The Church Militant

The Church Militant (ecclesia militans)—The “saints” of Christ, His “holy nation” (1 Peter ii, 9), fight here on earth, not with loud clamor or great display, but in quiet and stillness. Their wrestling is not against men, but against sin; they seek the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure.

They are depicted in the Sermon on the Mount, in the concise and graphic phrases of our Lord.

They are the “poor in spirit,” the little ones of state and Church and society, the unappreciated and despised, who day by day go their inconspicuous way of duty, and cannot marvel enough that the great and holy God should wish to be with them also.

They are the “meek” who never grumble at life and who ever accept with great content whatever God sends them.

They are the “mourners” who in the lonely night cry plaintively to God: Lord, not my will, but Thine be done, and who at the last can thank their God with glad hearts that they are allowed to suffer with Jesus.

They are those who “hunger and thirst after justice,” those who reck nothing of comfortable piety and well-fed virtue, but on the contrary are pierced to the soul with the thought of their unworthiness, and put their whole trust constantly in the redeeming power of Jesus.

They are the “merciful,” for whom the need of others is their need, whom no obstacle, no sin or foulness can hinder from succoring their starving brother, and whose hands are closed by no ingratitude.

They are the “pure of heart,” men of a childlike simplicity and singleness of aim, kindhearted, guileless and always cheerful, for whom life is all sunshine, a constant loving cry of Abba, Father!

They are the “peace-makers,” men of the Holy Spirit, of inward maturity and serene equipoise of mind, from whom quiet and peace flow forth as from a sanctuary, before whom all discord is ashamed and dumb.

And lastly they are those who are persecuted “for justice sake,” “for His sake,” those apostolic souls and tireless workers in the vineyard, who proclaim His truth by speech and writing, by teaching and example, “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. iv, 2). They seek not their own advantage, neither recognition from the world, nor honors from the Church; they seek only souls. And commonly their lot is abuse, persecution and hatred. For their life is a special challenge to the world, and draws down the scorn and laughter of its wise ones.

Today’s “Gem” from Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”: “One Solitary Life” (with video, recited by Bing Crosby)

He was born in an obscure village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until he was about thirty.
He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He had no credentials but Himself.
After preaching three years, the public turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to His enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing,
the only property He had on earth.
He was laid in a borrowed grave.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone,
and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
and all the kings that ever reigned
have not affected the life of man on the earth as much as that
ONE SOLITARY LIFE.

Watch the video

 

Go To Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”

Little understood fact: Even after sins are forgiven, a debt is still owed and a price must still be paid.

Of course … Jesus Christ personally paid the price that we never could … but Jesus also deliberately left some things up to us, that are within our power (and responsibility) as Christians.

For example: You carelessly wreck your neighbors car. There’s no police. No other property damage. No loss of life. No court case. No insurance.

You apologize to your neighbor for the wreck, and he forgives you.

But somebody still has to pay for a new car!

What is fair and just? Who pays? Who is actually responsible for the damage? Who has the ability to pay? How should any respective payments be apportioned?

What is the morally correct way to handle something like this, in order for justice to be served, and for the rights of all parties to be respected and preserved?

Would it be morally just for the person who wrecked the car to get away without making a good faith effort at paying at least some small amount of reparations?

And then there’s the very important, related concept of learning to avoid car wrecks, in the future!

All this leads us to the biblical and very Catholic concept of Purgatory, which is closely linked to the concept of paying a form of temporal punishment for our sins, even though they have been forgiven, and even though Jesus has already picked up the lion’s share of the “bill”.

A Short Catechesis On Purgatory

Purgatory IS Biblical. Also included is what some of the great minds of the Catholic world had to say about it, and when. Purgatory is not new. It goes back to the very beginning of the Judeo-Christian Faith Tradition.

This citation shows that EVEN after sins are forgiven, a price must be paid:

2Sam 12:13-18 – David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.”

There are 5 principles for the belief in Purgatory:

1 – As seen from the above verses, there is punishment for sin even after forgiveness.

2- Nothing unclean can enter Heaven:

Matt 5:48- You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Hebrews 12:22-23 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.

3 – There is a way that one is made perfect:

1Cor 3:15 – each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Sounds like Purgatory to me!

4 – There is a place other the Heaven and Hell:

Matt 12:32 – And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

In hell there is no further forgiveness. In Heaven there is no need for it. So what is this third place where a sin cannot be forgiven?

5 – Some passages make no sense in a Heaven/Hell only theology:

Matt 18:32-35 – Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; 33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Debt to be paid? When? Where?

Is there a penalty even after forgiveness? – See the above passages about David.

Some more citations:

2Macc 12:44-46 – For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in Godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.

Mt 5:26 – truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny

1Cor 15:29- Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Paul never condemned Baptism for the dead.

1Pet 3:18-20; 4:6 – Jesus preached to spirits in prison 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

Where is this prison?

1Pet 4:6 – For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.

2Tim 1:16-18 – Paul prays for dead friend Onesiphorus 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me– 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day, & you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

Why would Paul pay for a dead person if his fate was supposedly already decided?

Rev 21:27 – But nothing unclean shall enter it (Heaven), nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Now, for what some of the greatest minds in Christian history:

Tertullian

“We offer sacrifices for the dead on their birthday anniversaries [the date of death—birth into eternal life]” (The Crown 3:3 [A.D. 211]).

“A woman, after the death of her husband . . . prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice” (Monogamy 10:1–2 [A.D. 216]).

John Chrysostom

“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], 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” (Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5 [A.D. 392]).

“But by the prayers of the holy Church, and by the salvific sacrifice, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided, that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death” (ibid., 172:2). [AD 392]

Augustine

“Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment” (The City of God 21:13 [A.D. 419]).

“That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some slowly & some more quickly in the greater/lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain purgatorial fire” (Handbook on Faith, Hope, & Charity 18:69 [A.D. 421]).

“But by the prayers of the holy Church, and by the salvific sacrifice, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided, that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death” (ibid., 172:2). AD 419

Written and Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

You never know when your time will come, so please don’t wait to make amends.

Over the last few months, your father started going to Sunday Mass with me again.  After all those years, he finally started reconnecting with the Church!

We also had a few short conversations recently about his desire to do things differently with the rest of his life and I could tell he was really troubled with a lot on his mind.  He was coming to some big decision points about his life.

Now I am going to give you both something I found next to the computer in your dad’s study the morning after… the morning after he passed away….

Read more

A Brief History of Devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this I seek:
To dwell in the House of the Lord
all the days of my life…
to gaze on the Lord’s beauty”  (Psalm 27)

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is an ancient practice and is the logical result of faith in the Real Presence of Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.

Yet, it is believed this devotional ceremony of giving Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was not observed during the early ages of Christianity for fear of profanity and persecution.

Historical evidence, however, shows that even during this early period, in times of great difficulty and serious trials, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed on private altars for the veneration of the faithful so that they might obtain peace, light, consolation and strength.

Read more

Submitted by Doria2

Making the Sign of the Cross is absolutely ancient, rooted not only in the Old Testament but the New.

The Catholic Sign of the Cross is absolutely ancient, rooted not only in the Old Testament but the New (Apocalypse speaks of those who have the sign of God in their foreheads — and those who have the sign of the Beast in their foreheads).

When Catholics undergo the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Bishop (sometimes a priest) seals the sign on our foreheads with holy chrism. St. John of Damascus wrote:

This was given to us as a sign on our forehead,
just as the circumcision was given to Israel:
for by it we believers are separated and distinguished from unbelievers.

Crossing one’s self recalls this seal, and the invocation that is said while making this holy sign calls on our God — the Father, His Son, and the Holy Ghost — and is a sign of our of belief; it is both a “mini-creed” that asserts our belief in the Triune God, and a prayer that invokes Him.

The use of holy water when making this sign, such as we do when we enter a church, also recalls our Baptism and should bring to mind that we are born again of water and Spirit, thanks be to God.

Submitted by Doria2

St. Peter Damian’s views on the innate malice of the vice of sodomy

“Without fail it brings death to the body and destruction to the soul.

It pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of the mind, expels the Holy Spirit from the temple of the human heart, and gives entrance to the devil, the stimulator of lust. … It opens up hell and closes the gates of paradise. …This vice excludes a man from the assembled choir of the Church. …This disease erodes the foundation of faith, saps the vitality of hope, dissolves the bond of love.

