“Schizophrenic?”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
September 12-13, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 18: 21-35
During the 4th year of theology, theologians take a course on penance. It’s a very interesting class, but, if you don’t pass it, you cannot hear confessions. It’s like medical school…if you don’t pass anatomy, you don’t get to practice medicine. Go figure. The penance class gave us the opportunity to apply what we had learned in Moral Theology, or immoral theology as we liked to call it. Everything we learned in theology, we now got to apply to souls.
So, how many types of sin are there? Two? Mortal and Venial…right? There is actually a third type of sin called Material Sin. All sin is evil, but not all sin is deadly as scripture tells us. An example of Material Sin is if someone suddenly cuts you off on the highway and you make a spontaneous burst of commentary about his or her parentage. Is this a sin against charity and a bad example for other people inside the car? Yes, but, it’s not culpable. There was no thought to it. It was just a spontaneous action. The action itself was sinful, but carries no guilt. I was actually awake that day in class 40 years ago.
Sin has levels of gravity. For example, there’s a difference between taking a poke at me which I most richly deserve and taking one at a child. Wouldn’t you say there is a difference in gravity? Some sins are so bad that they carry certain remedies. There are five sins specifically reserved for the Holy Father and that only he can forgive. The good news is that you can commit only one of them…by physically attacking the Pontiff. If you try to stab the Pope, I cannot forgive that. The other four sins are reserved for the clergy, and only the Holy Father can forgive those. There are also sins that only bishops can forgive because of the gravity of the sin. One of the sins reserved for bishops is the forgiveness of the sin of abortion. In the military, bishops gave their priests the authority to forgive the sin of abortion, and Bishop Jugis has given me the same authority. I can forgive that sin in the Sacrament of Penance, because the gravity of the sin is so great. The most helpless of all human beings is a child in the womb. But, it’s a grave sin not only for the person who had the abortion performed, but for those who performed it and for those who enabled it to be performed. It’s also a grave sin for those who voted for it, for those who gave money to politicians to keep it legal, and for those who cooperated with it. Why? Because you are helping to make abortion available. If you drive someone to go rob a bank – guess what, you are guilty of robbing a bank. “But, I didn’t go in the bank!” “I didn’t know!” You are still guilty. If you drive someone so that they can shoot and kill another person, you are guilty of murder. You’re going to need a good lawyer. When you get to prison, I hope you enjoy the bologna sandwiches and fried fish. By enabling people to commit the sin, you are culpable for the sin.
You cannot believe something in private and something else in public. You cannot say, “Personally, I’m against it, but I don’t want to force my beliefs on anybody.” We call those people schizophrenic, and there’s a lot of them out there. As Jesus tells us in the Gospel, when we say “yes” it must mean “yes” and when we say “no” it must mean “no.” Otherwise, it’s schizophrenic and goes against the Gospel.
The penalty of abortion is excommunication. Excommunication, according to Cannon Law, means you are cut off from the Sacraments of the Church, and if you die, you will lose your mortal soul. All of these penalties sound drastic and severe. People who don’t know theology say, “Oh! Excommunication is so punitive!” They have no idea what they are talking about. The Church has no punitive penalties. All of these penalties have evolved in Cannon Law and are medicinal remedies. They are meant to warn people that they are in danger of losing their mortal souls. These penalties are like having a 2×4 up the side of the head…it’s a wakeup call.
Sin is bad, but God’s love is greater. During confessions, some people will say “Father I plead guilty to every sin in the book.” Well, I don’t think so, because there are actually two books on Moral Theology. So, did you commit bestiality? “No!” Well, there goes one chapter. Were you a paratrooper? “No!” There goes another chapter. We are certainly narrowing down the chapters. Did you marry your cousin? “No! Oops! There goes another chapter. Were you a Marine? “No!” Well, there goes another chapter. So, just what have you done then?
God’s love is so great that even a defrocked priest can forgive sin when there is danger of death…regardless of the sin. Even Mr. McCarrick, formerly Cardinal McCarrick, can forgive sin when there is a danger of death. How great is God’s love for us that He will use imperfect and sinful people such as myself to forgive sin. His infinite mercy is boundless. Now, to acquire mercy, what must you first do? You have to plead guilty. If we go to court – I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve seen one on T.V… – and we tell the judge we need mercy, the judge will say “for what?” So, you plead guilty and then throw yourself on the mercy of the court just like the good thief who was on the Cross alongside Jesus. The good thief admitted his guilt and asked the Lord to remember him in His kingdom. Our Lord responded, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The most beautiful thing about our Lord has to do with His nature. God has no memory. What is memory dependent upon? The passage of time. But, if you read scripture, how does our Lord define Himself? “I am.” Not “I will be” or “I was,” but “I am.” God’s eternal love is boundless. He forgives and He forgets, no matter how grievous our sins.
How will you apply this message to your life? Are you enabling people to commit sin? When you say “yes”, do you mean “yes” and when you say “no” do you mean “no”? Or, do you say one thing in private and something else in public?