The gospel can never be exclusively bitter or sweet. “And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” 5 And the angel whom I saw standing on sea and land lifted up… Read More Bitter and Sweet
To be a Roman Catholic one must believe in miracles. This in itself has been a stumbling block to many. And yet the believer knows that one need only find the earth beneath one’s feet and all other genuine miracles become mere footnotes. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, originally a student of the intractable rationalist, Bertrand… Read More Wittgenstein and Existence.
God gives grace to the simple, to those who seek Him and do penance for their sins. But God punishes the duplicitous.”For the waywardness of the simple will kill them”. They will answer to God not in love but in terror: Proverbs 1:11f. “When they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent… Read More Judgment and Mercy v. Presumption
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… Read More CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 2nd. Ed. On Perdition
“The world is the theater of God’s glory—says Calvin, following Augustine. Man is the witness of the great acts of God, and “has to express what he has seen.” It is a great conception, but it is inadequate. I like better St. Irenaeus, who brings it even closer: Man himself is the glory of God,… Read More Theater of God’s Glory by Thomas Merton
“Turn not aside after ill-gotten gain, neither say: This life is all I need―for when the hour of vengeance cometh, the hour when thou shalt have all things taken from thee, this life will be nothing to thee. When thou art lusty, follow not the desire of thine heart, neither say: How can I do… Read More “Turn Not Aside” We Are Told.
Note: SH. Today it is States alone which consider the punishment of [political and ever-evolving moral] “sins” to be their exclusive prerogative. And these States employ the shocking punishments most liberally day after day. Countless millions have died. But there exists One who is far above and infinitely mightier than creaturely states (Exo. 3:14-17) Who… Read More God is a “Man of War”. The Problem of Violence in Scripture
St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Doctor of the Church, teaches, “Brother, when the devil tempts you again to sin, if you wish to be lost, you have it in your power to commit sin; but do not then say that you wish to be saved. As long as you wish to sin, regard yourself as damned,… Read More St. Alphonsus de Liguori on Judgment and Mercy
Catholic Critique 