April-May 2007 ISSUE

CATHOLIC
FAMILY LIFE
MESSENGER
April-May 2007
Volume I Nos. 4 and 5

IS
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE of GOD
TRUE or FALSE?

Part I
The Scriptural Basis
(Note: for a different perspective, see Part II below)
Introduction
1. It seems true, according to those who can stay awake in church when many a homilist keeps repeating that "God’s love is unconditional". It sounds just like what God would do for us, doesn’t it? It is true without question that the love of God, as stated in the New and Old Testaments, is rich, it abounds, it fills the earth, is unfailing, is faithful, it endures forever, is great, is wonderful, is higher than the heavens, is good, it stands firm forever, is wide, is long, is deep, it surpasses knowledge, is better than life, and on and on, infinitely so.
2. It is very comforting and very reassuring to hope that God’s love is un-conditional. Of course, we all feel it must be true, otherwise, many priests would never say it. In addition, popular psychology praises unconditional love: Christian teachers, counselors, and writers, especially well known psychologists like James Dobson, Alfred Adler, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers*, and others extol the “unconditional” love of God. No wonder most people refer to God’s unconditional love as though it were written on stone by God himself. (*See: Prophets of PsychoHeresy II, pp. 91-96; and the revised edition entitled: James Dobson’s Gospel of Self-Esteem & Psychology, pp. 65-71, East Gate Pub.)
3. The ultimate question seems to be: how do we know if something is true or false? Let us say that all the people in the world believe Santa Claus is real, would that make him (or her) come to life and make miracles once a year? Unfortunately, there are too many who follow the secular culture and believe anything, if it appears harmless. For Catholics, as we know, it is easier to know the truth than for others, for we, in addition to reason, have the assurance of Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit will prevent the official teaching of the Catholic Church to be mistaken on faith and morals. Thank God for that special grace given to the pope and the bish-ops in communion with him. Unfortunately, the grace of infallibility is not given to the general clergy or laity. So be it, for Jesus knows all things and all that we should live with on earth, in Heaven, and in Hell, accord-ingly.
4. Anyway, before we go too far, be warned that we are about to con-tinue with where only the hopeful and brave should enter. Let us be-gin with a definition of “unconditional”. According to the latest (online) Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary, unconditional means: not condi-tional or not limited, but absolute, unqualified. When we add the word love to unconditional, by definition, it becomes love with no conditions, such as repentance and confession. Accordingly then, unconditional love means that no matter what we do, others will continue to love us in exactly the same way as before we did something. If we do wonderful things (or terrible things) for others, we will be loved no more and no less than we are loved now. In other words, unconditional love means, as far as God and others are concerned, that whatever we do, good or bad, does not mat-ter, and others will always love us because of who we are not because of what we do. Of course, we would have the same unconditional love for others – no matter what they would do to us. If this is true, we should all like unconditional love very much, and it should remain as convenient for-ever. Using our reasoning abilities, let us test the Spirit and see if God differs with this understanding of “unconditional love”.
Is God’s Unconditional Love in Scripture?
5. Many say that “unconditional love”, or something similar, is written or implied in the Bible and other Church documents. However, in examining these statements on the existence of unconditional love, let us be careful and not blindly listen to anybody’s hearsay or wishful thinking As we know, we have to answer to Jesus for it, face to face, naked, with no one else speaking for us. The proper understanding of unconditional love is a very important matter that could affect the final destination of our souls. As we know, it is true that God is full of love, full of compassion, and full of mercy. However, God is also full of justice, and He can no more be unjust or unfair than he can be merciless, when we properly ask for His forgiveness.
6. Out of the more than 800 “love” references in the Bible, none state or imply that God’s love is unconditional. Furthermore, there is no offi-cial Church document that uses the word unconditional to describe God’s love as such. There are Catholic theologians (many of which think them-selves to be “super apostles” as St. Paul says (see Gal 1:7-9) who have elevated themselves above the official teaching of the Church; however, they cannot be trustworthy if they teach contrary to official documents of the Catholic Church, so says St. Paul. As explained in Part II, these “super apostles” are either uninformed, or, if they know and reject the teaching of the Church, they are simply starving wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing who, according to St. Paul, are not working for God but for His enemies.
