Squirrel and rabbit gossiping - William Holbrook Beard
I love cloudy, rainy Fall days.
I'll share some thoughts here. No order or composition intended.
The Pope told the gendarmes not to gossip. I like what he said:
“There is a temptation – I would like to say it is thus for everyone , even for me , for everyone – a temptation that the devil likes very much: that against unity, when hidden dangers work directly against the unity of those who live and work in the Vatican – and the devil tries to create internal war, a kind of civil war and spiritual, is it not? It is a war that is not waged with the weapons that we recognize: it is a war waged with the tongue.”
"We ask St. Michael to help us in this war : never speak ill of each other, never open your ears to gossip." - Vatican Radio
"We ask St. Michael to help us in this war : never speak ill of each other,
never open your ears to gossip. And if [one hears] someone gossiping, stop him!
[Say] , ‘Here there can be none of that: walk out of St. Anne’s Gate.
Go outside
and talk there! Here you cannot!’ That’s it, isn’t it?
The good seed yes: speak
well of one another ,
yes, but [do not sow the poison seed] of
gossip.” -ibid
Yeah. So. How can I or anyone else keep blogging after that? How? (Song for this thought here - just change the words to "Tell me how I'm supposed to keep blogging after that?")
Take my advice - don't speculate about what the Pope does anymore. Just shut up.
This morning at prayer, I realized we are in the middle of the novena to St. Therese, so I came in late - again. I'm using the Imitation of Christ for meditation, because Therese knew it by heart and therefore it really contributed to her spiritual formation. I had been wrestling with something and I opened to this:
"Son, be not curious nor give yourself to useless cares... 'What is this or that to you? Follow me. For what is it to you whether this man be such or such; or that man do or say this or the other. You are not to answer to answer for others, but must give an account for yourself - why, therefore, do you meddle with them?" - Imitation, Bk. III, Chp. 24And when I got online, I discovered what the Pope said.
Providential, huh?
I was actually going to write about some stuff that has bothered me lately. Now I'm not sure it is worth my time.
Remembering John Paul I
on the 35 anniversary of his death.
Which reminds me - just say death - died, not passed on. Thanks.
"Take my advice - don't speculate about what the Pope does anymore. Just shut up."
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was reading the Holy Father's interview at work again and I came to the realization that his request to not gossip should be applied to all...especially toxic bloggers. Anyway, I am grateful for his words as I will pray to apply them to my own life.
With regards to JPI. I liked him the moment he stepped out on the balcony and I cried lots when I read he had died. May he rest in eternal peace.
Have a wonderful weekend enjoying the calm of a rainy afternoon. He is So. Calif. the weather is gorgeous...beautiful green covered mountain range and clear blue skies and cool, fresh breezes.
Thanks be to God. ^^
My grandma used to give the same advice. She never suffered gossip in her presence or house. I really wish I were more like her. That's an excellent examination of conscience. I honestly hadn't given thought to my blogging as spreading or giving ear to gossip. OUCH! Everything is looking up this morning after reading about Alexander VI.
ReplyDeleteI love cloudy, rainy fall days too. I think Autumn is so perfect for reflection in general but especially so on cloudy, rainy days. I imagine the tree lined streets in south Minneapolis are beginning to brighten with color.
Two comments I read from readers of this post (http://thesensiblebond.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-phoney-war-in-church-five.html) stand out to me:
ReplyDelete"And yes, all orthodox Catholics are dismayed, whether they admit it or not."
"if I thought it was just me, I would shut up. But it's not. I lot of people are hurt and confused by Pope Francis. He has demoralized souls."
We really need more men who can think like this in the Church:
ReplyDeletehttp://thesensiblebond.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/austen-ivereigh-and-his-defence-of.html
I learned today that I will have to stop reading and commenting on certain blog sites that make their dislike of the Holy Father well known. It makes me sad but I will continue to trust the Lord. In defending the Holy Father, I was accused of being a heretic. I was taken aback and decided it was time to just give it a rest and return to the real world and pray, pray, pray.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I have a better understanding now of what it gossip is, I am sorry I participated and I pray to do so no more.
Like Papa Francis has said, the temptation is always there but after what has and continues to be written, it is seriously inflammatory and divisive.
Lord Jesus, protect your Vicar from slander, ridicule, and gossip.
Give him strength in mind, soul and body.
May he continue to follow you to the ends of the earth proclaiming to all the Good News.
May he do so with joy, courage, and conviction.
To the open heart and mind, may the seeds of truth be planted.
To the closed heart and mind, grant them the light of truth.
Amen
Don't read this if you don't want your head to explode...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thinkinghousewife.com/wp/2013/09/jorge-bergoglio-and-the-vacant-throne/
I knew a sedevacantist once and I believe she is a better christian than I am. For several years I would talk to her during 40 Days for Life where she would arrive in her beat-up van with a severely disabled young man. The young man had a muscular disorder where his muscles would repeatedly clench, and so he always had six-pack abs and sometimes an erection. He was always happy as adults often are who have the mind of a young child. She "adopted" the young man because his family gave up on him, and so she took up the cross. She had a will of iron and a paranoia streak (she would have made a great renaissance queen), but you could tell she had a very soft heart.
DeleteWe are all a mess, and I can't wait to see what God does with all of us after this life.