Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 And to some who trusted in themselves as just and despised others. He spoke out of this parable, name of the father and the son and the Holy Ghost. Amen. At the moment, the very moment of their creation, God and Doug, the angels with incredible gifts. For example, at the very most of his creation in angels starts with ideas infused by God. That might not sound like much until we realize what this means, until we realize how incredible an angelic mind is compared to ours. See, although an angel like us can only consider one idea at a time, the angel, when he considers that idea instantly understand instantly in a single glass glance every single thing that is contained within that idea somewhat like we can see all the objects reflected in a mirror, in another words, in a single glance at one of his ideas without having to stumble along through process of reasoning and judgment like we do an angel instantly and completely understand all the truths contained within that idea, all the possible aspects of the idea right up to the ability of his capacity to know all the consequences and all the conclusions, every single one of them right up to his ability, his capacity to know every one of these things in that idea and angels in like is so powerful.
Speaker 0 01:35 He can see so clearly that naturally speaking, he can't make an error at the level of nature. An angel cannot make an error. Now, if that still doesn't strike, everyone here is completely amazing. Let's just make a simple comparison. Let's stop for a second and consider one field the field of chemistry. Just think of all the effort poured into scientific and technological research by chemists all over the world of all the public and private research institutions, all the research done to determine the properties, the elements and compounds to produce new materials, to come up with new technical processes. Sometimes with success, sometimes with failure. Okay. Now all that everything we've managed to discover and develop all of it, all of it that we've developed over centuries of work by mankind, all of it is nothing. It's nothing compared to an angel can see instantly by looking at his infused idea of matter.
Speaker 0 02:41 The Angel can instantly see to the very degree of his capacity to know all the elements in the universe, every possible compound that could be made from them, every possible use that could be made of them. Every possible technical, technological process, every possible development in chemistry, whether an inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, whatever, all this knowledge instantly seen absolutely no errors, and that's not all in the same glass, right? A glance right up again to the degree of his capacity to know danger would also also see all the truths of physics, all the truths and metallurgy, all the truths of civil engineering, electronics and so forth and so forth. Instantly with no errors. We've been struggling with this stuff for centuries, and the angel can see instantly with no errors, right up to the very degree of his capacity, you know, and we're just touching the surface of what an angels intellect is like. Okay. The great father and doctor to the church, St Augustan says that the things the world poured forth from God in two ways, the things in the world poured forth from God and two ways intellectually into the minds of the angels and physically into the world of things. So God and the angels with incredible gifts, breathtaking intellects, and naturally speaking, the angels were perfect.
Speaker 0 04:19 So how did the angels fall? That's not a stupid question. Think about it for a second. See, at the very moment of their creation, they hadn't yet been admitted to the vision of God, so they fell, some of them. But how can they give that? Naturally speaking, they can't make any errors and they instantly see all the consequences. How did the angels fall? How could the angels fall?
Speaker 0 04:49 Saint Thomas Answers the question. In order to understand Saint Thomas, his answer will fall. The cometary late, great committed can father Walter Farrell quote, I've edited this for the sake of time and angel like a man can consider only one concept at a time. What concept is considered at this precise moment is it matter to be sided entirely at the taste of the particular angel and this precise power lies the key to the solution of the mysterious and of the angels. How did that particular sin actually come about? We have a rather accurate picture of the process. If we can imagine the glamor girl of the year looking her very best as she prepares to step out of a room, stopping as she naturally would for one last approving glance in standing transfixed by her own beauty. So the angels considering their own beauty and perfection, we're in chanted deadly, stopped, captivating, refusing to let their minds consider the futures supernatural end to which that lustrous natural beauty was ordered.
Speaker 0 06:10 In this sense, they wished to be like God. Nothing could be more beautiful, nothing more perfect. They would be sufficient to themselves placed in their happiness, their final end in themselves to the scorn of the supernatural happiness, which was the beatific vision, the splendor of angelic beauty fascinated them. They refuse to look beyond it to the infinite splendor of the vision of God. The Glamour Girls, rapt admiration of herself could hardly be morally serious, but in the angels, this fascination was a deliberate mortal sin. It's true. It's no one perfection. The angels not to consider this or that idea. Generally speaking, Jessie's is no sin in a Catholic to refuse to wonder what day of the week this happens to be, but if the Catholic fears, this may be a Friday and he refuses to wonder about it, let's see, discovery, candy, meat, he sins so to what the angels with them at is an imperfection and a sin not to consider this or that idea when they're obliged to consider it.
