I don't buy it...Jesus was all human (as well as divine). He had to go through the good and the bad. When He preached, healed and cast out demons...Our Lord and Savior was not suffering. He suffered at various moments of His life...but He did get to enjoy the beauty of life. Our Lord had to live and experience all that it is to be human, so that He can be Divine and Perfect Judge. Our Lord was not a sad and suffering Lord. He did have to suffer for Our Sins...but that started in the Garden of gethsemane. May Gods Will be Done
GM I've observed this pious theme is not uncommon in some spiritual writings of an older time - popular in certain parts of Europe I believe. However I have not seen this theme presented as extremely as this before. May I ask what Catholic writings you have sourced this from if it is more than your own view?
I've always assumed Christ suffered most of his life. For starters just being born in a stable in the cold. Then when the Holy Family had to flee in the middle of the night they had no one to welcome them. A long journey cold, tired, hungry. I often think his only moment of happiness was the nine months he spent in the womb, warm and nourished by Mother Mary's love. God Bless!
I read one seerer who said that the thought of Christ's Passion was never out of Our Lady's head and heart. I have no way of course of knowing for certain if this is true or not, but personally I believe her. One of the reasons is the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour which I pray in front of at mass each morning. For me this icon seems very much to be giving this message. That the great mystery Mary stores in her heart is the passion. That every beat of heart is in tune with her Son's heart as He died on the Cross.
Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. ...have we, as a Church, squandered the property that God entrusted to us - the faith...the family??? So he summoned him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' ...a synod was assembled, and the 'managers' gave an account of their management, but it had already been decided they could not be managers any longer - if these are end times, many cardinals, bishops etc, will know they are in trouble with the Boss of all bosses... Then the manager said to himself, 'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' ...the managers decide to take actions that will make them popular so that even when their current position is taken from them, they will still have friends to take them in - dissident cardinals, bishops etc will still need to make a living if they are no longer in 'the pay' of the Catholic Church... So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' He answered, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.' ...so even though the property was not theirs to squander the managers reduced the debt on the people that were in debt to their boss - your sins are not so great after all, we can ignore most of them even though we don't condone them... And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. ...haven't a clue! Will the Boss have more regard for those cardinals and bishops who have acted shrewdly with this generation, rather than cardinals and bishops of light who don't know how to deal effectively with this generation??? Any ideas?
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/n...-mercy-comes-at-a-price-critics-charge-64855/ For German bishops mercy comes at a price, critics charge Berlin, Germany, Nov 6, 2014 / 02:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As Cardinal Walter Kasper prepares to receive an award and give a speech at The Catholic University of America later today, a storm is brewing. Critics point out that while Cardinal Kasper and most of his fellow German bishops have been leading the charge to allow those in “irregular” marital situations – those who are divorced and remarried – to receive Communion, they have simultaneously denied the sacraments, including even Confession, to those who opt out of paying Germany’s “church tax”: a position seen by critics as hyprocritical. In both cases, the German position is at odds with Church teaching: admitting to Communion those formally not allowed, and forbidding those whom the Vatican says can validly receive the sacraments. The German definition of mercy, critics say, is a "pay to pray system" that has its “financial” limits. The bishops in Germany “are notoriously the most merciful in wishing to grant Communion to the divorced and remarried, but at the same time are the most ruthless in de facto excommunicating those who refuse to pay the church tax, which in their country is obligatory by law,” Sandro Magister wrote Oct. 29 in his “Settimo Cielo” blog for L'Espresso. The church tax earned the Church in Germany an income of more than $7 billion in both 2012 and 2013. Critics charged that the German bishops are on one hand saying that mercy demands Communion be given to those living in what Christ called adultery, while simultaneously banning those who may be living according to Church teaching, but for whatever reason choose not pay their church tax, from all the sacraments. “In Germany the church tax (kirchensteuer) is obligatory, such that to be able to not pay it, one must declare their departure from the church to which they belong, whether Catholic or Protestant, by a public act made before a competent civil authority,” Magister explained. When Germans register as Catholic, Protestant, or Jew on their tax forms, the government automatically collects an income tax from them which amounts to 8 or 9 percent of their total income tax, or 3-4 percent of their salary. The “church tax” is given to the religious communities, rather than those communities collecting a tithe. The Church uses its funds to help run its parishes, schools, hospitals, and welfare projects. Many Germans have de-registered in recent years, so as to avoid paying the additional tax. Magister noted that the number of persons declaring their departure from the Church has been substantial – in 2010, the figure was more than 180,000. The number of de-registrations has been heightened this year, as the church tax is now being withheld from capital gains, as well as from salary. Many of those who have de-registered from the Church on the German government's forms continue to practice the faith, and have de-registered to avoid the tax altogether, or to support the Church with private tithes. In response to the numbers de-registering, the German bishops issued a decree in September 2012 calling such departure “a serious lapse” and listing a number of ways they are barred from participating in the life of the Church. The decree specified that those who do not pay the church tax cannot receive the sacraments of Confession, Communion, Confirmation, or Anointing of the Sick, except when in danger of death; cannot hold ecclesial office or perform functions within the Church; cannot be a godparent or sponsor; cannot be a member of diocesan or parish councils; and cannot be members of public associations of the Church. If those who de-registered show no sign of repentance before their death, they can even be refused a religious burial. While these penalties have been described as "de facto excommunication," the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, wrote in a March 13, 2006 document that opting out of taxes in a civil situation was not the same as renouncing the faith, and thus excommunication did not apply to such persons. The German group Union of Associations Loyal to the Pope has said it is ironic that one could reject Church teaching on any number of issues, including the indissolubility of marriage, and still be considered Catholic – as long as one paid the church tax. The group charged that the "selling of sacraments" through the tax system was even worse than the abuses protested by Martin Luther at the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Our Lady of Good Success ... The secular clergy will fall far short of what is expected of them because they will not pursue their sacred duty. Losing the divine compass, they will stray from the way of priestly ministry mapped out for them by God and will become devoted to money, seeking it too earnestly.
