Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014 - Litany Lane Blog:
Resurrection, Psalms 118, Acts 10, John 20:1-9, Pope Francis's Vatican Celebration of Easter Urbi et Orbi Blessing, Divine Mercy Novena, Mystical City of God - The Resurrection, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life in Christ Section Two: The Ten Commandment Chapter Two: Fifth Commandment Article 5:3 Safeguarding Peace
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge, reason and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Sunday in Easter
Rosary - Glorious Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis Easter Sunday April 20 Daily:
Celebration of Easter Urbi et Orbi
Dear Brothers and Sisters, a Happy and Holy Easter!
The Church throughout the world echoes the angel’s message to the women: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised… Come, see the place where he lay” ( Mt 28:5-6).
This is the culmination of the Gospel, it is the Good News par excellence: Jesus, who was crucified, is risen! This event is the basis of our faith and our hope. If Christ were not raised, Christianity would lose its very meaning; the whole mission of the Church would lose its impulse, for this is the point from which it first set out and continues to set out ever anew. The message which Christians bring to the world is this: Jesus, Love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised him and made him the Lord of life and death. In Jesus, love has triumphed over hatred, mercy over sinfulness, goodness over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death.
That is why we tell everyone: “Come and see!” In every human situation, marked by frailty, sin and death, the Good News is no mere matter of words, but a testimony to unconditional and faithful love: it is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast… “Come and see!”: Love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness.
With this joyful certainty in our hearts, today we turn to you, risen Lord!
Help us to seek you and to find you, to realize that we have a Father and are not orphans; that we can love and adore you.
Help us to overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by the immense wastefulness for which we are often responsible.
Enable us to protect the vulnerable, especially children, women and the elderly, who are at times exploited and abandoned.
Enable us to care for our brothers and sisters struck by the Ebola epidemic in Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and to care for those suffering from so many other diseases which are also spread through neglect and dire poverty.
Comfort all those who cannot celebrate this Easter with their loved ones because they have been unjustly torn from their affections, like the many persons, priests and laity, who in various parts of the world have been kidnapped.
Comfort those who have left their own lands to migrate to places offering hope for a better future and the possibility of living their lives in dignity and, not infrequently, of freely professing their faith.
We ask you, Lord Jesus, to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent.
We pray in a particular way for Syria, beloved Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive needed humanitarian aid and that neither side will again use deadly force, especially against the defenseless civil population, but instead boldly negotiate the peace long awaited and long overdue!
Jesus, Lord of glory, we ask you to comfort the victims of fratricidal acts of violence in Iraq and to sustain the hopes raised by the resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
We beg for an end to the conflicts in the Central African Republic and a halt to the brutal terrorist attacks in parts of Nigeria and the acts of violence in South Sudan.
We ask that hearts be turned to reconciliation and fraternal concord in Venezuela.
By your resurrection, which this year we celebrate together with the Churches that follow the Julian calendar, we ask you to enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine so that all those involved, with the support of the international community, will make every effort to prevent violence and, in a spirit of unity and dialogue, chart a path for the country’s future. On this day, may they be able to proclaim, as brothers and sisters, that Christ is risen, Khrystos voskres!
Lord, we pray to you for all the peoples of the earth: you who have conquered death, grant us your life, grant us your peace!
Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!
(2014-04-20 Vatican Radio)
Reference: Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2014 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 04/20/2014
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Spring
Vatican City, spring 2014 (VIS)
Victimized Children. That children who are victims of abandonment or violence may find the love and protection they need.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2014 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 04/20/2014.
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November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
Today's Word: resurrection res·ur·rec·tion [rez-uh-rek-shuh
n]
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English (< Old French ) < Latin resurrēctiōn- (stem of resurrēctiō ) the Easter church-festival, equivalent to resurrēct ( us ) (past participle of resurgere to rise again; see resurge) + -iōn- -ion
noun
1. the act of rising from the dead.
2. ( initial capital letter ) the rising of Christ after His death and burial.
3. ( initial capital letter ) the rising of the dead on Judgment Day.
4. the state of those risen from the dead.
5. a rising again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Acts 10:34, 37-43
34 Then Peter addressed them, 'I now really understand', he said, 'that God has no favourites,
37 You know what happened all over Judaea, how Jesus of Nazareth began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism.
38 God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.
39 Now we are witnesses to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and they killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 yet on the third day God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen,
41 not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses that God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses -- we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead-
42 and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to bear witness that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.
