Byline: Msgr. Charles E. Pope

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Evil

Holy Innocents and the Problem of Evil

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

April 8, 2019 9:58 am April 8, 2019

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3 min read

When God warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt, sometimes asked why God didn’t warn the other families? Some consider it cruel for God to allow this. This…

When God warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt, sometimes asked why God didn’t warn the other families? Some consider it cruel for God to allow this.

This goes to the heart of a very great mystery, the problem of evil. It is an unquestionable fact that God permits a great deal of evil to go on in our world and very seldom does He intervene to stop it.

We know that God permits evil as a “necessary” condition of freedom for the rational creatures He has created. Angels and humans have free and rational souls and, if our freedom is to mean anything, it must be that God allows some angels and men to abuse their freedom, and even become a source of evil and temptation for others. Were God to routinely step in every time one person does something God does not want, it could not be said that we are really free. And if we are not really free, we cannot love. And if we cannot love, we are not lovers, nor sons and daughters, but slaves.

As such, this life amounts for us as a kind of test wherein God permits some degree of evil to flourish, yet not without offering us the grace to overcome. It is also clear that, on account of temptations and trials, our “yes” to God has greater dignity and merit than if we lived in an essentially sin-free zone or paradise.

Further, it is a general rule of faith that while God permits evil, He can draw a greater good from it.

Many of us, who have remained faithful to God, are able to look back and see how our sufferings also brought strength to us, and even known goods. Surely, too, there are many unknown goods that God is able to draw from the difficulties and evils of this world.

As for the death of the Holy Innocents and God’s “failure” to warn other families, we can only apply such norms. We are not in a position to really say what was best for God to do. It is clear that God allowed the torture and death of His Only-Begotten Son to bring great good. It is also clear that God has chosen to associate many martyrs with the saving passion of His Son.

We are all called in some way to suffer with Christ, and die with Him, so as to rise to new life with Him (see Rom 6:2-14; 8:17; 2 Cor 4:10). All of us share in the cross of Christ, so as also to share in His resurrected glory. If this seems unfair, remember God offered us paradise.

But Adam and Eve (and all of us have ratified their choice) wanted a better deal where they would call the shots. Welcome to the “better deal.” So God makes use of suffering and death to bring greater life, if we have faith!

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1 min read

Eternal Life

What Will Eternity Be Like?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

March 22, 2019 1:21 pm March 22, 2019

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We are going to be caught up in to the glorious love of God and the Communion of the Saints. We will rejoice forever, experiencing the love, glory, wisdom and…

We are going to be caught up in to the glorious love of God and the Communion of the Saints. We will rejoice forever, experiencing the love, glory, wisdom and beauty of God. Our union with God and with one another will be perfected and deepened in a way that we cannot even imagine now. The heart of heaven is to be with God who is the true answer to all our longings. We will be complete and lacking in nothing.

Although we will be “at rest,” we ought not think of this as a lack of activity but rather as a rest from the toils of this world. For indeed, within the Holy Trinity there is a great movement of love, a kind procession or dance of love between the persons of the Trinity. The Greek Fathers termed this movement of love the perichoresis. It is reasonable to suppose that we who attain heaven will be caught up into this great experience and joy that is described as a movement or dance.

As for the word “eternity” and the phrase “eternal life,” we ought not conceive of it merely as the length of life, but also as the fullness of life. Thus to have eternal life means that we will be fully alive with God. For now our life can seem wearisome or dull at times. Not so in heaven, where we will be fully alive with God as never before. There will be joy unspeakable, glories untold and life that is full in unimaginable ways.

Can’t wait. Get on your dancing shoes!

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1 min read

Liturgy

“Blessed Be God Forever”

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

March 12, 2019 10:20 am March 12, 2019

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Linguistically, the response “Blessed be God for ever” used at Mass translates the Latin Benedictus Deus in saecula. Benedictus, in Latin, literally means to speak well or favorably about some one or…

Linguistically, the response “Blessed be God for ever” used at Mass translates the Latin Benedictus Deus in saecula. Benedictus, in Latin, literally means to speak well or favorably about some one or something (bene: well; dictus: say or speak). Hence, what we mean by “blessed” and the phrase “Blessed be God forever” is that “It is well that God should be forever praised.” We are not claiming to confer some sort of grace or favor upon God, as is often the meaning of the word “blessing” in English.

Theologically though we can distinguish between God’s intrinsic glory and his external glory. There is not one thing we can add or take from God’s intrinsic glory. He is glorious and blessed all by himself and has no need of our praise.

However, we can help to spread God’s external glory by our praise and acknowledgment of Him before others, as well as by reflecting His glory through lives of holiness, generosity and conformity to the truth. In this sense we can also understand the phrase “Blessed be God forever” to mean: “May God’s external glory and blessedness be extended and experienced in all places and times. May God be blessed (praised) everywhere and unto the age of ages.”

