Having blogged for many years, not to mention spending time on social media, my rueful observation is that an incredible amount of time is spent in pointless (and boring) arguments. I post almost all comments except from a few banned trolls and slanderous attacks. I won’t, for example, post general attacks on all priests as abusers. Yes, tragically, there are bad priests, but most are sincere men working for the salvation of souls.
I’m shaking my head the past few days over the wrangling about the Divine Mercy devotion. I continue to post the back and forth and some of the comments are interesting, but it reminds me of Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 23:
Have nothing to do with senseless, ignorant disputations. As you well know, they only breed quarrels, and the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kindly towards all. He must be an apt teacher, patiently and gently correcting those who contradict him, in the hope always that God will enable them to repent and know the truth.
Do people really need to repent for practicing a devotion approved by the Church? No one has an obligation to believe in a private devotion, but if it brings one closer to God then blessed be His name forever.
I don’t believe Medjugorje is authentic and encourage people to live Our Lady’s call at Fatima, but I know people who experienced conversion at Medjugorje. Who am I to tell God what to use in the conversion of souls? Some of the holiest people I know, are deeply committed to the Divine Mercy devotion. It isn’t one I personally practice on a regular basis. God calls each of us as individuals. No one could possibly practice all the Church’s many devotions. How many medals can you wear around your neck?
We resemble flowers in the garden. You can’t treat an acid loving plant the way you treat a plant that likes basic soil. You can kill a flower by giving it the same amount of water that makes another thrive. Let God be the gardener. If a person sincerely seeks Him, God will lead him where He wants him to be in His own providential time.
If something’s not a sin, why wrangle over it? Go for the “devotion” to the occult. Correct the practice of superstition. As for the Divine Mercy devotion, may God use it to gather a rich harvest of souls. But be sure you live the Fatima messages first, because Fatima is more than a private revelation. It was given for the world!
Seeing as the Church condemned DM twice, I would not call the argument useless. Since the clergy who gave us the Novus Ordo Mass are the same ones who overturned the condemnation, it's worthy of debate. It really goes hand in hand with the NOM vs the TLM. The SSPX's position has been that the NOM is a danger to the faith, which of course begs the question; can the Catholic Church give the faithful stones instead of bread?
ReplyDeleteWell stated. We have options for our personal prayer time. Thanks be to God.
ReplyDeleteKatie
"Seeing as the Church condemned DM twice...."
ReplyDeleteWell, Debbie, St. Athanasius was driven out of his apostolic see at least twice and exiled. St. Joan of Arc was burned as a heretic by churchmen. Padre Pio was considered a possible fraud and banned from saying Mass publicly or hearing confessions. St. Philip Neri was forbidden to hear confessions or lead pilgrimages by his religious superiors. St. Joseph of Cupertino was dragged up before the Inquisition and charged with witchcraft and forced to live in seclusion because his ecstasies caused so much consternation in the monasteries he lived in. I'm sure with a little research I could find many other saints sanctioned by the Church.
Yes, I consider the argument over the Divine Mercy devotion useless, divisive, and to no purpose. It would be more useful to fight real evil by, for example, going down to the local abortuary to sidewalk counsel the people who are in true, murderous error.
Hi Mary, you’re probably right. I stumbled across on your blog a few weeks ago & really enjoyed how you presented candidly & charitably your position on SSPX & traditional Catholicism.
DeleteI do disagree though with your take on DM. I live in Poland & speak Polish. I’ve looked at this topic for the last couple of years with two traditional priests (one is from SSPX) & can conclude that this devotion isn’t from God ( I was a big fan of DM devotion until this time) This isn’t my personal opinion but was the majority opinion held by the bishops in PL prior to the Holy Office making its decision in 1959. And it’s nothing to do with a bad translation or a bad copy the Holy Office received. That’s a bit of an urban myth the supporters come up with without any evidence. I’m not going to bore you with the facts, but looking at this devotion holistically it can be said that it distorts & undermines the Catholic Faith. Its new theology on mercy fits in perfectly with the modernist understanding of universal salvation. Although there’s mention of confession, sin, it’s watered down by the fact that there’s little or no mention of repentance or contrition. As we know there’s 5 conditions to be met for a good & valid confession. The devotion makes it seem that it’s enough just to turn up
& get absolution. Very little focus on penance or contrition & making an amendment by working on one’s virtues. In the Diary there’s mention of mercy/merciful over 1000 times while repent/repentance only 18. This imbalance between mercy & Justice invariably leads to the sin of presumption which this devotion falls foul of. Also it subtly undermines many sacraments, for example Extreme Unction, when it instructs priests to use the Chaplet as the last resort for a dying soul. Many can interpret this as a substitute for the last rites & this happened in practice. Also on DM Sunday the promise of remission of all sins & wiping away all punishments(Diary 699) conditional to receiving only holy communion on the day & going to confession (8 days before or after) goes against the dogmatic teaching of the Church on sacramental graces. This grace promised on DM Sunday is only reserved under the sacrament of baptism. Please note there’s nothing on a plenary indulgence in the Diary under section 699. The Church added it to the Feast but ONLY for those who could not attend on the day or receive communion on the day. Therefore this is unique & such promises have never happened in the history of the Church as they would lead to heresy.
