Today the church faces so much trouble... the scandals in the high ranks of the clergy, the arguing between the pope and bishops, the dissension between the Rad Trads and the rest of the church... it's too bad that we can't be free from arguing and scandal like the early church, right?
Well, not so much.
The saints we read about today lived in the 3rd century. This was the EARLY early church. There were two popes, because each said the other wasn't a legitimate pope. There was a huge scandal in the church because Hippolytus, one of the popes, said that people who had denied Jesus and the church under persecution could NOT just come back into the church later on. And also, there was serious persecution in which the Roman Emperor was having Christians killed. In fact, the Emperor got sick of the popes arguing and sent them BOTH to the salt mines to die. One of the popes sent for another Bishop to become Pope, and the other "pope" relinquished his claim as pope so there would be unity. The two former popes reconciled as friends and died together in the salt mines as martyrs. You can read more about them here.
That brings us back to today. There IS much trouble and scandal in the world today, and in the church. But keep in mind - God wins in the end. There IS trouble all around us. Jesus told us that there would be. "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world."
God, thanks for the example of these feuding popes who put the unity of the church above their squabbling and paid the ultimate price for their faith. Saints Pontian and Hippolytus, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment