Pope Francis declares special Holy Year of mercy

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis announced on Friday the Roman Catholic Church will mark an extraordinary Holy Year, one of its most important events, in which faithful make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world.

During the last Holy Year -- or Jubilee -- in 2000, millions of pilgrims came to Rome to take part in religious festivities throughout the year.

Making the surprise announcement in St. Peter's Basilica on the second anniversary of his election, Francis said the Holy Year will focus on the topic of mercy, one of the most important themes of his papacy.

It will start on December 8 of this year and end on November 20, 2016. This will be only the 29th Holy Year in the Church since the tradition started more than 700 years ago.

Holy Years normally take place every 25 years unless a pope decrees an extraordinary one to bring attention to a particular topic or need. The next one had been scheduled for 2025.

Francis, who says he wants his Church of 1.2 billion members to be more merciful and less rigid towards sinners, said the Jubilee would be an occasion for all members -- and the Church itself -- to rediscover the need to be forgiving and generous.

"The Church is the home that accepts everyone and refuses no one ... the greater the sin, the greater the love that the Church should show towards those who convert," he said.

During a Holy Year, one of the entrances to St. Peter's Basilica, which is known as the Holy Door and normally bricked up, is opened so pilgrims can pass through it. The Holy Doors of Rome's other basilicas are also opened.

According to the Vatican website, a Holy Year should be a time of reconciliation with adversaries and an occasion to promote solidarity, hope and justice in the world.

Faithful who make pilgrimages to religious sites or do good works during a Holy Year can receive indulgences, or the remission of punishment for sins, under certain conditions.

The Vatican said the official proclamation of the Holy Year, known as a papal bull, will be published next month. Cathedrals and other religious venues around the world are expected to be designated at national pilgrimage sites.

The last extraordinary Holy Year was called in 1983 by Pope John Paul II to mark the 1,950 years after the death of Jesus.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Increase our faith, Lord’

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on one while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
—Luke 17:5-10



“Increase our faith!” The apostles were addressing Jesus. In our life, there comes a challenging time when we doubt God’s existence, if God really listens to our prayers. Sometimes, we feel uncertain and doubtful if God is really up there.  We question until we get tired of not getting any answer.

In the gospel, Jesus replied: “If you only have faith like the size of a mustard seed, then you can do what you want and wish to do.  ’You can even order the mulberry tree to be uprooted and be planted in the sea.’  Of course, this is an image of the power of faith.

Faith is not based on physics or any other physical sciences.  It is not founded on factual data or laboratory experimentations or scientific calculations.  It is not based on evidences that can be proven and defended.  Faith does not have to be proven for it is based on life itself.  Faith in the divine is innate to people who believe.  There are cultural studies available and would vary in the different processes every society undertakes, but faith is always at the core of every culture.

In the gospel, Jesus shared an example about the servant who just came from plowing or tending sheep, will you invite him to sit with you at the table or ask him instead to prepare something to eat?  And to further order the servant to put on the apron and wait on until the master finishes his meal.  Will he be grateful to the servant because he just followed what was commanded? The same is true for us, that having done what we were asked to do, we still say that we are undeserving servants  because we just do what we were obliged to do.  The Lord asks us to do his will and follow him.  And when we do this, it is faith that will guide us in our pursuit.

“Increase our faith Lord” is our prayer. Day in and day out, we are always tested by our faith.  But if we only have faith  even just like the size of a mustard seed (which is one of the smallest seeds in the plant kingdom), then we can do even greater things.

If we have strong faith, we also grow as a person.  By faith, we see God in others, in our brothers and sisters.  We see God in the people we meet and encounter in every moment of one’s  life.  By faith, we can see the face of the Risen Lord in others.  The song in the play Les Miserables echoes the faith of the convert that ‘to love another person is to see the face of God.’  Faith and charity is inseparable.  Our belief is not isolated nor separated from what we do.

Let us ask the Lord to help us when we become weak, uncertain and doubting.  Let us pray to the Lord to have our gift of faith grow. Faith the size of a mustard seed is enough, truly enough for us to add more meaning to our lives and help make this world a better place. Let us be faithful and loving at the same time.  Let us also increase our faith with one another.  We should have faith in ourselves as well that we can make a difference as a person, as a family, as a community and as a nation.

Time after time, as a people and as a nation, our faith is tested.  In our Christian families and communities, our faith is challenged.  As a person and as a child of God, our faith is purified.  Faith is always being tested, challenged and purified.   Faith is not static, it is alive and dynamic.  Faith increases or decreases.  As we experience the love of God more and more, our faith increases.

