Sometimes as a pastor, you just sit down and cry
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- Опубліковано 7 лис 2024
- Thursday morning after our 9 am daily Mass at St. Paul’s, I went and sat in the confessional. Thankfully no one came to confession that morning because I just sat in there and wept for 15 solid minutes.
My heart felt completely crushed that morning and it finally reached that breaking point
#Catholicism #Pennsylvania #McCarrick
Very inspiring homily….God Bless you Father Hollowell
I stand with you Father Hollowel. Courage, now is the time for courage.
You must feel isolated as a good priest at this time. As a member of the laity my heart weeps for both those faithful sons & those 'assisting' in the passion of the mystical body of Christ. Our Lady of Good Success pray for this good son. God bless you Father. Thank you for your fidelity.
Yes, Our Lady of Good Success did warn about bad priests and Bishops. She also warned that bad priests and bad bishops would cause the faithful to leave the church and good priests would suffer. But Our Lady also asked the faithful to pray for priests. These are very painful times, but the faithful must keep their eyes on Christ and His mother Mary.
That was really beautiful!!
I'm a catholic, I struggle with unemployment. I know God is testing me. Please pray for me, I could really use the Prayers. God Bless all.
Canada2016 ~~ I will pray for you.
Thank You, God Bless
I am not Roman Catholic and I will pray for you, wisdom from heaven, His hand on your life and for you to recognise strategies thst will lead to gainful employment. In Jesus' name. 😊
And 1069cmp, I will pray for you to find the only Church Christ founded on the foundation of the faith of His Apostles and prophets. I promise.
R. Zell I am born again, sealed by His blood 😊 So I am in 'the true church' for which Jesus is The Head. Anyway, lets us pray for our brother and not contend in this thread.
Cheers and blessings.
Thank you Fr. John for your amazing sermons. You were one of the first priests I found online when I came back to the church and you made me love being a Catholic. You are a good holy priest. Please keep speaking on the issues no one wants to talk about and giving others hope. God Bless you. I will continue to pray for you and for all priests.
Brother priest, I thank you for your words. Let us pray for each other.
Dear Father, we are all knowing how you must be feeling. We care for you and need your grace to help our Mother Church in this very sad time. May God give you strength and courage to be the archangel of your parish. 😘😘🙏🙏👼👼
thank you for your service to the church. I have found your homilies forthright and inspiring.
You are a fantastic priest!!!!
I weep for those that try to destroy the church, it hurts.
Catholic Renewed The destruction comes from within. Perhaps the Roman Catholic communion need to go back through to first and second century church, look at what they believed and compare that to what the Vatican holds as doctrine and ask the question "how did we get here?". Only understanding that first century group of believers who were simply 'Christians', The Book of Acts, the Epistles, what the church was commanded to do, and how to recognise the soon return of The Lord Jesus Christ, can we grasp if we as believers are on or off target.
I am not a Roman Catholic but it is a question and examination that anyone who professes faith in Christ is called to do.
Cheers, ex-atheist.
@@1969cmpThe focus of the Church is meant to be not on the sin, but on forgiving the sinner. Always strive to keep in mind the Grace of God for it is by that Grace we love our enemies and are able to forgive them.
Glad to hear you've shut the door on atheism: every one of its labyrinthine tentacles leads ultimately to a dead end.
While it may appear that the destruction comes from within, remind yourself that that's part of the devil's deception. Whether you meant within the Church or within the sinner's own soul, the source of the destruction is from without. It is a Divine mystery that Jesus created a Church devoid of any flaw by using the sinners who inhabit it.
Having said that, God preserved only Mary from the stain of original sin, so being that it will always be with us in this life, the best we can do is keep on guard against it, with Our Lord's heavenly Light as our beacon and our shield. And, of course, to not worry! 😊 (Matthew 6:25-34)
@@ironymatt Yes, The Gospel is about recognition of ones own sin, restoration, repentance, and becoming a new creation through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Catholic Renewed weep for those who have not saught wisdom enough to come out of it!
