Some Quotes:
I wish here to endorse the wishes expressed by the Synod Fathers (11) by encouraging the Christian people to deepen their understanding of the relationship between the eucharistic mystery, the liturgical action, and the new spiritual worship which derives from the Eucharist as the sacrament of charity. Consequently, I wish to set the present Exhortation alongside my first Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, in which I frequently mentioned the sacrament of the Eucharist and stressed its relationship to Christian love, both of God and of neighbour: "God incarnate draws us all to himself. We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us" (12).
And, Wow!:
The substantial conversion of bread and wine into his body and blood introduces within creation the principle of a radical change, a sort of "nuclear fission," to use an image familiar to us today, which penetrates to the heart of all being, a change meant to set off a process which transforms reality, a process leading ultimately to the transfiguration of the entire world, to the point where God will be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28).
A need:
We need a renewed awareness of the decisive role played by the Holy Spirit in the evolution of the liturgical form and the deepening understanding of the sacred mysteries.
Whatever the Holy Spirit touches is sanctified and completely transformed" (25). Saint John Chrysostom too notes that the priest invokes the Holy Spirit when he celebrates the sacrifice: (26) like Elijah, the minister calls down the Holy Spirit so that "as grace comes down upon the victim, the souls of all are thereby inflamed" (27). The spiritual life of the faithful can benefit greatly from a better appreciation of the richness of the anaphora: along with the words spoken by Christ at the Last Supper, it contains the epiclesis, the petition to the Father to send down the gift of the Spirit so that the bread and the wine will become the body and blood of Jesus Christ and that "the community as a whole will become ever more the body of Christ" (28). The Spirit invoked by the celebrant upon the gifts of bread and wine placed on the altar is the same Spirit who gathers the faithful "into one body" and makes of them a spiritual offering pleasing to the Father (29).
A powerful insight...on the process of Christian initiation and the role of the Eucharist in binging it to completion:
Still, it is our participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice which perfects within us the gifts given to us at Baptism. The gifts of the Spirit are given for the building up of Christ's Body (1 Cor 12) and for ever greater witness to the Gospel in the world. (48) The Holy Eucharist, then, brings Christian initiation to completion and represents the centre and goal of all sacramental life. (49)
Proposing a change in the age of Confirmation???
Concretely, it needs to be seen which practice better enables the faithful to put the sacrament of the Eucharist at the centre, as the goal of the whole process of initiation. In close collaboration with the competent offices of the Roman Curia, Bishops' Conferences should examine the effectiveness of current approaches to Christian initiation, so that the faithful can be helped both to mature through the formation received in our communities and to give their lives an authentically eucharistic direction, so that they can offer a reason for the hope within them in a way suited to our times (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).
On Confession:
We know that the faithful are surrounded by a culture that tends to eliminate the sense of sin (55) and to promote a superficial approach that overlooks the need to be in a state of grace in order to approach sacramental communion worthily. (56) The loss of a consciousness of sin always entails a certain superficiality in the understanding of God's love. Bringing out the elements within the rite of Mass that express consciousness of personal sin and, at the same time, of God's mercy, can prove most helpful to the faithful.(57) Furthermore, the relationship between the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation reminds us that sin is never a purely individual affair; it always damages the ecclesial communion that we have entered through Baptism. For this reason, Reconciliation, as the Fathers of the Church would say, is laboriosus quidam baptismus; (58) they thus emphasized that the outcome of the process of conversion is also the restoration of full ecclesial communion, expressed in a return to the Eucharist. (59)
A Renewal in the practice of Indulgences:
Finally, a balanced and sound practice of gaining indulgences, whether for oneself or for the dead, can be helpful for a renewed appreciation of the relationship between the Eucharist and Reconciliation. By this means the faithful obtain "remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven." (64) The use of indulgences helps us to understand that by our efforts alone we would be incapable of making reparation for the wrong we have done, and that the sins of each individual harm the whole community. Furthermore, the practice of indulgences, which involves not only the doctrine of Christ's infinite merits, but also that of the communion of the saints, reminds us "how closely we are united to each other in Christ ... and how the supernatural life of each can help others." (65) Since the conditions for gaining an indulgence include going to confession and receiving sacramental communion, this practice can effectively sustain the faithful on their journey of conversion and in rediscovering the centrality of the Eucharist in the Christian life.
