Catholic Faith and Reflections » Popes

Quote for the Day

Deacon Bob — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:53:02 +0000

“As we know, in vast areas of the world, faith is in danger of being extinguished like a flame that runs out of fuel. We have before us a profound crisis of faith, a loss of the sense of religious sense which makes up a great struggle for the Church of today. A renewal of faith must, therefore, be a priority in the work of the entire Church’s in our day.” — Benedict XVI to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, 1-27-12 (my translation of the Italian original)

A Light to the Nations

Deacon Bob — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:35:33 +0000

Yesterday in my homily at 6:30 am Mass, I spoke of my experiences being present for papal Masses celebrated by three popes in 1978. The memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus was being celebrated, and the Gospel for the day was from Mark and it asked whether a lamp is purchased only to be hidden.

The papacy of Paul VI was a prophetic light, especially in his teachings on life and marriage. How much we need to reread his Humanae Vitae. In it, Paul VI clearly foresaw the many challenges we now have in protecting unborn life and the sanctity of marriage.

The papacy of John Paul I was a light to the nations shining brightly with its humility and joy. Papa Luciani called for a new evangelization of the world on the last day of his life, a call that was taken up by and credited to his successor.

The papacy of John Paul II was a light to the nations that brought a renewed vigor and youth our church. He truly brought the light of Christ to the entire world. John Paul II love the Mother of Jesus just as the Apostle John loved her who had been entrusted to him by the Lord, and he was a great evangelizer as was the Apostle Paul in his travels and preaching to untold millions throughout the world.

That light, which shined so brilliantly in these three men, as it did in the lives of Timothy and Titus, lives in each of us. We are lights to the world.

May God shine through our lives. May we be beacons of life, humility, joy, vigor and youthfulness to our world today.

33 Years Ago Today – Papa Wojtyla on Family

Deacon Bob — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:26:11 +0000

Thirty-three years ago today, December 31, 1978, during the first few months of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II delivered this homily of thanksgiving for the end of the year in the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. It is worth our time to re-read and reflect upon today.

TE DEUM OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE END OF THE YEAR
IN THE CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL IISunday, 31 December 1978

Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

First of all I wish to greet all present here, Romans and visitors, who have come to celebrate the closing of the year 1978—to celebrate it religiously. I address my cordial greeting to the Cardinal Vicar, to the brother bishops, to the representatives of civil Authority, to the priests, to the men and women religious, especially those of the Society of Jesus with their Father General.

1. The Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, that is, the present Sunday, unites, in the liturgy, the solemn memory of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The birth of a child always gives rise to a family. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem gave rise to this unique and exceptional Family in the history of mankind. In this Family there came into the world, grew and was brought up the Son of God, conceived and born of the Virgin-Mother, and at the same time entrusted, from the beginning, to the truly fatherly care of Joseph. The latter, a carpenter of Nazareth, who vis-à-vis Jewish law was Mary’s husband, and vis-à-vis the Holy Spirit was her worthy spouse and the guardian, really in a fatherly way, of the maternal mystery of his Bride.

The family of Nazareth, which the Church, especially in today’s liturgy, puts before the eyes of all families, really constitutes that culminating point of reference for the holiness of every human family. The history of this Family is described very concisely in the pages of the Gospel. We get to know only a few events in its life. However what we learn is sufficient to be able to involve the fundamental moments in the life of every family, and to show that dimension, to which all men who live a family life are called: fathers, mothers, parents, children, The Gospel shows us, very clearly, the educative aspect of the family. “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (Lk 2:51).

This submission, obedience, readiness to accept the mature examples of the human conduct of the family, is necessary, on the part of children and of the young generation. Jesus, too, was “obedient” in this way. And parents must measure their whole conduct with this “obedience”, this readiness of the child to accept the examples of human behaviour. This is the particularly delicate point of their responsibility as parents, of their responsibility with regard to the man, this little and then growing man entrusted to them by God himself. They must also keep in mind everything that happened in the life of the Family of Nazareth when Jesus was twelve years old; that is, they bring up their child not just for themselves, but for him, for the tasks which he will have to assume later. The twelve-year-old Jesus replied to Mary and Joseph: “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Lk 2:40).

