{"id":18284,"date":"2015-03-10T13:43:20","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T19:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=18284"},"modified":"2017-05-24T17:42:07","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T21:42:07","slug":"pray-more-speak-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/pray-more-speak-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray More, Speak Less","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"praymorespeakless2\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I could have written this for the past week. First published\u00a0<\/p>\n

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THE <\/strong> Synod on the family in Rome last autumn was the beginning of a firestorm of attacks, assumptions, judgments, grumbling, and suspicions against Pope Francis. I set everything aside, and for several weeks responded to reader’s concerns, media distortions, and most especially distortions of fellow Catholics <\/em>that simply needed to be addressed. Thanks be to God, many people stopped panicking and started praying, started reading more of what the Pope was actually <\/em>saying rather than what the headlines were. For indeed, Pope Francis’ colloquial style, his off-the-cuff remarks that reflect a man who is more comfortable with street-talk than theological-speak, has required greater context.<\/p>\n

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But as has been pointed out numerous times, even Jesus Christ left his own Mother and the Apostles with jaws wide-open, wondering what on earth He really meant. I suppose Jesus could have been accused of being vague and of shipwrecking His own work too. I mean, in John 6:66, many of His disciples left Him after His discourse on the Bread of Life. But not only did He not stop them, but asked if the Apostles were going to check out too. For Jesus had said enough that, what was really needed at that point, was a silence<\/em> in which Wisdom had room to speak.<\/p>\n

I remain convinced that Pope Francis has been specially chosen by the Holy Spirit for this particular hour\u2014and much of it has precisely \"Francisoct18ii\"<\/a>to do with the judgment of the Church.<\/em> [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. 1 Pet 4:17; see The Sixth Day<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Francis, and The Coming Passion of the Church<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span>