God | Jesus Risen

LG Sleiman

20th January 2024

Fiducia Supplicans, published by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on 18th December 2023, and personally signed by Pope Francis, gives permission to priests to give a “spontaneous” blessing to couples who are in an “irregular situation”.

The most contentious point of this declaration comes down to this: priests can now bless same-sex couples and other couples who are living in sin.

Some have welcomed this as an act of mercy and compassion; some decry it as blasphemous; and others are representing this as a sort of “coming of age” of the Catholic Church.

What are we to make of Fiducia Supplicans? Should the Church make herself ready to bless sinners? What is God’s will in regard to sinners?

Does God Bless Sinners?

Jesus said that the Father “makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) It is clear, therefore, that God pours His blessings upon everyone, saints and sinners alike.

If we think about it carefully, God is always pouring His blessings upon us: from one rising of the sun to the next, and so on and so on.

Every time I wake up to a new day, that is a blessing. Every time I pick a beautiful flower, that is a blessing. Every time I see a beautiful sunset, that is a blessing. Every time someone offers me a smile or a helping hand, that is a blessing.

Every time I attend holy Mass or read the Sacred Scriptures or enter a Church or my private room with a prayerful heart, there is a blessing for me.

Every time I avail myself of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion, that is a great and wonderful blessing—a blessing that is open to each and every sinner, no matter the number or gravity of his/her sins.

The number of God’s mercies is too great to fathom: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Let us not forget, however, the greatest blessing that the Father could ever have bestowed upon us: “God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) God did not wait for sinners to turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart before He chose to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins.

Even God’s justice is a blessing, springing from God’s love—because His justice (in time) rescues souls from damnation (in eternity). Compare with this passage in Saint Faustina’s Diary:

“Praise the Lord, my soul, for everything, and glorify His mercy, for His goodness is without end. Everything will pass, but His mercy is without limit or end. And although evil will attain its measure, in mercy there is no measure. O my God, even in the punishments You send down upon the earth I see the abyss of Your mercy, for by punishing us here on earth You free us from eternal punishment. Rejoice, all you creatures, for you are closer to God in His infinite mercy than a baby to its mother’s heart. O God, You are compassion itself for the greatest sinners who sincerely repent. The greater the sinner, the greater his right to God’s mercy.” (Diary, 423)

From the most interior inspirations with which God moves my heart, to the descent of the only begotten Son of God from eternity into the realm of human affairs, to the sending of the Holy Spirit, to the gift of Christ’s own Mother to the Church, to the gift of prayer and intimate communion with the God who dwells within, to the gift of innumerable saints, mystics and holy prelates, God never ceases to watch over His people and to pour innumerable blessings upon them.

We ought not to forget in this consideration the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after His Sacred Passion. What a blessing! To know and understand that God’s redemptive love extends beyond the grave, beyond the power of death, and offers me an eternity of beatitude, glory, and everlasting happiness, if only I will accept the Lord’s invitation!

For Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

After Christ’s ascension into Heaven, He sent the gift of His Holy Spirit to inhabit every believer’s heart, to guide and direct the soul, to inspire and nurture the soul, to love and sanctify each believer, who is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God.

God never ceases to search out my heart and, in a thousand million ways, to remind me of His love and to draw me into a loving relationship with Himself.

At some point in my journey, my heart must turn to the Lord, respond to his love, turn away from sin, take his outstretched hand, and allow God to bless me—not just with an ordinary blessing, but with the fulness of eternal life and glory.

When Jesus began to preach, His first words were: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) To “repent” means to turn away from sin, to return to the Lord with a humble and contrite heart, and to enter again into the friendship of God.

Compare with Chronicles: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Though I may be surrounded with thousands of blessings, I will not enter into the Lord’s friendship if I do not choose the Lord’s will above my own: “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

In order to make the transition from the enjoyment of God’s blessings to the supreme blessing of God’s friendship I must, by the grace of God, turn away from sin, embrace the will of God, and persevere in the fulfilment of God’s will: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

The problem with Fiducia Supplicans is that it effectively denies any requirement on the part of the soul to turn away from sin in order to enter into the friendship of God. This involves the idea of a false mercy.

The Problem With Fiducia Supplicans

Fiducia Supplicans inspires/engenders a duplicitous attitude in the approach to God’s blessings. By repeatedly emphasising the mercy and compassion of God while, at the same time, avoiding any requirement on the part of the soul to turn away from sin in order to know God’s mercy, Fiducia Supplicans gives the impression that God’s blessings are completely free, that the soul may continue to enjoy God’s favour while living in an irregular, sinful relationship, and that the way to Heaven does not involve any form of submission to the will of God.

This is extremely dangerous for the life of the soul and will, unless it is prevented by the proclamation of the truth, lead many souls astray, and one step closer to eternal perdition.

Let us now look at specific statements in this DDF declaration.

