It’s a bit difficult to “go easy on my priest” right now.
He is an alcoholic, banned a young woman from our church, who called him out, on breaking his word to the Altar & Rosary Society. He lied, he was wrong, but he refuses t say the simple words, “I’m sorry”.
No, you haven’t offended me. I stood, helplessly by, watching as the 2nd plane hit the Twin Tower. That moment is burned in my memory, forever.
I too, have friends and family, actively serving to protect our freedoms.
And I agree, we are in this war started by the domestic terrorists within our government.
What a passive-aggressive attitude! “No, you didn’t offend me - but I DID watch 3000 people burn to death in pain and agony”. This is the epitome of manipulation. There are Jews who saw more than 3000 people go up in smoke in Auschwitz, but they found it in the depths of their souls to forgive the Nazi criminals. You may not offer this Mass in your heart for bin Laden’s soul because you can’t do it, but you CAN serve at this eternal, holy Mass just to say “I forgive you”. Forgive 70 x 7 times, at the very least, so you can be forgiven.
Whether you had or have family members in domestic service is irrelevant. This is a huge tactic people tend to use (not just Americans): “well, I’ve got family members in the army, so don’t be critical of War X or Operation Y, because you’re attacking their honour”, implicitly. Let human honours be cursed, and worldly medals and virtues be banished to Hell.
What will happen when God demands the 10 billion dollars you owe Him personally? Will He find you at the bottom of the steps of His palace, wringing Osama’s neck for 100 dollars? Osama has no debt with you, only with God. Don’t act as if you’re personally insulted, as if your honour is the highest and noblest thing in the world. God’s honour, glory, power, empire, and majesty reign forever. The Book of Revelation is a good antidote to this sort of pride. He will take the martyrs from under His holy high altar in Heaven, and they shall praise His Name, and beg for justice - that God’s glory may be fulfilled. It is, perhaps, likely that Osama will burn under the stern gaze of the martyrs, but who knows what contrition was in his soul as the final bullets traveled those few feet toward his sacred, immortal person?
GOD is looking for you to serve this Mass for YOUR OWN SOUL’S SAKE. I doubt bin Laden is much of an issue to Him anymore. He has entered beyond the gates of eternity, and now proceeds where he deserves to proceed. In your life, you must count yourself lower than dust in matters like this. God has put it into your heart to be an altar server all these years JUST FOR THIS ONE MOMENT. He wants to see that you won’t run away just because you happen to vehemently disagree with the priest. It doesn’t matter about bin Laden; this situation, as it is, is about you and your will. God wants to observe you here, to see if you really
do understand how worthless your own sense of honour and patriotic pride is. Leaving this Mass and resigning is a sign that you want to be pleased, that you want to increase. Let Him increase.
Then, perhaps, I am not a “good” Catholic.
Maybe I am wasting my time, rising at 5:30 every morning, to be in the Sacristy, setting up for 8:00 A.M. mass, every morning.
I would have preferred we had masses for Osama Bin Laden, while he was alive…perhaps the, I wouldn’t have had to serve at so many funerals.
This is very sentimental and schmaltzy, even for someone who is justified in being sorrowful. As much as you are deeply wounded by the events of that black day, you cannot continue rubbing it into us and yourself. It would have been ideal for a Mass to be offered for bin Laden while he was alive, of course, but that time is past. Did you ever offer a Mass, an Offertory, or a Holy Communion for his salvation? If so, then you have a right to be angry… if you never thought to do so, then attend this one in reparation for your lack of charity to bin Laden while he was alive.
God wants right reason to prevail in us: for all the faculties and appetites to be reigned in. This is the way it was in Eden, before this mess started. Allowing your will to be controlled by irascibility, rather than the intellect, is a terrible problem. Be rational, and detach your own self from the situation. Look at this from the vantage point of almighty God.
We’re not asked by our Lord to do the hard thing - He commands us to do it in the strongest terms. For those too lukewarm to offer one celebration of the Holy Mass for an evil sinner, He may say “I vomit thee out of my mouth, because thou art neither hot nor cold”. Don’t think you’re just and righteous because you get up ‘early’ every morning to serve at Mass. Perhaps you don’t feel that way, but it’s certainly the feeling I’m getting from your posts: that you’re entitled to be angry, and to boycott the Mass simply because you’re an important sacristan, and the priest
has to listen to
you.
