16. The Virtue of Religion
61. Religion in General
Religion is the virtue that regulates man’s relationship with God.1 It is a potential part of justice. Its object (giving to God what is his due) is similar to that of justice (giving to everyone what is his due). However, it does not fulfill the perfect equality that is demanded by justice, since it does not give what is strictly due; no creature can return to God the equivalent of what it has received from him.
The object of the virtue of religion—the worship due to God—is covered by the first three commandments of the Decalogue.
Aside from this specific virtue, the term religion has several other meanings: (1) a certain way of worshipping God, as when we speak of the pagan or Islamic religion; (2) the entire moral life of man, and thus we say that a person is very religious; or (3) a particular state of man in which evangelical perfection is professed, as when we speak of the religious, entering religion, or religious orders like the Dominicans or the Augustinians.
62. Definition of Religion
We are here concerned with religion as a distinct moral virtue. It can be defined as the moral virtue that inclines us to give due worship to God as our Creator and Lord,2 that is, as our Supreme Principle.
Religion is a moral virtue, not a theological one. The latter have God for their direct object, like faith (we believe in God by the authority of God himself) or charity (we love God for his infinite goodness). The object of religion is a created thing: the worship that is due to God.
63. Object and Subject of Religion
The material object of religion is the actions whereby we worship God: genuflections, prayers, etc. The formal object is the imperfect equality with which man tries to return to God something that is equivalent to what God gave him: all that he is and has. Thus, it is naturally right for the creature to revere God and show his subjection to him. This he does through worship, according to his capacity.3
This also highlights the difference between justice and charity; the latter is the love for God in himself, not as Creator.
Religion inclines man to worship God through his will. Thus, the will is the immediate principle of the two main acts of this virtue: to revere God for his excellence, and to submit to his authority.
64. Necessity of Religion
The necessity of the virtue of religion is founded on natural law itself.4 Since man can naturally know God, he can also see the need to acknowledge his dominion.
Through the Old Testament’s ceremonial precepts, divine positive law established the way to worship God and acknowledge his dominion.
A mere figure and preparation of what Christ was to bring, these ceremonial precepts were abolished by the New Testament. Instead, the holy sacrifice of the Mass was established as the principal way of worshipping God, and the other sacraments as secondary ways.
64a) The Organizing Role of Personal Vocation
One should seek and live a harmonious unity among the several aspects of one’s life and activity. Religion, however, should not be just one more aspect of one’s character, but the central pivot upon which all other activities turn.
There are people who live what are, in many respects, decent lives but whose growth toward perfection appears to be stunted, stalled at a level where uprightness and sinfulness coexist. What accounts for this? Sometimes it is because large areas of their lives are ruled by impulses, goals, and even commitments that are unrelated to faith. Of course, everyone’s life includes some elements of faith, but total integration itself has come to a halt, leaving much outside the sphere of faith.
One sees people who have been decently brought up and for whom religion occupies a compartment in their lives. That is the problem: Religion is in a compartment, and they have many interests, objectives, and commitments that are unrelated to it. For them, religion signifies a few positive responsibilities, along with the need to avoid mortal sin. The rest of life goes forward, uninfluenced by faith. In young people, this would be a sign that they are still working at integrating their lives. In older persons, however, this compartmentalization would be a sign of moral immaturity.
The way out is to discover one’s personal vocation. Personal vocation is not a single commitment—the decision to be a priest or religious or a married person or whatever it may be—but a set of interlocking, integrated commitments that organizes one’s whole life under the light of faith. Discerning a vocation means considering the sum total of one’s abilities and opportunities, weighing the needs of the Church and the world, and then making a harmonious set of commitments, which constitute one’s life of faith.
Still, there may be other principles and elements left over, as it were, which do not fit into the pattern of the life thus organized. For example, a married man who is serious about his family, obligations, work, religious practices, and other duties may still retain from earlier days certain interests—friendships, hobbies, recreational pursuits—which, although innocent in themselves, do not fit the life of personal vocation that he is now trying to lead. Soon enough, conflicts arise. Then, if he is consistent and honest with himself, he will either find ways to integrate these carry-overs from the past with the rest of his life or he will eliminate them.5
65. Characteristics of the Worship of God
The worship that is due to God must be internal, since it is through his soul that man acknowledges, reveres, and submits himself to God (cf. Jn 4:24).
Worship should also be external; that is, the internal worship should be externally manifested at times. Thus, the whole man—body and soul—recognizes his dependence on God, since the whole man is a creature of God.6
Finally, worship should also be public, that is, it should be offered at times in the name of the Church by its legitimate ministers. The Church is God’s family. In the worship of this family, “the Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation. In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.”7 The Church, as a visible society, is also a creature of God. It was founded by Christ with the public worship of God as one of its main purposes. Thus, the duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being.
66. The Right to Religious Freedom
The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion, which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church. Christians are called to be the light of the world.
However, nobody may be forced to act against his convictions. The right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, but rather a natural right of the human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from external constraint in religious matters by political authorities.8
67. Acts of the Virtue of Religion
The Holy Mass is the principal act of religion, the best and most complete way of worshipping God. In it, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross becomes sacramentally present. Through Christ’s cross, all things can be offered to God as acceptable sacrifices. The Mass includes all the aspects of the virtue of religion:
· Man, acknowledging God’s greatness, takes action with an act of worship (adoration).
· Man, admitting that he has fallen short of what God wants from him, asks for forgiveness (atonement).
· Man, recognizing his powerlessness and the need for God’s help, asks for his assistance (petition).
· Man, realizing the greatness of God and his will to forgive, reacts with gratitude (thanksgiving).
In a certain way, religion directs the acts of all the other virtues to the due worship of God.
Other acts of religion are devotion, prayer, adoration, sacrifice, the use of the sacraments, vows, oaths, adjuration, and the keeping of certain holy days. These are more directly regulated by the second and the third commandments.
67a) Devotion
The term devotion sometimes refers to certain pious exercises, such as the devotion of the Rosary or the Way of the Cross. It also means the attention or spiritual consolation with which an act of religion is performed, as when one prays with great devotion.
We use it here as meaning the primary act of the virtue of religion. We can thus define devotion as the resolution to dedicate oneself to the things that pertain to the service of God.9 It is thus an act of the will.
When we say that somebody is a devout person, we refer to a stable attitude, a habit that inclines to the act of devotion. This habit is identical to the virtue of religion.
Devotion, the resolution to readily worship God, exercises a decisive influence in all the other acts of religion; hence it is said that it is the first act of this virtue. It informs and enlivens all other manifestations of reverence and subjection to God.10 Acts of worship are imperfect insofar as devotion is lacking, and, as such, they can even become mere external and empty gestures.
The principal extrinsic cause of devotion is the grace of God, which moves us to exercise the virtue of religion. The intrinsic cause of devotion is meditation and contemplation of God, his greatness and goodness, Christ’s humanity (cf. Ps 72:28), and human dependence on God the Creator and Lord (cf. Ps 120:1–2).
The effects of devotion are spiritual joy, accidental or affective devotion (the second meaning given above), facility and readiness in performing other acts of religion, and a certain influence in human external behavior and gestures.
67b) Prayer
(1) Definition and types
God tirelessly calls each person to a mysterious encounter with himself. This conversation is called prayer. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man. Jesus teaches us how to pray, and his prayer accomplished the victory of salvation (cf. Heb 5:7–9). Jesus’ filial prayer involves a loving adherence to the divine will of the Father—even to the cross—and an absolute confidence in being heard.
Prayer is the raising of the mind to God with the purpose of piously conversing with him.11 Prayer of petition or deprecatory prayer (from deprecare, “to ask”) is a request for God’s help.
Prayer of petition does not pretend to inform God about our needs, since he is fully aware of them; its purpose is to remove from within us the obstacles that prevent the fulfillment of our desires. Thus, prayer that is devoid of good dispositions and resolutions is ineffective. God, who knows our needs and wants to grant them, also wants us to ask him insistently (cf. Lk 11:5–10; 18:1–8).
It follows from the definition that man prays through his practical intelligence and not through his will. Nevertheless, the act of prayer is directed to its end by the virtue of religion, which resides in the will.
Prayer can be mental if it is performed exclusively by the mind, or vocal if, in addition to the mental activity, thoughts are manifested in words, often through established formulas. It can also be public it is if made in the name of the Church, or private. According to its purpose, we can distinguish the prayer of adoration (prayer of praise), thanksgiving, atonement (conversion of heart), and petition.
Life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united to Christ and made children of God. Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his body.12
(2) What to pray for
The first movement of prayer of petition is asking forgiveness (cf. Lk 18:13). In our prayer, we also desire and search for the Kingdom to come (cf. Mt 6:10; Lk 11:2, 13).
As to the object of prayer, we can say with St. Augustine that we can ask whatever it is lawful to desire.13 Thus, we can ask for general and particular goods. Goods that are needed for eternal salvation (grace, perseverance, etc.) can be asked for in an absolute way. Other spiritual goods can be requested conditionally, that is, subject to the will of God. Temporal goods can be asked for conditionally.14 Physical evil, for oneself or for others, can be asked for if a spiritual or important good is thus intended.
Moral evil, however, can never be asked (for example, that a crime is successfully achieved). Wanting to have God as accomplice in an evil deed, no matter how slight, would be a grievous offense to him.
(3) For whom we can pray
Intercession is a prayer of petition that leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the principal intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men. Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. We can pray for ourselves and for every creature that is capable of sharing in eternal glory. We can thus pray for sinners (cf. Lk 23:34), excommunicated persons, the souls in purgatory,15 and even the blessed, that their accidental glory may be increased.
We are not permitted to pray for the damned. In the first place, we do not know who they are. Second, we must not pray for the reduction of their punishments. Aside from being useless, it would imply wishing that God fail to be just.
