October 26-27 2019: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Where is Purgatory in the Bible?
Question: I have an Evangelical friend at work who claims that the Catholic belief in Purgatory is not scriptural. What should I say to him?
Answer: 2 Sam 12:13-18, "David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nev-ertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.’ And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick…On the seventh day the child died." Catholic Scriptural Principle #1 – there is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness.
Rev 21:27, "But nothing unclean shall enter it…" The New Jerusalem – Heaven. Catholic Scriptural Principle #2 – nothing unclean, nothing with the stain of sin, will enter Heaven
Mt 5:48, "You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." That’s because of Principle #2 – nothing unclean will get into Heaven.
Heb 12:22-23, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly Jerusalem...and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…" The spirits of just men, made perfect. Catholic Scriptural Principle #3 – there is a way, a process, through which the spirits of the "just" are "made perfect."
1 Cor 3:13-15, "…each man’s work will become mani-fest; for the Day [judgment day] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." Where is this place that a man, after he dies, suffers loss, as through fire, but is still saved. Hell? No, once you’re in Hell, you don’t get out. Heaven? No, you don’t suffer loss in Heaven.
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Mt 12:32, "And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." Implies forgiveness in the age to come. Where can you go to be forgiven in the age to come? Heaven? You don’t need forgiveness. Hell? There is no forgiveness. Catholic Scriptural Principle #4 – there is a place, or state of being, other than Heaven or Hell.
Now, let’s summarize these four scriptural principles: There is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness. We have to be perfect as the Father is per-fect, because nothing unclean will enter Heaven. There is some way, or process, by which the spirits of the just are made perfect. There is a place besides Heaven or Hell where you can suffer loss, yet be saved, but only as through fire; and where you can be forgiven of sins from a previous age. It all adds up to one inevitable conclusion - the Catholic teaching on Purgatory is indeed scriptural.
John Martignoni is Catholic apologist and Bible scholar. He is the Founder and President of the Bible Christian So-ciety, where you can find lots of free apologetics materials — CD's, mp3 downloads, e-newsletters, and more, and host of EWTN’s "Open Line" airing on Mondays at 3 p.m. EST.
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Saint John Henry Newman:
"From the time that I became a Catholic, of course I have no further history of my religious opinions to narrate. In saying this, I do not mean to say that my mind has been idle, or that I have given up thinking on theological subjects; but that I have had no variations to record, and have had no anxiety of heart whatever.
I have been in perfect peace and contentment; I never have had one doubt. I was not conscious to myself, on my conversion, of any change, intellectual or moral, wrought in my mind. I was not conscious of firmer faith in the fundamental truths of Revelation, or of more self-command; I had not more fervour; but it was like coming into port after a rough sea; and my happiness on that score remains to this day without interruption." Apologia, Chapter V.
"I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious; but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they believe and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity."
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Saturday 26 October 2019
Friday 18 October 2019
The Rosary made him late … and saved may lives!
October 19-20 2019: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The Rosary made him late … and saved may lives!
In 1932, my grandfather worked as a slate mason in a German mine near Luxembourg. Every morning he would go to work on foot, while reciting his Rosary. At that time there were no buses yet. The trip took half an hour one way, so he used this time to pray.
One morning, after walking a big part of the way, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his rosary. He considered what to do: Should he continue walking or go back to pick it up? He made up his mind and ran back home, then ran to work. He nevertheless ended up being 10 minutes late for work. His workmates had to wait for him because as the head of the team he had the keys to the gate. Together, they started for the mine.
Just as they were about to go down, they heard a sound similar to distant thunder. The men looked at each other, seized with a great fear: something must have collapsed! Part of the mountain had crumbled down. Thank God, there were no miners inside the mine! After a first inspection, they discovered that huge rocks had come loose inside and obstructed several galleries...
If my grandfather had not been late on that day, many work-ers would have perished in this disaster, including him! All recognized the protection of God and the Blessed Virgin in this event. When he got home, my grandfather told me the news, and I was thoroughly shocked.
Since then, the Rosary has been honoured in our family. We should never forget that it has saved us from many misfortunes.
Inge Kowalski, in "Retendes Gottes volk" Collected by Fr Albert Pfleger, Marist, for the Collection of Marian Stories.
TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl makes surprising comment about happiness
Self-transendance is what actually gives us meaning, according to the famous psychologist and author.
