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If Jesus were Tempted, Could He Sin?

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Father Joe

The question invariably arises, “If Jesus could be tempted then could he sin?”

Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. (Luke 4:1-13)

There are some critics so desperate to humanize Christ that they will deny the definition of Chalcedon about Jesus as a divine Person with both a human and divine nature. They contend that in his humanity our Lord could sin. Nuts! Let’s be blunt— if Jesus could sin then he is not God. If Jesus is not God, then he cannot save us, and we are still in our sins.

At work here is nonsensical reasoning. It is like the false logic behind the old question, “Given that God is all powerful, can he make a rock too heavy for him to pick up?” There is an inner contradiction. If God can fashion such a rock, then he is not omnipotent in failing to lift it. If God cannot make this rock, then again, he cannot be all-powerful either. But it is a silly and flawed syllogism. Similarly, critics will argue, “If Jesus were truly tempted by the devil, then he must be liable to falling into temptation and sinning. But they are wrong. While one might be tempted by hunger and thirst, power, or worldly acceptance and glory; we do not necessarily have to succumb to such allurements. Indeed, for Jesus while the temptations are real, he is incapable of sin. How is this? Sin is a violation against God. There is no way that God can wrong himself. The humanity of Jesus can never be severed through sin from his divinity. Such would be a twisted version of the heresy of Nestorianism. There can be no fracturing of the holy Trinity. There is one deity, not two or three. God is perfect holiness. There is no defect in God that would permit a wrongful act. He is all good and there is no space in him for evil. He is the LIGHT that cannot be dimmed by the darkness.

Hebrews 4:15 leaves no room for doubt. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” The moral test was real, but the test was fixed. The new Adam was not liable to fall as was the old Adam.

While not God, the angels of heaven can no longer sin either as they share the beatific vision. This is another reason why sin for Jesus is impossible. We must accept that while our Lord entered the human family, he is not entirely like us. After the incarnation of the eternal Word, his hypostatic union ensures the unity of his two natures. Jesus has a complete human nature (body and soul) and a divine nature. But he is not a human person but the divine Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Our Lord’s human soul, including its mind and will, were sanctified by the divine presence and heavenly vision. The beatific vision means that he both saw the Father and also all those joined with him in his mystical body. That is why he conquers our sin on the Cross and does not falter as we often do. He lovingly sacrifices himself, intimately knowing by name all those for whom he surrenders his mortal life.

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What if God Were One of Us?

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Father Joe

Many years ago, when I was a seminarian, I recall a class discussion over Luke 2:51-52:

“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”

The context was the tension between the theological school of Antioch that emphasized the humanity of Christ with the school of Alexandria that focused upon his divinity. The latter school stressed John 1:1-3:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.”

The biblical verse from Luke substantiated the claims of Antioch. However, it seemed to fly in the face of the Church’s discernment that Jesus Christ was a divine person, albeit with two natures. While Jesus could certainly grow in age regarding his humanity, how could he really advance in wisdom and grace or holiness? While we should be careful about presumptions toward the mind or psychology of Christ, it must be held that as God he assuredly knew all things. It would be absurd to imagine him as an amnesiac deity. He knew from the womb who he was and his mission. The best we can figure, so as not to destroy his human “experiential” knowledge, he must have pocketed or set aside the fullness of divine knowledge or awareness. It was always there, but like a book that needed to be taken off a shelf.

An analogy can be made as to how we all know things. While we can call upon our many memories and knowledge, it is an element of human psychology that we do not focus upon everything at once. We concentrate on a few things or what we need at any given moment. I suspect it was the same for the incarnate Christ. However, when there was a need, he could call upon his infinite divine knowledge, as he does in prophesying his passion and reading souls that he would heal and forgive. Thus, Jesus could have learned carpentry from his foster father Joseph, even though in his divine knowing, he could have built wooden television consoles. But Jesus is careful not to do anything that violates the parameters of his humanity that is situated in a particular culture within space and time. Further, the pocketing of his divine knowledge means that his experiential learning is real and that he is not a God pretending to be a human being. Both elements of his being are sustained although the tension would precipitate much confusion and debate in the Church.

