MEDIA ADVISORY, March 31 /Christian Newswire/ -- A spokesperson for the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer announced today that the group agrees with a decision made by the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana to discourage support for the cancer group, Susan G. Komen for the Cure. [1] The Coalition supports the diocese's decision and applauds the courage of its officials.
"First, Komen does not tell women the truth that abortion increases breast cancer risk in three ways," asserted Karen Malec, the Coalition's president.
i) By delaying a first full term pregnancy (a risk recognized by all experts) the woman loses her chance to mature 85% of her cancer-susceptible breast lobules into fully cancer-resistant lobules at a younger age. Full maturation of the lobules is a process that takes place throughout the last months of full term pregnancy.
ii) Almost all of the childless woman's breast lobules are cancer-susceptible Type 1 and 2 lobules. Up to 95% of all breast cancers arise in these lobules. In a normal pregnancy, the breasts grow under the influence of an increased level of estrogen (a hormone and a cancer-causing agent), thereby causing the lobules to multiply. The woman (who aborts before lobule maturation is completed) is left with more places in her breasts for cancers to start.
iii) The Institute of Medicine lists abortion as a risk factor for premature birth. [2] Research shows that premature birth before 32 weeks gestation increases the mother's breast cancer risk. [3,4,5,6] The biological reasons are the same as for the abortion- breast cancer link. Through the abortion-premature birth link, the woman is left with more places in her breasts for cancers to start.
In late October, an article in the National Catholic Register by Susan Wills of the USCCB charged that cancer groups have kept women in the dark about the risk of breast cancer due to hormonal contraceptive use and abortion. [2] Similar accusations have been made in other medical journals. [3,4,5,6]
The Diocese's decision is in line with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) 2007-2008 Respect Life Program, which includes an article explaining how abortion increases breast cancer risk and offering reasons why the evidence has been suppressed. [7]
Mrs. Malec said, "Komen perpetuates the breast cancer epidemic by giving funds to Planned Parenthood. As a seller of hormonal contraceptives and abortions, Planned Parenthood is the primary cause of the breast cancer epidemic."
Although the funds are supposedly intended for breast cancer screenings, Komen has no way of ensuring that the funds are used exclusively for that purpose, instead of its cancer-causing activities.
"Planned Parenthood's personnel have no respect for human life," added Mrs. Malec. "What would cause people, who don't care about children's lives, to care if women die of breast cancer?
"We encourage Komen to end its love affair with Planned Parenthood and give funds for breast cancer screenings to legitimate health care organizations that will use the money for its intended purpose. We also call upon Komen to tell women the truth that abortion increases breast cancer risk."
The third reason for the withdrawal of diocesan support for Komen is its endorsement of experiments on embryonic humans.
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is an international women's organization founded to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer.
Christian Newswire
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
On John Paul II and Divine Mercy
"All the Church Does Shows the Mercy God Feels for Man"
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, MARCH 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the greeting Benedict XVI gave today before praying the Regina Caeli with thousands of people gathered in the patio of the pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.* * *
Dear brothers and sisters:
During the Jubilee Year 2000, the dear Servant of God John Paul II established that in the whole Church the Sunday after Easter, besides being the Sunday "in albis" would be designated Divine Mercy Sunday. He did this together with the canonization of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish woman religious, who was born in 1905 and died in 1938, a zealous messenger of merciful Jesus.
Mercy is in reality the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God, the face with which he has revealed himself in the old covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, the incarnation of creative and redeeming love. This merciful love also illumines the face of the Church, and is manifested, both by way of the sacraments, in particular that of reconciliation, and with works of communitarian and individual charity.
All that the Church says and does shows the mercy that God feels for man. When the Church has to remind about a neglected truth, or a betrayed good, it does it always motivated by a merciful love, so that men may have life and have it in abundance (cf. John 10:10). From divine mercy, which puts hearts at peace, also arises the authentic peace of the world, peace among peoples, cultures and religions.
Like Sister Faustina, John Paul II became in turn an apostle of divine mercy. On the night of that unforgettable Saturday, April 2, 2005, when he closed his eyes to this world, precisely the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter was celebrated, and many observed the unique coincidence, which brought together a Marian dimension -- the first Saturday of the month -- and that of divine mercy.
In fact, his long and multifaceted pontificate finds here its central nucleus; all of his mission at the service of the truth about God, about man and peace in the world is summarized in this proclamation, as he himself said in Krakow-Lagiewniki in 2002, in inaugurating the great Shrine of Divine Mercy, "Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind." His message, like that of St. Faustina, presents the face of Christ, supreme revelation of the mercy of God. To contemplate constantly this face: This is the inheritance that he has left us, which we welcome with joy and make our own.
There will be special reflection about divine mercy in the coming days, due to the World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy, which will take place in Rome and will be inaugurated with the holy Mass, which, God willing, I will preside over in the morning of Wednesday, April 2, on the third anniversary of the death of the Servant of God John Paul II. Let us place the congress under the heavenly protection of most holy Mary, Mother of Mercy. We entrust to her the great cause of peace in the world so that the mercy of God achieves what is impossible with human strength alone, and instills the courage for dialogue and reconciliation.
[Translation by ZENIT]
* * *
[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the people in various languages. In English, he said:]
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here today. This Sunday's Gospel reminds us that through faith we recognize the presence of the Risen Lord in the Church, and that we receive from him the gift of the Holy Spirit. During this Easter season may we strengthen our desire to bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ calling us to a life of peace and joy. Upon each of you present and your families, I invoke God's blessings of happiness and wisdom.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, MARCH 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the greeting Benedict XVI gave today before praying the Regina Caeli with thousands of people gathered in the patio of the pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.* * *
Dear brothers and sisters:
During the Jubilee Year 2000, the dear Servant of God John Paul II established that in the whole Church the Sunday after Easter, besides being the Sunday "in albis" would be designated Divine Mercy Sunday. He did this together with the canonization of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish woman religious, who was born in 1905 and died in 1938, a zealous messenger of merciful Jesus.
Mercy is in reality the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God, the face with which he has revealed himself in the old covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, the incarnation of creative and redeeming love. This merciful love also illumines the face of the Church, and is manifested, both by way of the sacraments, in particular that of reconciliation, and with works of communitarian and individual charity.
All that the Church says and does shows the mercy that God feels for man. When the Church has to remind about a neglected truth, or a betrayed good, it does it always motivated by a merciful love, so that men may have life and have it in abundance (cf. John 10:10). From divine mercy, which puts hearts at peace, also arises the authentic peace of the world, peace among peoples, cultures and religions.
Like Sister Faustina, John Paul II became in turn an apostle of divine mercy. On the night of that unforgettable Saturday, April 2, 2005, when he closed his eyes to this world, precisely the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter was celebrated, and many observed the unique coincidence, which brought together a Marian dimension -- the first Saturday of the month -- and that of divine mercy.
In fact, his long and multifaceted pontificate finds here its central nucleus; all of his mission at the service of the truth about God, about man and peace in the world is summarized in this proclamation, as he himself said in Krakow-Lagiewniki in 2002, in inaugurating the great Shrine of Divine Mercy, "Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind." His message, like that of St. Faustina, presents the face of Christ, supreme revelation of the mercy of God. To contemplate constantly this face: This is the inheritance that he has left us, which we welcome with joy and make our own.
There will be special reflection about divine mercy in the coming days, due to the World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy, which will take place in Rome and will be inaugurated with the holy Mass, which, God willing, I will preside over in the morning of Wednesday, April 2, on the third anniversary of the death of the Servant of God John Paul II. Let us place the congress under the heavenly protection of most holy Mary, Mother of Mercy. We entrust to her the great cause of peace in the world so that the mercy of God achieves what is impossible with human strength alone, and instills the courage for dialogue and reconciliation.
[Translation by ZENIT]
* * *
[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the people in various languages. In English, he said:]
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here today. This Sunday's Gospel reminds us that through faith we recognize the presence of the Risen Lord in the Church, and that we receive from him the gift of the Holy Spirit. During this Easter season may we strengthen our desire to bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ calling us to a life of peace and joy. Upon each of you present and your families, I invoke God's blessings of happiness and wisdom.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Dallas diocese elects suffragan bishop
On March 29, 126 clergy and 207 lay delegates met to elect a bishop suffragan for the Diocese of Dallas. At 8 a.m., the convention met to determine a quorum and then recessed to the cathedral to celebrate the Eucharist. In his Eucharistic sermon, Bishop Stanton quoted from the bishop’s ordination “Examination” (BCP, p. 517 – 518) with emphasis and elaboration on the following.
1) “A bishop is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.”
2) “You are called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church …to be in all things a faithfu lpast rand wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”
3) “With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God
in hope.”
After the Eucharist, the convention reconvened to begin the election process. During each of the ballots, participants observed a time of silent prayer before voting and continued without speaking to each other until the pages had collected all ballots. It took six ballots (during which the Rev. Ally Perry and Cn. Dr. Neal O. Michell withdrew their names from the election) to confirm a concurrent majority of both orders — clergy (requiring 63 out of 124 votes) and lay (requiring 102 out of 203 votes) — to elect Cn. Paul Lambert.
The final vote was:
The Rev. Leander S. Harding, Ph.D. Clergy: 24 Laity: 49
The Rev. Canon David W. Holland Clergy: 29 Laity: 33
The Rev. Raymond E. Jennison, Jr. Clergy: 0 Laity: 1
The Rev. Cn. Paul E. Lambert Clergy: 71 Laity: 120
Cn. Lambert was born May 19, 1950 in Reno, NV, and his parents raised him as a Roman Catholic. It was during his student years at the College of the Sequoias Community College in Visalia, CA, that he became an Episcopalian at St. Paul’s. In his spiritual biography, he remarked, “In this community of faith, I experienced what it meant to be loved by a community that lived out the reality of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.”
He then transferred to Cal. State University, San Francisco, where he attended St. Matthew’s in San Mateo. It was there that he first sensed the call to ordained ministry; so, after graduation, he proceeded to Nashotah House Theological Seminary. While there, he met and married Sally L. Nicholls.
After completing seminary, he began his ministry as curate at St. Paul’s (Modesto, CA) and St. Matthias (Oakdale, CA). Since then, he has served as vicar of St. Andrew’s (Taft, CA), assistant at Transfiguration (Dallas, TX), rector of St. John’s (Great Bend, KS), vicar of St. Mark’s (Lyons, KS), assistant at Holy Nativity (Plano, TX), rector of St. James’ (Texarkana. TX), and presently, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Dallas.
1) “A bishop is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.”
2) “You are called to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church …to be in all things a faithfu lpast rand wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”
3) “With your fellow bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God
in hope.”
