Tuesday 12 October 2010

Rothschild – Ratzinger Opus Dei Connection To Israel

Rothschild – Opus Dei Connection To Israel

 
31st July 2006 | News Columns
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Peter Herberg

The news is full of tragic stories of the situation occurring in the ‘33rd Parallel War’ going on right now between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. There appears to be, as is so often the case, a hidden hand in the conflict. At the end of a long string of corporate shells, there are ties that end up in the lap of Opus Dei and the Rothschilds. This writer will attempt to provide the reader with evidence, not ideas or speculation nor unnamed sources that exist only in fables or concoctions.

The Evidence:

1. Raytheon Missile Systems produces most of the United States military missile systems. These include for example the Tomahawk cruise missile that can fly for over 1,500 miles and carry a nuclear warhead. There are many, many other types of missiles built, virtually all of them in Tucson, Arizona. There are too many types of missiles to name or link to. Simply google or dogpile – Raytheon primary missile

2. Raytheon and Israel. The following link is just one example. Searching with just a few of the more obvious terms will lead to many other links involving numerous weapons systems, some made in collaboration with Israeli companies and Raytheon. more

3. Tucson, Arizona is in fact the Headquarters of Raytheon Missile Systems and the military missile capital of the planet, for all extents and purposes. See just a sampling of missiles produced. more.

4. Who or What is really behind the Corporate shell called “Raytheon ? ” ANALYSIS: The largest Institutional shareholders are Capital Research & Management, Harris Associates, Merril Lynch, Smith Barney, State Street, Barclays, NWQ Investment Management and Lord Abbet & Co. Further down the list are JP Morgan Chase and T. Rowe Price. more .

A. Capital Research and Management. A private company obsessed with secrecy. It is one of the largest fund companies in the world and no one knows who the vast majority of its 300 shareholders are. It even intervenes in employees divorce cases to guard secrets. more.

B. Harris Associates – Harris is owned by IXIS Advisor Funds. more . IXIS is owned by two french companies Group Caisse d’ Espargne and Caisse des Depots. more. Groupe Caisse d’ Espargne is owned by the French Government. more and Caisse de Depots is also owned by the French Government. more. The French government is headed by Jacques Chirac whose wife is an Opus Dei Member. He is also rumored to be a member or achieved the pinnacle of Power in France through their assistance. more and more.

C. Smith Barney, JpMorgan Chase, T.Rowe Price: Smith Barney is now part of Citigroup. The largest institutional investor in Citi is Barclays. The Largest institutional investor in JpMorgan Chase is Barclays. The largest institutional investor in T. Rowe Price is Barclays.

D. Barclays: The largest institutional investor in Barclays is Lazard Investment Management. more The link also notes that Alliance Bernstein is the second largest institutional shareholder in Barclays.

E. Lazard is the link between the order of skull and bones and powerful British interests. more

F. The head of Barclays attended the same college at Oxford as Cecil Rhodes, the arch-illuminist , founder of the One-World Government Roundtable and is a Catholic whose private views of the Pope are ‘esoteric’ and cannot be stated on the record. From The Banker, October 1, 2005 – “What is committed Roman Catholic John Varley’s view on the new Pope Benedict XVI…? … Unfortunately….off the record. But just as interesting , if less esoteric…” more and Oriel College at Oxford , complete with Cecil Rhodes statue. more. John Varley – Oriel = / He is described as a wizard , with Harry Potter like qualities. more.

G. AllianceBernstein is majority owned by AXA, the french insurance giant run by the so-called Godfather of French Capitalism, Claude Bebear. He of course is Opus Dei. His nickname is Crocodile Claude. more and more or google Claude Bebear Opus Dei.

H. Merril Lynch: 2nd largest institutional shareholder is Barclays, number 4 is AllianceBernstein and number 5 is Smith Barney which is ultimately headed by Barclays. The number 10 largest shareholder is Goldman Sachs which is – yet again – run by Barclays. Goldman’s #1 and Alliance Bernstein its #2. If one totals the shares of Barclays, Alliance and Goldman since they are all intertwined with each other along with Smith Barney = Merril is Opus run as well.

