Youtube Interviews
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright welcomes Father Wade Menezes as his guest to explore the topic of fear and sin. Father Menezes begins by discussing the top ten things Americans are most afraid of, and highlighting that Hell nor sin made the list.
The conversation delves into the different types of sins and the sacraments of reconciliation and penance for forgiveness. Father Menezes notes the distinction between mortal and venial sin and encourages listeners to refer to the catechism for a deeper understanding.
Father Menezes advocates for monthly confession due to the challenging culture we live in today. He emphasizes the importance of true mercy that acknowledges and addresses sin, and highlights that repentance is necessary to experience God’s mercy.
The episode also touches on the extraordinary mercy offered by the Lord and concludes with a prayer, along with some additional recommendations for further reading and resources.
Overall, this episode of Roadmap to Heaven explores the nature of fear, sin, and mercy, providing insights and guidance to listeners on how to navigate these aspects of their spiritual journey.
Adam Wright:
I mentioned on the show recently, we had the opportunity to head down to Birmingham, Alabama for the EWTN radio conference, and one of the joys of that was traveling to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, about an hour north. It’s definitely, if you’re in the area, worth going out of your way to visit the shrine. And if you go to the Saint John Paul the second Eucharistic Miracles exhibit. Well, it’s not “Where’s Waldo”, it’s “Where’s Father Wade”. We found a picture of a very young Father Wade, and I wanted to mention that today as we welcome Father Wade back to Roadmap to Heaven. Father, it’s so great to have you with us once again.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Hey, I’m glad you could figure out that that was indeed me in that old photograph.
Adam Wright:
Well, you know, I told everyone, I said, “Father Wade’s first assignment was down here at the shrine, if I remember correctly, as a chaplain.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right.
Adam Wright:
And I’m sure that was a beautiful time in your life.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
It was. I was there from 2000 of my ordination on June 10th, went there a month later on July 10th, and was there through 2003. And, you know, the nuns had just opened it up earlier a few months, in December of ’99. So it wasn’t open that long as a public shrine when I arrived. So, the whole pilgrim thing was new, and I was there to serve the pilgrims as one who gives talks, catechetical talks, and hears confessions, etcetera. So it was great. You know, it’s kind of like a reverse dynamic of a parish mission. We Fathers of Mercy are itinerant preachers, and the main event we preach is the week-long parish mission in parishes. You know? And the missionary goes to the parish. He’s there for the week, and then he leaves. But for the shrine, it was like a reverse dynamic. I was in residence, and it was the pilgrims who kept coming in and out, arriving and then leaving. So it was interesting, and I loved it. I loved the assignment. I love giving the different catechetical talks. And the other exciting thing about those three years, Adam, was that a lot of building was going on, like the John Paul II Eucharistic Center that features the Eucharistic miracles that you mentioned. It was being built. The castle of San Miguel was being built, which houses the Saint Gabriel conference center as well as the gift shop of El Nino. All that was being built. So it was exciting times there at the shrine, and it still is every time I go.
Adam Wright:
Well, you know, the shrine is one of those places, I think, most of us who have been there would say, “I would love to go to the shrine. I would love to go back to the shrine.” But there are also places in life that we don’t necessarily look forward to going to visit. You know, for instance, later today, after our time with Father Wade, I have to go to the dentist. I always say to my dentist, because he’s a Catholic, “Alright, doc. Are you ready to help some souls in Purgatory today? Because I’m ready to suffer for them. Bring it on.” He chuckles and I chuckle, but yet so many of us hate going to the dentist’s chair. And, Father Wade, I understand you want to start us off today with, in the spirit of all things spooky with Halloween, and as a friend of mine referred to it, “the Triduum of Death or the Triduum of the Dead”. We want to talk about some places and things that people are afraid of today.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. Around this All Hallow’s Eve time, a secular Halloween time, I would like to talk about a study that was done a few years back of the top 10 things that people are most afraid of here in the United States. It’s an interesting list of the top 10 things. So I’m going to start with number 10 and work my way down, Adam, to the number one thing that people are most afraid of. Okay? So we’ll start with 10 and work our way down to number one. Number 10, you said it. The dentist made the list. Okay? How great is that? You know? You’re right on the mark. You’re a typical American there, Adam. You know, so good stuff.
Adam Wright:
Have you ever heard of what’s called “white coat syndrome”?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yes. I have heard of white coat syndrome.
Adam Wright:
You go to the dentist or the doctor, you see the doctor with the white coat, and immediately your blood pressure goes up. Let’s just say, we may have had to put off some of the dental work by half an hour before in my life because of that, just to give things a little time to calm down. So that’s number 10. What else are people afraid of, Father?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number nine is Fido. Dogs. People are afraid of dogs. Okay? Number eight, flying in airplanes. Well, let me tell you what. If you’re afraid of that, then you could never be a Father of Mercy because we fly a lot in our itinerant missionary preaching. Flying in airplanes is number 8. Severe weather is number seven, examples given by the respondents to the survey, are extreme thunder and lightning. So, here in Auburn, Kentucky near Bowling Green, Kentucky where our main generalate house is, we’re in what’s known as “Thunder Alley”. We get a lot of thunderstorms and a lot of lightning. So, such individuals that responded severe weather as number seven on the list of the top 10 things that people are afraid of, they may not want to settle in the Bowling Green/Auburn area of Kentucky. Okay? Number six is the dark. People are afraid of the dark. We Americans like to see what’s going on around us, and the more often the better. So we don’t care for the dark too much, except maybe when sleeping.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number five is somewhat understandable on my part. Although I don’t mind flying; heights could be a problem, as it made number five on the list. I don’t care for heights, Adam, when I’m in a tight space. So for example, a hot air balloon in a four-by-four wicker basket, 4,000 feet up in the air. I don’t think so. You know so heights is number five.
Adam Wright:
If you were wondering what to get Father Wade for the anniversary of his priestly ordination and you were thinking hot air balloon ride, just know now that is not the answer. Oddly enough, Father, as a former church organist, being up in the choir loft looking down didn’t bother me, but being up in the choir loft looking up at the ceiling and saying, “Wow. The ceiling should not be that close to me.” That was when I started trembling.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Oh, that’s interesting. Yeah. You know, we have a different vantage point visually of different things, and it could affect us. Yeah. That makes sense. That makes sense. Number four. I love this one. This is probably my favorite on the list, comically speaking. Number four is other people. We’re afraid of other people. And the number one example given by the respondents was public speaking. So there again, I don’t think you should be a Father of Mercy or a radio personality, Adam, if you’re afraid of other people. It’s not going to work out too well. But public speaking was number four.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number three, I can kind of relate to, places with no easy escape. The top examples given were elevators, bridges, and hot air balloons. There you go. Places with no easy escape. Number two is spiders, of the top 10 things that Americans are most afraid of. Number two is spiders. And number one, snakes.
Adam Wright:
That’s enough. We don’t have to say anymore about them. Let’s not talk about them. No, thank you.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
We’ve got a lot of garden snake varieties here at the Fathers of Mercy on our 50-acre property here at our generalate house. So you never know what color you’re going to find. Every now and again, you’ll see a copperhead kind of skimming across the top of the creek behind our place. But, otherwise, they kind of stay near the water. But we get a variety of garden snakes that are pretty harmless, but you still want to take a double look, and maybe have the app of snakes that where you could take a picture of it and it immediately identifies it and tells you whether or not it’s poisonous or not.