For priests:
Certainly the ordained minister also acts "in the name of the whole Church, when presenting to God the prayer of the Church, and above all when offering the eucharistic sacrifice." (73) As a result, priests should be conscious of the fact that in their ministry they must never put themselves or their personal opinions in first place, but Jesus Christ. Any attempt to make themselves the centre of the liturgical action contradicts their very identity as priests. The priest is above all a servant of others, and he must continually work at being a sign pointing to Christ, a docile instrument in the Lord's hands. This is seen particularly in his humility in leading the liturgical assembly, in obedience to the rite, uniting himself to it in mind and heart, and avoiding anything that might give the impression of an inordinate emphasis on his own personality.
For married couples:
The mutual consent that husband and wife exchange in Christ, which establishes them as a community of life and love, also has a eucharistic dimension. Indeed, in the theology of Saint Paul, conjugal love is a sacramental sign of Christ's love for his Church, a love culminating in the Cross, the expression of his "marriage" with humanity and at the same time the origin and heart of the Eucharist. For this reason the Church manifests her particular spiritual closeness to all those who have built their family on the sacrament of Matrimony. (86) The family – the domestic Church (87) – is a primary sphere of the Church's life, especially because of its decisive role in the Christian education of children. (88) In this context, the Synod also called for an acknowledgment of the unique mission of women in the family and in society, a mission that needs to be defended, protected and promoted. (89) Marriage and motherhood represent essential realities which must never be denigrated.
Praying for the dead:
I wish, together with the Synod Fathers, to remind all the faithful of the importance of prayers for the dead, especially the offering of Mass for them, so that, once purified, they can come to the beatific vision of God. (101) A rediscovery of the eschatological dimension inherent in the Eucharist, celebrated and adored, will help sustain us on our journey and comfort us in the hope of glory (cf. Rom 5:2; Tit 2:13).
Mary and the Eucharist:
Consequently, every time we approach the Body and Blood of Christ in the eucharistic liturgy, we also turn to her who, by her complete fidelity, received Christ's sacrifice for the whole Church. The Synod Fathers rightly declared that "Mary inaugurates the Church's participation in the sacrifice of the Redeemer." (104) She is the Immaculata, who receives God's gift unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation. Mary of Nazareth, icon of the nascent Church, is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift that Jesus makes of himself in the Eucharist.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sacramentum Caritatis
You'd think someone would have the goods by now on this...
The Mass I attended yesterday might likely be the type of Mass many will be attending in the future...Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei all in their respective languages (Greek and Latin) and chanted with much participation, which always amazes me, since I always figure that I'm one of the few who actually knows the words and tune...but not so. And the preist at this Mass--it wouldn't matter if he were facing East or West he doesn't make eye contact-he prays the prayers to God.
The Mass I attended yesterday might likely be the type of Mass many will be attending in the future...Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei all in their respective languages (Greek and Latin) and chanted with much participation, which always amazes me, since I always figure that I'm one of the few who actually knows the words and tune...but not so. And the preist at this Mass--it wouldn't matter if he were facing East or West he doesn't make eye contact-he prays the prayers to God.
Future Wisconsin Saint?
Fom The Madison Catholic Herald:
After thanking the tribunal for their willingness to serve, Bishop Morlino gave a synopsis of the life of Samuel Mazzuchelli.
In 1828, the young Mazzuchelli - just 21 years old, a Dominican friar not yet a priest - left his native Italy to labor as a missionary in the United States. Not even knowing how to speak English, he came in response to an appeal that he heard from Bishop Fenwick of Cincinnati.
After further studies and ordination, Father Mazzuchelli was sent to Mackinac Island on the northwestern frontier of the Diocese of Cincinnati as the only priest to serve an area larger than Italy.
Father Mazzuchelli spent most of his remaining years working tirelessly to build up the Church in southwestern Wisconsin and the adjacent parts of Iowa and Illinois. He established more than 30 parishes and designed and built more than 20 church buildings, along with a number of civic buildings for his pioneer territory. He also founded the congregation of Dominican Sisters, whose motherhouse remains at Sinsinawa.
