Friendship Saves Souls

Well, we're starting a three-part series on the way friendship saves souls.

Let's begin in the name of the Father in the Son in the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let's call the mind all those. We promised to pray for.

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord.”

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate.

It was crucified died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and he seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be your name. That kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stay our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blesseth our Thalmung women, blesseth is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death. Amen. Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blesseth our Thalmung women, blesseth is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the meeting of us now in the Vershopi world without end. Amen. Oh, my Jesus.

“And the fires of hell lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our first mystery here's an interesting question of all the good things in life. How important is friendship? How much do you need it? Where do you rank it?”

A lot of people might think of friendship as being a kind of luxury good. They might think of friendship as though it were nice to have, but not the sort of thing you should count on and certainly not anything indispensable. It's nice to have a strong friendship, but if you don't, no big deal plenty of people get along fine without it. At the other end of the spectrum are the people who deep down think of friendship as a burden. Things are a hassle. They take up time and energy and they have expectations. They're in obligation. You have to get together every so often and they ask you for favors and you have to try to keep the conversation going and it can be so draining.

“Friendship, they think it's often more trouble than it's worth, but actually friendship is neither a luxury nor burden. It's a necessity.”

It's an indispensable condition of human flourishing in this life and even more importantly, it's a critical factor in the process of salvation.

Our father, who art in heaven, hollowed beer name, thy kingdom con thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stare, dearly bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but to the verse for me, volaiman. The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus. The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus.

Pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus.

The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.”

The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. The people of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy will, Jesus. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

“Our second mystery, to realize how important friendship is, we need to reflect on two fundamental theological principles.”

This, the church is in itself a structure of friendship. The cataclysm, in fact, defines the church, the kingdom of God, that is, as the gathering of men around Christ and the community of believers. That term, community, doesn't mean a mere collection of people with a common attribute. It doesn't mean a demographic, it means, as the book of Acts describes the early church, a group of people who share what they have with each other, who are intimately bound together. And to be intimately bound together by mutual sharing is simply what we mean by friendship.

For, to be in the church is to be in a state of friendship, so the church, it's a kind of friendship. Now, for the second principle, outside the church, there is no salvation.

“Now, that doesn't mean you can't be saved if you're not Catholic. It means the church, that is, the body of Christ, makes salvation much easier to reach.”

It means that there needs to be some connection, however, tenuous, with the body of Christ, to enter into union with the Savior himself. Jesus is the head of the church, and you can't approach the head of the church without approaching His body. Even token, to whatever extent one cuts oneself off from the church to that extent, one cuts oneself off from Christ. But, when we put these two principles together, we end up with a startling conclusion. Can you guess what it is?

Our Father, who art in heaven, how it would be your name? That kingdom come, that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As we free of those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but to live rest for me, will amen. Dear Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.

“Glory, be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.”

As it was in the meeting as now, never shall be, world without end, amen.

Oh, my Jesus. For give us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to have, and especially those most in need of the mercy. Our third mystery, if the church is friendship, and if outside the church there is no salvation, then it follows that outside of friendship, there is no salvation. What do we mean by this? Well, we all come to God through other people.

Parents, friends, spouses, priests, the teacher, and the bridge that helped us cross over to God was friendship, a relationship with that person.

Through authentic friendships, we build a bridge where we cross over to others and help them cross over to God. So far from being an extravagance or an optional hobby on which to spend disposable free time, friendship belongs to the very essence of getting to heaven. And this conclusion brings a new urgency to the issue of friendship. Friendship is how God is chosen to save souls. The corollary, however, is that a earth of friendship constitutes a threat to salvation. And to the extent that many people, even many Catholics and Christians, do not have profound friendships in their lives, that constitutes a threat to the salvation of many souls.

“So what can we do about it? What can we do about this friendship deficit syndrome that is putting souls in risk?”

Our father who art in heaven, hollowed beer name, that kingdom come by will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Mother Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. The Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“How does friendship happen? Friendship is a bond between two or more people united in pursuing something greater than each other.”

So what does it take to establish and cultivate friendship? It requires shared activity. You could put it philosophically by saying that being and doing are inseparable, which just means that the way people end up being together in a meaningful way is by doing things together in a meaningful way. So the basic normal way to establish friendship is by doing something with the other person, whether it means shared meals, shared conversations, shared work, shared recreation, shared prayer, or ideally, all of the above.

Now notice that this list includes both natural and spiritual, supernatural activities. Yes, the only truly satisfying friendship is friendship that includes a mutual pursuit and celebration of God. But here, as elsewhere, grace builds on nature, so spiritual friendship builds on natural friendship. And people who don't know how to build natural friendships would probably be unable to cultivate spiritual friendships, which means a culture like ours, in which people are spending less time eating together, less time talking together.

Less time, just being together will likely be a culture with fewer holy friendships.

“And as we've seen, that's not just a human problem. It's a major spiritual problem.”

Our father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name, that kingdom come, that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stare, dearly bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, to the verse for me, vol Amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen.

“Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen.

Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, oh Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen.

We need to human flourishing, but to bringing souls to Christ. Promoting friendship concretely means promoting common activities.

So it's imperative that we work to help people begin to share their life in various ways, so they can enter more fully into the spiritual community of the church, which is the only path to greater intimacy with the Lord.

“So as a resolution, let's start with this. Who are the people God placed in your life that you are supposed to help to heaven?”

What are you consistently doing with them? Are you regularly eating meals with them, taking walks with them, praying the rosary with them? Are you regularly having them over for dinner, going out to have coffee, reading and talking about books with them?

If not, then we're not cultivating the natural soil where friendship can grow, and without that soil, the supernatural life of friendship with God can never take root.

“So let's get busy doing things, but doing them with those people that God wants us to help to heaven.”

Our father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name, that kingdom come, that will be done and earth as it is in heaven.

He does not intuit temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen.

Your Mary full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our Thou among women blessed, He's a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen.”

Your Mary full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our Thou among women blessed, He's a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our Thou among women blessed, He's a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in earth, now in the hour of our death, amen. Your Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, our Thou among women blessed, He's a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.”

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.”

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in the hour of our death, amen.

“Ask them to go volunteer with you somewhere. I'm not saying you need to make new friends.”

But how about this? Start with the people that in some way, you're Start with the people that God put closest to you. Your spouse, your kids, your adult kids, your sons and daughters in law, your siblings. And I also take back what I said, maybe you shouldn't take people to go serve someone else.

Start by serving those people.

And then involve them in serving each other.

“I think a lot of people run into how do I build relationship because I can't.”

I run out of conversation or I don't know how to hold these big conversations.

That's almost a little bit easier when you do have these things to actually do together.

When you're even we have our, it's sort of like a book club.

“It's a little bit more than that. It's almost more academic in a sense, but where we read.”

We're reading through all the classics and the intention is to have a different kind of

discussion based on these, but it's hard work to read these. And so it forms us in a different way. We're having kind of conversations that are more difficult or out of our depth. And we're all kind of fumbling our way through figuring out all of these ancient texts and things like that. But to have come evenly that you're all striving towards something you're, you're struggling a little bit. Physically or mentally or something.

It's really sanctifying. Absolutely. Absolutely. So let's end with this.

“Who does God expect you to develop a friendship with?”

And what are the activities that you're going to invite them to do with you? Thanks for the conversation. Thank you. And let's be apostles of friendship, good conversation, and the rosary. Share this with others.