“POPE” Francis in his daily homily on Monday spoke approvingly (and humorously) of baptizing Martians. However, the homily was a very serious and cleverly ambiguous argument for abandoning Church teaching, a homily in which Bergoglio blasphemously suggests that the Holy Spirit is guiding the Revolution. From Vatican Radio:

“Who are we to close the doors ” to the Holy Spirit? This was the question that Pope Francis repeated this morning during his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta, a homily dedicated to the conversion of the first pagans to Christianity. The Holy Spirit, he reiterated, is what makes the Church to go “beyond the limits, go ever forward.” [Assuming that Vatican Radio has reported this accurately, this profoundly blasphemous statement suggests the Holy Spirit would guide the Church to go “beyond the limits” of its own dogmas.]

The Spirit blows where it wills, but one of the most common temptations of those who have faith is to bar its path and drive it in one direction or another. [In other words: don’t bar the path to unrepentant sinners, such as practicing homosexuals.] A temptation that was not alien even in the early days of the Church, as the experience of Simon Peter in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows. A community of pagans welcomes the announcement of the Gospel and Peter is an eyewitness to the descent of the Holy Spirit on them. First hesitates to make contact with what he had always considered “unclean” and then he suffers harsh criticism from the Christians of Jerusalem, shocked by the fact that their leader had eaten with the “uncircumcised” and had even baptized them. [Why is he talking about rejection? Who does the Church reject today? This rejection of those who were uncircumcised has nothing in common with the rejection of those who explicitly deny Church teaching.] A moment of internal crisis that Pope Francis recalls with a hint of irony :

“That was unthinkable. If – for example – tomorrow an expedition of Martians came, and some of them came to us, here… Martians, right? Green, with that long nose and big ears, just like children paint them… And one says, ‘But I want to be baptized!’ What would happen?”

Peter understands his error when a vision enlightens him to a fundamental truth: that which has been purified by God cannot be called “profane” by anyone. And in narrating these facts to the crowd that criticized him, the Apostle calms them all with this statement: “If then God gave them the same gift He gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”

“When the Lord shows us the way, who are we to say, ‘No, Lord, it is not prudent! No, lets do it this way’… and Peter in that first diocese – the first diocese was Antioch – makes this decision: ‘Who am I to admit impediments?’ A nice word for bishops, for priests and for Christians. Who are we to close doors? [Who does the Church close the doors to? No one, but those who reject its doctrines.] In the early Church, even today, there is the ministry of the ostiary [usher]. And what did the ostiary do? He opened the door, received the people, allowed them to pass. But it was never the ministry of the closed door, never.”

Again Pope Francis repeated, God has left the guidance of the Church “in the hands of the Holy Spirit.” “The Holy Spirit – he continued – as Jesus said, will teach us everything” and “remind us what Jesus taught us”:

“The Holy Spirit is the living presence of God in the Church. He keeps the Church going, keeps the Church moving forward. More and more, beyond the limits, onwards. [Outrageous. The Holy Spirit does not move the Church beyond its ancient limits.] The Holy Spirit with His gifts guides the Church. You cannot understand the Church of Jesus without this Paraclete, whom the Lord sends us for this very reason. And He makes unthinkable choices, but unimaginable! To use a word of St. John XXIII: it is the Holy Spirit that updates the Church: Really, he really updates it and keeps it going. And we Christians must ask the Lord for the grace of docility to the Holy Spirit. Docility in this Spirit, who speaks to us in our heart, who speaks to us in all of life’s circumstances, who speaks to us in the Church’s life, in Christian communities, who is always speaking to us.”

— Comments —

M. R. writes:

I have newly discovered your blog and regularly enjoy it – thank you.

What Francis says about the Ostarius is demonstrably false – it was in its very nature a ministry of closing doors, not opening them! There are several salient points here: firstly, it was not a ministry primarily, but an Order to which a man (not a woman!) is ordained. As we all are doubtless aware, it is the first of the Minor Orders. The ministry of closing doors occurred during the Mass; at the onset of the Mass of the Faithful, the Deacon ordered the Ostarius to escort outside the catechumens and public sinners, as they were not allowed to be present at the Holy Sacrifice. Notably, the Byzantine Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom maintains this address of the Deacon.

There are obviously many other ways to refute Francis’ ridiculous points, but that he is factually in error about the fundamental “feel-good” point he tries to make dooms him at the outset.

A happy Feast of St. Boniface to you.

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