Why I Believe, or, How I Know that God Exists

(Originally posted September 11, 2007)

I believe in Truth, in Reason, and in Love. I believe that there is truth, not only physical truth, but transcendent moral truth -– right and wrong, good and evil -– and that this morality is not relative, otherwise, it would not be truth. In a world without God, any evil thing is possible. But in a world with God, love and salvation and freedom are possible; life is possible.

Indeed, Christ has already saved the world in a very tangible way. He has redeemed the world. Without Christian love and forgiveness and reconciliation, the world would have destroyed itself long ago. One wrong would lead to retaliation, which would lead only to retaliation for that act, in never-ending cycles of wars of vengeance, on both a personal and national level. We only need to look at some non-Christian cultures in the world today to see that they differ from Christian values and morality.

Yet, although I believe, I am also a sinner. My sins are great and many, and I am greatly in need of a savior to pay my debts, to ransom me. Maybe others believe that they can live well without Christ, and that they can have eternal life without Him. Maybe they don’t need Him. But I do need Him. I do need, not only His forgiveness, but His grace –- the power to do things that I could never do or accomplish on my own, things like love and forgiveness and perseverance and peace of heart and hope.

If it were just me, I’d probably want to nuke the entire Muslim world as payback for the bastards that do things like fly planes into buildings and set off car bombs and suicide bombs, killing thousands of innocent people. But Christ commands me to love my enemies, and He gives me the grace to do the impossible -- to let go of hate, to let go of the thirst for vengeance. He gives me the grace to do things like love and forgive such people.

Yes, forgive. I forgive those who did this evil thing. He gives me the grace to be able, when we hopefully have peace, to live together with them as children of God. Left to myself, I would not want to accomplish any of these things, and I could not do any of these things myself. It is only because God does exist, that such things are possible. We do not have peace now, and because peace requires both sides to set aside their arms, it may still be necessary to implement the tragic tools of war, but we should do so, not out of hate and vengeance, but only in order to gain that peace.

So, pray for true peace. Pray for our enemy, that God grant them grace and wisdom to choose peace. Pray for us, that, as we must necessarily destroy that enemy to obtain the peace, that God grant us grace and strength to not hate those He commands us to love, that we kill not for vengeance, but to end the violence and the capacity and will of the enemy to make war on us, until the day we again may live in peace with these children of God.

Eternal and Merciful God, at times of tragedy our intellects seek understanding, our hearts seek healing, and our souls turn to You: our source of hope and solace. Heal our troubled nation as our nation turns its eyes to You and comfort those whose lives are changed forever: those who have perished, those who have lost family, friends or loved ones, and those who now live in the aftermath of these acts of terror. May God bless our national leadership, may God bless our servicemen and women, and may God bless America. Amen

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, let thy protection be upon all those who are in the service of our country; guard them from all harm and danger of body and soul; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in their hours of loneliness, anxiety, and sorrow; prepare the dying for death and the living for your service; give success to our arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace. Amen.

Judas and the Killing of God

A commenter says, "It is impossible to come up with a worse sin than the one Judas commits. Killing God. There is nothing worse."

In reading the Passion account from the Gospel in the Good Friday liturgy in Catholic churches, often instead of just one person reading it, many people take various parts. One part that the faithful in the pews take is to yell out, "Crucify him, crucify him!"

The fact is that we all betray the Lord, we all call for his death, we all hammer the nails into his hands and feet. How? By the sins we commit, that is, by what we think and do and fail to think and do that separates us from God. It is only because of our own infidelities and transgressions that Jesus is on the Cross in the first place. We are all Judas -- and the whole reason the Lord became man was to save people like Judas.

Yes, there ARE worse sins than betraying the Lord and killing God. There are far worse sins. After all, even killing God in the flesh can be forgiven.

What can possibly be worse?? The worse sin, the ONLY "unforgivable" sin is what Judas did afterward. And what was that? Despite his feelings of guilt, Judas did not turn back to the Lord. He did not seek reconciliation, the prodigal son never came home. By not seeking the forgiveness that was there waiting for him, by not opening up his heart to God's mercy, by continuing to turn his back on God by instead hanging himself, Judas could not be forgiven.

It was the gift never opened. It was the delivery returned to sender. He was impervious to redemption. THAT is the greatest sin. And, sadly, it too is a sin that others commit.

Reflection on Betrayal and Denial, Repentance and Non-Repentance

The Mass readings for Holy Week set the stage for the Paschal Triduum as the holy anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany is set in contrast to his betrayal and denial.

Judas shared a table with Jesus, accepted his hospitality, but is duplicitous (see Psalms 41, 55). Even the act of handing Jesus over to the soldiers is done with a kiss of friendship. But although he knew of Judas’ duplicity, Jesus still welcomed him at table and even got down on his knees to wash his feet.

Jesus does not judge or condemn Judas. Judas asks, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” and Jesus responds, “You have said so.” Jesus is not judgmental. In the mystery of Jesus’ human living in time and his divinity in eternity, he gives Judas the opportunity to alter his course, to change his mind. The Lord gives him an out.