The attempting, on going destruction of Catholicism hurts me also as to, which Church may I attend for my worshiping of God? I may have to go to Calgary where there is a fraternity of st. Peter Church. I am currently in Victoria. It is not working out here. I am presently attending a byzantine eastern Catholic Church for Sunday.
We are with you too Fr John
God bless you Father John. You're on my prayers.
Fr . John, we need more priests like you. You are fearless. You speak to what we need to hear. I love listening to your homilies. God bless and reward you for your faithfulness .
The clarity and force in which he speaks is brilliant…true father John
Thanks ever so much for this and all the homilies!!!
May Jesus keep you in best of health!!!!!!
I pray for those who attack the Church whether it's from within or without. Sometimes I just can't read any more negativity and this is when my prayer life becomes more intense. Prayer, penance and sacrifice for our priests and all of us is what will turn things around. Thank you Father!
Mary Therese McCool If we confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, we are heeled.
It has not helped that the leadership swept things under the rug for so long. It is not isolated to the R.C. but is an issue in so many religious groups and secular groups.
It is a deep issue with the sinful state of mankind.
My heart goes out to you Father John. May God Bless You and Keep You always!
Father, count on my prayers. I pray the Holy Spirit gives you peace, light and strength. I pray for you and for the Catholic church in the US, especially heart-broken people, due to the last dreadful discoveries. Have the Lord mercy on all of us.
heavy duty sermon this stuff even upset me all the guys i went to school for about 35 yrs never had a problem praying for our church nuns brother and priest best sermon i ever heard
You are a beautiful Priest Father. I will continue to pray for you and for all our priests. My only son is studying for the Dominican priesthood loves it and is very much looking forward to being a priest and is on fire for Jesus and wants to make a difference. All our heats are broken.
Christ IS close to the broken heart. We will persevere, we are all in it together and will ask and receive the grace to continue fighting for our beautiful Catholic Church in Jesus' name. Holy Mass and Rosaries lets do it.
I admire any priest who can face the public after all that is in the news this week. After reading about Gramsci and Bella Dodd, it is little wonder the Catholic Church has some problems. Jesus Christ said the gates of hell would not prevail. Now I know why he said that.
Who is Gramsci and Bella Dodd?
@@bagobeans Antonio Gramsci an Italian Communist, who wrote " not by revolution but evolution ".... evolve the system into what you want it to be baby steps, like liberals have done to ruin the schools.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci
Bella Dodd also an Italian Communist, who wrote a book called "School of Darkness" free pdf on line.
She recruited 1,200 communists into the priesthood to take over the Church. She repented under Bishop Sheen.
Her penance for her sin was to hold seminars and give talks on what she had done.
www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/01/15/bella-dodd-who-rejected-communism-in-favour-of-faith-is-a-lesson-for-young-jihadis/
She also testified in front of Congress about that and the infiltration of the government by communists.
They have also taken over the seminaries.
Read: GoodBye Good Men: How the left corrupted the Catholic Church.
you have no idea do you...what is happening>
@@gatekeeper96740 it has always been that way with the jesuites and jacobin... The Catholic Church has always been satanic.
This priest is one of the good ones! :)
Father Hollowel, I do hope that you are very much improved now as I keep you in my daily Rosary. This is an excellent 👍 homily. Thank you.
Thank you Fr Hollowell for making clear the reciprocal nature of our experience of Christ in the sacraments and our personal relationship with Him. ♥️
God bless you Fr. John. May we have more priests like you here in the Philippines.
I stand with you Father. Our church has been attacked by satan and those that would love to see Her fall. I love my church. God bless you Father. Your sharing has helped me. The Lord is with us. Adoration is a great blessing for me. Let us go there and pray for our church.
My heart goes out to you, Father. I too, as a lay person, have done much crying over this crisis, but it has occurred to me that any pain I feel is multiplied so many times in the hearts of the good clergy and religious. I’m aware too of my own part in the problem by failing to pray for priests as I should and not appreciating the faith that has been given to me. May this crisis truly be God making the Church new.
