Propfesy for the Catholic Church

I copied the following text from http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/papa-el-papa-pope-benedetto-xvi-benedict-xvi-benedicto-xvi-22434/

I mean there is nothing to add, the young priest had a vision of future, faith and wisdom for the Church of Jesus Christ.

A restructured Church with far fewer members that is forced to let go of many places of worship it worked so hard to build over the centuries. A minority Catholic Church with little influence over political decisions, that is socially irrelevant, left humiliated and forced to “start over.”

But a Church that will find itself again and be reborn a “simpler and more spiritual” entity thanks to this “enormous confusion.” This was the prophesy made 40 years ago on the future of Christianity by a young Bavarian theologian, Joseph Ratzinger. Digging it out again today perhaps provides us with another key to understanding Benedict XVI's decision to resign, because it traces his gesture back through the course of his interpretation of history.

His prophesy concluded a series of radio preachings which the then professor of theology gave in 1969 at what was a decisive moment in his life and the life of the Church. These were the turbulent years of the student revolts and the landing on the moon but also of the disputes over the Second Vatican Council which had only recently come to a close. Ratzinger, who was one of the Council's protagonists, had left the riotous university of Tübingen seeking refuge in the calmer city of Regensburg.

He found himself isolated as a theologian, having split with liberals Küng, Schillebeeckx and Rahner over their interpretations of the Council. It was in this period that he concolidated new friendships with theologians Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac, with whom he founded Catholic theological journal, Communio. Communio soon became a training ground for young “Ratzingerian” priests who are now cardinals and all seen as potential successors to Benedict XVI: Angelo Scola, Christoph Schönborn and Marc Ouellet.

In five little known radio speeches made in 1969 and published again a while ago by Ignatius Press in the volume “Faith and the Future”, the future Pope gave his vision of the future of man and the Church. His last teaching, which he read out on “Hessian Rundfunk” radio on Christmas day, had a distinctly prophetic tone.

Ratzinger said he was convinced the Church was going through an era similar to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. “We are at a huge turning point – he explained – in the evolution of mankind. This moment makes the move from Medieval to modern times seem insignificant.” Professor Ratzinger compared the current era to that of Pope Pius VI who was abducted by troops of the French Republic and died in prison in 1799. The Church was fighting against a force which intended to annihilate it definitively, confiscating its property and dissolving religious orders.

Today's Church could be faced with a similar situation, undermined, according to Ratzinger, by the temptation to reduce priests to “social workers” and it and all its work reduced to a mere political presence. “From today's crisis, will emerge a Church that has lost a great deal,” he affirmed.

“It will become small and will have to start pretty much all over again. It will no longer have use of the structures it built in its years of prosperity. The reduction in the number of faithful will lead to it losing an important part of its social privileges.” It will start off with small groups and movements and a minority that will make faith central to experience again. “It will be a more spiritual Church, and will not claim a political mandate flirting with the Right one minute and the Left the next. It will be poor and will become the Church of the destitute.”

The process outlined by Ratzinger was a “long” one “but when all the suffering is past, a great power will emerge from a more spiritual and simple Church,” at which point humans will realise that they live in a world of “indescribable solitude” and having lost sight of God “they will perceive the horror of their poverty.”

Then and only then, Ratzinger concluded, will they see “that small flock of faithful as something completely new: they will see it as a source of hope for themselves, the answer they had always secretly been searching for.

Hong Kong: Heartfelt thanks to Benedict XVI for his love for China

Hong Kong: Heartfelt thanks to Benedict XVI for his love for China

Pope Benedict XVI has been a polemic pope, he immerses himself and all the Church in the heart of the faith and the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

His renounce was a shock for the world, however bountiful people can understand and explain why Pope Benedict XVI made this announcement, his real reasons and the needed humility for recognizing self weakness.

For us, we need to pray giving thanks to God for our pope, and everything he made during his papacy, and asking light to the cardinals in the conclave that will begin next month.

Blessed Mary pray for all Church of Christ.

Amen!

