Defending the Truth

I know a few posts ago I was upset by all the snark in the blogosphere, but I still admit that at times it's necessary to step up and defend the Truth, even if doing so seems snarky. So beware...this is going to be a snarky post, and one that I'm certain will land me a greater sentence in Purgatory. Please pray for my soul.

Here's the deal; I read today the content of a homily posted by a local priest. I will not name him or his parish, but will only provide the link to the source and you can follow the links from there.

Apparently this homily came from an audio file, and this is a snippet of the information for your reading displeasure:

Version 3:

Two people came into Church to pray, one was a Catholic Archbishop who refuses communion to Rainbow Sash people at the Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday who prayed ” I give you thanks oh God that I am not like others – greedy, dishonest or like others who need to make their dissent from official Church teaching so public and divisive.”

The other were Rainbow parents of GLBT people at the Cathedral on Pentecost who stood off on the side and prayed, “Oh God be merciful to us for failing to attend our own Churches more often; they say they love God then turn there backs on us in hate directly contrary to 1:John,4 – whoever loves God must also love the neighbor.” Jesus concluded the last ones went home more worthy in God’s sight than the first.

By way of explanation, the gospel being used was obviously the pharisee and the publican. The "version" is one of several "versions" this priest chose to write for his homily, all of which miss the point of the gospel message.

I find it necessary, therefore, to defend our coadjutor bishop, Archbishop Nienstedt, which is pretty sad considering I'm defending him from one of his own local priests.

Firstly, the good Bishop simply stated Church teaching, in this article. His teaching was in response to an attack by local homosexual activists whose desire is that the teachings of the Catholic Church change to meet their basest desires of the flesh. You know the story because it plays out daily somewhere.

For those who don't care to click on the link, the information in the article by the Archbishop simply provided an explanation as to why a local father and daughter were not allowed to use a local parish as a venue to promote the gay lifestyle via a talk on a book she (a lesbian) wrote. Archbishop Niensteadt did not condemn anyone, but stated very coherently what the Church's stand is with regard to these types of behaviors, as well as the need for those in mortal sin to receive absolution before approaching the Sacraments. There is nothing new in what he stated, and in fact, he provided information for Courage and Encourage, an apostolate to those suffering from Same Sex Attraction and seeking to live lives of chastity and obedience to God.

He did not state in any way in his article that he was not a sinner. The Archbishop did not uphold himself as some sort of perfect being. Rather, he did his job in that he, speaking as our Shepherd, guides us all to a full understanding with regard to Catholic teaching in the Divine order of morality. Job well done!

And so I offer that the priest's homily was not only morally dishonest, but was directly miseading with regard to Jesus' own words and intention, was intellectually dishonest as it misrepresents the words of scripture, and so the priests' own words actually reveal the depth of his own ignorance of God.

Do not condemn the priest; although he has chosen to be a tool, God has intended him for something much greater, and at his hands, the bread and wine are indeed changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. For that reason, we must remember that God has set him apart for such an awesome task. So we must remember this and PRAY for this priest; that he work according to God's will and not his own, that he remember the vows from his ordination, and that he remember that as a servant of God he is obliged to preach the Truth according to God...not according to the beliefs of popular culture. And we must pray that God have mercy upon him for he has clearly been conversing with the Serpent and has been swayed to act against God's love for him.

One day, we will all face judgment for what we have done or said, and those of us in teaching positions will be held far more responsible than others, for those who teach and speak have the ability to do far more damage to vulnerable souls.

May God bless Archbishop Niensteadt, and the priest who has thumbed his nose at God. Both are in need of God's grace.