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3 min read

Eternal Life

How To Pray For Those In Purgatory?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

March 7, 2019 2:43 pm March 7, 2019

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Any prayer or pious act applied to the souls in purgatory can be a way to pray for them. The most effective manner of praying is to have Masses offered…

Any prayer or pious act applied to the souls in purgatory can be a way to pray for them. The most effective manner of praying is to have Masses offered for them or to apply the fruits of your own attendance at Mass. The Rosary, too, is a wonderful way to pray for them.

We pray for the souls in purgatory because they are undergoing the final purifications that are necessary for most of us after we die. This is because Scripture says of heaven: “nothing unclean will enter it” (Rv 21:27). Jesus also made a promise to each of us when he said, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

Most of us realize that few leave this world as perfect or pure, even if they are in friendship with God and in a state of grace. Some final work must be done to take away any final attachments to sin, any rough edges, any sorrows, regrets or hurts. These things are surely disclosed when we appear before the judgment seat of Christ (see 2 Cor 5:10).

How this purification is done is mysterious, but Scripture gives two images, one consoling and the other more vigorous. The Book of Revelation supplies the consoling thought that, regarding the dead, Jesus “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” (Rv 21:4). The more vigorous text comes from St. Paul, who speaks of a fiery purgation the dead will pass through on the day of judgment: Each one’s work will become manifest, “for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:13-15).

So on account of this judgment and purification (that seems necessary and is taught), we pray for the dead that this process be swift and that they be in the full glory of heaven soon.

It is the instinct of the Church that our prayers help, which is an ancient practice, stretching back into the Old Testament (see 2 Mc 12:40-46). It is our wish to assist these souls and speed their purifications that may be necessary and that they may be undergoing. We are not always sure of how time here relates to time there, or even if they experience time as we currently do. Yet, still, it is our instinct to pray and assist them in those final finishing touches, as the Lord completes His masterpiece.

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1 min read

Jesus

What Is I.N.R.I. On The Crucifix?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

March 4, 2019 8:36 am March 4, 2019

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It is an abbreviation for Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judeorum — Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. In Latin the “I” and “J” are usually interchangeable and ancient Latin did not use…

It is an abbreviation for Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judeorum — Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. In Latin the “I” and “J” are usually interchangeable and ancient Latin did not use the “J.” That is why it is I.N.R.I. not J.N.R.J. It was common for the Romans to hang a “titulus” or sign above the crucified to indicate the charges against him. Scripture says that Pilate put the charges in Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

Pilate placed this title above Jesus in scorn and mockery, rather than faith. He also likely knew it would irritate the Jewish leaders, which it did (see Jn 19:21). Yet even in his ridicule, Pilate spoke truth. Jesus is King, not of the Jews only, but of all things.

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2 min read

Angels

Should We Name Guardian Angels?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

March 1, 2019 10:43 pm March 1, 2019

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Generally, the Church advises against the practice of naming our angels. In a document written in 2001 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments entitled…

Generally, the Church advises against the practice of naming our angels. In a document written in 2001 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments entitled “Directory on Popular Piety in the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines,” it says, “The practice of assigning names to the holy angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael, whose names are contained in holy Scripture” (No. 127). While the congregation does not offer reasons for discouraging the practice, I would like to offer a couple.

First, there is the understanding of what a name is. For most of us in the modern Western world, a name is simply a sound we go by. But in the ancient, biblical world, and even in many places today, a name has a far deeper meaning. A name describes something of the essence of the person. This helps explain the ancient practice of the Jews to name the child on the eighth day. The delay gave the parents some time to observe something of the essence of the child, and then, noting it, they would name the child. Indeed, most biblical names are deeply meaningful and descriptive.

But it is presumptive to think that we can know enough of the essence of a particular angel in order to be able to assign a name. Hence, assigning a name seems inappropriate.

The second reason is that assigning a name indicates some superiority over the one named. Thus in the case of children, parents, who are superior over their children, rightly name them. However, in the case of angels, they are superior to us. And, even though we often speak of them as serving us, they do this on account of their superior power and as guardians. Thus God commands us to heed their voice (see Ex 23:20-21).

You are surely encouraged to speak to your angel, and the usual practice is to say something like, “Dear Guardian Angel….” or simply “Guardian Angel, please help….”

I usually get a lot of pushback when I have given this answer elsewhere, whether in print or in talks. I realize that many have strong feelings to the contrary of what the Roman congregation advises. And though I think the caution is reasonable and that we should not name angels, neither should we abandon charity among one another over this issue or allow it to loom too large as something permitted or forbidden.

The bottom line should be to avoid the practice but to preserve charity and gently correct if possible, or tolerate it with kindness where necessary.

Rev. Msgr. Charles E. Pope is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

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