Well! That old Chinese saying comes to mind "May you live in interesting times" ( can't remember if it was a curse or not).
So let's recap, we've had a papal resignation, on the same day lightning striking the cupola of St Peter's, then portents in the skies over Russia and earth tremors in Rome. Then if that wasn't enough we have a purported dossier doing the rounds in the Curia, threatening to name and shame the "lavender mafia" with two Italian media outlets stating that the cardinal electors will be furnished with the report before the conclave. A final deadline for the Society of St Pius X that turns out wasn't a final deadline, Mueller (CDF) did this of his own bat and got slapped over the wrist for it( not to mention Bertone also getting the boot into our Teutonic friend over the Peruvian university). Add to that the German episcopal conference coming out and saying that the "morning after pill" is not that bad after all!!! Give me a moment to catch my breath, while the words rats and sinking ship spring to my mind.
Did Benedict jump or was he pushed? My gut feeling is the former, he's been around the Vatican for 30 years, so he knows how the game is played. I believe that JPII is in his mind and he doesn't want a repeat of that sad and slow decline when there was no one at the rudder of the barque ( other than Ratzinger) and all sorts of shennanigans went on. It also goes to show that he doesn't really trust those around him to assist him faithfully in his final years.
Benedict, I believe, has attempted to put the pieces in place to continue the work that he felt he was unable to finish. It is one hell of a gamble.
All the recent rumblings from Rome and various national conferences are the first moves on both sides before the cardinals gather. Both sides are jockeying for position, pressure of all forms is being exerted on the cardinals.
Who will the successor be? Your guess is as good as mine. I would love Ranjith or Burke, but they are only pipe dreams. It all depends on what the cardinals think is the movement of the Holy Spirit. How much is the inspiration of divine grace, or what they read in the newspapers from the "voices in the church" remains to be seen?
God willing it will be a strong European pope ( a Thomist would be good) , who can clean house, clear out the disease that infects Holy Mother Church and go somewhat towards the cure of the patient. European, since the most pressing issue is FAITH. The western hemisphere is a wilderness, shorn of all religious or spiritual forms, left to the depredations of moral relativism and soon to tear itself apart in its death throes. Unfortunately through socio-political means it influences the rest of the world. Does the developing world have problems? Of course it does, but by attempting to redress the balance in the west this will have a knock on effect in the rest of the world. Forget for the moment about social justice, the disconnect of the laity etc ( the list of whinges is exhausting), the Church is in the salvation business, lose sight of that in the conclave and things will definitely get a lot worse.
Sede vacante in a few days. Interesting times indeed!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
The First Commandment
Let's take a moment and think. About God the Father. First person of the Blessed Trinity.
Probably the greatest mistake that many Catholics make ( again from deliberately misleading catechism) is to have a false picture of what God is, what God wills and how God acts.
The popular notion is that God is an absentee landlord, yeh He did a great job of creating us and the world, and the stars and the flowers etc. but now it is up to us to look after things, do what we do and God can glance down from his big fluffy cloud once in a while and gave a paternalistic smile as we scurry about being busy. Then when our time has come we will float up to heaven on a soft miasma of light where everything will basically be like earth only nicer and without nasty smells.
God, Creator of the universe is reduced to a doting and over indulgent father who loves his kids no matter what they do. Think about that. Many of us can recall instances, where we have been in a restaurant or on a plane, cinema, out shopping etc and watched unruly kids, creating noise, making a mess, giving cheek or creating a nuisance of themselves. In these cases we look around for their parent and if we should happen to see a male figure smiling benevolently at his little darlings creating havoc, our first thought is not "isn't he a good father." No our first thought is, "why doesn't he do something?" and if the torture persists we may come to the conclusion that something is lacking in his parenting skills, in other words he is not a good father.
Why do we think this? Why? Perhaps it is that inherent in us is a template of what constitutes a good father. The traditional characteristics of a father are those of someone who loves their children, teaches them by example the benefits of work, responsibility, commitment, courage and the need for order and boundaries. The father should be the one to point out errors or mistakes, reward good behaviour and censure ( sometimes punish) bad behaviour, to teach his children right from wrong. That is what we expect from a good father. Why then are the rules different for God the Father? Surely Almighty God, from whom fatherhood has its being, should be the ultimate template of love, mercy, respect and justice?
