In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. Amen. If I had to choose a text at this particular moment of our holy father's visit, I could not possibly have taken a better one than this. Our lord is accusing his associates, his contemporaries of trying to tell him what to do. We piped you a song, we piped you a dance, we invited you to come to us and do as we do, and you won't do it.
And that's exactly what you read and hear today from our good loyal Catholics. It is our church. We are democracy. You speaking of the truth of the Jesus Christ, you must adopt your truth to us. We'll tell you what the truth is.
We're a democracy. We had a revolution. We have the constitution two hundred years ago. Don't tell us what kind of morality we should have below the navel. Notice we're not concerned with anything from the neck up when it comes to thinking.
This all has to do with sexual morality, almost all of it. Even to this great campaign to have women priests or the feminist movement. Have you ever thought about it? It's highly intellectual. Highly intellectual and rational.
But that's the tune. The church must adapt itself to the times. That Pope, the poor guy from Poland, after all, what can you expect from Poland, you know? Look at our volumes of Polish jokes. What can you expect?
Here's a man who of course is a celibate, so what does he know about life and marriage? What do priests know about marriage? After all, they're a bunch of male celibates. Who should they be telling women what to do with their babies and their uteruses? Listen to the people of God.
They have the truth. This is what we're hearing day in and day out. I'm not exaggerating this in the least. Did you read about the headline in the post for Monday, I think it was. Yeah.
Was Monday. That it says, D DC area Catholics descent from the pope over there on New Hampshire Avenue in that you theological union of Washington. That's supposed to be a Catholic institution for the education of priests. How many were there? Headlines at DC Catholics.
There were 50. And there are 52,000,000 Catholics in The United States. And there are four more than fifth 50 Catholics in the Washington area, I presume. That's what we're hearing the cry. But where's what's the cry coming from?
It's coming from the people of the marketplace. It's coming from those who wanna do what they wanna do, not what God wants or what anybody else wants. These people who dissent, who contradict, who say it ain't so, That contraception artificial contraception is a grievous wrong, adultery, fornication, extra marital intercourse, practicing homosexuals, divorced with remarriage. They who claim that all of these things are perfectly right under certain circumstances, of course, even abortion. Oh, yes.
Ask them, if you think these things are wrong, why do you think their contraries are right? In other word, do you think there's such a thing as virtue? If you say yes to that, because if you say no, let's forget the whole business. There's no use talking anymore. Let's do something worthwhile like shooting pool.
But if you say, yes, I think there's something than virtue, then ask them, what is your standard? What is your norm? And don't come and tell me the people of God. And we are the church. That was the last sentence I read last night from a dear lady.
We are the church. Where does that come from? Who said that? I thought we wanted to belong to Christ church. I don't want to belong to doctor divine's church.
She may be a fine mighty fine lady, very good dentist. So of course, if you wanna go know about morality and theology, you go to a dentist. When you want a plumber, you get a good electrician. Everybody knows that. I wanna belong to Christ church.
He gave no commission to the to a democracy whatsoever. The church isn't a democracy, the church belongs to God. It's God's church. And if it isn't that, what are we doing here this morning? You see, we're in a worse shape than Lutherans, Wingly, and Calvin were in the sixteenth century.
Things that are being denied by so called Catholics, they wouldn't have thought of denying. And that is said very, very seriously with a lot of forethought. And so today, whose tune are you going to dance by? We are in the marketplace. We are in the world.
We're not living in monasteries or convents or in the desert. We are in the world. But our Lord said, sure you're in the world, but don't you dare be of it. If you are, it's your destruction. This is serious business.
You look at the cross. How seriously do we take the cross of Jesus Christ? What do you hear today with people who have what they call conscientious problems or problems of conscience? They make a decision and they say, I am comfortable. I feel good about that decision.
That is the worst possible judgment. Do you know that most suicides after they have decided to commit suicide are very content and comfortable and even happy with their decision. Most people with any decision they make are happy with that decision. And whatever happiness is. So the fact you feel comfortable with a decision about morality proves absolutely nothing.
I would say, it proves on consideration and analysis that you're wrong. That you're wrong. Not that you're right, but that you're wrong. Nobody commits fornication and adultery because they find it unpleasant or uncomfortable or undesirable. Nobody commits any sin except under the aspect of the good, the beautiful, the desirable, the pleasant, the fun making thing.
Do I enjoy it? These are the standards. And yet the one standard of Jesus Christ is the cross. I'm wearing vestments in red today. Saint Cyril, Cornelius, they gave their lives for their faith, for their faith because they would not bow down to idols.
The world piped their tune and wanted them to dance to their tune, the world. And that don't make any mistake. The world's the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Time Magazine, the New York Times on Sunday. That's the world. And when you find yourself in agreement with it, you are wrong.
You have heard the kids in the marketplace piping the tune and you're dancing to the tune of the world. Where all Christ says is to march up Calvary to his tomb. In the name of the father, the son, and holy spirit. Amen.