(4) To whom we can pray
Petitions can be addressed only to God, who alone has the power to grant them. He is three Persons in One God. Thus, prayer is primarily addressed to the Father; it can also be directed toward Jesus, invoking his holy name (cf. Mk 10:46–52; Lk 18:13; Phil 2:6–11). However, every time we begin to pray to Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his grace. That is why the Church invites us to invoke the Holy Spirit as the interior teacher of Christian prayer.
Because of the Virgin Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the her; she “shows the way” (hodigitria). After “magnifying” the Lord for the great things he did for her, we entrust our supplications and praises to her.
It is also licit to invoke the saints and the angels in order to ask their intercession before God on our behalf, as the Church often does.16
Private invocation of the souls in purgatory is permissible. Public prayer is not allowed, since we do not know for sure whether their intercession is effective, or whether our prayers reach them at all.
(5) Necessity of prayer
For those who have reached the age of reason, prayer is not only useful, but also necessary by divine precept (cf. Mt 26:41; 7:7–8; Lk 18:1; 1 Thes 5:17; 1 Pt 4:7). The most common and probable opinion holds that prayer is also a necessary means of salvation. Without prayer, it would be impossible to fulfill the obligation to worship God, or to dispose our heart to do the will of God.17
In itself, this precept obliges one to pray at the beginning of moral life, during one’s lifetime, and when one is in danger of death.
In an indirect way, this precept obliges us to pray in some circumstances: when another precept requires it (like that of hearing Mass on Sundays), when prayer is needed to reject a temptation, or when it is prescribed in cases of public calamities.
No precept orders morning and evening prayers, or saying grace at meals, although they are most advisable. Their omission is not of itself a sin, not even venial, and is not sufficient matter for confession. But in practice, that omission, without enough reason, can be a venial sin, since it can demonstrate a lack of concern for God.
(6) Effects of prayer
The main effects of prayer are: merit,18 satisfaction,19 and granting of the petition.
Prayer has many important secondary effects: It enlightens the intellect (cf. Ps 33:6), increases faith, confirms hope and confidence, inflames charity, increases humility, facilitates the exercise of all virtues, and provides consolation.
By divine promise (cf. Mt 7:7–11; Jn 14:13), prayer that fulfills the required conditions is infallibly heard by God. These conditions are the following:
i) The object requested should lead to eternal life. If one unknowingly asks for something detrimental to his eternal salvation, granting it would do him harm, and God would not allow that.
ii) The beneficiary of the prayer should be well disposed to receive the grace requested. If it were not so, he would despise the grace, and it would be worse for him. God would not grant it.
iii) The subject who prays must be in the state of grace (cf. Jn 15:7). He must also pray with humility (cf. Jas 4:6), confidence (cf. Heb 4:16), perseverance (cf. Lk 6:12; 22:43), and attention.
67c) Adoration
The word adoration seems to come from the Latin expression ad orare, “to speak to” or “to ask [God] for.” Originally, adoration was performed by kissing the feet or the fringe of the cloak of the adored person. It was used in the East as a sign of utmost respect.
Generally speaking, “adoration” means the honor paid to another because of his superior excellence and as a sign of submission.20 The excellence of the person can be divine, created-supernatural, and created-natural.
Adoration corresponds to the uncreated and supreme excellence of God. We reserve the term adoration (or latria) for the worship of God exclusively.
Latria includes an internal act and an external act. The former arises both from the intellect (which acknowledges the excellence of God and our subjection to him) and from the will (which accepts that excellence and subjection). The second is the external manifestation of the internal act. Internal and external worship of latria (adoration) is due to God alone. This is established both by natural and divine-positive law (cf. Mt 4:10; Jn 4:23).
Created-supernatural excellence is found in the angels and saints. We pay respect to them by an act of veneration (dulia in Greek). We do not adore the saints; we venerate them.
A special form of the latter corresponds to the exalted excellence of the Blessed Virgin: hyperdulia or special veneration. This is much more than a higher degree of respect or veneration, just as the relation of our Lady to Christ and his mystical body is very different from that of the angels and saints.
Moreover, we can distinguish absolute worship, which is offered to the person, and relative worship, which is offered to things that are closely related to the person, like images, mementos, or relics. Actually, relative worship is not offered to the thing as such, but to the person who is thereby represented or commemorated.21
i) Absolute latria is the cult of adoration that is due to God, and to Jesus Christ (and also to his humanity, his body, and his blood, since this worship is directed to the person; and to Christ present in the Holy Eucharist). Relative latria is due to the cross and other instruments of the Passion, to the images of Christ, and to other symbols of God. The particles of the true cross of Jesus Christ (each piece is called lignum crucis) receive a higher worship than these images of Christ, as established by the law of the Church.
ii) Absolute hyperdulia is due to the Most Blessed Virgin, and relative hyperdulia to her images.22
iii) Absolute dulia is the veneration that is due to the angels and saints, and relative dulia to their images or relics. Our communion with these in heaven, provided that it is understood in the full light of faith, in no way diminishes the worship of adoration that is given to God the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit. The veneration of images and relics is regulated by canon law, both to ensure its dignity and to prevent abuses and misunderstandings with regard to relics.23
God, invisible and incomprehensible, cannot be adequately represented by an image. Thus,
In olden times, God, who did not have body or face, could not be represented by an image [cf. Dt 4:15–16]. But now he has appeared in the flesh, and has lived among men; thus, I can make an image of what I have seen of God … with unveiled face we contemplate the glory of God.24
The Incarnation of the Son of God, however, has inaugurated a new “economy” of images, and this is not contrary to the first commandment.25
67d) Sacrifice
Sacrifice is a sacred offering that is directed to God alone to acknowledge that he is Lord of all. Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be an expression of spiritual sacrifice. In the New Covenant, the only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation. The Holy Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ and includes the Church’s offering. By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice, we can make our lives a sacrifice to God (cf. Heb 9:13–14).26
67e) Vows
(1) Definition
A vow is a free and deliberate promise that is made to God that concerns something possible, good, and better than its opposite.27
· It is a promise that is made with the intention of binding oneself to it. A mere resolution is not a vow (cf. Eccl 5:3).
· The promise is made to God, since it is an act of latria. If a vow is made to a saint, it is really addressed to God. One binds himself in the presence of God to do something, although it is also done in honor of the saint.28 If the promise is made exclusively to the saint, without wanting to be bound before God, the vow would be void.
· Something good must be promised, since pledging to do evil would be an offense to God, and pledging to do something vain or indifferent would be an irreverence.
· It must be possible; otherwise, the vow would be absurd.
· It must also be better than its opposite; otherwise, the vow would be an obstacle to do good. For example, a person who vows to go to Mass only once on weekdays, as opposed to going at least once, would not be able to go more often.
Vows are good and useful (cf. Gn 28:20; Dt 23:22; Acts 18:18; 21:23ff).29 Since it is a way of worshipping God, good actions are more meritorious when they are done under a vow.
Vows may be temporary if they bind only for a time, or perpetual. They may be absolute if no condition is attached, or conditional if they bind only when a stated condition is verified. A vow may also be public or private. The essential vows that are taken by religious (chastity, poverty, and obedience) are considered public. Depending on their juridical consideration, the latter can also be simple or solemn.
(2) Subject of the vow
Generally speaking, the conditions that are needed to make a vow are the same as for any fully human act, but with some qualifications. Concretely, these requirements are the following:
· A vow must be made with the perfect use of reason.
· The intention to make a vow must be present.
· A vow must be made with sufficient deliberation. A substantial error about the contents of the vow invalidates it.
· A vow must be made freely. Fear invalidates the vow if it is strong enough to disturb the use of reason. It also invalidates the vow if, without reaching that point, it is serious and unjustly inflicted in order to compel the vow. Serious but just fear and slight fear do not make the vow void.
· A vow can be made only by a person who is not forbidden by law from doing so. Certain persons are barred by canon law from taking public vows, and professed religious are not allowed to take private vows.
(3) Obligation of vows
In a certain way, a vow can be compared to a self-imposed law. Therefore, the rules for the obligation of laws in general can be analogically applied to vows. The following principles can be laid down:
· Under the virtue of religion, vows bind only those who take them. Thus, a father cannot make a vow to be fulfilled by his son. Neither is the son obliged by the virtue of religion to fulfill a vow that was made by his father (there might, however, be an obligation of justice or filial piety).
· The obligation is serious if the matter is serious and the vow was taken with the serious intention of binding oneself.
(4) The fulfillment of the obligation
A vow must be fulfilled in the way and time specified when making it. In case of doubt, the rules for the interpretation of laws must be followed.
(5) Cessation of vows
A vow may cease by itself (ab intrinseco), or by extrinsic reasons like annulment, dispensation, or commutation. We will give just a succinct description, since this matter is the object of very extensive legislation and complex casuistry.
A private vow ceases by itself when either the object that was promised or the person who made it undergoes such a change that, if known beforehand, would have prevented the vow. A public vow never ceases by itself.
A vow can be annulled (irritatio) by a person with jurisdiction over the maker or the matter of the vow. This is the case, for example, of a father over his son or a religious superior over his subjects.
It can also cease by dispensation, which is the extinction of the vow’s obligation that is made in the name of God by someone having the necessary jurisdiction.
Finally, a vow may cease by commutation, which is the transfer of the obligation from one matter to another. If the new matter is better than the original one, no special cause is needed. If both are equal, at least a slight cause is required. In both cases, and if the vow is not reserved to a higher authority, the person who took the vow can commute it on his own. If the second matter is easier or less good, only the lawful authority can commute the vow, and a serious cause is needed.
67f) Oaths
(1) Definition
An oath is the invocation of God’s name to bear witness to the truth of what is said.30 It is, therefore, an act of the virtue of religion, an act of worship, and specifically of adoration (latria), since it is directed to God and explicitly acknowledges his absolute truthfulness. If there is no invocation of God’s name, either implicit or explicit, then there is no true oath as defined here.31 Thus a person “swearing” something false would sin against veracity, but not against religion.
