Thursday 2 May 2013

Pope Francis on the Essence of Catholic Self-Help

On Holy Thursday, 2013, this past March 28, Pope Francis gave a homily to the priests in which he mentioned the usefulness of self-help courses, but decried the lack of trust in grace that gradually develops into Pelagianism:

We need to “go out”, then, in order to experience our own anointing, its power and its redemptive efficacy: to the “outskirts” where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live our priestly life going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others, giving what little ointment we have to those who have nothing, nothing at all.

                                                                         -Pope Francis, Homily, Holy Thursday 2013

In this powerful statement, we find the entire essence of Catholic Self-Help: To help yourself develop excellent habits of action, character, sacrifice and will, while being more and more open to the thrust of grace, which erases all fear and allows us to go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others as Christ does for us.

Here at Catholic Self-Help, we do not advocate for following a self-help method and merely transplanting it into your life as a Catholic, we advocate for using self-help to help you become a better Catholic. Our goal is to get to heaven and to bring as many others to heaven with us. Good self-help is useful in this.

IMPORTANT: As the Pope stated, we do not encounter the Lord through self-searching. Where do we encounter Him? We find Him OUT THERE, on the OUTSKIRTS, where there is death, suffering, blindness; where no one will listen, where you are very uncomfortable. Excellent self-help will help to bring you out of yourself in sacrificial love for others.

It is not just to be more organized for success in life, but is it to be more organized for spiritual success, which includes all spheres of your life: Relationship with Jesus, Church, Family, Work, Personal all integrated! Organizing your time gives you more time to do charitable works.

It is not just to be more effective to people and more efficient with things, but it is to radiate Jesus Christ our blessed Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God the Father.

It is not just to be "first-class", but it is to have an interior life which is "humble" or we could say a spirit which desires "last-class", a spirit of order and humility, whose actions communicate order and humility, which are the essence of hard work and success.

It is not to believe that self-help will emancipate you. Only God will save us. It is to believe that self-help is your companion on a journey toward a greater submission to God Almighty. You already know in your heart how to sacrifice and how to submit! Good self-help can help you be more ready to give Christian charity to others, and it can help you learn to give more to others than you did previously.

For the full text of Pope Francis' homily, click the following link:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130328_messa-crismale_en.html (ENGLISH)

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