IT’S one concept Pope Francis is trying to popularize and
push,
asking the clergy especially, and even the seminarians, to have the
appropriate training, so that the true spirit of the mercy of Christ
can be spread more widely, and especially to those in some special
conditions insofar as their spiritual and moral lives are concerned.
For this, he is asking everyone to be more discerning of the
promptings of the Holy Spirit so he can make the proper assessments
and judgments of specific difficult cases.
He has warned us against being too legalistic or too rigid in
doctrine as to be a doctrinaire, blindly or indiscriminately applying
laws and doctrine without the proper regard to the concrete conditions
of the people concerned.
In a number of instances, he has expressed the view, for example,
that we cannot judge the present with the criteria of the past. And I
suppose he can also mean that we should not judge the past with the
criteria and standards of the present.
Again, I suppose that he does not mean that our laws and doctrine are
all wrong. They definitely are not. They hold great value and are
always helpful. But they have to be understood, interpreted and
applied under the promptings of the Spirit, otherwise they can be
dangerous and even wrong. Human wisdom is not enough. We need the Holy
Spirit to be able to see, understand and do things properly.
St. Paul once said: “We impart this in words not taught by human
wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to
those who possess the Spirit. The unspiritual man does not receive the
gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not
able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The
spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no
one.” (1 Cor 2,13-15)
More directly, St. Paul also said: “Not that we are competent of
ourselves to claim anything as coming from us. Our competence is from
God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not
in a written code but in the Spirit, for the written code kills, but
the spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3,5-6)
The ideal to aim at is to be vitally united with the Holy Spirit, the
sanctifier, whose gifts and fruits would enable us to see, understand,
judge things and behave properly. This can only happen when with God’s
grace, that will always be made available, we truly take care of our
spiritual life, our life of loving relationship with God and with
others.
We cannot overemphasize the indispensable need for prayer, for a
living and vibrant faith, for unconditional charity and mercy for
everyone. Of course, all this would also presume an assiduous study of
the doctrine, the continuing development of virtues and other relevant
disciplines that are always pursued under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit and motivated primarily by love for God and others.
Everyone, but especially the clerics, should know how to develop a
life in the Spirit. It’s not enough for us to be smart and clever in
philosophy and theology, nor to have some human charm, to be effective
in pastoral accompaniment. Without the Spirit, we would simply be left
with some brilliant theories, mother statements, etc., that would
hardly have any impact on our lives. The transforming effect would be
missing.
We have to learn to discern the spirit behind everything that takes
place in our life. We cannot be naïve and just accept things as they
come. We need to check if the spirit behind anything that involves us
comes from God or not.
St. John, for example, in his first letter, warned us, “Beloved do
not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are
of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (4,1)
There are many kinds of spirits roaming around the world, and we have
to learn how to discern them. There is the spirit of God, the spirit
of Christ as opposed to the antichrist. There is also the evil spirit,
and the spirit of the world that is dominated by the evil one.
St. John was explicit as to which spirit is proper to us. “Every
spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. ” (1
Jn 4,2-3)
Only then can we be effective in pastoral accompaniment.
asking the clergy especially, and even the seminarians, to have the
appropriate training, so that the true spirit of the mercy of Christ
can be spread more widely, and especially to those in some special
conditions insofar as their spiritual and moral lives are concerned.
For this, he is asking everyone to be more discerning of the
promptings of the Holy Spirit so he can make the proper assessments
and judgments of specific difficult cases.
He has warned us against being too legalistic or too rigid in
doctrine as to be a doctrinaire, blindly or indiscriminately applying
laws and doctrine without the proper regard to the concrete conditions
of the people concerned.
In a number of instances, he has expressed the view, for example,
that we cannot judge the present with the criteria of the past. And I
suppose he can also mean that we should not judge the past with the
criteria and standards of the present.
Again, I suppose that he does not mean that our laws and doctrine are
all wrong. They definitely are not. They hold great value and are
always helpful. But they have to be understood, interpreted and
applied under the promptings of the Spirit, otherwise they can be
dangerous and even wrong. Human wisdom is not enough. We need the Holy
Spirit to be able to see, understand and do things properly.
St. Paul once said: “We impart this in words not taught by human
wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to
those who possess the Spirit. The unspiritual man does not receive the
gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not
able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The
spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no
one.” (1 Cor 2,13-15)
More directly, St. Paul also said: “Not that we are competent of
ourselves to claim anything as coming from us. Our competence is from
God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not
in a written code but in the Spirit, for the written code kills, but
the spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3,5-6)
The ideal to aim at is to be vitally united with the Holy Spirit, the
sanctifier, whose gifts and fruits would enable us to see, understand,
judge things and behave properly. This can only happen when with God’s
grace, that will always be made available, we truly take care of our
spiritual life, our life of loving relationship with God and with
others.
We cannot overemphasize the indispensable need for prayer, for a
living and vibrant faith, for unconditional charity and mercy for
everyone. Of course, all this would also presume an assiduous study of
the doctrine, the continuing development of virtues and other relevant
disciplines that are always pursued under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit and motivated primarily by love for God and others.
Everyone, but especially the clerics, should know how to develop a
life in the Spirit. It’s not enough for us to be smart and clever in
philosophy and theology, nor to have some human charm, to be effective
in pastoral accompaniment. Without the Spirit, we would simply be left
with some brilliant theories, mother statements, etc., that would
hardly have any impact on our lives. The transforming effect would be
missing.
We have to learn to discern the spirit behind everything that takes
place in our life. We cannot be naïve and just accept things as they
come. We need to check if the spirit behind anything that involves us
comes from God or not.
St. John, for example, in his first letter, warned us, “Beloved do
not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are
of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (4,1)
There are many kinds of spirits roaming around the world, and we have
to learn how to discern them. There is the spirit of God, the spirit
of Christ as opposed to the antichrist. There is also the evil spirit,
and the spirit of the world that is dominated by the evil one.
St. John was explicit as to which spirit is proper to us. “Every
spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. ” (1
Jn 4,2-3)
Only then can we be effective in pastoral accompaniment.
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