International Pope Francis has died BREAKING - New Pope Elected - American Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo the XIVth

[Anewt]

I could not image how the Right wing would react if Biden as VP shook Pope's hand and he died less than 24 hours later? FOX would devote their reports covering satan stories around the clock. Remind people that Italian PM visited Trump last week and Trump saying he would head to Italy under the request of Italian PM also a hard right conservative. He even said after the Pope passed he said I am happy to represent the Country at the Pope's Funeral. Who says anything Happy at someone who had died? The day before he had an Easter post where he said the radical liberals even radical Liberals I wish them a good Easter? Seriously? Could he not say wishing everyone a wonderful Easter and left it at that again seriously?

You are losing the plot

 

[Cajun]

Hah I’m 100% serious! There is more to this world than what we see and intend to lean in there

I don't think there is much more but good luck finding it brotha.

 

[Cajun]

I could not image how the Right wing would react if Biden as VP shook Pope's hand and he died less than 24 hours later? FOX would devote their reports covering satan stories around the clock. Remind people that Italian PM visited Trump last week and Trump saying he would head to Italy under the request of Italian PM also a hard right conservative. He even said after the Pope passed he said I am happy to represent the Country at the Pope's Funeral. Who says anything Happy at someone who had died? The day before he had an Easter post where he said the radical liberals even radical Liberals I wish them a good Easter? Seriously? Could he not say wishing everyone a wonderful Easter and left it at that again seriously?

I would think it was his time to go....

 

[Rod1]

Not for the 15 years I was a part of it

When Jesus said that thinking about fucking a woman is just as sinful as literally fucking her you can tell that Christianity is made so that everyone is a sinner.

 

[BFoe]

I’ve explored Eckert Tolles work a lot and relate to it.

Not to derail, I think Francis had it 100% right in that there are many paths to God. My only gripe was as the head of the Catholic Church, it goes against something as fundamental as the apostles creed.

As I grow older, I grow more confident in the greater world and more confident that no religion has it 100% correct.

That’s basically how I see it: all religions are trying to get to the same place/truth, just through the cultural lens of whatever place or time.
I like Elkhart Tolle too. What changed me was happening to watch Joseph Campbell’s “Power of Myth” on PBS many years ago.

I didn’t interpret your initial comment about Francis that way, I appreciate you clarifying. I mentioned I wasn’t Catholic—but my mom’s side of the family is. My mom’s aunt was a nun, in fact. It can be very restrictive. It sounds like you’re a religious/spiritual person that has maybe outgrown the constraints, and I think that’s a good thing.

 

[evergreenrider]

Go on a metaphysical journey to align my soul with the greater world.

Psychedelics will be involved

Mushrooms only brother. No synthetics, and definitely no DMT. That stuff is/was being artificially hyped for a reason.

 

[Deleted member 577981]

Still full of "everything you do is sin"

As part of a complete view of spirituality it is absolutely true that everything we do is sinful.

I realize it can be taught in a way that is terrible and often is by certain priests, but without a foundation in the poverty of spirit that comes from knowing that we are constantly sinning and broken there can be no genuine humility and because of no genuine humility, no ascent into the higher stages of prayer and union with God.

The mature Christian feels a profound peace that comes from knowing its brokenness and sinfulness. I have that peace and it is a tremendous comfort. but it also allows for genuine prayer in the way jesus meant it which opens the door of the will in a profound way and allows gods life giving powers to flow into the soul.

that leads one to deep and profound "mourning" of ones state of being and way of living which leads to meekness.

any person that reaches that stage of spirituality and who keeps god as its main focus will attain to the highest levels of prayer and union with god. a genuine taste of heaven in this life even. poverty of spirit is the rock foundation upon which the entire gift of christ is built and perfected in the soul.

its a shame so few people actually work the system as Jesus taught it and dont find it.

 

[Rob Battisti]

That’s basically how I see it: all religions are trying to get to the same place/truth, just through the cultural lens of whatever place or time.
I like Elkhart Tolle too. What changed me was happening to watch Joseph Campbell’s “Power of Myth” on PBS many years ago.

