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.
EXCELLENT POINTS.
REALLY? LIKE ?THIS?:
.
Maybe one of us should bother to respond a bit to this stinking pile of jerk-water straw dogs . . .
1. That Tradition is an anathema and is absent in the Protestant heresies.
!!!!!!TRADITION!!!!!! in the sense of a bureaucratically documented & sanctioned, magicsterically power-mongeringly demanded as a dogma of the faith etc. etc. etc.
IS ANATHEMA TO MOST PRODDY ORGS.
I've frequently noted hereon that every group that exists longer than 1.5 years is likely to develop traditions which run the risk of being thought of as sanctified and holy when they are mere customs and habits of the local group of humans--humans which have a great compulsion to TELL GOD how holy their customs and habits are and ought so to be considered BY HIM.
Rather than TRUST GOD, we tend to trust THE FAMILIAR for our SECURITY--and thereby end up sanctifying and investing in customs & habits of men some righteous imparting grace by the phoney 'virtue' of merely going through the motions of a custom/tradition/habit/ritual. GOD WILL HAVE NONE OF IT. That's one reason He's forever throwing a monkey wrench into the midst of groups on the brink of such nonsense.
2. That the Christian faith is based exclusively on a book.
NO--not evidently in that idiotic meaning of the word. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS BASED ON:
And when BIG DADDY
gazes piercingly at the individual in the dock,
AND ASKS,
WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE EVEN
ONE
OF THOSE 23 STATEMENTS OF MY SON?
What will the responses be
from the willfully blind
and compulsively stubborn
folks of the Roman Catholic et al
rabid cliques?
3. That 100% of the revealed Word of God is contained within Scripture.
YES! 100% OF GOD'S !!!!ENSCRIPTURATED!!!! REVEALED WORD
IS
SCRIPTURE.
The Heavens can be construed as God's revealed 'word' about His majesty. The healing of a broken limb of a child miraculously can be construed as God's revealed broken Body of The Living Word for that child's healing. An authentic prophecy from a Spirit-filled Christian prophetic source can be construed as God's revealed word to that congregation and perhaps to others as well. NONE OF THOSE ARE GOD'S REVEALED ENSCRIPTURATED WORD. Nor are they intended to be.
Scripture is sufficient for leading us to embarking on a relationship with God and for maturing in said Relationship.
!!!!TRADITIONS!!!! are not only NOT SUFFICIENT, they are hazardous to spiritual health AS CHRIST MADE VERY CLEAR OF IN HIS EVERY MENTION OF THEM IN THE GOSPELS.
4. That salvation is attainable through faith alone.
Evidently you and the Vatican rubber Bible trash:
.
Gal 2:16 [see below],
as well as Gal 3;
IF THE THOUGHT STOPS THERE,
THAT FAITH DIES
USUALLY BY DEGREES AND STAGES.
Faith without action dies on the vine.
Action without PROPER faith
INVESTED IN CHRIST ALONE
is vain RELIGION and dead already.
IIRC, James declares that he will show his faith BY HIS WORKS.
Romans 9:32
Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."
Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 3:1-3 (King James Version)
Galatians 3
1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Galatians 3:1-3 (The Message)
Galatians 3
Trust in Christ, Not the Law
1 You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.
.
2-4Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!
Galatians 3:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
Galatians 3
1O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom--right before your very eyes--Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified?
.
2Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?]
.
3Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
Titus 3:8
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have [ALREADY] believED in God might be careful to [THEN] maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Hebrews 6:1 (The Message)
Hebrews 6
1-3So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on "salvation by self-help" and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we'll stay true to all that. But there's so much more. Let's get on with it!
BLESSED BE THE WORD OF THE LORD.
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.
BLESSED BE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD.
BLESSED BE THOSE WHO LOVE GOD FIRST, FOREMOST, ALWAYS. BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB.
5. That the revelation of Jesus Christ ended with the death of the last Apostle.
That depends on one's definitions.
THE REVELATION OF JESUS THE CHRIST via John is complete and even carries a VERY SEVERE warning about those who would add to or take away from it.
THE ENSCRIPTURATED REVELATION OF JESUS THE MESSIAH IS COMPLETE.
However, CHRIST made very clear that HOLY SPIRIT WOULD LEAD US INTO ALL TRUTH . . . presumeably as we individually needed such specifics in our daily lives--all consistent with and congruent with HIS ENSCRIPTURATED IT-IS-WRITTEN WORD!
Any other nonsense is hazardous folly--particularly having to do with !!!!TRADITIONS!!!! OF MEN AND OF DEMONS--that CHRIST SPOKE MOST HARSHLY ABOUT WHENEVER HE MENTIONED !!!!TRADITIONS!!!! IN THE GOSPELS.
Some of the lurkers may benefit from the above.
We have no illusions that the barking straw dogs of the rabid clique folks will learn a thing from BIBLICAL TRUTHS.
GOODNESS!
REALLY?
IF that was the goal, what an UTTER FAIL.
Some chaff is hardly worthy even the name of chaff! LOL.
WHAT UNMITIGATEDLY BEARING FALSE WITNESS, BRAZEN NONSENSE!
