We don’t do that around here !!!!!!!
He was from Trinidad. His
father was a Muslim, his mother, a
devout catholic. He had an aunt who was a nun, two uncles priests
and a cousin, an archbishop. He burned with a desire to enter
religion as a lay brother with strong fantasies of being another Martin de Porres.
So, he packed
his bag and came to the
land of spiritual
opportunity, the big apple. With awe struck eyes, he surveyed
the hustle of our fair
city and heard, somehow, of a monastery in
distant New England where monks prayed all day and labored
for the glory of god. He had
heard the lovely fables which many
very young Catholics hear
about giving one’s entire life to and for god in
monasteries of peace and faith
and love.
However, his
informants failed to tell him that this particular monastery
was a super contemporary
one with modern views about
what Catholicism should
really be today. The monks
were not shy about telling others what was wrong with jp ii and the whole
antiquated catholic setup and the “ out of date”
Encrustations millions
of innocent persons had bought as
they slurped on mother’s
milk. These were
“ with it” monks
who labored to rescue
unfortunates from the distortions
of the Vatican and their dicasteries ! Nevertheless, in the meantime, they had
to be careful not to anger
the big boys.
Gotta’ stay on the bandwagon to get a cut of the “ goodies.”
Duplicity, as
described by George Weigal, seems to
be a staple of our age. Don’t
believe what they teach. Just pretend to believe and act otherwise!!!!!!
Still,our hero
from the Caribbean asks for
admission as a postulant. Guess what?
He didn’t make it ! Shortly after
his arrival, he made a
visit to the chapel for his
favorite personal devotion----- - - - -
- adoration of the blessed sacrament.Whiile absorbed in the enjoyment of his lord,
one of the monks came by
and interrupted his
rapture in this manner : we don’t do that around here !!!!!!
The young postulant was
“lectured” that Jesus
is present everywhere and there is no need for that kind of adoration here!!!! The lecture
was really unnecessary for his
Eucharist theology since he did
understand the meaning
of the statement. He
passionately and legitimately argued
that Christ’s presence
in the Eucharist
Is very special and very catholic.
Strike one.
But horrors of horrors, the monks found out that he had another not so secret vice. He prayed the rosary. In a relatively short time he was on a
bus hurtling back to the city of sin
where people made eucharistic visits
and prayed to our lady and
confessed their sins to a priest for
absolution and glowed in the leadership of
Pope John Paul ii.
Ultimately, the young
man found a religious community whose members made
a holy hour daily in their chapel
as a power for their work with the poor . This community has significant admission requests to the astonishment of the advanced ones of our time
who, ( like the New England
monks) believe—for growth—we
must de-emphasize the rosary and similar artifacts since
such devices are opiates for the illiterati and the primitive. Such
behaviors, they say, are inappropriate for us with ma degrees. I am staggered !
Personally, i have a Phd in
psychology from a prestigious university and have found
that there is a radar like and pre- articulate sense of the
child-likeness demanded by Jesus – in the uninitiated unwashed.
I think they are closer to Jesus ( like
my Trinidad friend ) than many of the chi-chi
types who hold their collective noses when we highlight the eucharistic
private devotion and love of the blessed mother and stations of
the cross and pride in john paul ii.
Oh—yes—this is just my
opinion. What do you think?
I would really like to know.