The Quiet Amidst the Storm – Part 2


In our previous article on Hurricane Matthew, we closed discussing the attitude of anxiety that can contaminate others during such events, and we mentioned that our Holy Father St. Francis taught us instead to always go through the world filled with the Lord’s peace and joy.

In this article we wish to share a bit more alongside some practical “hints” on how to achieve and maintain inner peace during difficult times.

Transitus at St. Maximilian Kolbe parish

Transitus at St. Maximilian Kolbe parish

On his deathbed, afflicted by physical suffering and by the struggles of the newborn Franciscan family, St. Francis was able to compose his beautiful Canticle, of which we quote only some strophes:

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures…

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather …

 Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water…

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire…

Praised be You, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation…

Blessed are those who endure in peace…

Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death…

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will
find in Your most holy willl…

This is the commitment that the brothers take upon themselves when they profess to follow the life of St. Francis, when they commit to become mirrors of perfection.

Such was the inspiration that our Father gave us, that he would inspire other great saints to imitate this model. St. Teresa of Avila would write: “Let nothing disturb you”. St. Ignatius of Loyola would speak of “holy indifference” as “not preferring health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to humiliation, long life to a short one[; instead] wish only for those conditions that will aid our pursuit of the goal for which we have been created”.(Spiritual Exercises) There are many other examples, but  ultimately, they all refer back to the ultimate source of Peace and Joy, the good Lord who once said: “Do not worry about your lives…do not worry about tomorrow!” (Mt 6:25,34).

lighthouses-lighthouse-looking-wide-open-sea-horizon-cloud

Furthermore, as Franciscans of Life, we bear the additional commitment of witnessing to the power and majesty of Life, eternal and all-powerful. “I have come that you may have life, and have it fully” (Jn 10:10). Church Father St. Irenaeus once commented:

“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation already brings life to all living beings on the earth, how much more will the manifestation of the Father by the Word bring life to those who see God.”

In a practical way, we know that “nobody has seen the Father except the one He sent” and that “he who has seen the Son has seen the Father”, as our Lord reminds us of this and St Francis wishes us to imitate this. Therefore the Franciscan of Life, when seeking to proclaim the Gospel of Life, looks at the person of our Lord within his earthly life, particularly at times when He was surrounded by great agitation and nervousness. How did He act? What did He say?

Thus walking unhurriedly amidst a hurried crowd, being polite at a tired stored employee, smiling at an upset customer, helping a frustrated stranger who is looking for batteries, all of these take a different meaning as they proclaim the Light that shines in the darkness.

A friend of our community mentioned to us during a recent conversation that she felt “ashamed” as she, too, was guilty of having rushed through several stores and having been glued before the TV screen following the alert updates. We do not wish you to misunderstand us… as we said, we too went through the necessary preparations, as prudence is a great virtue. There are, however, certain elements that everyone – even those who have not been through years of formation in Franciscan spirituality – can apply in their daily life to find more of that interior silence that helps us maintain the quiet through the storm.

For example, we avoid following the secular news – including weather updates. The Superior, a man who has mastered interior silence, is tasked with following the development of the event – whatever the event may be – and sharing what he considers necessary for the brothers to know.

To build on a metaphor by Thomas Merton, it seems that the media in this day and age has sadly become a sort of “digital acupuncture” designed to stimulate every possible nerve in the human body, to keep us “on the edge”. “Fortunately”, though, our first-world stores come to the rescue with every sort of product that will reinforce our sense of safety by reinforcing our sense of “having” – even when we purchase those items on credit cards and therefore we are increasing our degree of “not having” (that is, if we assume for the sake of the argument that money is something one can “have”, that is, if we assume that money “is” something).

To make things worse, the media – even those with the best intentions – often miss the elephants in the room. Mother Teresa, recently canonized to the great joy of us all and of so many around the world, reminds us that we need not look far in order to find our neighbor in need. Even before we look at Haiti and the Caribbean, we ought to ask ourselves what we can do to help the homeless men and women on the streets of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and many other cities of Miami-Dade and Broward who may not even know that there is a deadly hurricane coming their way. Some of them may not have the means to reach a shelter, others may lack an ID that will allow them access into a shelter. Could we find it in our heart to welcome them into our homes for the length of the emergency?

To turn off the “excitement” of the media and to turn from “self” towards the “other” – here are two very useful ways to maintain inner silence, peace, and joy.

