I first returned to the Church just over eight years ago, and this spring I will have been confirmed eight years. In that time I have been privy to the essence of the Ministry of the Church, but only recently have I (as someone with Asperger's Syndrome) come to understand it completely enough to put into words, and so I share this with you:
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The Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and therefore Her Ministry is His. That Ministry is the salvation of souls from the fires of hell (from sin and Satan), and the perfect Communion of those souls with God through Jesus Christ.
When I took my Confirmation classes, one thing that I learned was that we must make confession when we commit mortal sins, and we must do so before receiving Holy Communion again (lest we nullify that Holy Communion and in the process commit another mortal sin). I also learned what distinguishes a mortal sin from a venial sin which need not be confessed before receiving Holy Communion:
1) It is not a mortal sin if it does not involve grave offense against God and/or the desire to gravely injure neighbor;
2) It is not a mortal sin if, at the time you did it, you had an innocent ignorance of the fact that it was a grave sin (an innocent ignorance that wasn't your fault, as opposed to willful ignorance--a refusal to believe it or to find out something you didn't want to know);
3) It is not a mortal sin if, at the time you did it, your exercise of free will was to any degree compromised by external circumstances beyond your control--such that, but for the fact of these circumstances, you would never have done it.
Given this, while we all have free will, and we must respect the family unit (especially in the case of children too young to be morally responsible for their own actions), as well as private property, there are two things which we can do in order to minimize the possibility of ourselves committing grave sin, as well as to help other people to be free to avoid it themselves:
First, there is learning what God commands us to do, and what He commands us NOT to do. It helps to know why, as well as to know the consequences of doing His will vs. opposing His will, but the main thing is to do what He commands with a loving heart, as much as we are able. But to do this we must learn what He wants us to do. We must learn about the revealed faith, listen to those wise in the faith, and pray contemplatively to God to listen to Him directly. And those of us wise in the faith, and for whom it is our place, we must teach it to others--and distinguish the true faith from falsehoods lest people be deceived.
Second, there is exercising our free will to its greatest capacity and making it possible for others to do the same. Of course, if someone is being held captive by another human being, the goal would be to convert the captor, since the only true enemies are sin and Satan, not other human beings. But the only non-convertible obstacles to our complete exercise of our free will (that is, obstacles which must be removed from the person held captive by them) are twofold: corporeal obstacles and spiritual obstacles. A human being is both body and spirit and the goal is to convert him; everything else is either only body or only spirit.
A bodily obstacle to the exercise of free will is a physical malady that needs to be healed. More specifically, this refers to maladies that cannot be healed in the ordinary way by ordinary medics, maladies that prevent us from using part or all of our bodies as we would like: blindness (preventing us from using our eyes to see), deafness (preventing us from using our ears to hear), muteness (preventing us from using our mouths and throats to talk), lameness (preventing us from using our legs to walk), paralysis (preventing us from moving part or all of our bodies), maiming (missing part of our bodies), madness (preventing us from using our reason), infertility (preventing us from conceiving children), leprosy (which makes one unclean), seminal discharges (which makes one unclean), blood discharges (which makes one unclean), and death (the wages of sin which prevents us from using any part of our bodies). And of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: we must prevent ourselves (and others who cannot do so for themselves) from coming upon such maladies in the first place, if we are fortunate enough not to have been born with them.
A spiritual obstacle to the exercise of free will is an unclean spirit that needs to be exorcised. The only sentient created species besides human beings is the species of angels, which are 100% spirit, without a body. But holy angels always do the Lord's will and will never be an obstacle to our exercise of free will, especially to live out the Gospel. Only the rebellious angels (Satan and his minions) will do that. On the one hand, this means not listening to them in the first place--never nursing or acting on a desire for superhuman knowledge and/or power without letting God make the first move for the purpose of His will being done. On the other, this means exorcising people and places with such unclean spirits. And people who have demons aren't limited to those who have no control over their bodies at all because of demons possessing them, but also those who allow demons to haunt them, and who listen to what those demons say (as by being a diviner or sorcerer). We must be completely free of their influence.
But most importantly of all: we are all conceived in original sin, and we all commit some number of personal sins, and the wages of sin is death. Therefore we don't have it within our power to prevent this entirely: we need the grace of God, through Jesus Christ and Him crucified, to be forgiven our sins and saved from the fires of hell and led to heaven. And we receive this grace through the sacraments of the Church: we are baptized once, and confirmed once, and then we must regularly receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. If needed, we must receive Anointing of the Sick, and depending on what God calls us to, we might either marry or (in the case of a man) be ordained to the clergy.
But it isn't only the external receiving of the sacraments that grants us the grace. We must do so with a heart of virtue, especially the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love (love most of all)--otherwise we nullify the sacraments in receiving them, and that is a mortal sin. We must regularly participate in the prayer of the Church: Mass and the Divine Office, at least the minimum required, but as much as our situation allows and we desire. And we must obey the Ten Commandments and--as we're able and as it's needed--perform the Works of Mercy. In particular, we must exercise the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience--at least the minimum required, but as much as our situation allows and we desire, meaning some degree of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.
However, it isn't actually giving alms, fasting, or prayer in and of themselves that merit anything: it is our will to do whatever God wills us to do, and our will that His will be done, be it through us or not--and our exercise of that will, in dependence upon God's grace, constantly and throughout our lives. If we do this, God will grant us His grace when we receive the sacraments.
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Knowing this helps me to understand Jesus Christ's Ministry, and that of His Apostles, as recorded in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles--something I've especially taken an interest in since I have considered a vocation to the Franciscan Order (since this is what inspired Saint Francis of Assisi).
Jesus taught and preached the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, and His Apostles did the same.
Jesus performed healing miracles, and His Apostles did likewise: most especially, the blind were made to see, the deaf were made to hear, the mute were made to speak, the lame were made to walk, the paralyzed were made to move their own bodies, the maimed were made whole, lunatics and epileptics were made sane, the barren were made to conceive children, lepers were made clean, men were healed of seminal discharges, women were healed of blood discharges, and the dead were raised to life again.
Jesus cast out unclean spirits, and His Apostles did the same in His name.
And of course, Jesus forgave sins, and after His Resurrection He gave His Apostles the Holy Spirit, and with Him the authority to forgive sins as well.
And all of this was done in public arenas, not for the purpose of showing off and gaining the prestige of human beings, but so that all could receive the heavenly gifts, because the Gospel is not esoteric knowledge only for a select few. Hence these things were done in people's homes, in synagogues, and in other locations where there were a lot of people (though there was always time to retreat from the masses to pray).
In addition, Jesus exercised the evangelical counsels, and commanded His disciples to do the same: traveling with literally no possessions except a single tunic (and that for modesty purposes only--having sold their possessions and donated to the poor), wandering from city to city, finding whoever is God-fearing in that city and granting a blessing of peace to them, staying with them for the night, and receiving only whatever their hosts gave them--preaching, healing, and exorcising in the meanwhile--and then leaving that house and that city to go to another, and to do the same thing.
And if there was no one God-fearing in a city who would grant them shelter, food, and water, and listen to them and let them heal and exorcise there, shaking the dust off their (bare) feet and leaving it in that city as a sign that its people would suffer a worse fate even than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Travel was literally with no private property, having only a single tunic--no change of clothes, and no sandals (traveling in bare feet). And the tunic was for the purpose of modesty--aside from its being plain, not something to draw people's attention, it was to cover their bodies lest someone lust after their naked bodies. Their private property was to be sold, and they were to have given to the poor (those who are poor against their will, having taken no vow of poverty), so that their property (and the money from selling it) would do someone some good. This is the evangelical counsel of poverty.
The Apostles were married (Peter is specifically described as having a mother-in-law), but while a married man may be ordained to the priesthood (depending on the canon law), a single or widowed priest may NOT get married, and therefore may NOT engage in sexual relations. Rather, he must master his bodily appetites through fasting, and living off the Blessed Sacrament (being holy enough to where it will do him good, of course), and letting his body be at the disposal of God and the sick who need it more. In short, he must unite his body completely only to Jesus Christ and to the least of His brethren, the poor and sick--and he is only free to do this if he is not married and has no obligation to provide sexual love and children. This is the evangelical counsel of chastity.
And the Apostles (minus Judas Iscariot, who played the part well enough that the other Apostles didn't suspect him) obeyed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and followed His example by their prayer. The evangelical counsel of obedience requires prayer, asking God's will and listening to Him as He tells it to us. And most especially there is the prayer of the Church, the Mass and the Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours). There was no Mass until Jesus instituted it at the Last Supper, but there were hourly prayers even among pre-Christian Jews. And of course, Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father.
