Latest / The Uncensored Catholic / Show 179: Good Works

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Show 179: Good Works · The Uncensored Catholic

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Speaker 1: The f A. Hey, y'all, welcome to today's We will get
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to start a new chapter in Father Spirago's exhaustive explanation
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of the Catechism to day. And it's one that's super
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important and kind of uniquely Catholic. If you don't know this,
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you should. We kneel all need to. And of course
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I never knew any of this until I became Catholic.
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You know, teachings on this is the topic is good works, virtue, sin,
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and vice, and Protestant teachings are actually rather vague in
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that regard. And of course Martin Luther condemned all good works.
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I mean he literally said you should not do anything
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for charity, You should not help anybody. In fact, he
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advocated that the poor be just slaughtered in mass so man,
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he said that there was no such thing as well.
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I shouldn't say no such thing, but no reason not
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to sin and have whatever vice you wanted. He himself
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admitted to being basically a pass out drunk every night,
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I mean, he would drink until he passed out. He
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encouraged his followers to commit adultery. He accused Jesus of
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committing adultery. He encouraged murder lying. I mean, we can
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go on on on that. So to say the least,
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all Protestantism stems from Martin Luther's teaching, and Protestanism can
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be pretty darn vague in not only what is right
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and wrong, but why it's right and wrong, and whether
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or not that even has any bearing on a Christian
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I mean modern I mean, I know, at least in
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the Baptist college I went to, they said that once saved,
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always saved was their doctrine. That comes directly from Martin Luther,
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who said that no sin could separate you from God. Well,
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as Catholics, we believe there are mortal sins, and if
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you commit mortal sins, unless you go to confession or
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absolved and do penance, you can't go to heaven. And
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venial sins are what we work out in purgatory. So
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this is really important to know as a Catholic, but
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also know as a Catholic if you're going to be
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talking with Protestants at all, And frankly, it's maybe even
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more important for Protestants to know, because they're following a
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false doctrine that is very much in danger of causing
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them to go to Hell. And I mean Martin Luther
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encouraged people to commit murder and adultery. I mean, you
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commit murder and adultery, you're gonna go to hell. But
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he said not, and so people followed him. So this
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is actually really super important, all right, But before we
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get into that, you know, we always go to radio replies,
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and the questioner asked in our last episode, which I
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believe was last Wednesday, about the difference between secular and
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religious priests. And a religious priest is a member of
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a religious order. He may be a Jesuit, or he
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may be Benedictine or something right and others are not
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members of orders. And the members of those religious orders
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swear a vow of poverty and receive no remuneration whatsoever,
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no salary, no stipends, nothing. If they do, they have
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to hand it over to the order. Someone just says, please,
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I want you to take this money. Well, they have
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to give it to the order. That's the way it works.
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A priest who's not a member of a religious order
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usually also takes a valve poverty. But they may receive
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a salary, they may receive a stipend, they have to
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pay for their own food. They have to buy their
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own clothes, they have to put gas in their car.
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It is different, okay. And after explaining that, the person says,
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I have known secular priests to leave large sums of money,
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And they answer priests who do not join religious orders
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may own and administer their own property. They have vows
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of chastity and obedience to their bishops, but they do
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not take the valve poverty. If such a priest inherence
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well inherits wealth from his family, he may reserve it
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to provide for himself in case of illness, for old age,
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or incapacity. Such large legacies are very rare, indeed, and
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not the result of one's priestly work. Nor does leaving
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of large sums of money prove that such priests have
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set their hearts upon money to the exclusion of God
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and works of charity. And the person asked, should not
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they have assisted the needy whilst they were alive? And
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they answer, how do you know that he did? Not?
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One priest I know of who left a large sum
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of money deliberately refused to give his capital the poor
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and to be finished with it, but left it safely invested,
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regularly distributing it regularly distributing the income from it to
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the poor of a period of many years. So, in
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other words, this priest, if he had well, I don't know,
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ten thousand dollars at that time would have been considered
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a very large sum of money in the nineteen twenties,
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invested it and took the interest earned off of it
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and gave to charity much better. That's actually sort of
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what God teaches when it's talk about the talents, you know,
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the poor man, the poor got falled are more that
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way than otherwise. When he died, he left the whole
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of the capital of charity to the scandal, to the
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scandal of unintelligent critics. But even supposing that a priest
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who had wealth did not use it in the relieving
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of the necessities of the poor, his omission of this
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good work should not blind us to his other good works.