Before he was captured by the Nazis and thrown into a concentration camp during World War II, Viktor Frankl was an accomplished neurologist, psychiatrist, and professor. But his experience of the worst kind of suffering and affronts to human dignity taught him invaluable lessons about human nature, hope, and happiness.
After escaping from the camps that killed his wife, parents, and brother, Frankl went on to found Logotherapy, inspired by the idea that the most powerful force in a human’s life is the desire for mean-ing, which Frankl wrote about in his best-selling book about his survival, Man’s Search for Meaning.
Before his death in 1977 at the age of 92, Frankl was interviewed on the CBC’s Man Alive and two excerpts from that show demonstrate why he remains so influential — and even counter-cultural. Frankl, who received 29 honorary doctoral degrees and many prestigious awards, said that the phrase "the pursuit of happiness," is a contradiction in terms:
‘Happiness can never be really pursued; happiness is a by-product — and must remain that way — of pursuing a task or a person other than yourself. This becomes most obvious in sexual neuroses … precisely in so far as a person is hunting, chasing, pursuing his own happiness and pleasure, he is doomed to failure … The more you give yourself, the more you forget yourself, in love or in work, for the sake of a cause to serve or a person to love, you will become happy precisely by not caring for happiness, by overlooking and forget-ting whether you are happy or not.’
This is what self-transcendence is about, according to Frankl — not being primarily concerned with yourself, but something — or better yet — someone other than yourself. "Man becomes himself, man actualizes his self, man is human precisely to the extent to which he is not concerned with himself …"
(aleteia.org/2017/05/05)
The Rosary made him late … and saved may lives!
In 1932, my grandfather worked as a slate mason in a German mine near Luxembourg. Every morning he would go to work on foot, while reciting his Rosary. At that time there were no buses yet. The trip took half an hour one way, so he used this time to pray.
One morning, after walking a big part of the way, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his rosary. He considered what to do: Should he continue walking or go back to pick it up? He made up his mind and ran back home, then ran to work. He nevertheless ended up being 10 minutes late for work. His workmates had to wait for him because as the head of the team he had the keys to the gate. Together, they started for the mine.
Just as they were about to go down, they heard a sound similar to distant thunder. The men looked at each other, seized with a great fear: something must have collapsed! Part of the mountain had crumbled down. Thank God, there were no miners inside the mine! After a first inspection, they discovered that huge rocks had come loose inside and obstructed several galleries...
If my grandfather had not been late on that day, many work-ers would have perished in this disaster, including him! All recognized the protection of God and the Blessed Virgin in this event. When he got home, my grandfather told me the news, and I was thoroughly shocked.
Since then, the Rosary has been honoured in our family. We should never forget that it has saved us from many misfortunes.
Inge Kowalski, in "Retendes Gottes volk" Collected by Fr Albert Pfleger, Marist, for the Collection of Marian Stories.
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TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl makes surprising comment about happiness
Self-transendance is what actually gives us meaning, according to the famous psychologist and author.
Before he was captured by the Nazis and thrown into a concentration camp during World War II, Viktor Frankl was an accomplished neurologist, psychiatrist, and professor. But his experience of the worst kind of suffering and affronts to human dignity taught him invaluable lessons about human nature, hope, and happiness.
After escaping from the camps that killed his wife, parents, and brother, Frankl went on to found Logotherapy, inspired by the idea that the most powerful force in a human’s life is the desire for mean-ing, which Frankl wrote about in his best-selling book about his survival, Man’s Search for Meaning.
Before his death in 1977 at the age of 92, Frankl was interviewed on the CBC’s Man Alive and two excerpts from that show demonstrate why he remains so influential — and even counter-cultural. Frankl, who received 29 honorary doctoral degrees and many prestigious awards, said that the phrase "the pursuit of happiness," is a contradiction in terms:
‘Happiness can never be really pursued; happiness is a by-product — and must remain that way — of pursuing a task or a person other than yourself. This becomes most obvious in sexual neuroses … precisely in so far as a person is hunting, chasing, pursuing his own happiness and pleasure, he is doomed to failure … The more you give yourself, the more you forget yourself, in love or in work, for the sake of a cause to serve or a person to love, you will become happy precisely by not caring for happiness, by overlooking and forget-ting whether you are happy or not.’
