Sunday, August 29, 2010

Creating a Church according to my needs

I had an envelope in the post last week from Redemptorist Publications advertising something by them, advertising The Tablet and there was something else in the package promoting female ordination, how the Redemptorists have gone down hill.
Some other group of ventriloquists are going to start an alternative to Uncle Jack's Catholic Voices.
I preached this morning about taken the lowest place at the table of the Church, ultimately of course we are the guests of Christ. I thought this section of a speech by Archbishop Martin was rather poignant:

When people turn to a Church from which they are in reality alienated, they tend to desire that the Church becomes "their" Church, rather than the place where Christ addresses them and invites them to meet Him and be challenged by His love.


I have the impression that when many people say "We are the Church" they actually want to say "I am the Church", meaning "I am creating a Church according to my needs and my lifestyle." There is a danger that when some say that the Church is the "People of God", they really want to say that it is up to the people to determine who God is and how God is useful. But, whoever encounters only their own God does not encounter the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
My thanks to EF: Pastor Emeritus, I think what can be said for the Irish Church can be said for England too. As the Pope said to our bishops. "It is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate."
As one of my parishioners said to me recently, "There is the Catholic Faith but there is also adolescent bitching". That is true biut is also about trying to make in the own image and likeness.

9 comments:

Mulier Fortis said...

Thanks for the link, Father Ray.

As I said in my post, I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry...

Michael Clifton said...

The group photo you show as leaders of the new dissident voices gang is almost the same as the gang who run Catholics for a Changing Church. The photo also includes Elizabeth Price of Maidstone and Frank Pycroft. The latter was a contemporary of mine at St.Josephs Academy in the 1940's. ie about 76 now.

Volpius Leonius said...

They have gone downhill because they have abandoned the rule of their Saintly founder the 1749 Pontifical Rule of St Alphonsus for a new rule as commanded by Vatican II.

"On the 28th of October, 1965, the Second Vatican Council issued the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life. As part of that renewal our Constitutions had to be revised and submitted to the Holy See for approval.



"The Constitutions so renewed have now obtained approval.

Here, my dear Brothers, is the new edition of the Constitutions and Statutes, which I promulgate officially and present to you.

Given at Rome, 25th February, 1982.

Josef G. Pfab, C.Ss.R.
Superior General"

The differences between the two rules are huge so I am told by someone who I trust to know.

Jacobi said...

"But, whoever encounters only their own God does not encounter the God revealed in Jesus Christ."

Yes! How right you are, Father. As Chesterton said,

" Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within"

and,

"That Jones shall worship the god within him turns out ultimately to mean that Jones shall worship Jones."

Mulier Fortis said...

I do think that this group isn't creating a Church according to "my needs" but rather according to "my wants."

As Catholics for a Changing Church said on their website, "...if we don't like what is on offer, it is incumbent on us to advance our own ideas..."

There's more here, if you can stomach it... sorry for the link, Father!

Antonio said...

Would these be the same Redemptorists who didn't want anything to do with the Transalpine Redemptorists (now FSSR) because they were too traditional?

Amazing.

Michael Petek said...

You can tell who's who in all this by observing that the faithful accept all that God has revealed on the grounds that He has revealed it and can neither deceive not be deceived.

The 'We Are Church' devotees either don't accept it, they don't accept it all or, if they accept any or all of it, they do it for some other reason.

Sadie Vacantist said...

I attended a week's devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour with one of these new fangled Redemptorists. I couldn't make head nor tail of it.

Ma Tucker said...

Poor old Archbishop Martin. He can't help but put his foot in it. He goes on to announce the inevitable secularisation of Ireland like the true believer in secularism that he is. He goes on to describe the Knock shrine as the second most visited "tourist site" (yes these are his actual words) second only to the guinness factory in Dublin. Yes this is the false parallel this man draws, between a pilgrimage site a a visit to a brewery.

"Ireland needs both mature secularists and atheists and mature Christians with a solid intellectual formation." His words. Can someone please tell Jesus Christ that Ireland needs mature atheists and secularists. I'm sure it would be news to Him.

He points out that
"after 15 years of catechesis, young people remain theologically illiterate"
but he is on record as saying Irish school children were the most catechised in Europe and the teachers do a great job altogether. (See his paper on the future of the Church in Ireland). Now you cannot be theologically illiterate when you have been catechised.

"Archbishop Murray of Dublin, recognised by all as a saintly person, had no difficulty in publicly disagreeing with the decisions of Rome or, at least, in interpreting the decisions of Rome in a very personalised manner." Can't really see how this fits in with the context of his speech at all. Seems to be just thrown in there. Oh sorry, of course silly me, Bishop Walsh's resignation refused by Rome. Archbishop Murray = Archbishop Martin riiiight !

I point out these things because Archbishop Martin uses good sound bite intermixed with poison as a general rule. It's the sugar coating on rather unCatholic views and ideas. He is the pinup boy of the antiCatholic media in this country. You should be aware of his double speak. Be careful not to pick out his sound bites that make him appear on track. They are simply tools he uses. He is well in the ditch.

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