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All the more credit to him that possessing such means
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he did not devote himself to an idle life of pleasure,
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but to the service of God and to his fellow
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men and their spiritual needs. And the person asks why
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should priests have more latitude than nuns? And they answer
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the duties of a priest are very different from those
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of nuns. Priests have parochial obligations, necessiting the visitation of
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the people, sick calls, and organizing in parochial functions, etc. Also,
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nuns belong to religious orders her vocation, having necessarily a
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retired life in community observance. A secular priest is not
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obliged to the rules of community life. And the person
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asks and where the person states, there is no evidence
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of the holiness of your church and the lives of
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Catholic people. Catholics do not practice what they preach. And
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that's perfectly true, isn't it. We all have to admit
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to that. We fail many many times, and we never
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know what kind of example we're giving to others, and
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we will be held accountable for that. So and I
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am worse in that regard than probably most of my listeners.
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I guarantee that well they answer. You may know of
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some individual Catholics who do not. Unfortunately so do I.
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But would you say all Englishmen are dishonest because you
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know of some individual dishonest Englishmen? Be sure that a
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Catholic can be evil only by breaking the laws of
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his church. And you cannot blame the Church for the
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conduct of the members, who can be evil only by
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refusing to live up to her teachings. If a man
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lives up to Catholic teachings and then is evil, blame
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the church by all means, but not otherwise. And finally,
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this man asks, why are Catholics responsible for most of
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the crimes committed? Boy, there's a there's a charge for
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you and Protestants to this day, we'll start talking about
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the mafia and all such things as that, or you know,
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we got a lot of amba legal immigrants flooding into
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this country and they are committing a huge amount of crime,
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and unfortunately, many of them are Catholics. And doesn't mean
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they're good Catholics. They shouldn't be robbing, stealing, raping and murdering,
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but they were, you know, brought up Catholic, many of
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them confirmed in the Catholic Church and have now turned
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to a life of crime. Many Protestants will point out,
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such as, you know, look at those Mexicans over there,
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they're all a bunch of you know, well, there's there's
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a level of racism in that. Not that we have
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to put up with the legal immigration. Illegal immigration is
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a crime in and of itself and should be stopped.
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But there is a level of racism when you single
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out one group, whether it's talking about Italians and saying
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they're all in the mafia, or you know, Mexicans or
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Venezuelans and saying they're all part of illegal gangs. It's
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not true, but you do get off on the wrong
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foot when the first thing you do entering a country
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is to break its laws. I mean, let's just we
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could start with that, and a Catholic teaching is you're
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actually supposed to uphold the laws of a nation, regardless
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what Pope Francis says. By the way, any just law
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is to be observed, and every nation has a right
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to set its boundaries and to enforce its immigration and
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citizenship laws. Otherwise tons of people can flood in and
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live off the welfare being paid by citizens who have
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to work and are forced to pay taxes with no say,
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and that's not moral at all at all. So sorry,
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I do disagree with Pope Francis very vehemently on this point,
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and some well, I won't get into his most recent statements,
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which were in exact contradiction to other statements made prior.
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As I said, many times he's a legitimate pope. He
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has not made one single teaching on matters of morals
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and doctrines and unity with the bishops and cardinals from
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ex ah Go tongue tied ex Cathedral official document teaching
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the Church that has been against any of the teachings
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of the Church. But he often says many confusing things,
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contradictory things. As I've said before, he's the pope, it
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doesn't mean he's the best pope. But anyway, they answer, firstly,
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your implied assertion merits no more than mere denial. In
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other words, you could say, well, Catholics don't commit most crimes,
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so that merits no more than a mere denial. That's
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a nice way of answering someone. In other words, it's
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a nicer way that than I would have said. I
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would said what she said was stupid. And here are
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the crime stats for the you know, United States, and
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you'll see that most of the criminals are not Catholic
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at all, and in fact, most of them are unaffiliated
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with any religion whatsoever. But anyway, and you know, you
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would be guessing at some of that. You'd have to
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kind of look at ethnicity and you'd be looking at
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you know, are most crimes committed by Mexicans and Italians?
