Pope Francis: 'The Church is not an External Reality' - ZENIT - English

Pope Francis: 'The Church is not an External Reality' - ZENIT - English: 'You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church'

Words of the Holy Father - 30 June 2019

Words of the Holy Father - 30 June 2019

From that moment, after that “firm decision” Jesus aimed straight for his goal and in addition said clearly to the people he met and who asked to follow him what the conditions were: to have no permanent dwelling place; to know how to be detached from human affections and not to give in to nostalgia for the past. Jesus, however, also told his disciples to precede him on the way to Jerusalem and to announce his arrival, but not to impose anything: if the disciples did not find a readiness to welcome him, they should go ahead, they should move on. Jesus never imposes, Jesus is humble, Jesus invites. If you want to, come. The humility of Jesus is like this: he is always inviting but never imposing. (Angelus, 30 June 2013)

Words of the Holy Father-June 29 2019

Words of the Holy Father-June 29 2019

With us too, today, Jesus wants to continue building his Church, this house with solid foundations but where cracks are not lacking, and which is in constant need of repair. Always. The Church always needs to be reformed, repaired. We certainly do not feel like rocks, but only like small stones. However, no small stone is useless; indeed, in Jesus’ hands the smallest stone becomes precious, because he picks it up, gazes at it with great tenderness, fashions it with his Spirit, and positions it in the right place that he had always had in mind and where it can be more useful to the whole structure. (Angelus, 27 August 2017)

Vatican II

Many Catholics have heard a lot about Vatican II and yet are ignorant about the basics of the council. This post may serve as a first-step in overcoming some of those gaps in knowledge, but please don’t let it be your last, if you need to know more.

Over the years the Pope, Bishops, and leaders of our Church frequently reference Vatican II.  On Monday, Pope Francis said:

“As children of the Church we must continue on the path of Vatican Council II, stripping ourselves of useless and harmful things, of false worldly securities which weigh down the Church and damage her true face.”

Once again, we have an importance reference to the Church and the changes that happened in Vatican II. If we don’t have a proper reference point of understanding what happened, we will struggle to see the important issues the Church is still trying to tackle in renewing the Church’s structures and work.

WHAT IS VATICAN II ABOUT?

Whenever I talk about Vatican II with others, I begin by asking them what Vatican II did. They almost universally respond by talking about the changes in the liturgy. While these are the most visible changes, they are not the most important things to come from Vatican II.

Vatican II was the 21st ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. All other councils were called because of some crisis or problem that the Church needed to address. For instance, many heresies (Arianism, Gnosticism, etc.) were addressed by proclaiming what the orthodox (“right teaching”) teaching of the Church was.

Vatican II was different because the Church didn’t need to address any major crisis. It was called by John XXIII more as a pastoral council than a doctrinal one. That doesn’t mean it didn’t give us doctrine, but rather that it was aimed more at helping Catholic live out the teachings of the Church. Therefore, It’s main purpose was to help apply the truths of Christ to modern-day life.

JOHN XXIII

When John XXIII called the Council, the world was shocked he did so. ‘Why’ was the question.

John XXIII’s theme for the Council was put forward in a document to open the first session. (Gaudet Mater Ecclesia) “Mother Church Rejoices”. The Church is called to teach, govern and sanctify. But, unlike most other councils of the Church, there was no crisis in doctrine that proceeded it. There was also no need for dogmatic definitions. What the Church needed was for to apply the teachings the Church already had to the present and foreseeable future.

So, he wanted the Church to examine itself and ask the question of “what do we need to do to make our faith deeper and more lively.”

There was a deep need to have doctrine stated in a relevant way, but in a way that did not change what was being taught. It’s formulation and presentation needed updating without leaving any truth behind.

John XXIII’s vision of the council was:

1. Awareness – The Church is aware of itself
2. Renewal – After we become aware we reform (note you cannot reform what you don’t know about)
3. Dialogue – Dialogue with the world at large.

PAUL VI

Paul VI became pope during the council, after John XXIII’s death. After the council, John Paul II became pope. During the implementation of the council, there was one major question – how do we go about implementing the teachings in the council? Both Paul VI and JPII had to struggle with this question. Benedict XVI and Francis have done so also.

