Showing posts with label last things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label last things. Show all posts

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Hoping for and Needing Mercy


(From John Martin, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

I care about God's mercy because I'm a sinner, which doesn't mean what you may think.

First, a quick review of what I don't believe is true. (March 15, 2015)

I'm not "some loathsome insect," and neither are you:
"...every unconverted Man properly belongs to Hell...."

"...The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you...."

"...you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God...."
("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," pp. 6, 9, 15, 18; Jonathan Edwards (July 8, 1741) (via Digital Commons@University of Nebraska-Lincoln))
Samuel Clemens apparently had a well-defined attitude regarding "converted" folks, and I can't say that I blame him:
"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends in both places.

"When I think of the number of disagreeable people that I know who have gone to a better world, I am sure hell won't be so bad at all."
(Mark Twain, p.377 of Evan Esar, "20,000 quips & quotes" (1968))

"[H]eaven for climate, Hell for society."
(Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Speech to the Acorn Society (1901); via Wikiquote.org)

"I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: 'All right, then I'll go to Hell."
(Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), via Bartlett's Quotations, 16th ed.)

Still "in the Divine Image"


Catholics don't, or shouldn't, think that we're 'loathsome insects' that belong in Hell. We have free will, so going native is an option: and another topic.1

God makes us, and this universe, and God doesn't make junk. (Genesis 1:31; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 31, 299, 355)

We're rational creatures who can decide what we do, like angels. Unlike angels, we are also material creatures: spiritual beings with a body made from the stuff of this world. (Catechism, 311, 325-348, 1704, 1730-1731)

Something went wrong, obviously. Glancing through headlines tells you that.

But we're still made "in the divine image," as Genesis 1:27 puts it.

The first of us — Adam and Eve aren't German2 — decided that they'd do what they wanted, even though it meant disobeying God. Then Adam tried blaming his wife, and God: and things went downhill from there. (Genesis 3:1-12)

We've been living with the disastrous consequences of that bad decision ever since. (Catechism, 396-412)

Sin


Sin3 is not a handful of activities I either don't enjoy, can't participate in, or actively dislike.

It is what happens when I decide not to do something I should; or decide to do something I know is bad for myself or others, and do it anyway. It "is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience" — and God. (Catechism, 1849-1864)

I know that I should unceasingly love my neighbors, see everybody as my neighbor, and treat others as I want to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37)

But I don't. I've got lots of company, and there's a reason for that.

God could have created an unchanging universe, but didn't: not in our case, at any rate. We're in a "state of journeying" toward perfection, but we're not there yet. (Catechism, 302, 310)

We started out in harmony with ourselves, with the world, and with God: but that harmony is broken. Human nature has been wounded: but not corrupted. (Catechism, 374, 400-406)

I can decide to do what is good: but it won't be easy. (Catechism, 407-409)

Trying to do what is right doesn't set me apart from the rest of humanity.

We're not divided into 'good' people who are like me and 'bad' people who aren't. Life isn't that simple. (March 22, 2016; September 27, 2015)
"...But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners...."4
("Visit to the Congress of the United States of America," Pope Francis (September 24, 2015))

A Very High Standard



(From John Martin, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

After the end of all things, I'll be with our Lord in Heaven: or not. (Catechism, 1023-1029, 1033-1037, 1042-1050)

Nobody's dragged, kicking and screaming, into Heaven: so at my particular judgment I could walk away from our Lord. That's a daft option: but it is an option. (Catechism, 1021-1022)

Justice5 is important. So is mercy. (Catechism, 1805, 1829, 1861, 1991-2011)

I hope for mercy, so I try to forgive others. (Matthew 6: 12)
"13 'Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.' "
(Luke 6:37-38)
Our Lord set a very high standard for forgiveness:
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
(Luke 23:34)
Forgiving others doesn't mean ignoring trouble.

