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Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Bad Bishops and the Saints They Inspire


In Catholic blogdom there's always a lot of hand wringing over what this bishop said or what that cardinal did. I'm getting the feeling that in the 2000 year old Church that Jesus Christ founded (aka the Roman Catholic Church .. not to be confused with cheap imitators) that this is all part of the plan. Perhaps it is a test of faith. Maybe these bishops are like the lout uncle on the in-law's side. The guy maybe be a worthless reprobate or a just a jerk but he's family. He may deserve jail-time but he's still family.

A passage from the book which gave this blog it's name made me think of this. The book is called "True Devotion to Mary" and it was written by St. Louis de Montfort. I'm reading (for the second time) the version published by Tan books and translated by Fr. Frederick Faber. Buy it here.

St Louis de Montfort walked around 17th Century France preaching, hearing confession, starting schools and rebuilding church buildings. But he ran into great opposition by the Bishop of Poitiers who forbade him to preach there. That was a test for St. Louis. So, he walked to Rome, consulted with Pope Clement XI and kept on doing what he was doing with the blessing of Il Papa himself.

Let's pray for the repose of the soul of the former Bishop of Poitiers. I'm quite sure he's been forgotten and nobody is blogging his writings or reading his book 300 years after his death.

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