Edit: Wow!
April 23, 2013 1:34 PM Posted by Tom
Jesus not found outside the Church, Pope preaches
By Estefania Aguirre
Vatican City, Apr 23, 2013 / www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/jesus-not-found-outside-the-church-pope-preaches/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29&utm_term=daily+news
(CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said that people cannot be fully united to Jesus outside of the Church during a Mass to commemorate Saint George, the saint he is named after.
“You cannot find Jesus outside the Church,” he said April 23 in the Apostolic Palace’s Pauline Chapel.
“It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging,” he declared in his homily.
The pontiff spoke about Christian identity as well as persecution, making it the sixth time in two weeks he has mentioned those who suffer for the faith.
Speaking about the Gospel reading for today from Saint John, Pope Francis underscored that “the missionary expansion of the Church began precisely at a time of persecution.”
“They had this apostolic fervor within them, and that is how the faith spread!” he exclaimed.
It was through the Holy Spirit’s initiative that the Gospel was proclaimed to the Gentiles, the Pope noted, and the Spirit “pushes more and more in this direction of opening the proclamation of the Gospel to all.”
The pontiff also repeated a line from his April 17 homily in St. Martha’s residence, when he emphasized that being a Christian is not like having “an identity card.”
“Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these (the apostles) belonged to the Church, the Mother Church, because finding Jesus outside the Church is impossible,” he said.
“The great Paul VI said it is an absurd dichotomy to want to live with Jesus but without the Church, following Jesus out of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church,” he added.
Pope Francis said that “if we are not sheep of Jesus, faith does not come” and that it is “a rosewater faith and a faith without substance.”
The Pope also commented on Barnabas, who was sent to Antioch and was glad to see that the grace of God had encouraged people there to remain true disciples.
“Let us think of the consolations that Barnabas had, which is the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing,” he preached.
“Let us ask the Lord for this frankness, this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward,” he remarked.
6 comments:
WOW! Doth our cup runneth over ? Surely it does.
Gloria! Amen.
Rome Reports has a video of the Pope's sermon today, he bumbles and fumbles his way through it, the Cardinals look on disinterested, tight lipped and a little embarassed. It is badly delivered and seems unprepared.
Pope Bergoglio is gruel to Benedict's feast. A poorer Church indeed, it is very sad it is intellectual impoverishment we are invited to take on board.
I agee. In my opinion Pope Francis has clearly confused being simple with being a simpleton. Anyway he is living proof that the Jesuits aren't as wise or inteligent as the gullible are led to believe.
Hang on there, folks. The pope did NOT say the Catholic Church. He called Her "the Church and "Mother Church" but there are (incredibly!) thousands of non-Catholics who refer to the big dirty lump of all non-Catholics sects as "the Church". We know (at least we hope) that he means the Catholic Church since Christ only established one and She has faithfully followed Him and His apostles (so far anyway), but I can show this article to the first six Prots I come to and they will say "Yes. We are all "the Church. Except maybe you Catholics."
Also, he would never allow this to translate into no salvation outside the Church. With Modernism, the error is always a subtle addition or a subtle omission.
All and All seems a pretty non-controversial statement. As someone here said, protestants think they are in the "C"hurch. And some people feel no need to be in the "C"hurch because they are not looking for Jesus.
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