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March 12, 2024

March 12, 2024 By
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Anonymous: St Symeon The New Theologian [Feast, March 12] / Wikimedia Commons
What is given out of love is greater, more invaluable, than what is given in spite. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it” (Prov. 15:17 RSV). Many people will do what is considered just because they know they have to do so, not because they want to do so. They don’t want to face the consequences which happens if they don’t. They might follow the law, but as their heart is not in it, and they would be doing differently if there was no law telling them what to do. It is better that they follow the law when it is just and necessary, even if they do not want to do so, than not, because doing what is just is better than doing what is unjust. Nonetheless, it is better for someone to do what is good because their heart is in it. It is even better if they do more than what is merely expected of them, for then they have transcended the simple expectation of justice and have begun to engage charity.  Charity is greater than justice, but justice is better than its lack. This is why charity should not be turned into a tool to counter justice, to deny the expectations of justice, for it is not charity which does this, but its simulacrum. “Vice mimics virtue and cockle works to pass for wheat, which it resembles, though a discriminating palate is not thereby deceived.”[1]

Caritas, love, is patient and kind, always giving freely what it possess to the beloved. If we think we have given so much to others, but we can stop because we have given only the bare minimum expected by justice, we have yet to embrace charity. Or, if we have been charitable in the past, if we stop being charitable thinking we have done enough, we have abandoned the expectations of charity, which is why St. Symeon the New Theologian could say:

Even though we may have been charitable to a hundred people, if there were others from whom we turned away when they asked for food and drink and we could have given it to them, we will be judged by Christ as having refused Him nourishment. For Christ, whom we nourish in the humblest of people, is in all those to whom we refused our charity. [2]

Every day is another day for us to engage love, to celebrate it, and in doing so, experience the peace and joy which it can give. The more we love, the more we will experience the fruit of that love, and our hearts will be so full of joy our day will reflect that joy, while those who deny such love, will hinder that joy and will feel as if the only thing to expect in life is misery “All the days of the afflicted are evil, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Prov. 15:15 RSV). When we abandon love, when we think we have loved enough, we begin to close ourselves off to others, and to God. Indeed, we especially cut ourselves off from God because God is love and to reject love is to reject God.

Of course, we should understand that we are limited in our potential, making us limited in what we have to offer; no one is saying we should do the impossible. What is important is that we embrace love and what it tells us to do, which will be dependent upon the situation we find ourselves in and what we have to offer. We should likewise act with love to those who come to us and embrace us with love, showing us hospitality, for love also recognizes and accepts the gifts of love given by others. It will not have us deny others the opportunity to show us their love. To make this point, St. Symeon says, even if we are fasting, and we normally should not eat meat, if we find ourselves in a situation where we are being offered it, we should not be rude and inconsiderate to our hosts, letting legalistic rules override our charity:

You should eat what is put in front of you, no matter what it is; and take wine with uncomplaining self-restraint. If because of sickness you are having your meals by yourself, eat raw vegetables with olives. But if one of the brethren should send you something to eat, receive it with humility and thanks, as if you were a guest, and eat some of it, whatever it may be, sending what is left over to another brother, poor and pious. Should someone invite you to a meal, partake of all that is put in front of you, but eat only a little, maintaining your self-control in accordance with the commandment. Then, having stood up and bowed before him as though you were destitute and a stranger, thank him. Saying, ‘May God give you your reward, holy father.’ Be careful to say nothing else, even though it might possibly be of help. [3]

He does point out that if we do not get a dispensation beforehand, and we are expected not to eat meat, such as in the middle of a day of fasting, we should consider the act of love the greater obligation. We should accept what is being offered in the spirit of love, but then, if our conscience complains, we should take what happened to our spiritual director (or priest in confession), explain the situation, and let it be:

 If you are having a meal with your brethren, eat unhesitatingly of what is presented to you, whatever it may be. If, however, you have been told not to eat fish or some other food, and it is offered to you, should the person who gave you the order be close at hand, go to him and request him to let you partake; but should he not be present, or if you know that he would not give his permission, and at the same time you do not wish to offend your hosts, tell him what you have done after you have eaten, and ask his forgiveness. If you are unwilling to do either of these things, it is better for you not to visit your brethren. For in this way you will be the gainer in two respects: you will escape the demon of self-esteem, and at the same time spare them offence and distress. If the foods offered to you are on the rich side, keep to your rule; yet even in this case it is better to take a little of everything. In short, when you are invited somewhere, apply the principle laid down by St Paul: ‘Eat all that is set before you without raising questions of conscience’ (cf. i Cor. 10:25). [4]

Charity is more important than simple rules and regulations, but it is also not meant to be use to reject the basic expectations of justice. We should not pit charity against justice, but rather, we should see that justice is the starting point, while charity is what comes next, and has no end, even as God, who is love, has no end. Justice should not be treated as charity, because then, charity and its expectations will be denied. Charity has its own expectations which transcend the simple expectations of justice. Charity will seek to fulfill its greater obligations, and in doing so, the intentions of justice itself.

[1] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Procatechesis and Catechesis 1-12. Trans. Leo P. McCauley, SJ and Anthony A Stephenson (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1969), 119 [Catechesis IV].

[2] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts” The Philokalia: Volume IV. Trans. and ed. G.E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware, et. al. (London: Faber and Faber, 1995),49 [112].

[3] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts,”  59 [145].

[4] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts,”  60 [148].

 

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December 28, 2023

December 28, 2023 By
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Global Justice Now: Migrants Welcome Here / Wikimedia Commons

One of the worst forms of Christianity is Christian Nationalism. To follow its principles, Christians must deny many aspects of Scripture and the Christian tradition. It is a form of idolatry, as it idolizes nations, or particular races, perhaps even genders, viewing some as superior to all others, and in doing so, grant them more rights than everyone else. Those who are not of the favored class, whatever it is, are not only denied help when it is needed, they are actively oppressed, pushed down, so that they cannot challenge those whom Christian Nationalists believe should be favored with riches and power.  In the United States, this is often seen coming from those who proclaim “America First.” To make sure “real Americans” have all the benefits they believe such Americans should receive, they make all kind of laws to reinforce the distinctions they have made, saying anyone who opposes such laws are evil because they deny law and order. No unjust law has the legitimate force of law; those who try to create and enforce them are themselves the ones who deny justice, that is, they are the ones who deny true law and order.

The rhetoric concerning the borders of the United States coming from those who claim to be Christian, saying the borders should be “closed” and all those who come in need not only rejected, but sent back to the places they have come from, no matter the harm they will suffer, represents the way Christian nationalism has had Christians reject basic principles of the Christian faith. Christian Scripture would have Christians look to Jesus and see how he assumed humanity, making all humanity one in him. In him,  the divisions which sin has created in humanity are overcome. One of the functions of Christian history should be the realization of such unity. Christianity teaches us to relativize nationalistic or gender related differences, while Christian Nationalists want to absolutize them, and so keep humanity divided, reinforcing the division which sin has created.

The true Christian message, the message of hope and good will towards one’s neighbor, is exemplified in and with the migrants, those whom the Christian Nationalists undermine. For those migrants are following the example of the children of Israel, and later, Jesus and the Holy Family, by seeking, with hope, for a place not only of refuge, but a place which they can call home. Many such migrants, more than the so-called Christians promoting “America First” or a similar kind of Christian Nationalism, place their hope and trust in God, as Pope Benedect XVI, reflecting upon the life of such migrants, said:

Faith and hope are inseparable in the hearts of many migrants, who deeply desire a better life and not infrequently try to leave behind the “hopelessness” of an unpromising future. During their journey many of them are sustained by the deep trust that God never abandons his children; this certainty makes the pain of their uprooting and separation more tolerable and even gives them the hope of eventually returning to their country of origin. Faith and hope are often among the possessions which emigrants carry with them, knowing that with them, “we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.”[1]

Christians, far from undermining the hope of migrants, far from demeaning them because of their needs, should heed Scripture and welcome them. Christians are called to be the salt of the earth, to be a force for good. If they are not, they risk facing the same kind of judgment which Moses warned the people of Israel would face if they did not help those in need: “Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow” (Deut. 27:19a RSV). The judgment of God, revealed by the prophets, were upon the people of Israel when they abandoned the justice expected of them:

And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother,  do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.”  But they refused to hearken, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears that they might not hear.  They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. (Zech 7:8-12 RSV).

