Christ is in our midst!!
Many years ago I was in a fraternal meeting when one of my brethren started going off on Protestants: they're all wrong about Christ, they're going to Hell, etc. So I told them this story.
You may get to Heaven and St. Peter will assign you a place. He will tell you that you will be sharing a six by nine foot room that has bunk beds, a small closet, no windows or doors, but open ceiling. You will be rooming with Jimmy Swigert; he's been there first and the closet is pretty full; also he has the lower bunk so you will have to negotiate if you want to make any changes. He dislikes Catholics to a great degree. (So is this Heaven or Hell?) Many of the rest of us will be entertained by sitting above you, looking down into your room and enjoying your discussions with Jimmy Swigert.
Told the same story--reversed--to a Protestant who was going off on Catholics. The change was that he would be with the last Pope who would have far more clothing crammed into the closet.
I have to admit that the vast bulk of my extended family is Protestant, from Anglican to Evangelical and all in between. We get along because we love each other and are very sad that we cannot share the Eucharist.
The point of all is that there is no room for hatred. People are placed where they are by the Lord according to His Plan, not ours. Our job is to witness in love to the gift we have been given and listen patiently to those who have been given a different view than we. I happen to agree with my Orthodox brethren on many things that dismay my fellow parishioners and clergy. But they don't go off on a tangent because they know that there is no guile with me and I can explain graciously why I hold what I do. Some see me as too strict, given the current Latin Catholic praxis, but that is their business; If I am strict with myself and am not pushing others, I am witnessing to the fact that there is something greater in our Faith practice that needs to be recognized.
Bob