7. There must be some mistake! Why and how could that be? Yes, there is an enormous mistake, but it is not in the Bible or Church docu-ments. With all do respect to those who trust those who have the Catholic mandate to instruct the laity in the truths of the faith, the real mistake re-garding unconditional love is only in the minds of these dissenting and rebellious (heretical, most-likely) teachers who appear more loving and compassionate than God and His Church. These poor impersonators disguise themselves in sheep’s clothing and are often successful in attract-ing good people to follow them in a fantasy world where the only reward is the endless misery in the deepest furnace below.
8. These words may sound very blunt and raw; however, when our eternal happiness is at stake, there is no other way to state the truth as there is no other way to describe reality other than what and how it is. On the other hand, misconceptions regarding God and His unconditional love are constantly being fed to us from the pulpit and are always coated with sugar, honey, and everything nice. For the sake of our family and those we love, let us be fair to ourselves by reading and evaluating this treat-ment of “God’s unconditional love”. By knowing and living the more com-plete truth about God’s love as it is stated in Scripture and other Church documents -- not as we or others might wish it were -- we have Heaven to gain and Hell to loose.
Is There More Info That God’s Unconditional
Love Is Not an Official Catholic Belief?
9. If there is a doubt, ask anyone you wish to show you the evidence that “God’s love is unconditional”, chapter and verse, please. Or look it up yourself in the Catholic Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or any other official Church document – but do not take anyone’s word for it that it is there, or that professor so and so, or such and such book explains unconditional love in detail. False Christian beliefs have been used by God’s enemies since the first century and have usually, if not always, originated from Catholic people, often from priests and even bishops, un-fortunately. Thank you, Jesus, for establishing the papacy to help us dis-tinguish truth from lies.
10. If God has all the qualities mentioned above, and if “He does not hate anyone or anything”, does that not indicate His love is unconditional? That is a very good question and requires a two-part answer. First, let us look at what God loves, then at what He does not love.
11. So, let us continue with Scripture and list what God loves:
Those who are faithful (1 Kings 8:23); Those who trust in Him (Ps 32:10); the honest heart (Ps 36:11); The just (Ps 37:28); Those who fear Him: (Ps 34:8); The righteous (Ps 146:8); Those who pursue righteous-ness: (Pr 15:9); All those who love Him: (Dan 9:4); All those who obey His commands (Dan 9:4); The House of Judah (Hos 1:7); His Son Jesus (Mt 3:17); Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Jn 11:5); His own (Jn 13:1); John: (Jn 13:23); Those who show their love for Jesus is genuine by obeying His teaching (Jn 14:21-23); Those who love Jesus and believe that He came from God (Jn 16:27); Those who were still sinners when He died for them (Rom 5:8); A cheerful giver (2 Col 9:7); Paul (Gal 2:20); Those He chose before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight (Eph 1:4-5); Those for whom He gave up His life as a sacrificial of-fering (Eph 5:2); The Church (Eph 5:25); The brothers (Eph 6:23); Any-one who obeys God’s Word (1 Jn 2:3-4); His children who do what is right and love their brothers (1 Jn 3:1,10); Those for whom God sent His Son as an expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10); Those who have been called (Jude 1:1); Those kept safe for Jesus Christ (Jude 1:1); Those He has freed from our sins by His blood (Rev 1:5); Those of us He has made to be priests for His kingdom: (Rev 1:5-6); Those Jesus reproves and chastises. (Rev 3:19). (Please note: All Bible quotations are from the New American Bible, used with permissionof the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All emphases are added.)
12. Indeed, that is quite a list. Instead of mentioning so many different people, why does the Bible not say that God loves everyone and every-thing regardless of what they have said or done? The reason, it seems, God did not make a blanket statement is because He does not love every-one -- because of who or what they have said or done. If Scripture had made only a blanket statement, that could possibly indicate His love is un-conditional. Unfortunately, for all of us, the whole truth is that nowhere does the Bible state as much or anything close to it. Perhaps, to some it is more loving, understanding, and compassionate, but bordering on decep-tion, to say that these words (or their meaning) of unconditional love have not been found yet in any of the Church documents – as if they could sud-denly appear in the next year or century.
