Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

[DesDiamondS]

I was really shocked when I got the news. My sister sent me a text message right before Obama addressed the nation. I jumped on my computer and couldn’t believe it. I had honestly lost hope that the military would ever find him.

 

[LilyM]

I see alot of back and forth on this thread. Yes, as Christians, we should not celebrate death. I was not out dancing in the streets last night. But I cannot lie- I said some pretty despicable things and celebrated at home last night. Un-Catholic? Yes, and I will have to examine my conscience and make a true confession for that. I will, one day, include the soul of bin Laden in my prayers. I will not do either of these things today. Today, I see a small clearing in a 10 year nightmare that began when my godmother was among those killed in the South Tower. Will this stop terrorism? No. Did Hitler’s death stop Nazism? No; in fact, it exists even to this day. But it is a huge victory.
My wife asked me last night if my godmother would have been happy with my choice of words in regards to bin Laden’s death. I responded that thanks to him, I would never agin know what would have made her happy. In time, I will be able to forgive and ask God’s forgiveness for how I’ve felt these last 15 hours. But not today-today I reflect on those that died because of him, and smile when I think of the fact that my children will now be able to grow up in a world where ‘Osama bin Laden’ is a name they read in the history books regarding a dark decade for America.
By the way, for those that do pray for bin Laden-I thank God for you all too. Everyone needs our prayers and I am thankful that you stand up and pray for him. I hope to join your ranks one day-please understand that today cannot be that day…

God bless you, and prayers for you and for the soul of your godmother. I’m sure God understands your feelings. Take all the time you need to reflect on things.

 

[Stjudeprayforus]

Really? Imagine the stress of actually being one of the men that took part in the raid. How would you like to have been the poor guy carrying a camera for the viewing pleasure of some guys watching back in their cushy office?

Didn’t mean to offend. Nothing is more brave than what the Seals did yesterday.

The SEAL on the ground is a trained warrior stud. The guy in the cushy chair is not.
It would be hard to watch it.

They probably had cameras in their gear… I doubt a camera man followed them in.

 

[bellasbane]

politico.com/news/stories/0511/54093.html

Wow… the whole thing was watched live… in the White House.

I cant imagine the stress of watching it unfold live.

Thanks for the link to this story. The details are incredible.

 

[LilyM]

Dont put your guilt on me. I just said how I feel. You want to offer a prayer for his soul go ahead. I honestly doubt that if God saved ladin that I will go to hell for not praying for him. Perhaps you should pray for my soul too. Look, the only way a prayer for bin ladin would do any good right now anyway is if he is in purgatory, If he is already saved. We should and did pray for him while alive.

God is beyond time, and so can apply our prayers retroactively. Just as He applied Christ’s merits retroactively to ensure that Mary was conceived free of priginal sin even before He Himself was conceived or incarnated.

St Padre Pio reportedly prayed for a happy death for his father for decades after his father’s death. We can do the same.

If he came to God at his last breath, great, that is how Gods mercy works but the logic I find starnge is one that thinks that we can pray bin ladin to be sitting right next to his victims.

As Catholics we all believe that St Paul is in heaven sitting right next to St Stephen and all the other early Christian martyrs whom he persecuted unto death. What is the difference here? Of course we can and should hope and pray that EVERY soul, without exception, makes it to heaven, including the likes of Bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin as well as their victims.

PS on a off note I find it odd that many question the existance of God because of all the evil in the world and then when Justice comes to an evil doer we question God again…

I don’t question God nor His justice - which is perfectly tempered with mercy, more perfectly than ours often is. Remember God’s justice frequently differs from what WE think is just. Our ideas of justice are too often infected with ideas of revenge, holier-than-thou condemnation of the sinner and other selfish thoughts and motives.

I DO question those who are seemingly so eager to consign a soul to Hell that they rejoice at the thought rather than pray that that soul makes it to heaven. I appreciate the reasons why they might feel this way, in the case of Osama bin Laden especially, but I question it nonetheless.

