Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is His Bride. However, Christ’s work requires that He be physically away from His Bride for a period of time. As a loving bridegroom, He does not wish to leave His bride without a defender during His physical absence. It is for this reason that He established the Pope. The Pope stands in the same place that St. Joseph stood for Mary.
Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit chose her for this role and brought her into the world for that reason. He sent His archangel, Gabriel, as Best Man to bring His proposal to her and to witness her response and their subsequent union. He gave to St. Joseph the task of standing in His place as groom, a surrogate husband to His virgin bride and a surrogate father to the Incarnate Word. Mary was obedient to St. Joseph. She knew that he acted out of love for both her and for her son, a love born of his love for the Lord. She did not argue when St. Joseph led them out of Israel and into Egypt. She did not question when he hid them in Nazareth. She obeyed.
St. Joseph defended Mary’s virtue. He protected her from those who sought to harm her and her child in word and in deed. He defended their faith and held to God’s word even in the midst of the Egyptians. He did not seek to usurp the place of Mary’s true Spouse, he loved her Spouse even more than he loved her and because of his great love for her Spouse, he loved Christ with all of his heart.
St. Joseph taught Christ to know, love, and serve God. In the process of teaching Christ, he helped Christ to reveal His true nature and to live that true nature with responsibility and fidelity. Christ loved Joseph and because of that love for Joseph, trusted that what he was being taught was worth learning and worth emulating. Mary encouraged Christ to love and trust in His surrogate father as much as He loved and trusted His true Father. Joseph was given special gifts by the Holy Spirit to ensure that he would not lead Christ astray with his teachings.
This is the position of the Pope. He is not Christ. He does not seek to take the place of Christ. He is the surrogate bridegroom, defending the Bride throughout the ages from those who would attack Her, from those who would harm Her in word or in deed. He directs the Church to move only when it is necessary to protect Her, and She obeys because She knows of His great love for Her Spouse.
The Pope is the surrogate father of the children born of the union between Christ and His Bride. These Children of God turn to their surrogate father for help in revealing their true nature and for living that true nature with responsibility and fidelity. The Church encourages Her children to love and trust in their surrogate father as much as they love and trust in Christ. The Pope is given special gifts by the Holy Spirit to ensure that he does not lead these Children astray with his teachings.
Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Confession is Good for the Soul
Tonight was St. Ann's Lenten Penance Service. As Catholics, we are called to confess our sins to a priest at least once per year. This penance service involves a communal reflection on the two great commandments (To love the Lord God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself), reflection on when we have failed to live up to those commandments, private confession of those times when we have failed Christ to a priest, the receiving of absolution of those sins, and specific actions which are taken to demonstrate our intention to change.
During reflection, I came to the conclusion that the root cause of my sins was that I did not trust God to provide for me. I was spending too much because I didn't trust God to provide and I was being impatient for the same reason. I also realized that I had many talents and gifts which were just not being used, and that this is something I need to actively work to change. What good is a talent or gift if the Body of Christ does not benefit because of it?
Now, when I confessed what I believed my sins to be, the priest pointed out to me that I have plenty of trust in God. My problem is that I don't always like the WAY God chooses to provide things to me. He was exactly right. It isn't that I think God isn't going to give me all that I need, it's that I don't think He's going to give me what I want that causes me to overspend. I'm not willing to accept His will, and when He does choose to provide me with gifts if they aren't what I expected, I tend to reject them.
After doing the penance the priest prescribed of three Our Fathers, three Hail Mary's and three Glory Be's, it struck me how to share with others what I had just learned. I will call this the Parable of the Tin Can.
A man was lost in the desert. As he wandered, he became thirsty. He prayed to God to provide him with water that he might not die of thirst. Soon afterward, he spotted a rusted tin can. The can, however, was not the water he had prayed for and so he continued on, leaving the humble can behind. Frustrated and miserable, thirstier than ever, the man again prayed to God, “Lord, I am so very thirsty. Please give me something to drink that I might live.” After several more hours like this, the man gave up and sat down. Weeping in misery, the man turned to the Lord in anger. “Lord, I prayed with all my heart that you would send me something to drink and all that I found all day long was a rusted tin can. Why do you ignore my pleas?”
When the man had ceased his crying and was too exhausted and thirsty to complain any longer, the Lord at last spoke. “You asked me for water, yet you had nothing in which to hold the water. If I had provided you water when you asked for it, you would have had but a single sip and then you would have had nothing more to drink because the water would have seeped out from between your fingers. That rusted tin can was no small gift from me. It was everything you needed, for in it you can not only hold water and drink your fill, you can also use it to gather and cook food, and the parts of the can which are not rusted may be used to signal for help so that you may be rescued from this desert. In your urgency, you sought to take care of but one need. In my love I have provided for all of them. Go back and retrieve your can, and the next time you pray remember that what I send to you may not be what you have asked for, but it is assuredly exactly what you need.”
During reflection, I came to the conclusion that the root cause of my sins was that I did not trust God to provide for me. I was spending too much because I didn't trust God to provide and I was being impatient for the same reason. I also realized that I had many talents and gifts which were just not being used, and that this is something I need to actively work to change. What good is a talent or gift if the Body of Christ does not benefit because of it?
Now, when I confessed what I believed my sins to be, the priest pointed out to me that I have plenty of trust in God. My problem is that I don't always like the WAY God chooses to provide things to me. He was exactly right. It isn't that I think God isn't going to give me all that I need, it's that I don't think He's going to give me what I want that causes me to overspend. I'm not willing to accept His will, and when He does choose to provide me with gifts if they aren't what I expected, I tend to reject them.
After doing the penance the priest prescribed of three Our Fathers, three Hail Mary's and three Glory Be's, it struck me how to share with others what I had just learned. I will call this the Parable of the Tin Can.
A man was lost in the desert. As he wandered, he became thirsty. He prayed to God to provide him with water that he might not die of thirst. Soon afterward, he spotted a rusted tin can. The can, however, was not the water he had prayed for and so he continued on, leaving the humble can behind. Frustrated and miserable, thirstier than ever, the man again prayed to God, “Lord, I am so very thirsty. Please give me something to drink that I might live.” After several more hours like this, the man gave up and sat down. Weeping in misery, the man turned to the Lord in anger. “Lord, I prayed with all my heart that you would send me something to drink and all that I found all day long was a rusted tin can. Why do you ignore my pleas?”
When the man had ceased his crying and was too exhausted and thirsty to complain any longer, the Lord at last spoke. “You asked me for water, yet you had nothing in which to hold the water. If I had provided you water when you asked for it, you would have had but a single sip and then you would have had nothing more to drink because the water would have seeped out from between your fingers. That rusted tin can was no small gift from me. It was everything you needed, for in it you can not only hold water and drink your fill, you can also use it to gather and cook food, and the parts of the can which are not rusted may be used to signal for help so that you may be rescued from this desert. In your urgency, you sought to take care of but one need. In my love I have provided for all of them. Go back and retrieve your can, and the next time you pray remember that what I send to you may not be what you have asked for, but it is assuredly exactly what you need.”
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