I never got to write this last Friday. The entire week was distracted with the campaign to the government for Conscience Protection in the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD, Bill 84). This is the transcript from last Thursday. My wife was making a face to face presentation in it. I wrote my own submission yesterday but it was too long for a face to face submission (each person is limited to 6 minutes). I sent it in before the deadline. Here it is if anyone if interested.
I chose the topic of peacemakers precisely because of this event. The two sides (Conscience Protection vs No Conscience Protection for Healthcare providers) are at a stalemate and the debate got very heated at times. I tried to focus on a solution which ultimately benefits patients (and Conscience Protection, of course!). What does it mean to be a peacemaker? Is this what Jesus had in mind when he included this in His Beatitudes?
Once again these are the Beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible has this to say:
(the peacemakers are) "Those who sow peace in the world (James 3:18). Partly, this means striving to live at peace with others (Hebrews 12:14); ultimately, it means sharing the gospel so that others can be reconciled with God and live in the peace of Christ (Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7)."
So as long as I am a citizen of this world, and in Canada in particular, I am to expect a blessing from Jesus if I strive to live at peace with others, even those who advocate MAiD and those who seek to rob my freedom to practice medicine with my conscience, if this legislation is to pass. When I look at the picture of this man in the Catholic Register article who is the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, I pray that God will forgive him, "for he does not know what he is doing" (Luke 23:34). The gospel reading for the mass this morning is perfect to explain this:
"Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him." (John 7:28). Oh if only this man knows God and His Son Jesus Christ! If I ever meet him face to face, should I not share this gospel with him? May he be reconciled with God and live in the peace of Christ!
The blessing for being a peacemaker is this: that we will be called children of God. Again, the Ignatius Study Bible has this to say:
"The gift of divine sonship is both a present possession of believers (Romans 8:14-16; 1 John 3:1) and a future hope linked with the resurrection of the body (Romans 8:23) and the glory of eternal life (Revelation 21:7 and CCC 2305)"
I must never forget that I am now already a child of God (John 1:12) - and what a blessing it is to be adopted into His family! As long as I set my sight on my "ABBA Father", the struggle I have on earth is but a refining fire to purify me to meet my Heavenly Father face to face some day. Once again, the apostle John (1 John 3:1) reminds me that "The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.". My job on earth is to make Him known, even if it means persecution and shame. I can fight to win this legislation but what is most important is to make Him known! I think that's ultimately what being a peacemaker means!
The Catechism (CCC 2305) says it best:
Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic "Prince of Peace." By the blood of his Cross, "in his own person he killed the hostility," he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. "He is our peace." He has declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers."
Friday 31 March 2017
Friday 17 March 2017
Mary my Mother, the New Eve, and the Ark of the Covenant
I am reading through Scott Hahn's "Hail, Holy Queen" the second time. It is so rich in teaching concerning Mary that I have to write down a few central lessons to help me not to forget. I pray that each time I pray the Rosary, these new insights into Mary - my Mother, will inspire my confidence to go to her with all my requests, knowing that she will intercede on my behalf to her Son Jesus.
Jesus left us a Mother
As He hung dying on the cross, in His last will and testament, Jesus left us a mother. "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. (Hail, Holy Queen p.5, scripture taken from John 19:26-27)
I had an earthly mother. She loved me the best way she knew how. She didn't have the benefit of much education (she had only been to school for two years). She took the young family to settle in Hong Kong as refugees. She tried to make ends meet when my father was incarcerated for seven years. She made great sacrifices to put her children through schools and universities. She discovered Jesus later in her life and was baptized when she was 85 years old! I rediscovered in my Catholic faith that I could still pray for her and I do! I look forward to seeing her again in heaven.
But for 65 years of my life I never knew I had another Mother! During the 40 years of attending various Protestant churches, none of them was fulfilling the New Testament prophecy that "all generations" will call Mary "blessed" (Luke 1:48), even though she was the only human ever to be addressed by the angel Gabriel "Greetings, highly favored one!" (Greek: chairō, charitoō) (Luke 1:26)! In fact, I don't recall hearing any sermon on Mary at all. It seems strange now that I was seeking intercessory prayers from friends and pastors but never even thought of asking the "highly favored one" - the most important Saint, and my Mother, to pray for me! This is such an important (and often ignored) verse in the bible: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." (James 5:16). I now have a powerful and effective advocate to pray for me and all my prayer requests.
