It seems to me that if marriage is an ideal we might be better changing the words, 'Till death do us part', to, 'Till death to us part if we can somehow manage it as an ideal'. This is certainly not the sense of Christ's words in this Gospel. I think the reason why so many at the Synod have failed to understand this and become hard headed is that they simply do not pray enough. The reason why they turned from prayer is that they are comfortably off. They felt no longer an urgent sense of a need for God. The poor peoples still cling to the Gospel norms. In this sense we are fortunate that most of our Bishops come from very poor backgrounds. But perhaps like Jesus I am too judgemental , too harsh and not moving with the needs of the times, ect, ect, ect.
To be honest, I had in my head composed my thoughts on all of this and as I was about to hit post, I felt the sense, an internal message, to remain silent and just pray. Pray for all those at the Synod that the Holy Spirit fill them with wisdom so they take action in accordance with God's will. And while I too think the readings today from Mass- not just the Gospel, but also the first reading from Genesis- God making man and woman to be joined together as one flesh are not a coincidence, I thought the reflection from today's Office of Readings by Pope St. Gregory, the Great is also very timely. From the Pastoral Guide by Saint Gregory the Great, pope (Lib. 2, 4: PL 77, 30-31) Let the pastor be discreetly silent, and to the point when he speaks A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service. Otherwise he may say what he should not or be silent when he should speak. Indiscreet speech may lead men into error and an imprudent silence may leave in error those who could have been taught. Pastors who lack foresight hesitate to say openly what is right because they fear losing the favor of men. As the voice of truth tells us, such leaders are not zealous pastors who protect their flocks, rather they are like mercenaries who flee by taking refuge in silence when the wolf appears. The Lord reproaches them through the prophet: They are dumb dogs that cannot bark. On another occasion he complains: You did not advance against the foe or set up a wall in front of the house of Israel, so that you might stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord. To advance against the foe involves a bold resistance to the powers of this world in defense of the flock. To stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord means to oppose the wicked enemy out of love for what is right. When a pastor has been afraid to assert what is right, has he not turned his back and fled by remaining silent? Whereas if he intervenes on behalf of the flock, he sets up a wall against the enemy in front of the house of Israel. Therefore, the Lord again says to his unfaithful people: Your prophets saw false and foolish visions and did not point out your wickedness, that you might repent of your sins. The name of prophet is sometimes given in the sacred writings to teachers who both declare the present to be fleeting and reveal what is to come. The word of God accuses them of seeing false visions because they are afraid to reproach men for their faults and thereby lull the evildoer with an empty promise of safety. Because they fear reproach, they keep silent and fail to point out the sinner’s wrongdoing. The word of reproach is a key that unlocks a door, because reproach reveals a fault of which the evildoer is himself often unaware. That is why Paul says of the bishop: He must be able to encourage men in sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For the same reason God tells us through Malachi: The lips of the priest are to preserve knowledge, and men shall look to him for the law, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Finally, that is also the reason why the Lord warns us through Isaiah: Cry out and be not still; raise your voice in a trumpet call. Anyone ordained a priest undertakes the task of preaching, so that with a loud cry he may go on ahead of the terrible judge who follows. If, then, a priest does not know how to preach, what kind of cry can such a dumb herald utter? It was to bring this home that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues on the first pastors, for he causes those whom he has filled, to speak out spontaneously.
Thanks for the suggestion Denise. This is who I got to pray for. I will continue to pray for the synod as a whole, but it seems much more personal to have a name and face to think of as well. And hopefully having a specific name will encourage me to pray even more often. Prior to receiving the archbishop's name, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me to receive the name of the person who would most benefit from my prayers. He looks like such a kind man! The Most Reverend Charles G. Palmer-Buckle Archbishop of Accra http://www.adoptasynodfather.org/
Thanks Robert Good explanation. Nice and clear. I did take my definition directly from the Catechism but you have increased my understanding. Propensity, as you say, may also apply.
I ask the Holy Spirit to pray in me, and I've been praying that God's ministers will have courage, and that the voices of the enemy would be silenced in the Synod. His Will be Done!