Poverty is the ultimate in almsgiving: acknowledging that all of our property is God's before it is ours, and so giving it to Him to do with it as He wills--donating our property directly, and/or the money from selling it, to those who are poor without willfully making poverty vows. It also means not keeping more than we absolutely need. Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed, but because of original sin, we're subject to lust--the perversion of our God-given sexual appetite--the least of the Seven Deadly Sins and so the one most prominent in leading people to hell. And therefore even someone taking a vow of poverty must cover himself modestly and protect his chastity and that of others.
Chastity is the ultimate in fasting: acknowledging that our bodies belong to God before they belong to us, and so giving Him our bodies to do with them as He wills. This includes Holy Communion and the sacraments, as well as service to those in need, as well as donating blood and organs to the sick who need them more. Again, it means only keeping what we absolutely need of our bodies and freely giving the rest to the least of Christ's brethren who need it more, and therefore to Christ Himself.
Obedience is the ultimate in prayer: acknowledging that the only thing we can ever have 100% control over is our free will, and so trusting and loving God that we subordinate our wills to His. This includes, of course, the prayer of the Church: Mass and Divine Office. It also includes obeying our earthly superiors (inasmuch as they don't command us to sin or prohibit us from doing our duty to God), even and especially when we don't want to, and think we can get away with it.
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But of course, God doesn't call all of us to live this perfect life--and so this highest standard is certainly NOT the minimum necessary to enter eternal life in heaven. What it is, instead, is the goal that we must strive for by doing as much of it as we can given our circumstances: at minimum, we must do what the Church prescribes, but if our circumstances allow us to do more, we should try to do more, especially if we feel enough of the love of God and neighbor to find the motivation to do more than the minimum.
So while those who aren't religious brothers and sisters need not take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, we must at least give alms, fast, and pray to some degree. In particular we need to give monetarily to the Church (traditionally it was tithing, 1/10th of our income), to fast when the Church requires it of us (in the Latin Rite we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent, and do penance on all other Fridays), and to pray the Mass every Sunday and Day of Obligation, and at least some of the Divine Office.
Likewise, what Jesus did and what He commanded His disciples to do depends on there being some people who were NOT doing what they did, but who were still God-fearing people. For example, if people of God were to come to our door, we should welcome them in, share our food and water with them, give them a place to sleep for the night, receive their blessing of peace, and listen to their preaching, and allow them to heal and exorcise and forgive us as we need it, as they offer, and as they're authorized to do so--and then not hinder them as they leave to go to another city. This, of course, is performing the Corporal Works of Mercy to them, as well as letting them perform the Spiritual Works of Mercy upon us.
While this is less perfect, such people have hope of entering eternal life in heaven as well.
If everyone were called to the ideal, though, then what we would have is this: the whole world of people would regard all property as belonging first to God, and only to us inasmuch as we need it, so that the only private property in existence would be what we absolutely need, and no more; we would all regard our bodies as belonging first to God, and so we would not get married, we would not have sexual relations, we would not have babies, and we would fast on all days except Sundays and Solemnities (when it is inappropriate to be penitent), consuming nothing but the Body and Blood of Christ, and going to daily Mass; we would all pray the entire Divine Office, and pray contemplatively, and do the Lord's will for us.
If that were to be the case, the human race would go extinct once all people alive today died of old age! Or rather, they would IF such broad and deep piety were not to hasten the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
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But the point is that this is impossible without God, and no one comes to the Father except through His Son Jesus Christ. Because of original and personal sin, we cannot perceive God as He is and so we cannot love God as we ought--although we are designed to be unsatisfied without Him.
Therefore it isn't wrong to desire such an ideal in and of itself, only to break the First Commandment by looking to creatures rather than the Creator as the means to this end. This is why Communism is so evil: because its end goal is similar to the aforementioned ideal of a world full of public property, only private inasmuch as it's needed, and no one lording it over anyone else, and not having children--but its intended means are entirely manmade, emulating the Devil's rebellion against rightful authority and usurping dictatorial power that isn't rightly ours, rather than emulating Jesus Christ's humility and love.
