COOL HEADS, PRAYERS AND DISCERNMENT

 (Posted by Frenchie)

In a world of voluntary misgiving informations and a manichean "social media", it is easy to get misled and abused by a myriad of questionable "pundits".

Following last week passing of Pope Francis, it is hard to avoid being pummeled by "expert" analysis regarded the reign of Francis, but also about the leading contenders to replace the pontiff.

This is exactly why it is important for us Catholics to take a deep breath, and take everything in perspective.

Already for the last few months, ever since Francis had shown physical frailty, the public in general, Catholics in particular were put under a constant barrage of revelations, interpretations, studies, predications, and ominous predictions of all sorts and origins. This constant pouring of "informations" is difficult at best to be navigated by people in the know, therefore one can easily imagine the challenge it poses for the pedestrian faithful, already trying to navigate a complex world for the sake of their family and loved ones. In the best scenario it is confusing, even if you get your information from reputable and trusted sources. In the worst cases where that information comes from individuals and/or organisations who are hostile to the Catholic Church, confusion can easily morph into distrust and open conflictual situations.

Of course this is nothing new to the Church: under the Romans people were thrown into the Circus with wild beasts to be devoured for their faith, or Crucified. The martyrs of our Church are numerous and have existed throughout our history, all the way till now. Clergy, and religious were guillotined by French revolutionary. Christians are martyred in Africa and Asia. Catholics are cancelled and threatened in their work and businesses by so called secular governments. In the USA, the previous administration unleashed its jackbooted spies on the Church under false pretense. Israel, supported by evangelical Christian has ethnically cleansed almost all Christians from the Middle East, with the complicity of western governments who remain silent. (silence is aquiescence).

This is in this context that both Social media and Legagy media,  have unleashed a storm of misinformations and gross manipulations, about Francis, but also about who might become his replacement.

This is the perspective within which we have to show maturity, responsibility and discernment.

Now that Francis is buried, the focus is turning to the upcoming Conclave, which will lead to the selection and election of the latest successor of St Peter.

As one of my mentor reminded me about Conclaves, nothing is ever written in stones. Actually this will be my 7th Conclave, and not one of them produced an obvious preferred successor. Even Benedict was selected as the least controversial. From Pius XII to John XXIII, to Benedict to Francis every Conclave has produced surprises and unexpected results.

The west in general likes to produce "Top Ten list". We indeed have been treated to a multitude of top ten lists, all with their biases, according to their origins. Openly anti Catholic news organisations are pushing the names of reformers, while openly Catholic news organisations give us a slew of options based on what philosophical tendency their advocate for.

This is exactly the reason why it is very important to remain cool headed and prayerful, in order not to be laid astray. God gave us intelligence and discernment to be used according to his teachings. This is the reason we must not fear, and focus on our Lord's teachings and strong recommendations.

Last week we talked about General meetings that take place everyday, with all the Cardinals as they arrived. Many have of course noted that Francis over the last decade had nominated around 80 Cardinals. This fact is brought forward as an argument that the games are already slanted in favor of liberal Cardinals who owe their titles to Francis. 

While conservatives like Sarah,Mueller, Burke and several others are definitely scaring the Bergoglio crowd and the secular globalist in the shadows, we need to stay away from the pushers of catastrophic scenarios, based on false interpretations of past revelations and predictions from diverse sorts. While Francis did stack the Conclave with people he perceived as like minded. The moral values of a Cardinal from Africa, India the Middle East or even Tonga are far different than those of Europeans for example, even if they were given their appointment by Francis

Historically the Church has been faced by enormous challenges, many from within our leadership, yet God continues to find ways to give us new opportunities to grow. From the Gnose to the Albigeois, from the Muslim tidal waves of the 7th to the 11th century, which even saw the sack of Rome, all the way to the Reform movement of Luther and Calvin which ultimately led to the Free Masons of the French Revolution and the 3 Spanish civil wars, the Church has endured.

Europe which experienced a radical emptying of its Churches following Vatican II, is now experiencing a Christian renewal founded on tradition, despite the best efforts of Francis and several of his deputies. The Church in Asia and Africa is growing faster than anywhere else worldwide, while in South America the pressure of the evangelist movement has given a welcome renewal to the Catholic faith. At home in the USA, despite a slew of appointments of the proteges of Mc Carrick, the faithful are finding alternatives to their corrupt leaders. Being Catholic is not for timid and fearful individuals, as we have proved it here on Guam.

Therefore, now that we have been given the Calendar for the beginning of the upcoming Conclave, do not be distracted, remain strong in your faith and continue praying. God has shown us many times that he can inspired the right people to lead his Church.