So, but here’s the thing, Adam. I’m going to go through all 10 again. Going to the dentist, dogs, flying in airplanes is number eight. Number seven, severe weather. The dark, heights, other people is number four. Places with no easy escape, spiders, and snakes. So, I ask you now and all your listeners of Roadmap to Heaven, where is Hell on this list? Are we not afraid of Hell? Where is mortal sin on this list? Are we not afraid of mortal sin? Are people not afraid of Hell? Are people not afraid of mortal sin? Yet the number one item, and I find this interesting, that people are most afraid of is snakes, serpents. Genesis 3:1 tells us, “The serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that God had made.” So while he doesn’t want us, the serpent, while he does not want us, the devil, while he does not want us, Satan, to have Hell or mortal on the list. He’s so prideful. He’s so pompous. He not only put himself on the list, he made himself number one on the list. Again, that’s pretty prideful, and that’s pretty pompous.
So I want to ask our listeners: do you want to be a goat on the left, or a sheep on the right hand of God on the day of judgment? Goats, vice, evil, detriment, darkness. Sheep are the opposites of those, virtue, good, betterment, and light. And I think that’s an important distinction to make. Virtue versus vice, good versus evil, betterment versus detriment, and light versus darkness. The sheep versus the goats, mentioned in the gospels, as well as in the book of Revelation implied. So, there we have it.
From there, Adam, I’d like to talk a little bit about the definition of sin and break down mortal and venial sin a little bit so we have a greater sense. I want to invite our listeners of Roadmap to Heaven to go to number 1849 through 1851 of the catechism, and then we’ll do a second section after that. So the first one is 1849 through 1851, just three numbered paragraphs, and it’s under a heading titled “The definition of sin” and it reads this. Number 1849, “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience. It is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law by Saint Augustine, the great doctor of the church.”
1850 says, “Sin is an offense against God. ‘Against you, you alone have I sinned and done that which is evil in your sight.’ The Miseraire Psalm 51. Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin of our first parents, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become like gods, knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus love of oneself, even to the contempt of God. In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus Christ, which achieves our salvation.”
And the last, third paragraph of this section titled “The definition of sin” out of the universal catechism. We read this in number 1851, “It is precisely in the passion of Christ when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms. Unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning, and mockery by the leaders and the people. Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers. Judas’s betrayal, all so bitter to Jesus. Peter’s denial, and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustible, the mercy of God, His greatest attribute.” That number 1851 is so telling. Again, It is precisely in the passion of Christ, on that Good Friday, right when He’s about to die, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms. Such as unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning, and mockery by the leaders and the people. Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers. Judas’ betrayal, so bitter to Jesus. Peter’s denial, and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly. Very, very telling.
Look at the increase of crime today in 2023, the increase of violent sexual crime. Look at what’s going on in the holy land right now. It’s almost like an escalation of evil. So I ask rhetorically, are we in a time now where the mercy of God is about to manifest itself precisely like 1851 says? Evil knows that it’s getting close to an hour of mercy of some type. Whether it’s the second coming or not, I don’t know, but some type of time of mercy, because sin is precisely escalating itself. So, you know, I had an older person come up to me one time after a parish mission. They said, “Oh, Father Wade, these times are really nothing. You know, we had the hippie movement and Woodstock in the late sixties and the drug use and everything else.” And I said, “Madam, uh-uh. Sorry. With all due respect, we didn’t have Roe v Wade that killed so many babies. We didn’t have Fentanyl in public places like coffee houses, that if you just happen to sniff it as an innocent bystander, it knocks you out. We didn’t have the violent crime, and specifically the violent sexual crime, that’s taking place today. We’ve never had a history of the world recorded where so many adult children murdered their parents and the like. Constant wars. It’s nothing like the sixties.”
And this is something that needs to be made manifest, to think about so precisely, so we’ll pray about it. And Our Lady of Fatima said, “CPR. Conversion, penance, and reparation.” And so when I look at this list of the top 10 things, Adam, I’m wondering, where’s sin on this list? Where is Hell on this list? You know, in The Four Last Things: A Catechetical Guide to Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, it’s five chapters. Death, judgment, Heaven, Hell, and the necessity of the spiritual life. Okay? In the fourth chapter on Hell, I describe not only what scripture says about Hell. I describe what the church fathers and even more modern-day saints like John Paul II and Mother Teresa say about Hell. It is real, and it’s a real possibility to go there by purposeful, unrepentant mortal sin. God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, by purposeful, unrepentant mortal sin. And so I really want to encourage our listeners of Roadmap to Heaven, Adam, to read numbers 1849 through 1851 and pay particular attention to number 1851.
Adam Wright:
You know, Father, it’s very interesting to me how the devil works. We recently had an interview with an exorcist, here in the United States. And he was talking about the ordinary works of the devil, not the extraordinary, the possessions and whatnot, but just the everyday temptations, the pushing, and just kind of nudging you in the direction of sin. And I bring this up because of two things you said here. One: the extraordinary mercy our Lord offers. When I was at the shrine, I made sure to take my wife, she was able to go with us, to the crucifix outside in the colonnade. As you’re looking at the church, it’s to the right, and it’s a Spanish-style crucifix. And it makes the crucifix behind me here look like an easy, easy suffering in comparison to what our Lord most likely went through. It took me back to the first time I watched the film, “The Passion of the Christ”. But, in that moment, I remember early on in my journey of Christian faith, at first, there was that voice or that nudging of the devil. “Adam, it’s not really that bad. You know, don’t worry about it. Everybody’s doing this. You’re certainly not the only one who struggles with it. Don’t be ashamed of that.” And now as you know, I like to think I’ve matured in my Christian life. I had a very interesting insight when I went to confession at the shrine. I said to Father after confessing all of my sins, I said, “Father, I’ve particularly been struggling with this thought, and I’m sure it’s from the devil that, ‘Hey. You’re a Catholic radio host. You shouldn’t be committing sins. You should be perfect. You should be able to resist temptation. You tell your listeners to avoid temptation and sin all of the time…'” Father stopped me immediately and said, “You ignore that voice. Whenever you hear it, you ignore it, you come back to confession. The end. Don’t give it any credence.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
You know, I like to remind my listeners, whether I’m preaching in person or even on Open Line Tuesday, speaking about confession or the reality of sin. You know, first of all, I’m a huge, huge advocate, as you know, Adam, of monthly confession. Why? Because the culture is just too challenging today, period. Whether one be single, married, a consecrated priest, whether religious order priest or diocesan priest, a consecrated sister or brother in religious life, active or contemplative, whether one be a retired grandparent, a working grandparent, a recently widowed grandparent. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. High school student, middle school student, university student. It doesn’t matter. The homeschooling mother of three, the divorced dad of three, striving to live a chaste life. It doesn’t matter your vocation or state in life. I’m a huge advocate of monthly confession, and I’ll say it again. Why? Because the culture is just too challenging today. And if you go to confession monthly, for example, around the first Friday or the first Saturday. And, of course, the first Friday is traditionally in honor of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first Saturday is traditionally in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If you go faithfully once a month, 12 times a year, chances are you will only have venial sins to confess, not mortal sins.
