2015-04-04   Kevin Walters (UK)    (Kevin's previous article)

 Divine Mercy & Humanae Vitae 
        Comments welcome here

Please consider reading in conjunction with my previous article. Only God can square the Circle.

Pope Francis says we need to be a Church of mercy and so we do, but more importantly we need to be a humble Church, a Church driven by Humility, as Gods Divine Mercy received in humility guarantees spiritual growth, which wells up into eternal life.

Recently I decided to read Humanae Vitae as I had never actual read it before, you cannot help but be taken aback by its beauty and acknowledge the truth conveyed within it.

Taken from the document

“No statement of the problem and no solution to it are acceptable which does violence to man’s essential dignity; those who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic conception of man himself and his life.

For man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature. These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed”.

The statement above cannot be disputed, to darken the light of Christ (Truth) in any way is to betray him, but we can wear the garment of humility (St Bernard-Humility a virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is abases himself) before our Father in heaven and in this knowing and acknowledging our own limitations and sinfulness retain the dignity of a human being striving to fulfil the Commandments and teachings of Gods holy church. Repetitive sin (which we all carry in our fallen nature) can only be nullified by living in a state of humility, which is continual contrition.

Many believe that Pope Paul VI was wrong when he chose the report of the minority conservative commission against the majority commission who proposed to change the traditional ‘infallible’ teaching on contraception. Pope Paul VI was not wrong but courageous to resist the tremendous pressures brought to bear on him, by standing firm, but sadly he did not convey The Gift of Love (Divine Mercy) to the laity and in not doing so has damaged the Church immeasurable.

 Many accepted the teaching of Humanae Vitae but sadly left the church, as their own consciences created an intolerable position in their hearts and in some cases divided husband from wife and in other cases wife from husband, creating great discord in many relationships. A minority live by the Churches teaching, while others have ignored it completely and continued to justify their own opinion in contradiction to the teaching of the Church.

This is what one of the guests at the wedding feast did, (Matt 22:11) He was an affront to God, a garment had been freely provided but he did not want to wear (own) it (humility) he wanted to be accepted on his own terms, in his own image (ego) He was gagged, (his opinion no longer to contradict (offend) God) bound hand and foot and thrown into the darkness.

God in the incarnation gave of himself out of love to save that which had been lost. All of us, clergy, laity, married, divorced, gay, the crippled, the lame, the bad, the good, we (The lost) are all flawed and sinful. But we have ALL been called to partake in the Wedding feast but when the Master comes will he find our hearts ( which are broken, sinful, and lost,) now contrite, blest, and wearing the wedding garment of humility. (Holiness)

This gift of love (Divine Mercy) can only be accepted in Trust and humility and this includes acceptance of our own human frailty and sinfulness. We are judged on our intentions if good (honest) we walk in good conscience, which forms our relationship with our Father in heaven as revealed by his beloved Son Jesus Christ.

Our tendency is not to look upon (Embrace) the Truth/Love (teaching) in its entirety, as taught by Jesus. If we were to look at it (Truth/Love) with honesty, it would shake the vast majority of us to our core. Then we, the majority could only walk in humility with our heads (Hearts) held low as we realize how far we are from what is actually been asked of us. This is the starting point (Humility) on our journey home to our Fathers house in heaven. If we walk in humility with Jesus before our Father in heaven we can neither go astray nor need be afraid.

Definition of sin, anything you covet in preference to the love of God: we are all born sinners but that never excuses sin. All sin is forgivable except the sin against the Holy Spirit and by definition only one is truly (absolutely) mortal. We are judged on our intentions before God’s inviolate Word (Will).

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”

We are taught that God is Love but the essence of Love is Truth.

Our Father gave of himself in his Son to reconcile mankind to Him. The essence of love in His Son is Truth, and He bears witness to it, Jesus teaches us not to resist the evil doer and He is true to his own Word, he can do no other but submits to his own essence which is Truth and bearing witness to the Truth permits the evil in man to murder him, He is lifted up by mankind for mankind’s redemption, we see a reflection of the evil within ourselves (own actions) as He submits to the Will of our Father bearing witness to the Truth (Their own essence).

