Silence There are many layers to silence. Silence allows rest, both for the mind and the heart. Silence allows deeper areas in the soul to become known, which would otherwise be impossible to experience. Silence helps when the inner world is in turmoil, or filled with anxiety, it allows a place to stand from to form in our interior. It helps with the human tendency to be 'personally infallible', which can lead to all kinds of trouble in the community. In silence, we come face to face with God on a conscious level and in that learn to trust in that presence since all is known anyway and there is no need to hide. I still struggle with silence, perhaps if I live to be 150 I will come to the end of that struggle.--Br.MD
What are your thoughts Father on the Holy Father supporting Homosexual Civil Unions? You don't need to go on and on at length. A simple, 'No', he is wrong Or, 'Yes', he is right would be fine.. Of course I realise this answer will take a certain moral commitment. A certain getting off the fence. However I am not holding my breath. I can read between the lines. But who knows? You might very much surprise me. Go on , surprise me.Amaze me. Take a firm moral stance one way or the other. Go on , I dare you. Speak out , let your voice as a Pastor be heard.
Gay marriage is something that I am against. Civil unions/rights is a government matter. All sex outside of marriage is gravely sinful. I am not a pastor/priest. Peace Mark
Thought so. Pope Francis man. Thanks for the dishonest, hones,t direct answer. You didn't hedge you bets. I'll give you that. Let me give my own very direct reply. You'll answer for this most Abomibal Moral Cowardice and Equivocation at the Throne of God. So will your Leader in Rome. May God forgive you. Horrible. I never trusted you one inch. I am proved right. May God forgive you, but I doubt He ever will. I can see you're up to your neck in this total Filth. Bye. .
By the way. I'll not be throwing you off the forum for your foul, foul opinions. But believe this , the next time and any time on this forum you'll post you'll be hearing very directly from me. As far as I am concerned abominable folks yourself lead the Faithful to Hell will always get a rough, a very,very, very rough ride indeed from me. This is one of the sins that cries out to God for Vengeance, I'm happy to assist in this. You and your nice sweet thoughts. You won't have to wait for the flames of hell to wait to be made uncomfortable. Watch for me coming. Bye again.
As AED would say Yikes!. I thought it was the sin we were supposed to hate, not the sinner. Then again we need to be aware there is 'silence' and there is the other 'silence.' We have to bear in mind 'silence' is consent in law, and since the devil is very legalistic, he can play havoc with misplaced silence, and cajole souls into complicity merely with the tool of 'silence.'
Never get being loving and being nice confused Julia. Padre Pio used to chase them from the Confessional box screaming. As my Spiritual Director used to say, 'The good ones always come back again' No one will ever wind up in hell for lack of a good solid well aimed kick up the ass from me. Spreading total filth is spreading total filth. I don't feel any big urge about being nice about saying so.
Padraig, not sure why you are so upset with his answer? He is not cajoling gay marriage. Is it the hedge on the civil union? I'm confused
I simply wrote a piece on silence, how it helps in prayer and allows us to grow in self-knowledge. This is the second time this has happened. I do not want to be a source of anger for anyone, though I still do not understand the response. I will not be posting anymore. Peace Mark
No, there is a lot of anger and pain here, and I feel I am somehow leading some here into serious sin by their judging me so harshly, even though no one here really knows me. It is a mystery how the conclusions about me came about. Perhaps they are right. Peace Mark
No, it is the times we are in. I have been on the receiving end. To thine own self be true, follow Jesus, everything on earth shall pass. I think things were mis construed, and emotions and the world are on a crescendo. Have you ever seen the movie "Waking Ned Devine" ? The last scene in the movie shows a fiddler playing a tune, and as he gets to the end of the song, building to the crescendo of the music, the string breaks! Our world is that string right now . . .so, don't focus on the string, keep your eyes on Jesus. Peace
Dear Brother Mark, Your posts are always inspirational. Thank you for your post on silence. To me it mirrors what St Mother Theresa taught. Mother Theresa gives us beautiful wise words regarding silence and prayer. There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives--the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them. ---Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well. Mother Teresa I think what has happened is that your post on silence, coincided with the new documentary about Pope Francis, where he condones civil unions, which seem to be a thinly veiled endorsement for homosexual unions. This has caused great angst for the faithful and you have been innocently caught in this. I too have wondered whether I have been an occasion of sin for my husbands anger and even wondered whether I should stay in my marriage due to this dilemma, however at those times I look at my Jesus hanging on the cross loving even those who nailed Him there, and I know what I am to do. But its only with His strength. God Bless You, Cleave to Jesus and offer this to His Most Sacred Heart. Edited to add, (I have many times nailed my Lord to His cross, through my sinfulness; Lord Have Mercy on me)
I have been agonizing over this post for a few hours, how people on the same page can get on the wrong interpretation. Probably because of the Pope's statements about welcoming gays etc. While you have said you are opposed to gay unions, you stated that civil unions are a government matter. Yes, in our country, it is a law in our government. It doesn't mean we are for the law, it is what it is. By being against gay unions, we would automatically be against this law. Hopefully these things can be settled in our country if we have a more conservative form of government. I am confident in your answer that you are not 'pro gay unions'. Just like abortion is a government matter. It does not mean we are pro abortion, but it is legal in our country until it can be overturned. For the Pope to make the statement is very scandalous because even though it is his opinion and not dogma ( I hope I am using the right terms, I am not a lawyer), he represents our Church. So, he cannot speak for the Church, but because he is head of the church, people outside our church think that he is speaking the law. I hope I am clear. I was just listening to a video by Marshall Taylor that makes much more sense than I am making. However, the greatest scandal to me is the pachamama. I still have not recovered from that horror. Time to go do some silent prayers on all of this! Peace . . .
Mark, In 2003, just 17 years ago (it feels more like a century) the CDF stated the following concerning homosexual civil unions (my highlights): From the legal order 9. Because married couples ensure the succession of generations and are therefore eminently within the public interest, civil law grants them institutional recognition. Homosexual unions, on the other hand, do not need specific attention from the legal standpoint since they do not exercise this function for the common good. Nor is the argument valid according to which legal recognition of homosexual unions is necessary to avoid situations in which cohabiting homosexual persons, simply because they live together, might be deprived of real recognition of their rights as persons and citizens. In reality, they can always make use of the provisions of law – like all citizens from the standpoint of their private autonomy – to protect their rights in matters of common interest. It would be gravely unjust to sacrifice the common good and just laws on the family in order to protect personal goods that can and must be guaranteed in ways that do not harm the body of society. What is plain from the Church's position above is that the sinfully disordered nature of homosexual unions do not serve the common good as considered from the Divine viewpoint; therefore as Catholics we should not sanction such, for in so doing we give credence to homosexual activity, itself. Padraig, sickened by the opinionated words of Pope Francis in reversing the above, followed by the approval of a number of bishops to his response, has simply yelled, "Enough is enough!" Your: Civil unions/rights is a government matter, appeared to him as sidestepping the crux of the matter. His confrontational stance cut to the chase. Safe in the Barque of Peter!