Why? Because it’s precisely the practice of a monthly confession that’s what’s keeping you away, per se, from mortal sin, and that’s a beautiful thing. But we become very lackadaisical with this challenging culture. We become very lackadaisical. You know, in June of 2017, Monsignor Charles Pope, whose writing I love dearly. I think he’s a great writer, probably one of the top five Catholic writers, lay or cleric, today in the United States. I just admire his writing. He writes a lot for the e-version of the National Catholic Register and also on his own blog. But in June of 2017, he wrote an article titled “Eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid”. Eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid. And guess what number one on his list of eight was? Mercy without reference to repentance. Mercy without reference to repentance. And he says this, “For too many today, mercy has come to mean, ‘God is fine with me as I am doing.’ But true mercy does not overlook sin. It presupposes it, seizes it as a serious problem, and offers a way out of sin. That’s mercy. God’s mercy is his way of extending a hand to draw us out of the mire of sin. And this is why repentance is the key that unlocks mercy. For it is by repentance that we reach for and grasp God’s merciful and outstretched hand. One of the chief errors today…” Monsignor Pope says, “…is the proclamation of mercy without reference to repentance. Sadly, this is common even in the Catholic church. It is far too common to hear sermons on mercy, God’s mercy, with no reference made whatsoever to the reality and need of repentance. The opening words of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels are, ‘Repent and believe in the gospel.'” That’s Jesus’s very first spoken words in the gospels, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” Same with his cousin, John the Baptist. The very first word spoken in the gospels. Repent. “This order is important. For how can we experience the good news of God’s mercy if we do not first repent, come to a new mind, and know our need for that mercy? If you don’t know the bad news, the good news is no news at all,” Monsignor Pope says. There’s a lot of truth there, and the good news is of God’s mercy. Again, if you don’t know the bad news, the good news is no news. So if you don’t know anything about sin or don’t acknowledge it, you’re not going to know about the great news of God’s mercy. “Repentance brings us to our senses, makes us accept our need for change, seeks God, and unlocks His mercy.” And he ends this number one of the eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid. He says, “This error of mercy without reference to repentance is so widespread in the church today, and it leads to the sin of presumption, a sin against hope.” That is presuming on God’s mercy, which is a sin against hope according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. So I think Monsignor Pope hits the nail on the head here, and this is a big problem with the culture today. Even the Christian culture.
Adam Wright:
As you say that, Father, I can’t think of the beautiful image that marriage and family life is for the love of Christ for us and our love for him. And I can only think, if I did something to injure the relationship with my spouse, you know, whether I was hateful in words or, lazy in my duties with the children. Pick whatever it may be. I think all of us who are married know that we have those things that we do that our our wrong and irritate our spouses. And if I just presume, well, my wife loves me. She’ll forgive me. She’ll let this go, and never actually went to change. Our marriage would be in trouble very, very quickly.
The other thing I love about marriage, Father, is we do have children, and I’m glad we’re talking about sin today because we have one who is about to make her first confession, her first sacramental confession. And we’ve been talking about it in the abstract. We’ve been talking about our Lord’s love for us, about mercy, about repentance, but we also have to get into the nitty gritty that there are different kinds of sins. There are different ways that sin is forgiven, whether that’s through the sacrament of reconciliation for mortal sins and venial sins or through the penitential right at Mass for venial sins. I’m going to stand corrected if I’m saying anything wrong here, but, I love being able to share this, as we’ve said before, at the Wright institute for theological discourse.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Right. That’s right. This all bears what you just said, on the second section of the catechism I’d like to cover today on Roadmap to Heaven. It’s number 1854, all the way through number 1863. 1854 to 1863. It’s under a heading that reads, “The gravity of sin: mortal and venial sin”. The gravity of sin, mortal and venial sin.
1854 says this, “Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin already evident in scripture became part of the teaching tradition of the church, and it is corroborated by human experience.” True enough. “Mortal sin destroys charity in the human heart by a gray violation of God’s law. It turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end, and his beatitude by preferring an inferior good to Him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist even though it offends and wounds it. Number 1856: “Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us, that is, charity, necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart on the part of the person, which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation.
1857 is very clear. “For a sin to be mortal, three conditions and only three conditions must together together be met. Mortal sin is whose object is grave matter, and which is also committed with full knowledge, and with deliberate consent of one’s will. Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man. ‘Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, and honor your father and your mother.’ The gravity of sins is more or less great. Murder is graver than theft, for example, but both are grave. One must also take into account who is wronged. Violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. Very, very important.
Number 1859: “Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. Those are the other two elements of the three elements. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase the voluntary character of the sin because the person hasn’t made the effort to inform their intellect and moral life.”
Number 1860: “Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability, or culpability, of a grave offense.” True enough. “But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every human person. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice by deliberate choice of evil is the gravest.”
1861: “Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of Hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices forever with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.” So God does the subjective judgment of the individual subject. But we can do the objective judgment of the action because we know the moral law. We’ve informed our intellect. For example, adultery, or fornication, or homosexual activity. These are objectively mortal sins. Now there can be a diminishing of culpability if the person’s not informed, etcetera. Force of habit, pathological disorders, whatever. Alcoholism, for example, to the point of drunkenness, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we should try to do better. Again, we need to make reference to repentance in order to obtain the greatest gift of God’s mercy.
Now venial sin, Adam, begins with number 1862, and we wrap this up. “One commits venial sin when in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.” So if any one of those three is missing, one has a venial sin. And by three, I mean the requirements for a mortal sin: grave matter, done with fullness of knowledge, and done with deliberate consent. 1863 of the catechism tells us that “Venial sin weakens charity. It manifests a disordered affection for created goods.
It impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good. It merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However, venial sin does not break the covenant with God, between God and the individual. It only wounds it.” I don’t mean only wounds it, but as opposed to severing it on a supernatural level, which is what mortal sin does. Okay? “With God’s grace, it is humanly repairable. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently, eternal happiness.
Now 1863 also says this. This is important. And I think this is what the priest who heard your confession at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament during the radio conference was trying to get at. Listen to this. This is number 1863. “While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins, but do not despise these sins which we call light. If you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass. A number of drops fills a river. A number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.” This is what he meant when he said get back to confession. Even though you might find something habitual, whether grave or venial, it’s still habitual. Why go to confession monthly when all I have is the same venial sins? Because you get graces from that confession. Every confession we receive, every absolution we receive, graces come from that particular sacrament. You know?
And then 1864 ends the section with this, Adam. “Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Words of our Lord in the gospels. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept His mercy by repenting rejects the forgiveness of His sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal laws. This is why number 1037, I believe, in the catechism says, “God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, through purposeful, nonrepentant, mortal sin.” Again, “God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, by way of purposeful, unrepentant, mortal sin.” So just two great sections on the catechism, on the difference between mortal and venial sin, and the definition of sin, which is great.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father Wade, if you were going to be coming through Missouri, I’d have to invite you over for dinner, because I know the moment I start to talk about this with the kids it’s going to start the, “Well, what about this, dad? Is this a sin? Is this one a sin? What about this one? Now, what if I did this, but it did it then?” I said, “Kids, just pray for the grace to do God’s will. And, if you strive to do God’s will, you’re going to be on a much better path than going through and saying, well, what about this? What about this? About this?” And by the way, that’s why we’re going to study the catechism as a family. And that way, you’re going to know how to listen to your conscience and listen to God’s will, and prayer, and the sacraments are going to strengthen you with grace. And God willing, you’re going to live a life of holiness, and that’ll be a much better use of our time than going through every sin in a hypothetical scenario. But if that happens, I’m calling Father Wade.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right. Three things. The first two. First of all, since I missed Father Mike Schmidt’s catechism in a year, I didn’t get on the wagon at the right time, I’m going to join the Wright family’s catechism in a year, and I’m going to join you guys for that so I can still gain the same benefit. Right? Second thing, here’s number 1037. “God predestines no one to hell. For this, a willful turning away from God, a mortal sin is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, Holy Mother Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance,” quoting 2 Peter 3:9. For example, in the Roman Canon, Eucharistic prayer 1, we read, “Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life. Save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen.” Right there in the catechism, Adam. Right there. Now look at all my tabs. Jack Williams always gives me a bad time about all my tabs. You know? But I think he’s jealous because I think Jack only has, like, 1 tab in his catechism. So this is like major tabs. Right?
So, the third thing is when your children say, “Well, what about this, Dad? What about is this a sin? Is this venial? Is this mortal?” Well, you start with the principle of mortal sin: grave matter, done with fullness of knowledge, and done with deliberate consent. Is it grave matter, the thing that your kids are questioning you about? Is it grave matter? Does it contravene God’s moral law, the 10 Commandments, and gravely so? Okay? So, a physical fight, for example, that is so serious on your part when you beat up the person that it actually put the person in the hospital. That would be grave matter, but it’s objectively more grave if that person was a relative of yours, say, a brother or a brother-in-law. Still grave if it was just a fellow employee at the factory where you work, let’s say. Still grave. Still objectively mortal. My gosh, you put the guy in the hospital. It was that kind of physical altercation. But it’s objectively more grave when the family bond is involved. So both grave in that instance, but objectively more grave if it’s a relative.