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Know they're not there? You have it. You know, in
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a nation of three hundred and fifty some million people
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that is about eighty percent white and about what's seventy
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percent Protestant or unaffiliated, you're going to have far more
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crimes committed by white Protestants and people would know religion
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at all, just statistically speaking, but anyway, Secondly, close examination
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shows it's that such Catholics has happened to be criminals
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have for the most part, never been in Catholic schools
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to receive Catholic training, whilst many were wants in Catholic
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school only to be transferred to a state school, later
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eventually dropping their religion save in name only. Finally granted
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that some Catholics are criminals, their conduct is in spite
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of and not because of, their religion, for they do
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just what their religion forbids. They are in no way
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an argument against the holiness of the Catholic Church. The
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Church is holy in her founder, doctrines, worship, and those
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of her members who are faithful to her guidance. Above all,
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she is holy in numerous saints of the ages who
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have been supremely faithful to her teachings. And no other
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church can claim a holiness similar to that of the
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Catholic Church under all these aspects. All right, now, let's
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get too father Spirago's book under the topic of good works, virtue,
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sin and vice. Hitherto I love it when people use
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words like that. I never use words like that. But
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hitherto the will of God ummments has been the subject
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treated of. In the following pages. We shall speak of
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the fullness of the Divine will and the transgression thereof.
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Good works are the result of the accomplishment of the
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divine will. Sin is the result of the violation of
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it by the repeated performance of good works. The habit
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of virtue is formed by repeated acts of sin, the
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habit of vice. The name good works is given to
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such voluntary actions of the part of man as are
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in conformity with the will of God and are performed
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for the love of God, and consequently will be rewarded
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by God. No action, however excellent, is to be called
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a good work unless it is voluntary. The compulsory fast
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of a criminal in prison is not a good work,
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nor in fact is any action which is not in
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accordance with the will of God. To spend one's time
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in reciting long prayers instead of accomplishing the duties of
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one's station is not a good work, but a sin.
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Nor to works which fail in any one particular to
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correspond to the will of God deserved to be called
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good will work or to receive a reward. Those actions, again,
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which are not performed for the love of God are
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not good works. Good requires a pure motive on our part.
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For instance, to give alms to an importunate a poor
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beggar merely to get rid of him is not wrong,
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but it is not a good work. It is not
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a perfect good work. You should it is an imperfect
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or natural good work because it is done from natural motives.
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But an action performed from God's sake, because it is
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the will of God for the love of Christ in
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view of an eternal award or fear or of everlasting punishment,
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is a perfect or supernatural good work, and actually importune.
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It means rude by the way, not poor. But never mind, Lucie.
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It is a natural good work and will bear fruit
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because it is done when in union with Christ. As
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the branch bears the fruit that abides in the vine
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John fifteen to four, and participates in his merits. A word,
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that's a long and complex sentence. But I think a
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guy it all done. A plain woolen cloth has certain worth,
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but if it be dyed a rich purple color, its
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value is greatly enhanced. So the good works we perform
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are of little worth unless they are done for God's sake.
