Posted on 05/17/2014 3:53:49 AM PDT by NYer
Vatican City
“Pope Francis says studying Jesus is not enough to get to know him, we must also pray to him, celebrate him and imitate him. This was the Pope’s core message at Mass on Friday in the Santa Marta residence, Vatican Radio reports. In his homily the Pope reflected on the best way for us to get to know Jesus, describing it as the most important work in our lives. At the same time he warned that studying or having ideas was not enough on its own to acquire that knowledge of Jesus.”
“Ideas by themselves do not lead anywhere and those who pursue the path of their own ideas end up in a labyrinth from where they can’t get out again! It’s for this reason that heresies have existed from the very beginning of the Church. Heresies are this: trying to understand with our minds and with only our personal light who Jesus is. A great English writer wrote that a heresy is an idea that’s gone crazy. That’s right! When they are ideas by themselves they become crazy… This is not the right path!”
Pope Francis explained that we need to open three doors in order to know Jesus:
“The first door is praying to Jesus. You must realize that studying without prayers is no use. We must pray to Jesus to get to know him better. The great theologians did their theology while kneeling. Pray to Jesus! By studying and praying we get a bit closer… But we’ll never know Jesus without praying. Never! Never!”
“The second door is celebrating Jesus. Prayer on its own is not enough, we need the joy of celebration. We must celebrate Jesus through his Sacraments, because these give us life, they give us strength, they nourish us, they comfort us, they forge an alliance with us, they give us a mission. Without celebrating the Sacraments, we’ll never get to know Jesus. This is what the Church is all about: celebration.”
“The third door is imitating Jesus. Take the Gospel, what did he do, how was his life, what did he tell us, what did he teach us and try to imitate him.”
“Entering via these three doors, the Pope went on, means entering into the mystery of Jesus and it’s only in this way that we can get to know him and we mustn’t be afraid to do this. During the day, today, we can think about how the door leading to prayer is proceeding in our life: but prayer from the heart is not like that of a parrot! How is prayer of the heart? How is the Christian celebration in my life proceeding? And how is the imitation of Jesus in my life proceeding? How must I imitate him? Do you really not remember! The reason is because the Book of the Gospel is full of dust as it’s never opened! Take the Book of the Gospel, open it and you will discover how to imitate Jesus! Let’s think about how these three doors are positioned in our life and this will be of benefit to everybody.”
That’s commendable?
What was he doing before?.
That was from the Pope’s introduction of Cardinal Kasper to his recent Synod of bishops.
But I do agree with you that the Vatican’s website has now become liberal media.
The Catholic Church is the only true religion. All other religions, including Billy Graham’s, are false religions.
Before VC II, all Catholics knew this truth. I’m sorry you apparently believe otherwise.
The MSM is the liberal websites. Did the pope tell you he was scared of offending non-Catholics? Or is that your interpretation of what he said. Or are you a mind-reader?
It’s not an interpretation. It’s a fact.
Fr. Lombardi is to Pope Francis as Jay Carney is to Obama, a professional liar.
I can't remember the exact words but the pope said something very much like "knowing some of you are not believers I bless you in silence". It was weird whatever it was.
You got me wrong. The reason I stay in trouble on FR is because I say all the time that the only true religion is the Catholic Church. I just take up for Pope Francis more than you do. I’m a 4th degree Knight.
So you are calling Billy Graham and his protestant faith a “false religion”. Do your research before you post something. The rest of your post is also nonsense.
In the above, you stated all my comments are nonsense, including the one about false religions.
P.S. I know a fourth degree night who practices artificial birth control.
Your knowledge of Catholicism, or lack thereof, does not impress me.
More and more I’m convinced we are in a state of sedevacante.
This doesn’t make me popular here (in fact, I’m probably more hated than the prots here by my fellow Catholics), but I can’t consider that man the pope. No way, no how.
Most neo-Cats don't know the Faith. When Catholics actually read about the Faith as it was taught prior to Vatican II then they wake up and realize something is terribly wrong and has been wrong for decades now.
Yup. But how can a POPE be a heretic?
I wish I could join the neo/con-Catholics and let that statement just bounce off of me.
Will you lie for Pope Francis, as others do? Will you go that far?
Is he suggesting setting aside the rote memorized “prayers” in favor of talking to God like the Person He is?
Why do people assume that one cannot pray with memorized or written prayers and still pray sincerely and from the heart? There is a difference between praying like a parrot, and praying with sincerity and understanding something which you didn't spontaneously come up with. A person who studies, considers and seeks a deeper knowledge of God and his revelation through those prayers which come to us from the saints and Fathers of the Church, not to mention the scriptures themselves, will pray truly and efficaciously and not like a parrot, even though they do not make up the words themselves on the spot. After all, what Christian refuses to pray the Our Father or the Psalms because they are not spontaneous?
I do fully believe 100% of the time that the "Smoke of Satan" entered the Church and set "Bishop against Bishop" and that "It will become clearer in 1960" (various sources).
Do you take up for Pope Francis in all his off-the cuff statements? Or only some of them?
If only some, why? And if only “some”, why can’t I do the same?
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Matthew 23:15(NIV)
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
Oh, please! Don't ever make that terrible wish! :)
How many “churches” did Jesus Christ establish? If more then one, when did He establish each one, and for what reasons?
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