Last Monday, just before the the now infamous Relatio Post Disceptationem was detonated, Pope Francis gave a homily (just by coincidence, don’t you know) about our God being a “God of surprises.”
Matters of timing aside, this isn’t exactly a new theme for Pope Francis.
In his homily of January 20, 2014, one month to the day before Cardinal Kasper was to deliver his reflections at the Extraordinary Consistory in Rome in preparation for the Extraordinary Synod just concluded, the pope had this to say as reported in L’Osservatore Romano:
Pope Francis noted that the two readings “speak to us about about the disposition we should have in the presence of the word of God”; i.e.,“docility”. “Docile to the word of God. The word of God is living. And therefore it comes and says what it wants to say: not what I expect it to say or what I hope it will say or what I want it to say”. The word of God “is free” and it comes as “a surprise, since our God is the God of surprises: he comes and always does new things. He is newness. The Gospel is newness. Revelation is newness.”
In Evangelii Gaudium, the 50,000+ word tome that Cardinal Burke presumably still hasn’t “quite figured out exactly how to describe,” Pope Francis hammered home just how surprising God can be:
He is for ever young and a constant source of newness. The Church never fails to be amazed at “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” … . The real newness is the newness which God himself mysteriously brings about and inspires, provokes, guides and accompanies in a thousand ways … At the same time, today’s vast and rapid cultural changes demand that we constantly seek ways of expressing unchanging truths in a language which brings out their abiding newness.
Indeed, so surprising is this God of… ahem… “ours,” that the word “new” appears in Evangelii Gaudium some 200 times! I highly recommend, for those of you who can stomach it, to reread the document with the Synod’s scandalous Midterm Report in mind.
Clearly, the nonsense found in the Relatio is in perfect keeping with the modernist mindset of the current pope.
Come to think of it, isn’t amazing just how often this “God of surprises” tends to share Pope Francis’ ideas and opinions?
but, but, but…this is protestantism!!! It’s not Catholic at all, Louie.
—
We have a teaching Church to interpret Scripture for us just so we don’t go and ‘find new stuff’ in it. Hell, if I found new stuff in Our Lord’s WORD I’d sure as heck leave out all the hard stuff….oh, wait…
—
And another thing: All this talk of THE WORD makes me sick. What we have here are real WORDS – and each word has a meaning. Each word has a truth locked into it. And earth to Pope Francis: there is nothing new anywhere in the Holy Roman Catholic Church! Your job is to hold onto what the Church has now and has always had. What is it about your job description you find so confusing?
—
It gets pretty scary when Pope Francis’ remarks are lined up and read. What has happened to the poor uninformed joe/jane in the pew is akin to the Chinese Water Torture – one is tied down and drops of water are aimed at one’s forehead – one at a time, over and over, until one goes mad…
—
Difference is now that the hapless joe/jane thinks this is holy water, and loves it.
—
This prayer should be said over and over in every waking hour: “Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me”
The SSPX could give a surprise to Pope Francis and for him it could be the intervention of the God of Surprises.
The SSPX must accept Vatican Council II, lock, stock and barrel, without the irrational inference. This has the hermeneutic of continuity with the past. This Vatican Council II is traditional
Lionel
Firstly they can agree that Vatican Council II is traditional on other religions and Christian communties since there are no contradictions to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Secondly they can agree that they have been assuming all these years that LG 16,LG 8,UR 3,NA 2 etc are explicit exceptions to extra ecclesiam nulla salus.This is irrational.
Thirdly they can agree that they have been interpreting Vatican Council II as a whole with this irrational premise ( the dead saved in invincible ignorance for example are visible and known exceptions to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus).
Fourthly they can agree that the Vatican Curia, the liberals and traditionalists are all using this irrational premise in the interpretation.
Fiftly they can agree that Vatican Council II without this irrational premise is in agreement with the SSPX General Chapter Statement 2012 which said there are no exceptions to extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Finally they can ask the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to also clarify their position on this doctrinal issue.
Other religions and ecumenism are the main issues. Once they agree on extra ecclesiam nulla salus there is new light thrown on religious liberty.
Since they affirm extra ecclesiam nulla salus they affirm that all religious, political,social and financial systems have an obligation to be Catholic.
The heresies and blasphemies emerge with the irrational premise used in the interpretation.It would be like watering the roots of a tree. With one simple action all parts of the tree are nourished.Similarly identify the premise and change the Council.
The Vatican Curia wants the SSPX to accept Vatican Council II with the irrational inference.This must be rejected.
