Ping!
Well, the Church is the Church is the Church, whatever stupid things priests, bishops, and popes get up to.
As it happens, I was born and bred an Anglican, and I got a lot from that Church. I converted to Catholicism in college, not because it was “better” than Anglicanism, but because I gradually came to the conclusion that if there is only ONE true Church, it must be the Catholic Church. None of the Protestant churches were around for the first fifteen hundred years since Jesus founded the Church. Cardinal Newman made the argument convincingly.
So, unless Satan manages to nab me, I shall remain a Catholic until I die, no matter how bad things get. It’s still the One, true, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and the sacraments are still the sacraments. Unless the priest goes too far overboard, in which case you just have to find another parish and another priest.
Christ founded the Church and promised that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against it. Bad things have happened in the Church from time to time in the past. But the worst thing about the current mess is that it has caused so many people to drop out and leave over the years. Their loss. Their terrible loss.
My experience, exactly, in my Novus Ordo parish! I knew that when the guy next to me was praying for the Holy Spirit to guide the bishops at the synod, he meant exactly the opposite of what I meant.
So my wife and I started attending an Anglican Use church that converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism about three years ago, and they are far more Catholic than the “catholic” church I grew up in.
I’m much happier. The Mass is far more dignified, and the homilies far more orthodox and helpful. Imagine that!
I would HIGHLY recommend that any Catholic Freeper who can find one attend an Anglican Use parish, especially if it’s part of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
THE APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord
At the words that follow up and including "the Virgin Mary," all bow.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
The Catholic Church is made up of saints and sinners. Hopefully all are seeking the Truth and salvation with Jesus Christ. Perhaps too many do not want to follow the teachings of Jesus and go along with the values of today’s society.
We have a strong tradition of the Sacraments and the Word of God established by Jesus.
We are bound together as the Body of Christ and we are stronger with God’s graces. We have strengths and weaknesses as individuals, and even as the Body of Christ. Christ realizes that we are human and striving to be like Him.
We all have different paths and different levels of maturity. We continue to learn about God’s will for us.
I am concerned about the moral values of our society and even the actions of many Catholics and non Catholics. I am concerned that there are evil people that cause much harm and influence and lead others away from God.
The Body of Christ has grown and survived even if there are still many weaknesses in the Church. We still have to lead others to Christ and spread the Good News of Jesus.
There is a lot of good in society and there is a lot of love of God and neighbor. We need to continue to build on the good and let God take care of the evil.