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| His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI |
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Jesus Is Praying for Each of Us, Explains Pope
Says Mass Is a Participation in His Last Supper Prayer
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 11, 2012 (Zenit.org).-
Benedict XVI says that Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper shows the Savior's attentiveness to each one of his individual disciples.
"In participating in the Eucharist we experience in an extraordinary way the prayer that Jesus offered,
and continually offers, for each one of us in order that evil -- which we all encounter in life -- may not have the power
to overcome us, and so that the transforming power of Christ's death and resurrection may act in us," the Pope explained.
He said that Eucharistic celebrations are a "being drawn into" the moment of Christ's prayer, "a
uniting ourselves again and again to Jesus' prayer."
"From her earliest days, the Church has understood
the words of consecration as part of her praying together with Jesus; as a central part of the praise filled with thanksgiving
through which the fruit of the earth and of men's hands are given to us anew by God in the form of Jesus' Body and Blood,"
the Holy Father noted.
He reflected that participation in the Eucharist, and "nourishing ourselves on
the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God" is a uniting of our prayer "to that of the paschal Lamb on his last night,
so that our lives might not be lost, despite our weakness and infidelity, but might be transformed."
The
Pontiff concluded with an invitation to make participation in the Eucharist the "summit of our prayer."
He suggested to ask Christ "that, by being united deeply to his own offering to the Father, we too may transform
our crosses into a free and responsible sacrifice of love to God and to our brothers and sisters."
Forwarded By : J. Justin
___________________________________________________________________
MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD
DAY OF PEACE1 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE
1. The beginning of a new year,
God’s gift to humanity, prompts me to extend to all, with great confidence and affection, my heartfelt good wishes that
this time now before us may be marked concretely by justice and peace.
With what attitude should we look to the New Year? We find a very beautiful image in Psalm 130. The Psalmist
says that people of faith wait for the Lord “more than those who watch for the morning” (v. 6); they wait for
him with firm hope because they know that he will bring light, mercy, salvation. This waiting was born of the experience of
the Chosen People, who realized that God taught them to look at the world in its truth and not to be overwhelmed by tribulation.
I invite you to look to 2012 with this attitude of confident trust. It is true that the year now ending has been marked by
a rising sense of frustration at the crisis looming over society, the world of labour and the economy, a crisis whose roots
are primarily cultural and anthropological. It seems as if a shadow has fallen over our time, preventing us from clearly seeing
the light of day.
In this shadow, however,
human hearts continue to wait for the dawn of which the Psalmist speaks. Because this expectation is particularly powerful
and evident in young people, my thoughts turn to them and to the contribution which they can and must make to society. I would
like therefore to devote this message for the XLV World Day of Peace to the theme of education: “Educating
Young People in Justice and Peace”, in the conviction that the young, with their enthusiasm and idealism, can
offer new hope to the world.
My Message
is also addressed to parents, families and all those involved in the area of education and formation, as well as to leaders
in the various spheres of religious, social, political, economic and cultural life and in the media. Attentiveness to young
people and their concerns, the ability to listen to them and appreciate them, is not merely something expedient; it represents
a primary duty for society as a whole, for the sake of building a future of justice and peace.
It is a matter of communicating to young people an appreciation for the positive
value of life and of awakening in them a desire to spend their lives in the service of the Good. This is a task which engages
each of us personally.
The concerns expressed
in recent times by many young people around the world demonstrate that they desire to look to the future with solid hope.
At the present time, they are experiencing apprehension about many things: they want to receive an education which prepares
them more fully to deal with the real world, they see how difficult it is to form a family and to find stable employment;
they wonder if they can really contribute to political, cultural and economic life in order to build a society with a more
human and fraternal face.
It is important
that this unease and its underlying idealism receive due attention at every level of society. The Church looks to young people
with hope and confidence; she encourages them to seek truth, to defend the common good, to be open to the world around them
and willing to see “new things” (Is 42:9; 48:6).
Educators
2. Education is
the most interesting and difficult adventure in life. Educating – from the Latineducere – means
leading young people to move beyond themselves and introducing them to reality, towards a fullness that leads to growth. This
process is fostered by the encounter of two freedoms, that of adults and that of the young. It calls for responsibility on
the part of the learners, who must be open to being led to the knowledge of reality, and on the part of educators, who must
be ready to give of themselves. For this reason, today more than ever we need authentic witnesses, and not simply people who
parcel out rules and facts; we need witnesses capable of seeing farther than others because their life is so much broader.
A witness is someone who first lives the life that he proposes to others.Where does true education in peace and justice take place? First of all, in the family, since parents are the first
educators.
The family is the primary cell of society; “it is in the family that children learn the
human and Christian values which enable them to have a constructive and peaceful coexistence. It is in the family that they
learn solidarity between the generations, respect for rules, forgiveness and how to welcome others.” (1) The
family is the first school in which we are trained in justice and peace.
We are living in a world where families, and life itself, are constantly threatened and not infrequently fragmented.
Working conditions which are often incompatible with family responsibilities, worries about the future, the frenetic pace
of life, the need to move frequently to ensure an adequate livelihood, to say nothing of mere survival – all this makes
it hard to ensure that children receive one of the most precious of treasures: the presence of their parents. This presence
makes it possible to share more deeply in the journey of life and thus to pass on experiences and convictions gained with
the passing of the years, experiences and convictions which can only be communicated by spending time together. I would urge
parents not to grow disheartened! May they encourage children by the example of their lives to put their hope before all else
in God, the one source of authentic justice and peace.
I would also like to address a word to those in charge of educational institutions: with a great sense of responsibility
may they ensure that the dignity of each person is always respected and appreciated. Let them be concerned that every young
person be able to discover his or her own vocation and helped to develop his or her God-given gifts. May they reassure families
that their children can receive an education that does not conflict with their consciences and their religious principles.
Every educational setting can be a place of openness to the
transcendent and to others; a place of dialogue, cohesiveness and attentive listening, where young people feel appreciated
for their personal abilities and inner riches, and can learn to esteem their brothers and sisters. May young people be taught
to savour the joy which comes from the daily exercise of charity and compassion towards others and from taking an active part
in the building of a more humane and fraternal society.
I ask political leaders to offer concrete assistance to families and educational institutions in the exercise
of their right and duty to educate. Adequate support should never be lacking to parents in their task. Let them ensure that
no one is ever denied access to education and that families are able freely to choose the educational structures they consider
most suitable for their children. Let them be committed to reuniting families separated by the need to earn a living. Let
them give young people a transparent image of politics as a genuine service to the good of all.
I cannot fail also to appeal to the world of the media to offer its own contribution
to education. In today’s society the mass media have a particular role: they not only inform but also form the minds
of their audiences, and so they can make a significant contribution to the education of young people. It is important never
to forget that the connection between education and communication is extremely close: education takes place through communication,
which influences, for better or worse, the formation of the person.
Young people too need to have the courage to live by the same high standards that they set for others. Theirs
is a great responsibility: may they find the strength to make good and wise use of their freedom. They too are responsible
for their education, including their education in justice and peace!
Educating in truth and freedom
3. Saint Augustine once asked: “Quid enim fortius desiderat anima quam veritatem? – What does
man desire more deeply than truth?”(2) The human face of a society depends very much on the contribution of education
to keep this irrepressible question alive. Education, indeed, is concerned with the integral formation of the person, including
the moral and spiritual dimension, focused upon man’s final end and the good of the society to which he belongs. Therefore,
in order to educate in truth, it is necessary first and foremost to know who the human person is, to know human nature. Contemplating
the world around him, the Psalmist reflects: “When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars
which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4-5).
This is the fundamental question that must be asked: who is man? Man is a being who bears within his
heart a thirst for the infinite, a thirst for truth – a truth which is not partial but capable of explaining life’s
meaning – since he was created in the image and likeness of God.
The grateful recognition that life
is an inestimable gift, then, leads to the discovery of one’s own profound dignity and the inviolability of every single
person. Hence the first step in education is learning to recognize the Creator’s image in man, and consequently learning
to have a profound respect for every human being and helping others to live a life consonant with this supreme dignity. We
must never forget that “authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension”(3),
including the transcendent dimension, and that the person cannot be sacrificed for the sake of attaining a particular good,
whether this be economic or social, individual or collective.
Only in relation to God does man come to understand also the meaning of human freedom. It is the task of education
to form people in authentic freedom. This is not the absence of constraint or the supremacy of free will, it is not the absolutism
of the self. When man believes himself to be absolute, to depend on nothing and no one, to be able to do anything he wants,
he ends up contradicting the truth of his own being and forfeiting his freedom. On the contrary, man is a relational being,
who lives in relationship with others and especially with God. Authentic freedom can never be attained independently of God.
Freedom is a precious value, but a fragile one; it can be misunderstood
and misused. “Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of educating is the massive presence in our society
and culture of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with
its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another,
locking each person into his or her own self. With such a relativistic horizon, therefore, real education is not possible
without the light of the truth; sooner or later, every person is in fact condemned to doubting the goodness of his or her
own life and the relationships of which it consists, the validity of his or her commitment to build with others something
in common”(4).
