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Em português
Much has been said lately about a publication of the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, in which he claims to reproduce the words of Pope Francis. What stunned many Catholics was that the Pope reportedly declared two Gospel passages, quoted by the journalist, as evidence that Jesus, once made a man, was no longer God. Below are the citations mentioned:
Much has been said lately about a publication of the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, in which he claims to reproduce the words of Pope Francis. What stunned many Catholics was that the Pope reportedly declared two Gospel passages, quoted by the journalist, as evidence that Jesus, once made a man, was no longer God. Below are the citations mentioned:
- “My Father, if it is
possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)
- “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew, 27:46)
Jesus knew He would go through this suffering. He warned the apostles before, and said that it had
to happen and then He would rise. Only God would be able to voluntarily assume
the suffering of the entire humanity, caused by sin. And, being a man, going
through the feeling of abandonment from God, in a mysterious process for us, in
which He experiences this withdrawal of God and feels helpless at the same
time, and then rises, establishing our rescue for Eternity. "– The mystery
of faith!"
Probably, Pope Francis has spoken with Mr. Scalfari
about philosophical thinking exercises in Christian theology, expecting
the journalist would be able to discern between this and religious beliefs,
between this and the mystery of faith. I do not believe the Pope would entrust
himself to a journalist on a confessional basis. I do not think he would tell
Mr. Scalfari that, in his opinion, Jesus would have stripped Himself of the
divine condition by being a man, while to the public he speaks, with an
enlightened face of joy, all that the Church has ever proclaimed, all what we
learned in the Catechism.
We have a good example of whom the Pope says Jesus is when he
talked about the Gospel in which Jesus himself asked the apostles, "But who do you say that I am?" Pope
Francis has given a very beautiful homily on the subject. Nothing new but well
spoken, exactly what I wanted to hear from his own mouth: "We are called to make Peter’s answer our own
response, joyfully professing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Eternal Word of
the Father, who became man to redeem mankind, pouring out the abundance of
divine mercy upon it." Further on the homily, he said, "Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, gives us the
strength to move forward along the path of faith and of witness: doing exactly
what we believe."
Below, the
text in link number (1) is the translation of the homily, in English. Number
(2) shows the Pope himself speaking. It's in Italian, but he speaks slowly, we
can understand very well.
Why the title of my text: "Jesus between two
thieves"? Let us see... In addition to many situations where
Jesus spoke with Divine Authority, as when the Jewish High Priest tore his
clothes, for example, there is the episode narrated by St. Luke about the
thieves crucified beside Jesus (Luke 23: 39-43). This passage of the Gospel
seems like a prefiguration, so to speak. While the “impenitent thief” mocks and
brings discredit to Jesus' Divinity, the “penitent thief” acknowledges being himself
a sinner and asks Jesus, with faith, to remember him when He will be in His Kingdom
- just like today; there are believers and the unbelievers.
I want to thank Saint Dismas, “the
penitent thief,” and ask him to pray for us sinners. He made it possible for us
to realize the immeasurable Divine Mercy manifested by Jesus, in that moment of
suffering; even nailed to the Cross, shortly before dying as a man, Jesus
showed His Divine and Infinite Goodness in forgiving Dismas' sins. May we never
be tempted to mock or discredit the Divinity of Jesus, as did the "bad
thief".
Of course, someone who is not a believer, as the
journalist declared himself, is usually selective – he sees only what he
understands, satisfying his preconceived idea. For example, he takes as valid
the manifestations of Jesus' suffering in the Agony and the Cross, but
apparently does not take into account the manifestations of divine authority
narrated in the Gospel. The analysis seems to apply double standards.
For
those who want to read Mr. Scalfari's articles, I put them in the list of
related links below (3, 4). In (5), a Spanish translation of the journalist's
editorial.
~~~~~
Related links:
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