In an assertory oath, God is invoked as witness to the truth of a past or present event. In a promissory oath, God is invoked to bear witness both to a future act and to the swearer’s present intention of performing it.
An invocatory oath simply calls God as witness of the truth. An imprecatory oath invokes him as witness and as avenger of falsehood: “May God punish me if what I say is not true.”
(2) Conditions for validity and lawfulness
Oaths that fulfill the proper conditions are perfectly lawful (cf. Dt 6:13). Many heretics have condemned oaths, citing the words of the Lord: “But I say to you, Do not to swear at all” (Mt 5:34).32 These words are to be understood as a strong admonition to sincerity, since oaths would not be needed if there were no lies and mistrust.
Their lawfulness is evident from the example of St. Paul, who, certainly knowing this statement of the Lord, took oaths (cf. Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23; Phil 1:8), and from the practice of the Church since her beginning. The conditions for the validity of an oath are as follows:
· An internal intention to take the oath must be present (as in any truly human act). Thus, common expressions like, “By God I tell you …” or, “As God exists that …” are not oaths if they are carelessly used in order to stress the truth of an assertion, but without the intention of taking God as witness. These must be avoided, however, since they could be taken for real oaths.
· A specific formula must be used that, with an explicit or implicit mention of God, really invokes him as witness.
According to the classical formula, three conditions are required for an oath to be lawful: truth, justice, and right judgment (cf. Jer 4:2).
· Truth: What is sworn in an assertory oath must be known to be true with at least moral certainty. In a promissory oath, there should be a real intention to fulfill the promise. When there is lack of truth, that is, when one swears something that is known to be false, or to do something that one does not really intend to do, a sin of perjury is committed. Perjury is always a grievous sin (ex toto genere suo), since calling God as witness to a lie, no matter how small, is a serious offense to his sanctity and his honor.
· Justice: In an assertory oath, justice requires that nothing of what is said violates this virtue. One could not, therefore, take an oath in order to unnecessarily reveal the crimes of others or to boast about one’s own. In a promissory oath, what is promised must be lawful. An unjust oath is a serious sin (ex genere suo), but it can be venial if the injustice is small. The reasons are the same as in the previous condition.
· Right judgment: The oath must be made for a just reason, and with due reverence. An oath without judgment is usually a venial sin (ex genere suo).
(3) Obligation of promissory oaths
Under the virtue of religion, a promissory oath that meets the due conditions binds the person who made it—and only that person—to fulfill his promise (cf. Mt 5:33; Nm 30:3). The obligation can be serious or slight depending on the matter. These conditions are the following:
· On the part of the matter, the action that is promised must be lawful and possible.
· On the part of the person taking the oath, the act must be really human: The intention to swear, freedom, deliberation, and the absence of substantial error are all required. Serious fear and coercion, if they can still be resisted, do not invalidate the oath.
(4) Interpretation and cessation
The rules that govern the interpretation of promissory oaths are analogous to those of vows, which we will not repeat. The same applies to the cessation of their obligation.
67g) Adjuration
Adjuration consists in making use of the reverence, fear, or love that another person has for the name of God or a holy thing in order to induce him to do or omit something.33 Common expressions show traces of this custom: “For the love of God, help me!” or “For God’s sake, don’t do that!” Adjuration is an act of religion—of latria if addressed to God and of hyperdulia or dulia if to the Blessed Virgin or the saints. It is lawful and good if it fulfills the proper conditions, which are the same as those for oaths.
67h) Exorcism
Strictly speaking, exorcism is the expulsion of the devil from a possessed person. In the broader sense, it means the nullifying of the devil’s influence over any creature. For the public performance of the former, the directions of the Roman Ritual should be strictly followed. The permission of the bishop is needed, since it is his function to decide whether there is a real diabolical possession and whether a public exorcism is convenient. No permission is needed for a private and secret exorcism. Anybody can do it, for instance, by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, unclean spirit, I command you to leave this creature of God.”
67i) Sanctification of Sundays and Feasts
Natural law directs man to devote some time to divine worship, not only privately but also publicly.34
Divine positive law established in the Old Testament that a fixed day of the week, Saturday, be devoted to God (cf. Ex 20:8–11). Sabbath was a reminder of creation, a memorial of Israel’s liberation from bondage in Egypt, and a sign of the irrevocable covenant between God and mankind. After the abolition of the ceremonial precepts of the Old Testament, human ecclesiastical law appointed Sunday instead of Saturday (in Latin, dies dominica, “the Lord’s Day”). Our Lord resurrected on a Sunday, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles also on a Sunday. Being the “eighth day,” Sunday symbolizes the new creation that was inaugurated by Christ’s Resurrection. In Christ’s Passover, it fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God.
The precept of Sunday worship applies to all baptized persons who have reached the age of seven and have the use of reason. It extends to Sundays and also to holy days of obligation, which have changed substantially through history and, within certain limits, also change from place to place. The precept comprises two obligations: participating in the Mass and abstaining from certain works and activities.
The sanctification of holy days has several useful effects:
· Natural forces are restored by rest.
· Spiritual life is conserved and developed.
· Family life is encouraged.
· Social worship is fostered, which helps in spreading the Church through the attraction that this worship may exert.
(1) The Sunday obligation
The precept of participating in the Mass obliges under penalty of serious sin. The following conditions are required for its fulfillment:
· One must be physically present. A moral presence is enough; a person who is unable to enter an overcrowded temple fulfills the precept, even if he is outside and cannot see anything, provided that he has the attitude of attending Mass—but not if he is reading a newspaper. The precept is not fulfilled by watching a Mass on television.
· The entire Mass must be heard, from the beginning up to the blessing and dismissal. Missing an essential part of the Mass through one’s fault is a serious sin, but venial if the part is not essential. Missing either all that precedes the Preparation of the Gifts (formerly called Offertory) or all that follows the Communion is held to be a slight omission. Missing both is a serious omission, as well as missing from the beginning to after the Preparation of the Gifts, or from before Communion to the end.
· A devout and not merely physical attendance is required. This implies the intention of participating in the Mass. Mere curiosity about what the priest may say would not be enough by itself. Attention is also needed. It is habitually held that in order to meet this requirement, the absolute minimum is following the movements.
· As for the proper time, the precept can be fulfilled either the same day or on the evening of the previous day.
(2) Causes excusing from the precept of participating in the Mass
Physical or moral impossibility, charity, and duty excuse from this precept. Those who are excused by physical or moral impossibility are:
· the elderly, the sick, and those who are recovering from sickness, if there is a well-grounded fear that their attending Mass might cause some danger to their health;
· those living at a great distance from a church, so that their attending Mass would mean a substantial effort or expense. It is not possible to give a universal definition of “great distance;” it depends on the age and health of the person, the weather, the condition of the roads, and the available means of transportation;
· Those risking the wrath of their spouse or parents, provided that this anger is not caused by hatred of religion exclusively, in which case they are obliged to resist with all their might.
Those who are excused by charity and duty are:
· those who are taking care of the sick during the time of the Mass,
· mothers who cannot leave their children unattended and cannot bring them along,
· those who cannot leave their posts (soldiers, doctors on duty, watchmen),
· generally speaking, those who would suffer serious material loss, like waiters and bakers, who are especially busy on Sundays.
Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that the excusing reason should be all the more serious the more often it prevents the fulfillment of the precept. Besides, even when fully justified—in exceptional cases, a powerful reason completely excuses from the precept—habitually missing Mass greatly harms faith and Christian life. In these circumstances, it is advisable to regularly go to Mass some other day of the week. This would not fulfill the precept—they are excused anyway—but would prevent their being deprived of the benefits of attending the sacrifice of Christ.
(3) A day of grace and rest from work
The Church has established that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to abstain from such work or activities that would prevent:
· the worship to be given to God,
· the joy that is proper to the Lord’s Day,
· the due relaxation of mind and body.35
The main purpose of this precept is devoting holy days to God in a special way. It is then necessary to stop ordinary work and devote the time thus freed to God, one’s family, charitable activities, and rest.
In the past, different types of work were distinguished attending to the physical or intellectual effort that is required. With the norms now in force, the Church wants to make sure that work of any kind will not prevent Christians from sanctifying holy days in a special way. Ordinary work days should also be sanctified, but on Sundays and holy days, Christians can devote more time to God, their families, and the recreation of mind and body.
The required rest is thus compatible with some work, paid or not, which, if possible, should be different from one’s ordinary occupation. Doing the same work as any other day, out of contempt for the norm, however, would certainly offend God.
There are lawful dispensations from this precept. In practice, there are many sufficient reasons that can justify work:
· Other’s or one’s own need: some urgent work, the need to earn some extra income, usual house chores that cannot be postponed (cooking, washing dishes), harvesting, jobs that are subject to shifts (hospitals, hotels), or public services (trains, buses, firemen)
· Custom: some trades like florists, restaurants, and bakeries
67j) Providing for the Needs of the Church
Providing for the material needs of the Church is one of the acts of the virtue of religion. Essentially, these needs are:
· the support of divine worship (construction and maintenance of churches, acquisition and replacement of sacred vessels and vestments, supplies like candles and wine, electricity, and heating),
· the support of the ministers,
· other expenses like the formation of priests, and apostolic and charitable activities.
This obligation is laid down in the present legislation.36 It is thus an ecclesiastical law, but based on natural and divine positive law. All the faithful must be aware of this obligation and contribute according to their real capacity.
68. Sins against the Virtue of Religion
The omission of any of the acts of religion implies a sin of omission against the virtue of religion.
There are two types of sins of commission37 against the virtue of religion:
i) By excess: These sins are not a matter of worshipping God too much, but of worshipping him in the wrong way. They include superstition proper and its variants: idolatry, divination, vain observance, and magic.
ii) By defect: These sins imply ill treatment of God or sacred things. They include irreverence proper and its variants: tempting God, blasphemy, sacrilege, and simony.
