Who AM I to judge? Those were the words of Pope Francis, yet he is judging us. It is true that I sometimes hurry to finish the rosary,but I at least follow Our Lady request. The Pope and the clergy should make certain that our youth learn to pray the rosary, in that I think they are failing.
Maybe this has been posted before, but on this subject this text from a Church Father is a really good piece to meditate on the balance between not judging others and yet our duty to speak up 'admonishing the sinner' or 'instructing the ignorant'. St John Chrysostom, Homily 23 on Matthew http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200123.htm
Also, remember our Lord gave us the chaplet of mercy..."bead counting", I don't think so. Both the Rosary and the Chaplet of Mercy are powerful prayers.
I love watching very small children out with their mothers. It brings back so many memories of my own childhood. They never stop talking and love to hold their mothers hand. I also remember very well how I loved to sit in my mothers lap. I think I must have been a real mummy's boy. I think the rosary is so much like this. It means we never stop talking and get to hold hands all the time and sit Mary's Lap. It's true the rosary can be said in a bad way, but if done right it a gateway to heaven. A good comparison is our breathing or our heart beat. Each rosary bead is like a heart beat of love. There is a very holy lady who leads the rosary after Church with her husband after mass. She has been doing it for years now. She is one of the very few people I have ever heard recite the rosary perfectly, she is a joy to listen to.
Its funny how very small things can help us pray. I bought a bag of luminescent stars a few weeks ago and stuck them all over my bed room ceiling; when I awake it is like looking at the night sky, so beautiful and peaceful. It helps me think of the psalms, praising creation. Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord; Praise and exalt him above all forever. Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord; You heavens, bless the Lord; All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord. All you hosts of the Lord; bless the Lord. Sun and moon, bless the Lord; Stars of heaven, bless the Lord. Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; All you winds, bless the Lord. Fire and heat, bless the Lord; Cold and chill, bless the Lord. Dew and rain, bless the Lord; Frost and cold, bless the Lord. Ice and snow, bless the Lord; Nights and days, bless the Lord. Light and darkness bless the Lord; Lightning and clouds, bless the Lord. Let the earth bless the Lord; Praise and exalt him above all forever. Mountains and hills, bless the Lord Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord. You springs, bless the Lord; Seas and rivers, bless the Lord. You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; All you birds of the air, bless the Lord. All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; Praise and exalt him above all forever. You sons of men, bless the Lord; O Israel, bless the Lord. Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord. Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord. Ananias, Azarias, Misael, bless the Lord; Praise and exalt him above all forever. Let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost; Let us praise and exalt God above all forever. Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven; Praiseworthy and glorious forever.
That was beautiful Padraig, Truly Billy Graham was a holy man of God who preached the cross, an area in which some priests are failing. Also even though Mr. Graham was not a Catholic, I am sure he now knows the true Church is that of the One/Holy /Catholic/Apostolic and maybe he has also met Our Lady who unbeknown to him was the only other person born without sin. She is the one who leads along the way of the cross to follow in the way of her own beloved Son, if we are but willing. As for judging, I will try to not judge anyone but myself in light of my own sins which are capable of crucifying others, but actions which can cause others harm should always be judged.
I wish some group prayed 3,525 rosaries for me!! Each prayer is a flower and each rosary a bouquet laid at the feet of our Lady. I would be so overjoyed and grateful for the prayers!
Exactly! and as Blizzard stated (in so many words) in an earlier post it is far, far, far,...., far better than sinning!!! These children dressed up as the Fatima seers are adorable! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ But what can we expect from a papacy which approves of a monstrosity for a Nativity??? And now back to praying once again.
There are some promises attached to the recitation of the rosary. As some may attest, they have received the signal graces with the recitation of the rosary throughout the years. I don't think that pope francis prays a daily rosary. I don't think that anyone who prays a daily rosary is capable of making remarks and insults as pope francis has made. The prayer of the rosary changes a person's personality. They are less worldly and more focused on the eternal.
The Pope was speaking to a group of lay Catholics and chose to insult other Catholics. Here's the report of what he said, as provided by a member of that "private group" he was addressing: I share with you two concerns. One is the Pelagian current that there is in the Church at this moment. There are some restorationist groups. I know some, it fell upon me to receive them in Buenos Aires. And one feels as if one goes back 60 years! Before the Council... One feels in 1940... An anecdote, just to illustrate this, it is not to laugh at it, I took it with respect, but it concerns me; when I was elected, I received a letter from one of these groups, and they said: "Your Holiness, we offer you this spiritual treasure: 3,525 rosaries." Why don't they say, 'we pray for you, we ask...', but this thing of counting... And these groups return to practices and to disciplines that I lived through - not you, because you are not old - to disciplines, to things that in that moment took place, but not now, they do not exist today... Categorising a group of Catholics as Pelagians is name calling. Actually, it's worse because it's calling them heretics. As to the "this is not to laugh at it, I took it with respect" preface to his back-biting insult, there's nothing respectful about denigrating people for letting you know they pray for you. Most likely, as with any Rosary crusade, very many people took part, and the person/people who organised it let the Pope know that very many people were praying for him. I would be thrilled to hear that thousands of people had offered a Rosary for me because I surely need prayer. All the better if those Rosaries were offered by someone who petitioned Heaven on my behalf during a time when maybe they were going through a period of spiritual dryness, struggling to concentrate on prayer but persevering for my sake. So says the man who is willing to accept that Scripture tells us that it's God who needs us - simply because Pope Francis said so.
There can sometimes be a fourth reason: a kind of projection of one's own shortcomings onto another person. Consider all those denunciations of clericalism and the Pope's links to the St. Gallen group.
Yes, it is sad. I missed that Vatican 11 denunciation of Spiritual Bouquets. All that pre-Conciliar Catholicism is such a trial for the grown-up spiritualists. I can't understand his linking it with Pelagianism. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11604a.htm He does tend to use named heresies in much the same way as some people use buzzwords. Maybe at that time he was going through a phase where Pelagianism was his favourite heresy/buzzword for categorising Catholics he doesn't like. Gnostics were the other subset of Catholics he had it in for during that talk. I suppose that private group he was addressing can be relieved to know that they are neither Pelagians nor Gnostics. They won't find out which heresy they are accused of until the Pope uses them as an example when addressing some other group.
If someon the forum were to offer me a Spiritual Bouquet of Rosaries I would be delighted and touched. Why would I not be? The very last thing I would think of is to publically insult the people who, in their kindness offered them. It just seems to me so very nasty and unkind to do so. So nasty and unkind in fact that I find it kind of spooky. I have been racking my mind trying to follow the Holy Fathers line of thought here in case I am missing something. I had thought that there might be some line of logic I am missing. But I just keep coming up with a total blank. Which is why I find it so very, very spooky, strange and a source of concern. But I guess its better to try not to be negative, but yeah its very spooky. I am afraid I do find much of his goings on very spooky.
