Pope urges Christians to watch out against worldliness --- & --- Gospel from Luke 11:15-26

Lk 11:15-26 -- Jesus and Beelzebul - Ġesù u Begħelżebul

 FRIDAY GOSPEL OF WEEK 27 IN ORDINARY TIME
Evanġelju
Jekk jiena qiegħed inkeċċi x-xjaten bis-saħħa ta’ Alla, dan ifisser li waslitilkom is-Saltna ta’ Alla.
Lq 11, 15-26

Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Luqa

F’dak iż-żmien, [Lq:11:15] wara li Ġesù keċċa xitan, xi wħud qalulu: "Bis-saħħa ta' Begħelżebul, il-prinċep tax-xjaten, qiegħed ikeċċihom ix-xjaten." [Lq:11:16] Oħrajn, biex iġarrbuh, riedu mingħandu sinjal mis-sema. [Lq:11:17] Iżda hu ntebaħ x'kienet il-fehma tagħhom, u qalilhom: "Kull saltna maqsuma fiha nfisha ssir ħerba, u taqa' dar fuq oħra. [Lq:11:18] Jekk ix-Xitan ukoll hu kontra tiegħu nnifsu, kif se żżomm wieqfa s-saltna tiegħu? Għax intom tgħidu li jien bis-saħħa ta' Begħelżebul inkeċċihom ix-xjaten. Lq:11:19] Imma jekk jiena qiegħed inkeċċi x-xjaten bis-saħħa ta' Begħelżebul, uliedkom bis-saħħa ta' min ikeċċuhom? Għalhekk huma stess ikunu l-imħallfin tagħkom. [Lq:11:20] Iżda jekk jiena qiegħed inkeċċi x-xjaten bis-saħħa ta' Alla, dan ifisser li waslitilkom is-Saltna ta' Alla.

[Lq:11:21] Sakemm il-bniedem qawwi u armat tajjeb jgħasses il-palazz tiegħu, ħwejġu jkunu fiż-żgur. [Lq:11:22] Imma jekk wieħed aqwa minnu jaqbeż fuqu u jegħlbu, jaħtaflu l-armi kollha li fuqhom kien iserraħ rasu, u jqassam il-priża tiegħu. [Lq:11:23] Min m'huwiex miegħi huwa kontra tiegħi, u min ma jiġborx miegħi, ixerred.

[Lq:11:24] "Meta l-ispirtu mniġġes joħroġ minn bniedem, huwa jmur jiġġerra u jfittex il-mistrieħ f'art niexfa, u billi ma jsibu mkien, jgħid, 'Mela nerġa' lura lejn dari mnejn ħriġt.' [Lq:11:25] U x'ħin jiġi, isibha miknusa u kollox f'postu. [Lq:11:26] Mbagħad imur iġib seba' spirti oħra agħar minnu, u jidħlu joqogħdu hemm ġew. U fl-aħħar dak il-bniedem isib ruħu f'qagħda agħar minn ta' qabel."


Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
R/. Tifħir lilek Kristu


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Pope at Santa Marta: Guard the heart to avoid the seductions of evil

 

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/13/pope_santa_marta_mass_homily_worldliness_demon/1342757

(Vatican Radio)  Only Christ crucified will save us from the demons that make us "slide slowly into worldliness", saving us also from the "stupidity" that St. Paul talks about to the Galatians, and from seduction.  This was central message of the homily of Pope Francis at his Mass, Friday morning, at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.  He was reflecting on the episode in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus casts out a demon, which some people interpret as through power of the devil.

Watchfulness against Devil's stealth 

The Pope said the Lord asks us be watchful in order not to enter into temptation.  This is why a Christians have to be awake, watchful and careful like a sentinel.  Jesus was not narrating a parable but was stating a truth, i.e when the unclean spirit comes out of a man, he roams about in abandoned places looking for refuge and not finding any, decides to return to where he came from, where the freed man lives.  Hence the demon decides to bring in "seven other spirits worse than him.”  Pope Francis emphasized the word “worse”, saying it has much force in the passage because the demons enter quietly.

