am cleansed when I adore or pray before His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) during Adoration/Benediction. I can also believe that I am cleansed when I receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in Holy Communion. I am already cleansed by Jesus. And even though I am well aware of my unworthiness, struggling to see any good in me, a greater Truth exists, that I am already cleansed by Jesus. So, I must abide in Jesus and draw near to Him, if I am to be of any good.

I only say this while knowing that by God’s grace, I am already in a state of grace. Yet, this does not replace the Sacrament of Confession, a gift which Christ entrusted to His Church as a means of reconciliation and restoration, especially when a person is in mortal sin. To those who believe in all God has revealed through Jesus, this is true. To those who do not, it may provoke offense or indignation. But, the reality of the sacrament does not depend on human approval. It stands because Christ Himself established it: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”. And all arguments against Christ will die to the Glory of God and in Jesus’ name. Amen.

On a final note, pray the Rosary and entrust yourself to Jesus through Mary through the method of St. Louis Marie de Montfort! And if you need help with this entrustment/consecration to Jesus through Mary, look up the course provided by the Heralds of the Gospel on their Reconquest Platform. It is a solid 33-day course.

Thank you for reading today’s post. Remember to like this post and share it with your friends if you enjoyed it. Follow me on my blog, Katmira’s blog, to receive notifications whenever I have a new post. You can also subscribe below to get an email notification whenever a new post is out. This is particularly helpful if you don’t have a WordPress account.

Let it be, until we meet again or “Ka ọ dị” as it is said in Igbo.

Note: Co-pilot was used as an editing tool.

A great song!

For An Increase in Faith

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By Cynthia Aralu

Hello everyone. Remember to pray the Rosary!

I suppose I should say Happy New Year, or rather, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. The future feels overwhelmingly long, so I’m choosing to follow Jesus’ words and focus on today, because each day has enough worries of its own. I’m thankful to God for His forgiveness, for helping me to keep praying, for holding me close, and for never letting me go. I’m aware of how often I fall short in loving Him as I should. It is a source of unhealthy grief and I don’t believe it helps me, however, my knowledge of what helps me is limited, so there is a chance that even in this conclusion, I am wrong. Since, in all things, God works for good, for those who love Him. Life moves so quickly, so I’m trying to take things slower and to be at peace with the things I cannot control.

I wrote most of this post, perhaps on the first week of last December, but never got around to sharing it. I’m glad I finally am.

This is a post about faith. It feels connected with a recent encounter I had with a man on a plane on the eve of Christmas, who’d introduced himself as Anglican, whom I’d come to realise was lacking in faith, love and perhaps, hope. I was moved to pray for him and his family, and as well for an increase in faith in myself; not that the encounter led me to doubt but because I know I am not infallible. After this prayer, I soon realized that I too, through a lack of knowledge and unaddressed doubt or should I say “confusion”, was lacking in faith. It was ugly but thanks to God, it did not last, because it is the very nature of faith to carry on even when knowledge lags behind, and I am grateful for the ministry of reconciliation. So here I am, praying that Jesus saves me from this body of death. Thanks be to God, for He has loved me enough to show me, so I know His work is not finished yet.

To have faith when you have been let down over and over again is not an easy thing to do. I don’t think I was always skeptical. I think it became my defense mechanism against the lies I was always so gullible to believe growing up, lies that did not even make sense. I believe it played a role in me falling out of faith when I became much older, although I cannot say it was the only reason. In a world full of deception, selfishness, cruelty, disregard for life and limitations, it is better to put your faith in God, who is Truth, Love, Life and Unchanging, than to put your faith in man.

The bible says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things not seen”. I recall writing a post about the point of life a little close to five years ago, April 4, 2021, to be exact (as seen in my notes). This was at a time I had returned back to a belief in God, as more of a unshakable conviction than a logical conclusion. I must add that no matter what logical conclusion one has, without a conviction, one is not able to come to faith, because not everything is seen or known, no matter how smart the argument sounds for the existence of God; this is because we are quite foolish after all, and the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. Once one has faith, all other argument contrary to the existence of God, or suggestions that it is impossible to know, becomes utter foolishness and is rejected with a vim, “God forbid”. This is because it is the character of faith to know, with a conviction reverberating throughout your very being, without knowing everything.

In any case, I read my writing from years ago and it seemed bizarre to me. I am also uncertain in totality what I believed in, since I did not see any point of life back then, even after believing in God. From reading my writing, I can only conclude that I lacked hope. I also lacked the things which people would typically state as the point of life, and what I did have, was so distant, that I could not latch on to the idea of it. From a place of poverty, I’d set out to write out my thoughts in order to prove that there was no meaning to life, however, by God’s providence, I ended up proving to myself, logically, that God exists.

