SATAN INFILTRATES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Christ hands the keys to Peter

by Pietro Perugino

"And I say to thee: 'That thou art Peter; and upon this rock

I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not

prevail against it."

Matthew 16:18

It is obvious from the above quote, and others, that Jesus certainly knew that Hell and Satan are real. If you think you know better than Jesus and the Apostles who transmitted Christ's words and traditions, you are not Christian. You worship yourself instead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and you need to stop pretending that you are Catholic or Orthodox or any version of a zillion Christian denominations. "Loving" Jesus is not enough because He himself said that those who love Him follow his commandments.

You cannot get away from the Commandments if you expect to go to Heaven when you die. Jesus said that many people would come to him, crying, "Lord! Lord!" and he would send them away, saying that He does not know them. Take the hint.

I have met many people who loudly assert that, despite unrepentant flouting of Catholic moral teachings, they fully expect to be welcomed into Heaven when they die. While it is entirely up to our gracious good Lord to admit someone or not, it is a mistake to presume upon the grace of the Lord, especially if you've thumbed your nose at Him your whole life and, not only have you refused to follow His commandments, but you have loudly blabbed on Facebook that no one should have to do so.

"[E]very one that exalteth himself shall be humbled,

and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Luke 14:11

There are far too many people bitching about eternal tenets of the Catholic faith while masquerading as "faithful Catholics." Even the converts have gotten into the act, questioning Catholic moral teachings, especially, because they can't imagine giving up sexual licentiousness.

We all need to keep in mind that, while the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church that Christ founded, this does not stop Satan from attacking it continually, from without and from within. We have to be vigilant and watchful in this battle of the ages.

"And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that 

scandals should not come: but woe to him through

whom they come."

Luke 17:1

Modern man dismisses even the notion of Satan as being antiquated and laughable, while at the same time expecting "The Church" to work some kind of cosmic poo-poo magic act that will prevent evil from infesting it. Typically, respect for the authority of God and the tenets of The Faith, are either dismissed entirely or discounted until they are inconsequential. This contradiction is like a cancer among Catholics.

Satan at the Gates of Hell

I see "Catholics" on Facebook spewing resentment against The Church and arguing against ancient tenets of the faith in the mistaken belief that their opinions and weird twists of logic are somehow superior to Catholic moral teachings that were firmly established in the early church.

By infecting the hearts of Catholics with dissatisfaction and inflaming the egos of otherwise good people, Satan cultivates a wave of discontent within the faith. He likewise inspires men of evil habit and inclination to push into the seminaries and into positions of power so that their eventual unmasking as pedophiles will negatively impact the reputation of The Church and weaken the confidence of its members.

Satan is behind the lack of humility that is a huge problem in our culture. After all, it was Satan's conceit that got him kicked out of heaven to begin with. The Bible likewise speaks of the dangers of hubris in the story of Adam and Eve who disobeyed the commandments of The Lord because the serpent encouraged them to believe that The Lord had not told them The Truth. The original "fake news."

"And the serpent said to the woman:

No, you shall not die the death."

Genesis 3:4

Satan lied to Adam and Eve and told them that God's word was wrong. Satan said they would not die, but this is exactly how death was introduced into mankind. We were SUPPOSED to live in paradise with the Lord forever. All we had to do was obey the word of the Lord and do not eat the forbidden fruit. The same thing is happening today. Instead of obeying God, we are behaving like the serpent and telling everyone else that God is wrong.

Whether you choose the literal or the figurative reality of that ancient Biblical message, the meaning is the same.

Catholic moral teachings around sex attracts the most animosity from these pseudo-Catholics. They cite all sorts of reasons but fail to recognize that all the major religious traditions, especially those with a mystical bent, emphasize sexual restraint as a significant entree into the mystical life. In fact, in several of the East Indian Hindu-based religious traditions, it is recommended that husband and wife live together as brother and sister after the birth of one or two children! You think the Catholic proscription against birth control is an onerous burden? Fine. Live as brother and sister with your mate for the rest of your life. Millions of people around the world are doing it.