More problematical is the fact that Jesus Christ is the source for all holiness. How can he possibly grow in grace? Again, looking at the rest of us, something of the solution emerges. When an infant is baptized it can be said that the holiest person in that family household is that child. Like Jesus, we get older, are instructed in the ways of our faith and we mature. We begin to manifest the fruits of faith and realize the graces received in the sacrament. Similarly, our Lord is the living sacrament and uncreated grace starting in the womb of Mary. Unlike us he will never forfeit or blemish his holiness through sin. His trajectory or life in holiness is perfect while ours will know detours with needed repentance and God’s mercy along the way.

Jesus always sees the heavenly Father (the beatific vision). As a child in the womb, as a baby in the manger, indeed, throughout his whole life there was never any confusion in his mind between his foster father Joseph and God the Father. It was in this sense that there was no ignorance or confusion in Christ.

Our Lord will realize before men who he is and why he has come into the world. His learning will amaze listeners and they will wonder where he received it. His presence will exude a welcoming and enriching grace that will attract many to him. The transition is from his hidden life as the son of Joseph and Mary to his public life as the Son of God come to save us. His ministry begins when he is thirty years old, not when he immediately emerges from the womb. It is fitting that he is like us in all things except sin. He knows what it is to grow up in a human family. He is one of us although he is also the second person of the Trinity, the one true God.

The Church teaches that the human and divine natures of Christ are perfectly joined in a hypostatic union (in one divine personhood). Jesus is both God and man, but he is a divine and NOT a human person. This is still the case— the incarnate Christ in heaven is forever God and man. What Christ is by way of identity, we can share by the indwelling of grace by which we as human persons are remade into the likeness of Christ by the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

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What Does It Mean to be a Catholic?

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Father Joe

I have had people angry with me because there was no formal way for them to disaffiliate with the Catholic Church. A few years ago, there was an effort to allow those intellectually and/or emotionally alienated from the faith to juridically separate themselves with a written document signed by their pastor and bishop. But clergy largely refused to sign it. The legitimacy of this whole business was called into question regarding dispensations, marriage annulment cases and tribunals. Complicating matters further, there was a disagreement between two Vatican congregations— Liturgy and Doctrine of the Faith. The pressing doctrinal fact remains that baptism is a once-and-forever sacrament. Baptism cleanses us of original sin, infuses sanctifying grace, makes one an adopted child of the Father and a temple of the Holy Spirit. We become a Christian and a member of the Church with privileges and duties. Baptized a Catholic, one remains always a Catholic. A person might become lapsed or start worshiping in a non-Catholic church, but he or she remains a Catholic and will be judged by God as a Catholic.

There are many others that insist upon being designated as “Catholic” when they have long since stopped living the faith. Their religion is treated as a club or as an ethnic matter. When pollsters interview such people on beliefs and the value shifts of the day, the results are skewed to the left. That is why those seeking serious statistics distinguish between those Catholics that regularly participate at Mass and those that do not.

Can one be a Catholic in truth while abiding in mortal sin, literally with one foot in hell? Remember that the deliberate failure (through our own fault) to go to Mass on Sundays and holy days is a grievous sin that brings us to perdition. Status becomes even more dire when a host of other mortal sins are added like fornication, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, and various forms of contraception. The failure to worship dishonors almighty God. The so-called pelvis or sexual sins bring dishonor to created persons and human life. The trouble with the latter is not a misplaced preoccupation of the Church with human sexuality but rather a failure of men and women to respect themselves as bodily creatures. Human dignity is violated through disobedience to both natural and divine positive law.

It may be that many others go through the motions of faith but suffer from missing or inadequate religious formation. How many do not understand or reject the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist? Does everyone in the pews appreciate that the Mass is an unbloody re-presentation of the immolation of Calvary? Do we go to church solely from duty or do we intend to adore the trinitarian God? Do we all pray? Are there some that do not know how? Do we invoke the Holy Spirit and petition for the intercession of the saints? Do we see the priest at the altar as one who participates in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ? He is so very different from a minister as in Protestant sects.

At baptism we were anointed as priest, prophet, and king. A priestly people render sacrifice, literally taking up their crosses to follow Jesus— spiritually grafting themselves to Jesus as an acceptable offering to the Father. As a nation of prophets, we are commissioned to proclaim and share the Good News of the Lord to all whom we meet. Given that Jesus is king, and Mary is the queen mother, we are made family members of the royal household of God. Do we acknowledge this privileged dignity and dutifully preach the truth and participate in Sunday Mass?

