As a people, we tend to concentrate on God's Mercy and ignore His Divine Justice. Yet it is true that God's Justice must be appeased. That aspect is as true and relevant as God's Mercy, yet why do so few mention God's Justice?
Many live their lives as if their will be no accounting for the sins they have committed, if anything some may even think themselves sinless simply because they 'say' they believe in God. Others take God's Mercy so much for granted that they believe that they can sin with impunity. That they will not have to give an account for their wrongdoing because they 'used' and abused the Sacrament of Penance in the erroneous belief that by 'saying' they are sorry without sincerity will suffice for God. Those who continue to commit the same sins day in and day out while still partaking of the Eucharist with no thought of Gods Justice, only fool themselves, for it is the intent of the heart that matters to God and not the insincere contrition.
At times we will cover sin by using the expression, 'wrong choices'. Once again, some can use this language to fool themselves, but they do not fool God no matter how clinically they wish to describe what is an offense against God. Sin in other words, is just that... SIN!
We read in Genesis "And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground." We see that for every action we do there is a consequence. When Cain killed his brother his concern was not what God would think, but his entire thoughts were consumed with his own safety. Cain was not sorrowful for killing his brother, but he was regretful of getting caught, as if God would not notice or look within the depths of his heart. God could see the envy building in the heart of Cain and cautioned him to choose the better path, "the LORD said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen? If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master."
When we read that the blood of Abel cried out to God for His Divine Justice, it is not hard to imagine the screams that wrench at God's Heart over the lawful and wanton murder of the innocents, through abortion. Yet as billions of babies are aborted every year in various countries, do we truly think that God will be merciful for what cries out to His Justice. The cries of the voiceless as they are ripped from their mothers wombs, shake the Heavenly Realm, do we think we can murder our unborn with no consequences because God is merciful?
Let us understand God's Mercy. He is merciful to those who in true sorrow, remorse and repentance SEEK His forgiveness, thus gaining for themselves God's Merciful Love. In order to attain and receive mercy, we must show true sorrow with a contrite heart and with repentance seek out God's Mercy in the Sacrament of Penance. God cannot be merciful to those who do not repent of their evil, yet many believe that God will be merciful because He is all Merciful. This train of thought is tantamount to presumption! Once again let me reiterate, God is merciful to those who seek it. We see the many instances where Jesus forgave the sinners who sought His Mercy and were sorrowful for their transgressions, "So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more." We also read in Mathew, "And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." Where did Jesus show mercy to the hypocritical Pharisee's?
Yet as the abortion industry grows so does Gods wrath and deservedly so! Do we think there will be NO accounting for this sin that cries out to Heaven for God's Divine Justice, the genocide of the innocents?
Another sin that cries out for God's Justice is that of sodomy, though society may wrap the word up in more appealing language, active homosexuals who do not repent of their sin will incur God's Divine Justice and also those who support and encourage this sinful lifestyle. As governments around the world legitimize same sex marriages, they will also incur the full brunt of Gods Justice, for these governments ignore Gods Moral Law which is over and above the law of the land. As the Word says in Genesis, "The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (from the LORD out of heaven). He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil." Does this sound like God approves of the homosexual lifestyle? Yet that is what some in society will have you think. If one thinks that Jesus speaks differently from the Father then let us look at Luke, "Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." Our Lord does not say that what was done in Sodom was wrong, instead He warns that some could face the same fate for their obstinacy in sin! Once again if many continue to legalize same sex marriages, and homosexuality is seen as normal, we will incur the Wrath of God.
It is also up to society to help those who come from poor and impoverished circumstances, whether they be widows, orphans or the mentally unstable. When we refuse to aid the helpless we have then refused to feed and clothe Jesus who is the hidden face behind the disenfranchised of society. This aid for the poor should not be given from a haughty heart, but to be given with respect and love towards those less well off. When we neglect to feed the needy and choose instead to ignore the plight of the homeless and destitute, we will once again be called to account for our lack of compassion. This also includes those Governments who aid and abet evil despots in other countries by selling them arms in order for these evil leaders to bring their country to war and genocide. Evil can only prosper when the good lend a hand by ignoring the policies of their own Governmental Body. As the Catholic Catechism instructs us on good and evil, "1738 Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order....1740 Threats to freedom. The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything. It is false to maintain that man, "the subject of this freedom," is "an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in the enjoyment of earthly goods."[33] Moreover, the economic, social, political, and cultural conditions that are needed for a just exercise of freedom are too often disregarded or violated. Such situations of blindness and injustice injure the moral life and involve the strong as well as the weak in the temptation to sin against charity. By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth." No good can come from an evil deed, and there can be no common good when the poor are left to pay the price for the affluent.
As man is created in the image of God, man must not distort this image for his own nefarious purposes, neither for gain or profit. God created us from the depths of The Triune Spirit, and it is from this spark of Divine Love that man gains his dignity and is the adopted children of the Heavenly Father. God did not create man on assembly lines, therefore it is a responsibility to the Governing Bodies of each country, society in general, and employers in particular, to give a man his daily earnings with due respect to his dignity. Employers encourage their employee's to work hard in order for them to gain in profits and so everyone benefits. As the company prospers, so do the fortunes of both employer and employee. This image becomes distorted when the employer treats his workmen with scant regard and overworks his men for profit alone to benefit only himself. As Scripture instructs us, "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brethren or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns; you shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it); lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be a sin in you."
The Marxist theory of the collective man cannot be upheld, and so too the capitalists who use the same distorted theology, as both treat men as commodities to be used and discarded at whim without regard to his innate dignity nor to social justice.
In conclusion when we fail to feed and provide homes for the poor and defenseless, when we murder the unborn, promote active homosexual relationships and abuse a workman's rights, what does this say about our society? Also what does this say about you?
God is All Merciful and also perfect Divine Justice, the choices we make will gain for us what we deserve.
Peace of Christ to ALL
Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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