What our Lord revealed to Saints regarding homosexual acts. LGBT
Saint Catherine of Siena, a religious mystic of the 14th century, relays words of Our Lord Jesus Christ about the vice against nature, which contaminated part of the clergy in her time. Referring to sacred ministers, He says: “They not only fail from resisting this frailty [of fallen human nature] . . . but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords. For Me, this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgment of My Divine Justice, which could no longer bear them. . . .
In some cases, this was direct inspiration – literally, the Saint beholding a vision where the information was communicated – in other cases, the inspiration was less direct. Nonetheless, throughout the history of the Church, our Blessed Lord has been very consistent on the issue of homosexuality – it is gravely, gravely offensive to Him, one of the most offensive sins there is. The following were pulled from this Tan Books site.
Saint Bernardine of Siena, a preacher of the fifteenth century, makes an accurate psychological analysis of the consequences of the homosexual vice. The illustrious Franciscan writes: “No sin has greater power over the soul than the one of cursed sodomy, which was always detested by all those who lived according to God. . . . Such passion for undue forms borders on madness. This vice disturbs the intellect, breaks an elevated and generous state of soul, drags great thoughts to petty ones, makes [men] pusillanimous and irascible, obstinate and hardened, servilely soft and incapable of anything. Furthermore, the will, being agitated by the insatiable drive for pleasure, no longer follows reason, but furor. . . . Someone who lived practicing the vice of sodomy will suffer more pains in Hell than anyone else, because this is the worst sin that there is.”
Saint Albert the Great gives four reasons why he considers homosexual acts as the most detestable ones: They are born from an ardent frenzy; they are disgustingly foul; those who become addicted to them are seldom freed from that vice; they are as contagious as disease, passing quickly from one person to another. [I think the allusion to addiction is a most apropos one. Experience has also shown that it is very, very difficult for those who fall into this sin to overcome it] …the Fifth Lateran Council [1512-1517] decrees: Let any member of the clergy
caught in that vice against nature . . . be removed from the clerical order or forced to do penance in a monastery (chap. 4, X, V, 31).
“So that the contagion of such a grave offense may not advance with greater audacity, taking advantage of impunity, which is the greatest incitement to sin, and so as to more severely punish the clerics who are guilty of this nefarious crime and who are not frightened by the death of their souls, We determine that they should be handed over to the secular authority, which enforces civil law. Therefore, wishing to pursue with the greatest rigor that which We have decreed since the beginning of Our Pontificate, We establish that any priest or member of the clergy, either secular or regular, who commits such an execrable crime, by force of the present law be deprived of every clerical privilege, of every post, dignity and ecclesiastical benefit, and having been degraded by an ecclesiastical judge, be
immediately delivered to the secular authority to be executed as mandated by law, according to the appropriate punishment for laymen plunged in this abyss.”
The Code of Canon Law undertaken at the initiative and encouragement of Saint Pius X, and published in 1917 by his successor Pope Benedict XV, says this: “So far as laymen are concerned, the sin of sodomy is punished ipso facto with the pain of infamy and other sanctions to be applied according to the prudent judgment of the Bishop depending on the gravity of each case (Can. 2357). As for ecclesiastics and religious, if they are clerici minoris [that is, of a degree lower than deacon], let them be punished with various measures, proportional to the gravity of the fault, that can even include dismissal from the clerical state (Can. 2358); if they are clerici maiores [that is, deacons, priests or bishops], let them ‘be declared infamous and suspended from every post, benefit, dignity, deprived of their eventual stipend and, in the gravest cases, let them be deposed’ (Can. 2359, par. 2).”
[I had no idea about these last two ideas from a Church C0uncil and the Code of Canon Law. If such were enforced today, the Church in this country would lose half its priests. That is still preferable to the ongoing scandal and destruction of souls with the current situation, where whole dioceses are lost to this terrible sin]
Tertullian, the great apologist of the Church in the second century, writes: “All other frenzies of lusts which exceed the laws of nature and are impious toward both bodies and the sexes we banish . . . from all shelter of the Church, for they are not sins so much as monstrosities.” And Tertullian lived in a time and place where, we are told, such acts were rampant! I think it should be obvious from the above, in addition to the dozen-plus denounciations of this grave sin in Scripture, that the the Church has always been opposed to this act. In the past, the Church was also quite a bit harsher with those who committed these acts, since, in spite of the saying, it’s very hard to separate the sin from the sinner, especially in cases like these. But, of course……we are so very much more enlightened now. catholicapologetics.info/morality/sodomy/homality.htm
Biblical Evidence for the Concept of Degrees of Punishment in Hell
Clarification: What is Meant by Degrees of Punishment The Reason for Degrees of Punishment The Basis for Determining Degrees of Punishment
Biblical Evidence for the Concept of Degrees of Punishment
Below are some passages of Scripture that speak directly of degrees of punishment in hell. Here we will just cite the verses to establish the teaching in principle; then we will draw on them for specific exposition and application.
“Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town” (Matt. 10:15).Matt. 10:15).
“But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you … But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you” (Matt. 11:22, 24).Matt. 11:22, 24).
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36–37).Matt. 12:36–37).
Jesus said that the miracles He performed in Capernaum were so amazing that, had they occurred in Sodom, … it would have remained to this day . Its people would have repented of their sin, turned to God, and been spared destruction.
“The worst sinners in this world are those who go on sinning when they have every reason and opportunity to repent.”
What, then, will be the basis on which degrees of punishment will be determined? 1) The Extent to which a Person has Abandoned Himself to Sin. The first consideration is the extent of abandonment to sin. This concept is entailed in Matthew 5:21 and other passages that indicate degrees of sin—worse sins result in worse punishment. This seems clearly to be the point in Romans 2:5—“Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.” In judgment, every last sin will be taken into consideration in fitting each sinner for the exact degree of punishment deserved (Rev. 18:6–7).
2) The Extent to which a Person by Example and Influence has Led Others to Sin
The second consideration in measuring judgment is the extent to which a person who by example and/or influence has led others to sin. This is what our Lord affirms in Matthew 18:5–7: Matthew 18:5–7: Here Jesus pronounces a woe on those who become an occasion for others to sin. The degree to which a person influences others to sin will in turn serve, in part, to establish the degree of his own punishment.
3) The Extent to which Light and Privilege were Abused The third consideration in measuring judgment is the extent to which light and privilege were abused. Jesus speaks to this directly in Luke 12:47–48: Luke 12:47–48: “And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” Jesus speaks to this consideration elsewhere: “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town” (Matt. 10:15). Matt. 11:22, 24 ). As wicked and as guilty and as deserving of punishment as Sodom was, the greater sin belonged to Chorazin and Bethsaida, for they had seen and heard our Lord himself and had refused him. And for their abuse of such great light and privilege, their judgment will be the more severe. The person who has a Christian friend who witnesses to him of Christ has great light and privilege. And for this light and privilege God will hold them accountable—if such privilege is refused, judgment will be unspeakably great. And for this light and privilege God will hold them accountable—if such privilege is refused, judgment will be unspeakably great. For those who have heard the gospel only finally to refuse it, that gospel preached to them will in the end have served only to increase their guilt and enhance the punishment they will receive.
Concluding Thoughts
The punishment of hell will be in keeping with divine justice. The all-knowing God will assess each individual life, counting exactly the extent of abandonment to sin, the influence of others to sin, and the light and privilege abused, and he will assign punishment accordingly—exactly fitted to each person.
Surely this thought ought to capture the conscience of sinners such that they would restrain their sinning! Furthermore, this thought ought to drive any sinner to run to Christ and be saved! And surely this thought must drive every believer to humble yet glad praise for our Redeemer who took all of our sin to himself and paid its price in full, absorbing the full wrath of God in our place in order to make us his. - Hell exists - Death rather than sin! St. Maria Goretti - Does hell exist? Clara’s vision of Annette in Hell
