Jul 29 Wed - Should I fully embrace the Council?

 

Jul 29 Wed

Should I fully embrace the Council?

A Christian Catholic must enthusiastically accept the teachings of all the Councils of the Church.

Last year, the Church celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Most Christians embraced it. Yet to this day, one can detect the lingering influence of the Arian heresy; there are theologians in Catholic universities still propounding the idea—anathematized at Nicaea—that Jesus is “mutable or subject to change.”

Aha! I tricked you, didn’t I? When I opened with a question about “the Council,” you assumed that I was referring to Vatican II. For decades now, Catholics have spoken about Vatican II as THE COUNCIL, often implying that it is the only Council that matters.

Every ecumenical council is an important moment in the life of the Church, and Vatican II is no exception.

The Second Vatican Council was convened in no small part to continue the work the First left unfinished, after the First was cut short when Italian troops occupied Rome. 

Vatican I focused on the role of the Roman Pontiff, leaving open questions about the authority of bishops. Vatican II took up that question, among others, but still, many questions remain about the nature of a diocesan bishop’s authority. The Council (and here I do mean Vatican II) did not resolve all those questions.

Many questions remain. Not only questions about episcopal authority and collegiality, but also questions about the necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation, the understanding of conscience, and the proper form of the Eucharistic liturgy. On all these questions, an inquisitive Catholic can easily find sharply opposed opinions, some of them clearly at odds with the actual written pronouncements of the Council.

How can these conflicts be resolved? Pope Benedict XVI, who participated in the conciliar debates, offered the very reasonable proposal that every conciliar teaching—of Vatican II or any other council—should be interpreted with the “hermeneutic of continuity,” on the unassailable understanding that what the Church has always taught remains what the Church will always teach, since the Truth entrusted to the Church in Jesus Christ is not “mutable or subject to change.”

Continuity –not rupture– is fidelity to Jesus, to his Revelation. Thus, the word of God with a new garment is kept alive and is handed down from generation to generation by the Church with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Opposed to this continuity, we sometimes hear opinions about the need for “rupture,” to cut off with most of what the Church has always taught.

The teachings of an ecumenical council are not proclaimed to break or discontinue the Faith.  Yet they do not represent the complete and final definitive statement of the Church. Every Council leaves some questions unanswered, some statements unclear, and some points in need of clarification.

But if anyone interprets Vatican II as repudiating fundamental principles of Catholic teaching, he must be misinterpreting the Council. But here again, I am saying “the” Council. Which Council is he misinterpreting? Probably all of them.

How I wish that many good Catholics would wholeheartedly accept Vatican II, what that Council actually taught and sought. For this to come, we should understand the teachings of Vatican II as the Council Fathers would understand them.

Excerpts from Phil Lawler 

Jul 28 Tue - Did God choose me? And for what?

 

Jul 28 Tue 

Did God choose me? And for what?

“God chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Eph 1:4-5).

In the original Greek text, the verb ‘to choose’ describes the election as a historical fact, fulfilled in God's eternal plan, before time had begun, emphasizing the certainty and definitiveness of this divine act from the perspective of eternity.

Indeed, the expression “before the creation of the world” further underlines the dimension of the pre-existence and eternity of God's saving plan. This phrase not only indicates temporal precedence to creation, but also points to the immutability and certainty of God's purpose in choosing us.

The word used, "to select, to choose," in the New Testament, always implies a choice for an end (e.g., choosing apostles, choosing sons for God).

In this passage, the divine action of choosing is associated with His blessing mentioned in the previous verses. The direct object "us" identifies the recipients of God’s election, while the phrase "in him" specifies the sphere of the election: in Christ.

The expression "in Christ" suggests that the election directs all believers corporately to Christ rather than individually. This phrase indicates that Christ is not merely the instrument of election, the One who chooses, but also the destination or realm toward which we are chosen. The election is not abstract, but takes place "in Christ". This underscores that the choice of all believers is intrinsically linked to the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is through their identification with Christ that believers are the object of this eternal election: to be ‘another’ christ.

The verb ‘to choose’ appears in about 22 passages and always with the nuance of "choosing people for a purpose". Underlying all of them is the divine initiative: "It was not you who chose me, but I chose you" (Jn 15:16). In Ephesians, the emphasis is on the election of believers "in Christ."

