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.
Those who rose from their graves in Matthew 27:52-53? Scripture doesn't tell us much what happened to them. Were they then taken up to heaven? Scripture doesn't say they were. Notice that Matthew does not describe them as having any outstanding or remarkable appearance, as the spirit bodies of Jesus and various others are highlighted as having (Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43; Mark 9:2-3; see also Matthew 17:1-2; Revelation 1:13-16).
Moreover, when these resurrected saints went into Jerusalem, they did not restrict their appearance to a few as Jesus did after His spiritual resurrection. Rather, "they appeared to many."
But this does show once again the Method of making something up that isn't there. And shows once again that if scripture doesn’t say it, one can create it from nothing and state it as a "reasonable conclusion"
I appreciate that you approve but I think we are going beyond our selves. We should not judge.
Wait a minute. You believe that taking quotes out of context might not show the whole truth of what a writer or book teaches? You meant to tell me that if I don’t take all of what Augustine wrote and taught I may not understand what he really meant? What a novel concept!
You don’t suppose taking one verse and making Peter the rock of the church contrary to everything else that scripture teaches would be included in that idea would you? How about praying to those who have passed from this life? How about scripture teaching that all Christians are a priesthood rather than just some hierarchy?
Taking everything the writer writes rather than just snippets to find the truth! Who would have ever thought?
..am following the train of thought that could end in a vatican trainwreck...CB & mm, do you ever believe you can actually SEE someone thinking aloud...and pondering a possible epiphany if they would just allow their common sense to take over? :)
Or back away from ingrained preconceived ideas? Yep
Even mocking, scornful, and sneering Bears created in your own image.
Those who claim to be the infallible interpreter of Scriptures in doing so elevate themselves to godhood. They may manage to fool themselves, but that's the only one they're fooling. When someone denies what Christ said, which is that His flesh and His blood are present in our rememberence of Him, they are calling Jesus Christ a liar. By calling Jesus Christ a liar they are denying the deity of Jesus Christ. In such cases Scripture teaches that Christians should:
Titus 3:9 but avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law. For they are unprofitable and vain.
Titus 3:10 A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid:
Titus 3:11 Knowing that he, that is such an one, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned by his own judgment.
Sharing Scripture with those who worship their own Most High and Holy Self is like throwing pearls before swine. Those who continue to deny the deity of Christ can fool themselves however they like, but they should get used to the idea of hearing, "I never knew you" from the very Jesus Christ they deny is God.
Right, anything but judgemental, yeah. You know, this is actually very funny. "Let's not judge", yet for all the garbage about Catholics believing in "works Salvation" tossed around by anti-Catholics, no one is really in very much danger of a Catholic sharing the Catholic faith with them or even speaking up when the Catholic Church is slandered and lied about. Obviously, it's far more important to not be judgemental than to speak up for Christ and His One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Even when people are slandering all things Christian, hey, just don't judge.
I'm new to Catholicism, but it's gotten very clear why in spite of discussing things with Catholics on numerous occasions, I was never once asked why I didn't become Catholic, pointed to a local priest to talk with, or anything of that nature. I fact, when you get right down to it, the Catholics I've encountered all behaved more like rabid predestinationists than any of the Presbyterians and other Calvinists I know. Apparently, the Holy Ghost is supposed to do it all. We can just kick back rather than share and defend our faith while depending on the Holy Ghost to bless our efforts and to nurture the seeds we plant.
The "proper" approach is, "So what, let 'em go to Hell thinking all the while they're doing fine. Just don't look "judge mental" about their heresies, denials of the deity of Christ, anti-Catholic lies from their favorite comic, and all things Christian.
So be it, let all things be done decently, and according to order.
Regards
You meant to tell me that if I don’t take all of what Augustine wrote and taught I may not understand what he really meant? What a novel concept!
I don't see how an admission of error could be more clear. By the response, the point that St. Augustine's writing "was chopped and formed from a long tract that said the exact opposite.." is acknowledged by CB.
Like this?
Matthew 15:17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Or this?
1 Corinthians 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Oh, you don’t think taking portions out of context is good either? Color me surprised. Now, how about that on verse that Catholics use to make Peter the Rock standing all by itself after many, many verses that say otherwise?
Nope, not good, and a logical fallacy if you intend it as a defense of your use of St. Augustine.
I.e., no defense at all - a futile attempt at deflection at best.
Care to try another, or merely concede the point yet again?
The double standard is obvious. And the lack of catching on what’s been going on is amazing.
To Jvette's initial charge:
The quote from Augustine was chopped and formed from a long tract that said the exact opposite of what CB would like to claim.Your defense is: "you don’t think taking portions out of context is good either? "
Answer: Nope. So you concede this is what you did with St. Augustine?
Dodges don't work, remember?
Duh. Ok, let’s see if I can make this really plain so you can understand. We have been saying for a long, long, long, time that Catholics have been taking scripture out of context to formulate beliefs. When the same is done with things Catholics consider sacred they scream and complain because the portions are taken out of context.
Now, let me make it even more clear if I can. YOU HAVE BEEN HAD. We can take out of context anything we want to if you do it with scripture. Get a clue.
complain all you want but if Catholics can do it so can we.
“Yes, I did take St. Augustine out of context.” would have saved much time. Hopefully I won’t have to go back and find this when you deny it later.
Oh, and you still could have added: “but you do it too, so there!” contemporaneously.
****Then we don’t need to find OSAS or sola Scriptura explicitly in Scripture and Catholic demands for a level of proof from non-Catholics for those *doctrines* that they don’t even apply to themselves is hypocritical beyond belief.****
Remember that it is the protestant who sets that standard.
The Church has always held to Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium as divine guides for doctrine.
The protestant notion of Sola Sciptura, as claimed, is not supported by Scripture, Tradition or history.
When a Catholic holds a protestant to proving Sola Scriptura, they are only holding him/her to a standard set by themselves for themselves.
****And Catholics do????? I think not. The average Catholic’s knowledge of Scripture is abysmal at best. FRoman Catholics are not much further ahead. They hardly know Scripture. How can they imply that they understand its purpose when they don’t even understand IT?****
Just as Jesus chastised the pharisees for knowing Scripture without knowing Him, the protestant may have extensive knowledge of chapters and verses of Scripture without knowing the heart of it.
Catholics do not memorize verses, but read it as it meant to be read, as a whole story. Catholics may not parse each verse in the way a protestant does, but they are very familiar with Scripture.
Just like Catholics do with Scripture.
But it does provide for pointing out the contrast and hypocrisy of the Catholic position when they do the exact same thing with Scripture that they condemn in us concerning the EFCs.n untruth, simple as that.
Again, this is the standard the PROTESTANTS have set, one which they cannot even meet. I can understand why they would want to wriggle out of it.
But it wouldn’t have shown the Catholics for the hypocrites they are.
Yes, I got the “mommy, he did it too!” point a while back.
I hesitate to reply further on this point, it seems your level of discourse is regressing rapidly past adolescent, and i hope to avoid the infantile state.
Oops! He fooled you too.
He was doing just that, he says now. We should double check in the future, I think.
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