APRIL 23 – ST. GEORGE, MARTYR.
ST. GEORGE was born in Cappadocia, at the close of the third century, of Christian parents. In early youth he chose a soldier’s life, and soon obtained the favor of Diocletian, who advanced him to the grade of tribune. When, however, the Emperor began to persecute the Christians, George rebuked him at once sternly and openly for his cruelty, and threw up his commission. He was in consequence subjected to a lengthened series of torments, and finally beheaded. There was something so inspiriting in the defiant cheerfulness of the young soldier that every Christian felt a personal share in this triumph of Christian fortitude; and as years rolled on, St. George became a type of successful combat against evil, the slayer of the dragon, the darling theme of camp song and story, until “so thick a shade his very glory round him made” that his real lineaments became hard to trace. Even beyond the circle of Christendom he was held in honor, and invading Saracens taught themselves to except from desecration the image of him they hailed as the “White-horsed Knight.” The devotion to St. George is one of the most ancient and widely spread in the Church. In the East, a church of St. George is ascribed to Constantine, and his name is invoked in the most ancient liturgies; whilst in the West, Malta, Barcelona, Valencia, Arragon, Genoa, and England have chosen him as their patron.
REFLECTION: “What shall I say of fortitude, without which neither wisdom nor justice is of any worth? Fortitude is not of the body, but is a constancy of soul; wherewith we are conquerors in righteousness, patiently bear all adversities, and in prosperity are not puffed up. This fortitude he lacks who is overcome by pride, anger, greed, drunkenness, and the like. Neither have they fortitude who when in adversity make shift to escape at their souls’ expense; wherefore the Lord saith, ‘Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.’ In like manner those who are puffed up in prosperity and abandon themselves to excessive joviality cannot be called strong. For how can they be called strong who cannot hide and repress the heart’s emotion? Fortitude is never conquered, or if conquered, is not fortitude.” –St. Bruno.
WORD OF THE DAY
FUNDAMENTAL OPTION. A theory of morals that each person gradually develops in a basic orientation of his or her life, either for or against God. This fundamental direction is said to be for God if one’s life is fundamentally devoted to the love and service of others, and against God if one’s life is essentially devoted to self-love and self-service.
As such, the idea of a fundamental option is not new. It was reflected in St. Augustine’s teaching that the human race is ultimately composed of two cities: the City of God, whose members love God even to the contempt of self, and the City of Man, whose members love themselves even to the contempt of God.
What is new is the use of this idea to explain mortal sin. In 1975 the Holy See issued a formal declaration, Persona Humana, in which certain theories involving the fundamental option were condemned. “There are those,” the document stated, “who go so far as to affirm that mortal sin, which causes separation from God, only exists in the formal refusal directly opposed to God’s call, or in that selfishness which completely and deliberately closes itself to the love of neighbor. They say that it is only then, that there comes into play the ‘fundamental option’, that is to say, the decision which totally commits the person and which is necessary if mortal sin is to exist.”
The Holy See admitted the description of a person’s basic moral disposition as a “fundamental option.” What is not admissible is to claim that individual human actions cannot radically change this fundamental option. A person’s moral disposition “can be completely changed by particular acts, especially when as often happens, these have been prepared for by previous more superficial acts. Whatever the case, it is wrong to say that particular acts are not enough to constitute a mortal sin” (Persona Humana, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 29, 1975, number 10).
Implicit in the proscribed theory is the notion that there can be serious sins, such as murder or adultery, because the actions are gravely wrong. But no mortal sin, with the loss of sanctifying grace, is committed unless a person subjectively rejects God. This would subvert the whole moral order of Christianity, which believes that the essence of mortal sin is the deliberate choice of some creature which is known to be gravely forbidden by God.
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
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