{"id":7309,"date":"2014-08-24T14:52:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith-51806\/"},"modified":"2014-08-24T14:52:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T14:52:00","slug":"pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cBrothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,\u201d he told crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 24.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cToday's Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tThe Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the \u201cSon of the Living God.\u201d Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him \u201cthat upon this rock, I will build my Church.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cIf the Lord finds in our hearts a faith \u2013 I won\u2019t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,\u201d Pope Francis said. \u201cFor this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cFor his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant \u201crock\u201d in Jesus' language of Aramaic.<\/p>\n<p>\tHe clarified that this term \u201crock\u201d referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter \u201cnot for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cJesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a 'dependable' faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis noted that Jesus' Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cOur relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, 'dependable' faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tThe Pope added that God \u201chas in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cAnd so, when he hears Simon\u2019s frank profession of faith, he calls him 'rock,' and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cEven in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,\u201d the Pope added. \u201cAnd even today, Jesus asks His disciples \u2013 that is, us, all of us \u2013 'But you, who do you say that I am?' A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cLet us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,\u201d and let us ask \u201cthrough the intercession of the Virgin Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=kn2dWkpj1CE:7_WMxP-q0z0:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/kn2dWkpj1CE\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter&#8217;s recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter&#8217;s Square on Aug. 24.<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Today&#8217;s Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tThe Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus&#8217; language of Aramaic.<\/p>\n<p>\tHe clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a &#8216;dependable&#8217; faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis noted that Jesus&#8217; Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, &#8216;dependable&#8217; faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tThe Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him &#8216;rock,&#8217; and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; &#8216;But you, who do you say that I am?&#8217; A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\t&ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\tPope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=kn2dWkpj1CE:7_WMxP-q0z0:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/kn2dWkpj1CE\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter&#039;s recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.  &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter&#039;s Square on Aug. 24.  &ldquo;Today&#039;s Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo;  The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo;  &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo;  &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo;  Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus&#039; language of Aramaic.  He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a &#039;dependable&#039; faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo;  Pope Francis noted that Jesus&#039; Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.  &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, &#039;dependable&#039; faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo;  The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo;  &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him &#039;rock,&#039; and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; &#039;But you, who do you say that I am?&#039; A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo;  &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo;  Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter&#039;s recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.  &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter&#039;s Square on Aug. 24.  &ldquo;Today&#039;s Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo;  The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo;  &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo;  &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo;  Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus&#039; language of Aramaic.  He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a &#039;dependable&#039; faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo;  Pope Francis noted that Jesus&#039; Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.  &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, &#039;dependable&#039; faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo;  The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo;  &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him &#039;rock,&#039; and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; &#039;But you, who do you say that I am?&#039; A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo;  &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo;  Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/\",\"name\":\"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith. &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 24. &ldquo;Today's Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo; The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo; &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo; &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo; Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus' language of Aramaic. He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo; &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a 'dependable' faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo; Pope Francis noted that Jesus' Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust. &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, 'dependable' faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo; The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo; &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him 'rock,' and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo; &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; 'But you, who do you say that I am?' A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo; &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo; Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?","description":"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.  &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 24.  &ldquo;Today's Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo;  The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo;  &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo;  &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo;  Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus' language of Aramaic.  He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a 'dependable' faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo;  Pope Francis noted that Jesus' Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.  &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, 'dependable' faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo;  The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo;  &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him 'rock,' and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; 'But you, who do you say that I am?' A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo;  &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo;  Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?","og_description":"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith.  &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 24.  &ldquo;Today's Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo;  The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo;  &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo;  &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo;  Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus' language of Aramaic.  He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a 'dependable' faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo;  Pope Francis noted that Jesus' Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust.  &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, 'dependable' faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo;  The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo;  &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him 'rock,' and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo;  &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; 'But you, who do you say that I am?' A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo;  &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo;  Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/","name":"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-24T14:52:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Vatican City, Aug 24, 2014 \/ 08:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- During his Angelus address Sunday Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel account of Saint Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Lord, urging those present to honestly evaluate their own faith. &ldquo;Brothers and sisters, what happened in a unique way in Saint Peter, also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ,&rdquo; he told crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 24. &ldquo;Today's Gospel challenges each of us: How is your faith? Let each of us answer in our heart. How is your faith? How is it? What does the Lord find in our hearts: a firm heart, like a rock? Or a heart like sand, that is, doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving?&rdquo; The Pope drew his remarks from Matthew 16:13-20, where St. Peter professes his faith by acknowledging Christ as the &ldquo;Son of the Living God.&rdquo; Jesus responds by calling the apostle blessed, and telling him &ldquo;that upon this rock, I will build my Church.&rdquo; &ldquo;If the Lord finds in our hearts a faith &ndash; I won&rsquo;t say perfect, but sincere, genuine, then he will see in us, too, the living rocks on which he builds his community,&rdquo; Pope Francis said. &ldquo;For this community, the foundation stone is Christ, the unique cornerstone.&rdquo; &ldquo;For his part, Peter is the rock, as the visible foundation of the unity of the Church; but every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church, today, in every part of the world.&rdquo; Pope Francis reflected on how in that exchange with Peter in the Bible, Christ bestows a new name on him since he was formerly called Simon. The pontiff invited those present to pause and consider how the name Peter meant &ldquo;rock&rdquo; in Jesus' language of Aramaic. He clarified that this term &ldquo;rock&rdquo; referred to God, and that Christ gives this name to Peter &ldquo;not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.&rdquo; &ldquo;Jesus feels a great joy in his heart, because he recognizes in Simon the hand of the father, the action of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes that God the father has given Simon a 'dependable' faith, upon which he, Jesus, can build his Church, that is, his community, that is, all of us. All of us.&rdquo; Pope Francis noted that Jesus' Church is fundamentally based on our relationship with him, which should be one of love and trust. &ldquo;Our relationship with Jesus builds the Church. And so to begin His Church Jesus needs to find in His disciples a solid faith, 'dependable' faith. This is what He must confirm at this point in the journey, and this is why he asks the question.&rdquo; The Pope added that God &ldquo;has in mind the image of building, the image of the community as an edifice.&rdquo; &ldquo;And so, when he hears Simon&rsquo;s frank profession of faith, he calls him 'rock,' and makes clear his intention of building his Church on this faith.&rdquo; &ldquo;Even in our days, many people think that Jesus is a great prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a model of justice,&rdquo; the Pope added. &ldquo;And even today, Jesus asks His disciples &ndash; that is, us, all of us &ndash; 'But you, who do you say that I am?' A prophet? A teacher of wisdom? A model of justice? How will we answer?&rdquo; &ldquo;Let us think about it. But above all let us pray to God the Father, that He will give us the answer,&rdquo; and let us ask &ldquo;through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.&rdquo; Pope Francis then lead the crowds present to repeat three times together with him: &ldquo;You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.&rdquo;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/08\/pope-francis-challenges-with-question-how-is-your-faith\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Francis challenges with question: How is your faith?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}