Forgiveness
Sometimes there are people in our lives that are so toxic to our well-being, we cannot help ourselves but commit great moral evils against them. Such people often spit on everything meaningful to us, cause great disruption to our existence, and yet they will continue to expect our eternal devotion to their toxicity. Such people are takers and like a swarm of emotional vampires, they will suck us dry of our vitality if we let them. While the Christian message is always an unyielding one of forgiveness, this is not to suggest that we as Christians should stand in the way of their violence. It is perfectly acceptable, even necessary, to remove such individuals from our lives so as to protect one’s own moral integrity, as well as for that of those who are the source of the problem.
This is a lesson that I have had to learn the hard way, as I have found myself lost somewhere between the Christian ideal and a deep-rooted emotional immorality more times than I would like to admit. This becomes further complicated when we must confront our hatred rather than deny that it exists in order to preserve the illusion of Christian adherence. Regardless, waste not a moment of your lives on such people, for no good can ever come of your encounters with them. Give reconciliation one chance if one chance is deserved. After that, shake the dirt from your sandals and move on, for your good, and theirs.
Reflections on Schism
The election of a new pope always seems to bring out the worst in most independent church groups, as well as with the “Bible-only” evangelical crowd. In their effort to diminish the historical significance of the Papacy, along with the beauty that there truly is to behold within its function, they expose their own spiritual negligence, which is the direct result of rejecting the unifying principle that the Papacy exists to protect. Such individuals will often use a reactionary excuse, declaring the oppressiveness of the Papacy toward women and abortions or homosexuals and equal rights as justifications. As if this gives them the moral permission to behave oppressively toward what they believe to be the source of their own oppression! Fighting fire with fire. Or hoping that two wrongs will eventually make a right.
I am no stranger to oppression either. My own relationship with God is more like a little brother to a big brother than a son to a father. Part of this is due to my own perceptions of the extraordinary and unnecessary difficulty of my life and priestly vocation. And while it is easy for me to often blame God for the very oppression I feel at the hands of those who have tried to hurt me (and succeeded), I still always try to overcome these feelings (sometimes months after the fact) and work toward understanding them, rather than just always reacting to them.
Yet, instead of using a basis of understanding, my own critics (many of them independent churches) are reacting to these perceived oppressions by either attacking the Papacy directly in speech or by fabricating politically correct theologies while using the argument that “this is what Jesus intended”. I have seen, most recently, independent churches calling themselves Christians, yet denying the value and importance of the Sacrifice of the Cross, even going as far as to argue that salvation through the Blood of Jesus Christ is an antiquated notion! And to these individuals, this is “True” Christianity. As if 2,000 years of Christian theology are to be forgotten, tossed aside, and rewritten so as to push a modern agenda.
I am sorry to say that this is what rejection of the Papacy leads to. Schism is never a desirable thing. And while it may be argued that my own position is no better (I having been Consecrated outside of the auspices of Rome and helping to start a Catholic/Orthodox Church tradition that Rome has not endorsed), I want it understood that I have never desired or cultivated separation from the Papacy. This is not to say that I agree with everything the Roman Catholic Church teaches; I don’t, however, much to most people’s surprise, solidarity and union do not require full and perpetual agreement. There is, and always should be, room for compromise and understanding. Anyone who falls short of these attributes persists in being part of the problem, rather than an instrument of the solution.
The Catholic practice of giving up something for Lent is just about one of the worst, most bastardized practices of ancient Christianity. Essentially, the spiritual activity of Lent is one of ‘Sacrifice’ not deprivation. Sacrifice involves and requires fulfillment, not void. If your Lenten sacrifice does not involve adding something new, by means of doing something extra with your time for somebody else, it is in vain, worthless, and utterly pointless.
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+Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
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Endings
After much thought spanning many months, I have decided to officially leave ministry to return to the rude intrusions of the secular life, and become an ordinary layperson once again, as much as is possible while trying to live under the “indelible marks” of both ordination and consecration. Like that of becoming a bishop in the first place, this is a decision that life has forced upon me, against my own personal will. Essentially, the world is not ready for (or perhaps deserving of) the services the ministry of the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church provided. If at some point in the future the world becomes ready and is willing to stand behind the principles of balanced, unbiased actuality, I will perhaps consider returning from this dark abyss. But that’s a very strong “if” and a notion that is, at the present time, most unpalatable to me.
Assuming I make it, which is dubious at best, at the age of 75 years old, I will either look back at life and say, “I finally understand the intrinsic value of this burden” or, more than likely, I will say, “what an utterly pointless waste of creative time and energy”. I pray for the former, but I thoroughly expect the latter.
Life, as we currently know it, is a broken system, riddled with repetitive ‘ignorances’ and suffocated by imaginary preoccupations. Essentially, life as it now exists, could be best described as that which is inherently contrary to the spiritual life. It is a duality that should have never manifested.
Yet, the real paradox here is that despite the disparities of life which make it unlivable for people with a true conscience, the cosmos continues to do exactly what it is supposed to be doing. On the highest level, what we consider to be so important to the human condition is merely a purposeless byproduct of evolution.
Here’s to being a transitional species!
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+Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
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We currently have unemployment at nightmarish proportions. The middle class is dying a slow and painful death. Our presidential candidates are worthless morons and what is America worried about? The personal opinion of a chicken company CEO on the subject of the definition of marriage. Way to go USA! Once again you have managed to make yourself look like more of a fool than you already do to the rest of the world.
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+Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
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Egos are like dogs. Don’t overfeed them, groom them when they start to stink, quiet them down when they bark for nothing, and for God sake, keep them on a tight leash!
Sometimes I find myself suffering from uncertainty when I consider if impermanence is humanity’s greatest sadness or its greatest comfort.
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+Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
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Jesus commands us to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. A Christian is not made by a profession of faith, but by the effort of charitable resolve. Don’t call yourself a Christian if you believe in Jesus, his Death and Resurrection, and recognize him as your savior. Only call yourself a Christian if you follow his example and his instructions to serve others.
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+Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
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Tonight, Bishop Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. speaks about the new outreach ministry radio show for the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church including new insights into future ministry programs. What is Vestiges of Christianity? What is the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church? What is esoteric Christianity and how does it relate to Epignosis? Find out on Vestiges of Christianity.