After the Eucharist, the convention reconvened to begin the election process. During each of the ballots, participants observed a time of silent prayer before voting and continued without speaking to each other until the pages had collected all ballots. It took six ballots (during which the Rev. Ally Perry and Cn. Dr. Neal O. Michell withdrew their names from the election) to confirm a concurrent majority of both orders — clergy (requiring 63 out of 124 votes) and lay (requiring 102 out of 203 votes) — to elect Cn. Paul Lambert.
The final vote was:
The Rev. Leander S. Harding, Ph.D. Clergy: 24 Laity: 49
The Rev. Canon David W. Holland Clergy: 29 Laity: 33
The Rev. Raymond E. Jennison, Jr. Clergy: 0 Laity: 1
The Rev. Cn. Paul E. Lambert Clergy: 71 Laity: 120
Cn. Lambert was born May 19, 1950 in Reno, NV, and his parents raised him as a Roman Catholic. It was during his student years at the College of the Sequoias Community College in Visalia, CA, that he became an Episcopalian at St. Paul’s. In his spiritual biography, he remarked, “In this community of faith, I experienced what it meant to be loved by a community that lived out the reality of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.”
He then transferred to Cal. State University, San Francisco, where he attended St. Matthew’s in San Mateo. It was there that he first sensed the call to ordained ministry; so, after graduation, he proceeded to Nashotah House Theological Seminary. While there, he met and married Sally L. Nicholls.
After completing seminary, he began his ministry as curate at St. Paul’s (Modesto, CA) and St. Matthias (Oakdale, CA). Since then, he has served as vicar of St. Andrew’s (Taft, CA), assistant at Transfiguration (Dallas, TX), rector of St. John’s (Great Bend, KS), vicar of St. Mark’s (Lyons, KS), assistant at Holy Nativity (Plano, TX), rector of St. James’ (Texarkana. TX), and presently, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Dallas.
SOLEMN MASS AND CELEBRATION OF DIVINE MERCY
LIVE 2 1/2 hrs.The Mass of the Feast of the Divine Mercy live from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbride, MA, hosted by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception; the event also includes the Divine Mercy Chaplet and other devotional activities.
Sun 3/30 1PM ET & 10:00 AM PT LIVE
Sun 3/30 10:00 PM ET & 7:00 PM PT
Friday, March 28, 2008
Ben Stein's Controversial Film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed Tops the Blogosphere
Scientists Get "Caught" Trying to Sneak Into Stein's Movie
LOS ANGELES, March 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- According to Technoranati's BlogPulse which surveys the hottest topics and sites in the world of blogs, a site featuring Ben Stein's controversial new film Expelled is the #1 blog on the net.
The web traffic spiked when P.Z. Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, attempted to sneak into a private, invitation-only screening of Ben Stein's highly controversial upcoming movie, EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed (www.expelledthemovie.com). But Myers, who is an outspoken atheist and author of the science blog "Pharyngula" got caught and has used his blog to bitterly complain about not being allowed to see the film before its release.
Myers, who was interviewed in Expelled, has apparently been asking supporters to sneak into the private screenings which are being conducted by marketing company Motive Entertainment (www.motivemarketing.biz; which handled grassroots marketing for blockbusters The Passion of the Christ and Chronicles of Narnia) for various leaders as part of the grass roots marketing of the film.
When confronted at the screening by Myers' friend Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist who is himself featured in the film, as to why Myers was "expelled" from the screening, producer Mark Mathis replied that the producers were eager for Myers to screen the film but only after he had paid $10 to watch it with the rest of America after it releases on April 18th.
Mathis saw rich irony in Myers' discontent with being "expelled" from Expelled:
"It was amazing to see the reaction of Myers, Richard Dawkins and their friends when one of them wasn't allowed to screen a film. Yet these men applaud the fact that throughout the nation, professors are fired from their jobs and permanently excluded from their profession for questioning Darwinism."
"We can't wait for all Americans, including our friend P.Z. Myers, to see the film when it opens on April 18th," noted executive producer Logan Craft of Premise Media. "We'll even throw in some free popcorn for P.Z. if he'll tell us which theater he'll be attending."
"I hope PZ's experience has helped him see the light. He's distraught because he could not see a movie," noted Mathis. "What if he wasn't allowed to teach on a college campus or was denied tenure? Maybe he'll think twice before he starts demanding more professors be blacklisted and expelled simply because they question the adequacy of Darwin's theory."
Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed opens nationwide on April 18th. Learn more at www.ExpelledTheMovie.com and www.GetExpelled.com.
For More Information contact:
Lesley Burbridge-Bates
Motive Entertainment Partnership
615.567.6201 office
615.414.7573 cell.
lesley@motivemarketing.biz
Christian Newswire
LOS ANGELES, March 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- According to Technoranati's BlogPulse which surveys the hottest topics and sites in the world of blogs, a site featuring Ben Stein's controversial new film Expelled is the #1 blog on the net.
The web traffic spiked when P.Z. Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, attempted to sneak into a private, invitation-only screening of Ben Stein's highly controversial upcoming movie, EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed (www.expelledthemovie.com). But Myers, who is an outspoken atheist and author of the science blog "Pharyngula" got caught and has used his blog to bitterly complain about not being allowed to see the film before its release.
Myers, who was interviewed in Expelled, has apparently been asking supporters to sneak into the private screenings which are being conducted by marketing company Motive Entertainment (www.motivemarketing.biz; which handled grassroots marketing for blockbusters The Passion of the Christ and Chronicles of Narnia) for various leaders as part of the grass roots marketing of the film.
When confronted at the screening by Myers' friend Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist who is himself featured in the film, as to why Myers was "expelled" from the screening, producer Mark Mathis replied that the producers were eager for Myers to screen the film but only after he had paid $10 to watch it with the rest of America after it releases on April 18th.
Mathis saw rich irony in Myers' discontent with being "expelled" from Expelled:
"It was amazing to see the reaction of Myers, Richard Dawkins and their friends when one of them wasn't allowed to screen a film. Yet these men applaud the fact that throughout the nation, professors are fired from their jobs and permanently excluded from their profession for questioning Darwinism."
"We can't wait for all Americans, including our friend P.Z. Myers, to see the film when it opens on April 18th," noted executive producer Logan Craft of Premise Media. "We'll even throw in some free popcorn for P.Z. if he'll tell us which theater he'll be attending."
"I hope PZ's experience has helped him see the light. He's distraught because he could not see a movie," noted Mathis. "What if he wasn't allowed to teach on a college campus or was denied tenure? Maybe he'll think twice before he starts demanding more professors be blacklisted and expelled simply because they question the adequacy of Darwin's theory."
Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed opens nationwide on April 18th. Learn more at www.ExpelledTheMovie.com and www.GetExpelled.com.
For More Information contact:
Lesley Burbridge-Bates
Motive Entertainment Partnership
615.567.6201 office
615.414.7573 cell.
lesley@motivemarketing.biz
Christian Newswire
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Benedict XVI's Easter Vigil Homily
"We Are Not Called to Darkness, But to Light"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered Holy Saturday at the Mass of the Easter Vigil, celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In his farewell discourse, Jesus announced his imminent death and resurrection to his disciples with these mysterious words: "I go away, and I will come to you", he said (Jn 14:28). Dying is a "going away". Even if the body of the deceased remains behind, he himself has gone away into the unknown, and we cannot follow him (cf. Jn 13:36). Yet in Jesus's case, there is something utterly new, which changes the world.
In the case of our own death, the "going away" is definitive, there is no return. Jesus, on the other hand, says of his death: "I go away, and I will come to you." It is by going away that he comes. His going ushers in a completely new and greater way of being present. By dying he enters into the love of the Father. His dying is an act of love. Love, however, is immortal. Therefore, his going away is transformed into a new coming, into a form of presence which reaches deeper and does not come to an end. During his earthly life, Jesus, like all of us, was tied to the external conditions of bodily existence: to a determined place and a determined time.
Bodiliness places limits on our existence. We cannot be simultaneously in two different places. Our time is destined to come to an end. And between the "I" and the "you" there is a wall of otherness. To be sure, through love we can somehow enter the other's existence.
Nevertheless, the insurmountable barrier of being different remains in place. Yet Jesus, who is now totally transformed through the act of love, is free from such barriers and limits. He is able not only to pass through closed doors in the outside world, as the Gospels recount (cf. Jn 20:19). He can pass through the interior door separating the "I" from the "you", the closed door between yesterday and today, between the past and the future. On the day of his solemn entry into Jerusalem, when some Greeks asked to see him, Jesus replied with the parable of the grain of wheat which has to pass through death in order to bear much fruit. In this way he foretold his own destiny: these words were not addressed simply to one or two Greeks in the space of a few minutes.
Through his Cross, through his going away, through his dying like the grain of wheat, he would truly arrive among the Greeks, in such a way that they could see him and touch him through faith. His going away is transformed into a coming, in the Risen Lord's universal manner of presence, in which he is there yesterday, today and for ever, in which he embraces all times and all places. Now he can even surmount the wall of otherness that separates the "I" from the "you". This happened with Paul, who describes the process of his conversion and his Baptism in these words: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). Through the coming of the Risen One, Paul obtained a new identity. His closed "I" was opened. Now he lives in communion with Jesus Christ, in the great "I" of believers who have become -- as he puts it -- "one in Christ" (Gal 3:28).
So, dear friends, it is clear that, through Baptism, the mysterious words spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper become present for you once more. In Baptism, the Lord enters your life through the door of your heart. We no longer stand alongside or in opposition to one another.
He passes through all these doors. This is the reality of Baptism: he, the Risen One, comes; he comes to you and joins his life with yours, drawing you into the open fire of his love. You become one, one with him, and thus one among yourselves. At first this can sound rather abstract and unrealistic. But the more you live the life of the baptized, the more you can experience the truth of these words. Believers -- the baptized -- are never truly cut off from one another. Continents, cultures, social structures or even historical distances may separate us.
But when we meet, we know one another on the basis of the same Lord, the same faith, the same hope, the same love, which form us. Then we experience that the foundation of our lives is the same. We experience that in our inmost depths we are anchored in the same identity, on the basis of which all our outward differences, however great they may be, become secondary. Believers are never totally cut off from one another. We are in communion because of our deepest identity: Christ within us. Thus faith is a force for peace and reconciliation in the world: distances between people are overcome, in the Lord we have become close (cf. Eph 2:13).
The Church expresses the inner reality of Baptism as the gift of a new identity through the tangible elements used in the administration of the sacrament. The fundamental element in Baptism is water; next, in second place, is light, which is used to great effect in the Liturgy of the Easter Vigil. Let us take a brief look at these two elements. In the final chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, there is a statement about Christ which does not speak directly of water, but the Old Testament allusions nevertheless point clearly to the mystery of water and its symbolic meaning. Here we read: "The God of peace brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant" (13:20).
