www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Re: Irish Anchoress/fairness/goodbye

Brethren,

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to HIM forever!

In all fairness to those who I love on this forum, and who have told me that Irish Anchoress was condescending to Jennifer, I looked over every one of her posts, and I am sorry--but--I do not feel they are condescending. This is the way many monastic spiritual fathers talk. I sense alot of love and compassion in her posts. In private p.m. with her, I sensed the soul of someone very holy...someone who really 'gets it', as Theophan would say...about Christ and about faith.

A few posts can reveal rudeness and/or anger in a poster, but it would take alot more time on the forum than she has been here to reveal the accusations about her which have been made.

I was literally in tears about what is going on in this forum last night...I will admit, that for the first time, (even my Orthodox brethren that have jumped all over me at times have not done this)...I am truly scandalized.

So, since this is the Nativity Fast, and it is much more important that we feel love for our brethren and not devour them while we abstain from meat (St. John Chrysostom), I will depart from the forum for a while.

I will truly pray that the abrupt and confrontational attitudes that some posters have brought with them here will subsist, (though I bear them no ill feelings) and that this will once again become the spiritual refuge that it has always been for many, myself included.

God bless all of you!

In Christ our Lord, our Saviour,
and in His Most Holy Mother, our Lady Theotokos,
Alice

And how did your post show kindness and compassion to other?

Gaudior, reminding people that to forgive means to FORGET the offense

Dear Friends,

As someone who has gotten into some pretty mean scraps on the forum, including with the long-suffering Administrator who, happily, is sometimes more bemused by me than upset, I can say that the worst thing is to try and have the last word on a point of contention.

What happened above happened and the wind has now gone out of the sails of that issue.

There are no atheists in fox-holes, it is said.

This phrase should be filled out with an additional line about how "there are no Christians on battle-fields."

I think we will continue to have episodes where we disagree with one another in a disagreeable fashion . . .

I think we will still have situations where the weak-willed among us will threaten to leave the forum . . .

But most of all, we will continue to have Father Gregory's timely posts about prayer to try and divert everyone's attention to more lofty things!

Let's forgive one another and move on!

Alex

Does this post seem like that of someone who "gets it?"

"I am daring to mail again; alerted to this. And it is all far worse than I "saw".
Whether you agree or understand matters not really; the only person who has truth and Jesus here is Alice. Bless you! Whether you agree, our Order is in Communion with the Byzantine Catholics who ARE in communion with Rome. If you feel the need, mail Arch-Abbess Mother Matthew Peter.
And no man can order anyone not to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus; He does not belong to any one denomination or person. He is Himself, THANK JESUS. I hae received Holy Communion in every Church since I came to Ireland, and always with the bidding of the Prists' they say" The denomination matters not a whit; IT IS YOUR LIFESTYLE"; and that is their choice freely and fully. And within the legislation. See if your are so inclined the encyical last year. I have the Rseerved Sacrament here for daily communion as I am too ill to go out.That is my Life and my Joy, my strength and my Love. I will also break bread with anyone in His Name. And pray with anyone ditto. And respecte all preists and pastors etc, as those called by Jesus to shepherd His Flock. The true Church is in the heart and mind and life of everyone who believes in Jesus and who strives to live their lives by His Holy Words; I know a Baptist child in Uganda who is full of the Holy Spirit and who radiates Jesus and is winning souls to Him; demons are being cast out and people are being healed. She has never heard of RC or any of this stuff here.
She is THE CHURCH. More fully thn \i will ever be.
My own awareness ios that the divisions are not "heresy" or schism; they always follow periods of gross abuse int he existing Church and are the Movement of the Holy Spirit to renew true faith. \I welcome that. IF the existing denoms were pure that would never be necessray.
and who are we to say who God gives ordination to? THAT IS HIS CHOICE; how dare any of us say else. \re Mary; I am waiting on my Lord as I said; I trust Him; He will bring me to His Mother when it is time. The rosary means a great deal to me; but I , as I said already, do not have the energy tp pray it just now; i love making thema nd thatis a solace to me.Itis a giving I cannot hsre in. Always I have stautes and opictures of Mary; when she is ready....
As bernadette said, "the stream is not for me"; I bedn to is will in that.
A great deal fo what ios here is BECAUSE again as Alice asys, folk try itn INFLICT rules from the OUTSIDE. It does not work and especially whent here is severe illness as with me. It has to come from within.
Anchoreses have windows!!! Many come to me from all denoms seeking prayer. I give freely to all.
Much of what is here is nit-picking.
We ARE "real Catholic Nuns"; oh we get this kind of thing all the time; we simply refer folk to the web site then quit. Shake the dust off our feet in great sadness. We are Catholic and in Communion with Rome.
Those are facts. In Jesus
As Mary has said, and others, denomination matters not a whit to God; we are not going to be asked what our "label" is, but what love we have for Jesus and all His people. There are many in the Church who are not int he Church and vice versa as Alice said
If youa re of that school that says that Orthoxy is the ony church; God says else.
"Holier than thou"? oh WOW! see my websitre. I LIVE all i say i do. ALL of it. in love. Again, that is somthing I get all the time. Bess your
I came here to this forum hoping to find the love of Jesus and abopve all to give; I have asked that my details be remioved fromt he database. That sio what Jesus asked me in person to do last night. I am in Holy Obedience about that. PLEASE DO THIS NOW. I love my Lord and am His Cloistered Bride. That si all that matters to me. The rest is window dressing
My time on this earth is drwing near its end, and that gives ofetn a wisdom and an chaing as we draw nearer "home".
I say this to you; you are becoming as sounding cymbals only. Please, turn to Jesus Who is love. Stop all this;love alone. What I have rerd here is shameful. JESUS IS LOVE. ALONE AND ALWAYS; that is all and all and all. the rest is just window dressing and matters nto an iota. Jesus has tole mt hat in person and that si what I live to my dying breath; nt too far hence thankfully I go to Him with opne arms, and embrace all with Him in that love; rich blessings shower you all; angels watch over you
See what is written in Isaiah and again said by Jesus....."Lest they be converetd"; too ill to find the extcrt words now. Hard hearts over there; that need melting; heats of stone that need to bceome hearst o flesh; and oh, that is a painfl, aching process; God lovee you all!"