PRODDYS base their theology on:
1. SCRIPTURE: IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN--JUST CHRIST HIMSELF REPEATEDLY EMPHASIZED AS
2. CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED!
3. SALVATION VIA CHRIST'S BLOOD ALONE--BELIEVE IN THE HEART, CONFESS WITH THE MOUTH THAT GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD, AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED. PERIOD.
4. CHRIST CRUCIFIED, AROSE & COMING AGAIN.
5. And the rest of the standard BIBLICAL foundationis of the Faith in CHRIST ALONE.
ALL THE CULTS AND ALL THE OTHER RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD ARE SALVATION-BY-WORKS AFFAIRS. ALL OF THEM. It has been disturbing to note with dismay that so many Roman Catholics et al hereon seem to be grouping the Vatican edifice with such cults on the same basis.
GOD HAVE MERCY!
Thank you for your teaching, generous and loving heart that our Lord uses so mightily in the spread of the true gospel. It saddens me that some think we “cherry-pick” the scriptures when it is so obvious, from yours and other’s enlightened posts, that God’s word is truth and a sure foundation for our faith and knowledge.
ABSOLUTELY INDEED.
PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM
ALL
BLESSINGS FLOW.
ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM HIM.
In my flesh is no redemptive anything.
Apart from me IN HIM and HIM IN ME, there is no hope, now or eternally.
Thanks for your kind words.
It bears repeating; Protestantism's founding identity is based upon its opposition to the object of its protest; the Catholic Church.
Also, I would not be concerned about accusations of cherry-picking. A single verse or phrase may have overwhelming meaning to us, e.g. the Name of God I AM from Exodus 3:14.
After all, the words of God are alive. They are spirit and life.
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
Thank you so very much for sharing your testimony, dear brother in Christ!
As has been documented relentlessly hereon
BY RC'S POSTING ON THEIR OWN THREADS AND IN THEIR OWN POSTS;
AS WELL AS has been documented in the Main Stream Media;
as well as has been documented by some of the Proddy postings hereon;
THE DIVERSITIES OF PERSPECTIVE, OPINION, WRITINGS, PRACTICES, POLITICAL LOBBYING ETC. ETC. ETC.
UNDER THE VATICAN UMBRELLA
ARE AT LEAST AS DIVERSE
on the significant points of the basic Christian truths, practices and standards
AS ARE THE DIVERSE PRODDY GROUPS!
IT IS UTTER UNMITIGATED HYPOCRITICAL FALSEHOOD
to contend anything else!
Can you say DISINGENUOUS TO THE MAX!
SHEESH!
With such a track record, I wouldn't trust y'all to tell me with any reliable certainty what time it was or even that the moon was still in the sky.
Yes. Human nature is perverse to the core, inherently.
The heart is deceitfully wicked, who, [apart from the searchlight of Holy Spirit] can know it.
Thank you for your teaching, generous and loving heart that our Lord uses so mightily in the spread of the true gospel. It saddens me that some think we “cherry-pick” the scriptures when it is so obvious, from yours and other’s enlightened posts, that God’s word is truth and a sure foundation for our faith and knowledge.
ABSOLUTELY INDEED, ON ALL POINTS.
THX.
MOST PRODDYS don't give a rip about the Vatican edifice.
MOST PRODDYS don't care to bother to even learn anything about the Vatican edifice.
MANY PRODDYS probably don't know a common nun from a Mother Superior. Some might not even know if a monk is a male and a nun a female.
MOST PRODDYS probably couldn't even tell you the major doctrinal differences between the Vatican edifice and the average Proddy denomination--other than the blasphemous, idolatrous obsessions of the Vatican folks with the Mary caricature.
Not only do most Proddys not think or bother much at all about the Vatican edifice--they do not care--somewhat sadly--about the differences. They find their denomination's doctrinal positions satisfying and Biblical enough and that's most of what they care about on such scores.
Actually, like MOST self-labeled Roman Catholics et al, most Proddys are woefully ignorant of THEIR OWN denomination's perspectives and distinctives. THEY CERTAINLY DON'T GIVE A RIP ABOUT THE RC'S AND CERTAINLY COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO CONSTRUE THEIR IDENTITY AS RELATED IN THE LEAST TO THE RC'S IN ANY WAY--MUCH LESS AS OPPOSITION.
THE ASSERTION IS AN
Better dig up another fantasized rationalization for all the Vatican rabid clique hogwash. That dog don't hunt!
Flying into a multicolored rage is not a refutation of fact. Whether the number is 33,000 or 3,300 differing denominations of protestantism the one and only unifying characteristic is their protestation of Catholicism.
It is symptomatic of an overbearing sense of self importance and vain self righteousness and a lack of a means of settling doctrinal issues. When the alter pontiffs claim that the Holy Spirit has given them a unique interpretation or decryption key to the revealed Word they splinter and form yet another Church.
Yet through this all the one thing they remain united in is hate; the hatred of Catholicism. One need only observe the theological equivalent of the bar scene from Star Wars that rallies on any Catholic oriented thread to spew that hatred to see the truth in my statement.
