The psalms, the Church’s official prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, include psalms of anger.
It baffles me when Catholic social media takes pot shots at the pope that are truly disrespectful and contemptible. It is heterodox in and of itself.
The pope is taking pot shots over this very orthodox and psychologically healthy pastoral suggestion as it concerns prayer:
"Even getting angry at Jesus can be a kind of prayer. Jesus likes seeing the truth of our heart. Don't make a pretense in front of Jesus."
Have you ever been angry with God and told Him in prayer?
16 comments:
Job was not always the patient sufferer some make him out to have been. Being angry with God is no sin, no heresy. Being angry is not a sin per se. When we allow the anger to control our words or action, then we may fall into sin.
https://blog.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit/the-book-of-job-a-lesson-on-being-angry-with-god
Not surprisingly, the vicious anti-Pope Francis Rorate Caeli has taken the lead in having misrepresented Pope Francis' statement in question,
Beyond that, Rorate Caeli and additional "traditional" bloggers/twitter folks who followed Rorate Caeli's lead, once again displayed their theological and Scriptural ignorance via their hateful comments about Pope Francis.
Said folks pretend that His Holiness is a theological and Scriptural buffoon.
However, time and again, Pope Francis has demonstrated that in regard to theology, Sacred Scripture, and knowledge of Catholicism, he is light-years ahead of his vicious "traditionalist" attackers.
It is frightening that that leading "traditionalists" in the Catholic blogosphere/twitter world sit in judgement of Pope Francis...fuel rebellion against him...have people who believe that said "trads" are experts in the Faith...
...but have been wrong, time and again...and have displayed a profound lack of knowledge via their hateful comments about the Vicar of Christ.
Pope Francis' declaration about bring one's anger and doubts to God is Catholicism 101.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father Mike Schmitz, Diocese of Duluth:
https://bulldogcatholic.org/angry-with-god-tell-him-how-you-feel/
Q: How can I pray to God when I am so disappointed in Him? I am often angry at God because it feels like nothing I do ever works out. It feels hypocritical to then just go and tell God that everything is OK. Things aren’t OK in my life!
A: "Do you know that you can take your tears to God? Do you know that he actually wants us to bring our broken hearts and broken dreams to him? We can get it out of our heads that God only wants us to tell him our good news.
"Our spiritual parents, the Jewish people, have given us an entire spiritual genre called Lamentation.
"This is the raw and honest cry of a people who cried out to God: “We thought you were on our side! Why have you forgotten your promises? Why have you abandoned us?”
"This book is in the Bible. That means that the Holy Spirit inspired these words of complaint. This means that it is clear that God does not merely want our praise; he wants our pain as well.
"These same prayers (as well as those found in the book of Psalms) show us how we can bring these complaints to God.
"First, they are honest. The authors of Sacred Scripture did not sugarcoat their pain or frustration. (“How long, O Lord? Will you forget your people forever?”) Rather, they trusted God enough to tell him the truth. You can begin by bringing God into your situation as it is."
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The above is the very point that His Holiness Pope Francis made.
The "trad" bloggers and twitter folks who've attack the Pope in regard to the issue of expressing anger to God are ignorant of the book of Lamentations, as well as the Psalms.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
I have had a run of difficulties lately, BIG difficulties (like unemployment, needing money, etc.) that I have tried to be patient with. The other night, I lost it. I think I yelled something like, "I feel like you're just saying to me, bend over, here it comes!" I made an act of contrition for my disrespect later, but I was at my whit's end. I've yelled at God. Not my normal mode of prayer, but I've done it.
Hey and I guess a feeling of indifference is okay too - so long as it's truthful...
Among the things that I appreciate about Father McDonald (as well as his blog) is his sense of fairness.
The story in question is an example of that.
Father McDonald has directed criticisms at Pope Francis.
However, when certain Catholic blogosphere elements have misrepresented Pope Francis, Father McDonald has set the record straight.
Beginning with Rorate Caeli, who has attacked Pope Francis in regard to the idea that "anger" can be a form of prayer, none of the leading right-wing, vicious, anti-Pope Francis folks have demonstrated that they possess a shred of Father McDonald's honesty and fairness.