Christ the New Adam, Mary the New Eve
I know about "typology". The idea that in the Old Testament, a person (a real historical person), a place or a thing, or an event can "foreshadow" something greater in the New Testament (see CCC 128-130). St. Augustine put it this way: "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" (St. Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2,73:PL 34,623; Cf. DV 16). And the Protestant church had taught me that Christ was the second Adam (Roman 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:22). What I didn't know was that from Genesis to Revelation, scripture speaks to Mary being the new Eve! The early church fathers had written a lot about Mary. Take for an example, "Christ became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience that proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her; wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, "Be it unto me according to Thy word" (Luke 1:38). And by her has He been born, to Whom we have proved so many Scriptures refer, and by Whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and men who are like him." (Saint Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, written around 160AD).
"All those teachers clearly discerned the message of the New Eve. It is this: Obey God, Who is her Son, her Spouse, her Father. "Do whatever He tells you." (John 2:5) The medieval poets summed it up neatly by pointing out that the angel Gabriel's Ave (as in Ave Maria, the Latin greeting) reversed the name of Eva. So also did it reverse the rebellious inclination Eve left to her children - to you and me - and replace it with the readiness to obey, which Mary wants to teach us." (Hail, Holy Queen p.45)
The Church the New Jerusalem, Mary the Ark of the Covenant
This is a beautiful new revelation in my faith journey. The Catholic church places a very high value on Christian marriage. It is in fact one of the seven Sacraments. This view of marriage is entirely consistent with scripture. From the wedding feast in Cana where Jesus performed the first miracle (John 2:11) to the last pages of the Book of Revelation, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9), the relationship between God and His people is described as a marriage covenant (see Ephesians 5:31-32). Saint John's vision of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation is filled with the imagery of a wedding feast in which Jesus was the Lamb and the church is His bride. The heavenly temple is revealed and within it the long lost ark of the covenant! (Revelation 11:19). Now what happened immediately after in Chapter 12 is simply amazing "A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman (Greek: gynē) clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth." (Revelation 12:1-2) John has shown us the ark of the covenant - and it is a woman! Guess who the woman is? A hint: the word "woman" is the same word used in in the wedding in Cana (John 2:4) and Jesus on the cross (John 19:26-27).
So what's the significance that Mary is the Ark of the Covenant? "Within Solomon's temple, the ark had occupied the holy of holies. In fact, the ark was what made that inner sanctum holy. For the ark held the tablets of stone on which the finger of God had traced the ten commandments. The ark contained a relic of the manna, the food God gave to sustain His people during their desert sojourn. The ark also preserved Aaron's rod, the symbol of his priestly office." (p.52) "Whatever made the ark holy made Mary even holier. If the first ark contained the Word of God in stone, Mary's body contained the Word of God enfleshed. If the first ark contained miraculous bread from heaven, Mary's body contained the very Bread of Life that conquers death forever. If the first ark contained the rod of the long-ago ancestral priest, Mary's body contained the divine person of the eternal priest, Jesus Christ. John saw the ark of the new covenant, the vessel chosen to bear God's covenant into the world once and for all." (P.61)
I feel ashamed that I know so little about my Blessed Mother. But even as I begin to know her more, I don't always recognize her in public. Scott Hahn told a funny (but sobering) story when he was a teenager he didn't want to be seen with his mother in front of his highschool friends. His father later told him, "Don't ever be ashamed to be seen with your mother!". This still applies to me. I pray the Rosary with the Rosary in my pocket when I am walking down the street. I can do better than that!
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known
that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought
your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Jesus left us a Mother
As He hung dying on the cross, in His last will and testament, Jesus left us a mother. "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. (Hail, Holy Queen p.5, scripture taken from John 19:26-27)
I had an earthly mother. She loved me the best way she knew how. She didn't have the benefit of much education (she had only been to school for two years). She took the young family to settle in Hong Kong as refugees. She tried to make ends meet when my father was incarcerated for seven years. She made great sacrifices to put her children through schools and universities. She discovered Jesus later in her life and was baptized when she was 85 years old! I rediscovered in my Catholic faith that I could still pray for her and I do! I look forward to seeing her again in heaven.
