Some things are simple Natural Law truths, and many grave sins are written in mens’ souls as just that, gravely wrong. It doesn’t take a teaching Church to teach these truths written on every man’s soul, so men will be judged accordingly. Even when our teachers fail to teach, a mortal sin is still objectively a mortal sin, it deprives the soul of the life of Grace, the supernatural indwelling of the Blessed Trinity, and we must assume the same and be horrified at such offenses to Almighty God, regardless of whether an individual has full knowledge and consent in committing that sin. Only God knows the culpability of each soul, the subjective part. There are very few Catholics alive today that do NOT know the Church has always taught that fornication, murder/ abortion, sodomy etc. are gravely sinful. Whether “their conscience is clear” or they “live by their own lights,” they have still objectively committed mortal sin, a grave offense to Our Father. Yes, only He judges the soul at the moment of death. But to claim men will be judged based on “a clear conscience” while refusing the act of mercy of correcting and educating the sinner will not be judged lightly either. And many (most?) Catholics today have malformed consciences. Doubt that? Over 90% of Catholics have contracepted at some point in their married lives “with a clear conscience” and many of our priests are active sodomites. These are both, still, mortally sinful.
The requirement of full knowledge in the committing of a mortal sin is key to determining if it constitutes a mortal sin in each situation. Objectively it is a mortal sin but the person committing it may lack full knowledge of the gravity of it. Fortunately God judges us and not our fellow man. I always remember the very good and holy Fr Leo on EWTN saying that he had seen many an act but never a motive.. that only God knows the heart of a person.. and therefore we must not judge. I take great comfort in that.
We must not judge souls, but we must judge actions. We must love the individual but hate the sin, especially grave sin.
Absolutely. I agree. But we can't dismiss the fact that God judges each soul individually according to His Wisdom. Jesus Himself warned the pharisees "tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom ahead of you" I am sure you like me hope for this for our loved ones who are in grave sin. "With men these things are impossible but with God all things are possible."
Absolutely. My daily prayer is that God accepts my cross not only in reparation for my own sins and failures but so that none of my family and friends may be lost, that all of us may be saved.
This is why St John Eudes said the worst punishment God could send was to allow bad priests. Without good priests who helps us form our consciences? But I see where Henri is coming from. We have no excuses before God. And no one else to blame.
It depends on your perception of what the Church is. If you see it as an institution then there will always be cataclysmic system failure. If you look at it as Joan of Arc did you recognize that the Church is the very real person of Jesus Christ. I don’t consider him an institution. He is my friend. Everything will be okay. There is too much fear, anxiety, apprehension nowadays. That’s not really good for the soul. Padre Pio gave some very simple advice, pray hope and don’t worry. at some point you just have to let go. As for Brian’s question I am not God, and I have no idea how he would see that situation. Sometimes I’ve prayed for decades for certain intentions that God has never answered, nor probably ever will and then other times a passing thought in my mind which was quickly forgotten God grants me. It is what it is. The surrender novena has a very powerful line in it. Close the eyes of your soul… it is in darkness that we see. Perhaps Joey Lamingino had new eyes all along. Not eyes of the flesh, but interior vision which others were lacking.
Henri, I'm not sure if I'm understanding you fully. I, of course, agree that we must have a personal relationship with Jesus and that as members we actually make up His actual body, but from your previous postings such as 'keeping away from Priests' and such I gained the impression that you regarded yourself as spiritual rather than Catholic and that you had grown beyond weekly Mass, Confession etc etc as considered those things being superfluous to your personal relationship with Christ and therefore what any pope said or didn't say didn't matter to you either, as you were on your own path. Did I read this all wrong?
I recently posted somewhere on this forum about a letter by St Augustine, saying much the same as those nuns, qualifying of course with the view that persistent refusal of such graces would eventually lead to damnation. I think I used the phrase, '...more than one way to skin a cat'. I cannot see the justice in a worthy soul being effectively condemned through accident of birth or through circumstance. This is not to advocate universalism...the adjective 'worthy' is crucial. This circumstance may not be very common at all, but enough to provide hope. Ralph Martin's book 'Will Many be Saved' is excellent on this subject, while being devastatingly critical of Von Balthasar's universalist leanings. In fact, Martin makes his quite conservative case supported by the documents of Vatican II, which was quite traditional on the subject. To stick with the basics, mortal sin per se is one that consists of grave matter, but the act of sinning mortally also requires full knowledge and full consent. We should be grateful that our Judge is omniscient. In reality, we're not fit to judge even ourselves.
Reading on in the thread, I discover that you've made my point far more distinctly and concisely than my own reply above.
Jesus said to Peter, 'You are my Rock and on this Rock I will found my Church'. If a House's foundations fall the house itself will collapse. So of course its matters if we have a good or bad Pope. None of us will go to either heaven or hell alone we will take or drag others there with us. We speak of the Mystical Body of Christ, well then if its Head falls into Darkness what is to become the Rest of the Body...? So of course it is vital to the Church that we have a Wise and Holy Pope, which is why we pray for him constantly. Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Thank you for this Brian. I too went through my parents basically leaving the faith over contraception and although their good parish Priest DID tell my mother it was a sin, she had her own beliefs for it and left the Church. Fast forward into their 60s, my Dad went through a big conversion and went back to Mass and Confession a few years before he died of cancer, but my mom was still pro contracept and abortion. She was also ill and I knew she would not live too long. After having many discussions with her about this and she still held her belief, I finally, exasperated! said " Mom! I know you do not understand right now why this is sinful, but you are too old to even have this apply to you anymore! Don't lose your soul over a sin that no longer pertains to you anymore! You do not have to understand, you have to trust that God is right in knowing what is evil and what is not and repent of your sins. Ask God to give you understanding in this" She did and of course God helped her and she repented and went back to Mass and God before she died. But her going from a devout Catholic in her early 20s to a feminist in her late 20s was the direct result of society and media of the 60s teaching her. If the Priest had also sanctioned her sins I believe she never would have come back!
Your clarity DeGaulle is always excellent. Thank you for spelling this out so well. We truly are not fit to judge even ourselves.
So many have followed that path. Contraception was the most evil tool the devil could devise to destroy the Church and souls. We all fell for it because we wanted to be free of constraint. Some never found their way back. I thank and praise God every day that He rescued me from the culture of death. The Blessed Mother and my mother's prayers pulled me from the pit. But just about every Catholic friend I know from those days has not returned. Or they are culturally Catholic but oppose the Church on abortion and same sex attraction. Not just friends but family. The spiritual carnage is frightening. This is why I hope and pray for the Illumination of Conscience. Your mother was blessed to have you there to speak Truth and to receive the grace to accept it. Its a frightful bondage that cannot be broken without God's grace.
Misinterpreted to some extent. For me life is a simple choice. If I listen to everyone else’s voices how will I ever hear my own inner voice. Do I trust that God is speaking to me in the chaos of everyone else’s voice. Or if I learn to be silent, is not that inner voice where God speaks. I keep it very simple, because I am a simpleton.
