The Seven Mortal Sins of Contraception

When a person contracepts, he or she commits not one mortal sin, but seven. The use of contraception is forbidden in the Catholic Church for many reasons.

I shall list the Ten Commandments and note which ones are deliberately broken by those who contracept. My comments are in blue.

Exodus 20 Douay-Rheims

20 And the Lord spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. (1) Idolatry is the first sin of contraception for several reasons. One is playing God and not letting God be God in creating life. One is also making sex and pleasure into gods, thus denying God His sovereignty. One becomes or tries to become God.

4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain. (2)

8 Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day. (3)

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.

10 But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. (4) Contraception denies grandparents grandchildren, and breaking the family bond of generations. Thus, one no longer honors the family or one's parents when one contracepts.

13 Thou shalt not kill. Obviously, as all but a few contracepts kill the fertilized egg, now a human being with a soul, contraception is murder. (5)

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Fornication, having sex outside of marriage, is covered under the term adultery. Adultery is having sexual relations with a married person, but from the earliest days, fornication, having sex outside of marriage, and thus endangering the entire concept of marriage, is part of this sin. Sins here include sodomy. This sin is repeated in the traditional ninth commandment, so contraception breaks that one as well. (6)

15 Thou shalt not steal. (7) When one contracepts, one steals not only from the glory of God in creating a new person, but one steals life. One also steals from one's self the dignity of being a human being in co-creating with God in the image and likeness of God, in which we were made.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (8) Contraception is lying, as one is being deceitful about the real purpose of intercourse, which is procreation. Also, one is lying to one's self about the reality of marriage, and the fact that the marriage act only belongs in a sanctified marriage.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. Coveting or desiring what is illicit like a person when one is not married, or even desiring someone above God is the sin when contraception is used for the enjoyment of sex without procreation.  (9  and 10). Also, contraception is done because of the desire for things, for choosing things over life--such as houses, status, money, vacations, comfort...etc.). Therefore contraception breaks both th 9 and 10th commandments.

18 And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking: and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off...

Thankfully, we have the wonderful sacrament of Confession to release us, to absolve us from such sins, and to give us the grace to start over again in Christ.

The Blame Game Part Two

Continuing with thoughts this morning's thoughts and observations, which are not new, I have seen the denial of sins, both venial and mortal, from people who refuse to think outside the psychological box.

One man I know has never comes to grips with his falling away from the Church by his own volition, because he blames his parents.

Another couple blames the bishop for charging for annulments, which he does not in their diocese, for being in an unholy, irregular marriage.

Yet another young woman blames a priest for saying something against contraception, which she did not like, as she was contracepting and did not want to hear the truth--so she blames, still, the Church.

And so on....

The refrain of complaints reveals the lack of truth, the continuation of lies, which cover up the fact that these people, like others, have left the Church by an act of the will, their own wills.

For years, parents have not taught consequences--no time out bench will curb a rebellious spirit, and few parents take away things, such as rights to the TV or own computer, or the use of "grounding", a popular punishment for teens in my day.

I know one parent who literally saved the soul of her girl by refusing to let her to finals in a band competition because of very bad behavior. Yes, for awhile, the teen was angry, but then, she cooled down and recollected that what she had done required a consequence.

I am reminded of the famous scene from the Peter O'Toole version of Good-by Mr. Chips, in which a young lad was not allowed to play in the tennis finals because he had not done his Latin homework.

Where are those adult heroes today?

Too often people think being "strict" with children will harm them when in actuality, in psychological studies. done on adults with problems and parenting styles, children from families with lax parents have more problems than those from strict families.

Boundaries and consequences create maturity.

The blame game has to stop, and adults who are whingers must stop looking to reasons why they sin and stop sinning.

Reading the lives of the saints may help, as the saints are hardest on themselves, as real sinners, realizing that God will not excuse sin.

Is God merciful? Of course, but He is also just, and the two attributes cannot be separated.

Do some people suffer more than others in trying to combat sin? Yes.

Are some people naturally more good than others by grace? Yes.

But, we are not given a pass if we must fight against our natural tendencies towards sin just because we were hurt or even damaged as children or even as adults.

I remind readers of the four heroes of Faith in my own family-three women and a man molested for years and years by a priest in a boarding school. None left the Church, three got married and had as many children as God sent, and all loved God the entire life.

Were their marriages difficult sometimes? Yes. Have they struggled with deep feelings of hurt and rejection? Yes.

Did they forgive the priest, long dead? Yes.

Forgiveness and long-suffering form the two pillars of heroic virtue.

One does not have to walk away from God because of the sins of others. In fact, many times, the gross sins of others can be the means of coming towards God more readily.

Compunction Six-Regret And The Worm of Conscience

"Maud-Muller-Brown" by John Gast, artist, after J.G. Brown  Public Domain

This is the last in this part of the series on contrition, on repentance. Pray for the sense of compunction if you have lost this. Offer up suffering for those who are hell-bound. Where there is life, there is hope.