13. Now, let us examine the part of the question dealing with what God does not love, so that we may have a more complete and truthful view of God. It is very likely that all of us have heard a child or adult say to someone else: “I hate you, I hate you!” Most of us have probably re-sponded that God is love, and He does not hate anything or anybody. Again and unfortunately, that does not seem to be true according to the Bi-ble. The Bible has about 137 references to hate, but we will use only those pertaining to our discussion of the things God hates. For example:
God hates wickedness (Heb 1:9); He hates seeing His people burn incense and worship other gods (Jer 44:3-4); He hates the detestable practices of those who worship other gods (Dt 12:31); He hates the burning of sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to gods (Dt 12:31); He hates haughty eyes (Pr 6:16-17); He hates a lying tongue (Pr 6:16-17); He hates hands that shed innocent blood (Pr 6:16-17); He hates a heart that devises wicked schemes (Pr 6:16-18); He hates feet that are quick to rush into evil (Pr 6:16-18); He hates plotting evil against your neighbor (Zec 8:17); He hates those who swear falsely (Zec 8:17); God hates Robbery (Is 61:8); Iniquity (Is 61:8); Divorce [so do those who have gone through one] (Mal 2:16) (Mt 5:31-32; 19:3-9 (Mk 10:11) (Lk 16:18) (1 Cor 7:10-11); God hates a man covering one’s garment with injustice (Mal 2:16); He hates the practices of the Nicolaitans [impostors] (Rev 2:6); He hates Esau (Mal 1:3); he hates the wicked person (Ps 5:5); Those who love vio-lence (Ps 11:5); All who do evil (Ps 5:5); A false witness who pours out lies (Prv 6:19); A man who stirs up dissension among brothers (Prv 6:16,19).
14. Regardless of what anyone might say, these things are true because they are stated in the Bible; although, we may not have realized it that the God of love hates some things and people for any number of good reasons.
Does God Ever Love Someone Today But Changes
His Mind And Hates Him Tomorrow For Any Reason?
15. Again, let us look at Scripture.
In Jer 16:5, God says: I have withdrawn my blessing, my love, and my pity from this people. In Hosea 1:6: the Lord said to Hosea, I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Again, in Hosea 9:15: Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them…
16, And, in 1 Sm: Although King Saul had been anointed by God, when Saul disobeyed, God took away His love from him, and he brutally died.

So, What Does the Above Mean to Us Today?
17. It means the same as it meant before Jesus. Jesus Christ came to ful-fill the Law -- not to change even one letter of it -- according to Jesus him-self. By now it should be very clear to most of us that God is a covenant (contract) God. He says to us: Here is what I expect of you, and in return, here is what I will give to you. If we fulfill our part of the contract, He will fulfill His. That condition includes God’s mercy for us, as He says:
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today. As your reward for heeding these decrees and observing them carefully, the LORD, your God, will keep with you the merciful covenant which he promised on oath to your fathers. (Dt 7:11-12)
18. It is providential (in a sense) that some of us should read the above passage every day until we agree with it; those who already agree should thank God for the help received in recognizing the truth.
Does St. Paul State that Nothing Can
Separate Us from the Love of God?
19. Yes, St. Paul says:
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any OTHER creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8: 35-39)
20. The above highlighted things are what cannot separate us from God’s love. Thanks be to God for St. Paul. Unfortunately, these five verses are only a very small part of the Bible, and we must always examine the whole subject matter of a particular topic, for our sake and the people we love. So, can anything or anyone separate us from the love of God? The answer is a bit scary and unbelievable – yet very true. Only we, as in-dividuals, can separate ourselves from God! Even God will not interfere with our choices – even if our choices take us to Hell. It is true, God re-spects our choices, but His Law says that for every action by us, there is reaction from Him, as history and Scripture indicate. We can restore God’s love only by repentance and conversion to His ways.
Does Jesus Have Anything More to Say About God’s Love for Us?
21. Yes, He said the following:
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Fa-ther's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. (Jn 15:9-12)
22. And, St. Jude adds in 1:21-23: Keep yourselves in God’s love. St. John and St. Jude are reminding us that God’s love is assured IF we obey God’s commandments. Of course, everyone of good will hopes that our joy will be complete some day, but it cannot happen without observing God’s commandments – that is the condition for His Eternal Love.
Will I Go to Heaven if I Believe in Jesus?
23. There is no guarantee; however, believing in Jesus and doing His will is the best chance we have, as opposed to choosing the god of the secular culture. Furthermore, Jesus answered that question very clearly Mt 7:21-27. He said:
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' Every-one who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.