To me this is just a lot of pious nonsense because she clearly doesn't believe in the Church. We're all catholics here (Orthodox, RC, or BC) and so we believe in the Church. We believe that the Church can say that those who are not in communion with us cannot receive the Eucharist.

That's not to say that there aren't holy people outside of the visible bounds of the Church. We can't tell God where He can pour out grace. As the RCs teach, we know where the Church is but not where the Church isn't.

But reiterating, we know where the Church is, that's in communion with bishops who succeed from the apostles.

I sincerely doubt that the RC priests in Ireland have told her that "denomination" doesn't matter. Any priest who allows her to receive the Eucharist is disobedient.

The 'lines don't matter' and 'Jesus is everywhere' arguments are protestant lies. Lines do matter. Jesus established a Church.

Jennifer,

True enough about the Christ being in the Church and we have no way of knowing where else. However, I think most of us would just as soon let this drop especially since Anchoress wishes not to address this forum any longer. I don't know why she doesn't just stop but perhaps it is best that we all stop this.

Could the administer close all fora on this topic, please.

Dan L

Dear Jennifer,

You are right, as you always are!!

As for "getting it," how about we forget about all of this and move on?

If you and IA ever got together in a back alley somewhere, I've no doubt you could "drop" her in short order!

I like to think that religion is not about who is right and who is wrong.

Whenever I get into a disagreement, I always walk away feeling diminished as a Christian, but even more importantly, as a person. And this despite the fact that I was right or that others told me I was right.

When I extend my hand to someone I've had a disagreement with or who just doesn't like me (I love everyone, you know ), I also like to think that we can be friends, even if we have unresolved issues between us.

Even when you used the term "delusional" in connection to me or my religious views, I learned to accept that and it doesn't bother me now . . . no, it really does not . . . believe me . . .

So it's not a matter of whether IA or just I have been wrong, or silly, or this or that.

You've seen her and me as we are - weak, flawed human beings. Guilty as charged!

I'm sorry I'm not a Saint. Only a few people here are, like Fr. Gregory and the Administrator.

Most people I know aren't either. You are within your rights to call it as you see it.

We all are and we're not perfect. And to say we're not is more than to state a truism.

To love everyone is very difficult and yet we are called to do it. We cannot categorize those people who are more deserving of our love etc. We just love.

Father Kapaun was a U.S. military chaplain in North Korea who was taken prisoner by the Reds as he was giving Last Rites to a dying American soldier.

In the Red POW camp, he would often publicly argue with one Comrade Sun who tried to convert the prisoners to communism etc.

One day, Father Emile Kapaun was standing alone in the corner of the camp when a friend asked him what was the matter.

"You know, Harry," said Father Kapaun. "When our Lord told us to love everyone, I'm sure He didn't have Comrade Sun in mind . . ."

Of course, he didn't mean that.

And when Fr. Kapaun lay dying, his humanity shone through as he told another POW, "Sam, when you get home, fix that marriage of yours . . . if you don't, I'll come down from heaven and kick you in the tail . . ."

Words that can apply to us all!

God bless you, Jennifer, and a good day to you!

Alex

Does "trust but verify" really signify lack of love?

This, ISTM, is the crux of the matter in these threads. Some think so and react strongly to being questioned; others see it differently and might see a the lack of engagement as a mean indifference.

IMO, there isn't an unambiguous universal moral teaching on this issue - people are just different in the way thay interact and would like to be interacted with. We might perhaps just try to consider cutting each other a little slack, rather than trying to force conversion to our individual perspective.

Dear djs,

Oh no, I'm not getting into a political discussion with you again . . .

Alex

Meany!

Really you know a bunch of us are like old friends. Though we may never meet until heaven, we have posted for several years together, we have an idea of how each other feel about things and how reactions will be. This you will find throughout when someone posts, but the fact is those of us that have posted together for a long time just role on. I guess in some ways like any good family you just agree to disagree, find things we agree on and fellowship over that. It is just like everyone doesn't post on every subject, not everyone is interested. And like family spats that occassionaly occur once the dust settles everyone is talking again. The youngesters in the family observe the ways things are done and eventually learn, doesn't mean there isn't room for change.

I have personally grown so much in knowledge from this forum, til it is hard to imagine not having it to reference. I send people here, because I know I can find truth for them when they have questions. The competency of people on this forum is amazing, I send people here, as I am sure many others do to, and they never leave it, simply because they find the love of Christ on it. Whatever else we may do or say is irrelivant to that factor, we must show the love of God. If we maintain Christ as the center and not ourselves we can resolve the issues.

It is truly blessed by God, because the people here truly love God!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us! Forgive us every trangression that we have committed against someone on the forum. Bring about peace and trust in our midst, so that we may go forward and share your Gospel message. Amen.