Greetings from the pasture!
I thought I would reach out and apprise you about life from your sheeple’s perspective after being devastated from every angle. Perhaps you may think you know what it is like down here in the pasture–based on vetted emails, random blogs, or confessions (if you are doing those). You do not. We no more know what it is like to shepherd the likes of us than you know what it is like to be us in this time and place in history.
These are crazy times, yes? We all seemed to be caught unprepared. However more alarming than a worldwide pandemic was your eerie silence and over-exaggerated responses to shut down the flow of grace and sacraments. We really needed your reassuring presence, the trustworthy example of stalwart faith, and comforting words. Instead, it felt like you disappeared and are only recently emerging. So much silence! Where did you go as you continue to leave us to wander without strong shepherds in these confusing times. You were particularly inaudible before the election when we needed to be reminded of Catholic teaching. Many sheep wandered into strange pastures heeding lies because the light of clarity and truth was concealed under the guise of our safety. Where was the timeless, never-changing truth boldly proclaimed with conviction? You neither brought lucidity, nor wisdom when we needed you.
I will be honest; it feels like we have been abandoned, and left to the wolves, as we watch through the thicket, the discord and mounting division between yourselves. It saddens us to see our leadership in disarray. Good holy priests who do boldly speak the inconvenient truth are reprimanded including forced resignation. I am curious, why would priests speaking truths cause this reaction? Threats surround us from all sides, both inside and outside Mother Church. Who can be trusted? So many wolves masquerading as shepherds and very few say or do anything.
“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth…”
Acts 20: 29-30
We feel like sheep without shepherds. God has entrusted us to you. How do we believe shepherds who are not even united on basic Church teachings? Are you as lost as we feel?
Why do you hide in Chanceries behind paper masks that will not protect you from judgment? You like seats of honor but fail to deliver when it gets too stormy outside. You bend and bow to the ever-changing winds of the culture. You regurgitate social lies through your unwillingness to correct and authentically lead. It seems you have become but an illusion of the high office so painstakingly bestowed upon you.
We wander about in inhospitable meadows with no bearing, while you cavort around with pomp and frivolity looking important wearing the stench of rotting souls.
Why do you fear a pathetic virus, and disregard the fires of Hell? Which is more perilous? The transitory has trumped the eternal. Rather than prepare us well for death and eternal life, you appear to have relinquished your office and surrendered to an agenda as predictable as Lucifer himself.
Where is your faith and trust in God? Where is your courage, your rod in hand, and willingness to protect the flock even at personal risk that you assumed at your ordination? With minute opposition the spigot of grace was shut down as you eagerly submitted to government bureaucrats rather than stand fast in seeking solutions and protecting the flock. During the Black Plague, where nearly one-third of Europe’s population died, it was Priests who selflessly stood in the breach knowing they faced certain death, yet risked their lives to give comfort, hope, and make available the sacraments.
Gentlemen, this is no Black Plague.
Never in all my life would I have imagined I would write such a letter. I am embarrassed for your failure to be the great men God called and equipped you to be. So many souls you will answer for that did not find refreshment and solace in your sermons, at the altars, and in the confessionals as you pandered to the fear and agendas of those who whispered insidious advice. How many died without viaticum as you concealed yourselves and encouraged others to do the same, unwilling to fight for our souls?
Even now, you unnecessarily continue dispensations further feeding the flock a disparaging diet of fear. Churches and Dioceses still mandating ludicrous requirements instead of being beacons of light in the darkness and extolling your brothers to be men of bold faith and trust.
STOP this madness. Fight the good fight. To Hell with your safely guarded reputations. Speak up, stand up, and fight for our souls. This trifling threat is nothing compared to what Christianity has endured over the ages. It is only an annoying pest that needs to be neutralized. A wise Priest once said to me, “Flies do not overwhelm us by their strength, but by their number.” And their number is steadily growing, while you only contemplate dialogue, and fail to act with authority and conviction.
Your silence is deafening!