Now, stealing is stealing. Theft is theft. But there’s a difference between a 7-year-old standing behind mommy or daddy at the checkout counter at Walgreens, let’s say, and when mommy or daddy or the clerk aren’t looking. They take a pack of gum. Bad. That’s bad. Shouldn’t have been done, but that versus embezzling $25 grand a quarter from your company, and nobody at your company that you work for knows about it, is objectively more grave. So, you know, these things are important to make these distinctions. This is why Saint Thomas Aquinas always says [inaudible].
So, again, I’d like to urge your listeners to go to those two sections of the catechism and to read about the definition of sin from 1849 through 1851. And then also, the section on mortal versus venial sin, which begins with the heading titled, “The gravity of sin: mortal and venial” beginning with 1854 and ending with 1863. Well, 1864 as well, I guess. Those numbered paragraphs. Just two great sterling sections on the reality of sin. Again, all springboarding from what people are afraid of, the top 10 things Americans are afraid of. Hell didn’t make the list. Mortal sin didn’t make the list. Even sin in general didn’t make the list. And that’s a sad plight, I think.
I think that says a lot about the culture, which dovetails with what Monsignor Pope says. Everybody wants mercy without implying the reality of repentance being needed as well. Repentance is needed because of one thing and one thing only, Adam, and it begins with an s. Sin. Repentance and mercy are needed precisely because of the reality of sin. If there was no such thing as sin, no such thing as sin whatsoever, there would be no need for the mercy of God, and there would be no need for repentance. But because there is such a thing as sin, there is such a need as God’s mercy. And there is such a need as repentance, as a thing called repentance, from the human heart.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful, and I think another takeaway from this and some final thoughts for our listeners here. This whole idea that some have of all “Well, it’s only a venial sin, so I’m not too worried about it.” Listen, the other night at her soccer game, my oldest daughter was playing defense, and she took a full-power shot straight to the chest. It knocked her down. It knocked the wind out of her. She recovered quickly. Now, there have been instances where a blow to the chest like that could stop your heart. You could die. And you say, “Well, if I had to pick, I would rather have what your daughter had, Adam, than being hit in the chest by a soccer ball and my heart stopping and dying.” But I tell you, if I had to pick, I’d rather just avoid both of those scenarios and not be injured at all. So that idea of, “Oh, it’s just a venial sin, it’s not that bad.” It still wounds. It still hurts. I want to tell you too, friends, if you go to fathersofmercy.com. And you type in the search bar “confession”. There’s a great article by Father Wade Menezes on the graces of a frequent confession. And if you’re a single man who is not afraid of severe weather, heights, other people in the case of public speaking, and possibly snakes. You might want to check out if you have a vocation with the Fathers of Mercy.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right. Go to fathersofmercy.com and write our vocation director at vocations@fathersofmercy.com. Father Joseph Morgan, vocations@fathersofmercy.com is the email address, and check out our community at its website at fathersofmercy.com. And I might add, Adam, also at fathersofmercy.com, if you put in the search bar “examination of conscience” on the search bar on the home page, which comes up once you click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right. Once you do that, the search bar comes up in the middle of the home page, the first page that comes up. And on that search bar, type “examination of conscience”, and we have our wonderful, wonderful examination of conscience.
Let me grab it here really quick. Both in English and Spanish. The English has the blue ink, the English has the blue ink, And the Spanish has the green ink. Okay? So the Fathers of Mercy examination of conscience. And on one complete side, we have the major tenants of Catholic Christian doctrine, all four panels. It’s like having a little catechism right there in the palm of your hand on those four panels on that side with the Fathers of Mercy logo, the 10 Commandments, the nine Beatitudes, the 14 works of mercy, the three imminent good works, nine ways of being an accessory to another sin, the seven capital sins, the seven capital virtues. It’s like having a little catechism. Then when you turn it over on the other side, Adam, the other four panels. The first three are a series of questions that do what? They comb through the 10 commandments. The first three panels are a series of questions that comb through the 10 commandments.
And the fourth and final panel on that side is a little primer of how to go to confession. Maybe it’s been a while since the person’s gone to confession. So it’s a little primer of how the ritual goes once you enter the confessional with the priest. But English and Spanish, these are printable as a PDF document at fathersofmercy.com. Or you can write The Fathers of Mercy for bundles of these. We do charge a nominal fee, and we will ship them to you. So, just a great, great examination of conscience, to help a person grow in the spiritual life.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, I can think of no more fitting way to end our time together than the way we always end our time together, and that’s in prayer. And if I may turn it over to you.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Sure. I’ll give a blessing to all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Open Line, I’m sorry, all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners, who hopefully are also Open Line Tuesday listeners, and remain with each and every one of you this day and always. Saint Joseph, terror of demons
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Pray for us. Adam, do you have this pen?
Adam Wright:
I have several of them. I have given some to all of my coworkers and absolutely love it. And Father, I’m going to trust that that was not an intentional mistake, and I also presume it was not grave matter. But if you do want to hear more of Father Wade on Open Line Tuesdays right here on Covenant Network, you can tune in at 2 PM central time, and check out the Covenant Network YouTube channel where all of these wonderful interviews with Father Wade are posted. There’s any number of topics we discuss, and you’re going to learn a lot. It’s like going back to school, and I absolutely love it.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Adam, if I could say one more thing. I do encourage them to get this quick read, just at a hundred pages on the four last things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Especially the beautiful, beautiful chapter on Heaven. And then secondly, Overcoming the Evil Within. Chapter three is on how to make a good, holy, reverent, monthly confession without too much rigidity and without too much laxity, but a good, solid, holy, reverent confession. So, overcoming the evil within, the reality of sin, and the transforming power of God’s grace and mercy. I open up in the introduction of this book with the savage murder of Saint Maria Goretti by Alessandro Ceranelli, who later had a massive conversion. And then the Four Last Things: A Catechetical Guide to Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, and the article on confession that you mentioned earlier that’s found at fathersofmercy.com is actually a synopsis of a fuller chapter in my latest book, Catholic Essentials. There you go. Alright. There you go. Catholic Essentials, my newest book, Catholic Essentials: A Guide to Understanding Key Church Teachings. Okay?
Adam Wright:
Yes. Required reading at the Wright Institute of Theological Discourse, and mainly for the instructor.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
There you go. Let me know when that catechism in a year starts with The Wright’s Catechetical Institute. Okay?
Adam Wright:
We’ll be sure to do that. Maybe we’ll have you on as a guest lecturer sometime, Father. In the meantime, we’re always grateful for your time with us. Friends, don’t forget that, November 1st, which is very quickly approaching, is a holy day of obligation, and it’s a day that we pray for the intercession of the saints. We pray in gratitude for their intercession, and we ask them to help us, with their prayers, avoid sin. And, let’s not waste the opportunity. We’re not focused so much on the ghouls and the goblins and the candies. Although, if you have extra peanut butter cups, I will happily take them off your hands. But let’s focus on the–
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Hey, the health experts say that the peanut butter cups are actually pretty healthy because they’re high in protein.
Adam Wright:
Well, there you have it, friends. Father Wade, it’s always a pleasure. And until next time, you have a great time with the Fathers of Mercy, doing God’s work out among his people.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you so much, Adam. God bless you. I’m so glad you made it to the shrine of the most blessed sacrament in EWTN at the radio conference last week. God bless you and your great work and all there at Covenant Radio Network.
Adam Wright:
Thank you, Father. We will be back after this.
