"For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord's body." 1 Corinthians 11:29
No loving Pastor would want to give those he loved the poison of damnation, if he did he would be diabolic and not loving at all. St Paul goes on to say, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" or as some translations have it "have died".
It seems to me that this passage separates shepherds from hired men. Obviously we do not see those unworthy to receive taking the Body of Christ dropping down dead in front of the altar rail, and I don't think is what St Paul means. What we do see is not individuals but the Church community dying.
Little by little the relationship with Jesus of the whole local church becomes distanced, his moral teaching dies away, we see no reason to evangelise, no reason why any of the commandments or any other part of his teaching should have any effect in our lives, we see no reason for a Redeemer and the Fatherhood of God is diminished to a senile old grandfather and we are closed to the action of the Holy Spirit and the Life of Grace is closed to us.
Christian charity dies and effectively the Church is DEAD
14 comments:
Tragically true.
Amidst all this doom and gloom there are some bright spots. I have been having an email conversation with someone who is attending the RCIA in another parish of this diocese and hopes to be received into the Church this Easter.
It has been a pleasure to answer questions posed and to try and explain any confusion. A few weeks back he told me that the following week was going to be about 'Reconciliation.' "Is that anything to do with 'Confession?'" he asked. When the time came for that evening's instruction my friend was pleased to have a Priest (a former Anglican)who told them he preferred the term 'Confession'.
He has come to the conclusion (without any help from me) that his lady tutor must be a 'Liberal' Catholic. When he asked about the Extraordinary Form Mass he was dismissed quickly with no explanation as to what that was and 'we don't have that here'. He will be entering the Church at a difficult time I fear but I do admire his courage.
Thank you Fr. Blake. This is an astounding topic really, and one that is as mysterious as "what is at the end of space?", because to ponder this is mystifying. How can men who have come to their vocation, have discerned a calling from Christ, answered it, and given their lives to God, be so willing to do what we know they must NOT do. They cannot possibly imagine that after all this time, we finally just "caught up with God's thought on this" and that He left us in error on all these points all these years. No, what is far more likely is we have innovators and heretics who are having their day, and priests must not follow these men into the jaws of Hell and damnation themselves, by leading their flocks astray.
What was their sacrifice for, if not to stay the course and see this through according to the mind of Christ, which has not "changed", and will never change.
Hang in there Father Blake!! I believe you are a convert? Me, too. didn't sign on for all this crap, did we...?
Well, Godless Communism in Russia lasted 70 years. The Israelites wandered an extra 40 years in the desert. The Babylonian Captivity of the Jews lasted about 70 years and the "Babylonian Captivity" of the Church another 70.
So averaging them out, I reckon we have another 15 or so and we'll be back on track. ;)
{Just between you and me, let's leave out the 400 years of slavery in Egypt from the calculation!!!}
"And now, for something completely different..."
In truth God has selected you and me and the rest of us to hold firm to the TRUE FAITH during a time when we are deluged with lies, deceit, sodomite clerics, abuse of children, in short, the whole wreckage of the modern Catholic Church. WE MUST not waver. We must stand ready to help drag Holy Mother Church out of the ditch where she has for so long laid beaten up, raped even by Her own children while her prelates stood by and tried to find "common ground' with her molesters, or...joined in themselves. We cannot leave Her at this time and in fact must do even more.
God has given us the grace to do it.
Remember Job?
The book of Job isn't about theodicy, it is about FAITH. Faith of the man Job, yes, but faith that GOD had in the man HE empowered. "Go ahead, Satan, give it your best shot"... As God hangs His own name on the man Job, God stakes his own honor on the faith of a MAN.
That is what we have to do for God now. We have to ignore the shame and embarrassment of being Catholics at a time when it would be much easier to chuck it and not have to deal with it at all. Easier to run away.
Nope.
God is going to fix this, Father. He is. HOW? I don't know, but I bet you a dollar Moses wondered how in the world he was going to get the nation of Israel to Canaan without getting wet...
God will figure this out.
Father, as you continue to speak the truth of things, be sure to watch your back! Faithful priests are being marginalized everywhere.
Yay! Bravo Valdemar!!
Father Ray, in the movie Shane there is a scene where the little boy says "Shane, say it isn't so, Shane, say it isn't so Shane!"
I would like to ask you the same question because you are our "Shane" and Shane did not answer with despair but left the boy filled with awe and hope and admiration.
For whatever it is worth, you and I and all those who write on your blog and those who don't, are still living and praying and yearning for what is to return.
Dear Father, It is soooooo good to have you back! God bless you with good health. And may your ministry in the Blogosphere continue for many years. One day you will know how much your witness has meant to those of us with less courage. Your unmet brother in the Priesthood. Ian O'Shea (Liverpool Archodiocese)
Father, you can always join the SSPX.....
Alexander VI: No need. It seems that the SSPX will soon be joining us and their orthodoxy will be very welcome.
You're correct M. Prodigal. We must pray for our faithful Priests, they are the ones in the trenches! All of what is happening as of late in the Church is monumentally DIABOLICAL! I read an article today about the Knights of Columbus being hit by an influential newspaper (article) complaining about how they are not pro life in the way that the Pope sees being 'pro life'. Several statements in the article naming names and quotes about the Knights saying they were 'anti choice' and speaking of only the abortion issue. The article pointed out that being 'anti choice' only refers to abortion, and what about protecting the environment (for instance) that the Pope is promoting? The Bishop of the Diocese (of which this 'Catholic' newspaper is in but does not have to answer to the Bishop. Regardless, the Bishop called the President of the Knights urging the Knights to publish a 'response' to the article explaining that they support all the 'pro life' areas that the Pope promotes and talks about. The clergy are very jittery at this point and they have every reason to be, if you look at what's been happening.
Fr. Blake and Fr. O'Shea, you and all the faithful priests are in my prayers. Be confident that you have MANY of us praying for you daily!
I am with you 100% Father. Thank you for being a strong, solid faithful priest. Ad multos anos.
The church is certainly not the one I asked to be received into in 1975. Are the few bright spots the shoots of regrowth or the last signs of life in a plant that is almost dead? And where else is there to go?
Please note that these verses of I Corinthians have been omitted from the Lectionary for Mass. Need i comment further?
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