1. Outside the Church there is no salvation.
We will not discuss the definition of the above terms first because it will be lengthy. We will first go directly to the Gospel. There are two general ways by which we can know who are the true disciples of Christ.
The first way is through what God, Himself, established so that all men can know which is the true Church. This is through the four visible signs enumerated in the Nicene Creed; namely, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
These are four visible signs so that all men can clearly see and easily discover the Church. There is no other visible way by which the true Church can be recognised. These four visible signs are so clear any one can see them even with one eyes closed. There is no reason why one cannot see these signs except through intentional malice.
Recognising the signs does not necessarily mean that a person is inside that church. Entering would be an entirely different process. To know the Church and to enter the Church are two different processes.
2. There is another way by which the true disciples of Christ can be recognised and this is through the supernatural and theological virtues. These are not visible; they are spiritual and invisible and are present only on those who are perfect Christians. Like the four visible signs all men can still know them as the signs of being a disciple of Christ, but it is more difficult compared to the four visible signs.
Though Faith and Hope are equally signs that one is a disciple of Christ, the Gospel for today specifically mentions the virtue of Charity as the perfect sign of true discipleship. This is what is referred to in today’s Gospel when Christ said; ‘this is how all men will know you for My disciples your love for one another.’ Christ was referring to the theological virtue of Charity.
In fact, this sign was only given to the apostles when they were almost perfect when Christ said; ‘You still cannot come with Me because you are not yet perfect in your Charity.’
3. Canonisation process.
This sign is what was used before during the canonisation process. The Congregation in Rome simply checked if the candidate have undergone the four general steps in the spiritual life, namely, Repentance, Faith, Hope but more specifically the theological virtue of Charity. If he or she has Charity, then he or she surely would have the rest of the virtues. Charity is what makes a person a saint and deserving of eternal life (as mentioned in the Gospel of 4th Sunday of Easter.) The document proclaiming St. Therese of Lisieux a saint simply described her Charity.
This thorough canonical process was participated by all before. So all could see the signs that this person, indeed, is a saint. ‘All men knew that St. Therese was Christ’s disciple because of her Charity. She was described as the doctor of Divine Love.
Today, the process had been changed. The arduous task of checking the life of the candidate if they have reached Charity, the only infallible proof of sanctity, had been dispensed with. So we cannot really be certain if the saints canonised by Pope Francis are truly saints because the old traditional procedure used to canonised St. Therese was not used. If one is to believe that Pope John Paul II is a saint, he has to personally study the four steps (of evangelisation), personally study the life and works of Pope John Paul II, and only then make the personal, individual conclusion that he is a saint. And this conclusion is reached without the aid of the Vatican offices whose job it is to help man believe that he is a saint.
4. The four visible signs and the virtue of Charity.
The four visible signs, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, ….are signs describing a community. Faith, Hope and Charity are, also, virtues that describe the community, called the Church, (‘see how they love one another’ the pagans use to describe the Christian community). However, the four visible signs can be found in a true Catholic community that is not yet perfect. While Charity can only be found in a perfect Christian community. And the apostles were about to reach this perfection in today’s Gospel.
5. ‘Judas had just left,’ the Gospel begins.
The Church has to be perfect before she can be wedded with Christ in heaven. The apostolic community could not be perfect because of the presence of Judas. The Catholic Church must be perfect as a community. How? By each individual being perfect.
Today, the Catholic Church is not ready for her wedding in heaven unless the Judasses are out and the Peters and Johns are perfect. Christ said that the angels will be like winnowing fans separating the chaff from the wheat. It has to be. Otherwise the Church cannot be perfectly Catholic. And the goal of John Paul II and Benedict XVI’s new evangelisation is, precisely, to perfect the Church and not to fill it up with garbage. The two Popes got the adjective ‘new’ from Christ’s word in describing the ‘new’ commandment.
Excommunication is for this purpose; to remove Judasses. But this had been abused and used to remove good bishops who are pains in the neck of other bishops who experience remorse of conscience for not doing their jobs. Such was the case in the well published uncanonical removal of Bishops Livieres and Altieri.