In this sentence, there is an echo of the prophecy of Isaiah, in which Moses is described as the shepherd whom the Lord brought up from the water, from the sea (cf. 63:11). Jesus appears as the new, definitive Shepherd who brings to fulfillment what Moses had done: he leads us out of the deadly waters of the sea, out of the waters of death. In this context we may recall that Moses' mother placed him in a basket in the Nile. Then, through God's providence, he was taken out of the water, carried from death to life, and thus -- having himself been saved from the waters of death -- he was able to lead others through the sea of death. Jesus descended for us into the dark waters of death.
But through his blood, so the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, he was brought back from death: his love united itself to the Father's love, and thus from the abyss of death he was able to rise to life. Now he raises us from death to true life. This is exactly what happens in Baptism: he draws us towards himself, he draws us into true life. He leads us through the often murky sea of history, where we are frequently in danger of sinking amid all the confusion and perils. In Baptism he takes us, as it were, by the hand, he leads us along the path that passes through the Red Sea of this life and introduces us to everlasting life, the true and upright life. Let us grasp his hand firmly! Whatever may happen, whatever may befall us, let us not lose hold of his hand! Let us walk along the path that leads to life.
In the second place, there is the symbol of light and fire. Gregory of Tours recounts a practice that in some places was preserved for a long time, of lighting the new fire for the celebration of the Easter Vigil directly from the sun, using a crystal. Light and fire, so to speak, were received anew from heaven, so that all the lights and fires of the year could be kindled from them. This is a symbol of what we are celebrating in the Easter Vigil.
Through his radical love for us, in which the heart of God and the heart of man touched, Jesus Christ truly took light from heaven and brought it to the earth -- the light of truth and the fire of love that transform man's being. He brought the light, and now we know who God is and what God is like. Thus we also know what our own situation is: what we are, and for what purpose we exist. When we are baptized, the fire of this light is brought down deep within ourselves. Thus, in the early Church, Baptism was also called the Sacrament of Illumination: God's light enters into us; thus we ourselves become children of light.
We must not allow this light of truth, that shows us the path, to be extinguished. We must protect it from all the forces that seek to eliminate it so as to cast us back into darkness regarding God and ourselves. Darkness, at times, can seem comfortable. I can hide, and spend my life asleep. Yet we are not called to darkness, but to light. In our baptismal promises, we rekindle this light, so to speak, year by year. Yes, I believe that the world and my life are not the product of chance, but of eternal Reason and eternal Love, they are created by Almighty God. Yes, I believe that in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, in his Cross and resurrection, the face of God has been revealed; that in him, God is present in our midst, he unites us and leads us towards our goal, towards eternal Love.
Yes, I believe that the Holy Spirit gives us the word of truth and enlightens our hearts; I believe that in the communion of the Church we all become one Body with the Lord, and thus we encounter his resurrection and eternal life. The Lord has granted us the light of truth. This light is also fire, a powerful force coming from God, a force that does not destroy, but seeks to transform our hearts, so that we truly become men of God, and so that his peace can become active in this world.
In the early Church there was a custom whereby the Bishop or the priest, after the homily, would cry out to the faithful: "Conversi ad Dominum" -- turn now towards the Lord. This meant in the first place that they would turn towards the East, towards the rising sun, the sign of Christ returning, whom we go to meet when we celebrate the Eucharist. Where this was not possible, for some reason, they would at least turn towards the image of Christ in the apse, or towards the Cross, so as to orient themselves inwardly towards the Lord.
Fundamentally, this involved an interior event; conversion, the turning of our soul towards Jesus Christ and thus towards the living God, towards the true light. Linked with this, then, was the other exclamation that still today, before the Eucharistic Prayer, is addressed to the community of the faithful: "Sursum corda" -- "Lift up your hearts", high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness -- "Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!" In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: Conversi ad Dominum -- we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions.
We must turn ever anew towards him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down, and inwardly we must raise them high: in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of his word and of the holy Sacraments, he points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards. Let us pray to him in these words: Yes, Lord, make us Easter people, men and women of light, filled with the fire of your love. Amen.
[Translation distributed by the Holy See]
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered Holy Saturday at the Mass of the Easter Vigil, celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In his farewell discourse, Jesus announced his imminent death and resurrection to his disciples with these mysterious words: "I go away, and I will come to you", he said (Jn 14:28). Dying is a "going away". Even if the body of the deceased remains behind, he himself has gone away into the unknown, and we cannot follow him (cf. Jn 13:36). Yet in Jesus's case, there is something utterly new, which changes the world.
In the case of our own death, the "going away" is definitive, there is no return. Jesus, on the other hand, says of his death: "I go away, and I will come to you." It is by going away that he comes. His going ushers in a completely new and greater way of being present. By dying he enters into the love of the Father. His dying is an act of love. Love, however, is immortal. Therefore, his going away is transformed into a new coming, into a form of presence which reaches deeper and does not come to an end. During his earthly life, Jesus, like all of us, was tied to the external conditions of bodily existence: to a determined place and a determined time.
Bodiliness places limits on our existence. We cannot be simultaneously in two different places. Our time is destined to come to an end. And between the "I" and the "you" there is a wall of otherness. To be sure, through love we can somehow enter the other's existence.
Nevertheless, the insurmountable barrier of being different remains in place. Yet Jesus, who is now totally transformed through the act of love, is free from such barriers and limits. He is able not only to pass through closed doors in the outside world, as the Gospels recount (cf. Jn 20:19). He can pass through the interior door separating the "I" from the "you", the closed door between yesterday and today, between the past and the future. On the day of his solemn entry into Jerusalem, when some Greeks asked to see him, Jesus replied with the parable of the grain of wheat which has to pass through death in order to bear much fruit. In this way he foretold his own destiny: these words were not addressed simply to one or two Greeks in the space of a few minutes.
Through his Cross, through his going away, through his dying like the grain of wheat, he would truly arrive among the Greeks, in such a way that they could see him and touch him through faith. His going away is transformed into a coming, in the Risen Lord's universal manner of presence, in which he is there yesterday, today and for ever, in which he embraces all times and all places. Now he can even surmount the wall of otherness that separates the "I" from the "you". This happened with Paul, who describes the process of his conversion and his Baptism in these words: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). Through the coming of the Risen One, Paul obtained a new identity. His closed "I" was opened. Now he lives in communion with Jesus Christ, in the great "I" of believers who have become -- as he puts it -- "one in Christ" (Gal 3:28).
So, dear friends, it is clear that, through Baptism, the mysterious words spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper become present for you once more. In Baptism, the Lord enters your life through the door of your heart. We no longer stand alongside or in opposition to one another.
He passes through all these doors. This is the reality of Baptism: he, the Risen One, comes; he comes to you and joins his life with yours, drawing you into the open fire of his love. You become one, one with him, and thus one among yourselves. At first this can sound rather abstract and unrealistic. But the more you live the life of the baptized, the more you can experience the truth of these words. Believers -- the baptized -- are never truly cut off from one another. Continents, cultures, social structures or even historical distances may separate us.
But when we meet, we know one another on the basis of the same Lord, the same faith, the same hope, the same love, which form us. Then we experience that the foundation of our lives is the same. We experience that in our inmost depths we are anchored in the same identity, on the basis of which all our outward differences, however great they may be, become secondary. Believers are never totally cut off from one another. We are in communion because of our deepest identity: Christ within us. Thus faith is a force for peace and reconciliation in the world: distances between people are overcome, in the Lord we have become close (cf. Eph 2:13).
The Church expresses the inner reality of Baptism as the gift of a new identity through the tangible elements used in the administration of the sacrament. The fundamental element in Baptism is water; next, in second place, is light, which is used to great effect in the Liturgy of the Easter Vigil. Let us take a brief look at these two elements. In the final chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, there is a statement about Christ which does not speak directly of water, but the Old Testament allusions nevertheless point clearly to the mystery of water and its symbolic meaning. Here we read: "The God of peace brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant" (13:20).
In this sentence, there is an echo of the prophecy of Isaiah, in which Moses is described as the shepherd whom the Lord brought up from the water, from the sea (cf. 63:11). Jesus appears as the new, definitive Shepherd who brings to fulfillment what Moses had done: he leads us out of the deadly waters of the sea, out of the waters of death. In this context we may recall that Moses' mother placed him in a basket in the Nile. Then, through God's providence, he was taken out of the water, carried from death to life, and thus -- having himself been saved from the waters of death -- he was able to lead others through the sea of death. Jesus descended for us into the dark waters of death.
But through his blood, so the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, he was brought back from death: his love united itself to the Father's love, and thus from the abyss of death he was able to rise to life. Now he raises us from death to true life. This is exactly what happens in Baptism: he draws us towards himself, he draws us into true life. He leads us through the often murky sea of history, where we are frequently in danger of sinking amid all the confusion and perils. In Baptism he takes us, as it were, by the hand, he leads us along the path that passes through the Red Sea of this life and introduces us to everlasting life, the true and upright life. Let us grasp his hand firmly! Whatever may happen, whatever may befall us, let us not lose hold of his hand! Let us walk along the path that leads to life.
In the second place, there is the symbol of light and fire. Gregory of Tours recounts a practice that in some places was preserved for a long time, of lighting the new fire for the celebration of the Easter Vigil directly from the sun, using a crystal. Light and fire, so to speak, were received anew from heaven, so that all the lights and fires of the year could be kindled from them. This is a symbol of what we are celebrating in the Easter Vigil.
Through his radical love for us, in which the heart of God and the heart of man touched, Jesus Christ truly took light from heaven and brought it to the earth -- the light of truth and the fire of love that transform man's being. He brought the light, and now we know who God is and what God is like. Thus we also know what our own situation is: what we are, and for what purpose we exist. When we are baptized, the fire of this light is brought down deep within ourselves. Thus, in the early Church, Baptism was also called the Sacrament of Illumination: God's light enters into us; thus we ourselves become children of light.
We must not allow this light of truth, that shows us the path, to be extinguished. We must protect it from all the forces that seek to eliminate it so as to cast us back into darkness regarding God and ourselves. Darkness, at times, can seem comfortable. I can hide, and spend my life asleep. Yet we are not called to darkness, but to light. In our baptismal promises, we rekindle this light, so to speak, year by year. Yes, I believe that the world and my life are not the product of chance, but of eternal Reason and eternal Love, they are created by Almighty God. Yes, I believe that in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, in his Cross and resurrection, the face of God has been revealed; that in him, God is present in our midst, he unites us and leads us towards our goal, towards eternal Love.
