The Powers and Principalities are Gaining Ground.

Today was a Public Holiday in Oz, celebrating Oz Day: the Founding of Australia. The Aboriginal peoples found it first or maybe there were even people before them, who knows. But modern Oz was founded by the British after the Dutch, French, and sundry oddbods landed or saw at a distance, none of whom thought the place worthwhile to build a Nation upon.  Tough. We speak English here now.

Holidays were once all Holy Days. So I celebrated in a Holy manner, down on the beach at Sandy Bay. But only after my usual Tuesday Mass and Communion and a Rosary outside the abortuary. 

My Supplier likes to be acknowledged.  Thanks for this great wide, tall, brown  land - and the beaches.

Acknowledgement is becoming increasingly fraught these days, as the C of E chap in England found out recently. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the C of E top bod, commands a big budget but few hearts and souls. He hasn't got the hint. But he got a bite on the bum a little while ago.

Acknowledging my Supplier of good Grace is really quite easy. His Son gave explicit instruction that even Protestants follow. 

The Lord's Prayer. 

I say it at least seven times a day* as I go around the Tavern wiping the bars and table-tops and hooking up barrels. But in England you have to say it very quietly and never in a cinema. 

Benedict Hince stopped by to tell. Ben is currently studying Philosophy and Anthropology at The University of Exeter and he startled us with a warning.....

WARNING: This post contains a video deemed offensive and as such, “carries the risk of upsetting, or offending, audiences”.

The video below has consequently already been banned from screening at UK cinemas despite having been cleared by the Cinema Advertising Authority and the British Board of Film Classification. The Odeon, Cineworld, and Vue chains – which control 80% of screens across England – have refused to show it.

What is this offensive video, you may ask? And who would make such a video?  Well… that would be the Church of England… Confused?

Yes, the video which has caused such controversy is indeed The Lord’s Prayer as recited by individuals of various backgrounds and professions. It was created in order to promote a new website made by the Church of England which simply encourages prayer –www.justpray.uk – worth a look, it’s very beautiful.

“How dare they”, I hear you cry!

http://catholic-link.org/2016/01/06/the-lords-prayer-in-the-uk/

Well, you and I could say that, but we already know the answer. They 'dare' because the 'Powers and Principalities' have been  having a run of success lately.

Lets just look at the 'offensiveness' of The Lord’s Prayer.

1. ‘Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

You mean to say that I am not the center of the universe?! That I have someone above me towards whom I should become childlike; to whom I should submit to in faithful trust, and with a humble and joyous heart. A Father whom I should will to be like. A Father who holds majesty and who loves me… How dare you.

Hmmm. And the 'Father' word, Ben. Don't forget that word. It is already excised from public documents in the UK so keep it in mind.  Perhaps there would not have been a 'ban' if we addressed 'Parent B' (We all know who Parent A is, don't we. ) Who would be offended? Why Feminists of course.

2. ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’

You mean to say that my ultimate hope is not the establishment of my own kingdom, my own progression in my career, the satisfaction of my own ego by any means necessary, but the anticipation of Christ’s coming?… Well that’s just offensive.

'Officialdom' has something to say about that too. A King and a Kingdom !! No siree, Think of all those Committees out of a job. We already have a Queen, hog-tied in a Palace, out of the way.  We don't want anyOne exercising Supreme Power that cannot be taken before an Affirmative Action / Discrimination Tribunal.

3. ‘Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.’

You mean to say that my will is not the be all and end all? That I am able to commit myself to another’s will. And that in committing myself to another – to Christ – I learn humility in seeing that virtue does not depend on my work alone but on grace from on high. That following this greater will is not just for me but for the good of the whole earth… the audacity.

There's Grace down here, too. In the Crypt and the cellars. In the Taps in the Bras. I serve it freely - 'by Appointment'.  

And back to the Powers that be, of course. They have no wish at all to be subject to a Higher Power than themselves. They insist we bow down to them and them alone. Unless its the EU of course.

4. ‘Give us this day our daily bread’

You mean to say that I should look to another for something that I want? That despite all the work that I do, everything I receive ultimately comes from God anyway and I should find a trustful surrender in this! And that I should be content with daily bread, and not submit to the destructive consumerism that surrounds me… Very rude.

At this point I can almost see President Obama jumping around the Oval Office shouting, "See. I told you. YOU didn't do that".  Of course he would very likely credit the satanic Allah.

He certainly won't credit God for providing. He won't mention that the 'mentor' was Christ Himself carefully explaining what God expects you to do with the Talents he hands out. 

5. ‘And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’

You mean to say that I am in need of forgiveness – that I am not sinless? And you’re telling me that the outpouring of mercy that I am in need of will only penetrate my heart insofar as I have forgiven those who have wronged me?! That I should show mercy to others if I want mercy to be shown to myself… this is an outrage.

The Powers and Principalities have done away with sin. They do not wish to be reminded. 

Want to kill a baby and sell its body parts? That's OK. Want to take a parent - well, a dad parent - away from thir children? Heck we have courts that make it easy. Want to invite a plague of satanic buggers and beheaders into other people's homes? Heck, the stroke of a pen and a quick phone call and we can have a million Muslims at your door by tomorrow.  How about a bit of home-grown buggery? They are even now calling it 'Marriage'. Don't talk about 'sin' and 'forgiveness'. 

They have nationalised Sin.

It's OK.

6. ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

You mean to say that I am not completely in control of my surroundings and that I am capable of being tempted towards sin and death? And that I should turn to Another in prayer and call upon His strength so that the temptation I may feel does not lead to a consent towards that temptation? That Someone loves me so much that they would offer me a way out; a way to endure. To prevail against the evil one; a victory! – I find this all highly upsetting and offensive.

While movie theatres, and advertising companies, are allowed to pump us with falsities suggesting how one spray of a new fragrance will guarantee our career success, and have the ladies or gents flocking towards us in a rage of passion. 

And how it’s the latest watch or fashion item that is exactly what we need if we want to become the strong individual we have always wanted to be. 

We are told that we don’t need to turn towards others, certainly not towards God, and it’s considered offensive to assert otherwise.

You see, the outrage here, the offensiveness here, is that the Lord’s Prayer is something which is totally orientated towards someone else – towards The Father. It takes us outside of our own little worlds and places us at the feet of something – someone – far greater.

For further thought.

This video, and the banning of it, is a great way to get us thinking about what we’re really praying when we pray The Lord’s Prayer. Reflections I have presented above are built upon what we find in Part 4, Section 2, of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2759-2865), and this is a great resource if you want to take a closer look at the authentic beauty of The Lord’s Prayer.

Why do you think the video was banned? Was it down to theological issues that may conflict with other religious outlooks? Or is there a deeper fear of prayer; a fear of the power of prayer, and the necessary recognition of something greater than ourselves that prayer entails? Does ‘religious’ instantly mean ‘offensive’ nowadays?

(*) If you are still here, ..... the seven times the Lord's Prayer I say are in the Rosary. (Plus one at bedtime). I say at least one full rosary every day. For my estranged daughter. Six 'Our Father's'; fifty three 'Hail Mary's', plus a couple of other prayers.  You know what they are of course. I say one Rosary outside the abortuary on Tuesdays for the babies, their mothers and fathers, the nurses and the Doctors. 

They do not deserve it, 
(apart from the innocent babies) 
but Lord save us from what we deserve.

 Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi. Miserere nobis.

Pax