+ As mentioned by Padraig earlier, the Saints and great mystics of the Catholic Church, the Doctors of Theology and Philosophy, gain a unique insight through the lens of their spirituality and education. That said, any Catholic that is mature in their faith and in a state of grace can, with the help of the Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirit, ask for the Truth to be born into their hearts on matters that at first blush seem difficult or even repulsive to contemplate. The secret of the great mystics and doctors is that they have retained their childlike faith and trust in God and realize just how dependent on God that we all are. If we were to contemplate the above quote attributed to St. Catherine (about calmly placing our head on satan's bosom if he were a Pontiff), the repulsive outrage that comes natural to us is a safely measure that is good so that we can test the saying in the crucible of Scripture, Magisterium, Natural Law, and Thomistic reasoning. If we are true to these methods, and keep our vow of childlike faith in what our Christ has promised us, we can penetrate the great mystery of what St. Catherine was helping to reveal to the people of God. Jesus, I trust in You Jesus, I trust in You Jesus, I trust in You Jesus promised us that Peter was the Rock upon which His Church would be built and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. He said this and we (His Mystical Body) believe and are part of these words. If an Anti-Christ, even if he were to be satan-incarnate, were to become a valid pontiff, what would this mean? For us? And for him? There is an old saying about justice that what goes around comes around. God the Father is total truth and justice. God is Truth and Justice is His will. When Truth walked this earth (Jesus Christ incarnate), satan's plan was to swallow Him up in death and destroy the Truth. Jesus allowed Himself to be swallowed up and surrounded by death so that He could (as the divine Son of God) break the chains of death and bring all of His brothers and sisters (because He was human too) back into union with His Father and in the Love of His Spirit. The satan's plan was defeated, no, obliterated. So, he had to come up with a new plan. If he could not swallow up Christ, then he (satan) would destroy the new creation that Christ had made possible (Christ's Church and Bride). Some day, at the proper time, after all had been prepared by his minions, he (satan) would assume the title of Supreme Pontiff. This brings us to the point of the speculation of St. Catherine. It does not mean that the satan is now here and incarnate, it just serves as a mental exercise to help pierce the realities of the unthinkable. If anyone does not feel that they are comfortable going into this area in their minds, then do not read below the dotted line and do not feel bad that you are bowing out. Peace be to you. For those who continue this journey, let us say an Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's, and one Glory Be... before we continue...(silent prayer). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before we even think about putting our heads safely on the bosom of satan, we have to first understand that St. Catherine (who had already said that it could be safely done if the satan was a Pontiff) knew, and had faith in Christ's promises about Peter as Rock and the gates of hell not being able to destroy what is actually the Body of Christ itself (the Church). We (as members of the Church) not only believe this as a matter of faith but Christ has shown us (through the Paschal Mystery) that the satan's attempt to previously destroy His Body had resulted in a total failure for satan and the destruction of death itself by Christ's resurrection. Let's unpack what destruction of death itself really means (as far as we can understand it). We know that when Christ rose from the dead and broke the bonds of death (the bonds of satan on the souls in his domain of seperation from God) for all those souls who freely choose to join Christ in His Mystical Body. This is the only death that we, as humans, mostly think about. But there will be a final death at the end of the world for even satan and his followers. Death itself will be ultimately, not just a possibility for us, but for the one who caused the original seperation from God. The period of time that the satan was given to act on God's creation, was actually a grace that will come to an end. What will come of him after that, we are given clues in the Book of Revelation, but it can be no more understood than what it will be like for those who are in Christ and within the Divine Trinity with the Blessed Virgin Mary and all of the Saints and Martyrs. What leads to the final death of the satan? If the satan were to accomplish becoming the Supreme Pontiff, this would (on its face) seem to be a great victory for him, but would it? In the beginning of this exercise, we asked what would this be like for us, and what would it be like for him (satan)? Let's look at what it might be like for him first (this is all speculation and is not meant to reflect our current period in time). So, he (satan) has finally done it. His great achievement to destroy the Church of his enemy can now begin! Then something unexpected happens. He notices it as soon as he takes on the mantle of Peter. This mantle coming over him burns even more than the normal fire he is exposed to. It is also different from the temporary burning that he feels during the consecration of the Host when he presides at Mass. He hates it that even He has to become Christ to bring the Body of Christ to the faithful, and that hurts, but this Mantle of Peter is different. It is not a temporary