• Home
  • About
  • BIO
  • Conferences
  • Contact
  • Follow Gerard on FB & Twitter
  • Speaking

Coming Home

Dr. Gerard M. Nadal: Science in Service of the Pro-Life Movement

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« On Brother Paul O’Donnell’s Death and ‘Being There’
Adding ALL of the Evidence Against Planned Parenthood: The Real War on Women and Children »

On Holy Thursday, A Church at Low Ebb

April 2, 2015 by Gerard M. Nadal

412px-Rood_in_Church_of_St._Vincent_Ferrer_(NYC) Dinner started off well enough, that is, until Jesus announced that one of the Apostles was about to betray Him. It set off a flurry of questions. “Could it be me Lord?” And we all know who left dinner early, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and who hanged himself in despair. It didn’t get any better when Jesus told Peter that before the night was through, he would Deny Him three times. It went from bad to worse when the Apostles, overcome with grief, fell asleep on Jesus repeatedly, and that, it turns out, was only the beginning.

There is much in tonight’s narrative that bears on the state of the Church in America today, much worth pondering. That Judas sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, and used one of the most intimate expressions of love and affection as the signal for identifying him in the dimness of night is chilling. Credit Peter for brandishing a sword and slicing off the ear of one in Judas’ entourage. It was the Apostolic high water mark for the night. It would all unravel for the Apostles from that point on.Having been rebuked on the use of force, Peter would go on to deny Jesus three times, and all but John would head for the tall grass.

Only John followed his Master to the foot of the cross.

Meditating on these past events this week, and watching the drama of religious liberties play out on the national stage this week, it has become evident that Church today resembles the Church at 5 AM on Good Friday. It is a church at low ebb, with the successors of the Apostles as mute and bewildered as the men they succeed were when the gates of Hell were unleashed on the world, when all of the goodness that had gone on for the past  three years seemed to be swallowed up in a demonic cataclysm.

With religious freedom under threat from Big Gay, the Governors of Indiana and Arkansas sought to pass state laws that guarantee the same religious liberties as the federal law sponsored by Teddy Kennedy and Chuck Schumer, and signed into law by Bill Clinton. The demons in and through the media howled with rage and threatened boycotts of these states, which led the champions of religious freedom to…

wait for it…

…declare principled religious and moral objections to being forced into participating in gay/lesbian weddings a form of discrimination.

Allow that to sink in for a moment. The staunchest defenders of religious liberty not only went into retreat, but did Big Gay’s bidding for them by calling for laws that declare Judaeo-Christian moral norms a form of unjust discrimination.

Peter slicing off the ears of his fellow Apostles.

And the silence from our bishops has been deafening, especially when contrasted with a Cardinal leading a St. Patrick’s Day parade with a gay contingent who were out and proud, leading them smiling and waving right past the front doors of his Cathedral. It is the same silence that did not see the bishops unify against gay marriage in the several states, or speak out against the Boy Scouts of America leadership ignore the 67% of leaders polled nationally who opposed permitting openly gay scouts, and on, and on.

We see one brave bishop in San Francisco holding the line on Catholic teacher contracts and behavior. Archbishop Cordileone as John at the foot of the cross.

Meanwhile, the plight of so many Catholic business owners is that of Peter at the fire on Holy Thursday night, being sniffed out as “One of his followers,” taunted into denying Him. Credit those businesses who have not denied him and been handed their own crosses as a consequence.

Weep for the bishops who have locked themselves away in fear of the crowd, who have abandoned their sheep at the darkest hour.

Perhaps it’s time for the faithful to rally to these business owners’ sides, to counter boycotts with support, to become the new Pauline community, of whom it was said, “See those Christians, how they love one another.”

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

4 Responses

  1. on April 3, 2015 at 11:01 AM Steve

    As was said on board ship when encountering a bad storm and large waves, “Stand by for heavy rolls!”


  2. on April 3, 2015 at 11:38 PM Lisa Twaronite (@Lisa_Twaronite)

    I weep for what’s happening in San Francisco. If we moved back to my old parish now, the current pastor would not welcome families such as mine.


  3. on April 4, 2015 at 3:48 PM Gerard M. Nadal

    That’s simply untrue, Lisa. No family is ever turned away from the sacramental life of the church. Perhaps your family arrangement falls outside of the sacramental nature of marriage, and that can be remedied with a desire to live by God’s wise design. Rejection occurs from the other direction, when people reject the teaching authority of the Church over their lives, insist on lifestyles on THEIR terms, and then claim rejection when the Church refuses to be unfaithful to God


  4. on April 4, 2015 at 6:29 PM Lisa Twaronite (@Lisa_Twaronite)

    (…continued)
    I would argue that there is value in accepting kids regardless of their families circumstances — even non-Catholic kids — because the bottom line is, their parents’ sins are not the kids’ fault. Ten years later, one of my kids is an ardent atheist, one has some fond memories of his time at parochial school but is not a practicing Catholic — and one who wanted to be confirmed after we came back to Tokyo. She just left for college in another city is now looking for a local church where she can attend mass on Easter. So, one out of three — and if St. Finn Barr had turned us away, it would probably be zero.

