Aaarrrgghh!
Sometimes an argument is so totally off-base that one must wonder if indeed it is a joke.
Sometimes blindness descends under such heavy veils that one wonders if Light can ever penetrate.
Sometimes it’s hard to even know where to start. At those moments, Aaarrrgghh! has to suffice.
If you have any stomach at all for the rightly shunned Huff-Post (I don’t) one article will cure the fatal attraction, and at the same time clarify what is really wrong in the world.
And, here it is: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dear-pope-francis-end-the-religious-ritual-that-devalues_us_5787c4e4e4b0e7c8734f96f9
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From her sign off, “Eternally”, and her presumed self-description in the blurb, “a healed ex-Catholic”, and her next book on “unity consciousness”, I must surmise she’s a pantheist, and therefore, as a goddess, she can tell a mere pope what to do… Makes perfect sense, in her mind. But yes, Diane, it is another example of Catholicophobia, which must be stamped out!! Oh, excuse me, I was just reading alinsky…
No, we have to stand up to such obvious insulting rhetoric with charity, and the truth of the actual situation of fallen Man, the natural law which gives us our basic concepts of right and wrong, and our true anthropology in the light of revelation in Christ. And the, “see how they love eachother!”
Our Holy Father has asked us to go to confession regularly, to be forgiven of our sins, which we firmly resolve to commit no more, with the help of God’s grace. But we’re imperfect, we’re not pantheists, we rightly recognize ourselves to be created beings with the effects of Original Sin, for those of us who have been baptized.
And of course, with the help of our Guardian Angels, we pray for this poor person, and the Hufpo crowd who would stoop so low as to publish such drivel. Goofy is as goofy does… Gnothi seauton! St. Bonaventure, ora pro nobis! Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea. Amen.
P.S. So what do the Nice massacre and the question of Card. Sarah’s exhortation have in common? Sooner or later, we must face Reality.
We pray for all the poor souls martyred by the evil man, and for their families, and for the injured. By the grace of God, this evil will be eradicated, and all those caught in its web will be converted to the Catholic Faith. This is the specific Will of God. But we must do our part, both in fasting and prayer, and in action.
Well, you warned me and I still clicked the link. There’s pieces of my brain fallen out that I can’t put back in. And that was just from a brief glance. What’s it in aid of? A dig at the new translation?
Sad to say, this is not the first time I have heard an argument regarding self-worth in connection with “O Lord, I am not worthy,…”
The message of “O Lord, I am not worthy” is not an exclusive Catholic doctrine. It’s the premise of Christianity and a part of all Christian denominations -that we all fall short of the glory of God and depend on His saving mercy and grace to free us from our sin. Jesus died on the cross to take on all our sins and gain for us our salvation. It’s something that we all depend on every day.
People who have a problem with acknowledging “O Lord, I am not worthy – that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed,” may have any of the following:
1. Poor catechesis
2. Have difficulty with acknowledging sin, and have an attitude that life should be viewed as a social experiment to see what fits
3. Personally think too much emphasis is put on the part of not being worthy during mass and think things should lighten up
4. Personally had a troubled home life when growing up, with a parent/parents or guardian who were overly critical, not accepting, and had given them the message that they weren’t worthy of – love, respect, time, importance, a future, or career. When these people come to mass and hear the part “O Lord, I am not worthy…,” they are reading into their own pain and feelings of low-self worth from childhood, which they have had to deal with in adulthood
I think we need to pray for all these people that they know what sin is, that they will develop an understanding of what it really means to lay oneself totally at the feet of God, humble, contrite, and welcoming, and that they will experience love, peace and acceptance, once they allow Jesus into their door and under their roof.
The author of the article in Huffington Post, Christine Horner, is the founder of “What Would Love Do Foundation” where on their website, it states “The New Golden Rule: Sustainability.”
She is also listed on a website called “Collective Evolution.” It’s mission: “Collective Evolution (CE) believes in creating change by thinking outside the box. We aim to challenge the current status quo by shaking up how we currently think about the world. We encourage and inspire each other to take action with the goal of bringing to life a bright future for us all.”
Christine Horner is an author of children books, “Wondrous Willow” being one of them, and an author of of adult books including,”The Journey Home: Awakening in the Dream,” “What Is God: Rolling Back The Veil,” and “Understanding Homosexuality: A Holistic Guide Exploring The Sexual Nature of the Universe.” (Not that I would ever consider reading any of her books).
I have to agree with snowshoes’ description of Christine Horner as a “pantheist.”
I for one, think it was very inappropriate for Huffington Post to publish Christine Horner’s article knocking the Pope, the Catholic Church, and the Holy Mass. It is very offensive. Perhaps someone should write a rebuttal to Huffington Post and see if they publish that.
@Scott
IMO, I don’t think it is a dig at any particular translation. What we now say is an excellent translation. It is the Truth. I think it is about “God is God, and I’m not” — and fully accepting that Truth. There are some people who just won’t accept that premise.
The single sin which caused the fall of the bad angels goes back to “I will not serve.” or “Better to reign in hell than to serve in Heaven.” The single sin of our first parents was the desire to ‘be like God”, and to eat the forbidden fruit. Pride in both cases. St. Paul, on the other hand, who identified himself as a ‘slave of Jesus Christ’ had it exactly right. He bought us with His own Blood. We are His.
This Huff-Post article, I think, is railing against not being equal to God. The ultimate self-esteem from which either conversion or depression seems to be the only escape. And perhaps no prayer says it better than “O Lord I am not worthy….” But the self esteem preoccupation of our culture is confronted head-on by such words. Our culture is the one that gives everyone who plays a sport an award, a trophy. When we wake up to “I’m nothing compared to God” there is the slippery slope of alcohol, drugs, and suicide. And, soon, euthanasia.
All which explains why the profound truth we utter before daring to receive the Body of Christ is so essential, and how the Church’s liturgy says that truth better than anyone.
I believe what we utter before receiving Holy Communion is a profound truth and accurate translation.
Diane – I agree with your comments about the single sin which caused the fall of bad angels and the single sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve: Pride.
We only have to look at Jesus for that Perfect Example of Humility and Service:
“5 Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,*
6 Who,* though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.*
7 Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;*
and found human in appearance,
8 he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.*” – Philippians 2, 5-8
And we know the rest about Our Lord and Savior:
“9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name*
that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,*
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,*
to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11
http://churchlife.nd.edu/2016/07/19/diagnosing-violence-a-response-to-christine-horner/
Thanks for the link, Ben… excellent.
For me the best definition of humility has always been “Knowing my own limitations.” Suffices to keep me looking to God for all I (and others) lack.