This gargantuan vulture was munching away on freshly prepared road-pizza the other day as I went to visit one of my infirm parishioners. The size of the vultures in the mountains here amaze me. When they jump up to fly off they only get as high as one’s windshield. And hitting one of these at any speed would be like having a cement block come crashing through the window, providing more road kill of bird and human for other vultures.
He didn’t like being disturbed during his dining experience and gave me one of those typical vulture evil eyes, turning his head toward me in mid-wing-flap, as if to say that I would pay for such an interruption, with me being his next road-pizza meal. This, however, is not on my agenda, not for this actual vulture, and not for any figurative vulture either, and there are plenty of the latter by the way. We must be attentive to the directions and discernment provided to us by our guardian angels, who, if we are willing, will clear up our intellects to see the truth of the matter right before us. If we have fear, we will die. Opinion is fear (as the Angelic Doctor Thomas Aquinas instructs). We must be one with the truth, and the truth is a living Person, Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God. I received this comment in the linked post below, it needing to be up top in its own post:
Father, I will be really honest and say that I struggle with all this. I am no theologian or great spiritual thinker. I have no problem with what you wrote [here: Flores for the Immaculate Conception (rorate caeli and conscience edition)]. It just leaves me with this feeling of confusion. Peter, the understanding that Jesus is the head, the Holy Spirit in us and around us and guiding/instructing. Yes, I believe. To love the Holy Father in the way you say – yes. But to love what it looks like any leader might be doing? [Never!]
Are we to understand that the Will of God is being carried out just as He wishes in Rome, in our dioceses, etc? [Not necessarily. We must be strong. We must discern. That’s work. But don’t be afraid. Would you accept everything Judas said? Or Peter in his denial of Jesus? No? So, we must discern.] Are we to submit and agree that all is in His will? [You use a capital letter for “His” meaning our Lord. So, for that question, the answer is yes, with distinctions. God provides good things for us, and also permits, because of original sin and free will of people, bad things. Just because God permits evil doesn’t mean that God thinks that evil is good. But all things do work for the good of the one who loves God. God can bring good out of evil, just as our Redemption and Salvation is taken from the Passion and Death of our Lord.] I guess what I am asking is – how are we supposed to see all of it? [From the perspective of being tortured to death on the cross in solidarity with Jesus in His solidarity with us. From THAT perspective.] If it looks like the institutional (for lack of a better word) Church [Roman Curia might be used] is being torn apart, and so many are so hurt and confused and just don’t know for sure exactly what we are supposed to do in a very real and daily-life way in our parish, or how we are supposed to respond when another thing comes down from the Vatican or our Archbishop?? [We are all to respond with humility and fidelity to Jesus, who is the Truth, and thus with steadfast faith enlivened in Sacred Tradition and with Sacred Scripture and with the great Magisterial interventions. Look, there is a difference between the Magisterial interventions of the Council of Trent on the one hand and then an exhortation which is called an incentive to dialogue on the other hand. Period. If we don’t accept that, we have ulterior motives. It is like saying that 2+2≠4 just because, you know, just because (just because that is then a license to do anything.) We must strain to perceive our guardian angels’ direction] I just can’t seem to find peace in this. It’s almost as if the only way I can feel any peace is if I shut all of it out. But I can’t shut all of it out. [Right! Good for you. Falling asleep alongside Peter, James and John during Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is no way to go about things. We are to watch and pray so as not to enter into temptation. Yes. Arise! Let us be going! for the betrayer, the world, the flesh and the devil, is at hand.]
Oh, and who are those pesky figurative vultures? They are the ones who insist that Amoris laetitia is an ex-Cathedra ultra-super infallible decision in its every word and implication when it absolutely is not. To insist that it is, whether on the ultra-super-traditional-ism-ist side of things or the liberal side of things is to kill the faith of people. That is not good. That makes for death. And then the vultures are demons.
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 
“Falling asleep alongside Peter, James and John during Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is no way to go about things.”
This is thought provoking.
Great pep talk! I needed that. The comments above are not mine but I’ve felt like that too – often. Thanks for helping me see through the gloom and pointing me in the right direction!
A lot of us feel like that! But on the other hand we have Christ’s assurance that He is with us, yes, until the end of the age, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. So we keep firm in faith, be aware of what is happening, but do not despair. We must be courageous in speaking out (with great charity) when falsehood is promoted in the name of the Holy Father. This is the toughest part for me because I have an innate respect for the priesthood, which has prevented me from speaking out at times, but I am growing in courage, and knowledge, to know something is wrong….I still need much more love though for sure in order to speak up in charity.