BEFORE I write anything else, there was enough feedback from the last two webcasts that Daniel O’Connor and I recorded that I think it’s important to pause and recalibrate.Continue reading
election
The Agitators – Part II
Hatred of the brethren makes room next for Antichrist;
for the devil prepares beforehand the divisions among the people,
that he who is to come may be acceptable to them.
—St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Church Doctor, (c. 315-386)
Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XV, n.9
Read Part I here: The Agitators
THE world watched it like a soap opera. Global news incessantly covered it. For months on end, the U.S. election was the preoccupation of not only Americans but billions across the world. Families argued bitterly, friendships fractured, and social media accounts erupted, whether you lived in Dublin or Vancouver, Los Angeles or London. Defend Trump and you were exiled; criticize him and you were deceived. Somehow, the orange-haired businessman from New York managed to polarize the world like no other politician in our times.Continue reading
Wormwood and Loyalty
From the archives: written on February 22nd, 2013….
A LETTER from a reader:
I totally agree with you — we each need a personal relationship with Jesus. I was born and raised Roman Catholic but find myself now attending the Episcopal (High Episcopal) church on Sunday and becoming involved with the life of this community. I was a member of my church council, a choir member, a CCD teacher and a full-time teacher in a Catholic school. I personally knew four of the priests credibly accused and who confessed of sexually abusing minor children… Our cardinal and bishops and other priests covered up for these men. It strains belief that Rome didn’t know what was going on and, if it truly didn’t, shame on Rome and the Pope and the curia. They are simply horrid representatives of Our Lord…. So, I should remain a loyal member of the RC church? Why? I found Jesus many years ago and our relationship has not changed — in fact it is even stronger now. The RC church is not the beginning and the end of all truth. If anything, the Orthodox church has just as much if not more credibility than Rome. The word “catholic” in the Creed is spelled with a small “c” – meaning “universal” not meaning only and forever the Church of Rome. There is only one true path to the Trinity and that is following Jesus and coming into relationship with the Trinity by first coming into friendship with Him. None of that is dependent upon the Roman church. All of that can be nourished outside of Rome. None of this is your fault and I admire your ministry but I just needed to tell you my story.
Dear reader, thank you for sharing your story with me. I rejoice that, despite the scandals you have encountered, your faith in Jesus has remained. And this doesn’t surprise me. There have been times in history when Catholics in the midst of persecution no longer had access to their parishes, the priesthood, or the Sacraments. They survived within the walls of their inner temple where the Holy Trinity resides. The lived out of faith and trust in a relationship with God because, at its core, Christianity is about the love of a Father for his children, and the children loving Him in return.
Thus, it begs the question, which you have tried to answer: if one can remain a Christian as such: “Should I remain a loyal member of the Roman Catholic Church? Why?”
The answer is a resounding, unhesitating “yes.” And here is why: it’s a matter of staying loyal to Jesus.
Possible… or Not?
Photo courtesy The Globe and Mail
IN light of recent historic events in the papacy, and this, the last working day of Benedict XVI, two current prophecies in particular are gaining traction among believers regarding the next pope. I am asked about them constantly in person as well as by email. So, I am compelled to finally give a timely response.
The problem is that the following prophecies are diametrically opposed to one another. One or both of them, therefore, cannot be true….
The Pope: Thermometer of Apostasy
As I asked Our Blessed Mother to guide my writing this morning, immediately this meditation from March 25th, 2009 came to mind:
HAVING traveled and preached in over 40 American states and nearly all of Canada’s provinces, I have been afforded a wide-ranging glimpse of the Church on this continent. I have met many wonderful lay people, deeply committed priests, and devoted and reverent religious. But they have become so few in number that I am beginning to hear the words of Jesus in a new and startling way:
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?(Luke 18:8)
It is said that if you throw a frog into boiling water, it will jump out. But if you slowly heat the water, it will remain in the pot and boil to death. The Church in many parts of the world is beginning to reach the boiling point. If you want to know how hot the water is, watch the attack upon Peter.