The Great Responsibility of Mission
Woe to us who do not preach the gospel...
Wake up and get focused because today’s gospel is a stark reminder for those who feel confident and assured of their salvation—you must continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. I’ve been very vocal in my opinion one of the most dangerous ideas against the necessity of evangelization is the notion of universalism—that all will be saved. Proponents of universalism like David Bentley Hart, or even hopeful universalists like Hans Urs von Balthasar, in my opinion use biblical texts out of context to frame their arguments in support of such a theological position.
Okay, Okay. I am now imagining that our more traditional readers are saying, “yeah…that modernist Balthasar thought everyone was going to waltz into heaven…”
What about you? Do you also think you’re on the path to waltz into heaven? Do you only go to Latin masses? Have you said enough rosaries? Are you sure you don’t need to go back to confession? You see the brilliance of the living word of God is that it speaks to every one of us. Let’s look at a particular part of today’s Gospel from the words of our Lord:
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
It is my position that it is biblically clear that the gospels indicate that more will be damned than will be saved, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that many who hold such a position also hold themselves as part of the elect.
No. We—each one of us—must continue to work on our salvation in fear and trembling. And, a major part of it is proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you doing it? Am I doing it?
Let’s be clear, we know the Lord, we have His gospel, and we can have hope in our own salvation, but make no mistake now we have the great responsibility—the first mission of the Church. We are called to proclaim our Lord to the world. We are no longer ignorant; we are no longer children in the since of our naivety. You know the Master’s will. I say to you if you bury this treasure of the gospel better to have a millstone tied around your neck and cast into the sea for you are leaving others to their demise.
Do you think the Vatican II council is anti-evangelization? Do you think Vatican II has led the Church into error? Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church from the Second Vatican council, says this about our Lord Jesus Christ:
“Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation.”[1]
And Lumen Gentium also says this regarding the necessity of evangelization:
“But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature”,130 the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”[2]
There is no personal Jesus when it comes to Catholicism. We are a mystical body—a communion. The Master has asked us to graft branches onto this mystical body and I tell you woe to you who do not preach the gospel for it is the power salvation.
You have been called to election. And as our Lord leaves us today, so shall I leave you.:
“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
[1] LG 14.
[2] LG 16.
The reason why the fruits of the Second Vatican Council have not always been good is, I believe, largely due to the ambiguous language that many of the documents used. The passages that you quoted are appropriately assertive in their bold declaration of these tenets of the Faith. Unfortunately, however, there are many other passages throughout the Council documents that leave room for interpretation, which has led to many of the less positive fruits of the Council that we experience today. The false "spirit of Vatican II" took these ambiguous passages and ran with them, using the ambiguity as their license to introduce many things that were contrary to the living tradition of the Church.
This is a powerful article. Thank you for writing this as I needed it…"We—each one of us—must continue to work on our salvation in fear and trembling. And, a major part of it is proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you doing it? Am I doing it?" Amen!