Posted on 06/13/2010 12:16:24 PM PDT by markomalley
.- Thousands of pilgrims and faithful gathered at noon Sunday in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with the Holy Father. Before the prayer, he said that the fruits of the recently ended Year for Priests could never be measured, but are already visible and will continue to be ever more so.
“The priest is a gift from the heart of Christ, a gift for the Church and for the world. From the heart of the Son of God, overflowing with love, all the goods of the Church spring forth,” proclaimed Pope Benedict XVI. “One of those goods is the vocations of those men who, conquered by the Lord Jesus, leave everything behind to dedicate themselves completely to the Christian community, following the example of the Good Shepherd.”
The Holy Father described the priest as having been formed by “the same charity of Christ, that love which compelled him to give his life for his friends and to forgive his enemies.”
“Therefore,” he continued, “priests are the primary builders of the civilization of love.”
Benedict XVI exhorted priests to always seek the intercession of St. John Marie Vianney, whose prayer, the “Act of Love,” was prayed frequently during the Year for Priests, and “continues to fuel our dialogue with God.”
The pontiff also spoke about the close of the Year for Priests, which took place this past week and culminated with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He emphasized “the unforgettable days in the presence of more than 15,000 priests from around the world.”
The feast of the Sacred Heart is traditionally a “day of priestly holiness,” but this time it was especially so, Benedict XVI remarked.
Pope Benedict concluded his comments by noting that, in contemplating history, “one observes so many pages of authentic social and spiritual renewal which have been written by the decisive contribution of Catholic priests.” These were inspired “only by their passion for the Gospel and for mankind, for his true civil and religious freedom.”
“So many initiatives that promote the entire human being have begun with the intuition of a priestly heart,” he exclaimed.
The Pope then prayed the Angelus, greeted those present in various languages, and imparted his apostolic blessing.
How on earth did you get that? I thought you said you had actually studied and understood the Catechism. Obviously you hadn't. The Catechism teaches:
The term "merit" refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment. Merit is relative to the virtue of justice, in conformity with the principle of equality which governs it.
With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator.
The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit.
How did you get that sweet little girl to pose with you?
I can't speak on behalf of Calvinists or the OPC.
uh,that was my point. Our body is the Temple of Christ. We are in Him and He is in us. we do not need priest to educate, support OR facilitate that access.
Markbsnr: The Reformation was the result of the same temptations that satan gave to Jesus in Matthew 4:. The difference is that Jesus did not succumb.
And yet you could substitute the word "priests" for "pastors" and "Roman Catholic" for "Protestant" and the statement would be entirely applicable and true. Self-aggrandizement, wealth, power, authority, submission of the "laity" were all sins the "Church" was steeped in and which brought about a need for reform. It didn't start with Martin Luther but he, as a Catholic priest himself, recognized the depravity and wantonness of the hierarchy. The "protest" was against this surrender to Satan by those who should have known better.
Do pastors still sin? Yes. Do priests, bishops, popes? Again, yes. We are all sinners and it is only through the grace of God that any can come to him - on his terms, not ours. Until we recognize that we are redeemed through Christ and not some religion or organization, we will never let go of hostility, suspicion and negativity and we will never be able to let the light of the glorious gospel shine through us.
When the veil was rent, there was no more "work of the priests".
What are "the work of the priests" to you?
(((GASP)))
Do you find that comment by Paul out of line? Erroneous? Muddled? Do think Jesus was not a man?
Read the Bible, Mark. It is the power of God unto salvation. It will help you not to make further errors like that one and the following...
"Paul does not subscribe to the Nicene Trinitarian view of Christianity. Neither do the Synoptic Gospels, by the way. It is in John that we find some evidence of the Triune God, with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit co equal, co existing, and co eternal members of One God. Paul definitely is not Trinitarian." -- Posted by MarkBsnr on April 24, 2010.
Amen. The acquitted and the condemned.
Is God omniscient?
Acts15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
You obviously need someone to educate you. That whole YOPIS thing isn't doing so well.
And sometimes Paul referred to the Eucharist as bread and sometimes the body of Christ. Do you find that comment by Paul out of line? Erroneous? Muddled?
Do you have a difficult time following the discussions? We were talking about the Church being the pillar and bulwark of truth, and that truth being the word of God, whether it is written or not.
Do you, like Mark, doubt that Jesus was a man?
The irony is, once told, you can never claim ignorance.
I cannot speak for Mark. I believe in the Incarnation as one of the central mysteries of Christianity. I do not believe that at any time Jesus was merely a man.
How can you rationalize that with an unconditional gift of grace, an elect that does not require works or deeds, and a salvation that cannot be forfeited?
“Jesus could have written Scripture - ever wonder why He didn't?”
Given Catholics’ devotion to relics, burial cloths, scraps of bone, miraculous pictures, and the mythology surrounding them, No, I don't wonder.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:27 - "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." EPHESIANS 4:12 - "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 1 CORINTHIANS 10:16 - "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?"
To what is Paul referring when he uses the phrase, "body of Christ?" He's referring to believers, to His flock, to us.
The bread is not the body of Christ physically. The bread is the "communion of the body of Christ."
The Lord's Supper is a communion of members of His church where we remember His sacrifice and partake of His grace.
See how helpful the Scriptures can be for you?
Because of you. you don’t think you are being offered a FREE GIFT of Grace that cannot be earned or lost? Look around you. Look on these posts. It’s everywhere, Natural. IF you choose not to accept God’s FREE GIFT OF GRACE, then you WILL be judged. And all you’ve ever known, done, or heard will be condemning you, not saving you.
Mark has told us he does not believe Paul was Trinitarian.
"Paul definitely is not Trinitarian." -- Posted by MarkBsnr on April 24, 2010.
Mark asked me a strange question. He wrote "In some cases, Paul called Jesus a man and not God. Do you have anything to say about that?"
Now from that sentence and his earlier remark we can understand Mark seems to be saying Paul believed Jesus was a man, but not God.
Do you agree with his supposition?
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