Sin isn't just about me and God. I'm not loving my neighbor if I see nothing wrong with someone hurting my neighbor. (Catechism, 2196)

Judging whether an act is good or bad is a basic requirement for being human. It's part of using my conscience. We're even expected to think about the actions of others. (Catechism, 1778, 2401-2449)

This isn't self-righteousness. It's hating the sin, loving the sinner: and leaving the judging of persons to God. (Catechism, 1861)

Before a quick overview of Divine Mercy Sunday, and the Divine Mercy devotion here in Sauk Centre; the best news we've ever had: God loves us, and wants to adopt us. All of us. (John 1:12-14, 3:17; Romans 8:14-17; Peter 1:3-4; Catechism, 27-30, 52, 1825, 1996)

Divine Mercy Sunday


Sauk Centre, Minnesota, was dedicated to the Divine Mercy6 on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1982. That's the year my wife and I married, it's her home town, we moved here a few years later, and that's yet another topic.

The Divine Mercy devotion started in Poland, where Saint Maria Faustyna (Faustina) Kowalska lived.

I've heard that official approval of the devotion took as long as it did in part because her diary was written in Polish — and folks at the Vatican had been reading a botched translation.

We eventually got a Polish pope, Pope Saint John Paul II, who could read the diary in its original Polish. That was good news for folks here in Sauk Centre: and elsewhere.

I put a resource link list at the end of this post.6

Divine Mercy Sunday is the Sunday following Easter, so it moves around the calendar a bit. This year it's April 2, today.

There's an image associated with the devotion, showing Jesus with two rays coming from our Lord's wounded heart; one red, the other white — representing blood and water. (John 19:34)

Sauk Centre's Divine Mercy devotion uses a carving my father-in-law made, based on St. Faustina's picture. A photo like the one up there takes its place at St. Paul's church, when the carving is on tour.

Pope St. John Paul II talked about the Divine Mercy, and what the red and white rays mean, when Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska was canonized:
"...'Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever' (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of Easter, as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm; from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of divine mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room: 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained' (Jn 20: 21-23).

"Before speaking these words, Jesus shows his hands and his side. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in his heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity. From that heart Sr Faustina Kowalska, the blessed whom from now on we will call a saint, will see two rays of light shining from that heart and illuminating the world: 'The two rays', Jesus himself explained to her one day, 'represent blood and water' (Diary, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, p. 132)...."
("Canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska," Pope St. John Paul II (April 30, 2000) (Divine Mercy Sunday))
There's a Divine Mercy chaplet and a novena — and that's yet again another topic.

More of my take on mercy, love, and living as if God matters:
1 More about 'going native' — or not:
"go native (of a settler) to adopt the lifestyle of the local population, esp when it appears less civilized"
(the Free Online Dictionary)

"Go native is an expression meaning 'to adopt the lifestyle or outlook of local inhabitants'."
(Wikipedia)

"to go native (third-person singular simple present goes native, present participle going native, simple past went native, past participle gone native)
  1. (idiomatic) To adopt the lifestyle or outlook of local inhabitants, especially when dwelling in a colonial region; to become less refined under the influence of a less cultured, more primitive, or simpler social environment.
  2. (idiomatic) Of a contractor or consultant, to begin working directly as an employee for a company and cease to work through a contracting firm or agency."
(Wiktionary)
As a Christian and Catholic, my duty is "to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom...." (Catechism, 2239)

I'm in the world, but do not 'belong to' the world. (John 17:16-18)

But being 'so heavenly-minded I'm no earthly good' isn't an option:
2 I keep saying this: I think this universe is billions, not thousands, of years old; Earth isn't flat; Adam and Eve aren't German; poetry isn't science; and thinking is not a sin:
3 Sin, defined and discussed —
"SIN: An offense against God as well as a fault against reason, truth, and right conscience. Sin is a deliberate thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the eternal law of God. In judging the gravity of sin, it is customary to distinguish between mortal and venial sins (1849, 1853, 1854)."
(Catechism, Glossary, S)
My take on sin:
4 More from that speech:
"...On religious fundamentalism: 'In any confession there will be a small group of fundamentalists whose work is to destroy in the interests of an idea, not of a reality. Reality is superior to an idea. God, whether in Judaism, in Christianity, or in Islam, in the faith of those three peoples, accompanies God's people with his presence. In the Bible we see it, Muslims in the Quran. Our God is a God of nearness, which accompanies. Fundamentalists push God away from the companionship of his people; they dis-incarnate him, they transform him into an ideology. Therefore, in the name of this ideological God, they kill, attack, destroy, and calumniate. Practically, they transform this God into a Baal, into an idol.'..."
("Pope Francis: 'Jesus was popular and look how that turned out'," David Gibson, Religion News Service (September 14, 2015))
"...Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners...."
("Visit to the Congress of the United States of America," Pope Francis (September 24, 2015))
I recommend reading the entire address:
5 Justice is one of the cardinal virtues. (Catechism, 1805)

Feeling anger, a desire for revenge, is be a natural response to evil. Directing anger at a person, desiring revenge, may feel like justice, but it's wrong. (Catechism, 1472, 1762-1766, 2262, 2302)
"By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill,"94 our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral.

