THEY REALLY DON'T GET IT

George Offerman

If it weren’t so pathetic, it would actually be humorous. An article in the UK Telegraph is attempting to depict the latest appointment of Archbishop to the L.A. Archdiocese as “revenge” of the pope against Hollywood for filming “The Da Vinci Code”. Archbishop Jose Gomez will be taking over the reigns from current Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahoney upon the Cardinal’s retirement within the next year. The article also alleges it will ‘upset’ those Catholics within the Hollywood establishment, and seems to indicate there will be a confrontation concerning the order of business as it is currently being carried out. See link to article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7560105/Popes-revenge-as-LA-gets-Opus-Dei-bishop.html

It is interesting how the media all over the world has gobbled up the stories pertaining to abuse, and have relished the continual trashing of the Catholic Church. Now, a lot of it has been fact based and frankly, the Church has many issues that need to be resolved and dealt with completely and honestly. But here, we have a prime example of an Archbishop, who has actually lived out his vows and has been exemplary in demonstrating the power of prayer and self discipline that is the hallmark of Opus Dei. It is unfortunate that the public education pertaining to Opus Dei came from the ‘brilliant’ theologians Dan Brown and director Ron “Opie Taylor” Howard.

It is human nature to mock that which is not understood, when it challenges the status quo, and calls into question the reality as we would like it to be. It is totally foreign to most people, let alone the screaming liberals, that a group can live out promises to keep themselves pure, live a life of simplicity and holiness, and dedicate their everyday lives to the Lord. The vast majority of those belonging to Opus Dei that I have met, probably spend more time in prayer in a month than most pray in their lifetimes. They also happen to be some of the most joy filled, peaceful, serene and focused individuals one could meet, and they seem to reflect a real love for their fellow man. It is the antithesis of the ‘me first’ and ‘I need to feel gratified all the time’ philosophy that Hollywood and liberalism embraces and pushes as the new religion of the day.

The idea of church teachings and the demonstration of morality as being ‘revenge’ further demonstrates how the majority of the groups ‘don’t get it’. Revenge is motivated in getting even, sort of a ‘me first’ philosophy and the church is absolutely not guilty of this. It only demonstrates the mentality of those who make the accusations that it is they that think this way. The Churches divine mission is to be the light to the world, and the Master made it very clear that the world hates the light and will persecute the light. The more the liberals trash this group, the more they validate Opus Dei and their mission.

It really must stick in their craw that the 2,000 priests and bishops in Opus Dei have remained 100% faithful to their vows. It is no coincidence that there are NO scandals among those faithful clergy to the principles of Opus Dei, and it seems to absolutely not compute at all for the liberals that prayer actually works, and the faith the Church stands for is far superior to the liberal’s way of life. People actually keeping their promises and vows are a greater threat to the liberal’s way of life than finding scandal in an organization that wants to imitate the societal norms it interacts with.

This is why there will be many unfounded attacks against the soon to be Cardinal Gomez in particular and Opus Dei in general. Those who do not live by faith cannot fathom or grasp what it looks like to live by faith, and there is a need to mock and try to destroy them instead of learning from them. It is no wonder this move is seen as threatening because it will challenge those that claim to be Catholic to give up their hypocrisy and actually be accountable for their way of life. Prayer works and it is affirmed in the fact that the Opus Dei clergy have a perfect record when it comes to fidelity to their vows, and only faith and grace can explain this rate or success. Liberalism cannot boast of this, so they must destroy those that make the liberals look like the frauds that they are.

The greatest fear of the liberals would be that Cardinal Gomez succeed in his mission to straighten out the mess he is inheriting. It will prove that following Church teachings and living the faith is superior to their way of life, and thus require radical changes in their belief systems as well as behaviors. This is too much for them to handle, and do not be surprised to see a radical increase in lies, slander and disinformation concerning both the Cardinal and Opus Dei in the near future. Until that time, the faithful should be praying for Cardinal Gomez, and being thankful that the Vatican is making some positive moves for the future of this Church.