I did too. I especially appreciated the highlighting of Jesus words:
He who is not against us is with us.
The Good Lord casts a wide net, doesnt' He?
When Jesus spoke these words the "Catholic" church did not exist. I'm a bit rusty with my exact Biblical quotes, but I believe Jesus said something to the effect that "wherever two are gathered in my name, I am there."
Now as I said, I'm a bit rusty, but I don't believe he said "wherever two Catholics are gathered in my name, I am there." And to tell you the truth, I feel closer to God when I am wandering around alone in the Cedar swamps up here where I live......
Leaving our friends to work out their differences in this productive manner,LOL. Bumping, click my screen name for a description, etc.
patent +AMDG
Liturgical good news -- from the Vatican!
Despite all the bad news from the Vatican's liturgy office, there's good news down the hall. Cardinal Walter Kasper's Christian Unity office, in consultation with Ratzinger's doctrinal commission and another on Eastern Churches, recently published guidelines that allow the Chaldean Church, a church in union with Rome, to pray the Eucharistic Prayer of the Assyrian Church (not in union with Rome). This prayer does not contain the traditional narrative of the institution of the eucharist. Thus Rome has recognized that the Eucharistic Prayer can be enacted, bread and wine becoming for us the body and blood of Christ as we give God thanks, without the "words of consecration." The whole prayer is consecratory. Liturgy scholar Gabe Huck told ChurchWatch, "This is important because it tells us we must see this prayer as a whole, done by presider proclaiming and assembly acclaiming, from 'Lift up your hearts!' to the great Amen."
From http://www.cta-usa.org/watch02-02/newsbriefs.html
Kasper's article, beneath its complicated details, is animated by the desire to secure greater "pastoral flexibility" in areas where a gap seems to be widening between the Church's official positions and the actual practices of many local churches. It is a fact that the Church's official positions tend to be implemented with increasing reluctance, if not simply ignored, in many local churches throughout the world, particularly in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, and the nations of western Europe. Areas of disagreement and contention with the Vatican include, according to Kasper, "ethical issues, sacramental discipline and ecumenical practices." This likely translates into the Church's widely controverted and ignored prohibitions against homosexual acts, premarital cohabitation, and "remarriage" outside the Church — and her ban prohibiting those involved in these things, or those whose affiliation is non-Catholic, from receiving Holy Communion. There is also the matter of contraception. It is widely known that there are bishops and priests who favor an open communion policy, and that few would turn away anyone approaching the altar, whatever his sexual practice, marital status, or church affiliation. Cardinal Martini of Milan has been reported as saying, for instance, that the Church has no business getting involved in the personal morals of individual Catholics. As we shall see, Kasper seems inclined to agree with this perspective.
From http://www.newoxfordreview.org/apr02/philipblosser.html
Lots of Catholic women now go to curch wearing blue jeans.
If you want to know what is expected of a good Catholic, what to teach your children, and you don't have a lot of time to spend looking around for books and materials, just buy a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. When you have a question, look up the subject in the index! My brother in law used the Catechism in the Confirmation classes in his Parish, and when the kids were confirmed, the Parish gave them each a copy for themselves.
As with people and politics, most Catholics don't take the time to inform themselves of the Church's teachings, and if the preaching in their Parish is as woefully inadequate as it was in ours for many years, they certainly won't get the message when they go to Mass on Sunday. We have a new Assoc. Pastor who is a very good homilist, and he's even begun to be an influence on the preaching of our Pastor. Nothing helps like raising the standard.
And as you correctly saw, it's not so different from Protestants who believe only Christians (but not necessarily Catholics :-)) can be saved.
To me it's important but not to get hung up about. After all, we are not God and can never know the mind of God in each specific case.
However, it does make me wonder of our responsibilities to evangelize. It's scary to think how we will be judged. We always need to stand up for Jesus and His Church at the very least.
From what I know about Cdnl. Kaspar and Martini, it was probably they Our Lady of LaSalette was referreing to when she said Rome would lose the faith. However, I did se
He who is not with me is against me.
For he that is not against us is for us.
At once this may seem to present a paradox. But for sure, it does not. Jesus knew well the extremisms that existed in his days. The Pharisees and Saducees who were extremist rigorists and the lapsed Jews who were comparable to our modernists. Jesus was basically telling his disciples that extremism was not of the Gospel.
I'm not sure what saint said it (Aquinas maybe), that extremism was a vice that corrupted the virtues of prudence, patience, humility and love!
I enjoyed this essay too, american colleen. Thanks so much for posting it.
Wonderful! LOL!