I would say to you that you are being brought under conviction...
Cardinal Arinze obeyed God's calling on his life as in Ezekiel 3:
1
He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
2
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3
Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said:
4
Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.
5
Not to a people with difficult speech and barbarous language am I sending you,
6
nor to the many peoples (with difficult speech and barbarous language) whose words you cannot understand. If I were to send you to these, they would listen to you;
7
but the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, since they will not listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is stubborn of brow and obstinate in heart.
8
But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs,
9
like diamond, harder than flint. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
10
Son of man, he said to me, take into your heart all my words that I speak to you; hear them well.
11
Now go to the exiles, to your countrymen, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD!--whether they heed or resist!
12
Then spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the noise of a loud rumbling as the glory of the LORD rose from its place:
13
the noise made by the wings of the living creatures striking one another, and by the wheels alongside them, a loud rumbling.
14
The spirit which had lifted me up seized me, and I went off spiritually stirred, while the hand of the LORD rested heavily upon me.
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Thus I came to the exiles who lived at Tel-abib by the river Chebar, and for seven days I sat among them distraught.
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Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.
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If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
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If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life.
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If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him.
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When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.
http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible_hold/ezekiel/ezekiel3.htm Matthew 28:16
8 The eleven 9 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17
10 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18
11 Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19
Go, therefore, 12 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20
http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew28.htm Sir 27:30--28:9
Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor's injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults.
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 13 And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
Cardinal Ariaze was asking people to repent of their sins, turn from their evil ways, and be healed. He didn't slap them in the face, or maybe he did because they were being brought under conviction. But he did what SCRIPTURE has commanded him to do. To do otherwise would be to allow what has been going on in the church to continue. And, as a cardinal he has to set the example....looks like he did a pretty good job at that!
PRAISE GOD FOR CARDINAL ARINZE!
