Monday, August 14, 2006

Not Your Will, But Mine Be Done...

From the LA Times, we see this:

Female Priest Defies the Catholic Church
(As if there are "priestesses" who don't defy the Church?)

WORSHIP: Jane Via, a 58-year-old attorney and a mother
of two, was ordained as a priest in Switzerland in June.
(Jim Baird / San Diego Union-Tribune)


Jane Via said she would probably cry and, sure enough, she did.

Midway through her homily at the rented San Diego church used by her upstart congregation, Via choked up, thanking the packed house of 100 worshipers for sustaining her over the last week.

[This service of worship of self]...also marked her congregation's first gathering since she met with San Diego Bishop Robert Brom to discuss the consequences of her ordination, which could ultimately include excommunication.

Via, 58, is among 15 American women who have received ordination in recent ceremonies.
Of course, she did, but not in the Catholic Church...As a matter of fact (not opinion), she and others have stepped from the light of the Church into the darkness. They have deliberately removed themselves from the Church and placed themselves at the service of those who oppose Christ and His Church.

The Vatican's position on women entering the priesthood has not budged, despite polls showing a majority of American Catholics favor allowing them to do so.

This sentence is mandatory, it seems, in every secular report concerning these "priestesses". The uninformed or willfully ignorant, then, may wonder why the Church doesn't pay attention to opinion polls. These polls are made to sound as if they are the source of knowledge and truth.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not taken a formal position on the issue...

Perhaps not a formal position, but it seems, by its continued silence, to have taken a position. It appears to have taken an informal position, by not condemning these acts of defiance and rebellion. Is the USCCB's silence meant to show 'solidarity' with these 'oppressed' women?

"I was so angry for so long at the church and church men who weren't willing to make even the smallest change in language to include women," she [Via]said. "My anger is gone."

It sounds as if she is a frustrated 'feminazi' at heart - demanding that the Church listen to Mother God and change the language...Well, now that she thinks she is a priestess, her 'anger' has diminished...

Last November, Via co-founded the congregation where she is a priest, the independent Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community. Its roughly 65 regular members include many people who found themselves increasingly discontented with aspects of mainstream Roman Catholic churches.

Those who choose to 'found' a Church, attempt to usurp the power of Christ who has already founded His Church. They, not content with His Church, jump from the Barque of Peter, to a certain death, into a sea which is ready to swallow them if left unaided.

Dan Dinan said that, with two daughters and four granddaughters, he had always been bothered by what he saw as women's second-class status in the church. In Via, a married mother of two who is also a deputy district attorney for San Diego County, he sees an ideal pioneer.

It's obvious that there is a tremendous void of understanding concerning the important status that women have in the Church. This should be especially obvious to us on the eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - a woman, exalted above all creatures. How much better would it be if more of us followed Our Lady's example of humility, holiness, and obedience? What if more of us would listen to her when she asked us, "Do whatever He tells you."

"She's not a radical, she's not far out," he said.
Her actions are rebellious and scandalous. Her actions display a contempt for Christ, His Church, and the souls of those to whom scandal has been given.

[Newcomer Alfred] O'Brien said he blamed recent scandals in the Catholic Church partly on the absence of female leaders. "There was no one around the foot of the cross when Christ died except women," he said. "Women are the backbone of the church. That's why I'm here. It's long, long overdue."

While his statement is partially correct (The Gospels tell us that John was at the foot of the Cross also), this has no bearing on whether women are to be ordained. Sadly, those who reject the irreformable teachings of the Church on matters of faith and morals fall into heresy.

"It would be painful, in the sense that the church can be that narrow, but it doesn't stop us from going forward," said Sandy Trybus, a congregation member and one of Via's longtime friends.

The path which leads to eternal life is narrow - Jesus told us this. But that aside, it it not the Church which is narrow-minded, but those who minds and intellects are closed to the reality of truth.

A true friend would do everthing possible to keep his friend from falling to death, either physically or sprirtually. It is the Church which reminds us of Christ's teachings, of His love and mercy, of His suffering and death for our redemption. Since we are no greater than the Master, we, too, are to pick up our crosses if we wish to follow Him. While we may not understand, we should conform our wills to His - and this means that we become obedient even as He was. Christ gave us a Church and delegated His Apostles and their successors to teach us and to help us in our journey to heaven. How can one ever think that rejecting His Church would lead one to eternity in His Kingdom?

"I resent people who say love it or leave it," Dinan said of the Catholic Church. "We're not going to leave it. We're going to change it."

He's jumped ship already, yet claims to still be aboard walking the deck. Those who refuse to listen, even to the Church, are be treated as the rebels they are. We have Christ's promise, despite this man's opinion to the contrary, that even the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church. This man's claim that they are going to change it reveals a profound sense of arrogance...

Again we see a repeat of history, another group in a long line of groups, which presumes to speak for Christ and His Church. They need our prayers and sacrifices.

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