Posted on 03/23/2002 5:34:00 AM PST by father_elijah
SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?
We Catholic Americans are at a crossroads. Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World is exposing all those who wound his sacred Body by abusing children and youth. Our Lord is also exposing rot and disease within the structures and leadership of the Church from within provinces of religious orders, Catholic universities, and diocesan chanceries.
It is time to clean house. Not only do the pederasts, sex abusers, and homosexuals need to be removed from leadership and the ranks of the ordained, but also the Church needs to excommunicate all Catholic politicians in the United States of America whose votes continue the holocaust of abortion.
PREPARATION
In order to serve Christ and his poor Church in this time of crisis, each of us are called to avail ourselves of the sacraments that we may trample the devil under our feet. Let each of us 1) make a good confession; 2) receive the Eucharist on the Feast of Divine Mercy and receive Christ’s promises to St. Faustina of mercy and pardon; 3) engage in works of mercy; and, 4) encourage others to do the same.
We lead by prayer, and we are made strong by Christ’s self-offering of his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have a great weapon for fighting evil in the rosary. We do not turn to prayer as a last resort, but we turn to prayer as the beginning, center, and end of all that we strive to do for Our Lord Jesus Christ. We engage in prayer for the Church knowing that when we pray we are not alone in prayer or in action. Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and the whole communion of saints join with us in interceding for the Church.
We who long for the cleansing of the Church from these grave evils have the means of prayer through which we can grow in holiness even as we pray for the Church to be cleansed of evil and made holy as Christ is holy. Let us avail ourseves of these gifts of prayer:
The Daily Mass or a daily Act of Spiritual Communion
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
Benediction and Adoration
The Holy Rosary
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Litanies
The Liturgy of the Hours
Other Chaplets and Devotions
Let every action we undertake be covered in prayer and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so that only God’s will is desired and achieved through our efforts.
ACTION
For love of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to action against evil. Let each faithful Catholic offer themselves at Mass or at home to be the beginning point of the Church’s cleansing and renewal. Ask the Lord’s blessing that we may each speak the truth in love and walk in the Holy Spirit.
There are a variety of actions that one can undertake to be part of the solution. The following are suggestions that have been made on various internet discussion lists.
*Show up at your parish and pray at 3pm every day
*Show up at your diocesan Chancery and pray
*Show up at the nearest Chancery on the Monday after Easter
at 12 noon and pray the Rosary for the Cleansing of the Priesthood
*Write, telephone, and e-mail your bishops and priests and express your horror over the sexual scandals and tell them you expect full disclosure and immediate action.
*Write to the Holy Father -- write in Polish if you can -- and beg him to intervene and clean up the Church in the United States. Be sure to copy your bishop and pastor.
The following are some actions you may consider asking of the Holy Father(and recommending to your bishop):
1. Ask the Holy Father to lead the Church in a worldwide Day of Penance for the sexual sins of the Church’s leadership;
2. Ask the Holy Father to declare that homosexuals may not receive Holy Orders;
3. Ask the Holy Father to remove Cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons who have covered up cases of sexual abuse.
4. Ask the Holy Father to give the Church in the USA new Cardinals especially elevating Archbishop Chaput of Denver
5. Ask the Holy Father to shut down religious orders or provinces of religious orders (like the California province of the Society of Jesus) that are a scandal in themselves.
6. Ask the Holy Father to give Cardinal Law, Cardinal Egan, and Cardinal Mahony new jobs at the Vatican.
7. Ask the Holy Father to suspend the US National Conference of Catholic Bishops and to appoint either a triumvirate to clean house or an Inquisitor General to root out evil and liberate the Church in the USA from error and crime.
8. Ask the Holy Father to restore the prayer “St. Michael the Archangel” to the close of every Mass.
9. Ask the Holy Father to extend the faculty to every priest in the Church to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal.
10. Ask the Holy Father to excommunicate Catholic politicians who support the holocaust of abortion.
11. Ask the Holy Father to give the Cardinal’s red hat to Archbishop Chaput, Bishop Bruskewitz, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
12. Ask the Holy Father to disassociate the Church from those once Catholic universitiies and colleges that no longer affirm the magisterium of the Church or loyalty to the Pope.
