This is a transcription of this Video: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kcbOdeqQco&t=406s"


Pdf of the Rules for Catechumens by Archpriest John Parker "https://discord.com/channels/1472688832309760082/1513706165719142430"


This started out as notes from the last lesson I got from Fr. George Parsenios, but it turned into a lesson within itself.

First, let us pray:


“O Christ my Lord, Giver of light and wisdom, who opened the eyes of the blind man and made the fishermen wise heralds and teachers of the Gospel through the coming of the Holy Spirit, illuminate also our minds with the light of the grace of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us discernment, understanding, and wisdom in learning, that we may abound in every good work and glorify You, together with Your Eternal Father, and Your All-holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, always, now and ever, unto the ages of ages. Amen.”


The catechist is not to teach catechumens nerdy theology. The catechism is for the basics, and these basics are not scholastic in a worldly sense. Orthodoxy is physical: we kiss the icons, we cross ourselves, we do the metanias and prostrations.


But rather, as St. John Chrysostom was focused in his catechism, it is like what Romans 12:2 says:


“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”


The catechism is for learning how to renew the mind and applying it. The catechumen must work on leaving behind their old life, defeating their old addictions. They must leave behind their old conceptions of God, and their entire worldview of the meaning of life itself, and be transformed into a servant of God.


“Put off your old self, the old man, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”


And be committed wholly to Jesus Christ and His way of life. But like I said, this is not scholastic as in finding it only in the books, as I heard one priest say. You must apply physically what you have learned, because again, Orthodoxy is physical. If you have learned all there is to learn about the basics of the true Christianity, as Archpriest John Parker said, then go apply it by giving to the poor, and doing the good works you are called to do. There are no paper exams in this class, but there are physical exams in this class, and that is the live application of the Gospel.


The Christian is first a servant.


I thought of this analogy a while ago: God is not going to drag you through the mud, through the plains, all the way to heaven, while you're kicking and screaming all the way. You must participate in His life-saving Spirit. The way to salvation is the way of imitation, and that is of Jesus Christ, who was a servant.


The garden of Gethsemane is the greatest example of this. He was sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane. Nowadays, we know that as a medical phenomenon of extreme stress, because He foresaw His crucifixion, and how they would torture Him. But yet He still said to the Father, “Lord, let Thy will be done.” If we are to be like Christ, if He is the model of imitation, then we must do as He did and be a servant.


I heard Father Moses say something profound about priests. When you become a priest, everyone is kissing your hand and you get this glory. But it is like the donkey that Christ was sitting on in the triumphant entry. The donkey must have thought, “Wow, look how many people are giving me glory.” It is rather Christ on top of the donkey they were giving glory to.


The priest is a servant above all things. Father John Parker recalled to us that someone asked a bishop, “What makes a good candidate for the priesthood?” And the bishop said: “If the person can work the hardest, most humbling jobs in our society, like a high school janitor for one year, without complaining, that will make him a good candidate.”


I brought this up to give a point that a Christian is first a servant to God and His people. John Parker again recalled that, in his parish, some catechumens and new converts were talking about this complex theology at coffee hour, while there was an old lady behind them struggling to take out the trash.

I will stress this to the end of my days: the Gospel, and the whole scholastic genre of Theology as a whole, means nothing to you if you do not apply it. Just like if you learn Math, and if you do not apply it, then it is just space occupying the mind. All education is for application.


There was this lady who could not read or write. How do you tell her to read the Fathers when she can’t read? How could you tell her to read the dogmatics and to grasp these intense theological concepts when she is just an old woman who isn’t educated? She rather lives the Gospel. She participates in the Church. She listens to the priest. She hears the words of the Gospel and then she applies it, and she knows more about Christ than we do.

Of course, studying theology is very important, but again, it means nothing without application, as Christ called you to apply it.


“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these…”


Now I want to go through Fr. John Parker’s rules for catechumens.