I. Lord Abbet & Co. is linked to the Bush family via “Uncle Bucky” Bush , skull and bones member and uncle of the president is on the board of directors. Little else is known of the private company other than it is the 10th largest shareholder in Halliburton. more .

J. NWQ Investment Management = is now owned by Nuveen Investments NYSE stock symbol JNC. more. Three of the top twelve investors are T.Rowe Price which is Barclays, Goldman Sachs which is Barclays and Barclays itself. The combined assets of these three make for outright control and then some of NWQ. more .

K. State Street Corporation, NYSE stock symbol is STT. The same pattern repeats itself , the Barclays shells combined have sufficient shares to be said to effectuate de facto control. The shells for Barclays in STT are – T.Rowe Price, AllianceBernstein (second largest owner of Barclays after Lazard) Barclays itself, GE asset Management, JpMorgan Chase, Smith Barney. more . WHO OWNS AXA (which owns AllianceBernstein second largest shareholder of Barclays after Lazard)?

L. AXA – Third largest shareholder is Lazard – - – when combined with Barclays and thus ultimately Lazard shells JpMorgan Chase and Smith Barney, it is mathematically obvious that Lazard has effective control or at least major influence over AXA . more . AXA is run by Crocodile Claude the Opus Dei man and Barclays by Mr. Varley the Catholic with esoteric views of the pope that are not fit for public consumption even though he leads a publicly traded company that is possibly the most influential company in the United States of America with a finger in every pie worth eating.

“BARCLAYS, A BRITISH BANK, HAS EMERGED AS THE FIRST AMONG NEAR-EQUALS….ONE OF THE LARGEST SINGLE HOLDERS OF U.S. COMPANIES, IF NOT THE LARGEST — ABOUT $1 TRILLION WORTH.” … UNSETTLING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ISSUES… more

*** Note , this article mentions State Street along with Barclays, not realizing the connection of ownership between the two AND that many of the other “shells” also mean Barclays, which means Lazard which is “The link between The Society {of Skull and Bones} and certain British interests”. If one totalled all of those as one, what it means is the entire American economy not just Raytheon, is being run by a cabal of Skull and Bones elitists and their British masters believed to be the Rothschild dynasty and the the House of Windsor.

M. Rothschild Empire may own Lazard outright and there are intertwined family bloodlines between these illuminati elitist private banking houses. more.

Conclusion: The British-Israel Foundation in its magazine Destiny said that their new global theocracy would begin on September 11, 2001. more scroll to bottom. The Rothschild Dynasty is behind the missiles killing children on the 33rd parallel. Also located on the 33rd parallel is Baalbek, the city named after the demon Baal also called Moloch. The remains of possibly 30,000 children have been found there as burnt sacrifices or holocausts to this entity. The Order of Death seeks to take over this grandest of human sacrifice sites on the Masonic parallel of death and power. more . It is targeting children to gain psychic power. This is not an accident. This is human sacrifice and black magic.

Benedict XVI In Israel

A selection of the addresses and homilies by the Holy Father in his visit to Israel.

May 12, 2009

Link to website with video coverage of Papal trip and detailed itinerary



PRAYER OF THE 'HOLY' FATHER BENEDICT XVI AT THE WESTERN WALL 


Jerusalem
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

God of all the ages,
on my visit to Jerusalem, the “City of Peace”,
spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike,
I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations,
the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world.

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft;
send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East,
upon the entire human family;
stir the hearts of all who call upon your name,
to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him” (Lam 3:25)!


COURTESY VISIT TO THE TWO CHIEF RABBIS OF JERUSALEM

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Hechal Shlomo Centre - Jerusalem
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Distinguished Rabbis,
Dear Friends,


I am grateful for the invitation to visit Heichal Shlomo and to meet with you during this trip of mine to the Holy Land as Bishop of Rome. I thank Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger for their warm words of welcome and the desire they have expressed to continue strengthening the bonds of friendship which the Catholic Church and the Chief Rabbinate have labored so diligently to forge over the past decades. Your visits to the Vatican in 2003 and 2005 are a sign of the good will which characterizes our developing relations.
Opus Dei -

Distinguished Rabbis, I reciprocate by expressing my own respect and esteem for you and your communities. I assure you of my desire to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between the Holy See, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Jewish people throughout the world.