The last suggestion I would like to make comes from the spiritual director of St. Teresa of the Andes, a young Carmelite mystic to whom the Lord revealed that she would die within the month. Upon mentioning this to her spiritual director and asking how to go about the remainder of the month, she was told: “Live as usual, as if you were not going to die“. For, in the words of St. Francis, “blessed are those whom the Lord will find doing His holy will“. Then even dreadful, ugly, scary Death becomes no longer our enemy, but our sister.

Francis_blessing

Published in: on October 8, 2016 at 10:33 PM  Comments (1)  

Three Peas in a Pod we’re not – Scott Eric Alt, Robert Spaemann and I – Maybe two


To better understand this comment, I would refer you to the excellent post by Scott Eric Alt on Interacting With the Spaemann Interview on Amoris Laetitia ,

three peasNow my two cents.

I’m having a problem with the Professor Spaemann’s answers and those of others of the same way of thinking.  It is not impossible for anyone to disagree with something in an Apostolic Exhortation.  This much is true.  They are written to offer some guidance, not to teach.  One can always disagree with the guidance that is offered.  Before I continue, allow me to say that we can and often do teach through the guidance that we offer.  Anyone who’s a parent knows exactly what I mean, but back to the professor.

I never trust these reports.  It is often the case that the gaps between what the subject said and the reporter wrote are as numerous as the craters on the moon.  For the sake of this discussion, let’s give the interviewer the benefit of the doubt and accept that he is reporting without too much editing.

It is my opinion that the Professor’s responses are not helpful on two fronts.

First:  They present a dark side of the exhortation, but the speaker fails to give you observable results from past experiences that prove the existence of such a dark side.  Philosophy works with and based on systems.  I could not find that system that the professor uses to arrive at his conclusions.  Therefore, I can only assume that the systems are not reported, which does not allow those of us who know some philosophy to question the methodology leading to his conclusions.  The other possibility is that he is not using systematic thinking, but it projecting his predictions based on subjectivity (gut feeling).

Second:  I caution people to be careful with those who claim to love the Church and to have been a consultant to this pope and a friend to that one.  This can be and probably is true.  Sometimes, these relationships can obscure one’s sense of duty.  Even though the Professor was an advisor to St. John Paul II and a friend to Benedict XVI, as a faithful Catholic philosopher, his first allegiance is to the Church, not the individual popes.  Therefore, I would expect him to use his skills and his intimate experience with these two giants to help his audience see the points of contact and continuity between AL and tradition.  In no way does this detract from his right to use his intellect to say, “This can be said more clearly,” or “This raises this question that we need to submit to someone in authority to respond.” 

In doing so, one is faithful to the Church, does not throw the current pope under the bus, is not sucked into the typical Church politics of “conservative vs liberals”, and helps people see the good in the exhortation while encouraging them to ask questions respectfully and with trust in the integrity of the person answering.

Published in: on April 30, 2016 at 1:01 PM  Leave a Comment  

BA Degree for Sale (Bachelor of Abortion)


not_disposableThere was a recent event at one of the major Catholic universities in the United States that hosted as the ‘only speaker’ the national director of Planned Parenthood.  Someone said that the invitation was made by a student organization with the organization’s money.  This is probably true.  Why would anyone lie about it?

The question is not who issues the invitation, the question is to whom and for what can student organizations in Catholic colleges and universities issue invitations?  The idea that those who run our Catholic colleges and universities have little or no authority to veto such decisions raises another question.  Who’s running our Catholic colleges and universities?

If a school, of any level, is run like a good business, it surely has a business plan, company policies that protect the interest of the business.  Of course, every good business man or woman knows that the best interest of the business is to produce the product that is offers.  In Ex Corde, Pope St. John Paul II, reminds us that

“It is the honor and responsibility of a Catholic University to consecraJOHNPAUL-BABYte itself without reserve to the cause of truth. This is its way of serving at one and the same time both the dignity of man and the
good of the Church.”

This begs the question, “What truth does Planned Parenthood bring to the halls of Catholic academia?”  The very notion that students should be exposed to the arguments for abortion and contraception, as they are exposed to the arguments for natural family planning and the right to be born is ludicrous in the extreme.

A child in school goes through fire drills several times a year; but never through the actual flames.  Why?  Because the idea is to teach the children safety before they are ever exposed to flames, not after.

How many of our college age students have never been exposed to the pro-abortion and pro-contraception ideology that they need to bring in a “prestigious” proselytizer against the right to be born?

lighthouses-lighthouse-looking-wide-open-sea-horizon-cloudThey would be better served by an influential evangelist who proclaims the Gospel of Life without compromise.  After all, don’t we send out young to Catholic colleges and universities to learn the truth or has parenting succumbed to the god of money?  Do parents send their youth to college to learn how to make money or to serve society and save their souls?

Published in: on April 29, 2016 at 5:56 PM  Leave a Comment  

70 x 7 = ?


During the last few months we have been bombarded with all kinds of news about people’s personal sins, much of which is none of our business.  We have also seen an increase of attacks on the Holy Father, mostly by Catholics, to our shame.  He is attacked becafingerpointinguse he was not clear on “this” or because he does not say “that”, which we believe, he should say.  Some people have gone as far as to declare that his soul is lost and needs to be saved by “us”.  We make all kinds of statements about the sins of others.  Rarely do we blog or post about our own sins.

Where am I going with this?  It’s very simple.  When we are baptized our parents and sponsors are asked to respond on our behalf, “Do you believe what the Catholic Church teaches?”  We renew this profession several times during the year during different liturgical celebrations

As I was growing up, one of the beliefs that I was taught was very Catholic was God’s forgiveness and mercy.  God forgives and once he absolves, he does not hold on to the memory of our sins.

“Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever,” (Is 64:9).  The prophet reminds us that God DOES NOT remember our sins forever.  In plain English, He doesn’t hold a grudge against sinners.

This begs the question, why can’t Catholics “Be perfect, therefore, as [our] heavenly Father is perfect,” (Matt 5:48).

How many times do we whine, complain and criticize another person for being a sinner, before we realize that it’s time to drop it and move on?  Maybe we need a clicker to help us remember the number of times that we must forgive those who trespass as we want to be forgiven when we trespass the Law of God.

“Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’  Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven.” (Matt 18: 21-22)

PopeFrancisConfession

Published in: on April 23, 2016 at 5:57 PM  Leave a Comment  

The Joy of Love and the Burden of Anger – Amoris Laetitia and Onus Irae


How-The-Human-Nervous-System-WorksI have to share this, because I must be missing something.  I’m more than half-way through Amoris Laetitia.  I just finished the “infamous” Chapter Eight.

As I read through this document, I can see some statements that need further clarification or better wording, simply because most people do not think in Spanish and write in Latin or Italian.  That’s an unusual cross-over.  As one who speaks Spanish and Italian, I reread those expressions that sounded odd to my Anglophone ear, repeating them to myself in Spanish and realized, “Oh, this is the way an Argentine would say X; whereas a European or an American would say it this other way.”

Contrary to what the Blogisterium is saying, I did find where the Holy Father makes some very precise points.  Marriage is indissoluble.  A relationship between homosexual persons can in no way be elevated to the level of marriage.  We cannot disregard the rules, just because time changes. And the exception is not the rule.

I can appreciate the fact that he describes what is happening in marriage and family life in First World countries and even in South American middle class society.  His description is quite accurate.  I can testify to this as one who has lived on three continents and four countries.  It’s not a pretty picture, but it is what it is and we, Catholics and non-Catholics, have to begin to help heal the wounded, where they’re at, while at the same time teach the younger generation what they need to know before marriage, to avoid more casualties in the future.  I believe this is the tone of this exhortation.  We have to fight to secularist perception of love and commitment.

I don’t get the impression that the Holy Father is trying to change rules, disciplines, traditions, moral laws or doctrines.  He means to paint a portrait of what love, marriage and family should be and what it is in many parts of our society.  We don’t like the picture, but it won’t go away because we don’t like it.  We have to attack the problem with a double barrel, palliative and preventative.

In short, I can’t find anything that is heretical or new, other than the pastoral approach that the Holy Father suggests.  I use that word, because he is suggesting, not demanding.

In addition, I don’t agree with the manner in which some people speak about the Holy Father and the exhortation.  There are many things that people in positions of authority do and say that may upset us.  That does not give us the right to call the Vicar of Christ a heretic, Modernist, agent of the devil, or any other such labels.

If there is one thing that our holy Father Saint Francis taught not only his brothers and sisters, but also the people of his day, was to speak and think about the pope, bishops and other clergy with reverence and humility.  He had no problems seeing weaknesses, nor did he have problems defending what he believed to be true.  But he had a very serious problem with any Franciscan or lay person who spoke disrespectfully about the pope or the rest of the clergy.