Christian Nationalists, like those following the America First ideology, far from promoting the good of their own nation, undermine it.  The more they hinder the greater good, the more particular goods will be affected and undermined, so that all will suffer, not just those Christian Nationalists actively oppress. That means, things will get worse, but because they do not want to acknowledge the real causes of the problems they face, they will try to make everyone else their scapegoat, and in doing so, double down on the injustices they promote, and so, things will continue to become worse and worse. The more Christians look down upon migrants, the more they deny mercy and grace to them, the more they will be denied mercy and grace themselves and will experience a reflection of the injustice they have others experience. But there is hope for all. If they repent and change their ways, if they start to show mercy to those in need, such as migrants and especially refugees at their border, the more they will find they will receive mercy and grace, and the common good which they destroyed can slowly be restored.

Today, Christians must realize they are being tried and tested; will they live up to the expectations of the Gospels, showing mercy and grace to everyone, especially the migrant and the refugee at their border of the country they live in, or will they be told by Jesus he never knew them, because they denied Jesus when he was at the border?

You who say you are Christian, when you see that Christ is in need, do you leave your wealth to those who are not in need? Christ is poor, and do you further increase the wealth of the rich? Christ is hungry, and do you prepare delicacies for those who are surfeited? Christ complains that He even lacks water, and do you fill the storehouses of the drunken with wine? Christ is weakened by the want of everything, and do you gather an abundance for those who are in luxury? Christ promised you eternal rewards for the gifts given by you, and do you bestow everything on those who will give you nothing? [2]

Christian Nationalists like to suggest the decline of their country lies with those who are merciful and kind to strangers. But the reverse is true. The decline comes from the sinful attitude of Christian Nationalists. They strangle the work of grace in the world. They deny the humanity of the other. They embrace the way of sin, the way of division, instead of the way of love which works to unite all humanity and make them one. Scripture constantly warns them they will bring judgment and destruction upon themselves, though it also tells them that until that destruction takes place, it is not necessary — they have been given a warning, and what it says will happen if they do not change their ways, will happen. However, if they repent like the people of Nineveh, then their destruction will be put off and hopefully never come. Thus, what God had Jeremiah say in his day is true for us in ours:

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever.  (Jer. 12:5-7 RSV).

Let us not deny those in need. Let us see Jesus at the border. Let us welcome and help refugees, even as we show hospitality to migrants. Let us look at migrants as an opportunity for us to live out the Gospel, for by doing so, we will evangelize by our actions.

[1] Pope Benedict  XVI, “Message For The World Day Of Migrants and Refugees (2013).” Vatican translation (10-12-2012).

[2] Salvian the Presbyter, “The Four Books of Timothy to the Church” in The Writings of Salvian the Presbyter. Trans. Jeremiah F. O’Sullivan (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1962), 361-2.

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November 26, 2023

November 26, 2023 By
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Lawrence OP: The Harrowing Of Hell — ” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’” / flickr

Christianity is meant to be a religion of enlightenment; we are meant to awaken from our sinful stupor through the light of Christ. The incarnate God-man, Jesus, eschatologically overturns the darkness of sin and injustice and brings the fruit of that work into time. The already-not-yet aspect of the eschaton brings grace into the world in order to overturn and heal the harm caused by temporal injustices; nonetheless, we should not expect the fullness of justice except in the transcendent eschaton itself (to which all time and space is being drawn). Christians are called to be incorporated into the mystical body of Christ and participate in his eschatological struggle against injustice. The light of Christ should help us see the structures of sin as they have developed in the world so that we can then take the grace we have been given and confront them. Thus, by our incorporation into Christ, Christians should represent what it means to be “woke,” which is to fight against systematic (and systemic) injustices in the world. Christians should confront the systems of sin, and the powers that be which created them, bringing to them the justice established by Christ. Likewise, Christians should work with all those of good will, no matter their religious faith (or lack of it), understanding that Jesus acknowledged that “whoever is not against us is for us.” In this way, they will by following the admonitions of St Paul, who said in his letter to the Ephesians:

Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5;14-16 RSV).

Having been awakened by Christ, having been enlightened by him, we are to use what we have been given for the good of all. We must not be lulled back into slumber. We must put on Christ and walk in the world resisting the injustices found within it. To do this properly, we must embrace wisdom, and not just any wisdom, that is, not mere human wisdom, but the wisdom of God. If we do so, we will learn that the true way of justice is not found in the path of vengeance and retribution, but rather, with restorative justice. Paying back evil for evil only promotes further injustice, while healing the harm caused by sin, the harm caused by injustice, will dismantle the structures of sin and allow the grace of Christ to bring the world to its proper and final end. We are to embrace wisdom, the wisdom of God, given to us by the Word (Logos) and the Spirit, so that we will not be rash and imitate the evil which we fight against. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17 RSV).

The Wisdom of God shows us the true path. We must not support injustices in the world. We cannot embrace and accept avarice or any system founded upon it having power over society. We must be awakened to the evil of greed. We must discern how greed would have us act and find ways to counter its suggestions. That way, we will be able to begin dismantling the structure of sin it has placed over the world. Greed promotes an unnatural division of resources, piling up riches so that only a few can have them, circumventing the universal destination of goods. The system which greed puts in place absolutizes the way the goods have been divided, telling us if a few people attain more than they ever can need or use at the expense of others, it would be wrong for us to deny them what they have accumulated and those who do not have them are not worthy of our help. In truth, such a division of goods is unjust, and it must be rejected. We must not idolize material wealth or those who possess it. We must not assume those who possess more than what they need at the expense of others have really earned what they have. They have not. No one can justly earn what is unjustly taken from others. This is why, as Jesus indicates, those who possess wealth in this fashion will find what they have gained is ephemeral. No matter how much material wealth one accumulates, they are not the ones who really possesses it, God is; they are at best its stewards, and if they have not properly shared what they have received they will find it will be taken away from them, either at some point in their life, or at death. Their deeds, however, will follow them, so that those who have collected material wealth at the expense of others will find that they have impoverished themselves spiritually, and that spiritual impoverishment will follow them into the eschaton:

 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, `What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, `Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Lk. 12:12-21 RSV).

The rich man in that parable built structures to hold his wealth at the expense of others, and in doing so, impeded the universal destination of goods; he stored food for himself alone (unlike, say, Joseph in Egypt, who collected and stored grain so that it could be shared with others in a time of famine). The power of sin and the injustices which it created put him spiritually to sleep. It was, as it were, an opiate, giving him pleasure while making him unable to see or care about the suffering of others. Jesus, in relating this parable, was telling us that there will always be an accounting for what we do with our lives. Injustice, systematic injustice, can only last so long before it is confronted and overturned. Those who have embraced it will find they will have to pay back and make restitution for the injustices they have permitted or committed themselves. If they have not stored up treasures in heaven through acts of charity and love, they will be spiritually impoverished, and it will be difficult for them to pay back the last penny of the debt they have incurred for their injustices. However, those who have been enlightened by Christ, those awakened by the wisdom he has shared to the world, and act upon it, will that the spiritual wealth they helped accrued will be more than enough to help pay back that debt. Indeed, they will learn, contrary to the injustices of avarice and the zero-sum game it suggests for the goods of the earth, spiritual wealth exponentially increases the more it is shared, so that the more they give, especially to those in need, the more they will receive in kind, and in doing so, they will find themselves going from glory to glory, as at each advance they follow the example of Christ and give what they have received to those in need.

