Tuesday, March 31, 2020

The Church is the Intercourse of the Saints with God in Christ


"Think for a moment, how many hours in the day every man is left wholly to himself and his God, or rather how few minutes he is in intercourse with others--consider this, and you will perceive how it is that the life of the Church is hid with God, and how it is that the outward conduct of the Church must necessarily look like the world, even far more that it really is like it, and how vain, in consequence, the attempt is (which some make) of separating the world distinctly from the Church."

"The World our Enemy" sermon in (Saint) John Henry Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, San Francisco: Ignatius, 1997, 1441-1442.


The Church is in the world.
The Church is within you, if you are in Her.

The communion of the saints is the only holy communion.

Not to detract from the need for the Seven Sacraments. But Jesus Christ Himself is the most Blessed Sacrament. Consider Saint Joseph who was presumably never baptized, never confirmed, never received the Holy Eucharist or attended Mass, never knew any pope, bishop or priest of the Christian dispensation, but was sanctified by Christ Himself in the home with him, the living God. He had Jesus and Mary in his home, and with them he united himself to God.

The time that you are left wholly to yourself, if you pray, God is with you, He is in you. Change your default position Turn your habitual monologue into a constant dialogue with God, then you will find peace.

"All of the evils of the world come from the inability of man to stay alone at peace in his room." --Pascal

During this time of universal quarantine, my mind goes to George Cardinal Pell who is still wrongly jailed and banned from saying Mass. Release Cardinal Pell!