tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post9044681448428676786..comments2023-12-16T16:17:43.886+00:00Comments on Fr Ray Blake's Blog: Punch a Heretic Day or the Feast of St NicholasFr Ray Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-31962150221667158512014-12-12T15:26:25.065+00:002014-12-12T15:26:25.065+00:00James,
I suspect 'learnt' means more than ...James,<br />I suspect 'learnt' means more than 'knowing' in this context.Fr Ray Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-72188509287130741212014-12-12T13:51:11.253+00:002014-12-12T13:51:11.253+00:00"..."show me a sinner and I'll show ..."..."show me a sinner and I'll show you someone who hasn't learnt his catechism'."<br /><br />## The point being made is clear - but is it true ? The Tree of Knowledge is not the Tree of Life - salvation does not come from having tons of "info", or from having a string of degrees, but from God's Grace. St Paul says it best: "If I should know all mysteries, but have not love, I am nothing". It is troubling to see knowledge of doctrine, or knowledge about Catholicism generally, treated as though the possession of it must, almost of necessity, make a man a Catholic or a Christian. <br /><br />The scribes & lawyers "knew their stuff" too, but Our Lord had no congratulations for *them* - but for the "bad Catholics" & other refuse of society, He had a great deal of time; He spent His time with sinners & outcasts, and was crucified as one. Orthodoxy by itself is as good a road to Hell as any heresy: "without love, I am nothing". The excessive emphasis on the power of "knowing stuff" seems very seldom to be balanced by any emphasis on more important things, like the gratuity & power of God's grace - the emphasis on "knowing stuff" risks leading the Church into a souped-up Gnosticism or Pelagianism, if the emphasis is on our knowing, and not on what God does for us in Christ. <br /><br />One is not depreciating the worth or importance of the intellectual gifts in the Christian life; but they are not, & cannot be, supreme or all-important. That place belongs to Christ, Alone. There is a hierarchy in such things; our knowing about God and our orthodoxy are not supreme. James https://www.blogger.com/profile/10778088696977639132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-85584918818287177162014-12-11T22:07:47.112+00:002014-12-11T22:07:47.112+00:00While your general point is credible, I don't ...<i>While your general point is credible, I don't think it's invariably true: the late unlamented Marcial Maciel, and the order he founded, preached solid orthodox doctrine.</i><br /><br />I think you will that when one looks closer at the Legionnaires, they are not as "orthodox" as some people like to think - rather they are neo conservative: holding tight to whatever "orthodoxy" happens to be in vogue. Fr. Jonathan Morris of Fox News, is a great example of this. Aduliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00534730218402742905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-8476496594492936072014-12-11T09:14:19.030+00:002014-12-11T09:14:19.030+00:00Well said, John Simlett! Well said, John Simlett! JR Charousekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13787108770740457088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-91849074925789629072014-12-09T23:06:44.582+00:002014-12-09T23:06:44.582+00:00Let he who is without sin cast the first punchLet he who is without sin cast the first punchGatepost productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18061920423331681586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-84123985589264501002014-12-09T14:57:47.475+00:002014-12-09T14:57:47.475+00:00Well said, Cosmos. The apostates leading the Churc...Well said, Cosmos. The apostates leading the Church have a new, relativist, materialist, modernist, false morality, which they impose arbitrarily, tyrannically. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-50158041180065630992014-12-09T14:55:03.682+00:002014-12-09T14:55:03.682+00:00There ought to have been several beatings of heret...There ought to have been several beatings of heretics at the last meeting of the Synod of Bishops. Who was it that said in these days the bad are very zealous and the good reticent, even fearful?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-116347632031991072014-12-07T15:38:54.352+00:002014-12-07T15:38:54.352+00:00Heresy and hypocrisy are flip sides of the coin. ...Heresy and hypocrisy are flip sides of the coin. <br /><br />- Hypocrites don't like what the Church teaches, so they act differently when they can.<br /><br />- Heretics don't like what the Church teaches, so they pretend or convince themselves it teaches something else.