People of the Pews Unite

Jesus said:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.                              
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."

Yesterday we celebrated the life of Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine.  For those of you that may have missed yesterdays reflection, let me help you to be better Catholics in one simple word.  His name is pronounced "Aug us tin" - drop the "e" at the end and you will be okay.  If you are speaking about a city in Florida or are a Protestant that is speaking about our hero you would say "Aug us teen."  Now when speaking to another Catholic about Augustine you will sound more learned! 

Augustine was a hellion in his youth, learning from the example of his father how to create and enjoy a good debauch!  He had several mistresses during his life, his mother found him two brides but he married neither of them.  He did father a son who eventually was baptized as was Augustine.  He was taken under the wing of Ambrose, another learned man highly respected in the Catholic Church and Augustine learned the beauty of the Church from Ambrose and allowed Ambrose to baptize him.  His seminal work, a book every Catholic should be aware of is "Confessions" which takes the reader through the life of Augustine and is an example of one of the first autobiographies ever written.  A few other fun facts about our hero.  He never really learned Greek.  His Greek teacher was a brutal man who used to beat students that made mistakes in grammar. (Can you imagine what Michael the Lesser would look like if this teacher read his works) Augustine rebelled at the violence and simply did not study.  He realized too late that he really needed Greek to be the best that he could be, but he never quite was able to master it.  But he did master Latin which was the language of the day and he had a brilliant mind.  He was a great apologist for Catholic teachings and ended his life as a man steeped in prayer, reverence, and love for Jesus and His people.  He wrote this memorable text in his book Confessions: 

Late have I loved Thee, O Lord; and behold,

Thou wast within and I without, and there I sought Thee.

Thou wast with me when I was not with Thee.

Thou didst call, and cry, and burst my deafness.

Thou didst gleam, and glow, and dispel my blindness.

Thou didst touch me, and I burned for Thy peace.

For Thyself Thou hast made us,

And restless our hearts until in Thee they find their ease.

Late have I loved Thee, Thou Beauty ever old and ever new. 

As we endure this time of trouble in the Church where our very leaders are accused of high crimes and misdemeanors, we can look back at the lives of the saints.  They went through periods of purgation where the Church was being ruled by those who had little love for anything but themselves and their own lusts.  Today it appears, and I have a hard time believing it, but the evidence is there, that there is a homosexual presence in the curia that is bent on doing harm to the Church. I do not think that it has infested the Papal office.  I believe that Francis is surrounded by the enemy and he will strike, and strike hard when the time comes.  The Church has been around for two-thousand years and has been run by some really raunchy popes and it has survived.  It will survive this crisis and come out stronger than ever.  

Gentle people of the pews, you are the backbone of the Church.  Your faith must remain a bright fire of love.  Please pray for our Pope that Jesus leads him through the darkness of this night and back into the brilliance of the day.  

Do not lose your faith, young ones.  Scandals will come, Jesus predicted it and the plan for His Church takes into account all of the bad will and traitorous behavior of sinful men.  For the Church is the Bride of Christ and she retains her holiness because of the holiness of the bridegroom.