A great source of satisfaction for me since the beginning of my pontificate has been the fruit yielded by the ongoing dialogue between the Delegation of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Delegation for Relations with the Catholic Church. I wish to thank the members of both delegations for their dedication and hard work in implementing this initiative, so earnestly desired by my esteemed predecessor Pope John Paul II, as he said during the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.

Our encounter today is a most fitting occasion to give thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings which have accompanied the dialogue conducted by the Bilateral Commission, and to look forward with expectation to its future sessions. The willingness of the delegates to discuss openly and patiently not only points of agreement, but also points of difference, has already paved the way to more effective collaboration in public life. Jews and Christians alike are concerned to ensure respect for the sacredness of human life, the centrality of the family, a sound education for the young, and the freedom of religion and conscience for a healthy society. These themes of dialogue represent only the initial phases of what we trust will be a steady, progressive journey towards an enhanced mutual understanding.

An indication of the potential of this series of meetings is readily seen in our shared concern in the face of moral relativism and the offences it spawns against the dignity of the human person. In approaching the most urgent ethical questions of our day, our two communities are challenged to engage people of good will at the level of reason, while simultaneously pointing to the religious foundations which best sustain lasting moral values. May the dialogue that has begun continue to generate ideas on how Christians and Jews can work together to heighten society’s appreciation of the distinctive contribution of our religious and ethical traditions. Here in Israel, given that Christians constitute only a small portion of the total population, they particularly value opportunities for dialogue with their Jewish neighbors.

Trust is undeniably an essential element of effective dialogue. Today I have the opportunity to repeat that the Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the path chosen at the Second Vatican Council for a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews. As the Declaration Nostra Aetate makes clear, the Church continues to value the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews and desires an ever deeper mutual understanding and respect through biblical and theological studies as well as fraternal dialogues. May the seven Bilateral Commission meetings which have already taken place between the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate stand as evidence! I am thus grateful for your reciprocal assurance that the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Chief Rabbinate will continue to grow in respect and understanding in the future.

My friends, I express again my deep appreciation for the welcome you have extended to me today. I am confident that our friendship will continue to set an example of trust in dialogue for Jews and Christians throughout the world. Looking at the accomplishments achieved thus far, and drawing our inspiration from the Holy Scriptures, we can confidently look forward to even stronger cooperation between our communities – together with all people of good will – in decrying hatred and oppression throughout the world. I pray that God, who searches our hearts and knows our thoughts (Ps 139:23), will continue to enlighten us with his wisdom, so that we may follow his commandments to love him with all our heart, soul and strength (cf. Dt 6:5), and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev 19:18). Thank you.


SHORT VISIT TO THE CO-CATHEDRAL OF THE LATINS

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Jerusalem
Tuesday, 12 May 2009


Your Beatitude,

I thank you for your words of welcome. I also greet the Patriarch Emeritus and I assure you both of my fraternal good wishes and prayers.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I am happy to be here with you today in this Co-Cathedral, where the Christian community in Jerusalem continues to gather, as it has been doing for centuries, ever since the earliest days of the Church. Here in this city, Peter first preached the Good News of Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost, when about three thousand souls were added to the number of the disciples. Here too the first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). From Jerusalem, the Gospel has gone out “to all the earth … to the ends of the world” (Ps 19:4), yet all the time, the Church’s missionary effort has been sustained by the prayers of the faithful, gathered around the altar of the Lord, invoking the mighty power of the Holy Spirit upon the work of preaching.