Fiducia Supplicans: Couples living in sin do not require “moral perfection” in order to receive a blessing from the Church. This is correct. Jesus never demanded moral perfection in order to grant his mercy; He only required a repentant heart. So, for example, when the Lord had healed the paralytic man, He said to him: “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:14)

Fiducia Supplicans: “Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations.” But this only camouflages the truth. One of the greatest deceptions (rehearsed over and over again) is that the Church can adopt certain pastoral practices to the exclusion of writing new doctrines. The truth is that doctrinal statements and pastoral practices are inseparable: every pastoral approach carries doctrinal presuppositions and, conversely, every doctrinal pronouncement gives shape and form to pastoral activity.

Fiducia Supplicans: “It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” But actions speak louder than words. People will inevitably read this as the Church’s endorsement of sinful lifestyles. Why single out couples who are in an irregular, sinful relationship for a blessing? Most will interpret this as the Church’s approval of sinful lifestyles, regardless of how many caveats are embedded into the declaration.

Fiducia Supplicans: “Indeed, there is the danger that a pastoral gesture that is so beloved and widespread will be subjected to too many moral prerequisites, which, under the claim of control, could overshadow the unconditional power of God’s love that forms the basis for the gesture of blessing.” But the reality is that God’s “moral prerequisite” is to turn away from sin.

Fiducia Supplicans: “Thus, when people ask for a blessing, an exhaustive moral analysis should not be placed as a precondition for conferring it. For, those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection.” This is just more camouflage. No one can become morally perfect without the help of Christ (compare with John 15:5—“Without me you can do nothing”). But to enter into friendship with Christ the soul must turn away from sin and accept the saving grace of God.

Fiducia Supplicans: This new practice is heralded as “a positive message of comfort, care, and encouragement. The blessing expresses God’s merciful embrace and the Church’s motherhood, which invites the faithful to have the same feelings as God toward their brothers and sisters.” This represents a false mercy because it gives the impression that God will forgive those who have not yet turned away from sin, which is impossible.

True mercy is the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine (who are not lost) and goes after the one sheep (who is lost), who tirelessly calls the sinner to turn back to God, who lays down His life for the sinner rather than see him go to perdition. False mercy, on the other hand, teaches that you can be forgiven without repenting, sanctified without renouncing your sins, and reach Heaven without doing the will of God.

Let us acknowledge that the Lord loves His sheep, has given His life for them, and calls them to repentance, to love Him in return, and to cooperate with His Divine will in order to enter, in the fulness of time, into eternal life.

As Saint Augustine said, “The God who created you without your consent will not save you without your consent.”

It is not an act of charity to deceive a soul by making it comfortable with sin, for “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) True charity reveals the truth about God’s mercy so that the soul can find its way back to spiritual health, to a life of grace, and to eternal friendship with God.

LG Sleiman

1st June 2021
Feast of St Justin Martyr

The appetite for pleasure, money, and power: these are the fundamental appetites of human nature. Any and every temptation can only appeal to one or more of these three appetites.

These appetites can be man’s downfall, or else the path by which he overcomes temptation and merits victory in Christ.

For to master these appetites is to be the master of oneself, to be self-possessed, and to be in a greater capacity to surrender oneself to the will of God. But to be mastered by one’s appetites, by one or more of the appetites, is to become a slave to them, a slave to sin, and to be estranged from the grace and glory of God.

Saint John the Beloved warned against these appetites: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2: 15-17)

If one is mastered by one’s appetites (the lower desires), this becomes like a spiritual wound which festers and grows, perhaps becomes a sort of spiritual abscess, against which the soul will struggle as it seeks sound health, until it is set free by the mercy and grace of God.

“The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) The same can be said of an immoderate love of pleasure or power.

How many souls have fallen because they could not liberate themselves from an attachment to the love of money, power or pleasure?

Whether one is a Christian or not, religious or not, priest or nun, brother or sister, mother or father, son or daughter, one can only advance toward union with God by seeking the mercy of God, by doing the will of God, through the gift of God’s grace with which He empowers us to overcome sin, temptation, and to master ourselves, for the glory of God.

He who does not master himself cannot submit his will to God, and he who does not submit to the will of God cannot master himself. These two go hand in hand.

For “the world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Notice too that the devil’s three temptations of Christ in the wilderness correspond to the three appetites (Matthew 4:1-11): for pleasure, power, and riches.

Isn’t it interesting that history seems to have given us clear examples of all three appetites leading to the downfall or perhaps the temporary downfall of some poor soul?

One mystic wrote that Judas betrayed our Lord because Judas was, from the very beginning, only interested in success and attached to the love of money—he controlled the common “purse” (collective money) for the apostles and he ultimately betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver.

Saint Paul (before his conversion) was attached to power: he wanted to round up all Christians and put them away or put them to death.

Pope Alexander VI fell from grace because of his attachment to pleasure, power, and money: he had several mistresses and fathered several children, while securing his power through alliances with various political powers.

No one is immune from such trials, and we ought to be sober, watchful and vigilant, as the Lord encouraged us to be. (Luke 21:36)

Through our Lord Jesus Christ we can overcome all things and know the victory of Christ, the joy of living in Christ, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.