Latest / The Uncensored Catholic / Show 173: The 7th Commandment

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Show 173: The 7th Commandment · The Uncensored Catholic

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Speaker 1: The f A. Hey, y'all, welcome today's show. We'll get
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into the Seventh Commandment today, and you're gonna find this
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very interesting. You know, Father Sparago's classic work, the Exhaustive
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Explanation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, just never
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fails to unfold teachings that you know, overlooked. I mean,
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as good as the modern Catechism is, and it is
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quite good in all honesty, father Sparago's book should really
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really be a companion. I'm not gonna say it's better,
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but you will understand far more. And even you know,
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the Catechism is pretty during long. Actually what is about
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seven hundred pages, six hundred pages or something, right, Father
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Sparago's book will enlighten you every step, and I think
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it's really fantastic. In fact, I would say it's really
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no coincidence that Pope, say John Paul the second was
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the one who encouraged, you know, who authorized and made
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sure we had a new catechism. You know, he was
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Polish and Father Sparago was Zeck and I would not
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be at all surprised if he wasn't very much influenced
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by Father Sparago's book. A lot of his writings I've
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seen kind of echoed in Fallow Sparago's book from eighteen ninety,
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and you know, he probably was in his library, he
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probably read it. I really do consider it to be
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essential Catholic reading, and I mean I enjoy it too.
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It's actually not on an interesting book to read. I mean,
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father Sparago had a little bit of sense of humor
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and a nice way of writing. I mean, really, you know,
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somewhat poetic at times. But before we get into that,
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we'll go to radio replies where the anti Catholic is
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asking these two priests some very pointed questions. Says, let
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us turn, But the priesthood of the Catholic Church is
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not all priestcraft, a product of man's fear, and this
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is a very being against. The priesthood is really at
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the heart of Lutheranism, and Lutheranism is essentially the foundation
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upon which all Protestantism is built upon. And you'll hear
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this a lot from anti Catholics. They really hate priests.
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You would think that they would say, Okay, there's someone
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who's devoted his life to serving God, who's been to seminary,
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who has taken a vow poverty, who does nothing but
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you know, read the Bible and religious books and try
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to help people and visit people in hospitals and all that. No,
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they actually really hate priests. And when I say that,
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you know, at the heart of Protestant doctrine, I think
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it is actually satanic. And I think that those who
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are truly anti Catholic bigots may even be deemed possessed.
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Why else would one hate a priest? And I mean this,
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I mean you can look in history. You can see
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they went prey on and far with it. I mean
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look at I mean in Germany under when Luther convinced
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the princes of Germany. But you know, to make that
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sort of like the official religion. But especially in England,
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I mean Cromwell. I mean they hunted priests down and
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killed them. There is nothing peaceful good about Protestantism. It's
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every It was really violent when these Protestants took over
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these countries and continued. I mean the persecution of the Irish,
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the enslavement of the Irish, the genocide essentially the Irish,
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what the English did to the Welsh and Scots, the
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French Revolution, the Masonic Order, the k Klux Klan, which
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is essentially the Masonic Order, by the way, the militant
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wing of the Democrat Party. It's it's not. I mean,
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if if Christianity is a religion of peace and of love,
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well you can't look at Protestantism and say that, right.
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I mean, people will say, well, what about the Spanish Inquisition?
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Well what about the Spanish Inquisition? First of all, it
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was done by the government of Spain, and people actually
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chose to be tried by the Church rather be tried
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by the secular government because they thought they'd get a
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fair trial, And there weren't just a handful of people
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that were ever faced prosecution. The numbers that Protestants were like,
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I mean, you know that was on Twitter and this
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girl said something like thirty million or I know, she
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said one hundred million people were killed in the Spanish Inquisition.
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And I went back and said, the entire pot population
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of Spain was it even a million people? Or well
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maybe it was right around a million people at this time?
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Where are these hundred million people buried? What evidence, what
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records do you have of this? This is just complete bs.
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And of course she blocked me and after calling me
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a Satanic, So that's the way it usually goes with
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anti Catholics. So anyway, let's let's get to their answer. So, priestcraft,
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if you call it, is a product of man's imagination, superstition,
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and perhaps fear. But priestcraft has nothing to do with
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the Catholic Church. The Catholic priesthood is a very different
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thing and is a divine institution and can be proved.
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They said, then, why are Catholics so afraid of their priests?