And at the Synod, these same hypocrites were placed in charge and their agenda written into the relatio beforehand. Why?
"the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects.
It's strange I heard this Gospel of the Shrewd Steward and also applied it to the present day. There is a case in the local media of a large Christian bakery firm who have refused to bake a cake supporting gay marriage and are being brought to court by the Equality Commission. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29926372 It occurred to me that the bakers could have been shrewd stewards and baked the cake? However on reflection would I have baked the cake? No I would not. I would think it wrong and sinful. There are times for being a shrewd steward. St Thomas Moore for instance when brought to prison and court for not acknowledging the Kings remarriage was probably the shrewdest cookie that ever lived. But on principle he was firm as a rock. As to the Bishops in the synod , 'who have acted shrewdly with this generation', I suspect if they do not repent they will shrewd themselves into hell. Sometimes folks can be too shrewd for their own good.
We have an often used derogatory expression in Ireland . He/she is a 'Cute hoor.'. 'Cute', in the sense of being shrewd and 'Hoor' in the sense of someone who is a whore, prepared to sell out their principles and promises for the chance of avoiding the hard choices. It is often used about sell out politicians who are looking for the main chance. On the other hand we admire someone who is outspoken and straight down the middle ; not afraid to make a stand on principle, we call such a person, 'Not behind the door'. View attachment 2350 Frankly I would be appalled at the prospect that either our Holy Father or the Church Fathers might be , 'cute hoors' for whatever reason, however apparently good. I want them to be straight down the middle so that I am left with the position were everything they say and do is totally transparent and I am not left to second guess. But I have to say the situation at the moment is that I am left totally second guessing and lost and am finding cute hoors popping up here there and everywhere. Nor am I the only one similiarly betwixt and betwizzled as to what is actually going down. The other saying. 'He is too clever by half' or , 'He is too clever for his own good', springs to mind. No matter how cute a hoor any of us can be , even the cutest hoor knows that eventually even the dumbest voter or client will end up scratching their heads wondering what is going on. At the moment my sense of things is that the entire Church are scratching their heads wondering what cute hoor is going to do or say what cute hoor thing next. Compare this on the other hand to the Pontificates of say Saint Pope John Paul or Benedict whenever things were laid straight down the middle and clear as a glass of spring water. This is most certainly not the case at the moment. Personally I often feel like a dog left to chase its own tail. Irish people and perhaps people generally do not like cute hoors or shysters. Yet it looks to me like we are saddled with a whole bunch of them. At a time like this we need a Pope who, forgive me for being blunt, cuts through the crap. This is not happening at the moment . It is not happening at all. We are digging a hole for ourselves at the moment and it seems to be getting bigger every day. We are turning so many circles as a Church we are getting dizzy and disorientated. I and many other people are wondering where we are going on this magical mystery tour and also wondering what cute hoor is driving the bus and where on Earth we are going to end up. I am fast running out of patience. I HATE cute hoors.
I think Padraig, Google translate would have trouble with what you have written. As for me I laughed out loud. Amazing how a bit of humour can shine light into a situation. Your analogy is sound. Yes, we are being enveloped in a fog of confusion. The smoke of satan is not so much coming through a crack but blowing through the front and back door of the Church and blows where it wills.
As for me I would much prefer persecution than confusion. I would rather see the Church purified by the fire of persecution than to see it lie in bed with sinful secular culture and lose its way because of myopia. The church has become so wounded that it fast developing the characteristics of an NGO - just another opinion in the market place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization But am I ready for persecution?
I would rather get my ass burnt than my head dizzy. Bring it on. But people will die or go to prison for things they believe in; sometime quite readily and even joyfully. But who would die or go to prison and the courts for something they were confused or unsure about? Imagine having a member of one's family going to prison over one of these things and while they are inside hearing from a Church Synod that they were unwise or Doctrinally incorrect or silly or imprudent in standing up for something? That their death or imprisonment was just a waste of time? In such circumstances who would ever risk sticking their heads above the parapet? So we need a leader/ leaders who will cut to the chase as St Peter did.