Regret for wrong decisions will be the everlasting torment of those in hell.

My comments in blue...
PART III. ON HELL. 
VII. The Worm that Dieth Not. 

OUR Divine Saviour says: "If thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than, having two hands, to go into Hell, into the fire that cannot be quenched, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter lame into life, than, having two feet, to be cast into the Hell of unquenchable fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out; it is better for thee with one eye to enter the kingdom of God, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the Hell of fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished" (Mark ix. 42-47).

By these words our blessed Redeemer wished to impress on our minds the necessity of avoiding the occasions of sin and of making even the most painful sacrifices to avoid sin and thus escape the endless pains of Hell. He, moreover, wished to engrave deeply in our minds the fact that two of the most fearful torments of Hell are its unquenchable fire and its never-dying worm. We have seen in a foregoing chapter in what consists the terrible fire of Hell. It now remains to us to examine in what consists "the worm that dieth not."

We have reason, which the lower creatures do not. Our intellects can be enlightened by grace and faith.  Faith can be enlightened by the intellect.

Those in hell still have the same intellect, but now eaten up, like the worm eats dirt, by regret.

This remorse never ends in forgiveness or mercy, as that time for the sacraments is gone.

All the senses of the reprobate have each their peculiar punishment; their reason, or intellect, is punished by the pain of loss, as we have seen in the preceding chapter, a punishment far surpassing that of the senses. The memory of the reprobate is tormented by " the worm that dieth not," that is by a most keen and constant remorse of conscience, which will give them no rest.

Each one of us, because we are sinners, can look back with regret on many sins of omission and commission. But, on earth, while we are still alive, we can change. 

How many Catholics think of sins of omission, the passing up of opportunities to follow grace upon grace?
The lost sinner will remember how many graces and means of salvation he had during life to save his soul ; how God sent him so many holy inspirations, how he received so many good instructions, how he had the grace of prayer within his power to enable him to practise the virtues of his state, to overcome temptation, to keep the Commandments of God and of His Church; how his pious friends exhorted him to lead a good life both by their exhortations, but especially by their good example; how he had so many opportunities of instructing himself in his obligations by the hearing of the word of God and the reading of good books, and of strengthening himself in the discharge of his duties by the reception of the Sacraments and by the practice of devotion to the Blessed Virgin!

As Catholics, we are not merely given sufficient grace for heaven, but, as this good priest notes, "a superabundance of means of salvation".

The lost sinner will, in a word, remember with how little trouble he might have saved his soul and avoided Hell. He will say to himself: " So little effort was required for my salvation; even after my numerous sins a good confession would have sufficed. But through shame, through human respect, I did not make it. How foolish I was! How often did my conscience, my family, my friends urge me to go to confession! But it was all in vain. Others committed greater sins than I did, but they bewailed them, went to confession and changed their life, and now they are enjoying unspeakable happiness in Heaven! And as for me, I am lost forever, and that through my own fault, for I had at my disposal a superabundance of means of salvation. But now repentance is unavailing, it is too late!"

But let us consider the expressions of regret of the various lost sinners. Their sorrow is vain, for, like that of Judas, it is the sorrow of despair.

"During life," these lost sinners will say to themselves, "I loved ease and comfort and luxury, fine garments, costly jewellery and princely mansions. To gain these I did not scruple to defraud my neighbour in every available way. I stole from my employers, I took false oaths, I joined secret societies, I even sold my virtue! I stayed away from Mass, I ate meat on forbidden days, I neglected the Sacraments, I went so far as to deny my faith. I contracted marriage before a civil magistrate, or before a heretical minister; I contracted a mixed marriage without dispensation; I got a divorce and then ventured to break the laws of God and of the Church by getting married again! I wished to be free, to do just as I pleased.

This could have been written yesterday and it was written 116 years ago. Could those who give bad advice in the synod, or from their cardinals' or bishops' chairs not tremble if they read these words?

The laws of God and of His Church forbade me to frequent dangerous occasions, and I spurned these laws because I wished to enjoy myself and gratify my passions by going with persons and into places that were dangerous to me, and thus I fell repeatedly into sins, even the most shameful.

Clubs. porn websites, evil computer games, bad movies, or bad television shows....the list is endless.

God commanded me to be pure and chaste, and I took delight in gratifying my basest passions in every possible way, and sought every occasion of doing so. How criminally I acted in neglecting to give my children a religious education, and thus caused them to lose their souls ! 

