On Thursday morning, March 14, I read a short piece of Pope Francis' first homily that he delivered in the Sistine Chapel.
In it, Francis preached, "When one does not profess Jesus Christ—I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy—'Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.' When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil." See here for full text.
WOW!
The translation I read was along the lines of "When we do not preach Christ, we preach the devil. And when we preach worldliness, we preach the devil."
This message fed my soul that morning. With all the many tasks I had to complete in the day, the contrast between Jesus and devil fed something in my soul that needed nourishment. Something in me was lacking that this satisfied, like water on a dried mouth.
I think it was more that the new Pope talked about the devil. The devil is real. I needed to hear this from the pulpit.
I think I was also amazed because there was such a sharp contrast. It made me not want to be worldly. I wanted to only preach Jesus in my life, even if I didn't use words.
The point is: I felt nourished. I was fed.
I don't really recall hearing many homilies on the devil. Jesus, yes, but not so much on the enemy of souls.
This nourishment inspired me to blog (after a long hiatus, I know) this profound experience where I was burning on fire for the Gospel the whole day. The Gospel passage "Feed my sheep" has been on my heart since that morning when the Holy Father, the new Pope, spoke of the non-coexistence of preaching Jesus v. preaching the worldliness of the devil. It is one or the other: an either-or moment.
I have to confess: I've been pretty worldly in my own teaching of the Faith. I get too bogged down with the affairs of the world and lose sight of the simplicity of the Gospel. The Pope's gentle words brought me back to the purity and basics of the Word of God.
AMDG
In it, Francis preached, "When one does not profess Jesus Christ—I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy—'Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.' When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil." See here for full text.
WOW!
The translation I read was along the lines of "When we do not preach Christ, we preach the devil. And when we preach worldliness, we preach the devil."
This message fed my soul that morning. With all the many tasks I had to complete in the day, the contrast between Jesus and devil fed something in my soul that needed nourishment. Something in me was lacking that this satisfied, like water on a dried mouth.
I think it was more that the new Pope talked about the devil. The devil is real. I needed to hear this from the pulpit.
I think I was also amazed because there was such a sharp contrast. It made me not want to be worldly. I wanted to only preach Jesus in my life, even if I didn't use words.
The point is: I felt nourished. I was fed.
I don't really recall hearing many homilies on the devil. Jesus, yes, but not so much on the enemy of souls.
This nourishment inspired me to blog (after a long hiatus, I know) this profound experience where I was burning on fire for the Gospel the whole day. The Gospel passage "Feed my sheep" has been on my heart since that morning when the Holy Father, the new Pope, spoke of the non-coexistence of preaching Jesus v. preaching the worldliness of the devil. It is one or the other: an either-or moment.
I have to confess: I've been pretty worldly in my own teaching of the Faith. I get too bogged down with the affairs of the world and lose sight of the simplicity of the Gospel. The Pope's gentle words brought me back to the purity and basics of the Word of God.
AMDG
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