It's a question of a wise balance between Justice and Mercy. At the moment everything is about a False Mercy which is the sin of Presumption. Very,very few even mention Justice. I forget the last time I heard a preacher mention Hell, I think it was when I was a child. I have never in my lifetime heard a priest or anyone else for that matter, being be too strict concerning sin. I hear lots of talk about this , but I've never ever experienced it myself, quite the opposite. It's a bit like the mythical Unicorn. Everyone talks about it but no one has ever seen it. The same thing with the strict clergyman. Everyone talks about him but no one has ever met up with one. https://psalm91.com/the-tragic-loss-of-sense-of-sin-by-pope-john-paul-ii/ The Loss of Sense of Sin: By Pope John Paul II “It happens not infrequently in history, for more or less lengthy periods and under the influence of many different factors, that the moral conscience of many people becomes seriously clouded. ‘Have we the right idea of conscience?’ – I asked two years ago in an address to the faithful – ‘Is it not true that modern man is threatened by an eclipse of conscience? By a deformation of conscience? By a numbness or ‘deadening’ of conscience?’ Too many signs indicate that such an eclipse exists in our time. This is all the more disturbing in that conscience, defined by the council as ‘the most secret core and sanctuary of a man,’ is ‘strictly related to human freedom…For this reason conscience, to a great extent, constitutes the basis of man’s interior dignity and, at the same time, of his relationship to God.’ It is inevitable therefore that in this situation there is an obscuring also of the sense of sin, which is closely connected with the moral conscience, the search for [divine] Truth and the desire to make a responsible use of freedom. When the conscience is weakened the sense of God is also obscured, and as a result, with the loss of this decisive inner point of reference, the sense of sin is lost. This explains why my predecessor Pius XII one day declared, in words that have almost become proverbial, ‘The sin of the century is the loss of the ‘sense of sin.'” Pope John Paul II Reconciliation and Penance December 2, 1984.
Very encouraging. DeGaulle! But no matter how one may question the fruit of his Pontificate, the length of his prolonged illness leading up to his death may have been a blessing in disguise . May we never, never nurture a judgment such as, "I hope he gets what he deserves!" But for the Mercy of God, there go I! O Mary conceived without sin, pray that the Mercy of your Son prevail at my Personal Judgment!
That's just it. Recently on the board we have had discussions about the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit. Poor laity on the margins not getting told they are in unrepentant sin, having cut themselves off from the Holy Spirit by their behavior, is not kind, it's false mercy, it is horrible. Will God cut them off, possibly not because they are ignorant. But the clergy who know better, they should be nervous.
There is such a thing in Moral Theology as, 'Invincible Ignorance'. That people simply did not know and so are innocent of any wrong. But I think this is much, much rarer than people are inclined to suppose. A basic sense of right and wrong is written very deeply into our moral DNA. Especially as regards Natural Law. Take the ownership of slaves for instance. Many , 'Christians', in the past owned slaves. I'd be very surprised indeed if most if not all of them had a at least a twinge of unease about it.
According to Catholic tradition, when Our Lord saved the adulterous woman from being stoned, He drew the Ten Commandments of the Law of Moses on the ground. In doing so, all those present, whose anger was burning against the woman, recognized themselves as guilty of having transgressed at least one of them. However, not even a jot of the Law shall pass away until heaven and earth have passed. What should we learn from this? Perhaps the next pope should emphasize the primacy of grace and mercy while highlighting that the commandments do not change ?The woman caught in adultery may not have been pure, and perhaps she only received the grace of contrition and regeneration because Our Lord used an approach that transcended the weight of each commandment? The fact that Our Lord saved her life was also transformative for her, much like someone rescued from a fire by a firefighter, who then lives with an eternal debt of gratitude?
Sounds nice but love must also be part of it...my children are coming back to the Church...I had to be quite gentle and let God take care of it...I'm not a Saint so I must follow my heart ...honesty isn't always the best policy.. If you ever told me I had to do something a certain way, I would do the opposite. That's why I love "I surrender " "Jesus please take care of it" my motto. Also the Rosary!!
This is comforting to hear. Sometimes I contemplate, should I be like St. John the Baptist jumping up and down shouting repentance to family and friends, am I escaping my conscience and making excuses saying I will pray for them? I still am unsure but I think often that Christ's invite is just that, an invitation and many say no, especially if their hearts aren't ready. My own heart took far too long to melt and conform to Christ despite having some honest people give me their honest opinions long ago. Whoever will be the next pope, I pray, will preach the need for the Rosary, like Agnes said here and numerous saints, the Rosary saves souls. Like that sappy scene in "Sissy," nothing melts hearts like a mamma, "viva la mamma!" Ave Maria.
This is exactly what I am getting at. I don't believe in forceful religion at all, but I also don't believe in compromising God's Law. I see the Catholic church as a means of liberation not oppression. Holiness is not a middle ground, but something to strive for. People are going to continue to be people, broken and ignorant. Hammering them when they are down wont help them, but neither will accommodating sin. Understanding why church holds to the Truth the way it does goes a long way, which is why I think the next Pope needs to be a leader in terms of pastoral care. Many are going to be entering with a lot of confusion and ranting about their sins wont help.
Todays Gospel featured Our Lord telling the Apostles that whatever sins they forgive, are forgiven; whatever they retain are retained. Over two millenia, I get the impression that The Church hasn't been much into the retaining business.
It's a very basic, fundamental and consistent teaching of The Church, that 'full knowledge' is required in order to be guilty of mortal sin. 'Poor laity on the margins' might not be the best educated, but clergy undergo years of education.
I'm in the same position. It's a case of 'whatever you say, say nothing'. I think, in my case, example and prayer is best, lest I open my mouth, put my foot in it (which is very possible, as everyone can see in my posts!) and drive them further away.
Aye, one could easily get carried away by preaching to the converted. It's the unconverted, however, who are the target.
This is a whole other ball of wax, currently people like Sam Shamoun are doing a great job online in spite of the current condition of the church. Surgically remove the globalist tentacles while bringing back orthodoxy and then we will see some really big changes. And, what is exciting is that I believe it has already started. Erdo didn't get and release the information regarding Macron influencing French Cardinals by accident. The same with Cardinal Zen calling out Parolin.
Yes I have come off as John the Baptist and chased everyone away lol. Then I realized by our love, prayers and example, God gets a chance to take over. It's much easier on me too. Let go and let God!!![/QUOTE]
