Remember that wonderful Psalm about mercy and loving kindness and compassion? (Psalm 135 in the older Catholic numbering and Psalm 136 in the newer common numbering) People who know it love its refrain: "... for His mercy endures forever." Other translations have "for His steadfast love endures forever," or "for His loving kindness endures forever." But one of the most common translations is 'mercy.' Both the Douay-Reims and the King James Bible use 'mercy.'
But however this tender, compassionate, loving word is translated into English, there's another side to it that is often neglected. You know that if you stand for anything, you have to oppose something, right? If you love justice, you have to hate injustice. The Bible is very clear on this 'other side' to love, compassion, kindness, and, yes, mercy. Though it's easy to lose sight of this in today's pervasive and oft-too-giddy talk of 'mercy.'
I'm about half-way through Holy Scripture once again in one of my periodic read-throughs, which I cannot recommend highly enough. The blessings and riches of the Bible are beyond telling. So I'm in the Psalms, and I've just been reading the Psalm in question. And half-way through last night, I noticed the following which made me sit up and take notice in a way I hadn't before -- probably precisely because of all the recent talk of 'mercy.' Here are the verses in question from the Msgr. Ronald Knox translation of the Bible [Note: the spelling of 'Pharao' is Knox's]:
Eternal his mercy, who smote the Egyptians by smiting their first-born ...Think about it. Why are these smitings and drownings and slayings 'merciful'? It's not as obvious as you'd think. Yes, He's merciful to those whom He saved from these oppressors. But start down that rabbit hole and you'll find much more!
Eternal the mercy that drowned in the Red Sea Pharao and Pharao's men ...
Eternal the mercy that smote great kings ...
Eternal the mercy that slew the kings in their pride, Sehon king of the Amorrhites,
His mercy is eternal,
And Og the king of Basan,
His mercy is eternal.
Wouldn't it be great if the Special Snowflake of The Holy See was assigned to write a Traditional explication of this Psalm as penance for his progressive praxis?
ReplyDeleteHe could cite St. Robert Bellarmine's "Commentary on the Book of Psalms" and note (p.348) ...they were, certainly, acts of justice, in regard to the wicked, who were stricken and slain: but in respect's to God's people, they were acts of mercy. God sometimes shows his mercy even to the wicked, by shortening their time in this world, thus preventing them of an accumulation of sin, and the treasuring up, in consequence, of a greater amount of punishment "on the day of anger and the just judgment of God"
But that would be an impossible task because The Pietyphobic Pope does not appear to believe in the Catholic Faith
The Special Snowflake of The Holy See is always trying to cleave Christ, cutting Him into two attributes (almost two persons) setting Him against Himself and setting His mercy against His justice in a crude, nearly materialistic, way as though Jesus Christ can be materialistically/functionally severed his from His justice so only Mercy remains.
Jesus is Law and Love and He can not be separated to be crammed into anyone's agenda any more than His Hypostatic union can ever be dissolved or separated and, If we love Him, He says we must keep His commands.
We can not ditch our first wife, get hitched to some other babe and say that is a blessed relationship but that is what The Special Snowflake is claiming isn't he?
O, and he is also claiming that most marriages are not marriages whereas adulterers in a second marriage have a real marriage.
Frankly, that is simply Satanic and The Special Snowflake of the Holy See has to ask his own self if he can dodge the Justice of God and receive aught but His mercy.
He can't because Jesus is not at war with himself but the Special Snowflake of the Holy See is at war with Jesus which ain't too bright, especially considering he is His vicar.
'Snowflake' ... !!!
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