Advice from St. Paul to Timothy on How to Handle Priests...
Paul's letter to Timothy has been the focus of the Office of Readings (from the Liturgy of the Hours) this week. Reading through it I can't help but think that revisiting this letter might be a good idea for the Church to examine its disciplines. Let me quote some passages--but realize that I'm quoting passages--read the whole letter for the context.
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain”, and, “The labourer deserves his wages”.
Elder or Presbyter is the Greek word for what we today call "priest." I like this passage because it talks about rewarding those who work hard in the church. I recently told a bishop that the first thing he should do in his diocese is rid it of all the lazy priests--they make more work for the good priests. The way the church is currently organized the priesthood is a socialist organization and the lazy and hardworking priest are paid and treated the same (in this life anyways).
Never admit any charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without favour, doing nothing from partiality.
Obviously a reference to their already being major problems in the early church in the priesthood. So this is nothing new. But what is clear is that when someone has a charge proven against them that it should be treated publicly and rebuked. Paul is emphatic about this and invokes the presence of all of Heaven that this be done with justice. Leaders in the church may be quick to quote the first part of the passage but largely have ignored the rest of it. The dangers to the faith are only compounded when these sins are buried.
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man’s sins; keep yourself pure.
Reading this in the context of the whole of Timothy, one would be struck by Paul's practicality. Paul's talk on the treatment of widows is mindful that young widows should remarry, not allowing lust to move them to rejecting commitments they might make. Timothy is young but we might presume married given the context of the letter where Paul tells him that bishops should be married only once. So I wonder if in the context of the letter we might not interpret this counsel of Paul's given our current situation of ordaining only celibate men--as a counsel to only ordain "older" men who are past the age where they might flea to marry?
Again if you read all of Paul letter you'll see it has a practicality about it that rings true to life. He warns against anyone prohibiting "marriage" or requiring abstinence from certian meats (referring the Judaizers).
Plenty of fodder here for thought.
Thursday, October 9, 2003
Hopefully Pope will Win Nobel Peace Prize
He deserves it for his bold and prophetic stand against war earlier this year.
From Pope, Brazilian president tipped for Nobel Prize -DAWN - International; 27 September, 2003
He deserves it for his bold and prophetic stand against war earlier this year.
From Pope, Brazilian president tipped for Nobel Prize -DAWN - International; 27 September, 2003
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
Pope--Every day on earth is a new gift
From Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - News In English:
"A tenacious and indomitable Pope today said that 'every day of our pilgrimage on earth is a new gift,' but ultimately he had to give in to fatigue, which was accumulated in the pilgrimage yesterday to Pompeii. John Paul II appeared in this way to the faithful who had gathered in Saint Peter's today for the general audience. The Pope was forced to skip some passages of the catechises in Italian, which introduces the cycle of the Vespers Liturgy. There was long applause, like an affectionate hug, from the 15,000 people in the piazza during the longer and longer pauses taken by the Pope. "
From Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - News In English:
"A tenacious and indomitable Pope today said that 'every day of our pilgrimage on earth is a new gift,' but ultimately he had to give in to fatigue, which was accumulated in the pilgrimage yesterday to Pompeii. John Paul II appeared in this way to the faithful who had gathered in Saint Peter's today for the general audience. The Pope was forced to skip some passages of the catechises in Italian, which introduces the cycle of the Vespers Liturgy. There was long applause, like an affectionate hug, from the 15,000 people in the piazza during the longer and longer pauses taken by the Pope. "
Shocking!
At first I thought this was some spoof of someone spoofing Arnold's groping...but it is his in-laws.
They say the best way to know what your wife will look like when she is older is to take a look at her mother. I think its the full head of blonde hair that makes it hard to look at her for too long. Reminds me of the old morality posters.
At first I thought this was some spoof of someone spoofing Arnold's groping...but it is his in-laws.
They say the best way to know what your wife will look like when she is older is to take a look at her mother. I think its the full head of blonde hair that makes it hard to look at her for too long. Reminds me of the old morality posters.
Arafat Suffers Heart Attack
Also has Parkinson's???
From Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Arafat has suffered heart attack, admits aide:
"Yasser Arafat has suffered a mild heart attack but the Palestinian leadership has sought to keep his health problems secret for fear it will 'create panic'.
