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"Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil." Homily of the Holy Father Pope Francis
Vatican.VA ^ | March 14, 2013 | Pope Francis

Posted on 03/15/2013 8:17:53 PM PDT by PanzerKardinal

Thirdly, professing. We can walk as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord. When we are not walking, we stop moving. When we are not building on the stones, what happens? The same thing that happens to children on the beach when they build sandcastles: everything is swept away, there is no solidity. When we do not profess Jesus Christ, the saying of Léon Bloy comes to mind: "Anyone who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil." When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness.

[...]

This Gospel continues with a situation of a particular kind. The same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward.

(Excerpt) Read more at vatican.va ...


TOPICS: Ministry/Outreach; Moral Issues; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: homily; popefrancis; spiritualwarfare
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To: Rashputin
Rashputin, I appreciate your zeal but I have to disagree with you on several levels here. Please take my comments in the charity with which they are intended :)

the anti-Catholic crowd who worship their own Most High and Holy Self

Those who dislike us don't worship themselves any more than we worship Mary, statues, or the saints. Please, let's not return the false accusations.

People who don't even accept the entire Bible telling others how to interpret Scripture are clearly not led by the author of all Scripture, Jesus Christ.

Again, let's stick to teachings of our faith please. CCC 818-819 tell us that there are elements of truth and sanctification outside the Catholic Church. Yes some nonCatholics overlook parts of scripture but that doesn't mean they are without the leading of Christ and his Holy Spirit. Others don't overlook but simply interpret them differently.

Of course we have differences with our nonCatholic brethren. Those differences don't give us license to treat them poorly though. Even if they refuse to give us the same consideration.

Peace be with you. Thanks for taking time to consider my comments :)

21 posted on 03/16/2013 1:11:11 AM PDT by PeevedPatriot
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To: PeevedPatriot

“And when he asks Mary to pray for him he isn’t worshiping her any more than he’d be worshiping you if he asked you for your prayers.”

Thanks for that image. As a Protestant I am slowly learning that the language the Catholics use with regard to Mary (and other things) are probably not what I take them to mean. And with the new Pope, I am learning more about the traditions and the meanings behind them. Most traditions can look rather silly I suppose from the outside (or the inside for that matter!) if one doesn’t know what they are all about, and their deeper meanings.


22 posted on 03/16/2013 1:25:57 AM PDT by 21twelve ("We've got the guns, and we got the numbers" adapted and revised from Jim M.)
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To: PanzerKardinal; posterchild; ColdOne; navymom1; Pat4ever; RIghtwardHo; Reaganite Republican; ...

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.

Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.

Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.

Amen.

She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child . . . Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God . . . None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.

(Commentary on the Magnificat, 1521; in Luther’s Works, Pelikan et al, vol. 21, 326)


23 posted on 03/16/2013 1:43:37 AM PDT by narses
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To: 21twelve
Thanks for your kind comment. We believe that the body of Christ is composed of earthly Christians like you and me as well as those who preceded us in heaven. When I was Protestant I misunderstood the saint thing. It isn't worship of saints but rather worship of God IN UNION WITH those who preceded us. We also believe those who preceded us to heaven are more closely united to God now in his presence. That's why we ask for their prayers on our behalf. Peace be with you :)
24 posted on 03/16/2013 1:45:07 AM PDT by PeevedPatriot
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To: PeevedPatriot
". . . the anti-Catholic crowd who worship their own Most High and Holy Self"

I see no way around concluding that anyone who relies on their own personal judgment to interpret Scripture for their self by denying all of what was taught by the Apostles and for the fifteen hundred years up to the Self Alone Rationalization, is placing them self above the Scripture they claim to interpret. Especially when they begin by throwing out a portion of the Bible and only then claim to believe in the Bible. When someone claims their own interpretation of Scripture is inerrant and that everyone from Jesus Christ, through the Apostles, and up to their favorite rationalizer is wrong, they are worshiping their Self as The Word, not Jesus Christ who is the Word. That is following Eve, not following Christ.

There are elements of the Truth outside the Catholic Church, no doubt, and pursuing those portions of the Truth rather than deciding what I wanted to believe and interpreting Scripture to suit my preferences is what led me to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded after being Lutheran most of my life.

It's nice to be ecumenical, but those who obstinately deny the Truth by denying the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and who constantly lie about what the One True Church teaches aren't overlooking something, they're deliberately denying His Word, deliberately telling lies, and deliberately slandering His Church. People who who the Holy Spirit is working on do not resist the Truth when it's explained to them. They pray, open their heart, and at the very least admit that they can see why there is as much reason to accept what the Catholic Church teaches as to accept what they belive contradicts it. They don't lie and slander pretending that lies and slanders are part of spreading His Word.