But for 65 years of my life I never knew I had another Mother! During the 40 years of attending various Protestant churches, none of them was fulfilling the New Testament prophecy that "all generations" will call Mary "blessed" (Luke 1:48), even though she was the only human ever to be addressed by the angel Gabriel "Greetings, highly favored one!" (Greek: chairō, charitoō) (Luke 1:26)! In fact, I don't recall hearing any sermon on Mary at all. It seems strange now that I was seeking intercessory prayers from friends and pastors but never even thought of asking the "highly favored one" - the most important Saint, and my Mother, to pray for me! This is such an important (and often ignored) verse in the bible: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." (James 5:16). I now have a powerful and effective advocate to pray for me and all my prayer requests.
Christ the New Adam, Mary the New Eve
I know about "typology". The idea that in the Old Testament, a person (a real historical person), a place or a thing, or an event can "foreshadow" something greater in the New Testament (see CCC 128-130). St. Augustine put it this way: "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" (St. Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2,73:PL 34,623; Cf. DV 16). And the Protestant church had taught me that Christ was the second Adam (Roman 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:22). What I didn't know was that from Genesis to Revelation, scripture speaks to Mary being the new Eve! The early church fathers had written a lot about Mary. Take for an example, "Christ became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience that proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her; wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, "Be it unto me according to Thy word" (Luke 1:38). And by her has He been born, to Whom we have proved so many Scriptures refer, and by Whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and men who are like him." (Saint Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, written around 160AD).
"All those teachers clearly discerned the message of the New Eve. It is this: Obey God, Who is her Son, her Spouse, her Father. "Do whatever He tells you." (John 2:5) The medieval poets summed it up neatly by pointing out that the angel Gabriel's Ave (as in Ave Maria, the Latin greeting) reversed the name of Eva. So also did it reverse the rebellious inclination Eve left to her children - to you and me - and replace it with the readiness to obey, which Mary wants to teach us." (Hail, Holy Queen p.45)
The Church the New Jerusalem, Mary the Ark of the Covenant
This is a beautiful new revelation in my faith journey. The Catholic church places a very high value on Christian marriage. It is in fact one of the seven Sacraments. This view of marriage is entirely consistent with scripture. From the wedding feast in Cana where Jesus performed the first miracle (John 2:11) to the last pages of the Book of Revelation, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9), the relationship between God and His people is described as a marriage covenant (see Ephesians 5:31-32). Saint John's vision of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation is filled with the imagery of a wedding feast in which Jesus was the Lamb and the church is His bride. The heavenly temple is revealed and within it the long lost ark of the covenant! (Revelation 11:19). Now what happened immediately after in Chapter 12 is simply amazing "A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman (Greek: gynē) clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth." (Revelation 12:1-2) John has shown us the ark of the covenant - and it is a woman! Guess who the woman is? A hint: the word "woman" is the same word used in in the wedding in Cana (John 2:4) and Jesus on the cross (John 19:26-27).
So what's the significance that Mary is the Ark of the Covenant? "Within Solomon's temple, the ark had occupied the holy of holies. In fact, the ark was what made that inner sanctum holy. For the ark held the tablets of stone on which the finger of God had traced the ten commandments. The ark contained a relic of the manna, the food God gave to sustain His people during their desert sojourn. The ark also preserved Aaron's rod, the symbol of his priestly office." (p.52) "Whatever made the ark holy made Mary even holier. If the first ark contained the Word of God in stone, Mary's body contained the Word of God enfleshed. If the first ark contained miraculous bread from heaven, Mary's body contained the very Bread of Life that conquers death forever. If the first ark contained the rod of the long-ago ancestral priest, Mary's body contained the divine person of the eternal priest, Jesus Christ. John saw the ark of the new covenant, the vessel chosen to bear God's covenant into the world once and for all." (P.61)
I feel ashamed that I know so little about my Blessed Mother. But even as I begin to know her more, I don't always recognize her in public. Scott Hahn told a funny (but sobering) story when he was a teenager he didn't want to be seen with his mother in front of his highschool friends. His father later told him, "Don't ever be ashamed to be seen with your mother!". This still applies to me. I pray the Rosary with the Rosary in my pocket when I am walking down the street. I can do better than that!
