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It's Never "Pastoral" To Disregard The Church In Order To "Love" Someone

Blog post over. But seriously. The big question is this: "What are you shepherding them toward?" I agree with Rebecca Hamilton, essentially, that the Catholic Church is the true home for one-footed lesbians with face tattoos. Furthermore, if Jesus bothers to show up at all, we've largely won at life that day. I say "largely," though, because experiencing friendship with God means, at some point, recognizing that God is calling someone to drop the "lesbian", and if you are the person who is the instrument of that message, Love compels you to deliver it. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was built.

It is true that I should not waste my time judging people over liturgical abuses, errors, perceived substandard dress, etc. It's also true that none of us should accept where we are in that moment, simply because God has chosen to be mercifully present. The "mercifully" of itself indicates that our journey is not complete.

Which means practically that we do whatever the GIRM says to do, as much as we are able. It's not rigid to insist upon it; it's prudent. The Church is God's own instrument, as a means of our salvation, and its end, insofar as we experience communion with Him, and each other. If you believe the Holy Spirit talks to you, but obviously not the guys in the funny hats, you've missed the boat.

So yes, the liturgy is bad. It's bad because we accept "good enough" so we can personally feel non-judgy. And a note on His Eminence Cardinal Burke: he did not criticize women; he criticized feminism. There is a huge difference.
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