Let us then take time to evaluate our Christian life, our Christian faith.  Now that we are grown ups, are we inspired by the Word of God?  Do we read religiously and reflect on the messages of the  Scriptures?  Do we celebrate the living traditions of our faith in full enthusiasm and creativity?  Are we more sensitive and responsive to the needs of our brothers and sisters, especially the deprived and marginalized? Do we share our God- experience with others?  Do we share the story of Jesus and the love of God with others?

Let us pause, reflect, pray and ask ourselves:

Am I faithful to the laws and commandments of the Lord?

Is my Christian faith well- built and increasing?

Have I grown in virtues?

Do I live a virtuous life?

Does my faith help me experience and see God?  Have I lived my life in the Lord?

Prayer:  Loving Father, we thank you for the gift of faith.  May we grow in faith so as to be able to see more clearly and follow you more closely.  Strengthen our faith with your grace so we may give witness to your will and love and so we can inspire others.  This we ask through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope announces world day of fasting, prayer for Syria

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has called for the world to unite on Saturday in a day of fasting and prayer for Syria and said "God and history" would judge anyone using chemical weapons.

"May the cry for peace enter the hearts of everyone," the pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims at his traditional weekly blessing in the Vatican on Sunday.

"I condemn with particular force the use of chemical weapons. I still have in my mind and heart the terrible images of the past days," he said.

"There is judgment from God and history on our actions that no one can escape," he said, in his first explicit reference to the chemical arms claims.

He urged the international community to make "every effort" to begin a process of dialogue in Syria.

The pope said he would lead the prayers with a five-hour vigil in St Peter's Square on Saturday, just two days before the US Congress meets to debate possible strikes by the United States on Syria.

The relatively rare call for a global day of fasting and prayer was similar to one made by late pope John Paul II following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Vatican expert Luigi Accattoli told AFP.

Although he did not apportion blame for the alleged chemical attack, the pope's reference to divine judgment was also similar to John Paul II's call for members of the Italian mafia to confess their crimes and repent, Accattoli said.

His exhortation "Never again to war!" echoed a famous speech made by another of his predecessors, Paul VI, at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope's call came as the United States, France and other countries were making plans for a limited armed response against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

The Vatican has repeatedly pushed for a negotiated solution to the conflict and has already criticised plans by global powers for an armed intervention.

It has been more cautious, however, than some Christian leaders in Syria and the region who have openly defended the current Syrian government seeing it as a guarantor of a multi-religious state.

Christian minorities are concerned about the rise of radical Islam in the region and point to the example of Iraq, where there has been an exodus of Christians faced with violence and discrimination.

"My heart is profoundly wounded in these days by what is happening in Syria and I am anxious about the prospect of dramatic developments," the pope said.

"War leads to more war, violence to more violence," he said, voicing hope that "a chain of commitment for peace will unite all women and men of good will."

"Never again to war!" the pope said in his emotional speech, echoing a call made by late pope Paul VI at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope said he extended his invitation to push for peace in Syria to all Christians and the faithful from other religions, as well as non-believers.

"With all my strength, I call on the warring parties to listen to the voice of their own consciences, not to close themselves in their own interests but to look on the other as a brother," he said.

Saturday's prayers in St Peter's Square will begin at 1700 GMT and end at 2200 GMT, he said.

Fasting in the Catholic tradition is not as strictly interpreted as in other denominations or faiths.

"Everyone interprets it how they want. It can mean not eating or not drinking or missing only some meals or some courses in a meal," Accattoli said.

He said there have been other days of fasting and prayer for peace in Catholic Church history but these are rarely linked to a specific conflict.

source: interaksyon.com

Today's Christians

In writing this article, I’ve interviewed quite a few so-called Christians. Sad to say, these are mainly Jamaicans. I’ve interviewed a few others who are from different nationalities, and they basically have the same response.

I’ve found out that as much as they say they are Christians, and they’re never without their Bibles, which they consider the ‘word of God’, they do not know, or for those who do, they do not understand the contents.

People who have become Christians over the years are dependent on traditions; things they have seen, or things they have heard from their fore-parents, are the same things they’ve continued with along the line. For example: the tithes. Of all the Christians I have interviewed, not one of them could show me anything about the tithes in the Bible; they don’t have a clue as to where they can be found. However, if you find it and show it to them, they will not accept what it says. The only thing they can tell you is the part the pastors have told to them over the years, and that is Malachi 3:8, where God said, "Can a man rob God? You have robbed me, because you have not bring your tithes and offerings into the store room.”