This part is, frankly, scary, as too many parents are not educating their children correctly. Yes, and many young people, even children, will lose their souls.  It is terrifying....Remember Padre Pio telling the mother he would not hear her confession as her son was in hell because of her...and she had not repented of whatever sin she had committed to cause her own son's damnation. Horrible thought, indeed

During life I was fond of listening to and joining in backbiting, calumny, obscene discourses, and even irreligious conversations. I loved to read filthy novels and to gaze on immodest pictures and objects. While on earth, I yielded to my passion for strong drink, and indulged in it to excess, until I degraded myself below the brute and committed crimes innumerable against my wife and children, against my neighbour.

During life I delighted in cursing, swearing, in uttering fearful oaths and imprecations and in quarrelling, in gambling and in almost every crime.

And now I find myself in the gloomy prison of Hell, in company of a countless multitude of villains, murderers, of the most degraded beings that have ever lived  I have no longer a loving parent, a loving child, a sympathizing friend. No; all the ties of friendship, all the ties of nature, are forever broken, forever turned into devilish hate. Every evil spirit, every reprobate insults me, curses me, tortures me, seeks to make me suffer the more. I must submit to all this, because during life I refused to submit to the holy will of God. I could so easily have been saved, and now I am lost, lost forever, and that through my own fault! Never shall I see God, never shall I enjoy the delights of Heaven, never more shall I be released from these terrible torments. It is now too late!"

All this, and much more, will the worm of conscience say to the damned, stinging him with reproaches so relentlessly that he will almost be driven crazy with despair. In fact, the damned will rave and rage as if they were possessed, and will invoke curses on themselves. But all in vain; it is too late for repentance. This terrible remorse will do nothing towards atoning for their sins, it will only add to their anguish.

Consider this, obdurate sinner, who dost sin so boldly, and even when thy conscience pricks thee, turnest a deaf ear to its reproaches. Be assured that one day thy own conscience will be thy tormentor, and will plague thee more pertinaciously than the demons themselves. If thou dost desire to escape this never-ending misery, listen to the voice of conscience now, follow its counsel when it bids thee abstain from doing evil, and urges thee to do that which is right. 

Enough! These posts must help each one of us to have compunction. Without contrition and the turning away from sin, we are lost.

But, thanks be to God for His Mercy.

Compunction Five-The Loss of the Beatific Vision 2

There are several misunderstandings among some Catholics regarding those in heaven. Those blissful souls in heaven cannot mourn for us, cannot cry. There is no unhappiness in heaven.

Those in heaven enjoy the happiness each person was created to have. But, those is hell are full of the regret that they did not become the person God created them to be--His son or daughter forever happy with Him in heaven.

Pray for those who are in mortal sin. Pray for those who have left the Church. Do penance for unbaptized adults and children who fall so easily prey to Satan.  

This lack of the vision of God is the destiny of the unrepentant.
 To realize, in some measure, how great this pain of loss is, we should bear in mind that we have been created by God to be forever happy. This love of happiness, this yearning for it, which every one of us feels in his heart, will never be destroyed, not even in Hell. During this life men, impelled by this desire and blinded by passion, seek happiness in riches, in honours, in sensual gratification. These vain images of happiness deceive us so long as our soul is united with our body. But after the soul has severed her connection with the body, all these false, fleeting pleasures disappear, and she becomes aware that God alone is the source of all happiness, and that she can find happiness solely in the possession of Him. 

I would think that seeing all the opportunities for grace and virtue which one passed up while on earth would be some of the pain of hell. Self-knowledge, and the Knowledge of Divine Things, including the Beauty of God as beyond one's grasp forever would be the worst pain of all.

No longer deceived by false appearances, no longer blinded by passion, she perceives clearly the ineffable, ravishing beauty of God and His infinite perfections ; she sees His infinite power in creating the world, His infinite wisdom in governing it, His excessive love for her in be coming man, in dying for her, in giving Himself to her as the food of her soul in the Blessed Sacrament, in destining her to share His own happiness forever in Heaven. This knowledge of the grandeur, of the goodness and loveliness of God will remain deeply impressed on her for all eternity. She will also see the justice of the punishments which God inflicts forever in Hell upon all those who do not keep His commandments. 

Unfulfilled desire is the lot of the damned.  We are only happy in God.

Then the reprobate soul, yearning after happiness, and feeling irresistibly drawn to God, who alone can make her happy, endeavours to rush to God with all the impetuosity of her nature, in order to behold Him, to enjoy Him, to be united to Him; but she finds herself repelled with infinite force from God, and hated by Him on account of her sins. Were all the riches, honours and pleasures of the world now offered to that soul, she would turn away from them, and would even curse them all, for she yearns for God alone, and can be happy only in God. 

The reprobate soul in Hell, spurred on by frightful pains, looks about her for some alleviation, for some word of comfort; but not even a sympathizing look greets her, for she is surrounded by cruel devils and bitter enemies. Not meeting with any compassion where she is, she raises her eyes to Heaven, and beholds it so beautiful, so enchanting, so delightful, so full of true happiness. She remembers that she was created and destined to enjoy its bliss, and now, in the midst of her most excruciating pains, she longs for its pleasures with a still more indescribable yearning, and makes extraordinary efforts to go there, but she cannot leave her abode of torment.   