It makes away with justice, demolishes fortitude, removes temperance, and blunts the edge of prudence.

Shall I say more?”

Saint Peter Damian, O.S.B. (Petrus Damiani, also Pietro Damiani or Pier Damiani; c. 1007 – February 21/22, 1072) was a reforming monk in the circle of Pope Gregory VII and a cardinal. In 1823, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a great predecessor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

St. Peter Damian’s Book of Gomorrah:
A Moral Blueprint for Our Times

Submitted by Doria2

Easter Obituary

Submitted by Father Walter

Submitted by Doria2

Watch this year’s politically correct, social justice, slightly over the top, occasionally sappy Way of the Cross – from Rome

Click here to watch
(90 minutes)

Editor’s note: This wonderful annual, highly inspirational event used to be a must-see for Holy Week. But now we have various social justice groups and specially designated “victims of circumstance” competing for attention with the Passion of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior – and that’s a bit “over the top”.

I give it one and a half stars, due to shameless popery and poorly contrived social justice connotations.

Official Vatican Text

Rest In Peace AndyP/Doria2 – a most remarkable Catholic evangelist, teacher, writer, dedicated family man … and friend.

Andrew P. Piacente
1953 – 2012

Andrea Pasquale Primo Piacente, age 58, of Yonkers died Wednesday, September 5, 2012. Andrew was born October 26, 1953, at sea, on the Italian Ocean Liner, Andrea Doria, the son of the late Pietro and Alfa (Pensa) Piacente. He was employed as a mail handler for the US Postal Service since1977. Andrew became a steward in 1979, and held various positions and performed various functions for the union during his long career, also serving as the AVP/Branch President of Westchester. He also served as the New York State Executive Board member up until his retirement in August 2012.

Andrew was a parishioner and CCD teacher at St. Eugene’s Church.

He is survived by his beloved wife Marie L. (Kanych) Piacente, his loving children Christina (Paul) Dedvukaj, Andrew (Andrea) Piacente and Adam Piacente. Devoted son of Alfa Piacente and brother of George Piacente. Cherished grandfather of Angelina and Dominic.

What isn’t mentioned in his “official” bio are the thousands of comments and letters to the editors that Andy sent to various websites and newspapers, where he never failed to express God’s honest truth about all things Catholic.

There’s also no mention of the thousands of people … Catholic and non-Catholic alike … whose lives Andy regularly touched, via email.

You see, every week, Andy would read and carefully screen hundreds of faith-related Internet articles. Many of his friends would send him their favorite picks, as well. Then, two … three … sometimes four times a week … Andy would send links to the best of those articles … along with a short personal commentary … to followers located all around the world.

This was Andy’s very own, home-grown, Catholic Information Ministry, and it’s just the type of thing the late, Blessed Pope John Paul II, as well as our current Pope Benedict XVI had in mind for their “New Evangelization”.

A quick search of the Eternal Word Television Network Q&A Forums will reveal hundreds of questions and comments from AndyP/Doria2 … as his on-line friends knew him.

Andy was also a frequent commenter and contributor to Cardinal Dolan’s Blog, and to my own, where I set up a special category, just for Andy. You can read over 200 of his hand-picked selections here.

Andy’s words and deeds defined the true meaning of the term “Church Militant” in an era where you won’t even find it mentioned in the the Catholic Catechism.

One particular Old Testament passage succinctly explains the reason for Andy’s particular mission:

My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee,
that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to me:
and thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,
I also will forget thy children.
(Hosea 4:6)

Andy never pushed his weight around, and as far as  I know, he never offended a soul. But Andy always managed to promote and defend the Catholic faith … and stand up for the truth … in good times and bad … with style and with grace. And Lord knows … there’s not much of that going around, these days!

The liver cancer that prematurely ended his life has left a big hole in the lives of Andy’s family, friends and many followers. I know I’ll miss him. But my Catholic faith informs me that it won’t be too long before we see him again. So for now, please join me in praying one Hail Mary for the repose of the soul of Andrea Pasquale Primo Piacente a.k.a. AndyP/Doria2 … a thoroughly nice guy, a hard worker, and a good, faithful Catholic family man … who was taken from us much to soon.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of they womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Rest in the Peace of Jesus Christ, brother!