Father, you are like a brother to me. I have 5 brothers. I see you in some of them. We are all sports guys. I pray for your brother. May god bless him and keep him in his loving arms. You are human and you have emotions. I trust in you.
Thank you Father. God Bless you always!
The current leadership at the USCCB can learn a lot from Father Hollowell. Leadership......through humility and fidelity.
I pray for all who mourn that they be comforted. I pray for those with an unhealthy mind be healed. I pray that evil be binded.
Thank you for your great witness to Christ and your wonderful homilies. We are undergoing the same attacks in Ireland,. In the end God's love will triumph and the gates of hell will not prevail against our Church. The Rosary and the Mass are our stronghold. Thanks again for your witness. Fearghas
Sorry you had to go through that, Father..thank you for having a backbone and the courage to speak out. I am so ANGRY and SADDENED that NOTHING is being done about the predator freaks(ie, Francis taking decisive action) . I pray that some form of earthly justice is meted out to them; it’s all very discouraging.. in my prayers, Father. Sometimes being strong is HARD; how well I know........
I cried for 5 years every day sometimes two three times a day even five times a day and I still cry as I read and go thru scriptures.
Comforting Spiritual tears flow as I drink the misery and pains of this life journey.
Psalm 34
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Luke 6:21
"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
💔🌹Jesus wept.
Father..I'm praying for you.. please pray for me
Thank you Father for sharing your homily.
If the Church has to lose every asset it owns to learn some humility then so be it.
The Church has humility. We are the church, not the homosexual predators. For instance, the church humbly teaches more girls in poverty in the world than any other institution.
Thank you
Thank you Father.
The honesty and boldness is so beautiful...
Thank You Fr. J.! We Laity have a share in this Chastisement... Jesus always begins in God's House... First He took a Whip in His Father's House...Over 2k years ago, our Father's Chosen People Failed Him, & His Son was Rejected,,, Now it's Our Turn... ALL of us have Rejected Christ in some some Degree, especially in the last 40 yrs...We did NOT Pray for our Priests as we should have... 2k yrs after His Crucifixion, we failed Jesus again! Thank you Fr. J., again!❣️☦️
Beautiful words. I pray our Catholic Faith will be blessed with more priests like you.
Fr. Hollowell, Greetings from Singapore. I am deeply inspired by your teaching. Be assured of my prayers and support for you. Thank you for your ministry.
Thank you and God bless you. We must pray for all our good Holy priests and clergy and Holy Catholic Church. God help the Church and all of us.
I'm feeling every single word you say. God Bless you father. You are the Persona Christi. Love you so much ♥ . You deeply make sense what you say. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you, Father. I am no saint. Firstly I’m an addict in recovery, I’m divorced after a shitty 25 year long marriage to an abuser, impossibly BAD decisions and choices I made in my twenties, etc, etc. But when I heard and read about these scandals, I was just crushed, FURIOUS and felt rudderless. Starting to come around now, thank God; beginning to trust my Faith again-I HAVE to. Thank you again. God bless you.
I ask the Lord to flow graces upon you. I listen to you and get stronger.
I really respect what you are saying. I believe in it also. I feel the presence of Christ in your sermons. Thank you so much. god Bless you.
I've only listened to a couple of your sermons and I feel like you are really ministering to me as a Pastor. Thank you for what you say. I believe.
stay strong father,it's alright to cry.
Prayers incoming to all holy priests and fasting too.
Yes, I'm fasting for priests and the church
I feel your pain. That is exactly how I felt when the novus ordo mess was forced upon us. I never would have gotten through it were in not for Archbishop Lefebvre. In 1972 Pope Paul vi remarked, "The smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God." It's encouraging that the Vatican ii crowd is beginning to wake up, after 50 years.
I think you’re amazing. We want to hear the real teachings and why. I hope that this starts to happen. Sexual sins kill the conscience
God love you
John Kocevar Michael Voris.
Sometimes when we hurt the most and feel abandoned it is then that God is closest to us. Much like the story of the footprints in the sand. My precious precious child I love you and would never leave you' during those most troubling times of your life when you saw one set of footprints IT WAS THEN THAT I CARRIED YOU.. AMEN LORD.