The deepest human problems are connected with the family. It constitutes the primary, fundamental and irreplaceable community for man. “The mission of being the primary vital cell of society has been given to the family by God himself”, the Second Vatican Council affirms. (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11). The Church wishes to bear a particular witness to that too during the Octave of Christmas, by means of the feast of the Holy Family. She wishes to recall that the fundamental values, which cannot be violated without incalculable harm of a moral nature, are bound up with the family. Material perspectives and the “economico-social” point of view often prevail over the principles of Christian and even human morality. It is not enough, then, to express only regret. It is necessary to defend these fundamental values tenaciously and firmly, because their violation does incalculable harm to society and, in the last analysis, to man. no experience of the different nations in the history of mankind, as well as our contemporary experience, can serve as an argument to reaffirm this painful truth, that is, that it is easy, in the fundamental sphere of human existence in which the role of the family is decisive, to destroy essential values, while it is very difficult to reconstruct these values.

What are these values? If we had to answer this question adequately, it would be necessary to indicate the whole hierarchy and the set of values which define and condition one another. But trying to express ourself concisely, let us say that here it is a question of two fundamental values which fall strictly into the context of what we call “conjugal love”. The first of them is the value of the person which is expressed in absolute mutual faithfulness until death: the faithfulness of the husband to his wife and of the wife to her husband. The consequence of this affirmation of the value of the person, which is expressed in the mutual relationship between husband and wife, must also be respect for the personal value of the new life, that is, of the child, from the first moment of his conception.

The Church can never dispense herself from the obligation of guarding these two fundamental values, connected with the vocation of the family. Custody of them was entrusted to the Church by Christ, in such a way as leaves no doubt. At the same time, the self-evidence of these values—humanly understood— is such that the Church, defending them, sees herself as the spokesman of true human dignity: of the good of the person, of the family, of the nations. While maintaining respect for all those who think differently, it is very difficult to recognize, from the objective and impartial point of view, that anyone who betrays conjugal faithfulness, or who permits life conceived in the mother’s womb to be wiped out and destroyed, behaves in a way consistent with true human dignity. Consequently, it cannot be admitted that programmes which suggest, which facilitate, which admit such behaviour serve the objective well-being of man, the moral well-being, and help to make human life really more human, really more worthy of man; that they serve to construct a better society.

3. This Sunday is also the last day of the year 1978. We have gathered here, in this liturgy to give thanks to God for all the good he has bestowed on us and given us the grace to do during the past year, and to ask his forgiveness for all that, being contrary to good, is also contrary to his holy will. Allow me, in this thanksgiving and in this request for forgiveness, to use also the criterion of the family, this time, however, in the wider sense. As God is the Father, then the criterion of the family has also this dimension; it refers to all human communities, societies, nations and countries; it refers to the Church and to mankind.

Concluding this year in this way, let us give thanks to God for everything that—in the various spheres of earthly existence—makes men even more of a “family”, that is, more brothers and sisters, who have in common the one Father. At the same time, let us ask for forgiveness for everything that is alien to the common brotherhood of men, that destroys the unity of the human family, that threatens it and impedes it.

Therefore, having always before my eyes my great predecessor Paul VI, and the most beloved Pope John Paul I, I their successor, in the year of the death of both, today say: “Our Father, who are in heaven, accept us on this last day of the year 1978 in Christ Jesus, your Eternal Son, and lead us forward in him in the future, in the future that you yourself desire: God of Love, God of Truth, God of Life!”.

With this prayer on my lips, I, successor of the two Pontiffs who died during this year, cross, together with you, the frontier which, in a few hours, will divide the year 1978 from 1979.

Holy Father’s Urbi et Orbi Message

Deacon Bob — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:23:10 +0000

Each year at Christmas, the pope gives his Urbi et Orbi message (the name means: to the world and the city).

For English readers, here is the official translation:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the men and women whom he loves. May all people hear an echo of the message of Bethlehem which the Catholic Church repeats in every continent, beyond the confines of every nation, language and culture. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for everyone; he is the Saviour of all.

This is how Christ is invoked in an ancient liturgical antiphon: “O Emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come to save us, O Lord our God”. Veni ad salvandum nos! Come to save us! This is the cry raised by men and women in every age, who sense that by themselves they cannot prevail over difficulties and dangers. They need to put their hands in a greater and stronger hand, a hand which reaches out to them from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God extends to humanity, to draw us out of the mire of sin and to set us firmly on rock, the secure rock of his Truth and his Love (cf. Ps 40:2).