Above all, it is the prayers of those whose vocation, in the words of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, is to be “love, deep down in the heart of the Church” (Letter to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart) that sustains the work of evangelization. I want to express a particular word of appreciation for the hidden apostolate of the contemplatives who are present here, and to thank you for your generous dedication to lives of prayer and self-denial. I am especially grateful for the prayers you offer for my universal ministry, and I ask you to continue to commend to the Lord my work of service to God’s people all over the world. In the words of the Psalmist, I ask you also to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps 122:6), to pray without ceasing for an end to the conflict that has brought so much suffering to the peoples of this land. And now, I give you my blessing.


VISIT TO THE CARITAS CHIDREN'S HOSPITAL


ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Bethlehem
Wednesday, 13 May 2009



Dear Friends,

I affectionately greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ “who died, was raised from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God to intercede for us” (cf. Rom 8:34). May your faith in his Resurrection and his promise of new life through Baptism fill your hearts with joy in this Easter season!

I am grateful for the warm welcome extended to me on your behalf by Father Michael Schweiger, President of the KinderhilfeAssociation, Mr. Ernesto Langensand, who is completing his term as Chief Administrator of the Caritas Baby Hospital, and Mother Erika Nobs, Superior of this local community of the Elizabettine Franciscan Sisters of Padua. I also cordially greet Archbishop Robert Zollitsch and Bishop Kurt Koch, representing respectively the German and Swiss Episcopal Conferences, which have advanced the mission of Caritas Baby Hospital by their generous financial assistance.

God has blessed me with this opportunity to express my appreciation to the administrators, physicians, nurses and staff of Caritas Baby Hospital for the invaluable service they have offered – and continue to offer – to children in the Bethlehem region and throughout Palestine for over fifty years. Father Ernst Schnydrig founded this facility upon the conviction that innocent children deserve a safe haven from all that can harm them in times and places of conflict. Thanks to the dedication of Children’s Relief Bethlehem, this institution has remained a quiet oasis for the most vulnerable, and has shone as a beacon of hope that love can prevail over hatred and peace over violence.

To the young patients and the members of their families who benefit from your care, I wish simply to say: “the Pope is with you”! Today he is with you in person, but he spiritually accompanies you each and every day in his thoughts and prayers, asking the Almighty to watch over you with his tender care.

Father Schnydrig described this place as “one of the smaller bridges built for peace”. Now, having grown from fourteen cots to eighty beds, and caring for the needs of thousands of children each year, this bridge is no longer small! It brings together people of different origins, languages and religions, in the name of the Reign of God, the Kingdom of Peace (cf. Rom14:17). I heartily encourage you to persevere in your mission of showing charity to all the sick, the poor and the weak.

On this Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, I would like to conclude by invoking Mary’s intercession as I impart my Apostolic Blessing to the children and all of you. Let us pray:

Mary, Health of the Sick, Refuge of Sinners, Mother of the Redeemer: we join the many generations who have called you “Blessed”. Listen to your children as we call upon your name. You promised the three children of Fatima that “in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”. May it be so! May love triumph over hatred, solidarity over division, and peace over every form of violence! May the love you bore your Son teach us to love God with all our heart, strength and soul. May the Almighty show us his mercy, strengthen us with his power, and fill us with every good thing (cf. Lk 1:46-56). We ask your Son Jesus to bless these children and all children who suffer throughout the world. May they receive health of body, strength of mind, and peace of soul. But most of all, may they know that they are loved with a love which knows no bounds or limits: the love of Christ which surpasses all understanding (cf. Eph 3:19). Amen.



FAREWELL CEREMONY

Opus Dei -
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

"Ben Gurion" International Airport - Tel Aviv
Friday, 15 May 2009


Mr President,
Mr Prime Minister,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I prepare to return to Rome, may I share with you some of the powerful impressions that my pilgrimage to the Holy Land has left with me. I had fruitful discussions with the civil authorities both in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories, and I witnessed the great efforts that both governments are making to secure people’s well-being. I have met the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and I rejoice to see the way that they work together in caring for the Lord’s flock. I have also had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the various Christian Churches and ecclesial communities as well as the leaders of other religions in the Holy Land. This land is indeed a fertile ground for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, and I pray that the rich variety of religious witness in the region will bear fruit in a growing mutual understanding and respect.