Rally your sheep! Lead us in prayer and sacrifice. Plead before God begging for forgiveness for yourselves and for us all. Implore God to fill you with wisdom, courage, perseverance, and the determination to be the shepherds you were called to be. This is your moment. As Shepherds, you were ordained for this time in history.
Unite. Put your petty differences aside and direct us in the timeless never-changing truth.
It is time to get the fly-swatter boys and rid humanity of this infestation.”
One very little, very frustrated sheep,
Barbara Lishko
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
This! All of this is how so many of us feel and have felt…thank you for your bravery.
Preach!
Sadly they won’t step up. Read Eric Sammons new book Deadly Indifference for why.
Disagree 100% with the article. The silent majority of 1.3 billion Catholics support our clergy, from Pope to our 5,300 Catholic bishops, our 415,000 Catholic priests and 10s of 1,000s of men women religious who run our Catholic hospitals, colleges universities, soup kitchens, pregnancy clinics, low housings, asylums for the insane, leprosariums etc.
If you were to just volunteer in anyone of these, you won’t have time for your rantings in this useless post. Our clergy is 1.004% of all Catholics. You have issues with our clergy? Go ahead run for bishop of even pope, so when you experience what it is to be RESPONSIBLE FOR A FLOCK, you will know what it means to even show an appearance of “killing they neighbor” just because our clergy happen to decide that they have a serious obligation to preserve life by protecting it from some people who don’t even believe in getting vaccinated “because the Lord will protect me” delusion. Our clergy in consultation with the best available science and prayer will DECIDE what is best for the flick they are responsible for.
The ranting teeny minority will always be with us. In the first 300 years of Christianity, Catholicism had to fight off Simon Magus, Gnosticism, Manicheeism, Docetism, Donatism. In the first Council of Nicaea in 325AD the 318 Catholic bishops of the young Catholic Church gathered in Nicaea fought off the horrible heresy of Arianism, which taught Christ was son of God, but not God himself. Over 50% of bishops were Arians!!! Can you imagine?!! Arians did not believe Christ was not consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit? But Christ promised he would protect His Church. Ever read Matthew Chapter 16? God raised a young deacon theologian from Alexandria. With his eloquence, Catholic orthodoxy won. Emperor Constantine who was present at the Council exiled Arius ( a Catholic priest from Alexandria for that matter) and a few of his supporters.
Where is the faith? Faith in Jesus Christ, faith in our Bishops who as human beings must do their best the best way they know how to protect the Flock? You can be flicking mad but you are a teeny minority against the majority that believe in Christ and the Church he built and protected even to THIS DAY.
Yours is not the first time we have heard. And yours will not be the last.
Get busy like Mother and Saint Teresa and you won’t have time to be Flicking mad and you won’t be wasting your time. And ours.
Pax
Perry G. Fontanilla
PS And stop surrounding yourself with negative people or reading from negative ranting “Catholics”.
The silent majority of Catholics also support contraception…so what does that tell you? Barbara is spot on here. I had never felt so deserted than I did last year when the bishops decided to close off the sacraments.
You also mention that the majority of Catholics support Pope Francis…that’s a scary thought…
Perry, not sure what you are talking about. Maybe you should read the article again…slowly.
Where do I begin Perry? Thank you for the history lesson, and statistics. Thank you for insulting my intelligence, questioning my faith in Jesus Christ and the Church He established (Matt 16:18) which yes, I have read many times. None of this was called into question for you to refute so boldly. You know nothing about me sir. You were rude to assume I am clueless when it comes to giving of myself which I have done in abundance for almost 20 years working for the Catholic Church. How we raised our 5 kids to be faithful strong practicing Catholics and they are doing the same for their children. You know nothing of the ways I have given countless hours serving the needy both spiritually and physically. NO IDEA! I do not do it for myself, nor whatever priest I am working for at the time- I do it for Jesus Christ whom I love above all else. I love Him through these people He brings my way. So don’t start telling me to start getting “busy like Mother and Saint Teresa.” I have been a part of catechizing thousands of teens and adults, preparing hundreds of couples for faithful Catholic marriages, and I go the distance for those I serve. I have stood outside of planned Parenthood and prayed and counseled those with unwanted pregnancies. I have been there for those in their saddest and most desperate moments in life BECAUSE of my love of Mother Church and all she teaches. Jesus brought the Good news, and I have spent over half my life sharing it. What about you?