 

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November 16, 2023

November 16, 2023 By
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Ron Mader: Word Cloud Representing Pope Francis’ Speech To Congress On Sept 24, 2015 / flickr

Abusing foreigners, denying healthcare to the poor, engaging racism, and even destroying the environment thanks to the health hazards which ensue, all flow from or promote the denial of the dignity of the human person, that is, each represents a denial of the value of human life. Ignoring the conditions for life to flourish, or worse, promoting injustices which not only hinder human survival, but human dignity, are both sins which must be confronted even as the structures of sin which develop from them must be deconstructed and removed.

Human life has value. Acting against that value tarnishes the soul. Sin, and the structures it creates, tends to suggest we can pit social justice and the common good against the “salvation of souls.” By doing so, sin tries to hide the way engaging such injustices corrupts the soul. The salvation of souls must include justice, and that means, social justice. Those who would deny the value and expectations of social justice, indeed, those who would work against it, corrupt themselves and will have to come face to face with that corruption and cast it off from themselves if they want to be saved.

To support the value of life, we must seek for and do what we can to establish justice in the world. To willfully ignore or support injustices is to deny the value of life. While there can be, and are, complementary reasons for this, for the Christian, the primary reason has been revealed to them as the law of love, the law which says they are to love God and our neighbor as themselves. “The one guardian of life is love, but to be loved you must love.”[1] Any disregard for our neighbor and their ultimate good is a violation of the law of love. It is a sin. And like all sin, will lead to the corruption of our being, a corruption which, if left unopposed, would lead us to follow the rationale promoted by sin, that is, the parasitic destruction of being which ultimately leads to its elimination (that is, death):

Our response with regard to sin is that we should not harm our neighbor. Scripture says “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill” and so forth [Ex 20.13-14]. Here the Law is general and the final word on such these matters. It further says that we should love our neighbor as ourselves [Lev 19.18; Mt 22.39], precepts which are carried out each day as well as violated. No one who judges something as evil today, whether murder or anything else forbidden, should regard it as good the following day. Since an evil of this kind always transpires in time, indeed no harmful action would be becoming with respect to time. [2]

Jesus showed us the way of love. He did not render evil for evil, but rather, he shared his love, mercy, and grace to all so that the good which he saw in all could be freed from the bondage of sin and attain its proper potential. Christians, members of his mystical body, are to go and do likewise:

We encourage you to “abstain” in love, “from every wicked deed” and to pursue chastity and justice. Children of light ought “to cast off the works of darkness.” So turn aside hatred, deflect lies, dispel pride with humility, wipe out avarice through generosity. It becomes the members [of a body] to be compatible with their head, so that we may deserve to share in the blessedness he has promised, through the Lord. [3]

Sadly, so many Christians have turned away from God and the way of love. They give all kinds of excuses to justify the unjustifiable. They tend to follow Cain in saying they are not to be their “brother’s keeper,” indeed, they say they are not meant to be. They say they are not to be too concerned with what happens in the world because Christians should only be concerned about the salvation of souls. Such a response does not follow Christianity, but rather, the false perspective of the so-called Gnostics, for it would have us ignore or reject the good of material creation, suggesting it has no place in in the eschaton. Christian ethics must be holistic, understanding that what is done either in their material or the spiritual realm existence has an effect on the other. The human person is both material and spiritual and the two are integrated as one. Christians who try to use their faith to deny justice converts Christianity to an ideology which undermines the true teaching of Christ:

Without the transfiguration of the material world into a fact of relationship and the starting-point for a relationship, the Christian ethic no longer looks towards the existential “changing” of man, the salvation of life from corruption and death. It turns into an idealistic system which, like all idealism, is inevitably conventional and essentially irrelevant to real life and its problems. [4]

Christian history shows how Christians have failed to promote and live out the social justice found in their Scripture and tradition. What Christians have ignored others have embraced. Many non-Christians are doing what Christians should be doing, putting Christians to shame, as they explore and promote the implications of social justice. Since they have done which Christians have not done, Christians can and should listen to them, finding out what they have ignored, so that they can then work with non-Christians in the promotion of the common good. In this fashion, Christians can even learn from non-Christians what is necessary for the dignity of life to be authentically promoted. They can learn from others, even those who do not call themselves pro-life, what it means to support the dignity of life. This is why St. John Paul II was encouraged by the way the world was coming together to deal with the environment, as he saw in it a sign of humanity coming to recognize the value of life:

Another welcome sign is the growing attention being paid to the quality of life and to ecology, especially in more developed societies, where people’s expectations are no longer concentrated so much on problems of survival as on the search for an overall improvement of living conditions. Especially significant is the reawakening of an ethical reflection on issues affecting life. The emergence and ever more widespread development of bioethics is promoting more reflection and dialogue-between believers and non-believers, as well as between followers of different religions- on ethical problems, including fundamental issues pertaining to human life. [5]

Those who would suggest human superiority or dominion over world means humanity can and should use the goods of the earth as they wish without concern, that is, selfishly, undermine what such superiority is meant to entail. The more one is given, the more responsibility they hold. Being given stewardship over the earth means humans have the greatest responsibility to it. They are meant to render loving service to it, helping to protect it from those who would cause it harm:

As one called to till and look after the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15), man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations. It is the ecological question-ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to “human ecology” properly speaking – which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a solution which respects the great good of life, of every life. In fact, “the dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to ‘use and misuse’, or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to ‘eat of the fruit of the tree’ (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity”.[6]

Ignoring the environment, ignoring our stewardship over the earth, can lead to drastic consequences, such as climate change. Sin creates its own consequences, consequences which can be understood as a kind of punishment. Communal sin which ignores the good of the earth and all that is on it, indeed, communal sin which seeks to exploit the earth instead of serve as its stewards, creates hazardous conditions for life on earth, conditions which demonstrate the destructive nature of communal sin. Those who think we can ignore, or not be concerned, with the environment, and what we are doing to it, ultimately show they do not value the dignity of life, because they are not concerned about the mass destruction which the destruction of the environment will produce.

The true value of life is found in and promoted by the common good. Injustices not only deny the common good, but destroy it, trying to divide up the common good into parts or private goods which people fight to attain. To justify those who have over those who have not, some systemic explanation develops which suggests that some lives are worth more than others, which then reinforces the mistreatment of those who are deemed worthless:

Because the evil and absurdity of earthly life are due to the fact that every being asserts itself against everything else it does not follow that life’s true meaning is to be found in the affirmation of “the all” against the particular, in the sacrifice of the individual to the race: that is simply the reverse of the same evil, universal discord under another aspect; that each should be destroyed by the whole is no better than that each should try to destroy the others. [7]

It is impossible to be pro-life, to truly value life and its dignity, and be indifferent to or support social injustice. Social injustice lies behind the devaluation of life and it justifies the mistreatment of those who are in need, indeed, justifies the abuse of the oppressed. St. John Paul II was right in saying:

Today this proclamation is especially pressing because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenceless. In addition to the ancient scourges of poverty, hunger, endemic diseases, violence and war, new threats are emerging on an alarmingly vast scale.[8]

How many Christians, especially those who claim to be pro-life, understand this? Their actions say they do not. They might proclaim themselves pro-life, but their deeds tell us otherwise. Is it any wonder that others, upon seeing this, want nothing to do with them? The term “pro-life” has become a political label used by those who do not seek social justice and the dignity of the human person, but rather, by those who seek to promote the value of some humans over and above all others. It is important to truly be pro-life, to serve and defend life, but to do so requires the promotion of social justice, to be practical instead of ideological. If we do not engage social justice, we will find we are the ones who are guilty of indifference to life, and with it, the development and promotion of a “culture of death,” which is not other than the structure of sin which develops upon the denial of such justice.

