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To be a Christian soldier is a vocation

"...This is the context in which the mission of the Christian soldier is situated. Defending the weak, protecting peaceful coexistence, intervening in disasters, operating in international missions to preserve peace and restore order. All this cannot be reduced to a mere profession: it is a vocation, a response to a call that challenges the conscience. The soldier’s identity is forged by generosity, a spirit of service, high aspirations and deep feelings. But these values require a foundation, a gift of Grace capable of fostering charity to the point of total self-sacrifice. It is therefore necessary to inspire the codes, norms and missions of military life with the lifeblood of the Gospel so that, in the service of security and peace, the common good of peoples is always the first priority."

Leo XIV To the Military Ordinariate of Italy 3.7.26

#war

The rabid madness of war" (1550 A.D)
Domingo de Soto O.P

"As much as it is within you, be at peace with all men." [Romans 12:18-19]. ... We are not deprived by this exhortation of Paul of the right to defend ourselves. Yet it remains salutary counsel—and especially so for Christians—that if anyone would sue us at law and take away our tunic, we should let him have our cloak as well, so as to redeem the time. And this principle applies most of all to avoiding and repelling public wars. As long and bitter experience has taught us, such wars can neither be waged nor concluded without such hardships and detriments, such disasters and plagues, that nothing could be more ruinous to the Christian people. For we need say nothing of the ravaging of lands, the pillaging of farmsteads, the burning of cities, the adulteries, the rapes, the slaughter of the innocent, the fathers robbed of their sons and the wives of their husbands, the overturned altars, the destruction of all things sacred and profane, and other such violations of rights, which the mind shudders even to speak of. Wherever it is waged, war leaves behind no trace of virtue, piety, or the Christian religion. Instead, one may witness the human spirit quickly growing wild and descending into savagery. While I do not share the view of those who claim it is entirely unlawful for kings to defend themselves and their rights through war or to repel injuries inflicted upon them, I nevertheless do not doubt that a Christian prince must first apply the utmost care and diligence in exploring and examining whether he has a just cause to undertake a war, so far is he from being justified in waging it rashly. For cases are exceedingly rare in which both sides are not somewhat at fault, and there is scarcely any in which the side that is more just is not shrouded in doubt. What Christian, then, upon a doubtful cause, would plunge himself into so great an abyss of evils, for which he must answer to God on the Day of Wrath? But why do I waste words? He who would be capable of persuading monarchs to spare their own people - or rather, Christ's people - from this rabid madness of war, this most pestilential fury, this most savage plague, would need to be altogether more eloquent than I, or surely to be endowed with the spirit which comes from God. This is especially true in these times, when peace among Christians is so urgently needed to raise up the faith and the religion of the Church, which have been laid low not only by our other sins, but also by our wars."

source: In Epistolam ad Romanos, cap. XII.

#war

The Lord's Resurrection - A Soteriological Perspective

The Resurrection and Redemption

It should be noted at the outset that the Resurrection in itself is not directly the cause of our Redemption, because the cause of humanity's liberation from sins is solely the death of the incarnate Son of God. However, the Resurrection completes the work of Redemption, which was initiated by the Incarnation and, in its essence, fulfilled by the voluntary sacrifice of the Savior on the cross. The raising of Christ's body is also a testimony confirming that the Redemption was actually accomplished by Him, and that His teaching is true.

The Application of Redemption

Jesus Christ, acting in His glorified (resurrected) body, truly completes the work of Redemption only then. For it is at that time that He establishes the holy Church along with all the Sacraments and sends the Apostles throughout the world to convert all nations. Thus, it can be said that after the Resurrection comes the proper application of redemption to humanity. For this very reason, Scripture attributes our salvation to the Resurrection: "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Rom 4:25).

The Lord's Resurrection is the Model for the Resurrection of the Saints

Moreover, the Resurrection of Christ serves as the model for the future resurrection of the righteous, that is, those who have died in a state of sanctifying grace. For the bodies of the Saints will receive supernatural attributes similar to those of Christ's glorified body, as Scripture foretells: "We await our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body" (Phil 3:20).