Moving for life

Look this new: http://www.altcatholicah.com/altcatol/a/b/spa/4501/ and think about your life. Remember what you have done, what are your motivations and what are you looking for.

Is anything there good enough for your fight? And about our reputation? Or our time? And our lives?

Do you know anything what you are prepared to dye for?

If you are prepared to dye for God and His reasons, you discovered the real sense of your life. Think this death may be your time, or reputation between friends, and you should measure.

Answer to yourself: what is most important for you?

I read a great book about Dra. Gloria Polo which contains her history of life and how she discovered her true happiness: http://www.gloria.polo.ortiz.in/ (in English), there is a smaller version of the book in this link: http://eng_pdf.gloriapolo.in/.

Pope's message for Christmas

 I read this message at this morning, and this voice needs to be shared with all the World.

2012-12-20 L'Osservatore Romano

Today, Thursday, 20 December, the Financial Times has published an article that Benedict XVI wrote at the British newspaper's request on the occasion of Christmas and of the publication of the Pope's book on the infancy of Jesus [Jesus of Nazareth The Infancy Narratives]. The following is the integral text.

"Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely he would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud.

Jesus answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicization of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As he told Pontius Pilate, "My kingship is not of this world."

The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a "census of the whole world" taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time.

Jesus is presented to us as King Davids heir, but the liberation he brought to his people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.

The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?

Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man.

It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldnt shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.

Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in Gods image and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earths resources out of a belief that, as stewards of Gods creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.

Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.

In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesars claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth.


Source: Christians without compromises

Pope's Twitter account expected to top one million followers

Pope's Twitter account expected to top one million followers

The presence of the Church in the Internet, using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, etc., is the signal of the Church is alive, hundreds of thousands of people have been waiting the words of the highest authority of the Church because all of them know the importance of these words for the digital world, and all the World as well.

Many people desire to know what the Pope Benedict XVI will post because they want improve their souls and spiritual life, but other group of people look for opportunities to abase the Pope through a distorted interpretation of the words of the Holy Father.

I mean the Holy Father is full of the Wisdom Gift given by the Holy Ghost, and this wisdom will confuse the arrogant ones and fill of pleasure the hearts of the humble ones.

God bless you, Holy Father, and be the light of our Lord Jesus Christ your safe port.

I ask all of my readers that follow @Pontifex and share a message of love and faith to the successor of Peter through hashtag #AskPontifex.

Joy! Day of happiness for Church in Russia and Central Europe

Today, Dec 6, the Church celebrates Saint Nicholas of Myra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

I saw in the Blogger administration tool today that Russia is the country where most of visitors of my blog are from, and looking for some subjects for writing about the Catholic Church in Russia I discovered today is day of Saint Nicholas of Myra, who is patron saint of Russia.

In His infinite mercy, God inspires common people to do, and to be, extraordinary history changers, these people chosen by God use to be different of anybody else, their priorities are not the same of most of others.

Saint Nicholas was a children carer, helping poor children with their material and spiritual needs. Santa Claus legend has it begin in the life of Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas had many problems as well, including unpleasantness with the Catholic Church of his age, where his contemporary brothers of clergy did not understand his way of sanctity.

Today, his deeds are remembered in all the Catholic Church around the World as examples to be followed for everyone. Peace, charity, poorness of spirit, love for poorer people, and faith in Jesus, these are some of the some marked behaviors of Saint Nicholas, and all of them are so much needed in our lives.

Saint Nicholas of Myra, pray for us, and in special for Russia and afflicted people around the World.

Catholics and New Media (a new World, new Needs and the same Faith!)

Catholics and New Media: New opportunities to evangelize the digital continent

Our faith is always the same, however the World and the living people have dynamic needs and doubts.

We are the missionaries of the "Digital World" and Jesus gives us the responsibility and power for evangelizing all this "New World", like christian missionaries from 1400's and later when they went out of their homes and came to America, Asia, Africa, etc.

Let's pray for this new opportunity of evangelization and ask for God sending and lighting new saints and ministers of His Word.

Amen!