24. Therefore, when we go astray and sin, we must repent sooner rather than later, make use of the Sacrament of Confession, and then, if we are repentant, He will forgive our sins, for St. John says:
IF we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, "We have not sinned”, we make Him [Jesus] a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 Jn: 1, 9-10)
25. In an imperfect way some could say that Confession is the closest thing to God’s “unconditional love”, no matter what we have done, He will always forgive us, (assuming, of course, we are repentant.) Only the God of pure love can do that for those who have been chosen to be His people.
Summary
26. God’s love is not unconditional at all. If God’s love were uncondi-tional, there would be no Hell and all the unrepentant sinners, no matter how evil, would go to Heaven just as quickly as they would go to those who did repent. So, what is God’s love if it’s not unconditional? It is covenantal (an agreement between God and His people)! This means that if we want to continue to experience his love, we have to meet His condi-tions! God’s love is eternal, it is constant, and it is all the other charac-teristics mentioned above. He makes it absolutely clear what He loves and what He hates, and whom he loves and whom he hates! In effect, God is very specific and clear to those who want to do His will as ex-plained by the Church established by His Son. It seems that those who are too proud, who feel to be better than, or brighter than, or holier than God’s Church, regrettably, will not accept the obvious fact that unconditional love is a modern deception invented by the Devil; it is designed to blur our vision so that we can join him in the underworld.
27. It is our turn now as individuals to choose one of two options. Let us not forget the consequences that go along with our choice. Either we choose, ac-cept, follow, and obey the god of the modern secular culture, or we choose, accept, follow, and obey the God of the Bible as taught by the official teach-ing of the Catholic Church. Are these not the only two choices in life?
28. Finally, in addition to the author not finding any Biblical or other offi-cial documents that mentions God’s unconditional love towards us, the 56-page Encyclical Letter (official letter) Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) by Pope Benedict XVI, 25 December 2005, mentions love 274 times but at no point is unconditional love mentioned or its meaning implied. Also, in paragraph 33 of the latest Apostolic Exhortation, (official document) 22 February 2007, entitled Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Love) by Pope Benedict explains very clearly that:
…Mary of Nazareth appears as someone whose freedom is completely open to God's will. Her immaculate conception is revealed precisely in her un-conditional docility to God's word. Obedient faith in response to God's word shapes her life at every moment. A virgin attentive to God's word, she lives in complete harmony with his will… She is the Immaculate, who receives God's gift unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation. Mary of Nazareth, icon of the nascent Church, is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift that Jesus makes of himself in the Eucharist.
29. On 2-Feb-2007, Pope Benedict addressed the 11th annual World Day of Consecrated Life. His speech included a passage on unconditional love and its application:
Consecrated life, therefore, is by its nature a total and definitive, uncondi-tional and passionate response to God (cf. Vita Consecrata, 17)
30. It appears that the Pope, as reported in the March/April 2007 issue of Religious Life, deserves an A+ for indicating the proper use of the word unconditional. As previously stated, unconditional love is the relation-ship we must have toward God – not God toward us. Furthermore, be-cause He is The Creator and we the created, we are His servants and He is Our Master. Let us dwell on that truth and its implications for a while.
31. Because of the statements in these documents made by the Pope, the editor of CFLM proposes that Pope Benedict XVI, should be referred to as
”THE LOVE POPE” or “IL PAPA D’AMORE”; after being in Rome for so long, he may not mind the latter. Who knows, he might even be part Italian by now; however, we were not able to verify this before printing started.
Part II,
A Logical Basis
Introduction
32. Yes, almost everyone seems to be saying that God’s love is “uncon-ditional”. Some even say that their own love toward other people is un-conditional, and they insist that, for a better world, our love toward them has to be unconditional as well. Most of these well-meaning people, at best, do not seem to understand the meaning of “unconditional” and rela-tionships. However, for those who fully understand the meaning of these words, but choose to use them, it could indicate an unrealistic desire for a certain convenient relationship with God, with people in general, and a denial of reality as revealed by Jesus Christ in Holy Scripture and other Catholic Church documents of the last 2000 years. Of course, there is a third kind that could be cooperating (hopefully unknowingly) with the evil one who is prowling around looking for someone to devour. (I Peter, 5:8)
Definition
33. According to any dictionary and with a bit of reasoning, “uncondi-tional” means without condition or no condition now and forever more. In other words, no matter what happens, under any circumstance or for any reason, there will never be a situation that would change or limit the mean-ing of unconditional as defined above. By definition, any relationship that is based on unconditional love, implies a servant-master relationship. Therefore, if anything, we should be professing man’s unconditional love for God, but not God’s unconditional love for man, for we are His ser-vants and He is Our Master, and He owes us nothing. If some of us do not accurately use the word unconditional as properly defined, we need to re-flect on it and simply begin to use it correctly. (See Part I above.)