43 It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.'
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Today's Epistle - Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his faithful love endures for ever.
2 Let the House of Israel say, 'His faithful love endures for ever.'
16 Yahweh's right hand is victorious, Yahweh's right hand is triumphant!'
17 I shall not die, I shall live to recount the great deeds of Yahweh.
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
23 This is Yahweh's doing, and we marvel at it.
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Today's Gospel Reading - John 20: 1-9
Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014
Jesus’ resurrection , He is living among us
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send your
Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind
that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In
the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover
the presence of God in the disturbing events of your
sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end
of all hope became for them the source of life and of
resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A key to guide the reading:
Let us read the text where the
evangelist seeks to tell the readers the meaning of faith in
the resurrection. He seeks to do this by means of the visit
of the two disciples to the empty tomb and the appearance of
Jesus to Mary Magdalene. While reading, let us pay attention
to the details of the story as told in the Gospel of John who
presents a very deep symbolic dimension.
b) A division of the text to assist a careful reading:
Jn 20, 1-3: the disturbing experience of the empty tomb
Jn 20, 4-10: Peter and the beloved disciple run to the sepulchre: the beloved disciple saw and believed
Jn 20, 11-18: Jesus shows himself first to Mary Magdalene and gives her a command.
Jn 20, 4-10: Peter and the beloved disciple run to the sepulchre: the beloved disciple saw and believed
Jn 20, 11-18: Jesus shows himself first to Mary Magdalene and gives her a command.
c) The text:
1-3: It was very early
on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of
Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been
moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and
the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. 'They have
taken the Lord out of the tomb,' she said, 'and we don't know where
they have put him.' So Peter set out with the other disciple to
go to the tomb.
4-10: They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.
11-18: But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she replied, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that he had said these things to her.
4-10: They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.
11-18: But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she replied, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that he had said these things to her.
3. A moment of prayerful silence so that the Word of God may enter into us and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What struck you in this text that describes the first experience of the resurrection?
b) The beloved disciple went in, saw and believed. What did he see and what led him to believe? Why is it that the text tells us only the reaction of the beloved disciple and not that of Peter?
c) What changes take place in Mary Magdalene during the dialogue? How did this change happen?
d) What mission or command does Jesus give Mary Magdalene?
e) Mary Magdalene was seeking Jesus in one way and meets him in another. How does this occur in our lives?
f) To see and believe. The beloved disciple saw and believed. What is it that leads me to believe that Jesus is alive, that he is present in our midst, today, giving new life to the poor?
g) Have you gone through an experience of loss or death? What gave you new life or new hope and the joy of life? What is it that I say when I affirm, "I believe in the resurrection"?
b) The beloved disciple went in, saw and believed. What did he see and what led him to believe? Why is it that the text tells us only the reaction of the beloved disciple and not that of Peter?
c) What changes take place in Mary Magdalene during the dialogue? How did this change happen?
d) What mission or command does Jesus give Mary Magdalene?
e) Mary Magdalene was seeking Jesus in one way and meets him in another. How does this occur in our lives?
f) To see and believe. The beloved disciple saw and believed. What is it that leads me to believe that Jesus is alive, that he is present in our midst, today, giving new life to the poor?
g) Have you gone through an experience of loss or death? What gave you new life or new hope and the joy of life? What is it that I say when I affirm, "I believe in the resurrection"?
5. A key to the reading for those who wish to go deeper into the text.
a) In John’s Gospel, faith in the resurrection is encountered in the description of the passion and death of Jesus:
* In describing the passion and death of
Jesus, John’s Gospel wants to point out not the sentence
passed on a political subversive, but the hour for glorifying
the Son of God. During the whole process that carries Jesus
to his death, he is master of what happens to himself and to
his adversaries. For John, the cross is synonymous with "lifting",
rising on high, to be with the Father (Jn 3,14; 8,28; 12,32-34).
It is the beginning of the resurrection that is revealed
fully on the first day of the week (Jn 20,1). That is why in
John’s Gospel there is no agony in the garden (Jn 18,1-2).
When Jesus is in prison, the soldiers are frightened when
Jesus says: "I am he!" (Jn 18,6). When Jesus is dying, he
does not cry out like in the other Gospels. Serenely he takes
leave of his friends, of his mother, and then expires (Jn 19,28-30).
* The story of the passion is another
more concrete example of the fact that John does not simply
relate historical facts, but puts them through an X-Ray. He
tries to show that which the facts hide. When Pilate, Hanna,
the Jewish and Roman authorities try to end Jesus’ life, in
truth they were allowing Jesus to be elevated towards God.
