Last week I had a man tell me (as so many have before him) that the Catholic Church would have to change her outdated teachings "if it is to survive".
This week, the AP reports that 3 million young people attended the final Mass of World Youth Day in Rio. Yep, the Pope -- that old man in charge of the decaying Church-on-life-support -- drew 3 million youth.
Take a look:
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| Catholic Universe Newspapers |
They say the crowd of pilgrims stretched for two miles.
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| Felipe Dana/AP |
I can't help but think of my favorite description of the papacy, written by 19th century English historian Thomas Macaulay and excerpted here:
There is not, and there never was on this earth, a work of human policy so well deserving of examination as the Roman Catholic Church.
The history of that Church joins together the two great ages of human civilisation. No other institution is left standing which carries the mind back to the times when the smoke of sacrifice rose from the Pantheon, and when camelopards and tigers bounded in the Flavian amphitheatre.
The proudest royal houses are but of yesterday, when compared with the line of the Supreme Pontiffs. That line we trace back in an unbroken series, from the Pope who crowned Napoleon in the nineteenth century to the Pope who crowned Pepin in the eighth; and far beyond the time of Pepin the august dynasty extends, till it is lost in the twilight of fable….
Nor do we see any sign which indicates that the term of her long dominion is approaching. She saw the commencement of all the governments and of all the ecclesiastical establishments that now exist in the world; and we feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them all….
As I've said before, there is no earthly explanation for the fact that the Catholic Church, grounded in the office of the papacy, survives and thrives after 20 centuries, but there is a supernatural explanation:
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. -- Matthew 16:18
My dear friends, Jesus Christ is a Man of His word.
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PS: If you want to see mobs of wholesome, Christ-centered, youthful joy, go here. What fun!
PPS: What Pope Francis really said about gay people, here. And the video, here.
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What a beautiful sight!
ReplyDeleteThere you go!
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a headcount for a "dying irrelevant Church".
ReplyDeleteGorgeous.
Yup…order the casket! A couple thousand nuts, just look away. Oh wait , that line is for pro-life rallies. I didn’t know you can actually get that many people in one place.
ReplyDeleteAnd Nubby, from all I have seen, there hasn’t been a single time that you have put someone into the boards that I thought you deserved a penalty. IMHO
And ever since Leila hit me with the Chesterton “democracy of dead” quote, I’ve been a little obsessed.
Thought this has become as fitting for today as it was in his day.
O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry.
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride.
From all that terror teaches,
From lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches
That comfort cruel men,
For sale and profanation
Of honour and the sword,
From sleep and from damnation,
Deliver us, good lord.
Tie in a living tether
The prince and priest and thrall,
Bind all our lives together,
Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
A single sword to thee.
;) Just saw your comment, Csawww. Thanks. Lol, no unsportsmanlike conduct? Wow, the refs are letting everything go...
DeleteLovely, inspiring photos and great quote!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see! Looks like the lamestream media is largely missing the fun. Thank you Leila for putting this on your blog - if it weren't for the internet we probably wouldn't even know about this wonderful event! Praising God for all He is doing.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think, those were the ones who could raise enough money to go! There many more Catholic youth who longed to go but were financially unable to. Our diocese held their own World Youth Day so the kids who wanted to go but were unable to could still participate in some way.
ReplyDeleteI just posted this comment on Facebook, but does anyone realize how big 3 million people is? That's the size of the city of Vancouver. You're looking at a metropolis-sized population of young people all gathered in one place to see the pope, the leader of a Church so often declared "irrelevant" by our "social betters". That's mind blowing.
ReplyDeleteYoung people. Nuff said!!
ReplyDeleteHi Leila, is Bessie, from Panamá, 3 million is our entire population. My husband and 2 older kids are still there along with 300 more panamenians.
ReplyDeleteFinally I stop being a lurker. Ha ha ha!
Bessie, welcome!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I just had to say that I got another comment like the one in the OP, today on Catholic Exchange:
"Get with the times or die, that is the Church's choice."
I had to chuckle! I linked her to this post.
Have you seen this? It's a parody from a funny Catholic site. :)
ReplyDelete“I Told Him Left…Make A Freaking Left,” Pope Vents To Youth
http://www.eyeofthetiber.com/2013/07/23/i-told-him-left-make-a-freaking-left-pope-vents-to-youth/
Makes me proud to be Catholic! I was happily blessed to find the pic of the beach Mass on the cover of the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leila! Great posts!!!
ReplyDeleteI was so blessed to be there in person...our Church is not dead, but very much alive and full of joy...this was my 3rd WYD and the best one yet!
ReplyDeletePatty, that is amazing!
ReplyDeleteCardinal Dolan opinion on the mass media coverage of Pope Francis plane press conference
ReplyDeletehttp://cardinaldolan.org/index.php/what-the-holy-father-said/
People who have been abused by Catholic priests might see this a bit differently. The foundation of an organization is rotten for this to happen, yet people choose to carry on as if nothing happened.
ReplyDeleteJohn, that's sort of out of left field.
ReplyDeleteSo, if you're right, then the public school system has a rotten foundation, as does the family. Both the family and public schools have much, much, much higher rates of child sexual abuse than the Catholic Church.
Who is carrying on as if nothing happened? You clearly have not been around any Catholic dioceses and/or seen the policies and training and mandates that have been implemented in the past several years. They abound.
Back up your comments with evidence or don't bother commenting. Thanks.