What are those numbers behind the priest ?
@@mellifluousbeethoven354 The hymms to be sung at the service.
Why catholic priests and catholic friends he grew up with ,were attacking the church teachings about homosexuality being a sin ?
Indeed the Lord is with you Father John...courage. Know that I am praying for the victims, you, and all faithful priests that are going through this difficult time in our church. THANK YOU !
God Bless you Father. Please keep doing what youre doing. Im in my early 40s. I dont see many from my generation go to Mass. We as a Church do need to do a better job at educating and evangelizing our members. I think that videos like these help, but instruction must come from parents of the children as well! Through words and action.
He's got the courage and conviction of Christ and shows us all that there's nothing to fear when you live in the light. I wish the average US Bishop were half the man Father Hollowell is.
Great priest! You're wisdom speaks for CHRIST!! THAT'S ALL CHRIST WAMTS FEAR NO EVIL LIKE THE SCANDALS. YOU KNOW IN YOUR FAITH JRSUS IS EITH YOU. STAND FIRM NEVER GIVE IN THOSE. YOU'RE GREAT!! POPE FRANCIS IS RIGHT. THANK YOU FATHET & PRAISE GOD FOREVER.
prayers
This was hard to listen to in many ways. Sad, that so many have turned their backs on our faith. I stand with you and am very proud to be catholic.
Having lost my daughter to a devastating disease not long ago, I can more than relate. God allows times like these because they drive us to the foot of the Cross of Jesus and to our knees before Him like nothing else.
Sorry…have to add…you said: “Thankfully, no one came to Confession.” How sad! It means that despite your amazing homilies, the belief in and proper respect for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist in your parish is very low. Why is this?
There is a need for a return to proper reverence, love, respect and belief in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, to whom we owe EVERYTHING! We can do this by returning to a Eucharist where fragments of Our Lord are not crushed and trampled by the hands and feet of the faithful throughout the sanctuary. It’s an atrocity that should have never happened. The Papal indult that allowed Communion in the hand was intended to fix a particular problem with very strict conditions that have never been followed. It’s widespread use has destroyed belief by trivializing the Eucharist. Reportedly 70% no longer believe in the Real Presence. It’s why they don’t bother with Confession. Yet we continue to abandon long-held tradition for the sake of convenience and modernism.
This is why as you cry for your brother, I cry for the pain and sorrow of Our Lord inflicted by his own people, including His own priests and bishops. I cry for God’s growing anger over this, the decline of our Church, and what is happening to our world as a result. I’ll pray for you and your brother, but you must also help me pray for the Church.
Thank you Fr. for sharing with us from your own reality and it helped me remember...no matter what happens around me Jesus is with me and I am happy to hear you know He is with you always 🌈
God bless you🙏
Each member of the Church who was baptized must recognise that when they refused to obey the will of God by embracing contraception the gates of Hell were opened. The Clergy in refusing to preach are also complicit.
But the homosexual epidemic within the Priesthood is a huge crisis that has been ignored or denied.
It’s time for honesty, confession and reparation🙏🙏🙏
This is true. May God have mercy on us poor sinners.
