Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

Pope Francis, rightly or wrongly (wrongly I would argue), is the darling of self-styled “progressives” who like to see him as a model of the “change” they have been waiting for. The secular media in particular style him as moving the Church dramatically in the directions that please them. But in order to do this, they must apply a filter that ignores a great deal of what he actually says and does. As a Catholic and as Pope, Francis is not going to fit into the  media’s (or anyone’s) neat little categories. He is more complex than such convenient little boxes permit.

Pope Benedict too, despite the label of “conservative,” disappointed many conservatives with his views on the economy (as expressed in his last encyclical) and with some of his notions regarding Hell and whether anyone really went there (Benedict tended to be in the camp of Von Balthasar who “dared” to hope that most would be saved). And for all his generosity toward the Traditional Latin Mass, for the record, he never said one publicly as Pope.

Pope Francis, for all the talk of his being “liberal” or “progressive,” has some pretty tough things to say about sin, Hell, and the devil. In his daily homilies, which are not widely published (since they are not per se part of his “official” teaching), the Pope can be quite blunt:

1. He has indicated that failing to acknowledge and pray to God puts us in the Devil’s camp:  When one does not profess Jesus Christ—I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy—“Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.” When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil. [1]
2. He has denounced our smug, modern attitude toward sin or the need for salvation: Walking in darkness means being overly pleased with ourselves, believing that we do not need salvation. That is darkness! When we continue on this road of darkness, it is not easy to turn back. …Look to your sins, to our sins, we are all sinners, all of us. …This is the starting point. [2]
3. He is dismissive of the Church building on any foundation other than Christ: We can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. [3]
4. He speaks of the increasing denial of religious liberty and of the secularism of the West as a form of apostasy: It will do us good to think about this general apostasy which is called a ban on worship and ask ourselves: ‘Do I worship the Lord? Do I adore Jesus Christ the Lord? Or do I in some measure play the game of the prince of this world?’ [4]
5. In very “un-modern” terms he says that shame needs to be rediscovered: But shame is a true Christian virtue, and even human. …You need to stand in front of the Lord “with our truth of sinners.”  …We must never masquerade before God. …This is the virtue that Jesus asks of us: humility and meekness. …I do not know if there is a similar saying in Italian, but in our country [Argentina] those who are never ashamed are called “sin verguenza.” This means “the unashamed,” because they are people who do not have the ability to be ashamed and to be ashamed is a virtue of the humble, of the man and the woman who are humble. …Ask for the grace of shame; the shame that comes from the constant dialogue of mercy with Him; the shame that makes us blush before Jesus Christ; the shame that puts us in tune with the heart of Christ. [5]

Allow these examples to suffice to show that Pope Francis can speak in very pointed and decidedly “un-modern” ways. But many in the wider culture and the media prefer to have him filtered so as to make him fit their label of the “change” Pope. The real Francis cannot be so easily pigeon-holed. A scanning of the summaries from the Vatican on the Pope’s daily homilies is a good place to start in order to discover “Francis Unplugged,” i.e., the real Pope Francis, who while stylistically different from Benedict, cannot be so easily categorized theologically.

 In Sunday’s Washington Post however comes a column that describes Pope Francis as no “modern” when it comes to the Devil. He is clear to state that the Devil is no allegory. He is very real and he is after you and your children and ought to be taken seriously. In this matter, Pope Francis has the “old time religion.” Note what the Post reports. (My comments are in plain red text.)

A darling of liberal Catholics and an advocate of inclusion and forgiveness, Pope Francis is hardly known for fire and brimstone.  [Note how the filter is described. As seen above and as any true perusal of Francis’ sermons shows, to say that “Francis is hardly known for fire and brimstone,” is a filtered perception and not the fuller reality. He does speak a good bit about sin, using strong terms like apostasy and pride, and also speaks freely of Satan and Hell. The article now goes on to describe the truer reality of “Francis Unplugged” on the subject of Satan.]

[Yet] after his little more than a year atop the Throne of St. Peter, Francis’s teachings on Satan are already regarded as the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI. …Francis has not only dwelled far more on Satan in sermons and speeches than his recent predecessors have, but also sought to rekindle the Devil’s image as a supernatural entity with the forces­ of evil at his beck and call. …

A few months later, he praised a group long viewed by some as the crazy uncles of the Roman Catholic Church — the International Association of Exorcists — for “helping people who suffer and are in need of liberation.”…

Since its foundation, the Church has taught the existence of the Devil. But in recent decades, progressive priests and bishops, particularly in the United States and Western Europe, have tended to couch Satan in more allegorical terms. [Sadly, this is true. Many of the same generation of clerics were too ready to consign every possible case of diabolical obsession and possession to the psychiatric community. To be sure, there are times when the real issues are psychiatric. But other times this is not the case, and many times there is overlap. Too easily have we, for over a generation, dismissed diabolical incursion and reneged on our duty to pray for the deliverance of people in crisis and to do our part, in partnership with the psychiatric community.] Evil became less the wicked plan of the master of hell than the nasty byproduct of humanity’s free will.