The outstanding virtues and heroic labors of Father Mazzuchelli were never forgotten by the people of this area nor by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.
Cause for canonization
His cause for canonization was formally opened in 1964. After an exhaustive investigation of the facts of his life and his surviving writings, Father Mazzuchelli was declared a Servant of God - honored with the title "Venerable" - on July 6, 1993.
Before he can become "Blessed," the Church waits for his sanctity to be proven by testimony in the form of miraculous favors granted through his intercession.
Fr. Vito Gomez, a Dominican who is postulator of the Cause of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, has named Sr. Mary Paynter, a Sinsinawa Dominican, as vice-postulator for the cause. Sister Mary asked that a diocesan inquiry be convened to examine whether a miraculous cure was granted to a Madison man through the intercession of Father Mazzuchelli.
For more on Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli and other North American Saints (and causes) check out Father Vincent O'Malley's:
Saints of North America
After thanking the tribunal for their willingness to serve, Bishop Morlino gave a synopsis of the life of Samuel Mazzuchelli.
In 1828, the young Mazzuchelli - just 21 years old, a Dominican friar not yet a priest - left his native Italy to labor as a missionary in the United States. Not even knowing how to speak English, he came in response to an appeal that he heard from Bishop Fenwick of Cincinnati.
After further studies and ordination, Father Mazzuchelli was sent to Mackinac Island on the northwestern frontier of the Diocese of Cincinnati as the only priest to serve an area larger than Italy.
Father Mazzuchelli spent most of his remaining years working tirelessly to build up the Church in southwestern Wisconsin and the adjacent parts of Iowa and Illinois. He established more than 30 parishes and designed and built more than 20 church buildings, along with a number of civic buildings for his pioneer territory. He also founded the congregation of Dominican Sisters, whose motherhouse remains at Sinsinawa.
The outstanding virtues and heroic labors of Father Mazzuchelli were never forgotten by the people of this area nor by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.
Cause for canonization
His cause for canonization was formally opened in 1964. After an exhaustive investigation of the facts of his life and his surviving writings, Father Mazzuchelli was declared a Servant of God - honored with the title "Venerable" - on July 6, 1993.
Before he can become "Blessed," the Church waits for his sanctity to be proven by testimony in the form of miraculous favors granted through his intercession.
Fr. Vito Gomez, a Dominican who is postulator of the Cause of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, has named Sr. Mary Paynter, a Sinsinawa Dominican, as vice-postulator for the cause. Sister Mary asked that a diocesan inquiry be convened to examine whether a miraculous cure was granted to a Madison man through the intercession of Father Mazzuchelli.
For more on Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli and other North American Saints (and causes) check out Father Vincent O'Malley's:
Saints of North America
Bishop: Penny a Pittance for Poor
From the St. Petersburg Times:
Bishop Robert N. Lynch, after his homily Sunday at Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, told parishioners:
"I would never, ever put myself in the position where I would encourage people to vote for a particular candidate or against a particular candidate or even on issues. But I do have grave concerns about the way in which the poor, and the vulnerable elderly, especially, and the homeless are accommodated in Pinellas County. ... On the county level, you're being asked on Tuesday to vote for a renewal of a 1-penny tax that's been in effect for 17 years. You're being asked to vote for a renewal of a 1-penny tax that has in the past had zero in it for human services - nothing for the poor, the homeless or the vulnerable elderly. Now what do I mean about the vulnerable elderly? A lot of you in this church understand. You live on the edge of fixed incomes. And so many of our people who came here to spend their final years with us have found, for example, that the political jurisdictions have allowed the owners of trailer parks just to sell them and move everybody off. And they don't have any place to go. And in many other communities throughout the country, the community rises and provides low-cost housing as an alternative in these kinds of situations. We can't do it. We haven't done it. And if this penny tax passes as proposed, we won't be able to do very much. This tax will realize $1.9-billion over the 10 years from the year 2010 to 1019. They have, to their credit, allocated 1.5 percent for affordable and low-cost housing. They've never done that before. They've done it largely because of an organization like F.A.S.T., which has talked to them. I believe that $30-million out of $1.9-billion is a pittance, and we should be ashamed of that. And so I'm asking our Catholic people and others of goodwill to reflect this weekend on this particular political issue."