The argument, “I’m not a Franciscan,” doesn’t apply here; because Francis’ example of holiness, humility, charity, respect and submission was for the benefit of the entire Church, not just for those in his religious family.

When reading the exhortation, do not be afraid to disagree or to ask for clarification; but run away from the temptation to malign the good name of anyone, especially the Vicar of Christ.  He does not have to be perfect to command our respect.  This was made very clear by the Council of Trent and Vatican II.

Humble people who ask questions, offer suggestions, and show respect get further ahead than those who are hostile. Hostility creates distance between people.  It does not build bridges of communication and reflection.

Published in: on April 14, 2016 at 12:11 PM  Leave a Comment  

AMORIS LAETITIA: Advice for Mature Catholics


FRANCIS COAT OF ARMSI’ve been reading some commentaries on the Holy Father’s apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia”. I’d like to point out some errors that we have to avoid.

First — we need to read the document very carefully, pray over it, and read it again before we comment on it.

Second — let us remember that an apostolic exhortaion is not a catechism. Do not expect an apostolic exhortation to repeat what is already stated in every catechism of every generation. I use the admonitions of St. Francis of Assisi as an example. If you read them, you’ll not find anything in his admonitions that is already stated in the Rule and Constitutions. The admonitions are reflections that flow from the study and observance of the Gospel. The same principle applies to an apostolic exhortation.

Third — Do not let others determine what you should like or not like about the exhortation. Nor should you allow others to tell you that something is great or something is bad without giving you a specific example.

Fourth — If there is something that you find problematic, quote it when you share it. Dissect it so that others know what you find to be a problem. Leave an opening for others to agree or disagree with you. Dialogue is essential in understanding these writings.

Fifth — Because something is not mentioned in the apostolic exhortation, it does not mean that the Church has neglected a particular point or doctrine. Apostolic exhortations, like any other writing, must flow. Sometimes a specific statement or subject makes the writing sound awkward and does not add to what the Holy Father is saying.

Sixth — Remember, extreme reactions, to the left or to the right, are equally misguided. Extremes are circular. Eventually, the extreme left meets the extreme right at some point on the other side of the circle.

Seventh — Pay close attention to the citations that the exhortation includes from the writings of Blessed Paul VI, Saint John Paul II and other Church documents. This is an attempt to connect the present with the past. To understand the connections, one needs to read carefully.

Eighth — Notice that the exhortation makes three kinds of statements: admonitions, doctrine, and pastoral recommendations. We are used to apostolic exhortations being admonitions, pastoral or dogmatic. This particular exhortation blends the three.

Ninth — Remember respect. One is allowed to disagree with the pope. Saints and other theologians have done so in the past. However, none of them have ever been disrespectful in expressing their disagreements. We don’t hear them calling popes: Modernists, eretics, diabolical, dumb, mentally ill, or apostates. Name calling is never appropriate, especially when it applies to our parents, spouses, children and popes. Who of us would dare apply any of these labels to a loved one, because we believe him or her to be in error? Usually, we try to point out the error. This may lead to heated discussions, but the conversation limits itself to the subject on the table, not the character of the participants. We owe the Holy Father reverence, obedience and respect.

Tenth — Let us be humble and keep in mind that our opinions are not absolute truth, even when we quote truth. That which we quote may be true, but our understanding and application of said truth may be mistaken. We must be open to hearing opinions of those who do not think as we do. We must discuss our concerns with those who are knowledgeable in theology and who are authorized to teach it: parish priests, religious educators, Catholic theologians, Catholic theology teachers, many religious brothers and sisters who are trained in theology and Christian Spirituality.

I hope these points will help you as you navigate through this or any other papal writing.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html

Published in: on April 8, 2016 at 9:31 PM  Leave a Comment  

Schizophrenic Mercy and Pregnancy Don’t Belong in the Same Sentence


The brothers have bSt_Francis_embraceeen following the development of a bill in Utah that requires anesthesia for any ‘fetus’ 20 weeks or older, before an abortion can take place.

Let’s get this right. According to these legislators and their medical advisers, the child in the womb, whom they choose to call by his developmental stage, fetus, instead of human being or child, . . . this child feels pain when being killed during a ‘late term’ abortion. The merciful thing to do is to dull the child’s brain so that he feels no pain as he is being killed.

This begs the question, “Since when do mercy and murder belong in the same sentence?”