Worldliness

The demons thus start being part of the man's life. With their ideas and inspirations, they help the man to live better and entering his life and heart and start changing him from within, but quietly without making any noise.  This method is different from the earlier diabolic possession which was strong, the Pope explained, adding this time it a diabolic possession, something like in a “living room”.  The devil slowly changes our criteria to lead us to worldliness. It camouflages our way of acting, which we hardly notice. And so, the man, freed from the demon, becomes a bad man, a man burdened by worldliness. And that's exactly what the devil wants – worldliness, the Pope stressed.

Worldliness, Pope Francis explained, is a spell, a seduction, because the devil is the "father of seduction". When the devil enters "so sweetly, politely and takes possession of our attitudes," the Pope said, our values pass from the service of God to worldliness. Thus we become "lukewarm Christians, worldly Christians", a mixture, something that the Pope described as a “fruit salad” of the spirit of the world and the spirit of God.  All this distances us from the Lord, the Pope said and stressed that the way to avoid it by being vigilant and calm without alarm.

Christ crucified who saves

Watchful means understanding what goes on in my heart, the Pope said, adding, “ It means stopping for a while to examine my life, whether I a Christian, whether I educate my children, whether my life is Christian or worldly?” And one understands this, as Paul points out, by looking at Christ crucified.  One understands where worldliness lies and is destroyed before the Lord's cross.  The Crucifix saves us from the charms and seductions that lead us to worldliness.

The Holy Father exhorted Christians to examine themselves whether they look up to Christ crucified, whether they pray the Way of the Cross in order to understand the price of salvation, not just from sins but also from worldliness.  The examination of conscience, the Pope said, is done always before Christ crucified, with prayer, after which one has to break loose from one’s comfortable attitudes, through works of charity, visiting the sick, helping someone in need and so on.  This breaks the harmony and the spiritual worldliness that the demon together with seven others tries to create in us, the Pope added. 

 

Dr. Timothy O'Donnell - CHRIST THE KING ... Evil gets swallowed up in Mercy

... "THE FIRST ACT OF JESUS CHRIST'S KINGLY HEART,

- AS HE MOUNTS HIS ROYAL THRONE ...ON THE CROSS BEFORE THE WORLD,

 - AS HIS KINGSHIP IS PROCLAIMED, A NEW PARADISE OF MERCY ...as He is spitted upon, ridiculed, mocked at, beaten, scourged ...

... JESUS CHRIST JUST LOOKS WITH MERCY AND LOVE ...

 "ABBA, FATHER, FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THET DO" - Even then MERCY TRIUMPHS !

THE ANSWER TO EVIL IS MERCY AND LOVE

EVIL GETS SWALLOWED UP IN MERCY ...


Published on Sep 25, 2017
 

“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. ...Moreover, the annual and universal celebration of the feast of the Kingship of Christ will draw attention to the evils which anticlericalism has brought upon society in drawing men away from Christ, and will also do much to remedy them. While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights.”  - Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas. 11th December, 1925

Hosted by the Institute of Catholic Culture
www.instituteofcatholicculture.org

 

 

 

QUAS PRIMAS

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI
ON THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES,
ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS, AND OTHER ORDINARIES
IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html

... The pagan procurator Pilate, was the first gentile to publicly proclaim Jesus Christ's messianic Kingship, put on the cross JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS in the three great cultures of that time - in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HE REIGNS! THE SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING

SOLEMNITIES - CHRIST THE KING

https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/he-reigns-the-solemnity-of-christ-the-king/4560/

 

When Israel begins to long for a new David, the true David and true king of the world, we witness the longing for God. Jesus Christ is precisely this king: the Davidic king, and God ruling his creation. His ministry reveals the nature of his kingship, from the manger to the cross.

 

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The Eucharistic miracle of Sokolka: The host is tissue from heart of a dying man

 

It took place on Sunday, October 12, 2008, two weeks after the beatification of Servant of God Fr. Michael Sopocko.

https://aleteia.org/2017/09/23/the-eucharistic-miracle-of-sokolka-the-host-is-tissue-from-heart-of-a-dying-man/

Every day, on the altars of Catholic churches around the world, the greatest miracle possible takes place: the transformation of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ.

Nonetheless, when we receive Communion, we can only touch its true nature with our faith, because our senses only perceive bread and wine, physically unaltered by the consecration.

What are the implications, then, of the Eucharistic event in Sokolka, Poland?