The SSPX must accept Vatican Council II, lock, stock and barrel, without the irrational inference. This has the hermeneutic of continuity with the past. This Vatican Council II is traditional.
Dear Lionel,
What in the wide wide world of sports does the SSPX have to do with Bergoglio’s “god of surprises”?
_____
The SSPX are Catholic. They don’t speak in tongues or handle snakes. 😉
I never recall the name “God of surprises” found anywhere in Scripture or the Fathers or Doctors of the Church…
just saying…
And now for the purging is set to begin.
_____
Rorate Caeli has the scoop.
_____
Link here: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-purge-will-hit-new-levels-they-know.html#more
______
New Catholic writes:
A couple of Italian papers have mentioned it during the weekend and also this Monday (Il Messaggero; Corriere della Sera). As a punishment for his defense of the orthodox faith against the subversive and heretical attempts of his fellow countryman Walter “A Good African is a Quiet African” Kasper and his position of firm resistance before and during the Synod, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Müller, would be sent to Siberia. Sorry, to Germany.
.
There are at least two major Sees available in Kirchensteuerland: Berlin, vacant, and his own hometown of Mainz, whose bishop, the Kasperite Cardinal Lehmann, is almost 79 by now.
.
This should open a wide path for the also widely rumored complete dismantling of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith so that it might become an inefficient ornament.
.
Müller was never a traditionalist, far from it, but there is no doubt he has shined in his position, because he completely incarnated what it means: defending the Catholic and Apostolic Faith of the Roman See, not his own theological views. But since now even the plain words of that very bright and sunny document by Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, are suddenly considered lines of darkness and obscurity, no one is safe.
.
Speaking of Papa Wojtyla, all reports (also in Il Messaggero this Monday) and rumors also converge in one direction: the new stage of the current purge will not stop at the Ratzingerians (such as Burke or Müller), but would now reach the Wojtylians as well. All conservative Poles in the Curia, and their allies, will be removed when the Curial reform takes place. Their offices could be simply extinguished or merged, and the new leadership would certainly be of a new (actually old liberal) kind.
.
This, however, gives us great hope: no people in the world has suffered more purges than the great people of Poland. And they always come back. Always. The men in charge know they have a relatively short time-frame (in terms of Church history) to remake the Church. But each one of us knows the generations of priests who are coming of age. We know them in our parishes, chapels, and oratories. They are not simply the sons of large rural families who ended up entering seminaries and religious orders almost automatically, who formed so many generations of great priests, but some of whom lost the faith (and even left the priesthood) amid the post-conciliar chaos. They are men who chose to do so against all easier and more comfortable options of the contemporary world, who actually believe in God, who were deeply inspired by John Paul II, who may not be traditionalists (as Wojtyla certainly wasn’t) but who are confidently conservative.
..
The men in charge are taking a huge risk: they are bringing the pendulum to their side almost to breaking point. When it moves to the other side, the reaction (yes, reaction) will be so strong and loud and clear they will regret their playing with the Eternal Truth. Liberals, we know most of you don’t believe in God, but indeed He does exist: and “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.” (Galatians 6:7)
_____
It might not be the the Bergoglian god of surprises, but the Wojtylian/Ratzingerian God said something along these lines:
.
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
_____
The Poles are already mad as hell, and ain’t gonna take it anymore. 😉
Francis says: “It”s my way, or the highway”.
______
“Francis: Church has one year to mature. In the meantime, its doors are wide open”
_______
Link here: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/sinodo-famiglia-37009/
_______
La Stampa:
“Speaking after the vote on the content of the Synod’s final document, the relatio synodi (three key paragraphs in the draft document did not win the two thirds majority vote), Francis addressed the assembled Fathers saying: “Dear brothers and sisters, now we still have one year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.”
_______
Looks like Francis “is throwing his toys out of his pram”. 😉
______
Once again, I ask: When will the Curia send the “men in white” to the Ricca hostel?
No, Pope who got caught attempting to bypass Church doctrine, God is not of surprises. He is True Order and consistent. God is omnipresent and omniscient…for God to be “surprised” would be to violate those two principles…but Pope is an SJ in the 60’s can’t expect him to have the Faith ;)…God help us.
And now for Pew Sitter’s take on the MV interview with Edward Pentin:
+
“Edward Pentin: They tried to steer the Synod from the top to make it seem
like they’d changed doctrine.”
____
Link here: http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2014/10/interview-of-edward-pentin-by-michael.html
_____
Francis the Dishonest!