I argued back then that the actual search for a point to life is futile because if life did not exist, there would be no search for its meaning. To my mind back then, the idea of a point to life only stemmed from life’s existence so, it was inaccurate for people to say helping others is in essence what gives life meaning, because the point to life could not stem from the actions of the people existing. I believed life’s point had to exist outside of life and demand that life functions in the way it was created to function. And so, if we were to ascribe to life, an External Creator who determines life’s function, then, the Creator’s Will becomes the point of life. The rest of my writing went quite dark and ended with me saying life seemed pretty pointless.

Back then, I held up 2 possibilities if we were to consider an External Creator. The first possibility was that humans are high functioning beings with wants and desires. As a result, the need for choice could not be escaped because of that very design. However, if the idea of the Creator’s Will being the point of life is the standard, this idea strips an individual of the individual’s will, leaving that individual a shell waiting to be commanded and nothing more. Just like a remote control cannot argue about the reason for its existence. The second possibility was that it is the Creator’s Will that we exist exactly as we have been created, complex and different, free to make our decisions and chase our desires, (I believe I thought this was as long as it did not go against The Creator’s Will, although I cannot be certain of this addition as I have inserted it as I’m writing this, and I distrust my memory), and when we can no more, to die, in a natural process or circle of life. When I considered that, I concluded that the point to life could possibly be defined as the sum of all we amount to or our fate in life. I considered how unfair and uncertain fate is and decided that life seemed pretty pointless. I believed people confused the point to life with what I termed “anchors to life” or reasons for living, such as family, love, friendship etc. I considered that perhaps there was more out there, a world that we are unaware of, but even if we gained all of that knowledge, it would not really matter or change the situation of the world. The way I saw it, I was lucky to have my family, and if that luck persevered, maybe I would have the love I desired. So, for one who’d thought I’d come back to Christ, I had come to a worldly conclusion.

I have come to a third possibility, I believe through God’s providence, which builds on truth within the first and the second possibilities, which I believe is true: If life did not exist, there would be no search for its meaning. The idea that there is a point to life only stems from the very fact that life exists. The point of life cannot be derived from the actions of the people existing as a primary principle, since if life did not exist, there will be no search for its meaning. Life’s point has to exist outside of life and demand that life functions in the way it was created to function. So, we can consider the Force or Power that exists outside of life and demands that life functions the way it has been created, an Immortal Creator (God), able to drive life in the direction He pleases. We can deduce from how precise and intricate creation is that there are no accidents and as such, there must be a clear plan for creation. In our human understanding, we would call a device that fails to do what it was created to do, “faulty”. However if the creator of a device dies, the device does not lose the meaning for its creation and if not faulty, is able to continue existing after its creator is dead. Without God, we would have no meaning since everything will cease to exist. From the point of view of my existence in relationship with God and through Faith, I know that God is the Uncreated Primary Cause, and His creation are created secondary causes.

Humans have been created to be high functioning and complex, having wants and desires, the ability to search out the meaning of its creation, and to participate in it as a driving force. This reveals God’s desire that we have our own will, in order that we choose. However, since God is Creator, He has designed us to exist in the manner we have been created to exist. In order for creation to be, there has to be God’s Design and God’s Law for His creation, which humans participate in as a driving force. It follows that choosing God’s Will keeps us in God’s design, but rejecting God’s Will, throws us out of God’s design for us. To be able to choose at all God’s Will or to reject God’s Will, we would need to know what God’s Will is. This need we have to know of God and His desires, reveals that there is a type of relationship that God desires with humans.

In addition, when one considers that an all-powerful God created the universe, desired humans to know Him, and gave us the free will to choose; I suppose this gives evidence of the nature of God, which is Pure Love, because given the choice, humans can love you or hate you. God chose that vulnerability. God being Love itself, did not force us to love Him out of compulsion even if it meant we could reject Him. This reveals another nature of Love. Love is not driven by the need of one party over the detriment of the other party. So, The Creator has to be a God infinitely more powerful than we can imagine to create the universe, and irrevocably Love to have created us.

It could not be a sadistic situation either for human beings to choose God’s will, given that when one reaches discernment of what love is, we know that Love is pure, Love is good, Love is truth, Love is life, Love wills the best for you, Love is joyful, Love never ends. I can conclude from the nature of love that in living according to God’s will, humans were joyful and full of life at some point. If you consider our current human experience, you will see evidence of a lack of joy, a lack of truth and an abundance of death because of lies, selfishness, cruelty and a disregard for life. It is possible to discern that something must have happened to us to bring about this change from love, joy and life, to what it is now. Something that took us away from God’s will for us. Something that made us broken.