The Lord's Resurrection as the Cause of Our Resurrection

Christ's rising from the dead is also the cause of the universal resurrection of all people, both the Saints and the damned. By rising, Christ truly conquered death, which for humanity is the consequence of original sin. The universal resurrection will take place at the end of time, when God delivers judgment over all humanity to Christ. The righteous will rise to eternal life and receive their reward also in the body, while the wicked will rise for eternal damnation, to receive their punishment also in the body.

The Resurrection of Christ is the glorious victory of the incarnate Son of God over death and sin. May it remind us that our existence does not end with earthly life and spur us to care for eternal life.

Bibliography: 1. Fr. M. Sieniatycki, Outline of Catholic Dogmatics

The Lord's Resurrection - A Christological Perspective

Christ gloriously rose from the dead on the third day after His painful death on the cross, endured for the Redemption of the entire human race. For this reason, the Easter Holy Days are the greatest, most important, and most joyful Christian solemnity. We can contemplate the Resurrection of our Lord from various perspectives: apologetic, dogmatic, christological, and soteriological. At the outset, I would like to discuss the christological perspective of the fact of the Resurrection.

The Reward of the Resurrection

The Resurrection of Christ is the reward for the sufferings and humiliations He endured. It is a matter of God's justice that God exalts those who humble themselves for Him, in accordance with the words of Mary in the Gospel of St. Luke: "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate" (Lk 1:52). St. Thomas Aquinas (III, q. 53 a. 1), writing about the first rising of the Lord's Resurrection, states: "Since Christ humbled Himself even to the death of the cross out of love and obedience to God, it was fitting that He be exalted by God to a glorious resurrection."

The Cause of the Resurrection

The primary efficient cause of Christ's Resurrection is Almighty God Himself. Therefore, in this sense, it is Christ as God, by His divine power, who rose from the dead. Although the external works of God are the act of the entire Holy Trinity, they are attributed to specific Divine Persons—for example, creation is attributed to the Father, sanctification to the Holy Spirit, and so on. Works of omnipotence are attributed particularly to the Father, which is why it is often said that the Father raised Christ (as Sacred Scripture itself mentions). However, this should not be understood to mean that Christ as God did not participate in it, or as if He needed to be raised by another Divine Person.

The Manner of the Resurrection

The instrumental cause of the Resurrection was Christ's human soul, which, not by its natural power but as an instrument in the hands of the divinity, was once again united with the body into one nature, directly resulting in Christ's rising from the dead.

The Final Resurrection for Eternity

Christ rose first of all from the dead to immortal life, and His Resurrection is the herald of our resurrection at the end of time. It was fitting that Christ, the head of the redeemed human race, should be the first man to begin immortal life in a renewed and glorified body: "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:20). The Resurrection of Christ is the glorious victory of the incarnate Son of God over death and sin. May it stir in us reverence, faith, hope, and love for Him.

Bibliography: 1. Fr. M. Sieniatycki, Outline of Catholic Dogmatics

Theology of Redemption

Through his suffering and death, Christ truly redeemed us. What exactly is the Redemption that took place on Good Friday, and what does it mean?

Victim

Christ is a true priest who offered his human life on the cross as a true sacrifice to God. It is important to emphasize here that Jesus was a sacrifice and priest according to his human nature, for only human nature can be the subject of sacrifice (destruction). Moreover, the Savior did so on behalf of humanity (for the sins of the entire world) as the representative and Head of the human race.

Redemption

The redemption accomplished by Christ consists of four elements: substitutionary satisfaction, redemption in the strict sense, reconciliation of people with God, and merit.

Substitute compensation

As St. Thomas Aquinas explained, satisfaction is the offering of compensation/payment for an offense/harm caused. Substitute satisfaction is such satisfaction, but offered on someone else's behalf. This does not mean that the substitute formally takes upon himself the guilt of the perpetrator. No one can be guilty of punishment, only the one who committed the offense. The Lord Jesus was innocent. Therefore, Christ's sacrifice did not consist in God formally punishing Him as if all sinners were in His place, for that would be unjust. Through His suffering and death, Christ offered satisfaction (compensation) to God for all the offenses committed by humanity, and in this sense, He bore the punishment for all of us. Council of Trent (session 6, chapter 7): "By his most holy suffering on the wood of the cross... Christ made satisfaction for us to God the Father."