In order to exercise
his freedom, then, man must move beyond the relativistic horizon and come to know the truth about himself and the truth about
good and evil. Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law that he did not lay upon himself, but which he must obey. Its
voice calls him to love and to do what is good, to avoid evil and to take responsibility for the good he does and the evil
he commits(5). Thus, the exercise of freedom is intimately linked to the natural moral law, which is universal in character,
expresses the dignity of every person and forms the basis of fundamental human rights and duties: consequently, in the final
analysis, it forms the basis for just and peaceful coexistence.
The right use of freedom, then, is central to the promotion of justice and peace, which require respect for
oneself and others, including those whose way of being and living differs greatly from one’s own. This attitude engenders
the elements without which peace and justice remain merely words without content: mutual trust, the capacity to hold constructive
dialogue, the possibility of forgiveness, which one constantly wishes to receive but finds hard to bestow, mutual charity,
compassion towards the weakest, as well as readiness to make sacrifices.
Educating in justice
4. In
this world of ours, in which, despite the profession of good intentions, the value of the person, of human dignity and human
rights is seriously threatened by the widespread tendency to have recourse exclusively to the criteria of utility, profit
and material possessions, it is important not to detach the concept of justice from its transcendent roots. Justice, indeed,
is not simply a human convention, since what is just is ultimately determined not by positive law, but by the profound identity
of the human being. It is the integral vision of man that saves us from falling into a contractual conception of justice and
enables us to locate justice within the horizon of solidarity and love(6).
We cannot ignore the fact that some currents of modern culture, built upon rationalist and individualist economic
principles, have cut off the concept of justice from its transcendent roots, detaching it from charity and solidarity: “The
‘earthly city’ is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental
extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God’s love in human relationships
as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world”(7).
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6). They shall be satisfied because they hunger and thirst for
right relations with God, with themselves, with their brothers and sisters, and with the whole of creation.
Educating in peace
5. “Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers
between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among
men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity.”8 We Christians believe
that Christ is our true peace: in him, by his Cross, God has reconciled the world to himself and has broken down the walls
of division that separated us from one another (cf. Eph 2:14-18); in him, there is but one family,
reconciled in love.
Peace, however, is not
merely a gift to be received: it is also a task to be undertaken. In order to be true peacemakers, we must educate ourselves
in compassion, solidarity, working together, fraternity, in being active within the community and concerned to raise awareness
about national and international issues and the importance of seeking adequate mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth,
the promotion of growth, cooperation for development and conflict resolution. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called sons of God”, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:9).
Peace for all is the fruit of justice for all, and no one can
shirk this essential task of promoting justice, according to one’s particular areas of competence and responsibility.
To the young, who have such a strong attachment to ideals, I extend a particular invitation to be patient and persevering
in seeking justice and peace, in cultivating the taste for what is just and true, even when it involves sacrifice and swimming
against the tide.
Raising one’s eyes
to God
6. Before the difficult challenge
of walking the paths of justice and peace, we may be tempted to ask, in the words of the Psalmist: “I lift up my eyes
to the mountains: from where shall come my help?” (Ps 121:1).To all, and to young people in particular, I wish to say emphatically: “It is not
ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor
of what is really good and true … an unconditional return to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the
same time is everlasting love. And what could ever save us apart from love?”(9) Love takes delight in truth, it is the
force that enables us to make a commitment to truth, to justice, to peace, because it bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-13).
Dear young people, you are a precious gift for society. Do not yield to discouragement in the face of difficulties
and do not abandon yourselves to false solutions which often seem the easiest way to overcome problems. Do not be afraid to
make a commitment, to face hard work and sacrifice, to choose the paths that demand fidelity and constancy, humility and dedication.
Be confident in your youth and its profound desires for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love! Live fully this time in
your life so rich and so full of enthusiasm.
Realize that you yourselves are an example and an inspiration to adults, even more so to the extent that you seek to overcome
injustice and corruption and strive to build a better future. Be aware of your potential; never become self-centred but work
for a brighter future for all. You are never alone. The Church has confidence in you, follows you, encourages you and wishes
to offer you the most precious gift she has: the opportunity to raise your eyes to God, to encounter Jesus Christ, who is
himself justice and peace.
All you men and women throughout the world, who take to heart the
cause of peace: peace is not a blessing already attained, but rather a goal to which each and all of us must aspire. Let us
look with greater hope to the future; let us encourage one another on our journey; let us work together to give our world
a more humane and fraternal face; and let us feel a common responsibility towards present and future generations, especially
in the task of training them to be people of peace and builders of peace. With these thoughts I offer my reflections and I
appeal to everyone: let us pool our spiritual, moral and material resources for the great goal of “educating young people
in justice and peace”.
Forwarded
by J. Justin________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pope's Christmas Eve Homily "A
Child, in All Its Weakness, Is Mighty God" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's homily tonight at Christmas Eve Mass.
* * *Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word "apparuit",
which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – "there has appeared". This is a programmatic
word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. Formerly, people had spoken of God and
formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways. God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf.
Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: he has appeared. He has revealed himself. He has
emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells. He himself has come into our midst. This was the great joy of Christmas
for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the
basis of mere words. He has "appeared". But now we ask: how has he appeared? Who is he in reality? The reading at
the Dawn Mass goes on to say: "the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed" (Tit 3:4). For
the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself
might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real "epiphany", the great light
that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are
asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful
and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world. "The kindness and love
of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed": this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.
In all three Christmas Masses, the liturgy quotes a passage
from the Prophet Isaiah, which describes the epiphany that took place at Christmas in greater detail: "A child is born
for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,
Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end" (Is 9:5f.). Whether the prophet had
a particular child in mind, born during his own period of history, we do not know. But it seems impossible. This is the only
text in the Old Testament in which it is said of a child, of a human being: his name will be Mighty-God, Eternal-Father. We
are presented with a vision that extends far beyond the historical moment into the mysterious, into the future. A child, in
all its weakness, is Mighty God. A child, in all its neediness and dependence, is Eternal Father. And his peace "has
no end". The prophet had previously described the child as "a great light" and had said of the peace he would
usher in that the rod of the oppressor, the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood would be burned (Is 9:1, 3-4).
God has appeared – as a child. It is in this guise
that he pits himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace. At this hour, when the world is continually
threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’
rods and bloodstained cloaks, we cry out to the Lord: O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself
to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph. And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with
you. We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world,
and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’
rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of
ours.
Christmas is an epiphany –
the appearing of God and of his great light in a child that is born for us. Born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palaces
of kings. In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of
hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came to light. Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas "the feast of
feasts" – above all other feasts – and he celebrated it with "unutterable devotion" (2 Celano 199;
Fonti Francescane, 787). He kissed images of the Christ-child with great devotion and he stammered tender words such as children
say, so Thomas of Celano tells us (ibid.). For the early Church, the feast of feasts was Easter: in the Resurrection Christ
had flung open the doors of death and in so doing had radically changed the world: he had made a place for man in God himself.
Now, Francis neither changed nor intended to change this objective order of precedence among the feasts, the inner structure
of the faith centred on the Paschal Mystery. And yet through him and the character of his faith, something new took place:
Francis discovered Jesus’ humanity in an entirely new depth. This human existence of God became most visible to him
at the moment when God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The Resurrection
presupposes the Incarnation. For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression
on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love. "The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind
were revealed" – this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth. In the child born in the stable
at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God. And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is
above all a feast of the heart.
This has
nothing to do with sentimentality. It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the
great mystery of faith is revealed. Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s
humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made himself
dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love – our love. Today Christmas
has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us
to humility and simplicity. Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover
behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light.
Francis arranged for Mass to be celebrated on the manger that stood between
the ox and the ass (cf. 1 Celano 85; Fonti 469). Later, an altar was built over this manger, so that where animals had once
fed on hay, men could now receive the flesh of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, for the salvation of soul and body, as Thomas
of Celano tells us (cf. 1 Celano 87; Fonti 471). Francis himself, as a deacon, had sung the Christmas Gospel on the holy night
in Greccio with resounding voice. Through the friars’ radiant Christmas singing, the whole celebration seemed to be
a great outburst of joy (1 Celano 85.86; Fonti 469, 470). It was the encounter with God’s humility that caused this
joy – his goodness creates the true feast.
Today, anyone wishing to enter the Church of Jesus’ Nativity in Bethlehem will find that the doorway
five and a half metres high, through which emperors and caliphs used to enter the building, is now largely walled up. Only
a low opening of one and a half metres has remained. The intention was probably to provide the church with better protection
from attack, but above all to prevent people from entering God’s house on horseback. Anyone wishing to enter the place
of Jesus’ birth has to bend down. It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts
on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our "enlightened"
reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God’s closeness.
We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis – the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity
which enables the heart to see. We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the
portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions – the God who conceals himself
in the humility of a newborn baby. In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation
on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped. Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals
himself to the simple of heart. And let us also pray especially at this hour for all who have to celebrate Christmas in poverty,
in suffering, as migrants, that a ray of God’s kindness may shine upon them, that they – and we – may be
touched by the kindness that God chose to bring into the world through the birth of his Son in a stable. Amen. Forwarded by J. Justin___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pope Benedict XVI
Vatican City,
Oct 15, 2011 / 03:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Today Pope Benedict XVI told over
8,000 Catholics involved in the “new evangelization” that he has every confidence they can return their respective
nations to Jesus Christ.