From his prison, Jesus directs events and gives his life. "I
lay down my life of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay
it down, so it is in my power to take it up again. No one takes
it from me, I lay it down of my own free will" (Jn
10,17-18). All can set their minds at rest and be full of
hope because Jesus has overcome and has been glorified by the
Father (Jn 17,5).
b) Peter and the beloved disciple go the empty tomb (vv. 1-10):
* The experience of the resurrection of
the early community was a long process, an experience that
grew slowly like the growth of a strong tree. At first, many
did not believe in the witness of those who had experienced
the living presence of Jesus (Mt 28,17; Mk 16,11.13.14; Lk
24,11.36.41; Jn 20,25). But the experience of the resurrection expressed
in the form of apparitions was so strong, so deep and so
convincing that it succeeded in overcoming human unbelief
confronted with the possibility of the victory of life over
death.
* The women were more faithful than the
men. They were the first to believe in the Good News of the
resurrection (Mt 28,9-10; Lk 24,4-11; Jn 20,11-18).
Confronted by the news of Mary Magdalene who sees the empty
tomb, Peter and the beloved disciple run to the tomb. The
Gospel relates the strange news according to which "the other
disciple" ran faster than Peter and arrived first at the tomb,
but did not go in. He looked inside and saw the bandages on the
ground. After he went in he saw also the folded shroud to one
side. The Gospel then says, "He saw and believed!" But
nothing is said of Peter’s reaction although it was he who
had gone first into the empty tomb. At the end, the Gospel
adds, "Till this moment they had failed to understand the
teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (Jn
20,9). This means that the Old Testament on its own does not
communicate a complete understanding of that which it contains.
The light for understanding the real meaning of the Old Testament
appears at the very moment when the beloved disciple "saw and
believed". His experience of the resurrection was like a
light that struck the eyes of the disciples and revealed to
them the complete and full meaning of the Old Testament. It
is this light to the sight that liberates the words of the
Old Testament.
* A comparison to understand the change.
In a circle of friends, someone showed a photo where there
was a man with a harsh face, with the finger raised, almost
assaulting the public. All thought that he was an inflexible
person, unpleasant, who distanced himself from others. At
that moment, a boy arrived and said, "This is my father!" The
others looked at him and said, "A harsh father, then!’ The
boy replied, "No, no, no! He is very loving. My father is a
lawyer. That photo was taken in court when he was denouncing the
crime of a landowner who wanted to dispossess a poor family of some
unused land that they owned for a long time! My father won
the case. The poor family was not deprived of its land!" All
looked at the photo again and said, "What a beautiful photo!"
Almost by miracle, a light was shed on the photo and it
assumed a new look. That harsh face became bathed in great
tenderness! The words of the son changed everything, while
changing nothing! The words and actions of Jesus, born of his
experience as son, received and raised by the Father, without
changing one letter or comma, changed the whole meaning of the Old
Testament (Mt 5,17-18). The same God, who seemed so distant
and harsh, took on the traits of a good Father, full of
tenderness!
c) Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene:
* Mary Magdalene was one of the few who
had the courage to stay with Jesus until the time of his
death on the cross. She goes back to the tomb to be where she
had been with the Beloved for the last time. She looks for
Jesus with whom she had lived for the last three years. The
disciples from Emmaus will see Jesus, but will not recognise
him (Lk 24,15-16). The same thing happens to Mary Magdalene. She sees
Jesus, but does not recognise him. She thinks he is the
gardener. But she is looking for the Jesus of the past, the
same as he was three days previously. The image of Jesus as
he was stops her from recognising the living Jesus, present
before her.
* Jesus pronounces the name "Mary!" This
was the signal for her to recognise him: the same voice, the
same manner of saying the name. She replies, "Master!" Jesus
has come back, and it was the same Jesus who had died on the
cross. Her first impression is that death was just a painful
incident along the way, and that now all was back as it was
before. Mary embraces Jesus strongly. It was the same Jesus
she knew.
* In fact, it is the same Jesus, but the
manner of being with her is not the same. Jesus says to her,
"Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the
Father!" He will go to the Father. Mary Magdalene must leave
Jesus and take on her mission: to announce to the brothers
that Jesus has ascended to the Father. Jesus opened the way
for us and brought God close to us again.