Yes, I believe that the Holy Spirit gives us the word of truth and enlightens our hearts; I believe that in the communion of the Church we all become one Body with the Lord, and thus we encounter his resurrection and eternal life. The Lord has granted us the light of truth. This light is also fire, a powerful force coming from God, a force that does not destroy, but seeks to transform our hearts, so that we truly become men of God, and so that his peace can become active in this world.
In the early Church there was a custom whereby the Bishop or the priest, after the homily, would cry out to the faithful: "Conversi ad Dominum" -- turn now towards the Lord. This meant in the first place that they would turn towards the East, towards the rising sun, the sign of Christ returning, whom we go to meet when we celebrate the Eucharist. Where this was not possible, for some reason, they would at least turn towards the image of Christ in the apse, or towards the Cross, so as to orient themselves inwardly towards the Lord.
Fundamentally, this involved an interior event; conversion, the turning of our soul towards Jesus Christ and thus towards the living God, towards the true light. Linked with this, then, was the other exclamation that still today, before the Eucharistic Prayer, is addressed to the community of the faithful: "Sursum corda" -- "Lift up your hearts", high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness -- "Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!" In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: Conversi ad Dominum -- we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions.
We must turn ever anew towards him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down, and inwardly we must raise them high: in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of his word and of the holy Sacraments, he points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards. Let us pray to him in these words: Yes, Lord, make us Easter people, men and women of light, filled with the fire of your love. Amen.
[Translation distributed by the Holy See]
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Pope's Message for Easter
"The Resurrection of Jesus Is Essentially an Event of Love"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's Easter message delivered today at midday before he imparted his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world).
* * *
Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia! I have risen, I am still with you. Alleluia! Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus, crucified and risen, repeats this joyful proclamation to us today: the Easter proclamation. Let us welcome it with deep wonder and gratitude!
Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum -- I have risen, I am still with you, for ever. These words, taken from an ancient version of Psalm 138 (v. 18b), were sung at the beginning of today's Mass. In them, at the rising of the Easter sun, the Church recognizes the voice of Jesus himself who, on rising from death, turns to the Father filled with gladness and love, and exclaims: My Father, here I am! I have risen, I am still with you, and so I shall be for ever; your Spirit never abandoned me.
In this way we can also come to a new understanding of other passages from the psalm: "If I climb the heavens, you are there; if I descend into the underworld, you are there Even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as clear as day; for you, darkness is like light" (Ps 138:8,12). It is true: in the solemn Easter vigil, darkness becomes light, night gives way to the day that knows no sunset. The death and resurrection of the Word of God incarnate is an event of invincible love, it is the victory of that Love which has delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. It has changed the course of history, giving to human life an indestructible and renewed meaning and value.
"I have risen and I am still with you, for ever." These words invite us to contemplate the risen Christ, letting his voice resound in our heart. With his redeeming sacrifice, Jesus of Nazareth has made us adopted children of God, so that we too can now take our place in the mysterious dialogue between him and the Father. We are reminded of what he once said to those who were listening: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mt 11:27).
In this perspective, we note that the words addressed by the risen Jesus to the Father on this day -- "I am still with you, forever" -- apply indirectly to us as well, "children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (cf. Rom 8:17). Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we too rise to new life today, and uniting our voice with his, we proclaim that we wish to remain forever with God, our infinitely good and merciful Father.
In this way we enter the depths of the Paschal mystery. The astonishing event of the resurrection of Jesus is essentially an event of love: the Father's love in handing over his Son for the salvation of the world; the Son's love in abandoning himself to the Father's will for us all; the Spirit's love in raising Jesus from the dead in his transfigured body. And there is more: the Father's love which "newly embraces" the Son, enfolding him in glory; the Son's love returning to the Father in the power of the Spirit, robed in our transfigured humanity. From today's solemnity, in which we relive the absolute, once-and-for-all experience of Jesus's resurrection, we receive an appeal to be converted to Love; we receive an invitation to live by rejecting hatred and selfishness, and to follow with docility in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain for our salvation, to imitate the Redeemer who is "gentle and lowly in heart", who is "rest for our souls" (cf. Mt 11:29).
Dear Christian brothers and sisters in every part of the world, dear men and women whose spirit is sincerely open to the truth, let no heart be closed to the omnipotence of this redeeming love! Jesus Christ died and rose for all; he is our hope -- true hope for every human being. Today, just as he did with his disciples in Galilee before returning to the Father, the risen Jesus now sends us everywhere as witnesses of his hope, and he reassures us: I am with you always, all days, until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Fixing the gaze of our spirit on the glorious wounds of his transfigured body, we can understand the meaning and value of suffering, we can tend the many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity in our own day.
In his glorious wounds we recognize the indestructible signs of the infinite mercy of the God of whom the prophet says: it is he who heals the wounds of broken hearts, who defends the weak and proclaims the freedom of slaves, who consoles all the afflicted and bestows upon them the oil of gladness instead of a mourning robe, a song of praise instead of a sorrowful heart (cf. Is 61:1,2,3). If with humble trust we draw near to him, we encounter in his gaze the response to the deepest longings of our heart: to know God and to establish with him a living relationship in an authentic communion of love, which can fill our lives, our interpersonal and social relations with that same love. For this reason, humanity needs Christ: in him, our hope, "we have been saved" (cf. Rom 8:24).
How often relations between individuals, between groups and between peoples are marked not by love but by selfishness, injustice, hatred and violence! These are the scourges of humanity, open and festering in every corner of the planet, although they are often ignored and sometimes deliberately concealed; wounds that torture the souls and bodies of countless of our brothers and sisters. They are waiting to be tended and healed by the glorious wounds of our Risen Lord (cf. 1 Pet 2:24-25) and by the solidarity of people who, following in his footsteps, perform deeds of charity in his name, make an active commitment to justice, and spread luminous signs of hope in areas bloodied by conflict and wherever the dignity of the human person continues to be scorned and trampled. It is hoped that these are precisely the places where gestures of moderation and forgiveness will increase!
Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow the light that streams forth from this solemn day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that his victory over evil and death may also triumph in each one of us, in our families, in our cities and in our nations. Let it shine forth in every part of the world. In particular, how can we fail to remember certain African regions, such as Dafur and Somalia, the tormented Middle East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon, and finally Tibet, all of whom I encourage to seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good! Let us invoke the fullness of his Paschal gifts, through the intercession of Mary who, after sharing the sufferings of the passion and crucifixion of her innocent Son, also experienced the inexpressible joy of his resurrection. Sharing in the glory of Christ, may she be the one to protect us and guide us along the path of fraternal solidarity and peace. These are my Easter greetings, which I address to all who are present here, and to men and women of every nation and continent united with us through radio and television. Happy Easter!
[Translation distributed by the Holy See]
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's Easter message delivered today at midday before he imparted his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world).
* * *
Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia! I have risen, I am still with you. Alleluia! Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus, crucified and risen, repeats this joyful proclamation to us today: the Easter proclamation. Let us welcome it with deep wonder and gratitude!
Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum -- I have risen, I am still with you, for ever. These words, taken from an ancient version of Psalm 138 (v. 18b), were sung at the beginning of today's Mass. In them, at the rising of the Easter sun, the Church recognizes the voice of Jesus himself who, on rising from death, turns to the Father filled with gladness and love, and exclaims: My Father, here I am! I have risen, I am still with you, and so I shall be for ever; your Spirit never abandoned me.
In this way we can also come to a new understanding of other passages from the psalm: "If I climb the heavens, you are there; if I descend into the underworld, you are there Even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as clear as day; for you, darkness is like light" (Ps 138:8,12). It is true: in the solemn Easter vigil, darkness becomes light, night gives way to the day that knows no sunset. The death and resurrection of the Word of God incarnate is an event of invincible love, it is the victory of that Love which has delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. It has changed the course of history, giving to human life an indestructible and renewed meaning and value.
"I have risen and I am still with you, for ever." These words invite us to contemplate the risen Christ, letting his voice resound in our heart. With his redeeming sacrifice, Jesus of Nazareth has made us adopted children of God, so that we too can now take our place in the mysterious dialogue between him and the Father. We are reminded of what he once said to those who were listening: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mt 11:27).
In this perspective, we note that the words addressed by the risen Jesus to the Father on this day -- "I am still with you, forever" -- apply indirectly to us as well, "children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (cf. Rom 8:17). Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we too rise to new life today, and uniting our voice with his, we proclaim that we wish to remain forever with God, our infinitely good and merciful Father.
In this way we enter the depths of the Paschal mystery. The astonishing event of the resurrection of Jesus is essentially an event of love: the Father's love in handing over his Son for the salvation of the world; the Son's love in abandoning himself to the Father's will for us all; the Spirit's love in raising Jesus from the dead in his transfigured body. And there is more: the Father's love which "newly embraces" the Son, enfolding him in glory; the Son's love returning to the Father in the power of the Spirit, robed in our transfigured humanity. From today's solemnity, in which we relive the absolute, once-and-for-all experience of Jesus's resurrection, we receive an appeal to be converted to Love; we receive an invitation to live by rejecting hatred and selfishness, and to follow with docility in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain for our salvation, to imitate the Redeemer who is "gentle and lowly in heart", who is "rest for our souls" (cf. Mt 11:29).
Dear Christian brothers and sisters in every part of the world, dear men and women whose spirit is sincerely open to the truth, let no heart be closed to the omnipotence of this redeeming love! Jesus Christ died and rose for all; he is our hope -- true hope for every human being. Today, just as he did with his disciples in Galilee before returning to the Father, the risen Jesus now sends us everywhere as witnesses of his hope, and he reassures us: I am with you always, all days, until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Fixing the gaze of our spirit on the glorious wounds of his transfigured body, we can understand the meaning and value of suffering, we can tend the many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity in our own day.
In his glorious wounds we recognize the indestructible signs of the infinite mercy of the God of whom the prophet says: it is he who heals the wounds of broken hearts, who defends the weak and proclaims the freedom of slaves, who consoles all the afflicted and bestows upon them the oil of gladness instead of a mourning robe, a song of praise instead of a sorrowful heart (cf. Is 61:1,2,3). If with humble trust we draw near to him, we encounter in his gaze the response to the deepest longings of our heart: to know God and to establish with him a living relationship in an authentic communion of love, which can fill our lives, our interpersonal and social relations with that same love. For this reason, humanity needs Christ: in him, our hope, "we have been saved" (cf. Rom 8:24).
How often relations between individuals, between groups and between peoples are marked not by love but by selfishness, injustice, hatred and violence! These are the scourges of humanity, open and festering in every corner of the planet, although they are often ignored and sometimes deliberately concealed; wounds that torture the souls and bodies of countless of our brothers and sisters. They are waiting to be tended and healed by the glorious wounds of our Risen Lord (cf. 1 Pet 2:24-25) and by the solidarity of people who, following in his footsteps, perform deeds of charity in his name, make an active commitment to justice, and spread luminous signs of hope in areas bloodied by conflict and wherever the dignity of the human person continues to be scorned and trampled. It is hoped that these are precisely the places where gestures of moderation and forgiveness will increase!
Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow the light that streams forth from this solemn day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that his victory over evil and death may also triumph in each one of us, in our families, in our cities and in our nations. Let it shine forth in every part of the world. In particular, how can we fail to remember certain African regions, such as Dafur and Somalia, the tormented Middle East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon, and finally Tibet, all of whom I encourage to seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good! Let us invoke the fullness of his Paschal gifts, through the intercession of Mary who, after sharing the sufferings of the passion and crucifixion of her innocent Son, also experienced the inexpressible joy of his resurrection. Sharing in the glory of Christ, may she be the one to protect us and guide us along the path of fraternal solidarity and peace. These are my Easter greetings, which I address to all who are present here, and to men and women of every nation and continent united with us through radio and television. Happy Easter!
[Translation distributed by the Holy See]
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
EWTN This Week
SOLEMN MASS OF THE PALM SUNDAY
CHRISMAL MASS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI 2 hrs.
Thu 3/20/2008 3:30 AM CT
SOLEMN MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE 2 hrs.
Thu 3/20/2008 11:30 PM CT
Fri 3/21/08 11:00 PM CT
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE 2 1/2 hrs.
Fri 3/21/2008 11:00 AM CT
Sat 3/22/08 11:00 PM CT
WAY OF THE CROSS
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI 2 hrs.
Fri 3/21/2008 7:00 PM CT
EASTER VIGIL MASS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE 3 hrs.
Sat 3/22/2008 3:00 PM CT
Sun 3/23/2008 11:00 PM CT
SOLEMN MASS OF EASTER SUNDAY
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE 90 mins
Sun 3/23/2008 4:30 AM CT
Sun 3/23/2008 11:00 AM CT
URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE AND BLESSING LIVE 1 hr
Sun 3/23/2008 6:00 AM CT
Thursday, March 20, 2008
US pastor's sermons become issue in Obama presidential campaign
New York (ENI). Sermons by the former pastor of aspiring presidential candidate Barack Obama's Chicago church have become a heated issue in the US presidential campaign, triggering varying responses during the past week. The controversy centres on sermons delivered by Jeremiah A. Wright Jr, the recently retired senior pastor of the church, Trinity United Church of Christ, which is in a mainly African American Chicago neighbourhood. [472 words, ENI-08-0239]
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
Alliance for Marriage Foundation Calls on National Parties to Include Marriage Protection Amendment Language in 2008 Party Platforms
MERRIFIELD, Va., March 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Alliance for Marriage Foundation (AFMF) today called on both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions to include language supporting the Marriage Protection Amendment in their 2008 platforms. The parties will write and approve party platforms at the national conventions this summer. AFMF sent letters (available online) to Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and Congressman John Boehner (R-OH), who will oversee platform committee deliberations at their respective party conventions.
"Today, on behalf of the strong and consistent majority of Americans who believe in defending marriage's legal status, and especially for the sake of our children, we are requesting that both national party platforms include language defining marriage as between a man and a woman," wrote Sam Rodriguez and Niger Innis, who are both co-chairing AFMF's Many Voices, One Mission Campaign. Rodriguez is President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Innis is National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality.
"At least 25 million American children -- more than one of every three -- are currently being raised in a broken home. This is not only a disaster for these children; it's a disaster for our society. Our most serious social problems -- from youth crime to dropout rates -- track far more closely with family breakdown than they do with other social variables like race or poverty. If we are to rebuild a culture of intact families in America, we also must defend the legal status of marriage as the union of a man and a woman," said Rodriguez and Innis in the joint letter.
The full text of the letters is available online.
The Alliance for Marriage Foundation is a multicultural coalition whose Board of Advisors includes Rev. Walter Fauntroy -- the D.C. Coordinator of the March on Washington for Martin Luther King Jr. -- as well as other civil rights and religious leaders, and national legal experts.
Christian Newswire
"Today, on behalf of the strong and consistent majority of Americans who believe in defending marriage's legal status, and especially for the sake of our children, we are requesting that both national party platforms include language defining marriage as between a man and a woman," wrote Sam Rodriguez and Niger Innis, who are both co-chairing AFMF's Many Voices, One Mission Campaign. Rodriguez is President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Innis is National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality.
"At least 25 million American children -- more than one of every three -- are currently being raised in a broken home. This is not only a disaster for these children; it's a disaster for our society. Our most serious social problems -- from youth crime to dropout rates -- track far more closely with family breakdown than they do with other social variables like race or poverty. If we are to rebuild a culture of intact families in America, we also must defend the legal status of marriage as the union of a man and a woman," said Rodriguez and Innis in the joint letter.
The full text of the letters is available online.
The Alliance for Marriage Foundation is a multicultural coalition whose Board of Advisors includes Rev. Walter Fauntroy -- the D.C. Coordinator of the March on Washington for Martin Luther King Jr. -- as well as other civil rights and religious leaders, and national legal experts.
Christian Newswire
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pope Benedict expresses 'pain and sadness' about events in Tibet
Rome (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has appealed for "dialogue and tolerance" in Tibet, warning that violence will exacerbate problems, in his first comments about the situation there since the outbreak of unrest in mid-March. "I follow with great anxiety the news, coming these days from Tibet. My fatherly heart feels pain and sadness in the face of the suffering of so many people," Pope Benedict said on 19 March at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican. "Violence does not solve problems but will only exacerbate them." [288 words, ENI-08-0237]
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
ENI Online - www.eni.ch
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Standing Committee of Northwest Texas Reports on Bishop Search Process
Perhaps Mrs Schori could roll this liberal diocese under a bishop that could bring them back into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church like...Fort Worth
----------
Not yet able to present three candidates to the diocese, and electing convention delayed until at least June.
From Stand Firm
Sarah Hey
[received via email]
March 18, 2008
TO: Members of the Diocese of Northwest Texas
FROM: The Rev. Clifton A. Mann, Standing Committee President
I am writing to you from the Standing Committee to bring you up to date on our progress with regard to electing a Bishop for the Diocese of Northwest Texas. The Nominating Committee, under the leadership of Cliff Craig, has been working since September, 2007 to prepare a list of Nominees to submit to the Diocese.
As provided in Canon 45(6), the Nominating Committee endeavored to prepare a list of 3 to 5 Nominees and submit that list to the Standing Committee no later than 60 days before the date of the electing convention, originally scheduled for May 3, 2008. Unfortunately, when the deadline arrived, there were only two Nominees who could be presented.
At the request of the Standing Committee, the Nominating Committee went back to ask certain nominees who had withdrawn their names if they would reconsider their earlier decision and reengage the discernment process. One of those Nominees did consent to once again commence dialogue with the committee. The Nominating Committee is now completing the parts of their process which were left undone at the time of the candidate’s withdrawal.
We on the Standing Committee expect, God willing, to receive the Nominating Committee’s report the Second week in April. If that comes to pass, an early election will be scheduled. If not, we will have to consider our alternatives. At any rate, it is clear that there will NOT be an electing Convention as previously hoped, on May 3, 2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted March 20, 2008 at 6:47 am
The URL for this article is http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/11016/
----------
Not yet able to present three candidates to the diocese, and electing convention delayed until at least June.
From Stand Firm
Sarah Hey
[received via email]
March 18, 2008
TO: Members of the Diocese of Northwest Texas
FROM: The Rev. Clifton A. Mann, Standing Committee President
I am writing to you from the Standing Committee to bring you up to date on our progress with regard to electing a Bishop for the Diocese of Northwest Texas. The Nominating Committee, under the leadership of Cliff Craig, has been working since September, 2007 to prepare a list of Nominees to submit to the Diocese.
As provided in Canon 45(6), the Nominating Committee endeavored to prepare a list of 3 to 5 Nominees and submit that list to the Standing Committee no later than 60 days before the date of the electing convention, originally scheduled for May 3, 2008. Unfortunately, when the deadline arrived, there were only two Nominees who could be presented.
At the request of the Standing Committee, the Nominating Committee went back to ask certain nominees who had withdrawn their names if they would reconsider their earlier decision and reengage the discernment process. One of those Nominees did consent to once again commence dialogue with the committee. The Nominating Committee is now completing the parts of their process which were left undone at the time of the candidate’s withdrawal.
We on the Standing Committee expect, God willing, to receive the Nominating Committee’s report the Second week in April. If that comes to pass, an early election will be scheduled. If not, we will have to consider our alternatives. At any rate, it is clear that there will NOT be an electing Convention as previously hoped, on May 3, 2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted March 20, 2008 at 6:47 am
The URL for this article is http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/11016/
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Royal college warns abortions can lead to mental illness
Times Online
by Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor
Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion. Full Story
by Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor
Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion. Full Story
Papal Homily for Palm Sunday
"To Recognize God We Must Abandon the Pride That Blinds Us"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave at today's Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Year after year the Gospel passage for Palm Sunday relates to us Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Together with his disciples and a growing throng of pilgrims, he ascended from the plain of Galilee to the Holy City. Like steps in this ascent, the evangelists have transmitted three of Jesus' announcements of his passion, using this at the same time to sketch the interior ascent that was also occurring in this pilgrimage. Jesus is on his way to the temple -- toward the place where God, as Deuteronomy says, desired to "establish the dwelling" of his name (cf. 12:11; 14:23). The God who created heaven and earth has given a name, he has made himself available to be called upon, indeed, he has almost made himself touchable by men. No place can contain him and nevertheless, or precisely because of this, he himself gives himself a name, so that he, the true God, can personally be venerated there as the God in our midst.
From the story of the 12-year-old Jesus we know that he loved the temple as the house of his Father, as his paternal house. Now he comes again to this temple, but his journey goes beyond it: The ultimate goal of his ascent is the cross. It is the ascent that the letter to the Hebrews describes as an ascent to the tent that is not made of human hands, to the presence of God. The ascent to the presence of God passes through the cross. It is the ascent to that which is "love to the end" (cf. John 13:1), and is thus God's true mountain, the definitive place of contact between God and man.
During the entry into Jerusalem the people pay homage to Jesus as the Son of David with the words of Psalm 118 [117] of the pilgrims: "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest of heavens!" (Matthew 21:9). Then he arrives at the temple. But there, where there should be the space of the meeting between God and man, he finds people selling animals and money changers who use the place of prayer for their business. It is true that the animals being sold there are destined for sacrifice in the temple. And because it was forbidden to use coins in the temple on which there were representations of the emperor, which were in conflict with the true God, it was necessary to exchange them for coins that did not bear idolatrous images.