Some saw in Vatican II an opportunity to “update” the Church’s doctrine. They wanted the Church to change the moral teachings on contraception, sex, etc. They also wanted doctrines such as the all-male priesthood, etc to change.

This caused an upheaval and confusion in the Church that has lasted until our day. Every parish and diocese was greatly effected by this confusion. Many people left the Church, not knowing what was going on, others simply drifted along. During this time religious education was very poor and generations of Catholics since have been poorly formed, including my own generation.

On the bright side, the Church has begun to correctly implement the teachings of Vatican II more recently. There has been a re-capturing of the truth found in the teachings of Vatican II and a proper balance to it all. We are doing much better at educating the people and I believe a corner has been turned. While we still have a long way to go, there is great reason to be hopeful that we are headed in the right direction.

WHAT DID VATICAN II TEACH?

Now, what specifically did Vatican II teach? Well, to get it all I urge you to pick up the documents and read them. You can buy books and commentaries on Vatican II or you can even get them from the internet. Here is the Vatican’s website with all 16 documents.

Some of the major themes / teachings include:

• Aggiornamento – this is a word that means to “bring up to date”. This doesn’t mean the Church’s doctrine changes, but how we teach, communicate, and apply it might. It can be seen as a way of trying to read the signs of the times and adjust where we are willing and able to.
• Ressourcement – this word means a “return to the sources”. The Council Fathers balanced the updating with a retrieval of some of the lost practices of the early Church. RCIA is a fruit of this effort.
• The universal call to holiness – everyone is called to perfection in the spiritual life.
• Renewal in the Church – it begins by understanding God and the nature of the Church as well as our imperfection.
• Changes in liturgy – the liturgy is our source and summit of the spiritual life.
• Dialogue with the world – when we engage the world and culture with the truth of Christ, we can help renew both.
• Call for the laity to “reform the temporal order”.

There are many more, but these are a quick summary points. I hope this encourages you to study more for yourself.

Of course, the most visible changes were in the prayers/actions we have at Mass. Some of the major changes to the liturgy include:

• Using the vernacular (language of the people)
• The priest facing the people during the Eucharistic prayer
• The call to “active participation” of the entire congregation (though some mis-interpreted this as a call to change many things not intended to be changed).
• Call to catechize more about the liturgy to help the congregation grow in understanding of the action of the liturgy and therefore faith in Christ.
• Greater use of Scripture. We have an extra reading since Vatican II.

Liturgical renewal began long before Vatican II and is actually still on-going. We have seen such ongoing changes with the new translation of the Roman Missal and the wider use of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (Latin).

There are four major documents in Vatican II, called ‘Constitutions’. One is on the liturgy, one is on the Church, one is on Revelation, and the last is on The Church in the Modern World. These four documents are the most important. But, there are others that are very important as well. Some of the other topics in the documents include:

• marriage
• family
• culture
• social life
• economics
• political community
• moral basis of authority
• Sacraments
• media
• Eastern Rite Catholic Churches
• Ecumenism
• Office of Bishops
• Religious
• Priestly formation
• Christian Education
• Non-Christian Religions Laity
• Religious liberty
• Missions

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JPII said his pontificate was dedicated to properly implementing Vatican II. Benedict XVI said his pontificate was an extension of JPII’s and then Francis said the same about Benedict.

Therefore, to understand the Catholic Church’s needs today, we must understand Vatican II. We can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church. Through prayer and study may we all grow together in holiness and faith as we journey with our pastors on this road to truth, goodness and beauty.

