Never Mind Your Wishes, We Know Better

4 Responses

Sam B, on February 6, 2012 at 8:34 pm said:

I guess the lesson is then, don’t be too eager to let a judgment fall on others and most certainly don’t take pleasure in the damnation of another soul. Nothing about a viewing our neighbor with a critical and supercilious eye adds to our own value as Christians. If people are making poor choices then it is with pity and humility that we, as Christians, are moved to act; not with delight in the downfall of our brethren (i.e. do unto others as you would have others do unto you). How would we prefer to be judged by others? Would we prefer mercy in our own judgment or the lack of it? If the wealthy do not always sin with money, perhaps not all that look on the beauty sin as well?

Perhaps it’s enough to realize that neither offers the promise that God offers and to put too much faith in worldly things is a pitifully poor investment. How could you convince someone that heavenly things have more value that the temporary things of this world? What sort of power do we possess to set things right and how much of it lies in God’s hands, if the rich can only be saved through God?

FATHER JOE:

Rich or poor, the only one who can save us is God. The things of earthly creation are only a foretaste of the beauty and joy that awaits God’s children in eternity. They can become a distraction or they can become sign posts to the generosity and mercy of the Lord. As stewards of creation, we are to use wisely what God has given us. The command in Genesis has never been revoked.

It is not a sin to look upon beauty. The most prudish do not understand this. They would walk into St. Peter’s and condemn the art work as heathen and pornographic. Fundamentalists can go to the extreme of condemning, not simply immodesty, but the body and the passions that God gave the human race. They fail to make a distinction between fallen nature and creation, itself. God is good and that which God creates is good. They can become so fierce in their condemnation of sin that they presume to know the conscience of others and disparage that which was formed by the hands of the Creator.
Sam B, on February 1, 2012 at 4:19 pm said:

Oh good because when I read “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”? (…without God’s help) I was thinking that my wealth was a risk to my salvation, but not really. So I guess Jesus was just trying to scare people but did’t actually mean to act on it. What a lucky break! I mean in the sense that no one should take the Bible literally that is, more so if it says something unpleasant about ourselves, especially if it’s talking about things that would be difficult to change or control from my own store of discipline, He was more concerned with me asking other people to change what they should do. Christianity means:do as I ask not as I do. Being a disciple doesn’t mean I believe in what I preach. Facades and make believe are no danger to the faith people place in me. It pleases God for others to change whats difficult or corrupted about their own values or beliefs, not so crazy for me to change things that would endanger my own self. Good to know… good to know… Might have to look into signing up for that, Others are really bad and always intend their evil, I am good but only weak and forgivable *if* and *when* I sin. It all sounds almost too easy to believe. So all that non-sense about looking lustfully at a woman was just a scare tactic when I was 15-35 years old, no real danger there if I don’t act on my desires, thinking bad and doing bad are totally different to an almighty and powerful God who sees all, it is all dependent upon your appearance, affiliation and if you get caught to such an almighty being. If I tell him ‘Yes’, look good on the surface, but in the end fail. That is better than say ‘No’ but somehow come through in doing good. God cares about what is visible and evident, not about what is hidden and true… we I’m just being sarcastic. It just seems like in America, we hope that being rich is an exclusion. We hope to make out well for ourselves without having to discipline our own actions and we’re always thinking more of ourselves and less of our neighbors because it seems so correct to us. Is there any danger in investing in our own strife and vanity?

FATHER JOE:

Only you can say if wealth represents a risk to your personal salvation. Much depends upon your disposition and how you regard and use the resources with which you have been blessed. However, it would be presumption to assume that the rich are necessarily damned just as we would not subscribe to a radical Calvinism that castigates the poor as under divine judgment.

You are welcome as many of our religious to embrace evangelical poverty. But the Church would never recommend class warfare or a liberation theology based upon the Marxist dialectic.

The apostles well understood that our Lord’s words were not simply about wealth but about the human desire for security and comfort. His listeners were confused because the Jews had long believed that wealth, land and children were a sign of divine blessing. Jesus was turning their priorities upside down. And yet, the gift of hope was not extinguished for the rich man. Our Lord tells them, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24). Astonished, the disciples ask, parallel to your own concern, “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25). As a corrective to the sin of presumption and possible despair, Jesus answers, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

As an important aside, there was a very narrow gate into Jerusalem called THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE. The roof of the entrance was too low for camels to enter without doing something rather peculiar. The camels went down on bended knees and crawled through the gateway. The Jews interpreted this as a sign of the holiness of God’s city, which even the camels would enter on their knees. The message is clear. All things are possible for those who are contrite and humble.

All sin is hypocrisy. The sacrament of penance insures that we do not fall prey to self-deception. We are all sinners. God has a calling for each of us but we should be respectful of the vocations that God gives others. Ridicule of the Church’s ministers and cynicism are tactics of the evil one. Many sins are simply a matter of the corruption of a certain good. Wealth is a good but it can be used unwisely and the rights of the worker might be trampled upon. Ill-gotten riches are certainly immoral. Passion between a husband and wife is of God’s created order. Objectifying lust of another as a piece of meat is mortally sinful. You should know the difference. God does indeed know the secrets in the recesses of the human heart, but you err in thinking that you might always understand everything about your fellow men and women. Things are often not as they seem. We must be respectful of this and appreciate our own limitations of perception. We are not God.