"Anger is a desire for revenge. 'To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit,' but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution 'to correct vices and maintain justice.'95 If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, 'Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.'96"
(Catechism, 2302)
Seeking vengeance is a bad idea, and we shouldn't do it:
"We know the one who said: 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay,' and again: 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
(Hebrews 10:30-31)

"Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' Rather, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.' Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good."
(Romans 12:19-21)

"1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. 2 For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. ... There is no partiality with God."
(Romans 2:1-11)

"1 2 'Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you."
(Matthew 7:1-2)

"11 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
(Matthew 6:14-15)

"17 But I say to you, whoever is angry 18 with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. " (Matthew 5:22)

"The vengeful will suffer the LORD'S vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect healing from the LORD? Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins? If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?"
(Sirach 28:1-5)
I've talked about justice, vengeance, and getting a grip, before:
6 More about mercy, the Divine Mercy devotion, and St. Mary Faustina Kowalska:
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Sunday, November 1, 2015

Life, Death, and Love

You might recognize this as lyrics from Carly Simon's Have You Seen Me Lately album: the fourth track.
"...And life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight...."
I ran into it as part of a prayer by Fr. Bede Jarrett, who had said he was repeating something William Penn wrote. Rossiter W. Raymond wrote the lines into his "Death is Only an Horizon" poem.

I'll get back to a longer excerpt from Fr. Jarrett's prayer: after talking about death, life, love, and all that.

Memento Mori and Carpe Diem


"Memento mori" — Latin for 'remember your death,' more or less — makes sense: if done with common sense. Recognition of approaching death can have a wonderfully focusing effect.

But there's wisdom in "carpe diem," too. The phrase, from a Latin poet's "Odes," isn't the oldest suggestion that enjoying the 'now' makes sense.

The idea goes back at least as far as the "Epic of Gilgamesh"1 and Ecclesiastes 2:24.

So do comparisons involving folly and wind:
"...As for man, his days are numbered,
whatever he may do, it is but wind...."
(Gilgamesh to Enkidu, in "Epic of Gilgamesh;" tablet III, the Old Babylonian version; via Wikipquote)
— — —
"4 'What the eyes see is better than what the desires wander after.' This also is vanity and a chase after wind."
(Ecclesiastes 6:9)
As I've said before, it's hardly surprising that the Hebrews picked up imagery from Mesopotamian cultures. (March 29, 2015; July 15, 2014)

Moderation


Pleasure, enjoyed in moderation, is a good idea:
"3 There is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and provide himself with good things by his labors. Even this, I realized, is from the hand of God.

"For who can eat or drink apart from him?"
(Eccelsiastes 2:24-25)
If that doesn't sound "Biblical," maybe it's because America's assumptions and attitudes about God and faith tend toward the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" style.

Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners" sermon is old-fashioned 'fire and brimstone' preaching, filled with encouraging words like these:
"...every unconverted Man properly belongs to Hell...."

"...The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you...."

"...you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God...."
("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," pp. 6, 9, 15, 18; Jonathan Edwards (July 8, 1741) (via Digital Commons@University of Nebraska-Lincoln))
God does not hate me, or you.
"For God so loved the world that he gave 7 his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn 8 the world, but that the world might be saved through him. "
(John 3:16-17)
God loves us, and wants to adopt us. (John 3:17; Ephesians 1:3-5; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 52, 1825)

As adopted children, we're expected to act like God matters. I've been over that before. (October 4, 2015; September 6, 2015)

Getting back to pleasure, life, and getting a grip — God made and is making a good and beautiful world. (Genesis 1:1-2:9; Catechism, 31-32)

Pretending that this world's beauty is icky makes no sense. Not to me, anyway. Neither does assuming that getting more stuff should be top priority:
"And if riches be a desirable possession in life, what is more rich than Wisdom, who produces all things?