Sunday 12 March 2017
Faith, Love, Virtues, and Participation in the Divine Nature
"For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-8)
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you" (2 Peter 1:10-11)
There are three lists in scripture - beginning with Faith and ending with Love - which contain a full range of virtues that supplement God's gift of faith, that conforms us to Christ and grant us admittance to his kingdom.
"The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love."
"Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them." (CCC1810-13)
(1) Saint Peter's list in 2 Peter 1:5-8:
Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, love.
(2) Saint Paul's list in Romans 5:1-5
Faith, suffering, endurance, character, hope, God's love.
(3) Saint Paul's list in 2 Corinthians 8:7
Faith, speech, knowledge, utmost eagerness, generous giving, love.
The purpose of a virtuous life is to rise above the sinful and decaying world toward an imperishable life with God. This participation in the divine life is a gift that comes to us through the sacraments (CCC 1692). It is especially in the Eucharist that we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity:
"The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior." (CCC 1129)
"Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4)
I am heading to mass. How I long to participate in the Holy Eucharist where I will meet Jesus in the actual body, blood, soul and divinity! I am eternally grateful for the riches of this immeasurable grace (Ephesians 2:7).
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you" (2 Peter 1:10-11)
There are three lists in scripture - beginning with Faith and ending with Love - which contain a full range of virtues that supplement God's gift of faith, that conforms us to Christ and grant us admittance to his kingdom.
"The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love."
"Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them." (CCC1810-13)
(1) Saint Peter's list in 2 Peter 1:5-8:
Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, love.
(2) Saint Paul's list in Romans 5:1-5
Faith, suffering, endurance, character, hope, God's love.
(3) Saint Paul's list in 2 Corinthians 8:7
Faith, speech, knowledge, utmost eagerness, generous giving, love.
The purpose of a virtuous life is to rise above the sinful and decaying world toward an imperishable life with God. This participation in the divine life is a gift that comes to us through the sacraments (CCC 1692). It is especially in the Eucharist that we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity:
"The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior." (CCC 1129)
"Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4)
I am heading to mass. How I long to participate in the Holy Eucharist where I will meet Jesus in the actual body, blood, soul and divinity! I am eternally grateful for the riches of this immeasurable grace (Ephesians 2:7).
Friday 10 March 2017
Pure in Heart and the Beatific Vision
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)
The "pure in heart" are those people who act with integrity and serve the Lord unselfishly. A pure heart is undefiled by evil and lustful thoughts and finds its true treasure in heaven. In eternity, the pure in heart will see God as the angels do even now (Matthew 18:10; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Revelation 22:4). Catholic theology calls this the Beatific Vision (CCC 2517-19 and also Pope Benedict XII's NENEDICTUS DEUS - see Appendices below with my emphasis).
I am trying to understand what this "Blessedness" (or "Happiness") is because it is my reason for wanting to remain "pure in heart" in everything I do. I know that money, sensual satisfaction, power etc buy some kind of happiness, at least briefly, but they are at best distractions, or at worst, eternal damnation. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever." (1 John 2:15-17). It seems to me that the happiness of "seeing God" has a lot to do with how much I know Him. It is at least as much an intellectual response as an emotional response of gratitude. "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Cor 13:12). Peter Kreeft in his book "Practical Theology" (based on Saint Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae) chapter 65: Happiness is the "Beatific Vision" explained:
(1) "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Therefore man's happiness consists in the knowledge of God, which is an act of the intellect. The delight that results from happiness pertains to the will. In this sense Augustine says that happiness is joy in truth.
(2) "Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." (1 John 3:2) Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the divine essence.
(3) Love (desire) is the only vehicle that can get us there, and love (joy) is the song we will sing forever when we get there, but the glue that actually sticks us to God is knowing, seeing Him face to face. It's personal knowledge, of course, not theory; acquaintance, not description; experience, not expertise; God, not theology. But it's knowledge: the kind of knowledge Adam had of Eve (Gen 4:1).
(4) Ultimate knowing is the highest kind of loving and ultimate loving is the highest kind of knowing!