Adam Wright:
I mentioned on the show recently, we had the opportunity to head down to Birmingham, Alabama for the EWTN radio conference, and one of the joys of that was traveling to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, about an hour north. It’s definitely, if you’re in the area, worth going out of your way to visit the shrine. And if you go to the Saint John Paul the second Eucharistic Miracles exhibit. Well, it’s not “Where’s Waldo”, it’s “Where’s Father Wade”. We found a picture of a very young Father Wade, and I wanted to mention that today as we welcome Father Wade back to Roadmap to Heaven. Father, it’s so great to have you with us once again.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Hey, I’m glad you could figure out that that was indeed me in that old photograph.
Adam Wright:
Well, you know, I told everyone, I said, “Father Wade’s first assignment was down here at the shrine, if I remember correctly, as a chaplain.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right.
Adam Wright:
And I’m sure that was a beautiful time in your life.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
It was. I was there from 2000 of my ordination on June 10th, went there a month later on July 10th, and was there through 2003. And, you know, the nuns had just opened it up earlier a few months, in December of ’99. So it wasn’t open that long as a public shrine when I arrived. So, the whole pilgrim thing was new, and I was there to serve the pilgrims as one who gives talks, catechetical talks, and hears confessions, etcetera. So it was great. You know, it’s kind of like a reverse dynamic of a parish mission. We Fathers of Mercy are itinerant preachers, and the main event we preach is the week-long parish mission in parishes. You know? And the missionary goes to the parish. He’s there for the week, and then he leaves. But for the shrine, it was like a reverse dynamic. I was in residence, and it was the pilgrims who kept coming in and out, arriving and then leaving. So it was interesting, and I loved it. I loved the assignment. I love giving the different catechetical talks. And the other exciting thing about those three years, Adam, was that a lot of building was going on, like the John Paul II Eucharistic Center that features the Eucharistic miracles that you mentioned. It was being built. The castle of San Miguel was being built, which houses the Saint Gabriel conference center as well as the gift shop of El Nino. All that was being built. So it was exciting times there at the shrine, and it still is every time I go.
Adam Wright:
Well, you know, the shrine is one of those places, I think, most of us who have been there would say, “I would love to go to the shrine. I would love to go back to the shrine.” But there are also places in life that we don’t necessarily look forward to going to visit. You know, for instance, later today, after our time with Father Wade, I have to go to the dentist. I always say to my dentist, because he’s a Catholic, “Alright, doc. Are you ready to help some souls in Purgatory today? Because I’m ready to suffer for them. Bring it on.” He chuckles and I chuckle, but yet so many of us hate going to the dentist’s chair. And, Father Wade, I understand you want to start us off today with, in the spirit of all things spooky with Halloween, and as a friend of mine referred to it, “the Triduum of Death or the Triduum of the Dead”. We want to talk about some places and things that people are afraid of today.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yeah. Around this All Hallow’s Eve time, a secular Halloween time, I would like to talk about a study that was done a few years back of the top 10 things that people are most afraid of here in the United States. It’s an interesting list of the top 10 things. So I’m going to start with number 10 and work my way down, Adam, to the number one thing that people are most afraid of. Okay? So we’ll start with 10 and work our way down to number one. Number 10, you said it. The dentist made the list. Okay? How great is that? You know? You’re right on the mark. You’re a typical American there, Adam. You know, so good stuff.
Adam Wright:
Have you ever heard of what’s called “white coat syndrome”?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Yes. I have heard of white coat syndrome.
Adam Wright:
You go to the dentist or the doctor, you see the doctor with the white coat, and immediately your blood pressure goes up. Let’s just say, we may have had to put off some of the dental work by half an hour before in my life because of that, just to give things a little time to calm down. So that’s number 10. What else are people afraid of, Father?
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number nine is Fido. Dogs. People are afraid of dogs. Okay? Number eight, flying in airplanes. Well, let me tell you what. If you’re afraid of that, then you could never be a Father of Mercy because we fly a lot in our itinerant missionary preaching. Flying in airplanes is number 8. Severe weather is number seven, examples given by the respondents to the survey, are extreme thunder and lightning. So, here in Auburn, Kentucky near Bowling Green, Kentucky where our main generalate house is, we’re in what’s known as “Thunder Alley”. We get a lot of thunderstorms and a lot of lightning. So, such individuals that responded severe weather as number seven on the list of the top 10 things that people are afraid of, they may not want to settle in the Bowling Green/Auburn area of Kentucky. Okay? Number six is the dark. People are afraid of the dark. We Americans like to see what’s going on around us, and the more often the better. So we don’t care for the dark too much, except maybe when sleeping.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number five is somewhat understandable on my part. Although I don’t mind flying; heights could be a problem, as it made number five on the list. I don’t care for heights, Adam, when I’m in a tight space. So for example, a hot air balloon in a four-by-four wicker basket, 4,000 feet up in the air. I don’t think so. You know so heights is number five.
Adam Wright:
If you were wondering what to get Father Wade for the anniversary of his priestly ordination and you were thinking hot air balloon ride, just know now that is not the answer. Oddly enough, Father, as a former church organist, being up in the choir loft looking down didn’t bother me, but being up in the choir loft looking up at the ceiling and saying, “Wow. The ceiling should not be that close to me.” That was when I started trembling.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Oh, that’s interesting. Yeah. You know, we have a different vantage point visually of different things, and it could affect us. Yeah. That makes sense. That makes sense. Number four. I love this one. This is probably my favorite on the list, comically speaking. Number four is other people. We’re afraid of other people. And the number one example given by the respondents was public speaking. So there again, I don’t think you should be a Father of Mercy or a radio personality, Adam, if you’re afraid of other people. It’s not going to work out too well. But public speaking was number four.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Number three, I can kind of relate to, places with no easy escape. The top examples given were elevators, bridges, and hot air balloons. There you go. Places with no easy escape. Number two is spiders, of the top 10 things that Americans are most afraid of. Number two is spiders. And number one, snakes.
Adam Wright:
That’s enough. We don’t have to say anymore about them. Let’s not talk about them. No, thank you.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
We’ve got a lot of garden snake varieties here at the Fathers of Mercy on our 50-acre property here at our generalate house. So you never know what color you’re going to find. Every now and again, you’ll see a copperhead kind of skimming across the top of the creek behind our place. But, otherwise, they kind of stay near the water. But we get a variety of garden snakes that are pretty harmless, but you still want to take a double look, and maybe have the app of snakes that where you could take a picture of it and it immediately identifies it and tells you whether or not it’s poisonous or not.
So, but here’s the thing, Adam. I’m going to go through all 10 again. Going to the dentist, dogs, flying in airplanes is number eight. Number seven, severe weather. The dark, heights, other people is number four. Places with no easy escape, spiders, and snakes. So, I ask you now and all your listeners of Roadmap to Heaven, where is Hell on this list? Are we not afraid of Hell? Where is mortal sin on this list? Are we not afraid of mortal sin? Are people not afraid of Hell? Are people not afraid of mortal sin? Yet the number one item, and I find this interesting, that people are most afraid of is snakes, serpents. Genesis 3:1 tells us, “The serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that God had made.” So while he doesn’t want us, the serpent, while he does not want us, the devil, while he does not want us, Satan, to have Hell or mortal on the list. He’s so prideful. He’s so pompous. He not only put himself on the list, he made himself number one on the list. Again, that’s pretty prideful, and that’s pretty pompous.
So I want to ask our listeners: do you want to be a goat on the left, or a sheep on the right hand of God on the day of judgment? Goats, vice, evil, detriment, darkness. Sheep are the opposites of those, virtue, good, betterment, and light. And I think that’s an important distinction to make. Virtue versus vice, good versus evil, betterment versus detriment, and light versus darkness. The sheep versus the goats, mentioned in the gospels, as well as in the book of Revelation implied. So, there we have it.