If you look into all the stories in the world which speak of God, none of them relates the nature of God from the point of view of God creating us, in a way that gives a snapshot of God’s Power, Love, Vulnerability, Care, Purity and Loving Relationship with created things, like the God of the Bible does. Nothing else fits.

The Bible, in Genesis explains that our first parents (Adam and Eve) went against God’s will. As a result of this, sin and death came into world, and today we suffer the consequence of those actions. In essence, all the evil, sickness, death and bad that you see in this world is a consequence of sin. The Old testament tells a story of a God who loved the world so much, He set a plan in motion the moment humans sinned and fell away from His Design, in order to save them, because He is a God that does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. In His Divine Plan, He set apart a people for Himself (Israel) through whom He gave the world a Divine Law (The Ten Commandments).

The problem with sin is that it corrupts everything, and one of those things corrupted is the human intellect and the human will. As a result, after the fall, humans did whatever they felt was right in their eyes, which did not necessarily mean it was good, because on the one hand, humans enjoy sinning, and on the other hand, it can sometimes be hard to discern because of the darkened intellect, and also, we do the things that we do not want to do because of a weakened will. God knew the people He set apart for Himself were imperfect, unable to keep the Law, but it was necessary to give the Law so that what is sin may be revealed through the transgression of His Law, so that we come to knowledge of the gravity of sin which is death, so that God’s Justice and Mercy is magnified and so that humans stop destroying themselves and others. We are like foolish toddlers set on killing ourselves through our interaction with the world around us.

Through the Law and the Prophets God provided, He prepared a people for the coming of the Perfect Sacrifice to take away the sin of the world, Jesus Christ. And through the perfect everlasting sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son, in the likeness of sinful man, sin was condemned in the flesh. If sin is not condemned, God is not Just, but if there is no mercy, God is not merciful. This is why Christ’s sacrifice is the One Perfect Sacrifice. Jesus received the justice for our sins. Hence, those who have died in the flesh with Christ and now have new life through Christ’s resurrection, have their sins washed away, a regeneration of a new heart and have received an outpouring of the Spirit of God; the Spirit of adoption as heirs of God, being co-heirs with Jesus Christ.

What great love God has for us that while we were still sinners, He sent His Son into the world knowing that He would be killed by humans because the world hates all that is Good, Pure and Holy. Through Jesus’ entry into the world, we see that suffering is an inescapable part of existing in a broken world, but there is dignity and purpose in suffering well, when united with Jesus’ suffering. Through Jesus’ obedience and His sacrifice, God lifted Him up and gave Him a name that is above any other name. So, we know with a knowing that is conviction, a gift from God, that if we live through Him, In Him and With Him, we have the justification of a clean conscience before God, a crown of glory and immortality in God’s presence, where there is fullness of life and peace.

From this third possibility, I can see in fact, that the point of life is relationship with God, and from what I have come to know and believe, I can see that this relationship can only be through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Relationship does not negate religion. It is through the system of religion which Jesus Himself instituted, in establishing His Church, through Peter, “the rock”, and supported by the Apostles, the pillars of the Catholic Church, in a succession that spans nearly two (2) millennia, that we are able to have a relationship with God through Jesus.

The bible points out religious practices which are pleasing to God and those that are not. It never said religion is bad. So, if you’ve heard religion is bad, do a complete 180 and drop such foolish beliefs and doubt the ones or groups that told you that. There might be no malice from them but there is plenty foolishness and a blind man cannot lead a blind man. To accept such a teaching signals a spirit that craves sugary goodness without the pain of submission to authority and yes, there is pain that comes with submission. You are not able to reach pure love of God there or anywhere else other than the Church Jesus founded, which is the ONE, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. That is, if this is your desire.

Old testament:

  • Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

New testament:

  • Jesus speaking: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (singular), and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
  • If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

On a final note, pray the Rosary!

Thank you for reading today’s post. Remember to like this post and share it with your friends if you enjoyed it. Follow me on my blog, Katmira’s blog, to receive notifications whenever I have a new post. You can also subscribe below to get an email notification whenever a new post is out. This is particularly helpful if you don’t have a WordPress account.

Let it be, until we meet again or “Ka ọ dị” as it is said in Igbo.

Note: Co-pilot was used as an editing tool.

A great song to listen to!