Whose Church is it????

It bothers me a lot that there is so much division/disgust/anger/recrimination/strife/etc. among Catholics these days . There seems to be little trust or caring among the different "factions" ... be they liberal, conservative, moderate, traditional or progressive.

And I add myself in being guilty of some of this also. But I also believe there is room for all of us in this Church...

Pope Benedict XVI's words spoken during his trip to France in September 2008 speak to our divided condition. Maybe we all need to take them to heart...

"No one is too many in the Church. Everyone, without exception, must be able to feel at home and never feel rejected."

"Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God."

I came across an interesting CNS article from March 27, 2009, that speaks about the weekly Lenten meditation given by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household. Fr. Cantalamessa reminds us that the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually, as well as through the Church. This important aspect of the Holy Spirit's action in our lives is something that I had not really thought much about.

According to the article: "When people forget that the Holy Spirit speaks directly to individual consciences and not only through the church, there is a risk that laypeople would be pushed to the margins of the church's life..."

Father noted: "...In other words, there is a risk of reducing the guidance of the Paraclete to only the official teaching of the church, impoverishing the varied action of the Holy Spirit. In this case the human, organizational and institutional elements prevail, the passivity of the members is encouraged and the door is opened to the marginalization of the laity and the excessive clericalization of the church."

You can read the complete Catholic News Service article, HERE.

Holy Week 2009

We follow Jesus this week as He travels the road to Calvary. As we meditate on His suffering and death on the cross, we pray in hope and thanksgiving that His Sacrifice will not have been in vain in our own lives. With our own crosses united to His, we await His Resurrection... and ours too.


After Easter, this blog will come to life again...