What the Holy Father seems to forget is what could be, and for His Holiness unintentional due to this stress, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Why do I say this? Because the Great Accuser may well be the Holy Spirit to bring to the light great sin and corruption hidden much too long.
It is scandalous to demonize Archbishop Viganò and not address the core of his accusations in a truthful and forthright way.
Pope Francis at Mass: ‘Bishops must pray to overcome Great Accuser’
At Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday, Pope Francis invites bishops to overcome the Great Accuser, who seeks to create scandal, through prayer, humility, and nearness to God’s people.
In his homily at Mass on Tuesday morning, Pope Francis said it seems the Great Accuser is attacking the bishops of the Catholic Church to create scandal.
The Pope invited them to remember three things in these troubled times: their strength lies in being men of prayer; they should have the humility to remember they were chosen by God; and they need to remain close to the people.
He reflected on the day’s Gospel (Lk 6:12-19), in which Jesus spends the night in prayer before choosing the Twelve Apostles, whom the Pope called “the first bishops”.
Men of prayer
First, Pope Francis said bishops must be men of prayer. Prayer, he said, “is a bishop’s consolation in difficult times,” since they know that “Jesus is praying for me and for all bishops.”
The Pope said this should bring consolation and strength to bishops, who are then called to pray for themselves and the people of God. This, the Holy Father said, is a bishop’s first duty.
Humility of being chosen by God
Next, Pope Francis invited bishops to be humble, because they were chosen by God.
“The bishop who loves Jesus is not trying to climb a ladder, advancing his vocation as if it were a mere task or seeking a better placement or promotion. No. A bishop feels chosen, and has the certainty of being chosen. This drives him to speak with the Lord: ‘You chose me, of little importance, a sinner.’ He is humble, because he feels chosen and feels Jesus’ gaze upon his whole being. This gives him strength.”
Remain close to the people
Lastlly, Pope Francis said bishops are called to be close to the people of God, and not shut up in an ivory tower.
“The bishop cannot remain distant from the people; he cannot have attitudes that take him away from them… He doesn’t try to find refuge with the powerful or elite. No. The ‘elites’ criticize bishops, while the people has an attitude of love towards the bishop. This is almost a special unction that confirms the bishop in his vocation.”
Great Accuser seeks to scandalize
Finally, Pope Francis said bishops need these three attitudes to face the scandal whipped up by the Great Accuser.
“In these times, it seems like the Great Accuser has been unchained and is attacking bishops. True, we are all sinners, we bishops. He tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people. The Great Accuser, as he himself says to God in the first chapter of the Book of Job, “roams the earth looking for someone to accuse”. A bishop’s strength against the Great Accuser is prayer, that of Jesus and his own, and the humility of being chosen and remaining close to the people of God, without seeking an aristocratic life that removes this unction. Let us pray, today, for our bishops: for me, for those who are here, and for all the bishops throughout the world.”
8 comments:
Sorry, this guy's theology is screwy. Sin does NOT wish to be revealed and any "revealing" isn't by the "great accuser."
The Great Accuser, just like his friend Obama, all his speeches (sermons) are about himself. clericalism!!!
English, Italian, and Latin are not his first or native languages.
Both His Holiness' parents were natives of Italy who immigrated to Argentina. I would say Italian is his first language and then Spanish. I would think Italian was spoken in the home but all were bilingual in Argentina. Plus there was a huge Italian presence in Argentina at that time. My grandfather lived there for a time working.
Free will has been left entirely out of the equation. It seemed obvious that the Holy Spirit choose Bishop Chaput to be a cardinal, but the Pope used his free will to intentionally bypass him and to give the red hat to another. The Pope has surrounded himself with those who use their free will to give him bad advice. This means that we cannot assume that every bishop was chosen by God.
I firmly believe that the purification will expose those who were NOT chosen by the Holy Spirit, but were rather chosen by the spirit of change.
One can only hope that the typical Catholic pew sitter has a better understanding of Church teaching than the current pope exhibits in his motel six ramblings. But considering the sermons the former hears and the latter gives, maybe both of them need the Baltimore catechism.
It's strange how the bishops went from "caca" to "above reproach" so quickly. I wonder what happened?
Henry,
Another explanation is that PF is not very bright. Nothing he writes or says is neither inspiring nor interesting. The Cardinals were out to lunch when they elected PF.
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