Like the cathedrals of old, this monument to God bears artwork that very few men will ever see - the work of forgotten craftsmen sit on spires, beyond the view of human eyes, but not beyond the view of God's eyes. And like the cathedrals of old, Familia Barcelona has been under construction for over a century.
The Pope's moving homily at the dedication of this magnificent cathedral can be read in it's entirety at Whispers in the Loggia.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." (John 12:3-8)
We need only read Jesus' own response at the accusation of the Church being too wealthy.
Those who would attack the Catholic Church for it's wealth, usually do so under the banner of fellowship as they sip Folgers coffee and eat brownies after an evening of discussing how baptism really doesn't do anything. They wake up to $100 alarm clocks the next morning, lock up their air conditioned houses so that nothing gets stolen, and pass the time while sitting in traffic by listening to the latest Third Day CD on the docked iPod. And while the Chevy Silverado idles on the interstate, fifty feet away, a group of toothless men wake up under the freeway overpass...
...and the Church is too wealthy.
The fact that Catholic Charities is the largest charitable organization in the world aside, if the Church is nothing more than an invisible spiritual and symbolic union of all true believers, then I agree; the Church is definitely too wealthy. But if the Church is also the visible kingdom of God, established on earth by Jesus Christ with the mission, authority and means to bring men to salvation, it cannot possibly be too wealthy. To say that the Church has too much wealth is to say that Christ's Bride is too wealthy.
And you really don't get to call the Catholic Church "Too rich" until your Church has those as poor in spirit as the Brothers and Sisters who have consecrated their lives to God in monastic vows. Father John Corapi recounts the story of how he met Mother Theresa and asked her what she wanted him to tell people about her and her sisters.
"Will you tell them that we're not social workers! My sisters and I have picked up dying people, people who are dying horrible deaths, being eaten by worms. You can't love your neighbor as yourself unless you have the power of God working in your life and that means Jesus in the Eucharist."
The Catholic Church is not a social welfare agency. Every bit of service the Church engages in is ordered to the salvation of souls and every bit of charity work Catholics engage in are based on the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who would have the Church sell off it's assets and give it all to the poor would tear down the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel and sell its pieces on Ebay and auction off La Pieta at Jackson-Barrett right after the '63 split glass Corvette.
I'll bet Judas the Iscariot would have loved twenty inch wheels on his pickup truck too.
Looking at the pictures of the Cathedral in Barcelona is humbling. It thank God for the gift he has given me, the gift of baptism, of confession, and of his body and blood.
I thank God for making me Catholic for therin lies my wealth.
-Tim-
0 comments:
Post a Comment