There is this thing I want to show you. This is the main course of this lesson, and this is the Rule for Catechumens from Fr. John Parker. The methodology behind the highlights is: yellow is the most important, orange is what some parishes do and what some parishes do not, and blue is what you should only talk to your priest about. The things that are not highlighted are really things for priests. I don't know why, because as you can see, [Rule 14] the priest should say the prayer out loud unless no catechumen is present. I don't really know why this would be a rule for a catechumen. This is rules for priests. So that's why I didn't highlight them.


Anyway,


[Rule 1] number one says the highest calling in the world is to be an Orthodox Christian. The world does not need any more lukewarm or mediocre Christians, which is a very harsh word. There are plenty who wear the name, but they don't live the life. The prayers of the catechumenate call catechumens “newly enlisted warriors” for Christ. Warriors are committed and vigilant.


And this kind of goes into an analogy I made up on the spot during my in person class. When you're a catechumen, it's like you're an E1. You're in boot camp, and you are growing in your reasoning. You're growing in your knowledge of how to be a soldier. And when you're baptized, it is like when you get your basic training certification, and you are the E3. You're the soldier for Christ. And I think this is a really good analogy, especially for men.

Father Josiah Trenham calls his prayer rope his sword, because that's what prayers are. Prayer is how you fight against the demonic attack. This is monastic language, but I think it's true for everybody, especially the laity. If you don't pray, it's like you're walking into the battlefield without a sword, and you're just allowing the demons to stab you.


Warriors are committed and they are vigilant. So don't be the soldier who abandons their post. Don't be the soldier who deserts their country in their time of need. Be a committed warrior for Christ and be vigilant.


[Rule 2] Christianity is concerned first with the last: the Lord will come to judge the living and the dead. Every day is a dying, which is again monastic language, but this is also true for the laity. Every day is dying to this world.


A really beautiful line from The Ladder of Divine Ascent is that you need a Moses to guide you out of Egypt. My priest said, “Don't go to Egypt,” which is true somewhat, but I will say this world is Egypt. This world is Egypt. We use this language a lot: die to the world, do not serve the world.

It's like that beautiful line from, I believe, 1 John: “Do not love this world or anything in the world. For everything that comes from the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father but from the world. And whoever loves the world, the love of the Father is not within them. The world is passing away. But whoever does the will of God shall live forever.”


But this language, the world, we don't mean the world that God created. We don't mean me and you. We mean the world of men and the teachings of Satan, such as fornication and all this stuff.


When we say every day is a dying, we're dying to the world every single day. This is why some traditions, when they baptize you, they say, “Die with the world and rise with Christ.” Because we're all Lazarus in the tomb. We're all Lazarus. We're all dead. And we're all in the tomb. Because this is what sin is. Sin is death. This is your taste of hell.


And we are in this tomb. Jesus says, “Roll away the stone.” Jesus says, “Paisios, come out.” Jesus says, “Gabriel, come out.” Jesus says, “David, come out.” Jesus Christ calls you by your saint name, because this is what baptism is. When your head is dunked under water, it's like you're in the tomb. And when you are raised up, it is like you're raised again from the dead like Lazarus. Jesus Christ says, “Lazarus, come forth.” And Christ calls you by name. He calls you by your new name. Because again, you are an old man. Tyler is an old man. And there is this new man that rises from the tomb.


Every day is a dying to this world because, again, Christ is not of this world, as He says:


"if this world hates you, know that it hated Me first. For if you were of the world, they would have loved you as its own. But since you're not of this world, you were chosen from the world. This is why the world hates you."


[Rule 2] Our temporal life is to be lived with the age to come always in mind. Living a bona fide, which means genuine, Christian life will lead to a genuine Christian death, a genuine Christian ending to our temporal existence.


[Rule 3] An Orthodox Christian is first and foremost a subject to the King of Glory and a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. The Church is not a place for party spirit, factions, or personal opinions.


Now it's okay to have personal opinions and things that are not of holiness, of things that are not of the Church, because the dogma has already been established. I had another lesson with this scholar who was a doctor of Old Testament, and he gave a really beautiful point: the Bible is not a puzzle to be solved, because the dogma has already been established. We have 2,000 years worth of theology.


And if you have these personal opinions on things that are opposite of the Church, you are kind of rewriting this history for your own personal satisfaction, which is not really what a Christian does. And if you're a catechumen, you're learning to be a Christian. You're learning to have a fruitful life in Christ.


