Posted on 01/18/2012 3:19:15 PM PST by NYer
.- Pope Benedict XVI said today that achieving Christian unity requires more than “cordiality and cooperation” and that it must be accompanied by interior conversion.
“Faith in Christ and interior conversion, both individual and communal, must constantly accompany our prayer for Christian unity,” said the Pope to over 8,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall on Jan. 18.
The Pope’s comments mark the start of the 2012 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that runs until Jan. 25. It will be observed by over 300 Christian churches and ecclesial communities around the globe.
The Pope asked for “the Lord in a particular way to strengthen the faith of all Christians, to change our hearts and to enable us to bear united witness to the Gospel.”
In this way, he said, they “will contribute to the new evangelization and respond ever more fully to the spiritual hunger of the men and women of our time.”
The Pope explained that the concept of a week of prayer for Christian unity was initiated in 1908 by Paul Wattson, an Episcopalian minister from Maryland. One year later, he became a Catholic and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood.
Pope Benedict recalled how the initiative was supported by his predecessors Pope St. Pius X and Pope Benedict XV. It was then “developed and perfected” in the 1930s by the Frenchman Abbé Paul Couturier, who promoted prayer “for the unity of the Church as Christ wishes and according to the means he wills.”
The mandate for the week of prayer, the Pope underscored, comes from the wish of Christ himself at the Last Supper “that they may all be one.” He observed that this mission was given a particular impetus by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) but added that “the unity we strive for cannot result merely from our own efforts.” Rather, “it is a gift we receive and must constantly invoke from on high.”
The theme for 2012 Week of Prayer – “All shall be changed by the victory of Jesus Christ our Lord” – was crafted by the Polish Ecumenical Council. Pope Benedict said it reflects “their own experience as a nation,” which stayed faithful to Christ “in the midst of trials and upheavals,” including years of occupation by the Nazis and later the Communists.
The Pope tied the victory the Polish people experienced over their oppressors to overcoming the disunity that marks Christians.
He said that the “unity for which we pray requires inner conversion, both shared and individual,” and it cannot be “limited to cordiality and cooperation.” Instead, Christians must accept “all the elements of unity which God has conserved for us.”
Ecumenism, the Pope stated, is not an optional extra for Catholics but is “the responsibility of the entire Church and of all the baptized.” Christians, he said, must make praying for unity an “integral part” of their prayer life, “especially when people from different traditions come together to work for victory in Christ over sin, evil, injustice and the violation of human dignity.”
Pope Benedict then touched on the lack of unity in the Christian community, which he said “hinders the effective announcement of the Gospel and endangers our credibility.” Evangelizing formerly Christian countries and spreading the Gospel to new places will be “more fruitful if all Christians together announce the truth of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, and give a joint response to the spiritual thirst of our times,” he explained.
The Pope concluded his comments with the hope that this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will lead to “increased shared witness, solidarity and collaboration among Christians, in expectation of that glorious day when together we will all be able to celebrate the Sacraments and profess the faith transmitted by the Apostles.”
The general audience finished with Pope Benedict addressing pilgrims in various languages, including greeting a group of men and women from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, before leading the crowd in the Our Father and imparting his apostolic blessing.
Where did you ever get that perverted idea...No minister or pope saves souls...
Of course that's not true...That was a response to an attack against my Lord, my church and the Holy Scriptures, that your man made 'Holy Father' saves souls...
So it's an attack when we disagree with your wayward religion???
“Gathered in my name.” Hmm...
Protestants have made up this cutesy meaning of “in my name.” All they have to do is call “Jesus!” and they think they are gathered in his name. Of course, Jesus’ name was really Yeshua, a very common Jewish name given to several other figures.
In the real world, “In his name,” means, “according to his commands.” As in “Jesus told me to do this, so I will.” And what did Jesus command?
“Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, you shall have no life within you.”
“This is my body, take and eat.”
“Do this is remembrance of me.”
Now, if you gather as a family to pray together, or as a small group of co-workers before work, or whatever, that is very blessed.
But if you imagine that forming your own group of people to pray together with and calling that a church constitutes fulfilling Jesus’ commands, you are deluding yourself, because you are disobeying the ones to whom Jesus entrusted his church. Moreover, when you deny the necessity of receiving the real body and blood of Christ, you are calling Jesus a liar, preventing souls from salvation, and preaching the doctrine of Satan.
And it does. Recorded for all time by those who were direct witnesses to what Jesus said and did. Even in the secular courts of this land testimony of second hand sources is not taken as reliable. No judge or jury in this country would take the word of second or third hand hearsay yet the Catholic Church bases much of it’s beliefs on word of mouth accounts sometimes hundreds of years removed from eyewitness accounts.
>>You? Who are you to say such?<<
As a matter of fact, yes. It’s my personal eternal future at stake. I won’t trust my salvation to anyone but the original and eternal God of this universe. It’s His words and those who were eye witness to His life and words that I will look to for truth. I will not trust the accounts of word of mouth hearsay in my attempt to understand. My salvation is not tied to some organization or group. Majority opinion is not valid.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 1 4Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Trust in second and third hand word of mouth hearsay if you want but I will “search the scriptures daily to see if these things are true”. The words of those who were direct witness to what Jesus said and did will be my source of truth. When even secular judges understand that second and third hand accounts are not reliable it’s ludicrous to think that I would trust my eternal future to accounts of someone who only heard from someone who heard.