While growing up, I was told that most Christians were brainwashed. Over the years I’ve come to realize that this statement is actually the truth. The people who I’ve interviewed are some of the most gullible people I have ever met, and this is mainly because they’ve developed an unnatural fear of God, based on what the pastors have told them. People will not question the pastors for fear that God may turn His wrath against them if they do so. Hence, the pastors are taking advantage of this, and they will always tell the congregations that whatever they preach, it was given to them by God. This, the congregation will gladly accept, because it cemented their beliefs that this pastor was actually called by God.

When I was a child and I would question people about God, they would tell me that God is a mystery, and that I shouldn’t question Him or His ways. That was after they would tell me things that did not make any sense. For example, they would tell me that Christ is God and yet God raised Christ from the dead. Now to me, this didn’t make any sense then, and until this day, it still does not.

This is what I have found out about the Christians that I have interviewed. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, the Bible says, “Yet for us, there is one God, the Father.” When I quote this verse to the Christians in regards to who God is, they would not accept this, even though it’s coming directly from the Bible. They would want me to accept what they call “The Holy Trinity.” And this is their explanation of the Holy Trinity: “God, the father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.” Now this is what they want me to accept, and this is not in the Bible. Now why do you have the Bible when you will not accept any quote from it, and you cannot quote anything from it yourself?

Now as Christians, one would think that God and Christ should be the most prominent people in your life; they should be the ones who come to mind as soon as you get up and just before you go to bed at nights. Now I was having a conversation with a Christian who was telling me that it didn’t matter in what order you thank God. This is a Christian whom I think should have known better. The conversation started with me telling the Christian that I didn’t think it was right what Kirk Franklyn did when he went up to collect a gospel award he got from some organizations for one of his albums.

Kirk Franklyn said first of all he had to thank his beautiful wife and a host of other people, then finally he thanked God. I said I thought that that was wrong. The lady told me that nothing is wrong with that, it doesn’t matter in what order you thank God.

Now did I expect to hear something like this from a Christian? Certainly not. If you’re a really a Christian, no one should have to tell you that your creator should be the first person you thank. He should be the first person you honour; He should be first in everything, and not only in your mind, you should make Him the first person in everything so that the whole world can see.

God has feelings, and He said that He is a jealous God. We need to use our feelings and judge those of God’s.

We wouldn’t want anyone to get the praise that we deserve, so why should we give God’s praise to someone else?

From observation, I have not seen a Christian who goes entirely by what the Bible says. The Pastors do not do it; neither do the members of the congregations. In churches these days, the doctrines of Christ are not preached, because then it wouldn’t benefit the pastors. In 2 John 1:9, the Bible says, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrines of Christ, does not have God, but he who abides in the doctrines of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” This means that the only doctrine that can give us eternal life is the one that Christ preached.

This woman was telling me that as long as you thank God, everything is okay, as long as you have a good heart and God knows it, everything is okay. What most of these so-called Christians do not know is that as much as God can read your mind, He needs to hear you say you love Him; He needs to hear you say thanks to Him before you thank anyone else. You might think that God knows everything, so He knows that you put Him first. But thinking that God is first in your life and actually putting Him first, are two different things. Obviously the so-called Christians are not aware of that. Even when we pray to God, He knows what we want before we pray, but we still need to pray and ask.

Prior to Christ leaving this earth, He asked Peter on three occasions if Peter loved Him. Peter was getting angry at being asked so many times, and he said, “Master, you know all things, and you know I love you.” On each occasion He told Peter to feed His sheep. And who are His sheep? The members of the congregation. So if Christ asked Peter to feed His sheep, isn’t that an indication that He was asking Peter to be a shepherd?

And what does a shepherd do? He takes care of his sheep all right. He makes sure that they are properly fed and ensures that they have some where safe to sleep. Why is it that the sheep are the ones who are taking care of the Shepherd? Christ didn’t tell Peter to take as much as he could from the sheep and asked them to wait on God. No, He told him to feed them, in other word He was asking Peter to make sure that the people are properly fed and properly taken care of, and of course it just wasn’t with spiritual food as some people seem to think, but also with physical food. If someone is hungry physically, I don’t think he will be interested in spiritual food, so he needs to be fed with something for his stomach as well as his mind.

