T
thistle
Guest
We are actually judged by the state of our soul at death. Good works out of love have no merit if we die in a state of mortal sin.
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F
fhansen
Guest
There’s no difference IMO because “mortal sin destroys charity in man’s heart” according to the Catechism, and charity is what man’s justice consists of and that’s why the greatest commandments are what they are. And those commandments speak to a state of our soul. Love precludes sin because the two are mutually exclusive. So, I believe St John of the Crosses’ statement is just the positive way of saying we’ll judged by the state of our soul.
K
kepha1
Guest
Love for the truth was a favorite theme of Pope John Paul II. “Let us seek the truth about Christ and about his Church!..Let us love the Truth, proclaim the Truth! O Christ, show us the Truth! Be the only Truth for us!” – Agenda for the Third Millennium Pope John Paul II
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The Holy Father’s enthusiasm for the truth however is not shared by the secular world. In fact, its citizens, in general, harbor a distinct fear of the truth. This fear may be analyzed on three different levels:- that the truth would impose unwanted moral responsibilities on them;
- that any association with the truth would occasion an air of pretentiousness;
- that any claim to the truth might expose them to being wrong.
They prefer freedom from moral responsibility, absence of any “holier than thou” attitude and exemption from the possible embarrassment of being in error. Their fears, however, take them from the very light and meaning they long for, and plunge them into a dark void were they are trapped by a misery of their own making. Their flight from the truth is also an entrance into a world of gloom. These three fears are ill fated, as well as ill founded. First of all, truth is our only avenue to real freedom. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32
Ignorance may at times be blissful, but it is never illuminating. St. Augustine once remarked that he had met many people who had been deceived, but never met anyone who wanted to be deceived.
We have a natural hunger for the truth of things. No one ever asks for the wrong time. It is always the “right” time and the truth about things we want to learn.
Untruth is not helpful, but truth is like a beacon that shows us the way. This is why the Pope titled his great encyclical on the freeing function of truth as Veritas Splendor (Truth’s Splendor).
When we are lost we want to learn the truth about our situation so that we can be liberated from our confusion. The truth makes us free; untruth binds us to bewilderment. The truth about ourselves awakens us to our moral responsibilities, but we need this awakening in order to become whom we truly are, to advance toward our destiny, to build a meaningful life.
We should welcome the truth that illuminates our moral responsibilities with the same enthusiasm that a person who is lost in the woods and welcomes a compass and a map.
Secondly, (con’t)
K
kepha1
Guest
Secondly, the fear that any discovery of truth would make us pretentious is also counterproductive. Truth is not of our own making. Even Christ proclaimed that the truth He illuminated did not spring from Him alone. “My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (John 17:6)
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Truth is not subjective. It represents the objective order of things. The person who comes to know something of the truth, then should experience humility, not vanity, for he discovers something that is not his.
Christ was emphatic in his denunciation of the Pharisees who claimed to know something of the truth but behaved with a pretentious snobbery. Truth is not he cause of Pharisaism, vanity is.
And both Christ and his Church are unrelenting in their advocacy of humility and in their condemnation of vanity. In fact, it may be far less tolerant of Pharisaism than the secular world. Consider, for example, the comment, “I hate anything fake,” made by Britney Spears, a veritable icon of artificiality and pretense. The secular world awards this kind of duplicity with celebrity.
Thirdly, there is the rather spineless fear that in perusing the truth, we might fall into the embarrassing predicament of being wrong. Again, there is nothing wrong that can reasonably justify this anxiety. We all make mistakes. Not to try something for fear of making a mistake is akin to a paralyzing neurosis that would discourage one from trying anything.
Some people avoid marriage because they fear divorce. Others avoid friendship because they fear rejection. The pursuit of truth presupposes a certain amount of courage. If nothing is ventured, as the maxim goes, nothing is gained.
The fact that truth is indispensable for a meaningful life does not mean that it is always agreeable. Mounting the bathroom scale can be a breathless ascent, because the anxious weight-watcher knows that this simple piece of machinery tells the truth.
But he disconcerting truth that one is overweight may be exactly what one needs if exercising and dieting are to follow. The freedom that health offers may need to be preceded by the disagreeable truth that one is too fat.
Truth is as natural to our minds as oxygen is to our lungs and food is to our digestive system. It is a great mistake to regard the teaching of truth as an **imposition**. The Church does not, nor can she, “**impose**” truth.
Rather, she endeavors to **propose** truths to those who are **disposed** to receive them. The *Vatican’s Declaration of Religious Liberty* states that, “The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with gentleness and power.
The Church as Guardian of the Truth and Teacher of the Word provides food for hungry minds. She does not **impose** the truth; no more than do Christians **impose** food on hungry bodies when they practice this corporeal act of mercy.