This is what self-transcendence is about, according to Frankl — not being primarily concerned with yourself, but something — or better yet — someone other than yourself. "Man becomes himself, man actualizes his self, man is human precisely to the extent to which he is not concerned with himself …"
(aleteia.org/2017/05/05)
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Saturday 5 October 2019
POPE DECLARES SPECIAL SUNDAY EACH YEAR DEDICATED TO WORD OF GOD
October 5-6: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
POPE DECLARES SPECIAL SUNDAY EACH YEAR DEDICATED TO WORD OF GOD
To help the church grow in love and faithful witness to God, Pope Francis has declared the third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be dedicated to the Word of God. Salvation, faith, unity and mercy all depend on knowing Christ and sacred Scripture, he said in a new document.
Devoting a special day "to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God" will help the church "experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world," the pope said.
The declaration to have a "Sunday of the Word of God" was made in a new document, given "motu proprio," on the pope's own initiative. Its title, "Aperuit Illis," is based on a verse from the Gospel of St. Luke, "Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."
"The relationship between the risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians," the pope said in the apostolic letter, released by the Vatican Sept. 30, the feast of St. Jerome, patron saint of biblical scholars.
"The Bible cannot be just the heritage of some, much less a collection of books for the benefit of a privileged few. It belongs above all to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words," the pope wrote.
"The Bible is the book of the Lord's people, who, in listen-ing to it, move from dispersion and division toward unity" as well as come to understand God's love and become inspired to share it with others, he added.
Without the Lord who opens people's minds to his word, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth, yet "without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his church in this world would remain incomprehen-sible," he wrote.
Pope Francis said in the letter, "A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but rather a yearlong event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers."
"We need to develop a closer relationship with sacred Scripture; otherwise, our hearts will remain cold and our eyes shut, struck as we are by so many forms of blindness," he wrote.
Sacred Scripture and the sacraments are inseparable, he wrote. Jesus speaks to everyone with his word in sacred Scripture, and if people "hear his voice and open the doors of our minds and hearts, then he will enter our lives and remain ever with us," he said.
Pope Francis urged priests to be extra attentive to creating a homily throughout the year that "speaks from the heart" and really helps people understand Scripture "through simple and suitable" language.
The homily "is a pastoral opportunity that should not be wasted. For many of our faithful, in fact, this is the only opportunity they have to grasp the beauty of God’s word and to see it applied to their daily lives," he wrote.
Pope Francis also encouraged people to read the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution, "Dei Verbum," and Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic exhortation, "Verbum Domini," whose teaching remains "fundamental for our communities."
The third Sunday in Ordinary Time falls during that part of the year when the church is encouraged to strengthen its bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. That means the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God "has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity."
Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service
POPE DECLARES SPECIAL SUNDAY EACH YEAR DEDICATED TO WORD OF GOD
Devoting a special day "to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God" will help the church "experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world," the pope said.
The declaration to have a "Sunday of the Word of God" was made in a new document, given "motu proprio," on the pope's own initiative. Its title, "Aperuit Illis," is based on a verse from the Gospel of St. Luke, "Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."
"The relationship between the risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians," the pope said in the apostolic letter, released by the Vatican Sept. 30, the feast of St. Jerome, patron saint of biblical scholars.
"The Bible cannot be just the heritage of some, much less a collection of books for the benefit of a privileged few. It belongs above all to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words," the pope wrote.
"The Bible is the book of the Lord's people, who, in listen-ing to it, move from dispersion and division toward unity" as well as come to understand God's love and become inspired to share it with others, he added.
Without the Lord who opens people's minds to his word, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth, yet "without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his church in this world would remain incomprehen-sible," he wrote.
Pope Francis said in the letter, "A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but rather a yearlong event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers."
"We need to develop a closer relationship with sacred Scripture; otherwise, our hearts will remain cold and our eyes shut, struck as we are by so many forms of blindness," he wrote.
Sacred Scripture and the sacraments are inseparable, he wrote. Jesus speaks to everyone with his word in sacred Scripture, and if people "hear his voice and open the doors of our minds and hearts, then he will enter our lives and remain ever with us," he said.
Pope Francis urged priests to be extra attentive to creating a homily throughout the year that "speaks from the heart" and really helps people understand Scripture "through simple and suitable" language.
The homily "is a pastoral opportunity that should not be wasted. For many of our faithful, in fact, this is the only opportunity they have to grasp the beauty of God’s word and to see it applied to their daily lives," he wrote.
Pope Francis also encouraged people to read the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution, "Dei Verbum," and Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic exhortation, "Verbum Domini," whose teaching remains "fundamental for our communities."
The third Sunday in Ordinary Time falls during that part of the year when the church is encouraged to strengthen its bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. That means the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God "has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity."
Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service
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