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| From "Lousy Leaders and Sorry Sheep" |
I could not help wondering if any deacons,
priests and bishops felt uncomfortable standing up and giving a homily on
Sunday following the Gospel reading about the Good Shepherd. (John 10: 27 – 30) I also wondered if they would feel equally awkward every day of this entire
week, since the message of Sunday extends through each day of this week? Sadly, the reality is that those who should, probably do not even realise that
they have a reason to squirm.
The core message of the Gospel readings,
starting on Sunday and proceeding through this week, is that if we believe in
and love Jesus, we will listen to his voice and follow only him. Hence we will
be united to him and come under his protection. Even though we will still have
to struggle and resist those who want to lead us away from the true message of
Jesus, with the help of his grace, we will be protected from being deceived and
persevere to the end.
The question is how does God protect us from
being deceived? How does God enable us to hear with certainty his voice? How do
we know that the message we are being given is the true message of Jesus and not,
quite frankly, hocus-pocus? How do we ensure that we are not led astray?
None of us, individually, seriously believe
that we have infallible knowledge of what is truly of God and what is not. There
are some areas that are easily discerned but there are many more areas that are
not so easily discernible. We therefore realise, if we are wise, that because
of our human frailty we require assistance to ensure that the voice we hear
calling and which we choose to follow, is truly that of Jesus and not the
consequence of concupiscence.
This guidance comes to us via the Church
because “Christ, established and ever
sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and
charity, as a visible organisation through which he communicates truth and
grace to all men.”[1]
The Church was given a very specific “structure that will remain until the Kingdom
is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter
as their head.”[2]
We all know those famous words quoted often: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.”[3]
It therefore follows that if we truly wish
to discern whether the voice we hear calling us and teaching us is that of
Jesus, we must compare it to the official teaching of the Church. If what we
are hearing is not the same, even if it sounds very similar, we can be certain that
we are dealing with what Jesus calls a “thief
and a robber.”[4]
In this regard we should not be surprised to
find that what is presented to us by a “thief
and a robber” more often than not seems very similar to what the Church
teaches. Any differences will seem reasonable and logical extensions of what
the Church teaches. However, we must remember that this is exactly the point. They
do not advertise their presence. Their actions are intended to make us trust
them. Jesus says that they do “not enter
the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way”[5].
If they came straight through the door we would all see them and we would know
them for what they are.
It really is not rocket science! St Ambrose
sums it up so well: “Ubi Petrus ibi
ecclesia, et ibi ecclesia vita eternal”. (Where there is Peter there is the
Church, where there is the Church there is life eternal.) If the Church does
not officially teach it, then it is the message of a “thief and a robber.”
Sadly the problem Catholics face today is
that we get so many mixed messages, often from within the Church and often from
our clergy. We simply can no longer just accept at face value what some of our
pastors tell us, be it during Mass or anywhere else. It has become increasingly
necessary for us Catholics to haul out our Catechism books and begin educating
ourselves so that we know exactly what the Church really does teach.
Once we do this it of course becomes far
easier to identify those who have become a “thief
and a robber”: It is the ones who present a variation, no mater how slight, of the Church’s official
teaching on Faith and Morals.
These are the ones whose pride has led them
to believe that they are so much wiser, holier and more enlightened than Holy
Mother Church; the ones whose pride has so affected them that they would have
you believe that they are better able to communicate the true teaching of
Jesus, than the Church has been able to do thus far. They are our squirming shepherds!
This is a very enlightening article.
ReplyDeleteIt clearly spells out the dilemma of the modern world. It spell out wolves who walk in sheep’s clothing.
I would like to expand more on your subject, Mark. I would like to contemplate how we are to separate the goats from the sheep; spelling out how to separate the wolves who
walk in shepherds' clothing, separating the false prophets, from those faithful men who proclaim the Gospel in Truth. .
The time is soon coming to rid ourselves of ecclesiastical conspirators who pay lip-service to the Pope while undermining Tradition, Doctrine and Sacred
Scripture.
Because you are bishop, this title does not mean to say that you are faithful, even though the Pope has not yet caught up upon you!
God bless you Mark. Happy feast day!
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