Pope Francis: Rigidity is a sign of a weak heart

[LongingSoul]

Ya gotta luv this guy! Here’s my favorite quote from the radio broadcast…

‘But Lord, throw a banana peel in front of them, so that they will take a good fall, and feel shame that they are sinners, and so encounter You,

That is funny imagery.

 

[Gabriel_Serafin]

That may be true, but this link is from Vatican Radio, not one of the strictly secular news sources.

I usually go to the francisreport.com site which is dedicated to reliable Catholic news sources. I have had it with Yahoo News and other secular news outlets reporting on the pope; it seems like the lack of understanding of Catholic doctrine leads to false assumptions in their reporting on the intentions of the pope.

 

[Cider]

I’ve never read so many confusing statements from anyone as I have from this Pope. He makes me dizzy. He seems to say one thing and then totally contradict it. What’s even odder is that so many people claim he is so down to earth and one of the people. Yet I can never make sense of anything he says.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

I’ve never read so many confusing statements from anyone as I have from this Pope. He makes me dizzy. He seems to say one thing and then totally contradict it. What’s even odder is that so many people claim he is so down to earth and one of the people. Yet I can never make sense of anything he says.

Can you give an example of contradictory statements?

 

[LongingSoul]

I’ve never read so many confusing statements from anyone as I have from this Pope. He makes me dizzy. He seems to say one thing and then totally contradict it. What’s even odder is that so many people claim he is so down to earth and one of the people. Yet I can never make sense of anything he says.

He is very much a product of Ignatian spirituality and the fearlessness of following where the spirit leads. That can be a frightening prospect to people who aren’t familiar with the Ignatian model of contemplative surrender. I read that Pope Francis has a goal of all Priests doing the Spiritual Exercises and maybe we will see contemplation emphasised in the way that meditation has taken off in the life of the modern Church?

I think he won me last year when he had dig at the Italian mafia. I was blown away by that. Nobody pokes the mafia!

 

[Cider]

He is very much a product of Ignatian spirituality and the fearlessness of following where the spirit leads. That can be a frightening prospect to people who aren’t familiar with the Ignatian model of contemplative surrender. I read that Pope Francis has a goal of all Priests doing the Spiritual Exercises and maybe we will see contemplation emphasised in the way that meditation has taken off in the life of the modern Church?

I think he won me last year when he had dig at the Italian mafia. I was blown away by that. Nobody pokes the mafia!

I’m not afraid of him, I just don’t understand anything he says.

 

[Cider]

Can you give an example of contradictory statements?

Well off the top of my head since this link is the topic of the thread there is this:

The day’s Gospel reading, which relates how the chief priests asked Jesus by what authority He did His works, was the focus of the Pope’s homily on Monday. It is a demand, the Pope explained, that demonstrates the “hypocritical heart” of those people – people who were not interested in the truth, who sought only their own interests, and went where the wind blew: you should go this way, you should go that way…” T

HUH? I just don’t see it. Asking by who’s authority anyone speaks is not by definition an example of going where the wind blows, or following your own interests. It’s a legit question to ask anyone claiming authority. And it makes even less sense to me coming from the Pope, who for Catholics is the voice of God ( for lack of a better term). Catholics ask all the time “by who’s authority”, we argue over who and what are legitimate authorities in matters of faith and morals. His statement makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

 

[JackVk]

Well off the top of my head since this link is the topic of the thread there is this:

HUH? I just don’t see it. Asking by who’s authority anyone speaks is not by definition an example of going where the wind blows, or following your own interests. It’s a legit question to ask anyone claiming authority. And it makes even less sense to me coming from the Pope, who for Catholics is the voice of God ( for lack of a better term). Catholics ask all the time “by who’s authority”, we argue over who and what are legitimate authorities in matters of faith and morals. His statement makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

In the context of this Gospel passage, the Pharisees were NOT truly interested in asking Jesus by what authority He teaches. If He said God, then they’d nab Him for blasphemy, but if He said Man/himself, they’d nab Him for that too. Jesus asked them the same question about John, because He knew the Pharisees were asking a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” question. He knew that their only goal was confirming their prejudices about Him and looking to justify their metaphorical masturbation over their own perceived righteousness.

That is precisely the point Francis is making. Just as sloth can dress in drag as workaholism, pride can also dress in drag as false humility.

