Revelations 14:14-19
I, John, looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the time to reap has come, because the earth's harvest is fully ripe." So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven who also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire, and cried out in a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth's vines, for its grapes are ripe." So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth's vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God's fury.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for the safety of those traveling this Thanksgiving.
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1867: The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner.
1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:
- by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
- by protecting evil-doers.
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Regarding #1867, I found some links to read through: http://www.catholicculture.org/highlights/highlights.cfm?ID=29
We know the merciful God who has His arms stretched out on a cross. Unfortunately, sometimes we forget that God also brought justice as He did in the Old Testament.
The same God that is in the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament. Therefore, just as we know the merciful God that hung on a tree, we must not forget the just God that punished the sinner. Sins such as murder, homosexuality, oppression and injustice "cry to heaven" in the Old Testament, and "cry to heaven" today. If we truly love our neighbor, we must not stand for these injustices in the same way that God does not stand for these injustices. We must not protect sinful acts, but rather, bring them to the light.
One day, we will sit before God in judgment. We must do that we can now to prepare for that day, and that includes loving our neighbor and now allowing sin to continue with ourselves and our neighbor. Take care and God Bless.
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