She guards it because it needs to be protected against the contamination of error. She teaches it because it is more nourishing than error. Moreover, the truth enables her to teach realistically about the truth of Christ, the truth of the Catholic Church, and the truth of man. Apostles are ministers of love, but they are also servants of the truth.
By Dr. Donald DeMarco, Professor of Philosophy, St. Jerome’s College at U. of Waterloo, he is married with 5 children.
Taken from The Bread of Life Magazine, July / Aug. Volume 26 Number 3.
O
onemangang
Guest
In April 2007, Steele revealed that he began identifying himself as Roman Catholic in recent years, after decades of self-professed atheism. In an interview with Decibel magazine, Steele explained:
“There are no atheists in foxholes, they say, and I was a foxhole atheist for a long time. But after going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly, it made me realize my mortality. And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what’s after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it’s a frightening thought to go nowhere. I also can’t believe that people like Stalin and Hitler are gonna go to the same place as Mother Teresa.”
Indeed R.I.P Peter Steele
G
Godmachine
Guest
Yes, I remember that interview. It seemed such a stark contrast to the dark, gothic image he always tried to convey. I really have to wonder how sincere he was when he did this interview since at the time he was doing a reunion tour with Carnivore and still playing songs like God is Dead, Jesus Hitler, and Angry Neurotic Catholic. Great music IMO, but not exactly church music.In April 2007, Steele revealed that he began identifying himself as Roman Catholic in recent years, after decades of self-professed atheism. In an interview with Decibel magazine, Steele explained:
“There are no atheists in foxholes, they say, and I was a foxhole atheist for a long time. But after going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly, it made me realize my mortality. And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what’s after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it’s a frightening thought to go nowhere. I also can’t believe that people like Stalin and Hitler are gonna go to the same place as Mother Teresa.”
Indeed R.I.P Peter Steele
J
jochoa
Guest
Hello my friend! You have excellent and deep questions. In order to recognize the Truth, I recommend two things: Begin with simpler questions, and refer to the Catechisms and Doctrines of the Catholic Faith to learn what Catholicism knows.
The following is an intro to recognizing the Fullness of Truth:
- We think, therefore we do not know, therefore we must have faith. Since you and I have faith, why not place our faith in something greater, something hopeful?
2a. One of the greatest hopes in dying is Heaven. In order to recognize a possibility for Heaven existing, one must ponder what was the first thing to exist as a physical substance. There are two options: the first thing had to either be living or non-living. If we assume the first thing is non-living, then all things up to the first life would have been non-living and would have had no ability to create a Heaven. Therefore a greater and more hopeful faith will not only place its trust in a Heaven, but also a single all-powerful God. Two reasons for a single all-powerful God are: 1. If we believe the first thing was living, then all things following came from that single living being. 2. If we believe the first thing created a Heaven and the living being created other all-powerful Gods, then the other Gods could destroy the Heaven and Earth that was created.
2b. Since every person wants and fulfills various wants, we all want happiness. However in order to experience a genuine happiness, there must be peace. And in order to have peace, there must be complete patience, and in order to experience any degree of happiness, there must be kindness. Therefore, it can be said that the greatest actions in living to master are patience and kindness for one will experience an unbreakable peace and perfect happiness. Next recognize that it is the Holy Bible that declares this first, “…the greatest of these is charity/love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
At this point, one has the option of crediting the Author(s) of the Holy Bible for the revelation of the Truth or one can discredit it. If one credits it, s/he will give all glory to the one God, Jesus Christ, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as credit to His Universal Church for overcoming the challenges of spreading the Word. If one discredits it, one will live as though they are self-made.
My friend, I thoroughly enjoyed responding to you. You have helped me grow in understanding by asking questions, and I greatly appreciate you asking. May your day be filled with peace and happiness, and I look forward to further conversation!
Thoughts?
J
Jesusismybff
Guest
I read about a research done some years ago, where it said that if two verses in the Bible contradicted each other, there was always a third verse to reconcile the two. In the case of who goes to heaven, I am sure there are various verses that refer to it and apparently they contradict each other (otherwise there wouldn’t be so much conflict). Yet the Bible also tells us not to lean on our own understanding, not to judge others, et cetera. I think especially the not-judging principle applies here. We can argue about who ends up in heaven, but the truth is none of us actually know for sure because we aren’t the ones to decide.
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snarflemike
Guest
I’m amazed at your amazement.
In the first place, why would you expect every Catholic to know every aspect of the faith? Being Catholic is not the same as being a PhD. Do you know every aspect of everything that affects your life? Do all agnostics give identical answers to all agnostic questions? Does that prevent you from being agnostic?
In the second place, God has not revealed everything to us, so of course we don’t know everything, and are often reduced to speculating (sometimes helpful, sometimes not).
Catholicism answers the most fundamental questions - why am I here, how should I live, what is my destiny?
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