VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians have a responsibility to heal their divisions so that they can be a real sign of hope for the world, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Those who profess that Jesus Christ is lord are tragically divided and cannot always give a consistent common witness," the pope said during an Oct. 27 meeting with representatives of the world's major Christian communities.
Sometimes I wonder if we all want the same thing--actually, it's clear that we don't. For many years I have prayed about Christian unity and I rejoice to hear the pope's desires for unity. However, typically when I log on to Catholic blogs what I find is anything but the spirit of unity. Maybe it would be more honest for the big "closed heart" blogs just to admit that what they're all about is tearing down rather than expressing anything genuinely Christian. It's hard to find real Catholics among these guys.
Recently I've wondered if it's it just me or if there's a real spirit of division at work on some of the bigger Catholic blogs. I've decided to stop wondering about it. The answer is clear. I think that whenever we visit a blog and find disunity preached, whether they're promoting disunity within the Catholic Church or with Protestants, or even with other religions, we're obliged to take the time to add our comments and tell them to take a good look at what the pope is saying. Never mind that they'll call you a troll and maybe even ban you. It's our duty to stand against disunity as much as it is to stand for unity.
The sad truth is that too often our true responsibility and duty gets overlooked entirely in the interest of allegiance to the rhetoric of party politics, or in our attempts to identify ourselves as being either on the left or the right of things. It's high time for us stand for one another and to rebuke the spirit teaches otherwise.
The two chief devils lurking in many of our comboxes have names: Pride and Impatience.
Like all the works of the Devil, the ugliness seen therein are in fact good things that have been thoroughly perverted. The good intentions of so many have been wrenched either by a desire to re-make the Church and what She does into their own image, or a lingering need to drench Church leaders with poison long collected by those who disagree or misunderstand what's going on. (And I'm by no means free of guilt where this is concerned, but I'm working on it!)
Would that the things that blind so many combox dwellers - misdeeds and misunderstandings - be wiped away like Bartimaeus' own blindness - but this requires just a little bit of faith.
Posted by: marco frisbee | October 30, 2006 at 09:26 AM
It's funny.. well, not ha-ha funny, but until I came online, I didn't know there were ANY divisions in the Church. Honestly not. Maybe because everywhere I've gone all my life, Mass is Mass, and people are people.
I think onlineness can be a huge trouble-maker. We forget that a n y o n e can be online, eh? Sometimes even in the Catholic venues, it's all like someone writing a letter to the Editor of a newspaper. Do we take all of them seriously, especially that one who has a bummer opinion on everything?
Another part of the problem is that only the crappy stuff gets reported here, not all the wondrous love and opening of hearts and doors.
I have an Irish parishioner friend who one day shocked me. He turned scarlet and screamed, literally screamed at our good Pastor and our good Deacon out on the front steps as Mass let out. I was wounded on behalf of those innocent two who give us all more than some of us deserve, whose faces fell, and wounded on behalf of little children exiting Mass in joy and little old dying people for whom this Mass would've had to last a week..No one has the right to steal peace on our steps.
Tim was fruious at something (oh my, aren't we ALL?), but he so very selfishly vented, "WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY?"
Well, a few months went by, a few months in which I feared that VotF wolves had successfully be-furred him, which would tear apart his wonderful and rather charismatic family. Then one Sunday, there he was with his wife -- up with the other EMHCs. I guess Tim found out where the accountability is.
The Lord works in mysterious ways!
Posted by: H | October 30, 2006 at 08:45 PM
Let me clarify that by saying "here," I mean online! I sure don't mean here here. The peace and positivity here is very healing and ever-fortifying.
Posted by: H | October 30, 2006 at 08:50 PM