Priest Against Priest,
Bishop Against Bishop, Cardinal Against Cardinal
It is interesting to read the many articles about
controversies over the actions, homilies and comments of Pope Francis on almost
any topic. Whether he did or did not spend enough time at the graves of the
unborn in Korea or his actions at the synod, he is always criticized by the
‘Traditionalist’. Our Blessed Virgin Mother at Akita told us “It would be
“priest against priest, bishop against bishop, cardinal against cardinal.” (http://olrl.org/prophecy/akita.shtml) When I first heard
this I thought she must have been referring to Pope Francis’s Synod. However, I
now have differernt thoughts.
When speaking with a friend today, she
reminded me of Humanae Vitae, an encyclical from Pope Paul VI
issued on July 25, 1968. As per Wikipedia, “Mainly because of its prohibition
of all forms of artificial contraception, the encyclical was politically
controversial, but affirms Church moral teaching from time immemorial on the
sanctity of life and the procreative and unitive nature of conjugal relations.”
Pope Paul VI continued his teaching through
122 Apostolic Constitutions eight Apostolic Exhortations, 121 Apostolic
Letters, innumerable homilies, letters and reflections.
Between 1980 and 1984, Pope John Paul II
delivered 129 addresses relating to the nature of marital love, dubbed Catholic
Theology of the Body, which fully vindicate Humanae Vitae.
Pope Benedict XVI called this topic
"controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future.”
When Pope Benedict XVI said, “controversial” it
was probably the understatement of the century. Certainly, it followed the
predictions of the Blessed Virgin Mother at Akita when Our Lady told us it
would be “…priest against priest, bishop against bishop, cardinal against
cardinal.” We can add people, priests, bishops and cardinals against the pope.
Again from Wikipedia, “It was the first time
in the twentieth century that open dissent from the laity about teachings of
the Church was voiced widely and publicly. The teaching has been criticized by
development organizations and others who claim that it limits the methods
available to fight worldwide population growth and struggle against AIDS.”
Within two days of the encyclical's release,
a group of US dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles Curran, then of The
Catholic University of America, issued a statement stating, "…spouses may
responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception
in some circumstances is permissible and indeed necessary to preserve and
foster the value and sacredness of marriage.” I believe nearly 160 clergy in
the US signed a petition to the Pope protesting his encyclical.
In Canada the Canadian Conference of Catholic
Bishops issued the controversial "Winnipeg Statement" dissenting from
the Encyclical. The Dutch in 1966 issued a dissent. In Poland there were
significant struggles between the Church and the Communist rulers of Poland who
promoted abortion and birth control. In the Soviet Union a publication of
Soviet intellectuals included an editorial and statement by Russian physicians
against the encyclical. Lutherans and the World Council of Churches criticized
the concepts of nature and natural law, which, in their view, still dominated
Catholic theology, as outdated. By contrast, in Latin America there was much
support for the Pope and his encyclical.
The controversy still rages today, nearly 50
years later. When is the last time you heard a homily on Humanae Vitae?
It seems we have always had conflicts within
our group of clergy from the day St. Paul criticized our first Pope Saint Peter
over circumcision, to our current Pope Francis being criticized over virtually
anything and everything. Please keep praying for our clergy.
Jim Fritz
My
First Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
As
a child, I always thought of Christmas as a time for receiving stuff. I dreamed
of, hoped for, and even prayed to God for a new bicycle, BB gun, baseball mitt
or other such things. Being one of the seven children of parents of modest
means, and having been born during the period of recovery from the greatest
economic depression this country has ever known, my prayers were never
answered. Of course, like most children who lack wisdom, I was disappointed
that God did not hear my plea. That is not to say that I did not appreciate the
bag of marbles, “Tinker Toy” set or the stocking stuffed full of fruit, nuts
and candy; and, in spite of His complete disregard for my desires, when I said
my prayers at night, I thanked him for all the “stuff” I received.
When
I was in the sixth grade, I was chosen to be in the boy’s Christmas Choir and
would have the opportunity to attend and sing at my first midnight Mass. Again,
in my lack of wisdom, I only recognized the opportunity to get away from old,
mean and strict Sister Kathleen with her math lessons and to spend more time in
music class with the young, kind and pretty Sister Mary Anne. We practiced an
hour a day, three days a week, X from the middle of November through Advent. We
learned some new (for me) carols including the Latin “Adeste Fideles” as well
as some secular songs such as the new Gene Autry song, “Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer” which we were to sing for the school assembly. In addition to
teaching us to enunciate and project our voices from our diaphragms, Sister Mary
Anne stressed the importance of giving rather than receiving. She said our
voices were to be a gift to the people of the church, and God gave us beautiful
voices for just that purpose.