Trapped in suffering forever...but, now, we can repent, we can change.

Now is the time for contrition, mortification, reparation, new life through the sacraments of the Church.

We only have the "now".

No one in Heaven seems to take any notice of her.  She sees the throne that God, in His goodness, had prepared for her, now occupied by someone else ! There is no longer any room for her in Heaven. She beholds there some of her relatives, of her companions and acquaintances; but they do not heed her. She beholds all the elect in Heaven full of joy and gladness. They do not even sympathize with her, but as the Psalmist sings, "the just will rejoice when he shall see the revenge" (Ps. Ivii. ii).

In vain the reprobate soul calls on the Saints, on the Blessed Virgin and on our Divine Saviour Himself. She feels drawn to God by an irresistible impulse, and understands that God alone can quench her thirst for enjoyment and make her happy. She longs to see and possess Him; she repeatedly endeavours to spring towards Him, but she feels herself repulsed by Him with invincible force; she beholds herself the object of Divine wrath, of the Divine anathema. She is aware that her case is hopeless, and that she shall never be admitted into the mansions of the blessed, or leave the abode of endless misery.

Despair seizes her; she utters the most fearful imprecations against God and the elect, against Heaven, against herself, her parents, her companions, against all creatures. All Hell resounds with her horrid blasphemies, and she becomes, in her ravings, an object of terror to all the other reprobates. 


Such is the loss of God...the tormented become tormentors to others.

One more post on compunction....

Compunction Four-On The Loss of The Beatific Vision 1

Staying with the same source, one reads that the loss of seeing God is the worst punishment of all--lost Love, lost Beauty, lost Innocence, lost Peace...all that is Good and Wonderful lost forever.

Yet of all these pains, that which gives the keenest anguish is being deprived of the vision of God. It will never be given to the damned to behold the Divine countenance. This pain will far outweigh all the other torments of which we have spoken. 

It is impossible for mortal man to understand how this can be so great an affliction for the damned. 

Yet such is the teaching of the Fathers ; they all maintain that there is nothing which the lost bewail so bitterly as being shut out forever from the vision of God. Whilst we live in this world, we think but little of the vision of God, and what it would be to us to be deprived of it eternally. This arises from the bluntness of our perception, which prevents us from comprehending the infinite beauty and goodness of God, and the delight experienced by those who behold Him face to face. But after death, when we are freed from the trammels of the body, our eyes will be opened, and we shall at least to some extent perceive that God is the supreme and infinite Good, and the enjoyment of Him our highest felicity. 

...

Imagine loving the most Beloved Person of all and never being able to see Him. We crave to be loved and to love. We rarely understand that Who we crave is the Trinity.

St. Bonaventure bears witness to this, when he says: "The most terrible penalty of the damned is being shut out forever from the blissful and joyous contemplation of the Blessed Trinity." Again, St. John Chrysostom says: "I know many persons only fear Hell because of its pains, but I assert that the loss of the celestial glory is a source of more bitter pain than all the torments of Hell." 

No Beauty, no Awe, no completeness...

The evil one himself was made to acknowledge this, as we read in the legends of Blessed Jordan, at one time General of the Dominican Order. For when Jordan asked Satan, in the person of one who was possessed, what was the principal torment of Hell, he answered: "Being excluded from the presence of God." "Is God then so beautiful to look upon?" Jordan inquired. And on the devil replying that He was indeed most beautiful, he asked further: "How great is His beauty?" "Fool that thou art," was the rejoinder, "to put such a question to me! Dost thou not know that His beauty is beyond compare?" "Canst thou not suggest any similitude," Jordan continued, "which may give me to some extent at least an idea of the Divine beauty?" Then Satan said: "Imagine a crystal sphere a thousand times more brilliant than the sun, in which the loveliness of all the colors of the rainbow, the fragrance of every flower, the sweetness of every delicious flavour, the costliness of every precious stone, the kindliness of men and the attractiveness of all the Angels combined; fair and precious as this crystal would be, in comparison with the Divine beauty, it would be unsightly and impure." 

No Perfection, no Sweetness, no Proportion, no Light...

"And pray," the good monk inquired, "what wouldst thou give to be admitted to the vision of God?" And the devil replied: "If there were a pillar reaching from earth to Heaven, beset with sharp points and nails and hooks, I would gladly consent to be dragged up and down that pillar from now until the Day of Judgment, if I could only be permitted to gaze on the Divine countenance for a few brief moments." 

to be continued....more later

Compunction Three-On Hell Two

Saul Alinsky said that he would not be happy in heaven. Here is wiki's account of his famous interview two months before he died. These words create dread in me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky

Alinsky died at the age of 63 of a sudden, massive heart attack in 1972, on a street corner in Carmel, California. Two months previously, he had discussed life after death in his interview with Playboy:^[4]

ALINSKY: ... if there is an afterlife, and I have anything to say about it, I will unreservedly choose to go to hell.