“Seeing all of you and knowing the hard work that everyone of you places at
the service of the mission, I am convinced that the new evangelists will multiply more and more to create the true transformation
which the world of today needs,” the Pope said Oct. 15. in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall.
The Pope
was addressing a conference entitled “New Evangelizers for the New Evangelization - The Word of God grows and spreads,”
organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
Noting that the title of the conference
was drawn from a phrase often used in the Acts of the Apostles, the biblical account of the early Catholic Church, the Pope
suggested that modern society still yearns for God, just as it did 2,000 years ago.
“Modern man is often confused and cannot find answers to the many questions which
trouble his mind in reference to the meaning of life,” said the Pope. And yet, he observed, man “cannot avoid these questions which touch on the very meaning of self and of reality.”
Consequently, modern man often despairs and simply withdraws from “the search for the essential meaning of life,”
settling instead for “things which give him fleeting happiness, a moment’s satisfaction, but which soon leave
him unhappy and unsatisfied.”
It was with such people in mind, that Pope Benedict said he created
the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization last year. The council is charged with spearheading the re-evangelization
of traditionally Christian countries that have been particularly affected by secularization in recent decades.
As
he spoke to the thousands of evangelists from around the world, the Pope gave them three reasons for hope in their mission.
He first reminded them that “the power of
the Word does not depend primarily on our action” but on God. Secondly, he said that even in the modern world “there
continues to be the good soil” into which the word of God will fall and produce “good fruit.” And lastly,
he counseled the missionaries that despite “indifference, misunderstanding,” and “persecution,” there
are still many people willing to “courageously open their hearts and minds to accept the invitation of Christ,”
and become missionaries themselves. Those gathered in the audience hall heard testimony from those involved in various
new movements, schools of catechesis and evangelizing projects. “I
felt it very important to be here today as a witness for our young people working in the new evangelization,” said 29-year-old
Patrick Muldoon from Dublin, Ireland. He was at the Vatican gathering with 19 others from the Emmanuel School of Mission,
a Rome-based project that prepares young people to be Catholic missionaries.
“We’ve all left jobs
and studies to come to Rome for one year to spend that year for God and we really feel that in our own lives we can be great
witnesses to other young people,” said Patrick. Standing
next to him was 22-year-old Haydi Koussa from Cairo, Egypt. She felt the meeting was “a great opportunity to learn
new ways of carrying out evangelization, particularly in my home country.” “The new evangelization is there,” Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, England remarked to CNA.
He is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
“It’s there
in groups of young people who are already gathering together to witness to the faith with a new strength and a new courage,”
the archbishop said, adding that this is particularly important “in those places where our young people can be influential
– such as their places of work and study.”
Before
imparting his blessing on the crowd, Pope Benedict asked them to continue to “be signs of hope, able to look to the
future with the certainty that comes from the Lord Jesus, who has conquered death and gave us eternal life.” He entrusted
them to the protection of the Virgin Mary, “star of the new evangelization.”
Forwarded
By J. Justin
___________________________________________________________________________
On Mary's "Yes"
"In All Our Cares We Need Have No Fear, God Is Good"
FREIBURG, Germany, SEPT. 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered before praying the midday Angelus with
those gathered at the Freiburg airport, and after celebrating the last public Mass of his four-day state visit to his native
Germany.
* * *
Dear Sisters and Brothers!
At the end of this solemn celebration of holy Mass we now pray the Angelus together. This
prayer constantly reminds us of the historical beginnings of our salvation. The Archangel Gabriel presents God's plan of salvation
to the Virgin Mary, by which she was to become the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary was fearful, but the angel of the Lord spoke
a word of comfort to her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God." So Mary is able to respond
with her great "yes". This "yes", by which she accepts to become the handmaid of the Lord, is the trusting
"yes" to God's plan, to our salvation. And she finally addresses her "yes" to us all, whom she received
as her children entrusted to her at the foot of the Cross (cf. Jn19:27). She never withdraws this promise. And so she
is called happy, or rather blessed, for believing that what was promised her by the Lord would be fulfilled (cf. Lk 1:45).
As we pray this Angelus, we may join Mary in her "yes", we may adhere trustingly to
the beauty of God's plan and to the providence that he has assigned to us in his grace. Then God's love will also, as it were,
take flesh in our lives, becoming ever more tangible. In all our cares we need have no fear. God is good. At the same time
we know that we are sustained by the fellowship of the many believers who are now praying the Angelus with us throughout
the world, via radio and television.
Forwarded by J. Justin
__________________________________________________________________________
Vatican Message for 2011 World Tourism Day "The
Meeting of ... Cultures Permits an Enrichment of Each One's Own Reality"VATICAN CITY, JULY 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is the message of the Pontifical Council for Migrants
and Travelers for the 2011 World Tourism Day, which will be observed Sept. 27 with the theme "Tourism Linking Cultures."The message, released Wednesday, was signed by Archbishop Antonio
Maria Vegliò and Bishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, president and secretary of the dicastery, respectively.* * *
On September 27, we celebrate the World Tourism Day, promoted by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),
which has enjoyed even from its very first celebration in 1980 the support of the Holy See.
The theme of this year, "Tourism Linking Cultures," wishes to highlight
the importance that traveling has in the meeting of the different cultures of the world, especially in our present day world
where more than ninety million people travel internationally, favored thus by modern means of communication and lower associated
costs.In this way, tourism presents itself as "breaking
down barriers across cultures and fostering tolerance, respect and mutual understanding. In our often divided world, these
values represent the stepping stones towards a more peaceful future."[1] With a broad concept of culture that includes
-- besides the history or artistic and ethnographic patrimony -- the lifestyles, relationships, beliefs, and values, we not
only affirm the existence of cultural diversity, but in line with the magisterium of the Church, we value it as indeed positive.
Thus "once diversity has been accepted as a positive factor, it is necessary to ensure that people not only accept the
existence of other cultures," as Benedict XVI affirms, "but also desire to be enriched by them," [2] welcoming
the true, good, and beautiful therein.
To achieve this objective, tourism extends to us all its possibilities. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism affirms that
"when practiced with a sufficiently open mind, it is an irreplaceable factor of self-education, mutual tolerance and
for learning about the legitimate differences between peoples and cultures and their diversity."[3] This, by its very
nature, can favor meeting as well as dialogue, as it places one in contact with other places, traditions, manners of living,
and other forms of seeing the world and conceiving history. For all of these reasons, tourism is certainly a privileged event.However, regarding dialogue, the first condition that is required
is that of knowing how to listen, to want to be questioned by the other, desiring to discover the message within each monument,
cultural manifestation, all of this being done with respect, without prejudice or exclusion, and avoiding biased readings.
It is thus equally important "to know how to welcome" as to "know how to travel." This means that tourism
should be organized with respect for the peculiar nature, laws, and customs of the receiving countries, all of which the tourists
themselves should be acquainted with before their departure so as to better understand the place they are going to visit.
That being said, also those communities receiving tourists and professional agents should know the lifestyles and expectations
of the tourists that visit them.[4] Given the fact that every culture contains in itself certain limits, the meeting of different
cultures permits an enrichment of each one's own reality. This is evident in the affirmation of Blessed John Paul II that
"the 'difference' which some find so threatening can, through respectful dialogue, become the source of a deeper understanding
of the mystery of human existence."[5] One objective of our pastoral care of tourism will certainly be to educate and
prepare Christians so that these cultural encounters are productive in their travels and not lost opportunities, but contrarily,
that they would truly serve as a personal enrichment, helping to know the other, and to know one's self.
In this dialogue that produces the fruit of linking cultures, we are
convinced that the Church has much to contribute. "In the cultural arena too," teaches Benedict XVI, "Christianity
must offer to all a most powerful force of renewal and exaltation, that is, the Love of God who makes himself human love."[6]
The cultural patrimony of the Church is indeed immense, understood in the broad sense that we previously explained, which
arises from the experience of faith, of the encounter between culture and the Gospel, as the fruit of the profound religious
experience of the Christian community. Certainly, the works of art and historical memory have an enormous potential to evangelize,
in as much as they are placed in the context of the via pulchritudinis, the way of beauty, which is "a privileged and
fascinating path on which to approach the Mystery of God."[7] It must be an objective priority of our pastoral care of
tourism to show the true meaning of this cultural heritage, born from faith and for the glory of God. Along these lines, the
words of Blessed John Paul II directed toward workers in the pastoral care of tourism still resound: "You are cooperating
in forming an outlook which is also a type of reawakening of the soul to the things of the spirit by helping visitors to get
back to the sources of faith which built these edifices, and by making visible the Church of living stones which Christian
communities are made of."[8] It is therefore important that we present this patrimony in its authenticity, illustrating
its true religious nature, placing it in the liturgical context in which and for which it was born.
As we are conscious that the Church "exists in order to evangelize,"
[9] we must always ask ourselves: How can we welcome people in holy places so that they come to better know and love the Lord?
How can we facilitate an encounter between God and each one of the people that are there welcomed? It must be highlighted
that, in the first place, the importance of an adequate welcome, "should take into consideration the specific characteristics
of each group and each individual, the yearnings of their hearts and their authentic spiritual needs" [10] and is manifested
by a variety of elements: from the simple details to the personal availability to listen, to the accompaniment throughout
the duration of the stay.
In this regard,
and with the objective of promoting this intercultural dialogue and taking advantage of our cultural patrimony at the service
of evangelization, it is fitting to adopt a series of concrete pastoral initiatives. All of these must be integrated into
a broad program of interpretation that, together with historical-cultural information, illustrates in a clear and accessible
way the original and profound religious meaning of these cultural manifestations, using for this modern and attractive means,
and taking advantage of the personal and technological resources that are at our disposal.
Among these concrete proposals there is the elaboration of the idea of touristic
travel offering visitation to the places that are most important in the religious and cultural patrimony of the diocese. Along
with this, broad time periods of open hours should be favored, thus making available an adequate welcoming. In this way, the
spiritual and cultural formation of tourist guides is important, and thus one can see the value in the possibility of creating
organizations of catholic tour guides. With this, the elaboration of "local publications in the guise of tourist guides,
Web pages, or specialized journals on patrimony, with the pedagogical aim of highlighting the soul, inspiration and message
of works, scientific analysis is thereby put at the service of a deeper understanding of the work."[11] We cannot allow
ourselves to view the tourist visit as simply a step in pre-evangelization, but on the contrary, we must see it as a platform
to realize the clear and explicit announcement of Jesus Christ.
I would like now also to take advantage of this opportunity to officially announce the celebration of VII World Congress
on the Pastoral Care of Tourism, that will take place in Cancun (Mexico) the week of April 23-27, 2012. This event, organized
by our pontifical council in collaboration with the Mexican Episcopal Conference and the Prelature of Cancun-Chetumal, will
certainly be an important opportunity to continue the consideration of concrete proposals that the pastoral care of tourism
requires in the present times.
+ Antonio
Maria Vegliò, President+ Joseph Kalathiparambil,
Secretary
NOTES[1] TALEB RIFAI, UNWTO Secretary-General, World Tourism Day Message 2011.[2] BENEDICT XVI, Letter on the Occasion of the Study Day Organized
by the Pontifical Councils for Interreligious Dialogue and for Culture on the theme "Culture and Religions in Dialogue",
3 December 2008.[3] WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION, Global
Code of Ethics for Tourism, 1 October 1999, art. 2 § 1.[4]
Cfr. WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION, Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, 1 October 1999, art. 1.[5] JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Fiftieth General Assembly of the United Nations
Organization, 5 October 1995, n. 10.[6] BENEDICT XVI,
Address to the Participants in the Study Convention on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Pontifical Council for
Culture, 15 June 2007.[7] BENEDICT XVI, General Audience,
18 November 2009.[8] John Paul II, Discourse to the
Participants at the 4th World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Tourism, 17 November 1990, n. 4.[9] PAUL VI, Apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 8 December 1975, n. 14.[10] PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT
PEOPLE, The Shrine. Memory, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God, 8 May 1999, n. 12.[11] PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE, Concluding Document of the Plenary Assembly "The
Via Pulchritudinis, Privileged Pathway for Evangelization and Dialogue", 27-28 March 2006.
Forwarded
By J. Justin
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for 2011
Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions--particular things that he wishes
all Catholics to pray for that month.Pope Benedict
offers two intentions every month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity.
JANUARY
General:
Care for Creation
That the riches of creation be preserved,
valued and made available to all, as a precious gifts from God to mankind.
Missionary:
Unity
of Christians
That Christians may attain full unity, witnessing to all the universal fatherhood of God.
FEBRUARY
General:
The Family
That all may respect the family and recognize it for its unmatched contribution to the advancement of society.
Missionary:
Those Suffering from Disease
That Christian communities may witness
to the presence of Christ in serving those who suffer from disease in those mission territories where the fight against disease
is most urgent.
MARCH
General:
Latin American nations
That the nations of Latin America may walk in fidelity to the Gospel and progress in justice and peace.
Missionary:
Persecuted Christians
That the Holy Spirit may give light and strength to those in many regions
of the world who are persecuted and discriminated against because of the Gospel.
APRIL
General:
Evangelizing the New Generations
That through its compelling preaching of
the Gospel, the Church may give young people new reasons for life and hope.
Missionary:
Missionary
Expansion
That by proclamation of the Gospel and the witness of their lives, missionaries may bring Christ
to those who do not yet know him.
MAY
General:
Communication
Media
That those working in communication media may respect the truth, solidarity, and dignity of all people.
Missionary:
Church in China
That the Lord may help the Church in China
persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and grow in unity.
JUNE
General:
Priests
That priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses to the caring
and merciful love of God.
Missionary:
Missionary Vocations
That the
Holy Spirit may bring forth from our communities many missionaries who are ready to be fully consecrated to spreading the
Kingdom of God.
JULY
General:
Those Suffering with
AIDS
That Christ may ease the physical and spiritual sufferings of those who are sick with AIDS, especially
in the poorest countries.
Missionary:
Religious Missionary Women
That
religious women in mission territories may be witnesses of the joy of the Gospel and living signs of the love of Christ.
AUGUST
General:
World Youth Day
That
World Youth Day in Madrid may encourage young people throughout the world to have their lives rooted and built up in Christ.
Missionary:
Western Christians
That Western Christians may be open to
the action of the Holy Spirit and rediscover the freshness and enthusiasm of their faith.
SEPTEMBER
General:
Teachers
That all teachers may know how to communicate
love of the truth and instill authentic moral and spiritual values.
Missionary:
Church
in Asia
That the Christian communities of Asia may proclaim the Gospel with fervor, witnessing to its beauty
with the joy of faith.
OCTOBER
General:
The Terminally
Ill
That the terminally ill may be supported by their faith in God and the love of their brothers and sisters.
Missionary:
World Mission Day
That the celebration of World Mission Day
may foster in the People of God a passion for evangelization with the willingness to support the missions with prayer and
economic aid for the poorest Churches.
NOVEMBER
General:
Eastern
Catholic Churches
That the Eastern Catholic Churches and their venerable traditions may be known and esteemed
as a spiritual treasure for the whole Church.
Missionary:
Justice and Reconciliation
in Africa
That the African continent may find strength in Christ to pursue justice and reconciliation as set
forth by the second Synod of African Bishops.
DECEMBER
General:
Peace among All Peoples
That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding
and respect.
Missionary:
Children and Youth
That children and young
people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation.
Forwarded by J.Justin
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Benedict XVI: "The beatification of John Paul II
is a joy for those who knew him"2011-01-17 17:54:51
January 17, 2011. Amidst
a cheering crowd during the Angelus, the Pope spoke about the coming beatification of John Paul II to be held on May 1. “On 1 May I will have the joy of proclaiming the Venerable
Pope John Paul II, my predecessor, as a blessed. The date chosen is very significant because it will, in fact, be the second
Sunday of Easter which he himself dedicated to Divine Mercy and on the eve of which his earthly life came to an end.”
Benedict XVI said that this beatification
is a source of personal joy to him and to all those who knew John Paul II.
Benedict XVI“Those
who knew him, those who respected and loved him cannot but share in the Church's joy at this event.”
The beatification of John Paul II will be a historic
event, in the last ten centuries no pope has beatified his predecessor. Throughout history 78 popes have been named saints
and only 10 are blessed. It's estimated that some two million pilgrims will converge on Rome for the ceremony.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi assured an invitation is not required to attend the ceremony. Everyone traveling
to Rome is welcome.
Preparations are already underway in the chapel of St. Peter's Basilica
that will host the body of John Paul II before May 1.
Vatican workers are preparing the chapel of Saint Sebastian,
which until now has housed the remains of the pope from 1689, Innocent XI.
During the ceremony
on May 1, we will also find out what day will be assigned to the liturgical feast of the future Blessed John Paul II.
Forwarded
by J. Justin ___________________________________________________________________________________-
Benedict XVI to Beatify John Paul II
Pontiff's
Great Fame of Sanctity Acknowledged
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is planning to preside over the beatification rite for John Paul II on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday, in the
Vatican.
A communiqué from the Congregation for Saints' Causes announced that today the Pope, in an
audience with the congregation's prefect, Cardinal Angelo Amato, "authorized the dicastery to promulgate the decree of
the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)."
This was the final step in the process preceding the beatification rite, which will be celebrated on Divine Mercy
Sunday, a feast day instituted by John Paul II.
The communiqué noted: "It is well known
that, by pontifical dispensation, his cause began before the end of the five-year period which the current norms stipulate
must pass following the death of a Servant of God.
"This provision was solicited by the great
fame of sanctity which Pope John Paul II enjoyed during his life, in his death and after his death.
"In
all other ways, the normal canonical dispositions concerning causes of beatification and canonization were observed in full."
The diocesan investigation into the cause for beatification of the Pontiff took place between June 2005 and
April 2007. On Dec. 19, 2009, Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree on his predecessor's heroic virtue.
Miracle
The congregation then examined the report of a miraculous healing through the
intercession of John Paul II: the cure from Parkinson's disease of Sister Marie Simon Pierre Normand of the Little Sisters
of Catholic Motherhood.
The reports of medical and legal experts on the French nun's healing were submitted
to the dicastery for scientific examination last Oct. 21.
The congregation noted that its experts,
"having studied the depositions and the entire documentation with their customary scrupulousness, expressed their agreement
concerning the scientifically inexplicable nature of the healing."
Thus, on Dec. 14, the theological
consulters began an evaluation of the case, and "unanimously recognized the unicity, antecedence and choral nature of
the invocation made to Servant of God John Paul II, whose intercession was effective in this prodigious healing."
On Tuesday, during the ordinary session of the congregation, the members expressed their "unanimous approval."
The prelates expressed belief in the miraculous nature of the recovery of Sister Marie Simon Pierre, "having
been achieved by God in a scientifically inexplicable manner following the intercession of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II,
trustingly invoked both by Sister Simon herself and by many other faithful." The conclusions were then submitted to Benedict
XVI for approval.
Forwarded By : J. Justin _____________________________________________________________________________________
Pope: Imitating Baby Jesus Isn't EnoughProposes Christmas as a Call to a Total Transformation
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 7, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Christ Child incarnates a host of virtues, but Christmas is a call to more than imitating the goodness of Baby Jesus,
says Benedict XVI. Instead, it is an invitation to a total transformation wrought by participation in divine nature.
The Pope made this reflection Wednesday during the
first general audience of the new year, held in Paul VI Hall. He dedicated his address to a consideration of Christmas, saying
it "is not only a remembrance but is above all a mystery; it is not only a memory but also a presence."
The Holy Father's meditation emphasized the "today"
of the feast, explaining that "in the liturgical celebrations of these holy days we lived in a mysterious but real way
the entrance of the Son of God into the world and we were illumined once again by the light of his brilliance. Each celebration
is an actual presence of the mystery of Christ and in it is prolonged the history of salvation."
"Today, as then," he said, "God reveals himself in the
flesh, namely, in the 'living body' of the Church journeying in time, and, in the sacraments, he gives us salvation today."
Rescuing Christmas
The Bishop of Rome declared that Christmas must be rescued from an "overly moralistic
and sentimental mask."
"The celebration
of Christmas does not propose to us only examples to imitate, such as the humility and poverty of the Lord, and his benevolence
and love for men," he said. "But it is rather an invitation to allow oneself to be totally transformed by him who
entered into our flesh."
The Pope
cited St. Leo the Great to clarify his point: "The Son of God ... joined himself to us and joined us to himself in such
a way that the abasement of God to the human condition became a raising of man to the heights of God."
Hence, the Holy Father explained, "God's manifestation has its purpose
in our participation in divine life, in the realization in us of the mystery of his Incarnation. This mystery is the fulfillment
of man's vocation."
Citing St. Leo
another time, he noted: "Again St. Leo the Great explains the Christmas mystery's concrete and always present importance
for Christian life: 'The words of the Gospel and of the Prophets ... inflame our spirit and teach us to understand the Lord's
nativity, this mystery of the Word made flesh, not so much as a memory of a past event, but as an event that unfolds before
our eyes ... it is as if it was proclaimed again in today's solemnity: "I give you the announcement of a great joy, which
will be for all the people: today, in the city of David, a Savior is born for you who is Christ the Lord."'
"And he adds: 'Recognize, O Christian, your dignity,
and, made participant of the divine nature, be careful not to fall again, with unworthy conduct, from such greatness into
primitive baseness.'"
The Pope concluded
with an invitation to live Christmastide "with intensity."
"After having adored the Son of God made man and placed in the manger," he said, "we are called to
pass to the altar of the Sacrifice, where Christ, the living Bread come down from heaven, offers himself to us as true nourishment
for eternal life. And what we have seen with our eyes, at the table of the Word and of the Bread of Life, what we contemplated,
what our hands have touched, that is the Word made flesh, let us proclaim him with joy to the world and witness to him generously
with all our life."
Forwarded
by Victor Reutens
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pope Urges Giving Mary the Gift of Prayer Underlines
Importance of Listening to Our Lady's "Message" ROME,
DEC. 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI blessed a basket of roses today that was later placed at the feet of the Column of the Immaculate,
but reminded those present that the most precious gift one can give to Mary is prayer.
The Pope said this
today, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, during his annual visit to the image of the Immaculate Conception in Rome's
Piazza di Spagna. The column of the Immaculate was erected in 1857, shortly after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception.
"We are gathered around this historic monument, which today is all surrounded by
flowers, sign of the love and devotion of the Roman people for the Mother of Jesus," the Pontiff said. "And the
most beautiful gift, and most pleasing to her, that we offer is our prayer, the one we bear in our hearts and which we entrust
to her intercession.
"They are invocations of gratitude and supplication: of gratitude for the gift
of faith and for all the good that we receive daily from God; and supplication for our different needs, for the family, health,
work, for every difficulty that life has us encounter."
The Holy Father then reflected that even
more important than gifts or offerings is the act of listening to what Mary has to say.
"She speaks
to us with the Word of God, which became flesh in her womb. Her 'message' is none other than Jesus, who is her whole life,"
the Holy Father stated.
"With a look full of hope and compassion," the Pontiff affirmed, Mary
tells each and every person: "Fear not, son, God loves you! He loves you personally; he thought of you before you came
into the world and called you into existence to fill you with love and life; and because of this, he has come to meet you,
he made himself like you, he became Jesus, God-Man, in everything similar to you, but without sin; he gave himself for you,
to the point of dying on the cross, and thus has given you a new life, free, holy and immaculate."
Look
of love
"Mary's look is God's look on each one of us," he continued. "She looks at us with
the very love of the Father and blesses us."
"Even if everyone spoke evil of us, she, the Mother,
would say the good, because her immaculate heart is attuned to God's mercy," Benedict XVI said. "Thus, she sees
the city not as an anonymous agglomeration, but as a constellation where God knows everyone personally by name, one by one,
and calls us to shine with his light.
"And those that in the eyes of the world are the first, for God
they are the last; those who are little, are great for God. He recognizes in each one the likeness with his Son Jesus, even
if we are so different!
"But who more than she knows the power of Divine Grace? Who better than she
knows that nothing is impossible for God, capable in fact of drawing good from evil?"
The Pope
reminded those present the message of Mary "is a message of trust for every person of this city and of the whole world.
A message of hope not made of words, but of her own history."
"Thank you, O Mary Immaculate, for always
being with us," the Holy Father said in a prayerful appeal to Our Lady. "Always watch over our city: comfort the
sick, encourage young people, sustain families. Infuse the strength to reject evil, in every form, and to choose the good,
even when it costs and entails going against the current. Give us the joy of feeling loved by God, blessed by
him, predestined to be his children."
Forwarded by J. Justin ______________________________________________________________________________
Pope to Youth: Be Intrepid
Like the Martyrs
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Calling to mind the example of Vietnamese martyrs St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions, Benedict XVI today invited young
people to be intrepid in their witness to Christian values.
The Pope made this invitation at the end of the general audience when he gave his customary greetings to youth, the
sick and newlyweds.
He noted the feast day of
St. Andrew, one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862.
"Today, remembering St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions, Vietnamese martyrs, I invite
you, dear young people, to be intrepid in witnessing Christian values, always being faithful to the Lord," the Holy Father
said.
He added: "I exhort you, dear
sick, to accept with serene abandonment all that the Lord gives in every situation of life; I hope that you, dear newlyweds,
will form a truly Christian family, drawing the necessary strength to realize such a project from the Word of God and from
the Eucharist."
Forwarded by J.Justin
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You Won't Regret Letting Christ In, Says Pope
Highlights
Importance of Dedication of Holy Family Basilica
BARCELONA, Spain, NOV. 7, 2010 (Zenit.org).- If you allow Christ to enter into your heart, you won't regret it, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope invited
the world to become friends with God today in his homily at the dedication Mass of the Church of the Sagrada Familia (Holy
Family) in Barcelona, which he also designated a basilica.
"As we consecrate the altar of this church,
which has Christ as its foundation, we are presenting to the world a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and women
to become friends of God," the Pontiff affirmed. "If we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow
Christ to live in our hearts, we will not regret it.
"We will experience the joy of sharing his very
life, as the object of his infinite love."
The Pontiff said he considered the dedication of Holy Family
as "an important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity that has gone on for more than a century."
Construction on the basilica, which is considered the masterpiece of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), began
in 1882, and is not expected to finish until earliest 2026.
He said he also considers it "significant"
that he is the one to dedicate the structure. "I have been moved above all by Gaudí's confidence when, in the
face of many difficulties, filled with trust in divine Providence, he would exclaim, 'St. Joseph will finish this church,'"
the Holy Father explained. "So it is significant that it is also being dedicated by a Pope whose baptismal name is Joseph."
Benedict XVI said the dedication takes place at a time in which "man claims to be able to build his life
without God, as if God had nothing to say to him," and proposed that the "great task" of the faithful is to
"show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord."
"In this masterpiece," the Holy Father reflected, "Gaudí shows us that God is the true
measure of man; that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to one's origin which
is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope
which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself."
"It stands as a visible
sign of the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing towards absolute light and to the one who
is Light, Height and Beauty itself," he added.
Inspiration
The Pope reflected that
in Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was inspired by nature, Scripture and the liturgy to bring together "the reality of
the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy."
"He
made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God," the
Holy Father explained, "but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery
of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."
"In this way, he
brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by
Christ," Benedict XVI continued. "In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming
the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open
to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty."
And the architect did this, the Pope
pointed out, "not with words, but with stones, lines, planes, and points."
"Beauty is one
of mankind's greatest needs," the Holy Father affirmed. "It is the root from which the branches of our peace and
the fruits of our hope come forth.
"Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is
pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness."
Forwarded by J. Justin
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Benedict XVI Arrives In Spain As a Pilgrim
Urges
Nation to Build Future on Freedom, Justice
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain, NOV. 6, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI embarked on his brief two-day visit to Spain this weekend with an appeal to the country to build its present
and future on the foundations of freedom, justice, and the "authentic truth" of the person.
The
Pope arrived today to the International Airport of Santiago de Compostela, where he was greeted by, among others, the prince
of Asturias, Felipe, son of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophía; and the princess of Asturias, the prince's
wife, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
In his address at the welcoming ceremony, the Holy Father encouraged both
Spain and Europe to "build their present and to project their future on the basis of the authentic truth about man, on
the basis of the freedom, which respects this truth and never harms it, and on the basis of justice for all, beginning with
the poorest and the most defenseless."
He also made an appeal for "a Spain and a Europe concerned
not only with people’s material needs but also with their moral and social, spiritual and religious needs," noting
that these are the "genuine requirements of our common humanity."
The Holy Father made reference
to Spain's past, which he said has "given the world a constellation of great saints, founders and poets, like Ignatius
of Loyola, Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, Francis Xavier, among many others."
Pilgrim
Benedict XVI said he is visiting Santiago de Compostela "as a pilgrim" and to confirm the faithful in their
faith.
"In his deepest being," the Pope reflected, "man is always on a journey, ever in search
of truth. The Church shares this profound human desire and herself sets out, accompanying humanity in its yearning for complete
fulfillment."
The Pontiff said that the Church is also on a journey, which, "through faith, hope
and love, leads her to become a transparent sign of Christ for the world. This is her mission and her path: to be among men
and women an ever greater presence of Christ."
"For this reason, I too have journeyed here, to
confirm my brothers and sisters in the faith," he affirmed.
Benedict XVI's visit takes place on the
occasion of the 2010 "Jacobeo" Holy Year, which is under way through to the end of the year. The feast day of the
Apostle James the Greater (in Spanish, Santiago) is July 25, and a holy year is celebrated each year that the feast falls
on a Sunday, which happens 14 times every century.
The apostle is the patron of Spain, and tradition holds
that his tomb is located in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Since the 10th and 11th centuries, the cathedral has
been the destination of the historic and popular pilgrimage route El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way of St. James).
"I wish to join the great host of men and women who down the centuries have come to Compostela from every
corner of this peninsula, from throughout Europe and indeed the whole world, in order to kneel at the feet of St. James and
be transformed by the witness of his faith," Benedict XVI stated.
Sagrada Familia
Benedict
XVI will travel in the evening to Barcelona, and on Sunday he will consecrate the Church of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia),
and proclaim it a basilica.
The Pope said upon his arrival to Spain that he will travel to Barcelona "as
a herald and witness of the Gospel [...] in order to nourish the faith of its welcoming and dynamic people."
He described the faith of Barcelona as "a faith sown already at the dawn of Christianity, one which blossomed
and grew in the warmth of countless examples of holiness, giving rise to countless institutions of beneficence, culture and
education."
It is a faith, he continued, "which inspired the gifted architect Antoni Gaudí
to undertake in that city, with the fervor and cooperation of many people, that marvel which is the church of the Sagrada
Familia. It will fall happily to me to dedicate that church, which reflects all the grandeur of the human spirit in its openness
to God."
Benedict XVI added a greeting in Galician, the local dialect of the region, in which he reiterated
his "affection and closeness to the beloved sons and daughters of Galicia, Catalonia and the other peoples of Spain."
"In commending my stay among you to the intercession of the Apostle St. James, I ask God to bestow his
blessings on all of you," he added.
Path of dialogue
Prince Felipe, who greeted Benedict
XVI on behalf of the king and queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sophía, recalled the importance of Pope John Paul II's
visits to the pilgrimage destination, which he visited first in 1982, and then again in 1989 when the city hosted World Youth
Day.
"Since these dates, there has been a true explosion in the number of pilgrims and travelers that
arrive to Compostela," the prince said. "They come from all parts of Spain, and from the rest of Europe and Latin
America. And they are also coming increasingly from the rest of the world, from the rest of the continents, aware of the projection
and universal dimension of the 'Way'."
The prince said the Way of St. James is also a "'Way' of
encounter and of dialogue, so linked to our history and culture, which has passed through and united Europe for centuries."
The prince also expressed Spain's commitment to work with Benedict XVI for "peace, liberty and the dignity
of the human person."
Forwarded by J. Justin _______________________________________________________________________________________
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 31, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging adolescents and young people to learn what it means to truly love, explaining that the secret
is to be a gift to others. The Pope stated this Saturday
in a question and answer session with representatives of Italian Catholic Action. Some 50,000 children, 30,000 youth and 10,000
educators of the organization were present in St. Peter's Square for the meeting with the Pontiff.
The youth, ages 4-18, represented all the dioceses of Italy, and
after the meeting with the Holy Father participated in events throughout Rome focused on the theme: "There Is More. We
Become Great Together."
While mainly
for Italian youth, the gathering also included participants from Catholic Action in Romania, Argentina, Burundi, the Holy
Land and Spain.
After a question from
a young woman of Catholic Action, Benedict XVI responded, "It is very important, I would say fundamental, to learn to
love, truly to love, to learn the art of real love!"
He continued: "In adolescence we stop before the mirror and we notice that we are changing. But if you continue
to look at yourself, you will never grow up!
"You grow up when you do no longer let the mirror be the only truth about you but when you let your friends tell you.
"You will grow up if you are able
to make your life a gift to others, not to seek yourselves, but to give yourselves to others: this is the school of love."
The Pope added, "This love, however, must bring
you into that 'more' that today shouts to everyone: 'There is more!'"
Pure air
He recalled, "I too, in my youth wanted something more than what the society and the mentality of the time presented
to me."
"I wanted to breathe
pure air," the Pontiff said. "Above all I desired a beautiful and good world, like our God, the Father of Jesus,
wanted for everyone."
"And I
understood more and more that the world becomes beautiful and good if one knows this will of God and if the world corresponds
to this will of God," he added, "which is the true light, beauty, love that gives the world meaning."
"You cannot and must not adapt yourselves to a
love reduced to a commodity to be consumed without respect for oneself or for others, incapable of chastity and purity,"
the Holy Father urged. "This is not freedom."
He noted that "much of the 'love' that is proposed by the media, on the internet, is not love but egoism, closure,
it gives you the illusion of a moment, but it does not make you happy, it does not make you grow up, it binds you like a chain
that suffocates more beautiful thoughts and sentiments, the true desires of the heart, that irrepressible power that is love
and that has its maximum expression in Jesus and strength and fire in the Holy Spirit, who enflames your lives, your thoughts,
your affections."
"Of course
it demands sacrifice to live love in the true way -- without renunciation one does not find this road -- but I am certain
that you are not afraid of the toil of a challenging and authentic love," Benedict XVI stated.
He added, "It is the only kind that, in the final analysis, gives true
joy!"
"There is a test," the Pope said, "that tells you whether your love is
growing in a healthy way: if you do not exclude others from your life, above all your friends who are suffering and alone,
people in difficulty, and if you open your heart to the great friend Jesus."
Forwarded by Victor
Reutens ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wife, Mother, Princess, Saint Pope Reflects on Lessons to Learn From Elizabeth of Hungary
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The life of Elizabeth of Hungary -- a wife and mother, as well as a princess who lived for the poor -- is an invitation
to rediscover Christ, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this today at the general audience in St. Peter's
Square, in which he reflected on Elizabeth of Hungary, a 13th-century saint and, he said, "one of the women of the Middle
Ages who inspired great admiration."
Elizabeth was born to Andrew II, king of Hungary, and given in
marriage to Ludwig of Thuringia. Though the marriage was arranged for merely political reasons, "a sincere love was born
between the two young people, animated by faith and the desire to do the will of God," the Holy Father noted.
Ludwig began to reign over the court at age 18, when his father died, the Pontiff continued, but Elizabeth became
the "object of silent criticisms because her way of behaving did not correspond to the life of the court." Her marriage
celebration, for example, was not lavish, and some of the costs of the banquet were given to the poor.
The
Holy Father noted: "Once, entering the church on the feast of the Assumption, she took off her crown, placed it before
the cross and remained prostrate on the ground with her face covered. When a nun reproved her for this gesture, she replied:
'How can I, miserable creature, continue to wear a crown of earthly dignity, when I see my King Jesus Christ crowned with
thorns?'"
And, he continued, "As she behaved before God, so she behaved with her subjects."
Happy marriage
Ludwig, however, supported her in her charity. "Hers was a profoundly happy
marriage," Benedict XVI said. "Elizabeth helped her husband to raise his human qualities to the supernatural level
and he, on the other hand, protected his wife in her generosity to the poor and in her religious practices.
"Ever more in admiration of his wife's great faith, Ludwig, referring to her care of the poor, said to her: 'Dear Elizabeth,
it is Christ whom you have washed, fed and looked after.' A clear testimony of how faith and love of God and one's neighbor
reinforce marital union and make it even more profound."
