Jesus' Healthy Human Emotions
Dear Catholic Exchange,
I would like some further explanation regarding the interpretation of Mark 3:31-35 by Monsignor Clark in his January 28 homily. I do not understand the “sadness and humiliation.” I am not a scholar, so my thoughts are not original, but are more in line with the Navarre Commentaries. As I read it, Christ is simply showing the better relationship of union with God's will over worldly relationships. It seems, however, presumptuous to assume Christ's feelings. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you for your website and all the wonderful work you do to inform and evangelize.
May the Peace of Christ be with you,
Scotty Bowen
Dear Mr. Bowen,
Thank you for your inquiry and kind words. Msgr. Clark often reminds us that Jesus was not only true God, but also true man. As St Paul said, He was “like us in all things but sin.” That means that He experienced the full range of human emotions: He got angry (recall the other day when the gospel said He was angry “because they had closed their hearts against Him”), He cried (at Lazarus' death), He experienced the normal frustrations when people didn't rise to their best selves or when they ignored what was so obviously true.
Jesus never let His emotions get out of hand or carry Him away, but He did experience the full range of normal, healthy human emotions, and to deny that is to put oneself outside the Catholic Church's tradition. Jesus didn't just pretend to be a human being. He was the real thing.
Yours in Christ,
Tom Allen
Editor, CE
Editor's Note: To contact Catholic Exchange, please refer to our Contact Us page.
Please note that all email submitted to Catholic Exchange or its authors (regarding articles published at CE) become the property of Catholic Exchange and may be published in this space. Published letters may be edited for length and clarity. Names and cities of letter writers may also be published. Email addresses of viewers will not normally be published.
Dear Mr Dittman:
Your comments on section 460 of the Catechism are right. I'm left, however, hanging by what these ancient statements mean. Who can tell me what these seemingly heretical statements are actually saying? After all, God is uncreated and I am created. I will always be a creature. So, then, do these passages literally mean to say we can become “like God”? If so, it's too bad these passages weren't originally phrased as such. I think New Agers could have a field day with these statements. But, on a deeper spiritual level, how do we “partake of the divine nature”? To what extent and in what ways do we participate in the divine nature of God? I need a concrete explanation of this typically Eastern Catholic doctrine.
Another significant point I'd like to have clarified is how we share in the divine life of Jesus. Paragraph 460 of the Catechism explains that we may enter into communion with the Word and thus “become a son of God.” St. Athanasius is then quoted, “For the son of God became man so that we might become God.” St. Thomas Aquinas adds that Christ “assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.” I can become God, or at least a god? Wow. This is a good example of how the Catechism serves as a springboard to further study of key concepts.
Sincerely,
Ken Hirlinger
Mr. Hirlinger:
I was as confused as you are when I first read these statements. I studied the Catechism and wrote these articles just a couple of months ago, and I have not had the time to investigate this issue further.
I do know, however, that we truly do share in the divine life when we are in communion with Christ. Jesus, in his Divine Person, represents the perfect union of the divine and human natures. We are human persons who do not possess a divine nature. Nonetheless, we are true images of the union of the human and divine when we are united with Christ, both spiritually (through the Church, in prayer, etc.) and physically through the great gift of the Eucharist. It is God's grace within us that truly makes us partakers of the divine. Remember, however, that Christ is our model for divinity — if we are like God, or if we somehow become God (in the sense meant by the Fathers, which I am admitting I don't fully understand), it is Jesus, the humble, suffering servant, that we are to be. There is a mystical dimension to the understanding of this.
Remember how Jesus asked Saul, “Why do you persecute me” (Acts 9:4)? Saul was persecuting Christians, not Christ, right? Christ saw it as an attack on *Him.* Clearly then, we Christians become one with Christ Himself, who we profess to be one in substance with the Father.
Interestingly, Christ is also our model for humanity. Because the Divine Person Christ assumed an unfallen human nature, the more Christ-like we are, the more fully human (i.e., the way we were meant to be before the fall) we truly are. Further, the more Christ-like we are, the more truly free we are.
For further reflection on this subject, I recommend The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis.
Thank you,
Mark Dittman
The Beauty of the Catechism
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying Mr. Mark Dittman's series of articles relating to the beauty of the Catechism.
I am a Catholic and my husband is a non-Catholic (for now!). We have been married for twenty-three years, and I am praying that someday he will come into the Catholic Church. Both of my children are Catholic. My son is 8 years old, goes to St. Dismas and will make his first Communion this year. My daughter is 17 years old, went to St. Dismas for 9 years, but she now attends a public high school. She'll be on to college (hopefully Dominican) next year. Agnosticism abounds in most of her classes at the public school . . . (surprisingly!) especially in her advanced environmental science class! I am very proud of her because she is a true believer, and she knows why she is a true believer . . . a young apologist, I must say! I don't want to preach to her . . . so Mark's articles come in very handy. They are a quick read, and even though she already knows the content, they are a re-enforcement of our faith. So, after all of this, I just want to say thank you, Mark, and keep it up. You are helping me tremendously.
Sincerely,
Linda Presson
Dear Linda:
Thank you! And thank you for taking the time to e-mail me. The articles were a pleasure to write and they are a pleasure to share. I am always delighted to see the truths of the Faith make such a meaningful impact on peoples' lives. God bless you and your family!
Sincerely,
Mark Dittman
