I am sure as many of you know, Pope Benedict the XVI is in the United States right now, so I thought this would be a good picture to use. I also thought I would post a little part of his homily, because I found it very beautiful and inspiring. It is really what I have been trying to talk about and promote here on this blog, so here it is:
"In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that spiritual unity – the unity which reconciles and enriches diversity – has its origin and supreme model in the life of the triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom, the Blessed Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation and redemption. The Church, as “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit” (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to serve life, and to promote a culture of life...The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new evangelization. For true life – our salvation – can only be found in the reconciliation, freedom and love which are God’s gracious gift. This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the command which Moses enjoined upon the people of Israel: “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for our obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16, 2-5). Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and “institutional” to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love. "
8 comments:
Please excuse this late comment.
I am very curious...how exactly do YOU view the Pope? I have heard so many things from so many people that I tend to be...confuzzeled.
Ty.
Faith
Amazing drawing by the way. There you go with the hands again!!
Oh I am so glad you left a comment, and it was quite unexpected to see "2 comments" under that post. :)
Well this is a really complicated thing and there are a lot of different aspects of it. I would imagine that you have heard a lot of different things. But before I go off about the pope, I am wondering what do you think of him or what is it that you have heard specifically about him? It would be much easier for me to explain when I know what your thinking is. If you write another comment, then I might just email you instead so that it is easier, so I await your thoughts. :)
Well...mostly I have heard that he is known as the 'voice of God.' Is he not just a Godly man? I'd love to understand his importance in the church as well.
Yeah e-mail if ya want. ;)
I'm going to Atlanta tomorrow...so internet might be beastly but I'll check it soon.
Thanks!
Okay well first, using the bible as a foundation for my opinion, I will quote Matthew 16:17-19: 'And Jesus answered him, (Peter) " Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
You said " Is he not just a Godly man?" Well yes he is a godly man but is it not clear in this verse, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," that God has given him (the chair of Peter) something more than just holiness?
I also want to quote the early church fathers, the men who studied with the apostles.
This is from Cyprian who lived in 251 AD: "On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17]; and although He assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was, but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?" (De ecclesiae catholicae unitate 4, 251 A.D.)
As seen from the scriptures, God gave a special authority and primacy to the seat of Peter, and that office is infallible. Now obviously the pope or the man who fills that office is fallible. All men make mistakes and are prone to sin, even Peter betrayed Jesus, but the important thing is that the office of pope has the power through the holy spirit to make infallible pronouncements on faith and morals. Now most popes throughout their papacy will write encyclicals or letters or even books, those ARE NOT infallible, (as many people assume) they are merely the opinions and wisdom of that man. Very rarely do popes actually make infallible statements, and it is done only by the power of the holy spirit. Many people misunderstand and think that the pope is just making infallible statements right and left, and don't understand his authority.
To have a Church where "the gates of hell will not prevail against it," then there must be someone to safeguard that, to "hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven," and preserve the truth and traditions of Christ. It is those same truths that many of the different denominations and non-denominational groups debate over to this day. Some believe in infant baptism, others do not, some believe that contraception is a sin, others do not, many of the key truths are viewed differently by different Christians. John 8:32 says "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." But how will we now the truth when it is all a matter of opinion or interpretation of particular bible verses and there is no way to be sure. That is why Christ established the seat of Peter, so that His whole truth would be known and that we could be certain of it, through the infallibility in matters of faith and morals bestowed through the holy spirit.
I will sum up my opinion of the pope, authority and the chair of Peter, and why I believe it, by quoting an excerpt of my parents conversion letter written to our pastor after we decided to become Catholic: " We believe that it can be clearly established from Scripture, and from the consistent testimony of the early Christians, that Christ established one visible church as the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). This church is the body of Christ, with Christ as its head. While still maintaining sovereign Lordship, Christ gave the keys of His kingdom to Peter (Matt. 16:19) and His authority to all of the apostles. "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me..."(Lk 10:16) This authority has been passed down through the generations by succession (Act 1:15-26) Furthermore, Christ clearly states in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. Because our God is a God of truth, by necessity, He also established the means to preserve His Church from error."
Hopefully that was clear and you understand why I believe what I believe, and I await your response to see what your thoughts are on this.
~Jules
I understand now much more than ever before. I do have some questions which I'll e-mail you now.
Off (your interesting) topic but....
Today is Pope Pious the 5th so the morning prayer liturgy was said accordingly. John: 10:11 jumped out at me ("I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep") I realized every Pope, Cardinal, Bishop and Priest has done just that, given their lives for us, their flock. This really struck me because yesterday I was out walking in the woods with my 5yr old brother and we were talking about God and heaven. He said he wanted to die the same time as mom so he could go to heaven with her. :-) I told him that might not be for a long time... he might marry first or--he jumped in: "No Mary, I'm not going to marry I'm going to be a priest because I want to give my life to God." I thought 'wow', but I admit I was a little sad (selfishly sad) at the thought of my little brother giving his life for everybody else instead of raising cute little nieces and nephews for me to ogle. :-) I realize now what now how selfish that thought was. (Though, at the same time, I don't feel I have to worry all too much... he's only 5 and has been known to have an eye for cute little girls already... sakes... :-)
LOL :-) He's so cute (I guess I a one a em :)
That is very true. Thanks Mary!
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