Tragedy eventually struck the happy bride:
Ludwig intended to join a crusade, but he got ill and died before leaving. He was only 27. The young widow "withdrew
in solitude," the Pope said, "but later, strengthened by prayer and, consoled by the thought of seeing [Ludwig]
again in heaven, she again became interested in the affairs of the kingdom."
Another test awaited her,
however. Ludwig's brother usurped the crowd and expelled Elizabeth and her three young sons from the castle. Difficult months
followed, until her name was restored and she was able to receive an adequate income to withdraw to the family castle in Marburg.
Consecrated in the world
Her spiritual director would later have to persuade her not to give
up all her earthly possessions, encouraging her instead to use them for the poor.
The Pope cited her spiritual
director, who reported: "[S]he built a hospital, took in the sick and the invalid and served the most miserable and abandoned
at her own table."
Benedict XVI explained how Elizabeth spent the last three years of her life caring
for the sick in the hospital she'd founded, becoming "what we could call a consecrated woman in the midst of the world"
and forming a religious community with her friends.
In 1231 she was struck with a severe fever and, the Pope
said, she "gently fell asleep in the Lord on the night of Nov. 17. Testimonies of her holiness were such and so many
that, only four years later, Pope Gregory IX proclaimed her a saint."
Benedict XVI concluded with this
reflection: "Dear brothers and sisters, in the figure of St. Elizabeth we see how faith and friendship with Christ create
the sense of justice, of the equality of everyone, of the rights of others, and they create love, charity. And from this charity
hope is born, the certainty that we are loved by Christ and that the love of Christ awaits us and thus makes us capable of
imitating Christ and of seeing Christ in others.
"St. Elizabeth invites us to rediscover Christ, to
love him, to have faith and thus find true justice and love, as well as the joy that one day we will be immersed in divine
love, in the joy of eternity with God."
Forwarded By J. Justin
________________________________________________________________________________________
Australia's 1st Saint to Be Canonized Sunday Mary MacKillop Served God's Poor
By Traci Osuna
ROME, OCT. 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In 1909, after blessing Sr. Mary MacKillop on her deathbed, Australia's
Cardinal Patrick Moran left her side, stating, "I consider I have this day assisted at the deathbed of a saint."
Just over a century later, his words have come to fruition, as Blessed Mary MacKillop will be named Australia's first saint.
On Sunday, Benedict XVI will canonize Blessed Mary MacKillop, along with five others, in a solemn liturgy that
will take place at St. Peter's. While a reported 8,000 Australians will be present in Rome for the actual canonization, as
well as the archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, the Archdiocese of Sydney is, of course, planning its own festivities
in honor of their beloved daughter, Mary MacKillop.
The celebration in Australia will begin at noon with
the annual Festival of Faith, hosted by the Knights of the Southern Cross, commemorating both the religious and cultural heritage
of Australia's Catholic community.
The festival will be followed by the Mary's Feast Day Mass, presided
over by Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous of Sydney. The Mass will be streamed live over the Internet and televised nationally,
allowing all of Australia to witness the celebration.
The Mass will conclude in time for locals to
view the live Web cast from Rome, where the Pope will preside over the canonization ceremony from St. Peter's Basilica. The
ceremony consists of three parts and is scheduled to last approximately three hours. The first part involves reading short
biographies of each blessed; the second, presenting the writings or prayers of each blessed and finally, the Rite of Canonization
Mass.
Even as a young woman, Mary longed to devote her life to serving God, as well as the less fortunate.
The oldest of eight children, Mary, instead, worked to support her own family when they fell upon hard times. She dutifully
helped raised her younger siblings. Eventually she left to work as a governess for her younger cousins. It was at her uncle's
house that she met her future mentor and co-founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Father Julian Woods.
Together, the pair would create the first Catholic schools in Australia and bring educational opportunities
to all social classes, never distinguishing between the haves and have-nots.
Rapid growth
Within four years, Mary had established 40 schools and the order consisted of over 120 sisters. Revered by people of all
faiths, Mary and her sisters served the poor by walking among them in the streets and reaching out to those that had no one
else to turn to. While Catholic Church's hierarchy did not approve of their methods, the sisters' faith and devotion to their
mission never waivered.
The order grew, serving all of southern Australia. The demands put on Mary grew
as well. And while she rose to every occasion, it was her spiritual advisor, Father Woods, who would succumb to the immense
pressures of their work. A rift eventually grew between them and they parted ways.
Mary again faced another
obstacle when the bishop at the time, Bishop Sheil, excommunicated her for what he deemed was insubordination when Mary wrote,
in a letter to the bishop, that "I wish to please you, but above all, to please God." The bishop had ordered changes
to be made within the order and Mary, feeling they were not best for the order, decided to step down as mother superior. The
excommunication was lifted after just a few months when the bishop, on his deathbed, retracted his decision.
Sr. Mary and the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart experienced both highs and lows, but continued to stay focused
on their original goals. Bishops would make changes to the order and Mary would be relegated to second in command, serving
other sisters that shared the bishop's view over those that the order was founded upon. In addition to the pressures she experienced
within the Church, she also weathered physical pain and rumors of alcoholism. Through it all, she persevered and continued
to carry on God's work.
On Sunday, Oct. 17, the whole world will come to know and honor the woman that Australians
have loved for over a century. This humble, yet strong, faithful and devoted woman who never wanted for anything but to serve
the poor and the God she loved.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Benedict
XVI: Faith Makes The Humanly Impossible Possible
PALERMO, ITALY, October 3 (CNA/EWTN News) - To carry the "explosive
force" of the Gospel to the world takes a life based in the faith, said Pope Benedict XVI in his Sunday homily. In living
with faith, even a "pinch," he taught, the Christian is able to take courageous action to renew the face of the
earth.
The Holy Father began his pastoral visit to Sicily's capital city of Palermo with
an outdoor Mass on the city's Mediterranean seafront on Sunday morning. Thousands of people, many with parasols or caps to
keep them shaded from warm southern Italian sun, were in attendance to celebrate with the Pontiff.
Noting
the difficulties in Sicilian society due to unemployment, uncertainty for what tomorrow might hold and the physical and moral
suffering caused by organized crime on the island, the Pope turned to Sunday's liturgy to call them to look to the future
with hope.
Turning to Sunday's readings that "speak to us of faith, which is the foundation
of all Christian life," the Pope concentrated on the lessons to trust in God and to live with humility from the Gospel
reading from Luke.
Luke begins by recounting how the disciples asked the Lord to increase their
faith. The Pope explained the situation, observing that they are not asking for material goods or privileges, "but they
are asking for the grace of faith, that orients and illuminates all life; they are asking for the grace to recognize God and
to be able to be in an intimate relationship with Him, receiving ... all of His gifts, also those of courage, love and hope."
Referring to Jesus' example of transplanting a tree that follows in Sunday's reading, Benedict XVI said that "as a
lever moves much more than its own weight, also the faith, even a pinch of faith, is able to do unthinkable, extraordinary
things ... The faith - trusting Christ, accepting Him, letting Him transform us, following Him to the very end - makes humanly
impossible things possible, in every reality."
The Holy Father then contemplated the
second part of the Gospel reading which teaches humility in the parable that shows the unending service of the servant. He
said that, in the same way, "we are servants of God, we are not his creditors, but we are always his debtors, because
we owe everything to him, because everything is His gift."
"Before God," the Pope explained,
"we must never present ourselves as those who believe to have rendered a service and merit a great recompense ... we
never do enough for God."
Following these lessons, he said, "(i)f we do God's
will every day, humbly, without demanding anything of Him, it will be Jesus himself to serve us, to help us, to encourage
us, to give us strength and serenity."
Calling believers not to be afraid to bear
witness to the faith in society, he said that faith will give them "God's strength" to do so courageously and confidently,
"to move forward with new decision, to take the necessary initiatives to give an always more beautiful face to the earth."
And amidst the temptation to discouragement, he said, those who are "solidly founded in the faith, who have full trust
in God and live in the Church, are able to carry the explosive force of the Gospel."
Urging Sicilians to confront the future with hope, Pope Benedict emphasized that "(w)ith the force of God, everything
is possible!"
Forwarded by J. Justin
________________________________________________________________________________
People of the UK Spoke to My Heart, Affirms PopeSays
He Confirmed That Europe's Nations Have Christian Soul
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).-
Benedict XVI says he's convinced that the old nations of Europe have a Christian soul, and the Church will
not cease its efforts to maintain this spiritual and cultural tradition.
The Pope affirmed this
today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. As is his custom when he's returned from an apostolic trip,
he dedicated the address to speaking about his journey to the United Kingdom, held last Thursday through Sunday.
"The main objective of the visit," he said, "was to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, one of the greatest
Englishmen of recent times, an outstanding theologian and man of the Church. In fact, the beatification ceremony represented
the climax of my apostolic journey, the theme of which was inspired in the motto of Blessed Newman's cardinal insignia:
'Heart Speaks Unto Heart.'
"And in the four intense and very beautiful days spent in that noble land,
I had the great joy of speaking to the heart of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, and they spoke to mine, especially
with their presence and the testimony of their faith."
The Holy Father affirmed that he was "able to see how
the Christian heritage is still strong and also active in all strata of social life."
"The
hearts of the British and their lives are open to the reality of God and there are numerous expressions of religiosity that
this visit of mine has made even more evident," he stated.