Speaker 0 07:15 The whole thing was deliberate. The angels directly and expressly willed the consideration of their own beauty. The lack of consideration of the vision of God was willed indirectly and implicitly. They put themselves in the position of a man who refuses to listen to his own faults and limitations because he's so hardly in love with himself. Close quote. Now sometimes we hear that the fall occurred after the angels were put to the test by having the mystery of the incarnate word or the Macklin conception reveal to them and some of the angels refused to honor or adore this revelation of our Lauder's mother. That's just another way of describing the same refusal, the same rejection of the supernatural life. We'll by God in favor of their own natural greatness. Because both the incarnation and the act conception are supernatural mysteries. The point is that by embracing and basking in their own natural greatness, the angels that sinned, the demons rejected the supernatural greatness to which they'd been called. They refused to remain in a situation which included a common life, which included a supernatural communion with other rational creatures, rational creatures with a natural dignity in powers, far, far below the spectacular powers of the angels, creatures composed of a body and soul man.
Speaker 0 08:42 Now we have some notion, the first sin that satanic sin of pride, the sin of Angel's glory and their own excellence, the sin that turned Fi's angels in a devils and as it work created hell sin in which they prefer to be alone, folded in on themselves, glorying in their own natural greatness rather than than to be in supernatural fellowship with God and man. Now with all that is background, let's turn today's parable of the fair see and the public in order to really appreciate the force of our Lord's words. We'll start with a little background information on each of these characters. First, the fairs seat fair seat was a member of a particular hereditary religious association or fraternity which had a total membership. According to Josephus about 6,000 it's pretty small. The fair c fraternity had four degrees as well as special vows and obligations, had an novitiate to special vowels and obligations.
Speaker 0 09:45 The two most important of which were first to observe in the strictest manner possible. All the ordinances concerned with ritual, purity and second to observe in the strictest manner possible. Everything concerned with ties and other religious dudes. Its Fair season. Second, the Publican. Now the Roman tax system had an interesting way of operating today we'd call it privatizing until the time of Caesar. The tax revenues of a Roman province would be auctioned off for five year periods to joint stock companies headquartered wrong. They're run by an order. The questions, the nights in Rome, that's who owned these stock companies. These ramen companies who expected to make a good profit would then employ slaves. Your mentor, the lower classes as their tax collectors out in the provinces because they got a farm that province for the taxes. They bid on it, they got the province. Then they get a farm it to see how much profit they can make off it so you can see already how this is going to go.
Speaker 0 10:46 Given the state of men. Tax collectors collected harbor totals, import, export tolls, bridge tools, road tolls, income tax, the head tax on women from the age of 12 to 65 and it had tax on men from the age of 14 to 65 whether you slave or free property tax, which was 10% of the grain, 20% of what wine and fruit. Part of this was collected in kind in the produce in part was collected in cash and sales tax and anything bought or sold in towns. Now these tax collecting employees, that row, you can imagine going every time you come to a bridge, you have to stop and get shook down by these guys and they're not necessarily going to be fair. And unfortunately the same guys that run the stock collecting companies also run the judiciary. So even though you have the right to appeal, you're appealing to the guys that own the corporations.
Speaker 0 11:35 Forget it, you're in trouble. CNC How popular they were. Anyway, these t these, uh, these guys were known as Publicans, the tax collectors after Cesar, then they became direct employees of the government itself that made them even more hated. Now their minor officials directly associated with this heathen rulers. Okay. So the rabbis hated Publican so much that they ranked them in the religious writings with harlots, heathens, highway men and murderers. Snide. You see the social status of a publican. Okay, so we have a Pharisee, someone who's got this real great zeal for his religious duties and a Publican, someone who's regarded at best as a common criminal. What is the Ferris, he say when he goes up into the temple? Oh God. I give the thanks that I am not as the rest of men. Extortioners unjust adulterers as also as this publican. I fast twice a week.
Speaker 0 12:29 I give ties of all that he presents as Santa Guston, the Great Bishop Dr. Church comments on this passage, quote the Farris he says, and the just man, all others are sinners. I'm not as the rest of men. Extortioners unjust adulterers I the first, he says, am unique. This publican belongs to the rest of men. Hi, the Pharisee says him. No way like this, man. Because of my jest deeds by which I am not an unjust man. I fast twice a week. I give ties of I possess, but what did the Pharisee ask of God? Search his words and you will find nothing.
