Priest wondering if Jesus approves of the Church

  • Thread starter Thread starter mikew262
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mikew262

Guest
We had a visiting priest from the local priest retirement home who was filling in while our associate paster was on vacation. The homily followed the gospel (Mark) concerning Jesus healing the leper. The homily’s theme dealt with how we deal with outcasts (like the lepers) in our current age. He asked if Jesus pityed the leper or was he angry (he suggested an early translation said he was angry) possibly because people treated the lepers as outcasts. As he was finishing his homily, the priest started giving examples of modern day examples of treating people as outcasts. After a few generic examples, he started into how the Church treated some as outcasts, like treating women as 2nd class citizens, having theologians fired that disagreed with current doctrine, having people excommunicated, etc. Its obvious he was unhappy with how the church was conducting itself in some matters. He ended his homily stating if Jesus were to come back today, would he pity the Church or be angry with it.

Naturally, a few of us were a little stunned. You don’t hear these type of homilies everyday. Although, his finishing question is a little thought provoking.
 
I wonder about that, too.

He slept on the ground. He ate and drank out of clay vessels. Wouldn’t He find a better use for gold than chalices?
 
Penny Plain:
I wonder about that, too.

He slept on the ground. He ate and drank out of clay vessels. Wouldn’t He find a better use for gold than chalices?
Click to expand...
Ah, Penny, not to get off topic but I think Matt 26:6-16 might be in order:
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and said, "Why this waste?

9 It could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor." 10 Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me. 11 The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her.”
Click to expand...
The gold chalices are to honor Christ the King.

VC
 
40.png
mikew262:
He asked if Jesus pityed the leper or was he angry (he suggested an early translation said he was angry) possibly because people treated the lepers as outcasts.
Click to expand...
It would be rather odd if Jesus were upset about that, since in Leviticus 13 the LORD commands that lepers be set apart:

“All the time that he is a leper and unclean, he shall dwell alone without the camp.” (Leviticus 13:46)

Sounds like this priest is either simply incompetent, or a dissenter. (Not that he cannot be both.)
40.png
mikew262:
He ended his homily stating if Jesus were to come back today, would he pity the Church or be angry with it.
Click to expand...
Well, maybe, maybe not, but perhaps this priest should be more concerned with what Christ will think of HIM when the time comes.
 
40.png
5-Decades-a-Day:
Well, maybe, maybe not, but perhaps this priest should be more concerned with what Christ will think of HIM when the time comes.
Click to expand...
I believe he felt secure in his own relationship with Christ, but whether Christ is happy with the direction of the Church as a whole, was open to question, in his mind.

Another point he made which I forgot to mention above is that Jesus welcomed everybody, so why does the church exclude some (This is not a direct quote, but this is the point he was making).

If one happened to be dozing during the 1st part of the homily, you sure woke up during the last part. He was subtle about it, but you could tell he had an agenda.
 
Oh my gosh, I was treated to the same Homily as Mike. I asked in another thread about the word being “anger” instead of “pity”, but no one could help except to say that the priest was incorrect. The Homily was the same, “we are excluding people on the fringes of the Catholic Church”
 
The Church doesn’t actually throw anybody out. Excommunication happens when a Catholic teaches heresy and continues to do so despite numerous communications. That person has already put themselves outside of the Church, and it is important for the Church to publically recognize it so that the person will not continue to lead others astray.
 
40.png
Holland:
Oh my gosh, I was treated to the same Homily as Mike. I asked in another thread about the word being “anger” instead of “pity”, but no one could help except to say that the priest was incorrect.
Click to expand...
What other help were you expecting?? In the other threads it was pointed out that the accepted translation of this Greek word was not “anger,” but “pity.”

There have been a couple of threads by this by diferent people in apparently different places–could it be these priest’s all recieved the same erroneous information, or is there one unhappy priest in the Midwest who really gets around? 😃
 
You have made me laugh so hard :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Its just that when you hear this wacky stuff during a Homily you think there just has to be some sort of good explanation for it but I guess not. Its just wacky stuff!
 
Verbum Caro:
Ah, Penny, not to get off topic but I think Matt 26:6-16 might be in order:

The gold chalices are to honor Christ the King.
Click to expand...
I must have missed something.
11 The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me.
Click to expand...
Where’s He going?
 
What gets me about the OP’s post is that the priest said if Jesus were to come back today. WHAT? God sees everything and knows everything. Jesus might presently be highly peeved at some of the people within the Church, but His Bride is His Bride and she is always beautiful in His eyes.
 