Making nice with those who lie about and slander the Catholic Church is not ecumenicism towards those who "overlook but simply interpret things differently", it's refusing confront those who are under a powerful delusion. A powerful delusion that blinds them with the glory of their Self and keeps them from seeing how they're being used to attack Christ and Christianity. Their very manner, in fact, slanders all of Christianity and ignoring such folks only leads others to believe there is no answer to the lies and slander and not much reflection of Christ in those who claim to be Christian whatever they claim to believe.

People who lie about the Catholic Church are confronted with the facts, that's not treating them poorly. I'd be treating them very poorly indeed if I left them to stew in their own lies and funky delusional wastes. More importantly, I'd be treating His Word poorly if I constantly threw pearls before such swine rather than obeying Scripture and letting them be anathema after they've been confronted with the Truth. Only the Holy Spirit can lead them away from the broad highway to destruction they're on so I pray for them. I also make it clear to them they're heading towards hearing, "I never knew you" from the very same Jesus Christ they in essence call a liar.

Such folks are not just slandering the Catholic Church, they're slandering all of Christianity and Christ Himself.

They pretend to "only" be attacking the Catholic Church but if the Catholic Church has for two thousand years been wrong about how to interpret Scripture and wrong about the canon, then there's no real reason to believe that the Luther Subset of the Bible is the inspired Word of God, either. Especially since Luther also wanted to throw out the parts of the New Testament he found it difficult to argue his way around. Disagreeing with an interpretation or doctrine is one thing, slandering His Word, His Church, and Christ Himself, is another matter.

I'm sorry, but I don't see it the way you do. I don't know of any nice way to point out that someone is denying what His Word says, refusing to accept a portion of the Bible, essentially calling Jesus Christ a liar by denying what Christ Himself clearly said, and repeating slanderous lies that have been shown to be lies over and over for five centuries since they were first spun out of thin air.

Look at CCC 1753 & 1754 then tell me that a desire to be ecumenical is a reasonable response to lies about His Bride and His Word. I see no way around confronting lies and no way around pointing out a situation where someone is denying Christ while pretending to be Christian. Doing that is claiming that the ends, being nice and ecumenical, justifies means that include silently ignoring lies and slanders against Christ and His Bride. The angel Michael didn't say, "I beg to differ", he confronted Lucifer by saying, "who is like God".

I feel sure Jesus Christ expects to likewise be confrontational when someone is deliberately slandering His Bride.

Regards

25 posted on 03/16/2013 3:18:39 AM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: ebb tide

Can you not see a reconciliation of Jews to Jesus? Even the Apostle Paul speaks of it. It may yet be distant. And their doctrine will still be now against that of Christ, but that doesn’t mean bridges should not be built. It certainly should mean that pledges of no harm would be made.


26 posted on 03/16/2013 3:20:44 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! True supporters of our troops pray for their victory!)
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To: PanzerKardinal

“It is apparent that the Holy Spirit has given us a pope...
who is a man who will speak the truth, however hard.

who is preparing us for spiritual warfare.

who is faithful.”

I believe you are right. He may actually be a Jesuit in the mold of Saint Ignatius


27 posted on 03/16/2013 5:31:47 AM PDT by paterfamilias
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To: RoadGumby

PFL


28 posted on 03/16/2013 5:46:19 AM PDT by RoadGumby (This is not where I belong, Take this world and give me Jesus.)
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To: Rashputin; PeevedPatriot; NYer

I admire the spirit behind your approach, PP, and generally agree that we should strive to be kind, smiling evangelists in the mold of John Paul II (NYer comes to mind - a wonderful ambassador of the Church!) Considering the vitriol and outright disrespect that Catholic Christians are afforded by many on this forum, hijacking our threads and forcing their twisted, tortured personal interpretations of our beliefs into the discussion...well, let’s just say that I think Rashputin hit the nail squarely on the head.


29 posted on 03/16/2013 7:07:07 AM PDT by HoosierDammit (St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us!)
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To: xzins; ebb tide; PanzerKardinal
Can you not see a reconciliation of Jews to Jesus?

I just posted another letter from Robert Moynihan in which he writes:

Francis greets Rome’s Jewish community

Also today, Pope Francis sent a letter to the head of Rome’s Jewish community.