"And if prudence renders service, who in the world is a better craftsman than she?

"2 Or if one loves justice, the fruits of her works are virtues; For she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these.

"Or again, if one yearns for copious learning, she knows the things of old, and infers those yet to come. She understands the turns of phrases and the solutions of riddles; signs and wonders she knows in advance and the outcome of times and ages. "
(Wisdom 8:5-8)
Moderation makes sense. (Catechism, 1809, 2264, 2362, 2405, 2496, 2522, 2548)

Life, Death, and Beyond


Human life is sacred, and health is a 'precious gift.' I'm expected to take care of my health: within reason. (Catechism, 2258, 2274-2279, 2288-2289)

Sooner or later, though, I'll die. Right after that, there's a final performance review: my particular judgment. (Catechism, 1021-1022)

I'm not looking forward to it, but it's unavoidable.

Then I live forever, which is good news or bad news, depending on what I do with the package I've been issued.

If I've taken God seriously, I'll have loved God, loved my neighbors, seen everyone as my neighbor, and treated others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

I've discussed faith, works, and James 2:14-26 before. (September 6, 2015; March 22, 2015; July 27, 2014)

After my particular judgment, there's Heaven, the Purgatory-Heaven track: or Hell. (Catechism, 1023-1037)

Purgatory is not a 'get out of Hell free' card. It's more like an ICU or emergency room for souls, and that's another topic.

Bottom line, we get one life, one soul, and one chance at eternity. Hope is a virtue, despair is not an option, and hope lasts as long as we live. (Catechism, 366, 988-1014, 1021-1022, 1501, 1817-1821, 2091)

This looks like a good place for more of that prayer:
"...What you give you do not take away, for what is yours is ours also if we are yours. And life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further; cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly; draw us closer to yourself that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with you..."
("For Our Departed Loved Ones," Fr. Bede Jarrett; from "The Catholic Prayer Book;" complied by Msgr. Michael Buckley, edited by Tony Castle; p. 309 (1984, updated 2013)

Creation 2.0


Where was I? Carly Simon, dust, death, judgment. Right.

After death and judgment there's this creation's closing ceremony — the Last Judgment — and we see what's next. (Catechism, 1038-1050)

Some speculation about Creation 2.0 is informed; some not so much.

I've indulged in that sort of guesswork, but I think this pretty well sums up what we know:
"I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people 4 and God himself will always be with them (as their God).

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, (for) the old order has passed away.' "
(Revelation 21:3-4)
I'll see you there: I hope.

More about life, death, and making sense:
1 Gilgamesh was probably a Sumerian king, sometime between the reigns of Qa'a and Khufu. He's also the hero of the "Epic of Gilgamesh." There's an Old Babylonian version of "Epic of Gilgamesh," but we're more familiar with the copy found in Ashurbanipal's library.
"...As for man, his days are numbered, whatever he may do, it is but wind...."
(Gilgamesh to Enkidu, in "Epic of Gilgamesh;" tablet III, the Old Babylonian version; via Wikipquote)

"...Humans come then go, that is the way fate decreed on the Tablets of Destiny.
So someday you will depart, but till that distant day Sing, and dance.
Eat your fill of warm cooked food and cool jugs of beer.
Cherish the children your love gave life.
Bathe away life's dirt in warm drawn waters.
Pass the time in joy with your chosen wife...."
(Siduri to Gilgamesh, in "Epic of Gilgamesh," via Wikiquote)
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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Time, Decisions, and the Long View

I'm an American, and have my native culture's twitchy sense of time.

I also realize that an immense span of time has elapsed since this universe began. I'll get back to that on Friday. (June 19, 2015)

"Sloth," Acedia, and Cultural Norms


A few years back, I read an American's account of employment in another country. Her contract specified the length of employment — something like five years, as I recall. At some point, she learned that the company defined her position as "temporary employment."

Over here, an industry might have changed beyond recognition over that interval: and "temporary" is more often perceived as a matter of hours, days, or weeks.