Bishop Robert N. Lynch, after his homily Sunday at Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, told parishioners:
"I would never, ever put myself in the position where I would encourage people to vote for a particular candidate or against a particular candidate or even on issues. But I do have grave concerns about the way in which the poor, and the vulnerable elderly, especially, and the homeless are accommodated in Pinellas County. ... On the county level, you're being asked on Tuesday to vote for a renewal of a 1-penny tax that's been in effect for 17 years. You're being asked to vote for a renewal of a 1-penny tax that has in the past had zero in it for human services - nothing for the poor, the homeless or the vulnerable elderly. Now what do I mean about the vulnerable elderly? A lot of you in this church understand. You live on the edge of fixed incomes. And so many of our people who came here to spend their final years with us have found, for example, that the political jurisdictions have allowed the owners of trailer parks just to sell them and move everybody off. And they don't have any place to go. And in many other communities throughout the country, the community rises and provides low-cost housing as an alternative in these kinds of situations. We can't do it. We haven't done it. And if this penny tax passes as proposed, we won't be able to do very much. This tax will realize $1.9-billion over the 10 years from the year 2010 to 1019. They have, to their credit, allocated 1.5 percent for affordable and low-cost housing. They've never done that before. They've done it largely because of an organization like F.A.S.T., which has talked to them. I believe that $30-million out of $1.9-billion is a pittance, and we should be ashamed of that. And so I'm asking our Catholic people and others of goodwill to reflect this weekend on this particular political issue."
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Open Book/Annunciation's Blog Bestseller's List
Our Bestseller's List
What Books People who Read Amy's Open Book blog and Michael's Annunciation blog are buying this month.
March 2007 (3/11/07)
1. A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life (A Pocket Guide to)
2. The Roman Catholic Church: An Illustrated History
3. Atticus: Novel, A
4. A Stay Against Confusion: Essays on Faith and Fiction
5. Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome
Last Month's Bestseller's
February 2007
1. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season
2. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
3.The Gift of Faith
Pope's Angelus
From Asia News Italy:
Christ invites us to respond to evil first and foremost by seriously examining our own conscience and purifying our lives. Otherwise – he says – we will perish in a similar way. In fact the people and societies which live their lives without every questioning themselves are destined for ruination. Instead Conversion, though it will not save us from problems or misadventures, permits us to face them in a different ‘way’. Above all it helps us prevent evil, by defusing some of its threats. And it allows good to win over evil, maybe not at always at a practical level – often events occur beyond our will – but certainly at a spiritual level. In short: Conversion defeats evil at its very root which is sin, even if it may not always prevent its consequences.
Christ invites us to respond to evil first and foremost by seriously examining our own conscience and purifying our lives. Otherwise – he says – we will perish in a similar way. In fact the people and societies which live their lives without every questioning themselves are destined for ruination. Instead Conversion, though it will not save us from problems or misadventures, permits us to face them in a different ‘way’. Above all it helps us prevent evil, by defusing some of its threats. And it allows good to win over evil, maybe not at always at a practical level – often events occur beyond our will – but certainly at a spiritual level. In short: Conversion defeats evil at its very root which is sin, even if it may not always prevent its consequences.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The Secret Power of the Cross
Jesus knew it, Blessed Mother Teresa knew it...but it isn't "The Secret" that some would have you believe, but another that will bear fruit in eternity. ..
Learn the "law of attraction" that led the hordes to seek Christ out, that longed to hear Mother Teresa, still flock to hear the message of Pope Benedict XVI!
Learn the "law of attraction" that led the hordes to seek Christ out, that longed to hear Mother Teresa, still flock to hear the message of Pope Benedict XVI!
Train Depot Monastic Reading
It became a ritual of mine, last Fall to take a book during lunchtime to a little train depot restaurant that was relatively quiet (except when a train would pass a few feet from the windows). While doing this I read three books, all of them strangely similar, but all of them unique. The first two dealt with the Carthusians living at Parkminster in England. I found An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order to be not only engaging, but in many ways spiritual reading in the genre of all great conversion stories. While reading it, I found that the Carthusians of this community now have their own website which made it all the more interesting--as well as a documentary has been made about them entitled Into the Great Silence.
