At this time of the year (end) we start seeing litanies of well-known personalities who have passed to their eternal rewards. This year is no different. What truly befuddles me, though, is how otherwise intelligent Catholics join in on the wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is one thing to pray for their eternal repose, as we would pray for the souls of all who departed this life in 2016 (and earlier). But why is more attention paid to these "famous" people that others - including those who were part of our own lives?
Even more baffling is the tone taken by otherwise faithful Catholics as they join in this caterwalling. Take, for example, the recent deaths of George Michael and Carrie Fisher. When these Catholics mourn the passing of the musician Michael but don't utter a prayer that he repented of his sodomy before his end (he was gay, and died of AIDS), one can wonder what really occupies the minds of these Catholics. In a facebook page I broached that topic and was mocked as being judgmental for doing so. I could understand such a reaction from the page of a non-Christian, but find it troubling from a page of someone who is ostenstibly aiming for heaven and God.
Then, as a form of tribute to Carrie Fisher, other Catholics, instead of praying for her soul, type "may the force be with you"! What??!?! Since when do faithful Catholics ever let new age garbage out of their mouths - or keyboards as the case may be? Are these Catholics suffering from a weird kind of schizophrenia? Do they not allow Jesus Christ to guide how they view the "famous" as opposed to the "ordinary"? Perhaps they should study closely the Letter of James; he had some things to say about toadying to the worldly well-placed.
Does anyone else find all this kvetching over these deaths bizarre?
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
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I agree with you completely.
ReplyDeleteWe are told by numerous saints and mystics, not to mention Our Lord Himself, that the number of people saved is few in comparison with the number of people in general.
Blessed Jacinta of Fatima, 100 years ago, made the statement, regarding the people who died during World War I, that "almost all of them" went to hell.
I find that frightening. Extremely frightening.
However, it's a fact that she stated it. Sister Lucia related it in her memoirs.
I didn't even know who George Michael was, but in reading his bio... well, I won't say anything. And Carrie Fisher's life?
When I hear about the death of someone whose lifestyle was notoriously sinful, I just say, "May God have mercy on his/her soul."
Few people will be saved because few people wish to be saved. Most people prefer the enticements of this life.
Sacred Scripture, in the person of Saint Peter, is crystal clear. The just are "scarcely" saved.
1 Peter 4:18. "And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
It's extremely scary.
But our salvation is serious business. Very serious. We must do everything we possibly can to ensure our salvation.
In the end, it is the only thing that really matters.
"died of AIDS" and you know this, how?
ReplyDeleteI may have jumped the gun about the immediate cause of death, but that possibility does exist. He did live a gay lifestyle, which is the larger moral problem. See http://heavy.com/news/2016/12/george-michael-cause-of-death-hiv-aids-gay-mother-wham-funeral-heart-attack-boyfriend-infected-died-age/ or https://www.yahoo.com/news/george-michael-partner-fadi-fawaz-061024199.html
DeleteWell, we do seem to have an unusual number of celebrity deaths lately, an odd phenomenon. I must say, the passing of Debbie Reynolds is particularly sad since it was obviously in response to her poor daughter's passing. When I hear of anyone's passing, I try to say a prayer for their soul, but I doubt most people think of this. I may be unfair in that, but it's just my thought.
ReplyDeleteEternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.
Certainly pray for their eternal repose. My problem is when Catholics carry on like the rest of the world as opposed to looking at these situations from a Catholic perspective.
DeleteI think Michael was too plump to have died of AIDS, heroin is a more likely suspect.
ReplyDelete"other Catholics, instead of praying for her soul, type "may the force be with you"!" My son went to summer school in January (we live in Western Australia.) After he came back, he proclaimed it was his last one. Why? The priest who was offering the Holy Mass used "the force be with you" instead of "the peace be with you." Therefore, nothing will surprise me, if such sacrilege is coming from the mouth of a priest.
ReplyDeleteBlessed and happy New Year!