But all of that could have been done elsewhere: The place that it had now appropriated was supposed to be the atrium for the pagans. The God of Israel was in fact the God of all peoples. And even if the pagans did not enter, so to speak, into the interior of revelation, they could nevertheless, in the atrium, associate themselves with prayer to the one God. The God of Israel, the God of all men, was always also awaiting their prayer, their seeking, their invocation. But now, the atrium was dominated by business, business that had been legalized by the competent authority, an authority which, for its part, had a part of the merchants' earnings.
The merchants were acting in a correct way according to the order that was in force, but the order itself was corrupt. "Greed is idolatry," says the letter to the Colossians (cf. 3:5). It is this idolatry that Jesus encounters and in the face of which he cites Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13; cf. Isaiah 56:7) and Jeremiah: "But you have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13; cf. Jeremiah 7:11). Against the badly interpreted order Jesus, with his prophetic gesture, defends the true order of things that is found in the Law and the Prophets.
As Christians, all of this must make us think today: Is our faith pure and open enough that, beginning from it, the "pagans" -- the persons today who are seeking and have their questions -- can also intuit the light of the one God, can associate themselves with our prayer in the atriums of faith and by their seeking perhaps become worshippers? Does the awareness that greed is idolatry also reach our heart and our life practices? Do we not perhaps also allow idols to enter even into the world of our faith? Are we disposed to let the Lord purify us again and again, allowing him to chase out of us and the Church what is contrary to him?
In the purification of the temple, however, there is more going on than the struggle against abuses. A new moment in history has been foretold. What Jesus had announced to the Samaritan woman in regard to her question about worship is now beginning: "The hour has come, and is now here, in which the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; because the Father seeks such worshippers" (John 4:23). The time in which animals were sacrificed to God has ended. Animal sacrifice had always been a miserable substitution, a gesture of nostalgia for the true way of worshiping God. On the life and work of Jesus the letter to the Hebrews offers as a motto a phrase from Psalm 40 [39]: "You did not want sacrifices or offerings, but a body you prepared for me" (Hebrews 10:5). The body of Christ, Christ himself, enters to take the place of the bloody sacrifices and the food offerings. Only the "love to the end," only the love for men for which he gives himself totally to God, this is the true worship, the true sacrifice. Worshipping in spirit and truth means worshiping in communion with him who is truth; worshipping in the communion of his body, in which the Holy Spirit unites us.
The evangelists tell us that in the trial against Jesus false witnesses are presented and they claim that Jesus said: "I can destroy God's temple and rebuild it in three days" (Matthew 26:61). Before Christ hanging on the cross some scoffers refer to the same words, screaming out: "You who will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!" (Matthew 27:40). John, in his account of the purification of the temple, reports the true version of the words, as they came from the mouth of Jesus himself. Responding to a request for a sign, with which the Lord was supposed to legitimize himself, Jesus says: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it back up" (John 2:18 f.). John adds that, thinking again about this event after the resurrection, the disciples understood that Jesus had spoken of the temple of his body (cf. Jon 2:21 f.) It is not Jesus who destroys the temple; it is left to destruction by the attitude of those who transformed the place of meeting of all peoples with God into a "den of thieves," a place of business.
But, as always from the fall of Adam, the failure of men becomes an occasion for a still greater commitment on the part of God's love in regard to us. The hour of the temple of stone, the hour of the animal sacrifices had been left behind: The fact that Jesus now chases out the merchants does not only impede abuse, but indicates the new action of God. The new temple is formed: Jesus Christ himself, in whom God's love comes down to men. He, in his life, is the new and living temple. He, who passed through the cross and is risen, is the living space of spirit and life in which the right worship is realized. Thus, the purification of the temple, as the culmination of Jesus' solemn entry into Jerusalem is the sign both of the incumbent destruction of the building and the promise of the new temple; the promise of the kingdom of reconciliation and love that, in the communion with Christ, is established beyond every frontier.
St. Matthew, whose Gospel we hear this year, at the end of the Palm Sunday account, after the purification of the temple, reports to little events that have a prophetic character and once more make the true will of Jesus clear to us. Immediately after Jesus' words about the house of prayer of all peoples, the evangelist continues thus: "The blind and the lame drew near to him in the temple and he healed them." Furthermore, Matthew tells us that the children repeated the acclamation that the pilgrims made during the entry into the city: "Hosanna to the son of David!" (Matthew 21:14 f.).
To the trafficking in animals and the money exchange Jesus opposes his goodness that makes well again. It is the true purification of the temple. He does not come as a destroyer; he does not come with the sword of the revolutionary. He comes with the gift of healing. He dedicates himself to those who because of their infirmities have been pushed to the end of their life and to the margins of society. Jesus reveals God as he who loves, and his power as the power of love. And thus he says to us what will always be a part of the true worship of God: healing, serving, the goodness that makes well again.
And then there are the children who pay homage to Jesus as the Son of David and acclaim "Hosanna." Jesus told his disciples that, to enter into the kingdom of God, they had to become like children again. He himself, who embraces the whole world, made himself little to come to us, to direct us toward God. To recognize God we must abandon the pride that blinds us, that wants to drive us far away from God, as if God were our competitor. To meet God it is necessary to become capable of seeing with the heart. We must learn to see with a young heart that is not hindered by prejudices and blinded by interests. Thus, in the little ones who with a similar free and open heart recognize him, the Church has seen the image of the believers of every century, her own image.
Dear friends, in this hour we associate ourselves with the procession of the young people of that time -- a procession that passes through the whole of history. Together with the young people of the whole world let us go to meet Jesus. Let us allow him to guide us to God, to learn from God himself how to be men. With him we thank God, because with Jesus, the Son of David, he has given us a place of peace and reconciliation that embraces the whole world. Let us pray to him that we too become with him and beginning from him messengers of his peace, so that in us and around us his kingdom will grow.
Amen.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
"To Recognize God We Must Abandon the Pride That Blinds Us"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave at today's Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Year after year the Gospel passage for Palm Sunday relates to us Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Together with his disciples and a growing throng of pilgrims, he ascended from the plain of Galilee to the Holy City. Like steps in this ascent, the evangelists have transmitted three of Jesus' announcements of his passion, using this at the same time to sketch the interior ascent that was also occurring in this pilgrimage. Jesus is on his way to the temple -- toward the place where God, as Deuteronomy says, desired to "establish the dwelling" of his name (cf. 12:11; 14:23). The God who created heaven and earth has given a name, he has made himself available to be called upon, indeed, he has almost made himself touchable by men. No place can contain him and nevertheless, or precisely because of this, he himself gives himself a name, so that he, the true God, can personally be venerated there as the God in our midst.
From the story of the 12-year-old Jesus we know that he loved the temple as the house of his Father, as his paternal house. Now he comes again to this temple, but his journey goes beyond it: The ultimate goal of his ascent is the cross. It is the ascent that the letter to the Hebrews describes as an ascent to the tent that is not made of human hands, to the presence of God. The ascent to the presence of God passes through the cross. It is the ascent to that which is "love to the end" (cf. John 13:1), and is thus God's true mountain, the definitive place of contact between God and man.
During the entry into Jerusalem the people pay homage to Jesus as the Son of David with the words of Psalm 118 [117] of the pilgrims: "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest of heavens!" (Matthew 21:9). Then he arrives at the temple. But there, where there should be the space of the meeting between God and man, he finds people selling animals and money changers who use the place of prayer for their business. It is true that the animals being sold there are destined for sacrifice in the temple. And because it was forbidden to use coins in the temple on which there were representations of the emperor, which were in conflict with the true God, it was necessary to exchange them for coins that did not bear idolatrous images.
But all of that could have been done elsewhere: The place that it had now appropriated was supposed to be the atrium for the pagans. The God of Israel was in fact the God of all peoples. And even if the pagans did not enter, so to speak, into the interior of revelation, they could nevertheless, in the atrium, associate themselves with prayer to the one God. The God of Israel, the God of all men, was always also awaiting their prayer, their seeking, their invocation. But now, the atrium was dominated by business, business that had been legalized by the competent authority, an authority which, for its part, had a part of the merchants' earnings.
The merchants were acting in a correct way according to the order that was in force, but the order itself was corrupt. "Greed is idolatry," says the letter to the Colossians (cf. 3:5). It is this idolatry that Jesus encounters and in the face of which he cites Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13; cf. Isaiah 56:7) and Jeremiah: "But you have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13; cf. Jeremiah 7:11). Against the badly interpreted order Jesus, with his prophetic gesture, defends the true order of things that is found in the Law and the Prophets.
As Christians, all of this must make us think today: Is our faith pure and open enough that, beginning from it, the "pagans" -- the persons today who are seeking and have their questions -- can also intuit the light of the one God, can associate themselves with our prayer in the atriums of faith and by their seeking perhaps become worshippers? Does the awareness that greed is idolatry also reach our heart and our life practices? Do we not perhaps also allow idols to enter even into the world of our faith? Are we disposed to let the Lord purify us again and again, allowing him to chase out of us and the Church what is contrary to him?
In the purification of the temple, however, there is more going on than the struggle against abuses. A new moment in history has been foretold. What Jesus had announced to the Samaritan woman in regard to her question about worship is now beginning: "The hour has come, and is now here, in which the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; because the Father seeks such worshippers" (John 4:23). The time in which animals were sacrificed to God has ended. Animal sacrifice had always been a miserable substitution, a gesture of nostalgia for the true way of worshiping God. On the life and work of Jesus the letter to the Hebrews offers as a motto a phrase from Psalm 40 [39]: "You did not want sacrifices or offerings, but a body you prepared for me" (Hebrews 10:5). The body of Christ, Christ himself, enters to take the place of the bloody sacrifices and the food offerings. Only the "love to the end," only the love for men for which he gives himself totally to God, this is the true worship, the true sacrifice. Worshipping in spirit and truth means worshiping in communion with him who is truth; worshipping in the communion of his body, in which the Holy Spirit unites us.
The evangelists tell us that in the trial against Jesus false witnesses are presented and they claim that Jesus said: "I can destroy God's temple and rebuild it in three days" (Matthew 26:61). Before Christ hanging on the cross some scoffers refer to the same words, screaming out: "You who will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!" (Matthew 27:40). John, in his account of the purification of the temple, reports the true version of the words, as they came from the mouth of Jesus himself. Responding to a request for a sign, with which the Lord was supposed to legitimize himself, Jesus says: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it back up" (John 2:18 f.). John adds that, thinking again about this event after the resurrection, the disciples understood that Jesus had spoken of the temple of his body (cf. Jon 2:21 f.) It is not Jesus who destroys the temple; it is left to destruction by the attitude of those who transformed the place of meeting of all peoples with God into a "den of thieves," a place of business.
