Catholic Replies
Q. We have always been taught that there are eight Beatitudes, but when I read Matt. 5:3-12, it seems that there is a ninth beatitude, the one in verses 11-12. What do you think? — M.C., via e-mail.
A. Verses 11-12 read: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” We have also thought that this sounded like another beatitude — it begins with the word “blessed” just like the previous eight — but maybe it’s just a continuation of the eighth beatitude, which says, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for / the sake of righteousness, / for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” However, the way they are listed in the Catechism (n. 1716) makes it appear that there are nine Beatitudes.
Q. I have been told that each one of us has a guardian angel to whom we should pray every day. Can you tell me the basis for this belief? — N.P., Massachusetts.
A. Our belief in guardian angels is based on Matt. 18:10, where Jesus says of children, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” There are examples in the Old Testament, too, of angels helping out humans. Tobiah is accompanied on his journey by the Archangel Raphael (Tobit 5:4-7), and an angel gives Daniel the courage to carry out his mission (Daniel 10:5-21).
Q. I can’t remember the last time I heard the word “fornication” used in a homily. Perhaps it has been relegated to the dustbin of religious history. However, in today’s culture of hook-ups, shack-ups, and cohabitation before marriage, it seems like an important and timely topic. Would you recap the words of Scripture regarding this act and the penalty it incurs? — J.G., Illinois.
A. The grave sin of fornication, that is, sexual relations between unmarried persons, has not been relegated to the dustbin of religious history, although it is not a subject many priests want to mention at Sunday Mass, probably because so many Catholics are guilty of this sin and some of them do not even consider it to be a sin. Just as people in the Bible did not want to listen to the prophets, and killed them for delivering God’s commands to them, so many people today don’t want to hear that they are committing serious sins. It takes a courageous priest to play the role of prophet today and call his people to repentance, especially from such sins as abortion, contraception, adultery, fornication, masturbation, and homosexual behavior.
If priests could summon up the courage to condemn these actions that are contrary to the Creator’s plan for sexuality — condemn the actions, not the actors — there is plenty of support in Scripture and Church teachings, although sometimes fornication is described as unchastity. For example, Jesus said that “from within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile” (Mark 7:21-23).
In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (6:9-10).
In the Book of Revelation, God says: “But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is the burning pool of fire and sulfur” (20:8).
He repeats the fate of these unrepentant sinners in chapter 22:15, when He says that outside the gates of the New Jerusalem will be “the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.”
There is plenty of evidence in current Church teaching, too, of the evil of fornication. For example, in the section of the Catechism entitled “Offenses against chastity,” we read:
“Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young” (n. 2353).
Under the heading “Threats to Marriage” in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, there is the following statement:
“Cohabitation (an unmarried couple living together) involves the serious sin of fornication. It does not conform to God’s plan for marriage and is always wrong and objectively sinful. Cohabitation does not guarantee successful married life, as has been revealed in the painful experience of many, and is detrimental to future commitments” (pp. 410-411).
Q. I have friends who say that they don’t need to go to church because they are spiritual and not religious, that they don’t need to be part of an institution. What can I say to them? — T.K., California.
A. There are an increasing number of Americans who identify themselves as spiritual but not religious. Apparently, they feel that there is some higher power, but they don’t want to connect with this power through a church. Why have to follow the commands of the God of religion when one can make his own rules? It’s a pretty easy philosophy to follow when there are no difficult demands made upon oneself. So what’s wrong with this attitude? Here are some thoughts from Rabbi David Wolpe as they appeared in the Boston College magazine C21 Resources in the spring of 2017:
“Spirituality is an emotion. Religion is an obligation. Spirituality soothes. Religion mobilizes. Spirituality is satisfied with itself. Religion is dissatisfied with the world. Religions create aid organizations; as Nicholas Kristof pointed out in a column in The New York Times two years ago, the largest U.S.-based international relief and development organization is not Save the Children or Care; it’s World Vision, a Seattle-based Christian group.
“Aid organizations involve institutions as well, and bureaucracies, and — yes — committee meetings. There is something profoundly, well, spiritual about a committee meeting. It involves individuals trying together to sort out priorities, to listen and learn from one another, to make a difference. I have found too often that when people say, ‘I stay away from the synagogue — too much politics,’ what they mean is that they did not get their way. Institutions enable but they also frustrate, as do families and every other organized sector of human life. If you want frictionless, do it alone.
“To be spiritual but not religious confines your devotional life to feeling good. If we have learned one thing about human nature, however, it is that people’s internal sense of goodness does not always match their behavior. To know whether your actions are good, a window is a more effective tool than a mirror. Ask others. Be part of a community. In short, join. Being religious does not mean you have to agree with all the positions and practices of your own group; I don’t even hold with everything in my own synagogue, and I’m the rabbi. But it does mean testing yourself in the arena of others.
“No one expects those without faith to obligate themselves to a religious community. But for one who has an intuition of something greater than ourselves to hold that this is a purely personal truth, that it demands no communal searching and struggle, no organization to realize its potential in this world, straddles the line between narcissistic and solipsistic. If the spirit moves you to goodness, that is wonderful. For too many, though, spirituality is a VIP card allowing them to breeze past all those wretched souls waiting in line or doing the work. Join in; together is harder, but together is better.”
