I have a different take on Pope Benedcit's resignation. He wrote some very prophetic words as a priest, cardinal and pope. I think he perhaps believed he was lead by heaven to resign in order for his and Pope John Paul's prophecies to be fulfilled. There is considerable prophecy that had the purification, we are now in, to begin at the turn of the millennium. It seems to have been delayed because of PJII consecration to the world in 1984. It is probable that Pope Benedict resigned, because in his prayer life he understood the time had come for the great purification and he had to fulfill some of its prophecies, ie, "The Two Popes and The Bishop Dressed in White" among others. We will probably never know for sure, but Pope Benedict was and is a very prophetic person, a very wise person and a very prayerful person that surely could have recognized his role was beyond that of being pope.
I think that we have to take him at his word that he didn't feel physically strong enough to continue. He had had a couple of strokes although he had fully recovered. The Ragensburg scandals had come to light around that time. The spin on the news coverage had his brother up to his neck in it and the Pope covering up for him. He might have felt that resigning was best for his brother and for the Church and most likely felt that the Church needed a fresh leader who wouldn't be meat and drink to the secular press and who was physically strong enough to get the Church back on track. There seems to be something rotten in the Curia deeply entrenched in the Vatican with enough power and influence to withstand the attempts of any Pope to clean up. I wouldn't categorise them as either modernist or traditional. Most likely they feed conflicts between both those groups while using the divisions to dig themselves in deeper. I know that sounds like the classic conspiracy theory but we've had enough hints that such a group exists although they may not be easily identifiable as a group.
Honestly I believe a combination of both these ideas. Remember early on there were reports of BXVI having a "mystical experience" that helped convince him to resign? I think it was God telling him it was time for the removal of an orthodox pope, the "restraining hand" of scripture and prophecy, to permit this current regime to ascend, for the spiritual chastisement, foretold in the "hidden Third Secret," of a wicked and wayward church.
Just a point of clarification. I too had posted on the forum about Benedict XVI's "mystical experience" that he felt he was to resign. Apparently this was fake news though. It started from some bad source and was repeated. I wish it were so, but I don't think it happened
Praetorian, Maybe you are correct about the lack of a mystical experience, but the following shows the thought had been on his mind for awhile: http://www.cfnews.org/page88/files/cd1302511ee2ed0ab2d83f721a69ca76-7.html Safe in the Barque of Peter!
From Pope Paul XI comment that "through some fissure the smoke of satan has entered into the temple of God" to this. My, has the vatican fallen.
She's probably really thinking "my, here's one that got away". Due to their vigorous contracepting and aborting, it may well be that the likes of Bonino will be forgotten simply because there will be no Italians to remember her. There are estimates that there might be only about 5 million Italians left by century's end. No wonder this demon is smiling. Her work is accomplished. One can only cling to the very unlikely hope that Pope Francis was speaking with irony.
I very hope and pray the Pope's praise of Emma Bonino is because he is trying to find common ground in order to convert her. Padre Pio liked to use the expression 'catching big fish' for our Lord to refer to important personalities that converted as a consecuance of meeting him. Bonino's conversion would definitely mean catching a very big fish!
And while he's finding common ground with her, how many souls will be lost because the Pope is sending the message that abortion isn't really evil so long as it comes with a food parcel?
That is indeed the big problem and source of confusion of this pontificate. The message always seems to be 'I also don't condemn you' but it is almost never followed by a 'now go and sin no more'.
The below, sadly, will give you an idea of "What's Out There" in Bible Belt USA and why PF makes it difficult for minority Catholics ... like me. The anti-Catholic Crowd has always been part of the "American Experience" but PF has awakened and given "Ammo" to this movement and in a SHTF Situation it will just be another unpleasant factor to deal with. http://www.raptureready.com/2017/07/23/nm-jul-24-2017/ GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Thank you, Jarg, you have clearly articulated the cognitive dissonance many of us feel in these circumstances.
I think when we pray we enter into the heavenly reality. We see the the World and the Spirit are worlds apart and that like oil and water they do not mix. We are given the Spirit of Discernment and are marked on our foreheads with the Sign of the Cross, Those who do not pray they sink into the world and the Spirit f the world. With our Clergy we can see this mix up so clearly. Their sermons become a series of platitudes. Almost like sayings and mottos. They base themselves on a thousand isms and ologyies, psycholgy, Enviromentlism, liberalism, Sociology , Socialism and so on. This is not the Cross of Christ. It is a new kind of pseudo religion which tries to marry the CHurch to the world. All because they are not men and women of prayer.
The proper place of the Christian is lying on the Cross. But the present path we take acommodates us to the world. It sits us like Princes on the World's Thrones. Which is why the World at present expresses its open admiration of us. This is bad enough but when you set down this path it is a road without end. The World is like a monster with an insatiable appetite. It will eat us in and spit us out.
I am quoting Sparrow from another thread, "Come Holy Spirit - Come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well beloved Spouse... soon " http://catholicexchange.com/spouse-holy-spirit-divine-intimacy-meditation Sparrow, I hope that you don't mind but I find your quote to be very helpful at the moment.
Fr. Gobbi promoted that prayer you quoted to be said after the Fatima prayer after each decade of the Rosary. After not using it for many years (because of doubts about Fr. Gobbi), I started inserting it again in my daily Rosary several years ago because, regardless of its provenance, it is simply an excellent prayer. Does anyone know if it's origin predates Fr. Gobbi?
CrewDog, this is a example of how satan will use the fallen away to persecute the Saints. It has happened time and time again through history. The tearing down of tabernacles and destruction of the treasures of the church have many many times been at the hands of protestants.
