St. Jerome
&
The Pontiff – Benedict XVI
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and I am with you always, even unto the end of the World… Amen” said Jesus to His disciples (Matt 28:20).
We might ask ourselves what the 4th Century scholar, intellectual, translator and theologian St. Jerome and the New Pontiff Benedict XVI have in common, and the answer is found in the strict adherence to the tenets of the Bible.
To those who claim that, when reading the Bible, they do not understand what it says, St. Jerome in his letter to Paulinus has assured us that in reading the Bible: “Whoever comes along can find instruction so that, in one and the same sentence, both the learned and the ignorant can find plain meaning.”
The second similarity can be found in the story of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus as narrated by Luke describing the lost sheep of Christianity, mainly these passages: “O fools and slow of heart to believe … He took bread, and blessed, broke and gave it to them … their eyes were opened, and they knew Him …Did not our heart burn within us, they said …while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luk 24:13-35), which describes our disillusioned views, egoistic caprices and flagrant intransigence coupled with our audacity to disobey, revolt, and boast presumptuously of we-know-better-than-God our needs. Are we really and biblically breaking bread with the Lord so that He opens our eyes and hearts to His Love and His Truth, or just collecting some kind of leftover Christian crumbs falling from His table or fragmented butchered scriptures to invent a new Christianity?
Pope Benedict XVI is no different than any honest, pious and faithful Christian, who clings to the letter and spirit of the Bible. Popes and honest Bible abiding leaders of the different churches, as defenders of the faith, while hopefully to pass congeniality and spirituality rather than popularity contests, are not elected or ordained to do our will but the Will of God. Clergy and curia’s ultimate assignment is to invigorate the faithful and lead him/her to the narrow path of the green pastures of the Lord by living and preaching the biblical orthodox doctrines and dogmas of faith.
As much as we witnessed the global sadness for the passing of Pope John Paul II as well as the excitement of the whole world for the election of the new Pope, which both resulted in more universal evangelization and witnessing than the last 2000 years combined, thanks to cyberspace and ‘live’ and “instant” global coverage, we have nonetheless witnessed vicious attacks against the new Pope’s character, standing and governance, more from disgruntled so-called believing abiding Catholics than from non-Catholics. Some of the labels and outcries: Joseph, Cardinal Ratsinger, is a “Watchdog”, “Attackdog”, “Cop”, “Enforcer” and “Rottweiler”, an old man “Defender” of antiquated edicts and doctrines, “Uncompromising”, He is no Martin Luther. I was not aware that Martin Luther compromised any truth. In short, he is a “rat” antagonizing and riling against all liberal theologies. What is there to be compromised, when faith is a biblically tight reined journey achieved only through strict obedience, submission and conformity?
As Jesus said to the Emmaus disciples, who treated Him as a stranger and uninformed, many Christians are no more than strangers and unscriptured being fool and slow at heart as they are crippled with fancy secular clichés, paralysis agitans, abject myopia, blinding dyslexia and mental dyspepsia not to see that believing, unconditionally and submissively, in the fundamentals of the tenets of the Bible is the only way to imitate, obey and follow Jesus, to earn the title of true disciples.
Today’s Christianity is standing at a crossroad edging on blasphemy, mutiny and self-gratification. A wasteland Christianity that is devoid of discipline, humility, piety, submission and sacrifice. The Cross and Resurrection of the Lord are replaced by humanism, hedonism, feminism and secularism with a touch of communism, Marxism, fascism as well as Eastern mysticism.
Those who are demanding changes and reforms in the fundamental teachings and truths of Jesus are no more than bigots standing at the foot of the Cross yelling and shouting “Keep Him crucified.” They never reaped the fruits of the Cross nor celebrated the Resurrection of the Lord. They were and still are dead on any given “Good Friday”, as they will never know or celebrate the Resurrection Sunday. Not every one that says: “Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 7:21) At the core of all the issues and demands is a common activist criteria revolving around sexism, sexuality and sensuousness hiding behind consumerism, practicality, survival and lifestyle.
Is the Will of the Father?
- For women to be priests?
- For gays to live in immorality and sin?
- For babies to be butchered?
- To live in total debauchery and lewdness while seeking abortion to cure the ills of our own doing?
- For scientists to kill living embryos?
- For us, laymen, laywomen and clergy, to fornicate, commit adultery and lewdness?
- For priests, pastors and preachers to be pedophiles?
- For us to be schizophrenic separating between our religious and secular lives?
- To be repulsively and criminally liars, swindlers and cheaters?
- To create heresies and call it true Christianity?
- For the Pope and the fishermen of the different churches to abandon the theological integrity, moral clarity and pastoral ingenuity for the sake of unbiblical hedonistic and immoral social issues?
- And finally, is the Will of the Father for priests to be celibates or married? The answer for this one is maybe, because the Bible is silent about this subject, except for the Pauline wishful insinuations and the Catholic Church’s teachings.
