I found this to be true. My cross showed me how truly dark I can be if I choose to go down that path. In fact I had wandered pretty far down that path before Our Lady rescued me. Love is the door to God. Hate is the door to the devil.
I don't know what my biggest cross is showing me about my darkness. It's secondary infertility. What would that show me?
DeGaulle, Thank you. I just realized that I typed "here" instead of "hear" sorry about that but you figured it out. Thanks again. My impression of Cardinal Sarah was that he is a very quiet person but maybe I was just not very familiar with him until more recently. He obviously fights for the Orthodoxy of the Church but rightly so, I believe that he wants to remain obedient. He "quietly" speaks up when the need arises to defend the Faith. I was surprised to see that the article that Sg just posted here containing an address from Cardinal Sarah was from over a year ago and I had never seen it before. Overall, I would say that he appears to be the polar opposite of Cardinal Marx and Cardinal Kasper in terms of cardinals in the Catholic Church. I wonder if he was one of the signers of the dubia who has remained private, I think that we know that there are at least six signatures on the dubia not just the four who went public. The following is a quote from the Dictator Pope, The signatories are now known to number six, although only four names have been made public – Cardinals Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra and Meisner – but they are said to have the support of some twenty or thirty others. Colonna, Marcantonio. The Dictator Pope (Kindle Locations 1774-1775). Kindle Edition. This is something that I don't always remember and maybe others have forgotten this also or never realized the above. Most of the pressure has fallen on Cardinal Burke but maybe others are "quietly" resisting like Cardinal Sarah appears to be doing.
Sterph, sometimes God asks us to offer up something for the good of His Kingdom. In my case, I wanted more children but I only had one. I think when I offer Him my pain at only having one child, He can use that in reparation for the sins of abortion. That has occurred to me more than once. I am not trying to gloss over your pain. My life did not turn out the way I wanted it to....but I do not know a single person whose life really has. I am sorry for your situation. At least you and I know the Lord and the Blessed Mother! "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?" Don't give up hope yet!
I think many may be given a cross, which if meditated upon can point out a weakness to that person, yet I think most crosses are by human standards 'just unfair'. Take a small child with a terminal disease who goes through extraordinary sufferings and then dies while in their teens, this to me is a heavy cross for the child and the parents and the family....it seems so unfair and basically it is unfair! The cross is only understood when offered to God! and placed at the foot of the most unfair cross that was ever bourn [ie; Our Lords Jesus' Most Holy Passion and Sacrifice] God is so magnanimous, He uses that suffering with His own and then the value of the cross becomes infinite! That unfair cross, now has the power to open floodgates of grace, to touch the very Heart of God and to save souls! Your cross sterph is a great blessing! God Bless The Cross, The everlasting God has in His wisdom Has foreseen from all eternity The cross that He now presents to you As a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, Understood with His divine mind, Tested with His wise justice, Warmed with loving arms And weighed with His own hands To see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, Anointed it with His consolation, Taken one last glance at you and your courage, And then sent it to you from heaven, A special greeting from God to you, A blessing from the all-merciful love of God. St Francis De Sales
Interesting what cardinal Muller says at the of this article towards the bottom - strong words and, God willing, I would pray more Cardinals and bishops speak up. Cardinal Müller on Intercommunion Meeting: ‘More Clarity and Courage’ Needed The former CDF prefect views the statement on the meeting about Holy Communion for some Protestant spouses as ‘very poor,’ and calls on bishops and cardinals to ‘raise their voices.’ The former CDF prefect views the statement on the meeting about Holy Communion for some Protestant spouses as ‘very poor,’ and calls on bishops and cardinals to ‘raise their voices.’ Edward Pentin Yesterday’s crucial meeting went quicker than expected, lasting a little over two hours, but the outcome pleased none of those who took part, and will have far reaching consequences for the Church, sources close to the talks have told the Register. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the bishops’ conference, arrived at the May 3 meeting in the Holy Office at 4pm, along with two allied bishops and Jesuit Father Hans Langendörfer, secretary of the German bishops’ conference, confidently expecting to be able to influence the proceedings in his favor. Summoned to the Vatican meeting by the Pope last month, the cardinal archbishop of Munich hoped to win the Pope’s backing, and thereby persuade two opposing bishops and senior Vatican officials to support a highly contentious German bishops’ pastoral proposal to allow Protestant spouses in some cases to receive Holy Communion. The so-called “pastoral handout,” which German bishops overwhelmingly voted for in February, proposed that a Protestant spouse could receive the Eucharist after having made a “serious examination” of conscience with a priest or another person with pastoral responsibilities, and “affirms the faith of the Catholic Church,” wishes to end “serious spiritual distress,” and has a “longing to satisfy a hunger for the Eucharist.” Proponents said it would help to resolve the suffering of some Protestant spouses unable to receive Holy Communion with their Catholic wives or husbands. Critics called it a “rhetorical trick”that wrongly sought to redefine the sacraments as a means of alleviating mental distress and satisfying spiritual needs. Criticism heightened after seven German bishops wrote to the Vatican March 22 to protest the move, arguing that the proposal is “not right” as it touches on “the faith and unity of the Church which is not subject to a vote,” and asking for four areas