Sometimes priests and deacons give their opinion during a homily. Usually, if he states it is his opinion and his opinion isn't contrary to the Catholic Faith, no harm is done.
But sometimes homilies that are opinionated and without stating so directly, which means, if I believe this to be true then it must be right and if others join in applause that confirms the validity of the opinion, what should be done?
For example, if I preach that women should be ordained, we should have open communion, those in mortal sin should receive Holy Communion, the panorama of those now called lgbtq's should be welcome to Mass and Holy Communion and we should welcome pro-choice Catholics, adulterers, pedophiles, thieves and the like, and then I get applause, what should be done by rank and file Catholics who think homilies should teach what Holy Mother Church teaches and applause during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for heterodoxy should be squashed?
Let me once again reiterate, that a welcoming community, which the Catholic Church is, so much so, you must by way of obligation attend Mass each Sunday or risk the fires of hell because it is a mortal sin to miss Mass, means that every Catholic is under that obligation, no matter their sin, crime or predilections.
However, the reception of Holy Communion by those in a state of mortal sin is another matter altogether and welcoming someone to Mass and welcoming everyone to Holy Communion is mixing apples and oranges.
At the same time, homilies that are opinion pieces but given as though truth, because the preacher happens to believe his opinions, is neo-plagianism and neo-Gnosticism as clarified by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently.
How would you feel if you heard the above and the preacher got applause for it?
9 comments:
I suspect one homily Father M will not be preaching this fall is one endorsing Sandra Workman, liberal Democrat seeking to represent Bryan County in the State Senate (seat now held by Republican Ben Watson). On her website, she states that "every woman should have access to reproductive health care, regardless of income. I believe....the best way to cut down on the number of abortions is to vote for the party that is making sure that everyone has health care, a high school diploma and birth control."
Hmmm,...nothing in there about moral restraint and self discipline...instead, a pitch for taxpayer-funded abortions and birth control. "If you can't be good, be safe...." Right?
killing a baby in the womb is "healthcare?"
What always irritates me is when the homily is not really related to the Mass message, ‘readings’ etc., except through some convoluted reasoning to justify some pet subject of the homilist.
Bee here:
Fr. McD asked, "How would you feel if you heard the above and the preacher got applause for it?"
I'd feel like I had missed an announcement in the bulletin that the parish was joining the protestants, and since that seemed to be the case, I needed to find somewhere else to attend Mass ASAP.
God bless.
Bee
TJM, yes it is (unfortunately) the new Orwellian code, like "War is peace" and "freedom is slavery." It is hard enough to find a pro-life Democratic politician nationally these days, and in Georgia, it isn't easy either---there really is no difference these days between a "Georgia" Democrat and a "national" Democrat. The days when moderate to conservative Democrats were elected in Georgia---like Herman Talmadge, Sam Nunn, Joe Frank Harris and Zell Miller---are long gone; these days, the competition on the Democratic side in Georgia (for governor) is for who can be the most left-wing--in other words, anathema to traditional Christian moral teachings. Readers of the blog who live in Georgia should take note at election time this November.
If such a thing happened in my presence, I would get up and walk out before the "homily" was finished. I would immediately withdraw financial support and stop attending. I would write a letter to the bishop, and try to make the drive to Mableton as often as possible.
The nonsense has to stop. If it doesn't, I certainly wont support it with my silent presence.
Anonymous,
What floors me are the so-called Catholic priests and bishops who vote for the Abortion Party. They disgust me.
I have never experienced this in a Byzantine Catholic Church and, I suspect Adam Michael would probably say the same for the Orthodox Church. Aside from some minor announcements, between both signs of the cross, a Christ-centered homily relating the gospel to the precepts of the Church and daily life is provided.
As for the Roman Church, if the above were to have happened, probably little to nothing would be done should the Diocese be contacted. Have a priest preach about ad orientem worship and his intentions to introduce at a given parish, and an iron fist will come crashing down with near supersonic swiftness. There just isn't consistent discipline and attitudes to prevent and/or address these types of matters. Be reminded of the post a few weeks back about a dance troupe in a German church followed by intercommunion with protestants.
That's right. I have never encountered such a thing in an Orthodox Church. I have known of Orthodox priests who were politically liberal. However, the spirit of strict obedience and discipline in the Orthodox Church generally keeps priests from deviating into politically questionable territory in homilies. I suspect that controversial Roman Catholic priests say what they do because they do not have a stable and traditional priestly identity (from seminary to parish life). With the dearth of traditional doctrine, spiritual life and liturgy, some Roman Catholic priests are often tempted to fill-up their parishes with social justice/liberal causes. When you no longer have a supernatural religion, you have a humanist one, with all the problems (like bad homilies) that come with it.
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