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.
You might be right.
Like calling Calvin a *devil*?
Since that cannot be proved as a fact, it falls into the category of opinion, thus making it a reprehensible slander and scandalous attack.
The attacks are justified and NOT slanderous,dear sister, calvin's statements of Christ suffering in hell is that of a devil's words.
Do you realize that the following statement by Calvin means that satan would have had power over Christ ?
From calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion Book II, Chapter 16
"But, apart from the Creed, we must seek for a surer exposition of Christ’s descent to hell: and the word of God furnishes us with one not only pious and holy, but replete with excellent consolation. Nothing had been done if Christ had only endured corporeal death. In order to interpose between us and God’s anger, and satisfy his righteous judgement, it was necessary that he should feel the weight of divine vengeance. Whence also it was necessary that he should engage, as it were, at close quarters with the powers of hell and the horrors of eternal death"-John Calvin
"Hence there is nothing strange in its being said that he descended to hell, seeing he endured the death which is inflicted on the wicked by an angry God. It is frivolous and ridiculous to object that in this way the order is perverted, it being absurd that an event which preceded burial should be placed after it."-John Calvin
Christ's decent to hell was triumphant,NOT an additional suffering to please satan or an angry God!
Along that same train of thought it explains why we have very little disagreement with the Reformed members. In reforming their churches they moved away from that Judaic copy and we share the same understanding of The Gospel of Grace.
Well put.
thx.
Since that cannot be proved as a fact, it falls into the category of opinion, thus making it a reprehensible slander and scandalous attack.
Your indignation is a bit lopsided:
Why would you call Paul’s words a “blatant inconsistency” when we say the same things every day in the same way.
I hear someone speaking but say, “I can’t hear you”. and then I can say that I didn’t hear the person speaking to me just the sound of a voice.
Am I being blatantly inconsistent”?
There is plenty of evidence to substantiate that:
you: This is increasingly apparent.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. - John 6:63
Love God. Believe Him. Trust Him.
Judiasm failed to see that EVERYTHING pointed to Jesus Christ as Messiah. The Catholic church fails to see that EVERYTHING points to Jesus Christ as the END of the Law to everyone who is justified by the faith of Christ.
the former keeps looking, the latter keeps denying. The difference is the latter are WITHOUT EXCUSE. They were not blinded until the fullness of the Gentiles be brought in. They ARE the Gentiles, just as we are. There are believing Jews that join us in the One New Man of Grace. My question is how can The Law be joined into the One New Man/actually, how can one BELIEVE that The Law can be joined?
Good points.
thx
Ah, dear sir, but my faith in God and his revealed word is NOT based on blind faith or belief. To some, who only rely on what they can personally experience with their five senses, it may appear that way. But to those who have ventured to learn what and why they believe, it is certainly logical and right to accept eternal truths even if we cannot see, hear, taste, touch or smell them. "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29).
You believe in gravity, not because you can see it, feel it, hear it or smell it, but because you see its effect and its consistency in nature. Do you examine a chair every time you sit in it to be sure it will hold you up? Yet, some may say this is "blind faith", too. We all exhibit faith in some form or another every day of our lives. Some may not like to call it that, but it is nonetheless.
No indignation there.
Just pointing out the hypocrisy.
Using already used words.
As I was pointing out yours.
Then why did John chronicle his Revelation and Paul did not? Why were they treated so differently? Why did Luke not even get it correct in the two passages of Acts 2 and Acts 9 which are the description of the moment of Paul's conversion?
Two or three witnesses* refers to every word being *established*. It *clearly* says this in Matt.18:16 and 2 Cor. 13:1.
The two or three witnesses cannot be the Triune God - they refer to human beings confronting another. And if it were the Triune God, I would not need the Father, the Son AND the Holy Spirit showing up to witness to me. This is a rather crazy line of thought but innovative, I must say.
Attempting to twist the clear words and understanding is an effort in futility.
Exactly. My advice is for you to abandon your novelties and head on over to Christianity. The Bible and the Catechism are pretty good documents to follow.
9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
Not surprising, given the oddities of the rest of that version.
This way, they can "patch up" the inconsistency in order to preserve the "inerrancy." The Book has been "cooked" now for almost 2,000 years by adding, deleting, or otherwise redacting, so it is no wonder that the Bible shows an impressive degree of internal consistency, although its perfection is still the making. :)
Perfect Protestant doctrine has, in the past, been pulled out of a hat. Except that, too, has been altered every six months even more hastily by the LDS...