[1] Marsilio Ficino, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. Volume 2 {Liber III].  trans. by members of the Language Department of the School of Economic Science, London (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1978), 62 [Letter 50 to a man seeking power].

[2] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Richard McCambly. Ed. John Litteral (Ashland, KY: Litteral’s Christian Library Publications, 2014), 62 [Homily 7].

[3] St Leo the Great, Sermons. Trans. Jane Patricia Freeland CSJB and Agnes Josephine Conway SSJ (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1996), 138 [Sermon 32].

[4] Christos Yannaras, The Freedom of Morality. Trans. Elizabeth Briere (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 87.

[5] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae. Vatican translation. ¶19.

[6] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae,¶42.

[7] Vladimir Solovyey, God, Man & The Church. The Spiritual Foundations Of Life. Trans. Donald Attwater (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2016), 58-9.

[8] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, Vatican translation. ¶3.

 

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October 31, 2023

October 31, 2023 By
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A. Davey: Dagfinn Werenskiold — They Who Hunger And Thirst / flickr

Jesus commends those who seek for justice (δῐκαιοσῠ́νη, often translated as righteousness), saying that they will be satisfied. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6 RSV). They hunger thirst for justice, that is, not for any sort of righteousness, but the righteousness associated with the justice of God. It is a righteous justice they desire, and they find it is satisfied in and through Jesus. Jesus embraces restorative justice and works to make sure all those who suffered injustice are healed and those who gained from injustice give back what they unjustly took. While we can and should wish for this to happen in time, we must realize the ultimate realization of justice will be in the eschatological kingdom of God. This does not mean we should ignore injustices as the present themselves before us today; if we did that, that would show we do not hunger or thirst for it.  Instead, we should pursue it throughout are entire lives, constantly doing what we can to make things better in the world:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” It does not suffice for us to want justice, if we do not experience a hunger for justice. Thus from this example we should understand that we are never sufficiently just, but it is always necessary to hunger for works of justice. [1]

How can we pursue such justice in the world when we not know what such justice is? Our thirst for justice must make us act, but it must also make us desire to know what true justice is, as St. Caesarius of Arles indicated:

Among the other beatitudes which our Lord and Saviour deigned to mention in the Gospel He added this one, saying: ‘Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.’ Blessed are those to whom God has been pleased to grant this remarkable hunger and desirable thirst. But how does one hunger after justice, brethren? We hunger after justice if we are willing to hear the word of God with patience and love, for of such food it has been said: ‘They that eat me yet hunger; and they that drink me yet thirst.” For, although action is better than the possession of knowledge, it is necessary to know before acting; one must know what he wishes to accomplish.[2]

When engaging justice, we must be patient and bear all things with love. Indeed, justice without love, without mercy, will not be true justice; instead, it is an unbearable legalistic similitude of it. This is why, for Christians, studying Scripture is important, because Scripture gives multiple examples of how such legalistic notions of justice are wrong. Scripture indicates true justice must be centered upon and connected with love (charity). Certainly, it is possible for someone to discern this without recourse to Scripture, but Scripture highlights it, and the more Christians engage Scripture, the more it will be reinforced in their mind that they have to avoid a legalistic understanding of justice and righteousness. They will understand that true justice entails love and all the expectations which come out of love, such as loving our neighbor, especially if their neighbor is someone who is unjustly marginalized and in great personal need. That is, the more Christians discern that love is the key, the more their thirst for justice should take them to work for the rights of everyone:

It is sufficient for such a merely formal equity that each man defends his rights. But if I defend only my own it shows that I am not concerned for the rights as such but only because they are mine: that is, I am defending myself, my own interests. And if everyone stands up only for himself and what is his, common rights and social equity are nothing more than an abstract notion, justice becomes simply the theoretical balance of various, particular forces. Now in fact our idea of justice goes beyond this abstraction; we have a lively moral perception of it which radically modifies the principle and quality of our actions; it causes us to defend the person and rights of others as well as of ourself. And then it becomes clear that right and equity are in themselves worth something to us. [3]

Those who embrace some sort of injustice because of the immediate gain they feel it gives to them will find that it will not satisfy them forever; and, once it no longer satisfies, they will still have to face the consequences of their actions. Much of what they did to others will be reflected back upon them. And, due to their lack of mercy, their lack of love, until they change and embrace mercy and love, they will not have the grace which they need to help them overcome the consequences of their actions. “But you who love injustices, keep this admonition in mind, so that you may know that your avariciousness longing for wealth is idolatry, and that it separates you from the angelic orders, that is, from spiritual people, just as the idol of deceit is separated from the true God.”[4]

It is important for us to pursue justice, to desire it, to thirst for it, not just for ourselves, but for everyone. It is important we don’t merely ponder and reflect upon the notion of justice, that is, pursue an intellectual understanding of it, if we are not willing to engage it:

He seeks rightly who does not so do in mere words, but in deeds. For thus God is sought: through justice God is sought, so that through temperance, he is found; through courage and sound thinking God is sought, so that he may be comprehended; through wisdom God is sought so that God may be found by the one seeking with wisdom. [5]

The more we pursue justice in the world, making sure we do so with mercy and grace, the more we will find we will be satisfied in the eschatological kingdom of God. This does not mean there will be no justice in the world, that is, it does not mean we will not find any satisfaction in it in our lives. While the fullness of the eschatological kingdom of God, the eschaton, is not yet, nonetheless, the incarnation is the immanent eschaton: Jesus shares grace with the whole of creation, giving it the means to participate in an experience of the eschatological kingdom of God in an anticipatory way. The world can change and be made better, even if it will not become a utopia. We should embrace the eschatological graces brought into the world thanks to the incarnation. With our hunger and thirst for justice, we should pursue it to the end of our days, never giving up, even if it seems like it is far from us our fleeting. For then it will be a true hunger and thirst for justice, and Jesus’ blessing will be upon us.

[1] St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2008), 76.

[2] St. Caesarius of Arles, Sermons Volume I (1-80). Trans. Mary Magdeleine Mueller, OSF (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1956), 28 [Sermon 4].

[3] Vladimir Solovyey, God, Man & The Church. The Spiritual Foundations Of Life. Trans. Donald Attwater (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2016), 38.

[4] St. Hildegard of Bingen, “Letter 220r” in The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen. Volume III. Trans. Joseph L Baird and Radd K Ehrman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 14.

[5] Origen, Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Trans. Joseph W. Trigg (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2020), 243 [Homily 1 on Psalm 76].

 

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September 21, 2023

September 21, 2023 By
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Michael Coghlan: Scales Of Justice / flickr

One of the great Christian hopes, a hope which is not uniquely Christian but something Christians inherited from the Jews, is that God’s justice will prevail in the eschaton. That is, we hope that God will somehow overcome and fix all the injustices people suffered in the world. We hope that those who suffered great oppression, those who suffered great pain and sorrow, will be able to discern how, in the midst of it, God was not only on their side, but was with them, sharing in solidarity with them their suffering. We hope that this realization will help find new meaning to the events of world history, helping to explain what is currently unexplainable, why the innocent suffers as evil seems to prevail in the world.  We rely upon hope because currently, no matter how much we try to understand it, we can’t. It is beyond our current comprehension. Every time we try to explain why God allows some things, while our solutions might include elements of truth in them, we will never be able to make for a satisfactory answer, and indeed, what we offer often ends up being used to promote evil. Theodicies tend to be subverted by tyrants as they use them to justify their existence. Many are led to believe that if they want to be rewarded by God, they must bear with their suffering instead of fighting to make things better.

