Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the FrancisWhisperer

Cardinal Tobin was installed at Newark yesterday. From his homily:

To believe in Jesus “is not acceptance of a doctrine or a moral code…” HERE

Oh, really? I thought it was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark.  Isn’t being Catholic a prerequisite for taking this job?

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” John 14:15-21

You see, “acceptance of the moral code” is precisely what is required of a Catholic. No matter how many times we may fail, we must never deny the Eternal Truths as they’ve been graciously revealed to us.  The Commandments are not a punishment, they are a blessing. They are proof of God’s love.  He is not a selfish or distant lover.  He comes right out and tells us how to love Him, what he expects from us, and what we can expect in return.

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:22-26

The commands given by Jesus, which belong to the Father, and are reinforced by the Holy Spirit, are a representation of the Divine Love that flows eternally between the Three Persons of the Trinity, in which we will take part if we persevere to the end (Matt 24:13). These loving instructions provided by the Triune God are the key not only to attaining Heaven by the merits of the Cross, but they are also the only way to achieve even fleeting happiness in this world.

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith”. The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men “and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin”. CCC#234

mkay?
 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.