This is the meaning of the Child’s name, the name which, by God’s will, Mary and Joseph gave him: he is named Jesus, which means “Saviour” (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk1:31). He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the evil deeply rooted in man and in history: the evil of separation from God, the prideful presumption of being self-sufficient, of trying to compete with God and to take his place, to decide what is good and evil, to be the master of life and death (cf. Gen 3:1-7). This is the great evil, the great sin, from which we human beings cannot save ourselves unless we rely on God’s help, unless we cry out to him: “Veni ad salvandum nos! – Come to save us!”

The very fact that we cry to heaven in this way already sets us aright; it makes us true to ourselves: we are in fact those who cried out to God and were saved (cf. Esth[LXX] 10:3ff.). God is the Saviour; we are those who are in peril. He is the physician; we are the infirm. To realize this is the first step towards salvation, towards emerging from the maze in which we have been locked by our pride. To lift our eyes to heaven, to stretch out our hands and call for help is our means of escape, provided that there is Someone who hears us and can come to our assistance.

Jesus Christ is the proof that God has heard our cry. And not only this! God’s love for us is so strong that he cannot remain aloof; he comes out of himself to enter into our midst and to share fully in our human condition (cf. Ex 3:7-12). The answer to our cry which God gave in Jesus infinitely transcends our expectations, achieving a solidarity which cannot be human alone, but divine. Only the God who is love, and the love which is God, could choose to save us in this way, which is certainly the lengthiest way, yet the way which respects the truth about him and about us: the way of reconciliation, dialogue and cooperation.

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, on this Christmas 2011, let us then turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: “Come to save us!” Let us repeat these words in spiritual union with the many people who experience particularly difficult situations; let us speak out for those who have no voice.

Together let us ask God’s help for the peoples of the Horn of Africa, who suffer from hunger and food shortages, aggravated at times by a persistent state of insecurity. May the international community not fail to offer assistance to the many displaced persons coming from that region and whose dignity has been sorely tried.

May the Lord grant comfort to the peoples of South-East Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, who are still enduring grave hardships as a result of the recent floods.

May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood. May the Prince of Peace grant peace and stability to that Land where he chose to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed. May he foster full reconciliation and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. May he grant renewed vigour to all elements of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to advance the common good.

May the birth of the Saviour support the prospects of dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar, in the pursuit of shared solutions. May the Nativity of the Redeemer ensure political stability to the countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and assist the people of South Sudan in their commitment to safeguarding the rights of all citizens.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him; let us receive him into our lives. Once more let us say to him, with joy and confidence:”Veni ad salvandum nos!”

For Italian readers, here it is in that language:

Cari fratelli e sorelle di Roma e del mondo intero!

Cristo è nato per noi! Gloria a Dio nell’alto dei cieli e pace in terra agli uomini che Egli ama. A tutti giunga l’eco dell’annuncio di Betlemme, che la Chiesa Cattolica fa risuonare in tutti i continenti, al di là di ogni confine di nazionalità, di lingua e di cultura. Il Figlio di Maria Vergine è nato per tutti, è il Salvatore di tutti.

Così lo invoca un’antica antifona liturgica: “O Emmanuele, nostro re e legislatore, speranza e salvezza dei popoli: vieni a salvarci, o Signore nostro Dio”. Veni ad salvandum nos! Vieni a salvarci! Questo è il grido dell’uomo di ogni tempo, che sente di non farcela da solo a superare difficoltà e pericoli. Ha bisogno di mettere la sua mano in una mano più grande e più forte, una mano che dall’alto si tenda verso di lui. Cari fratelli e sorelle, questa mano è Cristo, nato a Betlemme dalla Vergine Maria. Lui è la mano che Dio ha teso all’umanità, per farla uscire dalle sabbie mobili del peccato e metterla in piedi sulla roccia, la salda roccia della sua Verità e del suo Amore (cfr Sal 40,3).