What Harm Can Come From Trying to Live
According to the Concept of “God’s Unconditional Love”?
34. In addition to living in a make-believe world with all its negative consequences now and in the next life, it is similar to believing that be-cause of the “unsinkable” design of the Titanic and Andrea Doria it is im-possible for either to sink; therefore, there is no need to have life jackets or lifeboats on board. Or, more frankly, if God’s unconditional love does not exist, we could easily end up in Hell, as a result of trying to live a lie here on Earth. Placing our heads in the sand, and making believe that un-conditional love exists, does not make it come true – no matter who says it or how many say it. We are responsible to God for all that we do and do not do.
How Can We Evaluate the Statement That
God’s Unconditional Love Is Not True?
35. It is not difficult to do, but it can be difficult to understand. First, truth is ONE and it is not determined by you or me but by God. To make sure we would not go astray, Jesus founded His church to be holy with its laws, universal and connected to Him through the Apostles and their teachings. It is the only guide for Catholics to use for finding the way to Heaven. Je-sus founded His Church when the people did not know who He was:
He said to them [His apostles], "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt 16:15-19)
In our efforts to better understand God’s true love for us, let us continue to use the tools available to all of us. Within this context, the means are: our faith, the Church, the Bible, the people we know, and our ability to use or-dinary logic.
So, let us continue with our investigation?
Is The Term Unconditional Love In The Bible?
36. After considerable research in Catholic and non-Catholic sources, none of the past or present English versions of the Bible use the word “un-conditional” or “unconditional love” or “God’s unconditional love” or any other wording with similar meaning as these. In other words, the word unconditional is not in the Bible. Not only are unconditional and similar words missing in the Bible, but there does not seem to be any official Church documents with the use of the word unconditional in the context of God’s love for us. However, a search on the internet of the words uncon-ditional love of God produced 293,686 website hits. When the same words were placed in quotes, there were only 10,302 hits. There were two basic opinions among the two dozen or so sites investigated: most gave all sorts of wishful (off-the-wall) and contradictory opinions and the others gave explanations similar to the above.
37. Furthermore, The Long Island Catholic (TLIC) (p. 18, 3-28-2007) published a column by Msgr. James McNamara which used “unconditional love” several times. The editor of CFLM (Mr. Fallace) responded to the Msgr.’s column as published in TLIC (p. 21, 4-4-2007), and challenged him to provide the Biblical or other Church reference indicating that God’s love is unconditional. Amazingly, the Msgr. responded in the same TLIC issue with: “… The writer [Mr. Fallace] is correct” and repen-tance is required to be forgiven by God, but, at the same time, insisted that “God’s love IS unconditional.” Also, in response to the above, another gentleman, Mr. Joe Bellon, (TLIC p.15, 4-18-2007), tries to support the opinion that God’s love is unconditional, and he also admits in his letter that repentance IS necessary. So, what is it, unconditional with repen-tance? Unbelievable! (It used to be that very dangerous acrobatics were performed only at the circus, now they can appear anywhere.) More on this issue later. In addition, Mr. Bellon believes that Wis 11:23-26 (below) refers to the “unconditional love of God”:
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be pre-served, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, be-cause they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls,…
38. One would think that God knows how to express Himself; therefore, where is the meaning of unconditional love in the passage above? The passage gives only the condition and reason for God’s mercy, so that they may repent. Also, God’s infinite love, does not in any way take away anyone’s free will to reject Him and choose Hell.
The Prodigal Son
39. Nonetheless, if Mr. Fallace is correct, as Msgr. McNamara and Mr. Bellon admit, that repentance is required for forgiveness from God, THEN His love is not unconditional, as they feel, but is conditional upon our repentance. Neither the Msgr. nor Mr. Bellon provided any references, outside of their personal claims that God’s love IS uncondi-tional. Mr. Bellon suggested that Mr. Fallace “read the magnificent work The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen.” Mr. Fallace did just that, and to his shock discovered that Nouwen seemed a bit confused and out of touch with reality. For example: Nouwen was so impressed with a print copy of the painting (with same title as the book) by Rem-brandt that he traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to see the original. Not long after he arrived there, he was able to have special permission to ad-mire the original painting privately and undisturbed for two hours and later for another hour. To some of us, that seems to be a form of Rembrandt Painting Worship, which cannot be totally useless. Some of us would rather look at paintings done by God himself; such as, the face of Jesus in the enhanced portrait of the Shroud of Turin and Mary’s face as in Our Lady of Guadalupe; both of these prints appear in CFLM printed version in black and white, and in color on its websites.