* The way the apparition of Jesus to
Mary Magdalene is described makes us realise the stages of
the journey she has to go through, from the painful search to
the new encounter of Easter. These too are the stages we all
have to go through in our lives, the search for God by
living the Gospel.
6. Psalm 27 (26)
God is my victory
Yahweh is my light and my salvation,
whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life,
whom should I dread?
When the wicked advance against me
to eat me up,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
are the ones who stumble and fall.
Though an army pitch camp against me,
my heart will not fear,
though war break out against me,
my trust will never be shaken.
One thing I ask of Yahweh,
one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house
all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out his temple.
For he hides me away under his roof
on the day of evil,
he folds me in the recesses of his tent,
sets me high on a rock.
Now my head is held high
above the enemies who surround me;
in his tent I will offer sacrifices of acclaim.
I will sing, I will make music for Yahweh.
Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry,
pity me, answer me!
Of you my heart has said, 'Seek his face!'
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
do not turn away from me.
Do not thrust aside your servant in anger,
without you I am helpless.
Never leave me, never forsake me,
God, my Saviour.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
Yahweh will gather me up.
Yahweh, teach me your way,
lead me on the path of integrity
because of my enemies;
do not abandon me to the will of my foes
-- false witnesses have risen against me,
and are breathing out violence.
This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong,
let your heart be bold, put your hope in Yahweh.
whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life,
whom should I dread?
When the wicked advance against me
to eat me up,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
are the ones who stumble and fall.
Though an army pitch camp against me,
my heart will not fear,
though war break out against me,
my trust will never be shaken.
One thing I ask of Yahweh,
one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house
all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out his temple.
For he hides me away under his roof
on the day of evil,
he folds me in the recesses of his tent,
sets me high on a rock.
Now my head is held high
above the enemies who surround me;
in his tent I will offer sacrifices of acclaim.
I will sing, I will make music for Yahweh.
Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry,
pity me, answer me!
Of you my heart has said, 'Seek his face!'
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
do not turn away from me.
Do not thrust aside your servant in anger,
without you I am helpless.
Never leave me, never forsake me,
God, my Saviour.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
Yahweh will gather me up.
Yahweh, teach me your way,
lead me on the path of integrity
because of my enemies;
do not abandon me to the will of my foes
-- false witnesses have risen against me,
and are breathing out violence.
This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong,
let your heart be bold, put your hope in Yahweh.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that
has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father.
May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the
strength to practice that which your Word has revealed to us.
May we, like Mary, your mother, not only listen to but also
practise the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in
the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Easter Week: Divine Mercy Novena
Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine
Mercy be
preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good
Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the
Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom
He said:
"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from
such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of
Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for
them is to flee to My Mercy."
In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different
group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy
... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My
passion, for the graces for these souls."
The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:
DAY 1 (Good Friday)
- All mankind, especially sinners
DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious
DAY 3 (Easter Sunday)
- All devout and faithful souls
DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet
know Him
DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren
DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children
DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy
DAY 8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory;
DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm.
During
the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of
Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the day's intentions.
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Today's Snippet I: Book 6, Chapter 11,
The Mystical City of God,
The Divine History and
Life of The Virgin Mother of God
THE RESURRECTION.
The fullness of wisdom in the soul of our great Queen and
Lady amid all her sorrows permitted no defect or remissness in noticing and
attending to all the duties of each occasion and at all times. By this heavenly
foresight She met her obligations and practiced the highest and most eminent of
all the virtues. As I have said, the Queen retired, after the burial of Christ,
to the house of the Cenacle. Remaining in the hall of the last Supper in the
company of saint John, the Marys, and the other women who had followed Christ
from Galilee, She spoke to them and the Apostle, thanking them in profound
humility and abundant tears for persevering with Her up to this time throughout
the Passion of her beloved Son and promising them in his name the reward of
having followed Him with so much constancy and devotion. At the same time She
offered Herself as a servant and as a friend to those holy women. All of them
with Saint John acknowledged this great favor, kissed her hands and asked for
her blessing. They also begged her to take some rest and some bodily
refreshment. But the Queen answered: "My rest and my consolation shall be
to see my Son and Lord arisen from the dead. Do you, my dearest friends, satisfy
our wants according to your necessities, while I retire alone with my Son."
