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Saturday, April 6, 2019

Salt And Light

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Many times, our catechists would give an analogy of what the salt means.  When we do not put salt in our soup, it tastes very bland.  When salt is added, the salt dissolved in the soup and it gives flavor to the soup.  It makes the soup very tasty. The dissolving of salt is described as death.  From the death of sin comes out new life.  As our catechists often explained, the old man must die and a new creation is born.  So, do not despair brothers.  God is the master of history, and He allows things to happen for a good reason.  We cannot see the whole picture, but time will reveal it.  We know that from Christ's death came the redemption and salvation of mankind.  

Today, we now know that the death of Guam's seminary brought life to other dioceses.  We now know that the seminarians who were rejected have been and are being ordained into the priesthood.  In fact, four more RMS seminarians from RMS Guam will be ordained this May, 2019.  So, the death of Guam's seminary brought new life in other diocese of the universal Church. 

Salt is food that is spicy.  It is not dull and boring.  It has the power to make bland food tasty and to preserve food from spoiling.  Salt was so valuable in antiquity that it was also used to pay soldiers their wages.  In fact, the Latin term for salt is the origin of our English word "salary."  Hence the expression, "He is worth his salt."

We are the salt of the earth.  This reminds me of what was said of another group of Christians who were called lukewarm rather than hot or cold.  Those who were lukewarm were spit out of God's mouth (Revelations 3:15-16).  So, I guess it can be said that lukewarm Christians make God sick to His stomach that He had to spit them out of His mouth.  

Of course, I am not saying that to be the salt of the earth one must be an excellent entertainer, a brilliant lecturer or a successful Christian.  It was never about personality, but rather about the heart.  It is about approaching your Christian life with passion rather than with a yawn.  After all, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down with fire, and people did not mope around.  They moved quickly.   

We cannot be the light of the world unless we are on fire.  The Christian life is not lived on autopilot or under cruise control.  That kind of existence is not living, but surviving.  It will not attract anyone to Christ and His Church.  How then can one move from being a lukewarm Catholic to a salty, fiery Catholic?  The old man dies, and a new creation is seen.  One can see this new creation in the faces of Christians, which expresses pure joy and peace.  They manifest the light of Christ in their shining countenance, preaching words of fire.  They pursue a life of prayer, evangelization, and service to the poor. They become the hands and feet of Christ doing His work rather than human works.  Continue to walk. Continue to shine the light of Christ within you so that all those who see His light can praise God our Father (Matthew 5:13-16).

29 comments:

  1. Jesus is the example we follow. Apuron was walking in the Way, and I can see that it has helped him tremendously. Lift your head high Archbishop Apuron and smile always. Something good will come out of all this. We already saw God's glory shining within you when you didn't bring any lawsuit against John Toves. His glory shines within you when you prayed for your accusers and forgave them.

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  2. Let's also pray for the victims. Let's never forget that all we discuss here is because of what happened to them.

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    1. I understand what you are trying to say. The difficulty about this situation is that for all we know, because of the lapse in time, lack of witnesses, this is really a matter of he said she said, my word against his.....The removal of the Statute of limitations allows for this injustice to happen. It is true that there will be the real cases, supported by substantial evidence, but how do we know?
      You are right, we do need to pray.

      Pas!
      -Jokers Wild

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    2. Victims You mean Money hungry Victims For their Lies To destroy a innocent man

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    3. Looks like Zoltan is unwilling to admit that Archbishop Apuron was framed and he is actually innocent in all the charges that were brought up against him by Tim Rohr.

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    4. Dear Anonymous at 3:31 pm,

      Zoltan is correct about one thing. Regardless of whether they are true victims or not, we should pray for them. They and God are the only ones who know the truth. If there are fake victims, they would indeed need our prayers because Hell exists.

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    5. Are we gonna pray for God's mercy on them when they haven't repented? Shouldn't they repent first?

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    6. Dear Jokers Wild, we know ther are victims because of the final verdict of Pope Francis. The Holy Father told the news reporters in August 2018: "It is a complicated case, on one hand, but not difficult because the evidence is clear."

      http://neocatechemunal.blogspot.com/2019/04/salt-and-light.html?showComment=1554616914943#c8696514957589076734

      We also read: "Sources close to the archbishop told CNA that Apuron was charged with more than five canonical delicts at first instance, and convicted of only two."

      https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/04/04/analysis-gregory-apuron-zero-tolerance-and-pontifical-secrets/

      It is no question that there are some victims. We have to pray for healing. Healing is in being able to forgive as St. John-Paul II forgave. It was a Christ-like forgiveness. Canon lawyers say a sin unrepented is a sin not forgiven. It is a grace that we are able to apologize. Our Lord is there for us to forgive our sins if we repent. Victims might forgive abuses if there is an apology. We have to pray for this chance.

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    7. Dear Anonymous at 6:00 pm, 

      Christ said to forgive and pray for those who hurt us. He did not say to forgive and pray for only those who apologized. 

