Pope echoes calls for peace in Syria, speaks on exclusion during Sunday Angelus http://www.romereports.com/palio/index.php?newlang=english
Pope Francis: You are not excluded! “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-you-are-not-excluded
How to get tickets to see the Pope for his general audience and ceremonies http://www.romereports.com/palio/ho...nd-ceremonies-english-10858.html#.Uhyn-jbD-Uk
Pope Francis urges Catholics to pray the Rosary in the fight against evil http://www.romereports.com/palio/po...-against-evil-english-10815.html#.Uh3yBjbD-Uk
Pope Francis said: "hear me out, do you say the Rosary each day ?" All these extra rosarys will help crush the serpents head.
Pope opens Augustinians' Chapter General with Mass at St. Augustine Basilica in Rome http://www.romereports.com/palio/po...ilica-in-rome-english-10867.html#.Uh8vOjbD-Uk
Pope Francis tells young people to "make noise" http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-tells-young-people-to-make-noise
Pope Francis: "restlessness of love" brings pastoral fruitfulness http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-restlessness-of-love-brings-pastoral
The Pope said: Some people might feel excluded because they are sinners – but Pope Francis definitively rejected this idea. “No,” he said, “you are not excluded! Precisely for that reason you are preferred, because Jesus prefers the sinner, always, in order to pardon him, to love him. Jesus is waiting for you, to embrace you, to pardon you.” A sinner is 'preferred'? Preferred to whom? I am confused. Did God prefer the SS guard to St. Maximilian Kolbe or the revolutionary cut-throats in France to the martyred nuns and priests? Did God prefer the rapist to St. Maria Goretti? I do not understand what this means.
Oh, come on. I know exactly what he means. He means Jesus seeks out the sinner because that is who needs to be saved. Maybe you're not really confused so much as nit-picking .
SteveD, you're not one of those MDM believers who thinks the Pope Francis is a false Pope are you ? You miss the point : "Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” The Pope is encouraging all sinners to repent,even though we might not think we are worthy, because we are wanted by Jesus.[/quote]
It's about Mercy. He is almost quoting the words of Jesus in Saint Faustina's diary Divine Mercy in My Soul: "The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy." - Jesus "Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet." -Jesus These were said by Christ in exhorting the sinner to repent, accept His Mercy, come to the Tribunal of Mercy in sacramental confession, and receive Him in the sacrament of the Eucharist, the fountain of His Mercy. (<- and to keep doing this, as he said when you feel weak, return to Him in these sacraments to be fortified) In your examples above, you can judge the sinful actions of the sinners, but its is not your place to ultimately judge their souls. You do not know the amount of light each had been blessed with, or the temptations of each during their formation, or the failures of stewardship of those in authority over them previous to their errors. And yes, they all may have been entirely at fault unto themselves as well through their own weakness. Who is your enemy? In those situations it is clear who represents your enemy. And what are we called to do for the enemy? I think Maria Goretti knew. All have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God, which is why Jesus IS the Divine Mercy of God for us, and it is also why he immediately calls the repentant sinner to BE merciful to others as He is to you. He repeated this often: -The parable of the debtors, and the incorrect actions of the one forgiven of his debt, who in turn imprisoned the one who was in debt to him. (<-Did he judge himself to be more deserving of Mercy than his debtor? Apparently.) -Sermon on the mount: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain Mercy. -Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses, AS WE forgive those who trespass against us (<-- exactly as we do)
View attachment 1314 That deserved a big like, Jon The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher* eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.* 13Go and learn the meaning of the words,f ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’* I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Jordan's King Abdallah II and Queen Rania discuss need for dialogue in Syria with Pope http://www.romereports.com/palio/index.php?newlang=english
Of course He came to call sinners (that's all of us) so who are these sinners who are preferred? I am not the only one to be confused, a prominent blogger is just as confused as I am: http://mundabor.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/god-sin-saints-and-francis/
I guess I understand where you are coming from. If taken out of context of the central truths required for accepting Christ's mercy and believing (by turning from sin and repenting, which may have gone implied and not stated by Pope Francis), one could take this idea as a license to "feel good in their sinfulness" (as the writer you cited indicated). I don't know about all of the other inverse statements the writer attributes to traditional Catholicism, however, about how much more God loves Saints like Padre Pio than he does other souls, evidenced by their holiness. That would then cause sinners the inverse reaction: "to feel despair and hopelessness in their sinfulness"... It is a matter of the context, I suppose, in discussing the nature of God, the nature man (in both our fallen state and in examples of great holiness), and in the very reason a Redeemer was necessary for us....
I agree, mundabor is quite confused. Sorry I hit the link. I've no time for those who breathlessly await a stumble, or a chance to "nit pick" words from our dear Papa Francis. Those who believe themselves more Catholic than the Pope are in my opinion deluded by spiritual pride and setting themselves up for quite a fall. Once I had a friend who was fond of saying, "Some days, I'd rather face the lions than the Christians."
