Latest / The Catholic Current / History: Comedy or Horror? (Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J.)

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History: Comedy or Horror? (Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J.) · The Catholic Current

• 0:00
  Let me ask you this. Do you ever wonder about putting certain things together and wonder if they would work?
• 0:05
  I mean not just obvious happy combinations like peanut butter and chocolate and Reese's peanut butter cups
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  Another proof that God loves us, but what if you put some movie things together?
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  For example, you take the comedy classic with Bill Murray groundhog day
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  You know that one he's just caught in a time loop and every day no matter what he does. It is the same day
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  It's a funny movie now take that and mix it with one of the great horror classics of
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  1968 Rosemary's baby with a vulnerable Mia Farrow
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  Undergoes what she thinks is a nightmare wakes up in bed and then cries out. This isn't a dream. This is really happening
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  What if you put the two together the same day every day same day every day?
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  With the awful realization, this isn't a dream. This is a nightmare. This is really happening
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  Some people see history that way
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  Mark Twain may have said history doesn't repeat but it does rhyme nicely
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  what if
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  the
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  history of not only the nation or
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  Western civilization was on kind of a repeat cycle
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  But the church was as well and it was
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  At least equal mix
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  Comedy and horror what then said even possible stay with me
• 1:35
  I've got a story to tell I'm Jesuit father Robert McTague your host every tear at the Catholic current
• 1:39
  Coming to you from the station of the cross Catholic meeting network. Let's take a closer. Look. I'm glad you're here
• 1:46
  You know by popular demand. I've been doing a series of reflections on tyranny
• 1:50
  I'm going to continue it for a couple more weeks and we'll see what the response is, but I wanted to talk about
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  tyranny and history and
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  Empire now, there are a lot of
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  Studies about history writing and cycles and the fourth turning and you know
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  it's a cycle of 40 years or 80 years or 200 years and 250 years and is the Roman Empire like the
• 2:14
  American Empire and it's it's very stimulating and very confusing and
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  Someone had asked me wait a minute father. What about the church?
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  Does it ever get caught up in a loop?
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  does it to get caught in the cycle of rising and falling like states and empires and
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  There's part of me that wants to say no
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  Because history isn't just cyclical. It's not just the wheel going round and round like an Asian thought. It's a linear
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  it's going somewhere and
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  The church is
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  Indefectible. She's the bride of Christ. There are sinners in the church myself among them, obviously
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  But to associate the church with you know, a horror movie that doesn't seem right
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  But a friend of mine pressed me and he said, you know
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  there are people talk about that the consensus in the West since World War two is
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  Falling apart or entering into a different world a different time and it's going to greatly affect the United States
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  It's going to affect Europe. It's going to affect the world in a big way and
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  Maybe or maybe not for the better. So my learned friend said what if the church isn't kind of a cycle?
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  too and
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  the his idea was that the the Empire which is collapsing for the church on this view is the
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  status quo Ordo
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  Not the Novus Ordo not the Vetus Ordo the status quo Ordo the business-as-usual
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  Empire
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  the business of
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  Churchianity of the place where you go as I say to get hatched match and dispatched and we check off the box
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  baptized
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  first confession
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  first communion
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  Confirmation if you're lucky
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  Marriage if you're lucky
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  More baptisms if you're lucky and
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  once
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  in a great while lightning might strike and there's an ordination in there somewhere and
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  Every now and again when you realize oh my gosh
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  The ship is sinking you kind of come up with a slogan to gin up excitement
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  The spirit of Vatican to the new springtime the second Pentecost renew
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  The new evangelization
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  Revival is in the air sisters of the second Genesis becoming post-christian sojourners
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  Synodality dare I say it the German synodal way of the listening church
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  missionary hubs all these slogans to cheer along on this account
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  So we're distracted from the fact that things are falling apart
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  So here's my question for you just as empires go through cycles
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  Is it possible that at least the human elements of the church are?
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  subject to a same kind of
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  Cycle so that we say here we go
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  Again, this cannot go on forever. There's going to be a change. It's going to be a hard change
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  There's going to be divine intervention and we're probably not going to like it at least not at first
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  Look, I'm already bumping against the time limit. I had set for this little project. So here's my invitation for you
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  Join me on Friday April 24th at 5 p.m. Eastern
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  I'm going to continue my series of reflection on tyranny and Empire and whether the cycles of Empire
• 5:53
  Apply to the church as well. I'm gonna have a lot to say you don't want to miss out meanwhile
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  Think of these things today take me to prayer and talk about it with those you love go in peace
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  And please do pray for me for I am a sinner
• 6:09
  Good work like this depends on help from good listeners like you. Please do consider supporting us at the station of the cross comm
• 6:17
  Thank you