______
Yea, it fits. 🙂
Oh my, the Secret Synod was also a casting call….
_____
Gozo Bishop Mario Grech ‘tipped’ by Pope Francis to be next archbishop?
______
Link: http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-10-19/local-news/Gozo-Bishop-Mario-Grech-tapped-by-Pope-Francis-to-be-next-archbishop-6736123999
______
The MI:
“Pope Francis, it seems, was extremely pleased with the Gozo Bishop’s address to the Synod on 8 October. So much so that the next morning, over breakfast at Casa Marta, Pope Francis tapped Mgr Grech on the shoulder and complimented him on his speech. That, people close to Mgr Grech informed this newsroom, was followed by another friendly pat on the back during the next coffee break.”
_____
And voila: a star… make that an archbishop is born.
_____
With Francis, the guy who plays to the gallery gets the prize.
______
God help Malta!
And the Wojtylian troops are fighting back. It’s the Warsaw uprising all over again. 🙂
______
President of the Polish Episcopal Conference:
– Let’s end this delusion that ‘mercy’ began only now, after 2,000 years!
– Familiaris Consortio is sufficient;
+
Gądecki: “Had I not spoken up, the Synod would have ended up worse”
______
Rorate Caeli has the story: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/10/president-of-polish-episcopal.html#more
_______
Archbishop Gadecki:
“These are all delusions, that are the product of nearsightedness, of the fact that we look at the past two weeks to exclaim: this did not exist before! Instead, all this already existed. The impression cannot be given that for two millennia there had been no mercy in the Church, that mercy now shows up unexpectedly. Mercy makes sense if it is related to truth,” Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki declared to Polish state radio.
______
The Polish Heavy Calvary is set to make its appearance. Just like at the gates of Vienna. 😉
______
Wonder if Bergoglio realizes that Poles make up the largest percentage of clergy in the Church today. 1 in 26 is the last figure that I heard. 🙂 And without bodies, the Kirchensteuer can only take you so far. 😉
______
Therefore: “Lighten up Francis”… would be my “Kasperian advise”. 🙂
New as in “New Order”—New is the opposite of Tradition. Bergoglio hates Tradition! New is good–Tradition is bad!!!
Hi Lionel! How about going over to the Forum? There we could discuss your ideas without interrupting the flow on any particular topic. I’d be happy to contribute to a conversation on the SSPX over on the Forum.
Dear Louie,
You quoted Pope Francis as saying… “our God is the God of surprises: he comes and always does new things. He is newness. The Gospel is newness. Revelation is newness.”
___
If he meant it in the way the Scriptures use it, –as a refreshing of God’s people after chastisement, (water after a drought) etc.. then it would be okay to say that, just as Isaiah spoke in God’s name:
“See, I am doing a new thing!” Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
___
But if the Pope is using this as an excuse to promote novelties that contradict the teachings of the past, (which it really seems he is) then he needs to be reminded of an earlier verse from that same chapter of Isaiah:
” I am the Lord: and there is no saviour besides me.”
“I am God. [13] And from the beginning I am the same.”
“He is newness. The Gospel is newness. Revelation is newness.”
NEWNESS
The one true bride another Pope
The Catholic faith, it makes him mope
Another season, another reason
For makin’ newness
He says that God, He likes surprises
So make a mess, then he surmises
I’m really humble, I’d like to rumble
And make some newness
Picture the dome of Rome
Where couples will dance and sing
A Synod of froth and foam
Think what a year can bring
He will not judge, tradition’s fudge
True Catholic souls, to outskirts budge
But he’s so humble, so do not grumble
You vill like newness!
The real Surprise will be when Tradition is completely restored.
Headline I’d like to see: “Kraut Kardinal Kasper urges religious Jim Crow for African bishops.”
S.Armaticus
I am also referring to the God of Surprises but not in the way you want.
Barbara,
Hi Lionel! How about going over to the Forum? There we could discuss your ideas without interrupting the flow on any particular topic. I’d be happy to contribute to a conversation on the SSPX over on the Forum.
Lionel:
Then please go to the Forum if you want to discuss the SSPX since there are a few posts there to which you have not responded.
When the Pope addresses the Fathers as “brothers and sisters” does this constitute an endorsement for some of them being girly men?
I recall that the late Fr. Gregory Hesse once remarked that Pope John Paul ll wrote a lot of flowery blah blah. Endless blah blah. I think that this describes the writing of Francis, too. There’s no real Catholic content in most of what Francis writes and utters; rather, its just a lot of silly nonsense.