-Doug Lawrence

The Church Militant

The Church Militant (ecclesia militans).—The “saints” of Christ, His “holy nation” (1 Peter ii, 9), fight here on earth, not with loud clamor or great display, but in quiet and stillness. Their wrestling is not against men, but against sin; they seek the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure.

They are depicted in the Sermon on the Mount, in the concise and graphic phrases of our Lord.

They are the “poor in spirit,” the little ones of state and Church and society, the unappreciated and despised, who day by day go their inconspicuous way of duty, and cannot marvel enough that the great and holy God should wish to be with them also.

They are the “meek” who never grumble at life and who ever accept with great content whatever God sends them.

They are the “mourners” who in the lonely night cry plaintively to God: Lord, not my will, but Thine be done, and who at the last can thank their God with glad hearts that they are allowed to suffer with Jesus.

They are those who “hunger and thirst after justice,” those who reck nothing of comfortable piety and well-fed virtue, but on the contrary are pierced to the soul with the thought of their unworthiness, and put their whole trust constantly in the redeeming power of Jesus.

They are the “merciful,” for whom the need of others is their need, whom no obstacle, no sin or foulness can hinder from succoring their starving brother, and whose hands are closed by no ingratitude.

They are the “pure of heart,” men of a childlike simplicity and singleness of aim, kindhearted, guileless and always cheerful, for whom life is all sunshine, a constant loving cry of Abba, Father!

They are the “peace-makers,” men of the Holy Spirit, of inward maturity and serene equipoise of mind, from whom quiet and peace flow forth as from a sanctuary, before whom all discord is ashamed and dumb.

And lastly they are those who are persecuted “for justice sake,” “for His sake,” those apostolic souls and tireless workers in the vineyard, who proclaim His truth by speech and writing, by teaching and example, “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. iv, 2). They seek not their own advantage, neither recognition from the world, nor honors from the Church; they seek only souls. And commonly their lot is abuse, persecution and hatred. For their life is a special challenge to the world, and draws down the scorn and laughter of its wise ones.

Gloves should come off when Protestants assist dissident Catholics in sacrilegious acts

Look. We either take ecumensim seriously or we don’t. If we do – and I believe we must –  we have to react strongly when ecumencial ideals are so grossly violated by Protesants who invite or permit these “women priest” ceremonies in their churches.

The most sacred rites of the Catholic Church are Holy Mass and ordination to Holy Orders. These are sine quibus non for our Catholic identity and the continuance of Holy Church Herself.  They are of divine origin.  They are for us most sacred.  To treat sacred things with lack of due respect or reverence is the sin of sacrilege.

From our point of view as Catholics, these women-priest supporters are committing sacrilege in simulating Mass and Orders.

The Protestants who host them are also, objectively speaking, committing a sacrilege.  They are permitting or inviting a mockery of our Holy Mass and a mockery of the priesthood.

When Protestants allow dissident Catholics to commit sacrileges in their churches, they effectively wave their middle-digit directly in the face of the Catholic Church.

Read more

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

Dangerous Flirting: Russian Wonders Why West Is Enamored With Socialism

He explains that he finds the Obama administration’s socialist leanings particularly disturbing, and draws attention to a hero of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Saul Alinsky, a neo-Marxist writer who dedicated his first book to none other than the Devil, whom he saw as the first successful revolutionary to overthrow the “oppressive regime of God.” (Alinsky’s exact words were: “Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history… the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”).

Komov believes that if you “dig deep enough into the ideological roots of these socialist movements, you end up finding satanic roots in them.” And although only a softer version is prevalent now, “it is still very dangerous,” he says. “I would warn all those people fascinated by socialist ideas that they have never worked in human history — never worked.”

The traditional nuclear family is a particular enemy of socialism, he says, because it is the basic institution that preserves values and passes them on to the next generation. “The state, if it wants to dominate life and the individual from birth to death, needs to destroy the family, because the family is independent of the state,” he argues. “As Marx and Engels said, the family is a repressive, bourgeois institution that needs to be destroyed; they need to get rid of its patriarchal power and that of Christianity because they are the main obstacles of the social revolution.”