Many women demand that every aspect of life be labeled “unisex” in equal footage with men. Why can’t one gift be exclusively “monosex”? Did not God bestow on women the best gifts of all? In childbearing, they give life and posterity; in childrearing, they cement morality; in beauty, they are the golden apples; in devotion, they are the ultimate; in affection, they are the givers; and in sacrifice, they are the accepted burnt offering. The world is no more than a mother. What more prestige and privilege can there be?
Many Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have allowed women some kind of highly visible participation in the functions of the Mass and the Liturgy including serving the Eucharist. I only conjecture that women want to become priests in the Catholic Church, so that they can have, among other privileges, ammunitions for their gossips through the confession booths. Since no one is privied to the Wisdom and Council of God, He decreed no women priest, and then we all should accept this command, not in a chauvinistic and degrading manner, but through the face and cash values of the mysteries of that wisdom.
What is next, open the convents so nuns get married, have children and live happily ever after, or allow men to have a Harem like the self-proclaimed Christians, the Mormons, or having, in addition to the present scandals, married priests cheating on their spouses, or allow to kill a life to save another life, etc.?
Is it not ironic that philanthropists are mostly made when themselves or any loved one is struck by some kind of disease, especially cancers, dystrophies and the like, they may never have contributed to or sponsored the research cause. The same applies to the pro-life, pro-choice and gay movements and activism, they are the two ends of the vice-grip of religiosity and secularism, teleology and evolution, piety and wickedness.
For two thousands years, priests and nuns have made their choices and pledged, with their free will and resolve, their unwavering strict allegiance to Jesus’ service and worship, biblically tending to His flocks and sheep. If they cannot comply, and before defiling the sanctity of priesthood and become a tripping stone for believers and non-believers alike by actions that does not fit with their vocation and pledge, all they have to do is to resign, defrock and unfrock and join the world. Like the Pope and all decent faithful Christians, we all have pledged an oath, sometime in our life, to uphold the truths, obey the commands, honor the life, as well as to conform to the Christian orthodox life as Jesus taught it and intended it to be.
The justification for the demands seems to stem from the different churches’ teachings and deviations from the biblical truths. All of our universal churches, more notably in cultic and heretic ones, have instituted unbiblical laws, edicts and verdicts, where among others, abortion is tolerated, gays and women are ordained ministers and bishops, and same sex marriages are permissible if not encouraged, etc., or other churches, including the Catholic Church, have changed this and that truth and stamped it “infallible”, “binding” and “biblical”. Therefore, if the leaders of the churches changed some truths, why not extend that change to include the new demands to create modern and progressive tenets of the antiquated Bible, something like a feel-good accommodating capricious and promiscuous kind of universal multi-faith Bible? Tagging all the goodies of other religions to Christianity in order to render it more appealing, practically universal and fervently sought for is not God’s Will.
Are we reading Jesus’ only Bible or a copyedited version we made or intend to make? Are we disciplined enough to follow Jesus’ teachings and commands? Are we praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, strength and comfort? Are we contritely and humbly asking for God’s Mercy? Are we totally ready, willing and able to confess our sins, and to abide in Jesus accepting that no one iota can be changed, altered or improvised (Matt. 5:18) to accommodate our evil social instincts and fleshly desires? Does not St. Paul remind us that: “Jesus Christ is the same YESTERDAY, and TODAY, and FOREVER, be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with Grace…” Heb.13:8-9.
If we willingly worship God in Spirit and Truth, then we wholeheartedly and earnestly repent, submit and accept any and all God’s commands, restrictions and limitations, but if we worship God in flesh, the demands of the flesh are numerous, precarious and hazardous to our faith and true Christian living, as well as a stumbling block for our co-religionist and the whole wide world.
Since God’s ways are not our ways, there are no alternatives, options or exceptions. Either we implore the Lord Jesus, like David humbly and contritely did, to create in us a new heart and spirit by talking the talk and walking the walk in biblically being a true-grounded and abiding disciple of Christ in living our true faith, or pack our bags and join other more accommodating faiths.
Let’s heed Jesus’ warnings: “Jesus answered and said unto them, you do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matt. 22.29), “
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said: They do always err in (their) heart; and they have not known my ways”, (Heb. 3:10), and “
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” James, 5:19
It seems it is not enough that we all are sinners deserving condemnation and death, the reformists, liberals, deists and all the disgruntled Christian pretenders and imposters want to continue sinning and call themselves Christians; therefore, Jesus’ words from the Cross, expressing unconditional Love and understanding, apply to them: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luk 23:34). I join with the fellowship of the billions of true Christian believers in praying for you.
Let us humbly and contritely repeat the prayer of minister Joe Wright delivered at one of Kansas Senate’s openings:
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word say: “Woe to those who call evil good”, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it Pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide us and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen”.
If we are not ready to live first our true faith,
How can we be ready to strife and die for it?
If we do not read the Word of God,
How can the Word of God open our eyes and hearts?
If we can’t humble ourselves and confess our sins,
How can Jesus create in us a new spirit?
And if we can’t genuinely repent and change our ways,
How can Jesus impart of His Wisdom, Mercy and Love?
As disciples and children of God, let us humble ourselves, repent and abide in Jesus allowing Him to abide in and teach us, through the auspices of His Holy Spirit, of His Ways.
Follow Me on Facebook