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When you meet with the Archbishopp and his people, be sure all of you are wearning St. Benedict medals.

Why? To ward off evil? From who?

As a a secular Benedictine myself, and a wearer of the medal--which is embedded in my crucifix--I find these remarks somewhat disturbing.

Have we stopped to consider that the Lord may have something better in store for them? Perhaps, the Lord wants to teach these Catholics to rely more on him and less in their own resources. Perhaps the Lord wants them to love their bishop like children do their fathers, and to trust in his judgment; perhaps the Lord is set to bless this filial obedience with more actual graces and a renewed mission. You will know when you ask for it.

These are a but number of the intentions worthy of intercessory prayer. Preparations for spiritual combat when the perceived adversary is "the Archbishop and his people," as if they were somehow foreign to the Church and tainted, are preposterous, and an offense against charity.

-Theo

In Charity, do you understand the background of what has happened in Boston and how those hold legitimate authority have and continue to create scandal? In this case the people of Holy Trinity have been respectfully requesting an audience with His Excellency for at least 18 months to communicate our plight and its potential effect on the Archdiocese of Boston and the universal Mission of the Church. We have been continually "stonewalled" and misrepresented by those charged with authority to execute the reconfiguration (suppression or merger) of over 60 parish in the Archdiocese of Boston. There has been and remains a callous, utilitarian attitude operative in Boston that completely disregards the importance of the Domus Dei (House of God) as part of our Catholic patrimony. More often than not, forgotten is the role that our Sacred Architectural patrimony plays as a tool of evangelization to both the Church Militant and an increasingly hostile secular culture. We are told churches are "just building" and nothing more. How terrible sad. I believe if the undiscerning mindlessly parrot phrases like this often enough, they begin to believe them. Sadly, it is happening in Boston since orthodox catechetical formation has been abysmal or nonexistent for many years. Belief systems tend to be formed by the prevailing secular culture. The importance of cherishing Sacred places were the incarnate meet our Incarnate Creator in the Most Blessed Sacrament more often than not is not approached with a truly Catholic sense.

How often have I heard in recent days these Sacred Places referred to as "Worship Space". THAT is patently offensive and foreign to Catholic ecclesiology, yet is used as part of language of reconfiguration in Boston. Archbishop O'Malley's tag-line for reconfiguration in a post sex-scandal Boston Archdiocese is "Rebuild My Church". This phrase borrows heavily from the words St. Francis (our Archbishop's own spiritual father) heard. I wonder how he would relate to what has happened in Boston over the last two years. Please pray for the Church, particular in Boston for both the Faithful and our Shepherds that we may all have the Grace to hear and accept God's will.