68a) Superstition in General
The sin of superstition consists in rendering divine worship in an improper way or to a creature that is not entitled to it.38 The improper worship of the true God can be done in two ways:
i) By giving God a false worship, based on something false. This would be the case of a layman pretending to say Mass, or a Christian trying to worship God according to the Jewish religion, as if Christ had not come. It also includes faking miracles, revelations, or relics, even if the intention is good. This is a serious sin ex genere suo; it thus admits slight matter, like exaggerations in describing a true miracle.
ii) By giving God a superfluous worship, that is, not according to the purpose of religion (to honor God and submit to him), for example: requiring unreasonable conditions for prayer, like a specific place, having taken no food, or by chain letter. This is usually a slight sin, unless it is done in contempt of the Church, with serious scandal, or with other aggravating circumstances.
The other form of superstition consists in offering divine worship to anyone or anything other than God—especially the devil. It comprises idolatry, divination, and vain observance. Magic and sorcery are forms of the latter. We will study each of them.
68b) Idolatry
The first commandment condemns polytheism. Idolatry is the adoration (latria) of an idol, that is, of an image of something that is different from God, or, more generally, the adoration of something that is different from God, with or without use of images.39
Idolatry is formal or internal if there is a real intention of adoring the idol. If it is done to escape some danger, without real intention of adoring, it is material, external or simulated.
The former is more grievous, but the second is a very serious sin as well, because it grievously violates the virtue of religion. In addition to being a lie, material idolatry is also usually accompanied by grave scandal, and violates the strictest commandment of confessing our faith (cf. Ex 20:3–6; 32:8–35).
Idolatry refers not only to false pagan worship, but also consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, Satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Honor that is rendered to the national flag and other symbols are not really forms of idolatry because these are not adored as gods.
68c) Divination
Divination is the prediction of future events through unlawful or improper methods.40
Future necessary events can be predicted naturally and with certitude if their causes are perfectly known. This is the case of eclipses, for instance. When, due to their complexity, causes are not perfectly known, the prediction is probable. This would be the case of weather forecast.41
Future events that depend on human free will, however, cannot be predicted with certitude. Experience of similar cases may provide grounds for conjectures.
Divination precisely presumes to know both types of events with certainty and without studying their causes.
Divination, if not fraudulent, is done with the help of the devil. The devil, of course, does not know the secret thoughts of men, and even less free future events, but his intelligence and experience far surpass that of man. If God allows it, the devil can incite—but not force—people to act in a certain way. Thus, the devil is in a position to predict the future through natural causes much more accurately than man.42
Divination can be performed with an explicit invocation of the devil, who can appear in a sensible form, speak through a possessed medium, or cause the apparition of a dead person. Spiritism is the invocation of the spirits of the dead. It is equivalent to divination, if knowledge is sought.
Divination can also happen with an implicit invocation of the devil, for example, through the interpretation of the positions of the stars (astrology), consulting horoscopes, through arbitrary signs in cards, dice, or hands (palm reading).
When the devil is explicitly invoked, divination is always and essentially a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo). If the invocation is only implicit, it is still a mortal sin (ex genere suo), but can become venial when done out of ignorance and foolishness, for fun or pleasure, or without real conviction.
68d) Vain Observance
Vain observance is a form of superstition that pretends to infallibly obtain a certain effect through means that are not fitted to that purpose, by either nature or the prescription of God or the Church. It differs from divination only in pursuing an action instead of knowledge. Its most common use is healing. Prescriptions of the Chinese feng-shui that are not based on scientific data should also be included among the vain observances.
Vain observance has the same moral evil as divination.
Magic is equivalent to vain observance. It is called sorcery when the result that is sought is evil in itself.43
Spiritism is also equivalent to vain observance, if an effect is sought.
68e) Tempting God
Tempting God is any action or word whereby a person tries to discover whether God has or exercises a certain perfection, such as whether he is good, almighty, knows everything, acts in favor of men, or even exists (cf. Ex 17:7; Ps 77:18–19).44
Formal, express, or explicit tempting of God is always and essentially a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo) (cf. Mt 4:7).
Virtual or implicit tempting of God, not intended as a test, but imprudently expecting him to work a miracle, is a mortal sin ex genere suo, which admits slight matter.
68f) Blasphemy
Blasphemy is one of the sins by defect against religion, that is, irreverence. Blasphemy is an injurious expression against God or, by extension, sacred persons or things. It is usually verbal, but it can be conveyed through gestures or actions, or remain in the heart as an injurious thought, which would be an internal sin.
Blasphemy is, of its own nature, a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo).45 It does not admit slight matter, but it can become venial when the act is not perfect; people often utter injurious words without really meaning what the words convey.
In order to discern the gravity of the sin, three points must be considered: the intention of the speaker, the natural meaning of the words, and the common interpretation that they receive in that place.
Taking the name of God in vain means using it without due reverence. It is normally a venial sin.
68g) Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation of something sacred.46 It can be personal, real, or local, depending on whether a sacred person, object, or place is violated.
Sacrilege is a serious sin ex genere suo against religion; this transgression is severely punished in Sacred Scripture (cf. Lv 10:1; 1 Kgs 2:17; 4:11; Dn 5:2ff; Jn 2:14). It admits slight matter, such as unnecessarily talking inside a church or telling a slightly irreverent joke. However, the term sacrilege is usually reserved for the more grievous sins (like profanation of the Holy Eucharist) and is not used for slight sins.
Real sacrilege, that is, the violation of sacred objects, comprises:
· the abuse of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist—receiving them without the necessary conditions or without reverence,47
· profane use of sacred vessels and ornaments without grave necessity,
· seizure of sacred objects or ecclesiastical property.
Personal sacrilege is the violation of a person who is sacred because of the Sacrament of Orders or because of his religious state. It can be committed in two ways:
· Inflicting bodily harm
· Committing acts of impurity with them
Local sacrilege is the violation or profanation of a sacred place: a church, blessed burial grounds, or a convent.
68h) Simony
Simony is the express will to buy or sell for a material price what is spiritual or inseparably annexed to something spiritual.48 It is named after Simon the Magician, who attempted to buy the power of communicating spiritual gifts that the apostles exercised through the imposition of their hands (cf. Acts 8:18–24).
The material price includes money and anything that can be valued in money, like services, loans, or endorsement.
Not to be confused with simony are the alms that are given for the honest support of the minister on the occasion of a sacrament, like marriage, baptism, or the offering of a Mass. These cannot be demanded as a condition for the administration of the sacrament, and the amount must be subject to the pertinent ecclesiastical dispositions. The needy are not to be deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty.
Simony is a mortal sin ex toto genere suo against religion. It is a serious offense to God, since it implies such a low appreciation of spiritual things, no matter how small, that they are deemed to be equivalent in value to material things.49
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 2095–2132.
2. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 81, a. 3.
3. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 81, a. 5.
4. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 81, a. 2 ad 3.
5. Cf. G. Grisez and R. Shaw, Fulfillment in Christ, 332.
6. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 81, a. 7.
7. CCC, 1082.
8. Cf. Ibid., 2104–2109.
9. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 82, a. 1.
10. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 82, a. 1 ad 2.
11. Cf. St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth., 1.3.24; CCC, 2098, 2559.
12. Cf. CCC, 2565.
13. Cf. St. Augustine, Ep. 130.12.
14. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 6.
15. Cf. DS 1743, 1753, 1820.
16. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 4.
17. Cf. CCC, 2611, 2628; Catechism of the Council of Trent, 4.1.3–4.
18. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 15.
19. Cf. DS 1713.
20. Cf. CCC, 2096–2097.
21. Cf. DS 1822ff, 1867.
22. Cf. LG, 67.
23. Cf. DS 1744, 1755, 1867; LG, 50–51; CIC, 1186–1190.
24. St. John Damascene, De Sacris Imaginibus Orationes, 1.16.
25. Cf. CIC, 1186–1190; CCC, 1159–1162, 2129–2132.
26. Cf. CCC, 2099–2100, 1330.
27. Cf. Ibid., 2101–2103.
28. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 88, a. 5 ad 3.
29. Cf. DS 1622.
30. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 89, a. 1; CCC, 2149-2155.
31. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 89, a. 1.
32. Cf. DS 795, 913, 1193, 1252–54.
33. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 90, a. 1.
34. Cf. Catechism of the Council of Trent, 3.3.6; CCC, 2168–2188.
35. Cf. CIC, 1247; CCC, 2187.
36. Cf. CCC, 2043; CIC, 222.
37. Cf. CCC, 2110–2132.
38. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 92, a. 1; CCC, 2111.
39. Cf. CCC, 2112–2114.
40. Cf. Ibid., 2115–2117.
41. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 95, a. 1.
42. Cf. Ibid., I, q. 57, aa. 3–4.
43. Cf. CCC, 2117.
44. Cf. Ibid., 2119.
45. Cf. Ibid., 2148; ST, II-II, q. 13, aa. 2–3.
46. Cf. CCC, 2120; ST, II-II, q. 99.
47. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion the following conditions must be met:
· Catholics should receive Communion in fulfillment of Christ’s command to eat his body and drink his blood. Thus, they should approach the Sacrament with the right intentions and dispositions: love for God, and charity and love for their neighbors.
· Communicants should not be conscious of grave sin. Persons who are conscious of grave sin must first be reconciled with God and the Church through the Sacrament of Penance.
· They should have fasted for at least one hour.
· Out of respect for the Sacrament, it is advisable to be clean and properly dressed when going to Communion (cf. CCC, 1384–1389, 1415; CIC, 912–923).
48. Cf. CCC, 2121–2122; ST, II-II, q. 100, a. 1.
49. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 100, a. 1.
