Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul

Pope Benedict's Homily highlights from Asia News Italy:

Benedict XVI dedicated his entire homily to the primacy of Peter and later,
the reflection for the Angelus too, focusing on three Gospel passages that draw
attention to him. At the end of the mass, in his words to the crowd gathered in
St Peter’s Square for the recital of the Angelus prayer, he recalled the
martyrdom of Peter and Paul, and after apologizing for the delay due to the
prolonged rite in the basilica, he said: “This is why the Bishop of Rome,
Successor to the apostle Peter, undertakes a specific ministry in the service of
the doctrinal and pastoral unity of the People of God scattered around the
world.”
During the mass, explaining the logic of the three Gospel passages,
he said they “tackle the same task, but the diversity of situations and imagery
used makes it clear for us what interested and interests the Lord.” The first
was the passage from Matthew in which “his specific task is conferred upon him
through three images: that of the rock that becomes the foundation or
cornerstone; that of the keys and of loosening and binding”. At this time,
continued the pope, “I do not intend to interpret once again these three images,
which the Church, throughout the centuries, has constantly explained anew;
rather, I would like to draw attention to the geographical and chronological
context of these words. The promise was made near the source of the Jordan, at
the border of Jewish land, on edge of the Pagan world. The moment in which the
promise was made marks a decisive turning point in the journey of Jesus: now the
Lord is walking toward Jerusalem, and for the first time, he tells his disciples
that this journey towards the Holy City is a journey to the Cross.” “Both things
go together and determine the inner place of the Primacy, in fact, of the church
in general: the Lord is continually on a journey towards the Cross, towards the
lowliness of the suffering and killed servant of God, but at the same time, he
is also headed for the vastness of the world, in which He goes before us as the
Risen Lord, so that the light of his word and the presence of his love may shine
in the world.”
“The Church – and Christ in it – still suffers today. In the
Church, Christ is relentlessly mocked and stricken over and again; there are
always efforts to push it out of the world. The small boat of the Church is
forever being buffeted by the wind of ideologies that penetrate it with their
waters, seemingly condemning it to sink. And yet, right in the suffering Church,
Christ is victorious. Notwithstanding everything, faith in Him is renewed in
strength again and again. Still today, the Lord commands the waters and reveals
himself as the Lord of the elements. He stays on his boat, the ship of the
Church. Thus even in the ministry of Peter is revealed on the one hand the
weakness of what comes from man, but together with the strength of God.”
The
second passage recalled by Benedict XVI was that from the Gospel of Luke which
is about the Last Supper, when “Jesus, straight after the institution of the
Sacrament, talked about the meaning of being disciples, the ‘ministry’, in the
new community: he said it was a commitment of service, the same as He himself,
who was among them as one who served. And then he turned to Peter. He said Satan
had demanded to sift the disciples like wheat.” Akin to the biblical narrative
of Job, “this is what happens to the disciples of Jesus – in all times.”
However, “Jesus continues: ‘I have prayed for you that your own faith may not
fail’ (Lk 22:32). The prayer of Jesus is the limit posed on the power of evil.
The prayers of Jesus are the protection of the Church. We can seek refuge under
this protection, cling to it and be sure of it. But, as the Gospel tells us,
Jesus prayed especially for Peter: ‘that your faith may not fail’. There it is:
don’t ever allow this faith to become dumb, always reinvigorate it again, even
in the face of the cross and all the contradictions of the world – this is the
task of Peter. This is precisely why the Lord does not only pray for the
personal faith of Peter but for his faith in the service of others. This is what
He means when He says: ‘and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your
brothers’ (Lk22:32).”
“The Lord entrusts to Peter the responsibility for his
brothers through the promise of his prayer.”
The third reference to the
Primacy that Benedict XVI referred to was from the Gospel of John (21:15-19).
“The Lord rose and as the Risen Lord he entrusted his flock to Peter. Here too,
the Cross and the Resurrection are intertwined. In his words to Peter, Jesus
portends his journey towards the cross. In this Basilica, erected over the tomb
of Peter – a pauper’s grave – we see that the Lord, thus, through the Cross,
always triumphs. His power is not a power according to the rules of this world.
It is a power of goodness, of truth and love, which is stronger than death. Yes,
his promise is true: the power of death, the gates of hell will not prevail
against the Church He built for Peter (cfr Mt 16:18), and that He, precisely in
this way, continues to edify in person.”