 

During the Holy Mass celebrated at the parish church of St. Anthony in Sokolka, at 8:30 a.m., a consecrated host fell from the hands of one of the priests during the distribution of Communion, next to the altar. The priest interrupted the distribution of Communion and picked up the host, and, in accordance with liturgical norms, placed it in a small container of water—in this case, one found in some churches beside the tabernacle, where the priest may wash his fingers after distributing Communion. The host was expected to dissolve in the water, which would later be disposed of properly.

Sister Julia Dubowska, of the Congregation of the Eucharistic Sisters, was the parish sacristan. At the end of the Mass, at the request of the pastor, Fr. Stanislaw Gniedziejko, she poured the water and the host into another container. Knowing that the consecrated host would take some time to dissolve, she placed the new container in the safe located in the parish sacristy. Only she and the pastor had the keys to the safe.

A week later, on October 19, Mission Sunday, when the pastor asked her about the condition of the host, Sister Julia went to the safe. When she opened the door, she noticed a delicate aroma of unleavened bread. When she opened the container, she saw, in the middle of the host—which was still largely intact—a curved, bright red stain, like a blood stain: a living particle of a body. The water was untainted by the color.

The sister immediately informed the priest, who brought in the other priests at the parish and the visiting missionary, Fr. Ryszard Gorowski. They were all amazed and left speechless by what they saw.

They kept a discreet and prudent silence about the event, considering its importance; this was a consecrated host which, by the power of the words of Christ at the Last Supper, was truly His Body. From a human point of view, it was difficult at that point to define if the altered form of the remainder of the host was the result of an organic growth, a chemical reaction, or some other cause.

They immediately notified the metropolitan archbishop of Bialystok, Edward Ozorowski, who went to Sokolka with the chancellor of the Curia and other diocesan officials. They were all deeply moved by what they saw. The archbishop ordered that the host be protected while they waited to see what would happen.

On October 29, the container with the host was transferred to the Divine Mercy Chapel in the rectory, and placed in the tabernacle. The next day, by decision of the archbishop, the stained host was taken out of the water and placed on a small corporal, which was then put back in the tabernacle. The host was kept this way for three years, until it was solemnly brought to the church on October 2, 2011. During the first year, it was kept secret. During that time, the Church authorities reflected on what to do, since they were dealing with a sign from God which needed to be interpreted.

By mid-January of 2009, the altered fragment of the host had dried out naturally, and remained like a blood stain or clot; since then, its appearance has not changed.

That same month, the archbishop requested histopathological studies be done on the host. On March 30, he created an ecclesial commission to study the phenomenon.

A piece of the altered host was taken and analyzed independently by two experts, Prof. Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska, MD, and Prof. Stanislaw Sulkowski, MD, in order to ensure the credibility of the results. Both are histopathologists at the Medical University of Bialystok. The studies were carried out at the university’s Department of Pathomorphology.

The specialists’ work was governed by the scientific norms and obligations for analyzing any scientific problem in accordance with the directives of the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The studies were exhaustively described and photographed. The complete documentation was given to the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok.

When the samples were taken for analysis, the undissolved part of the consecrated host had become embedded in the cloth. However, the red blood clot was as clear as ever. This transformed part of the host was dry and fragile, inextricably interwoven with the rest of the fragment, which had kept the form of bread. The sample that was taken was large enough to carry out all the necessary studies.

The results of both independent studies were in perfect agreement. They concluded that the structure of the transformed fragment of the host is identical to the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living person who is nearing death. The structure of the heart muscle fibers is deeply intertwined with that of the bread, in a way impossible to achieve with human means, according to the declaration of Prof. Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska.

The studies proved that no foreign substance was added to the consecrated host; rather, part of the host took the form of heart muscle of a person near death. This kind of phenomenon is inexplicable by the natural sciences. At the same time, the Church teaches us that the consecrated host becomes the Body of Christ, by the power of His own words at the Last Supper, repeated by priests during the consecration of the Mass.

The results of the histopathological studies, dated January 21, 2009, were included in the dossier given to the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok.