I didn’t interpret your initial comment about Francis that way, I appreciate you clarifying. I mentioned I wasn’t Catholic—but my mom’s side of the family is. My mom’s aunt was a nun, in fact. It can be very restrictive. It sounds like you’re a religious/spiritual person that has maybe outgrown the constraints, and I think that’s a good thing.

100% yeah I can see how my comments came off the opposite of how I feel.

I loved “hero of a thousand faces” which touches on the same things.

Ever look into NDEs?

 

[650lb Sumo]

I'm Catholic adjacent because my loyalties are divided 50% between Orthodox and Catholic faith.

I often agree with the Orthodox Church more on theological matters where there is any dispute, but I believe the Catholic Church produces a deeper kind of Saint on average.

But all of my theology is completely based on the writings of the saints/theologians who made up early church history. I don't hold any heretical or even really any fringe ideas that would put me at direct odds with the Catholic or Orthodox faiths.

I was also a practicing Catholic for about 10 years. Even though I am no longer practicing and that that is a problem in the eyes of the Catholic faith or the Orthodox faith, I still lay it their feet and listen to everything they teach.

As to the reasons I left the best way to boil it down without getting bogged down in details is that I am growing spiritually faster and deeper by not attending mass than if I do attend Mass. But absolutely nothing that I ever do gain spiritually, as meager as it is, could have ever been gained without the writings of the saints, the theologians and the steadfast teaching of those churches, especially the monastics.

And I don't mean that ideologically only, I mean literally the power that is transmitted in their writings. I am completely and forever in their debt for it.

Is the Eucharist Necessary for Salvation?

Is the Eucharist necessary for salvation? What does the Catholic Church teach about the necessity of the Eucharist? Find out more here.

www.catholic.com

Normatively, the faithful reception of the Eucharist is necessary for salvation for those who have reached the age of reason, as Jesus makes clear in John 6:

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

The Church further affirms this basic teaching in CCC 846. And yet the Church distinguishes between those who knowingly reject Christ and his Church with grave culpability and those who don’t (CCC 847-48).

Hah I’m 100% serious! There is more to this world than what we see and intend to lean in there

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

When Jesus said that thinking about fucking a woman is just as sinful as literally fucking her you can tell that Christianity is made so that everyone is a sinner.

I reckon I see at least 40 women every day in the city I want to fuck, I mean I don't try and do it but we're literally wired to do so.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

As part of a complete view of spirituality it is absolutely true that everything we do is sinful.

I realize it can be taught in a way that is terrible and often is by certain priests, but without a foundation in the poverty of spirit that comes from knowing that we are constantly sinning and broken there can be no genuine humility and because of no genuine humility, no ascent into the higher stages of prayer and union with God.

The mature Christian feels a profound peace that comes from knowing its brokenness and sinfulness. I have that peace and it is a tremendous comfort. but it also allows for genuine prayer in the way jesus meant it which opens the door of the will in a profound way and allows gods life giving powers to flow into the soul.

that leads one to deep and profound "mourning" of ones state of being and way of living which leads to meekness.

any person that reaches that stage of spirituality and who keeps god as its main focus will attain to the highest levels of prayer and union with god. a genuine taste of heaven in this life even. poverty of spirit is the rock foundation upon which the entire gift of christ is built and perfected in the soul.

its a shame so few people actually work the system as Jesus taught it and dont find it.

People should start thinking that we will never live to the standards that Jesus set. And that's ok.

 

[Croo67]

Weird how it’s only ever Christianity that ‘Atheists’ decry.

You never see threads or hear discussions like this on other religions.

Because there is only one true religion and they are satanists, whether they know it or not.

 

[650lb Sumo]

I reckon I see at least 40 women every day in the city I want to fuck, I mean I don't try and do it but we're literally wired to do so.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

 

[Deleted member 577981]

That’s basically how I see it: all religions are trying to get to the same place/truth, just through the cultural lens of whatever place or time.
I like Elkhart Tolle too. What changed me was happening to watch Joseph Campbell’s “Power of Myth” on PBS many years ago.