6. My children, I am not to be with you much longer.
Christ comes and go. In the Gospel, He was to go with His Crucifixion and return at His Resurrection; go again in His Ascension and return at His Second coming. Go again after the Last Judgment and stay in heaven permanently afterwards.
In ‘I am not to be with you,’ He was referring to His death wherein He was going to the Father. And the apostles were insisting in going with Him. Christ did not say ‘No,’ which would be for the rest of the world. He said ‘Not now.’ ‘Later!’ Why ‘later?’ Because though they had, first, repented. Secondly, had Faith. Third, had Hope. And fourthly, they had Charity…..their Charity was not perfect. How come? Because Christ had not yet finished teaching them ‘How much He loved them’ which will be the basis of the ‘new’ commandment.
They could not come along with Him to where He was going, to heaven, without perfect Charity.
7. Christ is always with those with perfect Charity. He withdraws from those who disobeys His commandments.
During His passion, the apostles, due to fear, was abandoned by Christ ‘for a while.’ But they sought Christ again through repentance (the first step in returning to Him,) Seeing Christ resurrect they will regain their Faith, Hope and Charity. But their Charity remains imperfect.
To the Jews Christ says; ‘you cannot come with Me.’ To the apostles with Judas among them Christ says; ‘you cannot come with Me.’ But now, without the unbelieving Jews and without Judas you will be able to come with Me.’ But just one more lesson and this I still have to teach you because you don’t know this.
I am going to be crucified and die to save the world. You must do the same.
8. A ‘new’ commandment.
This is not in the O.T. I have not taught this yet because I have not undergone My passion. Only now after My passion can I teach you and give it to you as a command. And this is a ‘new’ commandment.
This is not identical to the ‘Love God and neighbour’ in the Old Testament. That was mere natural love. Only Christ, a God, can teach this command and only after His passion and death. This is a very new supernatural knowledge that can only be learned by those who have done their repentance and are steeped in Faith and Hope.
St. Thomas of Aquinas writes; this command is, indeed, ‘new’
because its features are new, its meaning is new and its standards is new. Man acquires a new nature (supernatural grace that makes him co-natural to God). Man acquires a new Spirit (the Spirit of Love that makes them children of God). And man makes a new covenant with God.
9. Characteristics.
The command is ‘love one another such as my love has been for you. ‘ Two persons must reach perfect Charity. It cannot be attained by one person alone, because where is the ‘other?’ So Christ’s commanded that there must be two or three gathered together and that is the only time He will be in their midst to make up the Catholic Church.
This implies the necessity of community life, just like the apostolic community. St. Benedict discouraged monks to be hermits without perfecting their community lives first. Repentance, Faith and Hope are attained in community. The perfection of Charity is attained ‘alone within a community,’ St. John Chrysostom wrote. Thus Christ was crucified alone. The two thieves were not part of His community.
10. The nature of the ‘new’ commandment.
The exemplar of this ‘new command’ is God the Son made man. Its spirit is God the Spirit. This lesson can only be taught by God. But during these days God has become silent because He knows no one is listening, Psalm 7 states. Christ, Himself, had prophesied that there will be waxing cold of Charity. Everybody will love everybody and everything except God because man wants his heaven here on earth.
Pope Benedict reviewed this ‘new’ command in his ‘Deus Caritas Est.’ The present Pope had not described it until now and erroneously referred to Freud’s ‘ID’ as the ‘new’ command.
St. Thomas noted that God gave His apostles many gifts. But none were emblems of true discipleship than this; obedience to the ‘new’ command. An obedience to a command that covers all commands. Disobedience to this of which is disobedience to all His commands.
11. How come Christ did not explain it in more detail in the Gospel?
Nobody will understand it anyway. Very few can reach such heights of virtue. In fact, its perfection can only be attained in heaven by most. Christ taught this ‘new’ command to His apostles as the Gospel clearly shows. But the Evangelist did not write down His explanation as they often do less pearls be exposed to pigs. But the Fathers and Doctors of the Church wrote it down so that we, Catholics, do not have any excuse. St. Francis de Sales, comes to mind, as one of those who extensively described it in his ‘Treatise on the Love of God.’
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