St. John Chrysostom observes that God has chosen us to "be holy and blameless before Him." That is, the divine election entails the call to live a blameless life before God. He adds that God is Holy, and therefore we must aim for holiness. This election does not exempt us from moral responsibility; on the contrary, it demands that we respond to God’s election with a holy life.

And what motivated God to choose me? My merits?
God thought of us in Christ from eternity. And "before the foundation of the world," God loved us and chose us (cf. Eph 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20), to include us in his family. This election is free grace that engenders holiness. It is God's "free and gratuitous initiative" before creation.

God chose me because He loved me. And His love remains. 

Jul 27 Mon - Is stubbornness a virtue or a sin?

 

Jul 27 Mon

Is stubbornness a virtue or a sin?

Stubbornness is not automatically a sin or a virtue; it depends on what you are refusing to yield to and why.

St. Josemaría: “The charity of Jesus Christ will often lead you to make concessions. That is very noble. And the charity of Jesus Christ will often lead you to stand your ground. That too is very noble."

“Be uncompromising in doctrine and conduct. But be yielding in manner –a mace of tempered steel, wrapped in a quilted covering.
Be uncompromising, but don't be obstinate."

When is “stubbornness” a sin?

“Stubbornness” (or obstinacy) is a willful determination to yield –a kind of refusal that resists correction or legitimate guidance.

That kind of obstinacy can become seriously sinful, especially when it hardens into an interior resistance to grace and truth.

Sometimes, “to compromise is a sure sign of not possessing the truth. When a man gives way in matters of ideals, of honor, or of Faith, that man is a man without ideals, without honor, and without Faith."

“Listen to a man of God: 'So, that I won't yield an inch? And why should I, if I am convinced of the truth of my ideals? You, on the other hand, are very ready to compromise… Would you agree that two and two are three and a half? Wouldn't you? Surely for friendship's sake you will yield in such a little thing?'
And why won't you? Simply because, for the first time, you feel convinced that you possess the truth, and you have come over to my way of thinking!"

In that spiritual sense, stubbornness is also associated with the sin against the Holy Spirit, commonly listed as including “obstinacy” (along with despair, presumption, and impenitence).

And Thomas Aquinas distinguishes “obstinacy” in evil as involving a certain firmness that makes turning back to God difficult, though in this life it’s not always total, and it can still be addressed by grace.

When can “stubbornness” be a virtue?

Sometimes what people call “stubbornness” is actually fortitude or perseverance –a firmness in doing good.

That “stubbornness” ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. Enriched by perseverance and patience, one develops an inner strength that allows one to keep doing good amid setbacks and hostility.

That inner fortitude is love readily bearing all things for the sake of the loved object.

So, if “stubbornness” means refusing to quit in prayer, refusing to abandon the good, refusing to let fear or pressure force you to betray conscience, it becomes a virtue rather than a vice.

A practical rule of thumb:

Stubbornness is a virtue when it leads to firmness for the good, patience under difficulty, and loyal persistence to truth and duty.

It is sin-leaning when it becomes a willful refusal to yield to lawful authority or correction –especially when it becomes a hardened resistance to God’s truth and grace. 

In short, stubbornness is sinful when it is obstinate resistance to what you are morally bound to accept (God’s truth and lawful authority); it is virtuous when it is firmness in the pursuit of the good under hardship. 

Jul 26 Sun - How do I know what God wants me to do?

 

Jul 26 Sun

How do I know what God wants me to do?

The man who discovered a treasure buried in a field could not ask other people what to do, so he had to counsel himself.

- Judgment means to decide what among the many possibilities is best, meaning what will be both moral and likely to be effective. In some cases, the prudent thing will be to do nothing. 

The man who found the treasure reasoned that the best course of action was to sell everything he had and buy that field.

- Decision means to finally take action. Based on what your reason tells you is best, you then tell your will to do it. 

The man did sell his worldly possessions and bought that field, and so got the treasure.
The Lord says he will give Solomon anything he asks for. Solomon does not ask for a long life, or riches, or the life of his enemies, or any of the other valuable things people want. 

Instead, he asks for prudence so he can govern Israel. That is what he means by “an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” He means practical wisdom; this is the cardinal virtue of prudence.

Prudence, or practical wisdom, or sound decision-making, is the ability to know what to do in any situation and to act on that knowledge.