I didn’t interpret your initial comment about Francis that way, I appreciate you clarifying. I mentioned I wasn’t Catholic—but my mom’s side of the family is. My mom’s aunt was a nun, in fact. It can be very restrictive. It sounds like you’re a religious/spiritual person that has maybe outgrown the constraints, and I think that’s a good thing.

The notion that all religions lead to the same enlightenment has been completely debunked by practitioners of interfaith disciplines. Jewish enlightenment, Buddhist enlightenment, Hindu enlightenment and Christian enlightenment are absolutely not the same. There are profound differences in their states of consciousness and experience that cannot be explained away by differences in language.

I've experienced the (peak experience) of enlightenment in Christianity and Hinduism and they are profoundly dissimilar.

Not only that, but within a religion as diverse as Hinduism, there are different kinds of enlightenments even in Hinduism.

People don't realize how high a state of consciousness enlightenment is and how direct a taste of heaven it is before you die. A high degree of enlightenment is a much more profound and intimate taste of heaven than it is for people to die and have a profound near-death experience and then come back.

Buddhism's enlightenment and Christianity's enlightenment couldn't be further apart.

I'm not trying to decry the general idea that having experience with more than one religion can be helpful, but the notion that their enlightenment is the same and they're just using different languages is completely debunked at this point.

Entire books have been written on this subject by mystics who have direct experience in more than one kind.

The mystical theology of the Eastern church is a book I recommended above and it contrasts platonic enlightenment with Christian enlightenment but also Orthodox Christian versus Catholic Christian. Between Christianity and platonism, there is definitely a difference in actual character and the end is different. But between Catholicism and Orthodox church the differences are cultural and a little bit theological and you can definitely see the differences there too.

 

[BFoe]

The notion that all religions lead to the same enlightenment has been completely debunked by practitioners of interfaith disciplines. Jewish enlightenment, Buddhist enlightenment, Hindu enlightenment and Christian enlightenment are absolutely not the same. There are profound differences in their states of consciousness and experience that cannot be explained away by differences in language.

I've experienced the (peak experience) of enlightenment in Christianity and Hinduism and they are profoundly dissimilar.

Not only that, but within a religion as diverse as Hinduism, there are different kinds of enlightenments even in Hinduism.

People don't realize how high a state of consciousness enlightenment is and how direct a taste of heaven it is before you die. A high degree of enlightenment is a much more profound and intimate taste of heaven than it is for people to die and have a profound near-death experience and then come back.

Buddhism's enlightenment and Christianity's enlightenment couldn't be further apart.

I'm not trying to decry the general idea that having experience with more than one religion can be helpful, but the notion that their enlightenment is the same and they're just using different languages is completely debunked at this point.

Entire books have been written on this subject by mystics who have direct experience in more than one kind.

The mystical theology of the Eastern church is a book I recommended above and it contrasts platonic enlightenment with Christian enlightenment but also Orthodox Christian versus Catholic Christian. Between Christianity and platonism, there is definitely a difference in actual character and the end is different. But between Catholicism and Orthodox church the differences are cultural and a little bit theological and you can definitely see the differences there too.

You are welcome to believe this if you like. There wouldn’t be any purpose or value in debating it.

 

[Deleted member 577981]

You are welcome to believe this if you like. There wouldn’t be any purpose or value in debating it.

There's a ton of value in discussing it though. Just not debating it because anyone that's interested in truth is going to want to know the truth and not just hold to some preconcieved belief . The fact that there are vast differences between the enlightenment of various traditions is not a belief. There are countless books written about it from people who have mastered multiple traditions now that can attest to that. Along with numerous scholarly articles written on the subject in universities.

The difference in the Hindu tradition alone are explicitly stated in their scriptures. It's not a theory or an idea... they are explicitly stated. And it isn't up for debate whether or not they are explicitly stated. The reason the West is so naive about this is because only one kind of non-duality became popular in the states and so obviously the westerners would think that's the only enlightenment there is.


The syncretism that people like Joseph Campbell tried to bring to the world was naive but well intentioned. It was a hyperbolic overreaction and correction to the extreme separation religions felt between each other.

But a lot of deeper much more intense work has gone on since then from people that have mastered multiple traditions and they can tell you from direct experience having both kinds of enlightenment that they're not the same. I have definitely taken part in that experiment for the last 25 years, spending 5 hours a day in meditation and I've worked multiple traditions.