Even Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a lofty German theologian, often painted evil with a broad brush. [I’m not so sure about this. To some extent it is true that Pope Benedict had highly refined and scholarly ways of speaking, lots of distinctions, etc., but at the end of the day, I never doubted he knew the devil was real.] 

“Pope Francis never stops talking about the Devil; it’s constant,” said one senior bishop in Vatican City who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. “Had Pope Benedict done this, the media would have clobbered him.”

Some progressive theologians complain, the pope is undermining his reputation as a leader who in so many other ways appears to be more in step with modern society than his predecessor. “He is opening the door to superstition,” said Vito Mancuso, a Catholic theologian and writer. [Again, filter alert! Pay attention, “progressive” theologians, Francis does not fit your little mold and is not a shill in your program. Pope Francis, like any good Catholic, doesn’t fit into worldly boxes and categories.] 

[These are excerpts from the Post article. The full article is here: Modern Pope, Old School on the Devil.]

It’s good to get a little of this bigger picture out there. I have not said a lot about Pope Francis directly on this blog because I am afraid that too many bring polarized notions about him to the discussion, notions driven not by the real “unplugged” Francis, but rather by a “spun” Francis, a “filtered” Francis.

Debates can surely continue about whether and how Pope Francis’ tendency to speak off the cuff is helpful or not, whether or not he is being played by the media, etc. I will leave these prudential notions to others. But for our purposes here, it probably helps to see at least some evidence that the real Pope Francis, unfiltered and unplugged, is a bit more complex than the categorizers understand. Those of us who strive to be loyal Catholics do well to look a little past the headlines, a little deeper, and listen and pray more than we react. After all he is the Vicar of Christ. And Jesus doesn’t fit into secular boxes or categories either.

I would value your contributions, especially about things that Pope Francis has said that don’t fit the mold, sayings that surprise and cut across secular categories.

By the way, who is in the photo at the upper right? Yup, that’s Pope Francis saying Mass Ad Orientem.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally called Good Shepherd Sunday, for the readings focus on how our risen Lord Jesus is our shepherd, who leads us to eternal life. But of course the flip side of the Lord being our shepherd, is that we are His sheep.  We sometimes miss the humor of the Lord calling us sheep.  The Lord could have said that we are strong and swift as horses, beautiful as gazelles, or brave as lions. But instead, he said we are like sheep. I guess I’ve been called worse, but it’s a little humbling and embarrassing, really. And yet sheep are worthwhile animals and they have a certain quality that makes them pretty smart, as we shall see. Are you smarter than a sheep? Well, let’s look and see how we stack up as we look at this gospel in three stages.

I. The Situation of the Sheep – In this Gospel the Lord is speaking to Pharisees and seeking almost to reassure them that he is not like other false shepherds—false messiahs who have led many astray in recent years. Jesus says, Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. …All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. …A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.

The times in which Jesus lived were times of great social unrest and political turmoil. There were heightened expectations of a coming messiah who would liberate Israel from its Roman and Herodian oppressors. Given the climate of the times, most had emphasized the role of the messiah as a political and economic liberator who would come, wage war, and then triumphantly reestablish the Davidic Monarchy in all its worldly glory.

Josephus, a Jewish historian of the time, may have exaggerated (but only a little) when he spoke of 10,000 insurrections in the years leading up to the Jewish War with the Romans (66–70 AD). But even as early as Jesus’ lifetime there had been many conflicts and bloody uprisings led by numerous false messiahs. It is most likely these whom Jesus calls “thieves and robbers.” It is also the likely explanation for Jesus’ resistance to being called Messiah, except in very specific circumstances (Matt 16:16,20; Mk 8:30; Mk 14:62).

Jesus also warned that after he ascended, false messiahs would continue to plague the land:

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it (Matt 24:24-26).

Ultimately these false Christs did arise and mislead many, and the results were horrible. Josephus says that 1.2 million Jewish people lost their lives during the Jewish War with the Romans.