 

[Lisel]

Put your scripture away and celebrate.

 

[Lisel]

I’d have preferred a capture if possible unless troops were caught in gunfire and acting in self defense. I do not rejoice though in the killing of any born human person. We also have no idea if he repented before drawing his last breath. Judgment is now in the hands of God. Peace on earth.

Not me. A bullet in the left eye was about as much mercy as he deserved. Who wants a live Bin Laden for trial? Not me. Not the country.

 

[LilyM]

Put your scripture away and celebrate.

“Put your scripture away?” Never. Ever. What sort of person even suggests such a thing?

 

[LilyM]

Not me. A bullet in the left eye was about as much mercy as he deserved. Who wants a live Bin Laden for trial? Not me. Not the country.

It’s about as much mercy as any of us deserve. Aren’t we all lucky God gives us MORE than we deserve? And out of gratitude should we not then extend more to others than THEY deserve?

Why was a live capture and trial good enough for the likes of Saddam Hussein and the Nazis, as well as lesser-known horrors like Slobodan Milosevic, but not for OBL? Is it merely the fact that he killed more Americans than they did that makes him less deserving of it?

What a joke of a double standard.

 

[The_Reginator]

I cannot pray for him, I will not.

So, you insist on disobeying Christ?
“Pray for all who hate you…”

Who needs more prayers, the righteous or the evil-doers?

As has been pointed out by others, God is not confined to time like we are.
We must all swallow our pride and emotions and pray. And not just for bin Ladin. Especially those most in need of His mercy.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

I experienced joy when my son died. It ended a torturous 2 years of his life, and since he was baptised and never reached the age of consent, I know he went straight to heaven, no Purgatory needed. So, be careful with blanket statements. I experienced joy when ObL died, because I knew that he could no longer actively participate in commiting more horrific atrocities against anyone. His fate is in God’s hands. I pray that God will be merciful and just, because I want him to be merciful and just when I have to sit before Him.

Good point there, Scott.

And yes, ultimately, God will take care of the guy. Some Christians today seem to forget that. This “rot in hell” sentiment, while perfectly understandable and “human” in a certain way, forgets the fact that we Christians are called to a certain higher standard than other people. And ignores God’s infinity love and mercy. Andn yes, I pray that God is merciful and just, as I hop you and I are treated the same way when we stand before Him who is the maker of us all. Once again, good post.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

Perhaps a better way to put it is that a celebration at one’s death should be a celebration of their life, but once someone dies it is too late for repentance, and for that we should be sorrowful. We should never be happy at the death of the wicked.

OTOH, that is a good point too, St.TommyMore. I think even your “namesake” would have agreed with that. Yes----what a waste and a tragedy. But, he DID make a choice. But yes, it was the wrong, thoughtless and evil choice. Too bad. And for that I feel sorry for Him.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

I think for this purpose, we shouldn’t be experiencing glee. Joy for the right reasons, maybe, but it certainly is no cause to go out dancing in the streets.

Yes, indeed. VERY undignified. And from my experience with college students (being a former one myself), half of the college students out there whooping and hollering (I’m pretty confident) were just looking for an excuse to celebrate and get drunk anyway. Not ALL of them, of curse, but (I’m confident) a good portion of them.

 

[stormchasergirl]

Perhaps it makes me a bad Catholic to some but I cannot pray for mercy of one who showed none throughout his life and deserves none. I will, however, pray that justice be done for each and every life that was lost because of him and for all the terror he caused throughout the world. I believe that was the significant message of this occurring on Divine Mercy Sunday; that there is a time for mercy but there will also be a time for justice, as Jesus says. Maybe it’s because I can’t associate any sort of humanity with him and see him as more a demon in the flesh rather than a human. I can’t help but feel a little satisfied and relieved knowing that he is in God’s hands now rather than the USA taking him alive. Some are just too dangerous to let live. God is the only one who can truly bring him to justice for his crimes against the world and humanity.

