Even through today most Americans are celebrating a day to give thanks to God they do not believe in and revering Calvinist heretics, the theme of this secular holiday is nevertheless a good one. Gratitude for God’s providence is something even the most faithful often lack, and it is something I need to work on as well.
So, with that in mind, I offer this short reflection on what I am thankful for. This is adapted from a Facebook post I made in response to a question that asked how to explain (or defend?) “Pope” Francis to your atheist and non-Catholic friends at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
I would say that I firmly believe God allows bad things to happen to ultimately lead to the good. God has allowed the world to be deceived for a while into believing this man (Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio) is the real Pope who can guide the Church in a new direction away from its past for a reason.
For me, Francis’ real role in the Church today is to prove the truth of the Catholic Church. And what I mean by that is no purely human institution has withstood the test of 2000 continuous years of existence. NONE. And throughout this time there have been terrible calamities, heresies, popes leading immoral lives, very sinful people doing bad things— no question about it. Yet, the Church continues intact and has been a stabilizing force for the good and Truth despite all of that.
If the Church were only a human-created institution it would have dissolved centuries ago. But right now, the Church is under attack again by people like Francis and those theologians who want to change what cannot be changed. But this is compelling evidence that the Catholic Church is in fact the Church founded by Jesus Christ as she claims to be—a divinely guided institution that refuses to go away or die despite all the insanity and evil that tries to destroy it.
The beauty of this is that we know what Francis is trying to do is not Catholic because the Church over two millennia already taught us what Catholics believe and it’s the opposite of what Francis says. So, it makes sense that non-Catholics would like him so much because he says what people want to hear, not what they need to hear.
But I’m not worried in the slightest that the teachings of the Church will change because they can’t. They are grounded in Truth. Individual clerics and laity who claim to represent the Church, control legal titles to Church property, and use the Church’s financial resources to teach heresy can say whatever they want, but that doesn’t change the reality of the situation. So, on this Thanksgiving, I am thankful to Francis for proving once again the Truth of the Catholic Church.