So here is the situation of the sheep. Jesus speaks of the dangers of false messiahs and false saviors, and He denounces them unambiguously as thieves and robbers. We too live in a world in which many erroneous philosophies, false messiahs, and “saviors” seek to claim our loyalties and engage us in their error.

Perhaps it is the false claims of materialism, a theory which says that the right combination of wealth and power can bring meaning and happiness. And sadly many of the “prosperity Gospel” preachers expound this by their silence on the cross and sin.

Perhaps it is the error of secularism, which exalts the state and the culture and puts their importance above that of God. Many in the Church and in the Protestant denominations (both clergy and lay) follow false shepherds and call others to do so. They seek to align their faith more closely with their politics, instead of adjusting their politics to agree with their faith; they show more allegiance to their “party” than to the Faith; they do not address the errors associated with their political point of view; they are more likely to see their political leaders as shepherds than they are to view their bishops or priests in that way. Many also follow the false shepherds of our culture and look there for moral leadership rather than to God, the Scriptures, or the Church. If Miley Cyrus says it, it must be so. But if the Church says something, there is anger and protest. Yes, false messiahs are all around us in the secular culture, and sadly, many Catholics and Christians follow them like sheep to the slaughter.

Perhaps it is the arrogance of modern times, which claims a special enlightenment over previous eras (such as the biblical era) which were “less enlightened and tolerant.” Here too, many false shepherds in the clothing of trendy preachers and theologians have sought to engage God’s people in the sort of arrogance that thinks we moderns have “come of age” and may safely ignore the wisdom of the past as expressed in the Scriptures and in sacred Tradition.

Perhaps it is the promiscuity of this age, which claims sexual liberty for itself but never counts the cost in terms of broken lives, broken families, STDs, AIDS, high divorce rates, teenage pregnancy, abortion, and so on. Sadly, many so-called preachers and supposedly Christian denominations now bless homosexual unions and ordain clergy who are practicing the homosexual “lifestyle.” Many also support abortion and contraception, and speak little or nothing about premarital sex (fornication).

Yes the sheep are still afflicted, and false philosophies and messiahs abound. Jesus calls those false saviors thieves and marauders (robbers) because they want to steal from us what the Lord has given, and harm us by leading us astray. Their wish is ultimately to slaughter and destroy.

Do not be misled by the soft focus of these wolves in sheep’s clothing, by their message of “tolerance” and humanitarian concern. A simple look at the death toll in the 20th century from such ideologies shows the actual wolf lurking behind these foolish and evil trends that have misled the flock.

And as for these false shepherds, remember this: not one of them ever died for you. Only Jesus did that.

II. The Shepherd of the Sheep – Having rejected false shepherds, Jesus now goes on to describe himself as the true Shepherd:

But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.“

Now this passage tells us not only of the true Shepherd, but also of his true sheep. For the true Shepherd is sent by the Father who is the gatekeeper and has opened the way for the Son, and True Shepherd. The Father has confirmed the Son both by signs and wonders, and by the fulfillment of prophesies in abundance.

And of the true sheep the Lord says that they not only recognize His voice, but also that they will run from a stranger because they do not recognize his voice.

In sheep herding areas, flocks belonging to different shepherds are often brought together in fenced-off areas for the night, especially in the cooler months. And one may wonder how shepherds can tell which sheep belong to which shepherd. Ultimately the sheep sort themselves out. For in the morning a shepherd will go to the gate and summon, with a chant-like call, his sheep. Those that recognize his voice will run to him; those that do not will recoil in fear. Now that’s actually pretty smart! Sheep may not know how to go to the moon and back, but they DO know their master’s voice.

And so the question for us is, “Are we smarter than sheep?” Sheep have the remarkable quality of knowing their master’s voice, and of instinctively fearing any other voice and fleeing from it.

In this matter, it would seem that sheep are smarter than are most of us. For we do not flee voices contrary to Christ. Instead we draw close and say, “Tell me more.” In fact we spend a lot of time and pay a lot of money to listen to other voices. We spend large amounts of money to buy televisions so that the enemy’s voice can influence us and our children. We spend huge amounts of time with TV, radio, and the Internet. And we can be drawn so easily to the enemy’s voice.

And not only do we NOT flee it, we feast on it. And instead of rejecting it, we turn and rebuke the voice of God, and put His Word on trial instead of putting the world on trial.

The goal for us is to be more wary, like sheep, and to recognize only one voice: that of the Lord speaking though his Church, and then to flee every other voice.

