{"id":6670,"date":"2011-09-23T14:01:54","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T20:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/straight-talk\/"},"modified":"2017-12-16T15:17:37","modified_gmt":"2017-12-16T21:17:37","slug":"straight-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/straight-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Straight Talk","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jesus condemned by the Sanhedrin<\/span><\/em> by Michael D. O’Brien<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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YES<\/strong>, it is coming, but for many Christians it is already here: the Passion of the Church. As the priest raised the Holy Eucharist this morning during Mass here in Nova Scotia where I just arrived to give a men’s retreat, his words took on new meaning: This is My Body which will be given up for you. <\/em><\/p>\n

We are<\/em> His Body. United to Him mystically, we too were “given up” that Holy Thursday to share in the sufferings of Our Lord, and thus, to share also in His Resurrection. “Only through suffering can one enter Heaven,” said the priest in his sermon. Indeed, this was Christ’s teaching and thus remains the constant teaching of the Church.<\/p>\n

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‘No slave is greater than his master.\u2019 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:20)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another retired priest is living out this Passion just up the coast line from here in the next province…<\/p>\n

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THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE… OR NOT?<\/p>\n

85 year old Fr. Donat Gionet was asked to fill in for a priest last month at Saint-L\u00e9olin in the Bathhurst diocese of New Brunswick, Canada. According to an article in the Telegraph-Journal<\/em><\/a>, Fr. Gionet’s sermon has resulted in a severe reprimand: his bishop has revoked his rights to serve Mass in the diocese.<\/p>\n

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In a letter written in French that he provided to the Telegraph-Journal<\/em>, Gionet stated the sermon in question was about the destruction of the Church and \"\"the need to seek forgiveness for past sins:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“I said: ‘Today, it is we Catholics who are destroying our Catholic Church. We need only look at the number of abortions among Catholics, look at the homosexuals, and ourselves.’ (That’s when I pointed at my chest\u2014through that action I wanted to say, we the priests) and I continued saying: We are destroying our Church ourselves. And that’s when I said that those were the words expressed by Pope John Paul II. At that point, in the St-L\u00e9olin church only, I added: ‘We can add to that the practice of watching gay parades, we are encouraging this evil’ … What would you think of someone who seeing what was happening on (Sept.) 11, 2001, the crumbling of the towers, had begun clapping? We must not encourage evil, whatever form it takes.” <\/strong>\u2014Telegraph-Journal, <\/em>Sept 22nd, 2011<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, Fr. Wesley Wade, the vicar general of the Diocese of Bathurst, said Gionet’s teachings don’t meet the diocese’s goal of following Christ’s example of loving unconditionally.<\/p>\n

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We have to respect people on their own journey. The first message of Christ was to reveal to us a loving Father and a merciful Father and that we are all called to be his children and that we are all loved unconditionally by Him.<\/strong> \u2014Ibid.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I do not know Fr. Gionet, his history with the diocese, or his bishop. I did not hear the full sermon, it’s tone, or otherwise. But in the public record given, their are some astonishing incongruities.<\/p>\n

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DEFENDING WHAT<\/em> AGAIN?<\/p>\n

First of all, what is this “evil” that Fr. Gionet is referring to? In the Vatican’s Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons<\/em><\/a>, signed by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, it says:<\/p>\n

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Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.<\/span><\/strong> \u2014n. 3, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Rome, October 1, 1986<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is one thing to have a tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil (ie. homosexual acts); it is another to carry through with that tendency and parade it in the streets as a moral good. \"\"And let us not be naive. These are among the most hedonistic parades in modern times that include half-naked men and women, cross-dressing, lewd acts, and even full nudity in plain view of police officers and children. What would be considered a criminal act on any other day of the week is often celebrated \"\"not just by participants, but by politicians themselves. Furthermore, gay parades often mock the Catholic Church with anti-Christian symbols, signs scorning the pope, and cross-dressers wearing heavy make-up in nuns habits. It is hard to imagine any Catholic diocese in the world defending gay parades\u2014but this is precisely the kind of tolerance that seems demanded by the Bathurst diocese.<\/p>\n

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THE CRUX… THE CROSS<\/p>\n

At the crux of Bathurst’s defence in removing Fr. Gionet’s faculties is that he has apparently failed to meet the “goal” of the diocese. Once again:<\/p>\n

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We have to respect people on their own journey. The first message of Christ was to reveal to us a loving Father and a merciful Father and that we are all called to be his children and that we are all loved unconditionally by Him.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Actually, this was not the first message of Christ. This<\/em> was:<\/p>\n

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Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: \u201cThis is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Everywhere I preach now, whether it is in Canada or the United States or abroad, I always repeat this question to my listeners: “Why did Jesus come?” It wasn’t to start a country club called the Catholic Church where you put your two bucks in the basket every week, pay your dues, and you’re good for Heaven. No! There is no such ticket to paradise. Rather, Jesus came to save us<\/em>. But from what?<\/p>\n

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She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matt 1:21)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Christ’s first message to every single human being was “repent.<\/em>” Later, He followed this commandment with “love one another.<\/em>” That is, leave sin and follow a new law, the law of love, for…<\/p>\n

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…everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:34)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blo ckquote><\/p>\n

This, then, is the entire reason for Christ’s coming: to preach the truth that would set us free from the slavery of sin, <\/em>and eventually, pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be forgiven and healed of our transgressions through His own blood.<\/p>\n

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For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note, that when the angel tells us that the Messiah is to be named Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins,” <\/em>Matthew adds a few verses later the words of the prophet Isaiah:<\/p>\n

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Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him “Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” (Matt 1:23; cf. Isaiah 7:14)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is to say that Jesus did not come to condemn us in our sin, but to call us out of it. Rather, to lead us out of it. <\/em>As a good shepherd, He remains with us, walks with us, feeds us, and leads us to the pastures of freedom. God is with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is in stark contrast to the apparent “goal” of the Bathurst diocese. The words sound good, they are even true, but not in their context. For what they seem to be saying is that we are to love people \"\"where they are at\u2014and leave them there. But Jesus never left the adulteress in the dust; he never left Matthew to steal taxes; he never left Peter to continue his worldly pursuits; he never left Zacchaeus in the tree; he never left the paralyzed man in his cot; he never left the demoniacs in chains… Jesus forgave them their sins, and then commanded them to “sin no more.<\/em>” [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. John 8:11<\/span><\/span>