Category Archives: Four Last Things
The Four Last Things
Some articles may overlap between this section and the spiritual life, but, in general, here you will find any postings that treat of death, the judgment, heaven, or hell. Purgatory also fits into this category, closely associated as it is with judgment. Three of the four last things are inevitable for us all. The purpose of meditating on these realities is to instill a wholesome fear of God and a dread of His power, especially His power to cast into hell. Eternity may also be a proper subject for this section because it is the measure of duration that the saved will experience forever. Technically, the life of the damned is everlasting, not eternal. Only God lives in eternity, for that immutable now belongs to His own nature, which is without beginning or end, past or future. The blessed share in His eternal life, so their everlasting happiness, or beatitude, is also called eternal life. The beatific vision of God is eternal life. “This is eternal life,” Jesus taught His apostles, “to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent” (John 17:3).
“Next”
My first thought when I saw in my e-mail one morning a few weeks ago that Sister Mary Bernadette had died: What would things be like at the Center now that she was gone? I wasn’t wondering what they would be like for me when next I was in Richmond. When I was there in October for the latest SBC conference, Sister no longer recognized … More →
Supernaturally Pro-Life Meditations
As something of a follow-up to The Real Gospel of Life, I compiled a small collection of supernaturally pro-life statements that have the authority of Holy Scripture or the Church’s Liturgy. These will help us establish our pro-life priorities, and provide us with abundant material for meditation.
Pray for the Dead and the Dead Will Pray for You!
I’ll never forget my maternal grandfather telling me this boyhood recollection of his Catholic upbringing in New Orleans. It seems that the good Sisters who taught him in grammar school imposed upon the children a vivid awareness of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and the communion that exists between the militant Church and the suffering Church. They taught their young charges a little ditty that … More →
Posted in Arts and Culture, Catholic America, Columns, Four Last Things 2 Comments
Purgatory, Indulgences, Predestination, and Relics – an Apologetical Wrapup
[Questions Asked by Protestants on Purgatory, Indulgences, Predestination and Relics briefly answered by Father M. Philipps, Rector of St. Joseph’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Cabinet of Catholic Information, 1903 Imprimatur: Archbishop John Farley] Purgatory Does the Bible say that there is a purgatory? The Bible does not mention the word purgatory, but it says we should pray for the dead: “It is, therefore, a holy and … More →
Proving Purgatory
The doctrine of Purgatory, central to Christianity, is brutally attacked by certain non-Catholic polemicists. Their typical view of the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is that it was either concocted by the Church in the Middle Ages for filthy lucre’s sake, or that, if there are any ancient precedents for it among the Church Fathers, it gradually developed in scope and meaning so as to become … More →
The Jesse Romero Story: From Doubting Sheriff to Catholic Apostle
This is a very inspiring story from Jim Graves of the National Catholic Register. The Church needs lay leaders like Jesse Romero, who are not afraid to take the Faith out into the marketplace and highways and byways. His last comment highlights the touchstone of his spiritual “reality check”: “After nearly a quarter century of evangelizing, Romero has maintained his zeal, in part by meditating … More →
Who is next?
It need not be the one, expecting to depart, The one with the ailing lungs or failing heart. Not always one engaged in a bloody strife Or one embracing danger in a ventureful life.
There Is a Hell, and It Makes Perfect Sense
Father Charles had just finished his sermon on Hell. Being a good orator — partly his native “Irish gift,” partly his good seminary training and experience — he had kept the congregation on the edge of their seats. True, the chandelier falling midway through the sermon (causing one lady to faint), added some dramatic tension, but this sermon was good even without the unintended special … More →
Concerning False Accusations of Racism
Several bloggers specializing in defaming us and our Catholic apostolate have recently leveled the vicious libel of “racism” at us. To answer some questions these postings have generated, I offer the following observations. The accusation that Father Feeney and Saint Benedict Center are “racist” is utterly false and libelous. We deplore and condemn racism of any sort. The accusations, copied on various blogs, cite the … More →
Posted in Columns, Current Issues in the Church, Four Last Things, Polemics Leave a comment