If legislators and healthcare professionals believe that the fetus feels pain, then they know that it is very much alive and very much like any other child, just physically immature. Physical immaturity has never been a criterion for killing someone who has done no wrong to anyone, nor threatens anyone.

The weak argument ‘the health of the mother’ does not justify killing a child. If the mother’s life is in danger, it is not the child in the womb who has hurt her or made her sick. She is ill and in danger because of some biological problem that may have surfaced during the pregnancy or was present before the pregnancy. The mother is not under attack by the child.

Chucky is a fictitious and probably diabolical character. Pregnant women do not carry demonic little boys or girls in their womb.

Therefore, the idea that an abortion, especially a late term abortion, may be executed after the 20th week of pregnancy if the life of the mother is in danger is not merciful to the mother or the child. The child is not the cause of the danger. The medical problem does not necessarily go away once you kill the child. You may find yourself having to kill every child the woman conceives, unless the medical problem is addressed and remedied. The other option is sterilization or celibacy to avoid future pregnancies.

The very idea that we can kill a child in her mother’s womb, when she is not_disposableold enough to survive outside the womb, as an act of mercy toward the mother is crazy. To compound the insanity, this group in Utah has agreed to extend mercy to the little girl by passing a law that requires that the abortionist anesthetize the child before killing her.

This kind of mercy defies all logic. It defies human rights, the right to be born. It defies the natural end of medical care, “Do no harm.” It defies the advancements that we have made in technology and medicine that gives a little girl a fighting chance to live and would protect the life of a mother in danger.

Physicians can induce labor at 22 weeks of pregnancy or they can resort to Divine Physiciansurgically removing the baby from the womb and provide an artificial environment for her to thrive. We have the technology.

If universities and government spent less money on technology to spy on people and medical schools spent less money testing how to manipulate a human being’s genetic map, to please the parent who wants a little boy rather than a little girl, and invest money and time in artificial environments and other life preserving technology, we would not be having this discussion. We would simply do the second best thing to natural labor, remove the little boy from his mother’s womb and place him in an environment where he can mature.

Instead, we bastardize the word ‘mercy’ for the mother whose life is in danger and for the baby about to be executed by numbing an infant in order to kill it painlessly.

The truth of the matter is that the only thing being numbed is the conscience of legislators who are too cowardly to face the pro-abortion lobby and those abortionists who make a living from the exercise of “schizophrenic mercy.”

Life calls out to life

Life calls out to life

Disclaimer: I take full responsibility for the content of this post. None of the brothers contributed to it, nor did they know that I was going to write it.

Fraternally,

Br. Jay

Published in: on March 31, 2016 at 12:04 PM  Leave a Comment  

Celibacy: a Jewel of Great Price


The question has often been raised by parents and friends. “Why would a ‘normal’ healtFrancis_and_Pietro_Bernardonehy man choose celibacy and chastity over a woman?” Another popular question, “How can you live without a woman?”
There are people who believe that such men do harm to themselves and eventually to others by engaging in gay sex or pedophilia. Nothing can be farther from the truth. There are married men who engage in both behaviors. Neither promiscuity nor marriage are “cures” for gay sex or pedophilia. In fact, these two behaviors do not belong in the same sentence, because they are not related.

To understand celibate chastity one has to understand love, marriage, and covenant. The man who chooses a celibate chaste life is not running away from marriage, love, and commitment. He is turning to something that he has found, that being the jewel of great price. He is overwhelmed by the love of God.

HeFrancis_leper can love another person and be intimate. However, when he experiences the love of God, he is filled with peace, interior silence, joy, and courage that he has never experienced. His life is different and he wants more. He cannot turn back to the love and intimacy of human romance, not because human romance is bad, but because he has found something even better than good. He has found Him who is the perfect lover: God.

When he compares his current state with his previous life, he discovers new things about himself. The first thing he discovers is that he has a courage that he never knew he had. He can stand up to those who try to control him. He is no longer afraid of bullies. And he makes choices and takes risks that he never took before.
Secondly, he finds that those romantic feelings he once had were truly beautiful and profound shadows of what consecrated life would later offer. Those experiences foreshadowed his romance with God.

Francis_blessingHow does he know this? He no longer question himself or his relationship. He is truly loved by God and he freely returns that love. He no longer wonders whether his beloved will change his mind. His relationship is no longer about liking what he feels or what the other feels for him.

