Pope Francis greets the faithful at the May 8 General Audience (Credit: CNA / Stephen Driscoll)
Posted on 09/07/2013 3:49:35 PM PDT by NYer
.- In his daily homily on Saturday, Pope Francis reflected on the question of authentic Christianity and rejected the practice of focusing more on devotions than on Christ himself.
Jesus is “the center” of faith, said the Pope. “A commandment is valid if it comes from Jesus: I do this because the Lord wants me to do this. But if I am a Christian without Christ, I do this and I don’t know why I have to do it,” he said to the congregation at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta on September 7.
Like the Pharisees, he said, there are some people who “make so many commandments the center of their religiosity.”
Others who have a false sense of religiosity “only seek devotions” or “things that are a little uncommon, a little special, that go back to private revelations,” noted Pope Francis.
“If your devotions bring you to Christ, that works. But if you remain there, something’s wrong,” he explained.
“If Jesus is not at the center, there will be many other things,” so that people become “Christians without Christ.”
Remembering that Jesus is the center of faith “regenerates us, grounds us.”
Pope Francis further explained the mark of a true “Christian with Christ.”
“The rule is simple: only that which brings you to Jesus is valid, and only that is valid that comes from Jesus. Jesus is the center, the Lord, as He Himself says.”
Christians can avoid false religiosity by adoring Jesus as “the Lord, the only Lord.”
“If you aren’t able to adore Jesus, you’re missing something,” warned Pope Francis.
The sign of a true “Christian with Christ” is one who does “that which comes from Jesus” and that which leads to Jesus.
Such adoration bears true fruit in the life of a Christian, encouraged the Pope.
He said that Jesus also gives “the grace of loving Him so much, of following Him, of going along the path that He has shown us.”
A “Christian with Christ” has the courage to proclaim Jesus as Lord.
Pope Francis exhorted Catholics not to focus on false piety, but rather evangelize and “take the Gospel!”
Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
I would like to think that most everyone posting on this thread would agree with this teaching.
Sorry, I need my car to get to the grocery store and I need my house to live in...Plus, I love my siblings and my grandkids...
Then sooner or later the pastors wife or one of the church does or says something and there is a church split that takes 25 -50% of the members and we are off and running again.
There is no intellectual honesty in protestantism and the foundational beliefs vary from one group to the next. None of your members have ever been able to discern an intellectual truth about the Church, all you have are the man made doctrines of Sola Fide and Sola Scrioptura.
I would like to see you try that in a mosque.
I want one!
The Mercedes Benz is guaranteed to do 120 mph on four flat tires. It is designed to give him similar protection to many other world leaders, and get him to safety in a worst case scenario.
Are you so jaded that you don't feel he deserves the same protection afforded other world leaders?
As a Catholic, I thank you for your informed, ecumenical Christian attitude. May God bless you for it!
I don't believe that any of them are genuine. They often teach a perverted, focus on what God can do for you, message.
Their lifestyle belies their message and if they are found guilty of illegal activity, they need to go to jail like anyone else found guilty of those same crimes.
Did Jesus have it?
FWIW, our pastor spoke at Mass about the Scripture readings for today: Wisdom 9:13-18, Phil 1:9-10, 12-17, and Luke 14:25-33. There wasn’t a word about immigration, only our responsibility as Catholic Christians to put God first above all things, even family.
Many seem to think they know what Catholics do and believe, but they do not. Most fallen away Catholics are running from the Church and attempting to tar it to make their desertion feel more acceptable. Disparaging the Church lessens their cognitive dissonance. They tell their litany of complaints to Protestants who are only too willing to believe the worst of Catholics. Those Protestants accept the version of the Church told by Catholics Who Just Couldn’t Cut It. They then pass on their erroneous information as though it was gospel.
Catholicism is a very demanding religion and the lukewarm are winnowed out. They go somewhere else, where Billy Bob (who got religion last week) tells them what they want to hear to grow his own personal ministry/mealticket. They join Billy Bob’s flock and start to tithe to him. Billy Bob is only too happy to continue to stroke their egos about how bad the Catholics are and how wise they are to follow his “learned” interpretation of Holy Scripture.
It’s very sad; but even Jesus let those who said, “This is a hard teaching” walk away. The Catholic road is the Way of the Cross and it’s not for wimps. Jesus showed us that in John 6.
>> “ these guys bring in millions and keep a big part of it.” <<
.
They have a trick that you and I cannot use:
The “Church” owns the toys (airplanes, luxury cars, large buildings) and sends them on “missions” to wherever they wish to go.
You can tell them that this is no different than the catholic church, but they will be happy to explain how it is “different.”
But God’s word tells us that Yehova doesn’t live in temples made with hands, (but owns the universe since he made it) what can we give him?
.
You have it perfectly backwards.
All of The RCC’s doctrines are man made “Traditions,” while every point that Yeshua debated in his life was stated thus: “It is written...”
Yeshua never presented any support for his positions but the scriptures. That is why Sola Scriptura is the total foundation of all belief.
It didn’t happen today. Sorry to disappoint you.
>> “Did Jesus have it?” <<
.
You have nailed it perfectly!
Our Savior walked the Earth with nothing but sandals and his garment.
The pope, being nothing better than just another sinful world leader needs the world’s protection.
Sorry that you cannot see the forest... but my words are clear and concise. The Roman cult is a manmade institution run for the benefit of their clergy. It rejects Scripture over the written Word it so proudly touts. It indoctrinates and requires strict adherence to it's goals. It places obstacles into Salvation that God does not require.
I follow the Holy Spirit where He leads me. The Truth always seems to be found in the Scriptures, not in empty tombs and idols of dead "saints".
Galatians 2: 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Good luck with that misguided ill informed belief. This is my last reply to you on this topic.
What I think is very telling is the fact that he’s both a religious leader and a political leader. Seems he has both bases covered. And simply cannot be “touched”. How convenient. It’s good to be “Christ” and “King”..
Apparently trusting God with the life of your pope isn’t on the Church’s radar.
If Catholics were looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, instead of a man, they wouldn’t be thrown for a loop if something happened to their beloved leader.
If their faith is so weak that they’d be that shaken, then they haven’t built their house on a Rock but on sinking sand. That’s what they get for looking to men instead of Jesus.
That’s probably why the local congregations in the NT had elders and deacons to administrate them with no centralized authority.
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