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And they answer, why do you think they are? If this,
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if I were to ask you suddenly, why are all
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people of English descent born cross eyed? You would be
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rather astonished for a moment, to say the least. When
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I was a small Protestant boy, I used to fear
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the very sight of a Catholic priest, and I used
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to think that Catholic children must be equally terrified. I
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am a Catholic priest today and I have never seen
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the faintest sign of fear on any Catholic face when
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I have appeared in the scene. And you know, I mean,
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anti Catholics make assumptions such as that because they're actually
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taught to fear of priests. The person says, I have
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never heard any Protestant clergyman speak as severely to his
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people as do Catholic priests. Well, I say, that's a
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I wish that were the case. I wish Catholic priests
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could be a little more tough in the pulpit, speaking
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against abortion, homosexuality, especially divorce, and many things. They answer,
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that is because Catholic priests alone are conscious, conscious of
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the authority to guide their people. But they do not
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speak severely. They speak earnestly because they did not wish
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to see their people running the risk of eternal loss.
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They speak at times with just indignation, because they are
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charged with the protection of God's interest. No Catholic priest
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has ever spoken more strongly than the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah.
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And the person says, priests have rendered dying people unhappy
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with their insistent demands, so they should receive the last sacraments.
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So those priests would have been more comfortable at home
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reading some pleasant book. Why should they put themselves out
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like that? Look at the thing from a Catholic standpoint,
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a priest is obliged to do all he can that
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not one soul be lost through his indifference. If he
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knows that a Catholic is dying, he must do all
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he can to bring that soul to a good frame
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of mind before actual death. And the more such a
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priest does not want, and the more such a soul
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does not want to rectify things, the more the soul
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needs the help of a priest. Uneasiness for a few
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moments before death is nothing compared to uneasiest for all eternity.
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And if after a few moments of uneasiness a man
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dies repentant with the last rites of the church, he
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will bless for all eternity. The priest who has used
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unselfish zeal to labor for his conversion is to be
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the last one we do. The person says priests themselves
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are not holy. I knew a very bad priest, And
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they answer, would you condemn a whole family as criminal
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because one child went wrong? An unworthy priest does not
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inspire you with half the indignation he inspires Catholic arts.
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But try to grasp this principle. I have never undertaken
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to defend the contact the conduct of every individual priest,
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nor for a moment what I wish to defend the
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evil conduct of anyone but I say that the Catholic
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Church is the true Church, even though not all her
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individual members are true to her ideals. No valid arguments
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can be based upon the conduct of individuals. I might
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argue against the Wesleyan Church from history, logical scripture, but
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I would not condemn it because of the bad conduct
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of some Wesleyan minister. Excellent point, very true. I mean,
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the first thing the anti Catholic bigots will hit you
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with is pedophile priests and all that. And well, you
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can actually pull up statistics, and I think this is
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actually in the Essential Catholic Survival Guide. Maybe I don't
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know what the modern statistics are, but you can compare
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how many Baptist ministers is this summer online. I saw
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it one time, how many Baptist ministers have been arrested
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or accused of crimes including rape and pedophilia and all that,
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as composed as compared to priests, and it's a whole
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lot more. That's right. The media just doesn't make a
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big deal over Protestants that do bad things. But I
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mean that's you know, if you want to do that comparison,
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go for it. You can definitely shut up a Protestant
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real quick by doing that. If you show them that
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their denomination it does a lot worse, but it can
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that's not you know, you don't con condemn their entire
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denomination based on the actions of a few and Jules.
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That's the point that those priests were, you know, trying
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to make. And what I always say, I, you know,
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unless someone really gets in my face about something, you know,
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then I might use an argue like argument like that.
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But what I always say is, hey, Jesus chose twelve apostles,
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one of them was Judas. There will always be bad
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people within any human institution, even chosen by Jesus himself.
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So now let's get into Fallo Spirago's writings on the
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Seventh Commandment. And the seventh Commandment he says, Almighty God
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forbids us to wrong our neighbor his goods and property.
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And this is important because thou should not steal and
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covet and all. That really puts the Catholic Church of
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all of Christianity and Judaism, anybody who follows the Ten
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Commandments in opposition to communist and progressivism and liberalism, because
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it says people have a right to their labor and
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their property and you can't take it away from him
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just because you think they have more than they need.
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You can't take a man's work and give it to
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someone else against his will. So, but there's a lot
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more to it than that, Okay. So by property, he says,
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it's meant all that a man needs for his subsistence
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and all that he possesses as his own, eg. His money, clothes, provisions, house,
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and land. Under the right of possession. He says, earthly
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goods are necessary to man's subsistence, such as food, clothing,
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and a dwelling place, money, etc. Consequently, every man is
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justified in striving to gain earthly goods after a just manner,
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and in possessing them as his personal property. Since it
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is the natural right of every man to preserve his
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own life, he is justified in gaining for himself and
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keeping as his own those external goods which are indispensable
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to his existence. If every moment were occupied in providing
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for his own maintenance, he would be in the direst
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destitution if sickness or misfortune befell him. The natural law
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prompts him to provide for such contingencies. In other words,
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you should have a savings account. You know, I had
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some food stored away and all the stuff I talk
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about in my herbal podcasts about prepping and all that,
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you know, good stuff. Besides, were every moment engrossed with
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the business of self maintenance, it would be no time
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to attend who is in eternal interests. Furthermore, a man
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is bound to provide for those who are dependent upon him,
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and this he could not do if he himself lived
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from hand to mouth. God commanded our first parents in
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Paradise to feel the earth and subdue it Genesis one
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twenty eight. Cain and Abel had separate possessions, each one
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of his own to offer sacrifice. All trustworthy information respecting
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the earliest ages of humanity bears evidence to the possession
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of personal property. It was necessary that each should have
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his own. Otherwise mankind could not have been at peace.