In her retirement during this evening the great Lady contemplated the doings of the most holy soul of her Son after it left the sacred body. For from the first the blessed Mother knew that the soul of Christ, united to the Divinity, descended to limbo in order to release the holy Fathers from the subterranean prison, where they had been detained since the death of the first just man that had died in expectance of the advent of the Redeemer of the whole human race. By the presence of the most holy Soul this obscure cavern was converted into a heaven and was filled with a wonderful splendor; and to the souls therein contained was imparted the clear vision of the Divinity. In one instant they passed from the state of long-deferred hope to the possession of glory, and from darkness to the inaccessible light, which they now began to enjoy. All of them recognized their true God and Redeemer, and gave him thanks and glory, breaking forth in canticles of praise saying: "The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and Divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and benediction. Thou hast redeemed us, Lord, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth (Apoc. 59, 12). Thine is, O Lord, the power, thine the reign, and thine is the glory of thy works." Then the Lord commanded the angels to bring all the souls in purgatory, and this was immediately done. As if in earnest of the human Redemption they were absolved then and there by the Redeemer from the punishments still due to them, and they were glorified with the other souls of the just by the beatific vision. Thus on that day of the presence of the King were depopulated the prisonhouses of both limbo and purgatory.
In her retirement during this evening the great Lady contemplated the doings of the most holy soul of her Son after it left the sacred body. For from the first the blessed Mother knew that the soul of Christ, united to the Divinity, descended to limbo in order to release the holy Fathers from the subterranean prison, where they had been detained since the death of the first just man that had died in expectance of the advent of the Redeemer of the whole human race. By the presence of the most holy Soul this obscure cavern was converted into a heaven and was filled with a wonderful splendor; and to the souls therein contained was imparted the clear vision of the Divinity. In one instant they passed from the state of long-deferred hope to the possession of glory, and from darkness to the inaccessible light, which they now began to enjoy. All of them recognized their true God and Redeemer, and gave him thanks and glory, breaking forth in canticles of praise saying: "The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and Divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and benediction. Thou hast redeemed us, Lord, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth (Apoc. 59, 12). Thine is, O Lord, the power, thine the reign, and thine is the glory of thy works." Then the Lord commanded the angels to bring all the souls in purgatory, and this was immediately done. As if in earnest of the human Redemption they were absolved then and there by the Redeemer from the punishments still due to them, and they were glorified with the other souls of the just by the beatific vision. Thus on that day of the presence of the King were depopulated the prisonhouses of both limbo and purgatory.
The divine soul of Christ our Redeemer remained in limbo from
half past three of Friday afternoon, until after three of the Sunday morning
following. During this hour He returned to the Sepulchre as the victorious
Prince of the angels and of the saints, whom had delivered from those nether
prisons as Spoils of His victory and as an earnest of His glorious triumph over
the chastised and prostrate rebels of hell. In the sepulchre were many angels as
its guard, venerating the sacred body united to the Divinity. Some of them,
obeying the command of their Queen and Mistress, had gathered the relics of the
sacred blood shed by her divine Son, the particles of flesh scattered about, the
hair torn from his divine face and head, and all else that belonged to the
perfection and integrity of his most sacred humanity. On these the Mother of
prudence lavished her solicitous care. The angels took charge of these
relics, each one filled with joy at being privileged to hold the
particles, which he was able to secure. Before any change was made, the body of
the Redeemer was shown to the holy Fathers, in the same wounded, lacerated and
disfigured state in which it was left by the cruelty of the Jews. Beholding Him
thus disfigured in death, the Patriarchs and Prophets and other saints adored
Him and again confessed Him as the incarnate Word, who had truly taken upon
Himself our infirmities and sorrows (Is. 53, 4) and paid abundantly our debts,
satisfying in his innocence and guiltlessness for what we ourselves owed to the
justice of the eternal Father. There did our first parents Adam and Eve see the
havoc wrought by their disobedience, the priceless remedy it necessitated, the
immense goodness and mercy of the Redeemer. As they felt the effects of his
copious Redemption in the glory of their souls, they praised anew the Omnipotent
and Saints of saints, who had with such marvelous wisdom wrought such a
salvation.
Then, in the presence of all those saints, through the
ministry of those angels, were united to the sacred body all the relics, which
they had gathered, restoring it to its natural perfection and integrity. In the
same moment the most holy soul reunited with the body, giving it immortal life
and glory. Instead of the winding-sheets and the ointments, in which it had been
buried, it was clothed with the four gifts of glory, namely: with clearness,
impassibility, agility and subtility (John 19, 40). These gifts
overflowed from the immense glory of the soul of Christ into the sacred body.