Let the people celebrate. It’s a long time coming. I don’t believe that they’re celebrating his death so much as what it represents. Sure, it doesn’t mean that there’s no more evil in the world but knowing that what most consider to be THE most evil man on earth is now gone, it’s a victory. Good triumphed over evil, that is what the celebration is about. Now Americans and especially those who lost loved ones on 9/11 can have closure they deserve. Even those who didn’t lose someone still lost their way of life that Americans had known before the attacks. He can’t hurt anyone anymore. Can’t inflict anymore terror upon the world. I think it’s a relief, knowing it’s finally over and there’s a little less evil in the world today.

 

[Siochan_Leat]

The whole back and forth about praying/not praying for OBL’s soul is…I don’t know.

We are all sinners. We all have our sticking points in regards to our consciences. The righteous way to handle this is to pray for OBL’s soul and those of his victims. Sometimes righteousness is a little difficult to come by.

Some of us are having a hard time thinking about praying for someone who was so evil in his life. Some of us were rather close to NYC or DC or PA and remember the fear, sadness and anger. As for myself, I will never forget the intense fear I felt as I was trying to get to my children and husband, while thinking we were at war and knowing it was brought to us without provocation.

Asking some of us to pray for his soul is a little tough. We are struggling with our feelings to begin with, adding the death of the person who caused it all it makes it harder.

I’m sure that I can speak for those of us who are struggling when I say that we want to be in the frame of mind where we could pray for his soul. We are just not in that frame of mind. Again, it is OUR cross to bear and ultimately WE need to examine our consciences before we can move on to pray for such a soul. Name calling and finger pointing (by anyone) is not going to advance us to that point any quicker.

Please step back and try to put yourself in our shoes. We understand your point, now please try to understand ours.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, said the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked

Great conflict comes with this death. The vengeful American heart wants to rejoice, but the Catholic in me is filled with sorrow that a life has been taken and a soul will spend an eternity in the torments of hell.

I say this because we are taught that only God can create life. Even if Satan is able to steal that soul he doesn’t have the power to create a life. Every life, even those infected by evil, were created by God and in his image and only God has the right to take the life He created from us.

DO NOT get me wrong, I thank God that no more innocent lives will be taken at the hands of an evil man. My heart goes out to the families of Bin Laden’s victims, as they now have to relive the horror they have been made to suffer. My prayers and gratitude goes out to any member of any military that are laying down their lives to protect ours…

However celebrating the taking of any life created by God, no matter now good or evil, goes against everything we belive.

I do agree that for a lot of these folks, it will be a while before they are able to fell that way, though. Like one of the posters said----he can’t pray today. Maybe some day, but not today. I will pray for him but I will not feel sadness nor gladnss for him. He will have to stand in front of his God and explain himself. i don’t think it is going to be pretty.

 

[livnlern]

Am praying for the poor man (don’t know his name) who was on Fox News about an hour ago whose grandson was born 4 days before 9/11 and whose son (baby’s father) died on 9/11. The poor man is still so terribly sad over the death of his son. You can tell he’s heartbroken and dispirited over what happened. Ten years and he still can’t recover from his loss…

 

[Catholicpotato]

God is beyond time, and so can apply our prayers retroactively. Just as He applied Christ’s merits retroactively to ensure that Mary was conceived free of priginal sin even before He Himself was conceived or incarnated.Im not sure about that. Im not sure if that is Catholic teaching or even if that matters.

St Padre Pio reportedly prayed for a happy death for his father for decades after his father’s death. We can do the same.I can Definately pray that Bin ladins death was a happy one. I know it was happy for many.