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Then they are chrismed, crimsoned, Yes, crimsoned colored red. We're
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going to go colored red with the blood of Christ,
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precious in God's sight and deserving of celestial recompense. Actions,
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although good, if performed from merely natural motives, are worthless
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in God's sight. The Pharisees in Christ's time are a
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striking instance of this, for they did good works to
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be seen by men and praised by men. Our Lord
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blames him for this and says they have received their
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reward Matthew six ' to two. If a man subscribes
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to some charitable object in order to get his name
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in the papers, or to get some reward some office
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or trust, he does not perform a good work or
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one deserving of reward. Such works are like a great
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empty package, which, when put into the balance of judgment day,
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will have no weight at all. Man seeth those things
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that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart First Kings,
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sixteen seven. It is the intention to one must It
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is the intention to which one must look, not the
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external act. This may appear to be good, but if
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it is not good in some way in view of
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our final end, it is worse than useless. He who
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seeks his own glory, in which he does as a thief,
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for he robs God of what is his due. Some
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people say we ought to do good for its own sake,
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but they are mistaken, for the act itself is not
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our highest aim, but a means toward the attainment of
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that end. We do good for God's sake. A good
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work has all the more value in God's sight the
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less it is done in hope of earthly reward. He
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who does good to the poor who cannot requite him,
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does a good work which is great in God's eyes,
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however contemptible it may be in the eyes of the world,
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because it is done for God. Good works which caused
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us a great sacrifice are more valuable than others. For
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this reason. Abraham's obedience in promptly offering his son at
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God's command was so highly praised. Therefore, what we do
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in spite of our of outward contradiction or inward opposition,
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has more worth. Therefore to God. Thus the value of
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our works depends entirely upon whether they are are or
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are not done for the love of God. He does
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not consider the magnitude of the work, but the amount
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of love wherewith it is performed. The good works most
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pleasing to God are these prayer, fasting in Almsteed's By
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these works, the centurion Cornelius merited the praise of the
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angels Acts ten, and Tobias the approval of Raphael in
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Tobad twelve eight. As always, if you don't have a
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Bible that contains the books of Tobait, you don't have
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a real Bible. Go get a real Bible. In the
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Sermon on the Mount Our Lord lays special stress on
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these works Matthew six. Prayer includes every kind of divine worship,
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the reception of the sacraments, hearing masks, attending sermons, et cetera.
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Fasting is not merely abstaining from food or some sort
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of food, but the repression of sensual desires in general
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e g. Restraining curiosity, the avoidance of idle conversation, denying
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oneself some pleasure, any alms maybe reckoned, every service rendered
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one's neighbor pre eminently. The spiritual and corporal works of
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mercy that we've talked about before, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving
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are the principal means of attaining a perfection because they
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combat the three evil appetites, the concupiscence of the flesh,
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the concupiscence of the eyes. Concupiscence means the its result
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of original sin, which means we're more attracted to or
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more naturally likely to do bad than good. It's just
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a real simple definition and the pride of life. Thus
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the soul is enabled to rise more freely to God
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by prayer. The pride of life is suppressed by fastening
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the craving for sensual enjoyment, by all thanksgiving the desire
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for earthly riches. Thus, by prayer, fasting in alms deeds,
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more than by anything else, we shake off the bonds
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of the earth and consequently draw nearer to God. Even
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the most trifling works you're pleasing to God if they
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are done with the intention of promoting his glory. Saint
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Paul exhorts us, whether you eat, or drink, or whatsoever
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else you do, to all, do all to the glory
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of God one Corinthians ten thirty one. This includes work, recreation,
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and sleep, et cetera. Midas, the king of Phrygia, is
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said to have asked the gods that whatever he touched
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might be turned to gold. This power is granted to
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the Christian, for by purity of intention, all his good
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works do in reality become golden, ie supernatural, and consequently
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highly valuable and meritorious. The intention determines the worth of
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every action. Witness the kiss Judas gave our lord. A
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kiss is a token of love and friendship, but his
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evil intention made it a vile action. The intention is
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to the action what the root is to the tree.
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If the root is healthy, the tree flourishes and its
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fruit is good. But if the root is unsound, this
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sap does not circulate or the fruit mature. The decorations
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of streets when a monarch makes his entry in the city,
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are a matter of no moment to him, except in
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so far as they display the affection and loyal devotion
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of his subjects. So it is with the actions we
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perform for the glory of God by careful there be
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careful therefore, to direct your intention every morning, and to
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renew it occasionally throughout the day. An action without a
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good intention is like a body in which the life
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is extinct. Good works are necessary to salvation. This, you know,
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Martin Luther cut this out of the Bible. This is
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really important and one of those foundational differences between Catholicism
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and Protestism. Protestantism, Our Lord says, every tree that doth
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not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast
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into the fire through three ten. At the last judgment,
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he will require good works of us. Remember the parable
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of the baron fig tree Luke thirteen six, of the
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Ten Virgins, matt Matthew twenty five, and of the talents
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of Matthew five sixteen. God is not satisfied with mere
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integrity of life, which consists in not being guilty of
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murder or theft, or cheating, or evil practices of any kind.
