Thursday, June 7, 2018

Moving Forward

This is my response to Jokers Wild whose comment can be found here.  Jokers Wild's comments are in red while mine are in black. The blue are quotes. 


Dear Anonymous June 6, 2018 10:42am

It is our desire to be of service to Archbishop Michael and if there is any sign of disgust/disobedience/resentment we ask that you consider placing yourself in our experiences this past year with Archbishop Michael.

Last March, the RMS celebrated its Patron Feast of St. Patrick. Archbishop Michael DID NOT attend the Feast of HIS seminary.

Yes, it is sad that Archbishop Brynes was unable to attend the fiesta of the RMS seminary.  He attended the fiestas of all the parishes, but not the seminary.  He did not even send a delegate on his behalf.  Nevertheless, we all had a great time celebrating at the seminary.  We can only pray for Archbishop Byrnes. We move forward.
  
From time to time, the NCW has retreats that encourage/include the participation of the local ordinary, the Archbishop. So that he can witness/support the members as they progress along the way. HE DID NOT attend any of them.

Father Pius once said that communities who lack a priest has Jesus Christ present there in our celebrations.  The same is more true when the Archbishop fails to show.  Christ is there taking his place, and there is no better person than Christ.  We can only pray for Archbishop Byrnes. We move forward.

There have been numerous pilgrimages organized within the NCW where as many as 200-300 members take on a prayerful journey, to either visit the Holy Land, attend World Youth Day, attend World Meeting of Families. HE DID NOT bestow his paternal blessing at any of these. 

While it is true that Archbishop Byrnes did not give us his paternal blessing, we received a greater paternal blessing from the Holy Father, Pope Francis.  We can only pray for Archbishop Byrnes.  We move forward. 

Upon his arrival to Guam and even before meeting with the NCW. He supported and placed a moratorium on basically the most important charism of the NCW, its Catechesis. HE DID NOT even come to us to hear,see or listen to our experiences.

Despite the moratorium, we continue to move forward for the sake of our children.  We continue to walk the tripod: Word, Liturgy, and community.  We continue the monthly youth scrutacio, the pilgrimages, and so on.  We continue our walk for the sake of our children.  And even with a moratorium in place, look at what the NCW has accomplished.  We shook the dust off our feet and went elsewhere.  As a result, the first community of Palau and a new community in Saipan were born.  For the very first time, this new community in Palau stood with us in the Rome Pilgrimage.  The NCW brought 300 brothers to the pilgrimage. We can only pray for Archbishop Byrnes and hope that the Holy Spirit gives him a little candle to light his way into recognizing that the NCW is also part of his flock.  We move forward. 

Archbishop Michael Closed down the RMS. HE DID not see it as sustainable for this Archdioceses new direction.   

He did not set the Archdiocese in a new direction.  He actually set it backwards.  Before RMS existed in Guam, the Archdiocese of Agana went begging for priests mainly from the Philippines.  Without a seminary, Guam will be asking for more priests from the Philippines.  Our youth in the NCW who are inspired into the priesthood will not be priests for Guam since Archbishop Byrnes have already declared that he does not like those TYPE of priests.  According to Pacific News Center (the bold is mine): 
“The model of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary envisions a type of priesthood and the producing of priests that, frankly–that model, while it works in a place like Denver where there’s over a million catholics, or a place like Miami where there’s a couple million catholics that have this type of seminary–it’s very sustainable. But on a small island like ours,” explained Byrnes. “The main reason for closing the seminary is that it’s just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agana.”
We can only pray for Archbishop Byrnes and hope that the Holy Spirit gives him a little candle so that the little ray of light from that candle will allow him to see that all Catholic priests (Capuchins, Jesuits, Diocesans, Franciscans, etc.) are all called by God to serve Him and His entire Church, and should not be discriminated against.  We move forward.

Archbishop Michael did not accept the young men who were awaiting ordination to the Diaconate and eventually the priesthood. HE DID NOT accept their formation and ultimately their missionary zeal.

You tell me how'd you feel if you were a member of the NCW and had to experience this from your Archbishop. Not once has our catechists criticized the Archbishop for these things, instead they have told us to continually pray for him. 
Are these enough reasons for us to judge him? No. In fact we should never judge the anointed. What we are stating are the facts and we ask you to excuse us if from time to time we let our emotions dictate our choice of words.   

Our focus should always be on Christ, not on the Archbishop or any priest.  When we put Christ first in our lives and in the center of our activities, it would not matter whether Archbishop Byrnes persecutes us. The love of God is what we have.  Keep His love in your heart at all times, and it would not matter what persecution we face. Remember what Christ said, "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20).  Christians are not persecutors.  They are the persecuted.  

I dont know how our catechists, the mission families, Neo priests continue to do this despite all that is working against them but it is reason for us to continue and an example for us to strive to learn.

Honestly, I dont know how many times these past few years I have thought about just leaving my NCW community to satisfy those who want the NCW gone. Ive had and have the opportunity to do so at any time but the one thing that prevents me is the reality that the NCW has opened me up to a stronger relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit continues to work in many ways through the NCW and it has been the NCW that has taught me about our Catholic Church and all its fullness.