It is a very rough life and few last. If I remember right of the five that are detailed in the Maguire book only one is still there some forty years after the five of them entered. One that didn't last is the author's husband. The book, a hardcover is under $8 for a new copy and is a great read--I would think an excellent Lenten book if you are still looking for one.
After reading An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order I found that I wanted to know more about the Carthusians and came across a book written about the same community in the past ten years. Then I came across Hear Our Silence
which was a book that the Carthusians advertised on their web site, written by John Skinner who goes into the community (from the Guest House anyway) and spends time living on the fringe of the Carthusian community in the early 1990's. This was an interesting update on the community and had the air of reading another person's search for God in their life through the experience of those making a radical call to make God alone their one priority in life.
The third book that completed my trilogy of train depot luncheon reading, that brought me to the edge of Advent began in many ways like the other two. The book Clerical Error: A True Story (Handbooks of Catholic Theology)
begins like the above books while a young Robert Blair Kaiser is enrolled as a young Jesuit in the early years of formation. Much of the same monastic experiences are recounted, but then this book takes off in an entirely different direction into the disfunction of life spinning out of control.
Now I confess that my initial reason for reading Clerical Error did not come from an attempt to continue reading about monastic life, but rather from a manuscript that had been submitted to me some years ago by Bishop Mark Hurley that detailed the "other side" of Malachy Martin. I have recounted in other places on this blog some aspects of that manuscript but somehow I came across that the key actor in this story, Kaiser, had written a book detailing the account of Martin's "other side." This is a sad book, because although it begins with someone searching for God, it ends with someone in the atmosphere of Vatican II (when most of the story takes place at the Council)of throwing off God and going headon into the 60's lifestyle. Someday Kaiser may reread this book of his and see that he was closer to God picking apples for the Jesuits, than he is in slamming Pope Benedict for trying to repair a church that is falling into ruin. So this book is Lenten reading of a different sort, but in the end might not be a bad primer for why reform is so badly needed today.
It is a very rough life and few last. If I remember right of the five that are detailed in the Maguire book only one is still there some forty years after the five of them entered. One that didn't last is the author's husband. The book, a hardcover is under $8 for a new copy and is a great read--I would think an excellent Lenten book if you are still looking for one.
After reading An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order I found that I wanted to know more about the Carthusians and came across a book written about the same community in the past ten years. Then I came across Hear Our Silence
which was a book that the Carthusians advertised on their web site, written by John Skinner who goes into the community (from the Guest House anyway) and spends time living on the fringe of the Carthusian community in the early 1990's. This was an interesting update on the community and had the air of reading another person's search for God in their life through the experience of those making a radical call to make God alone their one priority in life.The third book that completed my trilogy of train depot luncheon reading, that brought me to the edge of Advent began in many ways like the other two. The book Clerical Error: A True Story (Handbooks of Catholic Theology)
begins like the above books while a young Robert Blair Kaiser is enrolled as a young Jesuit in the early years of formation. Much of the same monastic experiences are recounted, but then this book takes off in an entirely different direction into the disfunction of life spinning out of control.Now I confess that my initial reason for reading Clerical Error did not come from an attempt to continue reading about monastic life, but rather from a manuscript that had been submitted to me some years ago by Bishop Mark Hurley that detailed the "other side" of Malachy Martin. I have recounted in other places on this blog some aspects of that manuscript but somehow I came across that the key actor in this story, Kaiser, had written a book detailing the account of Martin's "other side." This is a sad book, because although it begins with someone searching for God, it ends with someone in the atmosphere of Vatican II (when most of the story takes place at the Council)of throwing off God and going headon into the 60's lifestyle. Someday Kaiser may reread this book of his and see that he was closer to God picking apples for the Jesuits, than he is in slamming Pope Benedict for trying to repair a church that is falling into ruin. So this book is Lenten reading of a different sort, but in the end might not be a bad primer for why reform is so badly needed today.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Cardinal Dziwisz Says Mass at John Paul II's Tomb
Prays for healing in the Polish Church.
