To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
One can readily admit that the Magisterium's manner of expression does not seem very easy to understand at times. It needs to be translated by preachers and catechists into a language which relates to people and to their respective cultural environments. The essential content of the Church's teaching, however, must be upheld in this process. It must not be watered down on allegedly pastoral grounds, because it communicates the revealed truth.
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life."
Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.
Certainly, it is difficult to make the demands of the Gospel understandable to secularized people. But this pastoral difficulty must not lead to compromises with the truth.
It is interesting to note that there were 300,000 people who showed up for Mother Teresa's beatification in 2003 under Pope John Paul II versus only 120,000 for her actual canonisation under Bergoglio in 2016, a full 13 years later in a period in which the clown in chief says that the Church has never been better.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar