Catholic Replies
Q. In today’s Gospel (Matt. 6:7-15), the text specifically has Jesus stating, “If you forgive men their transgressions…but if you do not forgive men….” The priest at Mass changed “men” to “people” in the first instance and to “them” in the second. I am not sure if this was an intentional effort to conform to the modern concepts of gender neutrality, which I would find especially distasteful as an act of retooling the words of Christ, or if I am simply unaware of various translations that may alter syntax. Can you help? — R.B., Wisconsin.
A. The official Gospel reading for that day says “men” in both instances, and the priest should have used the approved translation, regardless of his personal preference. This translation comes from “the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, D.C.”
However, the New American Bible we have in front of us, with a New Testament that was revised in 1986, translates that passage this way: “If you forgive others their transgressions…but if you do not forgive others….” That translation may make its way into the Lectionary in the future, but for now the preferred word is “men.”
Q. In an adult Confirmation class, we were talking about the four Last Things and one of the participants said that he believed in the “Rapture.” What was he talking about? — M.R., Massachusetts.
A. The idea of the “Rapture” comes from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he says that at the Second Coming of Christ, “the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The word “Rapture” does not appear in the Bible, but some Fundamentalists have interpreted these words of Paul to mean that Christ will secretly snatch certain true believers out of homes, cars, and planes to meet the Lord in the air. Once these lucky folks are gone, the theory goes, the Devil will be free to take control of the world through his puppet, the Antichrist. Frightening horrors and catastrophes will be followed by the “great tribulation,” after which Christ will come back once more to defeat the powers of evil and bring history to a close.
The problem with this fantastic scenario is that there is nothing in the Bible to support it. Catholics believe that Paul was talking about the final coming of Christ at the end of time and the resurrection of the dead (see nn. 997-1001 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). Furthermore, the Second Coming is not going to be a secret or invisible event. On the contrary, the Bible describes it as universally visible, glorious, and full of splendor.
Christ will return on magnificent clouds of glory with brilliant angels and saints and a trumpet blast announcing their arrival. Everyone in the world will know that Christ has returned, and those who refused to believe in the Lord will be terrified at the sight and at the fate that awaits them. When will this occur? No one knows, except God, and it is foolish to listen to any theories advanced by, say, the fictional books entitled Left Behind. These books were authored by Protestant evangelicals Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
Stay away from these books. They are filled with flawed history, faulty theology, and twisted interpretations of Scripture. They will lead you astray in matters of eternal importance. For books demonstrating the absurdity of the Rapture theory, see Rapture by David B. Currie and The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen.
But aren’t all the earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and pandemics, as well as wars and terrorism, signs of the end of the world? Not according to Jesus, who said that we should not be alarmed at “wars and reports of wars” or “famines and earthquakes” because “it will not yet be the end….All these are the beginning of the labor pains.”
He said that “many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of an increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved,” and the end will not come until “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world” (Matt. 24:6-14).
So “be not afraid.” Persevere through prayer and the sacraments and live each day as if it were your last day on Earth. Then you will be ready to meet the Lord.
Q. I would appreciate your writing about the significance of Luisa Piccarreta and her religious writings. — E.J.F., New York.
A. Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta was a pious Italian woman who was under the care of confessors appointed by her bishop from 1884 until her death in 1947. Her cause for sainthood was completed at the diocesan level in October 2005 and sent to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in Rome. In 2007, the Most Rev. Giovan Battista Pichierri, the archbishop of Trani, Italy, where Luisa lived and died, issued a letter about the process of beatification and canonization of Luisa and said that no individuals or groups should publish, in print or on the Internet, any of her writings until they had been studied and approved by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
The archbishop said that those anywhere in the world who are “inspired by the spirituality of Luisa Piccarreta must keep constantly in touch with the bishops of their own dioceses in order to submit to their discernment any of their activities, such as conventions, days of retreat, or prayer meetings. Their authorization will bring serenity to the participants by guaranteeing each meeting with the proper ecclesial character.”
Luisa wrote two small books, The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Life of the Blessed Virgin, and some 36 numbered manuscripts, all of which are being studied by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In a 2003 letter to the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said:
“The writings of Luisa Piccarreta have not been judged by this Dicastery; as such, they enjoy neither the official approbation, nor the official condemnation, of this Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In fact, they are currently being studied, by reason of competence, by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, after this Servant of God, independently of the content of her writings, received the nihil obstat of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding her cause for beatification. As such, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith makes, at this time, no pronouncement on the writings in question.”
As for judging Luisa’s writings, EWTN said that “the Servant of God’s writings should be interpreted according to the mind and teaching of the Church. Even if they are ultimately judged to be of supernatural origin, they necessarily correspond also to a mystic’s own mentality, which was that of a simple pious person and not a theologian. In keeping with Catholic theology, this must be taken into account in judging what she wrote down of her mystical experiences. At this stage in the Process, there is no definitive interpretation of her work. The Diocesan Process judged only her life and heroic virtues and prepared a critical edition of the writings with commentary for the review of the Holy See, which alone can give a definitive judgment and explanation.”
Q. I was called to our parish by a monsignor, who is a canon lawyer. He told me that there was a complaint filed against me by a fellow parishioner and that I could only go to church, not talk to anybody, and leave right after Mass. When I asked what the complaint was, and who filed it, I was told he didn’t have to tell me according to canon law. Don’t they have to tell the nature of the complaint and who filed it? — R.W., Michigan.
A. Of course they do. Canon 221 says that the Christian faithful have a right to due process, to defend their rights, “to be judged in accord with the prescriptions of the law to be applied with equity,” and “not to be punished with canonical penalties except in accordance with the norm of law.”