Redemption in the strict sense

Redemption (= redemption) in the strict sense is a work by which someone is released from someone else's slavery (freeing) by paying an appropriate fee. Christ has freed us from the slavery of sin and punishment by making His satisfaction through God's forgiveness of sins and eternal punishment for those who repent. The Savior freed us from original sin and all personal sins by meriting for us sanctifying grace (lost by our first parents), which we can obtain in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance or through perfect love. The Lord Jesus also freed us from the slavery of Satan, into which we fall through our personal sins. He also freed us from the slavery of death by meriting resurrection for all of us.

Reconciliation of humanity with God

Through sin, we become enemies of God and are separated from Him, for we lack sanctifying grace, the foundation of friendship with the Creator. Through Christ's sacrifice, God was propitiated for the crimes of humanity and mercifully forgives repentant sinners and offers every convert the possibility of eternal life with Him in heaven. Council of Trent (session 5, canon 3): "Christ reconciled us to God in his blood, having become for us righteousness, sanctification, and redemption."

Merit

Satisfaction differs from merit in that satisfaction consists in repairing some harm, while merit is the performance of a good deed for someone else's benefit. The sacrifice of Christ the Lord is not only a satisfaction to God for the offense committed, but it is also a source of merit, because it consists in giving honor and glory to the Creator. On the cross, the Lord Jesus earned for us all the graces we receive from God. The merits of Christ, like the satisfaction, have infinite value, because the person of the Son of God, who has infinite dignity, acted in human nature. Council of Trent (session 6, chapter 7): "Christ merited justification for us by his most holy suffering on the wood of the cross." Pope Clement VI in his bull (1343) stated that Christ, through his sufferings, won for his Church an infinite treasure of merits.

🔗continued, sources

#soteriology #redemption

Religious emotion
John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman's sermon titled “Religious Emotion” focuses on the important truth that a violent impulse is not the same as an unwavering and sincere resolve of the will. Newman observes that people can experience strong religious emotions without thereby becoming more inclined to practical obedience to God; moreover, an excess of emotions can even hinder perseverance in faith.

Newman illustrates the contrast between emotions and actions with the example of St. Peter, who zealously assured his loyalty only to deny Christ shortly afterward, and the Jerusalem crowd, which first enthusiastically welcomed Jesus with palms and a few days later demanded His crucifixion. The Doctor of the Church warns against the danger of “counterfeit zeal” and confusing fleeting emotions or good thoughts with true obedience. People often soothe their consciences with the fact that they occasionally feel religiously moved, which Newman precisely calls “counterfeit earnestness,” which leads them astray from the simple path of the duties of their state.

The ideal to which a Christian should aspire is not a stormy and passionate love, but a calm, respectful, contemplative, and obedient one—that is, the kind with which a child regards parents. Although strong emotions may accompany conversion or difficult moments, they do not constitute the essence of faith.

Jesus is the supreme model of devotion characterized by “deep calm.” Even in the face of unimaginable suffering in Gethsemane or on the Cross, the words and actions of the Savior were free from exaltation, marked by gravity and simplicity. The sermon ends with a call not to trust in words alone (“Lord, Lord”), but to focus on action.

One hidden act of self-denial or sacrifice for duty is worth more than torrents of tears, ecstasies, or spiritual exaltation. It is precisely good deeds that are the fruits of faith by which we will be judged, while feelings come and go, not being a test of true devotion.

- “(...) religious feelings may be strongly moved, and yet a man does not become thereby more inclined to practical obedience to God. Sometimes even the opposite happens; he becomes less capable of it.”

- “One hidden act of self-denial, one sacrifice of one's own inclination offered to duty, is worth more than all the good thoughts, warm feelings, and fervent prayers to which vain people gladly devote themselves.”

- “It is not enough to call on you to serve Christ in faith, fear, love, and gratitude; one must still ensure that it is the faith, fear, love, and gratitude of a sound mind.”

-“Greater comfort on our deathbed will be given to us by the memory of one act of mercy, purity, or humility that cost us self-denial, than by the memory of many tears shed, frequent ecstasies, and numerous spiritual raptures.”

These are just fragments of the broader perspective on religious emotion that the Doctor of the Church outlines for us.

Full sermon
https://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume1/sermon14.html

The Old Grammar Schools
Foster Watson

#education