Anyone who knows me- KNOWS that.
I have nothing to prove to you. Your rant was a bunch of dates and historical rantings. Good for you. To think that a reminder call to our priests and Bishops that there is much work to do, and not to get bogged down by fear and to rally their flocks by example would piss you off so much just tells me how little you are in touch with the reality of things. They NEEDED to be reminded who they serve first and it is not government mandates. Perhaps while you were hunkered down hiding from covid, you did not see the devastation it was taking emotionally, physically and spiritually on souls.
Was it your office that they came to crying out? Was it your phone number they called in desperation? I have had plenty of conversations and I speak from that sir. Insulting me, and assuming I am part of a “teeny minority” of thinkers is so prideful!! Knowing that the “Lord will protect me” is no delusion, as He has my whole life even when I should have been dead several times just in recent years. This ignorance only speaks to your total dependence on human means rather than the saving power of God.
So keep your statistics and church history quotes and get out there and get your hands dirty and start smelling like the flock and then sir, you might have a clue. I love our priests and have many who I call friend. I love our Bishop Olmsted and other Bishops who speak the Church’s truth and saving mission.
In the words of my brother, “Why won’t our priests go to Calvary with the Lord? Why won’t they stand at the foot of the Cross with our blessed Mother?”
Christianity is messy. We are the human side of the Church and we are not perfect and will never be. We will make decisions can based on all that we know and info we have at the time. That has to be enough. And sometimes, which has been the case throughout the history of the Catholic Church, our clergy needs to be reminded of what is required to serve the people of God.
So get off your high horse and next time try and be less rude and assuming. God bless you!
Your article was SPOT ON Barbara! I just wished I had said it! I just watched a very moving video on PragerU. A minister Literally gave up EVERYTHING to keep his church opened. I HIGHLY recommend this video to EVERYONE! Especially our young people.
Shame on you. We Catholics have lost our sheperds to modernism and liberalism, especially our Bishop’s.
Barbara is spot on.You…..not so much
Your reply included this piece copied here – “God raised a young deacon theologian from Alexandria. With his eloquence, Catholic orthodoxy won.” It is ludicrous! Peter was not then and never was “a Catholic ” – Roman or not! How ridiculous. I suppose you think because Jesus said to him “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church” Peter was responsible for the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church? What Jesus said was a play on words as “Peter” MEANS rock and in this instance “foundation or cornerstone rock.” The rock Jesus built on was the understanding Peter displayed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and the Son of God NOT on Peter himself. Jesus, Messiah and Son of God IS the foundation corner stone of the Church. That cornerstone rock is what the Church was built on – the knowledge and fact that Jesus was/is the Son of God and Messiah. Simple as that sir, Peter was not a Catholic nor it’s founder!
I heartily agree with this letter written to your Bishops and priests. It is a very good summary of what is obvious and has been through all this debacle known as “the pandemic” (more like plandemic) and the latest casting down of a lone voice in the wilderness crying out at the evilness behind it all (Fth Altman being silenced) is just unbelievable and evil. It is very sad that one who is feeding his little flock in his corner of responsibility with rich pasture is struck down for doing so, but this letter describes it exactly and the shame lies only at the door of his Bishop and those who will not speak up for him as Jesus their Lord would expect them to. One day it will be too late for them but for Fth Altman I expect he will hear the words “Well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.” I expect he already does experience the joy of the Lord all through this dreadful display of arrogance and dishonest towards him and his ministry.