In its official communiqué, the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok stated:

“The Sokolka event is not opposed to the faith of the Church; rather, it confirms it. The Church professes that, after the words of consecration, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread is transformed into the Body of Christ, and the wine into His Blood. Additionally, this is an invitation for all ministers of the Eucharist to distribute the Body of the Lord with faith and care, and for the faithful to receive Him with adoration.”

 

 

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Where: The parish church of Saint Anthony of Sokółka
When: 12 October 2008
What Happened: A consecrated host accidently fell to the ground during Mass and, when the priest noticed it, he believed it was dirty and so placed it in a vasculum (a small container filled with water) to dissolve it and get rid of a dirty host in the proper manner. Later, when it was brought out again, although it was partially dissolved it was still there and what was thought to be ‘dirt’ at a passing glance was in fact what at looked like a blood clot. Intense study followed and two scientists of global fame and specialists in pathological anatomy at the Medical University of Białystok were called in to lead the investigation, Professor Maria Elżbieta Sobaniec-Łotowska and Professor Stanisław Sulkowski.
These two scientists studied the ‘blood clot’ independent of each other and made use of the most modern optical microscopes and the transmission electronic microscope. To further ensure no bias in the study, Professor Sulkowski was not informed that the sample which he was examining came from a host. Despite this, both scientists reached the same conclusion: the sample examined was neither a clot, nor blood… it was a human cardiac muscle tissue (heart tissue) and was still alive.
The details of the heart’s condition are the same as those we’ve mentioned earlier, but the most incredible thing about this study was that, due to the advanced nature of the equipment they used, they were able to observe that the cardiac tissue was joined to the consecrated host in an inseparable manner. There is no scientific explanation for this; they penetrated each other, as if a fragment of ‘bread’ had suddenly transformed itself into ‘body’.
It is not possible to manipulate an event of this type. No one, absolutely no one, would have been able to do it. “Even the scientists of NASA, who have at their disposal the most modern analytical techniques, would not be able to artificially recreate such a thing” affirmed Professor Sobaniec-Łotowska.

FROM:
5 Incredible Eucharistic Miracles from the last 25 Years
http://dowym.com/voices/5-incredible-eucharistic-miracles-from-the-last-25-years/

 

 

 http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/scheda_c.html?nat=polonia&wh=sokolka&ct=Sokółka 2008

 

 

 http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/list.html

 

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Pope to youth: Narcissism produces sadness because its like putting makeup on the soul ...

... Narcissism is a disease of the mirror that deceives ... Do not look in the mirror ... look outward ...

2017.09.04 Pope Francis meets with catholic community Shalom





Pope meets with members of the Shalom community
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/04/pope_meets_with_members_of_the_shalom_community/1334632

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met in the Vatican on Monday with a cheering crowd of young people and families belonging to the Shalom community. Speaking off the cuff in his native Spanish, the Pope replied to questions from three young members of the community about how to witness to their faith in a world often marked by indifference and hopelessness.

The Shalom Catholic community was founded back in the early 1980s in the city of Fortaleza in north-eastern Brazil. Today it counts some 3.800 members spread across the different continents, and is focused on contemplation, unity and evangelization.

Go out to share the good news

In his reply to a young man named Juan from Chile, Pope Francis highlighted the importance of “going out of oneself” to share the good news of God’s mercy with others. God is always with us, he insisted, waiting for us even in the most difficult moments of our lives, just as the father of the prodigal son runs out to embrace his child, despite all the sinful things he has done.

Avoid being self-centred

Replying to a young French woman about the role of youth in the life and mission of the Church, the Pope spoke of their joy which is opposed to the sadness that comes from always being self-centred or “self-referential”.

Narcissism, he said, is a disease which causes sadness by making us worry every day about how to appear better than we are. Calling it “the disease of the mirror”, he urged young people to “break the mirror” and look at others, as a way of escaping from today’s consumer culture.

Share freely with others

Pope Francis then responded to a young Brazilian man who spent many years as a drug addict before discovering the Shalom community. The Pope said drugs dominate people’s lives by destroying our roots and all that we hold close to our hearts. He urged young people to become aware of those roots and to share freely with others all the blessings that they themselves have received.

Learn from your elders

Finally, the Pope encouraged his listeners to learn from the wisdom of older members of the community, especially their grandparents. Engaging in this inter-generational dialogue, he said, is one of the major challenges facing our societies today.











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