Religion is the virtue that regulates man’s relationship with God.1 It is a potential part of justice. Its object (giving to God what is his due) is similar to that of justice (giving to everyone what is his due). However, it does not fulfill the perfect equality that is demanded by justice, since it does not give what is strictly due; no creature can return to God the equivalent of what it has received from him.
The object of the virtue of religion—the worship due to God—is covered by the first three commandments of the Decalogue.
Aside from this specific virtue, the term religion has several other meanings: (1) a certain way of worshipping God, as when we speak of the pagan or Islamic religion; (2) the entire moral life of man, and thus we say that a person is very religious; or (3) a particular state of man in which evangelical perfection is professed, as when we speak of the religious, entering religion, or religious orders like the Dominicans or the Augustinians.
62. Definition of Religion
We are here concerned with religion as a distinct moral virtue. It can be defined as the moral virtue that inclines us to give due worship to God as our Creator and Lord,2 that is, as our Supreme Principle.
Religion is a moral virtue, not a theological one. The latter have God for their direct object, like faith (we believe in God by the authority of God himself) or charity (we love God for his infinite goodness). The object of religion is a created thing: the worship that is due to God.
63. Object and Subject of Religion
The material object of religion is the actions whereby we worship God: genuflections, prayers, etc. The formal object is the imperfect equality with which man tries to return to God something that is equivalent to what God gave him: all that he is and has. Thus, it is naturally right for the creature to revere God and show his subjection to him. This he does through worship, according to his capacity.3
This also highlights the difference between justice and charity; the latter is the love for God in himself, not as Creator.
Religion inclines man to worship God through his will. Thus, the will is the immediate principle of the two main acts of this virtue: to revere God for his excellence, and to submit to his authority.
64. Necessity of Religion
The necessity of the virtue of religion is founded on natural law itself.4 Since man can naturally know God, he can also see the need to acknowledge his dominion.
Through the Old Testament’s ceremonial precepts, divine positive law established the way to worship God and acknowledge his dominion.
A mere figure and preparation of what Christ was to bring, these ceremonial precepts were abolished by the New Testament. Instead, the holy sacrifice of the Mass was established as the principal way of worshipping God, and the other sacraments as secondary ways.
64a) The Organizing Role of Personal Vocation
One should seek and live a harmonious unity among the several aspects of one’s life and activity. Religion, however, should not be just one more aspect of one’s character, but the central pivot upon which all other activities turn.
There are people who live what are, in many respects, decent lives but whose growth toward perfection appears to be stunted, stalled at a level where uprightness and sinfulness coexist. What accounts for this? Sometimes it is because large areas of their lives are ruled by impulses, goals, and even commitments that are unrelated to faith. Of course, everyone’s life includes some elements of faith, but total integration itself has come to a halt, leaving much outside the sphere of faith.
One sees people who have been decently brought up and for whom religion occupies a compartment in their lives. That is the problem: Religion is in a compartment, and they have many interests, objectives, and commitments that are unrelated to it. For them, religion signifies a few positive responsibilities, along with the need to avoid mortal sin. The rest of life goes forward, uninfluenced by faith. In young people, this would be a sign that they are still working at integrating their lives. In older persons, however, this compartmentalization would be a sign of moral immaturity.
The way out is to discover one’s personal vocation. Personal vocation is not a single commitment—the decision to be a priest or religious or a married person or whatever it may be—but a set of interlocking, integrated commitments that organizes one’s whole life under the light of faith. Discerning a vocation means considering the sum total of one’s abilities and opportunities, weighing the needs of the Church and the world, and then making a harmonious set of commitments, which constitute one’s life of faith.
Still, there may be other principles and elements left over, as it were, which do not fit into the pattern of the life thus organized. For example, a married man who is serious about his family, obligations, work, religious practices, and other duties may still retain from earlier days certain interests—friendships, hobbies, recreational pursuits—which, although innocent in themselves, do not fit the life of personal vocation that he is now trying to lead. Soon enough, conflicts arise. Then, if he is consistent and honest with himself, he will either find ways to integrate these carry-overs from the past with the rest of his life or he will eliminate them.5
65. Characteristics of the Worship of God
The worship that is due to God must be internal, since it is through his soul that man acknowledges, reveres, and submits himself to God (cf. Jn 4:24).
Worship should also be external; that is, the internal worship should be externally manifested at times. Thus, the whole man—body and soul—recognizes his dependence on God, since the whole man is a creature of God.6
Finally, worship should also be public, that is, it should be offered at times in the name of the Church by its legitimate ministers. The Church is God’s family. In the worship of this family, “the Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation. In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.”7 The Church, as a visible society, is also a creature of God. It was founded by Christ with the public worship of God as one of its main purposes. Thus, the duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being.
66. The Right to Religious Freedom
The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion, which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church. Christians are called to be the light of the world.
However, nobody may be forced to act against his convictions. The right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, but rather a natural right of the human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from external constraint in religious matters by political authorities.8
67. Acts of the Virtue of Religion
The Holy Mass is the principal act of religion, the best and most complete way of worshipping God. In it, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross becomes sacramentally present. Through Christ’s cross, all things can be offered to God as acceptable sacrifices. The Mass includes all the aspects of the virtue of religion:
· Man, acknowledging God’s greatness, takes action with an act of worship (adoration).
· Man, admitting that he has fallen short of what God wants from him, asks for forgiveness (atonement).
· Man, recognizing his powerlessness and the need for God’s help, asks for his assistance (petition).
· Man, realizing the greatness of God and his will to forgive, reacts with gratitude (thanksgiving).
In a certain way, religion directs the acts of all the other virtues to the due worship of God.
Other acts of religion are devotion, prayer, adoration, sacrifice, the use of the sacraments, vows, oaths, adjuration, and the keeping of certain holy days. These are more directly regulated by the second and the third commandments.
67a) Devotion
The term devotion sometimes refers to certain pious exercises, such as the devotion of the Rosary or the Way of the Cross. It also means the attention or spiritual consolation with which an act of religion is performed, as when one prays with great devotion.
We use it here as meaning the primary act of the virtue of religion. We can thus define devotion as the resolution to dedicate oneself to the things that pertain to the service of God.9 It is thus an act of the will.
When we say that somebody is a devout person, we refer to a stable attitude, a habit that inclines to the act of devotion. This habit is identical to the virtue of religion.
Devotion, the resolution to readily worship God, exercises a decisive influence in all the other acts of religion; hence it is said that it is the first act of this virtue. It informs and enlivens all other manifestations of reverence and subjection to God.10 Acts of worship are imperfect insofar as devotion is lacking, and, as such, they can even become mere external and empty gestures.
The principal extrinsic cause of devotion is the grace of God, which moves us to exercise the virtue of religion. The intrinsic cause of devotion is meditation and contemplation of God, his greatness and goodness, Christ’s humanity (cf. Ps 72:28), and human dependence on God the Creator and Lord (cf. Ps 120:1–2).
The effects of devotion are spiritual joy, accidental or affective devotion (the second meaning given above), facility and readiness in performing other acts of religion, and a certain influence in human external behavior and gestures.
67b) Prayer
(1) Definition and types
God tirelessly calls each person to a mysterious encounter with himself. This conversation is called prayer. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man. Jesus teaches us how to pray, and his prayer accomplished the victory of salvation (cf. Heb 5:7–9). Jesus’ filial prayer involves a loving adherence to the divine will of the Father—even to the cross—and an absolute confidence in being heard.
Prayer is the raising of the mind to God with the purpose of piously conversing with him.11 Prayer of petition or deprecatory prayer (from deprecare, “to ask”) is a request for God’s help.
Prayer of petition does not pretend to inform God about our needs, since he is fully aware of them; its purpose is to remove from within us the obstacles that prevent the fulfillment of our desires. Thus, prayer that is devoid of good dispositions and resolutions is ineffective. God, who knows our needs and wants to grant them, also wants us to ask him insistently (cf. Lk 11:5–10; 18:1–8).
It follows from the definition that man prays through his practical intelligence and not through his will. Nevertheless, the act of prayer is directed to its end by the virtue of religion, which resides in the will.
Prayer can be mental if it is performed exclusively by the mind, or vocal if, in addition to the mental activity, thoughts are manifested in words, often through established formulas. It can also be public it is if made in the name of the Church, or private. According to its purpose, we can distinguish the prayer of adoration (prayer of praise), thanksgiving, atonement (conversion of heart), and petition.
Life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united to Christ and made children of God. Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his body.12
(2) What to pray for
The first movement of prayer of petition is asking forgiveness (cf. Lk 18:13). In our prayer, we also desire and search for the Kingdom to come (cf. Mt 6:10; Lk 11:2, 13).
As to the object of prayer, we can say with St. Augustine that we can ask whatever it is lawful to desire.13 Thus, we can ask for general and particular goods. Goods that are needed for eternal salvation (grace, perseverance, etc.) can be asked for in an absolute way. Other spiritual goods can be requested conditionally, that is, subject to the will of God. Temporal goods can be asked for conditionally.14 Physical evil, for oneself or for others, can be asked for if a spiritual or important good is thus intended.
Moral evil, however, can never be asked (for example, that a crime is successfully achieved). Wanting to have God as accomplice in an evil deed, no matter how slight, would be a grievous offense to him.
(3) For whom we can pray
Intercession is a prayer of petition that leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the principal intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men. Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. We can pray for ourselves and for every creature that is capable of sharing in eternal glory. We can thus pray for sinners (cf. Lk 23:34), excommunicated persons, the souls in purgatory,15 and even the blessed, that their accidental glory may be increased.
We are not permitted to pray for the damned. In the first place, we do not know who they are. Second, we must not pray for the reduction of their punishments. Aside from being useless, it would imply wishing that God fail to be just.
