| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ask Father Hardon
by John A. Hardon, S.J.
Q. How can evil exist if God did not create it?
—M.C., Maryland
A. Evil in general is the privation of a good that should be present. It
is the lack of a good that essentially belongs or is due to a being. Evil is therefore the
absence of what ought to be there.
Physical evil is the privation of a natural good desired by a human being. It is the absence of some satisfaction desired by a human appetite, whether spiritual or bodily. In general, it may be equated with pain. It is the loss or deprivation of what a person wants.
Moral evil is sin, as distinct from physical evil, which is some form of suffering. It
is evil because it is contrary to the will of God; it is moral evil because it is caused
by a free, created will acting against the law of God, who does not want moral evil as an
end or as a means. The Council of Trent condemned the contrary doctrine. God simply
permits moral evil because of consideration of human freedom, and because He has the
wisdom and power to cause good to arise from evil. In the end, moral evil will serve the
supreme purpose of the universe, the glorification of God, since it reveals both His mercy
in forgiving and His justice in punishing.
Q. Could you provide me with a list of good Catholic books to read?
—M.L., North Carolina
A. The most comprehensive list of good Catholic books is contained in
The Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan. Originally published by Doubleday, the book is now out
of print. However, Grotto Press plans to republish it soon.
Q. Please explain how and when pride is sinful.
—D.K., Washington
A. As ordinarily defined, pride is the inordinate esteem of oneself. It
is inordinate because it is contrary to the truth. It is essentially an act or disposition
of the will desiring to be considered better than a person really is. Pride may be
expressed in different ways: by taking personal credit for gifts or possessions, as if
they had not been received from God; by glorying in achievements, as if they were not
primarily the result of divine goodness and grace; by minimizing one’s defects or
claiming qualities that are not actually possessed; by holding oneself superior to others
or disdaining them because they lack what the proud person has; by magnifying the defects
of others or dwelling on them. When pride is carried to the extent that a person is
unwilling to acknowledge dependence on God and refuses to submit his or her will to God or
lawful authority, it is a grave sin. The gravity depends on how totally a person contemns
God or those who take His place.
It is not pride to appreciate the natural or supernatural gifts that we possess. The secret is to see them as the gifts of God and not something which is really our own. Our Lady makes this clear in her Magnificat when she praises God for the wonderful gifts He has given her and used these gifts according to His will.
© Copyright 1997 Inter Mirifica
The Catholic Faith - January/February '98 - Table of Contents