So if you have personal opinions such as, “Oh, the book of Enoch, the book of Enoch is the truth,” the Church rejected it for a reason. Submit to the Church. I'm not saying this to suspend your critical thinking. Always have critical thinking, because if you suspend your critical thinking, you are in a cult. Have this critical thinking.


But as Father Andrew teaches, and also as Fr. Seraphim Rose said, you can follow this critical thinking. You can follow this logic. You can follow this reason all the way, and you will find God at the end. You will find the Orthodox Church at the end. This is how many of us became Orthodox: via logic and reason.


Do not then suspend your logic and reason because you want to have personal opinions. You want to have these sorts of writing new doctrines. I know it's fun to make up stories. I know it's fun to create fiction, but the Church is not a place for fiction. It's a place for truth.


A person who used to come in every single coffee hour, who was a catechumen and now he's a fruitful Christian, used to have these personal opinions about the book of Enoch, about these sort of Ethiopian personal gnostic tales. This is not what you do, because you already admitted that the Orthodox Church is the truth. So why would you rewrite the dogma when you already know it is the truth?


[Rule 3] The Orthodox Christian follows the teachings of the Church and, in the state of constant repentance, conforms his or her own opinions to the Way.


[Rule 4] If the inquirer is fornicating or committing adultery, he or she must cease or be turned away.


This comes into the Didache, which is found throughout all of the Holy Scriptures. The Didache, I believe, all catechumens should read, because it is a very early catechism in the early Christian Church, and it says this beautifully. It says there are two ways: one of life and one of death.

And the way of death is fornication. The way of death is adultery. The way of death is sexual immorality. Why is it so? Because the Bible tells you it divorces you completely from God. And we don't have to go into this crazy philosophical explanation. If you lived in sin, you know the death of sin. You tasted your taste of hell. So you know that it is a wall between you and God. It's a wall between you and heaven. So don't do it.


[Rule 5] If the inquirer is cohabiting with a boyfriend or girlfriend, he or she must cease or be turned away.


[Rule 6] If the inquirer is tempted by same-sex attraction, or suffers gender dysphoria, he or she must commit to the Christian virtues of chastity, purity, and holiness, which means celibacy. According to the long-standing Christian tradition, fornication of every sort is completely contrary to the Christian way of life.



I think this is very important since we're in Pride Month, there are many saints who suffered with this, and I don't think many Christians know this, but Fr. Seraphim Rose used to struggle with homosexuality. He wrote a letter to his friend named Larry, and in this letter he says,


“I guess I didn't tell you sooner because I thought you would think me a bug, animal, or maybe even sick, but I am sick, as all men are sick who are ever absent from the love of God.”


And that's probably one of the most profound words I've ever read in my life, because it encapsulates perfectly what many people think about God. They think they have been abandoned by God. They think that God made them this way and kind of made them live this life this way. But no, everybody is born with a type of sin, the sort of biological inheritance of ancestral sin. And we all sin and come short of the glory of God, each person according to their own passions.


There was this one saying I heard growing up:


“Marijuana is a plant from the ground. If God didn't like it, it wouldn't be around.”


Obviously, that is idiotic in a theological sense, in a Christian sense. God does not will for you to sin. Actually, He came down to earth as a man and was crucified for your sake to defeat these sins, to break your chains, and to emancipate your mind from slavery, from the slavery of sin.


There's this one icon I love. It's when it is Jesus on the cross, and there's a snake, the serpent, nailed to the cross with Him. And this shows you that God trampled down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowed life. He descended down into Hades, and He broke down the gates of Hades, and He took all of these souls that were in this intermediary state, this holding place, and took them into the everlasting kingdom. This is a God who loves.

If you look upon the rainbow in the sky, this is an example I thought of. There was a rainbow in the sky, and I was just looking at it. Then I came upon this epiphany that the rainbow is the cross, because the rainbow is the sign of the covenant with Noah. But it is also the sign of the cross, because guess what? God has always planned to redeem Israel out of all her iniquities, as the Psalm says. God has always planned to save you, to take you out of the mud and the filth.