Does God the Father love us? Of course he does. His love for his creatures surpasses words, it is immeasurable, showing itself forth in the willing sacrifice of His only Son, the second person of the Trinity. The offering of his Son was the ultimate expression of his mercy for us, the death and resurrection of Christ redeeming our fallen nature.
Does God the Father give us rules and boundaries? Yes , the ten commandments, the prophets, His Son, the Church. All of these are signposts, mapping out the journey of service, of commitment , of courage we must undertake to reach our goal, God.
Will God judge us? Yes , be in no doubt that each of us will have to answerable to the Father for all that we have done. Time and time again in scripture we have the theme of the God of justice, Our Lord constantly refers to judgement for those called to follow God,the sifting of the wheat and the chaff, the dividing of the sheep and the goats. Just as the child stands in front of their father when they have done wrong, so will it be when we stand before the Father and are held to account.
How many Catholics are fooled into imagining a fictitious reality? They put God at arms length, they attempt to expel Him ( a ridiculous notion!) out into space/ another dimension. Having done that they then seek to diminish the divinity of His Son, one who walked amongst us.
The First Commandment states:
" I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image...."
So when we think of God whom do we think of? Is it the true God, first person of the Blessed Trinity or our own personnal diety tailored to our lifestyle? Our own graven image?
Probably the greatest mistake that many Catholics make ( again from deliberately misleading catechism) is to have a false picture of what God is, what God wills and how God acts.
The popular notion is that God is an absentee landlord, yeh He did a great job of creating us and the world, and the stars and the flowers etc. but now it is up to us to look after things, do what we do and God can glance down from his big fluffy cloud once in a while and gave a paternalistic smile as we scurry about being busy. Then when our time has come we will float up to heaven on a soft miasma of light where everything will basically be like earth only nicer and without nasty smells.
God, Creator of the universe is reduced to a doting and over indulgent father who loves his kids no matter what they do. Think about that. Many of us can recall instances, where we have been in a restaurant or on a plane, cinema, out shopping etc and watched unruly kids, creating noise, making a mess, giving cheek or creating a nuisance of themselves. In these cases we look around for their parent and if we should happen to see a male figure smiling benevolently at his little darlings creating havoc, our first thought is not "isn't he a good father." No our first thought is, "why doesn't he do something?" and if the torture persists we may come to the conclusion that something is lacking in his parenting skills, in other words he is not a good father.
Why do we think this? Why? Perhaps it is that inherent in us is a template of what constitutes a good father. The traditional characteristics of a father are those of someone who loves their children, teaches them by example the benefits of work, responsibility, commitment, courage and the need for order and boundaries. The father should be the one to point out errors or mistakes, reward good behaviour and censure ( sometimes punish) bad behaviour, to teach his children right from wrong. That is what we expect from a good father. Why then are the rules different for God the Father? Surely Almighty God, from whom fatherhood has its being, should be the ultimate template of love, mercy, respect and justice?
Does God the Father love us? Of course he does. His love for his creatures surpasses words, it is immeasurable, showing itself forth in the willing sacrifice of His only Son, the second person of the Trinity. The offering of his Son was the ultimate expression of his mercy for us, the death and resurrection of Christ redeeming our fallen nature.
Does God the Father give us rules and boundaries? Yes , the ten commandments, the prophets, His Son, the Church. All of these are signposts, mapping out the journey of service, of commitment , of courage we must undertake to reach our goal, God.
Will God judge us? Yes , be in no doubt that each of us will have to answerable to the Father for all that we have done. Time and time again in scripture we have the theme of the God of justice, Our Lord constantly refers to judgement for those called to follow God,the sifting of the wheat and the chaff, the dividing of the sheep and the goats. Just as the child stands in front of their father when they have done wrong, so will it be when we stand before the Father and are held to account.
How many Catholics are fooled into imagining a fictitious reality? They put God at arms length, they attempt to expel Him ( a ridiculous notion!) out into space/ another dimension. Having done that they then seek to diminish the divinity of His Son, one who walked amongst us.
The First Commandment states:
" I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image...."
So when we think of God whom do we think of? Is it the true God, first person of the Blessed Trinity or our own personnal diety tailored to our lifestyle? Our own graven image?
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