Ex-pope Benedict says "God told me" to resign

[Richard]

Wonder what it feels like to be FIRED BY GOD

Ex-pope Benedict says "God told me" to resign-report
news.yahoo.com/ex-pope-benedict-says-god-told-resign-report-104959018.html

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former Pope Benedict has said he resigned after "God told me to" during what he called a "mystical experience," a Catholic news agency reported.

Benedict, whose formal title is now Pope Emeritus, announced his shock resignation on February 11 and on February 28 became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years.

"God told me to do it," the Zenith agency quoted Benedict as saying to a visitor to the convent in the Vatican gardens where he is living out his retirement in near isolation.

According to the agency, Benedict told his visitor, who asked to remain anonymous, that God did not speak to him in a vision but in what the former pope called "a mystical experience."

[Dave]

Interesting choice of words - "mystical experience"

Lately, I have been focused on the powers and abilities of the demonic forces - powers and principalities - who act in opposition to us.

Voices - suggestions from beyond - dreams - how do we know if they are from God or somewhere else. I used to hang with some guys from South Bend Indiana. they were so wrapped up in their Pentecostal Church they they spoke in tongs on a regular bases. They even told me once that if I haven't, them I am not really saved. I knew some really good people that are Mormon. They are Mormon because they felt the spirit at a prayer meeting and they cannot deny their experience.

I do not want to take away from these experiences at all. The gift of tongs is clearly spoke to in the book of Acts. However, that gift served the purpose of spreading the Gospel, not a validation of personal faith or personal satisfaction and achievement.

My God perform miracles - not parlor tricks.

So, whenever I hear these stories i always remain somewhat skeptical and suspect.

I find it really interesting that God's message to Pope Benedict wasn't do my work better - but rather - stop doing my work, and let someone else do it.

Curious

[Richard]

The 2000 year history of Christianity is built upon God taking the average guy, or even less than average guy, and transforming them into a servant for the Lord.

Moses who ran away
Peter the lowely fisherman
Matthew the dreaded tax collector
Paul the Christian persecutor

Now God can't perfect the ministry of a Pope?
But decides to us someone else instead?

The lord does work in mysterious ways, this does seem out of sync.

[Dillon]

Maybe God is stepping up the time table for the end-times and needs to accelerate the prophecy of 'Saint' Malachi?

Pope Francis' middle name is Peter and he does have dual citizenship with Rome. Peter the Roman!

[Virginia]

Nastradamos said the "LAST" Pope will be named Peter and from Rome. I know the new Pope has dual citizenship and one is Rome but I did not know has middle name is Peter.

I just thought the Vatican would never in a million years follow Profitsie, well not the first time I was wrong.

This is scary.

[Dave]

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires as: Jorge Mario Bergoglio

When he was selected as Pope he chose the name of Pope Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi

Italian San Francesco d’Assisi, original name, the name that would have been on his Birth Certificate, if they had such things back then was: Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone

So - it is a stretch - to say his middle name is Peter
But if he chose the name Francis, then you could argue that he took the entire name of Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone

It all began in AD 533 when newly elected Mercurius deemed it inappropriate for a pope to be named after the pagan Roman god Mercury, and adopted the name John II in honour of his predecessor John I.

Since 1555 no Pope has served under his birth name, but has chosen a Saintly name from Church history; both to honor the past Saint, and to set the tone and style the new Pope wishes to live up to.

Interestingly the original Saint Francis of Assisi was never ordained to the Catholic priesthood, but became one of the most venerated religious figures in history. His legacy is the vow of extreme poverty owning zero possessions and communal living, becoming the founder of the Franciscan Order.

Of the miracles attributed to St Francis was:
In 1219, in the midst of disastrous Fifth Crusade, Francis crossed enemy lines to gain an audience with al-Kamil, the sultan of Egypt and a nephew of the great Muslim warrior Saladin, in his camp on the banks of the Nile. Francis, who opposed the warfare, hoped to bring about peace by converting the sultan to Christianity. He didn’t succeed, but came away from the peaceful encounter with revolutionary ideas that called for Christians to live harmoniously with Muslims. (Wiki)

Although unverified the Book - The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace, by Paul Moses - suggest that the Sultan offered a test to prove whose God is more powerful. He wanted both St Francis and one of his Muslim Clerics to stand in blazing fire to see which one was consumed and which one was protected. But even though none of the Muslim Clerics would enter the fire, St Francis offered to do so anyway. The Sultan changed his mind and stopped St Francis from entering the fire, but sent him away in peace with a promise of protection by the Sultan.

Do we have men of such faith as this today?