I am pleased to welcome you on the day on which the Nativity display and the Christmas tree, set up in Saint Peter’s Square, are presented, bound together by the common memory of the storm last autumn that devastated many areas of the Triveneto.
Here comes the political parts that Bergoglio relishes [2]:
The Nativity display, made almost entirely of wood and composed of architectural elements characteristic of the Trentino tradition, will help visitors to enjoy the spiritual richness of the Nativity of the Lord. The wooden trunks from the areas affected by the storms, which serve as a backdrop to the landscape, underline the precariousness in which the Holy Family found itself on that night in Bethlehem. The artistic nativity scene of Conegliano, located in the Paul VI Hall, will also help us to contemplate the humble grotto where the Saviour was born.
Mr. "Holy Father Bergoglio," was Christ born in a "humble grotto" and not in a stable? Grotto is defined as "a cave or cavern," or an "artificial cavernlike recess or structure." [3]
Why is it necessary to draw a parallel between a periodical storm and the night when Christ was born? There is nothing precarious about being born in a stable, and being placed in a manger. It was God's plan. Did Bergoglio want to have something "less precarious" for the Holy Family the night in Bethlehem when Jesus was born? Was he criticizing God indirectly for putting the Holy Family in what Bergoglio deemed to be a "precarious" state?
Fr. Thom Hennen wrote that a "'manger' is in fact the feeding trough in which the hay for the animals would have been placed." [4] More from Fr. Hennen [5]:
Reflecting further on what the manger means, it is also an image of self-sacrificial service, which flows naturally from humility. The manger is a feed bin, a place for food. Christ came to be our food, to give of himself for our nourishment. And so, it is only fitting that he should be laid in a feeding trough. This becomes even more meaningful when we recall that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a name that means “house of bread,” and when we recall his words from the famous Bread of Life Discourse of John’s Gospel: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51). In the same way, those who are called to lives of self-sacrificial service within the Church are called to be food for others.
Back to Bergoglio's address [6]:
Today’s meeting offers me the opportunity to renew my encouragement to your people, who last year suffered a devastating natural disaster, with the destruction of entire wooded areas. These are events that alarm us, they are warning signs that creation sends us, and that ask us to take effective decisions immediately for the protection of our common home.
Are such events "warning signs"? Can people make "effective decisions" to protect themselves "immediately" against such events? Bergoglio never followed-up with any of his own effective decisions to protect the "common home," and his boss is God.
Are wildfires [7], too, warning signs sent by "creation" that people can make decisions to avoid and not collectively an Act of God? Bergoglio ought to read what is quoted below [8] and the rest of it:
A blazing inferno is moving quickly in your direction. You feel the intense heat and the air is clogged with smoke. Deer, snakes, and birds flee past you, even the insects attempt to escape. You would run too if you could, but unfortunately, you are a plant. The fire begins to lick at your leaves and you wait... While no one likes the sight of a burned forest, fire is important for the functioning of a number of ecosystems and many plants are specially adapted to these fire-prone habitats. Read on to discover some of the amazing ways plants survive—and even thrive—in the face of wildfire.
Perhaps the most amazing fire adaptation is that some species actually require fire for their seeds to sprout. Some plants, such as the lodgepole pine, Eucalyptus, and Banksia, have serotinous cones or fruits that are completely sealed with resin. These cones/fruits can only open to release their seeds after the heat of a fire has physically melted the resin. Other species, including a number of shrubs and annual plants, require the chemical signals from smoke and charred plant matter to break seed dormancy. Some of these plants will only sprout in the presence of such chemicals and can remain buried in the soil seed bank for decades until a wildfire awakens them. [Emphasis added.]
Hopefully by reading what some of the things Creation can bring about, Bergoglio just might begin to believe that there is a living God, not a "god" that he can use for his political expediencies.
He might as well read this also, quoted without references, Philippians 3:18-19 [9]:
For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ
Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
[2] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[9] http://www.usccb.org/bible/philippians/3, 18 - 19.
No comments:
Post a Comment