POPE FRANCIS TO RABBI OF ROME: “I HOPE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROGRESS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHICH BEGAN WITH VATICAN COUNCIL II”

Vatican City, 15 March 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a message to Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, the oldest Jewish community of the diaspora. “On this day of my election as Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Universal Church,” reads the text, “I send you my cordial greetings, informing you that the solemn inauguration of my pontificate will take place on Tuesday, 19 March.”

“Trusting in the protection of the Most High,” the Pope continues, “I strongly hope to be able to contribute to the progress of the relations that have existed between Jews and Catholics since Vatican Council II in a spirit of renewed collaboration and in service of a world that may always be more in harmony with the Creator’s will.”

BTW, Pope Peter does not have a personal secretary! He writes his own letters.

30 posted on 03/16/2013 7:19:09 AM PDT by NYer (Beware the man of a single book - St. Thomas Aquinas)
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To: Jmouse007
Why else do you think the Roman Catholic Ten Commandments differ from the Old Testament Commandments (contained in Hebrew scripture, and non-Catholic scriptures). There was a little rewrite, so as to allow prayers to icons, statues, and saints.

After all, according to Roman Catholics, Latin is the language of Heaven, not Aramaic,(which the Lord spoke), Greek (in which the New Testament was written), or Hebrew (in which the Old Testament was written and prophets spoke). All must bow to Rome, and Roman Catholic pronouncements, and worship Mary, pray to priests for forgiveness of sins, pray people out of Purgatory, and kiss a ring that was a pagan symbol, rather than follow G_d’s Word.

31 posted on 03/16/2013 7:53:55 AM PDT by Yulee (Village of Albion)
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To: ebb tide
First, I don't think Pope Francis is saying it's simply OK for Jews (or anybody else) to be and remain far from Jesus.

But if we, seeing them far, wish to bring them near, a pledge to treat each other with respect would be a good start. St. Paul is all about giving honor when honor is due. Everyone is "due" a cooperative spirit and a genuine appreciation, especially if this can build bonds which facilitate peace and a closer walk with Our Lord.

Tagline.

32 posted on 03/16/2013 9:35:49 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o ("If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." Romans 12:18)
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To: RoosterRedux
You think Semiramis is the Queen of Heaven?

Wow.

There are some gals down the street from me who do yoga and honor Shakti, but I've never met a Semiramis devotee before.

Free Republic sure is getting diverse!

33 posted on 03/16/2013 9:39:27 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
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To: Yulee

You’re wrong on all counts but take for example, your personal opinion on the languages of the New Testament, how did you find out the (dis)information you’re spewing forth?

Two books of the Old Testament - Wisdom and II Machabees - were written in Greek. The rest of the Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language. The New Testament was written in Greek, with the exception of St. Matthew’s Gospel which - according to the unanimous testimony of Catholic antiquity - was written in Hebrew or Aramaic. St Jerome corrected the Latin version of the Old Testament by the Greek there was also revisions by St. Peter Damian and Lanfranc in the 11th century....as clearly noted below...there was nothing covert going on...

Wasn’t the Catholic Christian movie The Passion of Christ spoken in Aramaic?

Early History of the Bible:

The original writings from the Apostles themselves (the autographs) no longer exist.

This is due partly to the perishable material (papyrus) used by the writers, and partly to the fact that the Roman emperors decreed the destruction of the sacred books of the Christians (Edict of Diocletian, A.D. 303).

Before translating the Bible into Latin, St. Jerome had already translated into more common languages enough books to fill a library. (Saint Jerome, Maisie Ward, Sheed & Ward; A Companion to Scripture Studies, Steinmuller.)

In the year 383, he revised the Latin New Testament text in accordance with some Greek manuscripts. Between the years 390 and 406 he translated the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew, and this completed work is known today as the “Old Latin Vulgate”. The work had been requested by Pope Damasus, and Copies of St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate appeared uncorrupted as late as the 11th century, with some revisions by St. Peter Damian and Lanfranc. (Catholic Encyclopedia, “Place of the Bible in the Church”, C.U.A.)

Pope Benedict XV wrote about St. Jerome’s translation in his 1920 encyclical, Spiritus Paraclitus, “Nor was Jerome content merely to gather up this or that teacher’s words; he gathered from all quarters whatever might prove of use to him in this task. From the outset he had accumulated the best possible copies of the Bible and the best commentators on it,” . . . “he corrected the Latin version of the Old Testament by the Greek; he translated afresh nearly all the books of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin; . . . he discussed Biblical questions with the brethren who came to him, and answered letters on Biblical questions which poured in upon him from all sides; besides all this, he was constantly refuting men who assailed Catholic doctrine and unity.”

