Saturday, 3 May 2014
The Sins of The Fathers
The Church in some areas is imploding for one reason. This reason may be labeled "teenage rebellion". A teen rebels for two main reasons. The first is that he realizes for the first time the sins of the father and mother. He becomes hyper-critical in his new view of the imperfections of his parents. He resolves never to be like them.
Secondly, in that resolution, he decides to be his own person and become an "ideal" adult.
These two factors of rebellion are natural and good stages in growth necessary for maturation. However, when the teen grows up and begins to blame his parents for all his own faults and failures, that becomes a serious psychological problem. I know people in their 60s who still blame their parents for unhappiness. As long as those people do not take responsibility for their own lives, they will remain psychological and spiritual teenagers. They have not moved on to the second step-resolving to be the ideal adult.
Growth demands a humility of one looking honestly at one's own faults and takes responsibility for changing those sins and failings. To concentrate on the sins of the father is not only self-deceit, but pride. Anger and hurt must be faced and healed for one to move on into holiness.
Today, across the Western world, bloggers and other media personages demonize the spiritual fathers in the Church. Over and over again, lay people recall the sins of the priests, whether sexual sins of a horrible nature, such as pedophilia, or liturgical abuses, or ideological disagreements with the Teaching Magisterium.
As long as the laity merely have temper tantrums against the sins of the fathers and do not take responsibility for their own sins, nothing will change. In fact, the Church will be destroyed by the rancor within. A person can be brought to hell by nursing hatreds and creating factions.
This is what St. Paul meant:
Secondly, in that resolution, he decides to be his own person and become an "ideal" adult.
These two factors of rebellion are natural and good stages in growth necessary for maturation. However, when the teen grows up and begins to blame his parents for all his own faults and failures, that becomes a serious psychological problem. I know people in their 60s who still blame their parents for unhappiness. As long as those people do not take responsibility for their own lives, they will remain psychological and spiritual teenagers. They have not moved on to the second step-resolving to be the ideal adult.
Growth demands a humility of one looking honestly at one's own faults and takes responsibility for changing those sins and failings. To concentrate on the sins of the father is not only self-deceit, but pride. Anger and hurt must be faced and healed for one to move on into holiness.
Today, across the Western world, bloggers and other media personages demonize the spiritual fathers in the Church. Over and over again, lay people recall the sins of the priests, whether sexual sins of a horrible nature, such as pedophilia, or liturgical abuses, or ideological disagreements with the Teaching Magisterium.
As long as the laity merely have temper tantrums against the sins of the fathers and do not take responsibility for their own sins, nothing will change. In fact, the Church will be destroyed by the rancor within. A person can be brought to hell by nursing hatreds and creating factions.
This is what St. Paul meant:
1 Corinthians 1:10
Douay-Rheims
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment.
Constantly demonizing certain clerics or keeping on about the sins of the fathers will not make one holy. I have written many posts on the spirit of division and judgment.
Remember, how you judge is how you will be judged.
Pray for the fathers, and stop blaming them for all the present problems. God can change hearts overnight. The laity avoid the work men and women are called to do by concentrating on the faults of others.
The Church would be renewed by a holy laity. A holy laity would bring forth more vocations and saints who would change the world.
The Church would be renewed by a holy laity. A holy laity would bring forth more vocations and saints who would change the world.
Complaining and whinging are the sins of the teen. When I face Christ in my particular judgement, I do not want Him to send me to hell, or even purgatory, for undermining the fathers by constantly repeating their sins.
Christ did correct the Sadducees and Pharisees, but He did much more. He healed and preached the Gospel. And, He is Perfect.
I think Christ's advice to the crowd who was determined to kill the adulterous woman may apply to those who continually refer to the sins of the fathers.
Happy Name Day to All Named Philip and James Across The World
John from The Douay-Rheims
part of today's Gospel.
14 Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.
4 And whither I go you know, and the way you know.
5 Thomas saith to him: Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.
7 If you had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know him, and you have seen him.
8 Philip saith to him: Lord, shew us the Father, and it is enough for us.
9 Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, shew us the Father?
10 Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works.
11 Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
12 Otherwise believe for the very works' sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do.
13 Because I go to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do.
More, More from St. Catherine of Siena and St.Therese, the Little Flower
You ought to despise and hate the ministers’ sins and try to dress them in the clothes of charity and holy prayer and wash away their filth with your tears...Indeed, I have appointed them and given them to you to be angels on earth and suns, as I have told you. When they are less than that you ought to pray for them. But you are not to judge them. Leave the judging to me, and I, because of your prayers and my own desire, will be merciful to them. from St.Catherine's Dialogues
Pray for lukewarm priests to be good priests, and pray for good priests to be holy priests.
Pray for lukewarm priests to be good priests, and pray for good priests to be holy priests.
A Prayer for Priests
By St. Therese of Lisieux
O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world's contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown. Amen.
More from St. Catherine of Siena, A Lay Person
Most of the Doctors of the Church are clergy. Not this lady....
