Ascension Presents

How misused: Fr. Mike Schmitz states 'perfection is not the goal' of the spiritual life, directly contradicting Jesus' command to 'be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.' This minimizes the transformative power of God's grace and the continuous call to holiness and conformity to Christ.

Scripture's answer: The Greek word for 'perfect' (telos) implies completeness, maturity, and being fully developed. While absolute perfection is only fully realized in glorification, Christ's command is a standard for our pursuit of holiness and sanctification, not an unattainable goal to be dismissed. It challenges believers to strive for Christ-likeness, empowered by the Holy Spirit, not to lower the standard.

How misused: Repeatedly undermines the sole mediation of Jesus Christ by promoting the invocation and intercession of Mary and other saints as effective means to approach God or receive grace, contradicting the clear biblical teaching that 'there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.'

Scripture's answer: The Bible clearly establishes Jesus Christ as the *only* mediator between God and humanity. Prayer should be directed to God the Father through Jesus Christ. Invoking or praying to deceased saints, including Mary, for intercession or any other form of spiritual aid, bypasses Christ's unique and sufficient mediatorial role and lacks scriptural support.

How misused: The channel frequently promotes repetitive prayers, such as the Rosary and the Litany of Loreto, as highly efficacious spiritual practices, despite Jesus' warning against 'meaningless repetition' in prayer ('babbling like pagans') and His emphasis on sincere, heartfelt prayer.

Scripture's answer: Jesus instructs His followers not to pray with 'vain repetitions' like the pagans, who believe they will be heard for their many words. True prayer is about genuine communication with God, motivated by faith and sincerity, not by the quantity or repetition of words. While repetition can be a part of devotional practices, when it becomes central to efficacy, it risks violating this command.

How misused: The channel consistently presents a works-based salvation or spiritual growth, implying that Catholic sacraments, disciplines (like fasting from 'good things,' Liturgy of the Hours), and personal efforts (like 'offering up suffering') are necessary components for receiving grace, justification, or spiritual advancement. This undermines the teaching that salvation is 'by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.'

Scripture's answer: Salvation is a free gift from God, received solely through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Good works are the *result* and *evidence* of saving faith, not a means to earn or contribute to salvation. To suggest that human actions, rituals, or suffering can merit grace or salvation is to diminish the sufficiency and completeness of Christ's atonement.

How misused: Dr. Edward Sri discusses lustful thoughts but uses Catholic distinctions of 'spontaneous sensual reaction' and 'sensual concupiscence' with the caveat that they are not sinful if the will resists. This contradicts Jesus' radical teaching that 'everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart,' indicating that the lustful desire itself is sinful regardless of external action or a subsequent 'act of will' to resist.

Scripture's answer: Jesus pronounces a radical standard for sin, placing it in the heart and mind, not merely in outward actions. Lustful desires and intentions, even before conscious decision to act upon them, are sinful. While resisting temptation is commendable, the inward inclination itself, when contrary to God's law, is sinful, highlighting the pervasive nature of original sin and man's need for divine renewal.

How misused: Fr. Mike Schmitz interprets 'unworthy receipt' of communion primarily through the lens of 'mortal sin,' defining it as a state that spiritually 'kills' a person and makes them guilty of Christ's murder if they partake. This shifts the focus from 'discerning the body' (understanding Christ's sacrifice) to a Catholic-specific framework of sin categories and merit for commensurability, imposing human-defined conditions ('state of grace') for accessing means of grace.

Scripture's answer: Paul's warning about 'unworthy partaking' emphasizes the need for believers to understand and reflect on the profound significance of Christ's broken body and shed blood (to 'discern the body') when partaking in the Lord's Supper. It does not introduce a concept of 'mortal sin' that 'kills' grace, but rather calls believers to self-examination and repentance, so they approach the table with a humble and believing heart, recognizing the cost of Christ's sacrifice.

How misused: The channel consistently promotes sacerdotalism, suggesting that priests are indispensable intermediaries for God's grace and forgiveness, particularly through the sacrament of confession. This undermines the clear biblical teaching that believers have direct access to God through Christ alone for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Scripture's answer: The New Testament teaches that justification is by faith apart from works of the law, and that every believer through Christ's atonement has direct access to God. There is no longer a need for an earthly mediating priesthood or specific individuals to forgive sins; Christ is our High Priest, and He alone mediates between God and humanity. Confession should be made directly to God, and to one another for spiritual accountability, not through a priest for absolution.

How misused: Frequently cited to suggest that 'faith without works is dead' implies works are necessary for salvation, rather than a natural, inevitable *result* and *evidence* of true saving faith. This frames good works as meritorious contributors to justification, blurring the essential distinction between justification (by faith alone) and sanctification (where works are produced).

Scripture's answer: James is not contradicting Paul's teaching on salvation by grace through faith. Instead, he clarifies that true, saving faith cannot be barren; it will inevitably produce good works as its fruit. A 'dead faith' is one that exists only intellectually without transforming the life, thus it is not a genuine, living faith that saves. Works demonstrate that faith is genuine, but they do not merit salvation.