Certainly, the hope of the restoration of all things is important, but connected with it is our role in its execution. We are not expected merely to sit around doing nothing while waiting for the eschaton. We are meant to work for the elimination of unjust pain and sorrow, of abuse, in the world. The eschaton has become immanent in the world, and as such, we are to join in the work of the eschaton, realizing of course, its final fulfillment is beyond our power. We cannot and will not create a perfect utopia, but we should do all we can to make the world as just as possible. Thus, we should confront the powers that be when they work and bring about injustices; we should not let them continue and have control over the lives of so many innocents. We must be prophetic, showing a zeal for justice, so that in and through us, people can get a hint of the justice of God.  And hope tells us that even if our work is unnoticed, and seems to have little to no effect, God takes notice and provide grace so as to multiply the value of our work, even as God will also take in all the good we do and give it its proper place it in the eschaton:

Do not bow down to power; do not despise poverty; but for those who are governed provide an exactness in your reckonings more exact than any scale. Thus your zeal for justice will become evident to those who have put their faith in you, and they will admire you beyond all others. Or, even if it does escape their notice, it will not escape the notice of our God, who sets before us great prizes for our good works. [1]

We are to engage God out of love, not concerned with the world and its praise. “The Lord is instructing us in every perfection of heavenly justice and faith. For he wants us to carry out every work out of divine religion without hypocrisy, without any pursuit of human praise.”[2] This does not mean we need reject all forms of praise, but we should not seek it out as for the reason we do what we do. We should act out of love for God, and through such love, love all that God wants, which includes justice. Establishing justice can bring its own reward, even as sin, or injustice, can be create its own punishment, causing us the pain and sorrow we do not want, which is poetically described as God’s vengeance:

But, this is the object of Thy vengeance, the evil which men do against themselves, for, even when they sin against Thee, they do a work of impiety against their own souls, and iniquity lies to itself either by corrupting and perverting that nature which Thou hast made and ordered, either through immoderate use of things which are permitted or through a passionate desire for unpermitted things, for ‘that use which is against nature’ – or they are found guilty in mind and speech who turn their anger against Thee and ‘kick against the goad’ – or, when they have broken the confines of human society, they boldly rejoice in private associations and separate factions corresponding to their sympathies or animosities. [3]

In the incarnation, with the immanent eschaton, God entered the world, so that God can work from within the domain of creation for its own restoration. God began the process by which injustice will be rooted out. God set in motion the means by which all evil, all injustice, will expose itself and suffer the end which it brings upon itself. Similarly, God will let the good reveal itself so that it can be collected and brought together as one, and as one, receive healing grace (healing what it suffered as a result of sin) before being taken up and brought into the glorious, eternal kingdom of God. What is evil in each and every one of us will fall, that is, be cast away, so that the good given to us by our existence and our nature, as well with every good we developed in ourselves throughout out lives, will be free to show itself when the Lord reveals everything in the light of the eschatological judgment. “I think, therefore, that the Lord is ‘for the fall and for the rise,’ not because some fall and others rise, but because our lower nature falls and our better nature rises. The manifestation of the Lord is destructive of carnal passions, but stimulative of the spiritual qualities.”[4]

Our embrace of justice must follow what we know and understand of the eschaton, that is, letting evil reveal itself and set the conditions for its own self-made punishment. We must also let the good reveal itself, so that when it is revealed, we can affirm it, protect it, indeed, strengthen it so that evil truly does not have the final say. We must show how each particular good has a place in the greater good, and work to coordinate all such particular goods together so that together, they can participate in the greatest good possible. We must promote and serve justice, denouncing all grave injustice. We must do so with grace, making sure we are not contentious as we do so, for such contentiousness, far from promoting and supporting  the greater good and the way of justice, ends up attacking much which is good:

Contentious natures frequently reject even good ideas and judge as noble and useful not that which seems so to all others, even if it is advantageous, but that which is pleasing to them alone, even if it is hurtful. And the cause is folly and perversity of disposition, not heeding the advice of others, but trusting to their own opinions only and to whatever considerations enters their minds. Those things in which they take pleasure enter the mind, and they take pleasure in what they want. Now, he who thinks that which he desires is advantageous is not a safe judge of the right; he is like the blind who are led by the blind. [5]

Thus, while pursuing eschatological justice, and trying to bring its presence into the world, we must always do so with mercy and grace, knowing that just as in the eschatological judgment, God brings and offers grace with the judgment, so in our rejection of injustice, we must bring us grace with our promotion of greater justice. We should not ignore our life in the world, thinking we can go away in quietude and let injustice remain, even as, however, we cannot presume to be the ones who can and will establish the ultimate justice of the eschaton. We must work as signs of the eschatological glory, allowing elements of the eschaton to be experienced in time, which is why we must always serve justice instead of waiting for its fulfillment in the eschatological judgment.

[1] St. Basil, “Letter 299” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368). Trans. Agnes Clare Way, CDP (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1955), 290-1.

[2] St. Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermons and Tractates on Matthew. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (New York: Newman Press, 2018), 211 [Tractate 27].

[3] St. Augustine, Confessions. Trans. Vernon J. Bourke (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1953; repr. 1966), 65.

[4] St. Basil, “Letter 260” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368), 230.

[5] St. Basil, “Letter 307” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368), 300.

 

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July 6, 2023

July 6, 2023 By
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Anonymous (no photographer listed): Justice / pxhere

James warns us not to take the divine “law” in any of its variations in a legalistic manner. He wanted us to realize it was established for us and our own good, not us, as he made clear in relation to the Sabbath (cf. Mk. 2:27). When we misunderstand the law and try to embrace it in the most legalistic fashion, establishing rules upon rules which all are expected to follow, any violation of it, however minor an infraction, is treated as a violation of the whole law (cf. Jas. 2:10). The divine law, in all its variations, is meant to instruct us and guide us, encouraging us to embrace the greater good. For the divine law comes to us as a revelation from God, no matter what form of it we are talking about (that is, the natural law comes to us as a form of natural revelation, even as the Law of Moses came as a particular form of revelation providing the people of Israel a special relationship with and insight about God).

All forms of revelation from God contains some element of grace. Legalism tends to cut revelation away from the grace given with it, leaving the people, therefore, with none of the means they need to fulfil the good expected of them. Similarly, without grace, there will be no mercy, which is why people will likely be treated harshly, if not cruelly, for any violation of the legalistic expectations placed upon them. Punished, in this fashion, those who sin, those who violate some form of the divine life, will be doubly wounded, as they will suffer the self-made infliction of sin as well as the punishment which will limit them and their potential further. For without grace, punishment is merely retributive.  Thus, legalism ends up further destroying justice in the world, as it has no means of restoring what was lost.

Thus, the divine law, when understood merely as a legal prescription which must be followed without exception, leads to condemnation. The fault does not lie with the divine law, but with the wrong approach taken concerning it. On the other hand, when the law is understood, not legalistically, but as an aid which requires flexibility and grace for its fulfillment, then it can be used to help point to the greater good, encouraging people not only to embrace it, but to participate in it. They will be able to receive some form of healing grace, the kind necessary for violations of justice to be fixed. Again, it is important to note, this is true with all manifestations of the divine law, so that the Law of Moses, when it was given to the people of Israel, must be understood to have with it some element of grace which it gave to them:

The Law is a manifestation of God, a gift of grace – it is not juridical legislation serving a social purpose. It is a call to the people of Israel to receive and mediate the name of God, to be manifest as the “radiance” of that truth which is God Himself. [1]

Those who would pit the divine law against the mercy and grace of God do so because they have divided grace from the law. The more they do this, the more legalistic and cruel they become, until at last, they become tyrannical, taking away not only mercy, but freedom, from everyone who falls under their power. True justice, true engagement with the divine law, is one which allows for mercy, grace, healing, and conversion, for it is the way of love; we can discern this was true with the Law of Moses because so many within the Mosaic Covenant found grace in and through it, allowing them to become great saints (starting with Moses himself!). Similarly, all moral expositions, as they are engagements with and reflections upon divine law, should work for the greater good, but they can do this only if they contain within them elements of mercy and grace, as they are necessary for true justice. “Justice, whether through conversion or conscience, is not given without grace. So that when one is found to be guilty, through conversion suddenly and without works, he stands justified.”[2] Since many have misunderstood the law, as seen in the way the engage it with a legalistic mindset, the problem is not the divine law, but the way it is misunderstood. When we read various criticisms of the law which suggest it did not contain grace, we must see them, not as criticism of the divine law, but the legalism which tries to have us believe its presentation of the law is the law itself.

