The unveiling of Opus Dei | Upfront with Katie Hannon

Why did you do it?

A few months ago there was a suicide near our home; a young lady jumped from a multi-story building. Her boyfriend quickly rushed to the scene and was overhead shouting “Why did you do it?” a common question to raise following such an incident. The young lady, crushed by the fall, groaned and breathed her last as the paramedics arrived.

It’s not an easy world to live in these days; suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people and when we look at our world it is not too surprising is it. We have never been more connected to the world or more isolated from each other; never more separated from our true identity as children of God. Being driven to despair may not be a long journey.

The mind and heart can be fragile and we are subjected to a very high degree of trauma every day through news from around the globe as it happens; through pressures in life from every side; and that’s before we factor in the malevolent supernatural beings whose plan is our annihilation. So, quite a lot to contend with on a regular monday morning.

Other pressures are more specific and personal to our lives that can drive people to despair. As Christians we have a way to deal with these things from deliverance prayer, where there is demonic oppression, to counselling and healing prayer. And I believe the key to prevention of suicides; is prayer for one another; especially from or for your loved ones as the primary means of intervention; other things can also be helpful of course, but only God can make the difference in our lives; only He can deal with our invisible wounds. Like in Isaiah where it says about Jesus ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners’ And He will do it if we call on Him.

Its an ill wind that blows no one any good

Many years ago, when the Church of England (C of E) made the decision to allow women clergy, there was an article in a satirical magazine which, having noted that many people left the C of E, as a result, it reported that God had also left. On asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for a comment on this latest news, he answered “it’s a bit of a blow, but we’ll manage”.   

Many believed that the C of E (and the many other churches that followed suit) had opened the Pandora's box. Even so, it is hard to believe that only a few decades later, they would have gay and lesbian priests and bishops and the growing madness of acceptance of gender ideology to contend with. 

As to the effects in the pews I know very little; only a recent observation at an Episcopalian church in a remote corner of Kalinga Province in the Northern Philippines. During the American occupation missionaries penetrated the region and some towns became Catholic, others Episcopalian and one Sunday I was stranded in the latter. Whilst I could not participate in their service, as a Catholic, I decided to visit the church for my own morning prayers and stayed as an observer. 

The first thing I noticed was that they had a woman priest.  All the altar servers were girls. All the choir were girls. And the vast majority of the congregation were also women and girls. A few boys (under 10 years old) and 3 elderly men at the back waiting for their ticket to eternity were the only local males present. What happened to all the men? 

A few days later back in Tabuk (the regional capital) I met with people at the Catholic Cathedral and there was one chap who was from that town. He had been born Episcopalian but converted  and is now a Catholic priest serving in another town in the province. Perhaps the rest of the flock will likewise migrate!