Posted on 02/06/2015 5:30:33 AM PST by BlatherNaut
Christian Order has - for those masochists wishing to relive the Synod on the Family - a pretty comprehensive review of where we are now, eight months before the Synod on the Family reconvenes in October.
All in all, its a pretty devastating critique of the Synod and much that came from it. I'm yet to be convinced, however, that the Synod is really about the family. It doesn't seem to be about proclaiming the Catholic Faith or about defending the family in these times when the family is under great and sustained attack. Among others, this terrifying reality has been noted by a Polish Archbishop.
I will tell you brutally. The Church has betrayed John Paul II. Not the Church as the Bride of Christ, not the Church of our Creed, because John Paul II was an expression, an authentic voice of the Church; but it is the pastoral practice that has betrayed John Paul II.It is a thesis [theory] to which I subscribe because 40 years of my priesthood has been devoted to marriage and the family, during which time I promoted the theme of "the evangelization of marital intimacy". In Poland it is and was better in this respect.
In many other countries, due to the contestation to the teachings of the Church, as expressed by Blessed Paul VI, the pastoral care of families was stopped.
All indications seem that the Pope's extraordinary Exhortation, "Familiaris Consortio" was not implemented. The Pope formulated four tasks for the family. He asked his brothers to share [exchange] them. The pastors did not share, because they did not not read it, or they did not remember.
It cannot be emphasised enough how while those words do not explicitly criticise the Synod, they can certainly be interpreted as a direct response. I expect the voices 'crying out in the wilderness' are only going to grow louder and louder in the run up to October, the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Much like the experience of the lay group received by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, however, one really seriously doubts whether these are voices that Rome, under the new regime, will be apt to take on board during their conjuring routine that sees the 'God of surprises' appear from a hat with new and strange doctrines amid a hoard of false prophets dedicated to ear-scratching for those who cannot abide sound teaching. Let's not pretend St Paul did not warn us that this time would not come.
It is lamentable and shocking that the slick propaganda arm of ISIS can post their human torch in a cage snuff movie on Twitter and that Fox News actually ran all 22 minutes of it like a Hollywood trailer for them on their website. Haven't the social media gurus thought to cancel ISIS's YouTube subscription yet?
It is, of course, lamentable and shocking that anyone would do that to another human being, even in reprisal for bombing raids from a fighter jet. Just remember though, that an ISIS terrorist can put you in a cage and set fire to you and watch without mercy while you drop to your knees in agony. However, liberal bishops and cardinals, with a Pope who through ambiguous messages unambiguously fails to uphold the teaching of the Christ and His Church, all those who confirm you in your sin and tell you there are no consequences can put you in that cage for all eternity, body and soul.
The 'first half' of the Synod on the Family last year was about everything but the family. Neither was it about Jesus Christ and His saving love. In October, I do not expect the 'second half' to be very much different except that the clamour of dissenting voices to the 'new orthodoxy' will be louder and clearer.
In Church history and indeed in all major crises since Christ shed His Precious Blood for His Bride, one thing is abundantly clear. Our Lord Jesus Christ is worth speaking up for when His words are twisted and then re-presented to mean something else. The family is worth defending to the uttermost. Marriage is worthy of our defence. When ecclesiastical fraudsters and con-men invent their own doctrines and then blasphemously pass them off as the work of the Holy Spirit then the Lord, the giver of life is worthy of our vocal and active defence. The Holy Eucharist is worth, beyond all imagining, our defence, even unto the shedding of our blood. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ, the Lord, has entrusted Himself, in a position of utmost vulnerability, to hands that could be the hands of friends, but can become the hands of enemies.
He will demand an answer from us all one day. The time will come when the King will return in power and majesty and ask us what we did when rebellious and seditious men rose against Him and profaned Him, desecrated Him and treated Him with scorn and contempt, when they arrogantly attempted to dethrone He who will sit in judgement of all mankind and with righteous judgement. Let every Bishop and Cardinal present at the Synod on 'Everything But the Family' know: the Lord, the King of Kings will return one day and demand an answer from us all but even more so from you with all the authority and trust He has invested in you.
"What did you do during the Great War?"
In the great Eucharistic Battle of 2015, when you were subtly asked to decide whether that which you hold in your hands is bread, or the Eternal Word, the Son of God, will you side with the King according to the words He has spoken to you or will you side with those who made it apparent that they were His shrewd and cruel enemies? Think about it, think about it long and hard, because although we cannot discern God's judgement of individuals, I thoroughly expect there is an eternal cage of unquenchable fire for each Bishop who makes the wrong decision.
Does that sound too dramatic? If you think so, you had better re-read the Gospels, because no matter who sits upon the throne, Jesus Christ is King, today, forever, in every age and for all time. Certain things are beyond the control of even the most effective of ecclesiastical arch-manipulators. Along with sudden invasion, the weather, be it on earth or from space, volcanos and earthquakes, death, judgment and the day and hour of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, nobody - not even the Bishop of Rome himself, can control your conscience.
For speaking out, for raising your voices and for defending Jesus Christ and His teaching, for defending the sanctity of marriage and the family, for defending the Holy Eucharist, it might very well be that you fall out of flavour for a time and a season, thereby forfeiting certain privileges in the Church in response, but at least you won't have forfeited the eternal Salvation of many, as well as yourself, and then, when you are commended for your loyalty to the King, by the King, you can say, "We were only doing our duty. Viva Christo Rey!"
Let us all make the right decision to pray and fast for the Synod so that we, ourselves, are not found wanting.
