From the Vatican:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today – Ash Wednesday – we begin our Lenten journey in a spirit of prayer and penance. From the earliest days of the Church, Lent has been a special time of preparation for Baptism. For those already baptized, Lent is a time of conversion and renewed faith. It is a time to "exercise" our desire for God by opening our hearts to the new life offered to us in Christ. Jesus exhorts us to "repent and believe in the Gospel". Only conversion can lead to true happiness, and God’s grace is needed to inspire and sustain our efforts to direct our hearts completely to him.
Conversion consists in recognizing that we depend entirely on God, who created us and redeemed us in Christ. In my Lenten message this year, I wanted to emphasize God’s immense love for us, and to invite all Christians, together with Mary and the Beloved Disciple, to draw near to the Lord, who gave his life for us on the Cross. The Cross – the definitive revelation of God’s love and mercy – is the only way to enter this mystery of saving love. This Lent, by a more fervent participation in the Eucharist, may we learn to enter more deeply into the Paschal Mystery and to "re-give" Christ’s love to others, especially the suffering and those in need.\
I am pleased to greet the pilgrimage group from the Diocese of Jelgava in Latvia, led by Bishop Antons Justs. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from England, Wales, Ireland, Finland, Japan and the United States, I cordially invoke God’s blessings for a fruitful and spiritually enriching Lent.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Office of Readings Podcast
I couldn't find one online (there is one for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer), so I'm setting out to do one. I have three days available and I'll try to keep at least two-three days ahead of schedule.
Of all the hours the Office of Readings makes the most sense as a podcast because it largely is made up of two substantial readings-one from Scripture, the other from a Church Father, Saint or Council.
RSS URL: http://odeo.com/channel/286253/rss.xml
Subscription Page
Of all the hours the Office of Readings makes the most sense as a podcast because it largely is made up of two substantial readings-one from Scripture, the other from a Church Father, Saint or Council.
RSS URL: http://odeo.com/channel/286253/rss.xml
Subscription Page
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Pope Benedict's Latest Q & A
With Roman Seminarians last Saturday, from Zenit.
A second-year theology student asked: "How one should address shortcomings within the Church in the most serene and responsible way?"
"Not an easy question," the Holy Father said with a smile. "But the Lord knows, he knew from the beginning that there is sin in the Church. "
And for our humility it is important to acknowledge this and to see the sin not only in others, in the structures, in the high hierarchical offices, but also in ourselves, thus being more humble with ourselves and learning that, before the Lord, one's position does not count, but what counts is to be in his love and to make his love shine."
"How is one to behave in the face of pain?"
Benedict XVI underlined the need to make it understood above all that suffering is an essential part of human maturation.
Jesus himself, the Holy Father continued, said that he had to suffer for the salvation of the world and that whoever wishes to follow him must take up his own cross.
"We are always like Peter who says to the Lord: 'No, Lord!'" the Pontiff observed. "'This cannot be the case, you must not suffer, we do not want to carry the cross, we want to create a more human, more beautiful kingdom on earth.'
"This is totally mistaken: Whoever promises a life that is only happy and comfortable, lies, because this is not the truth of man and then one flees to false paradises and precisely in this way one does not arrive at joy but at self-destruction."
Benedict XVI explained that Christianity proclaims joy to us, a joy that grows in the way of love, a path that is, however, linked to the cross. Yet, there is an obligation in the face of suffering, he said: "We must do everything possible, to overcome humanity's suffering and to help suffering people -- there are so many in the world -- to find a good life and to be freed from evils caused by ourselves: famine, epidemics, etc."
A student asked how they should relate to human weakness, when one is aware of being very far from true coherence with one's yes to God.
"It is good to acknowledge one's own weakness because in this way we know that we have need of the Lord's grace," the Pope answered. "The Lord consoles us. In the college of the apostles there was not only Judas but also the good apostles.
"Peter fell, and so many times the Lord reproached his slowness, the apostles' closed hearts, the little faith they had. Therefore, it shows us that no one of us is up to the loftiness of this great yes."
And in this awareness, added the Holy Father, there is also an attitude of continuous conversion: "To acknowledge that we are in need of a permanent conversion, and that we have never simply arrived; to accept our frailty but to stay on the path, not to give in but to go forward and through the sacrament of reconciliation to be converted ever again by a new beginning and thus grow, mature through the Lord, in our communion with the Lord."
A second-year theology student asked: "How one should address shortcomings within the Church in the most serene and responsible way?"