How the truly obedient receive a hundredfold for one, and also eternal lift; and what is meant by this one, and this hundredfold.
“In them is fulfilled the saying of the sweet and amorous Word, My only-begotten Son, in the gospel when He replied to Peter’s demand, ’Master, we have left everything for your love’s sake, and have followed You, what will you give us?’ My Truth replied, ’I will give you a hundredfold for one, and you shall possess eternal life.’ As if My Truth had wished to say, ‘You have done well, Peter, for in no other way could you follow Me. And I, in this life, will give you a hundredfold for one.’ And what is this hundredfold, beloved daughter, besides which the apostle obtained eternal life? To what did My Truth refer? To temporal substance?
“Properly speaking, no. Do I not, however, often cause one who gives alms to multiply in temporal goods? In return for what do I this? In return for the gift of his own will. This is the one for which I repay him a hundredfold. What is the meaning of the number a hundred? A hundred is a perfect number, and cannot be added to except by recommencing from the first. So charity is the most perfect of all the virtues, so perfect that no higher virtue can be attained except by recommencing at the beginning of self-knowledge, and thus increasing many hundredfold in merit; but you always necessarily arrive at the number one hundred. This is that hundredfold which is given to those who have given Me the unit of their own will, both in general obedience, and in the particular obedience of the religious life. And in addition to this hundred you also possess eternal life, for charity alone enters into eternal life, like a mistress bringing with her the fruit of all the other virtues, while they remain outside, bringing their fruit, I say, into Me, the eternal life, in whom the obedient taste eternal life. It is not by faith that they taste eternal life, for they experience in its essence that which they have believed through faith; nor by hope, for they possess that for which they had hoped, and so with all the other virtues, Queen Charity alone enters and possesses Me, her possessor. See, therefore, that these little ones receive a hundredfold for one, and also eternal life, for here they receive the fire of divine charity figured by the number of a hundred (as has been said). And because they have received this hundredfold from Me, they possess a wonderful and hearty joy, for there is no sadness in charity, but the joy of it makes the heart large and generous, not narrow or double. A soul wounded by this sweet arrow does not appear one thing in face and tongue while her heart is different. She does not serve, or act towards her neighbor with dissembling and ambition, because charity is an open book to be read by all. Wherefore the soul who possesses charity never falls into trouble, or the affliction of sadness, or jars with obedience, remains obedient until death.”
I would take them all if I had my own place!
 |
| http://cdn.thesocialhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Screen-Shot-2014-04-17-at-12.32.16-AM.png |
Catholic Dems, watch this video
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/05/01/Emotional-Intelligence-Director-Confirms-Hillary-Did-Not-Tell-The-Truth-To-Benghazi-Families
If you cannot agree with the Right on abortion, you can agree on this cover-up.
If you cannot agree with the Right on abortion, you can agree on this cover-up.
Brave New World Coming to GB?
I was harangued by FIVE doctors in 1988, when I, as an older mom-to-be, was told to have an amniocentesis, (which can cause miscarriages), which I was refused. I was literally screamed at by five doctors in a room, after the first one, exasperated with my no and my saying I did not care if I had a Down Syndrome Child (which I did not) went and got four more doctors, who ended up yelling at me.
I told them that I would love whatever child came to me. And, I walked out. Of course, I have a beautiful son and these doctors were brainwashed by the utilitarian society. Indeed, one of the doctors told me I had "no right to have a child" and "it would be a burden to the state" if disabled.
Pay attention to politician talking like this. A report from two years ago is circulating, but I am sure there are other news items pertaining to this lately. Would like feedback from Brits, please.
When governments are in charge of health, this is what happens.
Connected to my January, 2015 note the other day-Is Google going to be BB?
Just last week in my post, Say Goodbye to “Net Neutrality” – New FCC Proposal Will Permit Discrimination of Web Content, I mused that in so-called “first world” countries like the U.S. the illusion of freedom must be maintained even as civil liberties are eroded. Thus censorship must be administered surreptitiously and slowly. The following plan to implement an “Internet ID” will initially only be rolled out as a pilot program in two states (Michigan and Pennsylvania), and will only deal with government services. That said, we can see where all of this is ultimately headed, and the program, called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, should be monitored closely going forward.
Vice reported on this a few days ago:
A few years back, the White House had a brilliant idea: Why not create a single, secure online ID that Americans could use to verify their identity across multiple websites, starting with local government services. The New York Times described it at the time as a “driver’s license for the internet.”
Sound convenient? It is. Sound scary? It is.
See more here
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/05/02/obama-administration-launches-plan-to-make-an-internet-id-a-reality/
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/05/prophecy-time.html
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/05/prophecy-time.html
If I get to Spain
I would like to do the short walk to St. James Compostela. Have any readers done the Camino de Santiago?
Father Palau Part Three
Blessed Francisco Palau had a great devotion to Our Lady of Virtues. This title of Mary is not well-known in America. The site of the original shrine outside of Lisbon is in ruins, as far as I could ascertain. But, this name of Mary and her shrine was popular in the Medieval period.