From there, Adam, I’d like to talk a little bit about the definition of sin and break down mortal and venial sin a little bit so we have a greater sense. I want to invite our listeners of Roadmap to Heaven to go to number 1849 through 1851 of the catechism, and then we’ll do a second section after that. So the first one is 1849 through 1851, just three numbered paragraphs, and it’s under a heading titled “The definition of sin” and it reads this. Number 1849, “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience. It is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law by Saint Augustine, the great doctor of the church.”
1850 says, “Sin is an offense against God. ‘Against you, you alone have I sinned and done that which is evil in your sight.’ The Miseraire Psalm 51. Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin of our first parents, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become like gods, knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus love of oneself, even to the contempt of God. In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus Christ, which achieves our salvation.”
And the last, third paragraph of this section titled “The definition of sin” out of the universal catechism. We read this in number 1851, “It is precisely in the passion of Christ when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms. Unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning, and mockery by the leaders and the people. Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers. Judas’s betrayal, all so bitter to Jesus. Peter’s denial, and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustible, the mercy of God, His greatest attribute.” That number 1851 is so telling. Again, It is precisely in the passion of Christ, on that Good Friday, right when He’s about to die, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms. Such as unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning, and mockery by the leaders and the people. Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers. Judas’ betrayal, so bitter to Jesus. Peter’s denial, and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly. Very, very telling.
Look at the increase of crime today in 2023, the increase of violent sexual crime. Look at what’s going on in the holy land right now. It’s almost like an escalation of evil. So I ask rhetorically, are we in a time now where the mercy of God is about to manifest itself precisely like 1851 says? Evil knows that it’s getting close to an hour of mercy of some type. Whether it’s the second coming or not, I don’t know, but some type of time of mercy, because sin is precisely escalating itself. So, you know, I had an older person come up to me one time after a parish mission. They said, “Oh, Father Wade, these times are really nothing. You know, we had the hippie movement and Woodstock in the late sixties and the drug use and everything else.” And I said, “Madam, uh-uh. Sorry. With all due respect, we didn’t have Roe v Wade that killed so many babies. We didn’t have Fentanyl in public places like coffee houses, that if you just happen to sniff it as an innocent bystander, it knocks you out. We didn’t have the violent crime, and specifically the violent sexual crime, that’s taking place today. We’ve never had a history of the world recorded where so many adult children murdered their parents and the like. Constant wars. It’s nothing like the sixties.”
And this is something that needs to be made manifest, to think about so precisely, so we’ll pray about it. And Our Lady of Fatima said, “CPR. Conversion, penance, and reparation.” And so when I look at this list of the top 10 things, Adam, I’m wondering, where’s sin on this list? Where is Hell on this list? You know, in The Four Last Things: A Catechetical Guide to Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, it’s five chapters. Death, judgment, Heaven, Hell, and the necessity of the spiritual life. Okay? In the fourth chapter on Hell, I describe not only what scripture says about Hell. I describe what the church fathers and even more modern-day saints like John Paul II and Mother Teresa say about Hell. It is real, and it’s a real possibility to go there by purposeful, unrepentant mortal sin. God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, by purposeful, unrepentant mortal sin. And so I really want to encourage our listeners of Roadmap to Heaven, Adam, to read numbers 1849 through 1851 and pay particular attention to number 1851.
Adam Wright:
You know, Father, it’s very interesting to me how the devil works. We recently had an interview with an exorcist, here in the United States. And he was talking about the ordinary works of the devil, not the extraordinary, the possessions and whatnot, but just the everyday temptations, the pushing, and just kind of nudging you in the direction of sin. And I bring this up because of two things you said here. One: the extraordinary mercy our Lord offers. When I was at the shrine, I made sure to take my wife, she was able to go with us, to the crucifix outside in the colonnade. As you’re looking at the church, it’s to the right, and it’s a Spanish-style crucifix. And it makes the crucifix behind me here look like an easy, easy suffering in comparison to what our Lord most likely went through. It took me back to the first time I watched the film, “The Passion of the Christ”. But, in that moment, I remember early on in my journey of Christian faith, at first, there was that voice or that nudging of the devil. “Adam, it’s not really that bad. You know, don’t worry about it. Everybody’s doing this. You’re certainly not the only one who struggles with it. Don’t be ashamed of that.” And now as you know, I like to think I’ve matured in my Christian life. I had a very interesting insight when I went to confession at the shrine. I said to Father after confessing all of my sins, I said, “Father, I’ve particularly been struggling with this thought, and I’m sure it’s from the devil that, ‘Hey. You’re a Catholic radio host. You shouldn’t be committing sins. You should be perfect. You should be able to resist temptation. You tell your listeners to avoid temptation and sin all of the time…'” Father stopped me immediately and said, “You ignore that voice. Whenever you hear it, you ignore it, you come back to confession. The end. Don’t give it any credence.”
Fr. Wade Menezes:
You know, I like to remind my listeners, whether I’m preaching in person or even on Open Line Tuesday, speaking about confession or the reality of sin. You know, first of all, I’m a huge, huge advocate, as you know, Adam, of monthly confession. Why? Because the culture is just too challenging today, period. Whether one be single, married, a consecrated priest, whether religious order priest or diocesan priest, a consecrated sister or brother in religious life, active or contemplative, whether one be a retired grandparent, a working grandparent, a recently widowed grandparent. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. High school student, middle school student, university student. It doesn’t matter. The homeschooling mother of three, the divorced dad of three, striving to live a chaste life. It doesn’t matter your vocation or state in life. I’m a huge advocate of monthly confession, and I’ll say it again. Why? Because the culture is just too challenging today. And if you go to confession monthly, for example, around the first Friday or the first Saturday. And, of course, the first Friday is traditionally in honor of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first Saturday is traditionally in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If you go faithfully once a month, 12 times a year, chances are you will only have venial sins to confess, not mortal sins.
Why? Because it’s precisely the practice of a monthly confession that’s what’s keeping you away, per se, from mortal sin, and that’s a beautiful thing. But we become very lackadaisical with this challenging culture. We become very lackadaisical. You know, in June of 2017, Monsignor Charles Pope, whose writing I love dearly. I think he’s a great writer, probably one of the top five Catholic writers, lay or cleric, today in the United States. I just admire his writing. He writes a lot for the e-version of the National Catholic Register and also on his own blog. But in June of 2017, he wrote an article titled “Eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid”. Eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid. And guess what number one on his list of eight was? Mercy without reference to repentance. Mercy without reference to repentance. And he says this, “For too many today, mercy has come to mean, ‘God is fine with me as I am doing.’ But true mercy does not overlook sin. It presupposes it, seizes it as a serious problem, and offers a way out of sin. That’s mercy. God’s mercy is his way of extending a hand to draw us out of the mire of sin. And this is why repentance is the key that unlocks mercy. For it is by repentance that we reach for and grasp God’s merciful and outstretched hand. One of the chief errors today…” Monsignor Pope says, “…is the proclamation of mercy without reference to repentance. Sadly, this is common even in the Catholic church. It is far too common to hear sermons on mercy, God’s mercy, with no reference made whatsoever to the reality and need of repentance. The opening words of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels are, ‘Repent and believe in the gospel.'” That’s Jesus’s very first spoken words in the gospels, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” Same with his cousin, John the Baptist. The very first word spoken in the gospels. Repent. “This order is important. For how can we experience the good news of God’s mercy if we do not first repent, come to a new mind, and know our need for that mercy? If you don’t know the bad news, the good news is no news at all,” Monsignor Pope says. There’s a lot of truth there, and the good news is of God’s mercy. Again, if you don’t know the bad news, the good news is no news. So if you don’t know anything about sin or don’t acknowledge it, you’re not going to know about the great news of God’s mercy. “Repentance brings us to our senses, makes us accept our need for change, seeks God, and unlocks His mercy.” And he ends this number one of the eight modern errors that every Catholic should know and avoid. He says, “This error of mercy without reference to repentance is so widespread in the church today, and it leads to the sin of presumption, a sin against hope.” That is presuming on God’s mercy, which is a sin against hope according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. So I think Monsignor Pope hits the nail on the head here, and this is a big problem with the culture today. Even the Christian culture.