Sì, questo significa il nome di quel Bambino, il nome che, per volere di Dio, gli hanno dato Maria e Giuseppe: si chiama Gesù, che significa “Salvatore” (cfr Mt 1,21;Lc 1,31). Egli è stato inviato da Dio Padre per salvarci soprattutto dal male profondo, radicato nell’uomo e nella storia: quel male che è la separazione da Dio, l’orgoglio presuntuoso di fare da sé, di mettersi in concorrenza con Dio e sostituirsi a Lui, di decidere che cosa è bene e che cosa è male, di essere il padrone della vita e della morte (cfr Gen 3,1-7). Questo è il grande male, il grande peccato, da cui noi uomini non possiamo salvarci se non affidandoci all’aiuto di Dio, se non gridando a Lui: “Veni ad salvandum nos! – Vieni a salvarci!”.

Il fatto stesso di elevare al Cielo questa invocazione, ci pone già nella giusta condizione, ci mette nella verità di noi stessi: noi infatti siamo coloro che hanno gridato a Dio e sono stati salvati (cfr Est [greco] 10,3f). Dio è il Salvatore, noi quelli che si trovano nel pericolo. Lui è il medico, noi i malati. Riconoscerlo, è il primo passo verso la salvezza, verso l’uscita dal labirinto in cui noi stessi ci chiudiamo con il nostro orgoglio. Alzare gli occhi al Cielo, protendere le mani e invocare aiuto è la via di uscita, a patto che ci sia Qualcuno che ascolta, e che può venire in nostro soccorso.

Gesù Cristo è la prova che Dio ha ascoltato il nostro grido. Non solo! Dio nutre per noi un amore così forte, da non poter rimanere in Se stesso, da uscire da Se stesso e venire in noi, condividendo fino in fondo la nostra condizione (cfr Es 3,7-12). La risposta che Dio ha dato in Gesù al grido dell’uomo supera infinitamente la nostra attesa, giungendo ad una solidarietà tale che non può essere soltanto umana, ma divina. Solo il Dio che è amore e l’amore che è Dio poteva scegliere di salvarci attraverso questa via, che è certamente la più lunga, ma è quella che rispetta la verità sua e nostra: la via della riconciliazione, del dialogo, della collaborazione.

Perciò, cari fratelli e sorelle di Roma e del mondo intero, in questo Natale 2011, rivolgiamoci al Bambino di Betlemme, al Figlio della Vergine Maria, e diciamo: “Vieni a salvarci!”. Lo ripetiamo in unione spirituale con tante persone che vivono situazioni particolarmente difficili, e facendoci voce di chi non ha voce.

Insieme invochiamo il divino soccorso per le popolazioni del Corno d’Africa, che soffrono a causa della fame e delle carestie, talvolta aggravate da un persistente stato di insicurezza. La Comunità internazionale non faccia mancare il suo aiuto ai numerosi profughi provenienti da tale Regione, duramente provati nella loro dignità.

Il Signore doni conforto alle popolazioni del Sud-Est asiatico, particolarmente della Thailandia e delle Filippine, che sono ancora in gravi situazioni di disagio a causa delle recenti inondazioni.

Il Signore soccorra l’umanità ferita dai tanti conflitti, che ancora oggi insanguinano il Pianeta. Egli, che è il Principe della Pace, doni pace e stabilità alla Terra che ha scelto per venire nel mondo, incoraggiando la ripresa del dialogo tra Israeliani e Palestinesi. Faccia cessare le violenze in Siria, dove tanto sangue è già stato versato. Favorisca la piena riconciliazione e la stabilità in Iraq ed in Afghanistan. Doni un rinnovato vigore nell’edificazione del bene comune a tutte le componenti della società nei Paesi nord africani e mediorientali.

La nascita del Salvatore sostenga le prospettive di dialogo e di collaborazione in Myanmar, nella ricerca di soluzioni condivise. Il Natale del Redentore garantisca stabilità politica ai Paesi della Regione africana dei Grandi Laghi ed assista l’impegno degli abitanti del Sud Sudan per la tutela dei diritti di tutti i cittadini.

Cari fratelli e sorelle, rivolgiamo lo sguardo alla Grotta di Betlemme: il Bambino che contempliamo è la nostra salvezza! Lui ha portato al mondo un messaggio universale di riconciliazione e di pace. Apriamogli il nostro cuore, accogliamolo nella nostra vita. Ripetiamogli con fiducia e speranza: “Veni ad salvandum nos!”.

Pope Benedict’s Homily for Christmas 2011

Deacon Bob — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:59:03 +0000

Here is the homily the Holy Father delivered just a few minutes ago in the Vatican at Midnight Mass. (The English translation provided by the Vatican website.)

