The Radio Immaculata Show

In this episode we explore the true meaning of God's mercy. This to avoid two extremes: rigorism, which excludes mercy for the sake of justice and laxism, even more spread in our days, which refuses justice for the sake of mercy. Justice and mercy cannot be set one against the other for the fact that, according to St Bonaventure, whatever God does is done by virtu of the abundance of His goodness. Therefore, for the Seraphic Doctor, while justice is "the fittingness of divine good", mercy is "the abundance of divine goodness." Justice is the presupposition, mercy the completion. There can never be mercy without justice, nor justice without mercy.

Papa Francesco, esaminando la dialettica tra Legge (Torah) e fede in Cristo, ha concluso la sua ultima catechesi del mercoledì chiedendosi: «…disprezzo i Comandamenti? No. Li osservo, ma non come assoluti, perché so che quello che mi giustifica è Gesù Cristo». Questo insegnamento letto nel suo contesto non può che lasciare attoniti e smarriti. Se il Decalogo non è più assoluto, se cioè inizia a dipendere dal contesto storico e dalla nostra interpretazione, significa che è relativizzato e così l’agire morale è svuotato del suo contenuto. Francesco arriva a questa conclusione perché difatti identifica il Decalogo con la Legge, che è un pedagogo che ci ha condotto a Cristo. Il Decalogo, però, legge naturale prima ancora di essere cuore dell’Alleanza veterotestamentaria, fa sì parte della Legge (Torah) ma non l’esaurisce; quest’ultima è più ampia e contiene anche norme cultuali, sociali e alimentari. La fede ci libera da queste prescrizioni ma non dai Dieci Comandamenti che San Paolo, come già Nostro Signore, riassume nel comandamento più grande: la carità (cf. Gal 5,14 e Mc 12,28-31).

Pope Francis issued on 16 July 2021 a new law on the celebration of the Holy Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal (the Old Rite Mass). The previous dispositions by Pope Benedict XVI, favouring the celebration of this Mass by any priest with no authorisation, have been rescinded, and a very surprising statement has been made: the new Roman Missal issued by Paul VI in 1970 is the only expression of the Lex orandi of the Church. But a permission may be given by the local bishop to say the EF Mass. How can a priest be still authorised to say this Mass when the missal is no longer the expression of the prayer (and faith) of the Church? What is therefore a correct approach to the Apostolic Tradition of which the bishops are the guardians? It seems now that they are rather soldiers of it.

Our Lady holds a very special relationship with the Most Holy Trinity. She is the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. A title given to Her by Hesychius of Jerusalem (V cent.) defines the Blessed Virgin "Complementum Trinitatis" - "Complement of the Holy Trinity". She complements the Holy Trinity from outside, for being chosen by the Father since Her creation as Immaculate Conception to be the mother of his Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. The Triune God operates our salvation in union with Mary, and only through Her we come to share in the life of the Holy Trinity poured over us by sanctifying grace. There is a Marian attribute that can sum up this trinitarian relationship of Mary with God, the ‘sponsality’ - Mary as Spouse of God. Our Lady has been called by St Ephrem of Syria (IV cent.) “Spouse of God” in relation to the Son, insofar as She is the new Eve beside the new Adam, true Coredemptrix. St Francis of Assisi will be the first to call Our Lady “Spouse of the Holy Spirit”, followed by St Louis Grignon de Monfort and St Maximilian M. Kolbe. Last but not least, Mary is also “Spouse of the Father”, since they both have the same Son, Jesus Christ, generated by the Father in eternity as the Logos, and by the Mother in time as Word incarnate. Hail Holy Bride of the Most High!

Mercy depends on justice as charity on truth, though both mercy and charity complete justice and truth. God is just when He forgives and when He condemns. In both cases He is merciful because in both cases he is supremely just. And He is as just as He is supremely good. 

Homophobia is a label put on those who have an opinion about homosexuality that does not go with the flow, namely those who respect the person but condemn the acts. But is it true that those who advocate the rights of homosexuals are really respecting their dignity? The homophobic shield, used to rather convey the ideology of homosexualism, reveals an idea of person as merely grounded in the gender and not in the person as such. A person, in fact, is worthy in itself, for being a person, and not for feeling as gay, lesbian, transexual, etc. This corrupted and partial measure of human dignity leads unfortunately to inhumanity. Man is only what he feels and not what he is - a simple instrument.