I was most touched by your exhortation to draw close to Jesus through prayer...and you led me right into hearing those words by stirring my compassion and empathy for all the broken. I'm not one of the people who are too joyful with too many things going right. I'm as broken as anyone you mention and as the people I have to be there for. Thank God for a faithful priest who showed me how to pray more than just petitions, because that's what gets me through the darkness....but I do petition our Lord right now for more priests like you. "Lord, give us holy priests. You yourself maintain them in holiness. Protect them from the devil's traps and snares that are continually being set for the souls of priests." -- from St. Faustina's Prayer for the Church and for Priests
"Behold I make old things new" 😍😍😍💖💖💖
*all things :)
Father thank you and God bless you. I LIVE,EAT AND SLEEP my relationship with Christ my savior, this was not always so. I was actually being pulled away from the catholic church and didn't even realize it. I believe my guardian angel bopped me on my head and I ran back to the church and never looked back. I am a faithful catholic now, I am not ashamed of my faith, I have a lot of prayers needing to be said for my sisters and brothers in christ because I see how satan can work on you. I am sad that some of these people inside the catholic faith and outside it can be controlled and they dont even know it.. we are called to LOVE even your enemies, God created us all and He would want us all with Him, so next time you want to hurt someone or their faith with your words ask yourself if Christ was standing there by you would he approve, if you are not doing or saying something in love then dont say it. On another note my parish priest had a bad moment after mass, I could imagine some parishioners would of seen this and made a exit and never come back, I sat there after mass praying for him because he is human and he does fall and I can imagine satan does his best trying to make him stumble, satan will attack it's time for us all to come together as Christ loving children and fight this war together and stop fighting eachother. Fight for your brothers and sisters who have fallen..fight for them because it is the right thing to do, it's what christ did for you. Where there is hatred satan has planted his seed, where there is loveGod has planted His seed. Let's nourish what God has planted. Thanks for listening God bless you all.
God bless you, Father, every moment of your life as a priest.
i totally agree with you father, when this issue came up, all i did was to kneel and weep...i couldn't understand sometimes why it happens, but when i see the victim's cry and pain, Jesus might have felt the same way...the Church is in spiritual and moral crisis. We have to minister the people with compassion and love.
Pray for us Our Lady of Good Success, that your Immaculate Heart will triumph. Pray for your beloved sons, the faithful priests and Bishops who do the will of God and keep true to their vocations.
He gates of hell shall not prevail...
WHO HASN'T WEPT IN LIFE? ...... IN SOME ..........
VERY LEGITIMATE PAIN ....... SO VERY PERSONAL
TO YOUR BEING! ...... BLESS YOU BROTHER ..... FR!
Thank you Fr John for your sermant I am catholic and I love be catholic I agree the lawyer get involved and jury. The devil is trouble make I don’t trust the devil. I trust in Jesus Christ all my heart.
I cried so hard the other day. Because I see so many Catholics leaving the Church. Including my own son and my husbands brothers and sisters. My heart is breaking. I feel literal pain. But I will Never stop praying my rosary for them and for our Church. I will pray for all the good priests who endure negative remarks due to the bad ones. I will pray for their souls. That God may have mercy on them for their evil doings to innocent victims. Lord help us all.
Fr. Hollowell's facing all this vitriol as a direct result of all the clerics who dropped the ball when it came to standing up for clear Catholic teaching. Many priests, bishops, and cardinals have lacked the guts to stand up for the truth which lead many Catholics to believe that contraception is okay, women should be ordained priests, priests should be able to marry, gay sex is just fine, and on and on and on. Pray for Fr. Hollowell.
I want to always want to become a priest.
I commiserate with you, Father Hollowell. I am a Catholic & I love my Catholic Faith & feel bad that, because of the sex scandals of some priests, the Faith itself is being attacked when it should not be. The actions of the errant priests are in question, the Faith itself is not. But because of how people cannot separate the Faith, the teachings of Jesus Christ, from the actions of pedophile priests, many leave the Church & that is so sad. Thank you for speaking about this problem in the Church because other churches don't. Other priests do not speak about these things, it's just not spoken about. Just as they don't speak about heaven & hell & praying for a holy & happy death.
God Bless you Father.
Thankyou for your Ministry. This is how Catholic men feel every day as well. Its pretty tough out there. But Your right it's the Jesus in the Eucharist, with our Brother's and Sisters and a personal relationship with Jesus. The church is a human body complete with a holes and hands.
Our Lady of Good Success, im telling ya watch it
"How badly we have done ..." to "It broke me."
Bravo!
thank you for not being afraid to tell the truth
I am here, feel free to point out my brokenness and come and heal me. I can't claim, like Holloway, to have had my heart literally ripped open, because that would result in death. Amazingly, he claims this and still breaths!
