WHO MADE YOU POPE?

There is a controversy in the Church over the use of the Latin language in the Mass. As usual, almost everyone misses the point. This points out a phenomenon that has plagued the Church all the way back to Moses and the Ten Commandments. Remember the story of the Golden Calf and the Israelites, so easily flipped over a God they could not see for a mere statue of gold? This story contains the seeds of what is going on today and has taken place ever since Pentecost. Humans tend to mess up things with the Holy Spirit. They may even think they are correct but be in heresy, the bliss that comes from thinking God speaks through you alone.

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE PROPHETS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT– If you do any reading at all about Scriptures, you come to realize that the prophets were those cursed, to tell the truth to Israel, what they did not want to hear. When individuals who are not anointed to speak for God do so, thinking that God speaks through them, Israel strays from the truth. The ten lost tribes of Israel are a case in point. Over time, they listened to the local gods and false prophets and were eventually assumed into what is now Syria. Once again, the Genesis Principle was at work. This question is “Who is God, you or God?” The people (church) decided that they knew better than God and suffered the consequences of their choice. One Faith, One Lord, One Baptism, but there is only One Pope, who is elected to head the Church.

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE APOSTLES IN THE TIME OF CHRIST– It is no secret in Scriptures that the Apostles and disciples did not get the message of Jesus before his passion, death and resurrection. It took the Holy Spirit to enter the upper room (Where else would those frightened to death hide?) and breathe the spirit of truth, showing them and the future church the way and how to live a life that focuses on loving others, even those who don’t love you in return. The Holy Spirit released those He overshadowed (first of all the Blessed Mother) from the bondage of sin and allowed them to approach the Father only in, with, and through Christ. Humility and obedience to the will of God as authorized by Peter, the Apostles, and Ecumenical Councils, helps individuals to focus on the basics and not get hung up on what clothes should be worn at Eucharist, what language should be spoken, or how some peripheral teaching goes out of fashion. Christ alone makes all things new. Christ alone is the supreme authority, and he has given that authority to fallible and mistake-prone individuals charged with leading the Church Catholic (those still on earth) through the minefields wrought by pride and disobedience to the whim of the many.

One Faith, One Lord, One Baptism, but there is only One Pope, who is elected to head the Church.

GOD SPEAKS IN EACH AGE THROUGH THE TEACHINGS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit will not let the gates of Hell prevail against it. Jesus said nothing about some magical incantation to ward off the effects of Original Sin or to combat evil in all its insidious forms. What he did say was that his grace is sufficient for individuals. To be present in each age, Jesus designed the Church to have one person with the primacy of honor and authority over His flock. The Good Shepherd handed over the crux to Peter (not the obvious choice because he was a braggart, sought the favor of Christ, and betrayed him three times). The paradox of God shows itself again and again: Jesus chose the weakest person to be the chief shepherd of his whole flock (Church Militant) on earth, while Jesus is the head of the Church Universal in Heaven. One Faith, One Lord, One Baptism, but there is only One Pope, who is elected to head the Church.

The question is not, “Does the Pope have authority to lead the Church in matters of faith and morals?” but rather “Do you trust the Holy Spirit to overshadow the successor of St. Peter, not to be free from error, but to use the power to bind and lose to the benefit of this age?”

Would Jesus marvel at our lack of faith in his words?