Jesus not found outside the Church, Pope preaches

Catholic News Agency ^ | 04/23/13 | Estefania Aguirre

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Jesus not found outside the Church, Pope preaches :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/jesus-not-found-outside-the-church-pope-preaches/

April 23, 2013

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St. John Lateran on March 29, 2013. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA.

Vatican City, Apr 23, 2013 / 07:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said that people cannot be fully united to Jesus outside of the Church during a Mass to commemorate Saint George, the saint he is named after.

“You cannot find Jesus outside the Church,” he said April 23 in the Apostolic Palace’s Pauline Chapel.

“It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging,” he declared in his homily.

The pontiff spoke about Christian identity as well as persecution, making it the sixth time in two weeks he has mentioned those who suffer for the faith.

Speaking about the Gospel reading for today from Saint John, Pope Francis underscored that “the missionary expansion of the Church began precisely at a time of persecution.”

“They had this apostolic fervor within them, and that is how the faith spread!” he exclaimed.

It was through the Holy Spirit’s initiative that the Gospel was proclaimed to the Gentiles, the Pope noted, and the Spirit “pushes more and more in this direction of opening the proclamation of the Gospel to all.”

The pontiff also repeated a line from his April 17 homily in St. Martha’s residence, when he emphasized that being a Christian is not like having “an identity card.”

“Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these (the apostles) belonged to the Church, the Mother Church, because finding Jesus outside the Church is impossible,” he said.

“The great Paul VI said it is an absurd dichotomy to want to live with Jesus but without the Church, following Jesus out of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church,” he added.

Pope Francis said that “if we are not sheep of Jesus, faith does not come” and that it is “a rosewater faith and a faith without substance.”

The Pope also commented on Barnabas, who was sent to Antioch and was glad to see that the grace of God had encouraged people there to remain true disciples.

“Let us think of the consolations that Barnabas had, which is the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing,” he preached.

“Let us ask the Lord for this frankness, this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward,” he remarked.

After the Mass in the papal chapel, the Swiss Guard band offered a brief musical performance in the Courtyard of Saint Damaso for the Pope’s name day.

[FatherofFive]

"That is what He said. You don't believe Him? " Now why does that sound familiar...?

Because people don't want to listen to Christ?

[verga]

In order to ever understand you “must be born-again.”

Where does the Bible say you must be "born again"?

[Mad Dawg]

He is ‘the’ vine. Not ‘a’ vine. He never said he was a vine.

It's better! He says he is the "true vine." His flesh is true food, His blood true drink.

Tread carefully here!

[piusv]

“They didn’t understand and neither do you.”

Then why didn’t Christ call them back.....”hey, you don’t understand, come back!”?

Because they were right in their understanding...they just didn’t want to follow it.

[piusv]

“Jesus wanted those disciples to leave...He made sure they did...”

Where’s the Biblical proof that that was His intention?

[CatherineofAragon]

LOL.

That’s about as ironic as a person can get, right there.

[Mad Dawg]

Where does the Bible say you must be "born again"?

I feel like the straight man in a set-up but, okay: John 3:3,5.

So what's the come-back? If it were me it would be 'water and the Holy Spirit.'

[cookcounty]

Define “the church.”

[Boogieman]

The problem with that is the Pope still says Jesus can’t be found outside the church, whether you are talking big C or little c, it is still an erroneous statement. Jesus can reveal himself to whomever he pleases, inside or outside the confines of any church. That’s what He did for Paul, and I have no doubt He has done so for many others.

We’d do well to remember that Jesus created the church, not the other way around. The church is bound by Jesus, but Jesus is not bound by any church.

[cookcounty]

"Pope Francis said that people cannot be fully united to Jesus outside of the Church "

Depends on the definition of "church" and "fully."

Of course, as a Baptist, I would say it's difficult but not impossible to be fully following Jesus while remaining in the Catholic Church.

And sorry, dear Pope, "Mother Church" did not give us Jesus. That's ludicrous. Stop giving credit to yourself. GOD gave us Jesus. And "the church" as well as "The Church" did not exist until AFTER Jesus died and rose again.

[cookcounty]

The Church gave us Jesus.

Mary gave us God.

The Popes gave us Truth.

God, Jesus, Truth demoted.

The Roman Catholic Church, Mary and the Pope promoted.

And we should all bow down.

[cookcounty]

Didn’t Jesus say : “Except a man join the Roman Catholic Church, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” ???

Oh, wait a minute, no He didn’t

[cookcounty]

Salvation from what, exactly???

[cookcounty]

"But he never says this ‘represents’ my body. That is simply not Scriptural.

Culturally, it makes no sense to say this is literal. Do you believe that Jesus' DNA is in the wine? really?

The Jewish culture (and remember the words of Jesus are not recorded in the language they were spoken in) is highly picturesque, and the Apostles would have understood it as being representative. Did Jesus WANT to be misunderstood? No. He spoke as people spoke in the time.

What did He mean when He said "When you drink this cup"...was that cup not the 3rd Cup of the Passover, the "Cup of Salvation" as it was and still is known? Passover is a ritual of REMEMBRANCE and SYMBOLISM, not one of white magic with secret talismans. That's pagan thinking. The Cup of Plagues didn't and doesn't hold the literal plagues. When he raised the Cup of Salvation, He was saying His Death paid for our sins, and we should "drink in" that fact. Any first century Jew would have understood it that way. Maybe not the pagans though. They were always looking for "sacred objects" with which to manipulate the gods.

Some folks STILL want to put their trust in objects or "correct procedures," (the very definition of "idolotry") but only Jesus Himself saves.

So did Jesus drink his own blood at Passover? I don't think so. Popes and the Catholic Church have been wrong before, and they are wrong about this.

[svcw]

You prove my point, thanks.

[Mad Dawg]

YES!

[Iscool]

This is all in the public domain. Anybody who wants to know what we teach BEFORE he attacks it, can find it out with a little work.

Or, you could just tell us in a handfull of words instead of linking to page after page after page after page of human philosophers trying to convince each other that they know what they are talking about...

I couldn't say whether the answer to any questions are in there or not...I don't have enough time in this lifetime to wade thru all that...

[Mad Dawg]

The faucet gives us water, but we know that the water is greater.

[Mad Dawg]

But you have enough time to say the cup is withheld, the bread not broken, and that we could divide the indivisible Lord?

[Mad Dawg]

A way to approach the question might be like this. Whatever the state of the man to whom Christ shows grace, the working of that grace is to graft the man into Christ’s body, which is ...