    I’m nostalgic for the St. Finn Barr of 10 years ago, where the conservative Knights of Columbus families embraced the families with same-sex parents — not their “lifestyle,” but the human beings themselves. I saw some really wonderful examples of Christianity in practice. I’m not a religious person myself, but I have never felt closer to God than when I was in that community.

    What’s the purpose of a Catholic school, a parish community? Is it a haven for saints, or a hospital for sinners? I know the answer is, BOTH. The Church is what it is, and people are what they are. I would argue that it’s better to be more inclusive, and less exclusive — but of course I would say that.

    Happy Easter to you and your family, Dr. Nadal.



Comments are closed.

  • Archives

    • July 2021 (1)
    • January 2021 (7)
    • November 2020 (1)
    • May 2020 (2)
    • September 2019 (1)
    • May 2019 (2)
    • April 2019 (1)
    • February 2019 (1)
    • April 2018 (2)
    • January 2017 (1)
    • December 2016 (1)
    • November 2016 (1)
    • October 2016 (10)
    • July 2016 (2)
    • June 2016 (1)
    • May 2016 (1)
    • April 2016 (1)
    • March 2016 (1)
    • February 2016 (3)
    • December 2015 (1)
    • November 2015 (2)
    • October 2015 (1)
    • September 2015 (1)
    • August 2015 (3)
    • April 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (1)
    • December 2014 (3)
    • November 2014 (1)
    • October 2014 (4)
    • September 2014 (15)
    • August 2014 (6)
    • June 2014 (5)
    • May 2014 (1)
    • April 2014 (2)
    • March 2014 (2)
    • February 2014 (1)
    • January 2014 (3)
    • December 2013 (17)
    • November 2013 (9)
    • October 2013 (12)
    • September 2013 (4)
    • July 2013 (2)
    • June 2013 (5)
    • May 2013 (2)
    • April 2013 (3)
    • March 2013 (6)
    • February 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (1)
    • December 2012 (18)
    • November 2012 (6)
    • October 2012 (13)
    • September 2012 (1)
    • July 2012 (10)
    • June 2012 (13)
    • May 2012 (8)
    • April 2012 (1)
    • March 2012 (11)
    • February 2012 (21)
    • January 2012 (5)
    • December 2011 (18)
    • November 2011 (3)
    • October 2011 (23)
    • September 2011 (24)
    • August 2011 (22)
    • July 2011 (22)
    • June 2011 (29)
    • May 2011 (8)
    • April 2011 (11)
    • March 2011 (18)
    • February 2011 (42)
    • January 2011 (26)
    • December 2010 (30)
    • November 2010 (34)
    • October 2010 (33)
    • September 2010 (16)
    • August 2010 (15)
    • July 2010 (7)
    • June 2010 (21)
    • May 2010 (33)
    • April 2010 (14)
    • March 2010 (41)
    • February 2010 (36)
    • January 2010 (59)
    • December 2009 (59)
  • Categories

    • Abortion (258)
    • Advent (26)
    • Biomedical Ethics (82)
    • Birth Control (51)
    • Bishops (87)
    • Black History Month (10)
    • Breast Cancer (65)
    • Christmas (26)
    • Cloning (4)
    • Condoms (16)
    • COVID-19 (1)
    • Darwin (2)
    • Development (6)
    • Dignity (119)
    • Divine Mercy Novenas (10)
    • DNA (3)
    • Embryo Adoption (2)
    • Embryonic Stem Cell Research (6)
    • Eugenics (29)
    • Euthanasia (8)
    • Family (44)
    • Fathers of the Church (11)
    • Fortnight for Freedom (1)
    • Golden Coconut Award (3)
    • Health Care (14)
    • HIV/AIDS (5)
    • Infant Mortality (2)
    • IVF (4)
    • Joseph (6)
    • Lent (17)
    • Margaret Sanger (19)
    • Marriage (6)
    • Maternal Mortality (2)
    • Motherhood (12)
    • Neonates (1)
    • Personhood (20)
    • Physician Assisted Suicide (4)
    • Planned Parenthood (64)
    • Priests (50)
    • Pro-Life Academy (23)
    • Quotes (10)
    • Radio Interviews (3)
    • Right to Life (34)
    • Roots (1)
    • Sex Education (25)
    • Sexually Transmitted Disease (12)
    • Stem Cell Therapy (7)
    • Transgender (1)
    • Uncategorized (206)
  • Pages

    • About
    • BIO
    • Conferences
    • Contact
    • Follow Gerard on FB & Twitter
    • Speaking

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Coming Home
    • Join 866 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Coming Home
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: