And it did for this guy too. Light is for seeing by, not staring at.
From Vatican News
The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during Thursday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”.
“This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.”
In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.
“And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”. And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.”
Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.”
“Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.”
“ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.”
“Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity,” he said. “When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity.
“The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze,” he said. “This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
“The spirit of curiosity generates confusion…” “….we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.
No it doesn’t – and no the spirit isn’t.
Curiosity is what has given us – or most of us lucky people in the West – warm, light, decent places to live, clean, safe, water to drink, healthy food to eat – and enabled splendid people like Burro to ameliorate our physical agony in a way that was unthinkable a century or so ago.
Worldly? Yes – because that’s where we live.
If our hero Pope Francis really said that, he should be ashamed of himself.
…But I suspect misreporting (as usual) by doltish members of the media.
“Don’t ask awkward questions”? Doh! Right!
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Toad, duh, he is speaking against spiritual curiosity that leads people away from God, not worldly curiosity which rightly drives geeks to find out how the universe works, of which I am one, btw.
Many people lose their Faith by asking questions that they haven’t the patience to await God’s answers for. God answers in His good time. Their patience runs out, and then so do they-out the door of the Church. Their trust in God is ruined by their curiosity and impatience.
God would much rather we enjoy our life in Him, than endlessly investigate it, and speculate about its deeper meaning etc.
That would be like a child who plays with his dessert, rather than scoffing it down and wanting more!
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Well, perhaps after all we do agree about some things Toad! 😉
In the hope that I am not misinterpreting the Holy Father’s words, I do not see how a healthy curiosity in all legitimate areas and subjects could be a bad thing.
I expect the HF was referring to a type of curiosity that could lead us into sin – and I can think of a few – so perhaps I’m just being a bit obtuse in not seeing this clearly expounded in the above text.
Burrito’s explanation is probably the right one.
Aa far as I know, and in all the recognised apparitions of Our Lady (e.g. Fatima, Lourdes, Rue de Bac, etc.) not one of these true visionaries has wanted any type of limelight or privileges, seeing the messages from the Mother of God as being for the whole world, and themselves as mere vessels to pass them on.
Our Lady does indeed love us all, and it is seeing how far Man has deviated from the Faith, with the dire consequences sin brings, that she comes – at certain times and in certain places – to underline Catholic teachings, to warn, chide, and restore devotion and piety towards Her Beloved Son, through her motherly intervention.
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You know, Burro, I’m endlessly fascinated by how the minds of the “religiously inclined” function by ‘compartmentalising’* their thoughts.
Educated, inquisitive men – yourself included – will surely be the among first to be intensely curious about almost all aspects of your lives, your children’s education, what mortgage is best, which car (if any) to buy, what food to eat, what books to read – and so on.
But when religion is mentioned it becomes a positive virtue to swallow anything and everything the Rabbi, or Imam, or Bishop, or Elder – chooses to spout. As we see above.
To be like little children, and believe everything Daddy tells you.
Remarkable.
Ironic also, in this very context, because some people on CP&S appear highly ‘curious’ about our beloved Pope’s thought processes.
Ought we to tell them not to be?
*hideous word.
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The Pope’s Cross is to be a mystic in an unmystic world, and in this he resembles Cassandra, who had the power of prophecy and the curse of never being understood.
The key to understanding this Pope is to take his words, shake off your own interpretation of what he has said and then examine and feed on the nutritious residue.
This works for all mystics, and also the words of Christ, unsurprisingly.
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The cat and the light thing reminds us of one of La Rochefoucauld’s wonderful maxims; “Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily.” Indisputable, of course, but I think he just as well might have said, “Neither the sun nor life can be looked at steadily.”
..and I don’t personally see the world as ‘unmystic.’ Not by a long shot. Others might.
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“God would much rather we enjoy our life in Him, than endlessly investigate it, and speculate about its deeper meaning etc.”
Well, I will defer to you on what God “…would rather do,” Burro, because I have no idea.
Clearly you have an inside track.
But how anyone can “..enjoy their life in Him,” while, for example, being swept away in a Tsunami, escapes me.
Telling themselves, “..it’s all right, it’s all part of His plan,” as they go down for the third time, I suppose.
(I know, I know. “broken record.” And the only “broken records,” permitted on CP&S are abortion and homosexuality and the lying Media.)
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