What the pope wants

[chewchoo]

September 11th, 2008 by Br. James Brent, O.P.

From his vantage point as universal Shepherd, and gifted with all the graces of his office, Pope Benedict XVI sees what his flock is facing at this point in history. He knows the problems and the pains of the Church better than anyone else. In response to what he sees, he has asked all Catholics to do one thing in particular. He has clearly, repeatedly, and vehemently urged all Catholics to pray for a new Pentecost.
In July of 2007, more than one year before World Youth Day, the Holy Father sent a Message to the Young People of the World. The message is an extended meditation on this passage from Scripture: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). In his closing paragraph of that message, the Pope states clearly what he intended to do at World Youth Day in 2008: “Together we shall invoke the Holy Spirit, confidently asking God for the gift of a new Pentecost for the Church and for humanity in the third millennium.”

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[KathleenElsie]

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Praying.

 

[JReducation]

Chew

Good post. Thanks for sharing it. Let’s hope that all of us will not only pray for a renewal of Pentecost, but will actively seek it.

The problem that I see is that we want many things, but work for few. One group believes that bringing back everything from the past will fix the Church and the world. Another group believes that ignoring the past and looking to the future with hope (in I don’t know what) will fix every problem.

None of this involves creative and pro-active problem solving. Both are methods of leaning on something that is past or on something that is not yet here.

We must pray for a renewal of Petecost. But as the saints have proven, conversion only comes when the individual wants to change. No amount of prayer is going to change me, if I don’t act as I pray.

Fraternally,

JR