So practically, I pray that the Holy Spirit will teach me how to live a life of "purity of heart". I anticipate that I will know God more and more in this act of obedience. So when I see Him face to face, He won't be a stranger to me and I shall be perfectly happy!
Appendices:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
"2517 The heart is the seat of moral personality: "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication...." The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance: Remain simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man's life.
2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith: The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed "so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe."
2519 The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty."
Pope Benedict XII issued in 1336 the Apostolic Constitution called BENEDICTUS DEUS (On the Beatific Vision of God):
By this Constitution which is to remain in force for ever, we, with apostolic authority, define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints who departed from this world before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and also of the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins and other faithful who died after receiving the holy baptism of Christ—provided they were not in need of any purification when they died, or will not be in need of any when they die in the future, or else, if they then needed or will need some purification, after they have been purified after death—and again the souls of children who have been reborn by the same baptism of Christ or will be when baptism is conferred on them, if they die before attaining the use of free will: all these souls, immediately (mox) after death and, in the case of those in need of purification, after the purification mentioned above, since the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into heaven, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment, have been, are and will be with Christ in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and paradise, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the passion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and see the divine essence with an intuitive vision and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature by way of object of vision; rather the divine essence immediately manifests itself to them, plainly, clearly and openly, and in this vision they enjoy the divine essence. Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment.
Such a vision and enjoyment of the divine essence do away with the acts of faith and hope in these souls, inasmuch as faith and hope are properly theological virtues. And after such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment has or will have begun for these souls, the same vision and enjoyment has continued and will continue without any interruption and without end until the last Judgment and from then on forever.
(On hell and the general judgment)
Moreover we define that according to the general disposition of God, the souls of those who die in actual mortal sin go down into hell immediately (mox) after death and there suffer the pain of hell. Nevertheless, on the day of judgment all men will appear with their bodies "before the judgment seat of Christ" to give an account of their personal deeds, "so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Cor. 5.10).
(Taken from "The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church", published by Alba House.) Provided Courtesy of: www.ewtn.com
The "pure in heart" are those people who act with integrity and serve the Lord unselfishly. A pure heart is undefiled by evil and lustful thoughts and finds its true treasure in heaven. In eternity, the pure in heart will see God as the angels do even now (Matthew 18:10; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Revelation 22:4). Catholic theology calls this the Beatific Vision (CCC 2517-19 and also Pope Benedict XII's NENEDICTUS DEUS - see Appendices below with my emphasis).
I am trying to understand what this "Blessedness" (or "Happiness") is because it is my reason for wanting to remain "pure in heart" in everything I do. I know that money, sensual satisfaction, power etc buy some kind of happiness, at least briefly, but they are at best distractions, or at worst, eternal damnation. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever." (1 John 2:15-17). It seems to me that the happiness of "seeing God" has a lot to do with how much I know Him. It is at least as much an intellectual response as an emotional response of gratitude. "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Cor 13:12). Peter Kreeft in his book "Practical Theology" (based on Saint Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae) chapter 65: Happiness is the "Beatific Vision" explained:
(1) "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Therefore man's happiness consists in the knowledge of God, which is an act of the intellect. The delight that results from happiness pertains to the will. In this sense Augustine says that happiness is joy in truth.
(2) "Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." (1 John 3:2) Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the divine essence.
(3) Love (desire) is the only vehicle that can get us there, and love (joy) is the song we will sing forever when we get there, but the glue that actually sticks us to God is knowing, seeing Him face to face. It's personal knowledge, of course, not theory; acquaintance, not description; experience, not expertise; God, not theology. But it's knowledge: the kind of knowledge Adam had of Eve (Gen 4:1).
(4) Ultimate knowing is the highest kind of loving and ultimate loving is the highest kind of knowing!
So practically, I pray that the Holy Spirit will teach me how to live a life of "purity of heart". I anticipate that I will know God more and more in this act of obedience. So when I see Him face to face, He won't be a stranger to me and I shall be perfectly happy!
Appendices:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
"2517 The heart is the seat of moral personality: "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication...." The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance: Remain simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man's life.
2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith: The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed "so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe."