to be clarified. Two of the seven, Cardinal Rainer Woelki of Cologne and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, arrived at the May 3 meeting hopeful that, given what many considered to be serious doctrinal flaws in the document — and which reliable sources say was opposed by Benedict XVI — would be thrown out by the Pope, or completely revised. Postman Prefect But to the surprise of many, neither happened. After both sides made their case, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, prefect of the CDF, relayed to the participants that Pope Francis appreciated the “ecumenical commitment of the German bishops and asks them to find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a unanimous result, if possible.” In comments to the Register May 4, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, expressed his disappointment with the outcome, saying the statement was “very poor” as it contained “no answer to the central, essential question.” It is not possible, he stressed, to be in “sacramental communion without ecclesial communion.” For the good of the Church, he added, a “clear expression of the Catholic faith” is needed, for the Pope to “affirm the faith,” especially the “pillar of our faith, the Eucharist.” The Pope and the CDF, he went on, are supposed to “give a very clear orientation” not through “personal opinion but according to the revealed faith.” A source close to the two bishops opposed to the proposal told the Register May 4 that the “official answer is that there is no answer.” The Holy Father, he said, had “failed to fulfil his obligation as pope regarding a question of dogma which his office must decide.” The Pope “refused” to take a line, he stressed, “and the CDF was left to act as a postman, not to affirm the faith, but to announce this information.” The dicasteries, he said, “are useless” if all will be given over to bishops’ conferences to decide. He acknowledged that the term “unanimity” is not properly defined in this context, but expects Cardinal Marx to somehow seek to reduce the number of bishops opposed to the proposal in order to attain the unanimous requirement for it to go forward. “Our job now is to strengthen the seven bishops, to strengthen our priests in the argumentation” the source said. “It’ll be a long fight and over the next six months, this is what we’ll be dedicating ourselves to.” But Cardinal Marx and the German bishops’ conference were also said to be disappointed. The meeting was held in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, indicating that the Vatican sees this as a doctrinal matter, not the pastoral one Cardinal Marx tried to argue it was (he insisted in February it was a “pastoral handout” and not intended to “change any doctrine”). More significantly, the proposal’s proponents failed to obtain the Pope’s ringing endorsement. Instead, consistent with his wish expressed in his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Francis is pressing on in his efforts to decentralize the Church’s governance by giving more “doctrinal authority” to bishops’ conferences. He is, therefore, putting the ball back in the court of the German bishops. “In a way it amounts to a refusal [of the proposal],” said German Church commentator, Mathias von Gersdorf. “It sounds something like this: You [Cardinal Marx] have created a huge problem. Look to yourself to try and get out of it. And if that doesn’t lead to unanimity, so the problem is resolved.” Marx’s Lost Battle Also disappointing for Cardinal Marx’s party was the opposition they encountered during the meeting from Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The Swiss cardinal, who was not notified of the proposal before or after it was voted upon, showed himself to be sympathetic to the seven bishops’ concerns. The disillusionment on the part of the German bishops’ conference was also evident when, after the meeting, its spokesman, Matthias Kopp, said it would be holding no press conference, nor issuing statements or interviews. “It was a lost battle for them, though not a lost war,” said the source close to the talks. “Kopp doesn’t want to speak about a lost battle.” But the seven bishops and their allies have the greater concerns. Although they believe the meeting could have gone “much worse,” according to the source close to the talks, and the proposal cannot be published as a handout as the German bishops’ conference intended, they see this as an “ecclesiological revolution.” “The real problem is not the issue itself, but the refusal of the Pope to carry out his obligation as Peter, and this could have heavy consequences,” the source said. “Peter is no longer the rock he was, instead the shepherd is saying to the sheep: ‘Go and look for yourself for something to eat.’” He foresaw a similar process used with regards to intercommunion being adopted to introduce such novelties as married clergy, and that the general drift of decentralization of doctrine will make the Church more closely resemble the Anglican Communion. Cardinal Müller, referring to Lumen Gentium, reminded that bishops’ conferences have a “secondary importance” to the Pope, and it is not possible for them to vote unanimously on a matter of doctrine that would contradict “basic elements” of the Church. “We must resist this,” he said, and warned that if the principle of Catholic identity consisting of both sacramental and ecclesial communion is destroyed, “then the Catholic Church is destroyed.” The Church, he stressed, “is not a political actor.” “I hope more bishops will raise their voices and do their duty,” Cardinal Müller said. “Every cardinal has a duty to explain, defend, promote the Catholic faith, not according to personal feelings, or the swings of public opinion, but by reading the Gospel, the Bible, Holy Scripture, the Church fathers and to know them. Also the Councils, to study the great theologians of the past, and be able to explain and defend the Catholic faith, not with sophistic arguments to please all sides, to be everyone’s darling.” Going forward, Cardinal Müller regretfully predicted the matter will “continue without the clear necessity for a declaration about the Catholic faith.” He said bishops must “continue explaining the faith” and he hoped the CDF would fulfil its role, not only as mediators of the different groups, but in leading the magisterium of the Pope. “More clarity and courage must be encouraged,” he said.