His relationship with God is dynamic, because it is about surprises. God surprises him by filling his time, so that time seems to stand still God also surprises him when he looks back on his life and sees how much he has grown and how far he has moved from where he was.

Former relationships are now the old school where he learned the joys and sorrows of love. Now he feels ready and willing to live with the joys and tears that are part of loving God and being intimately loved by Him. Those old relationships were a training ground for what was to come.

One does not choose chastity and celibacy because he failed at romance, though it may have felt that way in the past. In hindsight, we realize that the past taught us that we could experience the joys and tears of love and continue loving and giving ourselves by the grace of the Beloved with whom we finally settle down.

contemplation

Published in: on March 1, 2016 at 11:23 PM  Leave a Comment  

Disagreement ≠ Aggression


The Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, Gregorian chant, the Holy Rosary, Benediction and Adoration, and many other devotions has been part of our Catholic tradition for centuries.  They should be allowed to live, encouraged and be made available when possible.  These are part of our Catholic patrimony, just as is the Mass of St. John Chrysostom, the Ambrosian Rite, the Maronite Rite and the Ordinary Form of the mass.   At some point in history, all of these were in their embryonic state.  As time passed, the traditions became more ingrained in the Catholic community and the rites and customs became more polished.  In other words, none of the older forms and rites was born as we know them today.  Truth and mystery don’t change, but structure and order do.  It is foolhardy to believe that the Ordinary Form of the Mass, the change in styles in how the papacy operates and the birth of newer devotions should be perfect and without need for adjustment here and there.

Imagine what would have happened if Pope St. Pius V had decided to throw out the different rites and forms of the mass of his time.  But he didn’t choose to do that.  On the contrary, he chose to take what was the best of the tradition, polish that which could be polished and jettison that which did not reflect the faith of the Church and the true nature of God.  All of this took time and painstaking labor.  Rumor has it that while St.  Pius V was in the process of consolidating the Tridentine form of the mass that we often refer to as the TLM or the Extraordinary Form (EF), he was not popular with everyone.  He faced some resistance.  Very often, those who resisted him sinned not because they disagreed with the reforms and ideas of St. Pius.  Their sin was worse.  It was the sin of detraction.  They didn’t simply disagree with Pope Pius; they tried to make him look like a fool.

Unfortunately the are elements in the Traditionalist Movement that don’t simply disagree with the Holy Father’s style, his projects, his manner of proceeding or even his way of life.  There are elements in the Movement that have taken it upon themselves to destroy a good man’s reputation.  If one reads some of the Traditionalist sites, one find sentences such as these.

On the Pope’s meeting with the Patriarch of Moscow

“Pope Francis needed the Moscow Patriarch to force him to say some obvious things”

 “An Orthodox Patriarch was needed to make the Church speak up on the family, Christian roots, abortion, and the persecution of Christians…, to make us Catholics say that leaves are green or that two plus two makes four.”

Reaction to the commissioning of the the Missionaries of Mercy by Pope Francis

“Missionaries of Mercy….Another Round of Stupidity from His Humbleness”

“The Missionaries of Mercy, Coming Soon to a Theater Near You”

 “Pope Francis is setting in motion an action which will result in a predictable reaction and he is using his masterful knowledge of psychology to manipulate poor simple minds who are convinced that the Pope is doing the world a favor.”

 On the Holy Father’s vision for the Church and his “ulterior” motives

“For Pope Bergoglio, the papacy is a vehicle for achieving what he dreams, what he wants, what he prefers, as opposed to what has been handed down to him for safekeeping. He intends to leave his personal stamp on the Church in a manner he hopes will be irreversible,”

On the Holy Father’s dignity

 “Then, under a cloud of mystery and bafflement, came Jorge Cardinal Mario Bergoglio . . . and this is what we saw: Francis on [the] logia”

 “It was a man dressed as a simple bishop, whose first words were a thudding banality: “Brothers and sisters, good evening!” A bishop dressed in white, waving to the crowd and telling them, strangely, that he had been elected “Bishop of Rome” for “the evangelization of this beautiful city,” for which he pointedly requested “the prayer of the people for their Bishop.” He was denuded of the traditional symbols of papal authority, later donning the papal stole only long enough to bestow the Apostolic Benediction, promptly removing it once the words were uttered. Even his dull metal pectoral cross was the same one he had worn in Buenos Aires.”

 “Bergoglio is such a loose cannon he’s careered right through the deck and smashed through the hull. A (bleep) from a (bleepin’) country.”

