It was exciting to be there and to see the Holy Father relatively close in person.
Here are a few pictures I took and the summary of his words this morning:
Pope Francis: Church must model God's plan for unity
Pope Francis today said Christians must bear witness to God's plan for the unity, peace and reconciliation of the whole human family. The Pope was speaking as he greeted tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors, gathered in St Peter's Square for his Wednesday general audience. Please find below the English language text of his reflections, read alout at the audience.
Dear Brothers and Sisters: in the Creed, we confess that the Church is “one”. When we consider the rich diversity of languages, cultures and peoples present in the Church throughout the world, we realize that this unity is a God-given gift, grounded in our common Baptism and our sharing in the Church’s one faith and sacramental life. Like a great family, we are united to all our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever they may be. We might ask ourselves how much we appreciate and express in our daily lives, and particularly in our prayer, this reality of our unity and solidarity in the communion of the Church. The world needs our witness to God’s plan for the unity, reconciliation and peace of the whole human family. Let us ask the Lord to enable us, and Christians everywhere, to work to overcome our tensions and divisions, to strive, as Saint Paul bids us, to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (cf. Eph 4:3), and to cherish the harmony which the same Spirit creates from the richness of our diversity.
Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/09/25/pope_francis:_church_must_model_gods_plan_for_unity/en1-731568
of the Vatican Radio website
14 comments:
So, where is all this unity? Once again, "unity," at least the unity talked about in Scripture, is an eschatological concept. Jesus and Paul spoke of the division, disunity, conflict, deceit, and unbelief that was to come. The Church is more divided than it has ever been; this country is more divided and polarized than it has ever been. Let's not confuse the unity of political speechifying and socialist "solidarity" with the looked-for unity of Holy Scripture.
I've just had a strange question form in my mind, and maybe someone on here has enough knowledge to answer it:
If a (one in a zillion chance) coup were to happen, and the leader were to pull a Napoleon, and were crowned emperor by the Pope, could he ban certain liturgical practices?
I realize it sounds odd, but there are examples of emperors Byzantine and otherwise editing and manipulating liturgical practices as they saw fit.
Where is the unity?
The Church is already one because of her source, the trinity. The Church is one because of her founder, Jesus Christ. The Church is one because of her “soul,” the Holy Spirit. CCC 813
In this way, in each of the particular Churches entrusted to those Pastors, the una, sancta, catholica et apostolica Ecclesia is made present. All the Churches are in full and visible communion, because all the Pastors are in communion with Peter and therefore united in Christ. (Ut Unum Sint)
Is this unity only an "eschatological concept"? By no means.
“Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her.” CCC 820
The prayer and work required is not directed toward the life to come, but to this life.
"As evangelizers, we must offer Christ's faithful not the image of people divided and separated by unedifying quarrels, but the image of people who are mature in faith and capable of finding a meeting-point beyond the real tensions, thanks to a shared, sincere and disinterested search for truth. Yes, the destiny of evangelization is certainly bound up with the witness of unity given by the Church ... At this point we wish to emphasize the sign of unity among all Christians as the way and instrument of evangelization.” Evangelii Nuntiandi 77
There is no division in the life to come, no evangelization in the life to come, no witness in the life to come. So what Paul VI speaks of in this passage is our task in this life.
Why work for unity?
“The division among Christians is a serious reality which impedes the very work of Christ". EN 77
Since Christ’s work cannot be impeded in the life to come, this passage clearly speaks to this life, to the reason we must work for unity, that is, the evangelization of the world
Certainly we work for unity. No one denies that. The unity which Christ gives the Church is a spiritual unity, which differs greatly from earthly and human concepts of unity. As you so aptly quoted, Ignotus, "Division among Christians is a serious reality which impedes the work of Christ." Priests like yourself are a primary cause of this division and disunity...as evidenced by your divisive and condescending presence on this blog. Spirit among Christians is, indeed, an eschatological concept, for whatever unity we are granted by the Holy Spirit is only a foretaste of the unity He will establish in His Kingdom. But, the spiritual unity of Christians and the Church is not the same thing as the unity of the AFLCIO, the Democratic Party, the Tea Party, ACORN, the NAACP or, for God's sake, the UN. It always seems that folks like yourself cannot get beyond some kind of politicized "solidarity" and the urge to run build crummy houses for ingrates down at Have A Crap for Humanity. That ain't the kind of unity we are talking about.
You are the one talking about unity in terms of the "AFLCIO, the Democratic Party, the Tea Party, ACORN, the NAACP or,. . . , the UN."
That's not what I understand to be the unity the God intends for us, nor is it what the Church understands.
I know that you find anyone who opposes your peculiar - and not always Catholic - views to be a source of division. But, it simply isn't the case.
The Lord does not give us merely "spiritual" realities.
The freedom from sin is not merely spiritual thing, but real. (CCC 1744: Freedom is the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good.)
He did not give us merely spiritual adoption, but real adoption. (CCC 1709: He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good.
He did not give us merely spiritual communion in his Body and Blood. (CCC 1391: Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me."
It is your rejection of the Church's doctrine that divides us.
Father, have you heard the latest bombshell?
http://world.time.com/2013/09/25/pope-francis-excommunicates-priest-who-supports-womens-ordination-and-gays/
Pope Francis excommunicates a priest who supports gay marriage and women priest, and the media is up in arms over the supposed hypocracy of Francis, who just in the last few days spoke of having a more open view of such issues.
Ignotus, exactly where do I reject Church doctrine? Come on, Pretender, be specific...show me. I have no disagreement at all with the sections of CCC that you so smugly and hypocritically parrot in place of saying anything substantive.
Pin/Gene - I have written a response to your request that I show you, specifically, where you reject the Church's teaching.
You have routinely accused me of being a heretic or a false teacher. So, I will post it only when you post specific examples - quotes - of how I have ever, on this blog or anywhere else, espoused heretical or false teaching.
What's sauce for the goose. . .
Nope. I'm not playing games with you, Ignotus. If you have something to post, then post it. If not, then fine.
So you can dish it out with relish, but when the tables are turned . . .
Accusing someone of being a heretic isn't a game, by the way. Either you have evidence to support your accusation or you don't.
Ignotus, I have repeatedly challenged you to "dish something out"...theologically, Biblically, philosophically. When a blogger asked you directly if you believed in the Real presence and the bodily resurrection, you refused to answer. That is all I, or anyone else should, need to know regarding your "theology."
Now, you, and I, and everyone else knows that you are not going to be candid and honest about your true beliefs. But, you enjoy being clever and provocative on the blog and making smug and snotty little comments. That is fine and it provides some of us with entertainment.
Now, big boy, bring it on. I am more than certain I can handle anything you can "dish out."
Pin/Gene - You demand evidence from me, but refuse to support your claims against me with a single shred of evidence.
Not one shred.
That's the typical behavior of 1) a bully and 2) someone with nothing but utterly baseless claims.
Ignotus, I have never "demanded evidence" from you. I don't need it. I only care what you don't believe because your posing on this blog needs exposing. Otherwise, I don't care if you wear flippers and a wet suit and sing "Camptown Races" at Mass.
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