We all need to maintain focus on our goal. The primary purpose of the Catholic faith is to align ourselves with the Lord so that, when the time comes, we can spend eternity with him in Heaven. This isn't a grim duty. There is tremendous joy in following the Lord. He tells us Himself that He resides among us. In order to experience that contact with the Divine here on earth, we need to pay attention to the methods laid out for us and ignore Satan's whisperings.

If a Catholic is sincerely struggling with any aspect of the faith,, I recommend that they get their questions answered from reliable sources within the faith instead of blabbing their discontent all over the internet and thereby doing Satan's work for him.

Silver Rose

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Saint Luke

Feast day: October 18

Typically, I write a blog about an obscure saint of the day, but Luke overshadows the calendar.  I couldn't find much about the other saints that share this feast day with him. Much is already written about Luke by great theologians and writers far more gifted than me, and I decided not to bring coals to Newcastle, as they say, but to make a comment about something that is happening in our "modern" Catholic Church.

It has come to my attention that certain priests and lay persons are publishing dissent against the faith and criticism of Pope Francis. Rather than humbly consenting to be led by the pontiff, these persons have, instead, decided to broadcast their disapproval of his approach in blogs, on television, in newspapers, and wherever else their opinion can find a foothold.

No one ever became a saint by publishing complaints about the Pope and The Holy Catholic Church. They became protestant. Remember Martin Luther. He published his condemnation by hammering it onto the door of the church. His role in separating thousands of people from the church that Jesus founded was not rewarded in heaven, I can assure you. I am not presuming to know whether or not Luther is in heaven. He may be in heaven despite his break with the faith, but certainly not because of it.

Like most of you, I absolutely love Holy Mother Church. There are some things that bug me about the modern church in America, but it isn't helpful for me to air my grievances. I will not become a saint by doing that.

Our whole mission in life is to become saints so that we can spend eternity in heaven, gazing upon the Lord, being with Him, experiencing Him. It isn't a question of "earning" it, because no one can deserve union with God. We have to prepare ourselves to be with God by becoming more like God, so that we can be in harmony with Him.

As I study the saints throughout the years, I have yet to find one that became a saint because they publicly dissented with the Pope and the church and tried to get others involved in their dissatisfaction.

Prayer, fasting, alms giving, performing spiritual and corporeal works of mercy, forgiving our enemies and doing good toward those who harm us, loving our neighbor as much as ourselves. We know these things. They involve an emptying of ourselves and our petty egos and opinions so that we can be filled with and led by God.

If the Pope was having a mistress or stealing from the coffers or committing mortal sins, we would have to admonish the sinner, at least someone would have to be doing that, but this is not the case in the current instance. Some people, apparently, do not like his style of leadership and they are fomenting fear among the laity that Pope Francis will destroy the church by his mode of leadership.

Jesus promised us that His Church would last until the end of time and that He would be with us until the end of time. Even the "gates of hell" can not withstand the Holy Catholic Church. We have assurances from Christ Himself that no one can destroy His Church.

All of this controversy about the Pope, the current Synod, and the various factions that are trying to change the unchangeable...all of it...is a distraction and a detour away from what we have been told to do by Christ Himself.

Please join me in praying for The Church and everyone in it. Pray for Pope Francis, as he has many times asked us to do, and refrain from engaging in or encouraging this useless chatter that is exploding all around us. Continue your devotions and increase your prayers if you can. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said to remove the beam from our own eye before we try to remove the speck from our neighbor's!

Have confidence in the promises of Jesus. He will not fail.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) copyright 2015
All rights reserved.

NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE POPE

"I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral 

people, not at all referring to the immoral of this world

or the greedy and robbers or idolaters, for you would then

have to leave the world.  But I now write to you not to

associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, 

greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber,

not even to eat with such a person.  For why should I be

judging outsiders?  Is it not your business to judge those

within?  God will judge those outside.  'Purge the evil

person from your midst.'" 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Once a person has been converted to the Catholic Christian religion, has accepted Jesus Christ and been admitted to his Church, it is assumed that such person believes in the tenets of the faith, believes that Jesus Himself created the church and made Peter, the first bishop of Rome, the rock upon which it is built.  Each Catholic person is charged to and promises to reject Satan and all his pomps and works.  At every mass, Catholics recite the Creed, which includes the statement that we believe in "the Holy Catholic Church."