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At the last judgment, many will be sentenced to everlasting misery,
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not because they have done what is evil, but because
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they have not done what is good. Saint John Christosum
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says that to not do good is tantamount to doing evil.
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Heaven is the recompense of labor. He that has done
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no work can claim no wow. I don't even know
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this word. G u e r d o n um.
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I'm gonna go with reward. I don't know what a
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gwerdon is. But anyway, if you had a servant who
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did not indeed steal your goods, but who neglected his work,
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would you not dismiss him? Look to it therefore that
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you appear not before God with empty hands. By look
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to it therefore that you appear not before God with
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empty hands. Every man has three friends, one money, which
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is taken from him at death, relatives who part from
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him at the grave, and three good works, which alone
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follow him to the judgment seat of God. That's Revelations
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fourteen thirteen. By good works, we may make sure our
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calling an election. Maybe make sure our calling an election
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second Peter one. Ten. Good works are like bulwarks, bulwarks
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which protect the city from hostile incursions, like barriers. Basically,
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on account of our good works, God grants us the
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grace of perseverance, or if we fall into grieve of sin.
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The prophet in Nathan was said to David, after he
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fell into sin, our Lord looked with compassion on Saint
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Peter after his fall. Through good works, the center obtains
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the actual graces which are necessary for his conversion. The
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just man obtainscreas, an increase of sanctifying grace, eternal felicity,
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that's happiness, and the remission of some temporal penalty of sin. Furthermore,
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his prayers are heard, and sometimes earthly blessings are bestowed
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on him. The good works performed by the sinner contribute
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to his conversion. When our hemisphere is turned toward the sun,
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we experience light and warmth. So it is with the sinner,
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when by good works his heart is softened and he
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enters upon a new life. The prayer of the sinner,
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although without merit, earns the grace of pardon. It has
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power with God, not on account of the merit of
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the petitioner, but on account of the divine promise. Everyone
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who asketh receiveth. The good works of the sinner will
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not in themselves be reward hereafter, but are only conducive
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to his conversion. By his good works, the just man
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obtains an increase of sanctifying grace and eternal felicity. Our
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Lord says, every branch in me that beareth fruit, my
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father will purge it, that it may bring forth more
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fruit fifteen to two to everyone that hath shall be given,
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and he shall abound Luke nineteen twenty six. By these words,
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Christ signifies that the sanctifying grace which he already possesses
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will be increased. He also receives new actual graces. Christ
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promises as the reward of good work one hundredfold in
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life eternal, as the good works of the just reward.
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Here after they are called living works. The more good
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work he has done in time, good works he has
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done in time, the greater will be his felicity to
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all eternity. Our Lord says. The son of man shall
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come in the glory of his father with his angels,
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and then will be rendered to every man according to
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his works. Matthew sixteen twenty seven. Saint Paul declares he
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that soeth sparingly shall reap also sparingly Tewod Corinthians ninety six.
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The Council of Florentine asserts that all the redeemed in
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heaven enjoy the beatific vision of the Triune God, but
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in different degrees of perfection, according as their merits are
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greater or less. Good works cancel the penalty due to sin,
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because on account of original sin, it is difficult for
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men to perform them, and the devil seeks to defer
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him from them. The monks of a certain convent, having
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risen early to pray, beheld to their astonishment a number
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of demons approaching, who said to them, if you will
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but betake yourselves to your beds again, we will immediately
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go away. Inasmuch as good works are onerous to perform,
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they make satisfaction for sin and appease the retributive justice
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of God. Inasmuch as they are as they conduce to
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the honor of God and the welfare of our fellow men,
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they are meritorious and serve to glorify the renunerative justice
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of God. They also exalt the loving kindness of God,
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for they procure for us a gracious answer to our petitions.
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The temporal award of good deeds consists generally in the
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increase of riches and the improvement of health, the prolongation
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of life, the esteem of men, and above all, interior
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joy and peace. He who commits immortal sin loses the
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merits of the good works he has done in the past.