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To sum up, the Ministry of the Church is as follows:
1) teach and preach the Gospel, the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, in Jesus Christ the King, the Son of God;
2) heal the sick, especially those whom ordinary medics cannot heal, from maladies that prevent the sick from using their bodies to their fullest;
3) take authority over nature in the name of Jesus Christ, not just in the corporeal but in the spiritual--exorcising demons and unclean spirits from those who have them;
4) forgive sins through the grace of the sacraments, which unite us to Jesus Christ's once-for-all Sacrifice on the Cross.
The Ministry of the Church is NOT:
1) teaching and preaching a false, heretical message, or truthful or moral relativism;
2) causing harm to any others for any reason, or abandoning them to their fate, or attempting to heal by means of magic or recourse to unclean spirits;
3) neglecting or harming creation, or putting non-human nature before man in a false environmentalism, or fearmongering about our supposed ability to destroy life on earth entirely--or consulting unclean spirits directly or through human mediums for non-natural power and/or knowledge (sorcery, divination, etc.);
4) bearing grudges even against the repentant, giving license to sinners by treating sin as non-sin, being presumptuous in assuming we (or anyone else) don't need God's forgiveness for anything, or despairing that God can, will, or should forgive us (or anyone else) something so terrible--or attempts at forgiving sins without recourse to Jesus Christ but only to creatures.
And especially it is NOT about keeping our faith to ourselves. We must respect others' free will, their families and family duties, and their private property, to be sure--but we must act on the faith at all times and in all places ourselves, and we must share it except where we know that there are only enemies of Christ who would bring worse sin upon themselves if we did reveal His mystery to them. Where there is anyone open to the Lord, we must seek and find Him, and bring Him, because the Gospel is for everyone.
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This also helps to explain the primary roles of holy men in various cultures and religions, as well as the multiple semantic aspects of the term "inspire" (which means "take in the spirit"): teaching, healing, and performing arts such as music and dance.
And according to Aristotle, teaching and healing are two of three cooperative arts (farming being the third, requiring property--land and crops): arts that facilitate natural processes, making them happen more quickly and more easily, rather than producing anything that nature cannot produce as in the productive arts (painting, sculpture, architecture).
And the performing arts of poetry, music, dance, and theater are arts which, at minimum, don't require any specific props for us to use--and more than one person can, at different times and in different places, perform the same performance, because no actual product has been produced (like a painting, a sculpture, or a building).
And if I'm called to the priesthood, as I suspect, then I need to exercise three offices:
1) Teaching Catholic doctrine;
2) Worshiping according to the Liturgy (the Mass and the Divine Office) for the purpose of sanctification;
3) Shepherding my flock, looking after them and guiding them aright in the faith.
This is especially necessary now, when too many bishops and priests, at too high of a level in the hierarchy, fail in these duties and so fail their flock.
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Advent is almost over now: just eight days until Christmas. Eight days until Jesus Christ the Lord arrives! Now is the time to prepare for His coming, and for our meeting of Him as our Judge.
The Year of the Lord 2018 is almost over, and how happy and relieved I am to know that my predictions of 2016 have NOT come to pass, and that I can and must stop attempting such specific predictions from now on!
And 15 days from now as of this writing, the Year of the Lord 2019 will begin. While my predictions of 2016 have proven false, it does seem clear to me that things have changed this year that will not go back to the way they were before. In particular, we need to pray and fast over the February 2019 synod, that it goes according to God's will--because if it doesn't, we laity must let the Spirit move us to do our part for Mother Church, since in that event we won't be able to trust our spiritual fathers to do what's right. Also, as of January 3, 2019, the Democratic Party will once again have a majority in the House of Representatives, and all that implies for the party's anti-life, anti-chastity, anti-family platform at the federal level of the United States of America, which is supposed to be the leader of the free world. (On that note, I have now left the Democratic Party again, and am registered non-partisan.)
Again, I refuse to act on a desire to break the First Commandment again, and attempt specific predictions like I did in 2016, but I can and must look at the likely generic consequences of one event happening vs. the opposite happening.
The time for complacency is over, and the time for action has begun. Good is not merely absence of evil; rather, evil is absence of good. Good is substantial, and active.
So be good, for goodness's sake!
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Thank you for being with me. God bless you, and please pray for me and accept my prayers for you. Amen.
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