From Zenit:
Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, celebrated a solemn Mass at the tomb of Pope John Paul II as a sign of reconciliation for the Church and the Polish nation.
Vatican Radio said that 50 priests took part in this morning's celebration with the cardinal, who was the Polish Pontiff's personal secretary.
For those who endured wrongs during communism, Cardinal Dziwisz prayed "that they not be led by emotions but look to Christ, who forgave from the cross."
During the Mass, prayers were said for the beatification of John Paul II. Prayers were also offered for the Polish people to experience heartfelt forgiveness and reconciliation.
From Zenit:
Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, celebrated a solemn Mass at the tomb of Pope John Paul II as a sign of reconciliation for the Church and the Polish nation.
Vatican Radio said that 50 priests took part in this morning's celebration with the cardinal, who was the Polish Pontiff's personal secretary.
For those who endured wrongs during communism, Cardinal Dziwisz prayed "that they not be led by emotions but look to Christ, who forgave from the cross."
During the Mass, prayers were said for the beatification of John Paul II. Prayers were also offered for the Polish people to experience heartfelt forgiveness and reconciliation.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
The "Leaked" Motu Proprio?
From someone who received it via email, Telegraph Blog, says that it says:
1. Any priest wishing to say the Tridentine Mass (effectively outlawed after the Second Vatican Council) will be able to do so privately without asking his bishop.
2. Any group of parishioners who want to attend the Tridentine Rite – in which the priest says the Mass with his back to the people – will be able to go to their parish priest asking him to say it in public.
And he can say yes without asking his bishop. That is a major departure from current practice. At the moment, bishops have to give permission for the Old Rite, and they are often very stingy about doing so.
3. If the priest does not want to say the Old Rite, he can make arrangements for another priest to do so. (Whether "can" means "must" is a good question.)
4. If Catholics who want to attend the Old Rite are blocked by their bishop, they can write to the Vatican Commission Ecclesia Dei, which will try to find them a priest.
(Picture from Yahoo.com, Rainbow over Northern Germany)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Pope: Cesar is not everything, the truth has the right to be heard even by the State
From Asia News Italy:
By praying for the civil authorities, even when they are persecuted by them, Christians follow Christ’s teaching on the cross and recognise the legitimacy of the political institutions. But “Cesar is not everything, another sovereignty emerges” born of the truth that God is coming, and thus “is worthy of being heard even by the State”.
After having dedicated past general audiences to the lives of the single apostles and witnesses, starting today Benedict XVI will centre his Wednesday catechesis on the “the apostolic fathers of the church, that is the first and second generation after the apostles”. First among those “fathers” is St. Clement, third of St Peter’s successors who St Irenaeus tells us “had seen the apostles he had met them”.
Examining Clements letter to the Corinthians, defined by the Pope as “the first act by the Roman primate following St Peter’s death”, in his audience address Benedict XVI, underlined that the Church’s structure is “sacramental and not political”. Indeed the letter was motivated by “grave problems” which had arisen in Corinth, where “the priests had been deposed by a group of young contesters”.
In the document, first and foremost is the joyful news of the grace which saves and Gods gift to Christians is underlined. News which “fills the heart with joy” and “gives certainty to our lives”. But we must coherently dedicate ourselves to this gift and to a journey of conversion. Clement states that if there have been abuses it is due to the undermining of charity, he recalls the faithful to humility and fraternal love, the fundamental elements of the Church. Moreover for the first time the term laikos, layman, member of Gods people, different from religious, appears in Christian writings. But the distinction must not mean opposition, because it is the same Spirit which breaths through the diverse members of the one body of Christ.
The letter, underlined Benedict XVI, shows that the Church “is neither confusion nor anarchy, in which each person can do as they wish” and Clement clearly explains the doctrine of apostolic succession: the norms which rule this are on analyses derived from God himself. The Father sent Jesus, he the apostles and they in their turn their successors. “Everything proceeds from the will of God”. This explains why the Church’s structure is “sacramental and not political” and that the sacramental structure guarantees the precedence of the divine gift. The Church “is Gods gift not our creature”.