A list of her virtues and an explanation of these may be found here. Someone may want to translate those around Mary in the painting.
A list of her virtues and an explanation of these may be found here. Someone may want to translate those around Mary in the painting.
|
Father Palau Part Two
Blessed Francisco Palau worked in the world of spiritual warfare. His battles were with both the horrible, anti-Catholic tyrants of the time and with the demons of the air.
Here is a section of his writings. It is interesting that the enemies of the Church know more about this Blessed than we do.
...from the air the princes and powers with his king Belzebuth, presented armed with an order of men, who have a covenant with him, and like a mysterious network extending over all the earth , having their centers, schools, teachers in all the capitals of the world; and his work is authorized and supported by the laws of free worship and pagan authorities, presented in the form of some Catholics and other declared enemies of Catholicism.
The fight has been moved to another field accordingly, that is, against these evil spirits, in a thousand ways that poison the air, produce fever, cholera, typhus, fevers strange arm a people against another people, one nation against another, inventing machines of death against man, always new, chairing the meetings, and all political and religious meetings aimed at the destruction of Catholicism, and hold in their thrones and kings antisocial governments, thwarting all plans designed by true Catholic Church to save the human society..."The Hermit", Year IV, No. 121, March 2, 1871
Blessed Francisco Palau had traveled to Rome to speak with Pope Pius X about setting up an order of exorcists. Now, this in finally happening.
To be continued....
Meet A Relatively Unknown Saint of The Way of Perfection Part One
The day Blessed Francisco Palau was beatified, April 24, 1988, I was in Hayward's Heath getting ready to have my new baby. This blessed's day passed me by until this week, when I was introduced to Francisco Palau.
The Carmelite shows us that this world and the spiritual world of perfection can be balanced in order to serve both God and man.
His life seems exciting, but all he wanted to be was a hermit seeking God in perfection. But, God called him to love the Church and be active in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. Here is one prayer from the first link below.
My good Jesus, encouraged by your promises, I
am going to explain to you my need, and to present to you
my request. But we cannot pray, and do not know how to
pray, or to understand what we must pray for, nor how nor
when. We can only pray well and rightly and with the
necessary faith when the Holy Spirit, who knows all our
needs, and with unspeakable groans, prays in our hearts,
and moves us to pray, teaches us what we have to ask, and
makes us ask [Rom 8,26]. So my dear Lord, in order to think
of what I should ask, and to pray for it properly, and thus fulfil
the command you have given me to pray to you, I need the
help of the Holy Spirit. Send this divine Spirit into my heart,
and he will pray in me, he will teach me what I have to ask,
how and when I must pray, and he will give me strength to
persevere in my request until I have obtained what I wanted.
I ask you for this grace now so that afterwards I may know
how to pray properly for what your Holy Spirit teaches me.
Remember your promise that you would send him to us to
inspire us and teach us to do all that you command us. You
said: “The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name will instruct you in everything.
Here are some links for more information on Bl. Francisco Palau.
http://www.carmelitasmisioneras.org/images/Palau/Palau-English.pdf
http://www.carmelite.org.uk/stfrancis.html
http://www.ourgardenofcarmel.org/palau.html
On the link on the above page, one reads this:
In prayer you shall find faith, hope and love. You are sufficiently instructed and experienced in the exercise of these virtues and the main preoccupations and errors you had have been eradicated. This is why you find the acts of union easy, sweet and satisfying, and without recognizing nor seeing the union, you feel it, you are at east with God, you deal easily and amicably with him and readily make friends with him. Well, I have nothing to tell you about this at present except that you must keep on and taking advantage of this interior ease with God, you must ask for graces, confirm and strengthen your moral virtues, and making yourself strong in this interior castle, you must fight your moods of sadness and their causes, uproot your unfounded sorrows aand get ready (My paper got over for hand not planned to write so extensively. But since I am at it I will go on) on the dreadful battles that the three enemies wage against this divine union. Live united with God and see to it that nothing, whether hunger or thirs, the sword, fortune or misfortune, nothing wahtever disturbs your heart. Live united with God and everything else vanish like smoke.
When you examine your conscience (attention to what I am going to tell you) do not go too far; look at it as we look at the seashore from the top of the Alps or the Pyrenees, lightly, without going into details. If you do not see anything clearly and certainly wrong, go ahead and be at peace with your God. Mind this, I repeat, anad do tell me how you are faring, because the devil could trick you and do you serious hard with his false doctrine and suggestions. This union produces peace of mind; then search for peace. Let nothing disturb you, be it good or bad. Give up everything else except your peace of mind. Wheny ou feel restless, sad, sorrowful and embittered, look for the cause, and ifi it is not worth being sorrying about (and nothing that does not offend God is worth being sorry about), get rid of your anxiety; if you do not see the causes but feel restless and dissatisfied all the same, put up with it, arm yourself with patience, let the storm pass, and your inner peace will return.
This union, my sister, demands a heart at peace, calm, unalterable, like some place in heaven, and we can and must acquire it fighting hard whatever threatens if from outside ourselves.