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There would have been continual strife and contention. Without the
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right of possession, the incentive of labor would be wanting.
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The holding of property is therefore an ordinance of God,
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just as much as marriage and legal authority. So right there.
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That's in opposition to communism socialism. The right of possession
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is an ordinance of God, but it cannot be said
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that the distribution of wealth as it is under the
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existent circumstances is in accordance with the will of God.
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Of course, human nature is sinful, concupiscence, we're greedy, you know.
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It could not be his will that a small majority
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should enjoy a super superfluity, I think is the way
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you pronounce that word a lot. In other words, while
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an overwhelming majority of his children should live in poverty
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and destitution. The great inequality, this great inequality, is the
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result of sin. Personal property, if justly attained, is justly attained.
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Personal property is justly obtained when it is either acquired
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by labor or by gift. You know, democrats are always saying,
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you know, he was born into a rich family and
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he didn't work for it. It's okay, He's due the
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gift from his ancestors who did work for it. Nature
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does not give man the right to certain goods. The
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right to possess him must be acquired. It is acquired
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in the first place by labor. God has ordained that
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the earth should not yield what is requisite for the
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maintenance of human life without cultivation. It is a violation
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of all justice to deprive the cultivator of the soil
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what he has won by the sweat of his brow.
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This s Levitic Is thirteen and another reason why the
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Anglican Church and Protestant English society was purely evil, I mean,
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and continues to be in many ways, because you know
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what they did to the Irish. They starved people, They
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took because they said they were Catholic and they weren't
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loyal to England. They would not recognize the king as
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the head of the church. They sold him into slavery.
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They slaughtered thousands, and then for a couple of hundred years,
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hundreds of years, took the fruit of their labor and
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left them in dire poverty and starvation. I mean, look
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at the potato famine. The Irish did not want to
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be farming potatoes, only the England wanted them to farm potatoes.
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Then a blight happened and they, you know, millions starved.
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You know, the same with on par I mean, I
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don't think you know, England's any better than the Soviet Union,
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who who starved so many Ukrainians. This is, you know,
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going back to what the thirties, twenties, thirties, they did
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a genocide and again in China. They took what the
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farmers grew and took it away from him and starved him,
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and well slaughtered a lot of them and took their land. No,
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I don't bow down and worship at England the way
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a lot of people in this country do. England was
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a wonderful nation when it was Catholic, and it's been
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basically purely evil ever since. So, I mean, you know,
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the influence of England is Protestantism, Freemasonry, slavery, and eugenics.
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They were real big on eugenics. England was very much
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allied with Hitler until Hitler wanted to take England. I mean,
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they were the royal family of England. The Protestant royal
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family was basically Nazis, were basically Nazis. And you know,
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so called King Charles to this day is essentially a Communist.
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So I don't know what, I don't know what the
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whatever word you want to insert, there is so great
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about England. I mean, and you know, I'm about a
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third English. My ancestors were English Catholics. You know, the
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rest is Irish and French. You know, France certainly has
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a lot of problems too. I'm not just picking on
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the English because of you know, I have an Irish surname.
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Really not a good influence in the world. And I
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don't know why people act like they hung the moon.
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It's like the English think they're really great, so everybody
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else does too. I mean, that's really what it comes
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down to. But anyway, let's let's get back where it was,
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all right, So that was Leviticus. If the earth is
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the Lord's, and all that dwell therein, because he is
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the maker of it, that which man has made much
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rightly belong to him. Property as a rule is gained
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by work, but sometimes it is a free gift. God
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el bestow's property. He promised the land of Cana to
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Abraham and his posterity as a possession Genesis twelve seven.
