Here and Now with Francis 2/14/16 (Christianity, Christ, Church, bishops, mission)

By Anonymous

If our vision does not witness to having seen Jesus, then the words with which we recall him will be rhetorical and empty figures of speech.

 We remain in God’s presence only when we are little ones, orphans and beggars. The actors in the history of salvation are beggars.

I urge you to not fall into that paralyzation of standard responses to new questions.

It is important not to squander the inheritance you have received by protecting it through constant work..

 From an address
I ask you, therefore, to be bishops who have a pure vision, a transparent soul, and a joyful face. Do not fear transparency. The Church does not need darkness to carry out her work. Be vigilant so that your vision will not be darkened by the gloomy mist of worldliness; do not allow yourselves to be corrupted by trivial materialism or by the seductive illusion of underhanded agreements; do not place your faith in the “chariots and horses” of today’s Pharaohs, for our strength is in “the pillar of fire” which divides the sea in two, without much fanfare (cf. Ex 14:24-25).
The world in which the Lord calls us to carry out our mission has become extremely complicated. And even the proud notion of cogito, which at least did not deny that there was a rock on the sand of being, is today dominated by a view of life which more than ever many consider to be hesitant, itinerant and lawless because it lacks a firm foundation. Frontiers so passionately invoked and upheld are now open to the irony of a world in which the power of some can no longer survive without the vulnerability of others. The irreversible hybridization of technology brings closer what is distant; sadly, however, it also distances what should be close. [full text]

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