13. Ask the Holy Father to make Fr. Benedict Groeschel the next Archbishop of New York.
Some will find these ideas too presumptuous, but it is clear that the Holy Father and the leadership of the Church in the USA need to hear from the rank and file faithful.
Finally, be sure to pray for the Pope, and write to the Holy Father a letter of encouragement. Assure him of your prayers for his intentions and for him personally. Also, write letters of encouragement to any deacon, priest, or bishop whom you know to be defenders of the faith and devoted to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our good and faithful priests need to know that they are loved and cherished.
Jesus, King of the nations, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Good Saint Joseph, pray for us.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
Well, you can believe what you want to believe. It won't change what aint into what is (just ask Galileo). And, if you are honest with yourself, you might want to just recollect the last time you put that wafer and wine in your mouth. Can you honestly say that you tasted human flesh and blood? Did you overlook what Jesus said in the verse you quoted above ... "[63] It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."
I am tired and I'm calling it a day. My sincere hope is that Jesus comes very soon. I love Him and want to be with Him. This world is not my home.
I consider myself in good company with the One who is my Lord and Master.
From:
John 7 [20] The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
and
John 8 [48] Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
[52] Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
A statue of Mary is nothing more than that...a photograph, not worshipped, not the REAL Mary, not the dear Mother of my God, who lives in heaven with Him and lives as a Saint today...I honor Mary. I wish I were more like her, who I conceive her to be. I do not think she could have borne my Savior if she were not sinless, and I think that she is the best that a woman can aspire to imitate...
So with the other saints, people whose lives were special to our faith...people we believe live in heaven with God, who we believe have an interest in some of us here on earth the way I think my parents in heaven have an interest in me, the way I, when I reach Glory, will have an interest in some people and my children...
I REALLY BELIEVE in Heaven! I have no idea what God has in store for those who love Him...but I'm positive it will be wonderful beyond my wildest dreams and hopes...
So when I see your post, which clearly shows that you think that we Catholics worship idols, I'm sad--we don't, but the explanation is one I hope you will understand...remember...there were no photographs until relatively recently in history...statues, stained glass windows, depictions of the saints--we don't worship them, they are aids to our worship of Christ and God...the stories of the lives of the saints, like Maximillian Kolbe, inspire me, and help teach me how I can be a fallible human in love with Christ my Savior...
I hope you'll read this and reply. Your question to me was thoughtful, and I appreciate that.
This whole topic, of course, is as contentious as a topic can be, and I have no desire to offend people by harping on it or boring people by re-hashing old news. But, for people who are into thinking about this topic, here's an interesting passage:
1 Corinthians 11:23-34 --
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
It seems clear from this passage, that the original Christians celebrated the "Lord's Supper" with a meal that was indistinguishable from a meal they might eat at home. Paul even has to correct them that the Lord's Supper isn't intended to satisfy physical hunger, because apparently so many people were treating the meal as a "normal" meal.
But Paul's correction tells the people to think about the INTENT of the meal, and to guide their THOUGHTS during the meal to Christ, His teachings, and His death and resurrection. Paul quotes Jesus's word, "...in remembrance of Me."
If there had been some intent to the Lord's Supper even deeper than this, even more mystical and metaphysical -- as if this wasn't enough! -- then Paul could easily have said so.
To my eyes, it seems probable that the notion of transubstantiation is a way an oppressive ecclesiastical hierarchy actually takes away from people the real meaning of the Lord's Supper, and replaces it with mystical mumbo jumbo that means different things to everyone who attempts to conceptualize it.
Please don't get me wrong here -- I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. I'm just trying to state my view of the matter clearly, so that if people are interested in this stuff, they can chalk up my particular point of view.
Mark W.
*Show up at the nearest Chancery on the Monday after Easter at 12 noon and pray the Rosary for the Cleansing of the Priesthood
This idea is a very promising although Easter Monday is only a week away. How about a coordinated national day of protest promoted by the conservative Catholic media, inviting people from all walks of life, in front of every chancery in North America?
If you take these suggestions, or just the one about gathering at the Chanceries on Easter Monday .. and e-mail it and print it out and give it to your friends and contacts .. and ask them to do the same, it will be amazing to see what God can do through our simple efforts.
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