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The patriarchs bequeath their possessions to the eldest son by
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a solemn benediction, and the present day the lands and
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property of all kinds passing into the hands of others
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by inheritance or bequest. Bequest means a gift. Every man
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should make a will in order to prevent dispute should
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he suddenly be called out of this life. Believe it
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or not, It is Catholic teaching that you need to
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have a will has been for a long time, not
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something people talk about a lot these days. I can
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tell you from experience when there isn't a will. Let's
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just say the grandson that sacrificed everything and went in
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took care of the farm, and the ailing grandparent can
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get cheated out of everything, walk away with nothing and
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the shirt on his back. But yeah, you need to
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make a will. In primitive times, people were property was
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acquired by taking possession of unowned land, and now valuables
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if I unclaim, may be appropriated by their finder. In
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other words, you know something, somebody lost something, and no
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one claims that you can keep it. On the other hand,
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this commandment forbids the acquisition of property by unjust means, ie,
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by taking away what belongs to our neighbor. Property is
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unjustly acquired by theft, robbery, cheating, et cetera. The state
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has not the right to take from any man his
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personal property, but it is in power to impose restrictions
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on the acquisition disposal of personal property. Read that again,
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the state has not the right to take from any
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man his personal property, but can regulate the sale and
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everything of property. See what happens in America if you
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don't pray your property taxes. America is not a Catholic nation.
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Should be, isn't. The state has not a paramount command
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over all property. It has certain rights of supervision, but
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not of disposal. The people do not exist for the government,
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but the government exists for the people. Yeah. You know,
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about almost one hundred years ago now, when the America,
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the federal government decided to establish the Tennessee Valley Authority,
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they just took people's homes and flooded those valleys. When
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they decided they wanted to do the Blue Ridge Parkway
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and the National Forests and all that again, they basically
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just took people's property at a tenth of what it
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was worth, relocated them into little pounds, and took their property.
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That's not moral. And I mean even you know Thomas
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Jefferson and Madison, I mean they were Protestants, they were Freemasons,
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but they didn't sign on to that. That was exactly
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what they didn't want to happen. So really, by the
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time of the Civil War, America had turned its back
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on all of its founding principles. People say, you know,
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the Civil War was you know, free the slaves, and
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it was such a good thing, getting rid of slavery. Yeah,
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that's a good thing. But turning the federal government and
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taking away states rights, turning the federal government into the
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supreme body that can just take your property, tax your income.
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None of that's what our founders. None of that is
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what our founders wanted. That's exactly what they did not want.
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That's exactly that was like the entire reason that they
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justified breaking away from England. But you know, you're not
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allowed to criticize Lincoln or Grant and all that, you
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know whatever. All right, So we just said that the
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government exists not for the The people exist not for
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the government. But the government exists for the people. Consequently,
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far from ruling any man, it ought to aim at
22:56
the welfare of each and all of its subjects. Therefore,
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if the state compels an individual to give up his
23:01
property in the public interest, it is bound to give
23:04
him compensation. That should be just compensation, not pennies on
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the dollar, which you know, that's what imminent domain does.
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They go in and say, your property that you could
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probably sell to somebody for you know, two hundred and
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fifty grand is worth fifty and you have no recourse.
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You're screwed. And that's the government for you. Nor has
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the state the right to seize ecclesiastical property. That means church,
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Catholic church owned property, of which it has done quite
23:32
a bit in America, and England sees all church property.
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I mean all those grand churches and cathedrals and colleges
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and hospitals, even in England were Catholic. And they just
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took him. To rob a man is theft. To rob
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God is a sacrilege, and for this the penalty is excommunication.
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Now did you know that? Did you know that actually
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all Anglicans are ex communicated, Well, actually all Protestants are
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excommunicated because they can't receive communion in a Catholic church.
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But they don't know that, trust me, they don't know
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that restitution must be made before the Holy See can
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give absolution. Since it is the business of secure authorities
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under God to provide for the well being of their subjects,
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the government is empowered by wise legislation to introduce gradual
24:24
changes in regard to the holding of property. It can
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impose such taxes as are necessary for the CommonWell of
24:29
its subjects in proportion to their means. In other words,
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taxation is not in it self immoral, but it must
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be used for moral things. And you know, paying for
24:40
abortions is certainly not and it must be in proportion
24:44
to their means. You can't just tax the rich so
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they have no money to buy votes for the Democrat Party. Thus,
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by heavy taxation of wealthy capitalists, it can alleviate poverty
24:56
of the working classes. Well, that doesn't actually work out
24:59
very well, but anyway, they did. You know, in eighteen
25:03
ninety that was a popular theory. Moreover, Saint Thomas Aquinas
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says that the world's riches are only intended for the
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preservation of human life. This end is not attained if
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they are already the possession of individuals. Therefore, one is
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bound in his abundance to assist those who are in want.
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And that's what we call charity, and this duty of
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every Christian. The superfluity of the rich is the property
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of the poor. In other words, if someone has a
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lot of access, they should give it to charity. They
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should try to take care of people. Now, in this
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day and age, I can't say give it to Catholic
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charities because they're facilitating human and drug trafficking and slavery.
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So let's try to find a good use for that. Thus,
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the government exercising the right of guardianship can do something
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towards just distribution of superfluous wealth. Now, let's put this
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in context of what he was saying at the time.