The 74-year-old Palestinian president, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, disappeared from public view last week and re-emerged at the weekend looking extremely ill. His face was pale and pinched, he had lost weight and he was almost inaudible. He had trouble standing for more than a few minutes at a time. "
Also has Parkinson's???
From Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Arafat has suffered heart attack, admits aide:
"Yasser Arafat has suffered a mild heart attack but the Palestinian leadership has sought to keep his health problems secret for fear it will 'create panic'.
The 74-year-old Palestinian president, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, disappeared from public view last week and re-emerged at the weekend looking extremely ill. His face was pale and pinched, he had lost weight and he was almost inaudible. He had trouble standing for more than a few minutes at a time. "
Thoughts from the Great Father Schmemann
While flying down to South Carolina last week, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the diary of Father Alexander Schmemann--who I think is probably the greatest spiritual writer in the last century. One of his entries gave me a lot to think about. Let me paraphrase his thought and add to it a bit.
God created everything that is as good. The devil introduced a problem and posed this to Adam and Eve. "Did God really say..?" Evil is seeing the goodness of God as a "problem." Jesus redeems creation by reintroducing the intention of God over and against the "problems" posed by evil. Therefore when Jesus encounters the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he terms them as foolish when they interpret the events of Good Friday as unnecessary and not what they had "hoped" for. He tells them that these events were necessary and part of God's plan for good--the salvation of many!
How do you and I see the events and the people of our daily life? Do we perceive the goodness of God or is everyone around a "problem"?
Soon to be "Blessed" Mother Teresa was known to encounter the poor as "Christ" and not as a bum or "problem". Social Workers often had a problem with her because of her disinterest in doing anything to aleviate "problems". Once when she was to speak at a world conference to end hunger, she found a man begging for food at the entrance of the auditorium and took him and fed him--never speaking that day. The people attending the conference weren't really interested in ending the hunger of the man they had all passed, she was.
Tied into this perceiving the good in all, through the eyes of Christ, is Christian joy. True followers of Christ our joyful, they are not downcast bemoaning what could have been--they believe that victory is ultimately there and they pray that God's will be done in all things and they believe that it will be done on earth as it is in heaven. They see the events of their lives as not accidential occurences but meaningful events that are moving them often inspite of themselves and their sins to where God wants them to be.
I told a friend of mine, a bishop, that the sign of the healthiness of a religious community, movement, or individual priest in his diocese was the level of "joy" that they exhibit in their lives.
While flying down to South Carolina last week, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the diary of Father Alexander Schmemann--who I think is probably the greatest spiritual writer in the last century. One of his entries gave me a lot to think about. Let me paraphrase his thought and add to it a bit.
God created everything that is as good. The devil introduced a problem and posed this to Adam and Eve. "Did God really say..?" Evil is seeing the goodness of God as a "problem." Jesus redeems creation by reintroducing the intention of God over and against the "problems" posed by evil. Therefore when Jesus encounters the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he terms them as foolish when they interpret the events of Good Friday as unnecessary and not what they had "hoped" for. He tells them that these events were necessary and part of God's plan for good--the salvation of many!
How do you and I see the events and the people of our daily life? Do we perceive the goodness of God or is everyone around a "problem"?
Soon to be "Blessed" Mother Teresa was known to encounter the poor as "Christ" and not as a bum or "problem". Social Workers often had a problem with her because of her disinterest in doing anything to aleviate "problems". Once when she was to speak at a world conference to end hunger, she found a man begging for food at the entrance of the auditorium and took him and fed him--never speaking that day. The people attending the conference weren't really interested in ending the hunger of the man they had all passed, she was.
Tied into this perceiving the good in all, through the eyes of Christ, is Christian joy. True followers of Christ our joyful, they are not downcast bemoaning what could have been--they believe that victory is ultimately there and they pray that God's will be done in all things and they believe that it will be done on earth as it is in heaven. They see the events of their lives as not accidential occurences but meaningful events that are moving them often inspite of themselves and their sins to where God wants them to be.
I told a friend of mine, a bishop, that the sign of the healthiness of a religious community, movement, or individual priest in his diocese was the level of "joy" that they exhibit in their lives.
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