Our
church was a Monastery of the Passionist Order and we were told that our choir
would include some Brothers and Seminarians of the Order; however, we never
practiced with them. On Christmas Eve we were all dressed in red cassocks with
white surplices and big red ribbons, tied in a bows and “Buster Brown” collars.
The church was decorated beautifully with lots of candles, poinsettias, holly,
evergreens and, of course, the crèche for the Baby Jesus. It was a Solemn High
Mass with the Priest, Deacon and Sub Deacon all dressed in beautiful gold
brocade vestments, and our choir was seated in the apse on both sides of the
altar. As the Priest incensed the altar and crèche we sang “Oh Little Town of
Bethlehem” and “Adeste Fideles”. It was just the voices of the boys’ choir with
no Seminarians in sight.
After
the Gospel reading and the homily, we began singing “O Holy Night.” When we reached
a certain point, we were joined by what seemed like a hundred booming, deep
voices of the Brothers, singing “Fall on your knees, O’ hear the angel voices…”
We had no idea these young men had been sitting silently just behind us in the
chancel separated only by the wooden lattice. A warm feeling engulfed me and
I’m sure I reached a little deeper into my diaphragm to project my voice more
fully. I now understood what Sister Mary Anne said and I was giving my gift to
my Mom and all the others who were sitting in the pews. I also understood that
I was giving back to God the gift he had given to me.
Sure,
being a kid, I still wanted to get “stuff” for Christmas, but from that Christmas
Eve on I realized there is a joy in giving, and whenever we give from the heart
we always get so much more in return. Now, sixty-five years after my first
Christmas Eve midnight Mass, I still get a lump in my throat and a tear in my
eye whenever I hear “O Holy Night.”
Dick
Byrne (Dick is a resident of Berkeley Springs WV and a
member of the Knights of Columbus)
How to be a Defender
of the Faith
Spiritual warfare
began when Lucifer refused to accept that God would become man. The demons were
infuriated that they now must bow down to humans who would become one in
Christ. (Gen 3, 1-24), (Ez 28, 12-47), (Isa 14, 12-114)
These spiritual
powers of darkness had been driven from heaven by Michael and his angels and
they had come to earth to wage war on the woman and her other children. Earlier
by revelation (Rev 12-6) it tells how the woman gave birth to a male child who
was caught up to God, so the woman is clearly Mary, and here she is Mary and
the Church – under attack by Satan. (Rev 13-17)
In order to be true defenders
of the faith you must know who your enemies are. Scripture tells us, “Our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but first and foremost it is against the
spiritual powers of darkness.” (Eph 6:10-20). Humans are their pawns.
This is very
important because if we focus only on humans we will be playing right directly into
the hands of the Powers of Darkness. Their strategy is to divide and conquer.
This is the very opposite of Christ’s strategy: “That they may be one in me,
Father – as you and I are one. That the world may know that you love them even
as you love me!” (John 17:21)
Jesus’ strategy with
humans is “Love your enemies.” So let us look at how he does this during his
life. Look how he dealt with some Pharisees who so opposed Him and wanted to
kill Him. He never failed to dialogue with them, especially during the last
weeks of His life.
But early on, Nicodemus
was won over and came to Him at night to learn more. It was to him Jesus said,
“God so loved the world that He sent His Son into the world not to condemn, but
to save the world. All who sin are his enemies.
We know Jesus won
over this Pharisee because it was Nicodemus and another ruler of the Pharisee,
Joseph of Arimathea, who took the body of Christ from the cross, having sought
permission from Pilate. It was two Pharisees who brought the shroud, the myrrh
and aloes to anoint Jesus, and it was they who wrapped His body for burial. These
two Pharisees did this while the apostles were hiding in fear.
Scripture tells us
that after the resurrection, and especially after Pentecost, many “…even of the
Pharisees” were converted. This is how Jesus’ love for His enemies conquers them
with love. But by far the greatest example of this is of Paul of Tarsus, the Pharisee
and sworn enemy of Christ won over by His love, who became the Pharisee who won
over the world with his love of Christ,
The tragedy of Christ
must be ours if we are to defend the faith. The real enemies are the spiritual
powers of darkness who work to divide us. Jesus works to make us one by loving
us when we are His enemies by our sins against Him and against one another. In
defending the faith always ask, "What would Jesus have me do?" His
answer was on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jim Canary
(Jim is a father of
nine children and lives with his wife in Big Cove Tannery PA)
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