Posted on 08/21/2018 2:06:09 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
This was addressed to the priests and deacons in my parish.
Dear Fathers,
Here is a video of a good homily by Fr. John Lankeit of the Diocese of Phoenix. It brought tears to my eyes --- anyway I thought you would find it valuable. I have it wound up to the place where the sermon starts, at 18.58
Sermon of Fr. John Lankeit, Diocese of Phoenix
We have seen a lot in the news about various bishops talking about new programs,policies, protocols, yadda-yadda but many of us are thinking what we need first is to ponder Sin, Judgment, Atonement. Some parishioners are saying it would be good to have an Hour of Reparation or Holy Hour on the theme of Sin, Penance, Atonement.
We must beg to be saved from an evil generation.
The Prophets in ther Daily Readings have been coming down hard on that lately.
If this could be done, I believe it would serve a heartfelt need.
Sincerely in Christ,
[signed]
Married priests are not the answer - https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/indiana-catholic-priest-charged-with-domestic-violence-against-wife-93829
Our Lord is married. His wife is the Church.
What I see in the future is not only a massive clean-up in regards to the priesthood, but we may the faith getting smaller as well.
I also see in the future normal Catholic men being allowed to get married before becoming priests.
Thank-you and God Bless.
There is going to be a meeting of bishops from the Amazon area of Brazil to allow mature married men to become priests. It is coming.
God be with you on this. If this is ever going to be sorted, it has to be the laity leading; the Vatican is too compromised.
But if this starts to gain traction, be warned that you will have everything they can muster coming against you.
Keep us updated.
That would be a welcome return to what was allowed in the New Testament.
The parishes, the congregations, need to have power to call and remove priests.
They have zero control. They need total control over this. It is their church.
“If enough of us do, even the weak-kneed will realize it’s time for real reform.”
I wish I were optimistic about that. The reform that is needed is the laicization of all homo clergy. This the homo priests and bishops are determined not to do.
They wouldn’t act on that even if people started assassinating the molesters.
In my opinion, the money spigot has to be turned off first. As long as the corrupt hierarchy is getting the money from faithful Catholics, there’s no reason for them to care what you think.
It may be too late for that; I don’t know.
And I don’t know what would happen to parishes that refuse to send any money higher up.
It can't be turned off. The liberals would seize the opportunity to fund a homosexual-friendly church. They have more money than brains.
It is happening with the same faithful Catholics starting to shut their wallets and purses.
Burn out the sodomites, and the other perverts who hide in the dark and deep forest created by them will find it more difficult to hide their own sick evil.
It's hard to imagine how it would work in U.S. parishes, though. Men being ordained today tend to be older than in previous generations and have frequently earned a college degree and/or spent time in the labor force or a career before entering the seminary; the average age at ordination is now 35, and starting salary at a parish averages under $20,000.
It would be hard for a middle-aged man with a family to make it on that salary. It might work out if the wife is also bringing in a salary or if they don't have many kids.
There would be a big temptation to use contraception, I suppose, and that's not OK for anyone. There's always NFP!
It might be entirely otherwise in the Amazon, partly for cultural reasons and partly for economic reasons. If they decide to go this route, it would be interesting to say the least.
A number of years ago,the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz in very impoverished NE Brazil wanted to upgrade hundreds of catechists to be deacons and have deacon-led parishes. I don't know much about the background, but the Vatican slapped him down on this. I never understood why.
“Megan - Our Lord was celibate, so it is obviously normative to those who are given that gift.”
Actually it is not obvious that Jesus was not married. There is nothing in the Bible whatsoever that speaks to Jesus not being married. In the context of the time His being married would be unremarkable and not worthy of mention. It would be like taking time to mention that I used a keyboard to write this post. Of course I did.
Also, since the Catholic church existed for about 1000 years without celibacy then were the married Popes and married leaders heretics? Jesus and the Apostles never instructed leaders in the church to be celibate so why did it become so important in 1139?
And since the Catholic church didn’t require celibacy until 1139 then this is also a tacit acknowledgment that up until that time no one really cared whether or not Jesus was married or single.
For the record, I don’t care either. His being married or not has not a scintilla of influence on my faith in His divinity.
If it were to be revealed that Jesus was married then that to me would only reinforce the fact that He was sent to us to become and live as a man as God intended. It would have zero impact on my faith or my desire to follow Scripture.
Most likely why there is this upcoming meeting is because a lot of Catholics are leaving the Church for the Evangelical churches that are growing there.
Among the undoubted advantages of the Evangelical and Pentecostal brethren is that their model for ministry is --- and not in a bad sense --- entrepreneurial. If a man (or woman) feels they have been given a mission by God, all he has to do is open up a storefront or a house in a mixed-use zoning neighborhood, put out a sign that says "Iglesia de Dios en Cristo en el Evangelio del Espíritu Santo de Medellín" or whatever he wants to call his holy enterprise, and ¡Mira! He's a pastor of a church.
There are huge numbers of these quick start-ups, and some of them prove viable and give rise to new constellations of churches and fellowships if franchising proves popular.
It's evidently meeting spiritual needs in otherwise pastorally-neglected places. And to my mind, it's better to have a bodega church than no church at all. God bless them. Faith needs fellowship.
That’s a truly awesome and humble post! My sincere respects!
Megan
A number of years ago,the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz in very impoverished NE Brazil wanted to upgrade hundreds of catechists to be deacons and have deacon-led parishes. I don’t know much about the background, but the Vatican slapped him down on this. I never understood why.
Most likely why there is this upcoming meeting is because a lot of Catholics are leaving the Church for the Evangelical churches that are growing there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.