THE MIND OF CHRIST

When we listen to the Scripture that calls on us to have the mind of Christ, we in the West go right away to theological formulas and might easily conclude that Christ's mind and the mind of the Church are one and therefore whatever the Church teaches is the mind of Christ - done ! The emphasis , like an accent mark, makes the Church the authority. For our faith She is the authority, but the point here is one of emphasis. Going directly to Christ in the Gospels, we immediately see what His mind is. Fr. Anthony Coniaris, in his book, "Confronting And Controlling Thoughts", writes, "To have the mind of Christ is to have the mind of empathy, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness." In the Gospels we see this very clearly. The Church, in various moments of its history, did not always reflect the mind of Christ - as when it developed the notion that burning people at the stake was saving them, etc. Even some priests do not always reflect the mind of Christ, as Pope Francis has said, sending sinners out of their confessionals not healed, but wounded further. But the Gospels never bend the mind of Christ. Generation after generation, they testify that, "love unto the end is the content of the Divine Person" (Sophrony).