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Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.

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WHO SAID THESE WORDS?

“To all of you I appeal: Open wide your hearts to God! Let yourselves be surprised by Christ! Let him have “the right of free speech” during these days! Open the doors of your freedom to his merciful love! Share your joys and pains with Christ, and let him enlighten your minds with his light and touch your hearts with his grace.”

Don’t read on, yet….just re-read the sentences above and think of religious figures that you would guess might have said them…...

This quote comes from a marvelous BLOG recently recommended by my brother (Thanks, Victor!). Since it’s name is Pope Watch, you’ll know that it’s Benedict XVI who is being quoted. Here are Mark D. Roberts’ comments:

If I had lifted these paragraphs out of context and asked you to guess who said them, whom would you have guessed? Billy Graham? Luis Palau? Some other Protestant evangelist or well-known pastor? These are tender and passionate invitations that bespeak a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“In these days blessed with sharing and joy, may you have a liberating experience of the Church as the place where God’s merciful love reaches out to all people. In the Church and through the Church you will meet Christ, who is waiting for you.”

Now this is something you probably wouldn’t hear from many Protestant preachers, I’m sad to say. What is stated here is solidly biblical and needs to be understood by many Christians who tend to devalue the church in favor of individualistic religious experience. Of course what Benedict means by “the Church” differs in good measure from what I would mean by the same phrase. But the essential content here is right on.

I’m going to stop now, though I’m only about half way through the Pope’s welcoming address. I finish up my examination tomorrow. It will include analysis of what I find to be one of the most fascinating parts of Benedict’s address – his discussion of the relics of the Magi in the Cologne Cathedral. Stay tuned . . . .

If your knowledge of Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) comes mainly from the major media of America and Europe, you MUST read this blog—he deals with newspaper stories, with encyclicals, with speeches and how they are reported, etc.; in every case seeking to know the Pope as his actions, his writings and his speeches reveal him to be, rather than seeing him through the lens of the secular media.

It’s wonderful stuff.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/28 at 02:14 PM

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