Ora et labora.
Ora et labora is indeed apt to carry out the mission:
“…the transmission of the Christian faith is the purpose of the new evangelization and of the entire evangelizing mission of the Church, which exists for this very reason. Moreover the expression “new evangelization” sheds light on the ever clearer awareness that countries with an ancient Christian tradition also need a renewed proclamation of the Gospel to lead them back to an encounter with Christ which truly transforms life and is not superficial, marked by routine.”
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"...For his strong, truthful, Pauline denunciations, which he has admirably offered ever since March 2013, and the clear threat he poses to the papal 'vision', Cardinal Burke has been demoted and banished. Yet many cardinals, bishops and priests voice the same fears. Cardinal Pell said what transpired was only the tip of a degenerate liberal iceberg revealing a Trojan horse in the Church. Cardinal Athanasius Schneider spoke of "dishonesty, infidelity and betrayal," referring to bishops supportive of Holy Communion for divorced-remarried as "the new Pharisees and Scribes" who will pay a dreadful price at Judgement. In a hard-hitting interview with Poland's Polonia Christiana of 5 November, he declared that During the Synod there had been moments of obvious manipulation on the part of some clerics who held key positions in the editorial and governing structure of the Synod. The interim report (Relatio post disceptationem) was clearly a prefabricated text with no reference to the actual statements of the Synod fathers. In the sections on homosexuality, sexuality and “divorced and remarried” with their admittance to the sacraments the text represents a radical neo-pagan ideology. This is the first time in Church history that such a heterodox text was actually published as a document of an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a pope, even though the text only had a preliminary character. [My emphases.] Polish Archbishop Gądecki of Poznań was another grace-filled voice breaking ranks to amplify Cardinal Burke's concerns. Even Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa, an unlikely ally [see "The Serpent and the Fox," Aug/Sept 2004], denounced the unspeakable goings on, confirming that the draft report was presented as the opinion of the whole Synod, when it was "one or two people." And that, he added, "made people very angry." Very angry? Really? Like everything else, postconciliar "anger" is a mere shadow of the Catholic original! Given the physical tempest occasioned by Our Lord in response to sacrilegious trading in His Temple [Matt. 21:11-13], from the moment the curial sodomites elbowed their sin that cries to heaven onto the pre-Synod questionnaire with papal blessing, one can imagine the fury of our authentic guide and inspiration; the Spirit of truth..."
http://www.christianorder.com/editorials.html
If we are to accomplish anything good according to God’s Plan in this world, we need to keep in mind these words: “For beyond the mere name of Christian, beyond the mere profession of faith, Christian virtues are necessary for the Christian, and upon this depends, not only the eternal salvation of their souls, but also the peace and prosperity of the human family and brotherhood.”
The virtues are identified as chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.
We must allow the Lord to make *us* holy before we attempt to assist others in advancing in holiness. We need to experience Christ in ourselves, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: “May Christ find a dwelling place, through faith, in your hearts.” (Ephesians 3:17)
Also, we must keep before us the obedience of our Blessed Mother.
And, of COURSE, remember that there are plenty of of good Cardinals who ARE being heard. Therefore, let us TRUST all the more in our God, Who promised us that, ...”the gates of hell will not prevail...”
Either we trust Him....or we don’t.
Balatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
I think Catholics acknowledge a different mother than what Christians do don't they?
True, but you left something important out of your catechism lesson:
From “My Catholic Faith”, by Bishop Louis Morrow, in reference to the 8th Beatitude:
“Those who faithfully observe the entire law of God and defend the cause of His Church, procure His glory and save souls.”
The cause of His Church is presently under attack from within. Your posts seem to falsely conflate public resistance to attacks on the Church’s moral teachings by the clergy with a lack of faith in God. Perhaps a consultation with a competent spiritual advisor is in order.
Uh...No, Catholics are Christians and the Mother we speak of is the Blessed Mother of Jesus.
(PS I will not be drawn into any senseless arguing about her.)
That was never intended as any lesson. I considered it to be the sharing of our Catholic spiritual truths. It is good to remind one another that we must TRUST God more than our selves...right?
PS My Bible does not have a book titled “Balatians.”
;-)
Oh cheese!!! I can’t believe I did that. LOL
LOl! We are all human, Bear. We have all done things like this.
It is also good to remind one another that Soldiers of Christ are obligated to spread and defend the faith by both word and deed...right?
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"...It must, however, be confessed that these latter days have witnessed a notable increase in the number of the enemies of the Cross of Christ, who, by arts entirely new and full of deceit, are striving to destroy the vital energy of the Church, and, as far as in them lies, utterly to subvert the very Kingdom of Christ. Wherefore We may no longer keep silence, lest We should seem to fail in Our most sacred duty, and lest the kindness that, in the hope of wiser counsels, We have hitherto shown them, should be set down to lack of diligence in the discharge of Our office.
2. That We should act without delay in this matter is made imperative especially by the fact that the partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church's open enemies; but, what is to be most dreaded and deplored, in her very bosom, and are the more mischievous the less they keep in the open..."
...and always with discernment...because, as humans, we must remember that our ideas of what action should be taken are not always HIS ideas. Thus, the need for a good spiritual director is crucial. ;-)
By the way, this website is excellent in assisting us in finding a good spiritual director: http://rcspiritualdirection.com
Already have one. Wouldn't want to assume that those who object to spiritual attacks upon the Church by clergy lack "discernment" ... right? ;-)
For later
We should never assume anything. ;-)
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