Adam Wright:
As you say that, Father, I can’t think of the beautiful image that marriage and family life is for the love of Christ for us and our love for him. And I can only think, if I did something to injure the relationship with my spouse, you know, whether I was hateful in words or, lazy in my duties with the children. Pick whatever it may be. I think all of us who are married know that we have those things that we do that our our wrong and irritate our spouses. And if I just presume, well, my wife loves me. She’ll forgive me. She’ll let this go, and never actually went to change. Our marriage would be in trouble very, very quickly.
The other thing I love about marriage, Father, is we do have children, and I’m glad we’re talking about sin today because we have one who is about to make her first confession, her first sacramental confession. And we’ve been talking about it in the abstract. We’ve been talking about our Lord’s love for us, about mercy, about repentance, but we also have to get into the nitty gritty that there are different kinds of sins. There are different ways that sin is forgiven, whether that’s through the sacrament of reconciliation for mortal sins and venial sins or through the penitential right at Mass for venial sins. I’m going to stand corrected if I’m saying anything wrong here, but, I love being able to share this, as we’ve said before, at the Wright institute for theological discourse.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Right. That’s right. This all bears what you just said, on the second section of the catechism I’d like to cover today on Roadmap to Heaven. It’s number 1854, all the way through number 1863. 1854 to 1863. It’s under a heading that reads, “The gravity of sin: mortal and venial sin”. The gravity of sin, mortal and venial sin.
1854 says this, “Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin already evident in scripture became part of the teaching tradition of the church, and it is corroborated by human experience.” True enough. “Mortal sin destroys charity in the human heart by a gray violation of God’s law. It turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end, and his beatitude by preferring an inferior good to Him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist even though it offends and wounds it. Number 1856: “Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us, that is, charity, necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart on the part of the person, which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation.
1857 is very clear. “For a sin to be mortal, three conditions and only three conditions must together together be met. Mortal sin is whose object is grave matter, and which is also committed with full knowledge, and with deliberate consent of one’s will. Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man. ‘Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, and honor your father and your mother.’ The gravity of sins is more or less great. Murder is graver than theft, for example, but both are grave. One must also take into account who is wronged. Violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. Very, very important.
Number 1859: “Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. Those are the other two elements of the three elements. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase the voluntary character of the sin because the person hasn’t made the effort to inform their intellect and moral life.”
Number 1860: “Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability, or culpability, of a grave offense.” True enough. “But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every human person. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice by deliberate choice of evil is the gravest.”
1861: “Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of Hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices forever with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.” So God does the subjective judgment of the individual subject. But we can do the objective judgment of the action because we know the moral law. We’ve informed our intellect. For example, adultery, or fornication, or homosexual activity. These are objectively mortal sins. Now there can be a diminishing of culpability if the person’s not informed, etcetera. Force of habit, pathological disorders, whatever. Alcoholism, for example, to the point of drunkenness, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we should try to do better. Again, we need to make reference to repentance in order to obtain the greatest gift of God’s mercy.
Now venial sin, Adam, begins with number 1862, and we wrap this up. “One commits venial sin when in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.” So if any one of those three is missing, one has a venial sin. And by three, I mean the requirements for a mortal sin: grave matter, done with fullness of knowledge, and done with deliberate consent. 1863 of the catechism tells us that “Venial sin weakens charity. It manifests a disordered affection for created goods.
It impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good. It merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However, venial sin does not break the covenant with God, between God and the individual. It only wounds it.” I don’t mean only wounds it, but as opposed to severing it on a supernatural level, which is what mortal sin does. Okay? “With God’s grace, it is humanly repairable. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently, eternal happiness.
Now 1863 also says this. This is important. And I think this is what the priest who heard your confession at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament during the radio conference was trying to get at. Listen to this. This is number 1863. “While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins, but do not despise these sins which we call light. If you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass. A number of drops fills a river. A number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.” This is what he meant when he said get back to confession. Even though you might find something habitual, whether grave or venial, it’s still habitual. Why go to confession monthly when all I have is the same venial sins? Because you get graces from that confession. Every confession we receive, every absolution we receive, graces come from that particular sacrament. You know?
And then 1864 ends the section with this, Adam. “Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Words of our Lord in the gospels. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept His mercy by repenting rejects the forgiveness of His sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal laws. This is why number 1037, I believe, in the catechism says, “God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, through purposeful, nonrepentant, mortal sin.” Again, “God predestines no one to Hell. To go there is by one’s own doing, by way of purposeful, unrepentant, mortal sin.” So just two great sections on the catechism, on the difference between mortal and venial sin, and the definition of sin, which is great.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father Wade, if you were going to be coming through Missouri, I’d have to invite you over for dinner, because I know the moment I start to talk about this with the kids it’s going to start the, “Well, what about this, dad? Is this a sin? Is this one a sin? What about this one? Now, what if I did this, but it did it then?” I said, “Kids, just pray for the grace to do God’s will. And, if you strive to do God’s will, you’re going to be on a much better path than going through and saying, well, what about this? What about this? About this?” And by the way, that’s why we’re going to study the catechism as a family. And that way, you’re going to know how to listen to your conscience and listen to God’s will, and prayer, and the sacraments are going to strengthen you with grace. And God willing, you’re going to live a life of holiness, and that’ll be a much better use of our time than going through every sin in a hypothetical scenario. But if that happens, I’m calling Father Wade.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right. Three things. The first two. First of all, since I missed Father Mike Schmidt’s catechism in a year, I didn’t get on the wagon at the right time, I’m going to join the Wright family’s catechism in a year, and I’m going to join you guys for that so I can still gain the same benefit. Right? Second thing, here’s number 1037. “God predestines no one to hell. For this, a willful turning away from God, a mortal sin is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, Holy Mother Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance,” quoting 2 Peter 3:9. For example, in the Roman Canon, Eucharistic prayer 1, we read, “Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life. Save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen.” Right there in the catechism, Adam. Right there. Now look at all my tabs. Jack Williams always gives me a bad time about all my tabs. You know? But I think he’s jealous because I think Jack only has, like, 1 tab in his catechism. So this is like major tabs. Right?
So, the third thing is when your children say, “Well, what about this, Dad? What about is this a sin? Is this venial? Is this mortal?” Well, you start with the principle of mortal sin: grave matter, done with fullness of knowledge, and done with deliberate consent. Is it grave matter, the thing that your kids are questioning you about? Is it grave matter? Does it contravene God’s moral law, the 10 Commandments, and gravely so? Okay? So, a physical fight, for example, that is so serious on your part when you beat up the person that it actually put the person in the hospital. That would be grave matter, but it’s objectively more grave if that person was a relative of yours, say, a brother or a brother-in-law. Still grave if it was just a fellow employee at the factory where you work, let’s say. Still grave. Still objectively mortal. My gosh, you put the guy in the hospital. It was that kind of physical altercation. But it’s objectively more grave when the family bond is involved. So both grave in that instance, but objectively more grave if it’s a relative.
Now, stealing is stealing. Theft is theft. But there’s a difference between a 7-year-old standing behind mommy or daddy at the checkout counter at Walgreens, let’s say, and when mommy or daddy or the clerk aren’t looking. They take a pack of gum. Bad. That’s bad. Shouldn’t have been done, but that versus embezzling $25 grand a quarter from your company, and nobody at your company that you work for knows about it, is objectively more grave. So, you know, these things are important to make these distinctions. This is why Saint Thomas Aquinas always says [inaudible].
