In reviving the Protestant side of dialogue on AATW, I fear that I have let loose a great deal of asperity to mar what remains of the Lenten season, for which I apologise. The desire to defend one’s position and unburden oneself of thoughts and feelings should not come at the expense of peace, especially other people’s peace.
Arguments and debates can become heated even concerning trivial things – how much more matters of faith that concern the welfare of our very souls? I was grieved to be reminded of Jess’ suffering, and I hope that this time of retreat will allow her to find comfort in Abba’s arms. He is the only one who can help.
Each of us brings his own heartache to the communion table. I may not have been through marriage, but I know what it is to have family problems and to doubt my own identity and my own self-worth. Strange as it may sound, I find a couple of lines in the old Catholic catechism helpful:
“Who made me?”
“God made me.”
“Why did God make me?”
“God made me to know Him, and to love Him.”
Achilles tells Priam in Iliad XXIV that there is a limit to grief, and he bids him take thought for food. They share a meal together, and in the morning Priam departs with the body of his son, Hector, to carry out the due funeral rites for him in Ilium. After the ordained time is fulfilled, battle will begin again.
We must not spend too much time in our sorrow, but at the same time, due space must be allotted to it. We are all in our own way mourning Jess’ departure from AATW, but we are also trying to find a way to have meaningful dialogue. As an Anglo-Catholic who loved the East, she stands at the cross-roads of Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Protestantism: John, Peter, and Paul. Chalcedon is her worthy successor – and also her predecessor.
“Just love them.” This is the Lord’s commandment. The differences are real, but so is the harm: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal. 5:15). Now, more than ever, we need to present a united front to those who are perishing. The End Times Church faces the consummation of all things: the Mystery of Iniquity approaches and so does the Final Judgement. Our Crusade is coming. The fall of Jerusalem means also the salvation of all Israel, and we shall be judged according to how we treated the children of Jacob and our own brothers and sisters in Christ: “Whatsoever you did to the least of these, my brothers, you did also to Me.”
We must strive to liberate our brothers and sisters who labour in bondage in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere, and we must strive to be at peace with each other. We live in a time of great challenge, and we can meet this challenge: God never calls us without equipping us. But we have to face this challenge together; we’ve got to learn to trust each other. This time must be different: dare to be a Hezekiah and not an Ahaz.
All Along the Watchtower 
Excellent, Nicholas. Take not overmuch of the blame, i certainly share it with you, and far exceeded the heat limit I set for myself during Lent. If it hadn’t blown up on your post likely it would have on one of the others, it’s an issue where we all have strong feeling, and sometimes our reins slip a bit too loose.
At the end of the day, we remain, I hope, friends and colleagues, i certainly would wish no other outcome.
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Thank you. Don’t be hard on yourself either – I think it is also important to let out what we are feeling inside. I am glad of our fellowship.
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Good post Nichola, and it is inevitable that Lent will take its toll of peoples’ patience – always tends to – but we should heed your words and the subtitle from St John Jess chose.
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Thank you, C. And I meant what I said: I am glad that you are at the helm – I think you understands best what it is to be in each of our spheres. Though there is heartache, we must pet severe for the unity Jesus – our Jesus – wants.
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We must, indeed, Nicholas, and you offer us a good reminder of some of the reasons 🙂
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(RNS) With the largest Presbyterian denomination’s official endorsement Tuesday (March 17), American mainline Protestants have solidified their support for gay marriage, leaving the largest mainline denomination — the United Methodist Church — outside the same-sex marriage fold
Finally , I can marry Flicka. My beloved catholic church wouldn’t marry us. You see, me and Flicka are both males.
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Which one of you is the horse, Bosco?
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What kind of inanae question it that. Flicka is the horse. Do I have to explain everything?
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I almost puked when I heard this endorsement.
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At least five men – three priests, a former priest and a former seminarian – accused O’Brien of either sexually harassing them or pressuring them into sex, in allegations that went back to the 1980s. O’Brien was accused of being sexually active up through at least 2009.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/20/cardinal-keith-obrien-resigns_n_6910722.html?cps=gravity_2677_7491564129783441572
At least he didn’t ordain a female.
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Among the many innovations Francis has made since his election two years ago this month has been a new tone and approach to gay and transgender people.
One of his signature phrases, “Who am I to judge?,” came in response to a question about whether a gay man could be a priest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/20/pope-francis-gay-inmates_n_6905086.html?cps=gravity_2677_-7721678382154125713
Of course gay men cant be priests. its against catholic teaching. us catholics never go against catholic teaching.
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You have not let loose any asperity. Defending and explaining your position from attack that it usually gets is not asperity.
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Using good sister jess pic should be a crime. What, the Dragon isn’t good enough for you anymore?
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I’ll go back to the dragon later today. Relax.
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Silly man. It’s all in the Praxis! You can do almost all things by ignoring doctrine and being merciful…Praxis!
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Nice to see the old Baltimore Catechism quoted, Nicholas. Wonder if you have ever seen the way St. Ignatius of Loyola fleshed this idea out for his brother’s in the order:
“Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.
And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created.
From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it.
For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.”
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No, I haven’t. That is rather Pauline.:-) I do admire the Jesuits.
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At least the earliest forms of them! Indeed the great Carmelite Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus (Avila) preferred the Jesuits for spiritual direction because they were strong in both mystical prayer and in mystical theology which was a great help.
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Yes, and that is such an important part of the faith. There is in fact a great deal of faith involved in the path of the mystic: people from within your own church will call you crazy.
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That’s why we would probably just say that someone is a contemplative rather than a mystic because of modern day understanding of the word. It used to not be nuanced as such as was sign of someone who is very prayerful.
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Now that I have crossed the Tiber, I believe the catechism instead of the bible. I know now that David was mistaken when he said there was one Rock , his god. I now know there are two Rocks. And I have given up my distrust of graven images. I know love them. They direct my prayers. I just wish so many of them weren’t made in China. Americans need work. We should stop sending all our contracts to China.
Thank you Mary for letting me see the light
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