I must say I agree with you Whatever . As a young woman, I, with my family had a ten year long horrific experience with priest and the bishop of our diocese. It was worse than criminal, it was demonic. Too long a story to go into. This experience along with the ensuing national scandal with abuse from priest and the knowledge of even more than most, my membership in the church was certainly in question. What kept me in the church in spite of the sins of the “ fathers” were not clerics, it was guidance and prayers from our good and holy laypeople. Are they perfect, no…none of us are. There is so much nit picking of generally good people by people who themselves are not so perfect. None of us are faultless or without error. I think you nailed it with this comment:” I know that he's wrong but the charitable thing to do is point out how he is wrong and pray for him and his family. I notice that individual lay people are far quicker than the Church to denounce fellow Catholics as schismatics. Even Henry Viii wasn't formally excommunicated. Yes, we do need to check our pride. All of us. Not just Taylor Marshall.[/QUOTE]” This pretty much sums up my sentiments on this. Edit to add… my comment was not directed at anyone here specifically… just a general observation based on my own personal experience. Blessings to all.
Coming back just to reply to you. I value your posts very highly and have always marveled at how intelligent you are. On top of that, you have a way of pointing out to me things I need to hear, which is invaluable to me. My thoughts truly aren't needed on this forum. I've lived through far less than y'all and have less wisdom and experience. Not to mention I tend to talk about everyone else how I think and feel about myself, which is a huge flaw of mine. If I have failed in praying and sacrificing enough, it doesn't mean everyone else has too. If I need to be criticized in order to keep my pride in check, it doesn't mean others need that. I hope you have a very blessed Triduum.
PF I value your insight and call to Holiness, it is very inspiring. God bless you and your lovely family.
PurpleFlower, You may be younger than many of us but you appear to have as much wisdom and experience as most of us here. Imho, you are truly a blessing to everyone on the forum. In addition, I believe that we all love hearing about you and your family and your desire to keep God at the center of your lives. I truly hope that you will continue to post on MOG and share your valuable insights. Happy Easter to you and your family.+
Ralph Martin told how he started to cry when he recalled his own sins. Very, very touching! What a saint!! ..and how Charitable he is when speaking of others. Never a word out of place. He reminds me of Cardinal Burke in this. Beautiful charity when speaking of Bishop Barron. What an example.
I'm not certain if this one has been posted yet, I think that it is a portion of the video which started this thread. Pope Francis: Is He Really an Antipope? w/ Ralph Martin 4/14/2022
. ” Yes, Beth, we need more Catholic presence on the internet. For every Fr. James Martin, we probably have hundreds of Frs. Kirby or Heilman, but they aren't on the internet, most likely because priests are too busy with parish work. That's where lay Catholics can fill a need. Taylor Marshall didn't get his large following because he fell foul of Bishop Barren and has called the Pope a heretic. He gained followers because he was one of a small group of Catholics talking about the faith on Youtube. It's a pity that he and Timothy Gordon had a falling out. That comment you quoted didn't originate with me. I read or heard it somewhere and it struck a chord because I have had some occasions where mea culpas are in order. Purple Flower is right about sin and insufficient prayer being the root cause of problems in the Church. Carol is spot on about PF having wisdom. Purple Flower also has the most charitable approach to the Taylor Marshall issue. I just don't believe that God actively wills people to act uncharitably. We don't know the mind of God to assign reasons for His permitting evil to occur in any particular situation. Sometimes it may be an opportunity for the victim to grow in humility and holiness. Other times it may be a test for witnesses to speak out against it and help the victim. If we were to remain silent every time we see harm done to someone else because we believe that God wills it for their holiness, evil would always go unchallenged. What got my hackles up was the man smugly imparting insider information about Taylor Marshall's employability. I think he spoke about employability in academia and not the Church as I related earlier in the thread. Taylor Marshall being wrong didn't give those men the right to be bitchy. I thought that Ralph Martin's argument against Patrick Coffin was weaker. I still believe Patrick Coffin to be wrong and that both he and Taylor Marshall have exceeded their authority, but I also don't believe that Pope John Paul knew less than Ralph Martin about what Cardinals do before a Conclave. Perhaps the reason the Pope changed the rules was that he knew a lot more than Ralph Martin about what Cardinals were doing. Ralph Martin's opinion that the rule was untenable because of what so many Cardinals do doesn't nullify the rule.
