Church Alive and Kicking Each Other

Oh, the exchanges in the internet world! I wonder which blogs and articles St. Jerome and St. Augustine would be responding, too. Today, must be like the time of Luther when pamphletering abound, and there were many voices. Should I laugh, be sad or must I be worried? Majority of Catholics do not read encyclicals, Pope's addresses, or homilies. They simply rely on quotes from priests and Catholic speakers. And they persevere in the faith, knowing deep down that it was the Church established by Christ Himself. The first encyclical I ever read was Pacem en Terris. I do like reading including spiritual books like Henri Nouwen and books about or by the saints but rarely would I be interested in papal documents. It was when I was convicted of the wisdom of the Church regarding artificial contraception [admitting to myself that I was wrong and the Church got it right] that I became more interested in what the Church has to say. But even then, it was just a few that I read: Cathechism, Humanae Vitae, Splendour of the Truth, and Familiaris Consortium. It was Benedict XVI who got me hooked on reading more including homilies and addresses. I read/listen to Benedict XVI because his words and messages are beautiful, educational, and inspiring. He is an outstanding writer. With the new papacy, others kept on reading everything Pope Francis says even when they can't seem to grasp the message. I guess they have to because they are Catholic writers. And then there are the writers who just can't accept any negative commentaries on the Pope... because they are Catholic apologists. Are all these making the Church crumble from within? I hope not. As always, there will be converts, reverts and there will be fallen away. Will the great apostasy happen or will the great mass conversion happen as we near the end times? I don't know, we all have our deaths to reckon with. Maybe what is happening is just a cultural gap. When Pope Francis was elected, I felt orphaned because he was just like our parish priest. Benedict XVI was a pope. However, Pope Francis is the pope and I accept. In the Third World, a priest must only have old, impractical cars which he can rant about. Car is a big deal. Bishops from rugged countryside were castigated for accepting/ soliciting SUVs from the PCSO. Our parish priest when he bought a motorcycle was readily petitioned for ousting. There is great divide between the "have" and "have not" in the Third World. The "have" has BMW, Benz, Porsche. The locally manufactured vehicle would be the Sarao jeepney for the "have not". The "have" use signature apparels- bags, clothes, shoes since they are all imported from the "first world". The "have" has helpers, drivers, and nannies. The "have not" does everything for themselves and if in a much worse situation, be the helpers, drivers, and nannies of the "have". Pope Francis is a politically and socially correct Third World priest. In the Third World, charity is associated with giving something to the poor. The sharing of truth in words (like Benedict's) would hardly pass as an act of charity. In the Third World, the Church is the watchdog of the government. So priests are very political and social justice is often the shout out. And hardly would a Third World Priest be concerned about the Liturgy. He just appears for the Liturgy. A Third World Priest is focused in giving hope amd reaching out. Street, Mall, TV Masses so as to accomodate the bustling Third World people who have to labor much and need rest or shopping. Even the homilies of Pope Francis are quite typical. Like Mother Mary lets in everyone to heaven while St. Peter was away. Then, there's the sermon about gossipers which is a burden to Third World priests. I am not sure if the pope had a sermon about corruption which is often a theme in homilies. A "Third World" priest attends processions, watches the Choir's concert and the Youth group's play. A priest must be game; Sing, dance, clap, and joke with the people. These make for a vibrant church with many religions around. All these are in no way indicative of a good priest or a bad priest. It is just the social setting they are placed. But how about the Pope of the Universal Church? Maybe in time, Pope Francis will be less of himself. Or perhaps, this is what Jesus wants for our time. No matter what, we have the Word of God, the Sacraments, and the Magisterium. We can pray. So we go on, allowing God to transform us that we may be conformed to Him.