inconvenience, it is all encompassing. Every direction that he looks, he finds this mantle and what is issuing forth from it. He vaguely remembers what he sees from a time long, long, long, ago. It is a light that he was once the bearer of. It is not the false light that he could still imitate, but the true light of God Himself. What does this mean? This burning against his person? This light coming from his mantle? He (satan) needs to find out if he still has his free will. He indeed does have it but he discovers that it cannot penetrate the Mantle of Peter when he tries to influence the Doctrine's of Christ's Church. The Mantle over him reminds him of something, what was it? It was, it was the Love of God between the Father and the Son! The Mantle over him was the Holy Spirit. A dreadful realization began to sink in to that immensely evil mind. Just as satan had tried to swallow up Jesus, and failed; now Jesus (though His Mystical Body) had swallowed up the satan of his own free will! He also began to see that there was no way out of this for him as long as he was incarnate. The only thing to do would be to cause as much damage as he could in matters that were not doctrinal in nature. But even then, the words that came from his mouth did not always have the desired effect of evil. And then there was this increasing burn against him. He felt the prayers of all good men and women, of all the saints, martyrs and angels in Heaven, even of all the souls in purgatory. He felt them all praying for the Supreme Pontiff and it burned against him! Even the faithful to Christ could come to him and he could not harm them as Supreme Pontiff. The Mantle of Peter (and protection of the Holy Spirit) would not allow it (This is not to say that he could not do any harm in matters that were not doctrine). There were some discerning soul's who were given the grace to see through his mantle to who he actually was. Most of these had the faith in Christ and His promises that Peter would always be the Rock which satan would not prevail against. Some souls questioned how God could possibly allow this to happen? How could they follow a Church with a leader such as this? This type of thought actually pleased and brought some relief of the burning to the satan. If these souls who knew who he was, departed from the one true Church, each one that left was a victory for satan in his fight of seperation from almighty God. They become part of satan's domain. The small victories that he could inflict on Christ's Church pleased him (satan), but every victory came with a price. He was only allowed to go so far in the destruction of the Body that he was now trapped in. The dichotomy of this cannot be understated and it is in the death of Christ's Church that the satan's death is complete because Christ has told His Church that they will follow where He Himself has gone and they (the Church) will rise with Him to eternal glory. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/QUOTE] The satan tried to swallow up Christ, and he failed (when Christ destroyed the bonds of death at His resurrection). He then (fictionally as this thought experiment) freely chose to be swallowed up by Christ's Church (as Pontiff) but in the end will not be part of the final resurrection because the Mantle of Peter will spit him out when he is cast into eternal fire at the final judgement. St. Catherine was correct that we could safely put our head on the bosom of the Pontiff, even if he were the satan, because the mantle of Peter (which surrounds the Catholic faithful) would be the love of the Holy Spirit that the faithful would experience. They were not hugging satan, they were embracing Peter! If Christ would allow this fictional satan pontiff (as a Catholic Priest) to become Him as He is validly consecrating the Eucharist, then we as the Body of Christ become one with Him (Christ) in this mystery! Do we become one with satan? No! We remain always part of Christ even if this extreme case were to take place. The Mantle of the Holy Spirit protects the souls of His holy ones and the only way to be holy (only God is Holy) is to be in Christ. Damage could be inflicted by a (fictional) anti-christ pope, but not in matters of Church Doctrine because these are protected by Papal Infallibility. As long as the faithful keep unity with Peter (not the satan) and Christ's Church, there remains no fear of death no matter how bad the confusion outside (or apparently inside) of the true Church gets. Prayer, Fasting, Penance, Reading Sacred Scripture, Study of God's Creation in its true beauty, Good Works, and most of all continual reception of the Sacraments; will keep our relationship of love with our God strong. In all of this though, we have to be like children if we are to pierce the mysteries that we are allowed to comprehend. Damage inflicted to the satan by becoming Pontiff would be eternally disastrous for him. Being trapped inside the Uncreated one and being forced to become Him (at Mass) and uphold his bride's doctrines (by the Holy Spirit) would eventually lead to his final damnation at the very point when the Church appeared to be defeated. On this Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, I wish all of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ His true Peace. I ask that the Lord be with you. May almighty God Bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit + Your Brother in Christ, Ed +
Thank you, Ed. Very deep, but very sound. Christ has won His Victory, that's what we must not forget. And we must hold fast to His Church, headed by His vicar-on-Earth, surrounded as he is by the Paraclete-sanctified mantle of Peter and no matter what kind of person this pontiff happens to be.