Why did Judas do it? Was it because he had lost faith in Jesus, because he falsely believed that Jesus would be a military revolutionary and was not? Perhaps he did have that false belief of what a messiah should be -- but didn't Judas see the works Jesus performed? Didn't he just see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead?? Surely that would have disabused him of the whole revolutionary thing?

Was it malice born of some other reason? To knowingly destroy Jesus? Or was it foolishness? Did he not fully realize what he was doing and merely thought that he would force an answer to the Messiah question?

In any event, whether it is malicious pride or foolish pride, Judas thought he knew better than Jesus. He wanted to do things his way. But then, so did many of the other Apostles. And so do we, we think we know better than God. Certainly Simon Peter did at times. At the arrest, he pulls out his sword. And afterward, he is afraid to trust in the Lord, to simply put his life in God’s hands and instead seeks to save his life by denying God.

Reliving and participating in this drama, we encounter the reality of our human condition, and the reality of God meeting infidelity and sin with love. In each case, Peter and Judas, the Lord is willing to forgive. For us too, there is no sin so great that God will not forgive, will not welcome the opportunity to embrace the wayward child that comes home and to repair the severed relationship. As Isaiah the Prophet tells us, our sins, though they be like scarlet, shall be made white as snow by his divine love (Isaiah 1:18). Even mass murder.

Peter and Judas both feel enormous guilt at what they have done. But while Peter subsequently repents and seeks forgiveness, Judas does not, despite his regret. The repentant denier obtains eternal life, while the unrepentant betrayer takes his life.

“Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born,” said Jesus.

And that is the real tragedy, the real and greatest sin – failing to repent, to convert and turn back from the darkness and seek the light. All of us at times are Peter, all of us at times are Judas. It is important not to sin in the first place, to act against the love and truth that is God and thereby separate ourselves from Him who is live itself. Having done so in our human weakness, however, the most important thing is to turn back to the Lord of life and repent and seek reconciliation. Because in failing to do so, in failing to seek forgiveness, whether out of despair or whatever, we commit the greatest sin which Jesus says is “unforgiveable.” It is unforgiveable because the person never opens himself up to God’s mercy and it is like the gift that is never opened and, thus, never received.

Judas goes his own way. He thinks he knows better than the Lord Jesus in handing him over. And even worse for him, he goes his own way when Jesus is condemned. Despite his feelings of guilt, he never turns back to the Lord and, thus, meets his end. Instead of seeking and getting forgiveness, like Peter did, he still keeps apart from the Lord and hangs himself.

The Lord teaches us that though we may sin against him and may deny him, he will remain faithful to us, and to be forgiven we need only repent as Peter did. And in that ultimate judgment after we die and stand before him, as with Judas, we mostly condemn ourselves by how we have lived our lives, with Christ the Judge simply acknowledging the truth. In our lives today, there is still time to return to the Lord.

Little Cause to Rejoice

The Lord delights not in the death of the wicked (Ez. 18:23, 33:11), not even in the likes of Osama bin Laden.

While it is understandable that some might rejoice at the news at the death of our enemy, who has the blood of thousands of our countrymen on his hands, and we might feel that a bit of human justice has been done, still better would have been that he had lived and repented, and the thousands who died at his hands had lived. Every death, even bin Laden's, is a tragedy; a necessary one in his case perhaps in order to save the lives of others, but a tragedy nonetheless.

But what has gone before is past, and cannot be undone. Even on September 12, 2001, what was more important was what would happen from there on out than what had happened the day before.

Sadly, it was clear in the days and weeks and months and years following September 11 that what the enemy wanted from there on out was war.

At 10 p.m. EDT Sunday evening, we were at war with "Islamic extremists." At 11 p.m. EDT Sunday evening, after news had broken of the death of bin Laden, we are still at war. And we will be at war tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

Some may rejoice at his death, but it is cause for but a moment of celebration. In the grand scheme of things, it changes nothing. We realized in the aftermath of September 11 that they had actually been at war with us long before that horrific day. Indeed, they had been at war with us for about 1400 years. The death of bin Laden does not, in itself, usher in an era of peace.

Pray that we can have peace, real peace, that our enemy chooses not to be our enemy any more. Pray that they will choose authentic peace and freedom so that it will not be necessary for us to neutralize that enemy, even as we are called by Christ to love them.

Besides, today is not a day for reveling in death. Today, Divine Mercy Sunday and the day of the beatification of Blessed John Paul II, is a day to rejoice in life and the merciful love of God. Don't let some enemy evildoer like bin Laden spoil that. Celebrate life, not death.

________________

Statement from Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., Director of the Holy See Press Office:

"Osama Bin Laden, as is known, claimed responsibility for grave acts that spread division and hate among the peoples, manipulating religion to that end. A Christian never takes pleasure from the fact of a man's death, but sees it as an opportunity to reflect on each person's responsibility, before God and humanity, and to hope and commit oneself to seeing that no event become another occasion to disseminate hate but rather to foster peace."

UPDATE --

The question as been posed --
How does one pray for the soul of Osama bin Laden?