Are you smarter than a sheep? You decide.

III. The Salvation of the Sheep – The text says, Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. …I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

Here then is the description of the Christian life: acceptance, access, and abundance.

• Acceptance – The text says we must enter through the gate, and the gate is Christ. We are invited to accept the offer of being baptized into Christ Jesus. In today’s first reading (from Acts), Peter and the other apostles are asked by the repentant and chastened crowd: “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. …“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. Yes we are invited to enter through the gate, to be baptized into Christ Jesus, for He is the gate and the way to the Father.
• Access – In accepting baptism, we enter through the gate and now have access to the wide and green pastures. Jesus describes this entry as being saved. Now we tend to think of salvation rather abstractly, almost as if we were now in some new legal category, having gone from being guilty to having the charges dismissed. But this represents only a very limited understanding of salvation. The Greek word σωθήσεται (sothesetai) more fully means to be “safe, rescued,” delivered out of danger and into safety. The word in the New Testament is  used principally to refer to God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin—and bringing them into His safety and grace. So, being saved is more than just changing legal categories; it is new life! It is power over sin; it is being kept safe from the poison of sin and its terrible enslaving effects. Salvation is also related to the concept of health (salus = health and well being). Hence for the believer who accepts Christ’s offer, there is now access to the protected pasture; there is the supply or provision of grazing land as well. For the Lord feeds his faithful and brings them strength. Yes, there is access to God’s many gifts.
• Abundance – The Lord concludes by saying that He came in order that we might have life more abundantly. And here is the fundamental purpose of all He did: that we might live more abundantly. Abundant life is really the root of what is meant by eternal life. For eternal does not refer merely to the length of life, but even more, to the fullness of life. And while we will not enjoy this completely until Heaven, it DOES begin now. We, through Christ our good shepherd, become gradually, more fully alive. Although I am over fifty years old, and my body in some physical sense is less alive than it used to be, my soul is more alive than ever! I have more joy, more confidence, more peace, and more contentment. I struggle less with many sins and have a greater capacity to love and to forgive. The Lord has granted this by giving me access to His pasture and His grace, and feeding me there. I am more abundantly alive at fifty-three than I ever was at twenty-three. Yes, the Lord came that we might have life more abundantly—I am a witness of this. Eternal life has already begun in me and is growing day by day.

So, are you smarter than a sheep? Then run to Jesus. Flee every other voice. Enter the sheepfold and let Him give you life.

This song says, “I said I wasn’t gonna tell nobody, but I couldn’t keep it to myself what the Lord has done for me. …And then I started walkin’, started talkin’, started singin’, started shoutin’ O what the Lord has done for me.” Enjoy an old gospel classic.

The video below presents a scenario to which we can all relate. There is a biker who touches a car at each stoplight; as the clip progresses we see the driver become increasingly annoyed. I’ll leave the humorous end to your viewing pleasure. But as you view it, don’t tell me you don’t get annoyed by the biker; maybe you even want to shout at him, “Don’t touch my stuff!” And don’t tell me you don’t react with glee at the end of the commercial.

But why do we get so annoyed at seemingly harmless things like this? Is there some ancient territorial instinct in us? Is it a kind of animal instinct such as we see in dogs and cats, or in wild animals, or in birds?

Psychologists call these sorts of things “boundary violations.” But merely naming something does not explain it. It would seem that “rational” creatures like us would be able to conclude that there is no harm caused by a small boundary violation such as we see in this video. But the instinct to be annoyed remains strong.

Jesus addressed this territorial tendency on a few occasions:

1. Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:38-40)
2. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Mat 5:38-41)
3. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. (Luke 6:30)

And thus the Lord counsels a kind of detachment from things, honors, and territorial matters. Certainly some defense against bodily harm or grand theft has its place, but the Lord seems to have in mind here those smaller things about which we can become so touchy and irritated. The Lord counsels a sort of generous spirit, less egotism, less obsession with what is mine, and freedom from the peevish mentality that brings us to say things such as, “Keep your grubby hands off it…you can’t have it…that’s mine…that’s my favorite pew, why are you sitting there…”

At any rate “enjoy” the video and ponder the mystery of how easily we are provoked and how uptight we can get. And then ask yourself, “Why?”

The video below is, well, a very poor example of Eucharistic Adoration. I suppose the most charitable thing that we can say is that it’s good to see Catholics rejoicing and happy. However, as with most things, there is a proper time and place for the particular sort of rejoicing seen here, but this is not one of those times.

