Vatican City, Apr 20, 2018 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a brief day-trip to two small Italian cities, Pope Francis stressed the centrality of the Eucharist to the life and actions of the Church, saying without Christ’s love and self-sacrifice, everything would be done in vanity, since everything Jesus did was for others.
“The Eucharist is not a beautiful rite, but it is the most intimate, the most concrete, the most surprising communion that one can imagine with God: a communion of love so real that it takes on the form of eating,” the pope said April 20.
The Christian life begins again at each Mass, “where God satiates us with love. Without him, the bread of life, every effort of the Church is vain,” he said, and, quoting deceased local Bishop Tonino Bello, said “works of charity are not enough, unless those works are done with charity.”
“If love is lacking in those who do the works, if the source is lacking, if the point of departure is lacking, which is the Eucharist, then every pastoral commitment is merely a whirlwind of things,” rather than an act of service.
Pope Francis spoke during Mass in the Italian town of Molfetta. He traveled to the city after making a brief visit to Alessano as part of a half-day trip to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Antonio Bello, known as “Don Tonino,” an Italian bishop whose cause for beatification opened in 2007.
In his homily, Francis said whoever receives the Eucharist takes on the face and mentality of the Lord, who is the bread that was broken for us. And this bread, he said, does not “rise with pride,” but is given to others.
The person who receives the Eucharist, he said, “ceases to live for themselves, for their own success, to have something or to become someone, but they live for Jesus, as Jesus, which is for others.”
Quoting Bishop Bello, Francis said the Eucharist “does not support a sedentary life,” and that without rising from the table, one remains an “unfulfilled sacrament.” He asked those present to question themselves as to how they leave every Mass, and whether or not they go out as “people of communion.”
He then emphasized the importance of the Word, which he said is a second element that can be taken from the day’s Gospel reading from John, in which the disciples asked themselves “how can this man give us his flesh to eat?” after Jesus spoke about the need to eat his flesh in order to obtain salvation.
“Many of our words are similar to this,” the pope said, noting that some people might ask: “how can the Gospel solve the problems of the world? What use is it to do good in the midst of so much evil?”
By doing this, “we fall into the error of that people, who were paralyzed by discussion about the words of Jesus, rather than ready to welcome the change of life asked by him,” Francis said, adding that these people did not understand that the words of Jesus were the path to life.
Jesus, he said, “does not respond according to our calculations and the conveniences of the moment, but with the ‘yes’ of his whole life. He does not look for our reflections, but our conversion.”
Pointing to the conversion of Saul, who later became St. Paul, Pope Francis noted how when Saul was thrown from his horse he was told to rise, go into the city and do what he would be asked.
“The first thing to avoid is staying on the ground” or staying “gripped by fear,” he said, stressing that a true apostle of Jesus “cannot simply get along on small satisfactions,” but must always get up and look forward.
And, just as Saul was told to go into the city, each Christian is also told to go, rather than staying “closed in your reassured spaces. Risk!” he said.
Christian life “must be invested in Jesus and spent for others,” he said, adding that an apostle cannot remain stationary after the resurrection, but must “go out, regardless of the problems and uncertainties.”
“We are all called, in whatever situation we find ourselves, to be bearers of paschal hope” and to be “servants of the world, but resurrected, not employed. Without ever complaining, without ever resigning ourselves.”
“It’s beautiful to be couriers of hope, simple and joyful distributors of the Easter alleluia,” Francis said, and closed his homily praying that the Word of God would free Christians and help them to rise and go forward with courage and humility.
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A welcome testament to the faith by Pope Francis. Perhaps he doesn’t hold to enforcing doctrine on abortion and the Eucharist as a matter of pastoral preference. Although therein is the exact line of demarcation to permitting misunderstanding of Church policy and abuse of the sacraments, and restoring the practice of the faith as a good shepherd.
Tying more knots is not undoing knots. If the first knots are bad the new knots add badness. Calling it undoing of knots is even worse; and misleading.
Using the name of the BVM deflecting attention from the new knots and the other knots not untied, is a bad thing too, piling on badness and injury.
If you admit you do not know enough about the juridical aspects, it doesn’t follow that allowing communion is “not political” or “not political consequences”.
Even if you knew the juridical issues down pat, giving communion also has “political consequences” and can unfold into “political” arranging and lunging.
If during the 20th Century a same type of casuistry admitted homosexuality to the extent we have witnessed, then: What do you think you are doing now?
In this Reuters posting, sourced from LIFESITE, there is a 3-minute video with some of the discussion directly coming from the Holy Father.
‘ In a 90-minute conversation on Saturday afternoon, conducted in Italian, with no aides present, the 85-year-old pontiff also repeated his condemnation of abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month.
…..
Francis used a cane as he walked into a reception room on the ground floor of the Santa Marta guest house where he has lived since his election in 2013, eschewing the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors.
The room has a copy of one of Francis’ favourite paintings: “Mary, Untier of Knots”, created around 1700 by the German Joachim Schmidtner.
Asked how he was, the pope joked: “I’m still alive!” ‘
https://www.reuters.com/world/exclusive-pope-francis-denies-he-is-planning-resign-soon-2022-07-04/
We read: “Pope Francis told Reuters: ‘When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That’s all I can say.’”
The false dichotomy regarding what is truly “pastoral”? The Laity, then, must turn to others who do have more to say…Surely, there’s more to say on what is actually the cause of the “political problem” and, within the Church, on the significant details of the sacramental life?
“A separation, or even an opposition, is thus established in some cases between the teaching of the precept, which is valid and general, and the norm of the individual conscience, which would in fact make the final decision [not moral judgment] about what is good and what is evil. On this basis, an attempt is made to legitimize so-called ‘pastoral’ solutions contrary to the teaching of the Magisterium, and to justify a ‘creative’ hermeneutic according to which the moral conscience is in no way obliged, in every case, by a particular negative precept [thou shalt not]” (Pope St. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, n. 56).
Does he reflect well on the church? Is he a man of constant prayer and devotion to the duties of a servant of Christ?
James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
We must examine our ways constantly, our enemy is strong, yet Christ is stronger.
Then, by the Pope’s own reasoning, he has been a pastoral failure himself. He has not led Biden and Pelosi back to the Church relative to their unrelenting support and advancement of abortion on demand while claiming it is in accord with Catholic doctrine.
A feckless and increasingly ignored papacy.
I’ll go with Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, July 4.
From what I have read, the pope believes pro-abortion catholic politicians should be led through a dialogue with compassion and tenderness to see the error of their ways. Is this any way to treat Nancy Pelosi? What prominent politician has ever changed to pro-life from pro-choice because of a pastoral dialogue with his bishop? Politicians understand clearly the Church’s teaching; they just want to win elections and get money, power and votes any way they can.
Abp Cordileone has spent years talking with or trying to talk with Speaker Pelosi. In recent months (or longer), she’s not responded to his requests for conversation. So, he followed the path encouraged by Pope Francis. There simply comes a time when a line must be drawn. Endless talk leads to no action, which only perpetuates the problems.
From womb to tomb – life is sacred and a precious gift. Long live life.