Written in the shadow of Diocletian’s persecution, circa 96 AD, the Pope underlined that it also shows that Christians did not cease in their prayers for the authorities, even when they were unjustly oppressed by them. This text “has guided the Christian attitude to politics and the State down through the centuries”: “in the aftermath of persecution Christians still prayed for those same authorities who unjustly condemned them. The reason is primarily found in the Christological order: we must pray for our persecutors as Christ did on the cross”. “By praying for the authorities Clement recognises the legitimacy of the political authorities in the order established by God; at the same time, he expresses the concern that the authorities are open to God and that they use the power which He has granted them in peace and with pity”. But, beside “Cesar”, “another sovereignty emerges, whose origins and essence are not of this world, but come from above: it is the sovereignty of truth which bears the right to be heard even by the State”.
By praying for the civil authorities, even when they are persecuted by them, Christians follow Christ’s teaching on the cross and recognise the legitimacy of the political institutions. But “Cesar is not everything, another sovereignty emerges” born of the truth that God is coming, and thus “is worthy of being heard even by the State”.
After having dedicated past general audiences to the lives of the single apostles and witnesses, starting today Benedict XVI will centre his Wednesday catechesis on the “the apostolic fathers of the church, that is the first and second generation after the apostles”. First among those “fathers” is St. Clement, third of St Peter’s successors who St Irenaeus tells us “had seen the apostles he had met them”.
Examining Clements letter to the Corinthians, defined by the Pope as “the first act by the Roman primate following St Peter’s death”, in his audience address Benedict XVI, underlined that the Church’s structure is “sacramental and not political”. Indeed the letter was motivated by “grave problems” which had arisen in Corinth, where “the priests had been deposed by a group of young contesters”.
In the document, first and foremost is the joyful news of the grace which saves and Gods gift to Christians is underlined. News which “fills the heart with joy” and “gives certainty to our lives”. But we must coherently dedicate ourselves to this gift and to a journey of conversion. Clement states that if there have been abuses it is due to the undermining of charity, he recalls the faithful to humility and fraternal love, the fundamental elements of the Church. Moreover for the first time the term laikos, layman, member of Gods people, different from religious, appears in Christian writings. But the distinction must not mean opposition, because it is the same Spirit which breaths through the diverse members of the one body of Christ.
The letter, underlined Benedict XVI, shows that the Church “is neither confusion nor anarchy, in which each person can do as they wish” and Clement clearly explains the doctrine of apostolic succession: the norms which rule this are on analyses derived from God himself. The Father sent Jesus, he the apostles and they in their turn their successors. “Everything proceeds from the will of God”. This explains why the Church’s structure is “sacramental and not political” and that the sacramental structure guarantees the precedence of the divine gift. The Church “is Gods gift not our creature”.
Written in the shadow of Diocletian’s persecution, circa 96 AD, the Pope underlined that it also shows that Christians did not cease in their prayers for the authorities, even when they were unjustly oppressed by them. This text “has guided the Christian attitude to politics and the State down through the centuries”: “in the aftermath of persecution Christians still prayed for those same authorities who unjustly condemned them. The reason is primarily found in the Christological order: we must pray for our persecutors as Christ did on the cross”. “By praying for the authorities Clement recognises the legitimacy of the political authorities in the order established by God; at the same time, he expresses the concern that the authorities are open to God and that they use the power which He has granted them in peace and with pity”. But, beside “Cesar”, “another sovereignty emerges, whose origins and essence are not of this world, but come from above: it is the sovereignty of truth which bears the right to be heard even by the State”.
Everything is Ready to Launch
From the Vatican:
Sacramentum Caritatis (March 13, 2007)
[English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]
Sacramentum Caritatis (March 13, 2007)
[English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Newark Archdiocese Finds Ways Not to Close Churches
From The Star Ledger:
But while many Catholic schools in the archdiocese have closed since 2004 as planned, the parish of St. Mark, like several other churches targeted for possible closure, has been spared.
The archdiocese has kept these churches open but made them share a pastor with another church. Archdiocese leaders now say they expect fewer closures, overall, than the dozens predicted three years ago.
In May 2004, a task force proposed closing as many as 25 of the archdiocese's 235 parishes in the following two years, with the prospect of additional closures through 2008. Yet so far, Archbishop John J. Myers has approved just six clo sures and mergers, plus six other arrangements in which a pair of parishes share one pastor.
