Radical Catholicism | Back to the Basics

Food for Thought 3

“There is nothing to be dreaded in human ills except sin—not poverty, or disease, or insult, or ill treatment, or dishonor, or death, which people call the worst of evils. To those who love spiritual wisdom, these things are only the names of disasters, names that have no substance. No, the true disaster is to offend God, to do anything that displeases him.”

— St. John Chrysostom, p. 334  “A Year with the Church Fathers”

Try to laugh a lot, because life is funny, and everybody today is too serious. The Only tragedy in the world, my friend, is sin.”
– Mother Angelica

The greatest scandal of all is the all-to-common Presumption that we can indeed get away with Mortal Sin.”

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, “The Last Judgement Network”, The Catholic Thing 11/11/18

“Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost. Do not be deceived; there are only two roads: one that leads to life and is narrow; the other that leads to death and is wide. There is no middle way.”

— St. Louis de Montfort

Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope consists in confession. In confession there is a chance for mercy. Believe it firmly, do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God.”

— St. Isidore of Seville

Why Mercy?

Jesus and His church have always emphasized that God’s mercy is unlimited, unfathomable, and always available for mankind. It is a free gift to each human; the only requirements to receive God’s mercy are for a human to admit his sins, commit to avoiding them in the future, and trust in God’s love and mercy. The concept of mercy has been prevalent throughout the history of the Catholic Church. God’s mercy and love for man has been an integral part of the teachings of both the Old and New Testaments. More recently, Pope Francis declared 2015 to be a year of mercy during which God’s mercy would be especially abundant and available to mankind. During the 20^th century, Saint Faustina of Poland received numerous visions from Jesus Christ urging her to establish and promote His Divine Mercy; Jesus even advised her on the exact image that he wanted to portray His Divine Mercy. There can be no doubt that God’s mercy has been and remains an essential part of His love for man.

The question arises, “Why is God’s loving mercy necessary for mankind?” The answer is Sin!!! Sin separates humans from God and only His mercy will bring humans back to God’s good favor. The noted Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar succinctly noted that “Sin obscures the sight.” Through sin man loses sight of God, becoming a stranger to his creator and savior.  Man can only regain his “sight” through the mercy and help from God, primarily through His Church, the Catholic Faith.

It is disconcerting to note that many who rightly espouse the truth of God’s loving mercy frequently fail to mention the role that sin has in the need for mercy. All men sin and must frequently be reminded of this fact, unless they lose sight of the real need of mercy and the requirement to avoid sin. God’s mercy is often contingent on man’s willingness to accept that man sins and then to act vigorously to remove sin from his life. Oh, that our clergy would instruct mankind about sin and its everlasting effect on humankind. Only God’s forgiveness and mercy can cure humans of the fatal consequences of sin.

Seek God’s help to avoid all sin! Continuously and vigorously seek God’s mercy; it is there for the asking.