PLAYBOY: Why?

ALINSKY: Hell would be heaven for me. All my life I've been with the have-nots. Over here, if you're a have-not, you're short of dough. If you're a have-not in hell, you're short of virtue. Once I get into hell, I'll start organizing the have-nots over there.

PLAYBOY: Why them?

ALINSKY: They're my kind of people.

But, what does Father von Cochem write about the "kind of people". 

V. On the Company of Hell. 
 THERE are many bold sinners who, when they are punished for their crimes and threatened with Hell-fire are wont audaciously to answer: "Wherever I go, I shall at any rate not lack company," as if the presence of others could afford any solace to them, or any alleviation of their torment. In order that these shameless sinners may see how wrong they are to speak thus, and how little cause they have to anticipate any relief from the company in which they will find themselves, this chapter shall be devoted to showing them how woeful that company will be, and how it will aggravate their misery. 

Would one want to live in grief, confusion, misery, tyranny and pain forever?

The society of the damned consists of devils and lost souls. Both of these are countless in number. As for the society of the devils, this is so detestable that it may be reckoned as the worst penalty of the lost in Hell. The place of torment would be far less deserving of this name were there no devils in it. On account of the multitude of demons there, such confusion, such grief, such misery, such tyranny prevails, that it is heartbreaking even to think of it. 
We mortals have no worse enemy than the devil, who hates us with so intense a hatred that he longs every moment to hurl us down into the abyss of perdition. And when at length he has got some one into his power, he deals with him more barbarously than savage despot ever dealt with his deadliest foe. 

Would one want to live in hatred forever under a being which is the most horrible tyrant of all?

All the envy and hatred which at the time of his fall he conceived against God, and which he cannot vent upon Him, he vents upon the damned, tormenting them with plagues the very thought of which makes a man s blood run cold. Even if he were not to do any harm to the damned, the mere fact of his dwelling with them for all eternity would be such terrible misery for the unhappy sinners, that the horror of their position would be like a continual death to them. 

Everlasting death does not mean peace....we all have time to repent and that time is now.

Of all the fallen spirits, not one is so abominable as the chief of all, the haughty Lucifer, whose cruelty, malice and spite render him an object of dread not merely to the damned, but also to the devils subject to him. This Lucifer is called by various names in Holy Scriptures, all indicating his malignity. On account of his repulsiveness he is called a dragon; on account of his ferocity, a lion; on account of his malice, the old serpent; on account of his deceitfulness, the father of lies; on account of his haughtiness, king over all the children of pride; and on account of his great power and might, the prince of this world. 

Hell is physical, not just spiritual torment...after the Last Day of Judgement, the Final Judgement.

Listen to what the Fathers of the Church and some expositors of Holy Scriptures say of the dreadful appearance that Satan presents: they apply to him the description given of the leviathan in the book of Job: "Who can discover the face of his garment, or who can go into the midst of his mouth? Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. His body is like molten shields, shut up close with scales pressing one upon another. One is joined to another, and not so much as any air can come between them. His sneezing is like the shining of fire, and his eyes like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go forth lamps, like torches of lighted fire. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, like that of a pot heated and boiling. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame cometh forth out of his mouth. 

In his neck strength shall dwell, and want goeth before his face. His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith’s anvil. When he shall raise him up, the Angels shall fear and, being affrighted, turn to God for protection. He shall make the deep sea to boil as a pot; there is no power upon earth that can be compared with him who was made to fear no one. He beholdeth every high thing ; he is king over all the children of pride" (Job xli.). 

It is the opinion of St. Cyril, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory and other learned expositors of both the Greek and Latin Churches, that although this description, taken literally, is that of a monster of the sea, yet it is intended, in its mystic sense, to apply to Lucifer. And if one compares what is said of the leviathan with the attributes ascribed to the prince of darkness, it is impossible to deny their coincidence; moreover, one knows as a general fact that evil things have their types and figures in the natural world as well as good things, the one serving us for warning, the others for an example. 

Besides the prince of darkness there are hundreds of thousands of inferior devils, which though less bad and abominable than himself, are yet so wicked and horrible that one could hardly look upon them and live. 

Just think of all the monstrous people who ever lived for a view of the companions of hell. Devils are worse. 

St. Antony relates that one of the Brothers of his Order uttered a piercing scream at the sight of a devil who appeared to him. His fellow-monks, running to him in alarm, found him more dead than alive. After giving him something to revive and strengthen him, they asked him what was the matter. Then he told them that the devil had appeared to him, and terrified him so that all the life had gone out of him. And on their inquiring what the devil looked like, he answered: "That I really cannot say; I can only say that if the choice were given me I would rather be put into a red-hot furnace, than look again at the countenance of the demon." 

