Apply the Catholic doctrine of justification and merit to the clear teaching of the Church expressed especially in Vatican II that there are not two different holinesses in the Church, but that everyone is called to the same holiness.
Grace, in short, is a gratuitous gift from God that is necessary for man to attain salvation. As St. Thomas states, “we must presuppose a gratuitous gift of God, Who moves the soul inwardly or inspires the good...
Explain the nature and necessity of sanctifying grace.
As St. Thomas states, “For the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs Divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act. But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the...
Explain the present difficulties in the Church in light of the text of St. Ireneaus
Much emphasis has been placed on humanity’s pursuit of perfection and progress. Arguably, it has culminated in modern times as a belief in secular humanism — that man can be perfected of his own means without God. In...
Getting Out of Marriage
My examination of an annulment case study. The Law Articulately described in Canon 1055, the sacrament of matrimony, a covenant between two fully consenting spouses, is, by its nature, ordered to the procreation and education of...
Getting Into Marriage
My examination of a marriage case study. When considering the very interesting case study, it is important to examine the proposed marriage from two different viewpoints. The first is the licitness and validity of the...
Commentary on the USCCB Document “Love and Life Abridged Version”
MARRIAGE: LOVE AND LIFE IN THE DIVINE PLAN A Pastoral Letter by the Catholic Bishops of the United States (Abridged Version) My commentary is found in the footnotes. What Is Marriage? Marriage is a natural[1] institution...
Theology of the Body for a Married Couple
An Introduction to the Modern View of Marriage In today’s post-Christian society, marriage as an institution is in shambles. Almost half of all marriages end in divorce with fewer and fewer people even “tying the...
God’s Truth: Proclaiming the Good News
In a recent interview, Bishop Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois said these powerful words: “Perhaps the most charitable thing that we can do is to teach people the truth…No parent would teach his or her...
Explain the three requirements for a mortal sin to exist.
Sin is “any word, deed or desire contrary to the Eternal Law.” In this definition, one can see that as contrary to Eternal Law, sin warrants punishment since God is perfectly just. Mortal sin cuts off man from the...
What is the definition of sin and the primary basis for the distinction of sins?
Sin is a voluntary, inordinate act and, as such, is opposed to virtue since an act of virtue is ordered to reason. The traditional definition is “any word, deed or desire contrary to the Eternal Law.“ Now three...