In Eucharistic Adoration, the fundamental focus is Jesus himself. The norms generally indicate

Exposition of the holy eucharist, either in a ciborium or in a monstrance, leads us to acknowledge Christ’s marvelous presence in the sacrament and invites us to the spiritual union with him that culminates in sacramental communion. Therefore it is a strong encouragement toward the worship owed to Christ in spirit and in truth.

In such exposition care must be taken that everything clearly brings out the meaning of eucharistic worship in its correlation with the Mass. There must be nothing about the appointments used for exposition that could in any way obscure Christ’s intention of instituting the eucharist above all to be near us to feed, to heal, and to comfort us (CDW. Eucharistiae Sacramentum, 82).

It is also interesting to note that the word “monstrance” (the large and usually golden sunburst in which the Host is placed in order to be seen) comes from the Latin verb monstrare,  meaning “to show.” Hence one of the main points is to see the Lord, to see the Sacred Host.

The word “adoration” also bespeaks a very personal, intimate relationship between the believer and the Lord. As Pope Benedict noted in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est, the word adoration bespeaks a sort of kiss (ad (to) + oro (the mouth). Etymologically then, adoration paints a picture of a kiss on the lips. It thus bespeaks intimacy.

So the key concepts in Eucharistic Adoration are visibility and intimacy.

Another interesting historical fact is that until recently, when preaching took place during Eucharistic Adoration (say during the Forty Hours’ Devotion), the Sacred Host was veiled while the preaching took place. The thought was that when Jesus was so visibly present in the Sacred Eucharist, it would be irreverent to turn our attention elsewhere, in this case toward a preacher. And while this practice is no longer required, it is still widely followed, and it emphasizes reverence and the kind of instinct that our focus should be wholly on the Lord when He is exposed for adoration.

Unfortunately, all these principles seem set aside in the video below. As our Lord is placed in the monstrance, dancers and waving, gesticulating clergy vie for attention. Meanwhile, seemingly no attention at all is upon the Sacred Host. The altar servers seem to have a hard time getting through to bring incense, and though they finally do, the celebrant seems to have no interest in reverencing the sacred host with the incense, as is properly done.

Whatever the focus is supposed to be in this rather chaotic scene, it is clearly not on Jesus.

I do not wish to speak uncharitably of anyone in this video (and ask that you do not either). It does not seem to me that anyone is being intentionally irreverent. But liturgical sensibilities are clearly poor, and the actions are inappropriate to the setting. None of what is taking place here fits the purpose, meaning, or focus of Eucharistic Adoration.

Charismatic forms of worship, while not preferred by everyone, do have a place in the Church. But even those who appreciate such forms of worship will surely admit that this is not the proper context for charismatic worship of this sort. Time and purpose are important governing principles for Liturgy.

None of this is to insist that there be tomb-like silence during the entirety of Eucharistic Adoration. Here too the norms generally state,

One thing that is common to every human person is the reality of temptation. At times we may wonder why God permits it. Why does he allow mortal and spiritual dangers to afflict us? Could he not by word of command prevent every temptation that afflicts us? And if he can, why does he not? Is he just setting us up for a fall?

Of course there are many mysterious dimensions to God’s will, to what he prevents and what he does not, to what he permits and what he does not. However, there are some explanations that can be advanced that at least partially answer the mysterious presence of temptation.

On the one hand, temptation is a necessary result of there being choice. God has willed that some of his creatures (angels and men), should be free in order that they might love. God seeks sons and daughters, not inanimate objects, animals, or slaves. He wants sons and daughters who love him freely. Love presupposes freedom. Our “Yes” only has meaning if we have the capacity to say “No.” So freedom presupposes choices.

Temptation emerges from the “no” side of the equation. It is among the characteristics of sinful choices that they contain something appealing to us. Now it does not pertain to us to be drawn to that which is wholly unappealing. Thus, there is something in sin that at least partially appeals,  otherwise it would not really seem to us as being a choice at all.

So temptation, in a certain sense, is necessary if choices are to exist, and freedom is to be real. God permits temptation as a necessary condition for freedom and choice.

Beyond this we can consider that God never permits something troublesome except that a greater good will come from it. Hence, it is perhaps striking but true to recognize that there are some good things that come from temptation. Let’s consider some of them.

1. Temptation can teach humility. Origin says in his commentary on prayer, Temptation has its usefulness. … It teaches us to know ourselves in such a way that we discover the fullness of our misery, and it leads us to give thanks for the benefits conferred upon us (De Oratione, 29).

