Mark Shea on the "option for the poor"
.....
Archbishop Chaput has put it most bluntly: If you neglect the poor you will go to Hell. It's all well and good to have various theories about how the poor got that way and about how we can prevent poverty and all but this story still sums up the difference between the gospel and the philosophies of men:
A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person came along and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
A Christian Scientist came along and said, "You only think you're in the pit."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into a pit."
Confucius said, "If you would have listened to me you wouldn't be in that pit."
Buddha said, "You're pit is only a state of mind."
A realist said, "That's a pit."
A scientist calculated the pressure necessary, pounds and square inches, to get him out of the pit.
A geologist told him to appreciate and study the rock strata.
An Darwinian said, "You are a rejected mutant destined to be removed from the evolutionary cycle, in other words he is going to die in the pit so he can't produce any more pit falling offspring."
The country inspector said, "Did you have a permit to dig that pit?"
A professor gave him a lecture on the elementary principles of the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
An optimist said, "Things could get worse."
A pessimist said, "Things are going to get worse."
Jesus saw the man in the pit, took him by the hand and lifted him out.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Lord’s descent into the underworld
At Matins/the Office of Readings on Holy Saturday the Church gives us this 'ancient homily', I find it incredibly moving, it is abou...
-
A French newspaper has reported Pope Francis, once Benedict dies, will abrogate Summorum Pontificum and handover Old Rite's celebrat... -
I was at the Verona Opera Festival when Summorum Pontificum was published but it wasn't until All Souls Day that I first attempted to s... -
In a conversation with our bishop recently, I thought he said that some parishes in the diocese were already using the new ICEL translations...
14 comments:
I object to Archbishop Chaput's comment, "If you neglect the poor you will go to Hell".
Only God can decide who enters heaven, no-one else!
Anon: I imagine the Archbishop's comment was intended to indicate that neglect of the poor is grave matter, and hence mortal under the usual conditions; Hell would indeed, then, be the result should the culprit die unrepentant (see CCC 1035). The Archbishop was certainly frank... but maybe that's what we need?
If you take Jesus' story about the rich man and Lazarus, or the story about the sheep and goats, Jesus is to my mind saying, "if you neglect the poor you will go to Hell".
Jesus does say to the Apostles: Whatever you bind/loose on earth you bind/loose in Heaven and "He who listens to you listens to me". As Catholics we believe the bishops are the successors of those same Apostles.
Further, it is we who decide if we are going to hell by how we live. Hell is if a doctrine about our freewill and the impact of our choices, as Father so often says. You are right to say only God can decide who enters heaven but we decide if we are going to Hell. Not caring for the poor and needy seems the best way.
surely the Archbishop is simply restating the parable of the final judgement,if we fail to feed the hungry,provide drink for the thirsty,clothe the naked then we have pronounced judgement on ourselves and the gates of hell will open to us.
Yes let's not under-estimate our power of choice, hell is a real if we die in mortal sin. Most mortal sin is a positive act, adultery, masturbation, pre-marital sex, missing Sunday Mass, murder, a lot depends or our intention of course, but neglecting the poor or those in need is about not acting. The rich man ends up in hell because he doen't even notice Lazarus at his gate.
Is missing Sunday mass really a mortal sin?
"It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph" (Lord Acton), which is a very salient quote regarding this post.
However, I do not agree with Father Cassian regarding mortal sin when he says that murder is on a par with missing Sunday Mass! Does he mean that both these are equally mortal sins?! Surely not ....
When we say something is a "mortal" sin, we mean it kills our relationship with Christ. Murder and missing Holy Mass are not on the same level but deciding Mass is not important enough to make every effort to get to it would indicate that something very important has broken down in our relationship with Christ.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states thus:
IV - HELL:
1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."
1034 Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.614 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,"615 and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!"616
1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire."617 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.
1036 The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few."618
Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth."619
1037 God predestines no one to go to hell;620 for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to come to repentance":621
Father, accept this offering
from your whole family.
Grant us your peace in this life,
save us from final damnation,
and count us among those you have chosen.622
In the light of what the Catechism says, it is SO important to pray for the dead. The OT, in 2 Maccabees says, "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins".
It is such a hopeful verse of scripture.
Purgatory is for those who die in venial sin.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this on purgatory:
III. THE FINAL PURIFICATION, OR PURGATORY
1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:607
As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.608
1032 This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."609 From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.610 The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.611
This post seems to have veered away from the original topic, viz. "On the OPTION FOR THE POOR", but is very interesting, anyway!
It is good to have such a response to some posts on this Weblog.
Charity covers a multitude of sins, for both the living and the dead.
Post a Comment