Breaking News? Really?

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It's "breaking news" that (gasp) Pope Francis is allowing the blessing of gay couples. If you haven't read this Declaration you really should. (Scroll down in the document's link to read it in English.)

The Declaration comes from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (with Francis' approval) which is "the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia . . . It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine."

There is much to learn about the different types of blessings, the situations in which they are given, and what the Church continues to hold true about marriage.

Here's what the breaking news headlines will NOT tell you about the Declaration and blessings:

--No change is being made to marriage as a sacramental union between a man and a woman. (That's a good thing.)

--There are blessings that "descend," or come down from God, and blessings that "ascend," that go up, from earth to heaven, in thanksgiving. This is interesting. Be sure to read it.

--One who requests a blessing, is "expressing a petition for God’s assistance, a plea to live, and confidence in a Father who can help us live better." Think humility.

--Outside of a "liturgical framework," a blessing is informal and "external to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and of the other sacraments." Such blessings do not come from the Book of Blessings of the Church. Such blessings are not to be "carried out at the time as civil rites of a union or even in relation to them."

--The need for a blessing is a humble recognition that we are sinners and that we need God's help to live our lives in accordance with God's will.

--There should be no confusion--such an informal blessing is not the same as a proper blessing of a marriage.

--"From a strictly liturgical point of view . . . what is blessed [must] be in conformity with the will of God expressed in the teachings of the Church."

Read the declaration, not the headlines. You will be reminded of the beauty of blessings--both informal and liturgical--and you will see that Pope Francis has not gone off the rails, which so many people will now claim, in anger and dissent.

The Prefect who presented the Declaration said, "Pope Francis urged us not to 'lose pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes' and to avoid being 'judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.' Let us then respond to the Holy Father’s proposal by developing a broader understanding of blessings." (Declaration, Fiducia Supplicans, On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings)

Will you please share this post and take the time to learn more about blessings?  Trust the Holy Spirit and the Church, after all, they've been doing this for awhile now.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/


 

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