The perils of a bible translator...

You've heard it said in certain circles that the Catholic Church 'kept' the bible from the people, that it "kept them in the dark" on purpose. Oh contraire...

I have to add here, that while reading this article, I saw that in Church history as now, there can be honest debate, even at times, heated disagreements, but in the end, we can and do still esteem each other if we are truly His disciples, His followers, His Church. I especially enjoyed the last couple of paragraphs revealing this, even among those who at one time, opposed the other's ideas/opinions very strongly. The Church is a wonderful gift, and source of 'life' for us. She is a 'hospital' for sinners, not a 'reservoir' of saints, agreeing on every "jot and tittle" of everything all at once. Development of Dogma.

Giving us the Church to lead and guide in matters of faith and morals is how JESUS laid it out, the 'other details' we can work out, hash out, disagree about, agree about, but as long as we still love, that is WHAT it is about. We don't leave the Church to reform Her, but we stay in the Church to reform her. We don't leave Peter because Judas was a bad ass. Peter had his faults, but He repented, turning to God and stayed to fulfil his calling. Peter and Paul had their arguments, as did Paul and Barnabas, and down through the ages. St Francis STAYED in the Church to bring about needed reform. Martin Luther, on the other hand, did not. Even though the Church handled that whole tragic scene badly, he [Luther] 'excommunicated himself' in essence, not the other way around. We 'excommunicate ourselves' when we leave the Church at our peril for false doctrines, to 'go our own way,' off to find a 'better church' a more "tolerant Church." Or if we think we're IN the Church while believing we can abort babies in the womb, we are 'excommunicating ourselves' most horribly by still receiving Jesus in the Eucharist if we've not repented of that sin, and we'll find out in our day of judgement that that assumption, and defiance of Church teaching/dogma will prove eternally lethal if there's no repentance.

So, in the end, I'm thankful and grateful to Jesus for giving us the Church. She is our safe harbor in this tumultuous and woeful world. The "bark of Peter"is our refuge, giving us Jesus in the Eucharist and all 7 Sacraments. Better are the chances of attaining holiness and sainthood with ALL Jesus died to give us, than with only 5 or a couple or none of the Sacraments! And if we have a few honest, heated exchanges along the way on our journey to Heaven, well, we're in good company. That means we're human and no better than Peter, our first Pope and St Paul and all of the disciples and Doctors and Saints before us. Love prevails among the Lord's faithful, even if at times we have a strong difference of opinion. The comforting thing is, we don't go off with our bibles and 'start a new church!' Amen?

Finally, I admire St. Jerome and his crotchetiness, his short fuse, his sarcastic pen. It gives me hope!