(4) To whom we can pray
Petitions can be addressed only to God, who alone has the power to grant them. He is three Persons in One God. Thus, prayer is primarily addressed to the Father; it can also be directed toward Jesus, invoking his holy name (cf. Mk 10:46–52; Lk 18:13; Phil 2:6–11). However, every time we begin to pray to Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his grace. That is why the Church invites us to invoke the Holy Spirit as the interior teacher of Christian prayer.
Because of the Virgin Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the her; she “shows the way” (hodigitria). After “magnifying” the Lord for the great things he did for her, we entrust our supplications and praises to her.
It is also licit to invoke the saints and the angels in order to ask their intercession before God on our behalf, as the Church often does.16
Private invocation of the souls in purgatory is permissible. Public prayer is not allowed, since we do not know for sure whether their intercession is effective, or whether our prayers reach them at all.
(5) Necessity of prayer
For those who have reached the age of reason, prayer is not only useful, but also necessary by divine precept (cf. Mt 26:41; 7:7–8; Lk 18:1; 1 Thes 5:17; 1 Pt 4:7). The most common and probable opinion holds that prayer is also a necessary means of salvation. Without prayer, it would be impossible to fulfill the obligation to worship God, or to dispose our heart to do the will of God.17
In itself, this precept obliges one to pray at the beginning of moral life, during one’s lifetime, and when one is in danger of death.
In an indirect way, this precept obliges us to pray in some circumstances: when another precept requires it (like that of hearing Mass on Sundays), when prayer is needed to reject a temptation, or when it is prescribed in cases of public calamities.
No precept orders morning and evening prayers, or saying grace at meals, although they are most advisable. Their omission is not of itself a sin, not even venial, and is not sufficient matter for confession. But in practice, that omission, without enough reason, can be a venial sin, since it can demonstrate a lack of concern for God.
(6) Effects of prayer
The main effects of prayer are: merit,18 satisfaction,19 and granting of the petition.
Prayer has many important secondary effects: It enlightens the intellect (cf. Ps 33:6), increases faith, confirms hope and confidence, inflames charity, increases humility, facilitates the exercise of all virtues, and provides consolation.
By divine promise (cf. Mt 7:7–11; Jn 14:13), prayer that fulfills the required conditions is infallibly heard by God. These conditions are the following:
i) The object requested should lead to eternal life. If one unknowingly asks for something detrimental to his eternal salvation, granting it would do him harm, and God would not allow that.
ii) The beneficiary of the prayer should be well disposed to receive the grace requested. If it were not so, he would despise the grace, and it would be worse for him. God would not grant it.
iii) The subject who prays must be in the state of grace (cf. Jn 15:7). He must also pray with humility (cf. Jas 4:6), confidence (cf. Heb 4:16), perseverance (cf. Lk 6:12; 22:43), and attention.
67c) Adoration
The word adoration seems to come from the Latin expression ad orare, “to speak to” or “to ask [God] for.” Originally, adoration was performed by kissing the feet or the fringe of the cloak of the adored person. It was used in the East as a sign of utmost respect.
Generally speaking, “adoration” means the honor paid to another because of his superior excellence and as a sign of submission.20 The excellence of the person can be divine, created-supernatural, and created-natural.
Adoration corresponds to the uncreated and supreme excellence of God. We reserve the term adoration (or latria) for the worship of God exclusively.
Latria includes an internal act and an external act. The former arises both from the intellect (which acknowledges the excellence of God and our subjection to him) and from the will (which accepts that excellence and subjection). The second is the external manifestation of the internal act. Internal and external worship of latria (adoration) is due to God alone. This is established both by natural and divine-positive law (cf. Mt 4:10; Jn 4:23).
Created-supernatural excellence is found in the angels and saints. We pay respect to them by an act of veneration (dulia in Greek). We do not adore the saints; we venerate them.
A special form of the latter corresponds to the exalted excellence of the Blessed Virgin: hyperdulia or special veneration. This is much more than a higher degree of respect or veneration, just as the relation of our Lady to Christ and his mystical body is very different from that of the angels and saints.
Moreover, we can distinguish absolute worship, which is offered to the person, and relative worship, which is offered to things that are closely related to the person, like images, mementos, or relics. Actually, relative worship is not offered to the thing as such, but to the person who is thereby represented or commemorated.21
i) Absolute latria is the cult of adoration that is due to God, and to Jesus Christ (and also to his humanity, his body, and his blood, since this worship is directed to the person; and to Christ present in the Holy Eucharist). Relative latria is due to the cross and other instruments of the Passion, to the images of Christ, and to other symbols of God. The particles of the true cross of Jesus Christ (each piece is called lignum crucis) receive a higher worship than these images of Christ, as established by the law of the Church.
ii) Absolute hyperdulia is due to the Most Blessed Virgin, and relative hyperdulia to her images.22
iii) Absolute dulia is the veneration that is due to the angels and saints, and relative dulia to their images or relics. Our communion with these in heaven, provided that it is understood in the full light of faith, in no way diminishes the worship of adoration that is given to God the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit. The veneration of images and relics is regulated by canon law, both to ensure its dignity and to prevent abuses and misunderstandings with regard to relics.23
God, invisible and incomprehensible, cannot be adequately represented by an image. Thus,
In olden times, God, who did not have body or face, could not be represented by an image [cf. Dt 4:15–16]. But now he has appeared in the flesh, and has lived among men; thus, I can make an image of what I have seen of God … with unveiled face we contemplate the glory of God.24
The Incarnation of the Son of God, however, has inaugurated a new “economy” of images, and this is not contrary to the first commandment.25
67d) Sacrifice
Sacrifice is a sacred offering that is directed to God alone to acknowledge that he is Lord of all. Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be an expression of spiritual sacrifice. In the New Covenant, the only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation. The Holy Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ and includes the Church’s offering. By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice, we can make our lives a sacrifice to God (cf. Heb 9:13–14).26
67e) Vows
(1) Definition
A vow is a free and deliberate promise that is made to God that concerns something possible, good, and better than its opposite.27
· It is a promise that is made with the intention of binding oneself to it. A mere resolution is not a vow (cf. Eccl 5:3).
· The promise is made to God, since it is an act of latria. If a vow is made to a saint, it is really addressed to God. One binds himself in the presence of God to do something, although it is also done in honor of the saint.28 If the promise is made exclusively to the saint, without wanting to be bound before God, the vow would be void.
· Something good must be promised, since pledging to do evil would be an offense to God, and pledging to do something vain or indifferent would be an irreverence.
· It must be possible; otherwise, the vow would be absurd.
· It must also be better than its opposite; otherwise, the vow would be an obstacle to do good. For example, a person who vows to go to Mass only once on weekdays, as opposed to going at least once, would not be able to go more often.
Vows are good and useful (cf. Gn 28:20; Dt 23:22; Acts 18:18; 21:23ff).29 Since it is a way of worshipping God, good actions are more meritorious when they are done under a vow.
Vows may be temporary if they bind only for a time, or perpetual. They may be absolute if no condition is attached, or conditional if they bind only when a stated condition is verified. A vow may also be public or private. The essential vows that are taken by religious (chastity, poverty, and obedience) are considered public. Depending on their juridical consideration, the latter can also be simple or solemn.
(2) Subject of the vow
Generally speaking, the conditions that are needed to make a vow are the same as for any fully human act, but with some qualifications. Concretely, these requirements are the following:
· A vow must be made with the perfect use of reason.
· The intention to make a vow must be present.
· A vow must be made with sufficient deliberation. A substantial error about the contents of the vow invalidates it.
· A vow must be made freely. Fear invalidates the vow if it is strong enough to disturb the use of reason. It also invalidates the vow if, without reaching that point, it is serious and unjustly inflicted in order to compel the vow. Serious but just fear and slight fear do not make the vow void.
· A vow can be made only by a person who is not forbidden by law from doing so. Certain persons are barred by canon law from taking public vows, and professed religious are not allowed to take private vows.
(3) Obligation of vows
In a certain way, a vow can be compared to a self-imposed law. Therefore, the rules for the obligation of laws in general can be analogically applied to vows. The following principles can be laid down:
· Under the virtue of religion, vows bind only those who take them. Thus, a father cannot make a vow to be fulfilled by his son. Neither is the son obliged by the virtue of religion to fulfill a vow that was made by his father (there might, however, be an obligation of justice or filial piety).
· The obligation is serious if the matter is serious and the vow was taken with the serious intention of binding oneself.
(4) The fulfillment of the obligation
A vow must be fulfilled in the way and time specified when making it. In case of doubt, the rules for the interpretation of laws must be followed.
(5) Cessation of vows
A vow may cease by itself (ab intrinseco), or by extrinsic reasons like annulment, dispensation, or commutation. We will give just a succinct description, since this matter is the object of very extensive legislation and complex casuistry.
A private vow ceases by itself when either the object that was promised or the person who made it undergoes such a change that, if known beforehand, would have prevented the vow. A public vow never ceases by itself.
A vow can be annulled (irritatio) by a person with jurisdiction over the maker or the matter of the vow. This is the case, for example, of a father over his son or a religious superior over his subjects.
It can also cease by dispensation, which is the extinction of the vow’s obligation that is made in the name of God by someone having the necessary jurisdiction.
Finally, a vow may cease by commutation, which is the transfer of the obligation from one matter to another. If the new matter is better than the original one, no special cause is needed. If both are equal, at least a slight cause is required. In both cases, and if the vow is not reserved to a higher authority, the person who took the vow can commute it on his own. If the second matter is easier or less good, only the lawful authority can commute the vow, and a serious cause is needed.
67f) Oaths
(1) Definition
An oath is the invocation of God’s name to bear witness to the truth of what is said.30 It is, therefore, an act of the virtue of religion, an act of worship, and specifically of adoration (latria), since it is directed to God and explicitly acknowledges his absolute truthfulness. If there is no invocation of God’s name, either implicit or explicit, then there is no true oath as defined here.31 Thus a person “swearing” something false would sin against veracity, but not against religion.