Let me guess. You are a Democrat and you voted for Biden. You voted to allow millions more babies to be slaughtered. It is a shame you are completely unaware of the truth about this virus, but then, you probably get all your info from CNN or any of the other duplicitous “news” agencies. Covid is less lethal than the seasonal flu. We had prophylactics, but because there was a PLAN behind using the “vaccines”, which they are not, they are gene therapy, we allowed millions, MILLIONS of people to die NEEDLESSLY!! And the Church went along with the whole thing. They KNEW BETTER! But they went along with it anyway, and in the coming years you will find out why. After the first few months of covid, we had help, but the media poo-pood it. May God have mercy on their souls. This woman is Correct! Our leaders ABANDONED US!! Children were committing suicide!!! I am sorry that you have not done the research to know the truth, but if you like being controlled, you voted for the right group. Study the beginnings of Nazi Germany. It is playing out as we speak. Wake up, before it is too late. The few churches that stayed opened have had zero cases of infection from attending. They followed protocol. Those that didn’t want to attend didn’t, but those that did, were able to be fed. Shame on ALL religious leaders, no matter what denomination for abandoning their flocks! This woman already volunteers for the church. I have volunteered for decades for my church and given plenty of money to charities, so please do not judge us. The fact that you have so little faith in God’s ability to protect His sheep is sad. He made our immune systems for such a time as this! When you find out in the future how many reported covid deaths had nothing to do with covid, you will realize the perverse LIE that was used to control billions of people.
We need you brave Priests we are looking for the words and acts that will get us to heaven. I’m scared now, I want what I know God has show us and threw good Priest taught us. I want to get to heaven show us the truth.
Your article, Flocking Mad, An Open Letter to our Catholic Priests and Bishops is excellent sister Barbara. It is timely, contained excellent questions and points, most importantly, from my perspective, it was courageous!
I love our priests and bishops; I pray for them every day at mass. Over the past fifteen months I have prayed even more earnestly, asking our Father in heaven to help our shepherds grow in holiness and courage.
Thank you, Barbara, for saying what I’ve been wanting to say.
I, a simple lay person, believe the Church has entered the time of its passion. At our Savior’s passion, one of his twelve betrayed him, one denied him, the others ran and hid, and only one went to Him and His mother, the Virgin Mary, there at the cross. We are seeing the same thing happening today with the successors of these very apostles. The big difference is that after Pentecost these frightened apostles were on fire with the Holy Spirit and gave everything, including their very lives to spreading the good news and being Shepard’s for His people. We just celebrated Pentecost, where are our courageous bishops and priests? Those few courageous priest who have spoken the truth are being silenced and asked to resign, Lord have mercy on us.
Dear sister, thank you for your courage to speak out and ask those questions. With much prayer and God’s grace, I hope we find each other, our families and friends, covered by the Blessed Mother’s mantle, there at the foot of the cross adoring of our Savior.
Your brother Bill
Dear Mrs. Lishko,
Loved your letter! Agree with you 1000%! Your have the ability to put into words what many of us feel but can’t express. also enjoyed your response letter to Poor Pitiful Perry.
Spot on. Great post!
I’ve left this comment on numerous articles around the web. It hasn’t helped anywhere else and I doubt it will help here. But I will try anyway.
When this is all behind us, in a year or two or whatever it takes, what will we remember?
Will we remember the heroic efforts of our doctors and hospital workers who literally risked their lives as the hospitals filled up around them? Who for a while, didn’t know from day to day which actions were right and which were harmful? No, probably not.
Will we remember the heroic efforts of the scientists who brought relief in the form of multiple vaccines? No, probably not.
Will we even remember the dead? Sadly, I doubt we will.
I know what I’ll remember is how insane many people went. Countless, educated people who blatantly refused to heed the advice of those in legitimate authority. The unwillingness to endure a few months of inconvenience for the greater good of all. The conspiracy theorists. And the whining. Oh, all the whining.
Wear a mask? No, because Joe Blow on Youtube said I shouldn’t. Get vaccinated? No, because I just don’t wanna. Stay away from church for a while? OK but I’ll whine, whine, whine.
Barb, you owe an apology to the bishops and priests who are not infectious disease scientists or public health experts, but fortunately have been smart enough to heed the advice of those folks, for the benefit of us all. You are a much better person than what you have demonstrated in this rant of a post.