Interesting. I have to think that Jesus had views he never expressed, too. I wonder what they would have been?
 
Penny Plain:
I must have missed something.

Where’s He going?
Click to expand...
Penny, I believe Jesus was saying He would be going to Heaven after he died on the cross.
 
Verbum Caro:
Ah, Penny, not to get off topic but I think Matt 26:6-16 might be in order:

The gold chalices are to honor Christ the King.

VC
Click to expand...
Excellent!!! Thanks
 
Verbum Caro:
Ah, Penny, not to get off topic but I think Matt 26:6-16 might be in order:

The gold chalices are to honor Christ the King.

VC
Click to expand...
But isn’t the comparison classed has doctrinely outlawed Relativism?

Just wondering.

Andy
 
40.png
tdandh26:
Jesus might presently be highly peeved at some of the people within the Church, but His Bride is His Bride and she is always beautiful in His eyes.
Click to expand...
You might be assuming too much, if there is any truth to what this priest was saying.

Not only may he be upset with some of the conduct of the Catholic Church, but look at how split up the Christian faith as a whole is? Yeah, he might be a little upset.
 
40.png
mikew262:
We had a visiting priest from the local priest retirement home who was filling in while our associate paster was on vacation. The homily followed the gospel (Mark) concerning Jesus healing the leper. The homily’s theme dealt with how we deal with outcasts (like the lepers) in our current age. He asked if Jesus pityed the leper or was he angry (he suggested an early translation said he was angry) possibly because people treated the lepers as outcasts.
Click to expand...
We certainly know why they had to live apart from others-- leprosy was a contagious, fatal disease. But, everyone should be treated with dignity, no argument there.
40.png
mikew262:
As he was finishing his homily, the priest started giving examples of modern day examples of treating people as outcasts. After a few generic examples, he started into how the Church treated some as outcasts, like treating women as 2nd class citizens, having theologians fired that disagreed with current doctrine, having people excommunicated, etc.
Click to expand...
What a bunch of hogwash.
40.png
mikew262:
Its obvious he was unhappy with how the church was conducting itself in some matters. He ended his homily stating if Jesus were to come back today, would he pity the Church or be angry with it.
Click to expand...
Clearly he is disgruntled, and had an agenda. I suggest you and fellow parishioners explain what happened at mass to your priest. Simply tell him honestly why this priest’s homily made you all uncomfortable. It may influence whether the priest engages this particular priest as a substitute in the future.
40.png
mikew262:
Naturally, a few of us were a little stunned. You don’t hear these type of homilies everyday. Although, his finishing question is a little thought provoking.
Click to expand...
“would he pity the Church or be angry with it”

The Church is Holy. The Church is Christ’s Bride who preserves and teaches the faith without error. Christ would be neither angry at nor pity his chosen Bride, guided for all times by the Holy Spirit.

Individual people in the church are a completely different matter. Everyone will be accountable for their actions and inactions at both the particular and general judgments. And some people likely anger God greatly while others likely receive his pity and mercy. Personally, I hope I’m in the latter category of mercy rather than wrath.

I think the real problem with the priests homily was two-fold: a problem with authority (since all his examples indicate such) and an inability to distinguish between the Church and the people in the Church. No wonder the people in the pews have these same maladies.
 
40.png
mikew262:
We had a visiting priest from the local priest retirement home who was filling in while our associate paster was on vacation. The homily followed the gospel (Mark) concerning Jesus healing the leper. The homily’s theme dealt with how we deal with outcasts (like the lepers) in our current age. He asked if Jesus pityed the leper or was he angry (he suggested an early translation said he was angry) possibly because people treated the lepers as outcasts. As he was finishing his homily, the priest started giving examples of modern day examples of treating people as outcasts. After a few generic examples, he started into how the Church treated some as outcasts, like treating women as 2nd class citizens, having theologians fired that disagreed with current doctrine, having people excommunicated, etc. Its obvious he was unhappy with how the church was conducting itself in some matters. He ended his homily stating if Jesus were to come back today, would he pity the Church or be angry with it.

Naturally, a few of us were a little stunned. You don’t hear these type of homilies everyday. Although, his finishing question is a little thought provoking.
Click to expand...
We had the same sermon at our Church, but it was about how gay and lesbian homosexuals are treated as outcasts and how it is a sin not to welcome them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top