Speaker 0 13:13 He went up to pray, but he had no desire to ask God for anything. He wished to praise himself, and it was not enough to not ask God for anything but only to praise himself. Besides that, he also wished in salt, the other man praying there, close quote and Agustin. So here's a fair. See a man who's been given the very great blessing to be a member of what was right up until the crucifixion of our Lord, the one true church, not only as a member of the one true church at that time, he's also been given the great graces, not to be an extortionist, to apparently not be unjust in civic dealings, to not fall into a doll tree, to be able to fast twice a week and still pay his tides. God has given this fair. See all these gifts and what does the pharisee he do to show his gratitude?
Speaker 1 14:00 Okay.
Speaker 0 14:01 What does he do? The same thing those fallen angels do at the beginning, instead of giving the glory to God. Father, the blessings he's received and asking God have mercy on his neighbor. He's madly in love with himself. He's in raptured with himself. He's imitating the devils. Yeah. What about the public can, what does the public in this man regard as a common criminal, what does he say? Oh God, be merciful to me. A sinner.
Speaker 1 14:33 Yeah,
Speaker 0 14:34 the public, and here's a guy, remember classified with the harlots, the heathens, the high women. In the murders. He doesn't go up to the temple to tell God what a great guy he is. He goes right up before God and he repents and tells God he's a sinner and ask God to have mercy on him.
Speaker 1 14:50 Okay,
Speaker 0 14:51 so when is it public can do, he calls on the divine mercy and what does our Lord say about the two of them? Quote I say to you, this man, the Publican went down to his, into his house, justified rather than the other, because everyone that exalted himself shall be humbled and he that humbled to himself shall be exalted. Scripture tells us that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble pride, turn angels with other spectacular gifts in a devils and filled hell. Pride filled the pharisee inspired him to imitate those Dells, the same kind of satanic fide that filled the Ferris. He inspired him to despise. The publican is a gigantic temptation, an absolutely enormous temptation for people who are trying to lead good lives in this culture of death.
Speaker 0 15:54 Why is it such a huge temptation? Because when people are trying to legalize, when God has blessed him with the gift of the true faith and given a man and desire to avoid sin and lead a life pleasing to him, that man has a radically different outlook on life than the general population. And when a fervent Catholic looks around and sees to sort of degenerate, disgusting behaviors, the clothing styles, these so-called lifestyles of this neopagan culture of death, when he looks around and sees that, for example, he might encounter a drug addict or pro abortion activist if he's careful, the fervent Catholic might forget one fundamental truth there, but for the grace of God, go lie
Speaker 0 16:44 there. But for the grace of God, go I each and every one of us can honestly say, if yards hasn't already spent part of his life or isn't right now trapped by some horrible sin, each and every one of us can honestly say that if we're good, it's only by the grace and mercy of God. Because without the grace of God, we'd be completely ensnared in all the sewage of this culture of death too. And if we ever allow ourselves to forget that the only reason that we're not currently right here and now terrible sinners, if we ever forget that the reason that we're not terrible centers is because of the grace, mercy God. If we ever forget that it's easy to move away from Haiti knee sins and believe me, we have to hate these sins. Look at what things like drug addiction and pro-abortion activism due to the people involved in them.
Speaker 0 17:39 If they don't change directions, they're going to wind up where they're headed and that's frightening. We have to hate that. We don't want anybody to go to hell. We have hate sin, but if we're not careful, it's easy to move away from the hitting. That kind of behavior to imitating the fair seat despise and the poor centers or in that way. This problem isn't so common for penitents people who've had a major conversion from life of sin, but it's a special danger for the young and other people that God has so far spirit from getting into serious trouble. And if we allowed ourselves to get that far, it won't be long till by the chest judgements of God. We find ourselves plunged into some terrible sin. In his comments on Galatians six one you a fonts it says, quote, the Apostle Paul tells us that in correcting sinners, we should not treat them with contempt.
Speaker 0 18:33 Less. God should permit us to be a sailed by the temptation to which they yielded and perhaps to fall into that very sin which we were surprised to see them commit. We should before we approve others, consider that we're as miserable and is liable to sin as our fallen brethren. Close quote. There are two special dangers here. One regards to purity and other regards to faith in regards to the special dangers of purity. Saint Thomas points out that quote, the man who is fettered by pride and does not know it. The man who is fettered by pride and is not know what falls into the sin of impurity, which of itself is obviously disgraceful. Sit through this sin. He may rise up again. Humble, close quote. Impurity is a punishment for pride. We each have to be very humble here.
