Hey, I'm not sure if anybody is reading this, but I saw this post on facebook and I wanted to help the message spread.


This was just shared with me from an anonymous priest:

My intention in writing this is not to depress anyone or cause alarm, but rather to give witness to the reality of what one simple parish priest is living in this time of trial.

I have no intention of leaving the priesthood. I write this anonymously, because I am prudent, and because I deem that my day-to-day life for the care of souls is more important than putting myself into a public debate. In fact, the care of souls has never been needed more.they need more clarity, more love and more support as these families attempt to conquer the unique challenges of our times.

My opinion doesnt matter. When reason is no longer invoked, and when all we do is make theology by insults and popular slogans, then real debate has ceased. There is no point in your knowing my name. If Archbishop Vigano and cardinals dubias can be ignored, if abuse victims and whistle blowers and whole bishops conferences can be ignored, and if the people working in high offices in the Vatican can be ignored, then I will not be heard. Besides I dont want to be anyones hero. Christ should be our hero. Only He really matters and this is why I write to you today..

I am only a Catholic priest, and I have been so for many years now. As a shepherd of some small part of Christs flock, I have seen my responsibility (rightly or wrongly) as that of holding a center, so as to draw Gods people together around his divine and unchanging teachings and his holy sacraments. I have looked to the example of St. John Paul II as a model. He was so often that near-perfect balance of clarity and charity. I find recent efforts to undermine his papacy by far lesser minds to be most shameful and quite sad. Why is this happening? Why are we tearing down a man who loved his priesthood and his Church, a church that calls him a Saint.

I dont want to foster schism in any way, and I am a man under obedience, so when I have seen my bishops or pope erring or straying from orthodoxy, I have endeavored to give them the benefit of the doubt, and to listen with humility, but by so doing, I have still been disappointed again and again at the level of mendacity and corruption that is so evident in the Church today, and I have lost considerable confidence in the institution of the living Magisterium. Perhaps that was their goal. If so, they have succeeded.

As a traditionally minded pastor, I have taken heat for trying to present an authentic Catholic expression of our faith and worship in parochial life. I have been called way too orthodox by people in the chancery. Detractors in the parish have accused me of not being a Vatican II priest. And despite the fact that we worship with Gregorian chant and Latin, and despite the fact that we have even offered the EF, I have seen conservative Catholic commentators dismiss the Novus Ordo as a joke, and presumably, by extension, they judge my priesthood and my ministry as a joke as well. The folks in the center are held in contempt in these more divisive times.

So then what is a priest like me supposed to do when the sheep are scattering? What are ordinary pastors of souls to do when the pope no longer represents the center? What are we supposed to tell our people when they observe a wholesale rebellion among cardinals who contradict each other as they contradict the saints of old and even Sacred Scriptures? As a pastor of souls in these troubling and confused times, I must tell you that it is not easy to convey confidence in Catholicisms destiny. History proves that Protestantism is not the answer. And I am not looking for sanity in the east, if only because I am a descendent of Charlemagne, and of the kings and saints of the west. I belong here. Im not going anywhere. Yet remarkably, despite all the pathetic nonsense going on in our Church today, and despite the nightly scandals that unceasingly unfold in the press, converts still knock on my door and still keep coming into the Church. Gods grace still finds a way in, despite our sinfulness and folly.

I am not a saint. I have my own issues. But I live a vocation in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. I am celibate, and I want your readers to know that there are good, celibate priests out here. Many of us still take our vows seriously. Some priests have even been falsely accused of abuse, and their cross is so heartbreaking to watch. If it can happen to them, then it can happen to all of us. It takes courage for seminarians to enter into this life, and yet I have met so many fine men studying for the priesthood. And for the most part the priests that I know are good men. They have never caused scandal, but we are sinners and we are human, so we know that we are still capable of failing the Lord. So we hide in humility, and pray for grace and courage. The priesthood, as have seen it, is a life of quiet obedience. It is a mission of servitude. It is the long, white martyrdom of anonymity. For such priest

Testing, testing, 1 2 3, is this thing on?

well, if nobody's reading this, I can copy some of my writing here to keep it going...