My home has a timepiece in most rooms, sometimes several. They're not luxuries or symbols of prosperity. We're Americans, and keeping track of time is important for us. Without those clocks, we might become less productive; or miss a planned activity. I won't claim that this makes us better — or worse — than anyone else. It's how our culture works.

Several years ago, I told a priest that I had trouble with sloth. I thought this was serious, since sloth is one of the capital sins, along with pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, and gluttony. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866)

Turns out, that wasn't one of my problems; not the way I thought. "Sloth," in my dialect of America English, means something close to "unproductive" or "lazy," more or less.

That can be a problem, but the "sloth" that's seriously sinful from a Catholic viewpoint is acedia, "...a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart...." (Catechism, 2733)

The priest, who had spend years in another country, told me that he had never met an American who was unproductive: except by our standards.

Later, I was diagnosed with major depression and something that's currently pegged as being on the autism spectrum. Happily, I can recognize these as treatable neurological glitches.

I'm morally responsible for dealing with these psychiatric conditions: but am not wracked with guilt and shame for living in a fallen world. And that's a whole lot of other topics. (Catechism, 387, 1735, 2448, 2280-2283, 2288)

Different cultures see time differently, which is why you'll find articles about intercultural communication in business journals. More about that, under "Background" at the end of this post.

Looking Ahead


Somewhere between the lava lamp's advent and disco's demise, I ran into a memorable illustration.

I don't remember what the book was about, or who wrote it, but one chapter included a simple timeline and this bit of advice — 'Before you do something bad, consider this: How long do you plan to be dead?'

I'm pretty sure the author was making the usual carpe diem argument, but I took the point differently. Here's my version of that timeline:



There's some wisdom in carpe diem, by the way.

I've talked about life, death, and Ecclesiastes 2:24 before.

Getting a grip about:
Background:
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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Boston Bombing Verdict: Death, Life, Consequences

At 2:49:43 and 2:49:57 pm EDT/18:49 UTC, April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded on Boylston Street near Copley Square in Boston.

They were about 210 yards, 190 meters, apart; near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev's bombs killed Krystle Marie Campbell, Lu Lingzi (吕令子), Martin William Richard, and Sean A. Collier.

Dzhokhar said that he and his brother wanted to defend Islam from America. I think their experiences as Chechens and Avars may have been a factor, too.

Don't expect a rant against Muslims, 'foreigners,' Americans, or anyone else. I think it's noteworthy that the imam of a prominent Boston mosque apparently refused to give Tamerlan a Muslim burial. The imam's decision may or may not be justified.

Lost Lives, Lost Limbs



(From Aaron "tango" Tang; via flickr.com, Wikimedia Commons; used w/o permission.)
(Less than two minutes after the explosions at the Boston Marathon. April 15 2013.)

Krystle Marie Campbell, 29, was a restaurant manager from Medford, Massachusetts. Lu Lingzi (吕令子), 23, was a Chinese national and Boston University graduate student from Shenyang, Liaoning. Martin William Richard, eight, had been watching the race with his family.

A few days later, the Tsarnaev brothers ambushed and killed Sean A. Collier, an MIT police officer. Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds' death, a year later, was most likely due in part to being shot in a confrontation with the bombers after midnight, April 19, 2013.

At least 14 of the 264 folks injured in the explosions lost limbs. Two lost more than one limb. (USA Today)

There is no excuse for this. Murder, killing innocent people, is wrong. I'll get back to that.

Consequences


Tamerlan Tsarnaev has not been sentenced: and won't be. He's dead, killed during that April 19, 2013, confrontation.

The surviving Tsarnaev brother is still alive, and probably will be for at least a few more years. He has, however, been sentenced to death by lethal injection.
"Boston bombing trial: Death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev"
BBC News (April 15, 2015)

"A US jury has sentenced Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death by lethal injection....

"...After 14 hours of deliberations, the jury concluded that Tsarnaev showed no remorse and therefore should be put to death....

"...Massachusetts as a state ended the death penalty in 1984, but Tsarnaev was tried on federal charges, meaning he was eligible for execution.

"After the sentence was announced, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said: 'The ultimate penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime and we hope that the completion of this prosecution will bring some measure of closure to the victims and their families.'..."
I certainly understand being angry about what happened in Boston on April 15, 2013. I have felt, and feel, a desire to punish those responsible. I'm sure that those who knew the victims feel this desire more intensely.