If you want to read more you ought to go straight to the documents. But, you can find some good commentary here:

• What Went Wrong With Vatican II by Ralph McInerny
• Pope John Paul II on Vatican II
• Benedict XVI and Vatican II by Kenneth Whitehead

http://www.aggiecatholicblog.org/2013/10/what-every-catholic-needs-to-know-about-vatican-ii/

Words of the Holy Father-June 28 2019

Words of the Holy Father-June 28 2019

In Jesus’ vision there are no sheep that are definitively lost, but only sheep that must be found again. We need to understand this well: to God no one is definitively lost. Never! To the last moment, God is searching for us. Think of the good thief; only in the eyes of Jesus no one is definitively lost. For his perspective if entirely dynamic, open, challenging and creative. It urges us to go forth in search of a path to brotherhood. No distance can keep the shepherd away; and no flock can renounce a brother. (General Audience, 4 May 2016)

Words of the Holy Father June 27 2019

Words of the Holy Father June 27 2019

It is undoubtedly a strong word, with the purpose of shaking us and calling us to convert. I assure you, dear families, that if you are capable of walking ever more firmly on the path of the Beatitudes, learning and teaching to mutually forgive each other, the capacity to bear witness to the renewing power of God’s forgiveness will grow in the whole of the great family of the Church. Conversely, we may even make beautiful sermons, and perhaps drive away some demons, but in the end the Lord will not recognize us as his disciples, because we did not have the capacity to forgive and ask others to forgive us! (General Audience, 4 November 2015)

Words of the Holy Father-June 24 2019

Words of the Holy Father

These elderly parents had dreamed and even prepared for that day, but they were no longer expecting it: they felt excluded, humiliated, disappointed: they were childless. Faced with the announcement of the birth of a son (cf. Lk 1:13), Zechariah was incredulous because the laws of nature did not allow it. They were old, they were elderly. Consequently, the Lord rendered him mute for the entire gestation period (cf. v. 20). It was a sign. But God does not rely on our reasoning and our limited human abilities. We must learn to trust and be silent before the mystery of God and to contemplate, with humility and silence, his work which is revealed in history and often exceeds our imagination (Angelus, 24 june 2018)

Words of the Holy Father-June 23 2019

Words of the Holy Father

These acts prefigure the Last Supper, which gives the bread of Jesus its truest significance. The bread of God is Jesus Himself. By receiving Him in Communion, we receive his life within us and we become children of the Heavenly Father and brothers among ourselves. By receiving communion we meet Jesus truly living and risen! Taking part in the Eucharist means entering into the logic of Jesus, the logic of giving freely, of sharing. And as poor as we are, we all have something to give. “To receive Communion” means to draw from Christ the grace which enables us to share with others all we are and all we have. (Angelus, 26 July 2015)

Words of the Holy Father-June 22 219

Words of the Holy Father

However, thinking of the many people who live in precarious conditions, or even in a poverty offensive to their dignity, these words of Jesus could seem abstract, if not illusory. But actually they are relevant, now more than ever! They remind us that you cannot serve two masters: God and wealth. As long as everyone seeks to accumulate for themselves, there will never be justice. We must take heed of this! As long as everyone seeks to accumulate for themselves, there will be no justice. Instead, by entrusting ourselves to God’s providence, and seeking his Kingdom together, no one will lack the necessary means to live with dignity. (Angelus, 2 March 2014)

Words of the Holy Father=June 21 2019

Words of the Holy Father

This is really Jesus’ message: have a free heart. Otherwise, if your treasure is in wealth, in vanity, in power or in pride, your heart will be chained there, your heart will be a slave to wealth, to vanity, to pride. On this line of reasoning, have a free heart, precisely because Jesus speaks to us about freedom of the heart. And one can only have a free heart with the treasures of heaven: love, patience, service to others, worshipping God. These are the true riches that cannot be stolen. The other types of treasures — money, vanity, power — weigh down the heart, chain it, don’t allow it freedom. (Santa Marta, 20 June 2014)

Words of the Holy Father-June 20 2019

Words of the Holy Father

How often there are people who say “Our Father” but do not know what they are saying. Because yes, he is the Father, but when you say “Father”, do you feel that he is Father, your Father, the Father of mankind, the Father of Jesus Christ? Do you have a relationship with this Father? When we pray the “Our Father”, we connect with the Father who loves us, but it is the Spirit who gives us this connection, this feeling of being God’s children. (General Audience, 14 March 2018)