All my dog's puppies died. I cried. A lot. Of course, I was already depressed, and when things happen beyond our control, we hurt. I'm hurt that "Catholic" leaders did what they did. I'm hurt that that happened. What frustrates me even more is that when this sexual abuse rubbish happens, that people start bashing Catholics, like ALL of us are guilty. I've flat out said how I feel about it. Why in the world should those of us that WERE'NT involved, take the blame collectively for individuals we had nothing to do with? Why is it that ALL Catholics have to bear this? Because we're Christian, and we suffer for the sake of Righteousness, because because most of us DON'T take abuse lightly. We, as Christians should still never forget those who mourn, let's live the beatitudes with the victims of this stupid senseless tragedy.
Adam Hovey I totally understand how you feel Adam I too get frustrated with all of the madness going on but try not to get discouraged by those who use these scandals to bash the Church, some do it out of ignorance and some do it out of utter contempt for the Church and want to see her fall, Satan has so many fooled that's why they so easily take his bait and go after the church like a bull that has just seen Red, we know the truth and must remain strong in our faith and pray for the church. I don't know when it's going to happen but God will cleanse his church of all the filth and restore her.
So I will *restore* to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
Adam Hovey- Because the Laity (US!) is NOT Blameless! We All Caved to the World in Some Measure...The only difference is Degree! Silence & Disinterest in "Church Politics", is Aiding the Enemy! The number of Laity that kept their Mouths Shut Allowed these Clerics to advance to this level... We Can't let the Great Sins bombarding us Hourly now, Blind us to Our own Part... (It's a great temptation to do that, & favorite Tool from the Enemy to keep us blinded to our own Sins.)❣️☦️
Adam Hovey As Padre Pio said: pray, love and don't worry. Take heart and remember the promises of Jesus. The hierarchy needs purification and repentance.
Don’t ever despair. We are Christ’s body as a church and when one within the church does something so horrible the whole body suffers and takes the scourging just as Christ did. Don’t ever loose hope but draw closer to Christ and pray even harder . God bless you!
What really causes great pain..is when you want to evangelize and you feel like the Church itself has just tied a block of cement around your waist and threw you in a lake...How??...I have a heart for fallen away Catholics..because I was one for so long...how does one bring anyone into this..and it will no doubt go on for years
Priests are human
I used to be Catholic. I now know the truth that many doctrines of the Church are man-made. The church is a body of born again believers. It is not a religion. It is a relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. Belief in a religion does not save you. Please read your Bible, KJV only. Be a Bible believer and not hold yourself to doctrine that the Lord does not hold you to. It will set you free and you will not be held to the doctrine of MAN. Be Catholic, but develop a daily personal relationship with the Lord. Hold yourself to the truth of the Bible.
Padre, you are a priest with cojones. I am blessed when I discovered this channel.
Father , the deception , lies and betrayal hurt this cradle catholic so much, as you are hurt. Just when I trusted four different priests in the past, they deceived us, they betrayed us and they hurt our parishes so much in so many ways. The Bishops and Cardinals need to answer also. The Catholic Church is infected with a virus, it needs to be treated fast!
We need to admit our faults, not hide them, and fix them. It's sickening for parents to be afraid to take their little boys to church while the leaders defend homosexuality in the priesthood. Pray for and love the Church, but never hide and protect sexual immorality in the Church leadership.
Yes Father. Amen
Amen Father
Father I empathise with you; bcause i feel the same way. For the suffering of ppl in this world. And i feel hopeless to help them at times. But Christ gives us that hope. Amen
We are promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail and I believe that but the Catholic Church is about to get much, much smaller.
Father should not be surprised that many Catholic priests and much of the Catholic laity reject Catholic teachings in matters of faith and morals. First, because it is not taught by most Bishops and priests, and secondly, it's not lived by them either. Catholicism in the USA has been reduced to one more protestant sect where everyone believes and lives the way they want with no correction from anyone.
