Does God stop listening?

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Something Father Frank Pavone said in his homily on EWTN seems to indicate that people can be so wicked that God will no longer listen to their prayers.

I haven’t stopped weeping since. I had no idea this was even possible. If I can’t even pray for others, what use am I? If God isn’t listening to me any more, this is indeed Hell on earth.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

You’ve gone from the general to the particular way, way too fast.

If indeed you were ‘so wicked that God would not listen to your prayers’ you would not be CONCERNED about being wicked. You would not be CONCERNED about praying for others.

It would not be so much that God ‘stopped listening to you’; it would be that you yourself had decided to stop listening to God. It would mean that YOU killed the relationship, not God. God would be ‘responding’ to that death, not actively ‘causing’ the death Himself.

Does that help?

Remember, God never does evil. And if you remember, God has said that the only unforgiveable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Thus, the people about whom Fr. Pavone spoke, having sinned the unforgiveable sin, would be those people.

They would not be those who had done any other sin–even mortal. God does not stop listening to you ever–no matter how awful your sins are–until YOU make the decision that you are ‘unforgiveable’, blaspheme the Spirit and DO NOT REPENT–and then, God’s ‘stopping listening to you’ is the RESPONSE He makes to YOUR action, not His ‘independent’ action to 'cut you off.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Really? Then God is still listening to me? That would be wonderful.

I know I’m selfish, vain, gluttonous, forgetful, empty-headed, you name it. But if I could not even pray for others I would feel my life had no meaning.

After having a terrifying dream of being in Hell, and hearing this homily, I admit to being shaken to the core.

I don’t know how atheists can stand it. :crying:

 

[vee8]

I havent listened to that homily yet but will pay close attention when I do. It seems a bit strange because for one if people are so wicked I really think they arent praying to begin with so how could God ignore them or not when they arent even trying to talk to him?!

Remember the story of the prodigal son, and the story of the good shepherd who goes after the lost sheep and feel comforted by those. Ive said prayers when I was lapsed and not in a state of grace and my prayers were answered, so dont give up and dont stop praying for others.

 

[MarieVeronica]

I haven’t listened to Fr. Pavone’s homily, either. But just from your words… I was struck by a thought.

Could it be that Fr. Pavone was speaking more of those who claim to do God’s Will… but do NOT? It reminded me of the following Gospel reading:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the Will of My Father in Heaven shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 7:22)

It occurs to me, that perhaps this is what Fr. Pavone may have been referring to. There are those in the world, who “claim” to be Catholic… Christian. And yet, they still engage in horrendous sinful things, such as encouraging abortion “rights”. Just a thought.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Father Pavone was referring to today’s first reading from Mass (Isaiah 1):

When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!

So there is a reason that God is refusing to listen: the people are looking the other way when there is bloodshed of innocents all around them. (Father Pavone likened it to today, when many people do nothing to end the bloodshed of abortion.)

But, as always with our merciful God, that is not the end of the story. Father Pavone went on to mention that God continued by telling what the people could do about it. Here is the end of the same reading, which ends on a hopeful note:

Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

So nothing is ever hopeless with God, as long as we are willing to repent and change our ways.

 

[St_Gabriel]

I was listening to that homily today as well. Here’s what I got out of it. The people whom he was refering to were apathetic to help others who were in need. So basically they were asking God to help them when they would not help their neighbor.

Love thy neighbor and Love God are the two greatest commandments as Jesus pointed out and they go hand in hand.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Yes, thanks, very much.

I’m in the spin cycle today. The readings from the last Mass included the parable about the sown seed falling on rocky soil or being choked by thorns, and in my mood I thought, “I’m the thorns and the rocky soil.”

Today I picked up Luke where I had left off, and guess what parable he was discussing?

I think I am being reminded that my faith is weak. I ask forgiveness!