Posted on 01/07/2014 4:11:17 AM PST by markomalley
We should "test" our thoughts and desires to see if something helps us to "abide in the Lord or distances us from Him", if it comes from Christ or the antichrist , "because many false prophets have come into the world . Prophets, prophecies and proposals". This was the warning issued by Pope Francis during morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta, the first after the Christmas holidays.
The Pope drew his homily from the exhortation of John: "Abide in the Lord ". "Sound advice" he said , which John "obsessively" repeated. The Apostle indicates "one of the attitudes a Christian who wants to abide in the Lord must have: know what's in your heart". This is why he warns against giving credence to every spirit, instead to "test the spirits" . One must know how to "discern the spirits" to discern whether something makes us "abide in the Lord or distances us from Him." " Our heart always has desires, cravings, thoughts". But "are these the Lord's, or do some of them distance us from the Lord?". This is why the Apostle John exhorts us to "test" what we think and want.
"If this is in the line with the Lord, you are doing well, but if it does not ... test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have come into the world. Prophets or prophecies or propositions: ' I want to do this ! ' . But this does not take you to the Lord, it leads you away from Him. This is why we must be alert. A Christian is a man or a woman who knows how to keep watch over his o her heart . And many times our heart, with so many things that come and go, is more like local market: you can find anything and everything there ... no ! We need to test things - this is the Lord's and this is not - to abide in the Lord".
What, then, is the criterion to see if something comes from Christ or the antichrist? The Pope noted that St. John, has a clear, "simple" idea: Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ, who became Flesh, is God's. Every spirit that does not profess Jesus is not of God: it is the spirit of the antichrist". But what does "recognizing the Word made flesh" mean?. It means "to recognize the way of Jesus Christ, "those who recognize Him" being God, He humbled himself , He humbled himself " to the " death cross".
"That is the way of Jesus Christ: to humble Himself, humility, even humiliation. If a thought, if a desire leads you to follow that road of humility and abasement, of service to others, it is of Jesus, but if it takes you on the road self sufficiency, vanity, pride , on the road of abstract thought , it is not of Jesus. We only have to think of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness: all three propositions that the devil makes to Jesus are propositions that would lead Him away from that path, the path of service, humility , humiliation, charity. But charity done with His life , no? Jesus says no to the three temptations: ' no, this is not my road!'".
The Pope then invited everyone to think about what happens in our own heart. What we think and feel, what we want, to watch over the spirits. "Do I put myself to the test, what I think, what I want, what I desire or do I take it all? " . " So many times , our heart is a road , everything travels upon ... Put to the test. And do I always choose the things that come from God? Do I know which things come from God ? Do I know the true criterion to discern my thoughts, my desires? Let us think of this, and let's not forget that the criterion is the Incarnation of the Word. The Word has become Flesh : this is Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ who became man, God made man, He humbled himself, He humbled himself to love, to serve all of us. And may the Apostle John to grant us this grace to know what's going on in our hearts and have the wisdom to discern what is of God and what is not of God".
Pope Francis: Test the spirits
The Christian knows to guard his heart in order to distinguish what comes from God and what comes from the false prophets. That was the message of Pope Francis in the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the first after the holiday season. The Pope said the way of Jesus is that of service and humility, a path that all Christians are called to follow.
Pope Francis took the words “Remain in the Lord,” from the first Reading from the Apostle John, as the starting point for his homily. It is a “counsel for life,” the Pope said, that John repeats “almost obsessively.” The Apostle shows “one of the attitudes of the Christian who wants to remain in the Lord: to understand what’s happening in one’s own heart.” For this reason he warns us, “Do not to trust every spirit, but test the spirits.” It is necessary, the Pope said, to know “the discernment of spirits,” to discern whether something helps us “remain in the Lord or takes us away from Him.” “Our heart,” he added, “always has desires, has cravings, has thoughts.” But “are these from the Lord or do some of these things take us away from the Lord?” That’s why the Apostle John exhorts us to “test” what we think and desire:
“If this goes along the line of the Lord, it will go well, but if not… Test the spirits to see if they really come from God, because many false prophets have come into the world. Prophets or prophecies or suggestions: ‘I want to do this!’ But this does not bring you to the Lord, it leads you away from Him. That’s why vigilance is necessary. The Christian is a man or a woman who knows to keep watch over his or her heart. And many times our heart, and with so many things that come and go, seems a local market: everything, you can find everything there… No! We need to test things - this is from the Lord, and this is not – in order to remain in the Lord.”
