Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI: No to Christianity 'a la carte' #Catholic



One of the many reasons I love our dear Papa, is for exhortations like this:

Priests must not preach “Christianity 'a la carte'” and should be willing to approach even uncomfortable aspects of the Gospel, Pope Benedict said in a meeting with priests last week.

In a meeting with priests and religious from the Diocese of Rome on March 10, the pope led a Scripture meditation as the “pastor of the pastors.”


Can I get a huge AMEN from the pews?!

I know I'm not the only one asking for fidelity to our faith. Many good Catholics who have been at it longer than me have written reams of letters to their local bishops to point out times when their pastors were unresponsive to their concerns regarding the doctrine of our faith. It was good to read this article because it shows that Pope Benedict XVI is well aware of the problem and in pastoral love, admonishing priests to not go the route of being a "Cafeteria Catholic."

There are hard truths and the Catholic Church is one of the few I know willing to say them. Our position on life, death, and marriage is what makes us villified, mocked, and hated in the world. Being pro-life, for instance, means being willing to suffer the consequences. (As so poignantly expressed by Fr. Frank Pavone.)

Emphasizing that Catholic marriage is a sacrament and not a right, is also increasingly unpopular in world that wants to destroy the sacred.

And death with dignity, not death for convenience, is another uncomfortable truth as more Catholics attempt to remind society that the least among us still deserve an opportunity to live and die according to the wishes of loved ones, and not by governmental decree.

Without a strong moral compass, founded on the principles that Jesus Christ gave us, our world is plunged even deeper into darkness. It is by proclaiming the entire, full Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are truly a light to world, and salt to preserve it.

Praise God that He has given us such a wise and loving Pope! Continue to hold Pope Benedict XVI in prayer as he preaches the full Gospel, and the hard truths of our faith.



2 comments:

kkollwitz said...

"Priests must not preach “Christianity 'a la carte'”

Christianity is one single thing; not an assembly of parts like a car. The Church wants the faithful to have the biggest possible understanding of the whole thing at once.

nath99 said...

Did anyone listen to these audio Open Messages to Pope Benedict??

http://www.merkaba.org/audio/benedict.html/