The Role of Indulgences in the Catholic Church

The word indulgence (Latin indulgentia, from indulgeo, to be kind or tender) originally meant kindness or favor; In theological language also the word is sometimes employed in its primary sense to signify the kindness and mercy of God.But in the special sense in which it is here considered, an indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven. The pope, as supreme head of the Church on earth, can grant all kinds of indulgences to any and all of the faithful; and he alone can grant plenary indulgences.

To facilitate explanation, it may be well to state what an indulgence is not. It is not a permission to commit sin, nor a pardon of future sin; neither could be granted by any power. It is not the forgiveness of the guilt of sin; it supposes that the sin has already been forgiven.t does not confer immunity from temptation or remove the possibility of subsequent lapses into sin. 

An indulgence is the extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment due, in God's justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the Church in the exercise of the power of the keys, through the application of the superabundant merits of Christ and of the saints, and for some just and reasonable motive.

The mere fact that the Church proclaims an indulgence does not imply that it can be gained without effort on the part of the faithful. From the nature of the case, it is obvious that one must perform the good works — prayers, alms deeds, visits to a church, etc. — which are prescribed in the granting of an indulgence

What Is Man Fully Alive?

Many people search their whole life to find their "calling." Some people are called to be historians, others lawyers, others doctors, and others priests. However, we are all born with an inherent desire to know of and love a "higher being." Everyone has a certain level of curiosity, but some people take longer to realize what they are truly meant to do. This specific role that everyone is called to do is known as somebody being, "Man Fully Alive." When God created us, He intended each of us to have a specific way of living. God is omniscient, and He from the moment we were created God made us to live in union with him. 

Mr. Cole has been my Theology teacher the past two years, and I am happy to say that I am lucky to have him. He challenges us in a very unique manner, and I look forward to the discussions that we have in his class. However, there is one question that we all dread to hear, "What does it mean to be man fully alive?" In my two years with Mr. Cole my idea of truly being man fully alive has expanded. Originally, the idea that a squirrel is made to be a squirrel, and human is made to be a human was sufficient enough for me. Now I understand more fully that we have to search, sometimes even our whole lives, to find that true happiness. We can give glory to God by never being content. When we try to reach for the MAGIS, and do everything in his name AMDG, then we are truly living as we were intended to. 

Overall, the only way to live “man fully alive,” is to truly seek glory for God, and happiness. Happiness can be found in many temporal activities and possessions; however, true happiness can only be found in God. Consequently, we must constantly be looking for what makes us see the true glory of God on earth within our lives. This task may seem hard, and many people never truly find happiness in their lives, but I can see that it is what we were made to do. Therefore, my view of “man fully alive,” is one who has truly found their calling, thus true happiness. 
-Timmy Mashinski

The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin.

1. Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.
2. Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.
3. Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.
4. Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.
5. Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.
6. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.
7. Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

The Apostles and Apostolic Sucession

What are the Apostles?

The word "Apostle", from the Greek apostello "to send forth", "to dispatch", has etymologically a very general sense. Apostolos (Apostle) means one who is sent forth, dispatched--in other words, who is entrusted with a mission, rather, a foreign mission. 
The first followers of Jesus were called the apostles, there were twelve of them.

1. Simon, who is called Peter
2. Andrew, his brother
3. James, son of Zebedee
4. John, His brother
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew, the Tax Collector
9. James, son of Alphaeus
10. Thaddeus
11. Simon the Zealot
12. Judas Iscariot

Their mission was to go forth and spread the word of God through the Teachings of Jesus.Despite Jesus only briefly requesting that they join him, they are all described as immediately consenting, and abandoning their nets to do so. Traditionally the immediacy of their consent was viewed as an example of divine power, although this statement isn't made in the text itself.

Apostolic Succession

The role of apostolic succession in preserving true doctrine is illustrated in the Bible. To make sure that the apostles’ teachings would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession—his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach. 

Thus all the bishops that currently Teach the word of God through the Church can trace their positions all the way back to the Twelve Apostles.

The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive

“The glory of God is man fully alive,” taken out of context can be deceiving.  It seems to imply that the way to glorify God is to just be yourself and follow your heart. the only way to truly be yourself, a created being, is through and for the One who created you.  The glory of God is man fully alive, but man fully alive is man glorifying God.

Here is an excerpt from the Catholic Catechism

New Catholic Catechism

Article No. 293

"Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: “The world was made for the glory of God.” St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things “not to increase His glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it,” for God has no other reason for creating than His love and goodness: St. Thomas expresses it thusly. “Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened His hand.” The First Vatican Council explains:

This one, true God, of his own goodness and “almighty power,” not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel “and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal…”

Article NO. 294

The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of His goodness, for which the world was created. God made us “to be His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace,”(Eph. 1:5-6) for as St Irenaeus states; “the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of god: if God’s revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word’s manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God.” The ultimate purpose of creation is that God “who is the creator of all things may at last be all in all, thus simultaneously assuring His own glory and our beatitude.”(1 Cor.15: 28)

I personally believe that the phrase "God's Greatest Glory is Man Fully Alive" Refers to the world the way that God created it and he wanted it to be, is a world full of people that live life in PERFECT accordance to the Church's teachings. Not only some people that follow the rules, but everyone living in harmony in a world in which everyone lives live completely pure and Holy.

Roman Persecution of Christians

For today's post my partner and I chose to have our topic be about the story of the Early Christian Church and how it rose in popularity and power.
The story of the rise of the Early Christian Church is very complicated. 

In the first few centuries AD Christians were prosecuted and punished, often with death, there were also periods when they were more secure. Christians were first, and horribly, targeted for persecution as a group by the emperor Nero in 64 AD. A colossal fire broke out at Rome, and destroyed much of the city. Rumors abounded that Nero himself was responsible.But the Emperor blamed the Christians in Rome for the fires as he built himself a palace in the empty places left by the fires. But even from the hate of Nero,  Christians were only sporadically persecuted. It was not until the mid-third century that emperors initiated intensive persecutions.


Why were Christians persecuted?
Much seems to have depended on local governors and how zealously or not they pursued and prosecuted Christians. The reasons why individual Christians were persecuted in this period were varied. In some cases they were perhaps scapegoats, their faith attacked where more personal or local hostilities were at issue.It was hardly surprising that a series of emperors ordered savage empire-wide persecutions of the Christians.

When did persecutions stop?
The turning point in the ending if Christian persecutions was when a Roman emperor byt he name of Constantine converted to Christianity after he claimed to have been visited by an angel telling him that victory in war would be his if he fought in the name of God. After that Christians increased in numbers and among Constantine’s successors only one, the emperor Julian in the 360s AD, mounted concerted action to re-instate paganism as the dominant religion in the empire.

Homeless Video Reaction

This video was truly eye-opening for me, as I have always been against welfare. I realize that not all homeless people are the same, as he clearly shows they are individual persons. Therefore, we should not pigeon-hold them as a society. This man clearly showed his embarrassment, and his desire to work. It broke my heart to know that he honestly just had bad luck in his life, and that he was just given lots of hardship in his life. However, it gives me comfort in my faith when I know that he will be rewarded for his strength in Heaven. In addition, this video brought me to tears, because of it sincereness. Also, it hurts me to see a man robbed of his dignity in such demeaning ways. Consequently, I am happy that some people take the time out of their day and give him money. Therefore, this video has made me decide to give homeless people more than I normally do. Generally, homeless people just make me feel awkward, and bad for not giving them things. However, I have found a way to solve that problem, and I cannot wait to help in whatever way I possibly can.
-Timmy Mashinski