In an assertory oath, God is invoked as witness to the truth of a past or present event. In a promissory oath, God is invoked to bear witness both to a future act and to the swearer’s present intention of performing it.
An invocatory oath simply calls God as witness of the truth. An imprecatory oath invokes him as witness and as avenger of falsehood: “May God punish me if what I say is not true.”
(2) Conditions for validity and lawfulness
Oaths that fulfill the proper conditions are perfectly lawful (cf. Dt 6:13). Many heretics have condemned oaths, citing the words of the Lord: “But I say to you, Do not to swear at all” (Mt 5:34).32 These words are to be understood as a strong admonition to sincerity, since oaths would not be needed if there were no lies and mistrust.
Their lawfulness is evident from the example of St. Paul, who, certainly knowing this statement of the Lord, took oaths (cf. Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23; Phil 1:8), and from the practice of the Church since her beginning. The conditions for the validity of an oath are as follows:
· An internal intention to take the oath must be present (as in any truly human act). Thus, common expressions like, “By God I tell you …” or, “As God exists that …” are not oaths if they are carelessly used in order to stress the truth of an assertion, but without the intention of taking God as witness. These must be avoided, however, since they could be taken for real oaths.
· A specific formula must be used that, with an explicit or implicit mention of God, really invokes him as witness.
According to the classical formula, three conditions are required for an oath to be lawful: truth, justice, and right judgment (cf. Jer 4:2).
· Truth: What is sworn in an assertory oath must be known to be true with at least moral certainty. In a promissory oath, there should be a real intention to fulfill the promise. When there is lack of truth, that is, when one swears something that is known to be false, or to do something that one does not really intend to do, a sin of perjury is committed. Perjury is always a grievous sin (ex toto genere suo), since calling God as witness to a lie, no matter how small, is a serious offense to his sanctity and his honor.
· Justice: In an assertory oath, justice requires that nothing of what is said violates this virtue. One could not, therefore, take an oath in order to unnecessarily reveal the crimes of others or to boast about one’s own. In a promissory oath, what is promised must be lawful. An unjust oath is a serious sin (ex genere suo), but it can be venial if the injustice is small. The reasons are the same as in the previous condition.
· Right judgment: The oath must be made for a just reason, and with due reverence. An oath without judgment is usually a venial sin (ex genere suo).
(3) Obligation of promissory oaths
Under the virtue of religion, a promissory oath that meets the due conditions binds the person who made it—and only that person—to fulfill his promise (cf. Mt 5:33; Nm 30:3). The obligation can be serious or slight depending on the matter. These conditions are the following:
· On the part of the matter, the action that is promised must be lawful and possible.
· On the part of the person taking the oath, the act must be really human: The intention to swear, freedom, deliberation, and the absence of substantial error are all required. Serious fear and coercion, if they can still be resisted, do not invalidate the oath.
(4) Interpretation and cessation
The rules that govern the interpretation of promissory oaths are analogous to those of vows, which we will not repeat. The same applies to the cessation of their obligation.
67g) Adjuration
Adjuration consists in making use of the reverence, fear, or love that another person has for the name of God or a holy thing in order to induce him to do or omit something.33 Common expressions show traces of this custom: “For the love of God, help me!” or “For God’s sake, don’t do that!” Adjuration is an act of religion—of latria if addressed to God and of hyperdulia or dulia if to the Blessed Virgin or the saints. It is lawful and good if it fulfills the proper conditions, which are the same as those for oaths.
67h) Exorcism
Strictly speaking, exorcism is the expulsion of the devil from a possessed person. In the broader sense, it means the nullifying of the devil’s influence over any creature. For the public performance of the former, the directions of the Roman Ritual should be strictly followed. The permission of the bishop is needed, since it is his function to decide whether there is a real diabolical possession and whether a public exorcism is convenient. No permission is needed for a private and secret exorcism. Anybody can do it, for instance, by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, unclean spirit, I command you to leave this creature of God.”
67i) Sanctification of Sundays and Feasts
Natural law directs man to devote some time to divine worship, not only privately but also publicly.34
Divine positive law established in the Old Testament that a fixed day of the week, Saturday, be devoted to God (cf. Ex 20:8–11). Sabbath was a reminder of creation, a memorial of Israel’s liberation from bondage in Egypt, and a sign of the irrevocable covenant between God and mankind. After the abolition of the ceremonial precepts of the Old Testament, human ecclesiastical law appointed Sunday instead of Saturday (in Latin, dies dominica, “the Lord’s Day”). Our Lord resurrected on a Sunday, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles also on a Sunday. Being the “eighth day,” Sunday symbolizes the new creation that was inaugurated by Christ’s Resurrection. In Christ’s Passover, it fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God.
The precept of Sunday worship applies to all baptized persons who have reached the age of seven and have the use of reason. It extends to Sundays and also to holy days of obligation, which have changed substantially through history and, within certain limits, also change from place to place. The precept comprises two obligations: participating in the Mass and abstaining from certain works and activities.
The sanctification of holy days has several useful effects:
· Natural forces are restored by rest.
· Spiritual life is conserved and developed.
· Family life is encouraged.
· Social worship is fostered, which helps in spreading the Church through the attraction that this worship may exert.
(1) The Sunday obligation
The precept of participating in the Mass obliges under penalty of serious sin. The following conditions are required for its fulfillment:
· One must be physically present. A moral presence is enough; a person who is unable to enter an overcrowded temple fulfills the precept, even if he is outside and cannot see anything, provided that he has the attitude of attending Mass—but not if he is reading a newspaper. The precept is not fulfilled by watching a Mass on television.
· The entire Mass must be heard, from the beginning up to the blessing and dismissal. Missing an essential part of the Mass through one’s fault is a serious sin, but venial if the part is not essential. Missing either all that precedes the Preparation of the Gifts (formerly called Offertory) or all that follows the Communion is held to be a slight omission. Missing both is a serious omission, as well as missing from the beginning to after the Preparation of the Gifts, or from before Communion to the end.
· A devout and not merely physical attendance is required. This implies the intention of participating in the Mass. Mere curiosity about what the priest may say would not be enough by itself. Attention is also needed. It is habitually held that in order to meet this requirement, the absolute minimum is following the movements.
· As for the proper time, the precept can be fulfilled either the same day or on the evening of the previous day.
(2) Causes excusing from the precept of participating in the Mass
Physical or moral impossibility, charity, and duty excuse from this precept. Those who are excused by physical or moral impossibility are:
· the elderly, the sick, and those who are recovering from sickness, if there is a well-grounded fear that their attending Mass might cause some danger to their health;
· those living at a great distance from a church, so that their attending Mass would mean a substantial effort or expense. It is not possible to give a universal definition of “great distance;” it depends on the age and health of the person, the weather, the condition of the roads, and the available means of transportation;
· Those risking the wrath of their spouse or parents, provided that this anger is not caused by hatred of religion exclusively, in which case they are obliged to resist with all their might.
Those who are excused by charity and duty are:
· those who are taking care of the sick during the time of the Mass,
· mothers who cannot leave their children unattended and cannot bring them along,
· those who cannot leave their posts (soldiers, doctors on duty, watchmen),
· generally speaking, those who would suffer serious material loss, like waiters and bakers, who are especially busy on Sundays.
Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that the excusing reason should be all the more serious the more often it prevents the fulfillment of the precept. Besides, even when fully justified—in exceptional cases, a powerful reason completely excuses from the precept—habitually missing Mass greatly harms faith and Christian life. In these circumstances, it is advisable to regularly go to Mass some other day of the week. This would not fulfill the precept—they are excused anyway—but would prevent their being deprived of the benefits of attending the sacrifice of Christ.
(3) A day of grace and rest from work
The Church has established that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to abstain from such work or activities that would prevent:
· the worship to be given to God,
· the joy that is proper to the Lord’s Day,
· the due relaxation of mind and body.35
The main purpose of this precept is devoting holy days to God in a special way. It is then necessary to stop ordinary work and devote the time thus freed to God, one’s family, charitable activities, and rest.
In the past, different types of work were distinguished attending to the physical or intellectual effort that is required. With the norms now in force, the Church wants to make sure that work of any kind will not prevent Christians from sanctifying holy days in a special way. Ordinary work days should also be sanctified, but on Sundays and holy days, Christians can devote more time to God, their families, and the recreation of mind and body.
The required rest is thus compatible with some work, paid or not, which, if possible, should be different from one’s ordinary occupation. Doing the same work as any other day, out of contempt for the norm, however, would certainly offend God.
There are lawful dispensations from this precept. In practice, there are many sufficient reasons that can justify work:
· Other’s or one’s own need: some urgent work, the need to earn some extra income, usual house chores that cannot be postponed (cooking, washing dishes), harvesting, jobs that are subject to shifts (hospitals, hotels), or public services (trains, buses, firemen)
· Custom: some trades like florists, restaurants, and bakeries
67j) Providing for the Needs of the Church
Providing for the material needs of the Church is one of the acts of the virtue of religion. Essentially, these needs are:
· the support of divine worship (construction and maintenance of churches, acquisition and replacement of sacred vessels and vestments, supplies like candles and wine, electricity, and heating),
· the support of the ministers,
· other expenses like the formation of priests, and apostolic and charitable activities.
This obligation is laid down in the present legislation.36 It is thus an ecclesiastical law, but based on natural and divine positive law. All the faithful must be aware of this obligation and contribute according to their real capacity.
68. Sins against the Virtue of Religion
The omission of any of the acts of religion implies a sin of omission against the virtue of religion.
There are two types of sins of commission37 against the virtue of religion:
i) By excess: These sins are not a matter of worshipping God too much, but of worshipping him in the wrong way. They include superstition proper and its variants: idolatry, divination, vain observance, and magic.
ii) By defect: These sins imply ill treatment of God or sacred things. They include irreverence proper and its variants: tempting God, blasphemy, sacrilege, and simony.
