Anchored in Charity: Monday Morning Musing

Thoughts for the day:

I often check LifeSiteNews in the morning. Today I read John Henry Weston's commentary. I love the phrase he used, "anchored in charity." Imagine a world where all of us anchor our little boats with charity! Check out the article. It's short but pithy.:

Toward a more excellent way: speaking the truth in charity 

This month's virtue focus in the Benedictus worship aid is meekness. It seems to me that the two virtues, meekness and charity, go together like bread and butter. The meek soul is quick to give the benefit of the doubt, quick to presume the best intentions of the other while scrutinizing his own, quick to praise and slow to condemn. The meek don't flinch from telling the truth, but they don't use a club to try to pound it into heads. So I give Weston and  LifeSiteNews kudos. And may we all practice the virtues of meekness and charity. 

Another site I visit often is Rorate Caeli. One finds intelligent commentary there and very little bloviating hot hair. They posted an interesting article examining the history of Pope Leo XIV which seems fair and balanced, Leo XIV: the Man, the Priest, and the Bishop - Who is He? An Assessment:

Here's the ending:

Overall assessment

Overall he seems clearly orthodox on abortion, euthanasia, contraception, LGBT, the appointment of bishops and the ordination of women, while his stance on communion for the divorced remarried and priestly celibacy seem difficult to know with certainty. He also appears to hold to an orthodox understanding of the faith, being unchangeable, and bishops being mere servants of it. His actual stance on migration appears somewhat moderate, as well.

His real testcases will be:

*Dealing with the synod study groups and the developments towards the ecclesial assembly in 2028.

*Ensuring an orthodox pastoral response to polygamy in Africa.

*New curial and cardinal appointments; the church needs new blood.

The last point is especially important, personnel is policy. If the new Pope can restore order in the Curia, he can restore order to the Church. If he has proper collaborators and is able to stop the heresies in Germany, normalcy can return to the Church and maybe then Traditionis Custodes and Amoris Laetitia will either be reinterpreted, or reapplied in an orthodox manner, or overruled altogether.

We can pray and hope.

Pray and hope I will; and I refuse to join the "professional" Catholic bloggers who seem to follow the secular media's policy, "If it bleeds; it leads." Maybe that gets them more clicks (and more contributions), but it doesn't do much to re-introduce courtesy and civility into what have become bitter and divisive conversations. I'm sick of rude barbarians at the gates who know everything, beat you with a club if you don't agree, and tell you you're going to hell! We are ALL in that danger, and should examine our own consciences first. Blowing the warning trumpet is an act of charity, but our warnings will only be heard if those we warn believe we love them.

May your Monday be a delight. If you feel angry take a walk, enjoy the glory of Spring, smell the honeysuckle, and listen to the bird song. Come home, fill a glass with brew or wine and read one of Chesterton's essays. And remember Belloc's poem: "Of courtesy it is much less than courage of heart or holiness, Yet in my walks it seems to me that the grace of God is in courtesy." Amen to that! What a world it would be if we treated everyone with that "grace of God" as meek souls walking in the footsteps of Philip Neri or Francis de Sales. 

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine!