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Matthew —
I don't mean to be disrespectful,
but you need to wake up: It's only
a building.
- Why is it more important to you
than the Catholic Church?
To leave the Catholic Church because
your parish building was torn down
is like:
- renouncing your U.S. citizenship
because they closed a national
park
- disowning your parents and
family because they tore down
your childhood home, or
- abandoning a bank account
with millions in savings because
a teller ticked you off.
It's an act with profoundly distorted
priorities.
The Catholic Church is the Ark of
Salvation. From it we receive the
medicine of immortality —
the Bread of Angels, the Cup of Salvation.
To leave the Catholic Church, the
one Ark of Salvation, would be to
spurn the mother who gave us eternal
life. It accomplishes nothing but
spite.
Give me one righteous, godly reason
to leave. I challenge you to find
one. I challenge you to carefully
and honestly examine your motives
for leaving. We will have to answer
before the awesome Judgment Seat
of Christ for everything we do — every
one of us. Actions that are done
out of love will be rewarded. Actions
done out of selfishness or hatred
will be punished.
Think about this
in whatever you do.
I don't mean to undermine your frustrations
or your feelings.
Yes, it's sad.
Yes, you are right to be angry
about the lies.
Yes, it was wrong for them to
say one thing and do another,
but
that is their business, not yours
— they will receive their punishment
from God.
But I'm going to be frank, life moves
on. Buildings serve their purpose
and are destroyed like any other
building. Mourn, and get on with
it, because frankly, you can't do
anything about it now except pray
— and I encourage you to do
that.
- Pray to forgive the people who
did this to you.
- Pray for the lying priest and
the duplicitous bishop.
- Pray for the affected parishioners.
- Pray for the new parish.
Eric
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