2519 The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty."
Pope Benedict XII issued in 1336 the Apostolic Constitution called BENEDICTUS DEUS (On the Beatific Vision of God):
By this Constitution which is to remain in force for ever, we, with apostolic authority, define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints who departed from this world before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and also of the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins and other faithful who died after receiving the holy baptism of Christ—provided they were not in need of any purification when they died, or will not be in need of any when they die in the future, or else, if they then needed or will need some purification, after they have been purified after death—and again the souls of children who have been reborn by the same baptism of Christ or will be when baptism is conferred on them, if they die before attaining the use of free will: all these souls, immediately (mox) after death and, in the case of those in need of purification, after the purification mentioned above, since the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into heaven, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment, have been, are and will be with Christ in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and paradise, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the passion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and see the divine essence with an intuitive vision and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature by way of object of vision; rather the divine essence immediately manifests itself to them, plainly, clearly and openly, and in this vision they enjoy the divine essence. Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment.
Such a vision and enjoyment of the divine essence do away with the acts of faith and hope in these souls, inasmuch as faith and hope are properly theological virtues. And after such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment has or will have begun for these souls, the same vision and enjoyment has continued and will continue without any interruption and without end until the last Judgment and from then on forever.
(On hell and the general judgment)
Moreover we define that according to the general disposition of God, the souls of those who die in actual mortal sin go down into hell immediately (mox) after death and there suffer the pain of hell. Nevertheless, on the day of judgment all men will appear with their bodies "before the judgment seat of Christ" to give an account of their personal deeds, "so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Cor. 5.10).
(Taken from "The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church", published by Alba House.) Provided Courtesy of: www.ewtn.com
Friday 3 March 2017
Beatitudes and Gifts of the Holy Spirit
I can't believe it has been a whole month since my last blog! I can't even blame it on my 2 Fridays being away on vacation. I have realized that this change from simply reading the whole bible every year to studying in detail from the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is a much slower process than anticipated. I honestly think that I shouldn't try to study en entire book in the New Testament every 2 weeks as was planned. I will take my time to savor through this amazing resource and ask God to bless me with new insight every day - not only to feed my mind, but also my soul.
So I am now in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew. The Beatitudes (verses 3-12) are familiar verses. The Study Bible asks the question:
Reflect on and discuss how the first seven beatitudes might correspond to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2)
So here are the first seven beatitudes:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (I found out I can easily find pretty much anything in the Catechism by googling CCC, e.g. "CCC gifts of the holy spirit" and look for it in the Vatican.va site; which in this case leads me to CCC 1830-1845) the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are:
1845 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
So how do the Gifts of the Holy Spirit enable me to be poor in spirit?
It is that I will recognize my need for God and His grace. I become less attached to this world and find security in the Lord. I will rely on His mercy rather than my own merits or material wealth. And I will develop a longing for the future inheritance of God's Kingdom at the final judgement (Matthew 25:34). Only the gifts of the Holy Spirit will enable me to do this! CCC 2544-47 further explains this:
2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.
2545 All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty."
2546 "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs:
The Word speaks of voluntary humility as "poverty in spirit"; the Apostle gives an example of God's poverty when he says: "For your sakes he became poor."
2547 The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. "Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven frees us from anxiety about tomorrow. Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God.
So I am now in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew. The Beatitudes (verses 3-12) are familiar verses. The Study Bible asks the question:
Reflect on and discuss how the first seven beatitudes might correspond to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2)
So here are the first seven beatitudes:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (I found out I can easily find pretty much anything in the Catechism by googling CCC, e.g. "CCC gifts of the holy spirit" and look for it in the Vatican.va site; which in this case leads me to CCC 1830-1845) the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are:
1845 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
So how do the Gifts of the Holy Spirit enable me to be poor in spirit?
It is that I will recognize my need for God and His grace. I become less attached to this world and find security in the Lord. I will rely on His mercy rather than my own merits or material wealth. And I will develop a longing for the future inheritance of God's Kingdom at the final judgement (Matthew 25:34). Only the gifts of the Holy Spirit will enable me to do this! CCC 2544-47 further explains this:
2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.
2545 All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty."
2546 "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs:
The Word speaks of voluntary humility as "poverty in spirit"; the Apostle gives an example of God's poverty when he says: "For your sakes he became poor."
2547 The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. "Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven frees us from anxiety about tomorrow. Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God.
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