Deo gratias for Father McDonald.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Good point Dan, Yes, you should bring your indifference to God but also ask God to lance it as you would any anger. Lancing not delighting in negative or ambivalent feelings is part of our conversation with God in prayer.
To me, PF provides sound advice here. Pray from the heart and be open when doing it. Pour forth your troubles, anxieties and frustrations. While prayer books have their place and provide beauty in the form of language, being forthright during prayer also has its place and is "healthy" as was noted in the posting.
Rorate Caeli, for example, is being unfair in terms of their response. Certainly doesn't help the cause of Tradition and only makes them look pretentious and smug.
I certainly won't be angry with the Almighty tomorrow (Thursday) as perfect weather is expected for the start of that tournament located at 2604 Washington Road (Hwy. 28), in a certain city along the Savannah River that happens to be bisected by Interstate 20. But iffy weather the remaining three days of the tournament!!! Speaking of which, I wonder if there ever has been a Mass held on the grounds of that club (like for the players that weekend---hopefully some Catholics among the contestants!)
"Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky
With hideous ruin and combustion down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms."
Anger at God is best accompanied by fear and trembling...
Why did Rorate Caeli claim that Pope Francis' comment about prayer and anger is a "new" Papal utterance? Why did Rorate make a big deal about a point that Pope Francis made more than two years ago?
Pope Francis, Wednesday General Audience,
December 28, 2016 A.D:
https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/even-complaining-god-form-prayer-pope-says
Even complaining to God is a form of prayer, pope says
Dec 28, 2016
by Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — To complain to God in moments of doubt and fear like Abraham did is not something bad but rather is a form of prayer that requires the courage to hope beyond all hope, Pope Francis said.
While in life there may be times of frustration and darkness, "hope is still there and it moves us forward," the pope said Dec. 28 during his weekly general audience.
"I won't say that Abraham loses patience, but he complains to the Lord. This is what we learn from our father Abraham: complaining to the Lord is a form of prayer."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas,
What has the Pope done to discipline the Vatican clerics engaged in the cocaine fueled sex orgy? We need your input!
TJM, most of us here have figured out to let Mr. Thomas just keep bloviating. Don't fall into the trap of attempting any kind of dialogue with him. The slippery slope of his sly smugnesss will swallow you.
Father McD:
I completely agree, there is nothing wrong at all with expressing hurt and anger to God; and I would be very loathe to say that expressing those thoughts, just between us and God, would be sinful. Certainly possible it could rise to sin, but as a general matter, no. Further, I think it is healthy to express those things very plainly to God, where it would be very destructive for someone to try to pretend those feelings don't exist or to suppress them. Air them out. If you need to, yell at God (I recommend in complete privacy).
In my experience as a priest, there are a couple of things that I see in many people:
- Unresolved anger and hurt. The result is not that everything is fine; but rather, that the hurt and anger works itself out in other ways, making everyone involved unhappy -- that is, the person who has those "issues," and everyone else around that person. Many times I try to approach this matter gingerly in the confessional, either by trying to get the person to look to see if there is some deep hurt, or else, to ask, "do you know why you are angry?" This is tricky, because I can't do therapy (both for time, and because I'm not a therapist) in the confessional, but I do want to point people in the right direction.
- Another angle on this is scrupulosity. If you don't have this, and don't know what it is, be thankful, oh, be thankful! Scruples is an affliction, whereby some people become overly concerned, even to obsession, with sinfulness. Everything and anything can be sinful; the distinction between venial and mortal is confused for them; and scrupulous people perpetually doubt whether their confessions were valid.
As a result, the inner "noise" of the mind that I presume most, if not all, people deal with, becomes excruciating for them. An impure or rebellious thought pops briefly into their heads and oh, no! So just imagine what it would mean for a scrupulous person to experience disappointment, hurt and anger toward God and his inscrutable ways?
To be crystal clear, I am not saying people should stand up in public and blaspheme. But I am saying that if you really have a relationship with God -- as Creator, Redeemer and friend -- then what else do you do when you think he's let you down? TALK TO HIM FRANKLY.
As a priest told me many years ago, "God can take it."
Anonymous at 7:13
You are right of course. Do not feed the trolls!
Father Fox,
Thank you for your wise pastoral guidance. And thank you, too, to Father McDonald and Father Kavanaugh for theirs.
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