GOD'S FINAL WORD IS CALLED JESUS
It seems that the Holy Father had Medjugorje and its so-called "seers" and their followers in mind when he said this, but what a wonderful and beautifully terse expression it is of Christian Orthodoxy. It puts down the errors of Islam; it is a rebuff to the neo-Gnostic convolutions of the Kaspers and Marxes. It is a superb expression of the function of the Roman Pontiff to act as a barrier, what Blessed John Henry Newman called a remora, against innovation, whether dogmatic or moral; and it could serve as a summary of the the decree Pastor aeternus of Vatican I. Four cheers for our beloved Holy Father!
To those who, like me, have sometimes rather missed the elegance and profundity of the teaching of Benedict XVI, I say: You can't wish for better than this!
The gospel and the Faith in a veritable nutshell!
ReplyDeleteAlan
Amen to that Fr. Hunwicke.
ReplyDeleteFr. John, I was totally taken by surprise with this blog. The so called seers of Medugorge do not have any followers. There is no promotion of a cult of the seers. The message of Medugorge has been repeated day in day out since the beginning – to totally abandon your life to Jesus. Those who try to live the message would be foremost among those in the Church today who know intimately and personally that Jesus is indeed God’s final Word. Our Blessed Lady is the sure and unfailing Mother who leads us always to her son. Her word at Medugorge is simply that there will be no peace on earth until God is given first place in our lives. In order to accomplish this we are called to pray unceasingly particularly the whole rosary daily, to intercede in prayer for the sick and for those who do not believe in God, to confess regularly, to fast frequently seriously and with great joy, to spend as much time as possible in adoration before the blessed sacrament exposed on the altar, to meditate the sacred scriptures daily, and pray constantly for priests, especially Bishops, and above all else to develop a spirituality centred on and nourished by the Mass. In other words, orthodox Catholicism which brings a vitality and life to those who live thus. Most people that I have spoken to who have taken a negative or sceptical view of Medugorge have never been to Medjugorge. Jesus is indeed God final word. But who listens? If we are not tuned in we tend to just pick up the static. Perhaps it takes the heart of a pilgrim to bring about the fine tuning required to hear clearly.
ReplyDeleteI fear it is just wishful thinking on your part Father, if you believe that Pope Francis was issuing a rebuke to Kasper or Marx. Marx is the esteemed advisor to Francis, Kasper is the beloved kneeling theologian (albeit a thoroughgoing born again Lutheran who does not need to convert). Neither is he putting down the errors of Islam because Pope Francis apparently believes that nobody needs to convert to Catholicism, errors or not. It was actually Pope Benedict who engaged with Kasper and Marx (communion for the divorced and remarried, universal/local church and everything else besides) and Islam (Regensburg) and sent them all homeword to think again. I cannot call to mind any put down by Pope Francis of those close supporters of his whom you describe as neo Gnostic. Nor a single utterance. No not one. For me, Benedict remains the Main Man by an order of magnitude.
Thank you Fr.John for your (almost always) super blog.
Simple Cephas.