Wisdom, Chapter 5,
Verse 2
Seeing this, the
wicked shall be shaken with dreadful fear,
and be amazed at the unexpected salvation.
This verse is about the reaction of the wicked upon
discovering that Christ is real and that they have chosen poorly and now they
are to pay up for their crimes.
What Will Hell Be Like? THOUGH many of the pagans were
true atheists, considering Hell a fable invented to frighten the wicked, the
more renowned of the ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Xenophon,
Aristotle, Plato and others had no difficulty in admitting the existence of a
future life— a Heaven where the good would be rewarded, and a Hell where the
evil are to be punished. Only the most perverted of men will deny that there is
a God, the Creator and Governor of all things. Such men would prefer to deny
the existence of God than to face the just chastisement of their own misdeeds.[1]
Today is “The great American Smokeout” day which
incourages smokers to quit or cut down on the habit. When I was a soldier, I
often cautioned my troops on the dangers, to which one young lieutenant retorted
one day, “You know it is better to smoke in this life then the next”.
World Philosophy Day seeks to promote human thought,
new ideas and critical thinking to confront today's challenges.
Philosophy refers to the study of knowledge, experience, existence and
reality. According to the United Nations,
philosophy provides the conceptual bases of principles and values on which world peace depends: democracy, human rights, justice and equality.World Philosophy Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2005. Since then, every third Thursday of November has served as a celebration of philosophical knowledge.
World
Philosophy Day Facts & Quotes
·
Rene
Descartes is considered to be the father of modern Western philosophy. He is
widely credited with being the first to use the concept of reason to develop
the natural sciences.
He lived from 1596 to 1650.
·
Thales
of Miletus is widely considered to be the father of philosophy. He was a Greek
philosopher, mathematician and astronomer that lived around 624-546BC.
·
Truth in philosophy means that concept and external reality correspond.– George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher of the late enlightenment period.
World
Philosophy Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Spread
awareness on social media by using the hashtags #WorldPhilosophyDay,
#PhilosophyDay and #PhilosophyandCooperation.
·
Tune
in to the live webcast of the philosophical debates on UNESCO’s website. It can
be streamed in French or English at the UNESCO site.
·
Watch
a movie that touches on philosophy. Some suggestions are: The Matrix
(1999), Blade Runner (1982) and Being There (1979).
·
Donate
to the Philosophy Foundation. Any money raised is put towards providing
specialist teachers to schools that need it most, but can’t afford it. The
organization aims to support young people in higher education studying
philosophy.
·
Read
a book on philosophy. Some suggestions are: Plato’s Republic, Critique
of Pure Reason and A History of Western Philosophy.
Why doesn’t God stop human beings from committing
wicked deeds?
Evil’s continuing presence among us is a mystery we can’t fully figure out in
this life. Nevertheless, we can say this much: God allows evil because He’s
powerful enough to bring out of even the greatest evil a much greater good. The
crucifixion of Jesus Christ provides a vivid illustration of this reality.
According to the Gospel, when “Satan entered into Judas,” one of the twelve
Apostles, he went out to betray Jesus (see Lk 22: 3– 4). So the worst evil we
can imagine— the torture and murder of God’s innocent Son— occurred through the
Devil’s influence. Yet the triumph of the empty tomb transformed the horror of
the Cross. Satan was thwarted. When Jesus rose from the dead, He displayed
God’s power to bring out of the greatest of evils an even greater good: the
world’s redemption. Meanwhile, our days in this life provide a season for God
to test, purify, strengthen, and perfect us, making us fit to live with Him
forever in heaven. To that end, the demons serve as useful tools for Him as
they constantly test us by tempting us, so that we become purer and stronger
and closer to perfection every time we resist the temptation. In this sense, we
might say, quoting St. Augustine: “As an artist, God makes use even of the
Devil.”
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There
is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. "There is
no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for
forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. Christ who died for all men
desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to
anyone who turns away from sin.
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In the presence of Christ, who is
Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare.
The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each
person has done or failed to do during his earthly life:
All that the wicked do is recorded, and they do not know.
When "our God comes, he does not keep silence.". . . he
will turn towards those at his left hand: . . . "I placed my
poor little ones on earth for you. I as their head was seated in heaven at the
right hand of my Father - but on earth my members were suffering, my members on
earth were in need. If you gave anything to my members, what you gave would
reach their Head. Would that you had known that my little ones were in need
when I placed them on earth for you and appointed them your stewards to bring
your good works into my treasury. But you have placed nothing in their hands;
therefore you have found nothing in my presence."
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Thus the Lord's Prayer reveals us
to ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us.
O man, you did not dare to raise your face to heaven, you
lowered your eyes to the earth, and suddenly you have received the grace of
Christ all your sins have been forgiven. From being a wicked servant you have
become a good son. . . . Then raise your eyes to the Father who has
begotten you through Baptism, to the Father who has redeemed you through his
Son, and say: "Our Father. . . . " But do not claim any
privilege. He is the Father in a special way only of Christ, but he is the
common Father of us all, because while he has begotten only Christ, he has
created us. Then also say by his grace, "Our Father," so that you may
merit being his son.
Daily
Devotions
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