Justice, to be sure, certainly stands in opposition to injustice, to evil. But for it to be true to itself, it stands against the evil of legalism. This is especially true for God’s justice, for God uses it to judge in such a manner as provide grace to those who are being judged. God’s judgment is meant to be a vessel for grace so that  those who have been defiled by their actions can detach themselves from that defilement, that is, purified from it, so that they can then be healed from all the harm it caused them, rendering them ready to experience the glory of  the kingdom of God for themselves:

This is the grace which strengthens the righteous, preserving <them> by its being near and removing their faults. It is also near to those who have perished, reducing their torments and in this punishment deals with compassion. In the world to come, indeed grace will be the judge, not justice. <God> reduces the length of time of sufferings, and by means of His grace, makes all worthy of His kingdom. For there is no one <even> among the righteous who is able to conform his way of life to the Kingdom. [3]

Justice, true justice, gives way to grace. God uses justice to present us grace, so that through grace, we can find ourselves being given back what we lost through our own acts of injustice. God does not want to use the law to condemn us and make us suffer. Rather, the law is presented to us as wisdom so that we will be able to better engage the good in the situations which we find ourselves in, even as it is presented with grace, so that we do not end up despairing due to our sin. When we understand this, we should, therefore, treat others similar to the way God treats us, that is, since God engages us with restorative justice instead of mere retribution, we should embrace the way of charity instead of cruelty and revenge and offer others the means to have restorative justice help them in their lives:

Our response with regard to sin is that we should not harm our neighbor. Scripture says “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill” and so forth [Ex 20.13-14]. Here the Law is general and the final word on such these matters. It further says that we should love our neighbor as ourselves [Lev 19.18; Mt 22.39], precepts which are carried out each day as well as violated. No one who judges something as evil today, whether murder or anything else forbidden, should regard it as good the following day. Since an evil of this kind always transpires in time, indeed no harmful action would be becoming with respect to time. [4]

This is why the death penalty is fundamentally against greatest expression of the divine law, and as such, should not be embraced by Christians. It promotes a legalistic, retributive understanding of justice, one which knows no grace, no room for mercy. The one who embraces capital punishment, that is, the one who would strike at the supposed monster who stands before them, turns into a monster themselves. For they take on the mantle of the monster, killing without mercy. If they are to be consistent with their legalism, and so, with their retributive justice, they would have to conclude that they, having become the monster, must be next. Just as an eye for an eye will leave everyone blind, so a death for a death will leave no one alive. But once we understand justice is not retributive, but rather, restorative, even if we cannot restore all that is lost due to some violation of the divine law, we can hope that in the end, what was lost in time will be restored. That is, we are to hope God that will restore that which we cannot restore, so that restorative justice, not nihilistic destruction, will have the last say. This is why the resurrection of the dead must be seen as a sign of God’s justice, for it is a sign that true justice will prevail in the eschaton. But until then, we are to engage restorative justice, to embrace it and with it, do what we can in the world to help it spread, even if we know that until the end of time, there will be no complete restorative justice, that is no utopia on earth. For, even if cannot have perfection now, we should never make perfection the enemy of the good, which is exactly happens when legalism is viewed merely along the lines of retributive justice.

[1] Christos Yannaras, The Freedom of Morality. Trans. Elizabeth Briere (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 54-5.

[2] St. Isaac the Syrian, “The Third Part.” Trans. Mary T. Hansbury in An Anthology of Syriac Writers From Qatar in the Seventh Century. Ed. Mario Kozah, Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn, Saif Shaeen Al-Murikhi and Haya Al Thani (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2015), 329 [VI.9].

[3] St. Isaac the Syrian, “The Third Part, 331 [VI.18].

[4] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Richard McCambly. Ed. John Litteral (Ashland, KY: Litteral’s Christian Library Publications, 2014), 62 [Homily 7].

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

January 22, 2023

January 22, 2023 By
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Derek Winterburn: Zacchaeus / flickr

Zacchaeus, even if he tried to be an ethical tax collector, still was a tax collector, and he made his money, his wealth, on the backs of others. Tax collecting was much different in ancient Rome than it is today, as tax collectors were given a percentage of the money they collected as their pray. He was not as bad as they could come. He wanted to think good of himself. He knew tax collecting was important, even if the method of collection needed reformation. And, as he tried to be ethical, he likely hid from himself the injustices involved in the way he went about his work. Perhaps he reflected upon what he did and how he did it better than others, that is, that he was not as cruel as many of his fellow tax-collectors. Nonetheless, he still made his money in ways which were cruel and unjust. He found a way to game the system,  making a significant amount of wealth for himself. This is why, when he encountered Jesus, he eventually had to admit to himself and to Jesus that he was far from the ethical man he had assumed himself to be. And so, as a part of his metanoia, he made it clear he would more than give back not only the money he unjustly took from others, he would pay it back with interest:

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 0 For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19:8-10 RSV).

Zacchaeus’s salvation was possible thanks to Jesus and the grace which Jesus offered him. Nonetheless, to activate that grace and be saved, he had to cooperate with it. He had to change his ways. He had to do what he could do to heal the  pain and sorrow he had caused others to suffer. He couldn’t just ask for forgiveness and remain the same. He certainly could no longer keep the blood money he had collected. To make sure that he did not go back to his old ways, he wanted to make sure the money which was legitimately his was used justly, which is why he decided he would use it to help the poor, redistributing his wealth, making things fairer for all.  We should see in his story not only a warning of the judgment which is to come we take and appropriate wealth unjustly for ourselves, but also the hope that such judgment and the condemnation which it could bring does not have to be the final word, that we, upon realizing the evil we had done can still repent and find salvation. St. Jerome, with his critical view of the rich, said that this means those who are wealthy must ponder how that wealth was accumulated. In doing so, they will see injustices were involved, and once they do, they will have to come to terms with their obligations to their community, starting with the fact that they must help those who have been hurt by such injustices. If they do so, they will replace illegitimate earthly treasure, the kind which does not last forever, with heavenly treasure, a treasure which not only lasts, but can and will be accumulated through justice:

Much truth there is, indeed, in a certain saying of a philosopher: ‘Every rich man is either wicked or the heir of wickedness.’ That is why the Lord and Savior says that it is difficult for the rich to enter into  the kingdom of heaven. Someone may raise the objection: ‘How, then, did the wealthy Zacchaeus enter the kingdom of heaven?’ He gave away his wealth and replaced it at one with the riches of the heavenly kingdom. The Lord and Savior did not say that the rich will not enter the kingdom of heaven, but that they will enter with difficulty. [1]

Zacchaeus, in his own way, serves as a representative of the wealthy in general. Not all the rich have gained their wealth in the same way. Nonetheless, due to the way economics works, it is difficult, if not impossible, for someone to gain extraordinary amounts of wealth in a perfectly just fashion. There will always be some sort of injustice directly or indirectly connected to the accumulation of massive amounts of wealth. And usually, once someone gains more wealth than they need, they will not be satisfied. They will seek to accumulate more and more, and in doing so, taking away the goods of the earth from those who need them. Thus, they fall into the sin of avarice, which is not a minor thing, for avarice, the love of money, can be said to be a root of all evil. Its call, its influence, if not put into check, will be unending. It will suggest to someone to find more and more wealth instead of justly using what one has, and distributing what is in excess to those in need.

