Today is the feast of St. Ambrose, whose election to the see of Milan was by acclimation of the people while he was still a catechumen. Think about that! He was baptized, ordained, and made a bishop within a week of becoming a Catholic. God raised him up as one of the greatest bishops of His Church, a saint-maker instrumental in the conversion of St. Augustine who inspired the repentance of an emperor. I invoke his intercession for this post!
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| St. Ambrose, refusing Emperor Theodosius entrance to the cathedral of Milan for his massacre in Thessalonica in retaliation for the murder of a state official. Theodosius' crimes pale in comparison to those of our modern pro-abortion Catholic politicians. |
We're approaching the finish line as we look at the last nine paragraphs of the bishops' document, The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church (#50-59).
Paragraph 50 reminds us that we should be "properly disposed" to approach for Communion and emphasizes a sincere examination of conscience and repentance for our sins. The bishops tell us that Jesus is eager to forgive, but don't say anything about what it means to be "properly disposed." They say nothing about those whose consciences are not "sincere," but "sin-sered" as my friend, Fr. Collins, says.Think about the pro-abortion politicians who call themselves "devout Catholics." Do they have any consciousness of the fact that they are publicly advocating sins that call to heaven for vengeance? Are they ignorant? Or are they malicious?
The bishops' document is pretty fluffy. Do Nancy and Joe think they are sinning? Will the bishops' statement wake them up or stir the consciences of people in the pew who receive Communion while fornicating, living in invalid marriages, or practicing contraception?
Will the bishops' refusal to discipline those committing grievous public sins encourage repentance over grievous private sins? Or will misguided "little" Catholics imitate the high and mighty and react the same way Pelosi and Biden do -- with a shrug about sin and hands out to grasp Communion? After all, sin can't be that big a deal!
Sin darkens the intellect (makes you stupid) and weakens the will (makes you a cowardly wimp). A person in mortal sin is spiritually blind, dumb, and weak, although he may appear strong because he banks on the devilish "strength" of this world's prince. Ultimately that fiend turns back on his earthly minions and destroys them. Repentance and begging for God's mercy is their only salvation. We see faux strength in the ungodly rebel politicians. We see cowardly weakness in the shepherds who enable public sinners by their own sins of omission.
Do pro-abortion Catholic politicians sincerely believe they are "properly disposed" to receive Communion? Archbishop Cordileone has forbidden Pelosi from approaching for Communion in her home diocese. That sends a strong message, but is there any evidence that his discipline stirred her conscience at all? Not that I can tell from her public statements. She can turn to Pope Francis and other bishops to justify herself.
Nancy and her cohort of rebel Catholics appear to believe that they are a law unto themselves in both the secular and spiritual worlds. They treat God's law the same way they treat civil law -- optional for themselves. After all, what is truth?
Sadly, the bishops as a body (the USCCB), almost all of whom voted for a document that lacks any real teeth, portray cowardice when they speak in unison. Why? Because there is no unity in the body, so they go for the patch of "common ground," the lowest common denominator they can all agree on. What is that? Doctrine interpreted in a way that allows both repentant and unrepentant sinners to be treated the same. "All are welcome" at the table of the Lord although some approach in love, others in sacrilege. There appears to be little concern among most of the bishops for the souls that receive the Body of Christ to their condemnation.
The final paragraphs of the document focus on "love." I'm tempted to spell it "luv," especially when the document quotes Pope Francis, a champion of doublespeak, urging us to go forth as missionaries and evangelizers. If we cannot judge, cannot "instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, etc." exactly what does our evangelization consist of? Sharing Pachamama and pagan spirituality with the world? What is the common ground from which we preach? Which of our bishops should we imitate?
Let's face it. There is little common ground between Wilton Gregory and Joseph Strickland, between Blase Cupich and Salvatore Cordileone, between Mark Seitz and Joseph Coffey, and many other strange bedfellows in the USCCB. There is, in fact, little common ground between Pope Francis and the pre-Vatican II popes.