And that is a matter that I do not believe that we as humans on earth will ever truly understand. Presumably we will understand after our own resurrection, else it will not matter to us then. For now, we have God in incarnate form, called Jesus, reaching down to man on his own level.
Subtle but significant.
From the earliest Christian writings to today, sometimes much more than subtle.
Mark, Paul's ENTIRE APOSTLES are the REVELATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST> They are chronicled in Acts-Philemon. The Church the Body of Christ IS a REVELATION. The Dispensation of the Grace of God IS a REVELATION. The human witnesses: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established", either from God, from Christ, from the Holy Spirit..you know, THE TRINITY. Both in Matthew and 2 Corinthians
I can't make it any clearer.
But go ahead down the *PROVE IT* highway.
"I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so."
It is one of the arguments that St. Augustine makes.
"If you should find someone who does not yet believe in the gospel, what would you [Mani] answer him when he says, 'I do not believe'? Indeed, I would not believe in the gospel myself if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so" (Against the Letter of Mani Called 'The Foundation' 5:6).
And, not because of our immediate discussion, but because it is something that comes up repeatedly, Augustine also wrote:
"I promised you [new Christians], who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the sacrament of the Lord's Table, which you now look upon and of which you last night were made participants. You ought to know that you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ" (Sermons 227 [A.D. 411]).
By your tagline testimony, it appears you believe the Catholic Church and thereby the words of God spoken indirectly to you through it - rather than the words of God spoken directly to you.
I believe that the Church is the hands and feet of God on earth. Without the Church, mankind is as ants when the rock is removed from above them, scurrying around, some happening to go in the right direction.
"[T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the Catholic Church's] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15-17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics want to be called 'Catholic,' when a stranger inquires where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or house" (Against the Letter of Mani Called 'The Foundation' 4:5 [A.D. 397]).
Love God. Believe Him. Trust Him.
And follow Him. Amen.
It's funny how this applies to so many who post here.
In Acts 9, the witnesses saw either a light or not, but heard a voice that reportedly spoke three sentences. Nobody saw the Revelation and Paul does not chronicle it. In Acts 22, the witnesses did see a light but did not hear any voice. Nobody saw the Revelation and Paul does not chronicle it.
Revelation 1: 1 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3 Blessed is the one 2 who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.
4 3 John, to the seven churches in Asia: 4 grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us 5 from our sins by his blood, 6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever (and ever). Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," 6 says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
9 7 I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos 8 because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus. 10 I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day 9 and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, 11 which said, "Write on a scroll 10 what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."
12 11 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, 12 wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest. 14 The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, 13 and his eyes were like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, 14 and his voice was like the sound of rushing water. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars. 15 A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest. 17 When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. 16 He touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, 18 the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. 17 19 Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards. 18 20 This is the secret meaning 19 of the seven stars you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Now, do you believe John? Do you get that he had a revelation and this is the best that he could do to understand that revelation? Now, did John get everything that he was shown? Probably not. He wrote it down the best that he could. Presumably Paul also did not quite get everything that he saw revealed, and therefore writing through a human mind, perception and language, did the best that he could as well. The problem is that we have the very interesting verse:
1 Corinthians 9: 7 Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win over those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became like one outside the law--though I am not outside God's law but within the law of Christ--to win over those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
Paul is telling us that he is a salesman, selling Christianity to the world. Does he nuance some of his revelation? He never chronicled it, remember?
Mark, Paul's ENTIRE APOSTLES are the REVELATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST>
Interesting. I thought that Paul had disciples, not Apostles. Timothy, for instance, and Luke, after Luke had travelled with Peter.
The Church the Body of Christ IS a REVELATION.
Umm, no, not a revelation. It is an institution built by Jesus upon Himself as the cornerstone and the rest of the foundation the Apostles, especially Peter.
The human witnesses: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established", either from God, from Christ, from the Holy Spirit..you know, THE TRINITY. Both in Matthew and 2 Corinthians
If you think that a) you require revelation to be confirmed by at least 2 persons of the Trinity, then your Christianity differs substantially from anybody that I have ever heard of, and b) if you think that the exhortation to confront a sinner with 2 or 3 human witnesses applies to God as well, as well as being proof of Pauline revelation, then, again, your Christianity differs substantially from anybody that I hav ever heard of.
I can't make it any clearer.
You may wish to reexamine your premises.
But go ahead down the *PROVE IT* highway.
The premises being presented are getting increasingly exotic. I'm not sure that proofs could possibly be amassed.
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