Please open the referenced texts only after reading this entire text.
In 2018, during this same period, I responded to a text and many others attributed to the Pope, which apparently spoke of eliminating or modifying the Bible.
Here are the texts that addressed this issue in chronological order:
AND IF THE POPE HAD SAID ALL THAT !!
This vignette however spoke precisely of Christ, not of Jesus Christ, because Christ is not the prerogative of a single man named Jesus, but rather a state that every spiritually liberated person must attain after carrying their own cross. Jesus answered a disciple who asked him how to follow him. His answer was unambiguous: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him renounce all earthly attachments, including parents, family, friends, and take up his own cross.”
What I like about the rituals of Catholicism is that they make us live 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, and more in 52 weeks until we realize that human existence is a well-trodden path.
Since the last state that man must develop before leaving this world is the state of Christ (be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect), hence salvation, which is said to be personal.
I’ve recently attended several masses with my grandson, who is about to make his First Communion, and it’s helped me understand a lot about this truly wonderful religious denomination.
For example, this Easter morning, the priest spoke of the empty tomb as if our body, after fasting the previous week, had been rid of all the debris of dead animals that hardened our hearts, like the stone removed to remove the body from the tomb for a new beginning leading to true love of one’s neighbor.
It is unfortunate that this priest, still very young, and who himself surely has not reached the level of wisdom necessary to give him the authority to order the faithful to persevere in the principle of vegetarianism, as it would have caused him to see his church deserted for a certain time. But since, from my observation, in this area, leaders are more sensitive to quantity than quality. And perhaps he could not preach what he himself does not practice, as a true Spiritual Master would.
I was surprised to hear him tell the congregation at the end of the Mass that they were free to eat whatever they wanted to recover what they had lost during this short period, it was as if it was a very great sacrifice that the people had had to endure, a sort of raised hands.
It’s not his fault either, the previous year, in order to keep up with the times, the Pope had paved the way by emphasizing this: « Sacrifice is not in the stomach, but in the heart.
This appeared to be a license to not observe the fast recommended during this period, because he had not added: Remember that a healthy mind is in a healthy body. »
I call this: Half Atheist, Half Believer, hence the name of one of my texts, because they always leave doors open, thus missing the true injunctions of the scriptures such as:
Isaiah 1:10-17
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 What have I to do with the multitude of your sacrifices? declares the Lord. I am satisfied with the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of calves; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls, of sheep, and of goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who requires you to defile my courts?
13 Stop bringing vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me, the new moons, the sabbaths, and assemblies; I cannot see iniquity associated with solemn feasts.
14 My soul hates your new moons and your appointed feasts; they are a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands, I hide my eyes from you; when you make many prayers, I do not listen; your hands are covered with blood.
16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from my sight; cease to do evil.
17 Learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed; defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
And Paul to the Romans 14:15,16,
15 But if your brother is grieved over food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
16 Do not let your privilege be a slander.
20 For the sake of food, do not destroy the work of God. Truly, all things are pure; But it is evil for a man to become a stumbling block when he eats.
21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine, or to abstain from anything by which your brother or sister stumbles or is offended or made weak.
Brother, this concerns all those who, like us, lead vibrant lives but lack discernment.
And what have we done with this privilege?
Although I have already written about Christmas, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost, I believe I have covered the most important phases of Catholic rites without going into the details of the sacraments and the accessories used as accompaniments.
I was fascinated to see how they went about beatifying candidates for sainthood. A ceremony that lasted for hours, with meticulously planned steps, of a solemnity that inspired a desire to live a perfect life.
As I finish this text, I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis this Easter Monday.
May his Creator receive him warmly into his bosom.
If they give us the opportunity, I invite you to inquire about the date so that you can watch the ceremony that will be held to mark his departure, to appreciate the degree of solemnity in this religion I praised at the very beginning.