Salvation requires faith in Christ; however, it is more nuanced than the evangelical’s easy profession of Jesus as one’s “personal Lord and savior.” The Catholic appreciation takes into consideration the Gospel of Mark, the writings of Paul and the epistle by James. We are not saved by faith alone, but by grace alone. Works are important as well, because remade in his likeness, we allow the Lord to minister through us. Whatever Jesus does, has value. Saving faith includes the ingredients of charity and obedience. We must have both a personal and a corporate relationship with Christ that is realized through loving fidelity (John 14:15; 24).

Affiliation with the Church is not optional. Just like the Jewish people of old, we are called to the Lord as members of his new People of God or New Zion— the Church. The Church is the mystical body of Christ. Just as Jesus is the one WAY to the Father, the Church is also necessarily the way— the means through which we sacramentally encounter Christ. It is for this reason that we teach that there is no salvation outside the Church. This provides the mandate for evangelization and for the Church’s prayerful intervention for everyone. While the identities of “the many” that will be saved remains with divine providence, the Church cooperates in proclaiming the universal call to salvation.

Our Lord makes a point of instituting the Church and giving Peter the keys to the kingdom. Jesus gives the promise that the Church will prevail until the very end of the world. This is the same Church we proclaim in the Creed as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. These four marks find their home in Roman Catholicism.

Too often we use political labels for the persuasion or depth of one’s Catholicism. We say that this or that person is “liberal” or “conservative.” The true measure of faith is between “orthodoxy” and “heresy.” One cannot be a good Catholic and subscribe to false doctrines or immoral practices. We are also obliged to remain in union with the pope who is the Vicar of Christ and the successor to St. Peter. Such relationships can be strained when bishops of Rome promote their fallible ideas over immutable truths; but we trust that the Holy Spirit will preserve both the faith and the papacy. The Pope is the servant of the Word and not its master. His trust is to preserve and to pass on the timeless faith. It is for this reason that Catholics have an obligation to know the Scriptures and the Catechism. Too many are ignorant and easily swayed by the changing fads and whimsy of the day. Indeed, many have spoken of an unofficial schism that afflicts the Church. We should make the firm resolution to practice the Catholic faith, despite outside pressures, disappointments inside the Church, and personal doubts and weaknesses.

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Christianity is NOT a Book Religion

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Father Joe

When I first began apologetics online in the mid-1990’s, the internet was brand new and while there was little to no Catholic presence, there was no shortage of bigots who spouted the anti-Catholicism that was popular a century or more earlier. The “Bible alone” proponents were fundamentalist to the core and reduced Christianity to a “book religion.” If a Catholic tried to employ Scripture, because we are the true bible Christians, they would lament that our translations could not be trusted and that we had added books. Some would point to the missals used at Mass or the Breviary said by priests and religious, arguing that these papist books were what we substituted for the real Bible. I remember having the most heated arguments with a Protestant apologist who argued that the only true Bible was the old King James Version without revision— “if it were good enough for Jesus,” he argued, “it is good enough for me!” When it was explained that the Bible was originally in Greek and Hebrew, he would just delete the Catholic objections on his message board (there were no blogs in those days) as just so much spell casting and sorcery. The “Bible alone” champions would use isolated proof texts to answer any challenge, no matter what the actual context was about. They believed they had an immediate understanding of the biblical texts from God and that no commentaries, catechisms, and definitely no Catholic pope were necessary. Debate was hard because they were slippery and far from honest or rational.

What was the truth? The Christians inherited the Old Testament from the Greek speaking Jews of the diaspora. Gospels were composed, letters written, and an oral tradition spoken, that became the nucleus for the New Testament. A living sacred tradition has remained the backdrop for understanding the inspired Word of God. There was no complete Bible and agreed upon New Testament for the first three centuries of the Church’s life. The bishops gathering at Hippo (393 AD) would agree upon the canon. It would only be with the Vulgate Bible composed by St. Jerome that all 73 writings of the Bible were available in a single book, written in the vernacular Latin of the West. (English did not exist as a language.) Up until the invention of the printing press, there were few Bibles and they were very expensive. That would coincide with the reformation and the general availability of bibles (for the past 500 years). Given poor literacy rates, the main way that people absorbed Scriptural truths was from preaching, liturgy, and art. The latter should not be forgotten because both statuary and stained-glass windows often brought to mind the saints and the stories in salvation history. This the fundamentalist condemned as idolatry!

