What We Need

"We need God, we need other people, and we need ourselves."

-- Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop, Archdiocese of New York

The statement above was made by Cardinal Dolan during a recent interview.  He said it as if in passing, a side note to another point, yet it was powerful enough to make me stop watching and write it down.  I continued to dwell on it through the balance of the interview until I understood my focus was another hint from Himself to get off my derriere and write. 

There are three Catholics I have developed respect for after leaving Catholicism for my own path - Pope Francis, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, and Father Jonathan Morris.  My reasons for respect are as straight forward as their commentary on any subject.  First of all they speak to us, not at us, and what they say has actual meaning.  If they don't know, they say they don't know, but still try to impart the importance of finding out.  They remind me of a President, Vice President, and press secretary, the only difference being the lack of bullshit flowing out to the people.  I like people to be straightforward.  I don't like having to make sense of the dance they do when speaking at me.  They aren't being understood because, for the most part, they aren't saying anything to me.

There are a few of the Congregation who might say I answer questions with questions, occasionally.  They might say I throw what might seem like riddles in their direction in answer to a serious issue for them.  They would be correct.  So how is this any different than not being straightforward?  These are people who already know the answer to the questions they ask, they have simply forgotten they know, or have unwittingly become too tired to think for themselves and need a kick start.  People, deep down inside, know their basic needs.  They need God, which is why they are on their path.  They need other people, which is why they ask for a mental kick start.  And they need to have faith in themselves because, usually, they already know the answers to most of the questions they ask.  Now, this may not be the point Cardinal Dolan was trying to make, but his statement works for so many different issues in life it would be remiss of us not to recognize the fact.  I'm of a mind that if we were to stop and remember this when problems arise, we might find life a whole lot easier to handle.

I thought the three crosses at the crucifixion seemed apropos.  Here were three souls at the end of life.  They needed God, and they needed each other to understand this, if even at the end of their existence.  And they needed to ask forgiveness for, and to forgive, themselves.  What they needed they already had, but two of them had forgotten most of what they knew and needed a mental kick start.

What we need is already with us, again.  We only have to recognize and acknowledge it.  How many times does Christ have to die before we get it? 

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."