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Why did all our ancestors come to America. They couldn't
25:59
have in Europe Like the English, the lords had huge,
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vast estates, thousands of acres. The common man had no
26:12
ability to buy property. They came here for property. You
26:18
could live on the estate on you know, of the
26:21
of the lord of the manor, and you could work
26:23
for him, and you could hope that your descendants could
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live in the same house and be blacksmiths or gamekeepers
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or farmers or whatever. Right, but there was no up mobility.
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There was no way to get an education and have
26:39
a new career or anything like that. You were stuck
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in that position, and no matter how much money you saved,
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even if you could save money, there was no property
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to buy because, specifically because during the Protestant Revolution, the Reformation, whatever,
26:56
the Anglicans confiscated all that property and redistribute it put
27:01
it in hands of big Protestant landowners, and the poor,
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many of them are still Catholic, were consigned to poverty.
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So that's very much the case in England. That's somewhat
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the case in Germany, you know, wherever our ancestors came from.
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And then you have the Irish potato famine, which I
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just explained, and you know the awful issues in Italy.
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Italy was always little states at war with each other,
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you know, but everyone came here for economic opportunity. They
27:33
came here to buy property. Now when father Sparagus writing this,
27:37
he's in Czechoslovakia. He's looking at more of a system
27:40
like England, for instance, where there's no access to land,
27:45
and it would have been the right thing at that
27:47
point to rectify the wrong for the government to take
27:51
from those landowners and make that land available, you know,
27:55
to a point. They eventually did that with the allotment
27:58
system in England. But it is always more moral for
28:04
a person to give charity rather than taxation at gunpoint,
28:10
and that's always the Catholic ideal. So now we'll get
28:13
into sins against the Seventh Commandment. The seventh Commandment expressly
28:17
forbids theft, robbery, cheating, usury, injuring the property of another,
28:22
detention of goods that have been found or lent, and
28:25
the payment in the non payment of debts. Theft is
28:29
the secret perloining of another man's goods contrary to the
28:33
rational will of the owner. Judas was a thief, he
28:37
had the purse an appropriate part of the common money.
28:41
That's John twelve to six. Few sins are more common
28:44
than theft, and this fact may be accounted for in
28:48
the first place by the covetousness of the human heart,
28:51
and also by abundant opportunities afforded for stealing. Occasion makes
28:56
a thief. But if a man steals when he's starving
28:59
or is the only means of saving his life in extremity,
29:02
it is not to be reckoned to sin, provided he
29:04
has the intention to restore what he has stolen when
29:07
he's in better circumstances. Proverbs six thirty. Our Lord did
29:12
not rebuke the apostles when, in passing through a cornfield,
29:15
they plucked the ears of corn to eat the grain
29:16
because they were hungry Matthew twelve to one. To conceal
29:20
or purchase goods that are known to be stolen is
29:23
to render oneself a partner in the sin. Robbery is
29:27
theft accompanied by personal violence. If Robert kills or mortally
29:31
wounds his victim, the crime is said to be robbery
29:33
with murder. Of this the robbers were guilty who attacked
29:37
the Jew on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
29:39
Luke ten thirty. The forcible extortion of sums the forcible
29:45
extortion of alms. Alms is also equivalent to robbery. Like
29:52
alms for the poor, you're supposed to give out a charity.
29:54
If someone forces you to do it, it's equivalent to
29:57
robbery that to the Democrat party. Cheating consists in injuring
30:03
one's neighbor in his possessions by crafty means, for instance,
30:07
by use of false weights and measures. The issue of
30:10
counterfeit coin, the adulteration of food, the falsification documents, the
30:14
removal boundary markers, smuggling or arson in view of obtaining
30:18
insurance money, Let no man overreach or circumvent his brother
30:22
in business. For Thessalonians four six. Usury consists in making
30:27
use of the needy circumstances of another to one's own profit.
30:32
The user is called a money lender if he lends
30:35
money at a high rate of interest to one who
30:37
is in pecuniary monetary difficulties, or a speculator if he
30:43
buys up corn and keeps it until a time of scarcyne,
30:45
or sell at a high price. Under the appearance of
30:48
helping a man in need, the user involves him in
30:51
greater complications. He is like a doctor who, instead of
30:55
strengthenings his patient, SAPs the little force he had, Or
30:59
like a spider that he's a web more and more
31:01
closely around the unhappy flying sucks every drop of its blood.
31:05
Users are murderers the poor. They take the life, They
31:08
take from them their means of livelihood, and thus deprive
31:11
them of life. Very true, and that's one that you
31:15
know Wall Street and the big banks don't like. Again,
31:19
we need more Catholic teaching in this country. Willfully injuring
31:23
another man's property, keeping back what one has found or
31:27
what has been lent to and refusing to pay one's
31:30
debts is the equivalent of stealing. We may injure a
31:33
neighbor in his property by setting on a fire, by
31:35
treading down his crops, damage his goods, fishing, or shooting
31:39
on his grounds without permission to do so, et cetera.