Mr President, you and I planted an olive tree at your residence on the day that I arrived in Israel. The olive tree, as you know, is an image used by Saint Paul to describe the very close relations between Christians and Jews. Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans how the Church of the Gentiles is like a wild olive shoot, grafted onto the cultivated olive tree which is the People of the Covenant (cf. 11:17-24). We are nourished from the same spiritual roots. We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship.

 Opus Dei -

The ceremony at the Presidential Palace was followed by one of the most solemn moments of my stay in Israel – my visit to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem, where I paid my respects to the victims of the Shoah. There also I met some of the survivors. Those deeply moving encounters brought back memories of my visit three years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so many Jews - mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends - were brutally exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred. That appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied. On the contrary, those dark memories should strengthen our determination to draw closer to one another as branches of the same olive tree, nourished from the same roots and united in brotherly love.

Mr President, I thank you for the warmth of your hospitality, which is greatly appreciated, and I wish to put on record that I came to visit this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the Palestinian people. Friends enjoy spending time in one another’s company, and they find it deeply distressing to see one another suffer. No friend of the Israelis and the Palestinians can fail to be saddened by the continuing tension between your two peoples. No friend can fail to weep at the suffering and loss of life that both peoples have endured over the last six decades. Allow me to make this appeal to all the people of these lands: No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing. Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders. Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream. And let peace spread outwards from these lands, let them serve as a “light to the nations” (Is 42:6), bringing hope to the many other regions that are affected by conflict.

One of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands was the wall. As I passed alongside it, I prayed for a future in which the peoples of the Holy Land can live together in peace and harmony without the need for such instruments of security and separation, but rather respecting and trusting one another, and renouncing all forms of violence and aggression. Mr President, I know how hard it will be to achieve that goal. I know how difficult is your task, and that of the Palestinian Authority. But I assure you that my prayers and the prayers of Catholics across the world are with you as you continue your efforts to build a just and lasting peace in this region.

It remains only for me to express my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed in so many ways to myvisit. To the Government, the organizers, the volunteers, the media, to all who have provided hospitality to me and those accompanying me, I am deeply grateful. Please be assured that you are remembered with affection in my prayers. To all of you, I say: thank you, and may God be with you. Shalom!

3 comments:

  1. Opus Dei and Corporal Mortification
    The Da Vinci Code has drawn attention to the Catholic custom of corporal mortification. Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of Opus Dei, answers questions.

    2006/07/11
    Opus Dei - Fr. Mike Barrett, director of the Holy Cross Chapel and Catholic Resource Center, Houston, Texas.
    Fr. Mike Barrett, director of the Holy Cross Chapel and Catholic Resource Center, Houston, Texas.
    Is The Da Vinci Code's portayal of corporal mortification accurate?

    The Da Vinci Code's bloody depictions of mortification are grotesque exaggerations that have nothing to do with reality. Obviously the movie makers were looking for shock value, and the real use of the cilice and discipline would have been too tame. In reality, they cause a fairly low level of discomfort comparable to fasting. There is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it.

    Do members of Opus Dei use the cilice?

    Some of the celibate members of Opus Dei use the cilice. It's a small, light, metal chain with little prongs worn around the thigh. The cilice is uncomfortable--it's supposed to be--but it does not in any way hinder one's normal activities and there's absolutely no Da Vinci Code gore.

    And what about the disciplines?

    The same as the cilice. Some celibate members use them generally once a week for a minute or two. Again, no blood, no harm, just some short-term discomfort. Far from the two-fisted flogging of The Da Vinci Code's crazed monk, the real disciplines are made of woven cotton string and weigh less than two ounces. When members or former members see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it’s so nutty.

    Did Opus Dei invent the cilice and the discipline?

    Not at all. The cilice and the disciplines, along with fasting and other bodily penances, have been used in the Catholic Church for centuries. Many of the best known and most beloved saints like St. Francis Assisi, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Therese of Lisieux used them. In the Twentieth century, people like Saint Padre Pio and Blessed Mother Teresa and Pope Paul VI also used them. Bodily penances such as fasting and abstinence from meat are still mandated by the Church for all Catholics on some days of Lent.

    Why do they do these mortifications?

    Penance and mortification are a small but essential part of the Christian life. Jesus Christ himself fasted for forty days to prepare for his public ministry. Mortification helps us resist our natural drive toward personal comfort which so often prevents us from answering the Christian call to love God and serve others for love of God. Also, this voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. The Da Vinci Code's masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification.

    How important is mortification for members of Opus Dei?

    Despite The Da Vinci Code's morbid attention to mortification, for real members of Opus Dei it plays a secondary role. The primary thing for any Catholic is love of God and neighbor. Penance and mortification aim to reduce our self-centeredness and so to help us to grow in love for God and neighbor. In keeping with its spirit of integrating faith with secular life, Opus Dei emphasizes small rather than great sacrifices, like sticking at your work when tired, being punctual, passing up a small pleasure in food or drink, or not complaining.

    See also a video with Fr. John Wauck

    ReplyDelete
  2. Opus Dei and Corporal Mortification
    The Da Vinci Code has drawn attention to the Catholic custom of corporal mortification. Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of Opus Dei, answers questions.

    2006/07/11
    Opus Dei - Fr. Mike Barrett, director of the Holy Cross Chapel and Catholic Resource Center, Houston, Texas.
    Fr. Mike Barrett, director of the Holy Cross Chapel and Catholic Resource Center, Houston, Texas.
    Is The Da Vinci Code's portayal of corporal mortification accurate?

    The Da Vinci Code's bloody depictions of mortification are grotesque exaggerations that have nothing to do with reality. Obviously the movie makers were looking for shock value, and the real use of the cilice and discipline would have been too tame. In reality, they cause a fairly low level of discomfort comparable to fasting. There is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it.

    Do members of Opus Dei use the cilice?

    Some of the celibate members of Opus Dei use the cilice. It's a small, light, metal chain with little prongs worn around the thigh. The cilice is uncomfortable--it's supposed to be--but it does not in any way hinder one's normal activities and there's absolutely no Da Vinci Code gore.

    And what about the disciplines?

    The same as the cilice. Some celibate members use them generally once a week for a minute or two. Again, no blood, no harm, just some short-term discomfort. Far from the two-fisted flogging of The Da Vinci Code's crazed monk, the real disciplines are made of woven cotton string and weigh less than two ounces. When members or former members see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it’s so nutty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did Opus Dei invent the cilice and the discipline?

    Not at all. The cilice and the disciplines, along with fasting and other bodily penances, have been used in the Catholic Church for centuries. Many of the best known and most beloved saints like St. Francis Assisi, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Therese of Lisieux used them. In the Twentieth century, people like Saint Padre Pio and Blessed Mother Teresa and Pope Paul VI also used them. Bodily penances such as fasting and abstinence from meat are still mandated by the Church for all Catholics on some days of Lent.

    Why do they do these mortifications?

    Penance and mortification are a small but essential part of the Christian life. Jesus Christ himself fasted for forty days to prepare for his public ministry. Mortification helps us resist our natural drive toward personal comfort which so often prevents us from answering the Christian call to love God and serve others for love of God. Also, this voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. The Da Vinci Code's masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification.

    How important is mortification for members of Opus Dei?

    Despite The Da Vinci Code's morbid attention to mortification, for real members of Opus Dei it plays a secondary role. The primary thing for any Catholic is love of God and neighbor. Penance and mortification aim to reduce our self-centeredness and so to help us to grow in love for God and neighbor. In keeping with its spirit of integrating faith with secular life, Opus Dei emphasizes small rather than great sacrifices, like sticking at your work when tired, being punctual, passing up a small pleasure in food or drink, or not complaining.

    See also a video with Fr. John Wauck

    ReplyDelete