We read much the same thing in the life of St. Catharine of Sienna. She too declared that she had rather walk through a flaming fire than gaze for one instant at the devil. 

If the mere sight of the evil one is so appalling that the Saints think it more intolerable than the pain of exposure to a burning fire, what, my God, must be the fear and horror of the damned, dwelling forever in the midst of countless fiends! 

How terrified thou wouldst be if a mad dog were suddenly to spring upon thee, pull thee to the ground, and begin to tear thee with his teeth ! Do not imagine that the devil will fall upon the damned with less fury, or treat them more mercifully. The account Job gives of his persecutors describes very accurately the state of a lost soul in Hell: 

"My enemy hath gathered together his fury against me, and threatening me he hath gnashed with his teeth upon me; he hath beheld me with terrible eyes. They have opened their mouth upon me and reproaching me they have struck me on the cheek, they are filled with my pains. He hath taken me by my neck, he hath broken me, and hath set me up to be his mark. He hath compassed me round about with his lances, he hath wounded my loins, he hath not spared. He hath torn me with wound upon wound, he hath rushed in upon me like a giant" (Job xvi. 10-15). This passage will give us some idea of the awful character of the company the damned will find themselves among in Hell. 

The Torment of St. Anthony by Michelangelo

I hope this is enough to cause compunction in some who may not have had true contrition for sins.

to be continued....

Compunction Two--On Hell

The beginning of the section on hell in Father von Cochem, The Four Last Things, written in 1899, sounds like something from 2015...http://catholictradition.org/Classics/4last-things3a.htm

Death is not an easy thing to face or "go through".  I shall return to his section on death. But, I wanted to skip to Father's part on hell, as it is difficult for most Catholics today to realize that going to hell is a real possibility for each of us.

Thinking on the Four Last Things can help one train one's conscience to be more sensitive, and have more compunction. To become more aware that even a venial sin offends God must be the goal of every person who wants to be a saint. Christ Himself refers to hell and the fires of hell. These fires cannot be seen as symbolic, or as poetry. Here is a bit from Father's book.

PART III. ON HELL. 
I. On the Fire of Hell.
ALTHOUGH in the present day many are found to deny the existence of Hell, or, at any rate, the eternity of punishment, we do not consider it incumbent upon us to bring forward a number of proofs that there is such a place as Hell. In the case of the Christian reader, for whom this book is intended, evidence of this nature is quite superfluous, because he will not have made shipwreck of his faith. Indeed, what further proofs can be required for the existence of Hell and the eternity of punishment, seeing that the prophets, that Christ Himself, that the apostles, and the Fathers of the Church, nay, the very Turks and heathens, speak of it as an unquestioned fact. Those who deny the existence of Hell must consequently be counted amongst the fools who say in their heart that there is no God who punishes their misdeeds. 

It would undoubtedly be very agreeable for these people if all things ended with this life, if there were no day of reckoning, or if, at least, the infernal regions were somewhat less intolerable. This accounts for their catching at any apparent arguments wherewith to delude themselves and lull to sleep their fear of the eternal chastisements of Hell. We will not enter upon any examination of the wretched sophisms wherewith these fools deceive themselves ; for the teaching of the Catholic Church on this point is all we need* She teaches that there is a place or state of unequalled and never-ending pain in reserve for the damned. 

We know that there really is fire in Hell, from the words Christ spoke to the wicked : " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his Angels " (Matt. xxv. 41). This shows that there is real fire in Hell, and that in it the damned must burn eternally. What the intensity of that pain will be it is beyond the power of man to depict. For of all the varied kinds of physical suffering to which man can be subjected, there is none so great, so cruel, so agonizing, as that which is caused by fire. The rack, the wheel, amputation of a man's limbs, are all terrible torture, but they are not to be compared to the pain of burning. If one does but touch a red-hot iron, what exquisite pain it occasions! In a moment the skin is off, the raw flesh protrudes, blood and matter exude from the wound, and the pain goes to the very marrow of our bones. One cannot refrain from crying out and screaming as if one had lost one’s senses. Now if momentary contact with the red-hot iron causes such acute pain, what would it be if one had to hold a red-hot iron for any length of time 

Compunction may arise for contemplating hell. This type of compunction is imperfect, but enough to bring us to repentance and salvation.

Father quotes Isaiah:

"Behold, the wrath of the Lord burneth and is heavy to bear, His lips are filled with indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire. His breath as a torrent overflowing even to the midst of the neck, to destroy the nations unto nothing." And again: " Topheth (Hell) is prepared from yesterday, deep and wide. The nourishment thereof is fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it" (Is. xxx. 27, 33). 

The priest refers to St. Augustine as well.