Read more

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

Inspirational Catholic Website: Pray the Mass.Org

Visit the site

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

A totally sexist story about fathers

When the good Lord was creating fathers, he started with a tall frame.

A female angel nearby said, “What kind of a father is that? If you’re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put the father up so high? He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without stooping”

God smiled and said, “Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?”

And when God made a father’s hands, they were large. The angel shook her head and said, “Large hands can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails, or even remove splinters caused from baseball bats.”

Again God smiled and said, “I know, but they’re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets, yet small enough to cup a child’s face in them.”

Then God molded long slim legs and broad shoulders, “Do you realize you just made a father without a lap?” The angel chuckled.

God said, “A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, to balance a boy on a bicycle, or to hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus.”

When God was in the middle of creating the biggest feet any one had ever seen, the angel could not contain herself any longer. “That’s not fair. Do you honestly think those feet are going to get out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries, or walk through a birthday party without crushing one or two of the guests?”

God again smiled and said, “They will work. You will see. They will support a small child who wants to ride to Branbury Cross or scare mice away from a summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.”

God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant.

Finally, almost as an after thought, He added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said, “Now are you satisfied he can love as much as a mother can?”

The angel said nothing more.

by Erma Bombeck

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

My pick for the best video of the week

2 year-old hears his mom’s voice for the first time (video)

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

Little understood fact: Even after sins are forgiven, a debt is still owed and a price must still be paid.

Of course … Jesus Christ personally paid the price that we never could … but Jesus also deliberately left some things up to us, that are within our power (and responsibility) as Christians.

For example: You carelessly wreck your neighbors car. There’s no police. No other property damage. No loss of life. No court case. No insurance.

You apologize to your neighbor for the wreck, and he forgives you.

But somebody still has to pay for a new car!

What is fair and just? Who pays? Who is actually responsible for the damage? Who has the ability to pay? How should any respective payments be apportioned?

What is the morally correct way to handle something like this, in order for justice to be served, and for the rights of all parties to be respected and preserved?

Would it be morally just for the person who wrecked the car to get away without making a good faith effort at paying at least some small amount of reparations?

And then there’s the very important, related concept of learning to avoid car wrecks, in the future!

All this leads us to the biblical and very Catholic concept of Purgatory, which is closely linked to the concept of paying a form of temporal punishment for our sins, even though they have been forgiven, and even though Jesus has already picked up the lion’s share of the “bill”.

A Short Catechesis On Purgatory

Purgatory IS Biblical. Also included is what some of the great minds of the Catholic world had to say about it, and when. Purgatory is not new. It goes back to the very beginning of the Judeo-Christian Faith Tradition.

This citation shows that EVEN after sins are forgiven, a price must be paid:

2Sam 12:13-18 – David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.”

There are 5 principles for the belief in Purgatory:

1 – As seen from the above verses, there is punishment for sin even after forgiveness.

2- Nothing unclean can enter Heaven:

Matt 5:48- You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Hebrews 12:22-23 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.

3 – There is a way that one is made perfect:

1Cor 3:15 – each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Sounds like Purgatory to me!

4 – There is a place other the Heaven and Hell:

Matt 12:32 – And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

In hell there is no further forgiveness. In Heaven there is no need for it. So what is this third place where a sin cannot be forgiven?

5 – Some passages make no sense in a Heaven/Hell only theology:

Matt 18:32-35 – Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; 33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Debt to be paid? When? Where?

Is there a penalty even after forgiveness? – See the above passages about David.

Some more citations:

2Macc 12:44-46 – For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in Godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.

Mt 5:26 – truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny

1Cor 15:29- Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Paul never condemned Baptism for the dead.

1Pet 3:18-20; 4:6 – Jesus preached to spirits in prison 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

Where is this prison?

1Pet 4:6 – For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.

2Tim 1:16-18 – Paul prays for dead friend Onesiphorus 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me– 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day, & you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

Why would Paul pay for a dead person if his fate was supposedly already decided?