Prudence leads us to choose what God wants. At first, virtually no one fully welcomes God’s will. The reason is our concupiscence or inclination to sin. This attraction will put us in conflict with God’s will. Therefore, the first victory of the human being over himself is to say yes to the will of God. That is the first positive level of the spiritual life, and it is good. It is good to say yes to God’s will and no to your own when the two conflict.

But we must not only accept God’s will, but love it. We must see God’s will as not only right because God commands it, but also precious, a delight, desirable, and wonderful.

To realize that God will judge me for the good and evil I do in this life is the beginning of prudence if it moves me to repent of the evil and to do good. 

Thomas Aquinas identified three steps or activities within prudence. They are counsel, judgment, and decision. 

- Counsel means to deliberate about what to do, to think it over, to pray about it, to ask for advice, to use your intellect to try to discover the best course of action. 

Prudence is necessary for us to be good citizens of this earth and to prepare to be good citizens of heaven. 

We are faced with choices every day and from time to time with very big decisions. 
- The most prudent thing children can do is obey their parents and teachers.
- The most prudent thing a teenager can do is to have a close relationship with God and to discover one’s divine vocation.
- The most prudent thing an adult can do is always to ask, “What does God want me to do?” God will always want what is moral and what will be effective. 

Jul 25 Sat - Does Christian life imply doing weird things and obeying orders beyond your understanding?

 

Jul 25 Sat

Does Christian life imply doing weird things and obeying orders beyond your understanding?

And getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed.

This paralytic sets us a good example of docility. Lying there on his stretcher, with an expression of quiet supplication, he is used to being moved around and doing what other people tell him. On being brought before our Lord, he abandons himself completely into his power. He has been eagerly awaiting this meeting, and now that he is face-to-face with him, he doesn't ask him for anything. He simply looks at him, trusting in his mercy.

Our Lord knows us inside out. He takes everything in at a glance: the malice of the scribes, whose only interest in the scene is to see if they can undermine his authority, and the faith of the paralytic and his companions. All of it lies open to Christ's gaze.

Have courage, my son; your sins are forgiven. This is Jesus Christ's merciful response to us. Our Lord treats us as little children. 
During the Last Supper, his heart was moved at the thought of having to leave the Apostles, and He called them "little children": very small children of a divine Father.

We need to become children and touch God's heart by the trusting abandonment with which we seek him. Our Lord is there in Holy Communion, as He was at the Last Supper, waiting for us as a father awaits his child. We need to become very little so we can be docile and allow ourselves to be guided towards Jesus in spiritual direction. We need to let ourselves be led; to ask to be brought to Jesus, and not put up any resistance. We need to be the ones who facilitate the task of those who guide us, taking good note of what we are told.

We should be docile and confident in spiritual guidance, like a sick man who seeks out the people who can cure him and then places himself in their hands. We should trust the person who is leading us along our path to sanctity. By being docile to the advice we are given, we will become children again of our Father God.

But do not think that spiritual life consists of blindly obeying and doing complicated things indicated in spiritual direction.

“Some people could perhaps imagine that ordinary life contains very little that can be offered to God: it's made up of trifles or worthless things. Yet small children who want to please their parents give them whatever they've got: a lead soldier with its head missing, an empty cotton reel, a few colorful pebbles, a couple of buttons: everything they value, their "treasures". And a father doesn't consider how babyish the present is: he thanks his child for it with the tenderest of hugs. Let's act in the same way towards God, because these silly little things become great deeds when our love is great. That is what we are here for, to make something heroic out of the little details of every day and every moment, by our Love." 

Jul 24 Fri - Should I examine my conscience daily?

 

Jul 24 Fri

Should I examine my conscience daily?

Why should I foster a spirit of examination? 

“Rectify. A little each day. This must be your constant task if you really want to become a saint." A sure way to advance is trusting God more and trusting ourselves less. 
To fall is not a failure; failure is to remain where you have fallen.
The examination of conscience is a powerful weapon for acquiring serenity and proportion, for coming to know ourselves better and coming to know God better.

We do love our Lord, and we are full of the desire to love him more every day. But those desires are not enough. Love means deeds! We must make sure that our actions match our desires.

This is why we struggle, and this is why we need the examination of conscience. It is indispensable. 

To carry out great projects, we must tackle the little details that ravage our lives: small failures in sincerity, love, or sacrifice. And is there any business more important than the business of eternal life?

This is what we aim to do when we examine our conscience: to discover the small faults that hold us back from total service to God and souls. 