But, as always from the fall of Adam, the failure of men becomes an occasion for a still greater commitment on the part of God's love in regard to us. The hour of the temple of stone, the hour of the animal sacrifices had been left behind: The fact that Jesus now chases out the merchants does not only impede abuse, but indicates the new action of God. The new temple is formed: Jesus Christ himself, in whom God's love comes down to men. He, in his life, is the new and living temple. He, who passed through the cross and is risen, is the living space of spirit and life in which the right worship is realized. Thus, the purification of the temple, as the culmination of Jesus' solemn entry into Jerusalem is the sign both of the incumbent destruction of the building and the promise of the new temple; the promise of the kingdom of reconciliation and love that, in the communion with Christ, is established beyond every frontier.
St. Matthew, whose Gospel we hear this year, at the end of the Palm Sunday account, after the purification of the temple, reports to little events that have a prophetic character and once more make the true will of Jesus clear to us. Immediately after Jesus' words about the house of prayer of all peoples, the evangelist continues thus: "The blind and the lame drew near to him in the temple and he healed them." Furthermore, Matthew tells us that the children repeated the acclamation that the pilgrims made during the entry into the city: "Hosanna to the son of David!" (Matthew 21:14 f.).
To the trafficking in animals and the money exchange Jesus opposes his goodness that makes well again. It is the true purification of the temple. He does not come as a destroyer; he does not come with the sword of the revolutionary. He comes with the gift of healing. He dedicates himself to those who because of their infirmities have been pushed to the end of their life and to the margins of society. Jesus reveals God as he who loves, and his power as the power of love. And thus he says to us what will always be a part of the true worship of God: healing, serving, the goodness that makes well again.
And then there are the children who pay homage to Jesus as the Son of David and acclaim "Hosanna." Jesus told his disciples that, to enter into the kingdom of God, they had to become like children again. He himself, who embraces the whole world, made himself little to come to us, to direct us toward God. To recognize God we must abandon the pride that blinds us, that wants to drive us far away from God, as if God were our competitor. To meet God it is necessary to become capable of seeing with the heart. We must learn to see with a young heart that is not hindered by prejudices and blinded by interests. Thus, in the little ones who with a similar free and open heart recognize him, the Church has seen the image of the believers of every century, her own image.
Dear friends, in this hour we associate ourselves with the procession of the young people of that time -- a procession that passes through the whole of history. Together with the young people of the whole world let us go to meet Jesus. Let us allow him to guide us to God, to learn from God himself how to be men. With him we thank God, because with Jesus, the Son of David, he has given us a place of peace and reconciliation that embraces the whole world. Let us pray to him that we too become with him and beginning from him messengers of his peace, so that in us and around us his kingdom will grow.
Amen.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
On Iraq and Sydney
"Enough With the Bloodshed"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today after Palm Sunday Mass and before reciting the midday Angelus with thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square.* * *
At the end of this solemn celebration in which we have meditated on Christ's Passion, I would like to recall the late Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Monsignor Paulos Faraj Rahho, who tragically died a few days ago. His beautiful witness of fidelity to Christ, to the Church and his people, whom he did not want to abandon despite numerous threats, moves me to cry out forcefully and with distress: Enough with the bloodshed, enough with the violence, enough with the hatred in Iraq! And at the same time I make an appeal to the Iraqi people, who for five years have endured the consequences of a war that has provoked upheaval in its civil and social life: Beloved Iraqi people, lift up your heads and let it be you yourselves who, in the first place, rebuild your national life! May reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and respect for the civil coexistence of tribes, ethnic groups and religious groups be the solidary way to peace in the name of God!
And now, dear brothers and sisters, I renew my cordial greeting. I address it in a special way to young people, come from many countries of the world on the occasion of the World Youth Day, which the beloved Servant of God John Paul II wanted to link with Palm Sunday. In this moment my thoughts turn to Sydney, in Australia, where the preparations are under way for the great meeting that I will have with the young people of the whole world from July 15 to 20 of this year. I thank the Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, and his collaborators in particular, for all the work that they are doing with such commitment. I am also grateful to the Australian federal and state officials for the generous support offered to this important initiative. See you in Sydney!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here this Palm Sunday, when we acclaim Jesus, model of humility, our Messiah and King. In a special way I greet all the young people gathered in Rome. I am looking forward to seeing many of you, together with thousands of others from across the globe, at World Youth Day in Sydney. Today, I wish to recognize the preparatory work being undertaken by the Australian Bishops' Conference together with Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and the organizing staff. Similarly I wish to acknowledge the spirit of generous cooperation shown by the Federal and the New South Wales governments, as well as the residents and business people of Sydney. Let us all pray for our young people, that World Youth Day will be a time of deep and lasting spiritual renewal. May the great events of Holy Week, in which we see love unfold in its most radical form, inspire you all to be courageous 'witnesses of charity' to your friends, your communities and our world. Upon each of you present and your families, I invoke God's blessings of peace and wisdom.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today after Palm Sunday Mass and before reciting the midday Angelus with thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square.* * *
At the end of this solemn celebration in which we have meditated on Christ's Passion, I would like to recall the late Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Monsignor Paulos Faraj Rahho, who tragically died a few days ago. His beautiful witness of fidelity to Christ, to the Church and his people, whom he did not want to abandon despite numerous threats, moves me to cry out forcefully and with distress: Enough with the bloodshed, enough with the violence, enough with the hatred in Iraq! And at the same time I make an appeal to the Iraqi people, who for five years have endured the consequences of a war that has provoked upheaval in its civil and social life: Beloved Iraqi people, lift up your heads and let it be you yourselves who, in the first place, rebuild your national life! May reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and respect for the civil coexistence of tribes, ethnic groups and religious groups be the solidary way to peace in the name of God!
And now, dear brothers and sisters, I renew my cordial greeting. I address it in a special way to young people, come from many countries of the world on the occasion of the World Youth Day, which the beloved Servant of God John Paul II wanted to link with Palm Sunday. In this moment my thoughts turn to Sydney, in Australia, where the preparations are under way for the great meeting that I will have with the young people of the whole world from July 15 to 20 of this year. I thank the Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, and his collaborators in particular, for all the work that they are doing with such commitment. I am also grateful to the Australian federal and state officials for the generous support offered to this important initiative. See you in Sydney!
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here this Palm Sunday, when we acclaim Jesus, model of humility, our Messiah and King. In a special way I greet all the young people gathered in Rome. I am looking forward to seeing many of you, together with thousands of others from across the globe, at World Youth Day in Sydney. Today, I wish to recognize the preparatory work being undertaken by the Australian Bishops' Conference together with Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and the organizing staff. Similarly I wish to acknowledge the spirit of generous cooperation shown by the Federal and the New South Wales governments, as well as the residents and business people of Sydney. Let us all pray for our young people, that World Youth Day will be a time of deep and lasting spiritual renewal. May the great events of Holy Week, in which we see love unfold in its most radical form, inspire you all to be courageous 'witnesses of charity' to your friends, your communities and our world. Upon each of you present and your families, I invoke God's blessings of peace and wisdom.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
EWTN programming this weekend
SOLEMN MASS OF THE PALM SUNDAY
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI FROM ROME LIVE
Sun 3/16/2008 7:00 AM CT
PADRE PIO'S THE WAY OF THE CROSS
Mon 3/17/2008 8:00 PM CT
CHRISM MASS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
Thu 3/20/2008 3:30 AM CT
SOLEMN MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE
Thu 3/20/2008 11:30 PM CT
CHORAL MEDITATIONS AND SOLEMN MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER (BNSIC) WASHINGTON, D.C, LIVE
Thu 3/20/2008 4:30 PM CT
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE
Fri 3/21/2008 11:00 PM CT
WAY OF THE CROSS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
Fri 3/21/2008 7:00 PM CT
WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI FROM ROME LIVE
Sun 3/16/2008 7:00 AM CT
PADRE PIO'S THE WAY OF THE CROSS
Mon 3/17/2008 8:00 PM CT
CHRISM MASS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
Thu 3/20/2008 3:30 AM CT
SOLEMN MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE
Thu 3/20/2008 11:30 PM CT
CHORAL MEDITATIONS AND SOLEMN MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER (BNSIC) WASHINGTON, D.C, LIVE
Thu 3/20/2008 4:30 PM CT
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S PASSION WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI LIVE
Fri 3/21/2008 11:00 PM CT
WAY OF THE CROSS WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI
Fri 3/21/2008 7:00 PM CT
Friday, March 14, 2008
Deposition Votes Failed to Achieve Canonically Required Majority
Source: The Living Church
March 14, 2008-- Slightly more than one-third of all bishops eligible voted to depose bishops John-David Schofield and William J. Cox during the House of Bishops' spring retreat, far fewer than the 51 percent required by the canons.
The exact number is impossible to know, because both resolutions were approved by voice vote. Only 131 bishops registered for the meeting March 7-12 at Camp Allen, and at least 15 of them left before the business session began on Wednesday. There were 294 members of the House of Bishops entitled to vote on March 12.
When questioned about canonical inconsistencies during a telephone press conference at the conclusion of the meeting, Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina said the bishops had relied on advice provided to them by canonical experts, and did not examine canonical procedure during plenary debate prior to the votes to depose bishops Schofield and Cox.
To read the complete article, click this link.
Get the Comprehensive, Timely Coverage You Need
Each weekly issue of The Living Church is packed with breaking news and complete coverage and commentary that will keep you informed with all the details about the Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglican Communion. Since 1878 this independent magazine has been the best source for timely news and viewpoints on the issues shaping the life of the Church. Plus, enjoy features and weekly scripture reflections that will strengthen your personal faith. Get it all delivered right to your mailbox for less than a dollar a week!
March 14, 2008-- Slightly more than one-third of all bishops eligible voted to depose bishops John-David Schofield and William J. Cox during the House of Bishops' spring retreat, far fewer than the 51 percent required by the canons.
The exact number is impossible to know, because both resolutions were approved by voice vote. Only 131 bishops registered for the meeting March 7-12 at Camp Allen, and at least 15 of them left before the business session began on Wednesday. There were 294 members of the House of Bishops entitled to vote on March 12.
When questioned about canonical inconsistencies during a telephone press conference at the conclusion of the meeting, Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina said the bishops had relied on advice provided to them by canonical experts, and did not examine canonical procedure during plenary debate prior to the votes to depose bishops Schofield and Cox.
To read the complete article, click this link.
Get the Comprehensive, Timely Coverage You Need
Each weekly issue of The Living Church is packed with breaking news and complete coverage and commentary that will keep you informed with all the details about the Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglican Communion. Since 1878 this independent magazine has been the best source for timely news and viewpoints on the issues shaping the life of the Church. Plus, enjoy features and weekly scripture reflections that will strengthen your personal faith. Get it all delivered right to your mailbox for less than a dollar a week!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Heart Warming News of Gov. Spitzer's Resignation
BRONX, Ny., March 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following statement regarding Governor Spitzer's resignation is issued by Chris Slattery, NY State Pro-Life Leader:
"The great news of the resignation of America's most pro-abortion Governor warms my heart because this man has had nothing but contempt for women whom he has treated as objects for years, as a John, and as a militant advocate of ill advised unsafe abortion expansion, at the expense of women, in New York State," said Chris Slattery of Expectant Mother Care- EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers in New York City.