31:42
To keep what one has found, and not to return
31:44
what has been lent to an owner's theft. Joseph's brethren
31:49
did well and directly taking back the money they found
31:51
in their sex. The more valuable the object one finds,
31:54
the greater the obligation to give it to the owner.
31:56
And if one does not know to whom it belongs,
31:59
one ought to take accepts to discover him. Many people
32:02
are very very careless in returning books. Absolutely, I've lost
32:07
several books by loaning them. Instruments are implements which they
32:11
have borrowed, and show displeasure if the owner asked for them.
32:14
Be careful about lending, and very careful about returning. The
32:17
non payment of debts is also kind of stealing. It
32:20
is a bad thing to get into debt. The debtor
32:23
is like a man who, when his legs begin to
32:25
fail him, hobbles onward with a crutch. But it is
32:28
a sin to borrow not to pay again. Psalms thirty
32:31
six twenty one. Tell that to Joe Biden, who keeps
32:34
trying to forgive student loan debt. I had to pay
32:37
for my college and now apparently I have to pay
32:39
for someone else's because they borrowed a lot of money
32:42
to go get a degree in gender studies. Many people
32:46
get into debt to satisfy their cravings for amusement, to
32:49
gratify their passions, or for sake of dressing upo their station,
32:53
and they scarcely think themselves wrong. Tradespeople send when they
32:57
fraudulently declare themselves bankrupt. But most blame worthy of all
33:02
are those who do not pay their servants and work
33:04
people absolutely As one who has been cheated a few
33:10
times when I did some contract work and the purchason
33:12
didn't want to pay me for it, this is the
33:15
sin that cries to heaven. It is theft and a
33:18
sort of murder too. To keep back the wages of
33:21
the poor laborer who lives on his daily earnings, the
33:24
wages of him who have been hired by the shall
33:28
not abide with thee until the morning Leviticus nineteen thirteen.
33:32
In other words, pay him right away, paying the price
33:35
of his labor the same day. Deuteronomy twenty four fifteen.
33:38
Owe no man anything but to love one another. Romans
33:42
thirteen eight. We are in the danger of committing mortal sin.
33:46
If we take from our neighbor as much as he
33:49
requires to support him one day in a manner suitable
33:52
to his position, our sin against our neighbor is greater
33:56
or less in proportion to the wrong we do to him.
33:58
To steal a few pence from one who is utterly destitute,
34:01
or a few shillings from a laboring man, is a
34:03
mortal sin. It is the equivalent of stealing a considerable
34:07
sum from a rich man. And it is also a
34:09
sin to take trifling sums repeatedly from the same person,
34:12
for in times they may make a large amount. One
34:15
ought not to take the smallest thing that one does
34:18
not own. Fidelity in small things is most important, for
34:21
God punishes little sins, and unfaithfulness in small things leads
34:25
to grave sins. By disregarding petty thefts, many a criminal
34:29
has come to the gallows, and we'll see part two
34:33
the duty of restitution or satisfaction. He who has purloined
34:38
from his neighbor or wronged him and his property is
34:40
under a strict obligation to restore the stolen good or
34:43
make compensation for the damage done Leviticus six one through five.
34:48
A thief is not required to go himself and restore
34:50
the stolen property to his owner. He may send it
34:52
by the priest who has pledged to secrecy. At another thing,
34:56
most people don't know a priest, will you can if
34:58
you stole something, you can actuually ask the priest to
35:01
go give it to the person, and he can't tell
35:03
the person who stole it from. I mean, that's actually
35:07
the duty of the priests that nobody knows about anymore,
35:11
and he will give him acknowledge of its receipt. On
35:14
one occasion, Clement Hofbauer, the Apostle of Vienna, handed over
35:19
something had been stolen to his owner. The latter refused
35:21
to take it, but half Bower rejoined. It is not
35:24
wise to allow a thief to retain what he has proloined,
35:27
or he will think that stealing is no great offense.
35:29
The following rules are to be observed. If the rightful
35:31
owner of the stole of property is dead, it must
35:34
be given to his heirs, and if there should be
35:37
no heirs, it must be given to the poor or
35:39
devote to good works. If the thief cannot restore the whole,
35:41
he must at any rate restore as much as he can.