As the years passed, the winds have changed direction and I find myself in arguments with Catholics and Protestants alike who make a claim of the Bible but then ignore what it has to say. Essential salvation truth subsists in the Bible. But the Church comes first in time, not the book. The command to preach the Gospel is what gives birth to the Scriptures.

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The Falsification of the Faith

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Father Joe

It has amazed me that believers, either for political reasons or to pacify the radical left, not only compromise their faith but then rationalize egregious errors as compatible with the Gospel. Some claim that same sex unions pass muster if there is monogamy. Convoluted teachings from churchmen suggest that these unions can be blessed. But we cannot bless sin! A great many argue for approval toward pre-ceremonial sex if there is love and commitment— but fornication is a mortal sin against marriage and the family! Increasing numbers are excusing divorce and remarriage, especially “when love dies” and there are new children in the mix— but Jesus himself rejected these serial marriages as the sin of adultery! Christians in certain states are so weak about human trafficking, they want the formal legalization of prostitution so that authorities can tax sin for revenue. That turns the government into a collaborating pimp!

One national politician and fallen away Catholic argued that a baby is not a baby until the first breath is taken. That means that it is okay to destroy a nine-month-old child if he or she is still in the womb. Nonsense! There is no such thing as a pro-abortion Gospel. The soul is infused at conception, and we even celebrate this mystery regarding Mary as the Immaculate Conception. Biblically, we recall the leap of joy by the unborn John in the womb of Elizabeth when in close proximity to Christ in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:41–44). Those who would make empty rationalizations and play word games for “women’s reproductive rights” have made a whole class of people expendable and stripped of the right to life.

Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

Psalm 22:10-11 – “For you drew me forth from the womb, made me safe at my mother’s breasts. Upon you I was thrust from the womb; since my mother bore me you are my God.”

While we used to complain that many would replace Catholicism for a liberal Protestantism, today the substitution is a shell game with a secular humanism at odds with the very heart of Christian teachings and values.

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The Watchful Guardian Angels

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Father Joe

Many adults regard prayers to a guardian angel to be the stuff of children only, along with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. As soon as they grow up, even fervent believers frequently cease beseeching the intercession of their spiritual guardians. Guardian Angels are NOT imaginary friends. We have it in good authority that they are real and are watching. Jesus tells us, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 18:10). The statement is reassuring and staggering. We are not alone. Not only does God see everything but we have an angel watching us as well. Of course, the angels must be all eyes because the good angels never lose sight of the beatific vision.

Do we detect something of a warning in Christ’s statement? The little ones are often associated with innocent children but in truth they would include all those who are marginalized and brushed aside by the world. While we can take comfort in having spiritual guardians, they will always testify to the truth about what they see. Our guardians may be one-and-the-same as the harvesting angels. Those who have had near-death experiences sometimes report encounters with angels and a looming light. Also experienced but understandably under-reported are when angels seek to draw souls into the fire of perdition. Angels can pray for us and maybe intervene in special situations, but they cannot save us from God’s judgment.

Cynics will point to the famous picture of an angel looming over small children who are on the edge of a dangerous bridge. They ask, if such were real, then why do children fall off bridges or get sick or face abuse? Where is this proposed intervention? We must answer that the Guardian Angels do catch and rescue the innocent children— however, it is often the case that we fail to see the saving act. Bodies might be lost but souls are saved. I suspect that every pregnant woman is being followed by at least two angels, her own and the one appointed to the child in her womb. These angels are not ghosts and they are certainly not demonic. Indeed, I suspect that many blessed homes could avoid demonic disturbances if only we acknowledged the powerful spiritual presence of God’s angels. It is sad that people increasingly get involved with the occult and pursue conversations with ghosts and demons, but never offer a prayer to their personal angel. There is also evidence that gatherings of people as in churches or within nations are granted angelic protection, as with Fatima’s Angel of Portugal.

Angels do not belong to themselves. They are messengers for God but more— they are unique and personal instruments through which God acts. Just as Jesus appoints men as his priests to extend his saving work of mercy; so too are angels the vehicles for God’s intervention and power. The angels of God are always about the Lord’s business. They reflect God’s love for us. They are saints and want us to join their number.

A ghost or human soul outside the body is helpless but not angels. The presence of an angel in one’s home is not a haunting but a blessing. We read in the universal catechism: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.”

The Bible attests to these spiritual guardians. Matthew 18:10 was already quoted. We can also look to Psalm 34:7, Psalm 91:11, and Hebrews 1:14.

