Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Why Just Execution is a Truly Merciful Act

Posted by Ann Barnhardt - April 17, AD 2012 8:20 PM MST

Fr. Z over at WDTPRS.com (What Does the Prayer Really Say) posted this on Sunday in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday.

In a nutshell, Rudolf Hoess, the Nazi butcher, was raised Catholic but formally renounced the Church as a young man and eventually became a Nazi and then the Commandant of Auschwitz.

After the war, Hoess was captured and tried in Poland. He was hanged immediately adjacent to the Auschwitz crematory on April 16, 1947.

While in his cell in Krakow, shortly before his execution, Hoess could hear the bells of the nearby convent and he remembered the faith of his youth. He asked to see a priest. He partook of the Sacrament of Confession, was reconciled to Christ and His Church, and received the Eucharist.

Let's assume that Hoess' penitence was sincere. Debating his sincerity really isn't a worthwhile activity because we simply cannot know. Only Christ knows Hoess' heart. You can't bee-ess Our Lord.

So, here's the point. Would Hoess have been contrite and sought the Divine Mercy of Our Lord had he NOT been within days of being executed? Was it the fact and full knowledge of his forthcoming death that moved him to repent? Had he been still on the loose, had he "gotten away" would he have had the same conversion of heart? If he had lived to old age, would the passage of time have dulled his recollection of what he had done, and thus even if facing a quiet, natural death as an old man, would he have been moved to repent?
Obviously, the answer to these questions is "no". It was the fact of Hoess' execution itself that acted as the earthly conduit of God's grace. The full, swift application of justice is essential to any civilized society.

Execution can be the most profound act of mercy and charity in a society, and has the power to literally save SOULS. And yes, a man can be forgiven, but still justly executed. Execution is not mathematically opposed to the Lord's Prayer.

But, of course, you'll never hear any sort of discussion like this in today's superfun rockband church, or even in the infiltrated and desperately stupid Catholic parishes - which are trying to be superfun rockband church. And the key word there is STUPID. The Marxist infiltration of Christianity has as its prime tactic the "stupidification" of the liturgy and theology. Superfun rockband church is STUPID. It is INSIPID. It is DIM-WITTED. It is OBTUSE. It is MORONIC.

Think. Think about Hoess and the possibility of the Infinite Mercy of Christ being applied even to him. Think about true justice, and how it must be present in order for there to be true charity.

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