Although these gifts were due to it as a natural inheritance and participation
from the instant of its conception, because from that very moment his soul was
glorified and his whole humanity was united to the Divinity; yet they had been
suspended in their effects upon the purest body, in order to permit it to remain
passable and capable of meriting for us our own glory. In the Resurrection these
gifts were justly called into activity in the proper degree corresponding to the
glory of his soul and to his union with the Divinity. As the glory of the most
holy soul of Christ our Savior is incomprehensible and ineffable to man, it is
also impossible entirely to describe in our words or by our examples the
glorious gifts of his deified body; for in comparison to its purity, crystal
would be obscure. The light inherent and shining forth from his body so far
exceeds that of the others, as the day does the night, or as many suns the light
of one star; and all the beauty of creatures, if it were joined, would
appear ugliness in comparison with his, nothing else being comparable to
It in all creation.
The excellence of these gifts in the Resurrection were far
beyond the glory of his Transfiguration or that manifested on other occasions of
the kind men mentioned in this history. For on these occasions He received it
transitorily and for special purposes, while now He received it in plenitude and
forever. Through impassibility his body became invincible to all created power,
since no power can ever move or change Him. By subtility the gross and earthly
matter was so purified, that it could now penetrate other matter like a pure
spirit. Accordingly He penetrated through the rocks of the sepulchre
without removing or displacing them, as He had issued forth from the womb of his
most blessed Mother. Agility so freed Him from the weight and slowness of
matter, that it exceeded the agility of the immaterial angels, while He himself
could move about more quickly than they, as shown in his apparitions to the
Apostles and on other occasions. The sacred wounds, which had disfigured his
body, now shone forth from his hands and feet and side so refulgent and
brilliant, that they added a most entrancing beauty and charm. In all this glory
and heavenly adornment the Savior now arose from the grave; and in the
presence of the saints and Patriarchs He promised universal resurrection
in their own flesh and body to all men, and that they moreover, as an effect of
his own Resurrection, should be similarly glorified. As an earnest and as a
pledge of the universal resurrection, the Lord commanded the souls of many
saints there present to reunite with their bodies and rise up to immortal life.
Immediately this divine command was executed, and their bodies arose, as is
mentioned by saint Matthew, in anticipation of this mystery (Matthew 27, 52).
Among them were saint Anne, saint Joseph and saint Joachim, and others of the
ancient Fathers and Patriarchs, who had distinguished themselves in the faith
and hope of the Incarnation, and had desired and prayed for it with greater
earnestness to the Lord. As a reward for their zeal, the resurrection and glory
of their bodies was now anticipated.
Of all these mysteries the great Queen of heaven was aware
and She participated in them from her retreat in the Cenacle. In the same
instant in which the most holy soul of Christ entered and gave life to his body
the joy of her immaculate soul, which I mentioned in the foregoing chapter as
being restrained and, as it were, withheld, overflowed into her immaculate body.
And this overflow was so exquisite in its effects, that She was transformed from
sorrow to joy, from pain to delight from grief to ineffable jubilation and rest.
It happened that just at this time the Evangelist John, as he had done on
the previous morning, stepped in to visit and console Her in her bitter
solitude, and thus unexpectedly, in the midst of splendor and glory, met Her
whom he had before scarcely recognized on account of her overwhelming sorrow.
The Apostle now beheld Her with wonder and deepest reverence and concluded that
the Lord had risen, since his blessed Mother was thus transfigured with joy.
In this new joy and under the divine influences of her
supernatural vision the great Lady began to prepare herself for the visit of the
Lord, which was near at hand. While eliciting acts of praise, and in her
canticles and prayers, She immediately felt within Her a new kind of jubilation
and celestial delight, reaching far beyond the first joy, and corresponding in a
wonderful manner to the sorrows and tribulations She had undergone in the
Passion; and this new favor was different and much more exalted than the joys
overflowing naturally from her soul into her body. Moreover She perceived within
Herself another third and still more different effect, implying new divine
favors.
