Jesuit Church? Catholic Church?
[ 5 minute read ]
The Jesuits are a clever bunch. Intelligent, often proud - and not always in the best sense of the word. Today's Church has seen the best and worst of what the Jesuits have to offer: Mitch Pacwa versus James Martin; Fr. Hardon versus Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich.
℣. How judgemental!℟. Just calling the behaviours as we see 'em.
We have a Jesuit Pope, a Bishop of Rome whose off-the-cuff remarks have created considerable confusion among the faithful, and offered fuel to bolster dissidents. One could hope he might mind his tongue more often, but he is who he is: he is the Vicar of Christ. In his hands are the keys of Saint Peter. That does not mean everything he says merits absolute obedience. As noted, at times he speaks his mind - his mind, not the mind of the Church - and we must carefully distinguish between the voice of Bergolio and the voice of Peter.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.
What is good for the Bishop of Rome is good for us all.
To love the Holy Father is not to excuse his faults nor exploit his weaknesses. Catholics rely on the Holy Ghost and each other to offer fraternal correction (Galatians 2:11-14). We can offer respectful (and firm) counsel, or engage in poisonous chit chat that gives evil the opportunity to spread. Pope Francis' allies and enemies both routinely exploit his weaknesses.
We are not the Jesuit Catholic Church.
I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? - 1 Corinthians 1:10-13
Who are we then? We are Catholics, disciples of Jesus Christ, repentant sinners in need of Jesus' mercy and salvation. We keep Jesus' commandments and we know Him.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. - St John 14:15
It is highly unfortunate that many Catholics who are lukewarm at best pretend to represent the Church by donning adjectives like 'devout' or 'traditional', as if that actually justifies their brazen hypocrisy. The fact that far too many Catholics obstinately defy Church teaching and behave like unrepentant sinners, thus mocking Jesus, the Church and other Catholics, is proof they are not what they claim to be.
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. - Revelation 3:15-17
The Church desperately needs what the Ordinariate has to offer. The Ordinariate is not a new religious order nor a lay movement. The Ordinariate is the heart of the Church made manifest for the salvation of souls, an inspired liturgical and cultural algorithm or vehicle through which God draws Catholics and non-Catholics deeper into the mystery of salvation in Christ. Like all authentic renewals, it remains dedicated to the Apostolic Faith and is open to the direction of the Holy Spirit in the present. It is dynamic and stable.
Why is the Ordinariate a model of renewal?
The Ordinariate is a spiritual community born of humility, the humility of men and women zealous for unity with the Church founded by Jesus Christ, men and women who have given up considerable security in their former homes to embrace the Lord's challenge to launch out into the deep (St. Luke 5:4).
The unique liturgy of the Personal Ordinariates is born of that same desire, initiated and sustained by the Holy Spirit, to be faithful to the will of God. God wills unity in the truth.
I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. - St John 17:20-23
The genius of the Ordinariate Liturgy is that it manifests God's will for ecumenical authenticity in and through the various movements of a spiritual symphony. This symphony, Divine Worship, is a work of the Holy Ghost.
The Church benefits immensely from the treasures preserved in the liturgical, theological, spiritual and cultural patrimony of the Anglican experience, treasures brought into harmony with the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariates established by the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.
The Ordinariate Liturgy, Divine Worship, follows a similar progression to the form of the Mass with which most people are familiar, the Novus Ordo Missae of Pope Saint Paul VI.
- Divine Worship includes distinct prayers such as the Prayer of Humble Access and the General Thanksgiving, the Last Gospel typically said in the older Latin Mass, and the longer traditional Offertory.
- The Gospel is typically proclaimed in the nave of the Church, among the people. The Gospel, the voice of Christ, is heard in the midst of the congregation. Are we listening? Jesus is present in the midst of those gathered in His Name (St. Matthew 18:20).
- The Penitential Rite occurs in the middle of the Mass, after the formation provided by the Liturgy of the Word. The location of the Penitential Rite immediately prior to the Offertory reminds us, if our neighbour has anything against us, to leave our gift at the altar and be reconciled (St. Matthew 5:23-24). Furthermore, the placement of the rite heightens the need for repentance in the Presence of the holy and living God.
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