Psalm 34:8 – “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he saves them.”

Psalm 91:11 – “For he commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go.”

Hebrews 1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

The Church has enshrined her belief in Guardian Angels within her liturgical year with their annual commemoration on October 2.

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Our Adversary the Devil

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Father Joe

I recall from my days as a seminarian, working in the campus library to make money to pay for my books, there was one student at the tables about whom there were nervous whispers. He stayed to himself and had piles of books at his workstation about devils and demonic possession. At one time such works were cordoned off in the Forbidden Books section. Maybe it was a good idea because this young man was obsessed about the subject. His proper studies suffered due to the long hours he spent researching this dark topic. I am not even sure he ever graduated. It took over his life.

That is the danger in discussing fallen angels and the devil. There is a peculiar attraction about the matter. I suspect that is why it is so frequently the theme of fanciful books and movies. It gives a terrifying thrill. As with an amusement ride, it feels dangerous but there is the presumption of safety— why? I suspect it is because many do not have any credible faith and so the subject is treated as fiction. The devil is reduced to a caricature. Many of the emerging satanist clubs are populated not by religious devil worshipers but by atheists who campaign against theism with parodies and mockery. But if the devil and hell are real, then they are in for the shock of their lives— and it will be no joke.

The issue here is not purely psychological. As a Christian I believe that we battle not only evil men but invisible powers and principalities. The devil and his minions are real and while they are diminutive and weak compared to the power of Christ, they can still exert a dreadful influence upon souls. More than the comical devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, Satan can corrupt a person through the openings made by malice and human weakness. More prevalent than outright possession are the phenomena of obsession and oppression. Indeed, they are arguably more insidious as they seduce the human will and lead victims into mortal sin. The devil can also numb the conscience to moral truths, as with matters of bigotry or threats to the sanctity of life.

The Lord’s Prayer is evidence of how serious this matter is. The oration literally asserts “deliver us from the evil one.” The serpent or devil that tempted Adam and Eve also tempted Christ in the desert. Of course, our new Adam prevailed. Unfortunately, we often play the part of Judas. We are easily swayed by the world, the flesh and the devil.

The name given to the devil is Lucifer which means “light bearer.” Compared to Jesus as the Light of the World, the devil is a false light. He initiates the angelic rebellion, and he is the chief of the demons that plot the damnation of souls. Given the mystery of Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross, the devil has lost the spiritual war. Nevertheless, Satan fights skirmishes over individual souls. The fallen angels were created as good by God, but their fall recast them as demons. Their decisive choice allows for no repentance or reconciliation. They are cast into hell. Indeed, one might say that they are hell or carry hell with them wherever they go. Hell is more than fire. The greatest pain of perdition is the alienation from God and from saving grace. The devil was ranked among the highest angels, a Cherubim or maybe even a Seraphim. We read in Isaiah 14:12: “How you have fallen from the heavens, O Morning Star, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the earth, you who conquered nations!”

Demons may cause grave spiritual harm, or if permitted by God, even hurt to the bodies of men and women. The story of Job cannot be written off as merely literary fiction. It speaks to both the wounded human condition and to our chief adversary that propelled humanity on this dreadful trajectory. Jesus performed several exorcisms and gave the ministers of his Church authority over unclean spirits. Today we often recite after Mass, the Prayer to St. Michael against the devil. We are also urged to recite deliverance prayers and to avoid those things that can lead to demonic infestation such as vengeance, the occult and lewdness. Pornography is often employed by traditional devil worship. The devil delights in anything that impugns the dignity of God or our own persons. Demons exert various levels of bondage: obsession, oppression, and possession. The greatest tool we have against demonic influence are the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and the sacrament of penance.

Demonic “oppression” is what it says, literally a pressing down or weighing upon a person. Such an attack from the outside can target anyone, even the most fervent Christian. Often the situation we face is used against us— moral persecution, natural calamity, indebtedness and poverty, hunger, sickness, etc. We are tempted to despair or to do something rash. A person may be in a dark mood that evades shaking off. Another may experience an inexplicable fearfulness— uncomfortable around a person, place, or thing. Some even suffer physical ailments for which no one can find a natural cause.

