Posted on 04/05/2008 10:47:56 PM PDT by Judith Anne
FRiends, tonight I went to mass with my family, and one of the scriptures was the story of "The Road to Emmaus." The monsignor's sermon was on that topic, and it was excellent. He started out by asking why Jesus would allow the disciples not to recognize Him until He broke bread for them, and his thought was that Christ wanted us to look for Him everywhere, to remember that He said "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me" so that we would realize though we may not recognize Him at first, He is there.
This excellent sermon led me to thinking about another crucial teaching; when Christ was asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He gave the example of the Good Samaritan. This has to be a familiar parable to every Christian, so I won't repeat it here.
I am sure that anyone who has been reading active religion threads lately has wondered about the second commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." There has been a remarkable lack of kindness therein. I have been a part of that unkindness.
I will not speak of doctrinal differences here. I only want to say that I am sorry, to all who have been on the religion threads, for unkind remarks, for arguing. I have certainly not turned the other cheek, nor have I acted in a charitable way.
Because I am a Catholic, and accustomed to self-examination in the light of the teachings of Christ, I am ashamed of myself. This is not how I want to be toward other Christians, and certainly is not how I act in real life, for I have many dear Protestant friends and family members.
I had a moment of feeble self-justification as I prayed this evening, that I was provoked into anger. But we aren't to give in to that temptation, and I blame no one for my anger except my own faults. After all, when I stand before God, He will not want to know why I didn't improve a certain other poster's behavior, He will want an accounting from me as to why I didn't improve my own.
So this represents a step in that direction: I am off the religious threads. Because I am human, fallible, and love my Church, I would be tempted to defend it and thus fall into my old ways. Truthfully, the Catholic Church does not need me to fight on an internet forum for its honor.
Again, I am sorry, and I ask your forgiveness. Christ told us that when we want to bring an offering, we should FIRST make peace with our brother, THEN bring our offerings. I should not have added to the already considerable acrimony. I remedy that now, and ask those who think the way I do to join me in praying for all of us conservatives for something much more important: the will of Christ Almighty be done in our lives and in our country.
And may He bless us all.
What a beautiful post. God Bless You.
:-)
Thank God for that--lol.
And I think that was a VERY wise decision - and I wish everybody would heed it.
I am hoping that all those who adamently post on the religious threads, will read Judith Anne’s words.
It is time to post for Him - and Him alone.
In God’s eternal kingdom
There won’t be any Catholics
There won’t be any Lutherans
There won’t be any Baptists
There won’t be any Presbyterians
There won’t be any Mormons
Only His children will be there
Bought with the precious Blood of the Lamb
Which can be received only by childlike faith
Because of His boundless mercy and grace
By the work of His Spirit
An excellent point. If I wouldn't post it to Jesus, I shouldn't post it to anyone else.
Please know that you are forgiven as well as loved.
Blessings, FRiend.
What a lovely post Salvation. I am so very glad that you do stay around and offer all you do to us FReepers. I can also understand Judith Anne's place as well. In a way we are all of God's warriors in the way He will best have us serve. Sometimes that changes too. I love that God is dynamic and not stagnant and so are His lessons and directives. Definitely keeps me on my toes and (hopefully!) (somewhat!) humble!!
I understand everything you have written. I have experienced it myself. That’s why I stayed away from FR religion forum for the 7 weeks of Lent.
Interestingly enough, when I came back these last two weeks, I no longer enjoyed it very much. I came back after weeks of seeking for a deeper relationship with the Lord and also with my family as we are going through difficult times.
Things didn’t look the same to me when I came back. There is a seedbed of unfortunate antipathy, a ceaseless wrangling over the same “issues”, a failure to hear “Come, let us reason together”. Like you, I could see myself being a part of it—if not by open post, at least in the depths of my heart, which I had given unreservedly to the Lord Jesus. No way can He live there if my heart isn’t right.
I admire you for your ears that have heard and your heart that has listened. And I’m glad that you came to this by way of a priest——those who are good priests always have so much to offer to their flock, and have given up so much of themselves to offer it.
All this reminds me of the exceptional priest who counseled me once: he told me that I should say to myself daily that I will not allow anyone or anything to take goodness from me. He also told me that many people hear, but very few listen. And again, he told me that there three aspects of myself—the person I thought I was, the person that others found me to be and the person that God knew that I really was.
I think you have understood all these things.
I wish many blessings for you.
Discernment can be such a second by second action, aye!? :-). I pray that God gives us all clarity and discernment on this issue you discussed in your initial post.
Well said and a great reminder.
Your post is a real gift to us all. It means a lot to me.
The Spirit is in you!
One of the most difficult things after asking Christ to come into my life, was asking for forgiveness from estranged family. I must say that doing so has blessed all involved. So bless you for casting off the cloak of pride and revealing humility, and being a great witness!
Now you’ve got the Spirit.
I love my church, and I love to talk about religion, but one of the things I found here (not in the meat world) was that I was becoming hardened and losing the element of mystery, the clear sensation of beauty, the joyfulness of sharing Christ in my life, due to letting my own selfishness and pride get in the way.
I do not love my church less or believe differently, I am just apologizing for my sins to those I have sinned against.
I hear you. I tend not to post much here anymore for many of the same reasons. However, I do read some posts and have learned from other posters. I’ll see you around News/Activism....hopefully.
I’ll be there. :D
DEEPLY TOUCHED, HUMBLED AND BLESSED by how deeply God has touched you tonight.
Praise God and may He richly bless you and those you love.
AMEN! AMEN!
INDEED. AND PTL FOR THAT!
I have always avoided the religious threads anyway. Eventually pretty much always fall into the same tired divisive discussions.
Sort of like the Mac v PC arguments except the stakes are perceived as much higher. It’s not fun.
Things didn’t look the same to me when I came back. There is a seedbed of unfortunate antipathy, a ceaseless wrangling over the same “issues”, a failure to hear “Come, let us reason together”. Like you, I could see myself being a part of it—if not by open post, at least in the depths of my heart, which I had given unreservedly to the Lord Jesus. No way can He live there if my heart isn’t right.
I admire you for your ears that have heard and your heart that has listened. And I’m glad that you came to this by way of a priest——those who are good priests always have so much to offer to their flock, and have given up so much of themselves to offer it.
All this reminds me of the exceptional priest who counseled me once: he told me that I should say to myself daily that I will not allow anyone or anything to take goodness from me. He also told me that many people hear, but very few listen. And again, he told me that there three aspects of myself—the person I thought I was, the person that others found me to be and the person that God knew that I really was.
I think you have understood all these things.
I wish many blessings for you.
= = =
IMPRESSIVE AND TRUE.
THX
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