A few years ago, Teddy Kennedy, one of the biggest promoters of abortion in Congress got a solemn high funeral mass celebrated in the presence of the cardinal archbishop of Boston. During the Mass , all Kennedys pro abortion political buddies boldly went to receive holy communion. No Cardinal, bishop or priest said a word. If they really believed in the Most Holy Eucharist they would have done their best to protect IT from sacrilege !
And our good pal Teddy McCarrick was also present to bow and scrape before the high and mighty politicos at that funeral. This is what SOME of the clergy got into their "vocations" for: to live a double life--on one side a very active and secret (making it all the more tantalizing I suppose) gay sex life; and on the other, to be exalted and put high on a pedestal and to mingle with the high and mighty, and be handed riches and an indulgent lifestyle. This is what we're seeing play out. I am a faithful Catholic. Faithful Catholics are now the only group that receives scorn and are marginalized by the hierarchy. No matter. We keep the faith until we meet Christ face to face. We keep meeting Christ in the Holy Eucharist staying in a state of grace. It's all we can do. This life is extremely short in the face of eternity. And we pray for our enemies and those who persecute us -- especially in our own Church.
So sorry to hear about your brother. Lets all pray for him. God is mercifull.
Will be in my prayers tonight.
I am also saddened for what is happening with the church but is also a challenge for us to make it a better church.
The Liety needs to get involved more and we can rebuild and clean up the mess some have made. The sodomism needs to go, so do the heresy. If they dont believe the church's doctrine, why are they priest
yes;;; this is what we need... maybe they/the church doesn't teach it this way b/c it is a hard teaching and even for Catholics it is hard to hear and we hear it when we are ready to really accept it... but yes, thank you for your courage to teach it... this is holiness... thank you... people are looking for answers and plain talk and this is where the Protestant church has filled this gap... after a lot of time in the Protestant church i eventually realized that the Catholic Church had the fullness of truth... but I did need to come full circle with the plain talk and teachings of the Protestant Church... if the Catholic Church could provide this, maybe less people would ever leave... thank you
I returned to the Church after being away for almost 40 yrs..I tell people inside the Church I cant find the Church I left..Inside I know it is still the Church..but it doesnt seem to be very Catholic anymore😭😭😭
Same here but hang in there we are going through painful changes and I think we will get back to our true traditions
You cry? I cry. I cried upon hearing about Priests who go after our young people and destroy their faith. I cry that the Bishop's and leaders of the church looked the other way or failed to act. But I cry more for those predator priests when they face Christ who gave them a vocation and they misused their talents and scattered His flock. I cry for those who will shake their heads and leave the Catholic church. Will I leave? No. Like Peter, I have no where else to go. There is evil everywhere as St. Paul says. But our focus should be on Christ. Jesus is with us in the Blessed Sacrament, and when I visit Him, I ask Him to help and strengthen those priests who are faithful to His call. Because of bad priests, the good priests will suffer too and it will extend to the faithful laity when they are badgered into why they stay with a church that protects pedophile priests. In my response, I tell them there are coaches, teachers, congressmen, and those in higher power who go after the weak, not just some of the bad Catholic priests. There may be other denominations, but they are better able to keep their secrets. Keep the faith Father, keep your eyes on Christ Crucified and His Mother Mary. Jesus Himself had to deal with Judas. The Apostles could have left over that scandal, but they didn't. Jesus's flock may be small, but they know and keep the faith. God bless you Father, take courage and know that Christ walks with you! The church is suffering, but a true Catholic will keep their eyes on Christ, for He is our end. He said He would never leave us, and I believe Him!
Beautifully stated, Marie. I would like to add one more thing to this: Pope St. Gregory the Great said that justice demands that the laity get the clergy we deserve. When this latest news was revealed, the first thought that popped into my head was everything Father Hollowell said about Catholics who preach their own version of the Faith, accepting birth control, fornication, homosexuality, and other things that go against Church teaching. As offensive as it is that some men scattered the flock with their crimes, I can't hide from the fact that I was a cafeteria Catholic for so long, until by the grace of God the scales fell from my eyes. I didn't realize I was a cafeteria Catholic because I didn't really know what the Church taught, or why. I relied too much on older relatives who thought everything changed after Vatican II, so they basically made up their own versions. They might not know what the Church really teaches, but I can't correct them because they're sure I'm wrong. But we are the reason God has given us men who would be unfaithful, so we are obligated to do penance to purify the Church.