The blessed Mary being thus prepared, Christ our Savior,
arisen and glorious, in the company of all Saints and Patriarchs, made his
appearance. The ever humble Queen prostrated Herself upon the ground and adored
her divine Son; and the Lord raised Her and drew Her to Himself. In this
contact, which was more intimate than the contact with the humanity and the
wounds of the Savior sought by Magdalen, the Virgin Mother participated in an
extraordinary favor, which She alone, as exempt from sin, could merit. Although
it was not the greatest of the favors She attained on this occasion, yet She
could not have received it without failing of her faculties, if She had not been
previously strengthened by the angels and by the Lord himself. This favor was,
that the glorious body of the Son so closely united itself to that of his purest
Mother, that He penetrated into it or She into his, as when, for instance, a
crystal globe takes up within itself the light of the sun and is saturated with
the splendor and beauty of its light. In the same way the body of the most holy
Mary entered into that of her divine Son by this heavenly embrace; it was, as it
were, the portal of her intimate knowledge concerning the glory of the holy soul
and body of her Lord. As a consequence of these favors, constituting higher and
higher degrees of ineffable gifts, the spirit of the Virgin Mother rose to the
knowledge of the most hidden sacraments. In the midst of them She heard a voice
saying to Her: "My beloved, ascend higher!" (Luke 18, 10). By the
power of these words She was entirely transformed and saw the Divinity clearly
and intuitively, wherein She found complete, though only temporary, rest and
reward for all her sorrows and labors. Silence alone here is proper, since
reason and language are entirely inadequate to comprehend or express what
passed in the blessed Mary during this beatific vision, the highest She had
until then enjoyed. Let us celebrate this day in wonder and praise, with
congratulations and loving and humble thanks for what She then merited for us,
and for her exaltation and joy.
For some hours the heavenly Princess continued to enjoy the
essence of God with her divine Son, participating now in his triumph as She had
in his torments. Then by similar degrees She again descended from this vision
and found Herself in the end reclining on the right arm of the most sacred
humanity and regaled in other ways by the right hand of his Divinity
(Cant. 2, 6). She held sweetest converse with her Son concerning the mysteries
of his Passion and of his glory. In these conferences She was again inebriated
with the wine of love and charity, which now She drank unmeasured from
the original fount. All that a mere creature can receive was conferred upon the
blessed Mary on this occasion; for, according to our way of conceiving such
things, the divine equity wished to compensate the injury (thus I must call it,
because I cannot find a more proper word), which a Creature so pure and
immaculate had undergone in suffering the sorrows and torments of the Passion.
For, as I have mentioned many times before, She suffered the same pains as her
Son, and now in this mystery She was inundated with a proportionate joy and
delight.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN. (The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of
Agreda, Spain.)
Each of these gifts are correspondingly augmented in him who
in the state of grace performs the least meritorious work, even if it be no more
than removing a straw or giving a cup of water for the love of God (Matth. 10,
42).
For each of the most insignificant works the creature gains an increase of these gifts; an increase of clearness exceeding many times the sunlight and added to its state of blessedness an increase of impassibility, by which man recedes from human and earthly corruption farther than what all created efforts and strength could ever effect in resistance separating itself from such infirmity or changefulness; an increase of subtility, by which he advances beyond all that could offer it resistance and gains new power of penetration; an increase of agility, surpassing all the activity of birds, of winds, and all other active creatures, such as fire and the elements tending to their centre.
From this increase of the gifts of the body merited by good works, thou wilt understand the augmentation of the gifts of the soul; for those of the body are derived from those of the soul and correspond with them. In the beatific vision each merit secures greater clearness and insight into the divine attributes and perfections than that acquired by all the doctors and enlightened members of the Church.
Likewise the gift of apprehension, or possession of the divine Object, is augmented; for the security of the possession of the highest and infinite Good makes the tranquility and rest of its enjoyment more estimable than if the soul possessed all that is precious and rich, desirable and worthy of attainment in all creation, even if possessed all at one time.
Fruition, the third gift of the soul, on account of the love with which man performs the smallest acts, so exalts the degrees of functional love, that the greatest love of men here on earth can never be compared thereto; nor can the delight resulting therefrom ever be compared with all the delights of this mortal life.
For each of the most insignificant works the creature gains an increase of these gifts; an increase of clearness exceeding many times the sunlight and added to its state of blessedness an increase of impassibility, by which man recedes from human and earthly corruption farther than what all created efforts and strength could ever effect in resistance separating itself from such infirmity or changefulness; an increase of subtility, by which he advances beyond all that could offer it resistance and gains new power of penetration; an increase of agility, surpassing all the activity of birds, of winds, and all other active creatures, such as fire and the elements tending to their centre.
From this increase of the gifts of the body merited by good works, thou wilt understand the augmentation of the gifts of the soul; for those of the body are derived from those of the soul and correspond with them. In the beatific vision each merit secures greater clearness and insight into the divine attributes and perfections than that acquired by all the doctors and enlightened members of the Church.