As Catholics we all believe that St Paul is in heaven sitting right next to St Stephen and all the other early Christian martyrs whom he persecuted unto death. What is the difference here?You really dont see the difference between St paul and bin ladin, you are kidding right? Of course we can and should hope and pray that EVERY soul, without exception, makes it to heaven,That is our hope and Gods hope, sadly humanity does not always live up to that hope including the likes of Bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin as well as their victims. I think you are misunderstanding something here. I pray that UBL had a CONVERSION of heart right before he died. I doubt that happend though.

I don’t question God nor His justice - which is perfectly tempered with mercy, more perfectly than ours often is. Remember God’s justiceAnd mercy frequently differs from what WE think is justand merciful…But sometimes our justice is modeled after Gods. Our ideas of justice are too often infected with ideas of revenge, holier-than-thouI take no pride in thinking I am holier than UBL. I am, I am stll a horrid sinner but actually sometimes you have a splinter in your eye and it is your brother with the plank. condemnation of the sinner and other selfish thoughts and motives.it is also selfish to think others need to feel the same way about this as you.

I DO question those who are seemingly so eager to consign a soul to Hell that they rejoice at the thought rather than pray that that soul makes it to heaven.I have not seen one person do this. only God can do this and I think EVERYONE on here is in agreement. I do know however that it is hard to get to heaven even for the likes of a typical Catholic just living life. I also know that you come to heaven by way of Jesus not muhammed and that you will answer for your life. I also find it very biblical that many people do go to hell, and that it is permanent, i’d feel pretty good about laying a C note on where UBL is. But I do not get to condemn. I am sad that there is a hell that anyone has to go to. I rejoice with those in heaven that heaven will not contain evil. I appreciate the reasons why they might feel this way, in the case of Osama bin Laden especially, but I question it nonetheless.

I think it is silly to think others are wrong for being happy at justice. Bottom line is it is the opposite of paschals wager. If God puts UBL in heaven I have no reason to worry about going to hell for throwing a party for his death tonight!

 

[BlsdBGd]

Jesus loves all unconditionally and He proved it by shedding His blood for all, including B Laden. Jesus asked us to pray the divine mercy chaplet for the dying, especially for those in MOST need of His mercy, because He does not want one soul to be damned. So why are people rejoicing over this man’s murder? The commandment says, thou shall not kill. It doesn’t say … except for people like B Laden. B Laden has a lot of followers in many nations and now they have another excuse to seek revenge, not only because of his death, but also because of the way his body was handled. pray for your nation because unconditional love is the only answer. if america wants peace, then it has to change or accept the consequences. there is no reason to rejoice over anyones murder. Gd alone is the Author of Life and He alone has the authority to take it back to Himself. Pray for america’s enemies, for their souls, that our Heavenly Father deliver them from the Evil One, draw them to our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for the people who are rejoicing in your streets.

 

[Catholicpotato]

Jesus loves all unconditionally and He proved it by shedding His blood for all, including B Laden. Jesus asked us to pray the divine mercy chaplet for the dying, especially for those in MOST need of His mercy, because He does not want one soul to be damned. So why are people rejoicing over this man’s murder? The commandment says, thou shall not kill. It doesn’t say … except for people like B Laden. B Laden has a lot of followers in many nations and now they have another excuse to seek revenge, not only because of his death, but also because of the way his body was handled. pray for your nation because unconditional love is the only answer. if america wants peace, then it has to change or accept the consequences. there is no reason to rejoice over anyones murder. Gd alone is the Author of Life and He alone has the authority to take it back to Himself. Pray for america’s enemies, for their souls, that our Heavenly Father deliver them from the Evil One, draw them to our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for the people who are rejoicing in your streets.

Praise to Jesus who allowed so much mercy on divine mercy sunday to be bestowed upon the world by the death of UBL. I rejoice with the souls of the victims, with those who were living in fear of what this man was planning. If you think the world did not recieve a blessing by what happened I truly do not understand you.

The world is a better place today than yesterday! That is what we all should hope for!