Jesus said, “ for many will come in My Name.” ( don’t pay any attention to them) “He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved.” Matt 24 I’m not looking to the RIGHT or the LEFT, but I press on toward the goal ( as St Paul did) Staying in the Barque.
A beautiful blessing miker. Someone posted this image in my Twitter feed yesterday, I saved it to my photos. I believe a great world wide storm is approaching, we will only survive if we keep close to the Sacred Heart.
Wow. Another confirmation! Thank you for sharing. I guess the hard part (for me) will be actually doing this … I know it’s what I should do but (pardon me a bit here), when the SHTF … will I rest in Jesus and trust. I pray I can….
As troubling as these days are, it is in fact a beautiful time to be a Catholic! Why? Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. The awakening some people have had, even what I've seen among my small circle of friends has been nothing short of breathtaking. God is calling so many back to Himself right at this moment of time. If we have God, what can man do against us? Nothing. Our physicality in material matter can be killed and we all die, but our eternal souls return to the Creator. I so very much want to be with Our Lord in Heaven. I never would have thought throughout my entire life that I would would become so completely "Catholic", but I have. I am blessed far beyond what I really deserve.
and remember pope Benidict's quote at the end of his pontificate... I have had moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven’t been easy … moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping.
Wonderful perfect quote. Our Lady of Good Success spoke of the pope during this late 20th into 21st century as being imprisoned in the Vatican suffering and praying for the Church. Its hard not to this figure as anyone else but Benedict. Not saying he is still Pope.. just saying his suffering during his pontificate up to mow has been considerable.. May God bless and protect him.
No words to describe this. But thanks so very much for this - not enough to be in the boat; I must rest on His heart.
I wasn't sure where to post this but I thought I'd keep it here in case it can help someone. Two incidents occurred over the past week. Mental attacks wrought by people who believe they are doing God's will. While I was not knocked off my perch as I usually am, I was definitely troubled for 3 days. Fear threatened to overwhelm me. I prayed and prayed for some sign from heaven but heaven appeared to be silent. Then, it occurred to me that there was something which I needed to do. I needed to affirm my trust in God - something I wasn't doing. And so, my prayer changed from the desperate God, save me, protect me to I reject the fear that comes from the world I ask for the fear that comes from God for it is a fear that comes with hope. The inner tumult soon stopped. And when it did, this came - The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still - Exodus 14: 14
Head of Vatican Synod office: 'Let us trust in our people' Sep 27, 2022 by Christopher White Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, is pictured at the Vatican in a 2019 file photo. (CNS/IPA/Sipa USA via Reuters) ROME — The head of the Vatican's synod office says that when it comes to hot-button issues such as the reception of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and the blessing of same-sex couples, discussion cannot be limited to doctrinal concerns, but must also include pastoral considerations. "These issues are not to be understood simply in terms of doctrine, but in terms of God's ongoing encounter with human beings," said Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops. "What has the church to fear if these two groups within the faithful are given the opportunity to express their intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience?" he asked. "Might this be an opportunity for the church to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through them also?" Grech's remarks came during a virtual address on Sept. 22 to the annual summit of Leadership Roundtable, an organization that promotes a model of co-responsibility between ordained and lay people as a best practice for church governance. In October 2021, Pope Francis launched a newly revamped global synod process, beginning with an unprecedented listening phase, which over the course of two years is meant to provide opportunities for Catholics and all people of goodwill to more fully participate in church life. "The whole people of God must be involved in the synod," Grech told the summit, which was held in Washington D.C. The Vatican body named the "Synod of Bishops" has begun to shift its branding to "the Synod," meant to signal that both the office and the process is open to everyone. "The Synod has been transformed into a listening process," he continued. "The Synod does not exist separately from the rest of the faithful." As the cardinal offered his virtual address, a group of more than 24 theologians and pastoral leaders from six continents were meeting in Frascati, Italy, to take the more than 100 national synod reports and to synthesize them for the next stage of the global synod, which takes place at the continental level over the next year, before an October 2023 gathering in Rome. Grech noted that he had twice read the report from the United States that was released on Sept. 19, which included the involvement of some 700,000 individuals. He remarked that the involvement was "unexpectedly high," even though it represents just over 1% of the country's 66.8 million Catholics. The cardinal, who has spent much of the last year addressing synodal gatherings around the globe, said that listening is the "founding act of the synod" and a "true pastoral conversion of the church." 'What has the church to fear if these two groups within the faithful are given the opportunity to express their intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience?' —Cardinal Mario Grech He said that he often reminds bishops that while they are responsible, that "there is no flock without a shepherd" and "there is no shepherd without a flock." "Bishops have a duty to listen to their people," he continued, adding that all the baptized are "empowered by the sacraments of baptism and confirmation." "Let us trust in our people," he said. "Let us trust that the Holy Spirit acts in and with our people. And this Spirit is not merely a property of the ecclesial hierarchy." While the cardinal acknowledged that there are some bishops and others who have "serious concerns" about where the synodal process will lead the church, he said that he hopes it will reveal that there is "legitimate" diversity in church life, but that should not lead to rupture among believers. "The ties which draw the faithful together are stronger than those which separate them," he said. "Let them take unity in what is necessary, freedom in what is doubtful and charity in everything." Whether it be LGBTQ Catholics or those who favor the Latin Mass, Grech said that "everybody should be listened to" and "nobody is excluded." "I hope the synodal process," he concluded, "will provide an experience that will inaugurate a much-needed spiritual, systematic and missionary renovation for the whole church." Christopher White Christopher White is the Vatican correspondent for NCR. His email address is cwhite@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter: @CWWhiteNCR. https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/head-vatican-synod-office-let-us-trust-our-people
It seems to be an attempt to transform the Church from a hierarchy, with Christ at its head, to a democracy. It also has no apparent concept that not everyone expressing his opinion is 'faithful'. At least he treated devotees of the Old Order of the Mass as no less than those who advocate perversion. This represents somewhat of a concession. There seems to be no concept of sin or the possibility of deception. Does this cardinal believe in the doctrine of The Fall?
Sympathies for poor Pope Francis. His friend, Emma Bonino, I've just discovered, lost her parliament seat of 46 years to a Brothers of Italy candidate, running on a pro-life platform. The madness and evil of progressivism might just be beginning to lose its hold on the ordinary people. Hence, perhaps, the furious rush among the Catholic progressives to get their synods into place.
i think one of the possibilities after this synod is rome to define a universal theme and each local church to have its own synod discussing from its own perspective in the name of "unity in diversity".
They are already working on something like that here. From the diocesan website: "A companion document summarizing Synod responses, suggestions and topics of local discussion is being developed for release later this fall, with next steps for continuing and acting upon these important conversations."
As a post-script to my last post, I ought to mention that maybe Pope Francis is not so disappointed after all. He can take comfort from how the voters of Rome freed themselves from the rigidity of electing Bonino for all of 46 years-this time, they went and made a mess!
During the storm we had here last weekend (Fiona), my thoughts were constantly "in the boat" so to speak. It was after the storm blew thru when I realized that, while getting thru a storm in the short term may be doable, the longer term is much more difficult. We were five days with no power in the middle of a big mess. It really hit home just how attached we are to the material things, the small comforts the world offers. At some point, I believe "the power" won't be coming back on, if you get my drift. That's when the rubber will really hit the road.