Words of the Holy Father-June 19-2019

Words of the Holy Father

When we do something good, sometimes we are tempted to seek praise and to be rewarded: that’s human glory. But it’s a false reward because it makes us focus on what others think of us. Jesus asks us to do good for the sake of good. He asks us to feel we are under the watchful gaze of our Heavenly Father at all times and to live in relationship with Him – not in relationship with the opinion of others. Living in the presence of the Father gives us a much deeper joy than worldly glory can give us. (Audio-message to the young people of the Prelature of the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, 10 February 2016)

Words of the Holy Father

Words of the Holy Father

When we speak of “enemies”, we should not think about people who are different or far removed from us; let us also talk about ourselves, as we may come into conflict with our neighbour, at times with our relatives. How many hostilities exist within families — how many! Let us think about this. Enemies are also those who speak ill of us, who defame us and do us harm. It is not easy to digest this. We are called to respond to each of them with good, which also has strategies inspired by love. (Angelus, 19 February 2017)

Words of the Holy Father

Words of the Holy Father

Jesus does not ask his disciples to abide evil, but asks them to react; however, not with another evil action, but with good. This is the only way to break the chain of evil: one evil leads to another which leads to another evil.... This chain of evil is broken and things truly begin to change. Evil is, in fact, a “void”, a void of good. It is not possible to fill a void, except with “fullness”, that is, good. (Angelus, 19 February 2017)

Pope Francis: Communion overcomes division June 12 2019

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/37275#.XQF7stxhkWs.twitter

Pope Francis’ Homily on Pentecost (Full Text) June 09, 2019 15:05

The Holy Spirit Rejuvenates the Apostles 

Pope Francis’ Homily on Pentecost (Full Text)

June 09, 2019 15:05

On June 9, 2019, Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square. During the Eucharistic celebration, after reading the Gospel, the Pope gave the homily that we report below:

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Pentecost arrived, for the disciples, after fifty days of uncertainty. True, Jesus had risen. Overjoyed, they had seen him, listened to his words and even shared a meal with him. Yet they had not overcome their doubts and fears: they met behind closed doors (cf. Jn 20:19.26), uncertain about the future and not ready to proclaim the risen Lord. Then the Holy Spirit comes and their worries disappear. 

Now the apostles show themselves fearless, even before those sent to arrest them.

 Previously, they had been worried about saving their lives; now they are unafraid of dying. 

Earlier, they had huddled in the Upper Room; now they go forth to preach to every nation. Before the ascension of Jesus, they waited for God’s kingdom to come to them (cf. Acts 1:6); now they are filled with zeal to travel to unknown lands. Before, they had almost never spoken in public, and when they did, they had often blundered, as when Peter denied Jesus; now they speak with parrhesia to everyone. 

The disciples’ journey seemed to have reached the end of the line when suddenly they were rejuvenated by the Spirit. 

Overwhelmed with uncertainty, when they thought everything was over, they were transformed by a joy that gave them a new birth. 

The Holy Spirit did this. 

The Spirit is far from being an abstract reality: he is the Person who is most concrete and close, the one who changes our lives. 

How does he do this?  

Let us consider the Apostles.  

The  Holy Spirit did not make things easier for them, he didn’t work spectacular miracles, he didn’t take away their difficulties and their opponents. The Spirit brought into the lives of the disciples a harmony that had been lacking, his own harmony, for he is harmony.

Harmony within human beings. 

Deep down, in their hearts, the disciples needed to be changed. 

Their story teaches us that even seeing the Risen Lord is not enough unless we welcome him into our hearts. 

It is no use knowing that the Risen One is alive unless we too live as risen ones.

 It is the Spirit who makes Jesus live within us; he raises us up from within. 

That is why when Jesus appears to his disciples, he repeats the words, “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19.21), and bestows the Spirit. Peace is not a matter of resolving outward problems – God does not spare his disciples from tribulation and persecution. 

Peace is about receiving the Holy Spirit. 

The peace bestowed on the apostles, the peace that does not bring freedom from problems but in problems, is offered to each of us. 

Filled with his peace, our hearts are like a deep sea, which remains peaceful, even when its surface is swept by waves. 

It is a harmony so profound that it can even turn persecutions into blessings. 

Yet how often we choose to remain on the surface!  

Rather than seeking the Spirit, we try to keep afloat, thinking that everything will improve once this or that problem is over, once I no longer see that person, once things get better. 

