Fear of the Lord

JMJ

While I understand that no one enters Heaven walking backwards, away from Hell, I don't hold with the following:

Pope Francis on Sunday cautioned against having a “mistaken” idea of God as harsh and punishing, saying this fear will end up paralyzing us and preventing us from doing good, rather than spreading his love and mercy.
“Fear always immobilizes and often leads us to make bad choices,” the Pope said Nov. 19. “Fear discourages us from taking the initiative, and encourages us to seek refuge in safe and guaranteed solutions, and so we end up doing nothing good.”
To go forward and grow on the path of life, he said, “we must not be afraid, but we have to trust.”
Source: EWTN

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but fear of offending God is not a bad thing.

I did a quick search on Google - Douay-Rheims Fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Book of Proverbs - Ch 1

Be not wise in thy own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil:
Book of Proverbs - Ch 3

The fear of the Lord hateth evil
Book of Proverbs - Ch 8

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without content,
Book of Proverbs - Ch 15

By mercy and truth iniquity is redeemed: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.
Book of Proverbs - Ch 16

The fruit of humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and glory and life.
Book of Proverbs - Ch 22

Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be in awe of him.
Book of Psalms - Psalm 32

The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. [9] O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him. [10] Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them ...
Book of Psalms - Psalm 33

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Book of Psalms - Psalm 110

All wisdom is from God, and is given to them that fear and love God.
Ecclesiasticus - Ch 1

Then we have the following:

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Epistle Of Saint Paul To The Hebrews - Ch 10

Still think that fear is always a bad thing?

Fear for the Pope, because if he does not fear the Lord, then he is personally in great peril and will wreak even greater havoc on the Church.

P^3

Comments

The Vatican and SSPX – An Organizational Culture Perspective

Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection. The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements. So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

+ JMJ An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'. Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like. No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included. I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith. While...

Rome and the SSPX - the latest

+ JMJ Bishop Fellay gave a conference late last month and provided some more insight into the situation with Rome. There are comments on Deus Ex Machina Blog and Hilary White has now entered the fray. What is one Catholic to think about all these opinions? What a Catholic is to think: With the Church! What does the Church think about obedience? Virtue as it is? If there is no proximate occasion of sin and the other conditions are met, then one cannot resist the command.

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

How many more must die for the throne? or How to combat FUD!

+ JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc. So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post. Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God. So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries. As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...

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