By their fruits you shall know them

Readings of today's Mass

Gen 15:1-12.17-18. 

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great."
But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?"
Abram continued, "See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "No, that one shall not be your heir; your own issue shall be your heir."
He took him outside and said: "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession."
"O Lord GOD," he asked, "How am I to know that I shall possess it?"
He answered him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon."
He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River (the Euphrates),

Ps 105(104):1-2.3-4.6-7.8-9.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

Glory in his holy name;
Rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
Seek to serve him constantly.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
Sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
Throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations –
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.

Matt 7:15-20.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.  By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.

 Commentary of the day :

Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
The Interior Castle, 5th Mansion, 3, 10-11
"By their fruits you will know them"

Oh, Sisters, how clearly one sees the degree to which love of neighbor is present in some of you, and how clearly one sees the deficiency in those who lack such perfection! If you were to understand how important this virtue is for us you wouldn't engage in any other study. When I see souls very earnest in trying to understand the prayer they have and very sullen when they are in it - for it seems they don't dare let their minds move or stir lest a bit of their spiritual delight and devotion be lost - it makes me realize how little they understand of the way by which union is attained; they think the whole matter lies in these things. No, Sisters, absolutely not; works are what the Lord wants! He desires that if you see a Sister who is sick to whom you can bring some relief, you have compassion for her and not worry about losing this devotion; and that if she is suffering pain, you also feel it; and that, if necessary, you fast so that she might eat - not so much for her sake as because you know it is your Lord's desire. This is true union with his will.

I got a shocking email today from a woman who was sexually abused while in an orphanage in Queensland. She had to take the priest his meals and when she did, he would be invariably pissed as a newt. He was Irish. Far from family and loved ones, promised to celibacy, he found his lusts released in rubbing himself up against this poor little girl who brought him his food.
She told me how her life was destroyed after the events that tragically were ignored by the Sisters who ran the orphanage the badly named, Sisters of Mercy.
When she eventually as an adult spoke to the nuns, one of them said, "Oh he's dead now. Just forgive him and pray for him". Such horrible ignorance. How could you just forget and forgive being ravished by a smelly old man? She described in her email all the horrible things this depraved man did to her and other young girls who had the misfortune of being sent to serve him.
He gave her cigarettes and later scotch to assure her silence but she admits only using them to dull the pain of his filthy actions.
This dear friends is the depravity of celibacy.
Make no mistake, to pretend that men can survive without sexual relationships and remain healthy loving and spiritual people is a fantasy. Please help others who quite easily might become victims of sexually deprived men like him, by saying NO to compulsory celibacy for priests.
As Jesus said, By their fruits you shall know them. Have you seen any good come from the prohibition of marriage for clergy by the Catholic Church?
Do you think priests are getting better at preaching about life because of it?