It is said that only a human can possess the strength of will necessary to keep the waras from falling into darkness, but even that idea is less certain than the many theories about the source of the name FireDancer for women. The most popular theory is that it is a metaphor for trying to lead all those stubborn waras, but the last person to mention that one in the presence of a wara was almost bitten. Those among the waras who are good revere them, and the dark despise them.
-Sir Richard Leopold III, a historian of some note

Heh, it's been two years since I started this thread. ... Well, starting next week, I will hopefully have a much more regular schedule for posts I can make on here. For now, happy Holy Week.
Should've been me
You Love Me Anyway

Click if you dare! :)
The Narrow Road
The valley of death

Hey guys. Not sure if there's anyone still reading this, but I thought it would be better to tell you guys. I'm leaving Sylestia. I'm sure if anyone was interested they would've noticed that I haven't been on in ages. Life has just gotten too busy, and a pet game isn't important enough to me to hang on to it. But there is one thing I wanted to do before I left: one last post on here.

You guys are going to be the ones who decide whether this thread stays open or dies. So, as my leaving gift, I'll give you one last post.

Last week was the initiation of a new president, a man who claims to be catholic. This man has declared that a girl born with a boy's anatomy must be allowed to participate in sports competitions against girls born with a girl's anatomy, and use bathrooms for those with a girl's anatomy. He has declared that a mother should be able to decide to kill her child as long as it is under a certain age. And he has made many declarations to the effect that Catholics should not receive the same freedom to practice their religion as even Muslims.

Sounds a little scary? That's what I thought. Then I heard the Mass readings on Sunday.

First reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Jonah has been saved from the whale, and is immediately sent once again to Ninevah, the city of his enemies, the city of evil he sought to escape when he was first sent. And when he reaches the city, they believe his message of warning and repent, changing their ways. When God saw this result, he was happy and did not destroy them as he had threatened.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Direct me, God, and teach me how to walk in your truth, you are my hope. Goodness and love have always come from you, do not hate me for my sins, but remember me as love dictates. Integrity and generosity are shown as he brings us home, and judiciously he guides the humble in his ways.

Second Reading: First Corintians 7:29-31
The time remaining is running out, and the world is about to end

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20
John has been arrested. It is the beginning of Jesus' formal ministry. And he goes into Galilee proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is near, for the time of fulfillment has come. He calls Simon and his brother Andrew, two poor fishermen, to follow him, and they com. Then, going further, he calls James and his brother John, the sons of a middle class fisherman, to follow him, and they go.

Overall message I got? We have come to a time of trial, a time of calling. The disciples have been summoned, and it is time to rise in righteousness.

It was so strangely appropriate, I started to wonder what the readings were for the 20th, the day of the inauguration. Curious? Keep reading.

First Reading: Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
The King of Saving Justice, or King of Peace, Melchizedek, a priest, came to meet Abraham as he returned from defeating many kings and blesses him. Melchizedek had no father, mother, nor ancestry, and neither his birth nor death is recorded, like the Son of God, a priest forever. A priest from the order of Melchizedek is priest by his indestructible life, and not human conventions.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 110:1-4
God has subjugated all the Lord's enemies, and His kingdom shall last forever over all the earth, for His majesty has belonged to Him, and He is a priest forever of the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: Mark 3:1-6
Jesus goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath, when it was illegal to do work, and calls a man with a withered hand to stand before him. He asks the Pharisees whether it was permitted to do good on the Sabbath instead of evil, and when they obstinately refuse to answer he heals the man's hand. The Pharisees then go and begin plotting to destroy him.

Message? ;) Well, it brings another verse or two to mind for me, at least. You can come to whatever conclusions you want.
My verses? John 15:18, and John 16:33

ignore this comment

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=59230&page=8#78 Author: Echosing Time Posted: 1/28/2021 at 11:08 PM

Sorry, but I just can't understand why any guy would think he knows what it's like to be a girl, mentally. I mean, there are SO many stories where the guys are like, "the brain of a woman is impossible to understand." And as a girl myself, I can't even imagine what a guy's thought process could be like. Basically, how do you know you are mentally a girl, (or a guy) even if your body is the opposite, when the only way you've ever known how to think is your own? We can never really understand any thought process we haven't experienced, and we can only experience our own, so it's impossible to ever completely figure someone else's out. (And I don't consider liking skirts or cooking or makeup or even guys to be an indicator of being a girl, nor opposite for guys. If you really think about it, saying that if you like trucks and machinery and grease on your hands means you're a guy with the body of a woman, that is actually undermining the dignity, freedom, and rights of women, and vice versa)

By the way, this is officially my last post, I just wanted to share these two playlists before going.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwfITwjEA1PCeJtaghojschX-16mg7olg
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwfITwjEA1PBIo2seOGZoJd7bbbsqyvxW