U.S. Archbishops Wuerly, Niederauer, and DiNardo Receive Palium from Pope

No Comment

From the Holy See Press Office:

"I have no comments to make on news that has appeared in various organs of the press concerning ongoing contacts between a Holy See delegation and the Chinese authorities."

Traveling Pope--To Germany in September

Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls today announced that Benedict XVI will make an apostolic trip to Germany from September 9 to 14, where he will visit Munich, Altotting and Regensburg.

Pope's Angelus

From Asia News Italy:

Recalling the feast celebrated on Friday 23 June, Benedict XVI said: “The consecration of the Sacred Heart was – and still is in some countries – a tradition in some families, which kept an image of the same in their homes. The roots of this devotion are embedded in the mystery of the Incarnation; it is precisely through the Heart of Jesus that the Love of God for mankind is revealed in a sublime way.” Genuine worship of the Sacred Heart, which became widespread in the seventeenth century, “preserves all its validity”, continued the pope. It “attracts above all souls thirsty for God’s mercy, as they find there an infinite font from which to draw the water of Life, capable of irrigating the desert of the soul and of making hope blossom again.”

Benedict XVI also recalled that the solemn feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. He said: “I take the opportunity to invite all of you, dear brothers and sisters, to pray for priests always, that they may be valid witnesses to the love of Christ.

Turning to the feast of the birth of John the Baptist – marked yesterday – the pope highlighted the expression “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). This expression, he said, “is programmed for each and every Christian”. The pope said: “Our life is always ‘relative’ to Christ and it is realized by welcoming Him, Word, Light and Spouse, of whom we are the voice, lamp and friends (cfr Jn1:1,23; 1:7-8; 3:29)”.

Dwelling on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the pontiff said: “Allowing the ‘I’ of Christ to replace our ‘I’ was, in exemplary manner, the ardent desire of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who the Church will venerate in a solemn feast on 29 June. St Paul wrote of himself: “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20).”

Before the prayer of the Angelus, the pope also recalled the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Heart of a Mother, who continues to keep watch with tender concern over us all. May her intercession grant that we will always remain faithful to our Christian vocation.”

New Secretary of State at Vatican

Effective September 15th...Our Lady of Sorrows... (a Papal sense of humor?)

Via the Vatican itself...

Pope Benedict accepts Sodanno's retirement and replaces him with Card. Tarcisio Bertone as has been widely speculated.

Also accepts retirement of Cardinal Szoka as governor of the Vatican City State and replaces him with Bishop Giovanni Lajolo.

Social Encyclical Coming from the Pope in 2007

From Catholic News:

Pope Benedict will next year release his first social encyclical on globalisation to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio, an Italian newspaper predicts.Catholic World News reports
that according to an Italian business daily, Il Sole 24 Ore, "unofficial
information" points to an encyclical on "ethical and spiritual questions posed
by the process of globalisation."The year 2007 will bring the 20th anniversary
of the encyclical Sollicitude Rei Socialis, in which John Paul II commented on
world economic affairs, the Italian daily notes.

What Amy Was Doing Yesterday

Besides waiting at O'Hare late into the night to return home...

From The Courrier Post:

Following the remarks by the bishop, author and daily blogger Amy Welborn
echoed Galante's quest to listen to the laity, by asking reporters to do the
same.
The northern Indiana resident admonished the media to do a better job
of reporting what is going on within the Catholic Church.
The author of
De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code said
reporters should talk more with parishioners, rather than focusing on a handful
of church experts.
Welborn said her 5-year-old blog (www.amywelborn.com) receives
about 10,000 unique visitors a day.
The response to her blog is a raw and
unedited look at what Catholic people around the world are thinking.
She
said her "hyperinformed Catholic" community of readers want journalists "to let
Catholics tell their own story."
If they had the chance, Catholics would
tell the media to "stop trying to label us as either conservative or liberal,"
Welborn said. "Stop trying to put labels to Catholic theological
questions."

From The Great Temptor

Visit his page and you'll find out what Augustine really didn't say too!