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.

Holy Father’s New Year’s Message: Youth and Social Doctrine of the Church

Deacon Bob — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:27:43 +0000

The Holy Father has released his 2012 message to the world. It is entitled, in English, Educating Young People in Justice and Peace.

He begins by asking the question, “With what attitude should we look to the New Year?” His answer is, “I invite you to look to 2012 with (an) attitude of confident trust” even if, as he acknowledges, there is a rising sense of frustration at the “crisis looming over society, the world of labour and the economy, a crisis whos roots are primarily cultural and anthropological.”

He reminds us that the young are the reservoirs of hope and trust, and thus he turns his thoughts to them and the contributions they can make to society, and he reminds us that parents and other educators have a vital role in the education of these youth so they may come to a full appreciation of themselves and the common good of all.

He appeals to educational institutions, governments and the world of the media to contribute to the proper education of youth.

As he so often does, as did his predecessor Blessed Pope John Paul II, he reaffirms the centrality of the human person who finds true freedom in the truth, a truth found only in the recognition of each human person’s relationship with God and without which no true freedom exists. He states that the freedom which is ours can only be exercised by coming to know the natural moral law and the nature of humanity itself. This requires a disengagement from the relativism that permeates contemporary culture, a relativism that only leads to injustice among individuals and societies.

Justice, then, has transcendent roots. Because it has such roots, it is bound by the demands of charity and solidarity. (All of this is so eloquently discussed in the Church’s social doctrine.)

He states that peace “is not merely a gift to be received: it is also a task to be undertaken.” Peacemakers, without educating ourselves in compassion, solidarity, cooperation and activity with the community, a “redistribution of wealth” and the promotion of growth, will fail.

In short, the Pope’s 2012 message, though directed to the youth and their education, is a primer on the Church’s social doctrine. It is easily read and a good catechesis for all of us to absorb.

You may read it at: http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/28555.php?index=28555&lang=en

Pope Benedict on Charity this Gaudete Sunday

Deacon Bob — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:31:48 +0000

The Holy Father paid a pastoral visit today to the Roman parish St. Mary of Graces at Casal Boccone. It was established only 26 years ago. During his visit he made this comment:

“Un altro punto su cui vorrei insistere è la testimonianza della carità, che deve caratterizzare la vostra vita di comunità. In questi anni voi l’avete vista crescere rapidamente anche nel numero dei suoi membri, ma avete visto anche giungere molte persone in difficoltà e in situazioni di disagio, che hanno bisogno di voi, del vostro aiuto materiale, ma anche e soprattutto della vostra fede e della vostra testimonianza di credenti. Fate in modo che il volto della vostra comunità possa sempre esprimere concretamente l’amore di Dio ricco di misericordia ed inviti ad accostarsi a Lui con fiducia.”

My English translation being:

Another point I would emphasize is the witness of charity, that ought to characterize your communal life. In these years you have seen also an rapid increase in your members, but you have added many persons in difficulty and in situations of hardship, who have need of you, of your material help, and also and above all of your faith and your witness as believers. Act in a way that the face of your community may always be able to concretely express the love of God who is rich in mercy and invites you to approach him with faith.”

My homily for this weekend focused on the recognition of the Lord in the lives of the poor, the unborn, the condemned, and the immigrant. All of our parishes have present within them many people who are in difficulty and hardship, and we are called to serve their needs as best we can, for they are the Lord in a distressing disguise.

The joy of Gaudete Sunday lay not only in knowing our Advent journey is half-completed, but in knowing that the Lord is already in our midst by his presence in the lives of the poor man and woman.

I was happy to see that I echoed the Holy Father’s comments on this Gaudete Sunday.