In summary, if one accepts & follows the promises of the devotion one has to reject the Catholic Faith as both aren’t compatible.
I think the DM is fine. There is nothing in it that opposes the Bible. Such a silly argument. I do the Rosary daily and Protestant ridicule it. I think when spiritual tools are attacked, way the damage. Prayer is good. Pray more. Which tool works in your prayer life.
DeleteNot everyone is equipped or disposed to sidewalk counselling, but all Catholics are to defend the Catholic faith.
DeleteBetween this post and Sunday, April 16 post quite a few compelling arguments were made against DM that were pretty much ignored.
Today is the Feast Day of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, martyred by Calvinists in 1622.....back when Catholics believed Protestantism in all it's forms was worth dying for. St. Fidelis, pray for us.
While I am not a devotee of the Divine Mercy devotion, the Divine Mercy devotion causes people to go to Mass, confession and pray. These days anyone whose goes to Mass, goes to confession and prays sincerely is truly working under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteIf there are those that are judging the intensions of people going to Mass, confession and praying then good luck with that, that's an area none of us should tread.
I am so grateful you posted this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd no one is obligated to argue with you, Debbie and agree that you have all the answers about the Catholic faith on sedevacantism and the Divine Mercy devotion.
ReplyDeleteAs for actually doing something to defend the unborn, I think Jesus has something to say about that. "Whatever you did to the least of my little ones, you did to me."
Everyone can pray and sacrifice for an end to abortion. When I sidewalked counseled there were always people there praying upon whom the counselors depended. We attributed any saved babies to their prayers.The only ones who can't do that are those who are physically unable. But it takes a much greater commitment to go to the killing centers than arguing on the internet and risking calloused fingers.
This past Sunday priest gave entire sermon on why should not use this DM devotion. Since he made such a big deal of it, I will summarize his points:
ReplyDelete(1) DM was not condemned due to mistranslation but for grave reservations. He cited a 2002 NCR article which I was able to find on the internet: "Officially, the 20-year ban is now attributed to misunderstandings created by a faulty Italian translation of the Diary, but in fact there were serious theological reservations -- Faustina’s claim that Jesus had promised a complete remission of sin for certain devotional acts that only the sacraments can offer, for example, or what Vatican evaluators felt to be an excessive focus on Faustina herself."
http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2002c/083002/083002f.htm
(2) The devotion is designed to take away from the devotions and messages of Fatima (and Lourdes) to do penance and pray the daily rosary [TIA I believe has noted that Faustina was receiving mercy message in 1937 when Lucia was receiving messages about WWII.] and especially the Sacred Heart devotion and having an image of the sacred heart enthroned in your home. The message to Margaret Mary about the indifference of mankind to the love of God/comforting the Sacred Heart. [Didn't go into how the image was banned, but the most noteworthy thing to me about the DM image is how it doesn't include the 'sacred heart.' First Friday and Saturday devotions have almost disappeared from the Church.]
(3) He concluded by saying if you are going to be traditional, be traditional in your devotions.
My only experience w/DM was 'pro-life.' Coordinator played it at first 40 Days' kickoff rally which was at night in 2009. We all held lighted candles and sang along. It was catchy like Kumbaya. I was like where'd you get this and all were shocked I'd never heard of it. Later a participant gave me a DVD and when I played it I was repelled. There was a man singing in a high falsetto and the dvd focused on the people (if you watch the video and contrast their expression w/the saint statues @9:48 vs 19:36) like a performance rather than prayer. It was EWTN/charismatic.
10 years ago – kumbaya version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5TGfisOKMM
EWTN now has an opera version:
https://ondemand.ewtn.com/paid/Home/Series/catalog/video/en/chaplet-of-divine-mercy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKj1I0hBxWw
@2:20 flames w/no people/devils (contrast pre VCII frescoes of hell; vision of hell rec'd at Fatima and other saints.)
In going to the EWTN site I found this:
'I saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike the earth... I began to beg God earnestly for the world with words which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way, I saw the Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just punishment... . ' [seems very opus dei (Kabala/magic/occult) to me that angels (spirits/guardian angel as one's 'familiar') do the bidding of humans (not God)]
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/chaplet-of-the-divine-mercy-387
In reflecting, DM does seem to imply don't have to worry about 3rd secret/chastisement or Apocalypse / end of the world because EWTN is broadcasting DM every day at 3 p.m. Seems to contradict Our Lady at Lourdes and Fatima to pray and do penance. Seems to contradict Jesus: 1 And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things? 3 No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13)
Someone once said to me when you look at the crucifix you see God's Mercy and God's Justice.