Praying for the repose of the soul of Senator Kennedy, and of John McCarthy (who introduced my sister Mary to his best friend...her husband of 24 years).
One good thing about being a Catholic is that, once you cross to the other side, you get the benefit of the doubt about, well, being on the right side on the other side! But we don't assume it tout court: we'll pray for you until the end of time to help push you ashore. That's what we now do for the Lion of the Senate. His political adroitness matters absolutely not at all now. His self-identification as Catholic, not so much either. His real efforts in favor of the disadvantaged: "You did it to Me." Ditto, sadly enough, his support of abortion as a woman's "right."
We can all be blinded (by need, by ambition, by passion) to what we are "really" doing sometimes. We may have convinced ourselves that it is all for good, for justice, for orthodoxy, for whatever value will most disguise our self-love. So no one gets a free pass today, just because the senior Senator from Massachusetts offered a particularly outrageous demonstration of cafeteria Catholicism.
Say it with me: "Eternal rest grant unto him (and them) O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen."
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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7 comments:
Do not overlook, Sister, the scandal of churchmen yesterday pronouncing his immediate entry into heaven. Money talks, in this rarified form of Catholicism.
In fact, the life of this pro-abortion womanizer was scandalous from the start. The damage he did is incalculable.
We cannot judge the state of Senator Kennedy's soul. He had ample opportunity for spiritual guidance and repentance in his final months. The all merciful and loving God will be his judge, and not anyone of us.
Let's leave his soul to God to judge...and pray for those who have such bitterness at the passing of a fellow man.
Actually, John McCarthy introduced me to Randy 29 years ago next month, with 28 years of marriage celebrated this past June.
I would like anyone to point out where there is bitterness in the initial posting of mine. Facts, yes. Bitterness, no. Well, maybe the facts leave a bitter taste, no?
I do know that the Kennedy publicity machine is alive and well (there have been books written about the making of the "Camelot" myth if anyone wants to follow that illuminating trail) when I read that his Hyannisport pastor has assured the faithful of "santo subito" when he has no business making such a claim. The money trail is obvious.
Second, it does not take a judgment about the disposition of a sinner's soul, something I assiduously avoided, to point out that whether or not to allow reception of Holy Communion by openly pro-abortion Catholic politicians such as Ted Kennedy was a repeated point of discussion at recent gatherings of U.S. Bishops. The issue is anything but resolved, and the fact that the bishops even had to discuss this publicly is clearly a legacy of scandal on the part of the senior Senator and his Catholic colleagues. Remember, the Senator was "the Lion of the Senate," with great prestige among his colleagues. So the scandal of supporting abortions, in his case, is greater.
There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe they are sinners, the sinners who believe they are righteous.”
God bless Fr. Barron! Here's his input:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wR_5bV7Glg
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