Author Topic: Judging our neighbour (Read 825 times)

GertrudetheGreat · « **on:** December 18, 2011, 07:04:29 AM »

From "Practical Meditations For Every Day of the Year on the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (1868).

Quote

“Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; for with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged; and why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?“

Powerful are the words which our Lord uses to induce us to abstain from judging our neighbours. These judgements are almost always presumptuous, and often very sinful; because we can only judge from appearances, which are always deceitful; because we often go so far as to judge and condemn their intentions, which God alone can penetrate, and alone has the right to judge; finally, because these judgements are dictated almost always by jealousy or wounded self-love, which blinds us to such a degree that, as our Lord says in figurative language, we do not remark in ourselves faults and failings a thousand times worse than those which we see in others.

In practice, when we are tempted to despise, to judge, or condemn our brethren, let us think of those divine words on which we have meditated, or of those other words which also fell from our Saviour’s lips: “As long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me.” Let us think that what seems blamable or even sinful to us may be perhaps a meritorious act of virtue in the eyes of God, who alone can justly understand our actions and intentions; or rather let us say to ourselves, “Why occupy myself with others? It is not for their acts, but for my own, that I shall have to answer to the Judge of all men. If I had always acted in this way, what a loss of time, what troubles, and what sins I should have avoided!” [Emphasis in the original.]

nadieimportante · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2011, 08:47:09 AM »

This reminds me of the Spanish joke about the little boy with his mother who is a prostitute. The little boy as standing next to his mother while she's having an argument with another woman. While the argument is going on and on, the little boy keeps yelling to his mother "call her a whore mom, call her a whore". Till finally the mother bends over and says why are you saying that? And the little boy answers, call her a whore mom, before she calls you one.

People who are quick to call others heretics, ites, ists , are just giving away their own doubts about themselves.

nadieimportante · « **Reply #2 on:** December 18, 2011, 09:15:28 AM »

Quote from: Cupertino

Quote from: nadieimportante
This reminds me of the Spanish joke about the little boy with his mother who is a prostitute. The little boy as standing next to his mother while she's having an argument with another woman. While the argument is going on and on, the little boy keeps yelling to his mother "call her a whore mom, call her a whore". Till finally the mother bends over and says why are you saying that? And the little boy answers, call her a whore mom, before she calls you one.

People who are quick to call others heretics, ites, ists , are just giving away their own doubts about themselves.

Nadie, read "Liberalism is a sin", and you will be enlightened.

Sounds like it's the only book you've ever read, for it's the only source you keep refering to. I've had the book since like 1998, and have read it like three times. One misapplied quote does not make doctrine.

GertrudetheGreat · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2011, 09:28:45 AM »

Quote from: nadieimportante

People who are quick to call others heretics, ites, ists , are just giving away their own doubts about themselves.

Got a decree from a General Council proving that, Nadie?

No, I didn't think so. Pop psych isn't generally found in Catholic sources.

Santo Subito · « **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2011, 10:09:51 AM »

Sedes should take heed of this admonition with regard to John XXIII - BXVI.

GertrudetheGreat · « **Reply #5 on:** December 18, 2011, 10:14:05 AM »

Quote from: Santo Subito

Sedes should take heed of this admonition with regard to John XXIII - BXVI.

Yes, of course. But some judgements are necessary, as the saints also point out. It is necessary to judge whether a man who claims to have authority over you really has that authority, and this is crucial in the case of a purported pope, for obvious reasons.

These judgements should be made reluctantly and with great diffidence.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #6 on:** December 18, 2011, 02:17:34 PM »

It's necessary to not to allow groups like the SSPX dictate who is allowed to judge whom by their selective application of moral theology texts.

Augstine Baker · « **Reply #7 on:** December 18, 2011, 02:37:17 PM »

Quote from: GertrudetheGreat

Quote from: nadieimportante
People who are quick to call others heretics, ites, ists , are just giving away their own doubts about themselves.

Got a decree from a General Council proving that, Nadie?

No, I didn't think so. Pop psych isn't generally found in Catholic sources.

What makes you think that observation comes from pop-psych?

Roman Catholic · « **Reply #8 on:** December 18, 2011, 04:04:58 PM »

Quote from: Santo Subito

Sedes should take heed of this admonition with regard to John XXIII - BXVI.

The passage was instructing how we should treat our neighbor, our brethren. So the admonition also applies to how Catholics who are sede-vacantists treat Catholcs who are sede-plenists, yes even the ones who are Novus Ordites. Sede-plenists can take note that it also applies to how they should treat sede-vacantists.