68a) Superstition in General
The sin of superstition consists in rendering divine worship in an improper way or to a creature that is not entitled to it.38 The improper worship of the true God can be done in two ways:
i) By giving God a false worship, based on something false. This would be the case of a layman pretending to say Mass, or a Christian trying to worship God according to the Jewish religion, as if Christ had not come. It also includes faking miracles, revelations, or relics, even if the intention is good. This is a serious sin ex genere suo; it thus admits slight matter, like exaggerations in describing a true miracle.
ii) By giving God a superfluous worship, that is, not according to the purpose of religion (to honor God and submit to him), for example: requiring unreasonable conditions for prayer, like a specific place, having taken no food, or by chain letter. This is usually a slight sin, unless it is done in contempt of the Church, with serious scandal, or with other aggravating circumstances.
The other form of superstition consists in offering divine worship to anyone or anything other than God—especially the devil. It comprises idolatry, divination, and vain observance. Magic and sorcery are forms of the latter. We will study each of them.
68b) Idolatry
The first commandment condemns polytheism. Idolatry is the adoration (latria) of an idol, that is, of an image of something that is different from God, or, more generally, the adoration of something that is different from God, with or without use of images.39
Idolatry is formal or internal if there is a real intention of adoring the idol. If it is done to escape some danger, without real intention of adoring, it is material, external or simulated.
The former is more grievous, but the second is a very serious sin as well, because it grievously violates the virtue of religion. In addition to being a lie, material idolatry is also usually accompanied by grave scandal, and violates the strictest commandment of confessing our faith (cf. Ex 20:3–6; 32:8–35).
Idolatry refers not only to false pagan worship, but also consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, Satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Honor that is rendered to the national flag and other symbols are not really forms of idolatry because these are not adored as gods.
68c) Divination
Divination is the prediction of future events through unlawful or improper methods.40
Future necessary events can be predicted naturally and with certitude if their causes are perfectly known. This is the case of eclipses, for instance. When, due to their complexity, causes are not perfectly known, the prediction is probable. This would be the case of weather forecast.41
Future events that depend on human free will, however, cannot be predicted with certitude. Experience of similar cases may provide grounds for conjectures.
Divination precisely presumes to know both types of events with certainty and without studying their causes.
Divination, if not fraudulent, is done with the help of the devil. The devil, of course, does not know the secret thoughts of men, and even less free future events, but his intelligence and experience far surpass that of man. If God allows it, the devil can incite—but not force—people to act in a certain way. Thus, the devil is in a position to predict the future through natural causes much more accurately than man.42
Divination can be performed with an explicit invocation of the devil, who can appear in a sensible form, speak through a possessed medium, or cause the apparition of a dead person. Spiritism is the invocation of the spirits of the dead. It is equivalent to divination, if knowledge is sought.
Divination can also happen with an implicit invocation of the devil, for example, through the interpretation of the positions of the stars (astrology), consulting horoscopes, through arbitrary signs in cards, dice, or hands (palm reading).
When the devil is explicitly invoked, divination is always and essentially a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo). If the invocation is only implicit, it is still a mortal sin (ex genere suo), but can become venial when done out of ignorance and foolishness, for fun or pleasure, or without real conviction.
68d) Vain Observance
Vain observance is a form of superstition that pretends to infallibly obtain a certain effect through means that are not fitted to that purpose, by either nature or the prescription of God or the Church. It differs from divination only in pursuing an action instead of knowledge. Its most common use is healing. Prescriptions of the Chinese feng-shui that are not based on scientific data should also be included among the vain observances.
Vain observance has the same moral evil as divination.
Magic is equivalent to vain observance. It is called sorcery when the result that is sought is evil in itself.43
Spiritism is also equivalent to vain observance, if an effect is sought.
68e) Tempting God
Tempting God is any action or word whereby a person tries to discover whether God has or exercises a certain perfection, such as whether he is good, almighty, knows everything, acts in favor of men, or even exists (cf. Ex 17:7; Ps 77:18–19).44
Formal, express, or explicit tempting of God is always and essentially a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo) (cf. Mt 4:7).
Virtual or implicit tempting of God, not intended as a test, but imprudently expecting him to work a miracle, is a mortal sin ex genere suo, which admits slight matter.
68f) Blasphemy
Blasphemy is one of the sins by defect against religion, that is, irreverence. Blasphemy is an injurious expression against God or, by extension, sacred persons or things. It is usually verbal, but it can be conveyed through gestures or actions, or remain in the heart as an injurious thought, which would be an internal sin.
Blasphemy is, of its own nature, a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo).45 It does not admit slight matter, but it can become venial when the act is not perfect; people often utter injurious words without really meaning what the words convey.
In order to discern the gravity of the sin, three points must be considered: the intention of the speaker, the natural meaning of the words, and the common interpretation that they receive in that place.
Taking the name of God in vain means using it without due reverence. It is normally a venial sin.
68g) Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation of something sacred.46 It can be personal, real, or local, depending on whether a sacred person, object, or place is violated.
Sacrilege is a serious sin ex genere suo against religion; this transgression is severely punished in Sacred Scripture (cf. Lv 10:1; 1 Kgs 2:17; 4:11; Dn 5:2ff; Jn 2:14). It admits slight matter, such as unnecessarily talking inside a church or telling a slightly irreverent joke. However, the term sacrilege is usually reserved for the more grievous sins (like profanation of the Holy Eucharist) and is not used for slight sins.
Real sacrilege, that is, the violation of sacred objects, comprises:
· the abuse of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist—receiving them without the necessary conditions or without reverence,47
· profane use of sacred vessels and ornaments without grave necessity,
· seizure of sacred objects or ecclesiastical property.
Personal sacrilege is the violation of a person who is sacred because of the Sacrament of Orders or because of his religious state. It can be committed in two ways:
· Inflicting bodily harm
· Committing acts of impurity with them
Local sacrilege is the violation or profanation of a sacred place: a church, blessed burial grounds, or a convent.
68h) Simony
Simony is the express will to buy or sell for a material price what is spiritual or inseparably annexed to something spiritual.48 It is named after Simon the Magician, who attempted to buy the power of communicating spiritual gifts that the apostles exercised through the imposition of their hands (cf. Acts 8:18–24).
The material price includes money and anything that can be valued in money, like services, loans, or endorsement.
Not to be confused with simony are the alms that are given for the honest support of the minister on the occasion of a sacrament, like marriage, baptism, or the offering of a Mass. These cannot be demanded as a condition for the administration of the sacrament, and the amount must be subject to the pertinent ecclesiastical dispositions. The needy are not to be deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty.
Simony is a mortal sin ex toto genere suo against religion. It is a serious offense to God, since it implies such a low appreciation of spiritual things, no matter how small, that they are deemed to be equivalent in value to material things.49
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 2095–2132.
2. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 81, a. 3.
3. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 81, a. 5.
4. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 81, a. 2 ad 3.
5. Cf. G. Grisez and R. Shaw, Fulfillment in Christ, 332.
6. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 81, a. 7.
7. CCC, 1082.
8. Cf. Ibid., 2104–2109.
9. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 82, a. 1.
10. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 82, a. 1 ad 2.
11. Cf. St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth., 1.3.24; CCC, 2098, 2559.
12. Cf. CCC, 2565.
13. Cf. St. Augustine, Ep. 130.12.
14. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 6.
15. Cf. DS 1743, 1753, 1820.
16. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 4.
17. Cf. CCC, 2611, 2628; Catechism of the Council of Trent, 4.1.3–4.
18. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 83, a. 15.
19. Cf. DS 1713.
20. Cf. CCC, 2096–2097.
21. Cf. DS 1822ff, 1867.
22. Cf. LG, 67.
23. Cf. DS 1744, 1755, 1867; LG, 50–51; CIC, 1186–1190.
24. St. John Damascene, De Sacris Imaginibus Orationes, 1.16.
25. Cf. CIC, 1186–1190; CCC, 1159–1162, 2129–2132.
26. Cf. CCC, 2099–2100, 1330.
27. Cf. Ibid., 2101–2103.
28. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 88, a. 5 ad 3.
29. Cf. DS 1622.
30. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 89, a. 1; CCC, 2149-2155.
31. Cf. Ibid., II-II, q. 89, a. 1.
32. Cf. DS 795, 913, 1193, 1252–54.
33. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 90, a. 1.
34. Cf. Catechism of the Council of Trent, 3.3.6; CCC, 2168–2188.
35. Cf. CIC, 1247; CCC, 2187.
36. Cf. CCC, 2043; CIC, 222.
37. Cf. CCC, 2110–2132.
38. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 92, a. 1; CCC, 2111.
39. Cf. CCC, 2112–2114.
40. Cf. Ibid., 2115–2117.
41. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 95, a. 1.
42. Cf. Ibid., I, q. 57, aa. 3–4.
43. Cf. CCC, 2117.
44. Cf. Ibid., 2119.
45. Cf. Ibid., 2148; ST, II-II, q. 13, aa. 2–3.
46. Cf. CCC, 2120; ST, II-II, q. 99.
47. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion the following conditions must be met:
· Catholics should receive Communion in fulfillment of Christ’s command to eat his body and drink his blood. Thus, they should approach the Sacrament with the right intentions and dispositions: love for God, and charity and love for their neighbors.
· Communicants should not be conscious of grave sin. Persons who are conscious of grave sin must first be reconciled with God and the Church through the Sacrament of Penance.
· They should have fasted for at least one hour.
· Out of respect for the Sacrament, it is advisable to be clean and properly dressed when going to Communion (cf. CCC, 1384–1389, 1415; CIC, 912–923).
48. Cf. CCC, 2121–2122; ST, II-II, q. 100, a. 1.
49. Cf. ST, II-II, q. 100, a. 1.