Quo Vadis? To hell in a handcart 2
Sunday 7th June 2020 – 4pm
I wonder if the Church has any idea of how the people of the land are feeling at the moment? It should. Ministering to them in their homes they should be able to say exactly. Their finger should be on the pulse. But they can't because that hasn't happened.
The missionary tradition of the Church is nearly dead in our western cities. Those of us of a certain age were brought up to venerate the Holy Martyrs, who were sent to this ungoldly protestant country to say Mass covertly for the remaining Catholics and administer the sacraments. If they were caught, as they usually were, they were killed publicly. A legal, govenmental killing involving being hanged, drawn and quartered. The tradition of veneration of martyrdom has, of course, disappeared. And there are aspects of it which we are all glad to see abandoned. Martyrdom was never something to encourage. And, of course, the historic picture of 'glorious' martyrdom is badly scarred by worse savagery by Catholic monarchs upon Protestants. That era was never something to celebrate.
But the Church did, and the result of that is a sense of expectation of great personal courage and bravery in priests which was expressly inculcated in the young, and seen as a desirable force. So the Church cannot now be surprised at a sense of disappointment. If you sow the seeds of high expectation, you cannot then complain when those high expectations are disappointed and you reap a backlash.
I fear the results of Covid-19 for the Church will be a larger than 2 metre gap between members of the congregation, as there will be a further reduction in those regularly attending Holy Mass. Plenty of space available.
The lack of leadership (or the poverty of it) the lack of example, the lack of inspiration and enlightenment in the darkest hour the country and the world has faced since the Second World War will do no good whatsoever for those who wish to see the Church prosper.
Numbers of adherents to the faith will wither. Numbers of Mass-goers will reduce still further. Churches will close. Sacraments will be abandoned. It's a grim outlook.
But at least we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
I wonder if the Church has any idea of how the people of the land are feeling at the moment? It should. Ministering to them in their homes they should be able to say exactly. Their finger should be on the pulse. But they can't because that hasn't happened.
The missionary tradition of the Church is nearly dead in our western cities. Those of us of a certain age were brought up to venerate the Holy Martyrs, who were sent to this ungoldly protestant country to say Mass covertly for the remaining Catholics and administer the sacraments. If they were caught, as they usually were, they were killed publicly. A legal, govenmental killing involving being hanged, drawn and quartered. The tradition of veneration of martyrdom has, of course, disappeared. And there are aspects of it which we are all glad to see abandoned. Martyrdom was never something to encourage. And, of course, the historic picture of 'glorious' martyrdom is badly scarred by worse savagery by Catholic monarchs upon Protestants. That era was never something to celebrate.
But the Church did, and the result of that is a sense of expectation of great personal courage and bravery in priests which was expressly inculcated in the young, and seen as a desirable force. So the Church cannot now be surprised at a sense of disappointment. If you sow the seeds of high expectation, you cannot then complain when those high expectations are disappointed and you reap a backlash.
I fear the results of Covid-19 for the Church will be a larger than 2 metre gap between members of the congregation, as there will be a further reduction in those regularly attending Holy Mass. Plenty of space available.
The lack of leadership (or the poverty of it) the lack of example, the lack of inspiration and enlightenment in the darkest hour the country and the world has faced since the Second World War will do no good whatsoever for those who wish to see the Church prosper.
Numbers of adherents to the faith will wither. Numbers of Mass-goers will reduce still further. Churches will close. Sacraments will be abandoned. It's a grim outlook.
But at least we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
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