Our examination of conscience makes us see what God wants of us day by day. Our spirit of examination leads us to ask ourselves repeatedly: "Am I doing what God wants me to, now, and in the way He wants me to do it?" This attitude is a natural one because love motivates us. If we are aware of being in God's presence and are trying to please him in everything, a spirit of examination is simply a manifestation of our love. 

Our spirit of examination reflects the sensitivity of our love, together with our ever-present concern to improve how we do things, aiming to have pure intention in everything. Then we can really understand the words of Jeremiah: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one drifts away, does he not turn around? 

We spend time examining our conscience every day. At the end of each day, we stop for a few minutes before God. We ask the Holy Spirit for light, and in a calm, humble dialogue with our heavenly Father, we look and see what our service has been like today. Two or three minutes are enough:
- Place yourself in the presence of God, recognizing his strength and your weakness. Tell him: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
- Ask your guardian angel for light to acknowledge your defects and virtues and examine your conscience with sincerity:
"What have I done wrong? Forgive me, Lord. 
What have I done well? Thank you, Lord. 
What could I have done better?" – followed by a resolution. 
It just takes two minutes, or half a minute. 

- Then, sorrow. Make an act of contrition, asking our Lord’s pardon. 
- Resolution. Make a specific resolution for tomorrow.
- Pray three Hail Marys to the Virgin Mary, asking for the virtue of purity for yourself and your loved ones.

And that's it. 

Jul 23 Thu - In the Mass, what is the Prayer after Communion?

 

Jul 23 Thu

In the Mass, what is the Prayer after Communion?

After Communion, the priest returns to the altar. He either completely consumes any consecrated hosts that remain or carries them to the tabernacle. He then collects any remaining particles, and standing at the side of the altar or at a side table, he purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice, and then the chalice itself, drying it with a purificator. 

The vessels are then taken to a side table by a server. It is also permitted to leave them, properly covered and on a corporal, either at the altar or at a side table, and to purify them after the Mass. 

Afterward, if circumstances allow, the priest and the people may spend some time in silent prayer. If desired, the entire congregation may sing a hymn, psalm, or some other song of praise.

At this moment, we can tell our Lord how much we love him. At other times, however, we will feel as if God is hiding from us. In such moments, we will have to advance like blind men feeling their way, like little children learning to walk. Sometimes, it will be our own fault, even though our mistakes may seem to us to be nothing at all. Our pride then leads us to justify what has no justification. 

Then, standing at the altar or at the chair and facing the people, the priest, with hands outstretched, says, “Let us pray.” There may be a brief period of silence, unless this has already been observed immediately after Communion. The priest recites the Prayer after Communion, at the end of which the people respond, “Amen.”

In the Prayers after Communion, we find the characteristic features of the Roman Collects: a restrained style and an unobtrusive and quietly lyrical quality. From them, a theology of the effects of the Eucharist can be compiled: graces for the soul, an increase in the theological virtues, and in the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit; a remedy for the body; the unity of the Mystical Body; and eternal life. The expressions used (“bread of life,” “life-giving food,” “spiritual food,” etc.) formally state the doctrine of the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist.

We have been nourished with the “bread of life,” the food that is the source of our fortitude. This virtue of fortitude enables us to sustain the daily combat against our passions and weaknesses. 
According to the teachings of St. Thomas, the virtue of fortitude is found in one: 
- who is ready to face danger;
- who is ready to put up with adversities for a just cause, for truth, or justice. 

The Gospel often repeats: “Fear not.” It teaches man that, for a just cause, for truth, for justice, one must be able to “lay down one’s life.”

We can profit a lot from these Prayers by using them as inspiration for personal reflection during the course of the day.

When it seems fitting, some brief concluding words can be addressed after the Prayer after Communion. 

Jul 22 Wed - How did the first generation of Christians live their faith?

 

Jul 22 Wed

How did the first generation of Christians live their faith?

"We must get to know and imitate the life of Jesus' disciples, of those who knew Peter and Paul and John, and who were close witnesses of the Master's Death and Resurrection." Among these, many first-generation Christians were chosen by God to bear the supreme witness of martyrdom; they paid with their blood for their faith in Christ.

The early Christians did not live in the catacombs, except occasionally, perhaps during an attack. They were ordinary people and citizens of the capital of the Roman Empire who lived in ordinary houses and walked along the streets. Each family was an "ecclesia domestica", a part of the Church.

They lived faithfully to our Lord in the midst of earthly affairs. Each community of the faithful gathered people from all social strata and all backgrounds. They were people converted to the faith of Christ, which kept them together. All professions were represented in these communities: there were doctors such as Luke; lawyers such as Zenas; financiers such as Erastus; academics such as Apollo; craftsmen such as Alexander; businessmen, small and great; jailers and their families; soldiers and officials; a proconsul, Sergius Paulus, etc. They were poor and rich; slaves and freemen; civilians and military men, like Sebastian.

A great diversity of personal circumstances enriched the Christian communities from the first moment. Upon contemplating this reality, St. Josemaría wrote: “How clear was that general calling to sanctity, within one's profession, without leaving one's own environment!” 

“Nevertheless, for centuries, the majority of Christians did not understand this: the ascetical phenomenon of many people seeking sanctity without changing their professional situation; rather, sanctifying their profession and sanctifying themselves by means of their profession. And very soon the doctrine was forgotten, on account of not being lived."

Yet “By raising up his Work in these times, the Lord has willed that the truth about everyone having the duty to reach holiness would never again be unknown or forgotten... and that the majority of Christians should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work."

“Opus Dei’s spirit is both as old as the Gospel and, like the Gospel, new. The very nature of our vocation prompts us to speak of divine things in the very language of men, to uphold the same wholesome social customs as everyone else, and to share the same honest mentality. We see God from the same secular and lay viewpoint from which others see the more transcendent questions of their lives. God can never be a cold or distant model, to be admired but not loved."

The members of Opus Dei work like everyone else and live in the midst of the world, just as they did before they joined. 

Thank God, it is becoming ever clearer in new environs that, “to follow the footsteps of Christ, the modern apostle does not come to reform anything nor much less to separate himself from the historical reality surrounding him... It is enough for him to act as the first Christians did, enlivening their own environment."
Quiet and modest, but vibrant with divine impetus, let us walk in the newness of life. 

Jul 21 Tue - Can I encounter God when I am tired or discouraged?

 

Jul 21 Tue

Can I encounter God when I am tired or discouraged?

These words marked the beginning of their life as apostles: “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus called them in the midst of their work, and not on just any day. It was the end of a shift marked by failure: they had labored through the night and caught nothing.

Jesus did not wait until they were rested, self-assured, or filled with enthusiasm. He stepped into their boat, into their weariness and their work, and from there called them to a divine adventure.

Saint Josemaría taught that the tiredness and fatigue that come with work can also be a place of encounter with God. Not because the weariness disappears, but because we have the certainty that the Lord sees us, accompanies us, and is by our side. “If we ever experience lack of peace or anxiety or restlessness, we go to our Lord and tell him that we place ourselves in his hands, like a small child in the arms of his or her father.”

The certainty that we have a God who is Father — who cares for us and sustains us — fills our daily struggles with hope, even when the tiredness of work weighs us down, as it did the apostles.

It is there, in the middle of the world, in our daily tasks and struggles, with their successes and their failures, that we are called to bring the message of Christ: in the honest fulfilment of our work, in service to those around us, in care for our family and for those who share our lives, in the way we face ordinary difficulties… When we do all of this out of love for God, we are sowing the Good News of the Gospel in every environment. We are fulfilling the divine commission to cultivate the earth and care for it.

We must be sowers of peace and joy. Recently, the Pope invited us to be “witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation.” Let us never see ourselves as enemies of anyone. Those who know themselves to be children of God cannot look upon others as adversaries, because they see them as brothers and sisters and recognize the love that the Lord has for them.

In an often-fragmented world, all Christians are called to rebuild bonds with their brothers and sisters, beginning with those closest at hand. And this can be done by recognizing, first of all, that what unites us is far more decisive than anything that might divide us.

The first Christians were mistreated, persecuted, and put to death. Yet there are countless testimonies of love not only among themselves, but toward their persecutors as well. And it was thus, through charity, through a love capable of reaching even an enemy, that they helped to transform the structures of society.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us allow Jesus into our boat. May she teach us to live with the confidence of children of God.

Excerpts from Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz 

Jul 20 Mon - What about tattoos?

 

Jul 20 Mon

What about tattoos?

In the past, some people disliked tattoos because they viewed them as defacements, a form of body modification that detracted from natural beauty. Aesthetically, I must admit I agree. The prevalence of tattoos, especially among women, is something I find particularly unattractive.

