Corpus Christi Blog

Pope Francis: The Church is to Come Out of Herself (Part II)

05-08-2016Weekly ReflectionFr. Chad King

The proceeding is a brief reminder of the context in which the then-Cardinal Bergoglio was speaking, followed by his second statement:

In the period leading up to a conclave, the cardinals of the Church gather in a series of meetings that are known as the "general congregations." In these meetings, they are allowed to make brief statements—known as "interventions"—about the problems they feel need to be addressed in the Church and what kind of man the next pope should be.

Before the recent conclave, Cardinal Bergoglio gave an intervention, which didn't even last four minutes but which got the attention of his brother cardinals. According to some, this speech was a major moment in his path to becoming Pope Francis. The soon-to-be Pope Francis said:

2. "When the Church does not come out of herself to evangelize, she becomes self-referential and then gets sick. (cf. The deformed woman of the Gospel [Luke 13:10-17]). The evils that, over time, happen in ecclesial institutions have their root in self-referentiality and a kind of theological narcissism. In Revelation, Jesus says that he is at the door and knocks [Rev. 3:20]. Obviously, the text refers to his knocking from the outside in order to enter but I think about the times in which Jesus knocks from within so that we will let him come out. The self-referential Church keeps Jesus Christ within herself and does not let him out."

Pope Francis uses two powerful images from Scripture to illustrate his point. First, Pope Francis is saying that the Church has been analogous to the deformed woman in Luke 13:10-17, who for 18 years is so infirmed that she is bent over and can't stand up straight. I know that as people grow older, especially those with scoliosis, their bodies tend to become bent over. Pope Francis is not saying that is a bad thing, he is just using the imagery of that kind of person. So, Francis is saying the Church is bent over and turned inside of herself instead of standing up straight and being able to evangelize the way Jesus commanded us. When the Church does not come out of herself, she becomes self-referential and becomes sick.

Too often I think we tend to think our faith is about us—"How can I become holier?" "How can I grow in faith?" "I need to do this," or "I should do that." Thus it is self-referential. We do grow in faith by praying more, as well as by cutting sin out of our lives. However, our faith can grow even more if we give it away. Our faith is not our own; it's not a possession of ours. In fact, our faith should possess us. Our faith is given to us as a gift from God, not only for our own good, but for the good of others. Also, if we are only thinking about how we as individuals need to grow in faith, or how we can grow in holiness by something that we do, without thinking about the holiness and salvation of others, then we are missing the mark. We are given the gift of faith so that we can help others to come to know God and come to salvation in Him. Our faith grows stale and old if it is stagnant, but it grows when it is usedfor the good of others.

Secondly, Pope Francis uses an image from Rev. 3:20—Jesus knocking on the door. Yes, Jesus wants to enter deep within our hearts and is knocking for us to let Him in. However, the reverse imagery Pope Francis us is also true—that once Jesus is inside a person, He desires to go out. Unfortunately, we tend to keep Him for ourselves. To truly be thankful for who God is and all He has done for and in us, we should do all we can so that God can be God in the lives of others. We should want them to have what we have—the joy, the peace, and the love that we have in Christ. The Church, which is every Christian, is not to treat Jesus as one's own property, but rather, as He who is meant to be shared withthe world. Will you let Jesus out so that He can impact the lives of others through you?

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