So, again, I’d like to urge your listeners to go to those two sections of the catechism and to read about the definition of sin from 1849 through 1851. And then also, the section on mortal versus venial sin, which begins with the heading titled, “The gravity of sin: mortal and venial” beginning with 1854 and ending with 1863. Well, 1864 as well, I guess. Those numbered paragraphs. Just two great sterling sections on the reality of sin. Again, all springboarding from what people are afraid of, the top 10 things Americans are afraid of. Hell didn’t make the list. Mortal sin didn’t make the list. Even sin in general didn’t make the list. And that’s a sad plight, I think.
I think that says a lot about the culture, which dovetails with what Monsignor Pope says. Everybody wants mercy without implying the reality of repentance being needed as well. Repentance is needed because of one thing and one thing only, Adam, and it begins with an s. Sin. Repentance and mercy are needed precisely because of the reality of sin. If there was no such thing as sin, no such thing as sin whatsoever, there would be no need for the mercy of God, and there would be no need for repentance. But because there is such a thing as sin, there is such a need as God’s mercy. And there is such a need as repentance, as a thing called repentance, from the human heart.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful, and I think another takeaway from this and some final thoughts for our listeners here. This whole idea that some have of all “Well, it’s only a venial sin, so I’m not too worried about it.” Listen, the other night at her soccer game, my oldest daughter was playing defense, and she took a full-power shot straight to the chest. It knocked her down. It knocked the wind out of her. She recovered quickly. Now, there have been instances where a blow to the chest like that could stop your heart. You could die. And you say, “Well, if I had to pick, I would rather have what your daughter had, Adam, than being hit in the chest by a soccer ball and my heart stopping and dying.” But I tell you, if I had to pick, I’d rather just avoid both of those scenarios and not be injured at all. So that idea of, “Oh, it’s just a venial sin, it’s not that bad.” It still wounds. It still hurts. I want to tell you too, friends, if you go to fathersofmercy.com. And you type in the search bar “confession”. There’s a great article by Father Wade Menezes on the graces of a frequent confession. And if you’re a single man who is not afraid of severe weather, heights, other people in the case of public speaking, and possibly snakes. You might want to check out if you have a vocation with the Fathers of Mercy.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
That’s right. Go to fathersofmercy.com and write our vocation director at vocations@fathersofmercy.com. Father Joseph Morgan, vocations@fathersofmercy.com is the email address, and check out our community at its website at fathersofmercy.com. And I might add, Adam, also at fathersofmercy.com, if you put in the search bar “examination of conscience” on the search bar on the home page, which comes up once you click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right. Once you do that, the search bar comes up in the middle of the home page, the first page that comes up. And on that search bar, type “examination of conscience”, and we have our wonderful, wonderful examination of conscience.
Let me grab it here really quick. Both in English and Spanish. The English has the blue ink, the English has the blue ink, And the Spanish has the green ink. Okay? So the Fathers of Mercy examination of conscience. And on one complete side, we have the major tenants of Catholic Christian doctrine, all four panels. It’s like having a little catechism right there in the palm of your hand on those four panels on that side with the Fathers of Mercy logo, the 10 Commandments, the nine Beatitudes, the 14 works of mercy, the three imminent good works, nine ways of being an accessory to another sin, the seven capital sins, the seven capital virtues. It’s like having a little catechism. Then when you turn it over on the other side, Adam, the other four panels. The first three are a series of questions that do what? They comb through the 10 commandments. The first three panels are a series of questions that comb through the 10 commandments.
And the fourth and final panel on that side is a little primer of how to go to confession. Maybe it’s been a while since the person’s gone to confession. So it’s a little primer of how the ritual goes once you enter the confessional with the priest. But English and Spanish, these are printable as a PDF document at fathersofmercy.com. Or you can write The Fathers of Mercy for bundles of these. We do charge a nominal fee, and we will ship them to you. So, just a great, great examination of conscience, to help a person grow in the spiritual life.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, I can think of no more fitting way to end our time together than the way we always end our time together, and that’s in prayer. And if I may turn it over to you.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Sure. I’ll give a blessing to all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of our Open Line, I’m sorry, all of our Roadmap to Heaven listeners, who hopefully are also Open Line Tuesday listeners, and remain with each and every one of you this day and always. Saint Joseph, terror of demons
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Pray for us. Adam, do you have this pen?
Adam Wright:
I have several of them. I have given some to all of my coworkers and absolutely love it. And Father, I’m going to trust that that was not an intentional mistake, and I also presume it was not grave matter. But if you do want to hear more of Father Wade on Open Line Tuesdays right here on Covenant Network, you can tune in at 2 PM central time, and check out the Covenant Network YouTube channel where all of these wonderful interviews with Father Wade are posted. There’s any number of topics we discuss, and you’re going to learn a lot. It’s like going back to school, and I absolutely love it.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Adam, if I could say one more thing. I do encourage them to get this quick read, just at a hundred pages on the four last things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Especially the beautiful, beautiful chapter on Heaven. And then secondly, Overcoming the Evil Within. Chapter three is on how to make a good, holy, reverent, monthly confession without too much rigidity and without too much laxity, but a good, solid, holy, reverent confession. So, overcoming the evil within, the reality of sin, and the transforming power of God’s grace and mercy. I open up in the introduction of this book with the savage murder of Saint Maria Goretti by Alessandro Ceranelli, who later had a massive conversion. And then the Four Last Things: A Catechetical Guide to Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, and the article on confession that you mentioned earlier that’s found at fathersofmercy.com is actually a synopsis of a fuller chapter in my latest book, Catholic Essentials. There you go. Alright. There you go. Catholic Essentials, my newest book, Catholic Essentials: A Guide to Understanding Key Church Teachings. Okay?
Adam Wright:
Yes. Required reading at the Wright Institute of Theological Discourse, and mainly for the instructor.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
There you go. Let me know when that catechism in a year starts with The Wright’s Catechetical Institute. Okay?
Adam Wright:
We’ll be sure to do that. Maybe we’ll have you on as a guest lecturer sometime, Father. In the meantime, we’re always grateful for your time with us. Friends, don’t forget that, November 1st, which is very quickly approaching, is a holy day of obligation, and it’s a day that we pray for the intercession of the saints. We pray in gratitude for their intercession, and we ask them to help us, with their prayers, avoid sin. And, let’s not waste the opportunity. We’re not focused so much on the ghouls and the goblins and the candies. Although, if you have extra peanut butter cups, I will happily take them off your hands. But let’s focus on the–
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Hey, the health experts say that the peanut butter cups are actually pretty healthy because they’re high in protein.
Adam Wright:
Well, there you have it, friends. Father Wade, it’s always a pleasure. And until next time, you have a great time with the Fathers of Mercy, doing God’s work out among his people.
Fr. Wade Menezes:
Thank you so much, Adam. God bless you. I’m so glad you made it to the shrine of the most blessed sacrament in EWTN at the radio conference last week. God bless you and your great work and all there at Covenant Radio Network.
Adam Wright:
Thank you, Father. We will be back after this.
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright welcomes Father Wade Menezes as his guest to explore the topic of fear and sin. Father Menezes begins by discussing the top ten things Americans are most afraid of, and highlighting that Hell nor sin made the list.
The conversation delves into the different types of sins and the sacraments of reconciliation and penance for forgiveness. Father Menezes notes the distinction between mortal and venial sin and encourages listeners to refer to the catechism for a deeper understanding.
Father Menezes advocates for monthly confession due to the challenging culture we live in today. He emphasizes the importance of true mercy that acknowledges and addresses sin, and highlights that repentance is necessary to experience God’s mercy.
The episode also touches on the extraordinary mercy offered by the Lord and concludes with a prayer, along with some additional recommendations for further reading and resources.
Overall, this episode of Roadmap to Heaven explores the nature of fear, sin, and mercy, providing insights and guidance to listeners on how to navigate these aspects of their spiritual journey.
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