No matter how irritating an individual is, how 'rigid' or 'weak-hearted' we may (in a fit of outright judgmentalism) consider a person to be, I would have thought that praying to God that that person might fall into sin to 'teach him a good lesson' might just be the very opposite of what Christ taught us about loving our enemies.
Warming hearts
Not being graced with the gift of reading hearts and souls, I would be very cautious about calling someone 'weak-hearted'. How would I know someone's heart?
I am taught to hate sin in myself and in others while loving God and my neighbour for God's sake. Would it not be more Christian, should we have some reason to believe that someone is a bit hypocritical or a bit of a Pharisee to pray that the Lord Jesus might grant to that servant of His the virtue of humility? Further, I would urge caution on anyone believing he knows the hearts of others merely by judging their external actions. For example, a priest or bishop who urges fidelity to the customs and disciplines of the Church need not be dubbed a hypocrite or a Pharisee, simply because he is faithful to the Church in small matters as well as in great. It would be a bit lazy, shallow and cheap to deduce the heart of a man by such things as fidelity to say, canon law.
Not wishing to judge the Pope, because I cannot, what I can say is that what Pope Francis has said about asking the Lord to throw a banana skin under someone's feet so that they might fall into sin in order to learn humility is just about the most atrocious, spiteful and vindictive thing I think I have heard in some time. I know not whether Francis is spiteful and vindictive, I am sure His Holiness is trying with God's grace to be Christlike, but what he has said is not edifying...
“Even our life can become like that, even our life. And sometimes, I confess something to you, when I have seen a Christian, a Christian of that kind, with a weak heart, not firm, not fixed on the rock—Jesus – and with such rigidness on the outside, I ask the Lord: ‘But Lord, throw a banana peel in front of them, so that they will take a good fall, and feel shame that they are sinners, and so encounter You, [and realize] that You are the Saviour. Many times a sin will make us feel shame, and make us encounter the Lord, Who pardons us, as the sick who were there and went to the Lord for healing.”
For wishing for a person we dislike to fall into sin is to wish the very worst evil upon our neighbour. What if, because of his sin, the individual's heart is hardened against God and he fails to repent? Bad as it is, it would be better to wish upon a person some kind of bodily illness than to wish our neighbour to imperil his immortal soul. We do not need to 'take a good fall' in order to grow in humility. I would have thought, too, that it is not God but the Devil who puts banana skins in our way. Just how Christian does this sound?
X is really (insert annoying habit here). I pray to You, O Lord, that he might (insert mortal or venial sin here) and learn from this experience his own weakness, so that he might trust in You and become more (insert virtue here).
We need only examine our consciences and humble ourselves before God. We do not need to embrace a big juicy sin to grow in holiness or become humble, even if Confession humbles the soul that humbles herself. We need regularly Confession anyway as both a remedy for sin and to grow in love of God, to fight the good fight.
Just as it appears on paper, far from being a Christian remark, it is the very opposite of one, and, I have to say, Pope Francis today gives us a homily that puts to the test the charity of those in his spiritual care - myself included. We all think uncharitable things of others of course and His Holiness thankfully says, before he retells the anecdote, "I confess something to you." Therefore, we must assume this is a train of thought of which His Holiness is not proud. In charity, then, let us restate what we are actually taught about the love of neighbour.
'The Catechism is clear...'
The Penny Catechism states quite clearly...
333. What rule of life must we follow if we hope to be saved?
If we hope to be saved, we must follow the rule of life taught by Jesus Christ.
334. What are we bound to do by the rule of life taught by Jesus Christ?
By the rule of life taught by Jesus Christ we are bound always to hate sin and to love God.
335. How must we hate sin?
We must hate sin above all other evils, so as to be resolved never to commit a wilful sin, for the love or fear of anything whatsoever.
336. How must be love God?
We must love God above all things, and with our whole heart.
337. How must we learn to love God?
We must learn to love God by begging of God to teach us to love him: 'O my God, teach me to love you'.
338. What will the love of God lead us to do?
The love of God will lead us often to think how good God is; often to speak to him in our hearts; and always to seek to please him.
339. Does Jesus Christ also command us to love one another?
Jesus Christ also commands us to love one another - that is, all persons without exception - for his sake.
340. How are we to love one another?
We are to love one another by wishing well to one another, and praying for one another; and by never allowing ourselves any thought, word or deed to the injury of anyone.
341. Are we also bound to love our enemies?
We are also bound to love our enemies; not only by forgiving them from our hearts, but also by wishing them well, and praying for them.
With this in mind, then, I hope that when Christ comes to judge His Holiness either at his death or at the Lord's glorious Second Coming, that the venerable Popes ranked among the Saints who upheld centuries of Church discipline with regard to the Eucharistic fast exercise more clemency to Your Holiness than you have exercised today towards them. For when Christ comes, He will come with His Saints, among whom will be Popes, who will judge the world. Know you not that the saints shall judge this world?
It is surely not wise for any Bishop or Pope to pour scorn on his faithful and loyal predecessors who simply transmitted that which they received with regard to faith and morals for the good of the salvation of souls. It is not wise to disparage those who uphold the teachings and disciplines of the Church for behind each is sound theology and reasoning.
Many Popes are Saints on the other side of the veil. Far from wishing to place "a heavy Cross" on their spiritual children, they desired that our reverence for the Eucharistic Lord may be maintained by hungering for Him, or has the sound reasoning behind the Eucharistic fast never been understood by this Pope? Does His Holiness believe the Popes just wanted to punish the Church's children with a "heavy Cross" on a Sunday morning? To say such would be a grave misrepresentation of the motives of these Chief Shepherds.
To appear in the Court of Heaven and to find you have made, instead of friends, enemies of the Saints of God is a pretty daunting thing, as if Death and Judgment were not daunting enough as it is! Therefore Your Holiness, surely any Christian would advise caution in this regard. If only we could comprehend what Holy Communion truly is, if our spiritual eyes could penetrate through that glass we now see through but darkly, there is no Cross we would not bear happily in order to taste the Bread of Heaven, the Food of Life, Our Eucharistic Lord. Sorry if anyone is shocked by this blog post. I am genuinely appalled by what His Holiness has said today. We do nobody any favours by pretending it has not been said.
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| Pope St Pius X: "Did I just hear someone call me a Pharisee?" |
The king “was afflicted with visionary horrors at the hour of his departure; for that he glanced with rolling eyes and looks of wild import towards the darker recesses of his chamber, muttering, ‘Monks - monks!"
Whether the story is true or not, there's a "lesson" in there for all of us, from Pope to layman. Befriend the Saints and don't consider yourself wiser than those who are in Heaven already, because you are not yet there. Today's homily feels like further preparation for some kind of new 'Year Zero' in the near future and anyone who opposes what is in the pipeline is to be labelled a 'Pharisee'. By all accounts that's a dangerous ploy, because onlookers and witnesses to such events are not merely on Earth, but Heaven also. I guess that at the end of the day, if you think this Creole Mass at St Peter's Basilica is 'a bit much', you might be some kind of 'rigid' kind of 'Pharisee'. Go over to YouTube and check out the comments...
All you holy, blessed and canonized Popes.
Ora pro nobis!
The odds on the Franciscans of the Immaculate overthrowing this papacy are very long, but...
'Its time is almost up, its days will not last long.
Yes, the Lord will have pity on Jacob, and Israel will be saved!'
The odds on the Franciscans of the Immaculate overthrowing this papacy are very long, but...
'Its time is almost up, its days will not last long.
Yes, the Lord will have pity on Jacob, and Israel will be saved!'
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