What Went Wrong With the Evangelization Effort
Of the Roman Catholic Church?
[Not the Catholic Faith, but the Church!]
The Problem
As the world careens into a hell-like state, many upright and honest people ask themselves:
As their hope for a bright future dims to a flicker, many fine young men and women tell themselves:
As the suffering of the poor and oppressed multiplies under the alleged spiritual leadership of Rome, they ask themselves:
Therefore, each one of us must ask ourselves in earnest:
The Answer
The answer to such question may be found in an anecdote which, even if it did not take place, its essence has the ring of truth:
A Commentary
This anecdote is very significant because never before the Church founded by Jesus Christ had gained so much influence and power over the world. Not only were Christians no longer hated, hunted, crucified, fed to the lions, boiled in oil and whatever else the Romans rulers could think of as when the Church was in its infancy, the Church had become a world power.
Kings paid tribute to the Pope and treated the Church as the manifested Divine Will of God. The Church had become an earthly empire on its own right.
This power, however, did not come without a very high price, as Francis of Assisi pointed out to Pope Innocent III.
We have precious few Christians walking around performing miracles in the Name of Jesus the Nazorean such as making the lame walk or the blind to see, as it was recorded many times in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit has become more of a myth or a superstition, and miracles become more of a "...yes, they can happen... But only in very rare circumstances." situation.
Francis of Assisi days were indeed the greatest of times for the Church as an organization but... for real Christians who actually sought a relationship with God, the Church had become dead - devoid of its Spirit... And God had somehow become an insignificant part of it.
In Conclusion
Did not Jesus say:
So there you have it, dearest sisters and brothers - either:
As the world careens into a hell-like state, many upright and honest people ask themselves:
"What went wrong with the Roman Catholic Church?"
As their hope for a bright future dims to a flicker, many fine young men and women tell themselves:
"If this is what the Roman Catholic Church has delivered the world into, we do not want
any part of it!"
As the suffering of the poor and oppressed multiplies under the alleged spiritual leadership of Rome, they ask themselves:
"Is this what Jesus Christ promised us? Are these the fabled 'Good News'?"
Therefore, each one of us must ask ourselves in earnest:
"What has really happened?"
The Answer
The answer to such question may be found in an anecdote which, even if it did not take place, its essence has the ring of truth:
While Francis of Assisi (1181 - 1226) was trying to secure the approval of Pope Innocent III (1198
- 1216) for his apostolate of poverty to "Repair My Church" as Jesus had asked Francis to do, the
following scenario is claimed to have taken place:
After showing Francis the riches amassed by the Church, Pope Innocent III said: "You see, the Church can no longer say: 'Gold and silver have I none'"[Acts 3:6]
To what Francis replied: "True, and neither can she any longer say: '...rise and walk.'" [Acts 3:6]
After showing Francis the riches amassed by the Church, Pope Innocent III said: "You see, the Church can no longer say: 'Gold and silver have I none'"[Acts 3:6]
To what Francis replied: "True, and neither can she any longer say: '...rise and walk.'" [Acts 3:6]
A Commentary
This anecdote is very significant because never before the Church founded by Jesus Christ had gained so much influence and power over the world. Not only were Christians no longer hated, hunted, crucified, fed to the lions, boiled in oil and whatever else the Romans rulers could think of as when the Church was in its infancy, the Church had become a world power.
Kings paid tribute to the Pope and treated the Church as the manifested Divine Will of God. The Church had become an earthly empire on its own right.
This power, however, did not come without a very high price, as Francis of Assisi pointed out to Pope Innocent III.
We have precious few Christians walking around performing miracles in the Name of Jesus the Nazorean such as making the lame walk or the blind to see, as it was recorded many times in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit has become more of a myth or a superstition, and miracles become more of a "...yes, they can happen... But only in very rare circumstances." situation.
Francis of Assisi days were indeed the greatest of times for the Church as an organization but... for real Christians who actually sought a relationship with God, the Church had become dead - devoid of its Spirit... And God had somehow become an insignificant part of it.
In Conclusion
Did not Jesus say:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will do
the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these because I am going
to the Father" [John 14:12]
So there you have it, dearest sisters and brothers - either:
(a) Jesus did not tell us the truth; or
(b) The Sacred Scriptures are wrong; or
(c) The above anecdote truly illustrates what has happened.
The choice is yours, but be very careful and not make the same mistake Peter made.
[Luke 22:34](b) The Sacred Scriptures are wrong; or
(c) The above anecdote truly illustrates what has happened.
Related Documents
Document Originally Published on September 26, 2003 - On the Eastern Catholic Church Memorial of the Death of John the Evangelist
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