The devil wants it always to be about, 'Us' and 'Them'. God always wants it to me about , 'You' and 'Me' . In God there are no divisions only the Eternal Peace of the Loving Now. We are sinners, sadly and this ends Unity and is a killer of Peace. But prayer heals and recreates the new Eden. Jesus is most attracted to the most humble and despised, thus our hearts are turned to the golden honey that draws the bees of His love. We should rejoice then when men despise us , for in doing so our hearts are golden honey for the Lord. Luke 6:22 22"Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23"Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2009/11/gabrielle-bossis-he-and-i.html
The Lord corrects those He loves. When the Holy Father calls out those who are not living out their faith, I take it to heart and ask myself, "Am I a sour faced Christian? Am I following some formula of devotion instead of the Lord?" He calls me to question my motives and behavior, and I appreciate that. I don't think, "He's calling me names!" Instead, I pray, "Lord, show me the ways I'm displeasing to you, and give me the grace to correct them."
Mary Ann, as long as your conscience is in conformity with the doctrines of the Church - I say who cares what Pope Francis calls you. Charlie J. claims to be a mystic, along with hundreds of others, and has just as much authority as you or I - none.
I think Kathy if we accept all things from God's Hand good and bad, earned and unearned then they all turn to honey. Even a deserved Ticket from a speed cop. For, for those who love God all things turn unto good.
To do justice to Charlie J I think some people have gotten the erroneous perception that he has some animus or some axe to grid against traditional catholics. On reading his articles and comments for some time now and engaging with him nothing could be further from the truth. I think Padraig hit the nail on the head when he cautions us against hairsplitting, taking offense easily, and anything that would lead us into uncharitableness and disunity. I have taken to heart a homily from Fulton Sheen in the late 70's in which he states that division is the clearest sign of the demonic operating in our world and in our souls. The devil wants to tear asunder all that God has built up; it's as simple as that. We best be on our guard...
Yes. If I was to read what the Holy Father says; If in my heart I felt any rebukes he gave applied to me I would thank God for this grace and apply it accordingly. If I felt it did not applied to me , I would thank God for the grace for avoiding this. The very worst thing that could happen is to believe the Holy Father was rebuking me and I did not deserve it. If I felt this was I would be caught up in a spiders web with cul de sacs and pitfalls everywhere. A spider's web..and we all can guess who the spider is. Take it or leave it is my advice. But don't dwell on it.
I couldn't have said it better Padraig. We all need to focus on love rather than judgement and see that everything that happens to us, when we walk with God, is meant for our growth. For example when my wife "unjustly" criticizes me for something I didn't do, it is not easy to keep silent, but before I try and correct her, I try and ask myself "what are you trying to say to me Jesus" and "what area of my pride or other vices are you trying to strip off of me?". I try and see the words as if they are coming from God rather than her. If the Holy Father is saying these things that seem unfair and unjust, stop yourself and immediately say "what are you trying to tell me Jesus?" When we do this, we will discover that the Holy Spirit is indeed speaking to us through these words. It is a holy mystery how God works through our weaknesses and turns them into "Honey" as Padraig said. That being said, that doesn't mean the Holy Father is necessarily correct or not correct in what he is saying, but rather it speaks to our need to see God working through those words to us. In addition we need to pray, pray, pray for the Holy Father because each of us is responsible, as the body of Christ, to do our part so that grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is given to our Holy Father.
Hebrews 12:5-11 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
I hope it doesn't come across that I was harping on Charlie here, by no means. I read his stuff and take it with a grain of salt. He has some good insight sometimes as do many, many other bloggers. I just don't want Mary Ann to feel as though she can't disagree with him on this forum, plenty do.
In large part the trad blogs and sites have been prescient in their commentary on the Synod (and to a certain degree on the Papacy) but they would do well to read this first reading from the Novus Ordo mass a week ago: “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves Apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
We know the Antichrist is one person of the male sex because Sacred Scripture explicitly says so and Sacred Tradition strongly implies so. He will follow in the footsteps of Nero and Antiochus Epiphanes: in other words he will lead the modern day Roman Empire (the West) and he will be an atheist and a Freemason. Numerous Catholic Saints and Mystics tell us that although the Antichrist will be of Jewish extraction, he will end up tricking and destroying the Jews who look to him as their savior.
Soloviev is a great writer, but on the matter of the Antichrist, I much rather prefer the writings of the Church Fathers and Saints.
Yeah, that reading kinda hit me between the eyes like a 2x4 at the daily mass last Monday. I think it hits the nail on the head: trads and otherwise orthodox Catholics are 99% correct but they've grown so weary of the constant battles of the last 50 years that they've become cynical, sarcastic and often caustic. That doesn't make them wrong, or headed to schism or apostasy. It just makes their efforts bear little fruit. This does not necessarily apply to all or even most trad or otherwise orthodox Catholics but unfortunately is does apply to many trad Catholic voices on the Internet.
If the Devil can first sow disobedience with non-doctrinal, non-binding matters (say, like, issues involving private revelation) then all the more easier he will deceive the Faithful when it comes to matters of Faith and Morals.
I'm sorry if what I wrote gave the impression that all loyal traditional Catholics are 'unloving' - of course this isn't so. Whatever our personal opinion of the current Pope, we must stay in the barque of Peter. Personally I miss Pope Benedict deeply, especially his clarity. However, as Catholics we can't always love every Pope equally - some we will love more than others. I admit to being perplexed by some aspects of this papacy. Yet... some prophetic voices in the church are warning that schism will come from the orthodox-minded (and I count myself as 'orthodox'). Who knows? Prophecy does not always come true. In fact, this should not surprise us because prophecy isn't fortune telling. The power of prayer can change events.
