Fr. Fleming wrote about new text included in the Eucharistic Prayer for Masses for the Dead which he found difficult and thus changed slightly. Then he said:
“That I consciously made a change in the text leads me to wonder what changes other priests are making and where that will lead us.”
This prompted one reader to respond, “I would hope that priests do have the ‘freedom; to change wording particularly in the example you just showed us in your funeral liturgy,” and then other priests who had issues with the new translations further piled on the discussion.
Fr. Fleming's original post here.
Conversion is an intersection of life when one has the epiphany that our own intellect and understanding is limited. We experience enough of life to know that God's ways are not our ways and the Holy Spirit is leading Christ's Church in the Deposit of Faith.
We come to the realization that all the excuses we made to contracept our own children, to have use the Divine gift of human sexuality outside of the Sacrament of Marriage was sinful. Simultaneously, we're enlightened that to want giddy in our Liturgies, to want to perform the Sacred act of Communicating the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ to the faithful, etc., are disordered desires. We have been pursuing chicken nuggets when all along Christ has been beckoning us to Abe and Louis.
We realize prancing around the Sanctuary to give consolation to the imagination that the Church disrespects women is limiting Christ's ability to lavish us with the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit for the hour we give Him to do it. We look over our lives and think about conversations we may have had in our past that inspired agitation and conflict, emotions that created obstacles to reaching these epiphanies and we are aghast at the damage we may have contributed to souls and Christ.
It all comes together: God does not give what is holy to the dogs. So many years wasted being a dog. Lying with the dogs and getting up with the fleas. Using my dog whistle to call other people to the dogs. Thinking I was outsmarting the Holy See and having quality of life.
Stupid is as stupid does.
When I see a priest who inspires his flock to rebel against teachings, wisdom of the Church so that he can be a hero to those who need a priest to give them excuses, I am appalled.
I am appalled that he misuses his vocation to lead his flock into misunderstanding and rebellion so he can relish in the adoration it brings from those he is misleading. I am appalled his bishop is too busy creating puff pieces about himself to spiritually father and mentor his priests so that the flock is fed the sweet grapes of the Vine. I am appalled because they are starving to death.
Mostly, I am shocked by his lack of faith.
How is it a man can hand himself over to Christ, to literally be the conduit through which Christ's Divinity, Body and Blood passes, and yet be so deaf, dumb and blind?
My God, what a tragedy.