I think there is no reasonable doubt that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, together with his dead brother, is responsible for intentionally killing several people; and maiming more than a dozen.

But no matter how emotionally satisfying it might be to kill Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — his death will not restore life to those he killed, or limbs to those he maimed.

Do I think he deserves to die? Yes: at least in the sense that he shares responsibility with his dead brother for several unjustified deaths.

Do I think he should be executed? Probably not. I don't think he should be released, either. Anyone who thinks that "defending" his faith means killing innocent people must be restrained.

Safeguarding the common good by imprisoning folks who will kill others makes sense. But a well-intentioned desire to make angry citizens feel better is not, I think, a good reason for killing a prisoner.

I can't say that the death penalty is always wrong. The Catholic Church allows capital punishment: if a society can't defend human lives any other way. (Catechism, 2266-2267)

Life, Death, and Eternity



(From Aaron "tango" Tang; via flickr.com, Wikimedia Commons; used w/o permission.)
(Boylston Street near Copley Square, about three minutes after the explosions.)

Human life is sacred. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258)

We're made in the image of God. Each of us is a person: someone, not something; filled with God's 'breath:' matter and spirit, body and soul. That's why it's wrong to kill an innocent person. (Genesis 2:7; Catechism, 355, 357, 362-368, 2258-2262)

Okay — but let's say that someone attack me, and obviously wants to kill me. If the only way to stop that person is killing him: is that wrong?

Let's see what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:
"Nothing hinders one act from having two effects, only one of which is intended, while the other is beside the intention. Now moral acts take their species according to what is intended, and not according to what is beside the intention, since this is accidental as explained above (Question [43], Article [3]; FS, Question [12], Article [1]). Accordingly the act of self-defense may have two effects, one is the saving of one's life, the other is the slaying of the aggressor. Therefore this act, since one's intention is to save one's own life, is not unlawful, seeing that it is natural to everything to keep itself in 'being,' as far as possible. And yet, though proceeding from a good intention, an act may be rendered unlawful, if it be out of proportion to the end...."
("The Summa Theologica," Question 64, Article 7, St. Thomas Aquinas) (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Benziger Bros. edition, 1947))
In this happily-hypothetical case, I may defend myself: even if that act results in the death of the attacker. It's not quite that simple, though. My hypothetical attacker is human, too: so causing that person's death is wrong, unless it really is the only way I'll survive. (Catechism, 2263-2264)

Getting back to the sadly-real Boston Marathon bombing, it's remotely possible that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers will keep his case in the courts until he dies of old age. My guess is that America's national government will kill him before that happens: legally, after well-documented court proceedings.

I am certain that killing folks at the 2013 Boston Marathon was wrong: but I have no idea where the killers will spend eternity.

Having a conscience means making reasoned judgments about whether my actions are right or wrong is. I can even see what others do, and make similar distinctions, but "we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God." (Catechism, 1778-1779, 1861)

"And Who is my Neighbor?"


Why aren't I ranting about Tamerlan Tsarnaev roasting in eternal hellfire?

The short answer is that I'm a Christian, a Catholic: and I take our Lord seriously. Matthew 7:1 and all that.

The long answer — could fill a book. "Summa Theologica," St. Thomas Aquinas's unfinished discussion of Catholic theology, runs to about 3,500 pages; and that's another topic.

As I've said before, my faith's basics are simple: love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

The story of the good Samaritan answers the question, "who is my neighbor?" (May 10, 2015; October 26, 2014)

Everyone is my neighbor: relatives, friends, the family across the street, even enemies. (Matthew 5:43-44; Romans 5:10; Catechism, 1825)

Loving my neighbor isn't even close to hoping that my neighbor spends eternity in Hell.

Time to Think


"Love" isn't "approval." Sometimes the loving thing to do is keeping someone from doing wrong. (August 24, 2014; April 26, 2011)

And sometimes it's giving the loved one time to think about what they've done.

Alessandro Serenelli, for example, arguably deserved death for the murder of a young woman. Instead, he was sentenced to 30 years of hard labor.