 

[Cider]

In the context of this Gospel passage, the Pharisees were NOT truly interested in asking Jesus by what authority He teaches. If He said God, then they’d nab Him for blasphemy, but if He said Man/himself, they’d nab Him for that too. Jesus asked them the same question about John, because He knew the Pharisees were asking a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” question. He knew that their only goal was confirming their prejudices about Him and looking to justify their metaphorical masturbation over their own perceived righteousness.

That is precisely the point Francis is making. Just as sloth can dress in drag as workaholism, pride can also dress in drag as false humility.

And here I thought this Pope was all about embracing people and meeting them where they are. Instead you’re saying, oh no sense on bothering to engage them.

 

[LongingSoul]

Well off the top of my head since this link is the topic of the thread there is this:

HUH? I just don’t see it. Asking by who’s authority anyone speaks is not by definition an example of going where the wind blows, or following your own interests. It’s a legit question to ask anyone claiming authority. And it makes even less sense to me coming from the Pope, who for Catholics is the voice of God ( for lack of a better term). Catholics ask all the time “by who’s authority”, we argue over who and what are legitimate authorities in matters of faith and morals. His statement makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

In the passage the Chief Priests and Elders have hostility towards what Jesus is saying since they don’t like it. Their question is loaded so they can condemn Him with it. They are not asking the question in order that they might believe but that they might condemn the Speaker.

Jesus is trying to demonstrate that authority is something that is sensed by a truthful heart… not something that is logically imposed on people. He asks them to consider the work of John the Baptist and by what authority he baptised. That’s when they were able to realise that the ‘sense of the faithful’ had detected Johns authority, not a decree by the Law. That’s why as the faithful we can have so much confidence in the guidance of the Church. We believe that Truth exists and that the Church confirms Truth. But it all swings on the truthfulness of the heart. It will always be a mystery to the ‘hypocritical heart’.

 

[Cider]

In the passage the Chief Priests and Elders have hostility towards what Jesus is saying since they don’t like it. Their question is loaded so they can condemn Him with it. They are not asking the question in order that they might believe but that they might condemn the Speaker.

Jesus is trying to demonstrate that authority is something that is sensed by a truthful heart… not something that is logically imposed on people. He asks them to consider the work of John the Baptist and by what authority he baptised. That’s when they were able to realise that the ‘sense of the faithful’ had detected Johns authority, not a decree by the Law. That’s why as the faithful we can have so much confidence in the guidance of the Church. We believe that Truth exists and that the Church confirms Truth. But it all swings on the truthfulness of the heart. It will always be a mystery to the ‘hypocritical heart’.

I get it, it;s the internet and there are too many posters and there is no way to know where someone is. But I have to say, I rarely ever bother asking these questions here because invariable I end up getting the same answer I’ve read repeatedly. I’m sure it’s me, I’m not very good at laying out things in written form. I communicate much better orally.

 

[PTL]

I’ve never read so many confusing statements from anyone as I have from this Pope. He makes me dizzy. He seems to say one thing and then totally contradict it. What’s even odder is that so many people claim he is so down to earth and one of the people. Yet I can never make sense of anything he says.

I heard from a good priest lately who said he is praying for our Pope because the Pope confused so many people.

 

[Path_Finder]

I’m just going to post this here though it could have its own thread, the theme of the article or headline I think risks too much being “misleading”.

From Yahoo via an AFP story: news.yahoo.com/pope-says-not-around-10-years-153244751–oly.html

**

Pope says will not be around in 10 years

**

Right? What a loaded headline. Sensational? Or not.

“Dear friends, best wishes for Rome’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games,” he said. “I will not be there. May the Lord bless all of you and your families.”

This is why I did not post a separate thread, I’m not sure if he is actually saying “I won’t be there”, it could mean just that he would not be going to the Olympics.

 

[livingwordunity]

Are you talking about ‘liberals’ as Catholic liberals or Liberalism in general?

Liberalism by today’s most common use of the word.

 

[Cider]

I heard from a good priest lately who said he is praying for our Pope because the Pope confused so many people.

I’m glad to hear that, thanks for posting it.

 

[PTL]

I’m glad to hear that, thanks for posting it.

Yes, I was glad to hear that too. Most priest would only say something “politically correct” to please, only those priests who stick to the Gospel truth dare to say something like that. We need to pray for those priests who are determined to follow God’s truth.