14 January, 2011

9 Reasons Pope John Paul II mattered – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

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5 comments:

  1. i think he was able to answer what i believe will be be the only question Jesus will ask us at the end of our lives ..When others met you did they meet Me? and he could answer Yes...he showed us how to live and how to die and how to use suffering for the honor and glory of God. He truly was a blessing for the whole world.

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  2. Mary G,

    If it were required to reflect Jesus when we met others in our lives in order to get into heaven, nobody would be in heaven. We are all fallen and sinful creatures. "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Romans ch3

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  3. Small Town Guy
    God made us in His Image and Likeness and told us to live by His example as we are His adopted children...we are His way of being Him for others and to do as He did..to feed the hungry etc. St. Augustine tells us to rejoice and give thanks not only that we have become Christians but that we have become Christ...what an enormous grace gave us.

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  4. Larry Green15 January, 2011

    Pope John Paul II was a light for the world who led people from every faith , race and religion upward to a better understanding of humility and forgiveness. By his example in many ways he demonstrated how it is possible to bring about peace where there is none and how to avoid conflict where it is brewing.
    He was a witness to the holocaust and became painfully aware of the role the whole world ( including the catholic church ) had in leading up to this cataclysm. Hitler was the beast who in the end carried out the evil atrocities but he was not alone. It was a milieu of fear , prejudice and hate of the Jewish people that engulfed much of the world which empowered him in many ways. The pre-holocaust world and churches rationalized a moral uprightness because they ‘ tolerated’ ‘ the Jews’ even though all the subtle and not so subtle forms of propaganda prevalent throughout were ominous signs of the impending evil brew.
    Although in my opinion there are many signs to indicate growing awareness of the need for acceptance, understanding and union there are at the same time many divisions even in the midst of societies such as our own where we can far to often do no more than ’tolerate’ those who are different. This is obviously far more dangerous now than ever before given our global connection through computer generated media and instant web based communication e.g. blogs such as this particular one. We can only identify prejudice in the world as we face them within ourselves ( there are many in all of us). There is no room for indifference or mere ‘ tolerance’. The need to be aware and willing to speak loudly and to firmly reject prejudice based propaganda has become crucial.

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  5. Mary,
    I can agree with much of what you say, but christians do not become Christ. Christians have Christ dwelling in them and they dwell in Christ. Christ is God; we do not become God.

    I think you will see what I mean if you examine the gospel of John. For example chap.1 vs 12 says "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" Notice it says believers become "sons of God" The word son is not capitalized. That means it is not saying we become Christ. When Christ is spoken of in the gospels, the word Son is capitalized to indicate the deity of Christ. For example, John 3 vs16 says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,..." Here it refers to Christ; so the word Son is capitalized.

    St. Augustine also condemned Pelagianism and strongly taught the theology of the necessity of God's grace. God's grace is a central doctrine in Scripture. The apostle Paul spoke much about it in Romans and Galatians. Sadly, the RCC abondoned Augustine's teaching about grace later in history and today the RCC do not understand that salvation is entirely by the grace of God and not by one's own efforts or good works. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians ch2 vs 8,9.

    One article on Augustine says "For Augustine, grace is completely unmerited and cannot be earned." This is what the apostle Paul said in the above verse. Even though Augustine was considered one the greatest theologians, he himself did make mistakes at times in his theology and admitted to that as well. So what matters is what the Christ and apostles said in Holy Scripture.

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A Roman Catholic Evangelical Priest of the Diocese of Pembroke, Canada. Shown in my profile photo with my canine companion, Mateo.

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