 St. Augustine tells us that the most fearful fire on earth is, in comparison with the fire of Hell, like a painting of fire compared to a real fire. 

I am afraid that many people will go to hell from our times. This is why we must share the Gospel and love in and out of season. We, also, must resolve to endure the suffering of purgation. Purification is a gift from God.

...

Woe betide me and all who have the terrible misfortune to commit mortal sin. May God keep me from such sin as would be the means of casting me into eternal perdition. I will gladly suffer all things, the greatest temporal troubles, the acutest pains, even the cruellest death, in order to escape everlasting torment in Hell. This is my firm purpose; wherefore grant me Thy grace and strengthen me in my good resolution. 

Perfection Series VIII Part XXIX Law and Spirit

Two very brief ideas from Raissa on perfection..

The first is something which I have said over and over and that is one must be scrupulous in following all the laws of God and His Church. We must begin with orthodoxy.

Those who deviate from orthodoxy are not even on the ladder to perfection. Why? Because obedience is the key to God's heart, where He leads us to love. And, because we cannot decide for ourselves what is truth and what is not. We need Christ through the Church as our mentor.

There is a strong misconception among some Catholics that in order to be "free in the Holy Spirit" one need not be rigorous about following the rules of the Church or the Ten Commandments. Freedom does not come in spite of or by setting aside the law. Freedom comes from obedience to the laws, which free up the spirit to follow higher things.

The second kernel of truth is this, that the world of Jesus, which is opposed to this world, "is quantitatively very small: the salt of the earth, the pinch of leaven which makes the whole dough rise...It comprises those who let themselves be conformed to Him. These are his true imitators and his co-operators in salvation."

I wrote this the other day, that the remnant was very, very small and someone reacted so violently, I took my post off to wait until writing this one in Raissa's viewpoint. As Raissa has more holiness and intellect that STM, I shall let her say the same thing, only better.

"One can also say that there are two categories of men: those who--what mystery!--are capable of assimilating sin, and those who are not capable of doing so (by virtue of some mystery of predestination...) Those who are capable of assimilating sin, of living with sin, almost of living on it; drawing from it a useful experience, a certain human enrichment, a development, even a perfecting, in the order of mercy and humility--of arriving, finally, at the knowledge of God, at a certain theodicy, through extreme experience of the misery of the sinner....."

On the other hand, Raissa writes, "Those who are incapable of assimilating sin, because the smallest deliberate sin is like a fishbone stuck in their throat, cannot rest till they have go ride of it by contrition and confession. These are called to be assimilated to Christ. They can accept or refuse. It is a redoutable moment when they hear that call--it is the voice of Jesus himself."

In my interpretation of the Doctors of the Church and the great writers I have followed on this blog, I believe all baptized Catholics, who have been given the sacraments, the Mass, grace, teaching, fall into this second category, whereas those outside the fold fall into the first category.

to be continued...

Synchronicity, Perfection Series VIII Part XXVII The Old and The New Law

Just the other day, I was meditating on the life of David, who is one of my favorite persons in the Old Testament. His heart, it is said, was like unto God's, full of love.

My thoughts centered on the fact that after God disciplined David for killing Uriah, by taking away the baby of Bathsheba, David was still allowed to keep his soul-mate, after a series of serious sins.

God forgave murder, adultery, lying, arrogance, and most likely, pride. David obviously was playing God by taking Uriah's wife and killing him.

Yet, as Raissa points out in my reading of her today, God was "displeased" with David, forgave him and let him keep Bathsheba and the kingdom of Jerusalem.

Raissa notes several points with regard to this mystery which I merely was pondering a few days ago.

One, God's mercies are clear in the Old Testament.

Two, the Old Testament is written after the facts of history and with a perspective of God's mercy.

Three, the law of the Old Testament is NOT as severe as that of the New. (We have Christ Incarnated, the Church, the sacraments, grace in abundance, 2,000 years of teaching and so on, I add.)

That we are held to a higher level of expectations becomes a revelation like a strong light in our lives. One must, as I wrote yesterday as well, move away from even venial sin, not merely the gross sins of St. David. We are called to put on the Mind of Christ. And, we have all we need from baptism and the other sacraments in order to do this.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/12/perfection-series-viii-part-xxii-venial.html

Raissa goes on to say that when our time in the Church is written, (and I am not sure it will be), our time will be seen as a time of great mercies.

to be continued....

A Rant

I meet adults who have never been taught about the nature of law, sin, justice, mercy and grace.

I have written about all these things on my blog, posts which are merely recapitulations of Church teaching from the CCC, Aquinas, Augustine and so on.

But, many people are lazy. Most do not want to read anything. Many people have never cracked open the CCC. But, they have time to read all the messages from a certain apparition yet to be approved.

They know all the private revelations, but have never studied the Creed.

Why?