Yet that doesn't stop them from ignorantly raving on about cliques, the Catechism, Church history, Scripture and any host of things they know nothing about. The ONLY thing they actually know is that they hate the Catholic Church and are willing to spend countless hours besmirching what they claim they care nothing about.
Flying into a multicolored rage is not a refutation of fact. Whether the number is 33,000 or 3,300 differing denominations of protestantism the one and only unifying characteristic is their protestation of Catholicism.
Yet through this all the one thing they remain united in is hate; the hatred of Catholicism. One need only observe the theological equivalent of the bar scene from Star Wars that rallies on any Catholic oriented thread to spew that hatred to see the truth in my statement.
I don't know if this is
MORE COMICAL
OR
MORE SHOCKINGLY ABSURD!
THAT ASSERTION
IS SO THOROUGHLY WRONG
AS TO NOT EVEN BE
IN THE SAME GALACTIC CLUSTER
AS EVEN "SLIGHTLY RIGHT."
Which word is incomprehensible below?
MOST PRODDYS DO NOT CARE ABOUT ROMAN CATHOLOCISM NOR ROMAN CATHOLICS AS A GROUP.
.
MOST PRODDYS DO NOT THINK ABOUT ROMAN CATHOLOCISM NOR ROMAN CATHOLICS AS A GROUP, MUCH AT ALL, IF EVER--UNLESS A SHOCKING NEWS STORY GETS THEIR ATTENTION.
.
THEREFORE, the whole idea of Proddy's PROTESTING or sparing with or standing the least bit agains Roman Catholocism is an utterly unknown to them and a thoroughly false accusation--what a surprise--NOT! It would be like their standing against or protesting 3-eyed, four handed high IQ, tap dancing, chess playing sloths from the moons of Endor.
.
The relatively few Proddys who BOTHER AT ALL about the Vatican edifice and cohorts probably find all such to be very oddly archaic in most respects--language, customs, dress, publically noted perspectives etc.
.
A big chunk of the Proddys who have heard or know ANYTHING about the Vatican edifice, probably do not consider Roman Catholics et al to be Christians--probably because of the obviously obsessive/idolatrous emphasis on the Mary caricature and the emphasis on, trust of the INSTITUTION ABOVE SCRIPTURE. However, even on those scores, it's more of an "HOW UNBIBLICAL!" OR "HOW ODD!" sort of response instead of comparing their denomination at all with the Vatican edifice.
.
CERTAINLY EVEN THEN, THERE'S !NO! IDENTIFICATION from any pushing against the Vatican edifice in any sense. There's no pushing going on. It's like looking at the 3-eyed, 4 handed tap dancing sloth--a bit curious and after that, yawn.
.
The rabid cliques of the Vatican edifice seem to flatter themselves ranting, wailing, whining on and on in the evidently genetic and chronic thin-skinned state about Proddy hate toward the Vatican edifice and RC's as a group.
.
AGAIN--THOROUGHLY WRONG. PRODDYS DON'T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT Y'ALL TO HATE! THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE VATICAN EDIFICE NOR RC'S AS A GROUP TO HATE ANY SUCH THING.
.
Even hereon, there's likely only one Proddy who MAY hate the Vatican edifice. I wouldn't even bet on that.
.
BETTER FANTASIZE ANOTHER LIST OF PHONEY EXCUSES for the unmitigated FALSE nonsense.
IT INCREASINGLY APPEARS THAT
.
ALL THIS FALSE ACCUSATION STUFF ABOUT "HATE" FROM THE RC'S IS 100% PSYCHODYNAMIC PROJECTION.
.
FURTHER, THAT ALL THIS RANTING ABOUT PRODDYS IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES BY THEIR PURPORTEDLY 'AGIN IT' ATTITUDE TOWARD RC'S IS ALSO 95% OR MORE PSYCHODYNAMIC PROJECTION.
.
INCREDIBLE.
Every once in a while,
I try to convince myself that the screen names appearing under certain types of posts from the RC rabid cliques really do come from sentient folks.
However, I’m beginning to wonder . . . if I haven’t been overly gracious and even deluded.
It’s increasingly appearing that the screen names of a significant chunk of such represent either mind numbed clones or robots with very faulty programming.
And, the dictionaries used by either one appear to be either non-existent or at about a 2 year old’s level. I don’t know why I persuade myself so often that it’s remotely worthwhile to even attempt communication—much less genuine dialogue with such personages.
Which word is not understood?
MOST DON’T CARE.
One has to CARE to be even able to hate.
However, if the delusions involved about the nonexistent caring or the nonexistent hate keep the rabid clique folks off the street, all is not lost.
Nobody in their right mind believes that for one moment. There are not thousands of Protestant denominations because Protestants are in violent agreement on everything or anything. Protestants are Protestants because of their stance AGAINST Catholicism. Protestants don't spend every waking hour prowling Free Republic searching for threads and opportunities to spread falsehoods about Catholics and Catholicism because of their grace and love. Protestants do not compose multi paragraph retorts into the wee hours out of indifference. It is nothing more than an aggregate demonstration of protestation, hate and false bravado spawned by subliminal self doubt.
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