"Not an easy question," the Holy Father said with a smile. "But the Lord knows, he knew from the beginning that there is sin in the Church. "
And for our humility it is important to acknowledge this and to see the sin not only in others, in the structures, in the high hierarchical offices, but also in ourselves, thus being more humble with ourselves and learning that, before the Lord, one's position does not count, but what counts is to be in his love and to make his love shine."
"How is one to behave in the face of pain?"
Benedict XVI underlined the need to make it understood above all that suffering is an essential part of human maturation.
Jesus himself, the Holy Father continued, said that he had to suffer for the salvation of the world and that whoever wishes to follow him must take up his own cross.
"We are always like Peter who says to the Lord: 'No, Lord!'" the Pontiff observed. "'This cannot be the case, you must not suffer, we do not want to carry the cross, we want to create a more human, more beautiful kingdom on earth.'
"This is totally mistaken: Whoever promises a life that is only happy and comfortable, lies, because this is not the truth of man and then one flees to false paradises and precisely in this way one does not arrive at joy but at self-destruction."
Benedict XVI explained that Christianity proclaims joy to us, a joy that grows in the way of love, a path that is, however, linked to the cross. Yet, there is an obligation in the face of suffering, he said: "We must do everything possible, to overcome humanity's suffering and to help suffering people -- there are so many in the world -- to find a good life and to be freed from evils caused by ourselves: famine, epidemics, etc."
A student asked how they should relate to human weakness, when one is aware of being very far from true coherence with one's yes to God.
"It is good to acknowledge one's own weakness because in this way we know that we have need of the Lord's grace," the Pope answered. "The Lord consoles us. In the college of the apostles there was not only Judas but also the good apostles.
"Peter fell, and so many times the Lord reproached his slowness, the apostles' closed hearts, the little faith they had. Therefore, it shows us that no one of us is up to the loftiness of this great yes."
And in this awareness, added the Holy Father, there is also an attitude of continuous conversion: "To acknowledge that we are in need of a permanent conversion, and that we have never simply arrived; to accept our frailty but to stay on the path, not to give in but to go forward and through the sacrament of reconciliation to be converted ever again by a new beginning and thus grow, mature through the Lord, in our communion with the Lord."
Fr. Cantalamessa (Papal Preacher) in Central Kentucky
From the Lexington Herald:
He said Pope John Paul II, who appointed him to the post of papal preacher in 1980, stressed "exchanging gifts among the churches, not exchanging accusations." That's something Cantalamessa said he wants to encourage.
"What unites us is much more important," he said. "The Lord put love in my heart for the fellow Christians."
He said the issues that created the division between the Catholic Church and other denominations centuries ago "have lost most of their importance."
Monday, February 19, 2007
National Catholic Register Reviews The Virtue Driven Life
By Father Benedict Groeschel...
From the National Catholic Register:
That’s one reason this latest breezy read from the most popular American Franciscan of our day, Father Benedict J. Groeschel, a Capuchin Friar of the Renewal, arrives as a well-timed dose of reality. It’s medicine that tastes good and goes down easy even though it possesses potent anti-toxin properties.
Not only does the priest offer a practical primer on the qualities that constitute the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and the four cardinal ones (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance), but he also seriously challenges the reader to cultivate those qualities, little by little, in everyday living.
From the National Catholic Register:
That’s one reason this latest breezy read from the most popular American Franciscan of our day, Father Benedict J. Groeschel, a Capuchin Friar of the Renewal, arrives as a well-timed dose of reality. It’s medicine that tastes good and goes down easy even though it possesses potent anti-toxin properties.
Not only does the priest offer a practical primer on the qualities that constitute the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and the four cardinal ones (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance), but he also seriously challenges the reader to cultivate those qualities, little by little, in everyday living.
Vatican Takes Steps to Control Overcrowding
From the NY Times:
The number of visitors to the Vatican has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, hitting a high of 4.2 million in 2006, and has resulted in the overcrowding of a structure originally built to accommodate a Renaissance papal court, not up to 20,000 visitors at a time shuffling around one another.
Between enormous tour groups and rowdy school-trippers, a visit to the Vatican Museums can become “more of a traumatic than an artistic experience for tourists,” said Paola, one of several guides who were interviewed and who asked that their full names not be used for fear of offending the Vatican.
The number of visitors to the Vatican has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, hitting a high of 4.2 million in 2006, and has resulted in the overcrowding of a structure originally built to accommodate a Renaissance papal court, not up to 20,000 visitors at a time shuffling around one another.
Between enormous tour groups and rowdy school-trippers, a visit to the Vatican Museums can become “more of a traumatic than an artistic experience for tourists,” said Paola, one of several guides who were interviewed and who asked that their full names not be used for fear of offending the Vatican.
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