"When we go to confession and we truly say "I have sinned in this matter," the Lord forgets and we do not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that The Lord will not forget our sins,eh? This is a danger. This is what is important: a theology of sin. So many times I think of St Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ. And with this sin they made him Pope. We must think about this often.......Then you spoke of the gay lobby. ...I think that when we encounter a gay person we must distinguish between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because LOBBIES ARE NOT GOOD. THEY ARE BAD. If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person? The Catholic Catechism says these persons must never be marginalized and "they must be integrated into society." "The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers, this is the first matter. .....the problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many lobbies. This is the most serious problem for me." (This is transcript of the inflight interview that has been misquoted so often. Posted on Mon, July 29, 2013 by John Thavis under Pope Francis, Gay, Vatican.) This "who am I to judge has been hijacked by both ignorant and malicious people to condone immoral behavior. I feel that, as Catholics, we should always challenge not only these arguments but point out when our Pope is misunderstood, misquoted, and misrepresented. We should not let them get away with it.
The Holy Father I am sure meant well. But, 'Who am I to judge ', is probably the most misapplied pieces of Scripture in modern times.
I agree Padraig but "Honi soit qui mal y pense." Not only do I know what he meant I know what he said. So does the media, his doubters, his detractors and his enemies. They just chose to misapply him and his words. God save him. And He will. The way Our Pope is misrepresented gives us a chance to stand up be counted as we defend the truth of our Faith and the one who visibly leads us on earth.
It will all come out in the wash. I think the Synod is the defining moment of his Pontificate as Vatican 2 was for Pope St John 23rd.
I think we need distance for true understanding, maybe the internet is too fast for this. People have not time to think before commenting.
Unless of course we always pause before we comment and ask God and our guardian angel for guidance. I often forget to do this
P4P, how long did it take for you to get a response from the site? I put my email into it over an hour ago and got nothing.
Well thanks to Pope Francis, "who am I to judge" is now a coined word for the progressives to use. Our pastor in his homily yesterday said that "divorce is not against the Church's teaching and if you have been divorced and remarried and divorced and remarried God will forgive you. Who are we to judge"? He never qualified any of what he said, but you know that he said it to gain favor with the modern man. No mention of confession, annulment or the fact that you are still married to the first person if it was a sacramental marriage.
I think if we pray it keeps our consciences very sharp, keeps us Spiritually brith eyed and bushy tailed. It's when we don't pray we take a wrong turning and end up going dwon the road to ruin. That goes for those who are our Spriitual Pastors as well as for ourselves. But I suspect when we reach the Judgement Seat of God pointing our fingers at Our Pastrs and saying, 'He said it was alright!' Won't cover us. For if we pray we will always see things clearly. I think we see this so well in the lives of the saints who saw clearly what we totally miss. I am reading the life of a real SPanich saint at the moment Praxides Ferdanez. One of the priests who knew her made an interesting comment on her. He said that when Praxides came to confession she used to make him really ashamed. Becuase although a busy mother of four children she far outstripped him, who was single and a priest in the spiritual life. We hear the word mercy al the time now. But the Catholic Cathechism points out with great severity that, 'Those who pray will most certainly be saved. Those who do not pray will most certainly be damned'. (Citing St Alphonsus Ligouri). Seeking mercy while effectively kicking God in the teeth, just won't do it. No matter what our Pastors may or not say. If we seek mercy we must first repent and secondly make a firm choice to not sin in the same way again. If we live in an habitual state of grave sin, well we run the severe risk of ending up in hell. I am afraid hiding behind Pastors on the day of Judgement just isn't going to cut it. Though they'll pay the ferryman too.
In some sense I think that the Church and the Spiritual Life is rather like an army. We need a kind of strict inner spiritual discipline. In a regular army being sloppy can get you killed. In the Spiritual Life being sloppy can get you dragged off to hell. I think very often these days the word, 'Mercy' is just code for, 'Sloppy'. Luke 13:24 The Narrow Gate …23And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them, 24"Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25"Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.'…
I agree. My point was that when in leadership roles your words can have negative effects if you leave room for interpretation. In this case in empowers those who have charge of parishes to themselves be vague and open the doors of confusion for its members. Prayer is the only answer.
I certainly would not have said "Who am I to judge" like Pope F did... But then again im reminded of that imaginary conversation... Me: Jesus, I would not have said it just like that Jesus: (smiles) I know.