There are Christian authors and Buddhist authors and Hindu authors who've taken part in these experiments and who realize there's profound differences that must be preserved and taught to people so that they don't over generalize. Otherwise, we would lose the unique beauties that each tradition has found and discovered.

At this point it is a matter of knowledge and experience and not ideas.

The really interesting conversation now is no longer that they are the same, but how they are related and different and the nuances of those differences and similarities. Many scholars have gone so far as to say that there is nothing organic about spirituality at all and that there is no such thing as a universal mysticism divorced from its theology.

I could describe for you exactly what it's like to be enlightened in the Hindu tradition and the Christian tradition having had both peak experiences. And I could tell you just exactly what the differences are between them. And there are many.

 

[evergreenrider]

Weird how it’s only ever Christianity that ‘Atheists’ decry.

You never see threads or hear discussions like this on other religions.

Because there is only one true religion and they are satanists, whether they know it or not.

 

[Rod1]

As part of a complete view of spirituality it is absolutely true that everything we do is sinful.

I realize it can be taught in a way that is terrible and often is by certain priests, but without a foundation in the poverty of spirit that comes from knowing that we are constantly sinning and broken there can be no genuine humility and because of no genuine humility, no ascent into the higher stages of prayer and union with God.

The mature Christian feels a profound peace that comes from knowing its brokenness and sinfulness. I have that peace and it is a tremendous comfort. but it also allows for genuine prayer in the way jesus meant it which opens the door of the will in a profound way and allows gods life giving powers to flow into the soul.

that leads one to deep and profound "mourning" of ones state of being and way of living which leads to meekness.

any person that reaches that stage of spirituality and who keeps god as its main focus will attain to the highest levels of prayer and union with god. a genuine taste of heaven in this life even. poverty of spirit is the rock foundation upon which the entire gift of christ is built and perfected in the soul.

its a shame so few people actually work the system as Jesus taught it and dont find it.

There is a very important difference between repentant sinner and the unrepentant.

Im the later, therefore i cannot, based on my catholic upbringing, still participate in the sacraments of reconciliation and eucharist.

 

[Deleted member 577981]

There is a very important difference between repentant sinner and the unrepentant.

Im the later, therefore i cannot, based on my catholic upbringing, still participate in the sacraments of reconciliation and eucharist.

And I'm not even judging that. And I sure as heck don't want to step on your toes in any way.

I just am often shocked how few people understand what Jesus taught and what it leads to.

There was a guy talking about turning to psychedelics for some kind of spiritual awakening and I've done everything you can do 25 years ago and they don't hold a candle to what Jesus brings if you actually follow his teachings.

The peace and the joy and the love that what he taught brings is pretty dang special and rare and incredibly powerful. But it requires a serious prayer life that flowers into some kind of contemplative prayer and nobody's willing to live that life anymore and it's just so sad.

I know people that for the last 20 years of their life have never not had a profound intimacy with Christ and heaven, at least as intense as what people talk about when they talk about near-death experiences only they live their whole lives in that kind of a place.

And they're all living full incredible lives in the world too.

The only point I was making is that that brokenness and that holy sorrow and that poverty of spirit is the way to what Jesus taught. And there is no secular life or offering that even comes close.

 

[Deleted member 577981]

Is the Eucharist Necessary for Salvation?

Is the Eucharist necessary for salvation? What does the Catholic Church teach about the necessity of the Eucharist? Find out more here.

www.catholic.com

Normatively, the faithful reception of the Eucharist is necessary for salvation for those who have reached the age of reason, as Jesus makes clear in John 6:

The Church further affirms this basic teaching in CCC 846. And yet the Church distinguishes between those who knowingly reject Christ and his Church with grave culpability and those who don’t (CCC 847-48).

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

I notice no difference in my spirituality between taking communion with the Catholic church and taking it somewhere else. The spiritual effect has been the same.

And if I had a dime for every Catholic who's told me I must have their communion who doesn't have a serious prayer life and isn't even coming close to attaining higher stages of prayer I'd probably be a rich man.