If you read Italian, you can read his entire address at: www.vatican.va/news_services/bulletin/news/28518.php?index=28518&lang=en

Benedict XVI Message for the First Sunday of Advent

Deacon Bob — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:20:55 +0000

The Holy Father, in today’s Angelus message from the Vatican, had this to say regarding the world in which we live (my translation of the Italian original):

And Isaiah, the prophet of Advent, has us reflect today with a heartfelt prayer, directed to God in the name of the people. He recognizes the shortcomings of his people, and at a certain point he says, “No one calls upon your name, no one awakens to bind himself to you; because you have hidden your face from us, we are in tossed about by our iniquity” (Isaiah 64:6). How can we not be struck by this description? It seems to reflect certain view of the post-modern world: a world where life becomes anonymous and horizontal, where God seems absent and man the sole master, as if he were the maker and ruler of all — construction, work, economy, modes of transport, the sciences, technology — all seems to depend on man. At times, in this world that appears almost perfect disturbing things happen, either in nature or in society, by which we think that God seems to have withdrawn, we might even say, so to speak, abandoned us.

In reality, the true “master” of the world is not man, but God. The Gospel says, “Watch therefore; you do not know when the master of the house will return, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow or in the morning…… “Lord, you are our Father; we are clay and you the one who forms us; we all are the work of your hands.” (Isaiah 64:7h).

Let us all this Advent try to live by these words of the prophet Isaiah, and the teaching of the Holy Father. Let us live each day, knowing that God is the master of all, and we are mere clay in his hands, clay he molds and shapes to bring us to maturity and to do the work he has set before us.

Benedict XVI in Benin

Deacon Bob — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:47:35 +0000

The Holy Father begins a three-day apostolic visit to the West African country of Benin today. He is doing so to mark 150 years of Christianity in that country and to present a document entitled Africae Munus on the Church’s future in that continent. The country has some personal significance to the Pope, as he was good friends with the late Cardinal Gatin with whom he worked for many years in the Vatican.

I will post on the document after I have read it. I have a sense it will be talked about for quite sometime in the next number of years because the Church on that continent is thriving in many ways, and beset with mammoth problems on the other.

Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104552.htm) is reporting on the trip. Log on to read.

One interesting thing the Holy Father is saying is that the Church’s message must be simple and concrete, and not seen as something European and unintelligible to Africans. By extension, I would suspect he would say the same if talking to other cultures. I was happy to read this, for it brings to mind the call for evangelization from the Church Fathers at Vatican II, and echoes the manner of speaking that Papa Luciani used so often in his preaching to the people entrusted to him.

God bless the Holy Father in his travels.

Pope St. Leo the Great and the Modern World

Deacon Bob — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:48:41 +0000

Today is the memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great. His pontificate was from 440 to 461 AD, a time of upheaval in the Church as well as in the Roman Empire. Prior to being elected pope, Leo was a deacon who played an important role in the Church-State relations of the time.

Leo gave himself completely to the task of the Chair of Peter. He clarified the primacy of the see of Rome and the bishop of Rome as Peter’s successor. He settled doctrinal disputes between the western and eastern Churches. He formulated the doctrine of the Incarnation as the Jesus having two natures, human and divine, yet being only one divine person. The Council of Chalcedon reiterated the same. Leo battled the heresies of the time, especially Pelagianism and Manichaeism. Pelagianism was, to overly simplify, the thought that one could merit salvation without the help of grace, i.e., that one could through one’s own efforts make choices leading to salvation. Manichaeism was equally complex, but essentially purported a form of dualism in which there is a cosmic battle between two opposing forces – good and evil – in the world, each having in some sense an equality. Leo met Attila the Hun at the gates of Rome and convinced him to turn back. Next to St. Pope Gregory the Great, Leo was one of the most influential popes of the early centuries of the Church.

As I was reflecting on this today, it seems in so many ways we, the Church, are in the same predicament today. We are trying to heal old divisions among the faithful. We are battling modern day heresies that are leading many away from the truth. As an example, here locally, there is a growing influence of Buddhism. More and more people are gravitating toward its philosophy and away from the truth of Christ. There is locally a burgeoning acceptance of Wiccan, which is the worship of created things and satan. There is, of course, the pervasiveness of relativism, a philosophy that truth and reality are created by humankind, largely on an individual basis. The human person creates truth and reality based on their perceptions, experiences and choices. I have always thought that those who get caught up in this philosophy are breaking the first Commandment, for God alone is creator of all that exists, and we are called to recognize his authority.

Let us always recognize that we do not have to go here or there searching for the truth. As the Gospel for today tells us, the Kingdom of God is in our midst. Let us pray for those who are caught up in the modern day errors and led astray from the Church. Let us ask St. Leo the Great for his intercession so that the Church may be strengthened and the people of God may always remain steadfast in the Gospel.