Demonic “obsession” is a form of subtle mind control wherein one becomes mentally drawn or addicted to evil. There is an attraction to the things of sin and an aversion to elements of faith or holiness. Just the mention of Jesus’ name can sometimes send such victims into a rage. I have often wondered if this might be a reason why vulgar songs, slasher films and other questionable media become so popular, especially with the youth. There is a level of deception in this, with sufferers thinking such preoccupations are neutral or not offensive. Indeed, some will wrongly equate evil with the will of God. This trespasses into blasphemy against the Spirit of God. Sexual sins are readily excused or even justified. Christians with traditional values or beliefs are mocked. Compromises are made about prayer and worship that do not serve the purpose of growing in holiness. Bible reading and prayer is neglected. Anxiety replaces trusting the Lord. Instead of centering one’s life upon Christ, the obsession is about the devil and the many supernatural ways he interacts in people’s lives. Even the rash of exorcism books by Christian authors might be dangerous to such people as they are overly enamored by the topic. The kids into goth styles and vampire fantasies might be another manifestation of obsession. The darkness saturates where there should be light. New Age religion and occult practices often reflect the intervention of the demonic into people’s minds and hearts.

Demonic “possession” is the most feared, although it can signify the least human volition or control of the three afflictions. While something of the occult like a Ouija board, a séance or tarot cards might initiate a series of events leading to possession; once it begins, the person becomes like a puppet on a string. Habitual sin, particularly deadly sin, can be a window to the demonic, as well. Possession is only a hop and a skip away from allowing oneself to be a slave to sin. The devil moves in and takes control of the will. It is a dangerous situation.

A priest must be given episcopal approval to perform an exorcism. Often such efforts take place in hospitals because the demon will fight to remain and may hurt or even try to kill the possessed person. The exorcist must be in a state of grace, himself. The devil will lie and try to frighten those who oppose its presence. Sometimes the exorcist gets hurt. There are various signs to be observed in the discerning of spirits. The exorcist can ask questions but should avoid general conversation with the spiritual invader. The devil will lie. The demon will sometimes show a knowledge of languages, like Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Often demons speak in a shrill sing-song voice, accenting the wrong words. This is often a give-away that the demon and not the human demoniac is talking. Just like artificial intelligence engines on the phone or internet, you can often tell that the speaker is not human. It does not sound right. The devil cannot tell the future, but he is a good guesser and can read into situations and fool his listeners. He can learn a great deal by watching. He cannot read one’s mind unless one invites him to do so. There may be supernatural manifestations like objects apparently moving of their own accord. Demons in possessions often seem bestial (a sign of their degradation). The exorcist can ask the name and number of the demons but always remembering that demons are deceptive. No bargains can be made. The Church’s prayers deliberately insult the devil. He is commanded to leave. Once liberated, the possessed person should embrace faith, to help forestall the possibility of a relapse. The devil loves a spiritual vacuum. By contrast, if one is filled with the presence and grace of God, the demon will shy away from setting up a nest in that person. The exorcist invokes the saving name of Jesus and the communion of the saints in administering an exorcism.

Despite the naysayers, the devil is real and so is hell. But the devil is a creature, a fallen angel. The true power remains with God. If we walk with Christ, the devil will fear both the Lord and us.

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The Ranks of Angels

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Father Joe

The fact that there are ranks of angels is a truth that I would concede. However, I must honestly admit that all efforts to denote them strike me as contrived and speculative. Focusing on the Scriptures, the Jews tend to speak of ten ranks while Catholics detail nine broken down into sets of three. The source for Christians is Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite from the fifth or sixth century and his work entitled, On the Celestial Hierarchy. It is all remarkably interesting but is it credible?

Highest Rank – Seraphim (Is. 6:2), Cherubim (Ez. 10:15,20), Thrones (Col. 1:16)
Middle Rank – Dominions, Virtues, Powers (all mentioned in Eph. 1:21)
Lowest Rank – Principalities (Eph. 1:21), Archangels (Jude 1:9), Angels (throughout Bible)

How are they distinguished? The highest or first rank of angels focus immediately upon the godhead. They bask in the presence of God. They praise him as holy Wisdom. They clearly acknowledge God as the Judge of all. Those of the middle or second rank possess governing authority over the universe and have power over natural creation. The lowest or third rank is where we find the guardians or messengers of God. These are the angels we most invoke for intercessory prayer.