St. Hildegard warned that avarice leads to idolatry, as it has people make money their god, leading them to separate themselves from the true God through their wealth:  : “But you who love injustices, keep this admonition in mind, so that you may know that your avariciousness longing for wealth is idolatry, and that it separates you from the angelic orders, that is, from spiritual people, just as the idol of deceit is separated from the true God.” [2]  This does not mean God will not come looking for them – for indeed, as the story of Zacchaeus shows, God does indeed try to get past the barriers people put up. God goes looking for them, engages them, and helps them put away from all the barriers they have put up, so that realizing their errors, they can be like Zacchaeus and find salvation. But we must also see the story as warning to us all, especially to those of us who are not yet rich, making sure we do not take on an avaricious attitude ourselves. We do not have to disregard earthly needs, but we must make sure our pursuit of them is limited to what is just and necessary; if not, as Xunzi noted, we can find ourselves having an never-ending desire to accumulate goods which we do not need:

The natural disposition of people is that for food they want meats, for clothes they want embroidered garments, for travel they want chariots and horses, and moreover they want the riches of surplus wealth and accumulated goods. Even if provided these things, to the end of their years they would never be satisfied; this is also the natural disposition of people. [3]

It is best to remember that the world and all that is in it is meant for the common good, and it is when that common good is lost, that we find the love of money, the love of wealth, dividing up humanity, and in that division, set up a great amount of evil in the world. Ficino pointed out that this was  something that the wisest philosophers came to know and understand, as they all saw those who became so attached to earthly goods became possessed by those very goods:

He confused his dominion, which was vast by nature, to narrow limits. He introduced into the world ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, the origin of all strife and evil. Thus it was to good purpose that Pythagoras directed that everything should be held in common among friends, and that Plato directed the same among citizens. Therefore, those who are rich should be regarded as most unjust if, because of their pride, they forget God, the bountiful giver of all riches. They make themselves masters over the poor, and call themselves possessors of wealth, when it is they who are possessed by their wealth. [4]

Truly, we must not let avarice and its mode of engaging the world dictate to us how we should live. If we do, we will find ourselves turning against the common good. We will cut ourselves off from each other, fighting for the little which we think we possesses as being ours by right, and in doing so, create and reinforce all kinds of injustices. We risk, moreover, finding ourselves stuck, incapable of getting beyond the cycle of pain and sorrow avarice creates. The story of Zacchaeus shows us the way out. We must come to know ourselves, like he did, and accept the need we have to change, realizing of course, we cannot properly change without grace. This does not mean there has been and is no good in us, it is just that we must not use that good to ignore the evil which we have done. Once we come to terms with what we have done, we will be able to reinforce the good we have done by dealing with and healing the harm we have caused, and then, like Zacchaeus, we will find ourselves truly blessed by gaining the treasure which we should seek, that is, the riches of the kingdom of God.

[1] St. Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome: Volume I (1-59 On the Psalms). Trans. Marie Liguori Ewald, IHM (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1963), 116-7 [Homily 15].

[2] St. Hildegard of Bingen, “Letter 220r” in The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen. Volume III. Trans. Joseph L Baird and Radd K Ehrman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 14.

[3] Xunzi, The Complete Text. Trans. Eric L. Hutton (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016), 29.

[4] Marsilio Ficino, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. Volume 1.  trans. by members of the Language Department of the School of Economic Science, London (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1975; repr. 1988), 119-20 [Letter  73 to Angelo Poliziano].

 

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November 6, 2022

November 6, 2022 By

Jacopo Bassano (at the Cleveland Museum of Art): The Rich Man and Lazarus / Wikimedia Commons

With the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus indicated that even if someone were to rise from the dead and warn others of what they might experience in death if they do not change their ways, many would not heed such warnings. They would find some reason to ignore or deny what they are being told. They might try to find excuses to justify themselves, explaining why the warning did not really apply to them, or they might suggest that the person never really was dead, and so not worthy to listen to. In the end, it is clear, because they do not want to believe what they are told, they will continue on as they were.

The story, of course, was not merely theoretical, for it is what happened with Jesus. The irony is that those who say they believe in him and follow him are often those who ignore what he said. This can be seen in the way they justify doing nothing for the poor. Jesus, throughout his ministry, made it clear that the poor, the outcast, those who society wanted nothing to do with, were among those whom God loves and wanted everyone else to love. Jesus also indicated, as a way to show such love, we should be concerned about justice, as it was injustice which made such people suffer. Thus, we have in Jesus, an example of what he meant that if someone were to come back from the dead, their message would not be heeded, for Jesus’ message was not heeded. Many self-proclaimed Christians don’t want to believe Jesus when he said that riches can hinder and weigh us down, that the wounds of the poor, the pain and suffering the poor experience thanks to the fact the rich neglect the common good, will come at a price, a price which cannot be paid off by money.  Is that, not in fact, a point of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried;  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom.  (Lk. 16:19-23 RSV).

The rich man ignored Lazarus, and so Lazarus, who could have been helped by the rich man, indeed, whose life could have been saved if the rich man had cared for him, died. The rich man eventually died. It does not matter how much longer he lived, the point is that his riches, which might have been able to save Lazarus, was not enough to save him. When he died, the rich man, Dives, found himself having to experience the consequences of his actions, while he saw Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom, being taken care of and shown the hospitality in death which he had not experienced in life.

The rich man was not entirely evil. He still had love for and care for his family, which is what motivated him to want to help his family and warn them of what will happen to them if they do not change their ways. But, unlike the implication suggested by Dickens in “A Christmas Carol,” the rich man was told it would change nothing if the living were visited by the dead:

But Abraham said, `They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, `No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’  (Lk. 16 29-31 RSV).

The rich man had to face the consequences of his actions; he had to deal with the pain and suffering he gave to others, including and especially Lazarus. The fact that he still had some concern for others suggests that, perhaps, the rich man was redeemable, even if the story almost suggests he was not, but that is because the story dealt with the consequence of death before Jesus’ conquest of death itself. Jesus’ death and resurrection changes the composition of the afterlife; the barriers which existed, the barriers which separated everyone from each other, and from heavenly glory, were broken down. This is where we can find hope for Dives, though he still would have to deal with the consequences of his actions, just as all of us will have to deal with our sins. What is important is that the reason he suffered was due to his lack of charity, that is, because he his greed got the best of him and so he ignored the dictates of justice. He should have understood he would be held responsible for not helping those he could with his money:

And he called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’  But Abraham said, `Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ (Lk. 16:23-26 RSV).

While the story was told in such a way that it was implied that there is no bridge between the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus, we know, would eventually make that bridge, allowing all of us to be freed from the chains we made for ourselves due to our sins. Jesus, in his death, journeyed throughout all the realm of the dead, making sure everyone had the opportunity to  follow after him and be saved, freed from the bondage of sin. While the consequences of our sin do not have to go on forever, thanks to the grace of the resurrection, we still have to deal with them and experience them, to some degree. Thus, we can still take the message of this story to light. Jesus would have us remember those around us, to take care of them, and warns us, if we do not do so, we will experience the effects of our uncharity for others coming back upon ourselves. And even though Jesus rose from the dead, confirming the validity of his message, how many ignore it and act as if it were nothing to ignore the poor and dispossessed? Let them heed Jesus. Jesus will not be fooled. If they think they can ignore the poor by appearing pious in public, they will find that their pretend piety will be rejected, and perhaps, add even more to the burden they will have to overcome. Whatever means of piety we use to ignore the expectations of love, though such piety might have some good involved with it, is not going to be enough. While we might want to look good in front of others, and indeed, many of the rich put on acts to do so, in end the end, it is not what is done in such a show which counts. This is why Paul emphasized that circumcision was not necessary for Gentile converts, because forcing them to be circumcised was all about them putting on a pious show, one which did them no good, as it led them to ignore the circumcision of the heart which they needed in order to properly love others:

It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh (Gal, 6:12-13 RSV).