<br /><br />Also, you have to be very careful labeling someone as a hypocrite. Is a person who believes what Jesus teaches on anger a hypocrite because struggles with his temper? St. Paul specifically says that he does the things he knows are wrong and doesn't want to do. Does that mean he is being dishonest because he vehemently teaches others not to do those same things? <br /><br />Jesus never teaches that honest and open adherence to sin is somehow superior to struggling to overcome sin. That form of "honesty/authenticity" is a modern ruse to justify sin as natural, and to exalt the sinner over the Church.Cosmoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14199946824127025416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-66075776380560647652014-12-07T13:13:53.377+00:002014-12-07T13:13:53.377+00:00Excellent. Excellent. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14133427380374795013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-51278398319370395532014-12-06T12:16:57.432+00:002014-12-06T12:16:57.432+00:00Heretics are the product of poor teaching or false...Heretics are the product of poor teaching or false teaching,it's the hypocrites who must be punchednickbrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18412418782531527758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-56773207753248544972014-12-06T11:40:13.107+00:002014-12-06T11:40:13.107+00:00… and they (the bishops) haven't (been good in...… and they (the bishops) haven't (been good in the past year) giving them a good thrashing …<br /><br />Eish Father, you have given me ideas, but it’s Christmas soon and there’s no time left.Jeremiah Methuselahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15344139605953558862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-79734369512752989992014-12-06T00:51:29.565+00:002014-12-06T00:51:29.565+00:00I love this concept---'punch a heretic day'...I love this concept---'punch a heretic day'. I'll be helping the little people in my life celebrate the good bishop with treats, but inside, I'll be thinking about the heretics I'd like to see punched. ;-)Mary Kayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15177771196355631149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-60092526715781209852014-12-05T23:54:02.399+00:002014-12-05T23:54:02.399+00:00Sue, A good and interesting point, I suppose MM fe...Sue, A good and interesting point, I suppose MM feigned holiness and feigned orthodoxy.Fr Ray Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-31637854199803464732014-12-05T22:41:36.960+00:002014-12-05T22:41:36.960+00:00While your general point is credible, I don't ...While your general point is credible, I don't think it's invariably true: the late unlamented Marcial Maciel, and the order he founded, preached solid orthodox doctrine. <br /><br />I suppose it can work both ways: the priest or bishop with a guilty conscience will rationalise his sin and bend his preaching to reflect this - but equally, he may project an image of fervent orthodoxy in order to avert suspicion. Since the latter adds hypocrisy to heresy, it's in some ways even worse.Sue Simshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05976537787708670241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-60957305114784819002014-12-05T20:29:17.553+00:002014-12-05T20:29:17.553+00:00'show me someone in mortal sin and I will show...'show me someone in mortal sin and I will show you an heretic'<br /><br />That should read "in mortal sin who goes to Communion and I will show you a heretic"?Jacobihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04743062941733814176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-16107680410171925062014-12-05T18:55:55.873+00:002014-12-05T18:55:55.873+00:00"A bishop or priest in mortal sin will always..."A bishop or priest in mortal sin will always tailor what he preaches to fit his sin."<br /><br />This guy keeps turning up - anyone might wonder if there was a topical case in point down there on the south coast!<br /><br />As the adage "All heresy begins below the belt." seems to be proven again and again these days, it does make me wonder about those who advocate for the divorced and remarried being admitted to Holy Communion. What is it that they are trying to cover their backs for? What skeleton makes their closet such a scary place that it must be justified at all costs? Do they have concubines of whatever "gender"? Do they really think that if the Church says a sin is not a sin, the magic magisterial pixie dust will transform what was formerly vice into virtue? Or is it the cliched "If I'm going down, we're all going down together" syndrome.<br /><br />As for those who preach "universal salvation", I guess they must be really messed up.Deacon Augustinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03549825303646357455noreply@blogger.com