But while many Catholic schools in the archdiocese have closed since 2004 as planned, the parish of St. Mark, like several other churches targeted for possible closure, has been spared.
The archdiocese has kept these churches open but made them share a pastor with another church. Archdiocese leaders now say they expect fewer closures, overall, than the dozens predicted three years ago.
In May 2004, a task force proposed closing as many as 25 of the archdiocese's 235 parishes in the following two years, with the prospect of additional closures through 2008. Yet so far, Archbishop John J. Myers has approved just six clo sures and mergers, plus six other arrangements in which a pair of parishes share one pastor.
Apostolic Exhortation “Sacramentum Caritatis to be Released Next Tuesday
"Sacrament of Love(Charity)" On the Eucharist as the source and summit of the life and the mission of the Church.
Lots of rumors circulating as to what it will say, but thankfully we can find out what it actually does say next week.
Lots of rumors circulating as to what it will say, but thankfully we can find out what it actually does say next week.
New Bishops for Dallas and Lake Charles
For Dallas: Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell (currently and auxilary in Washington)
For Lake Charles, Louisiana: Monsignor Glen John Provost
For Lake Charles, Louisiana: Monsignor Glen John Provost
Monday, March 05, 2007
New Head of Italian Bishop's Conference this Wednesday?
That's what the Italian papers are saying...
From Papa Ratzinger Forum:
Today, the newspapers are reporting that the Pope may announce his nomination of Mons. Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, as CEI head, on Wednesday, March 7, the same day Pope John Paul II appointed Ruini in 1991. Cardinal Ruini will remain as the pope's Vicar in Rome.
Ruini's term (his third 5-year term at CEI) was to have ended last year, but the Pope extended it 'until other provisions are made' after an ill-advised survey of Italian bishops carried out by the Apostolic Nuncio to Rome, reportedly at the orders of his boss, the then Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano.
Italy is the only country where the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, chooses the head of the national bishops conference. Everywhere else, the head is elected by the bishops.
Bagnasco succeeded Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as Archbishop of Genoa when the latter became Secretary of State. Before that, he was the military chaplain for all Italy.
From Papa Ratzinger Forum:
Today, the newspapers are reporting that the Pope may announce his nomination of Mons. Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, as CEI head, on Wednesday, March 7, the same day Pope John Paul II appointed Ruini in 1991. Cardinal Ruini will remain as the pope's Vicar in Rome.
Ruini's term (his third 5-year term at CEI) was to have ended last year, but the Pope extended it 'until other provisions are made' after an ill-advised survey of Italian bishops carried out by the Apostolic Nuncio to Rome, reportedly at the orders of his boss, the then Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano.
Italy is the only country where the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, chooses the head of the national bishops conference. Everywhere else, the head is elected by the bishops.
Bagnasco succeeded Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as Archbishop of Genoa when the latter became Secretary of State. Before that, he was the military chaplain for all Italy.
But Not in U.S.
Give credit to the bishops of India who have enough clout to stop the airing of such blasphemous stuff (see below), but in this country it was shown.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Cameron’s Documentary on Faux Christ Tomb Canned
By the Discovery Channel...
From Daily News and Analysis:
Discovery Channel has put off the screening of controversial documentary - The Lost Tomb of Jesus - following protests from various Christian groups in India and abroad.
The channel was to air the documentary produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron that contradicts major Christian tenets such as resurrection of Christ on Sunday.
According to the documentary, the caskets used to store bones discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family. Reports said names of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and other relatives were found on the caskets. The documentary also claims that Judah was Jesus’s “secret son” from Mary of Magdalene.
From Daily News and Analysis:
Discovery Channel has put off the screening of controversial documentary - The Lost Tomb of Jesus - following protests from various Christian groups in India and abroad.
The channel was to air the documentary produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron that contradicts major Christian tenets such as resurrection of Christ on Sunday.
According to the documentary, the caskets used to store bones discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family. Reports said names of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and other relatives were found on the caskets. The documentary also claims that Judah was Jesus’s “secret son” from Mary of Magdalene.
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