Shepherd of Hermas

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The Shepherd also contains a clear teaching on the reality of guardian angels:

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" Hear now, said he, in regard to faith. There are two angels with a man— one of righteousness, and the other of iniquity." And I said to him, “How, sir, am I to know the powers of these, for both angels dwell with me?” Hear, said he, "and understand them. The angel of righteousness is gentle and modest, meek and peaceful. When, therefore, he ascends into your heart, immediately he talks to you of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and of every righteous deed and glorious virtue. When all these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you. These are the deeds of the angel of righteousness. Trust him, then, and his works. Look now at the works of the angel of iniquity. First, he is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, and ruin the servants of God. When, then, he ascends into your heart, know him by his works. "

Look now at the works of the angel of iniquity. First, he is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, and ruin the servants of God. When, then, he ascends into your heart, know him by his works. And I said to him, How, sir, I shall perceive him, I do not know. Hear and understand said he. When anger comes upon you, or harshness, know that he is in you; and you will know this to be the case also, when you are attacked by a longing after many transactions, and the richest delicacies, and drunken revels, and various luxuries, and things improper, and by a hankering after women, and by overreaching, and pride, and blustering, and by whatever is like to these. When these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of iniquity is in you. Now that you know his works, depart from him, and in no respect trust him, because his deeds are evil, and unprofitable to the servants of God. These, then, are the actions of both angels. Understand them, and trust the angel of righteousness; but depart from the angel of iniquity, because his instruction is bad in every deed. For though a man be most faithful, and the thought of this angel ascend into his heart, that man or woman must sin. On the other hand, be a man or woman ever so bad, yet, if the works of the angel of righteousness ascend into his or her heart, he or she must do something good. You see, therefore, that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness, but to bid farewell to the angel of iniquity . (2.6.2)
 
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We can see clearly the traditional Catholic understanding of a guardian angel appointed to guide souls on towards the Kingdom of God. The angel in this vision also speaks of an angel “of iniquity” who tempts man. While it is certain that demons certainly do tempt mankind, it has never been Catholic doctrine that every man is assigned a particular demon by the devil to tempt him. Although, so long as we do not see the Shepherd as asserting a particular demon assigned to every soul, there is nothing wrong with the statements in the second paragraph, as all men at some point in their life are tempted by the evil one and his minions. Nevertheless, the theology in development here and the emphasis on Christians “knowing the works” of the two angels bears a remarkable resemblance to the doctrine of the discernment of spirits later formulated by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

One interesting passage from Book II of the Shepherd illuminates a problematic text of Scripture. Hebrews 6:4-6 states:

" For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost have moreover tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, and are fallen away: to be renewed again to repentance, crucifying again to themselves the Son of God, and making him a mockery ."

This biblical passage has perennially confounded Protestants, who struggle with the obvious wording, which says it is “impossible” to be “renewed again to repentance” if they have fallen away - this seems to contradict the belief that God will forgive anybody who is truly sorry. Many early Christians also struggled with these passages, and the Donatist heretics misunderstood this to mean that a Christian who had apostasized could never be restored to communion.
 
The passage is problematic, but only if we assume the word “repentance” to mean “saying sorry for your sins and being forgiven by God”, for how could God ever refuse to forgive someone who was truly sorry? The truth of the matter is that “repentance” does not refer to the act of being penitent before God, but is a very early Christian term that refers to the Sacrament of Baptism, as does “illuminated”, which also appears in the passage above. The Shepherd of Hermas makes plain this identification of the term “repentance” with the Sacrament of Baptism. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that the passage from Hebrews is not understandable apart from a sacramental theology:

I said, I heard, sir, some teachers maintain that there is no other repentance than that which takes place, when we descended into the water and received remission of our former sins. He said to me, That was sound doctrine which you heard; for that is really the case . For he who has received remission of his sins ought not to sin any more, but to live in purity…The Lord, therefore, being merciful, has had mercy on the work of His hand, and has set repentance for them; and He has entrusted to me power over this repentance. And therefore I say to you, that if any one is tempted by the devil, and sins after that great and holy calling in which the Lord has called His people to everlasting life, he has opportunity to repent but once. But if he should sin frequently after this, and then repent, to such a man his repentance will be of no avail; for with difficulty will he live. And I said, Sir, I feel that life has come back to me in listening attentively to these commandments; for I know that I shall be saved, if in future I sin no more. And he said, You will be saved, you and all who keep these commandments . (2.4.3)

Conclusion

The Shepherd of Hermas is not a perfect work. Even setting aside passages that are ambiguous or problematic, it is not the most engaging piece of patristic literature. It’s strength is not in its details, but in the broad ecclesiological vision it depicts: the Church as a tower of living stones, each with its own proper place and shape, all fitted together to build a edifice for God. The various tangents the book goes into on what happens to this or that stone if they repent or not or do or do not manage to do sufficient penance are helpful in gauging the approach to discipline in the 2nd century Church. It is, ultimately, a book about the Church, and as such, should be of interest to any Catholic who truly believes that the Catholic Church is the Church of Christ.

http://www.unamsanctamcatholicam.com/history/79-history/356-shepherd-of-hermas.html
 
Many questions to these statements and the first comes from the passage, " How many times do you forgive your brother?"

Jesus said we are to forgive others “seventy times seven” in response to Peter’s question, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21-22). To fully understand what Jesus was saying, we must look at the context of the whole chapter, for Jesus was speaking not only about forgiving one another but about Christian character, both in and out of the church. The admonition to forgive our brother seventy times seven follows Jesus’ discourse on discipline in the church (Matthew 18:15-20), in which He lays down the rules for restoring a sinning brother.

Peter, wishing to appear especially forgiving and benevolent, asked Jesus if forgiveness was to be offered seven times. The Jewish rabbis at the time taught that forgiving someone more than three times was unnecessary, citing Amos 1:3-13 where God forgave Israel’s enemies three times, then punished them. By offering forgiveness more than double that of the Old Testament example, Peter perhaps expected extra commendation from the Lord. When Jesus responded that forgiveness should be offered four hundred and ninety times, far beyond that which Peter was proposing, it must have stunned the disciples who were listening. Although they had been with Jesus for some time, they were still thinking in the limited terms of the law, rather than in the unlimited terms of grace.Got questions
 
My point is that God sent His son to open our relationship “or to restore” our relationship with Him.

Romans 10

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e]
 
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“The genre of Visions 1-4 is that of a Jewish-Christian apocalypse; except that the interpretation of the vision does not concern the end times, but the possibility of repentance because the end is not yet.”

God’s rebuke always came with the offer of redemption (Isaiah 53:6). A call to repent was a call to return to God (Jeremiah 35:15) with the assurance that God would not turn the offending party away (Joel 2:12-13).

And, noting:
Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
 
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Thank you for your post and the information! A great help.

Many questions regarding the text that I read. The woman, now in heaven, as to state: I see the lady, whom I had desired, greeting me from heaven, saying, “Good morrow, Hermas” tells him that she is his accuser in heaven?

Is there more than one accuser in heaven? Meaning that this woman was able to go before the throne and make allegations against another?

Two thoughts or thinking of two passages:

John 5, 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

25 Luke 12: Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny
 
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