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If the just man turn himself away from his justice
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and do iniquity, all his justices that he has done
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should not be remembered. It's Ezekiel eighteen twenty four. But
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when sin has been washed away in the sacrament of penance,
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the good works of the past are revivified, as revived,
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in other words, as the leaves come out again in
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the spring sunshine. It is not so as sins, once forgiven,
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they are a face completely How great is the mercy
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of our God a face being completely erased. Basically, we
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can apply to others, either living or dead, the merits
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of our good works. Thus we can offer holy sacrifice
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of mass, communion, fast aalm needs, and alms deeds for others.
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In this manner, the good works, inasmuch as it be satisfactory,
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are propitiatory benefit another. The merits of it, however, remain
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with the doer. Nor is it holy loss to us
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as a satisfaction for sin. For in applying it to
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another we perform a work of mercy, and works of
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mercy procure for us from mission of sin. And entitle
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us to an eternal reward. Hence we see that in
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applying good works to others, they are of twofold value.
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We ought to let our good works be seen of
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men in order to set for them a good example.
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In the life of Saint pat show meus paciomus. I
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guess we see how powerful was the effect of a
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good example. When a soldier he was quartered in a
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Christian family, and he was treated with the greatest kindness.
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The behavior of all members of the household was so
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exemplary that he was vastly impressed by it and was
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led to inquire into and finally embrace the Christian religion.
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Pachiomas was an active promoter of monasticism in Egypt. Our
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Lord admonishes us to let our light shine before men,
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so that they may see our good works and glorify
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our Father, whos in heaven Matthew five sixteen. It is
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his will that our influence should make itself felt by
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those around us, that by our light we should be.
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We should illumine the darkness and become teachers and guides
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for our brethren. The Christians should not only be a
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burning but also a shining light. That he may be
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of use to others. At the same time, all works
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of extraordinary nature should be hidden, such as praying with
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one's arms outspread, rigorous fasting, et cetera. Yeah, we can
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talk about that then other time. Yes, praying with one's
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arms outspread is somewhat ostentatious. And you may be somewhat
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familiar with the controversy of what's called the Oran's posture
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at Mass, when the priest is paying the Our Father
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and he raises up his hands, a lot of folks
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in the congregation do the same thing. While not that
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big a deal considering people will start doing that as children,
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just imitating what they saw before them. It's not actually
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Catholic tradition to do that. The Iran's posture is for
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the priests, not for the laity. But anyway, another topic
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for another day. All singularities to be avoided. It is
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a fault whereby piety is made ridiculous and contemptible. But
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those works which are binding on all, such as the
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reception of the Sacrament, should not be done in secret.
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If Christ announces those who give scandal, what a rich
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blessing must be in store for those who by edifying
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and by their edifying and virtuous life lead others on
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the right way. We ought to make diligent use of
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our earthly riches as well as our life here below,
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for the performance of good works. We ought to make
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friends by means of our wealth. After our death, they
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may receive us into everlasting dwellings Luke sixteen nine. Oh,
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how short a span of this transitory life our whole
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eternity depends so quote from Saint Jern we ought to
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work wide as day. The night cometh when no man
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can work John nine to four. A period of man's
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exists upon earth is his seed time. The loss in
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hell would give up all the treasures of the world
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for one short moment to spend the day as they please,
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in which to reconcile themselves with God. How foolish are
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those who pursue sensual pleasures instead of doing good works.
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They are like men who in a gold mine pick
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up stones and earth instead of precious metal. You are
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sorry if, perchance you have spent a small sum of
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money unwisely, but you consider it no matter for regret
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to have wasted a whole day in the service of
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the devil. The hour will come when we shall become
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alive to the inestimable value of time. But alas that
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will come too late, and y'all we will wrap it
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up there. We have just discussed good works, and tomorrow
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we will discuss virtue. God willing, as Hank Williams always said,
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the Good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise. I'll
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talk to you tomorrow. But anyway, in the words of
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Saint Padre Pio, pray, hope and don't worry. And I
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do hope to talk to you tomorrow. Have a good one.