Catholic Replies
Editor’s Note: Regarding the question of whether Jesus after the Resurrection appeared first to His Mother, which is not mentioned in the Gospels, or to Mary Magdalene, which is mentioned, F.A. of Massachusetts called our attention to the following comments by St. John Paul II in an audience on May 21, 1997:
“How could the Blessed Virgin, present in the first community of disciples, be excluded from those who met her divine Son after He had risen from the dead? Indeed, it is legitimate to think that the mother was probably the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared. Could not Mary’s absence from the group of women who went to the tomb at dawn indicate that she had already met Jesus?…The unique and special character of the Blessed Virgin’s presence at Calvary and her perfect union with the Son in His suffering on the cross seem to postulate a very particular sharing on her part in the mystery of the Resurrection.”
Q. In my parish missalette for Palm Sunday, I read the Passion according to St. Luke, and verses 23:44-45 said that “it was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun.” I looked this up in my Bible, but it did not say this. Mark and Matthew never said it either. Is it proper to change the words of the Gospel? — J.H., New Jersey.
A. It depends on what Bible you used to look up this verse, for the words are slightly different in some translations. For example, in the Douay Rheims Bible, verses 44 and 45 read, “and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened. . . .” No mention of an eclipse of the sun, which is presumably what happened since Jesus died at three o’clock in the afternoon.
In the Jerusalem Bible, it says in verses 44-45, “It was now about the sixth hour and, with the sun eclipsed, a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.” In the Ignatius Press Revised Standard Edition of the New Testament, it says in verses 44-45, “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. . . .” In the New American Bible, 1970 edition, verse 44 says, “It was now around midday, and darkness came over the whole land until midafternoon with an eclipse of the sun.” What you read on Palm Sunday came from the New American Bible, 1986 New Testament.
So it is not a question of changing the words of the Gospels, but rather it reflects the way in which Bible scholars translate the original languages in which the Bible was written.
Q. In the enclosed parish bulletin, my pastor agrees with you that only the priest, and not the people, should extend his hands in the orans gesture during Mass. But the quotation that you cited from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal seems to indicate that the people can extend their hands during the Our Father as well. — A.R., Minnesota.
A. Here is the quotation from the GIRM:
“The principal celebrant, with hands joined, says the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer. Next, with hands extended, he says the Lord’s Prayer itself together with the other concelebrants, who also pray with hands extended, and together with the people” (n. 237).
While the quotation could be mistakenly read as saying that the priest extends his hands “together with the people,” in fact it does not say that. If you eliminate the words “with the other concelebrants, who also pray with hands extended,” you will see that the priest is saying the Lord’s Prayer itself “together with the people.” It is only the concelebrating priests who join the principal celebrant in praying with hands extended.
Q. I would like to pose a simple mathematical question to you: If one enjoys 100 years on Earth and then 100 million years in Purgatory, is it worth it to be born? At first glance, it seems that the right answer is no. But if we think again, the correct answer is yes. The reason is that after the first 100 million years in Purgatory, it follows the second 100 million years, and the third and fourth. However, eternity is an infinite total of 100 million years. We just sacrifice one 100 million years and then enjoy infinite 100 million years. — J.F., Hong Kong.
A. But even if there were time in Purgatory, which apparently there isn’t, it surely would not add up to 100 million years, or multiples thereof. We understand your point, though, that whatever period of purgation we must suffer to atone for the temporal punishment due to our forgiven sins, it will be minute in comparison to the endless joys of Heaven. As St. Paul said, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,/ and what has not entered the human heart,/ what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
He was echoed by St. Teresa of Avila, who was given a vision of Heaven and said, “The things I beheld were so great and wonderful that the very least of them would suffice to daze the soul….No human being can properly conceive them.”
Q. The economic equality debate seems always to focus on inequality of opportunity. For example, Alberto Martinez Piedra, in his column “Diversity and Equality: Myth or Reality”? attributes inequality only to unavoidable inequalities of education and innate skills.
My question is this: Why has Catholic thought seemingly abandoned consideration of personal sin in evaluation of inequality and its causes? Have we as Catholics forgotten personal responsibility? Are we to ignore, as politically incorrect, the consequences of, for example, the seven deadly sins of pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth?
One student pays attention in class; another goofs off. One says no to drugs; another shoots up. One gets his sleep; the other parties hearty. What’s the answer — do we still believe in sin? — C.M., Florida.
A. Of course, the Church still believes in personal sin, although, as several Popes have said in the past century, people have lost their sense of sin. Examples of this lost sense abound in our current culture where actions that were once considered abominations, such as abortion and homosexual behavior, are now considered to be human rights.
But for one of the most comprehensive catalogues of personal sins, see St. John Paul’s 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor (“The Splendor of Truth”), especially the lists of mortal sins in paragraphs 49, 80, 81, 100, and 101 of that document.
Further evidence of the Church’s constant teaching can be found in nn. 1846 to 1876 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which defines sin as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine, Faust 22: PL 42, 418). It is an offense against God. It rises up against God in a disobedience contrary to the obedience of Christ” (n. 1871).
The Catechism also discusses the different kinds of sin, including mortal sins and venial sins, the conditions which can diminish and even remove guilt (unintentional ignorance, the passions, external pressures, and pathological disorders), and the seven deadly sins. It says that “sin is a personal act” and that “we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:
“ — by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
“ — by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
“ — by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
“ — by protecting evildoers” (n. 1868).
In this way, says the Catechism (n. 1869), “sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. ‘Structures of sin’ are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a ‘social sin’ [John Paul II, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, n. 16].”