Rev 21:27 – But nothing unclean shall enter it (Heaven), nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Now, for what some of the greatest minds in Christian history:

Tertullian

“We offer sacrifices for the dead on their birthday anniversaries [the date of death—birth into eternal life]” (The Crown 3:3 [A.D. 211]).

“A woman, after the death of her husband . . . prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice” (Monogamy 10:1–2 [A.D. 216]).

John Chrysostom

“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], 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” (Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5 [A.D. 392]).

“But by the prayers of the holy Church, and by the salvific sacrifice, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided, that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death” (ibid., 172:2). [AD 392]

Augustine

“Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment” (The City of God 21:13 [A.D. 419]).

“That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some slowly & some more quickly in the greater/lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain purgatorial fire” (Handbook on Faith, Hope, & Charity 18:69 [A.D. 421]).

“But by the prayers of the holy Church, and by the salvific sacrifice, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided, that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death” (ibid., 172:2). AD 419

Written and Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

The book H.G. Wells DIDN’T write: “The Invisible MOM”

The Invisible Mother

by Nicole Johnson

One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, “Who is that with you, young fella?”

“Nobody,” he shrugged.

Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only five, but as we crossed the street I thought, “Oh my goodness, I’m nobody?”

As Nobody, I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family, like “Turn the TV down, please.” And nothing would happen. No one would get up or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, “Would someone turn the TV down?” Nothing.

That’s when I started putting all the pieces together. I don’t think anyone can see me.

I’m invisible.

It all began to make sense! The blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’d think, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”

Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner. No one can see me, because I’m the Invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more. Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I’m merely a clock to ask, “What time is it?” I’m a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?”

Some days I’m a crystal ball: “Where’s my other sock? Where’s my phone? What’s for dinner?”

Hands, a clock, a crystal ball—but always invisible.

One night, some girlfriends and I were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and was telling wonderful stories. I sat there, looking around at the others all so put-together, so visible and vibrant. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic when my friend turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package and said, “I brought you this.” It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: “With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.”

In the days ahead I read—no—I devoured the book. And I discovered what would become for me, four life-changing truths:

1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals—we have no record of their names.

2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

 In the book, there was the legend of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built. He saw a worker carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.” And the worker replied, “Because God sees.”

After reading that, I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.”

“No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, no last minute errand is too small for Me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become. But I see.”

When I choose to view myself as a great builder—instead of Invisible Mom—I keep the right perspective.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My mom gets up at four in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That would mean I’d built a monument to myself! But I don’t want that—I just want him to want to come home with a friend and share a wonderful meal as a family.

The author of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. I disagree.

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right—which is why we may feel invisible some days. But one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Video link

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

Editor’s note: Happy Mother’s Day!

Nuns Gone Wild: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Those of you who wonder why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the American Bishops initiated a reform of the leadership of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), should take a little trip down memory lane.

Vast sectors of women religious in the USA have for decades been infested with a radical feminism so poisonous that many of them, especially in leadership, have even come to defend the killing of babies.

The problems in many communities of some are deeply rooted and, like all weeds, are hard to extirpate.

The following is a review of some key figures in this history of dissent and defiance. Some of these nuns have faded from view and others are still quite visible.

These are, as it were, the “church Mothers” on which their alternative Magisterium of Nuns was founded.

They all have a lot to answer for.

Read more from Father Z

Submitted by AndyP/Doria2

Cohabiting couples regret wasting years in relationships that would have lasted only months, had they not been living together.

Drawing from research and from her own experience working with young adults, Jay argues that there is actually something internal to the practice of living together that can put a future marriage on shaky grounds.

The decision to live together is often one that couples “slide” into simply because it is economical or convenient, she says. After moving in, they feel “locked in” because of all the entanglements of living together, such as co-ownership of furniture or pets, which can in turn lead to a mentality of sliding unreflectively into marriage.

Jay cites the situation of one her clients, a 32-year-old woman she calls “Jennifer,” who lived together with her boyfriend for four years, married him, and was looking for a divorce lawyer less than a year later.

“I felt like I was on this multiyear, never-ending audition to be his wife,” Jennifer had told Jay. “We had all this furniture. We had our dogs and all the same friends. It just made it really, really difficult to break up. Then it was like we got married because we were living together once we got into our 30s.”

Read more

Submitted by Doria2