Crossed The Tiber

An Evangelical Converts to Catholicism

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Location: Pennsylvania, United States

I was born into the Catholic faith. At 14, I was "born again" and found Jesus personally but lost His Church. After thirty years as an evangelical protestant, I have come full circle to find that He has been there all the time, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I wish others to find the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith as I have found.

Friday, April 25, 2008

"The Net of Peter has Been Broadly Cast"


It's been 5 days since Pope Benedict left NYC to head back to Rome. The papal fever has subsided and we are left with the thoughts from his sermons, the warmth and humility he displayed and a renewed sense of the unity of the faithful who came together to welcome him and learn from him.
The USCCB blog has a nice post regarding the legacy of Pope Benedict's apostolic journey:

"The net of Peter has been broadly cast. Whether in person, through cable, or on web-stream, Benedict’s interlocked words compelled a Church to unite and a nation to listen. From lawns, stadiums, cathedrals, chapels, and halls of learning and of diplomacy, the turf felt firm beneath the feet. We have to run the replay in slow motion to catch all his moves. From victims to survivors, from the culture of death to the Culture of Life, from medical care to immigration, not once did he punt. Nor can we. He handed off – or rather, handed on, the faith.

Just as in the days of old, when the disciples were sent(apostolos) to preach and exhort the faithful, we now hope to see an increase in fruit in the spiritual life of the Church in America. There has already been experienced a phenomenon known as the "papal bump" in vocations after JP 2's apostolic visits. I suspect we will see the same now with PB16.
I recorded most of his appearances on the VCR last week and have yet had time to watch them but I look forward to hearing again his exhortations to the Church. The Vatican website has all of his speeches arranged here.
For those outside the Catholic Church, I pray that his emphasis on Christ as the hope of our salvation is something all can say "Amen" to.

Universalis