Posted on 01/10/2007 5:54:07 PM PST by NYer
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Christian community and its members always will face persecution and suffering, but they should embrace it as a source of blessing, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Speaking at his Jan. 10 general audience about the ministry and death of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, the pope said the persecution of the early Christian community is what pushed the disciples to leave Jerusalem and bring the Gospel to the world.
"Even in our lives the cross, which is never lacking, becomes a blessing," the pope said.
And by accepting suffering in the knowledge that it will lead to growth and blessings, "we learn the joy of Christianity even in moments of difficulty," Pope Benedict said.
St. Stephen, he said, "teaches us to love the cross because the cross is the path Christ always uses to arrive in our midst."
The pope also spoke about the ministry of St. Stephen, who was elected by the Christian community and confirmed by the apostles as one of "seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom," charged with distributing charity.
The fact that St. Stephen and the other six also preached the Gospel, he said, is a reminder that "charity and proclamation always go together."
The pope touched briefly on the fact that before having them begin their ministry, the apostles laid hands on the seven, which is why many Christians see them as the church's first deacons.
Pope Benedict did not refer directly to theological discussion over the possibility of ordaining women deacons based on New Testament texts describing community leaders laying their hands on the heads of women chosen to carry out specific tasks on behalf of the community.
However, he said, the gesture of laying hands on someone's head "can have different meanings. In the Old Testament the gesture mostly has the significance of transmitting an important charge."
Sts. Paul and Barnabas were anointed that way before being sent off to evangelize the gentiles, as was St. Timothy, he said.
Pope Benedict said that St. Paul's descriptions of the power of the laying on of hands and the need for discernment prior to anointing someone in that way demonstrate an evolution in the meaning of the gesture, which later developed "in the line of a sacramental sign."
At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict greeted 30 members of an international soccer team made up of priests. The priests gave him a yellow jersey with his name in Italian, "Benedetto," and his number in Roman numerals, "XVI."
News flash: The God of the bible, Jesus Christ, says that you will suffer.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1: 2-5
How does your free will have anything to do with suffering? What is your definition of "free will" and where is the biblical passage that supports that?
According to your own testimony, (not mine) you choose to NOT embrace suffering. If you choose not to suffer, scripture suggest you may be lacking in maturity and wisdom. That you may be unable to perservere. Is that a fair assessment?
My free will chooses for you to get thee to the nearest bar and have a drink.
Your response makes no sense! Do you know what it means to be a follower of Christ? Do you know that you have a sin nature to go along with that free will?
Your were born a sinner and are seperated from God. We are all sinners and that is the reason God sent Jesus (who is God in the flesh) to die for us. He takes the blame for our sins, for those who believe he is who he said he was, and that he died and rose after 3 days. You must recognize your own sin and then seek God's forgiveness. He will forgive you, even if it is adultry, lying, cheating, whatever your sin is. He promises to do this. If you don't do this, he is a God of justice and will find you guilty upon your death. You will be sent to hell. So you say you have a free will, which direction do you choose?, up or down?
How so?
Please explain.
Just asking.
If you choose not to suffer,
scripture suggest you may be lacking in maturity and wisdom.
That you may be unable to perservere. Is that a fair assessment?
Darn YOU! You figured me out at CHOOSE.
I bow to your intellect. /Bow Bow Bow woogie woogie Bow Wow.
YOUR God knows you are a sinner. What he is curious about is if you are strong enough to overcome. That is your task! My God knows that I am less than perfect, and I sometimes fail to be the best I can be, but he is curious if I will continue to do something about it. And that is MY task!
To me free will means to choose between light and darkness. I chose light, and it is still my choice. And by the way, you street corner preachers seem to know all about hell, so tell me, exactly, what is heaven like? If you don't know, then don't tell me about hell either.
Nor, in fact, does the Catholic Church teach the pope's views, his opinions, nor Vatican diplomacy, as infallible truth. The Church's definition of infallibility is very carefully limited: (1) infallibility is, properly speaking, Christ's guarantee to the Church (and not a personal thing to the pope that would supposedly make him some kind of oracle); and (2) It's essentially a negative thing: it means that the pope will never be permitted to make a formal declaration on faith or morals, intended to be binding on the whole Church, which would lead the Church into error.
That's faith and morals; not music, weather forecasting, and politics.
I, like many, am convinced that Benedict XVI is an exceptionally gifted and holy man, and thus I listen with extra respect and, when uncertain, would give him the benefit of the doubt (something I might say about other religious leaders, too: for instance, I have great respect for Richard Land of the Baptist Church (whose writings I'e read), Charles Colson, James Dobson, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Michael Medved, and others--- non-Catholic --- to whom I would also give a careful hearing and the benefit of the doubt!)
In general, I think we should all be more respectful and less jab-ilicious and slug-inaceous. I'm preaching to my self here.
Peace, MaxMax
Are you afraid of dialogue, in which you use reason, to discuss our differences?
If not, I no longer wish to converse with you. I have shared the truth of Gods word and when you die you can no longer claim ignorance. You have heard the truth, the truth that will set you free, and you have choosen to reject Him.
I don’t worry about the Pope says, I am just agreeing with his point that suffering is a blessing. I am not of the Catholic faith, however, I am a born again Christian. To your point above, I cannot “overcome” my sin nature on my own, that is exactly the point! That is why Jesus died for us. He had to die for us, in order to create a “new” nature. You can only receive this “new” nature when you are born again. I don’t have to DO anything to receive it, it is a free gift given to me DESPITE my previous sin nature.
My God, Jesus Christ, knows I am a sinner and that is why he gave himself as a sacrifice FOR me. He isn’t curious, He is sovereign, He is God! He knows everything about everyone, including how many hairs are upon your head. (Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7) He KNOWS I can’t be an overcomer without Jesus. Again that is point! That is WHY he had to sacrifice His Son and then offer us this free gift. You must believe He did this for you, that He is who He said he was, and that he conquered death and rose again. If you don't recognize sin in your own life, than you cannot understand that you are seperated from God. That is why Christians talk about sin. They want other to see their need FOR a Savior.
Now, speaking of heaven I know only what the scriptures teach us. It isn’t everything and our human minds can't comprehend everything about it. But I do know this, which is written in the bible: It is a real place (just like Hell is a real place), there is no crying or pain there, wonders will be performed there, we will not be sick, there is safety there, there is NO sin, there are treasures and rewards, and it is eternal. It will never go away, unlike Earth.
This is a place I long to be in for eternity.
These are all written in Gods word for you to study and see for yourself. So, if you want to talk about heaven I can give you the scriptures to look up for yourself. Don’t take my word for it, look into it yourself.
Considering all the flack the nutburgers on FR give him, he's already borne more than his fair share.
One of many I would suppose.
"Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth (a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party) - membership being legally required after December 1936.[2] -, but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a child with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps. Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he returned to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year."
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