What are my thoughts about this? The substantial form in human beings is the immortal soul. It is what separates us from animals. If the soul leaves the body, it survives as a ghost. The body, however, would become a corpse. It cannot live without the soul. The soul is the principle of life. By contrast, an angel is pure form without matter. That is why angels cannot die. An angel is a spiritual creature that can know, will and act. The primary activity of an angel is to see, know, and love God as the greatest good. Beginning with its creation, every angel is its own form or species. There is no matter to be determined (formed) as in the race of men. While matter is our principle for individuation, such is not the case for angelic beings. Given the lack of informed matter, there can be no membership in any angelic species. Every angel has its own unique form. While they share a common spiritual essence, each angel is a species of one. I have heard it argued that there is a radical self-determination by the angel’s act of will at creation. The angels of God would sort themselves by their species and office. While all adore, some are drawn to proclamation or governance or revelation or blessing or whatever. This is apart from the orientation that separates the good from the bad angels.

The rebellion among the angelic hosts constitutes the most important distinction between the good and the bad angels. There must have been some kind of veil at the beginning so that there might be freedom regarding the acceptance (or rejection) of God as the greatest good. Otherwise, the compelling attraction of the greatest good would strip away any choice.

Great and small, not all angels are the same. Cherubim are imaged as with four wings and many eyes or faces. They are understood as all seeing. Isaiah 6:1-3 describes those of the highest rank— the Seraphim. They are as sentinels before the throne of God. “Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered. One cried out to the other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!’” Imaged with six wings, the Seraphim are associated with fiery purification. St. John of the Cross writes that the seraphim covering its face with its wings symbolize “the darkness of the intellect in God’s presence.” He continues that the covering of the feet symbolizes “the blinding and quenching of the affections of the will because of God.” It thus constitutes humility of the creature before the Creator. “With the two remaining wings they flew, indicating both the flight of hope toward things that are not possessed and the elevation above all earthly or heavenly possessions that are not God” (The Ascent of Mount Carmel, II, 6.5).

As a closing aside, various authorities regard Lucifer or Satan as either a Seraphim or Cherubim (Ezekiel 28:11–17). Such a lofty standing among the angelic hierarchy, would denote two things: (1) he would possess tremendous angelic powers (even without grace) and (2) his was a most terrible fall and loss. Satan brings upon himself an alienation from God that portends to a frustration of his very purpose. What are we to make of a corrupted creature called to resound the thrice Holy name of God? Instead of a hymn or prayer, is he a living curse? Akin to Dante’s frozen Satan, is he eternally silent— locked in a moment of hesitation— unable to adore the one who is Holy, Holy, Holy?

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The Truth about Angels

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Father Joe

There are so many misconceptions about angels. Many imagine they are simply human souls that have been rewarded with wings in the afterlife. This is not the case. Many have their religious formation from Hollywood and not from the source that is truly holy. Angels like us are “persons” with will and intellect. They are both good and bad. However, other than that, they are utterly alien to humanity. They are purely spiritual entities without bodies and thus they do not reproduce, do not age and cannot die. We often fantasize about them with flowing robes, wings, and halos. But in truth they look like nothing at all. If God should allow them, they can appear before men, but only as phantasms or caricatures of human beings. Beneath the appearances, they are something utterly beyond our comprehension. The good angels obey and will never tarry to answer God’s summons. They adore the Lord as a host or angelic choir. They love God and they love us. While they are not human, they are counted among the saints of heaven. They intercede and pray for us. The bad angels turned from God. Unlike mortal men this rebellion has permanently misaligned their orientation. The West, unlike certain Eastern churches, does not believe that angels can repent and return to God’s good favor. Demons will always be demons. They may know an intellectual life with the other damned of hell, but they have forever forfeited grace. Where there should be love there is hatred or indifference. At death the souls of the departed are also fixed, either orientated toward God or away from him. It is said that as many as a third of the angels rebelled against God. Many of the ancient Church fathers thought that their fall was due to a repudiation of the providential incarnation. Unlike the angels of the nativity, they had refused to bend the knee to the Christ Child. The good angels always adore the Lord and praise the godhead as Holy, Holy, Holy.

As spiritual and not material beings, the angels know duration but not time as we do. They have no gender. They do not have our five physical senses. They do possess angelic powers. However, as “persons” they are aware, can know and love and choose. All the angels that would ever exist were created in the same moment. This is contrasted to human beings who are created throughout time. However, at the end of the world, our numbers will also be fixed.

The word “angel” means messenger and they are periodically sent by God in the history of salvation. Note what is said in the universal catechism.

CCC 332 – Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.