Likewise the gift of apprehension, or possession of the divine Object, is augmented; for the security of the possession of the highest and infinite Good makes the tranquility and rest of its enjoyment more estimable than if the soul possessed all that is precious and rich, desirable and worthy of attainment in all creation, even if possessed all at one time.
Fruition, the third gift of the soul, on account of the love with which man performs the smallest acts, so exalts the degrees of functional love, that the greatest love of men here on earth can never be compared thereto; nor can the delight resulting therefrom ever be compared with all the delights of this mortal life.
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Catholic Catechism
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section Two: The Ten Commandments
Chapter Two: Fifth Commandment
Article 5:3 Safeguarding Peace
CHAPTER TWO
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Love one another as I have loved you."1 Jn 13:34
2196
In response to the question about the first of the commandments, Jesus says:
"The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind, and with all your strength.' the second is this, 'You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than
these."2 Mk 12:29-31; cf.
⇒ Deut 6:4-5; ⇒ Lev
19:18; ⇒ Mt 22:34-40;
⇒ Lk 10:25-28
The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."3 Rom 13:8-10
The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."3 Rom 13:8-10
ARTICLE 5
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not kill.54 Ex 20:13; Cf.
⇒ Deut 5:17
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.55 Mt 5:21-22
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.55 Mt 5:21-22
2258
"Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative
action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the
Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning
until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right
directly to destroy an innocent human being."56 CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5
III. Safeguarding Peace
Peace
2302
By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill,"93 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."94 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."95
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."94 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."95
2303
Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when
one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when
one deliberately desires him grave harm. "But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven."96
2304
Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely
the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers
between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the
goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of
persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is
"the tranquillity of order."97 Peace is the work of justice
and the effect of charity.98
2305
Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic
"Prince of Peace."99 By the blood of his Cross, "in his
own person he killed the hostility,"100 he reconciled men with God
and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its
union with God. "He is our peace."101 He has declared:
"Blessed are the peacemakers."102
2306
Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human
rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear
witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights
and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the
gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its
destruction and death.103
Avoiding
war
2307
The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life.
Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church
insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness
may free us from the ancient bondage of war.104
2308
All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.
However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."105
However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."105
2309
The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous
consideration. the gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous
conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the
"just war" doctrine.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.
2310
Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to impose on citizens
the obligations necessary for national defense.
Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace.106
Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace.106
2311
Public authorities should make equitable provision for those who for reasons of
conscience refuse to bear arms; these are nonetheless obliged to serve the
human community in some other way.107
2312
The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law
during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out
does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring
parties."108
2313
Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated
humanely.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.
2314
"Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole
cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man,
which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation."109 A danger of
modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern
scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to
commit such crimes.
2315
The accumulation of arms strikes many as a paradoxically suitable way of
deterring potential adversaries from war. They see it as the most effective
means of ensuring peace among nations. This method of deterrence gives rise to
strong moral reservations. the arms race does not ensure peace. Far from
eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them. Spending enormous
sums to produce ever new types of weapons impedes efforts to aid needy
populations;110 it thwarts the development of peoples. Over-armament
multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of escalation.
2316
The production and the sale of arms affect the common good of nations and of
the international community. Hence public authorities have the right and duty
to regulate them. the short-term pursuit of private or collective interests
cannot legitimate undertakings that promote violence and conflict among nations
and compromise the international juridical order.
2317
Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride
raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars.
Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace
and avoiding war:
Insofar as men are sinners,
the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ comes
again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in charity,
violence itself will be vanquished and these words will be fulfilled:
"they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more."111
93 ⇒ Mt 5:21.
94 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II, 158, 1 ad 3.
95 ⇒ Mt 5:22.
96 ⇒ Mt 5:44-45.
97 St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 19, 13, 1: PL 41, 640.
98 Cf. ⇒ Isa 32:17; cf. GS 78 ## 1-2.
99 ⇒ Isa 9:5.
100 ⇒ Eph 2:16 J.B.; cf. ⇒ Col 1:20-22.
101 ⇒ Eph 2:14.
102 ⇒ Mt 5:9[ETML:C/].
103 Cf. GS 78 # 5.
104 Cf. GS 81 # 4.
105 GS 79 # 4.
106 Cf. GS 79 # 5.
107 Cf. GS 79 # 3.
108 GS 79 # 4.
109 GS 80 #3.
110 Cf. Paul VI, PP 53.
111 GS 78 # 6; cf. ⇒ Isa 2:4..
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