Pas!
-Jokers Wild 

We continue to walk in the Way.  We continue to walk the tripod.  For the sake of our children, we move forward and continue to walk in the Way.  The things between us and them are irrelevant because in the end, what is between us and God is what matters. We continue to move forward. 

                                             ANYWAY
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.

12 comments:

  1. The persecution has brought some blessings to us. It brought us to the front stage where we were able to see Pope Francis in the pilgrimage. A new community was born in Palau. And the persecution has strengthened the brothers here. We heard the testimonies from the pilgrims in Rome, and they have only strengthen us to go forward. If AB Byrnes hates the Way, why should that bother us?

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    Replies
    1. Dear Jane Doe,

      Exactly. If Archbishop Byrnes hates the Way, that is not our problem. That is HIS problem. Tim Rohr hated the Way, and what has that got him? His wife divorced him and his kids turned against him. Despite the hate and the persecution, we continue to move forward. We continue to walk.

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    2. Archbishop Byrnes is like Bp. Soc Villegas who does not see the validity of the way in their particular context, Pangasinan and Guam. Why pursue? Move forward.

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    3. Diane,
      Tim Rohr didn't get divorced, nor his kids turned against him because he hates the Way... But because Tim is 'allegedly' a porn addict, pedophile and child/wife abuser that happens to hate the Way... IMO he hates the Way because he is a sociopath or a plain psychopath.

      Tim Rohr has a poor inner sense of right and wrong. He can’t seem to understand or share another person’s feelings. He evidently has a disordered conscience at best, if any at all. After his trial we will find out if he is a psychopath, who definitely doesn’t have a conscience.
      We have seen how, if he can steal your money, he won’t feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to. He may observe others and then act the way they do so he’s not “caught”. Yet as far a sociopath is concerned, we can definitely say that Tim is a sociopath, who typically has a conscience, but it’s weak. He may know that taking your money is wrong, and he might feel some guilt or remorse, but that won’t stop his behavior.

      However, whether sociopath or psychopath, both lack empathy, the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. But a psychopath has less regard for others. Someone with this personality type sees others as objects he can use for his own benefit. Psychopaths are not always violent... but the testimony of his wife and kids speaks otherwise.

      In movies and TV shows, psychopaths and sociopaths are usually the villains who kill or torture innocent people. In real life, some people with antisocial personality disorder can be violent, but most are not. Instead they use manipulation and reckless behavior to get what they want. Tim Rohr is definitely in this camp. At worst, they’re cold, calculating, skilled at climbing their way up the corporate ladder, even if they have to hurt someone to get there. They can be intelligent, charming, and good at mimicking emotions. They may pretend to be interested in you, but in reality, they don’t care. Tim has proved to be a skilled actor whose sole mission is to manipulate people for personal gain. Sociopaths are less able to play along. They make it plain that they’re not interested in anyone but themselves. They often blame others and have excuses for their behavior.

      Sociopaths are “hot-headed,” they act without thinking how others will be affected. Psychopaths are more cold-hearted and calculating. They carefully plot their moves, and use aggression in a planned-out way to get what they want. If they’re after more money or status in life, for example, they’ll make a plan to take out any barriers that stand in the way, even if it’s another person’s job or reputation (Apuron). Tim Rohr definitely don’t fear the consequences of their actions.

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  2. There is a young local boy in my community who wants to become a priest. He’s still very young (only 15 years old). Young people his age aspire to become doctors and lawyers. When I ask teenagers in my class what they want to be, I never hear the word priest. If this young man still hears God’s calling and still desires the priesthood, we will send him to Byrne even though we know he will be rejected by Byrnes. Once he’s rejected, our community can send him to an RMS Seminary in the US. The NCW has many bishops who support us so any of those bishops will be happy to take him into their diocese. Byrnes’ prejudice attitude toward certain type of priests will not stop God’s calling and the priestly vocation of any of our youth.

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    Replies
    1. The boy who wants to be a priest and can wait. There is no need to rush. Let him finish HS then college and then work for a few years and then maybe, if he still feels the call to be itenerant first and then seminary.

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  3. To anonymous 9/50am.... speak with your catechists regards this budding vocation. They will help you.

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  4. “The model of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary envisions a type of priesthood and the producing of priests that, frankly–that model, while it works in a place like Denver where there’s over a million catholics, or a place like Miami where there’s a couple million catholics that have this type of seminary–it’s very sustainable. But on a small island like ours,” explained Byrnes. “The main reason for closing the seminary is that it’s just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agana.”

    What does the type of priesthood and priest formation have to do with population?

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  5. It is called Diversity. Denver and Miami and Newark are larger in size and population.

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    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 2:32 am,

      No. It is called prejudice. The forming of a priest has nothing to do with the population of a state or country. There is no correlation.

      Delete
  6. Boom!

    https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=182541

    ;)

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    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 4:01 am,

      Thank you for this information.

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