Six years later, he realized that killing her was wrong. After he'd served his sentence, the community where he'd lived didn't want him back. He eventually died, an old man, in a Capuchin monastery.

Sometimes a murderer decides that what he or she did was wrong: and wants God's forgiveness.

That's why I hope Dzhokhar Tsarnaev gets what his brother didn't: time to think.

Posts; mostly about life, death, and looking ahead:
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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Doomsday Du Jour — or — Doing My Job

Earth was not destroyed on June 13, 1857. The comet didn't even show up.

Mass starvation and various related catastrophes didn't happen in the 1970s and '80s, but the Ehrlichs' reprise of Malthusian assumptions is still popular in some circles.

Apocalyptic predictions aren't unique to Western civilization, or Christendom — which are not the same thing, and that's another topic — but I'll concentrate on the Christian variety today.

Hyppolytus of Rome said the Second Coming would happen in the year 500. He died a martyr more than two centuries shy of his spurious Parousia. Hyppolytus of Rome is Saint Hippolytus of Rome now.

Saints are canonized for their heroic virtue, not for being spot-on accurate: and preferring death to denying our Lord is a short, painful, way to display that virtue. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 828, 2473)

A messy death doesn't guarantee Sainthood, martyrdom still happens, many Saints died of natural causes, and that's yet another bunch of topics. (April 12, 2015; February 14, 2010)

Anyway, the year 500 rolled by. So did the years 1000 and 1033, which apparently saw some high-profile apocalyptic anticlimaxes.

The end of the first millennium wasn't entirely uneventful, though. One of our spectacularly unethical Popes was kicked out of the position twice, and sold the papacy once, between 1032 and 1048.

We've had a few other rough patches during the last two millennia: and that's yet again another topic. (September 14, 2014; February 15, 2012)

The last half of the 1300s and early 1400s was one of those bad times. The Great Pestilence or Great Plague sweeping Europe probably made the situation worse. Quite a few folks were in a panic, with some reason. We started calling it the Black Death a few centuries later. (April 4, 2014)

Fizzled Doomsdays



(Oakland Blog, via SFGate, used w/o permission)
(Judgment Day, 2011; wrong both times — May 21, 2011 and October 21, 2011.)

Every few years someone comes up with a new 'End Times' prediction: probably more often. That's just the ones I notice: and I suspect some are reruns of earlier, fizzled and forgotten, prognostications.

Some stand out, though.

Emanuel Swedenborg, one of the scientists who first developed the nebular hypotheses, made a remarkable claim during 1758. In "The Heavenly Doctrine," he said that Last Judgment had started — in 1757. (February 28, 2014)

I think Swedenborg gets points for originality imagination. Some folks may still believe he's right, since he placed doomsday's dawn in the 'spirit world.'

Harold Camping, now deceased, enjoyed fame in 2011 with a well-publicized 'End Times' marketing campaign that included billboards. I think — and hope, for his sake — he was sincere. He was also wrong. Both times. (June 14, 2011)

I'll concede that America's perennial 'Rapture' predictions, and the continuing willingness of some folks to believe them, has darkly funny sides.

In the comics, the scruffy man wearing a sack and carrying a 'The End is Nigh' sign is a stock character. So is the very-slightly-more-realistic rustic with a shaky grip on reality.

That's the comics. Real life isn't quite that simple.

Followers of this world's Campings aren't, or aren't all, uneducated yokels. For example, one of the folks who took Mr. Camping's 'Biblical' prediction seriously was a "former television producer:"
"...Follower Jeff Hopkins also spent a good deal of his own retirement savings on gas money to power his car so people would see its ominous lighted sign showcasing Camping's May 21 warning. As the appointed day drew nearer, Hopkins started making the 100-mile round trip from Long Island to New York City twice a day, spending at least $15 on gas each trip.

" 'I've been mocked and scoffed and cursed at and I've been through a lot with this lighted sign on top of my car,' said Hopkins, 52, a former television producer who lives in Great River, NY. 'I was doing what I've been instructed to do through the Bible, but now I've been stymied. It's like getting slapped in the face.'...
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com)
I don't know what happened to Mr. Hopkins after that interview. I hope he didn't decide that all Christian leaders were like Mr. Camping.

A Willingness to Think


By the time I was out of high school, back in the '60s, I'd stopped wondering if the 'End Times' wannabe prophets were right, and started wondering how adults could believe them.

I still don't have a good answer to the second question. I suspect that a need for fear, highly selective memory, and at least a slight deficiency of analytic skills, may be involved.

My experience has been that having money or a diploma does not guarantee common sense.

That sort of wisdom comes from, among other things, a willingness to think about extravagant claims before 'really believing.'

No wonder I became a Catholic.

We're told that emotions are fine: they're part of being human. But we're also expected to think about what we say and do. (Catechism, 1762-1775)

Each of us is someone, not something: a person. We're able to reason, and decide how we act — and in these ways are like God. (Catechism, 357, 1700-1706)

Being able to reason is one thing. Using that ability is another: and so is using it wisely. I've talked about emotions, reason, and getting a grip, before. (March 1, 2015; October 5, 2014; December 8, 2013)

Doomsday Du Jour


There may be another 'End Times' prediction in progress: judging from what I've seen from my 'front porch' online: Brian Gill, on Google Plus.

I think folks who pass along portentous messages take them seriously. Some may think that the Last Judgment really is upon us — this time.

I've seen too many 'doomsdays' come and go to get particularly worked up over the latest one.

I see 'End Times Bible prophecies,' and their Catholic equivalents, as cultural and psychological phenomena.

On the other hand, I believe what our Lord said about His return.

I'm a Christian, a Catholic: so I must take Sacred Scripture seriously. (Catechism, 101-141)

That includes John 6:39-40 and Revelation 7:9-10.

A few decades back, while discussing the End Times Prophecy du jour, someone told me what Mark 13:32 'really' means. I'll get back to that.

Mark 13 starts with our Lord and one of the disciples leaving the temple area. The disciple was impressed by the architecture, Jesus said, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down." (Mark 13:2)
"2 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

" 'Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?' "
(Mark 13:3-4)
My Lord died a little later, stopped being dead, rallied the surviving Apostles, gave standing orders that we're still following, and left. (Mattnew 27-28; Mark 15-16; Luke 23-24; John 19-21; Acts 1)

It's the 'stopped being dead' part, I think, that really got the Apostle's attention: once they'd been convinced that Jesus really was alive. (April 5, 2015; October 5, 2014; March 11, 2012)

Our Lord will return, after "a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers." His return has been imminent ever since the Ascension. After Jesus returns, we'll finally see what's next. (Catechism, 673-679, 1001)

But all we know for sure about the timetable is that we're about two thousand years closer to that day than we were when our Lord left.

Right now it's Saturday afternoon, April 18, 2015. This post is scheduled to show up Sunday morning. If the world's end comes in the next several hours: you won't be reading this, and I'll be very surprised.

A Simple Message, and Mark 13:32-37


We've been on standby alert for two millennia so far: waiting for our Lord's return, making "disciples of all nations," and passing along ethical standards our Lord gave us. (Matthew 28:18-20)

The message is simple: God loves us, and wants to adopt us. (John 3:17; Catechism, 52, 1825)

We're expected to love God, love our neighbors, see everyone as our neighbor, and treat others as we'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

I'm about as sure as I can be that we're not expected to know more than our Lord did:
""But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.

"It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.

"Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

"May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.

"What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!' "
(Mark 13:32-37)
My friend, some decades back, earnestly told me that Mark13:32 'really' means that we can't pin the Parousia down to a particular day — so far, so good.

But he was convinced that the self-styled prophets had Judgment Day pinned down to a particular week.

They were wrong. Again.

A Job to Do


I figure that either I'll still be alive when our Lord comes back: or, much more likely; that I'll die first, in which case I'll go through my particular judgment and whatever comes after that. (Catechism, 1021-1041)

Either way, I'll be at the Final Judgment. I really hope that I'll be with with the "sheep" at that point. (Matthew 25:33)

Meanwhile, I've got a job to do. The laity are in the Church's front line. We're expected to permeate "social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life." (Catechism, 899)

I've got my hands full: learning to seek, know, and love God, and doing my job as a Catholic layman. (Catechism, 1, 898-913)

I'm quite willing to let God the Father handle the big stuff.


(From NASA/ISS, used w/o permission.)

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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.