The first person known with certainty to apply the term canon to the Sacred Scriptures was St. Athanasius, about 350 A.D., although his private estimate of the number of canonical books differed from the books he quoted in his writings. Like him, a few other early fathers doubted some of the deutero-canonical books, but would cite them. (A Companion to Scripture Studies. Steinmueller.)

The Council of Carthage (397) was the first Council to publish a list of all the inspired books of the Bible. The Council of Florence repeated the canon of the Bible, and it was restated at the Council of Trent. (No action of the Church causes a book to be inspired. The Church exercises its infallible judgment to certify post factum that a particular book was inspired when it was written. The fact that God is its Author makes a book to be inspired. The Holy Spirit prevents the Church from erring in judging which books are inspired and included in the Bible.)

Versions of the whole or parts of the Bible in the language of the common people first appeared in Germany in the eighth century, in France and Hungary in the twelfth, and Italy, Spain, Holland, Poland and Bohemia in the thirteenth century. (Catholic Encyclopedia.)......

continued:
http://www.cathtruth.com/catholicbible/earlyhis.htm

You can’t go around making things up to suit yourself when there’s documentation passed down from antiquity which is where you got your information in the first place to use in order to abuse it. BTW: This is the very same Holy Bible Martin Luther had in his hands.


34 posted on 03/16/2013 10:01:08 AM PDT by bronxville (Margaret Sanger - “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population,Â)
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To: NYer

Who’s Pope Peter?


35 posted on 03/16/2013 10:12:57 AM PDT by ebb tide
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To: ebb tide

Sorry ... typographical error ... or was it ; - )


36 posted on 03/16/2013 10:19:41 AM PDT by NYer (Beware the man of a single book - St. Thomas Aquinas)
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To: Rashputin; PeevedPatriot

Thank you both for your comments.


37 posted on 03/16/2013 10:25:50 AM PDT by crusadersoldier
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To: Mrs. Don-o

“First, I don’t think Pope Francis is saying it’s simply OK for Jews (or anybody else) to be and remain far from Jesus.”

On the contrary, I think he is saying it. He declares the current situation, since the Second Vatican Council, to be “more and more in harmony with the will of the Creator”.

Just today at a meeting with the secular press, he did not profess the Social Reign of Christ the King. Instead, he merely described the role of Christ as “pastor of the church”. At the end of meeting, he gave his apostolic blessing in silence so as not to offend any non-Catholics. I think this Pope has very little intention to convert people to the Catholic Church.


38 posted on 03/16/2013 10:28:18 AM PDT by ebb tide
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To: Mrs. Don-o
I was indelicate and not thoughtful toward those of whom Mary is such an important part of their lives.

Forgive me.

I was speaking to the ancient goddess worship (Semiramis, Astarte, Venus) that has always tried to elbow its way back into Christianity by way of syncretism.

In this case, goddesses are demons who seek to be worshiped and, in the view of many, are not mythological at all but quite real and dangerous.

And yes, as a Christian, I believe demons and spiritual powers of darkness/sin/evil are, indeed, real.

39 posted on 03/16/2013 11:11:25 AM PDT by RoosterRedux (Get armed, practice in the use of your weapons, get physically fit, stay alert!)
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To: ebb tide
"He declares the current situation, since the Second Vatican Council, to be “more and more in harmony with the will of the Creator."

One would be obliged to seek a clarification of just WHY in "the current situation" is more and more in harmony with the will of God. If he means "peaceful and respectful relations between Jews and Catholics," --- as contrasted with the hostilities of earlier eras --- he would be right. If he means "religious indifferentism," he would be wrong.

As you know, rash judgment consists in making a negative judgment without evidence, with insufficient evidence, or against evidence. I think charging that the Pope "has very little intention to convert people to the Catholic Church" is based on little to no evidence --- so far. I would need more information before I would risk the sin of false witness against the Holy Father on that score.

That's still forbidden by the Ten Commandments.

I don't expect the man to detail the whole plan of his mission in the first week of his ponitificate.

Keep in mind thats the Left is going berserk in hatred for him at present (charges of "Fascist!" "and "Homophobic bigot!" flying through the blogosphere) because he held the line against sexual unchastity and Liberation Theology among the Jesuits. Plus, he took the name of two saints (Francis of Assisi and Francis Xavier) who vowed the conversion of the Muslims.

I do not like anti-Francis animus. I will not tolerate it. Be well advised of that.

40 posted on 03/16/2013 11:12:48 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
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