Whoa..taking a step back

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snowman10

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Ok, I am a Methodist…not for long hopefully…😉 …but I have hit a snag. I recently read on another forum that the Pope is “Jesus Christ on Earth”. Now, I don’t feel there is any reason to refer to the Pope as “Jesus Christ on Earth”. Nor do I feel that a Priest is taking the place of Christ. They are simply spreading the Gospel and consecrating the host so that it may become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. Now, the fact that I am open to Christ’s True Church…the wonderful RCC…I am willing to bet that I am reading into this whole thing from the wrong angle but there is one Jesus and there is one Jesus on earth…and He resides in the people of the faith in a spiritual way and in the Blessed Sacrament in a physical way. Any comments?

P.S. Please keep praying for me and for the future of the Church…and please pray that my mother accepts my decison and maybe will find her way home as well…😃
 
The Church has always taught that Christ is present in three ways…in the faithful, the body of Christ; in the Eucharist, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ; and in the priest, an alter christus. This is why the Church has always revered priests. Not worshipped or anything, but revered. Christ works THROUGH them in a special way that the laity cannot do. It isn’t power, it’s a special call. So it’s not as if they all the sudden become Christ, but that Christ moves in and through them when they exercise their sacrament of Holy Orders. But yes, we do believe they act in persona de christi and that they are an alter christus for us here.
 
I just prayed for you. Unfortunately, I dont know too much about the idea of the Vicar of Christ, etc. so I’ll let someone else answer the question, but just wanted to let you know you’re not alone in your journey to find Truth. God bless, and you’ll continue to be in my prayers.

UKCatholic (university of kentucky)
 
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snowman10:
Ok, I am a Methodist…not for long hopefully…😉 …but I have hit a snag. I recently read on another forum that the Pope is “Jesus Christ on Earth”. Now, I don’t feel there is any reason to refer to the Pope as “Jesus Christ on Earth”. Nor do I feel that a Priest is taking the place of Christ. They are simply spreading the Gospel and consecrating the host so that it may become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. Now, the fact that I am open to Christ’s True Church…the wonderful RCC…I am willing to bet that I am reading into this whole thing from the wrong angle but there is one Jesus and there is one Jesus on earth…and He resides in the people of the faith in a spiritual way and in the Blessed Sacrament in a physical way. Any comments?

P.S. Please keep praying for me and for the future of the Church…and please pray that my mother accepts my decison and maybe will find her way home as well…😃
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Whoa is right:eek: The Pope is Christs representitve on earth:eek: The visible head of the Church,Christ is the head ultimately.Jesus said if they hear you they hear me.Someone put it in a way that Jack Chick would revel in.:eek:
 
JP2Fan,

Maybe I missed the answer or I am not understanding your response, but I am still lost on whether or not the Pope is “Christ on Earth”. I understand that Christ works through a Priest and therefore Christ is present on Earth that way. Maybe I just answered my own question…:o

Thanks all and keep praying…:blessyou:
 
Yes we don’t think that the Pope is actually Christ, we don’t worship him or anything like that. He is our spiritual Father who is the Vicar of Christ. Like how you explained it.
We worship Christ only, he is the center of our worship.
 
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snowman10:
JP2Fan,

Maybe I missed the answer or I am not understanding your response, but I am still lost on whether or not the Pope is “Christ on Earth”. I understand that Christ works through a Priest and therefore Christ is present on Earth that way. Maybe I just answered my own question…:o

Thanks all and keep praying…:blessyou:
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Christ works through is more appropiate.Do not worry about it.When the Pope said on one of the world youth days Jesus is the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE.Just by that you know he is not claiming diety:eek:
 
Here is how I have understood it after reading Upon This Rock

In the OT we see the office of “right hand man” in different kingdoms…
Joseph became the right hand man for Pharoah.

We see the evil right hand man Haman in the book of Esther.
(Replaced by Mordecai)

We see a similar theme in Isaiah 22.

If you’re a Tolkien fan you could think of the role of the “stewards” of Gondor as a similar thing.

The popes are “stewards”. The pope is Christ’s right hand man.
He oversees the kingdom on earth with the authority Christ delegated to Him…until the King’s return.
 
Oh right. I had priests on the brain lol. I would listen to everyone else. But I do stand by what I said…after all, the pope is a priest, right?
 
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snowman10:
JP2Fan,

Maybe I missed the answer or I am not understanding your response, but I am still lost on whether or not the Pope is “Christ on Earth”. I understand that Christ works through a Priest and therefore Christ is present on Earth that way. Maybe I just answered my own question…
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No, we do not believe that he (or a priest) actually becomes the full second person of the Holy Trinity, just that the stand in this role. I remember a phrasing use in evangelizing, that I may the only Jesus some people see. It is similar to this.

In the case of a priest or bishop, they are ordained so that their role as Christ exists in the sacraments regardless of their worth (sometimes despite their worth).
 
The pope is not “Christ on earth,” rather he is Christ’s Vicar on earth. There is a big, big difference.
 
Thanks alot guys…my question is answered…have a good one!..😃
 
I think it is better to think of it in terms of the Pope being Jesus Christ’s representative on earth. The technical terms actually boil down to that - no one takes the place of our Lord, but Our Lord works through our Priests and our Pope in a very personal and special way.

Does this help?
 
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