But to do so is to stay on the surface: when one problem goes away, another arrives, and once more we grow anxious and ill at ease. Avoiding those who do not think as we do will not bring serenity. Resolving momentary problems will not bring peace. What makes a difference is the peace of Jesus, the harmony of the Spirit.

At today’s frenzied pace of life, harmony seems swept aside. Pulled in a thousand directions, we run the risk of nervous exhaustion and so we react badly to everything. 

Then we look for the quick fix, popping one pill after another to keep going, one thrill after another to feel alive. 

But more than anything else, we need the Spirit: he brings order to our frenzy. 

The Spirit is peace in the midst of restlessness, confidence in the midst of discouragement, joy in sadness, youth in aging, courage in the hour of trial. 

Amid the stormy currents of life, he lowers the anchor of hope. 

As Saint Paul tells us today, the Spirit keeps us from falling back into fear, for he makes us realize that we are beloved children (cf. Rom 8:15). 

He is the Consoler, who brings us the tender love of God. Without the Spirit, our Christian life unravels, lacking the love that brings everything together. 

Without the Spirit, Jesus remains a personage from the past; with the Spirit, he is a person alive in our own time. 

Without the Spirit, Scripture is a dead letter; with the Spirit, it is a word of life. A Christianity without the Spirit is joyless moralism; with the Spirit, it is life.

The Holy Spirit does not bring only harmony within us but also among us. 

He makes us Church, building different parts into one harmonious edifice. Saint Paul explains this well when, speaking of the Church, he often repeats a single word, “variety”: varieties of gifts, varieties of services, varieties of activities” (1 Cor 12:4-6). We differ in the variety of our qualities and gifts. 

The Holy Spirit distributes them creatively so that they are not all identical. On the basis of this variety, he builds unity. From the beginning of creation, he has done this. Because he is a specialist in changing chaos into cosmos, in creating harmony.

In today’s world, lack of harmony has led to stark divisions. There are those who have too much and those who have nothing, those who want to live to a hundred and those who cannot even be born. 

In the age of the computer, distances are increasing: the more we use social media, the less social we are becoming. 

We need the Spirit of unity to regenerate us as Church, as God’s People, and as a human family. There is always a temptation to build “nests”, to cling to our little group, to the things and people we like, to resist all contamination. 

It is only a small step from a  nest to a sect: how many times do we define our identity in opposition to someone or something! 

The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, brings together those who were distant, unites those far off, brings home those who were scattered. He blends different tonalities in a single harmony because before all else he sees goodness. 

He looks at individuals before looking at their mistakes, at persons before their actions. 

The Spirit shapes the Church and the world as a place of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. 

These nouns come before any adjectives. 

Nowadays it is fashionable to hurl adjectives and, sadly, even insults. Later we realize that this is harmful, to those insulted but also to those who insult. 

Repaying evil for evil, passing from victims to aggressors, is no way to go through life. 

Those who live by the Spirit, however, bring peace where there is discord, concord where there is conflict. Those who are spiritual repay evil with good. They respond to arrogance with meekness, to malice with goodness, to shouting with silence, to gossip with prayer, to defeatism with encouragement.

To be spiritual, to savor the harmony of the Spirit, we need to adopt his way of seeing things. 

Then everything changes: with the Spirit, the Church is the holy People of God, the mission is the spread of joy, as others become our brothers and sisters, all loved by the same Father. 

Without the Spirit, though, the Church becomes an organization, her mission becomes propaganda, her communion an exertion. 

The Spirit is the first and last need of the Church (cf. SAINT PAUL VI, General Audience, 29 November 1972). He “comes where he is loved, where he is invited, where he is expected” (SAINT BONAVENTURE, Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter). 

Let us daily implore the gift of the Spirit. Holy Spirit, harmony of God, you who turn fear into trust and self-centeredness into self-gift, come to us. 

Grant us the joy of the resurrection and perennially young hearts. 

Holy Spirit, our harmony, you who make of us one body, pour forth your peace upon the Church and our world. Make us artisans of concord, sowers of goodness, apostles of hope.

[01024-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]

© Libreria Editrice Vatican