If we have any conscience at all, nothing can humble us more than temptation. Through it we realize how easily we can be tempted, how easily we can be drawn away, how easily we stray! We are like sitting ducks. We live by the mercy of God! Were it not for His grace how much more sinful and lost we would be!

Just thinking about temptation for a moment shows how crazy we are! Even when we know how harmful things are for us, we still desire them! We’re a hundred pounds overweight and yet we still want four doughnuts for breakfast. We know the harm of illicit sexual activities but still lust burns away within us! We know we are headed for bankruptcy yet we can’t seem to stop spending! Yes, we are more than half-crazy. We think we know so much; we think we are so smart, and yet we are drawn to do the stupidest things. So often the slightest breeze of temptation can knock us over.

If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that our temptation shows how miserably weak, pitiful, and poor we are. All we can do is cry to God for help, and pray that he will build virtue in our life, slowly but surely. Help us Lord, save us from ourselves and our foolish desires!

Yes, temptation can make us very humble.

2. Temptation also discloses our hearts. We often like to think highly of ourselves and tell ourselves how much we love God and so forth. But temptation has a way of disclosing the more honest truth. Yes, we love God—but not nearly enough.

Frankly, temptation discloses that our hearts are very divided. The ugly truth is, if we’re not careful, we have many lovers. The book of James says it plainly, Adulterers! Do you not know that a friend of the world is an enemy to God? (James: 4:4)

Yes, we have many lovers. One moment we sing of our love for God, but truth be told,  temptations remind us that we are also very enamored of the world and its passing glories. Yes we love God, but oh how we also love our little trinkets, love our sinful pleasures, love our opinions, love our anger (and we feel so right as it courses through us)! And yes we say, “Lord how beautiful your dwelling places,” and then lust cries out “Yet how much more beautiful are things on the Internet late at night.”

So, whatever your temptations are, they tend to disclose the heart! And if we are honest, we must realize that all the little lies we tell ourselves like, “I’m basically a good person,” have to yield to a more honest assessment as our hearts are disclosed by temptation. Truthfully, we’re all a very mixed bag; our hearts are easily duplicitous, divided, obtuse, and just plain sinful. Yes we love God, but we also lust after and pine for many inappropriate people and things. Yes we are grateful to God and know how good he’s been to us, but so easily we retreat in fear and become stingy and unforgiving.

Temptation teaches. Certain things tempt us more than others. Why is this? Learn from what tempts you as to the true condition of your heart. Some things don’t tempt us as much as they used to, thanks be to God! Why is this? And how has God accomplished it?

Yes, one advantage of temptation, is that it discloses the heart. Here too, if we’re smart, we will run to God and fall to our knees saying, “Help me Lord; save me; have mercy on me and keep me by your grace!

3. Temptation can teach us of the oppressiveness of sin and Satan. Although there are aspects of temptation that seem pleasurable to us (otherwise it would not be temptation), temptation is also a crushing burden (for anyone who has a conscience—and we all do).

Nothing teaches us more about the oppressiveness of the world, the flesh, and the devil than temptation. Temptation is like a weight that we have to carry about. It is like hammer blows or loud overwhelming noise. Satan, the world, and the flesh oppress us, annoy us, pick at us, and with unrelenting pressure seek to destroy us. Temptation is intrusive, burdensome, and just plain annoying. Temptation is filled with lies, half-truths, empty promises, and fleeting pleasures. At the end of the day, it offers nothing but a train wreck and all the disaster that sin brings.

If we will but take a moment and reflect, it is not hard to see how true all of this is. Temptation discloses just how awful, annoying, and just plain irritating Satan is.

How this contrasts with the gentle, unobtrusive, whispering voice of God, who respects our freedom! God seldom, if ever, shouts or gets in our face and pressures us; He does not lie to us.

Temptation discloses how awful and oppressive the world, the flesh, and the devil ultimately are.

4. Temptation can strengthen us. An old hymn says, Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin, each victory will help you, some other to win.

The Greek word for temptation can also be translated “test.” And the tests and challenges of life can strengthen us if we engage them properly. Standing down one threat encourages us to meet the next one with greater strength and wisdom. In weightlifting and athletics, training brings improvement. Lifting ten pounds strengthens us to lift twenty. Walking one mile prepares us to walk two.

Fighting temptation, while at times wearying, also strengthens us to win more readily in the future. Scripture says, Resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). Therefore, God permits some temptations in order that they might strengthen us for even greater wins.