From What Does the Prayer Really Say:

His Eminence Dionigi Card. Tettamanzi wrote a book on “The Great Tempter” entitled in the original Italian Il Grande Tentatore (Edizioni Piemme, 2001). In this useful little volume, indeed on the book’s back cover, Card. Tettamanzi gives us ten salutary points by way of a “decalogue against temptation”:
1. Do not forget that the devil exists.
2. Do not forget that the devil is a tempter.
3. Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute.
4. Be vigilant concerning your eyes and heart. Be strong in spirit and virtue.
5. Believe firmly in the victory of Christ over the tempter.
6. Remember that Christ makes you a participant in His victory.
7. Listen carefully to the word of God.
8. Be humble and love mortification.
9. Pray without flagging.
10. Love the Lord your God and offer worship to Him only.

Recommended Books

First for Apologetics:


For a modern Biblical understanding of St. Paul:



The Book that is outselling the Da Vinci Code in Paraguay:



And an excellent primer on Opus Dei by Scott Hahn (I read a galley of it):

Because of Heat, Pope Abbreviates

He's on the road to being a great one too!

He seemed a little hoarse and looked flushed toward the end of the Audience.

From Ansa Italy:

The heat on Wednesday got to Pope Benedict XVI, who cut short his address to a packed St. Peter's Square because of the soaring temperatures .

"Because it's too hot, I would like to abbreviate," the 79-year-old pope said .

His words were applauded by the some 25,000 sun-baked pilgrims gathered in the piazza for the pontiff's midweek audience .

The German-born pope's short homily focused on St. James the apostle .

Benedict urged Christians to "be ready to follow Christ, even when he asks us to leave the boat of our human securities" .

"If we follow Christ as St. James did, then we know that even when we encounter difficulties, we are on the right road," the pope concluded .

1. Et cum Spiritu tuo..."And with your spirit"

From the New Testament texts... Galatians 6:18 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen" and 2 Timothy 4:22 "The Lord be with your spirit."


Fr. Joseph Jungman S. J. had two footnotes about the origin of this, one in which he called the phrase a Semitism that simply meant "and also with you" (which obviously is what the original ICEL translators focused on to arrive at the translation that we have been using over these past years). Yet another footnote alludes to the fact that this reply in the usage of the Church's liturgy was given only to a priest or bishop and that the implication was that the greeting was to the Holy Spirit that the ordained minister had received upon their ordination. St. John Chrysostom mentioned this in a homily and an early Council of the Church reinforced its meaning.

What saying "And With Your Spirit" can teach us...

The Liturgy is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the individual presider. In fact there is no "individuals" in the liturgy save the Body of Christ. Our response acknowledges the one Holy Spirit poured upon the presider and reminds us that the work we witness in this Eucharist is the Opus Dei...the work of God.

And with your Spirit...

Approved

Catechise your parish now...A New Translation of the Mass Prayers?

And it is about the Bible!!!

A Glimpse Inside the Conclave

From Cardinal Anthony Okogie of Lagos as reported in Catholic News:

Reminiscing on his first Conclave experience, the Cardinal said that if he was elected Pope he would have collapsed, explaining that to be elected Pope one must be able to speak more than four international languages.

"That place they call Conclave is a top secret place and I was going there for the first time, like many of the cardinals. I was filled with big awe. I felt as if I wasn't really in the world especially when they said 'everybody out of the room.'

"You will swear and after that they will read the rules and regulations and thereafter the ballot papers are distributed. There is no nomination," he explained.

Cardinal Okogie said that they were free to interact with anybody until the order is given for all that non-eligible electors to go out as the papers are distributed to the electors.

"I believe really that there is something supernatural about the Conclave," he said, wondering how everybody could be backing one particular individual but after the first ballot, that person's name would suddenly disappear.

Mass Revision not Massive Changes

What the bishops are voting on is a more accurate translation of the Mass. If you've attended Mass in Spanish you already know that the English translation isn't exactly the same.
Aren't people use to the current translation? Absolutely.
So why change? Because the translation we currently use isn't exact and doesn't match the Scripture from which it is taken.
Pray for the bishops.

Now Amazon for Groceries

For all you non perishibles...?