I am beginning to believe that the basic sin of the laity is sloth. One will not get to heaven by feeding the emotions with consolations and messages, but one will form one's conscience by studying the CCC and the teachings of the Church.

A sin which is rarely addressed, sloth continues to invade a person's soul through neglect.

Too many Catholics think they are saved just because they are Catholics. However, they think and act like Protestants.

Today's rant is a result of too many conversations with adults who have never, every studied their Faith.

Our Faith is rich and beautiful. It is from the Mind of God. Every facet of Church teaching is amazing.

Why would people not want to pursue the treasures of the Church, the doctrines, dogmas, theology which allows us to understand, reflect, repent and grow in holiness?

I am exhausted with trying to explain things I learned in sixth grade. Daily I am in conversations with good people who refuse to open a book and read, or look at the Vatican website, or get excellent commentaries on Church doctrine.

Why? I know why. They are afraid of two things. They are afraid they will have to repent and change. And, they are afraid God may ask the to do something, like spread the Faith.

He does not ask us to spread the Faith, He commands us to do so.

Malta will not stay Catholic for much longer. The ethnic population is shifting rapidly to groups which are not Catholic. The Catholics are weak and the Mass going population is aging.

But, Malta is a microcosm of the macrocosm.

We are in for a rough ride................because of sloth.

Read the following as we approach a time which seems to draw people away from Christ.

More on The Predominant Fault AND Many Links

06 Dec 2013

For those interested in most of the postings on the predominant fault, I have tried to find most of the links on this subject, which is a Catholic idea, btw, and not a protestant one. As one who is being dragged into looking at my ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Part five-predominant fault and false ...

19 Sep 2013

... conversation, stupidity. Lust, whence proceed: spiritual blindness, poor judgment, impetuosity (of decision), inconstancy, love of self even to hatred of God, attachment to the present life which destroys hope of eternal life.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Why The Church Is Weak Three

13 Aug 2014

The list of this pre-saint's sin is staggering: lust, pride, curiosity, wastefulness of time, spiritual sloth, anger, heresy, and so on. I have actually, heard from the mouths of priests, that St. Augustine was too hard on himself.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Perfection series warning two--Concupiscence

24 Jul 2012

Under concupiscence of the flesh are listed: lust, spiritual blindness, poor judgment, impetuosity of decision, inconstancy, love of self even to hatred of God, attachment to the present life which destroys hope of eternal life.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Resisting Grace and Cooperating with Grace-Part Six

23 Jul 2014

Pride, greed, envy, lust and so on keep one from following the urgings of grace. Do people actually ignore little hints, or even big hints? Yes. A man I know was in a horrific accident between his small sport car and a huge truck ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

St. Francis de Sales on His Predominant Faults-Two

08 Apr 2014

On one occasion, he says he was “seething with anger” inside and on several other occasions he was afraid of losing in fifteen minutes what it took him years to acquire. He admitted to Camus that the two passions that gave ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Perfection Series: Our Predominant Fault Two

22 Jul 2012

Lust and Sloth (who has beads) point to the need for deep, persistent prayer, as do all the other Deadly Sins. Garrigou-Lagrange writes that we must ask God, seek Him, for enlightenment as to one's predominant fault.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Sins of Christmas Time-Envy

22 Dec 2013

The Sins of Christmas Time-Envy. Posted by Supertradmum. On this mini-series on the seven deadly sins, I have covered Greed (Avarice), Lust, Wrath (Anger), Sloth, Gluttony, and now, will cover Envy. This will leave Pride, ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Sins of Christmas Time-Greed

20 Dec 2013

The Sins of Christmas Time-Greed. Posted by Supertradmum. The post has been a drum beating the problems of the consumerism and materialism of this time. There are many posts on these subjects. But, today, I want to ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Sins of Christmas Time-Pride

23 Dec 2013

I love Greek drama and this genre shows us over and over the wheel of fortune flipping around from worldly success to abject failure. The Greek idea of hubris, gross pride, is that it is the primal sin, causing disease in the soul ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Sins of Christmas Time-Anger

21 Dec 2013

Sins of Christmas Time-Anger. Posted by Supertradmum. Anger or wrath may not raise its ugly head in violence or suicide, but it may be seen again and again in families at Christmas. Anger is connected to impatience, a lack ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Sins of Christmas Time-Gluttony

22 Dec 2013

The Sins of Christmas Time-Gluttony. Posted by Supertradmum. It seems to me that nations have corporate sins; that is, that national cultures gravitate to some sins more than others. If I had to identify the American culture with ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Sins of Christmas Time-Sloth

21 Dec 2013

This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin."59 In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Why The Church Is Weak Two

13 Aug 2014

... conversation, stupidity. Lust, whence proceed: spiritual blindness, poor judgment, impetuosity (of decision), inconstancy, love of self even to hatred of God, attachment to the present life which destroys hope of eternal life.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/