5. Temptation can show forth the genuineness of our faith. Scripture says, You may for the time have to suffer the distress of many trials. But this is so that your faith, which is more precious than fire tried gold, may by its genuineness, lead to praise, honor, and glory when Christ Jesus appears (1 Peter 1:6-7). Yes, coming through a world of temptations with our faith still intact shows the genuineness of that faith. It is a faith that has been tested and tried, but that has endured.

Here is real faith! In the world of temptation, in a world of many possible “Nos,” our “Yes” stands forth ever more gloriously. We said “Yes” when it was hard to say “Yes”!

So temptation, properly endured and overcome, shows forth the glory and genuineness of our faith.

Yes temptation is mysterious, but it has its place. And by God’s grace, it even brings benefits!

Most of us take it for granted that Satan hates us. But why does he hate us? That question recently came up in my Our Sunday Visitor column. It is a very different kind of writing than I do here, in that it requires me to provide very brief answers. But I’m sure you sometimes appreciate brevity on the blog! Thus consider a brief post today on a mysterious question:

Q: In the sermon the other day, the priest said Satan hates us. It occurred to me to ask, why does Satan hate me, what did I ever do to him? – John Smoot, Bayonne NJ.

A: To be sure, there are very deep mysteries involved in the motives for Satan’s hatred. We struggle to understand our own human psyches, let alone trying to understand the psyche of a fallen angelic person.

However, an important clue to Satan’s hatred is contained in the third temptation he makes to Jesus in the desert. Showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world he says, “All these I will give you, if you will but fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:10).

Here we see the curtain pulled back, and we glimpse for a moment the kind of inner torment that dominates Satan. He seems desperate to be adored. He cannot bear that he is a creature and that there is another, other than himself (God), who is ever to be adored.

Thus in his colossal pride Satan hates, first of all, God. And by extension, he hates everyone and everything that manifests the glory of God. Even more, he hates those who seek to adore God rather than him. In his venomous pride, Satan seeks to destroy the Church, which declares the glory of God and reminds us that God alone is to be adored. Surely he hates and seeks to destroy those who even try to adore God, and who do not accord him, Satan, the worship and pride of place for which he ravenously hungers.

Hence, as the text from the temptation in the desert suggests, Satan is tormented by pride, and his torment is filled with deep hatred for all who worship God and all who draw others to the worship of the one, true God.

For blog readers I might also suggest several sources on demonology that I have found helpful:

An Interview with an Exorcist by Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea
The Devil you Don’t Know By Fr. Louis Cameli
The Deceiver – Our Daily Struggle with Satan by Fr. Livio Fanzaga

This video is criticized by some for being a bit too light-hearted, but it does a very good job of showing the subtleties of Satan’s work.

The Church is often perceived (unfairly) by what we are against, more so than what we are for. But saying to “No” to one thing is usually just another way of saying “Yes” to another. Sadly, most miss the important point and get stuck on what is denied, rather than consider what is affirmed. It is this way with the divorce question. Today, let’s look at what is affirmed.

We pondered yesterday how Jesus sets forth Divine Law and forbids divorce and remarriage. That much is rather clear. But what is Jesus setting forth more positively? Is it enough simply to say Jesus that forbids divorce and therefore so does the Church? It is not. Jesus actually paints a powerful portrait of love, fidelity, and the capacity of the human heart for tender, forgiving love. In this positive light, let us consider the teaching of Jesus, using Matthew 19 as our source.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Have you not read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:3-9)

I do not intend here to provide a line-by-line commentary of this passage, but rather to draw from it some fundamental gifts that the Lord highlights. For, more than forbidding divorce, the Lord is painting a picture of the human person, transformed by His grace, loving his wife tenderly and preserving union with her. Divorce is from the reign of sin; faithful, loving marriage is the fruit of the new life of grace fully embraced. These are not abstract gifts the Lord offers; they are real and true gifts that He died to give us. Let us consider the “positive” teachings that are set forth in the forbidding of divorce and remarriage.

1. A New Heart – Note that the Lord teaches these men of old that Moses permitted them to divorce their wives because their hearts were hard. Here Jesus taps into an old Rabbinic interpretation wherein Moses reasoned that if he were to require that marriage were “until death do them part,” the men of his time might well arrange the death of their wives in order to be free. Thus he reluctantly permitted the lesser evil of divorce to prevent the great evil of uxoricide (the killing of one’s wife).

Now this bespeaks a very hard heart. Jesus traces the problem of divorce to hard, mean, and unforgiving hearts, and these come from sin.

