(Being) Catholic Matters

by David Lins  |  04/07/2019  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

I heard a phrase get tossed out again the other day and I must confess, I’m feeling a bit triggered. (I might need a safe space.)

My Christian brother said, “Hey man. I don’t know if it’s a sin. We aren’t supposed to judge.”

This kicked off quite a conversation about the difference between sin and sinners. I brought up the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John (which is often used by the relativistic don’t-you-dare-judge-a-thing crowd). Jesus comes up on a group of men who are about to stone a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Most of us remember Jesus turning the tables by essentially telling them to “go ahead and do it - with one catch - the guy without sin had to throw the first rock.” One by one, they drop their weapons along with their judgement.

Jesus turns his attention to the woman and says, “Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Did you catch the nuance? It’s crucial. True, He doesn’t condemn her. He forgives her. He judges the sin as unworthy of a child of God. He instructs her to leave her sin behind.

We need to be able to judge what sin is in order to leave it behind. We must work to improve our spiritual vision so we can identify it and avoid it. We cannot afford to pretend like we don’t know how it manifests itself and attempts to drag us away from the life God wants for us.

Pope Francis said the massively misinterpreted words, “Who am I to judge?”

If you do your research, he was speaking about the mercy found in the confessional. He explained further that when people come to confession, "You can advise them to pray, show goodwill, show them the way, and accompany them along it." (taken from “The Name of God is Mercy.”)

Again, we must use our brains and dig into the nuance. Who is he (and who are we) to judge people? He obviously knows people sin, that it should be identified, and confessed. This is why confession exists.

Questions? Comments? Email David t dlins@oloj.org.

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