CCC 333 – From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God “brings the firstborn into the world, he says: ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: “Glory to God in the highest!” They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again, it is the angels who “evangelize” by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment.

Given the identity of Jesus as God’s only Son and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the angels are preoccupied with Christ— announcing his birth with the hymn of heaven, ministering to him after his temptation scene with the devil, and giving him consolation in Gethsemane before the ordeal of his betrayal and passion. Angels are also heralded to accompany the risen Christ on the day of judgment. They are imaged as harvesters of souls. Similarly, we are informed that angels can minister to us (Hebrews 1:14) and function as special guardians (Matthew 18:10). The Roman Canon of the Mass even speaks of an angel that takes the oblation of the Eucharist to the heavenly Father.

While angels belong to the supernatural realm, they are limited by their nature to angelic power and to whatever divine grace allows for them. Just as we can make things, only God can create from nothing. Similarly, neither angels nor demons (fallen angels) can truly create, as this requires infinite power. New Age religion erroneously corrupts this understanding by having its adherents praying to angels as if they were deities. Such an angelology is an utterly offensive idolatry as it seeks through superstition to usurp divine sovereignty.

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Will the REAL Eve, Please Stand Up!

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Father Joe

I recall a few years ago that certain Christian apologists responded excitedly to the breakthrough in DNA and genetic studies about the so-called “Mitochondrial Eve.” Many acclaimed it as proof for the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. However, it merely asserted that a line had been traced to the most recent female ancestor of all living human beings. It was estimated to extend back some 155,000 years. The estimate for Y-chromosomal Adam was vaguely estimated to go back some 200,000 to 300,000 years. It must be said, however, that the “Mitochondrial Eve” is not the first woman or the biblical Eve. Indeed, given the dating, there were other females around at the time she lived. If there were other mitochondrial lines, they are now extinct. All women living today can trace their line to her. A selection of other ancient women may also have descendants alive today but not in a direct female line. We are told by reputable scientists that nuclear DNA studies indicate that the effective ancient human population size was always measured in the tens of thousands.

We need to be careful in trying to absolutely connect the evidence of genetics or evolution with the creation story of Genesis. The Bible is not a science book. We know for certain that the world is far older than the biblical 6,000 years. The cosmology of the Jews is also figurative and cannot be employed to reject a round earth or the fact that the earth revolves around the sun. Catholicism is not fundamentalist, and we believe in the complementarity of truth. Ours is not a faith at war with science. Could God use evolution and the development of species to bring about the first true man and woman? Yes. Were there once different types of men and women? While even the Bible speaks of giants, again we can turn to the clear discovery of bones and artifacts. Yes, there were other branches in the human family. While we are Homo sapiens (going back some 300,000 years), the Neanderthals roamed the world from 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. Many of us may even carry remnants of their DNA. They made tools and lived in community. Their abilities demonstrate that they were not mere apes or animals. Thus, they must have had souls and were truly human, albeit different from us. This would push any true Adam and Eve much further back into human history.

There is a mystery to our origins that cannot be unveiled. This is because there is a divine operation beyond our scrutiny. God infuses an immortal soul. While the body might develop from proto-human creatures, there is no evolution of the human soul. This was the chief heresy that Darwin espoused, a point of contention for believers as well as atheists (who deny the immaterial soul). The first ensouled would be Adam and Eve. It is dubious to think that they were blue eyed, white skinned and blond haired. However they looked, the gift of a soul made them self-aware and gave them a reflective understanding unknown to other creatures. There came a moment when our first parents were alerted to their high calling, inspired by their place in creation and moved by the presence of God they immediately experienced. It was a turning point. They could have answered their high calling and there would have been no fall. Creation itself would have known a harmony that comes with being grafted to the heavenly kingdom. But the fall of Adam and Eve has a terrible cost— no preternatural gifts— and suffering, sin and death would be our lot. Instead of standing tall in their vocation as men and women, they fell to all fours on the level of the beast. It is so much easier to play the part of an animal then to live up to the dignity and responsibility of a man or woman.

Just as we might have known the blessings of Adam, the Church teaches that all humanity would suffer the cost of original sin. It is inherited or passed on through human descendants. This truth is clarified by Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Humani Generis. The error of Polygenism or multiple first parents is condemned. Although different from the biblical appreciation, modern science would prefer Monogenism or a common decent for humanity, often linked to “out of Africa” speculation.

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