I sincerely apologise for making you upset, DeGaulle. I did use the word “appears” in my post. You sound angry in your post and that saddens me. Please don’t jump to the conclusion that I am out to ‘attack’ anyone. My understanding of Gal 1:8 is that the emphasis is on anathematising anyone who preaches another gospel. So, in this case, PF and all of his ilk should be accursed. Of course it is understood that their new doctrines must be rejected. This is the context of Gal 1:8 :- 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed! 10 Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; 12 for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. +
I am travelling at the moment and am unable to read all the posts on this thread. But I will do it when I’m back home. +
I accept your apology and thank you. I'm still a little puzzled by your original comment, because we both seem to be saying the same thing, if in different ways. Would you agree with the following points: 1). One who preaches a false gospel is anathematised (noting that St Paul didn't say the anathematising is our job-he said 'let that one be accursed', leaving it to a Third Party). 2). The implication is that such false gospels must be rejected by us (the obvious inference being that this is our job)?
Thank you Ed, I have been drawn to meditate on what you have said. It is truly beautiful. You use the term "Mantle of Saint Peter" to show the gulf that exists between good and evil! A gulf that can not be crossed!; the mantle of St Peter can be seen as a metaphor for the intentions of the heart ! which God alone sees! This mantle of St Peter represents the supernatural grace given by God to His Bride the Holy Catholic Church; How wonderful! And the supernatural grace is therefore the unseen defence of all innocence, of love, of hope and of faith that the Holy Catholic faithful have at their disposal. This supernatural grace is also the reason that innocence, humility and purity of love conquer all! I realise that those who imagine they can hide within "the mantle of St Peter" so as to eventually destroy the Church (like possibly the antichrist); can not and do not understand the torment and agony they will receive while attempting this. In their pride evil doers especially of the last days must believe they have the power to destroy the church but they do not consider the blanketing power of innocence nor the devastating ravages of the eternal fires of Divine Love, which I believe will be executed by the humble faithful who will simply live Our Lord Jesus infallible truths. I believe the anti-christ will be defeated not by force but by his very act of defying God! satan will behold the very face of God's consuming Love!(which will be executed by Gods people). And this unbearable torment will be his final death as he throws himself into the eternal fires to rid himself of this anguish that he cannot bear . Thank you for the meditation. God Bless +
Catholic Mystics visionaries sometimes require a degree of filtering , an understanding of where they are coming from, their cultures, there historical context and so on. For instance St Margaret Mary Alocoque drink the pus from the boils sick patients as a penance. I wouldn't be in any great hurry to do this myself , or to encourage others to do the same but the bottom line with this is she must have loved Jesus very,very,very much indeed. The bottom line with St Catherine here is that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ and that's that. I wouldn't worry to much about the Bosom of Satan stuff, she was an Italian of the period and they used a lot of hyperbole. Still do in fact. It's no accident opera came from Italy. Even in Scripture context is good. For instance did you know when Jesus said, 'It is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than a camel through the eye of a needle He was talking about an entrance gate in to Jerusalem that was really , really small?
He also took a bit of the sting out of it when he said that 'with God all things are possible'. These little things give hope to this sinner, at least!
For the Catholic there is a supernatural apprehension. A thing not of this world. The first thing Protestant Heretics did was to dump the Papacy and all things Mystical. With Popes we must be very,very careful not to cross the Red Line. Even with Pope Francis. We can only go so far. We're kinda stuck with the guy. He's not a President or a CEO. He's the Pope; the Vicar of Christ. If God stuck us with him, he stuck us with him for reason. The Good God is not asking us to like him.. Only to put up with Him. Stuck being the operative word. It's grin and bear time. Mostly bear, very, very, very few grins, or even smiles.
