Lay Evangelist
Till Christ Be Formed in Every Heart
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FOR PROPHETS AND APOSTLES

Posts in Church Life
Pope Benedict, Sacred Tradition and the people who should know better

I wrote a piece on my papal link blog that I think is important to republish here. 

Does The Pope Use Tradition with a Double Standard?

Jamie Manson, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter in her article, ​Pope treats tradition with double standard (again), manages to write a critique of the selective traditionalism of the Pope without making any distinction in her article between Apostolic Tradition and the various disciplines and ecclesial traditions that have sprung up over the centuries. One would think that would be an important thing to note.

Here's the gist of her argument against this "traditionalist" Pope's resignation

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Church LifeMichael GormleyPope Benedict XVI, Sacred Tradition
The Gospel for Sale

But something has been troubling me lately. I cannot shake it. It is this whole idea of being a Professional Church Guy. The part that has me really afraid is not "Can I pay the bills this month" but rather, "I'm paying the bills by peddling the Gospel." I'm scared of that. Socrates thought the sophists were little more than prostitutes because they offered wisdom for money. Jesus told the Apostles in Matthew 10:8, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."

 

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Church Life, PersonalMichael GormleyFamily, authenticity, bills, debts, donations, honesty, life, money
How Not to Give a Witness

Last post I talked about the importance of giving a witness talk or testimony on a retreat or as part of your presentation because it is a change-oriented approach. The purpose of a testimony is to model what conversion to Christ looks like in the real world so your hearers can be assured that change is possible and real.

But there are bad ways to give a testimony, and some of them are pretty subtle. I wanted to address these right now before we move on to another aspect of teaching for conversion. Of course, I don't really do "subtle", but I do sarcastic really, really well.

And so here it is, if you want to give a bad testimony, follow these rules:

Bearing False Witness

  1. Talk mostly about your horrible (and exciting) sinful life. Out of an hour talk take 55 minutes to go on and on about how crazy-awesome-destructive your life was without Christ. Glorify the sin. Talk it up a lot. Make sure everyone is drawn into how depraved your life was and then, at the very end, mention how you met so-and-so who talked to you about Jesus and you stopped all that.
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Church Life, SpiritualityMichael GormleyHow Not To, testimony, witness