 “But Francis does not think like a Catholic. . . . his pronouncements appear so dated as to be almost deranged”

 

This not the way that a virtuous man disagrees with another man; the key to healthy disagreement is respect for the dignity and position of the other person.  These comments not only show a lack of respect for the Vicar of Christ, but they incite anger and even hatred.  These are not statements of disagreement.  These statements sound like deliberate attempts to disparage the reputation of none other than the Vicar of Jesus Christ.

One can place the points of disagreement on the table and proceed to present one’s objections to each point, without bringing down the person.  Our holy father St. Francis never allowed the brothers to speak against authority.  But he did allow them to disagree with anything they felt was dangerous to the soul.  He set the example for Christian debate.

I feel sad having to warn our brothers and our friends to be careful of the evil mindset that very often invades extremes, be they extreme liberalism or extreme conservatism.  There is nothing wrong with the traditional elements of our faith.  There is nothing wrong in preserving and making use of the richness of these elements, because they move thee soul closer to God.

Beware of the poisonous talk and accusations that often hide underneath the shroud of righteousness.  Do not be sucked in to such way of thinking, be it from the right or from the left.  Poison is poison, no matter what flavor it comes in.  Anything that detracts from the dignity of another person, calls into question his integrity without proof, and does damage to the reputation of one who is doing good for so many is evil.  Unfortunately, those who are posting these and similar comments all over the Internet do not realize that they are cooperating with evil, rather than defending the holy, which is what they really want to do.

There is nothing to prohibit the Franciscans of Life from participating in activities and services within the Traditionalist community.  These things are part of our Catholic heritage and they serve as channels of grace.  Franciscans of Life are never to participate in detraction of any kind and anyone, especially the Vicar of Jesus Christ, nor are they to associate with those who engage in such evil behavior.  They may disagree and engage in intellectual debates about points of disagreement, always speaking of and treating the person with the opposing point of view as a son or daughter of God and our brother whom we are sent to serve, not to judge.

 

 

Published in: on February 16, 2016 at 8:23 PM  Leave a Comment  

Atonement or chocolate?


Lent is about to begin and many of us are thinking about what we want to give up. Here is the irony of it all. Some people give up chocolate. In fact, chocolate is the most common Lenten sacrifice, followed by dessert.
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Let’s take this in baby steps. The whole idea of Lent is that it is a time of atonement. Now let’s get this straight. We sin against purity, honesty, loyalty, charity, faith, justice, detachment and many other things and virtues. Then we try to atone for all of this by giving up Hershey’s Kisses or ice-cream and apple pie? Sometimes we have to ask ourselves whether our Lenten sacrifices are somewhat presumptuous. We hope to atone for a multitude of sins with a few candy bars and some dessert; if we remember, we abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent.

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“My merit is God’s mercy.” -St. Bernard

Fortunately for us, God’s mercy far exceeds our foolishness. We often forget that Lent is a time of penance. Penance means atonement and conversion of manners.

We can never atone for our sins on our own. For this reason Lent culminates in Passion week, when Christ enters Jerusalem to be executed for our sins. Only the perfect man can offer the perfect act of atonement.

Our Lenten sacrifices must be offered with the ultimate sacrifice that Christ offered. During Lent we must be able to answer several questions with honesty.

1. Whether I am giving up chocolate or something else that I like, am I aware that I must also give up a specific sin? The external sacrifice is only a reminder of what we have to change. It does little good to give up a goody that we like while continuing to fall into the same sin.

2. If I add extra prayer or an extra mass to my weekly schedule do I take the time to meditate on the sin that I am trying to atone? Or do I offer the mass and prayers without much thought to what I have to change? The purpose of the extra mass and prayers is to bring us closer to God and draw us farther away from sin.

3. Finally, do I remember that Lent is to the Church what novitiate is to religious formation? During Lent I take a closer look at what needs improvement in my life and I work toward a conversion of manners. That is, a change in how I live my life with God and neighbor.

One cannot enter Lent with heart and soul without acknowledging one’s sins and the Passion of Christ, which restored to man the necessary graces to change and become like Adam before the Fall. If we ignore sin and the fact that we are sinners, Lent becomes just another tradition that leads nowhere. If we recognize sin, the Cross, and our need for a conversion of manners, Lent becomes a season of extraordinary grace.

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The Perfect Joy of Saint Francis

Published in: on February 8, 2016 at 3:13 PM  Comments (1)  
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