Here and Now with Francis 5/17/16 (Christ, priesthood, baptism, Christianity)

By

This common belonging, which flows from Baptism, is the breath that frees one from self-reference that isolates and imprisons

From the speech
Our priest is barefooted in respect to a land that persists in believing and considering itself holy. He is not scandalized by the frailties that shake the human spirit, aware that he himself is a cured paralytic; he is removed from the coldness of the rigorist, as well as from the superficiality of one who wants to show himself accommodating to a good market. Instead, he accepts to take charge of the other, feeling himself participant and responsible for his destiny. [...] With the oil of hope and consolation, he makes himself a neighbour to everyone, careful to share with them abandonment and suffering. Having accepted not to dispose of himself, he does not have an agenda to defend, but every morning gives his time to the Lord, to allow himself to meet and encounter people. So our priest is not a bureaucrat or an anonymous functionary of an institution; he is not consecrated to a white-collar role, or moved by criteria of efficiency. [...] In the presbyters walking together, different in age and sensitivity, a perfume of prophecy spreads that astonishes and fascinates. Communion is truly one of the names of Mercy. In our reflection on the renewal of the clergy there is also the chapter regarding the management of the structures and economic goods: in an evangelical view, avoid falling into a pastoral of conservation, which hinders openness to the enduring novelty of the Spirit. Maintain only what can serve the experience of faith and charity of the people of God.[full text]

Popular posts from this blog

Front Matter (Preface) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

By Anonymous
Image
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Verily, verily I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John xii,24 Preface I N STARTING out on the life of my hero, Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov, I feel somewhat at a loss. By this I mean that, although I refer to Alexei (Alyosha) as my hero, I am well aware that he is by no means a great man, and this leads me to anticipate such obvious questions as: “What is so remarkable about your Alexei Karamazov that you should choose him as your hero? What exactly did he accomplish? Who has heard of him and what is he famous for? And why should I, the reader, spend time learning the facts of his life?” The last question is the fateful one because all I can answer is: “You may find that out for yourself from the novel.” But what if they read the novel and are still unconvinced that my Alexei is a remarkable man? I say this because I sadly anticip...
Read more

Library Booklist (H:cSt)

By
Image
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison   Anna Christie, The Emperor Jones, The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill   The Chosen by Chaim Potok   Dissolution by C. J.  Sansom   Richard II by William Shakespeare   The Reef by Edith Wharton   The Fifth Son by Elie Wiesel   Meet Mr. Mullner by P. G. Wodehouse
Read more

Library Booklist (H:cStb2)

By
Image
Dostoevsky by Nicholas Berdyaev   The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter   The Guggenheim's: The American Life by John Davis   The Prime of Life by Simone de Beauvoir   Bernadette of Lourdes by Rene Laurentin   Lives of the Artists by Vasari   The Wandering Scholars by Helen Waddell   One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty
Read more