Is God Cruel?

INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE
PART I, CHAPTERS 9-24

English-speaking Group 2
Caesar Dizon, Joseph Minja, and Showrilu Chinnabathuni

What has struck me in terms of content of the meditations (chapters 9-18)?
•He seems to be trying to frighten us into being good (death and hell).
•The process (preparation, considerations etc.) and the contents of the process are psychologically preparing the reader to be moved.
•The content inspires fear of God.
•But the intent seems to be to invite us back to God.

What do I think of the images that Francis uses to describe the Last Things?
•The images of the Last Things are the traditional images found in the preaching of the Catholic Church which goes on to show how Francis was well-grounded in the Catholic culture.
•The meditation on death evoked memories of the traditional prayers (where you respond with “merciful Jesus, have mercy on me) of the Exercise for a Happy Death.
•You have the impression that God is cruel.
•God is presented as a parent-God, that is, he punishes but continues to love the child.
•God is feared because one has sinned.
•He no longer uses those images to picture or think about heaven and hell.

What difficulties do I encounter in reading this text (1607 vs 2007)?
•There is no distinction among judgment, heaven and hell. (This was explained but the meaning still remained unclear.)
•How do we present the same things to today’s youth?
•How do we explain death as the result of sin when evidently death is a natural part of a man’s life?
•It has the tendency of making you more fearful in actual life.

What can be said for the way that Francis explains his proposed spiritual method after presenting the prayer excersises?
•His approach is not intellectual but experiential. He appeals to the heart.