A baptism is the wedding, as St. John Chrysostom says, in my own paraphrase. He essentially says, forget your father’s house. You were not chosen as a bride because you are beautiful, nor because of your dowry, but rather you were covered in sin, covered in filth and mud. But in spite of this privation, this is the bride God chose.


As Christ Himself said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” You are not chosen because you are good, but you are chosen because you are loved.


If you read the letters of St. Paul in order, he first calls himself an apostle. Then later he says,


“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle...”


Then even later he says,


“To me, who am less than the least of all the apostles...”


Then at the end of his life, in 1 Timothy, he writes:


“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first.”


You might recognize this from the prayer before communion, because it is a direct quote from St. Paul. Paul is an example that the more a Christian matures in life, the more he sees that he was not worthy of the grace of God given through his baptism. But God gives it because you are loved.


[Rule 7] If the inquirer is engaged in idolatry, he or she must cease or be turned away. Idol statues, images of foreign gods, should be destroyed.

[Rule 8] If the inquirer suffers with addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, or pornography, he or she must ask the priest advice on how to fight these addictions and should follow that advice.


And this goes with everything on this list: gender dysphoria, fornication, same-sex attraction, idolatry, alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography. Always ask your priest advice: how to defeat this.


[Rule 10] The catechumen’s sole task during the catechumenate is to be established, strengthened, and confirmed in the Orthodox faith. Everything else is secondary. Obviously, his or her work and care of family is a central place where this is lived out, such as servitude. You're serving your family. By working, you are serving, and this is the central place where it is lived out. But no ministry or activity in the Church shall be placed before a catechumen’s learning and preparation.


Such as if you join, I guess, a prayer group or something like that, those responsibilities should not be before your duties to be confirmed into the Orthodox faith. That is your main mission.


I highlighted this in orange again to say some parishes do this, some parishes don't. But I believe you should be doing this anyway, because this teaches you servitude, that the Christian is first a servant.


[Rule 16] Catechumens go last in all things. They go last to venerate the cross according to rank and age, such as the oldest catechumen by date of admission being last always. Last for oil at vigil or litya. Last in the coffee hour line with the priest and sponsor.


[Rule 17] Catechumens must attend all formal instruction. Obviously, there are exceptions: work, military deployment, car breaks down, there’s a missile that falls upon your car, someone attaches a C4 to your car, etc.


This means six talks in the Nativity Fast and six in the Lenten season.

[Rule 17] Catechumens must arrive early enough to witness the Proskomide at least one time. At Holy Ascension, the Prothesis is outside of the altar. I encourage this in all new instruction.


[Rule 18] Catechumens take out the trash and clean the bathrooms of the church on Saturdays and Sundays with the sponsor.


But again, this is not required in many parishes. But I believe you should be doing this anyway because it teaches you the Christian tenets, because when you're baptized, you're going to be expected to do these things. You're going to be expected to serve the Church. Not in a manipulative way, but it is for your own spiritual growth. It's kind of a human thing to serve. If you don't have family to serve at home, if you're not in the military to serve the country, or if you're not doing a fruitful job, like if your job is not fruitful spiritually, serving the Church is spiritually beneficial for you. And again, like all things in Orthodoxy, we don't have to give a philosophical, complex explanation on these things. It's just known via experience. It's known by doing it. If you serve the Church, you will know the spiritual benefits of it. We don't need to go in depth about a philosophical explanation or theological explanation. Just do it, and you will know it.


[Rule 19] Catechumens eat after the faithful.


I kind of articulated that as catechumens getting scraps, the scraps of the faithful. But now I'm starting to really ponder on this, and I see it. If you're going last in all things, coffee hour is naturally produced here, but you're not required to do this, especially if there is something like a medical issue and you need sugar, then you go first. That's a medical emergency. But this is again a way to teach you first and last, teach you servitude, and teach you humility.


[Rule 19] Catechumens help the coffee hour team clear plates, cups, etc.,


and I think you should do this to have that spiritual benefit.