40. In addition, Nouwen does not seem to realize that “God’s uncondi-tional love” and repentance contradict each other; they cannot coexist, as it were ---unless foolish acrobatics are used. Also, unlike Jesus, he refers to God as our Mother and other similar heretical statements. Let us hope and pray that he repented before he died. As for Mr. Bellon, please be more cautious about recommending unorthodox books to anyone, and kindly meditate on 2 Jn:10-11 and 1 Jn 2:22-23 to understand why.
41. If Msgr. McNamara and Mr. Bellon would not mind answering one question: Why did you provide only personal claims but no evidence that God’s love has no condition? Nonetheless, if anyone should find an offi-cial statement contrary to our treatment of this topic, please let us know, especially for the sake of the others receiving CFLM (over 1000), and we will immediately publish the correction(s) in the next issue of CFLM.
If the “Unconditional Love of God” Does Not Exist, Why Do So
Many Clergy and Laity Seem Eager to Proclaim It?
42. Until proven otherwise, charity demands of us to assume that these people have good intentions but are a bit confused. However, because the road to Hell is filled with good intentions and a good amount of confu-sion, and the gate to it is wide and easy to enter, we, for the sake of truth and its liberating power, ought to explore the possible reasons and conse-quences of proclaiming false beliefs that are contrary to official Church teaching. Because there are many different reasons for people to say things contrary to Church teaching, we should not point the finger at any-one in particular until they have been properly informed and given a rea-sonable chance to adjust their course and try to stay in line with the Church. If they persist in proclaiming something contrary to Church teaching, it could indicate a heretical or rebellious attitude on their part. Such attitudes can be very dangerous to these people and to all others who hear them proclaim mistaken religious beliefs. Heretical statements are nothing new in the Church and will happen. However, we should care for the souls of our brothers and sisters in Christ who might be leading them-selves and others in the wrong direction. God informed us all in these words when He said:
If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. (Ezekiel 33:8-9)
43. To our knowledge, Jesus Christ did not change the above in any way but in very clear terms added to it when:
He said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a mill-stone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and IF he repents, forgive him." (Lk 17:1-3)
44. That does not sound like the Jesus most of us thought we knew so well. Is there more to Jesus’ being than compassion, “unconditional love”, and mercy? Could it be a conspiracy by the translators or scribes to have changed the real meaning of scripture about God’s love? Simply put: NO! Everything is conditional upon repentance. Is not repentance what the devils refused to do? And what did that do for them? Was God “too rigid”, or was He merciless only with the fallen angels? Will He not be as just with us for our lack of repentance? Why would He not be as just with us? Where does it say that He will not demand true repentance on our part for every real sin we have committed?
45. St. John gives us much to think about in Jn 3:19-21 where he clearly informs us on why some men and women reject the whole truth and prefer half-truths or no truth at all:
And this is the verdict, that the light [Jesus/Truth] came into the world, but people preferred darkness [sin] to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light [truth] and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
46. This sounds like heavy stuff against some poor sinners. Many would say that St. John is judging others in a negative way. However, being who he is, we can be sure that he is very charitable by telling us the truth for our own good, and he is not being hypocritical or mean-spirited, as some would say if one of us had spoken these same words.
47. And to add dry wood to the fire, as it were, Vatican II warns us in Lumen Gentium (#16), that the idea of the devil deceiving us is not un-common:
But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reason-ing and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature [an-gelic or human] rather than the Creator.
This passage is very frightening. Who said the devil is dead?.
Are There Other Scriptural Passages Indicating
That God’s Forgiveness Is Conditional Upon Repentance?
48. What follows is a partial list but should be more than enough to con-firm that God insists on our repentance before He forgives us, and that we must ask for it each time we sin and before we die:
People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. (Mk 1:5) [Is that when private confession be-gan?]
But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! (Lk 13:3)
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, (Acts 3:19)
On the contrary,… [to all] …, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. (Acts 26:20) [Even the first pope said it.]
