Tuesday 1 October 2013

Are you introverted, selfish and something of a miser?

Mean? Moi?
Do you, for example, keep yourself to yourself and squirrel away your valuables in a drawer somewhere?

Do you insist on keeping things that you love, secret.......known only to yourself?

And do you refuse to share your riches, even the smallest amount, with your fellow man?

Well, let me put this as sensitively and charitably as possible.

You are a miser; a mean person who thinks only of their own needs and ignores those of your fellow man (sorry, person).

You are guilty of selfishness and greed, not to say avarice and lust and you must change!

Your liberal Catholic contemporaries (and some of your orthodox ones) are deserving of your charity.

Here are some guiding points to help you become less self centred and more charitable:-

1. Attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form and, what is more, tell your friends and family about it. You may lose a few (quite a few) in the process but, hey, at least you are saving them from the sin of culpable ignorance - the sin of wilful ignorance is now firmly in their court.

2. Oppose all the wishy washy words and actions of parish liturgists, greeters, choreographers, members of ACTA and others of the same ilk. They are a cancer eating away at the heart of the Faith and, without giving them too much credit for being taken seriously, should be spiritually head butted whenever possible.

3. Keep up a line of communication with your Bishop, even though it's like trying to empty the sea with a limpet shell. Be kind to him, remember he may never hear the words: "Well done thou good and faithful servant"

4. Evangelise your fellow Catholics but, again, don't beat them over the head with the complete works of Michael Davies. Speak softly to them and gently point out the facts.....ask them to look in their spiritual mirror and reflect on whether they look like a soldier of Christ.

5. Tackle your parish priest, not in the rugby sense (although, it might have to come to that). Ask him why, if Andrea Bocelli can sing modern music and then switch to La Traviata and Nigel Kennedy can play jazz as well as classical, why can't he say the Latin Mass?

6. Share yourself with others. Don't rush off after Mass, stay and have a cup of coffee with some of the nutters and aged nutters that went to make up the congregation. They need you, they need to know that they are not alone and that others are coming along who will shoulder the burden of being a traditional Catholic. You have a lot to offer so please share it.

7. Attend a pilgrimage, pro life vigil or retreat - graces will flow to you that will help you become generous with your spiritual wealth.

8. Display your finery whenever possible. Say Grace before meals in public as well as private, refuse the Sunday football match if it clashes with Mass (and tell your friends why), pray the Rosary on the train, in the surgery, at the cinema, anywhere, in fact, where you have a minute to spare.

9. Give away your possessions; orthodox books, dvds, pictures and statues (you have far too many anyway). They may help inspire and enthuse a fellow Catholic.

10. Buy up Rosaries on Ebay, get them blessed and give them away to your friends, to the sick, the aged and infirm and to young children. That is a gift more precious than pearls.

So, forget all that hogwash about being judgemental and remember that you once received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

That was not a one off sacramental experience, that was a lifelong suit of armour enabling you to be a soldier for Jesus Christ until such time as He calls you.

Then, and only then, can you lay down your sword and hang up your coat of mail.

9 comments:

  1. Great post Richard. Stirred my conscience more than a bit!

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  2. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea how timely this is for me after almost despairing over the state of the Church for the last while. God placed in this particular time and place for a reason, didn't He?

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  3. Best sermon I've heard in a long ..... long time!!

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  4. Love this!

    ~Hannah

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  5. What a great post! It reads like a how-to manuel - very practical with commonsense suggestions that anyone can do. I remember as a child seeing men as well as women praying the rosary and saying grace in public - they're such easy things to do.

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  6. Wonderful advice, especially about buying up rosaries, getting them blessed and giving them away. I suggest people also do that with mini miraculous medals as then you can leave them everywhere :)

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  7. Excellent idea Rhoslyn, many thanks.

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