I will conclude by repeating the advice of Perry above: Stop surrounding yourself with negative people or reading from negative ranting “Catholics”.
This will all be over soon. Stay the course and don’t lose hope. This goes for most of the commenters here as well.
I guess what we will also remember is the legitimate authorities and media who colluded to pass on erroneous information, outright lies, and confusing statistics. Who were morally irresponsible with treatments that killed instead of saved. That not a single entity is financially benefitting billions of dollars and continues to benefit from any of this. No, they are all just saints trying to save humanity.
Don’t be so naïve as to think they only had our best interests and spoke the truth 100% of the time. You have a mind, use it. You need not be a mathematician to see, the numbers simply don’t add up.
I guess you did not allow for intelligent people to do research and listen to other sources and make sound decisions based on doing their own due diligence. It really is insulting to suggest anyone who doesn’t wear a mask or jump in line to get an experimental vaccine of which you have no recourse if there is any adverse effects, means you’re a stupid moron who only listens to people on youtube. Come on Larry, really?
We all have minds for a reason. Our intellect is what separates us from the animals. We aren’t expected to be a bunch of cows just lining up for the slaughter house.
I am happy to apologize to those holy men of God who went beyond and stepped into the breach. Fr Sergio over at St Anne’s in Gilbert, AZ comes immediately to mind and several others. I know it was scary for everyone involved and in the beginning they did the right thing and heeded the advice even taking extreme measures. A year later still hiding behind the covid excuse is wrong. Too bad if you were in need of the sacraments on your deathbed. Many weddings were canceled, couples continued to live in moral danger spiritually without any recourse to the sacrament of matrimony. No fountain of grace from Masses and Eucharist, confession etc. Many people were effected and overwhelmed with depression, anxiety etc and the suicide rate for our young skyrocketed.
You too are a much better person than relying on insults and name calling to people who don’t just fall in line and do what they’re told like good little robots.
I would perhaps disagree and request that both you and Perry flip the channel, or better yet turn off the constant drone of BS and instead get out in the fresh air and live life. Trust more in God than humans, who by the way, are always bound to disappoint.
Be blessed
Oh, my.
Well, I suggest you set a reminder for 5 years from now, to revisit your post and see if it still represents your thoughts. I hope you’ll have regained your composure and perspective by then.
You OBVIOUSLY are not a true believer, otherwise you would understand EXACTLY what this woman was talking about. In ALL of the thousands of years of humans being alive, have we ever died out? No! God even saved Noah and his family when he was so disgusted with His creation! To think that God has no plan and no control over every situation shows how little, if any, faith you have in Him! He sent His ONLY Son to DIE so that we could be forgiven of our sinful evil ways if we repented and believed in Him. Why would He do that if a virus would wipe us out? People die! It is a fact of life! More people die from other PREVENTABLE diseases every year! But do we ban junk food to save lives? NO! Do we stop people from owning cars? NO! But these are “preventable” deaths! The bottom line is God is in control and He gave us the ability to make decisions that affect life and death, yet we CONTINUALLY make bad choices that cause death! There are evil people in this world who will do evil things! We can’t live in fear! We must trust God and be active participants in our families and communities and our nation! Your comment is faith-less. Your condemning a woman for speaking her heart which showed her Faith in God, not man, is sad at best, and evil at worst. God NEVER intended for His children to live in fear and wear a useless mask everywhere and DESTROY people’s livelihoods. You are the perfect person that Hitler would have used as one of his minions. May God help you find the faith that frees all men if they so choose. Until then, it is best you keep quiet.
And is there a reason that this post does not show up on the front page of your blog, where the most recent post is from 9/30/2020? Did you write it as a “secret” post for sharing in the back channels of the internet?
No, there is no reason except that I have not had time to make the necessary changes. Why do you assume it is subversive?
I just thought it unusual that the post wasn’t on the front page. Blog pages are pretty automatic about things like that.
I regret asking because it gave you an out, instead of considering or responding to the obviously much more important of the two comments.