35:44
If poverty or other hindrance render the heaf on thief
35:47
unable to make restitution immediately, he must at least resolve
35:51
to do so soon as possible, and he must make
35:53
every effort to fulfill the resolution. If the thief cannot
35:56
restore even a part of what he has stolen, he
35:59
ought to pray for the individual he is wronged. If
36:02
anyone has unwillingly gotten stolen goods in his possession, he
36:07
is bound to give them up to the rightful owner
36:09
as soon as he becomes aware that they were stolen. Thus,
36:12
one who, whether by purchaser gift, has acquired possession of
36:15
something that was stolen ought to give it back to
36:17
its owner. If he does not know that it was stolen,
36:19
he is said to be just a possessor. But if
36:21
he does, then he is an unjust possessor. If the
36:24
former be the case, not only must stolen property be
36:27
given be it self restored, but also whatever may have
36:31
been gained by it without a labor on his part
36:33
if the latter. If the latter, any loss the rightful
36:37
owner proprietor may have sustained through the loss of property
36:40
must be made good, and at any rate is well
36:43
to refer the matter to one's confessor, and if allows
36:47
his counsel, For he stands toward us in the place
36:49
of God. He who refuses either to give up stolen
36:53
property or to compensate for the loss sustained will not
36:56
obtain pardon of his sins from God, nor absolution for
37:00
the priest. He that will not render what he hath robbed,
37:05
shall die everlastingly Ezekiel thirty three fifteen. You know Protestants say, well,
37:11
you know, someone can be a thief and just got
37:13
a confession and the precision forgive. He's going to heaven. Now.
37:16
Actually he has to make restitution, That's what they're saying here.
37:19
He has to make restitution to the best of his ability,
37:22
now unless he's on his deathbed, and you know that
37:24
he can't, but to the best of his ability. It
37:27
was not until as a Chaus had declared his determination
37:30
to make full restitution of all unjust gains that our
37:33
Lord called him a son of Abraham Luke nineteen nine.
37:36
As long as one who has wronged his neighbor refuses
37:39
to make reparation, though he entreats the divine pardon with tears,
37:43
though he seeks to appease divine justice by fast and penance.
37:47
His sin will not be remitted. Such a one, Saint
37:50
Augustine says, does not do penance, but only counterfeits it
37:54
without restitution. There's no forgiveness. Saint Alfonsis relates the story
37:58
of a rich man who had gained green in his
38:00
arm and was near death. The priest urged him to
38:03
restore the property he had acquired unjustly. He refused, on
38:06
the plea that by doing so he would leave his
38:08
three sons penniless. The priest bethought him of a stratagem.
38:13
He said, he knew of a means of a cure,
38:16
but it was a costly man. It was a costly one.
38:20
The sick man declared, No sun would be too great
38:23
to procure it. The priest replied that some living person
38:25
must allow his hand to be burned, and while rawl
38:28
laid on that of the sufferer. The three sons recalled,
38:31
but neither one of them would do this for his father.
38:34
Then the priest said, see, none of your children would
38:36
hold his hand to the fire for a few moments
38:38
for you, and you were willing to endure the torments
38:40
of hell. Fire to all eternity for their sakes. This
38:44
opened the man's eyes, and he went to confession and
38:46
made restitution. What are the reasons which ought to de
38:50
tourists from transgressing the su at the commandment? The Heathens
38:53
of old held theft in abhorrence and punish it very severely.
38:57
The Anglo Saxons in the sixth century used to cut
38:59
off the hand of thieves in Hungary. They were sold
39:02
as slaves. The Jews inflicted condign retribution on a thief.
39:07
The man who, at the taking of Jericho, in spite
39:10
of the prohibition, carried away some of the spoils was
39:12
stoned to death by God's commandment. In former days, the
39:17
laws of the Church in regard to the sin of
39:19
stealing were extremely rigorous. Even for a petty theft. Retribution
39:23
had to be made, and besides it was expiated by
39:26
fasting for a year on bread and water. Now that's
39:29
a penance. God himself inflicts heavy chastisements on those who
39:34
take what belongs to another, no matter how trifling the
39:36
things stolen, For whether it be great or small, the
39:39
wilder to fraud is the same. And it is the
39:41
will to the will that he looks People who wrong
39:44
their neighbor and his property generally come to shame and poverty,
39:47
often die on repentant, and are in danger of everlasting damnation.
39:53
Confusion is upon the thief Ecclesiastes five seventeen. Stealing does
39:58
not bring a man to honor, but to prison, except
40:01
for usury. You know, George Soros has done very well
40:04
by usury. But anyway he'll he'll pay for it one day.
40:09
These are generally caught sooner or later. Stealing is the
40:12
way to poverty. Ill gotten goods bring no blessing. He
40:16
who steals another man's goods will lose his own, for
40:19
when that which he acquired unjustly is taken from him,
40:23
that which was honestly acquired will go to Stolen goods
40:26
are like fire, which not only vanishes in smoke, but
40:29
reduces everything near it to ashes. When the Jews returned
40:32
to from Babylon from the Babylonian captivity, there was great
40:36
scarcity in the land. Some of the people profited by
40:39
it to become rich. But when Naemiah came from Babylon
40:42
to Jerusalem, he was exceedingly angry and rebuked the usurers.