      However, praying for them does not guarantee that the person will get into Heaven. When God told Abraham that He will destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham interceded for them. But in the end, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 

      Forgiveness has to do with our salvation. If we forgive (even if the person did not apologize), our Father in Heaven will also forgive us our sins.

      Father Broulliard repented and even asked forgiveness from those whom he hurt. And which one of his accusers reached out and said he forgave him? Sadly, not one of them. Rather, they sued for 5 million or 10 million dollars as though that would bring them closure. Will they get into Heaven? This is why we pray for them. I would not be surprised if Father Brouillard is in Heaven. 

      Father Gordon MacRae was falsely accused and to this day continued to claim his innocence, but He forgave his accusers who took money from the Church. Like Father Gordon, Archbishop Apuron continued to claim his innocence, but He also forgave and prayed for his accusers. 

      Our justice system is a good one, but it is not perfect. It never was perfect. Unfortunately, with liberalism our justice system has greatly deteriorated with the lifting of the Statutes of limitations and the rule of law of being presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law being ignored. Gone are the ethics of journalism.

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    8. Diana, I agree. A true Christian forgives without waiting for an apology. This is truly the way of Christ.

      The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly upon Archbishop Apuron when he prayed for his accusers, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

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    9. "A true Christian forgives without waiting for an apology."

      What is more, we lay down our lives for our enemy. This is how Christian we are to be!

      Archbishop Apuron laid down his life and his insignia for peace. He accepted the verdict of Pope Francis with obedience! He was obedient to the Holy Father even though the verdict reflected politics the pope had to follow because of the journalists and media jackals. Archbishop Apuron is a true role model of a Christian we all strive to be who gives up his own life for many.

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    10. Archbishop Apuron said the verdict was a death sentence. To be honest that doesn't sound like someone who willingly accepted the punishment but rather begrudingly out of obedience accepted it. There's a difference.

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    11. Dear Anonymous at 12:29 pm,

      Do you ever wonder why there were no jails among the Native Americans in North America? An exile from their tribe is considered a death sentence. Who wants to be exiled from their family?

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  3. What happens when our parishes are sold? Will anything good come out of it?

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 10:25 pm,

      I do not know. Only God knows. The only thing I see is that lawyers will be happy. The selling of all the Church's assets only benefits the lawyers, not the alleged victims.

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  4. Diana, can you comment on what Tim said? Is there any truth to what he said?

    OUR NOTE: It continues to be a bit maddening to see the clamor for Apuron to be laicized, as if that is the ultimate sentence for guys like Apuron. We need to be reminded that not laicizing Apuron keeps him under the control of the Pope and "saves" him for further discipline, including the equivalent of imprisonment such as being assigned to a cloister to finish out his life in prayer and penance. If Apuron was laicized, he would be a free man, and he has enough private wealth and connections (remember where he was found hiding in 2017?) to live out the rest of his life in security and comfort. Moreover, rarely if ever is laicized clergy banned from living in their home diocese. Apuron was. This is why AB says as the beginning of the Q&A that that is already "relatively severe."  

    http://www.junglewatch.info/2019/04/the-wolves.html?m=0

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 8:52 am,

      What Tim Rohr said is incorrect. McCarrick was laicized, but he was unable to do what he want. He did what he was told. According to news report (capitalization is mine):

      Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who stepped down from active ministry this summer after credible allegations of sexual abuse of seminarians and children, has moved to a home for priests in Kansas to live out a "life of prayer and penance," AS DIRECTED BY THE VATICAN when he resigned from the College of Cardinals in July.

      https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/former-cardinal-mccarrick-living-kansas-friary

      “As directed by the Vatican.....” does this sound like the Vatican have no control of a laicized bishop?

      Furthermore, Archbishop Apuron’s penalty was not “relatively severe” as Archbishop Byrnes claim it to be. The penalty was quite light, and some people are protesting and questioning the sentence.

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    2. I don't know what's worse What They accuse the Bishop Or what Tim get to his family To his daughters and son and wife

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    3. It looks like Tim is trying to deceive his readers again. He's trying to get people to believe that Apuron would be free to do what he wants if he were laicized. This time he's using Fr. Marcel Maciel, who was defrocked.

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    4. Dear Anonymous at 5:38 pm,

      On the contrary, Father Marcel Maciel was never defrocked. According to the New York Times:

      "The results remain secret. Father Maciel was never defrocked, but he was ordered by the Vatican in 2006 to live in seclusion."

      https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/europe/27legion.html

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  5. I truly pity Junglewatch nation.Getting a bunch of people together to attack an archbishop whether he was guilty or not is not just.My only view on Apuron at the moment is to pray for him.Intruducing a bill to lift the statute of limitations was not just either.Since when did Jesus teach that giving people money heals their pain.Even if a victim is telling the truth,money will never heal them.Since when did Jesus teach that you're so "holy" by commiting slander and detraction towards your neighbor,let alone someone of the clergy.Look what it did to Guam.The fact that there are people part of heretical churches on the island that showed more love for Apuron(Some of them didn't want to judge him) than the Trad Cats that went after him shows a huge problem.Guam doesn't need human "justice" what it really needs is Love.It does not need PEACOCKS,it needs Saints.If you hate your neighbor you are an enemy of Christ.Too many people confuse righteousness with a hidden self righteousness that they've been blinded from seeing because of their pride.We are a family.A family! Guam is suffering because of grave sin.But the most gravest sin at fault here,is pride.A sin in each and every one of us that we can only conquer with Christ! Let us pray for each other.For we are all sinners.God loves us although we sin,but its our choice to follow his will,our choice for whether we want to go to Heaven or Hell.Our choice to love our neighbor.If we love our neighbor we love God.Oh Jesus is so loving <3 Nothing is more sweet and beautiful~
    -A sinful little Fox

