The laity are always Flounder.
1. "Truth
to tell, this kind of 'leadership' is why I am drifting away from
Catholicism. I have had to eat my share of s--t during my following of
Christ, and with age I have become fine with that. Rejoice, as He said
on the Mount.
But what I will not abide
are zucchettoed and compromised mediocrities who only have my back so
they can shove a crozier-shaped shiv into it. For the likes of McElroy, I
am a piece to be curated to fit their latest buzzword-laden agenda
instead of a soul to be cared for.
I
get plenty of that at work, thank you, and I can manage being a
lukewarm compromiser on my own. The certainty of this gaining strength
as I spend the rest of my life under darkening skies is not something I
can endure, nor do I see any demand from Him to submit to false prophets
and con men."
2. "[Good Guy Interlocutor],
you're one of the electronic people I would really like to meet IRL one
of these years before the actuarial windshield smashes into my buzzing
self.
But there's no fighting Rome from the inside after 1870. No one beats the house. The ultramontanes won in the end, with "religious submission of mind and will" being the ideal understudy for "I am Tradition!"
Even
Vatican II tells us to diligently attend to the oracle in Rome, with LG 25 telling us to note "His mind and will" which "may be known either
from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the
same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking."
Amoris?
He wins. The death penalty? He wins. Traditiones Custodes (points for
trolling perfection there)? He wins again. Hell, he's probably already
banned life sentences, given 'his frequent repetition of the same
doctrine' on that deranged tangent.
Speaking
of TC: so when my decent archbishop retires in July, the men who
brought me back to the Faith (the ICRSS) are going to get the boot from
his slogan-reciting successor, who will also get a red hat. It's already
happened in Chicago: no public masses or confessions for the order there
any more. And how do I fight their suppression, exactly?
Speaking
of red hats: That's especially appropriate these days, as the Synodal
Church resembles nothing so much as a Soviet Party Congress.
I'm
old and I've seen this movie before in other theatres. Something I or a
friend revere gets killed by people who pretended to revere it and the
killers wear its face with Lecter-like brio.
The
good bishops (bound as they are by the same religious submission) are
on the clock, and the seminaries will be straining out the good priests
as the Party Line Bishops take over.
To crib from a much worthier man and stylist than I am:
The lamps are going out all over the Church, and we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.
Lest God re-light them. And kairos is not chronos."
Mr. Price. I rarely comment at blogs. I did comment here though, some 20 - 25 years or so ago when you were looking for a budget boxed set of Palestrina. I recommended a site called HB Direct where I had recently bought a copy myself.
ReplyDeleteShortly after that, you requested prayers for, the specifics of which, I cannot recall, being so long ago.
But you and your family have been in my daily prayers ever since.
Nothing of any eloquence to add. I continue praying for you and I thought you might like to know that at this time, when you are struggling with so much.
I also hope you were able to find an affordable set of Palestrina.
Bob P.
Dear Bob:
DeleteThank you for your unexpected and most welcome words of kindness. I am genuinely touched.
I cannot recall the specifics of that prayer request either, but given what happened last year (the specifics of which I am not able to give), yours are still welcome.
I am happy to report I managed to find an excellent boxed set of Palestrina, five CDs in a compact box a while back. But I will take a look at HB Direct anyway--you can't have too many arrangements of beautiful music.
Thank you again, and may God abundantly bless you and yours.