40:46
He took his he shook his clothes before the people
40:49
and called upon God to shake every man out of
40:51
his house and out of his possessions, who did not
40:53
restore all that had been unjustly exacted, so that what
40:57
he had got by usury might vanish in the du ust.
41:01
He that soeth an iniquity shall reap evils. It's from Proverbs.
41:05
The rich of the riches of the unjust should be
41:07
dried up like a river. It's either Ecclesiastes or Sirac.
41:13
I can never tell by his abbreviation. Woe to him
41:16
that heapeth together that which is not his own habakuk
41:20
injustice is even the cause of the fall of whole nations.
41:25
Where are the ancient and where are the ancient mighty
41:28
kingdoms of Babylon, of the Medes and the Persians, and
41:30
the Greeks, and the great Empire of Rome. They came
41:34
to ruin because they sought to extend their limits unjustly.
41:37
Look at the state of Italy and the present day.
41:39
You know, we were just discussing this since the Holy
41:41
Father was robbed of his temporal possessions. Yes, Italy took
41:44
away you know a lot of what the Vatican had
41:49
the taxation has been excessive, and a large population large
41:53
portion of the population are starving. That's actually what led
41:55
to the rise of Mussolini. Okay. Furthermore, thieves all come
42:00
to a miserable enn. Remember judas wretched fate, and what
42:03
misery of mind, what torture soul he had endured before
42:06
he hanged himself into spare Matthew twenty eighty five. Those
42:11
who have stolen or embezzled money are rarely brought to
42:13
repentance because they are unwilling to restore what they have taken.
42:17
Even upon their deathbed, they will not hear of making restitution.
42:20
Beware therefore, allowing yourself to touch what belongs to another. Moreover,
42:24
if at the last day he will find no mercy
42:26
he has not given up his substance to the needy,
42:29
how much more pitiless, pitilessly will he be judged who
42:34
has taken from his neighbor what was his. According to
42:37
Saint Augustine, thieves and the covenants shall not possess the
42:41
Kingdom of God Second Sorenthian six ' ten. The Muslims
42:45
consider that he who does so much is pick an
42:48
ear of corn from his neighbor's cornfield has stood a
42:50
disgraceful thing, and will go to help. The dread of
42:53
everlasting damnation deters many from committing acts of injustice. Of this,
42:58
the following story affords example. A poor widow who had
43:01
been defrauded of a pot of land, a plot of
43:04
land pullowing to her belonging to her by a rich man,
43:09
asked to at least be allowed to carry away a
43:11
basket of earth. The man consented with a scornful smile.
43:14
When the basket was filled, she further requested him to
43:17
help her with it on to her back. The rich
43:20
man attempted to raise it, but was too heavy for
43:22
him to lift. There, said the widow, if you find
43:25
this basket of earth too great a weight, how will
43:27
you bear the burden of the whole field for all eternity.
43:32
The remark made such an impression on the rich man
43:34
that he gave back the land to the woman. Fools, indeed,
43:37
are they who play away their chance of heaven for
43:39
the sake of earth's transitory riches. What does the profit
43:43
a man if he gained the whole world and suffer
43:45
the loss of his own soul? Matthew sixteen twenty six
43:49
by stealing. You may obtain money, but you lose God.
43:52
You think of the gain and forget the loss. The
43:56
honest man will prosper upon the earth. That's from Psalms.
44:00
Tobias affords. This is from Tobait. Again. If you don't
44:02
have Tobad in your Bible, you don't have a real Bible.
44:04
Go get a real Bible, one that includes Tobit and
44:07
wisdom and syrac and all that, not the one that
44:10
Martin Luther started cutting books out that he didn't like,
44:14
Maccabees and several others. Tobias affords a model of upright conduct.
44:19
Although he was blind and reduced to poverty. When he
44:21
heard the bleeding of a kid that had been given
44:24
his wife, he immediately said, take heed lest perhaps it
44:27
is stolen. Restore ye to its owners. Where it is
44:29
not lawful for us either to eat or to touch
44:32
anything that cometh by theft Tobit two twenty one. God
44:36
restored him to sight, and he lived forty two years longer.
44:38
Tobit fourteen one. The Lord will not afflict the soul
44:42
of the just with famine Proverbs ten to three. His
44:46
ears are open to his prayers. Some Psalms and justice
44:49
exaudeth the nation. From Proverbs. Honesty is the best policy.
44:54
All right, We will wrap it up there, and um,
44:59
we got three more ago, so look forward to that.
45:02
All right, y'all, remember the words of Saint Padre Pio, Pray,
45:05
hope and don't worry, and I'll talk to you next time.