I am a poor man myself and grew up as such. Riches never really interested me. But I know many people of means who use their resources to help others.

The Catholic Church does not preach a “prosperity Gospel” as we experience in many of the Protestant mega-churches. We regard the poor as the great treasure of the Church. But, the man who is materially poor can suffer from the same sin as the rich man, particularly if he spends much of his life torn apart by jealousy and resentment.
Sam B, on January 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm said:

Being safe with ourselves… I.e. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; … being left without checks and balances or directions in ones life could this be dangerous? It it really up to us to decide what is moral. Right? The far right seems to think it isn’t, that the Church applies absolute morals, except for on very interesting exception: (Wealth, we keep it and we decide what to do with it). and there is the story of the rich man going to Jesus and saying “I follow all the rules” and Jesus says “Good!” “Now give away (give up on) your wealth and let nothing stand between you and your salvation” seeming to say that money could get in the way of whats good for him. If it is difficult for people who are homosexual, or want an abortion, or on drugs or in the sex industry to give up on these absolutely defined bad morals damaging their lives, how come the wealthy don’t have absolutely defined bad morals concerning money damaging their lives or values, seems like wealth is a choice to either give up if you think its OK but don’t worry if you feel otherwise , when there was a story saying it could get in the way of heaven. Jesus seemed to say, “What’s more important to you, Money or Me?, don’t let money be the answer. if so it won’t be easy to find heaven” Couldn’t this be the moral dilemma facing the hospital in this article, it would cost more money to save lives than not? Don’t they have the absolute moral right on how to use their own money as they see fit? Wasn’t it God who made them wealthy and powerful if the first place? Doesn’t God reward good people with money and power? Seemed like Jesus himself was poor and homeless, which is sending a strange message about finances and depending on God instead of ourselves

FATHER JOE: The rich man in the Gospel is challenged to follow Jesus as an apostle and to know a spiritual perfection which requires detachment. Jesus did not demand that everyone must be reduced to poverty. He raised his friend Lazarus from the dead and stayed at his house, even though it is quite evident that he was wealthy. What matters here is what we do with wealth and resources. The Beatitude about being “poor in spirit” signifies that while we might possess wealth and things, we should not allow them to possess us. Similarly, the Church uses her resources for the good of mankind and to give glory to God (as in our churches). There is nothing inherently immoral about wealth. Catholic social teaching would rather target the means by which profit is gained, its distribution, a decent wage for workers and the care of the poor. By contrast, abortion is always regarded as murder and homosexuality is a disorientation which often leads to immoral acts.
Sam B, on January 20, 2012 at 4:10 pm said:

The important part is: Are hospitals a business? If they are a business then no one should be able to tell them how to tend to their own finances, …especially if they’re trying to turn a profit.. Correct? or is there a moral issue there as well? Perhaps a conflict of interest between the value of a life and the value of running a profitable business. Seems like I heard that before, “We know better” no one should be our minders, but hearing it from the group who said it surprised me. Do we really need minders and reminders? Aren’t we safe with ourselves? What happens to an engine if I peg the RPM’s, or to a nuclear reactor if I pull out all the safely systems? Nothing. Right? Does the Church tell us how to handle wealth with regard to the values intrinsic to the kingdom of heaven? What are the teachings about what God does with his wealth and what man tends to do with his wealth? What does it say in Luke 16? Is God generous and fruitful and hopefully careless in his giving or is He greedy, manically plotting and destructively self serving. Who will inherit the earth? What sort of people worry about what things like what shall we eat or what shall we wear instead of putting Gods kingdom first before these matters? What kind of bad things can happen if money and possessions trumps all? Surly gaining money won’t trump saving a life! No one could fall that far if they have minders and reminders, who set them strait…

FATHER JOE: Actually, the Church does have social doctrines which speak to questions of employment, profit, rights and morality. Catholic hospitals are also an arm of the Church’s mission to bring healing and solace to others. As for conflicts of interest, the Church would insist upon ethical practices. The rights of the worker and employer must be satisfied. One deserves a livable wage. An honest day’s work deserves an honest day’s pay. Then there are the questions around benefits to be considered. The work that we do should also be morally right. It would be wrong to make a living as a mercenary assassin, prostitute, pornographer, slaver, abortionist, etc. The fact that such lines of work might be highly profitable is inconsequential. They are detrimental to a good society and are forbidden acts. Catholic health institutions have to comply with the values of the Church. No one should coerce Catholic doctors and nurses to act against their conscience and the dictates of their faith on such a serious matter. We are talking here about the murder of unborn human beings. I cannot figure what you mean about being “safe with ourselves.” The Church does tell us how to handle wealth but because of sin not everyone listens. Organizations like Planned Parenthood are rich on the blood on the innocents. Some of that money is supplied by the U.S. government. Bad Catholics are swayed, both by monetary gain and by the adoption of a secular humanism that has displaced the Gospel in their lives.