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    1. "The fact that there are people part of heretical churches on the island that showed more love for Apuron (Some of them didn't want to judge him) than the Trad Cats that went after him shows a huge problem. Guam doesn't need human "justice" what it really needs is Love."

      Dear Sinful Little Fox, wow, you are right, I couldn't agree more. Some churches are considered heretical, but they trust God more than human beings. God is pure Love and we need this Love every moment of our lives. Human justice is a farce! The only thing important is God's love. Alleluia, we are going to be saved!

      It is true that "no prophet is honored in his hometown". The jungle traditionals rejected our beloved Archbishop. Is it not them who are heretical rather than pure Love? When I look at this picture Diana posted on the top, I just keep thinking of Jesus as holding up the innocence of the falsely accused, raising the suffering of the innocent high to the attention of His Father. This is pure Love! He raises high, together with many, the innocence of Archbishop Apuron, as well. People are amazed as they are watching, deeply discerning the manisfestation of this much Love from Jesus Christ!

      It is not fair to accuse an innocent, Godly man with false charges.

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  6. Dear Anon @ April 9th 9:10 AM
    There is no salvation outside of the catholic church.However,most of these heretical churches have taken things from catholicism but have either removed or added stuff to what they do,if there is any salvation in them,it is legitamelty because of the catholic church in the first place,and only because of the catholic church.What I was implying was that if those people are showing more love than the jungle traditionals,it shows how grave the situation is for that group.If a catholic does not love his neighbor,he becomes pretty heretical.Martin Luther caused a lot of damage by saying you're saved by faith alone.But if a catholic only has faith,and not love and thinks that faith is what justifies him,he is just like Martin Luther.He caused a massive scandal.He could not love his neighbor.He took it upon HIS HUMAN JUSTICE when God is the only final judge.He spoke horribly of certain clergy,instead of praying for them and loving them,etc)
    Anyway,It's good to pray for that group! Since God still loves them immensely,even though they committed something grave.
    -Fox

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  7. Diana, in your opinion, do you think the verdict was a political one? Just asking.

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    1. Diana, you cannot be serious publishing all this stuff. Do you really believe, despite the firm stance of Pope Francis against abuses of minors by Catholic clergy, that an innocent archbishop was convicted and stripped off his rank and insignia?

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    2. Dear Anonymous at 12:28 pm,

      I see nothing wrong with these comments. A final verdict has already been rendered and people are entitled to their opinions on the verdict.

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    3. Dear Anonymous at 12:11 pm, 

      This is my opinion. Human justice is not perfect. I think the justice system we have in the U.S. is better than North Korea or China, but it is not a perfect system. There are times the innocent has been unjustly imprisoned and the guilty set free. Only God's justice is perfect. And every one will face the Last Judgment. 

      I must admit that the timing of the verdict and it's publication is suspect. At the time that the verdict was finalized, the McCarrick issue weighed heavily on everyone's mind especially with pressure from public opinion. 

      Another interesting thing was what Archbishop Apuron revealed. He stated that some people have come forward, saying that they were asked to accuse him and were offered money. In fact, La Stampa reported:

      "Initially there were six against the prelate (not only concerning cases of abuse) and rejected by the Apostolic Tribunal presided over by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke for lack of evidence. 

      The documentation also included testimonies from witnesses who claimed that some of the complainants had received large sums of money to accuse Apuron and that the whole accusation was the result of a "conspiracy"....

      And in fact the appeal was presented by Apuron's lawyers upon receipt of the communication (a few days before publication) presenting new evidence that, according to the lawyers, showed some contradictions and thus exonerated the archbishop from accusations. The documentation also included testimonies from witnesses who claimed that some of the complainants had received large sums of money to accuse Apuron and that the whole accusation was the result of a “conspiracy”.

      https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lastampa.it/2019/04/04/vaticaninsider/guam-the-vatican-condemns-the-bishop-for-abuse-apuron-some-groups-wanted-to-destroy-me-V8Ix2OjwVRE3R5m94HMsnM/amphtml/pagina.amp.html

      There were documents showing winesses' testimonies that some received large sums of money to accuse the Archbishop of child abuse. Why were these documents ignored? It appears that the Vatican simply gave what the jungle asked for, which is banishment from Guam.

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    4. This only goes to show that the tribunal also needs cleansing.

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  8. Also pray for Cardinal George Pell, he is right now for us an image of Christ who is not putting resistance to evil.

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