(The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;) Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. (Prv 8:13)
For it is written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So (then) each of us shall give an account of himself (to God). (Rom 14:11-12)
No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account (Heb 4:13)
[Jesus, Mary, and Joseph help us to repent sooner rather than later.]
49. If God hates these things, does it indicate He is not all loving? Not at all! He is always full of love toward certain people. By the way, “hate the sin and love the sinner” is not from the Bible, and it has a very limited ap-plication; however, it is more often in wishing wells and in the Fontana di Trevi.
What Did St. Paul Say to the “Super Apostles”
When They Were Preaching Personal Beliefs?
50. St. Paul was being very kind and full of compassion toward these “su-per apostles” when he said:
But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, [the official teaching of the Church] let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you re-ceived, [the official teaching of the Church] let that one be accursed! (Gal 1:7-9)
51. St. Paul continues to judge unafraid the “super apostles” (heretics) who have deceitfully gotten the ears of some trusting people:
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an an-gel of light. So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as min-isters of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. ( 2 Cor 11:13-15)


Let Us Pray for Our Response to God’s Love
Oh God our Father, let our Christian hope to be with you in Heaven open our minds, decrease our pride, and encourage us to obey Your will. Help us to follow Jesus and Mary who have finished the race, won the prize of Your true love, and defeated the evil one, who roams the world looking for whom he can devour. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Credits
52. Although the editor is fully responsible for every word in this issue, he re-ceived much help from his advisors, and from www.vatican.va.; www.wf-f.org; www.usccb.org; www.Catholic.com; newoxfordreview.org and others.
How was the March Issue?
53. Issue 3 (March) had only two comments. A TOF wished to have her name and a horde of others removed from an unsolicited mailing list, but she gave nei-ther reason nor evidence that the other people wished the same. In addition, she was not impressed that according to the editor’s pastor, a very well-known and respected pro-life monsignor in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the newsletter was free of doctrinal and moral error. (Go figure.) Another woman said: “Be-cause the newsletter is so good”, she subscribed eight of her children and made the first free-will donation. Thank you ladies for your contributions.
54. So, do you know of anyone who might enjoy reading this live newsletter? It is hard to believe how anyone could dislike it; it is in agreement with the official teaching of the Catholic Church; it is free (tax deductible donations are welcome); it is easy to understand; it is informative; it keeps people awake when reading it; it is good for the heart for at times it has been known to increase blood circulation, but it has humor to bring it down. There, CFLM has it all.
55. The editor’s pastor has reviewed this issue of Catholic Family Life Mes-senger and has confirmed that it is free of doctrinal and moral error.
56. Reminder: help is needed in every aspect of publishing CFLM, and if in doubt on how you could help, regardless of where you live, contact the editor at CFLM@optonline.net or write to: P.O. Box 115, Lake Grove, NY 11755, or call him at (631) 235-7297, for more information with no obligation.
57. As always, feel free to comment on any aspect of CFLM. Opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Board of Directors of Family life Promotion of New York.


What Is the Topic for the Next Issue?
58. First, a word about this “issue”; it is a combination of Issue No. 4, April, and Issue No. 5, May. Because the treatment of such a serious topic as God’s uncon-ditional love is very important to all people of good will, we decided to have it all in one issue but two different perspectives for a more universal appeal. In ad-dition, enclosed you will receive a copy of the statement made by the Committee on Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding (ex-priest) Professor Daniel Maguire of Marquette University and his erroneous beliefs on “Contraception, Abortion, and Same-Sex Marriage”. For the next issue, many other things are hopping around including a treatment about judging others, what we should not judge and what we should, and even the things we must judge. Together with other topics suggested by our readers, we promise to be interesting as usual, but most of all, we promise to be in line with the official teaching of the Catholic Church, and if anyone feels that we have failed in this promise, please tell us about it as explained in Issue 1 and by St. Matthew 3:15-17.
59. Yes, you may copy the entire newsletter, or you may request additional hard copies free. Or, you may cancel your individual “subscription” by returning your address label with CANCEL on it; for emails, simply click on “REPLY” and type CANCEL on subject line and click SEND. Email recipients who should like to receive paper copy, please send your name and address. So many choices.

For a copy of previous issues, please visit
familylifepromtion.org or CFLM.blogspot.com
Or for a paper copy, write to
CFLM, P. O. Box 115, Lake Grove, NY 11755.
Publisher: Family Life Promotion of N.Y.
a non-profit organization established in 1971.
Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Editor: Carmelo Fallace
© May, 2007