I think St Paul summed it up best in Romans for those who love God all things work together unto the good. It is love that turns it to good, otherwise it is simply a burden. Oozing back on my own life I have experienced so.e truly terrier things but I cannot see now that they did indeed work unto the good. Life is like a tapestry, looked at one side when we are going great through the mill it can seem unfair like tangled knots, but time let's us see the other side, that it is a beautiful who1
While we might, rightly, bemoan Pope Francis' policy of decentralisation of The Church, I wonder might he be, probably inadvertently, doing God's Will? The German Church is so toxic at present that decentralisation, a policy that can be reversed by another Pope in the future, might serve, at present, to quarantine the infection and thus prevent the rest of the world from contamination. If they want to go to Hell, let 'em off.
Holocaust denial in the Catholic Church could be a reaction to a certain form of over-emphasis on the matter by the Jews. Certainly, it was a terrible thing, but probably no more complete than the Roman genocide of the Jews. Little is made of the Armenian genocide, not to mention many other genocides throughout history. Was the slaughter of the Irish and the destruction of their civilisation by the English throughout several centuries any less grievous? Why has the role of the Jews in the Bolshevik and Hungarian Bolshevik revolutions, directly responsible for the murder of millions of Christians, been allowed to become unmentionable, although it was bound to have outraged European opinion, a contributing factor to the venom of the 'Holocaust'. The very use of that word to describe the genocide is inappropriate because it introduces a sacramental and sacrificial element to a particular genocide that elevates it above all others and has been exploited by the Zionist state of Israel for her own cynical purposes. I mightn't agree with this particular bishop, but I assert that the issue is a lot more nuanced than the simplistic narrative that dominates currently. Let us not forget that many Jews, though no more than a large minority, consider non-Jews as lesser forms of human life, a despicable attitude that was ironically imitated against them by the Nazis. The evidence is present for all to read, in the Talmud.
Your comment lines up really well with the known line from sister Lucia “in Portugal the dogma of the faith will be preserved”. So it seems the way that ahead is a never seen decentralization in the Church which this pope is fostering. As a result in some places the dogma of the faith will be preserved while in others it won’t, which means the cancer won’t spread everywhere. If I remember well, the Portuguese bishops, except for the one in Porto, reiterated last year the teaching of the Church on the divorced and remarried, just like the Polish bishops did.
I don't think so. God may allow it through His permissive Will, but I don't think this is something coming from His active Will. It is something that is harmful to the Church. Personally I can't see God desiring that. If it was His active Will, we would be wrong for opposing it. The problem with what the Germans are doing is that it is not isolated only to them. Just like legal precedence in a court case, other countries and dioceses will point to the Germans' example and say "See? They are doing it and the Pope is allowing it so we can do it too." In fact I think that is what is being counted on happening. If inter-Communion is allowed in Germany it won't be long before it will spread to the surrounding countries and then to the world. Maybe not everywhere, but I think it highly unlikely that it would remain isolated. Holy Communion for the divorced and "remarried" was a German driven issue too. It is all like a contagion.
I did mean God's Will in the Permissive sense. But you are right to clarify my vagueness-one can't be too exact in these things. Still, all is in His control, one way or another. You may be right about the spread of heresy regardless-I desperately search for silver linings nowadays. Nevertheless, I still have a hunch that a German solo run is preferable to a Vatican-centred initiative. At least Pope Francis has only engaged his own permissive will, rather than his active one, in this matter!