Thus, Paul understood that many seek to be glorified in the little that they do, showing themselves off “in the flesh” as it were, in order to ignore what Jesus said he expected us to do. In reality, we should all take upon ourselves the cross of Christ and follow it, giving of ourselves, not out of show, but out of love. We should not glorify ourselves. We should not do acts of piety in front of others in order to be glorified. All such glory is a sham. The only true glory is in the cross of Christ, and the path of love which emerges from it. “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14 RSV). If we, therefore, claim to follow Jesus, let us truly heed what he said. He showed us love in action and the concerns love will have when it is confronted with injustices. So long as we try justify why that message does not apply to ourselves, we have not truly heeded Jesus, despite believing he came back from the dead.

 

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June 1, 2022

June 1, 2022 By

Nheyob: Charity Symbol From St Luke Catholic Church In Danville Ohio/ Wikimedia Commons

True charity, caritas, is love. If we want to act with true charity, love would serve the foundation for our actions. This is why, if and when we have some reason other than love for why we give to those in need, our actions are but a simulacra of true charity.  And so, if we act without such love, Paul says we gain nothing for what we do:  “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor. 13:3 RSV). We must not confuse charity, caritas, merely with giving away money or other goods to those who are in need, because we can do so for reasons other than love, such as giving away money for the sake of tax benefits or to pretend that we are better people than we really are because we seek some sort of temporal benefit out of such fame.

Charity should never be used as an excuse to ignore the dictates of justice. This is because if we love someone, we would rather they never suffer, for them to never be in need, than for us to have the opportunity to do something to help them deal with their needs. Those who try to pit charity against justice say justice prevents them from doing acts of charity, but all they show is what they want to do is put on a show, not that they care for the people involved. For, just as we would rather someone we loved never get sick than to be in need of and receive medical care, we should desire someone we loved to never be in need thanks to injustices such as racism, sexism, poverty, hunger, homelessness, or any other injustice society has a duty to prevent.

Even if justice prevailed in society, we would still be able to love someone, meaning, there would still be room for true charity, which is why using charity as an excuse to ignore injustice shows how truly uncharitable we really are. Thus, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Love—caritas—will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love.” [1]  Just as grace perfects nature, so love, true caritas, true charity, takes the good found in justice and uses it as a foundation to lift someone up and make them even better. The common good promoted by a justice should be seen as a starting point, and not the ending point, of our love. This is why, if we see someone we love suffering as a result of injustice, we will do what we can to make sure they receive the justice they do not yet possess. Moreover, if we truly are charitable in our heart, we will work with and through society to eliminate the structures of sin which create such injustice,  replacing them with structures of justice. Of course, as it is not easy to do this, we will also do what we can to take care of the immediate needs of those who suffer from the hands of injustice. We will feed the hungry. We will comfort the abused. We will lift up the downtrodden. But we will realize, all of that is but a band-aid; unless society is transformed, such injustices will continue. This is why we will work with society and use whatever structures we can establish in it to heal the harm done by injustice, seeing that as a part of our charitable endeavors:

Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice. If we love others with charity, then first of all we are just towards them. Not only is justice not extraneous to charity, not only is it not an alternative or parallel path to charity: justice is inseparable from charity, and intrinsic to it. Justice is the primary way of charity or, in Paul VI’s words, “the minimum measure” of it, an integral part of the love “in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18), to which Saint John exhorts us. On the one hand, charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples. It strives to build the earthly city according to law and justice. On the other hand, charity transcends justice and completes it in the logic of giving and forgiving. The earthly city is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God’s love in human relationships as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world.[2]

Thus, it is beneficial to repeat: working for justice, working for a just society, far from being an impediment for charity, really is a part of what one who is truly charitable will do. While charity is not threatened by justice, it certainly can be and often is threatened and undermined by its lack. If we truly are charitable, therefore, we would be working for the establishment of justice in society, promoting those structures which will defend society from evil. It is something which we are to engage as a society. We should not pit the church, with the way it is to engage charity, against secular society and the role society has in establishing justice in the world. “We have seen that the formation of just structures is not directly the duty of the Church, but belongs to the world of politics, the sphere of the autonomous use of reason.” [3] The church is to work with and through all secular structures which have been created to establish justice in the world. She does this by showing them what she has in our conscience, that is offering to them the wisdom which can had from her understanding of the common good. One of the important ways she can do this is make sure that justice is not engaged without love, without charity, that is, without mercy; this is to make sure justice does not become the means of establishing a dead legalism which, under the name of justice, begins to subvert the very justice intended. And so, the church, in allowing society its role, will find its role will remain, even as it will always be meant to bring God’s grace, God’s love, into the world,  and in doing so, to bring love to everyone, a love which will always be needed. “The Church can never be exempted from practising charity as an organized activity of believers, and on the other hand, there will never be a situation where the charity of each individual Christian is unnecessary, because in addition to justice man needs, and will always need, love.” [4] Charity is able to do this better when just structures are put in place, for then it will have the tools charity needs to be as effective as possible, which is why Pope Francis, in an examination of the parable of the Good Samaritan, pointed out how the Samaritan relied upon them to render his aid:

True charity is capable of incorporating all these elements in its concern for others. In the case of personal encounters, including those involving a distant or forgotten brother or sister, it can do so by employing all the resources that the institutions of an organized, free and creative society are capable of generating. Even the Good Samaritan, for example, needed to have a nearby inn that could provide the help that he was personally unable to offer. Love of neighbour is concrete and squanders none of the resources needed to bring about historical change that can benefit the poor and disadvantaged.[5]

It should not be surprising that once we pit charity against justice, we begin to ignore the dictates of justice, and in the end, instead of love, hatred is manifested by what we do. Soon, we find ourselves fighting against justice, and the more we do so, the more we will seek excuses to justify injustices, and in doing so, finding ourselves losing more and more of the love we should have as we find ourselves accepting the needlessly suffering of others, or worse, becoming the cause of such suffering. Sadly, as St. Sophronios wisely understood, this is what has happened to so many of us in our lives; we have not allowed the dictates of love, the dictates taught by Christ, the apostles, and the saints, to direct our thoughts and actions; instead we constantly find excuses to dismiss such charity from our hearts so we can justify insane cruelty and hatred of others:

But we pursue the opposite of what these men teach. Not only are we unwilling to love one another, but we want to hate our neighbors as enemies, not realizing, it seems, that enmity and hatred are offspring of the evil spirit. Hence, we treat them with injustice and oppress them and subject them to countless slanderous attacks, and totally bereft of love we inflict every kind of harm on them. [6]

Any attempt to present charity and pit it against justice does not flow from charity. Those who love others will want justice in the world. They will want the common good to be experienced by all. Those who would reject the role of government and its work for the common good, saying it deprives people the chance to engage charity, show they want charity to be some sort of performance art, ignoring the love which should be had in all acts of  charity. Such a simulacra of charity is a Satanic deception which must be denied. Charity without justice is not charity, and those who deny justice, therefore, deny charity itself. This, after all, is manifest in God and God’s love for us: “Who can appraise that love of God for us, unless it is that His justice is so great that in Him there is nothing unjust?”[7] Love will never be satisfied with injustice, and so if we are satisfied with it, we do not have love; and we have been warned that without such love, we end up gaining nothing from whatever act of charity we think do.

[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est. Vatican translation. ¶28.

[2] Pope Benedict XVI, Cartitas in veritate. Vatican translation. ¶6.

[3] Pope Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est,  ¶29.

[4] Pope Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, ¶29.

[5] Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti. Vatican translation. ¶165.

[6] St Sophronios of Jerusalem, “Homily  7: Homily on the Blessed Apostles Saints Peter and Paul (On the Fourth Day of the Nativity)”  in Homilies. Trans. John M. Duffy (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020), 319-21.

[7] Salvian the Presbyter, “The Governance of God” in The Writings of Salvian the Presbyter. Trans. Jeremiah F. O’Sullivan (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1962), 107.

 

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