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| Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J. |
“What return can I make to the Lord for all He has given to me?”
He has given me myself,
I can give myself back to Him.
He has given me this life,
I can live it for Him.
He has given me His own Son,
I can receive and welcome Him.
He has given me His Son’s life,
I can live with Him and in Him.
He has given me His Son’s death,
I can make that love my standard.
He has given me His own Fatherhood,
I can be a true son.
I can believe in Him.
I can trust Him.
I can be true to Him.
I can be what He wants me to be.
I can do what He wants me to do.
This what my faith means to me:
It is the key to life’
It is the only key to peace;
“Peace which the world cannot give, I give unto you."
Link (here) to the full thoughtful piece on faith in Jesus by the Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J.
2 comments:
You know, real prophets are few and far between.
So people -- and we are obligated to consider priests to be people -- are left to conjecture about God's intentions. And those conjectures will occasionally be right, and often be wrong.
So we have a situation where individuals will pick and choose the priest's conjectures and interpretations that most suit them -- convinced that they are following God and following the Church.
I imagine someone reading Fr Goodier's article and believing that it is "religious" and "insightful" -- as opposed to human conjecture and extrapolation. I hope that everyone who reads this article understands that it may not reflect God -- this article reflects human conjecture. If someone chooses to make this their "truth" or claims that Fr. Goodier was inspired, then he is making a decision that serves to define himself before God -- and that self-definition may simply prove that an individual lacks good judgment.
I would hope that such a person would understand that someone who disagrees with Fr. Goodier's conjectures may, in fact, be more Catholic -- even if Fr. Goodier, the Church, the Magisterium and the Bible say otherwise.
My friend,
With all the many and varied clerics out there who have disgraced their cloth and kept souls from entering the Church who could be criticized for the rubbish they write, you feel it necessary to belittle the thoughts of this great and holy Bishop?
Your time would be better spent, in my opinion, in reading Goodier's profound thoughts and reflecting on them. There are few writers more edifying than he.
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