How interesting. I just responded to Jvette in post 683 before I read your post.
So you’re claiming that denying that Christ is literally and physically contained in the wafer is denying the deity of Christ? Surely you can’t be serious. I’m denying the deity of the wafer. Catholics claim a wafer is their deity. That’s not only making and “image” of God but claiming that “image” is in fact God. That is idolatry.
A Christian should never miss opportunity to keep silence-—that way, his uncharitable thoughts are known to God alone-—Who alone can ask for an accounting.
1Peter 2:17
I am in complete agreement with smvoice on this subject.
What is Truth?
Undeniable idolatry yet they will attempt to deny. Their God is a wafer. The wafer is not just an image of God but in fact is their God.
Is that wafer Christ?
WHAT? There is ONLY ONE Christianity because there is ONLY ONE Christ! ONE WAY, ONE TRUTH, ONE LIFE.
Now that you demonstrated a lack of knowledge on what Christianity is - you owe smvoice an apology regarding your statement..attack from you was vicious and not a Christian thing
Now do the right thing and shame the devil.
Just saying.
So am I. And so was Jesus with "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?". Matt 23:33.
Next thing we'll hear, Jesus was being vicious and wasn't being 'Christian'.
What is our faith? Can you explain what is 'faith' to catholics.
There is only ONE Church - God's Church with JESUS as the Cornerstone and where His Holy Spirit inspired WORD is The Final Authority. Anything else is a counterfeit and lies from the master of lies/deception - satan. There is no bowing to 'man' in God's Church, there is no praying to anyone but The Father alone, there is no one good but God alone Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone".
In God's Church NO ONE shares in HIS GLORY. It is ALL about JESUS, The WORD, for It is Written - It is Finished! And The Holy Spirit is The Teacher/Comforter. The Word ALWAYS was and NO ONE came before HIM nor after Him!
True.
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
...and where His Holy Spirit inspired WORD is The Final Authority.
It looks like "the church," is the "final authority," according to Jesus.
Regardless, did Jesus tell us which "Word" is "The Final Authority," the Catholic Bible or the Protestant Bible?
Hmmm. That seems about right - now that I recollect one 10 yr old kid in particular who got pulled from the pew by his collar because the nun caught him chewing the wafer that got stuck to his palate.
The kid knew better what 'remembrance' means than the church hierarchy. There were some born into catholicism who they couldn't fool. Praise God!
I may be in fact denying the deity of their Christ in that sense.
And that's a good thing because Our Christ, the anointed ONE is sitting right next to Our Father in Heaven and not in someone's mouth!
Jesus commanded a lot of things...Why do you just pick on one???
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Mat 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
What is this??? Meaningless drivel from Jesus??? Your religion doesn't follow these commands...
“Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, you shall have no life within you.”
“This is my body, take and eat.”
“Do this is remembrance of me.”
But if you imagine that forming your own group of people to pray together with and calling that a church constitutes fulfilling Jesus’ commands, you are deluding yourself, because you are disobeying the ones to whom Jesus entrusted his church. Moreover, when you deny the necessity of receiving the real body and blood of Christ, you are calling Jesus a liar, preventing souls from salvation, and preaching the doctrine of Satan.
We believe every word of that command that you posted...We also believe every other command in John chapter 6...But we don't pull that verse out of context of the rest of the verses and mount it on a monstrance as an idol to be worhipped...
The command is spiritual...Eating Jesus' flesh is spiritual...Jesus flesh is meat, spiritually...
Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
You let that big cracker sit there long enough, especially after collecting moisture, it's going to mold...That ain't Jesus...
Joh 4:32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
And what is the meat that Jesus provides???
Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
That's the meat...That's the flesh of Jesus...That's what we are to eat...
Can we physically eat that meat??? Of course not...We eat it spiritually...
So what is the work??? This is the work:
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
That is the work we are to do...So what is the will of Him that sent Jesus which is the meat that Jesus provides for us???
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
AGAIN, WHAT IS THE MEAT???
Joh 4:32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
AND WHAT IS THE WILL???
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
AND WHAT IS THE WORK???
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
AND HOW ARE WE TO WORSHIP GOD??? PHYSICALLY, OR SPIRITUALLY???
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Is that real physical water??? Did Jesus bless some water or ask a priest to pray over it???
No, it's spiritual...
Do we worship God by eating a cracker, or doing anything physical??? Absolutely not...
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
We believe every word in the book of John...It's all literal...But Christians know the difference between the spiritual and the physical... Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Really? Don't attribute your agenda to Jesus. Don't mock Him. The church is a body of believers and they Stand on TRUTH, The Cornerstone of Truth, JESUS, THE WORD.
Regardless, did Jesus tell us which "Word" is "The Final Authority," the Catholic Bible or the Protestant Bible?
There is only ONE Truth - Truth doesn't come in different flavors.
So to which body of believers should we take our dispute?, as Jesus commanded? Or which Bible?
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