Imagine my surprise when, upon becoming Catholic, I have witnessed a slew of individuals and "Catholic" blogs and newspaper articles in which people who claim to be Catholic openly defy the faith, dispute doctrine and malign the Pope, either this one or Benedict or John Paul II.  Imagine my horror when I found that a number of these detractors actually reside within the church as priests, deacons and bishops!  Some are secular bigwigs who make a living from writing about the Church.

Widespread criticism of the Pope would be understandable if he was obliterating doctrine or was living in unrepentant sin.  I would fully expect a massive uprising and quite a lot of "fraternal correction" coming from the college of cardinals and many others, but in the case of Pope Francis, for instance, I am dumbfounded by the arrogance of some who blatantly lead Catholics into the mistaken notion that public criticism of the pontiff's habit, style or manner of communication is something desirable, edifying or worthwhile in any way.

For example: recently, in THE CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT, Carl E. Olson's article appeared, the title of which is THE HYPERBOLIC AND EXHAUSTING PAPACY OF FRANCIS, which you can read HERE.  One immediately gets the thrust of the article from its title and the first sentence.

"My impression is that many Catholics are weary of the seemingly

constant addresses, homilies, interviews, texts - many of which

read like lectures - that come from the Holy Father."

Carl E. Olson

"The Hyperbolic and Exhausting Papacy of Francis"

Carl Olson sucks off the teat of Holy Mother Church while he criticizes its Holy Father.  He is editor of Ignatius Insight, and, most significantly, the editor of Catholic World Report in which the article in question appears.  He wrote a previous article in that online magazine entitled POPE FRANCIS: THE GOOD, THE BAFFLING AND THE UNCLEAR, which you may read HERE.  He is also the author of the book WILL CATHOLICS BE LEFT BEHIND? and another with Medievalist Sandra Miesel called THE DAVINCI HOAX.  He writes a weekly column for OUR SUNDAY VISITOR.  Clearly he has his fingers in a lot of Catholic media pies and is, without question, a talented person, which is the danger, of course.

I am not picking on Carl Olson in particular.  His other contributions have been helpful to the faith. Nor is he the only writer to critique the Pope in a disrespectful way, but he provides a perfect example of what ought not be done.  Whether or not his criticisms and complaints are objectively accurate is irrelevant.  We already have enough people in the secular media lambasting our church and its leaders without adding to the confusion and leading others down a twisted path away from the light of Christ.  We don't need to encourage a lack of willingness to be led by Holy Mother Church or to be taught by it and learn from it.

All of us need to model the correct attitude toward the pontiff which is indicative of our place in the scheme of things.  Cultivating a humble attitude can be challenging for Americans.  We have enough freedom to say whatever we want, and we rely so heavily on our opinions that our love for our own opinions, independent of any authority except ourselves, verges on idolatry.

Christ said that those who love Him follow his commandments. Then He set up our church, organized it on the apostle Peter, and transmitted to the apostles some of His power and authority. That power and authority has been, in turn, transmitted in an unbroken line until today.  Our Pope, a common sinner, is the recipient of that power and authority.  It is a remarkable dichotomy and one of the greater mysteries of our faith, especially when one considers that this power and authority are not simply organizational devices.  It is real power.  It is real authority.

My dearest wish is that these talented and intelligent writers would turn away from critiques of our Papa and, instead, fix their attention and their skill on helping everyone find the instructive value in each missive that the Pontiff sends our way.  Just as the power and authority of God reside within the common human who is Pope, remarkable jewels lay hidden in that artless, off-the-cuff comment, or that dull paragraph about which those writers complain.

If our Pope really is overwhelming some people with the volume of teachings, there is some good reason for it. Perhaps he is aware of a lack of time.  Maybe he senses an impending crisis, like the deceptive quiet before a tsunami hits land.  On the other hand, all of those things about which some of these writers complain could simply be the Pope's earthy, simple style.  All of God's laborers in the vineyard, including the Pope, are trying to accomplish God's work within the parameters of our abilities, hampered by the defects of our human failings and imperfections.

I pray that we all learn to shift our focus to the jewel that lays within that pile of dust, rather than the dust itself.

God bless us all.

Silver "Rose" Parnell
(c) 2015