Posted on 05/17/2014 3:53:49 AM PDT by NYer
Vatican City
Pope Francis says studying Jesus is not enough to get to know him, we must also pray to him, celebrate him and imitate him. This was the Popes core message at Mass on Friday in the Santa Marta residence, Vatican Radio reports. In his homily the Pope reflected on the best way for us to get to know Jesus, describing it as the most important work in our lives. At the same time he warned that studying or having ideas was not enough on its own to acquire that knowledge of Jesus.
Ideas by themselves do not lead anywhere and those who pursue the path of their own ideas end up in a labyrinth from where they cant get out again! Its for this reason that heresies have existed from the very beginning of the Church. Heresies are this: trying to understand with our minds and with only our personal light who Jesus is. A great English writer wrote that a heresy is an idea thats gone crazy. Thats right! When they are ideas by themselves they become crazy This is not the right path!
Pope Francis explained that we need to open three doors in order to know Jesus:
The first door is praying to Jesus. You must realize that studying without prayers is no use. We must pray to Jesus to get to know him better. The great theologians did their theology while kneeling. Pray to Jesus! By studying and praying we get a bit closer But well never know Jesus without praying. Never! Never!
The second door is celebrating Jesus. Prayer on its own is not enough, we need the joy of celebration. We must celebrate Jesus through his Sacraments, because these give us life, they give us strength, they nourish us, they comfort us, they forge an alliance with us, they give us a mission. Without celebrating the Sacraments, well never get to know Jesus. This is what the Church is all about: celebration.
The third door is imitating Jesus. Take the Gospel, what did he do, how was his life, what did he tell us, what did he teach us and try to imitate him.
Entering via these three doors, the Pope went on, means entering into the mystery of Jesus and its only in this way that we can get to know him and we mustnt be afraid to do this. During the day, today, we can think about how the door leading to prayer is proceeding in our life: but prayer from the heart is not like that of a parrot! How is prayer of the heart? How is the Christian celebration in my life proceeding? And how is the imitation of Jesus in my life proceeding? How must I imitate him? Do you really not remember! The reason is because the Book of the Gospel is full of dust as its never opened! Take the Book of the Gospel, open it and you will discover how to imitate Jesus! Lets think about how these three doors are positioned in our life and this will be of benefit to everybody.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
James 1:27
‘Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.’
THANK YOU... so many people see Christianity as a Denomination, but it’s not...Jesus was ‘The Way’...
I understand the Holy Father to be telling people to think on what they’re praying and strive to internalize it in their heads and hearts. For example, if you think about it, if you stop to think about the Lord’s Prayer, you realize you’re asking God for some pretty profound stuff.
I'll put up my Rosary against any guns you've got. And you'll loose, big time.
I thought I had sent that one, then saw it still open in a browser tab, had second thoughts as to having sent it, then without checking the thread (which is where the real mistake lay) hit "post" a second time.
My mistake. I can't blame it on using an i-pad or something...though small tablets can get a bit hung up as it were, helping to cause more than a few people around here to have double or triple appearing posts.
I can't use that excuse --- for I see it was all my own error.
Setting that aside;
do you now understand I was using an online dictionary of sorts?
There are perhaps better sources for Greek lexicon definitions.
If there is better for the word "ekklesia" -- then bring it and provide a link.
Do you not consider this, “Are you so truly so ignorant?” to be making it personal?
Two wrongs do not make a right.
But only one hand gets slapped. Understood.
Why did you not cc the other person with your warning?
You have usually done so in the past.
I was speaking figuratively.
As to a "Rosary" which you say will make me "loose" (loose? like taking ex-lax or something? lol) you must have meant "lose", how will that be "big time"?
How could it?
I am being threatened with a Rosary.
How will that work? Will it be shaken at me? Will vain (but rapid!) repetitions of "hail Mary" be gone through forcing the Lord into action -- like He'll come after me for myself having dared voice opposition to "popery" and Marionism?
Polly want a cracker?
Look, if praying the rosary was an effective weapon which would make "protestants" lose (or keel over dead or something from loose bowels) like some magic charm incantation -- there would have been no Reformation in the first place, and in the land now known as the United States there likely would have been warring under "Catholic" kings for centuries.
But God didn't see it that way, now did He? He appoints the times and forms the boundaries of the nations (Acts 17:27)
I saw yours and having already posted a similar warning to you and someone else on a different thread, posted again without looking any further.
If so, then hey great.
Yet I'll not go digging any further than I have already, seeing the link you provided went to display.listing of two FR threads concerning Greek language.
Posting links with no explanation -- only works sometimes, while leaving it for the target recipient to go play fetch, wading through who knows what-all to see if there is something of present topical interest, or that which could have bearing upon ongoing conversation.
Thanks anyway...but no thanks all the same for the time being...
ecclesia was in one of those threads.
got any threes?
You were not called ignorant...You were asked if you were ignorant...Big difference...
AMEN! God Bless Pope Francis!
What the Pope was saying was simply teaching about Jesus warning not to be like those who bable on and on and on, which is based on from Mathew’s Gospel.
What is all comes down to is that we all MUST have a personal spiritual relationship with Jesus.
Time to stop feeding the troll(s).
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