Peter was right when he said that Christ knew everything; Christ knows all things and He knew Peter loved Him, but He still needed to ask. The rest of the disciples were there; Christ wanted to hear that Peter loves Him too, and He wanted to hear it from Peter himself. It’s the same thing with us; we need to do things so that God can see that we put Him first at all times. Christ said that he who loves mother and father more than he loves Him (Christ) is not worthy of following Him.

WHO IS THE “WORD OF GOD”?

And why do men call the Bible ‘the word of God’? Don’t they know that the ‘Word of God’ is Christ as is mentioned in Revelation 19:13? This is a trend I have noticed and it goes from one to the other; it has become a norm. We are taught that we have word, which is one word, and when it is more than one, it is called words. The Bible contains words, why do men say ‘word of God’ when referring to the Bible? Aren’t they aware that the “Word Of God” is Christ?

Obviously not.

HEAVEN

Why do pastors continue to tell people that when they die they go to heaven, despite the fact that Christ had never told anyone that, despite the fact that it’s not anywhere in the Bible? We all know that God and Christ despise lying, so why do pastors lie? One would think that the church would be one place where you wouldn’t hear lying, and the people do believe that their pastors do not lie, and so they are willing to go along with whatever the he or she says. Even when a pastor is caught in the act of deceiving the people, they’re still willing to believe that he has done nothing wrong.

There is nowhere in the Bible where it says that when men die they go to heaven. As a matter of fact if one goes to John 6:39, 40, 44, 54, one will see what Christ said about the people who believe in Him. In each passage He promised He would raise them on the last day.

WAS IT GOD WHO DIED?

In one tract that I read, and one that is encouraging peoples to turn to God, it beseeches a person to say a prayer, which goes like this. “Dear God, I admit I’m a sinner, going to hell. I know that I cannot save myself. I repent of my sins and put my faith in the blood that you shed for me on the cross to pay for all my sins. I now accept you as my savior and trust you to take me to heaven. Thank you for saving me. Amen”

Immediately below this, it says, “Salvation does not depend on feelings or emotional experience. It comes when you believe what God has promised in His word, ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

While Christ was on earth, He spoke about the Pharisees burdening the people and giving them burdens to carry that they themselves wouldn’t lift a finger to carry.

This is the same thing that is happening in today’s society, the pastors are burdening the people by giving them more than they can carry. The pastors are telling us that God died for our sins, but yet in order for us to gain eternal life, we must believe that God raised Christ from the dead. Now how can one do that? How can one believe that it was God who died, but yet it was Christ who was raised from the dead?

Of course they will tell you that God and Christ are one and the same, but if they are, that means that when Christ died, then God died too, so who raised whom? And if God had died and He is Christ, then where did the power originate from, which brought Him back to life?

Here are some things to consider when thinking of Christ as God. In Daniel 7, here it says a man sits on a throne; He is called “The Ancient Of Days.” The Son of man who is Christ is brought to him, and He gave Christ authority. Who is this man who gave Christ authority?

In Revelation chapter 4, this man is called “He who lives forever and ever”. He has thousands bowing down to Him, He has a seal in His hand no one could take and open, it was only the Lamb of God, who is Christ who could take it from Him. Who is this man who lives forever and ever and who all these people were bowing to? Remember, only God and Christ you are allowed to serve.

In Revelation, the very first verse, it says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servant things which must shortly come to pass.” If Christ were God, who is this man who gave this revelation to Him? It says God.

When David in spirit said, “My LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Who was this man who told Christ to sit at His right hand?

When Christ said to His Father in John 12:28, ‘Father, glorify thy name.’ Was it Christ who answered Himself when a voice was heard from heaven, which said, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again’? Of course not, Christ was talking to God who is His Father.

God made us different from the birds and from the animals. He made the animals with instinct and made us with senses. We can determine if something makes sense and if it doesn’t, we can dismiss it as nonsense. Yet, there are men who called themselves scholars who would like us to accept that Christ is God as well as the Son of God.

I would like you look at this statement and consider it for a while. The statement is the answer to the question, “Who is God?” First of all a Christian will answer by saying that Christ is God. Now if the person is asked ‘Who is Christ?” The answer will be that He is the Son of God. Now I’ll summarize. The answer to “Who is God” is this: “God is the Son of God.” Now if you can accept this as a sensible answer then that means that we are not displaying the traits that God has in Himself. Remember, we were made in God’s image, in His likeness and with a lot of His traits. God is wisdom and because we were made in His likeness and because we possess some of His traits, we need to display some of that personality of God. We need to start reading our Bibles and not allow people to read it for us. When we read our Bibles, then no one can trick us, because we know what is right and what is wrong.