It is scary to think about. Whenever I go to National Catholic Reporter and peruse the openly heretical articles and comments they post, I realize that the worst enemies are in the Church…. very depressing indeed that we need to cut away what is choking us. But it must be done soon. Let them create their own schismatic communities and let us return to Tradition. As the Holy Father says… the good yeast from which we can once again grow.
-Alan
Voris commnicates the truth in a very effective, easy to understand way. I support RCTV because he's orthodox without being soooo negative like too many of us are because of years of ridicule and supression by the liberals and other heretics in the Church's hierarchy. Mark Shea thinks he's dodgey, but I think Voris is charming and winsome.
I disagree with Voris. He seems to twist the Pope's words, taking them from a warning of what will happen if our present culture doesn't change to a prediction of what is absolutely unstoppable.
For all intents and purposes Voris is screaming that we're sinking and it's time to man the lifeboats, saving what we can while we can.
Nope.
There are more than enough problems facing Christianity, we're undoubtedly in for a rough time in the next few decades. "Rough" may be a serious understatement. But if enough believers act on the courage given by the Faith rather than sit passively on the sidelines, a descent into a new Dark Age is NOT inevitable.
THAT I believe is what the Holy Father is really saying. He is stating the need for courageous action to turn back our decline.
A dark age? – do you think? How much more proof do people need? I give you the 20th Century – two world wars, the Holocaust, the Holodomir, Pol Pot, the Cultural Revolution in the PRC, countless tens (hundreds?) of millions dead due to abortion, Rwanda, Darfur. Our times make even the worst previous centuries look like a mere zit on the face of a 16-year-old when, in fact, our days are a malignant tumor.
Is there cause for hope? Of course there is. There's always hope when the doctor gives a timely diagnosis and the patient chooses to listen and act on that diagnosis. For those living in denial – they'd better wake up or not be surprised when they are engulfed by the cancer of our times.
I think Mr. Voris is right, but I strongly object to a lay person stepping out in such a bold way to criticize priests as he did and basically threaten them with warnings of doom as he has. There is a place for that but not with the lay people. The bishops role should be to discipline priests who are disobedient.
I think criticizing priests and religious in the way he does can lead us on a slippery slope toward disobedience and disrespect for the priestly office itself. He should really take a more deferrent role, requesting the things he does from priests and or bishops instead of threatening. I'm all for a strong message, but we really should be giving more respect to priests than he exhibited in this video.
Regardless of what a priest teaches, we should still be in reverence toward them, because every mass they take bread in their hands and command it to become God, and God obeys, in the hands of every validly ordained priest, whether faithful or not.
Andy even though I agree with most of your statements, I do disagree that he was critizing all priests and religious. I took his comments towards those priests and religious who do not follow the Pope. When they support gay marriage and escort women to abortion clinics, someone should be saying stepping up and questioning it. This has always been one of the hardest concepts for me to accept. How can these priests and religious still be in the positions that they are? Why are the bishops not dismissing them or putting them on a leave of absense? They took a vow of obedience, not a "well, I do not believe what the Catholic Church teaches so I am going to do my own thing".
I think that some of the tide is turning. The seminarians who just became priests in our Archdiociese are more conservative than their predecessors. I think we all need to pray for our priests, deacons, and religious because they can use all the help that they can.
Saint Michael Come to our Defense: Gee…nothing like spreading some Jew hate on the first day of this new year. What in the world is wrong with you? Did you forget that Jesus was a Jew? Did you forget that the Mother of our Lord followed the Jewish law faithfully?
You are taking your politics and spreading hate, just like those who turned against Jesus. Those who conspired to have Jesus crucified were not practicing their Jewish faith as God wanted them to do. They went off on their own tangent to make sure that they retained their power. But that does not describe the Jewish faith or all of the Jewish people.
You should be ashamed and certainly are in need of prayers.
I do hope the tide is turning. Chaput in Denver, the Archbishop in Arizona, and even though he is suspect in the videos, Dolan in New York, seem to be leading us in a better way. But the Pope is right, we have long been descending into schism in this country, and much of the wealthy western world. The people who work in parish and diocesan offices are often more knowledgeable about Freud and Jung than Peter and Paul. I pray this is the year of turning back to Christ for the Church universal. God Bless us all in the new year.
The only part of this wonderful talk I disagree with is where he says that (paraphrasing) if you don't speak up and fight this, you will not be spared in the dark age to come. As if we WILL be spared somehow if we put up a good fight? Either the world will end, and no one is going to be spared. Or the world will continue in a dark age and we'll either be dead or again, not spared. The sun shines on the just and the unjust until the end of time.
I viewed this video message, as well as the Holy Father's address, as a wake-up call to engage in a bit more intercessory prayer for our Church and for the world. We are, of course, free to respond….or not.
I would encourage us (myself included) to take this directly to our Lord in prayer and ask Him what we should do.
January 1, 2011 at 1:41 am
Growing?
January 1, 2011 at 1:47 am
this brings out the ol' pentecostal in me. Amen and praise God for this man's boldness in speaking the truth.
January 1, 2011 at 2:01 am
Mike Voris rocks!
–William
January 1, 2011 at 2:11 am
Michael's gifts are the fruit of some serious prayer warriors. He's amazing.
January 1, 2011 at 3:40 am
Excellent and so very true.
January 1, 2011 at 4:18 am
It is scary to think about. Whenever I go to National Catholic Reporter and peruse the openly heretical articles and comments they post, I realize that the worst enemies are in the Church…. very depressing indeed that we need to cut away what is choking us. But it must be done soon. Let them create their own schismatic communities and let us return to Tradition. As the Holy Father says… the good yeast from which we can once again grow.
