The Catholic Leader Flipbook - Issue 5594 - March 22

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The Catholic Leader, March 22, 2020
Conversations
Christ with women, when he clearly could have.
That suggests to me that the devil knew of the
nature of Christ.
There is nothing in Scripture to suggest, indeed
the exact opposite, as indicated here, that Christ
lived his entire life, other than as a celibate.
This point needs to strongly factor in the cur-
rent debate on married clergy.
God is judge
RE Adrian Hassett’s letter
(CL 8/3/20, page 24).
When comforting the dy-
ing, not only would the con-
trasting attitudes of the two
thieves crucified with Jesus
come to mind but also His
command to “love another as
I have loved you” (John 15.12 ).
Love of neighbour, charity, desires the true
good of others.
In the Christian context, the true good is eternal
life. (Catholic Dictionary, by Fr Peter M Stravins-
kas, Ph.D, STD )
As a baby boomer, I too remember what I was
taught regarding the consequences of dying in a
state of un-repented mortal sin.
I believed it then and I believe it now as the
Church’s teaching on this matter is very clear
(CCC 1033).
We also live in a confused, subjective and rela-
tivistic society, so it would not be unusual for a
dying person to ask if they were going to heaven.
The words of St Paul “I am not aware of any-
thing against myself, but I am not thereby acquit-
ted, it is the Lord who judges me” (1 Corinthians
4:4) are a reminder lest love and compassion, the
essence of Christian charity, suffer through lack of
honesty and become uncharitable.
How often are we reminded to be not afraid but
to trust Jesus?
Have your Say
Post: GPO Box 282,
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Prayer List
THIS MONTH
POPE’S INTENTIONS
Catholics in China – We pray that the
Church in China may persevere in its faith-
fulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.
THIS WEEK
Worldwide – Coronavirus remains a
challenge across the world, as well as in
Australia.
Mozambique – Many of the people
who lost everything when Cyclone Idai
swept through central Mozambique a year
ago, continue to face devastating hardship.
About 1.8 million people were affected.
Nicaragua – The United Nations says
over the past two years, more than 100,000
people in Nicaragua have sought asylum
abroad, reportedly fleeing persecution and
human rights abuses
Devil revealed
IT was very good to see The
Catholic Leader of March 8,
2020, page 2, publish Pope
Francis’ exegesis on the
Temptations of Christ (Mat-
thew 4:1-11).
I have always loved this
lesson from Scripture, and
Pope Francis’ reflections showed me even more
insights.
In this lesson, to tell the truth, the devil unwit-
tingly reveals much of himself.
He sees Christ very hungry, and he reveals that
one of his evil schemes is to take advantage of a
needy physical or emotional condition.
He then strikes at those in a vulnerable state,
and thus easier to tempt.
“Turn these stones into loaves of bread,” he
says, when Christ is at his most hungry.
Next, the devil reveals himself a very learned
student of Scripture.
He tempts Christ (Matthew 4:6) to throw Him-
self from a pinnacle, and angels would carry Him,
so that His foot would not strike a stone.
Here he quotes exactly Psalms 91:12.
This tells us that the devil is very knowledge-
able on Scripture, and can, and does quote Scrip-
ture, only to his own advantage, mind you, when
it suits him.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the devil shows
he is fully aware that Christ is God.
The devil goes to the most extraordinary
lengths to tempt Christ, with the most grandiose
promises, far, far away and above those which he
would otherwise bother to give to an otherwise
non-descript Jewish carpenter.
The devil clearly understands who Christ is.
In this lesson, there is furthermore, most signifi-
cantly, an obvious and conspicuous omission, that
the devil clearly does not even try to tempt Christ
with.
He does not place before this young man, the
obvious temptation of women.
Christ had the fully formed body of an adult
man, but the devil conspicuously fails to tempt
The views expressed in the Letters to the Editor are
not necessarily endorsed by and do not necessarily
represent the views of The Catholic Leader or the
Archdiocese of Brisbane. Letters are submitted on
the condition The Catholic Leader may edit them in
a manner which meets publication and style require-
ments.
Robert
Constantine
Deception
Bay, Qld
J.M. Royal
Bundaberg
West, Qld
Retweet CORONAVIRUS has caused widespread disruption across Australia and
the rest of the world.
Mary, Queen of Apostles, we
ask you to protect us from the
dangers of illness so that we
may continue to proclaim your
Son to the world.
Help us live this moment
in the light of Christian faith
and hope. Open our hearts
to solidarity and enable us to
communicate love and life.
MARY LLOYD
ABC journalist
TRENT HORN
Catholic apologist
CHRISTINA VIVALDO
Order Franciscan Secular
SR NANCY USSELMANN
Daughter of St Paul
Suspending Mass because
of a pandemic shows pru-
dence, not faithlessness. Char-
ity demands we not unwitting-
ly infect others and God gave
us intellects to discover how
to stop diseases. As the Bible
says, “There is a time when
success lies in the hands of
physicians” (Sir. 38:13)
I shopped Saturday & it was
noticeable elderly, widows, in
particular struggled. Let’s try to
give them extra help if you see
them trying to get a cart, or giv-
ing them your cart, a smile of
compassion or assurance they
are not alone. Family should be
with them.
Not sure about the need
to #Lockdownaustralia and
#CloseTheSchools? Consider
this: - unsymptomatic people
are causing high numbers of
infections
- they can be shedding high
viral loads
- decision makers don’t yet
understand how it spreads
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The devil goes
to the most
extraordinary
lengths to tempt Christ,
with the most grandiose
promises, far ... above
those which he would
otherwise bother to give
to an otherwise
non-descript
Jewish carpenter.
When comforting
the dying, not only
would the contrasting
attitudes of the two
thieves crucified with
Jesus come to mind but
also His command to
“love another as I have
loved you”.