Posted on 10/22/2002 8:50:25 AM PDT by Polycarp
Church's Social Work Is Not Political, John Paul II Says
Gospel Message Must Accompany Aid, He Tells Brazilian Bishops
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 21, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The social work carried out by the Church, especially among the poor, cannot be reduced to simple material or political work, says John Paul II.
When the Pope met Saturday with a group of bishops visiting from northeast Brazil, he reminded them that a bishop's first mission is to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, without which the work of the Church would be meaningless.
"As vicars and legates of Christ, you are called above all to offer a clear and vigorous proclamation of the Gospel," the Holy Father said.
He urged the Brazilian prelates not to have "reservations about associating the word of Christ to charitable activities by a misunderstood sense of respect for others' convictions."
"It is not an act of charity to leave brothers in darkness about truth," John Paul II stressed. "It is not an act of charity to feed the poor or visit the suffering by taking human resources to them but not communicating to them the Word that saves."
The Holy Father described the serious difficulties endured in northeast Brazil -- lack of employment, housing and health care; educational problems, social differences, and the presence of aggressive sects -- but he urged that pastoral action not be reduced "to the temporal and earthly dimension."
"It is not possible, for example, to think, of the challenges of the Church in Brazil by limiting oneself to some important but circumstantial questions, related to social policy, the concentration of land, the question of the environment, and others," he continued.
"To claim for the Church a participatory model of a political character, where decisions are voted on at the 'base,' limited to the poor and outcasts of society, but abstracted from the presence of all the segments of the People of God, would impair the original redemptive meaning proclaimed by Christ," the Pope warned.
On the contrary, "the fundamental mission of the bishop is evangelization, a task that he must carry out not only individually, but as Church," John Paul II stressed.
This mission is summarized in the triple mandate to "teach, sanctify and govern," he added.
The Holy Father acknowledged that the bishops of northeast Brazil must carry out the task of teaching in a cultural environment characterized by a high level of illiteracy, divorce, child violence, malnutrition, and superficiality promoted by some media.
In this ambience, the duty of the bishop is "to invite members of the particular Churches entrusted to him to accept in all its fullness the teaching of the Church in regard to questions of faith and morals," even if it means going against the current of the prevailing mentality, the Pope said.
In particular, this work must be done with young people -- a majority in Brazil's population -- promoting "the formation of a moral conscience, which must be respected as the 'sanctuary' of man alone with God, whose voice resounds in the intimacy of the heart," he added.
At the same time, John Paul II said, "remind your faithful that conscience is an exacting tribunal, whose judgment must always be conformed with the moral norms revealed by God and proposed with authority by the Church."
In this educational work, there must be a "return to the sacrament of reconciliation, unfortunately quite abandoned today, even in Catholic areas of your country," the Pontiff added.
In regard to "sanctification," the second mission of the bishop, John Paul II urged the prelates to highlight the two fundamental sacraments of Christian life: baptism and the Eucharist.
He said the living of the Eucharist, "source and center of the whole of Christian life," has two critical challenges in Brazil: on the one hand, the lack of priests and their unequal distribution, and on the other, the worrying drop in Sunday Mass attendance.
"It is evident that this situation suggests a provisional solution in order not to leave the community abandoned, with the risk of progressive spiritual impoverishment," the Pope emphasized.
"However, the incomplete sacramental character of these liturgical functions, carried out by persons who are not ordained, should induce the whole parish community to pray with greater fervor so that the Lord will send workers for his harvests," he said.
Lastly, the Pope focused on the bishop's mission to "govern." Above all, he must care for the priests, "especially when there is a delay in the fruits of pastoral work, with the possible temptation to discouragement and sadness."
"Many pastors do not have the feeling of working in an evangelical vineyard, but rather in an arid steppe," the Holy Father said. Yet, "the risen Lord walks with you and makes your efforts fruitful."
Agreed and excellent point! Even when we do good works we must always and everywhere give the glory to God. You are so right, and I was missing it.
In some ways, they are not really our works at all then.
Which means faith is the only thing we can "work" for and hope will be our salvation. As you said...LOL.
LOL, howdja like that question from me? :-)
And only someone already deeply grounded in a personal relationship with Christ can or would sacrifice their entire life to such charitable acts.
Nothing good that we do, do we do ourselves, but only by Christ working through us.
The heathens never devoted their entire life to caring for the sick and dying. Hospitals never existed as we know them before Christianity the Catholics and Orthodox created them.
Mother Teresa lived her life of service only by and through her love of and faith in Christ.
Anyone who would maintain otherwise is spiritually blind at best, or advancing a sinister or demonic agenda at worst.
The parable of the seed is VERY appropriate to this thread..but not our conversation:>)
I think that the process of santification is progressive..the more we read the word and , the more God moves in our lives the more HIS grace changes us to be more like Him...It is Christ IN us that brings the change.It is all Gods work...How is that for mystical:>)
What does this mean Polycarp? Can you give an answer?
BigMack
I always love questions that I do not really have to answer:>)
Hbr 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Where does it come from?
Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What does it do?
Hab 2:4 Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
It is a fruit of the Spirit...so it is NOTHING you can make yourself do..(have faith) It comes when you read the word and are converted
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
For all that think one can work their way to heaven
Gal 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.
No man knows her heart..you may be right ..BUT if her words are true and she saw all ways as equally valid ways to God I fear you are wrong. AND if she did say them not only would she be lost she would be excommunicated..
Where, pray tell, did Mom judge someone's soul? She was merely pointing out that if someone believes one can get to heaven without faith in Christ Jesus alone, then the eternal fate of that person's soul is in doubt.
"If in coming face to face with God we accept Him in our lives, then we are converting. We become a better Hindu, a better Muslim, a better Catholic, a better whatever we are...What approach would I use? For me, naturally, it would be a Catholic one, for you it may be Hindu, for someone else, Buddhist, according to ones conscience. What God is in your mind you must accept" (Doig, Mother Teresa, Harper & Row, 1976, p. 156).Assuming the former is an accurate quote, whose words are more authoritative in this case? Who do we believe? Who is right and who is wrong?--Mother Theresa
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
--Jesus Christ
Assuming the former is an accurate quote
SWIM!!!
(*I wonder who the righteous is, for the filthy rags preach endlessly all are like filthy rags, yet the scriptures say only the righteous will be saved! Humm!)
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work
(*I wonder if reward is the about the degrees of Glory?)
Rev.2
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works
Rev.20
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and bell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
1. A formal ecclesiastical ban
2. A vehement denunciation
4. One that is (to be) greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned.
The modern perspective on the nutshell from Trent to lend context: Stay away from proddies and other heretics. This was after all back during the Reformation and could be viewed as an attempt to pull the wagons into a circle on the part of the Church (they get better reception that way).
That said, I was always taught that no one gets to Eternal Life but through Jesus. I would certainly tend to put a bit of trust in the expressed feelings of a living saint who helped more people to experience Gods grace on a bad day than RN (or any of us) has done thus far in her entire life.
The bottom line as I see it is that Christ gets to decide whose lives reflected the qualities he said would recieve the reward of heaven. While it is shocking to consider that those of other faiths could be "Christ-like" did he not say that he was the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked of the world?
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