-Alan
January 1, 2011 at 4:50 am
Pure. Awesome. The Truth rings in the ears in a way that no lie can…
January 1, 2011 at 5:43 am
Well done. It's a hard word to start a year, but I'd rather have it be hard and true than false hope.
January 1, 2011 at 9:34 am
The man knows def tells it like it is and makes no apologies for it. We need millions more like him in the Church.
January 1, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Voris commnicates the truth in a very effective, easy to understand way. I support RCTV because he's orthodox without being soooo negative like too many of us are because of years of ridicule and supression by the liberals and other heretics in the Church's hierarchy. Mark Shea thinks he's dodgey, but I think Voris is charming and winsome.
January 1, 2011 at 4:54 pm
I disagree with Voris. He seems to twist the Pope's words, taking them from a warning of what will happen if our present culture doesn't change to a prediction of what is absolutely unstoppable.
For all intents and purposes Voris is screaming that we're sinking and it's time to man the lifeboats, saving what we can while we can.
Nope.
There are more than enough problems facing Christianity, we're undoubtedly in for a rough time in the next few decades. "Rough" may be a serious understatement. But if enough believers act on the courage given by the Faith rather than sit passively on the sidelines, a descent into a new Dark Age is NOT inevitable.
THAT I believe is what the Holy Father is really saying. He is stating the need for courageous action to turn back our decline.
God bless the Pope for speaking out as he does.
January 1, 2011 at 6:00 pm
A dark age? – do you think? How much more proof do people need? I give you the 20th Century – two world wars, the Holocaust, the Holodomir, Pol Pot, the Cultural Revolution in the PRC, countless tens (hundreds?) of millions dead due to abortion, Rwanda, Darfur. Our times make even the worst previous centuries look like a mere zit on the face of a 16-year-old when, in fact, our days are a malignant tumor.
Is there cause for hope? Of course there is. There's always hope when the doctor gives a timely diagnosis and the patient chooses to listen and act on that diagnosis. For those living in denial – they'd better wake up or not be surprised when they are engulfed by the cancer of our times.
January 1, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I think Mr. Voris is right, but I strongly object to a lay person stepping out in such a bold way to criticize priests as he did and basically threaten them with warnings of doom as he has. There is a place for that but not with the lay people. The bishops role should be to discipline priests who are disobedient.
I think criticizing priests and religious in the way he does can lead us on a slippery slope toward disobedience and disrespect for the priestly office itself. He should really take a more deferrent role, requesting the things he does from priests and or bishops instead of threatening. I'm all for a strong message, but we really should be giving more respect to priests than he exhibited in this video.
Regardless of what a priest teaches, we should still be in reverence toward them, because every mass they take bread in their hands and command it to become God, and God obeys, in the hands of every validly ordained priest, whether faithful or not.
January 1, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Andy even though I agree with most of your statements, I do disagree that he was critizing all priests and religious. I took his comments towards those priests and religious who do not follow the Pope. When they support gay marriage and escort women to abortion clinics, someone should be saying stepping up and questioning it. This has always been one of the hardest concepts for me to accept. How can these priests and religious still be in the positions that they are? Why are the bishops not dismissing them or putting them on a leave of absense? They took a vow of obedience, not a "well, I do not believe what the Catholic Church teaches so I am going to do my own thing".
I think that some of the tide is turning. The seminarians who just became priests in our Archdiociese are more conservative than their predecessors. I think we all need to pray for our priests, deacons, and religious because they can use all the help that they can.
Cheri
January 1, 2011 at 7:59 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
January 1, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Saint Michael Come to our Defense: Gee…nothing like spreading some Jew hate on the first day of this new year. What in the world is wrong with you? Did you forget that Jesus was a Jew? Did you forget that the Mother of our Lord followed the Jewish law faithfully?
You are taking your politics and spreading hate, just like those who turned against Jesus. Those who conspired to have Jesus crucified were not practicing their Jewish faith as God wanted them to do. They went off on their own tangent to make sure that they retained their power. But that does not describe the Jewish faith or all of the Jewish people.
You should be ashamed and certainly are in need of prayers.
January 2, 2011 at 3:05 am
I do hope the tide is turning. Chaput in Denver, the Archbishop in Arizona, and even though he is suspect in the videos, Dolan in New York, seem to be leading us in a better way. But the Pope is right, we have long been descending into schism in this country, and much of the wealthy western world. The people who work in parish and diocesan offices are often more knowledgeable about Freud and Jung than Peter and Paul. I pray this is the year of turning back to Christ for the Church universal. God Bless us all in the new year.
January 2, 2011 at 6:00 am
the original URL was taken down…i found another copy of the video here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AohIc6qxkgQ
January 3, 2011 at 11:55 am
The only part of this wonderful talk I disagree with is where he says that (paraphrasing) if you don't speak up and fight this, you will not be spared in the dark age to come. As if we WILL be spared somehow if we put up a good fight? Either the world will end, and no one is going to be spared. Or the world will continue in a dark age and we'll either be dead or again, not spared. The sun shines on the just and the unjust until the end of time.
January 3, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I viewed this video message, as well as the Holy Father's address, as a wake-up call to engage in a bit more intercessory prayer for our Church and for the world. We are, of course, free to respond….or not.
I would encourage us (myself included) to take this directly to our Lord in prayer and ask Him what we should do.
KM