Reading the Wall Street Journal this morning, I found most interesting the revealing personal accounts of high-level financial leaders who recently lost their six-figured jobs in today's financial world. Reminded me of our Church.
The Catholic Church needs new leadership. A house cleansing, like on Wall Street. Here's what I mean.
Just what was it those men were revealing in their WSJ stories today? That they are much happier now, working fewer hours in other unrelated fields, spending much more time with the family, living more humble lives, less corruption, more virtuous lives.
For instance, one man told how he moved his family to Burlington, VT., bought a 55-acre farm, he's now looking for local work. Whatever he can get will be fine, he said.
Another high-powered financial wiz on Wall Street, already out of work for two years, recently bought an ice cream truck and delivery route. He drives the truck through the neighborhoods, up and down the streets, ringing his bell, and discovered life again. He loves the kids and parents he meets, he's buying 15 more trucks, he needs drivers, and says he will do just fine.
Their stories are amazing. American ingenuity. Something that our Democrat Party and Democrat President want to take away from Americans. Take away our ability to help ourselves, make our own decisions, discover our own way again and again, without government intervention and imposed socialism.
God allows evil for greater good, as most of us well know, and that goes for evil on Wall Street as well as within the Church. If we lose our Catholic Church, as we know it today, and we end up with small parishes of small numbers of devout people and priests, we will be better for it.
If the Church's schools and the property holdings all are lost to government-imposed regulations and taxes, as faithful practicing Catholics we'll be better off. The separating of the chaff from the wheat will naturally take place. Most will follow the money; others will follow the Church's true faith. Here's what might then happen.
The highly vocal, pro-abortion bishops who will not discipline pro-abortion politicians will continue to side with the government, will cave in to socialist demands, and will enter openly into schism. The blind and faithless "sheeple" will follow these bishops, applauding them for their cleverness and inclusive social attitudes.
And those Catholic lay leaders who are well-known speakers, authors, and media folks, who are already selling their false messages in their magazines, books, and tapes to the Sheeple, will certainly continue to follow the fallen hierarchy to maintain the media profits coming into their Church base organizations. Media Pied Pipers, all for personal profit and glory, while promoting weak bishops.
The result will be a faithful remnant of laity who will be led by a remnant of holy, sacrificial, humble clergy who will travel great distances to bring the Sacraments and Christ's truth to the People of God. And we'll all be better for it.
Why will we be better off? Well, when we walk into Catholic parishes today, what do we encounter first?
Women and men immodestly clad, loud noisy parishes where quiet prayer is forbidden, the pastors delivering "peace and joy" heretical homilies, sometimes even invalid consecrations, laity all over the altar, young girls acting as altar boys, friendly distracting 'greeters' at the doors enticing you to come in and join the noisy clamor.
We have in the U.S. mostly parishes where the priesthood has been diminished to a lowly position. The more faithful and papist the pastor is, the more diminished his role has become. The fallen pew warmers complain to their liberal bishops that the pastor is too harsh and pre-Vatican II; the bishops threaten the faithful pastor with removal or Siberia. In some parishes, the pastor is now referred to as simply the "Sacramental Provider."
Some of us are too frail and infirm to drive long distances anymore to attend reverent Tridentine Masses. What are we to do? Stay home? Can we stay home and pray when the sacrilege is too much to take anymore? The modernist clergy warn that we'll go to Hell if we stay home and pray.
"Come," they entice us, "don't be so uptight, join in, have fun, make noise, be friendly, come to our irreverent parish and give us your money."
The 1970's Traditionalists, I remember well, prayed in their homes rather than attend the new watered down Masses and listen to the terrible guitar music. These heroic Catholics had only a few Tridentine priests visiting their homes once or twice a year, bringing valid Sacraments to the devout families. Strangely, these Traditionalists remained faithful, they didn't leave Rome as did so many who followed the new Mass. These Traditionalists just refused to join in the sacrilege. And the modern crowd told them that they were going to Hell for not following the new Pied Pipers.
The Catholics who did cave in, who did join the irreverent Masses, for the most part did lose some if not all of their Catholic faith and eventually many left the Church.
I'm not advocating we all stay home from Mass, but there is something effective we can do to bring about real "change."
Withhold your money from the Bishop's collection. Let me explain.
Today the Church suffers a crisis of faith and loss of millions of her members. Why?
So many Catholics lost their belief in the True Presence. Laity followed their weak bishops' leadership in supporting the pro-abortion politicians; enabled sodomite priests to survive and even thrive in their dioceses. These dumbed down laity supported their disobedient bishops with hard-earned money, only to be thrown away by the hierarchy to cover their immoral crimes.
Powerful laity started imposing their wills against faithful pastors, laity who relished being invited to sit at their bishop's tables at their fund-raising banquets each year, all for their own personal glory and power. Human respect replaced faithfulness and consistency in faith. Women running parishes replaced the ordained priesthood. Vocations were discouraged and turned away by most bishops if the young men were papists. Religious nuns discarded their habits, discarded their vows, stopped living in community, lost their faith and virginity. The time-honored Religious communities of men turned into hotbeds of homosexual activity and scandal. Seminaries became safe refuges for gay men.
Today, laity seeking personal power and glory runs the typical parish. Most priests now live "off campus" in houses miles from the parish. Pastors are never around when you need one, are never seen praying their office and Rosary before the Tabernacle inside Church, and will only hear Confessions 15 minutes to 1 hour each week for 10,000 or more parishioners.
These modern priests and bishops are living double lives in their mansions, out on the golf courses, in the lively restaurants (sans their clerical garb), and many are cruising the gay bars.
Are you still supporting and enabling your disobedient bishop with your hard-earned dollars? If so, shame on you. Your duty is to support your parish each week. The second collection is usually the bishop's collection. The Bishop's annual appeal is another place to avoid putting your money. Tell them instead, no dogma, no dollars - tell them to stop supporting Obama and pro-abortion politicians and you will start once again to support the Church.
The Code of Canon Law, particularly c. 915, is not obeyed by most U.S. bishops. This code forbids sacrilegious reception of the Eucharist by persons who persistently remain obstinate in their manifest, grave sin. That's the crux of our entire faith, belief in the Eucharist. Almost all U.S. Bishops have lost their belief in the Eucharist and thereby allow pro-abortion politicians to continue to sacrilegiously receive the Eucharist. One Archbishop allows his pro-abortion Catholic Governor to receive sacrilegiously each Sunday in a parish just steps from his chancery office.
Has your bishop said he will enforce c. 915 yet? No dogma, no dollars.
We need a new Church, new leadership, new Bishops. A house cleansing, like on Wall Street.
Lord, please rid the Church of lame, loud-mouthed bishops who love the media spotlight, who refuse to protect the Eucharist from sacrilege, who protect the most despicable pro-abortion politicians from the disciplines of Church Law. Lord, bring us a new army of real men, manly men, who will lead us to our eternal glory.
When, Lord, when will we see your face?