[Rule 20] Number 20 is one you should talk to the priest or the lead altar server about. I'm not too sure about this. But I will say, ask the ministry lead of the altar serving team. Catechumens tend the candle sand and candle stubs at the beginning and end of each service. They should make sure that the candle areas are neat and tidy, and that candles are available. Catechumens manage the oil lamps in the nave and the narthex. Ensure possibility of prayer for others, which means don't block the altar. Don't block the places where people put candles.


I will give a little commentary on this, because right now I serve at the altar, and it is so spiritually beneficial to serve at the altar and to see these beautiful things. Of course, catechumens can't serve at the altar, but they can do this, which is kind of an altar server job to kind of prepare you, if you want to become an altar server when you're baptized, to know what to do here. But yeah, talk to your priest about this.


[Rule 21] If catechumens have not already, they should meet with the priest to establish a rule of prayer, fasting, and doing acts of mercy.


[Rule 22] Catechumens are to be listeners and not talkers. They should listen to instruction. They should ask their teachers, priests, deacon, lay catechists, and sponsor questions, but not opine with others, or get into theological dialogues or disputes with others.


I believe this is true if you're around other catechumens. You shouldn't be getting into theological dialogues or debates with them, because neither of you know anything. Always get into theological dialogues with people who know better than you, people who know more than you. I believe this because this is how I grew. I got into theological dialogues with people who know better than me, and this is how I grew in faith. But do not do this with people who are other catechumens, because you are debating topics that you don't know anything about.


[Rule 22] Catechumens are to be listeners and not talkers.


I disagree, in a sense. Be talkers. This is how you grow. This is how you understand things. Ask questions. I believe the archpriest meant here that you should not opine. Don't object to the teachings or be difficult. I guess this is what he was talking about. But please get into theological dialogue with people who know better than you, but don't with people who don't, because it's kind of arguing things that you guys both don't know. So I don't know how you're going to grow in that aspect.


[Rule 23] Catechumens may invite others to church with “Come and see,” but should not instruct the heterodox, which means non-Orthodox. I don't like this word heterodox. It's kind of an insult. So, they should not instruct non-Orthodox people nor non-Christians in dogmatic or spiritual matters.


One hundred percent. But I believe that there should be an exception. Many of us have family members who ask questions: why are you doing this in this Church, or why are you leaving this church and joining this Church? You should be able to give a reason, an explanation, as St. Paul says: always give a reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and with respect.


Of course, I believe you should be able to explain to your family and friends why you are joining the catechumenate. But I don't think if there's an inquirer joining the Church that you should teach them about the faith, because you don't know anything. Even if you do, assume that you don't, because you're a catechumen. And show them the priest. Say, “Come, let's ask the priest.” Go up to people who know better than you, like people who have been Orthodox for 10 years, or 5 years, or multiple years. Go and ask them.


But don't instruct people who are not Orthodox on dogmatic or spiritual matters. I have a couple family members who said, “Oh, you're in a cult,” or, “You're doing this. Communist, communist, communist.” You're going to have people like that, and I believe you should be able to explain why they are wrong. I believe you should be able to explain, in a loving manner of course, why you're becoming Orthodox.

I did this live in person in the class, and then everyone was like, “Ironic,” because America is more kind of more communist now. The people coming from Slavic areas are not communist, because they dealt with communism, and America is kind of becoming more communist day by day. So it is ironic that Americans will say, “Oh, communist, you're getting baptized by communists.” But there's going to be people like that in your life. There's going to be people like that outside of your life, and I believe you should be able to give a reason.


[Rule 24] Catechumens may not post theological opinions.


Of course, your opinions mean nothing. Just quote from a Father. If you're going to post anything, quote from a Father. Quote from an objective Orthodox source. Do not post your opinions because you're a catechumen. Because again, the dogma has already been established.


[Rule 24] Catechumens may not enter into theological discussions or debates on social media.


I don't believe anybody should be getting into debates on social media. And I'm saying this to myself as well, because I have this inclination of doing this sort of thing, because no one is on social media to get their mind changed. People are there just to confirm their own bias. So it is not spiritually fruitful for you to be getting into these dialogues, except for people that you know and you love, and you're doing it for their own fruitfulness. But if it's random people online, you don't know these people. Very likely, they're trying to confirm their own bias. And I also think it's very important to point out the dead internet theory. Probably the majority of these 'people' are bots.