St. Andrew: Pope's Audience on a Hot Roman Day

From Asia News Italy:

Today, Benedict XVI drew a picture of the personality of the brother of Simon, Andrew, who was the “first-called”, and therefore he is known as the “Protoclete”. The Pope said: “It is certain that because of the brotherly relationship between Peter and Andrew, the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople feel, in a special way, like sisters.” He continued: “To highlight this relationship, my predecessor Pope Paul VI, in 1964, restored the relics of St Andrew, which until then had been kept in the Vatican Basilica, to the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of the city of Patrasso in Greece, where according to tradition, the apostle was crucified.

The Pope did not talk merely about Andrew’s role as evangelizer of the Greek world; he also drew attention to his attitude when faced with the Cross on which he was to die. Tradition has it that Andrew defined the Cross as “blessed” because it was taking him to Jesus: an attitude that invites the faithful “to consider and to welcome” evils that strike us, “our crosses… as part of the cross of Christ”.

After recalling that the Gospels mention Andrew several times, showing him to be an eminent figure among the Twelve, the Pope added: “Very ancient traditions see Andrew not only as the interpreter of some Greeks meeting Jesus, they consider him as the Apostle of the Greeks in the years following Pentecost; they inform us that for the rest of his life, he proclaimed Jesus to the Greek world. Peter from Jerusalem reached Rome through Antioch to exercise his universal mission; Andrew, meanwhile, was the apostle of the Greek world: thus they appear in life and in death as true brothers – a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special ties of the Sees of Rome and Constantinople, truly sister Churches”.

Benedict XVI also recalled the tradition of the death of Andrew at Patrasso, “where he too was submitted to the torment of crucifixion. At that supreme moment, however, like his brother Peter, he asked to be put on a cross different to that of Jesus. In his case, it was a saltire, x-shaped, tilted cross, that would become known as the ‘cross of St Andrew’. This is what the Apostle is said to have uttered on that occasion, according to an ancient narrative (from the early sixth century) entitled the Passion of Andrew: ‘Hail, O Cross that has been sanctified by the body of Christ, and adorned with his limbs as with precious stones! Before the Lord was nailed to you, you inspired fear on earth, but now you inspire heavenly love, and are desired as a blessing. Believers know how much joy you possess, how many gifts you have prepared. Thus I come to you assured and joy-filled, so that you may graciously receive me, the disciple of Him who hung upon you; O most beautiful cross that received majesty and beauty by carrying the body of Christ!... Take me, o cross, release me from my life among men and bring me to the Master so that through you he will receive me, he, who through you has saved me. Hail o Cross, yes hail!’” Evident here, continued Benedict XVI, is a very profound Christian spirituality, which considers the Cross not so much an instrument of torture as an incomparable means of full assimilation with the Redeemer. We must learn a very important lesson from this: our crosses acquire value if they are considered and welcomed as part of the cross of Christ, if they are touched by the reflection of his light. It is only through that Cross that our sufferings too are made noble and acquire their true meaning. The apostle Andrew, then, teaches us to follow Jesus promptly (cfr Mt 4:20; Mk 1:18), to speak to Him enthusiastically when we meet, and especially to cultivate a relationship of genuine familiarity with him, well aware that only in Him, we find the ultimate sense of our life and death.”

Cardinal's Predicted Clarification Arrives (see below)

I regret any confusion my words may have caused because I did not make myself sufficiently clear.”

The Parish of My Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation

To be merged which I thought this had already happened, does this really mean close?

Catholic diocese announces parish changes

From the Manchester Union Leader:

The St. Joseph Parish in Hinsdale will merge with the St. Stanislaus Parish in Winchester. The new parish, which will be known as "Mary, Queen of Peace," will share a pastor with the St. Bernard Parish in Keene.

Did He Challenge Them The Way Jesus Challenged?

Being with sinners and outcasts definitely is what Jesus did, but he brought them a life giving message that changed them forever--that seems to be what's missing here:

Ousted Newton priest cheered at gay pride service

``I told a friend of mine, about a month ago, that I was going to be here today, speaking at the gay pride interfaith service, and she said to me, `What's a Catholic priest doing at a gay pride service?' Cuenin said. ``My response was, `Why wouldn't a Catholic priest be here?' In the tradition of my own Christian faith, it seems to me, as I read it, that Jesus was always with those who were often the target of hatred and persecution."