Rather than rely on others, pick up the Catholic Catechism and read it. Everyone wants their religion spoon feed to them. The laity need to take some responsibility for their faith too. I don't really know what Vatican ll really entails or why so many complain about it, but I do know that the faith I was taught as a child must be learned again through the eyes of an adult. I was never a cafeteria Catholic. The church has her rules and I accepted them. There are many around me that call me an idiot, or stupid, but do I care? No. I keep my sight on Jesus Christ. He never changes, never will, no matter what new ideas man tries to come up with to make sin acceptable. The Priests are unfaithful because NO ONE PRAYS FOR THEM! Prayer is a powerful antidote, yet we ignore that gift God has given us. Prayer is faith in action. Prayer is faith in the One God who Loves us. When we forget about God, things like this happen. The evil one delights in causing pain to those who should follow Christ. The Priests are more interested in the baseball games that hearing confession. Pray for them. Pray for the good and holy priests that they may continue their calling and pray for those that have fallen. Pray for the fallen ones, ask Jesus to have mercy on them and get them back on the path He gave them. God Bless.
who are you responding to? I never said Vatican II had anything to do with this? I just said to pray for priests.
Pope Francis needs to do what he was appointed to do and Excommunicate these Sickos... PENANCE PENANCE PENANCE ~Our Lady of Fatima
I belonging to the Catholic Church I am struggling a lot mentally from the day's I was being pressurized to come out from the Catholic Church. They don't come now, but the torture now I go through is like they were saying the truth and I being punished by the Holy spirit with no peace of mind and so on that I can't explain because answers come defending it's self.
Glen Jeremiah don't listen to people, listen to God. The Church needs you. I was a Protestant and converted to the Catholic Church 2 years ago. The Catholic Church kept Christianity alive for 1500 years, gave us the Bible, and is the source of most of the orthodox teaching of Christianity. The media wants to make this big, and it is big, but it's not as big as the Church as a whole, and it's not bigger than our Lord who began the Church and WILL protect her. God loves you and wants you to rest in peace, not be tormented. Be faithful and pray for God to show you what to do. Don't be afraid.
ThisIsTurok1, I just don't know what's keeping me going strong, one thing I am sure they can't convenience me.
Ruth Raubertas , I think we need the Church and not the Church need me and you.
Thank you, Father, for your wonderful, and powerful, words. Just a suggestion, though: I wish the altar servers were placed elsewhere, at least during the homily. The little one behind was quite a distraction (not his fault, though).
Our Bishop said that the Church is going through it's own Calvary. God help us all.
What's wrong with crying? Christ Cried.
"Behold, I make all things new"
A little leaven leavens the whole loaf. How can we expect there to have been a good passing on of the faith when sexual abuse and sexual immorality was in the leadership. The spiritual culture of sin and hypocrisy destroys the faith of the people. We pray for a renewal as the sin is dealt with.
We need to group ourselves together. I am praying for this Priest. He seems to be alright. Great to defend the Faith. I suggest planning on how the Church will be cleaned. We no longer want the baby talk and we are not willing to hand a lollipop to any Priest. We demand some changes.
Enrique Crosby Follow Jesus Christ . To leave Christ because one of his followers sinned greatly is illogical. If he's not his true follower then why leave Jesus Christ. I follow christ even if I was to be lonly like Noah. Everyone sins greatly against God. Yes even u...
lulu lue I’m not leaving. I’m saying that the period of great abuse 60s 70s 80s was also the time when kids were growing up abused by priests. How would the spiritual climate of Catholic schools and parishes be polluted by this kind of spiritual climate? This is also the period post Vatican 2 so many blame for poor catechesis. If you had been abused, or your best friend, or your father, would not this hurt spread around even if unspoken to create unbelief in the flock? I think it would.