[Rule 25] Catechumens may and ought to bear witness to all the good that God is doing in their lives. And when asked, “Tell me about the differences,” they should say, “Others are more qualified for that. Come and see,” or, “Come and ask the priest.”


[Rule 26] Catechumens should develop a ministry of love with the older members of the congregation. They should make a regular point of greeting the elders and elderly, and conversing with them.


There was this pagan poem by Chief Tecumseh, who was this Native American, and he wasn't a Christian, but this poem is really Christian in its essence. It was Christian before this person knew Christianity. He says,


“Always give a sign or salute when passing a friend, or even a stranger, in a lonely place.”


This is truly a Christian tenet here, especially for the elders and elderly, because there are a lot of people who are elderly that are lonely in their lives. And actually, this goes for everybody: always give a sign or salute when passing a friend, or even a stranger, in a lonely place, because it makes their day. And you should develop this discipline, because it makes them feel better. And it's hard, because you're in your own little world sometimes. But have this discipline.


[Rule 27] I highlighted this in blue because you should talk to a priest about this. But the golden rule of almsgiving and the golden rule for tithing is to give what you can, when you can, when you can give it.


[Rule 31] The newly illumined, which means newly baptized, confess their sins not less than monthly for the first year, and then according to the rule.


I wish I had this when I was a catechumen. I didn't know I was supposed to do that.


[Rule 32] The baptized remain active in discipleship, the life of the Student, Servant, Steward, and Sharer. They stand ready to serve in the parish in the ways of the Orthodox Christian, and are prepared to be sponsors for others.


There is this stereotype of an Orthodox Christian called the “Ortho Bro,” and I use this stereotype all the time in my online lessons of what not to be. We use Protestantism as an example of what not to be in forms of doctrine a lot in this class. But at least they apply the Gospel. Every single time we drive down the road, we see the Protestants doing food drives, giving to the poor, and doing the good works they are called to do.

But what does the Ortho Bro do?


“The issue is that you're presupposing a post-Augustinian forensic paradigm filtered through late-medieval nominalism and Reformation-era soteriological categories.”

“Have you actually read the Cappadocians in the original Greek? Because your articulation of divine simplicity appears to conflate hypostatic particularity…”


As MJ says, stop it, get some help...


I have seen this one video from Nicholas Bowling. If you don't know who this guy is, he is this Protestant evangelical evangelist who screams at people in a megaphone, which obviously I disagree with, because it disturbs everybody's peace, and that's not how you really preach the Gospel. But there's this one guy who was screaming at him to stop.


Then Nicholas Bowling went up to him and said, “Oh, do you know the Gospel?” And this guy said, “Yeah, I'm Greek Orthodox.” And then Nicholas Bowling said, “What is that, Catholic?” You know, a classic Protestant response.


Then that Greek Orthodox guy said, “No, we're better than the Catholics.” And right then and there, I knew he was a catechumen, because we have an entire Sunday dedicated to the publican and the Pharisee. Orthodoxy emphasizes humility and love above every other tradition. We have an entire Sunday dedicated to it to remind you of this.


I'm going to give you the cliff notes of the publican and the Pharisee. The publican and the Pharisee went to the temple. The Pharisee prayed, “I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like this sinner.” Then the publican said, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And if you don't know what a publican is, it's a tax collector. And back then, it was seen as the worst of sinners. And Christ said, “Only one of them went home justified.” And that was the publican. It was the tax collector who prayed, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Even though he's the worst of sinners, his humility made him justified before God.


As St. Paul says:

“If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.“


You can have the knowledge of the entire faith, but if you don't have love, you have nothing.


Many orthobros are either catechumans or just or just new converts or or not even yet catechumens. They don't know much about their divine life because it can only truly be known via experience. Like St. Paul, when they develop in their life, they will see that they're not even worthy of the love of God. Like I said before, you're not chosen because you are good, but you're chosen because you are loved.


So in conclusion,