Speaker 0 19:29 The fact that impurity is a punishment for pride is true for nations as well. We're a proud nation. That's why we're drowning in a title wave of impurity in regards to the special dangerous to the faith. What was true at the fair city of Publican is just a true for each one of us today. We have to be careful that we don't fall into a trap of thinking something along these lines. Oh God, I give you thanks that I am not as the rest of men. Contracepting heretics associating with bad company, watching bad movies, wearing modest clothes is also all these other cafeteria Catholics. I fast twice a week. I give ties of all I possess. Don't ever think can't happen to me, can happen, happen to some of the angels and are perfect happened to Adam and eve. You have a perfect, we're not perfect and the playing field we're on is a lot rougher and Satan has his plans for the pious too.
Speaker 0 20:31 Don't ever think it can't happen to me. Don't ever think that this kind of talk. It sounds somewhat like what I just said is pretty common. We've all heard it. That devil has his plans for the pies too. We gotta be careful. It's truly been given a gift that's graded and all the natural gifts given to the most outstanding angel. We've been given this priceless gift of the true faith with an infinite value, a gift of the faith of faith without which it is impossible to please God, but we better not get proud and arrogant about it because in the first place, none of us did anything to deserve this gift of the face. And in the second place, every one of us has sinned and offended. God said that the reason we hold the faith, it's only by his mercy and his love. His great mercy, we've offended the very gift giver.
Speaker 0 21:27 Don't ever think it can't happen to me. The devil has his plans for the pious. We need to be humble. So before we close, let's consider briefly some practical advice and how to fight our pride by growth and humility. We'll just brief ideas on prayer and work. Prayer. Great doctor, the church, Saint Teresa. Allah says, quote, we shall never acquire true humility unless we raise our eyes to behold God. Look upon his greatness. The soul sees better her own littleness, beholding his purity. She is the more aware of her uncleanness. Considering his patients. She feels how far she is from being patient and find turning her glands upon the divine perfections. She discovers in herself so many imperfections that she would gladly close rise eyes to them. Close quote, so we should really ponder the greatness of God and prayer. If we want to go on humility, we should beg God for a melody.
Speaker 0 22:27 We get prayed the litany of humility. Put it in the bulletin. I'll keep it running the Bolton off and on periodically for some months that everybody can cut it up and put a little copy in your missile or by your bed on the nightstand someplace. Pray that humility is the foundation of other virtues. It's not the most important virtue, but it's foundational. That's where ladies at greatest seen she's the most humble works. Taking most of these from Saint Alphonsus. Number one, be careful to not brag. Don't post anything. Number two, since without the divine aid, we can do testing. We've got to keep that mind. Without the divine aid, we can do nothing. Be careful never to confide in our own strength, but we want to strive to live in continual and utter distrust of ourself. In other words, we want to place our trust in confidence in God.
Speaker 0 23:23 We don't want to trust ourselves. That's the first rule of spiritual life. Put our trust and confidence in God. He's not damaged. We are. We can rely on him. He'll help us out. We might mess up, but he won't. Okay. Number three, if we fall, we shouldn't give away to despair. Anger. Instead, we should humble ourselves, repent, and then with a stronger sense of our own. That's the one thing we can learn from the fall is humility, Huh? With a stronger sense of our own weakness. We should throw ourselves into the arms of our Lord to be angry with ourselves after having committed a sin is not an act of humility and pride, which makes us wonder how we could fall into such dyfed. What do you mean? How could I do that? I just did it. You know, when people say, how could I do that?
Speaker 0 24:04 Well, you just did. I mean, you know, I have to do it. Rewind and think about what just happened. We all do it. Getting mad about it is just pride. What did you expect the miracle is? We're not worse than we are. That's the marvel that we're not worse than we are. It's the great mercy God. So we want to cooperate with His grace and don't be surprised when we fall, but repent and turn God with renewed zeal for it. Should we ever see another one? Someone else commit a grievous sin. Take care not to indulge in pride or be surprised at his fall, but pity is misfortune and tremble for yourself. We don't want to play the fair sea role. Piteous misfortune and Trello for yourself. Say a prayer from five. We want to renew our devotion to the most blessed mother. Okay, let's close with a few quotes, a few thoughts from that.
Speaker 0 24:52 Great Book, humility of heart quote, God banished angels from heaven for their Pri, for how can we pretend to and turn to heaven if we don't keep ourselves in a state of humility in paradise? There are many seats who never gave arms and earth their poverty justified them. There are many states who never mortified their body by fast. You were in hair shirts. Their bodily infirmities excused him. There are many saints who are not virgins. Their vocation was otherwise, but in paradise, there's no saint who was not humble, close quote in paradise. There's no saint who is not humble. The beginning of humility is to realize that we're proud in paradise. There is no saying that was not humble.