And then there's St. Ambrose. Which of our bishops desire him as a model for their ministry? How many are willing to confront the evil of our modern "emperors" and block the door of the Church?
What's the result of all this confusion? -- a Eucharist document that professes the truth, yes, but in a way that won't challenge the powers that be. Obviously, the bishops couldn't name names because the USCCB has not one iota of authority over individuals. Bishops's conferences are of recent origin in the Church and, let me say it again, THEY HAVE NO AUTHORITY. Only the individual bishops can take action against grievous PUBLIC sinners in their jurisdictions. But the body could have made it clear that individual bishops SHOULD take such action for the salvation of souls.
They did not. Their profession of doctrine resembles the pharisees' verbally upholding of the law of Moses while their actions put their words to the lie. Actions speak louder than words.
Sadly the USCCB gives people in the pew the idea that, like a secular corporation, the bishops, as a body, are the U.S. Church's "board of directors" overseeing individual bishops. ABSOLUTELY FALSE! Each bishop has authority to teach, govern, and sanctify in his own diocese even if he acts all alone compared to his brothers. Bishop Emeritus Rene Gracida did that in Corpus Christi years ago when he denied Communion to a pro-abortion politician. He urged the bishops' conference at that time to take action to protect the Eucharist and the souls of sinners by enforcing Canon 915.
They would not.
Often faithful shepherds can't get one single vote in support of their motions at the semi-annual confabs. That was true for Bishop Bruskewitz in Dallas when he tried to get the bishops to study the relationship between clergy sex abuse and dissent. That "hapless bench of bishops" wouldn't have it. Too many embraced dissent!
Let me end with two additional observations. First, why was the vote on the document secret? Did Jesus teach in secret? No! In fact, he pointed out that he was teaching in the temple every day. He told his followers to say yes when they mean yes and no when they mean no. But the bishops as a body thrive on non-transparency and secrecy, even outright lies.
The USCCB is a scandalous organization. If any group needs to be suppressed, it's not the traditional religious orders, but the wicked bishops' conferences around the world enabling evil. What orthodox Catholic would believe anything coming out of most of the bishops' conferences around the world? Just think Germany!
Secondly, the USCCB is deeply immersed in cooperation with evil. And it's not all that remote. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), ostensibly a "charity," has, since its inception funded liberal politics and intrinsic evils. [See the Lepanto Institute Report.]
Thanks to the CCHD, 100% pro-life champion, Bob Dornan, was replaced in the House of Representatives (1997) by 100% pro-abortion Loretta Sanchez by fewer than 1000 votes. She "served" up her murderous liberal agenda until 2017. In 2016 she ran for Senate and was defeated in the primary by even more liberal Democrat Kamala Harris. The USCCB, through the CCHD and its liberal employees, has a history of enabling Alinsky groups that help these murderous Democrats win office. They helped Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion president in history (before Biden), get his start.
The CCHD also funds groups that promote abortion, contraception, the LGBTQXYZ agenda, and other intrinsic evils. So every bishop in the USCCB is guilty of cooperation with evil, sending our money (They don't have any of their own.) to enable the satanic evil of child murder, sodomy, etc. USCCB documents are often scandalous, like the homosexual supporting Always Our Children written by three out-and-proud homosexual priests: James Schnexayder, Robert Nugent, and Peter Liuzzi.
This is the scandalous group that produced the latest USCCB document. Why would any believing Catholic trust anything at all coming from that corrupt body. It's time for the good bishops to shake the dust off their feet and exit the USCCB in imitation of the faithful nuns who left the heretical Leadership Conference of Catholic Women in 1992 to form a new group faithful to the teachings of the Church.
Isn't it time for the good bishops to imitate their sisters? Imagine a dozen bishops meeting in a diocesan chancery, housing in local rectories, being served meals by the ladies of local parishes while they imitate the apostles after the Resurrection. I think St. Ambrose and St. John Fisher, another favorite of mine, would approve.
Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us
St. Ambrose, pray for us.
St. John Fisher, pray for us.
St. Augustine, pray for us.
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