Jesus also says that at the beginning it was not this way. The “beginning” refers to God’s original plan for marriage in the Garden before Adam and Eve sinned (Gen 1 & 2). Prior to sin, their marriage was described poetically but idyllically. Adam speaks tenderly of Eve as “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” and also thereby expresses his unity with her. That they are naked but do not know it speaks to a relationship devoid of lust and exploitation. It also speaks to a marriage wherein nothing is hidden; there are no coverups, no masks, and no fear of ridicule; there is openness, communication, trust, assurance, and comfort in the presence of each other.

This was marriage “in the beginning” before the long reign of sin. It is a portrait of tender love, and a relaxed, joyful, and grateful acceptance of the other as from the hand of God.  Here are two hearts, alive and open, tender and accepting.

But no sooner do they sin than their marriage is affected. The coverup begins as fig leaves are sewn together. The trust gives way to fear as important aspects of the other are covered, hidden from ridicule, exploitation, and abuse. There are now things with which they will not trust each other. Adam now speaks to God of Eve as “that woman you put here with me.” Here is distance, anger, and bitterness. Eve is told by God that though she will depend on and desire her husband, he will lord it over her and she will suffer the abuse of power.

Here is a sad portrait of how marriage suffered in the reign of sin.

But Jesus announces a great return! Now, on account of the healing He effects by dying and rising for us to new life, God’s original plan for marriage is again available. We can return to the way things were “in the beginning.” Our hearts, hardened by sin, can be healed by His grace. It is now possible for spouses to love each other with tender hearts freed from the hardness of sin. Through grace, the Lord Jesus can make it for couples more and more the way it was for Adam and Eve before the Fall. With new minds and hearts, husband and wife are now equipped to forgive, to trust, to cherish, and to love with great tenderness. Why would such spouses want to divorce at all?

Thus in forbidding divorce, the Lord Jesus paints a picture of transformed human beings and summons us to the new life he died to give us. It is a magnificent pictures of hearts set free to love and to abide in that love with tenderness and deep affection.

2. The Capacity to Cling – In quoting Genesis, the Lord says that a man “clings to his wife.” The Greek word used is κολληθήσεται (kollēthēsetai) which means (more literally) “to stick like glue,” to bond, cleave, adhere, be joined or connected, etc. This is strong language in the Greek. It bespeaks a man who works hard to preserve love with his wife, who says to her in effect, “Honey, if you ever leave me, I’m going with you!” And while the text speaks to the man as head of the home, it surely also refers to a wife who does the same.

And why do they do this? Because they want to! They love each other and cannot dream of being apart. Here too are tender hearts full of love, and love seeks union with the beloved. Here too is a work of God available to us on account of the new life Jesus died to give us. Here is the positive picture of hearts no longer hardened by sin, but set free to love and to seek union joyfully.

3. Become what you are! Jesus says they are no longer two, but one flesh. They are this because God has made them so, and what God has joined no one can separate.

We are never more content than when we are what we have been made to be. And here Jesus says to every truly married husband and wife, “I joined you. I have made you one. You are no longer two; you are one. Now allow me to deepen your experience of this as the years go by. Become what you are by my grace! You will never be more happy than when you become what you are. There will be growing pains, but never forget who you are, and allow me to accomplish this miracle of unity for you. It will complete you and sanctify you.”

4. The Fruit of Love – Elsewhere the Lord also commands the fruit of love when He says, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22) And thus husbands and wives are called to celebrate and rejoice in their mutual love with great intimacy and joy, and in the context of that marital joy, rejoice to see their love bear fruit in their children. They can say to each other, “See how we love each other. These children are the fruit of our love.”

And thus we see in the commands of marriage that the couple is to cling, to reject divorce, and to bear the fruit of children. These are the promises of God and the glorious vision of lives transformed by grace. For God does not command what he does not empower. In Jesus’ every command is presumed the grace to accomplish it abundantly.

In upholding the Divine Law of Jesus against divorce, the Church is not merely enforcing “rules,” she is pointing to the magnificent portrait of the human being transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ. She is saying, “There is the life that Jesus died to give you. Now go lay hold of it!”

Here is a video I put together back in 2009 to commemorate my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary. They had both passed away by that time, but it still had to be celebrated. I will not say that they had an easy marriage. There were struggles and tragedies. But through the years, my parents came to be what they always were: one. And when my mother died suddenly and tragically my Father wondered how he could go on living when half of him was gone. He died less than two years later. The two had become one flesh. This commemorates his sorrow at her passing.