The Truth knows (embraces) itself, it can do no other, those who refuse to acknowledge the living Word of God, once they have perceived it within their hearts, are destined to eternal separation from God, as our Father is restrained by His own essence, as His essence (Truth) is not within them.

“All who acknowledge me I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven”

When we acknowledge (Look upon) with honesty the Truth (The inviolate Word of God) that is placed before us, within our own heart, it will induce humility, (if it does not, we are not been honest and delude ourselves), at that moment in time, we are given the power to become children of God (as we are part of His essence Truth) and if we continue on this path of bearing witness to the Truth within our own hearts as in the parable of the Mustard Seed, growing in the light of the Holy Spirit (Truth) producing leaves of compassion that give shelter to all from physical and spiritual suffering, eventually we too will do the same.

The Church's teachings on contraception are as true and infallible today as they have historically been. But her authority has gradually been eroded, causing division amongst the clergy while the laity has been left shepherd less to live by one’s own uninformed conscience. I have not heard one sermon relating to contraception for over thirty years, I assume by now many believe it is a matter of choice or down to one’s own inclination “Everybody does it so it must be alright” or “It’s an old fashioned belief”….

The leaders of the Church have a responsibility to hold the bright lamp of Truth high before all of mankind, by teaching with authority, in promoting the ideal of all her teachings. And especially at this moment in time Humane Vitae, which has caused so much damage to the Church, by driving (Breaking the spirit of) the flock away from the Church over the last fifty years. Not to do so would be to harden (Hide) your own heart from the light of Truth/Love by turning a blind eye to the problem, but in so doing you risk hearing these words

“I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil”

 How can the Church restore the full value of her teachings which have been rejected by so many over the last five decades through human weakness? Without driving out more of those baptized Christians who have not fully committed to Jesus Christ and who are still in need of nurturing in order to lead them into the full realization of the faith. For some confession is an option before taking communion but often it is not practical for them to do so, for many it would be downright dishonest, without the true intention to change, it would only compound their sin in taking the Bread of Life, acting out an external gesture of religiosity in conveying an image of worldly respectability.

Pope Francis

Added that ecclesial thinking is at a crossroads between the

“Doctors of the law” who want to cast people out and the “thinking of God,” which is to stress mercy and reinstatement.

“The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone for eternity [but] to pour

out the balm of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart,” he said during the homily in St Peter’s Basilica.

 I would add authority demands dutiful respect but so doe’s love/mercy in gentle dress and loyalty is its constant guest.

The Church cannot sanction sin but it can sanction mercy.

Let those couples who practice contraception out of human frailty be permitted each time before approaching the Bread of Life, to look upon (Venerate) the true image of Divine Mercy, a broken image, a reflection of themselves before God (The Crucified Christ) in the Eucharist, bringing them face to face with their own limitations (sin/ frailty) and in doing so, see their need of the Lord and dependence on His mercy and then saying these words from the heart, before the presence of God in the Eucharist, which have been given by God Himself to His Holy Church on earth

“Jesus, I Trust in Thee”

And now dwelling in His Mercy, permit them to partake of the Bread of Life and in their humility, grow spiritually.

They have not received absolution but live continually dependant on God’s mercy; until they desist from using contraception, only then can they receive the full sacrament of reconciliation.

When someone acknowledges their own shortcomings in humility it induces compassion in the recipients/onlookers and this will form the basis for trust/comradeship/equality… before God within the Church. Some may say it would be difficult to induce or approach members of the flock to do this and so it would. There is a way but it will take humility by the leadership of the Church to bring this about, which I hope (God willing) to convey to you at a future date, as at this moment in time it is necessary that what I am saying is accepted before doing so.

kevin

In Christ

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