Oh! For writing out loud…
My week in review.
Tony Snow died.
He was a good man. Prayers for him and his family.
It has been a weird week.
I want to try to start living as if I am dying - which means going to confession more frequently and being a lot nicer and kinder, and not getting all worked up about stuff I have no control over.
“He laughs the proud to scorn.”
I have fallen into that egotistical trap of taking myself way too seriously again. Did you realize every sin stems from pride? Of course, of course, we all should know that - at least intellectually - but to really realize it is quite another matter. As Meister Eckert said, “God laughs and plays” - and so it seems today, “He laughs the proud to scorn”, as the psalmist says. So I’ll be going to confession, please pray for me.
Fairy tales are only based on reality.
I should note that my Tales From the Cloister about the errant nun was written for a very sensitive young person who plans on entering a monastery, and it was NOT about any particular religious I know… although I did combine data from several religious I have known to create the fairytale. That’s all.
Man bites dog.
Now I did read another priest’s post who wrote a wonderful warning to critics of priests whom trad Catholics may feel are not as Catholic as they are. (I posted about it here.) The priest had a very stern warning against attacking God’s anointed. He is right of course. However, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Now does this mean an anointed may critique and denigrate another anointed, say a liberal bishop or liberal priest? Or that lay people who are good solid Catholics may do likewise - only if the culprits are against the TLM of course? If so, is it only traditional and conservative priests one risks the wrath of God for if they criticise them?”
Don’t bite the hand of the man.
I don’t know, but I think it is better not to denigrate any priest or bishop - in any way - in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi - who demonstrated devotion for the priesthood, no matter how immoral the priest. That said, although the tone was rather imperious, the good father’s reprimand certainly is appropriate. It caused me to reflect on the many times I have gone to confession to dissident priests - some were even gay - and yet they followed the rubrics for absolution perfectly, and my sins were forgiven. Can I turn and criticise these priests who ministered to me and brought the grace of God to me? How about the more hip priests whose Masses may have been a tangled mess, yet they confected the Eucharist properly, and I was able to receive Holy Communion? Who dares to condemn these except their superiors?
Taking it to heart.
It may be a good lesson for everyone to take to heart, especially priests who publicly criticse or denigrate their fellow priests and bishops - in the media or in conversation with their flock. These priest-critics may not realize it, but they have already set the example by what they’ve said, and written.
After the French-worker priests retired…
This past week I also read an article about the Church in France concerning the extreme shortage of priests, abandoned parishes, and how the remaining faithful have little to no opportunity for Mass or the sacraments in the provinces. Astonishing, isn’t it. We ought to be grateful for the priests we have - pray for them and for more of them.
Have a nice Saturday.
July 12th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
“Tony Snow died.”
How sad. Ee seemed like a nice guy with such a pleasant demeanor. May he rest in peace (I read somewhere he was Catholic).
“Don’t bite the hand of the man.”
I sincerely hope that any critique I may have written in the past evaluating the behavior of Catholic clergy when such behavior has been an issue, is NOT taken as a vitriol at clergy itself. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.
“He laughs the proud to scorn.”
I will most assuredly pray for you and for your visit to the confessional.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
“Now does this mean an anointed may critique and denigrate another anointed, say a liberal bishop or liberal priest?”
Terry: I wondered the same thing when I read that post on the blog you referenced to. It seems to me that one finds a fair bit of snarky and downright disrepectful comments made about Cardinals, Bishops and other priests who don’t exactly follow the same party line. The remarks that really infuriate me are those made based on hearsay or simply a newspaper article. And we know how reliable and absolutely true that is!
It’s my opinion that priests who write blogs should be held to a much higher standard of responsibility than other Catholic bloggers. Some do a wonderful service to the faithful by focusing on the teachings of the Church or explaining its history or discussing rationally and without bias the liturgy. For that I am profoundly grateful.
I’ve known some priests in my lifetime who I didn’t particularly care for, who I wished were more pastoral or reverent and a few whose actions were without doubt, morally wrong. However, I have no right to judge them. There have been priests in my family for generations and I know the sacrifices those men have made to serve God and His Church. The demands are enormous and it is a daily struggle. Most do the very best they can given the obstacles they face in this world and their own fallibility.
Priests who criticise and denigrate other priests are setting a terrible example for the ordinary Catholic who reads their comments and thus feels perfectly legitimate in doing the same thing. Sometimes I wonder if any of them has read and understands what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches regarding the eigth commandment. Especially the responsibilities of social communication and offenses against the truth. Maybe they believe that because of their elevated position those teachings don’t apply to them!
Anyways, I have absolutely no respect for any of then, regardless of their qualifications and thank God they are not my parish priest.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:27 am
The lack of priests is in the USA too. My parish, our old priest retired July 1. he was very old and had severe Parkinson’s disease and finally had to retire because of health. No priest wants to come to this parish which is very rural and 250 miles drive to a city of any size. It is also a “difficult” parish with the usual small town politics and gossip. We did by the grace of God get one assigned to us by the Bishop who had to go out “asking for volunteers”. He is a Filipino priest with very holy intentions who came to our little town to feed the flock and for no other reason but a motivation of charity. Please pray for priests, especially the ones we don’t like. Pray that the politicos in my town don’t make it hard on our new priest.