Monday, February 2, 2009

Acts of Charity/Acts of Contrition

The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry; the [extra] garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit. - Saint Basil the Great (329-279)
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There is a really good article on the Knights Templar in This Rock Magazine. I am reading it while coughing and sniffling - nothing horrible, just your usual icky creepy crud that is spreading through the office like wildfire. I refuse to feel guilty. I know that the SO has survived almost 150 years without me so if I am not there tonight the warrants will be served, probabtion will be checked, RO(s) will be entered, and the reports will be downloaded and data entried. What will not happen is the validation list - but I can do that tomorrow when I go in to work.

The article is unsparing in its criticism of the weakness of Pope Clement, the naivete of de Molay and the evil greed manifested by Philip the Fair. What I did not know is that the Knights Templar were not the richest of the warrior/monks - the Hospitalitiers were - but they were the ones who gave refuge to Philip when he was in big trouble with the constituency so he got to actually SEE how wealthy they were - the other ones kept their doors shut against this goof ball.

I also was happy to see that during a time when the majority of the aristocracy was ready to throw the Templars to the wolves (or under the bus, in today's parlance), James of Aragon told Philip to stick it in his ear and scolded Pope Clement for being such a weinee-wuss. This is all very well documented. I believe the Latin used was "Weineeux-Wussus".

Here is the kicker - Pope Clement V was not a strong manly man like JPII. Rather, he was a compromiser, a seeker of peace that often lead to peace at any cost....which is, as we know, not peace but slavery. It was because of his weakness that the Papacy moved to France (Chateu Neuf de Pape, anyone?). And it is because Christ protects His Bride, The Church, that this doofus did not utter one single thing during his pontificate that had ANYTHING to do with the Teachings of The Holy Mother Church.

Papa; Infallibility is an oft misunderstood teaching - people with no sense of history and an inability to read beyond the surface of a document will assume (and have assumed) that the issuance of a Papal Bull means the Pope is speaking ex cathedra. He is not. This is why, even though stupid human beings have tried for 2000 years to destroy the Church, She still stands..She is able to admit the errors made by Her sons and daughters and make the amends necessary for healing. It is why JPII was able to turn to the Patriarch of Constantinople and say, "The Sack of Hagia Sophia was a egregious wrong. Mea Culpa, my brother, and may we be united as two lungs of the same Church". It is why that dopey Bishop who denies the Holocaust (what is wrong with people? ) can state that he accepts the primacy of St Peter and be reconciled (there are times when I wish there still were public floggings - the head of Merril Lynch, this guy and a few others would be lined up in my court, let me tell YOU!). The Teachings are Infallible....the men and women who teach them are NOT.

The screenplay is coming along nicely and I am having so much fun learning how to use the software. Right now, however, I am having a hard time focusing because of feeling like crap so I am going to go back to bed and read.

2 comments:

J D 3 said...

I just wanted to say thanks for your wonderful post here and on The Hive. I also like your support! Seems like we get kicked around a lot. I may have to attend one of your classes.

Leslie K. said...

You are welcome..in fact, I am teaching Monday night on Original Sin in the Inquiry class. And you know what? I think we are supposed to get kicked around...but it is still NO FUN....lolololol....