What, then, is the criterion to determine if something comes from Christ or from the antichrist? St. John, the Pope said, has a clear “simple” idea: “Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.” But what does it mean, “to recognize that the Word is come in the flesh?” It means “recognizing the path of Jesus Christ,” recognising the He, “being God, He emptied Himself, He humbled Himself” even to “death on the Cross”:
“That is the path of Jesus Christ: abasement, humility, humiliation as well. If a thought, if a desire takes you along the road of humility and abasement, of service to others, is from Jesus. But if it brings you to the road of sufficiency, of vanity, of pride, along the path of an abstract thought, it is not from Jesus. We think of the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness: all three proposals the demon makes to Jesus are proposals that intended to take Him away from this path, the path of service, of humility, of humiliation, of charity. But the charity accomplished with His life, no? To the three temptations Jesus says no: ‘No, this is not my path!”
The Pope then invited everyone to think about what happens in their own hearts. What do we think and feel, what do we desire, do I examine the spirits? “Do I test what I think, what I want, what I desire - he asked - or do I accept it all” without discernment?
“So many times, our heart is a road, everything passes there… Put it to the test! And do I always choose the things that come from God? Do I know which are the things that come from God? Do I know the true criterion by which to discern my thoughts, my desires? Let us think of this, and let us not forget that the criterion is the Incarnation of the Word. The Word is come in the flesh: this is Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ who was made man, God made man, who lowered Himself, humbled Himself for love, in order to serve all of us. And may the Apostle John grant us this grace to know what is happening in our hearts, and to have the wisdom to discern what is of God and what is not of God.”
What an interesting admonition at the New Year.
Thank-you! God Bless Pope Francis!
“but if it takes you on the road self sufficiency”. I know what he means but I can already see how the Left will view it.
The bad guy is a deceiver...
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
There must be a standard...Something which these bad spirits can be tested against....
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
All these weapons/shields are for defense against those spirits except for the last one which is the only offensive one...The Sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the bible...
Your interpretation of the Bible. Luther unleased schism and heresy by claiming what you do.
HaHaHa...Sorry, no interpretation involved...One certainly can read plain speech in simple scripture, right???
The only thing Luther did was to become the catalyst that allows me to read the bible in English to see what it really says instead of take the word of someone in your religion who would "Interpret ;)" the bible from Latin for me...
You do know that Luther did not make the first translation of the Bible into German? He had a genius for language, however, that allowed him to make the best one. As for English, a vernacular Bible unfortunately became associated with Lollardy and the politics of the late 1300s and the deposition of a king, both of which caused the Crown, Henry V in particular, to treat Lollardy and the vernacular Bible as subversive. The Latin Bible remained available, and in far-greater numbers than you may know, and since every educated person read Latin, was accessible at maybe 10% of the population. As for reading the Bible in English, you may or may not have noted the many different versions. Just as The KJB is hard for us to read, so an Elizabethan would have found the RSV nearly incomprehensible. Reminding us, that what we read IS a translation of Greek and Hebrew texts which cannot be understood by modern Greeks or Israelis. As for the schism. Even Zwingli and Luther could not come to terms.
And thank God he did...But it wasn't Luther, it was God...
Here's the test...
I've read hardly any of Luther...None of Zwingli...Enough of Calvin to know I don't lean that way...
Never read anything by Darby, not much by Schofield...
I have missed out on these highly educated, influential men...I have read a considerabl amount of Catholic history, church fathers, catechsim etc...
My largest source of biblical education lies in the bible...And it's the bible alone that keeps me from going anywhere near a Catholic church...Luther has nothing to do with me not liking your religion except his part in making sure I was able to have the word of God in my language...
The Reformation could not have happened without a bible people could read...You ought to quit blaming Luther for all your church's ills...It's the word of God that keeps us away from your religion...
Just as The KJB is hard for us to read
I have no trouble reading the KJV and find it far more enlightening than the other translations...
The test is really your understanding of Catholic doctrine, and your personal understanding of the Bible. The problem with private interpretation is that the Bible becomes a blank slate Luther progressively rejected the efficacy of his rule, of the popes and bishops, and of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and this left only Scripture to guide him, and he somehow thought himself competent to set aside all other guidance and pronounce what was the correct interpretation. I do not blame Luther for all the ills of the church. I blame him for ceasing to be a revivalist and becoming a German anti-pope, the tool of German princes who used his movement as a way of resisting the authority of Charles V, of ending Roman taxation, and of enriching themselves with church properties. He became one of the chief impediments to a Church Council to address reforms but also to any unified front with the Swiss Church in favor of the reforms that both supported.
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