The Pontiff recounted the day-by-day highlights of the trip,
noting such events as his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, his address to Catholic educators, his visit to the leader of the
Anglican Communion, his time of prayer with victims of clergy sexual abuse, and his stop at a home for the elderly.
Supporting Catholics
Benedict XVI explained that, as is always his goal on an apostolic trip,
he aimed to "support the Catholic community, encouraging it to work tirelessly to defend the immutable moral truths that,
taken up again, illumined and confirmed by the Gospel, are at the base of a truly human, just and free society."
He said he also wished to speak to each inhabitant of the United Kingdom "about the true reality of man, about
his most profound needs, about his ultimate destiny."
And, the Pontiff affirmed: "This apostolic journey confirmed
a profound conviction in me: The old nations of Europe have a Christian soul, which forms a unity with the 'genius' and the
history of each respective people, and the Church does not cease to work to continually maintain this spiritual and cultural
tradition."
He concluded by affirming that Blessed John Henry Newman "merits to be
known by all."
"May he sustain the intentions and efforts of Christians to
'spread everywhere the perfume of Christ,'" the Pope said, "'so that all their life is only a radiation of his.'"
Forwarded
By: J.Justin
Lovers of Truth Should Expect Ridicule, Says Pontiff Draws
Lessons From Cardinal Newman's Life LONDON,
SEPT. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is reminding humanity that men and women are made to know the truth, but that such knowledge is costly since
there should be no separation between what we believe and how we live.The Pope said this today as he wrapped up the third day of his
four-day trip to the United Kingdom with a prayer vigil in Hyde Park. An enthusiastic crowd of thousands greeted the Pontiff
as he arrived in the popemobile. He was looking happy and waving to the endless lines of cheering spectators, despite the
grueling schedule he's maintained since his arrival in Scotland on Thursday.
The vigil was a spiritual preparation
for Sunday's Mass in Birmingham, where the Holy Father will beatify English cardinal and convert from Anglicanism, John Henry
Newman.
The Holy Father acknowledged that the cardinal is an "important influence in my own life
and thought," and he said the "drama of Newman’s life invites us to examine our lives, to see them against
the vast horizon of God’s plan, and to grow in communion with the Church of every time and place: the Church of the
apostles, the Church of the martyrs, the Church of the saints, the Church which Newman loved and to whose mission he devoted
his entire life."
In fact, during a press conference en route to the United Kingdom, the Bishop
of Rome referred to the cardinal as a man of "exceptional greatness in our time" and a "figure of a doctor
of the Church for us and for all."
Threatened foundations
As dusk settled
this evening, the Pontiff spoke with the crowds about three lessons from Cardinal Newman's life, each based on the role of
truth.
He noted: "At the end of his life, Newman would describe his life’s work as a struggle
against the growing tendency to view religion as a purely private and subjective matter, a question of personal opinion.
"Here is the first lesson we can learn from his life: in our day, when an intellectual and moral relativism threatens
to sap the very foundations of our society, Newman reminds us that, as men and women made in the image and likeness of God,
we were created to know the truth, to find in that truth our ultimate freedom and the fulfillment of our deepest human aspirations.
In a word, we are meant to know Christ, who is himself 'the way, and the truth, and the life.'"
Dismissed
and parodied
But Newman's life, the Pope continued, also teaches that "passion for the truth, intellectual
honesty and genuine conversion are costly."The truth sets us free but it cannot be kept to ourselves, he affirmed.
"[I]t begs to be heard, and in the end its convincing power comes from itself and not from the human eloquence or arguments
in which it may be couched."In this light, Benedict XVI made reference to a spot at the northeast entrance of
Hyde Park, which was the site of the Tyburn gallows and hanging tree. It was used for execution perhaps as early as the beginnings
of the 12th century through the middle of the 18th century. Catholics executed there would often give a final speech expressing
their loyalty to the crown but opposition to the Church of England.The Holy Father referred to it as a place where "great numbers
of our brothers and sisters died for the faith.""[T]he witness of their fidelity to the end was ever more
powerful than the inspired words that so many of them spoke before surrendering everything to the Lord," he reflected."In
our own time," the Pontiff continued, "the price to be paid for fidelity to the Gospel is no longer being hanged,
drawn and quartered but it often involves being dismissed out of hand, ridiculed or parodied. And yet, the Church cannot withdraw
from the task of proclaiming Christ and his Gospel as saving truth, the source of our ultimate happiness as individuals and
as the foundation of a just and humane society."
Coherence
Benedict XVI drew a final
lesson from Cardinal Newman's life: "that if we have accepted the truth of Christ and committed our lives to him, there
can be no separation between what we believe and the way we live our lives."Every thought, word and action
must be dedicated to God's glory, the Pope said, noting that Newman understood this and was "the great champion of the
prophetic office of the Christian laity.""Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important
as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness," he said.Finally,
the Pontiff reflected on the challenging mission Christians face today."No one who looks realistically at our world today could think
that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our
society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and
shape the future of our society," he said.Each of us is called to work to advance God's Kingdom, the Pope
affirmed, "to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of
each human person."
Christ's "Thirst for Souls Is Quenched by Your Ministry"
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 26, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the message Benedict XVI sent to the Missionaries of Charity on the occasion of today's 100th
anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, founder of the order. The message was directed to the superior-general
of the order, Sister Mary Prema.* * *
I send cordial greetings to you and to all
the Missionaries of Charity at the start of the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Blessed Mother Teresa, founder
of your order and exemplary model of Christian virtues. I trust that this year will be for the Church and for the world an
occasion of fervent gratitude to God for the invaluable gift that Mother Teresa was in the course of her life and that she
continues to be through the loving and tireless work that you, her spiritual daughters, carry out.
To
prepare for this year, you have sought to come closer to the person of Jesus, whose thirst for souls is quenched by your ministry
for him among the poorest of the poor. Having responded with trust to the direct call of the Lord, Mother Teresa exemplified
excellently the words of St. John: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. ... [I]f we love one
another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us" (1 John 4:11-12).
May
this love continue to inspire you, Missionaries of Charity, to give yourselves generously to Jesus, to all those you see and
serve, that is, to the poor, the marginalized, the abandoned. I encourage you to draw constantly from the spirituality
and the example of Mother Teresa and, following in her footsteps, to accept Christ's invitation: "Come and be my light."
Participating spiritually
in the celebrations for the centenary, with great affection in the Lord, I impart to the Missionaries of Charity and to all
those you serve, my heartfelt paternal Apostolic Blessing
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pope Explains Why Humans Should Rejoice in Fragility Says
We Are Dust That Is Loved by God
ROME, FEB. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Human beings are fragile creatures destined to return to the earth -- dust, yes, but dust that is loved and molded
by the love of God, Benedict XVI says.
The Pope made this reflection Wednesday from the Basilica of Santa Sabina,
where he celebrated a Mass for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.
Like the other members of the congregation,
the Holy Father had ashes placed on his head, according to the traditional rite.
The imposition of ashes, he said,
is essentially "a gesture of humility that means: I recognize myself for what I am, a fragile creature made of earth
and destined to return to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to return to him. Dust, yes, but dust
that is loved and molded by his love, animated by his life-giving breath, capable of recognizing his voice and responding
to him; free and thus also capable of disobeying him, of yielding to the temptation of pride and self-sufficiency."
Cardinal Jozef Tomko, 85, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, placed the ashes
on the Pontiff. The cardinal is the titular bishop of the basilica.
The Holy Father, in turn, imposed ashes on
numerous cardinals, among whom were his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone; the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Agostino
Vallini; and the former vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
Before the celebration, Benedict XVI had presided
over the traditional penitential procession from the church of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill to the Basilica of Santa Sabina.
Following Christ
In the homily, the Holy Father presented the whole Lenten journey based on "the omnipotence
of the love of God, on his total lordship over every creature, which is translated in an infinite indulgence, animated by
a constant and universal will to live."
"Salvation, in fact, is gift, grace of God, but for it
to have effect in my existence it calls for my consent, an acceptance demonstrated with deeds, that is, in the will to live
like Jesus, to walk behind him," he said.
Following Jesus in the "Lenten desert" is the necessary
condition to participate in Easter, the Pope stated.
"Adam was expelled from the earthly paradise, the symbol
of communion with God," he said. "Now, in order to return to that communion and thus to true life, to eternal life
we must pass through the desert, the test of faith. Not alone but with Jesus! He, as always, proceeds us and has already won
the battle against the spirit of evil."
"This is the meaning of Lent," the Holy Father affirmed,
"the liturgical time that, each year, invites us to renew our decision to follow Christ on the path of humility in order
to participate in his victory over sin and death."
Christmas Is About Love, Says Pontiff VATICAN CITY, DEC. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging those who will celebrate Christmas
for the first time as a married couple to find the real meaning of the holiday: love.
In his customary greeting to youth, the sick and newlyweds at the end of today's
general audience, the Pope spoke of Advent preparations for the celebration of Christmas.
"In this period of Advent,
the Lord tells us in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, 'Turn to me and be saved,'" he noted.The Holy Father then encouraged children to "leave
space in your heart for Jesus who comes to give testimony of his joy and peace."
"Dear sick people,"
he continued, "welcome the Lord in your lives so as to find support and consolation in the encounter with him. And dear
newlyweds, make the message of the love of Christmas the rule of life for your families."
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