Aesthetics should not dictate ethics. When considering the permanent and real mutilation that individuals undergo, whether through contraceptive sterilization or gender-based genital mutilation, I am less inclined to criticize tattoos.

Yet, there is another type of permanent marking: The three sacraments. Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders imprint a spiritual "character" on the soul that cannot be erased. Consequently, these three sacraments are unrepeatable.

Furthermore, if I were to have something etched into my body, should it not be a well-considered decision rather than something randomly chosen from a tattoo parlor catalog after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol? If I am going to carry a tattoo on my skin for several decades, should it not express something vital about my identity?

This brings me back to the sacramental characters. Though they are not visible, they are no less real, effective, or permanent.

Yet, how many Catholics take their sacramental characters as seriously as they do a Mandarin character, such as 和平 (peace), which they tattoo on their bodies? Sacramental characters, after all, entail a lifelong role within the Body of Christ: being a child of God, a soldier of Christ, and an 'alter Christus'. For instance, the baptismal character is why a Catholic marriage must be a sacrament, and any attempt to marry outside the Church (without dispensation of form) is no marriage.

Maybe we can draw a parallel from that old tattoo. Although I got it without much contemplation, as it was "a dare" or because my friends were doing it, the 和平 no longer holds any meaning for me. Nevertheless, it has not disappeared; the fading and wrinkling ink remains, even if I no longer attribute the same significance to it as I did in my twenties. Is this not often the case with the sacramental character of Confirmation, for example?

The sacrament intended to complete full incorporation into the Church often becomes the last "sacrament" … until the wedding or the baptism of a first child arises. Moreover, I likely spent more time preparing to receive that character than the average person spends considering a Chinese character tattoo.

Or have I superficially regarded both equally?

Our actions and what society deems "beautiful" often reveal more profound underlying assumptions and values. Could the proliferation of tattoos, which often lose meaning over time, even though they continue to increase in popularity, indicate that many individuals are desperately searching for anything that may provide a sense of permanence and meaning of life? 

Jul 19 Sun - Will God ever abandon us to our weakness? Will He always be there for us?

 

Jul 19 Sun

Will God ever abandon us to our weakness? Will He always be there for us? 

One way God shows his power is by condemning sin. He is just.

Yet God’s power, justice, and mercy are one, so He judges with clemency and governs with compassion. “Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss.” God accepts our sincere repentance.

We, too, ought to practice a similar quality: to be just, one must also be kind.

We sin, and so we need God’s “pity;” we are weak, and so we need God’s “strength.”

God wants what is best for us. When we want what God wants, the Holy Spirit expresses it within us. So even though we don’t “know how to pray as we ought,” the Holy Spirit prays for us, asking for what is best.

And yet there is evil. One reason God permits ongoing evil is that those who do evil or cause others to sin can repent.

At the moment of death, everyone will receive “his eternal recompense in his immortal soul.” This is the PARTICULAR JUDGMENT by Christ.

Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the sad and lamentable reality of eternal death, also called ‘hell’. The burning and wailing and grinding of teeth are the punishment of eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

But both the Church and Christ want no one to be lost, and for God, all things are possible. Who can oppose His actions? Will He, who is all-powerful and good, ever abandon us to our frailty and leave us to wander at the mercy of our unfaithfulness?

Just as rain waters the earth, so God, through His grace, restores strength to those weighed down by the burden of sin and death. He is faithful and always keeps His word.
No power can stop the irresistible force of His mercy.

On the Day of Judgment, all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ’s tribunal to render an account of their own deeds. This is the general or LAST JUDGMENT.

The future Last Judgment calls us to conversion now, since everyone who hears about it, as Christ told the crowd in the parable of the weeds, still has time.

Right now, therefore, this is the acceptable time, the day of salvation for us. This truth should inspire in us a holy fear of God and a commitment to the justice of the Kingdom of God, that is, to align our lives with the Gospel as soon as possible.

We must become fertile soil—free of thorns and stones, carefully plowed and weeded. It is up to us to be the good soil in which “one yields a hundredfold, another sixty, and another thirty.”

The world cries out that it thirsts for Christ. It calls for peace, but does not know where to find it. Only God can transform this arid, stony ground, full of thorns, into a fertile field, and the rain and snow of His help will fall from above.
Pic: Medieval parchment of the Final Judgment. 

The tryptic of true Love