Catholic Replies
Editor’s Note: While taking part recently in a Patriotic Rosary on the common in our town (yes, some towns do allow religious services on public property), we were assigned a passage to read prior to leading the fourth decade of the sorrowful mysteries. The passage was written in 1799 by Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826), author of texts on geography, a Congregational pastor, and the father of Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph. Because Jedidiah’s words are so prescient regarding the anti-religious sentiment that is prevalent in our country today, we thought you might like to read them:
“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation, either through unbelief, or the corruption of its doctrine, or the neglect of its institutions, in the same proportion will the people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom and approximate the miseries of complete despotism.
“All efforts to destroy the foundations of our holy religion ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”
Q. I recently attended the Ordination of ten men to the priesthood at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn. What is a co-cathedral? — A.V., New York.
A. A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop’s seat, or cathedra, with another cathedral in the same diocese. This usually happens when a cathedral becomes too small to serve the Catholic population of a city and a co-cathedral is constructed to accommodate an increasing number of Catholics. Thus, the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn is paired with the Cathedral Basilica of St. James. Other cities with two cathedrals include Anchorage, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Burlington, VT.
Q. A friend heard a priest say in a sermon that God doesn’t punish us. I realize that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell and that people put themselves there. However, to say that God doesn’t punish seems to me to be undermining God’s justice and ignoring events in the Bible. How would you address this issue? Also, do we have to believe everything that is said in a sermon? — E.G., Florida.
A. No, you only have to believe what a priest says in a sermon if it is in line with what the Church teaches. Some priests, unfortunately, substitute their own private opinions for official Church teaching, and Catholics are not obliged to adhere to a priest’s opinion if it contradicts what the Church says.
To punish someone means to impose a penalty on them for some wrongdoing. The greater the wrongdoing, the more severe the penalty. You are correct that there are many instances in the Bible where God punishes wrongdoers. Start with Adam and Eve. Were they punished for disobeying God? They sure were, including expulsion from the Garden of Eden and exposure to suffering and death (cf. Gen. 3:14-19). Or consider the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the rampant homosexuality of their inhabitants (cf. Gen. 18-19).
In the words of St. Jude: “Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7).
Other examples in the Bible include drowning the Pharaoh’s army in the sea because they sought to enslave the Israelites (cf. Exodus 14:28), killing 185,000 Assyrians who were besieging the Israelites (cf. 2 Chron. 32:21 and Isaiah 37:36), and striking down Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit and deceiving the community (cf. Acts 5:1-11).
You are right that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, but rather people put themselves there by choosing to commit evil acts, persevering in them to the end, and never repenting or seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (n. 1035).
Q. At a funeral recently, I was disappointed that the priest’s homily all but canonized the deceased and appalled at some of the comments at the end of Mass by a friend of the deceased. Doesn’t the Church have some guidelines about this? — Name Withheld, via e-mail.
A. This problem reminds us of the story of the priest who went on and on about what a wonderful person the deceased was. His widow, who was sitting in the front row, turned to her son and said, “Take a look in the casket and see if that’s your father he’s talking about.”
Yes, there are guidelines in the Order of Christian Funerals about the content of the homily and any “words of remembrance” by family members or friends before the final commendation. Regarding the priest, the OCF (n. 27) says:
“The homily is never to be a eulogy, that is, solely a commendation in praise of the deceased person. Rather, the homily is to indicate signs of the redeeming love of God as evident in the Scriptural readings and as made visible in the life of the deceased person. When appropriate, it can include elements of gratitude and praise for a life that has been blessed by God.”
To tell the mourners at a funeral that the deceased is already in Heaven is something that the priest cannot know. Furthermore, such remarks discourage prayers for the soul of the deceased, prayers which he might need very much. I have informed my children to tell the priest at my funeral not to canonize me, but to encourage prayers and Masses for me. I don’t want to languish in Purgatory because everyone thinks I’m in Heaven.
As for the remarks at the end of Mass, the OCF (n. 197) says that “these ‘words of remembrance’ are not to constitute a eulogy as such. Rather, they are to express appreciation for the life of the deceased, or take the form of a prayer or other inspirational text.”
Only one person is to deliver the remarks, they are not to exceed five minutes in length, and “because of the intensity of the emotions at the time of the funeral, the ‘words of remembrance’ should be consigned to writing. To ensure that the words are in harmony with the celebration, the script should be given to the priest celebrant in advance of the funeral liturgy, so that he can make any suitable suggestions to help the ‘words of remembrance’ convey the consolation of God’s love, grace, and mercy. These words, then, are intended to particularize the praise and gratitude to God for His gifts to the deceased, especially the gift of Christian life.”
Those who wish to eulogize or to share a story about the deceased, says the OCF, should do so either at the wake service in the funeral home or following the committal ceremony at the cemetery.
Q. In a recent reading from Matt. 9:16-17, Jesus says that “no one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” What did He mean by these words? — T.L.H., Massachusetts.
A. Both the old garment and the old wineskin are images of the Old Covenant that God had established with the people of Israel. Jesus is saying that it is not possible to patch up the Old Covenant and combine it with the New. Only a New Covenant that will last forever will be expansive enough to contain the superabundant graces that will flow from Christ’s death on the cross.