How to pray for the likes of Osama bin Laden?

Perhaps we might start with remembering Jesus’ words to “love thy enemy,” and ask for the grace to let go of any hate and anger toward bin Laden, the grace to not delight in the death of a child of God, even while we might desire justice and be thankful that the danger he presented is no longer present, and the grace to begin to do what Jesus asks of us, to love even the enemy bin Laden.

And, as part of that love of one’s enemy, perhaps we might pray that God remember that, despite whatever evils he might have done and did do, he still is a child of God, and that God’s will be done, such that if it is God’s will to forgive bin Laden and take him into heaven (which would imply that bin Laden had repented of any mortal sin and accepted such forgiveness and redemption), so be it.

Remember that Moses prayed even for Pharaoh. That Pharaoh tried to play games with God and got the major smackdown as a result, well, that was between Pharaoh and God. So, pray for the forgiveness of bin Laden, if it be His will, and if bin Laden prefers the Islamic “paradise” of 72 virgins and little boys instead, then that is between him and the One true God.

As for praying for the dead generally — why should God bother to remember the dead if no one else will?

Is that really our answer — “it’s not my job” to remember the dead, its God’s job, and we will instead confine ourselves to praying only for the living? And if we refuse to pray for others who are dead, why should someone like Jesus pray for us to the Father when we have died?

The work of salvation is NOT limited to Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus is the one and only Savior, He has very explicitly asked us to help Him in the work of salvation. Part of helping Him is to love others, including praying for them, putting in a couple of good words on their behalf, when they go up before The Judge.

If we have nothing good to say about the dead, why should He who judges them give them a good result? Because “that’s His job”? No — it is not right that we put all the work and burden on Jesus. He’s got enough to do as it is. So say a couple of kind words to God about the dead, let’s not be so miserly in our love for our fellow children of God.

One might also reflect upon the words of the Divine Mercy prayers, as well as –

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.”

If we were to be so presumptuous to judge bin Laden’s soul (which is NOT our job), we might conclude that he is among those “most in need” of Christ’s mercy. So, in saying this common prayer, we are already praying for the likes of bin Laden.

Why I Believe, or, How I Know that God Exists

(Originally posted September 11, 2007)

I believe in Truth, in Reason, and in Love. I believe that there is truth, not only physical truth, transcendent moral truth -– right and wrong, good and evil -– and that this morality is not relative, otherwise, it would not be truth. In a world without God, any evil thing is possible. But in a world with God, love and salvation and freedom are possible; life is possible.

Indeed, Christ has already saved the world in a very tangible way. He has redeemed the world. Without Christian love and forgiveness and reconciliation, the world would have destroyed itself long ago. One wrong would lead to retaliation, which would lead only to retaliation for that act, in never-ending cycles of wars of vengeance, on both a personal and national level. We only need to look at some non-Christian cultures in the world today to see that they differ from Christian values and morality.

Yet, although I believe, I am also a sinner. My sins are great and many, and I am greatly in need of a savior to pay my debts, to ransom me. Maybe others believe that they can live well without Christ, and that they can have eternal life without Him. Maybe they don’t need Him. But I do need Him. I do need, not only His forgiveness, but His grace –- the power to do things that I could never do or accomplish on my own, things like love and forgiveness and perseverance and peace of heart and hope.

If it were just me, I’d probably want to nuke the entire Muslim world as payback for the bastards that do things like fly planes into buildings and set off car bombs and suicide bombs, killing thousands of innocent people. But Christ commands me to love my enemies, and He gives me the grace to do the impossible -- to let go of hate, to let go of the thirst for vengeance. He gives me the grace to do things like love and forgive such people.

Yes, forgive. I forgive those who did this evil thing. He gives me the grace to be able, when we hopefully have peace, to live together with them as children of God. Left to myself, I would not want to accomplish any of these things, and I could not do any of these things myself. It is only because God does exist, that such things are possible. We do not have peace now, and because peace requires both sides to set aside their arms, it may still be necessary to implement the tragic tools of war, but we should do so, not out of hate and vengeance, but only in order to gain that peace.

So, pray for true peace. Pray for our enemy, that God grant them grace and wisdom to choose peace. Pray for us, that, as we must necessarily destroy that enemy to obtain the peace, that God grant us grace and strength to not hate those He commands us to love, that we kill not for vengeance, but to end the violence and the capacity and will of the enemy to make war on us, until the day we again may live in peace with these children of God.

Eternal and Merciful God, at times of tragedy our intellects seek understanding, our hearts seek healing, and our souls turn to You: our source of hope and solace. Heal our troubled nation as our nation turns its eyes to You and comfort those whose lives are changed forever: those who have perished, those who have lost family, friends or loved ones, and those who now live in the aftermath of these acts of terror. May God bless our national leadership, may God bless our servicemen and women, and may God bless America. Amen

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, let thy protection be upon all those who are in the service of our country; guard them from all harm and danger of body and soul; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in their hours of loneliness, anxiety, and sorrow; prepare the dying for death and the living for your service; give success to our arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace. Amen.