As a leading operator EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers in New York City with a dozen locations of women's help centers, Slattery defended against what he called "an unwarranted and intrusive investigative attack and witch hunt of life-saving help centers for women" by former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in early 2002.
After a bruising back and forth six week campaign against 24 different crisis pregnancy center sites that year, AG Spitzer was forced to withdraw his politically motivated subpenas.
According to Slattery, "Governor Spitzer has most recently proposed a new legislative bill in Albany called the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act" that declares that women have a "fundamental right" to abortion in New York State, including in the third trimester without restriction, which would allow non-physician abortions, and force religious hospitals including Catholic ones to actually perform abortions." "No health safeguards for women were included in the legislation," Slattery claimed.
"Although we cannot gloat for the personal failures of this man, and we pray for his sad family, anytime a major abortion leader in this country falls to his or her own vices it offers that person and our country a time of deep reflection on the true meaning and purpose of life," Slattery added.
Christian Newswire
"The great news of the resignation of America's most pro-abortion Governor warms my heart because this man has had nothing but contempt for women whom he has treated as objects for years, as a John, and as a militant advocate of ill advised unsafe abortion expansion, at the expense of women, in New York State," said Chris Slattery of Expectant Mother Care- EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers in New York City.
As a leading operator EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers in New York City with a dozen locations of women's help centers, Slattery defended against what he called "an unwarranted and intrusive investigative attack and witch hunt of life-saving help centers for women" by former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in early 2002.
After a bruising back and forth six week campaign against 24 different crisis pregnancy center sites that year, AG Spitzer was forced to withdraw his politically motivated subpenas.
According to Slattery, "Governor Spitzer has most recently proposed a new legislative bill in Albany called the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act" that declares that women have a "fundamental right" to abortion in New York State, including in the third trimester without restriction, which would allow non-physician abortions, and force religious hospitals including Catholic ones to actually perform abortions." "No health safeguards for women were included in the legislation," Slattery claimed.
"Although we cannot gloat for the personal failures of this man, and we pray for his sad family, anytime a major abortion leader in this country falls to his or her own vices it offers that person and our country a time of deep reflection on the true meaning and purpose of life," Slattery added.
Christian Newswire
Sunday, March 09, 2008
On the Resurrection of Lazarus
"The Last Great 'Sign' Worked by Jesus"
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our Lenten journey we have arrived at the 5th Sunday, characterized by the Gospel that narrates the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). This is the last great "sign" worked by Jesus, and after it the high priests will convene the Sanhedrin and will decide to kill him; it is also decided that Lazarus himself will be killed. Lazarus was the living proof of Christ's divinity and Christ is the Lord of life and death. In reality this Gospel passage shows Jesus as true Man and true God.
In the first place the evangelist insists on his friendship with Lazarus and the sisters Martha and Mary. He emphasizes that "Jesus loved them very much" (John 11:5), and for this reason wants to work the great prodigy. "Our friend Lazarus has died, but I am going to awaken him" (John 11:11). This is how he spoke to the disciples, expressing God's view of physical death with the metaphor of sleep: God indeed sees it as sleep from which one can awaken. Jesus shows an absolute power in the face of this death: One sees it when he gives life back to the young son of the widow of Nain (cf. Luke 7:11-17) and to the 12-year-old daughter (cf. Mark 5:35-43). Of the young girl he says, "She is not dead but sleeping" (Mark 5:39), provoking the derision of those present. But in truth this is precisely what it is: The death of the body is a sleep from which God can awaken one at any moment.
This lordship over death does not impede Jesus from experiencing sincere compassion for the sorrow of parting. Seeing Mary and Martha crying and, along with those who had come to console them, Jesus too "is deeply moved and disturbed" and in the end "he wept" (John 11:33, 35). Jesus' heart is divine-human: In him God and man have perfectly met, without separation and without confusion, he is the image, indeed, the incarnation of the God who is love, mercy, paternal and maternal tenderness, of the God who is Life. This is why he solemnly declares to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live; whoever lives and believes in me, will never die." And he adds: "Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).
It is a question that Jesus addresses to each one of us; a question that certainly overwhelms us, it overwhelms our ability to understand, and it asks us to entrust ourselves to him, as he has entrusted himself to the Father. Martha's response is exemplary: "Yes, O Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11:27). Yes, O Lord! We too believe, despite our doubts and our darkness; we believe in you, because you have the words of eternal life; we want to believe in you, who gives us a trustworthy hope of life beyond life, of authentic and full life in your kingdom of light and peace.
We entrust this prayer to Mary Most Holy. May her intercession strengthen our faith and our hope in Jesus, especially in the moments of great trial and difficulty?
[After the Angelus the Pope said the following in Italian:]
In these last days, violence and horror have again bloodied the Holy Land, feeding a spiral of destruction and death that does not seem to have an end. As I invite you to insistently implore the Almighty Lord for the gift of peace for those regions, I desire to entrust to his mercy the many innocent victims and to express solidarity with the families and the wounded.
Moreover, I encourage the Israeli and Palestinian authorities in their proposal to continue to build, through negotiation, a peaceful and just future, and I ask all in the name of God to abandon the tortuous ways of hatred and vendetta and to responsibly travel the ways of dialogue and trust.
And this is also my wish for Iraq, while we are still concerned over the fate of His Excellency Monsignore Rahho and of many Iraqis who continue to suffer from a blind and absurd violence, certainly contrary to the wishes of God.
Next Thursday, March 13, at 5:30 in the evening, I will preside at a penitential liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica for the young people of the Diocese of Rome. It will be a powerful moment of preparation for the 23rd World Youth Day which will celebrate on Palm Sunday and which will culminate in July with the great meeting in Sydney. Dear young people of Rome, I invite all of you to this appointment with the Mercy of God! To the priests and leaders I recommend that you promote this participation of young people making the words of the apostle Paul your own: "We are ambassadors of Christ let yourselves be reconciled with God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
My greetings to all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims, especially to the members of the European Parents Association and to the staff and students of Saint Patrick's Evangelization School from Soho, London. In this Sunday's Gospel, we hear how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. We also hear how Martha, in the midst of her grief, was able to make her great profession of faith: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." As we approach the season of Our Lord's Passion, we pray that our own faith may be strengthened, so that we too can place all our hope in him who is the resurrection and the life. Upon all of you here today, and upon your families and loved ones at home, I invoke God's abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our Lenten journey we have arrived at the 5th Sunday, characterized by the Gospel that narrates the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). This is the last great "sign" worked by Jesus, and after it the high priests will convene the Sanhedrin and will decide to kill him; it is also decided that Lazarus himself will be killed. Lazarus was the living proof of Christ's divinity and Christ is the Lord of life and death. In reality this Gospel passage shows Jesus as true Man and true God.
In the first place the evangelist insists on his friendship with Lazarus and the sisters Martha and Mary. He emphasizes that "Jesus loved them very much" (John 11:5), and for this reason wants to work the great prodigy. "Our friend Lazarus has died, but I am going to awaken him" (John 11:11). This is how he spoke to the disciples, expressing God's view of physical death with the metaphor of sleep: God indeed sees it as sleep from which one can awaken. Jesus shows an absolute power in the face of this death: One sees it when he gives life back to the young son of the widow of Nain (cf. Luke 7:11-17) and to the 12-year-old daughter (cf. Mark 5:35-43). Of the young girl he says, "She is not dead but sleeping" (Mark 5:39), provoking the derision of those present. But in truth this is precisely what it is: The death of the body is a sleep from which God can awaken one at any moment.
This lordship over death does not impede Jesus from experiencing sincere compassion for the sorrow of parting. Seeing Mary and Martha crying and, along with those who had come to console them, Jesus too "is deeply moved and disturbed" and in the end "he wept" (John 11:33, 35). Jesus' heart is divine-human: In him God and man have perfectly met, without separation and without confusion, he is the image, indeed, the incarnation of the God who is love, mercy, paternal and maternal tenderness, of the God who is Life. This is why he solemnly declares to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live; whoever lives and believes in me, will never die." And he adds: "Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).
It is a question that Jesus addresses to each one of us; a question that certainly overwhelms us, it overwhelms our ability to understand, and it asks us to entrust ourselves to him, as he has entrusted himself to the Father. Martha's response is exemplary: "Yes, O Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11:27). Yes, O Lord! We too believe, despite our doubts and our darkness; we believe in you, because you have the words of eternal life; we want to believe in you, who gives us a trustworthy hope of life beyond life, of authentic and full life in your kingdom of light and peace.
We entrust this prayer to Mary Most Holy. May her intercession strengthen our faith and our hope in Jesus, especially in the moments of great trial and difficulty?
[After the Angelus the Pope said the following in Italian:]
In these last days, violence and horror have again bloodied the Holy Land, feeding a spiral of destruction and death that does not seem to have an end. As I invite you to insistently implore the Almighty Lord for the gift of peace for those regions, I desire to entrust to his mercy the many innocent victims and to express solidarity with the families and the wounded.
Moreover, I encourage the Israeli and Palestinian authorities in their proposal to continue to build, through negotiation, a peaceful and just future, and I ask all in the name of God to abandon the tortuous ways of hatred and vendetta and to responsibly travel the ways of dialogue and trust.
And this is also my wish for Iraq, while we are still concerned over the fate of His Excellency Monsignore Rahho and of many Iraqis who continue to suffer from a blind and absurd violence, certainly contrary to the wishes of God.
Next Thursday, March 13, at 5:30 in the evening, I will preside at a penitential liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica for the young people of the Diocese of Rome. It will be a powerful moment of preparation for the 23rd World Youth Day which will celebrate on Palm Sunday and which will culminate in July with the great meeting in Sydney. Dear young people of Rome, I invite all of you to this appointment with the Mercy of God! To the priests and leaders I recommend that you promote this participation of young people making the words of the apostle Paul your own: "We are ambassadors of Christ let yourselves be reconciled with God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
My greetings to all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims, especially to the members of the European Parents Association and to the staff and students of Saint Patrick's Evangelization School from Soho, London. In this Sunday's Gospel, we hear how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. We also hear how Martha, in the midst of her grief, was able to make her great profession of faith: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." As we approach the season of Our Lord's Passion, we pray that our own faith may be strengthened, so that we too can place all our hope in him who is the resurrection and the life. Upon all of you here today, and upon your families and loved ones at home, I invoke God's abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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