A JOURNEY WITH PURPOSE

The Family Presented as Antidote to Economic Crisis

2012-01-20T23:14:00.000+08:00

The Family Presented as Antidote to Economic Crisis
Meeting at Italian Parliament Considers Prospects for Development

By Salvatore Cernuzio

ROME, JAN. 19, 2012 (Zenit.org).- A rabbi who spoke of the family, an economist who spoke of morality, a priest who spoke of conjugal love.

All this took place during the meeting "The Family as an Engine of Economic Growth: Values and Prospects," which took place Tuesday afternoon in the Regina Room of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies.

The meeting, organized by AISES, the International Academy for Economic and Social Development, examined what is one of the most debated topics in this new year: the family. The symposium was introduced by Maurizio Lupi, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, who described the family as the "first social shock absorber of the economic crisis."

"The family must become not an element but the element of economic development, and on this we have found more agreement than opposition," said Lupi. This is reflected in the recent government budget package that for the first time includes an increase in exemptions for families.

"Judaism and Christianity are the only two religions that put the person, the family and children at the center," said the director of ZENIT, Antonio Gaspari, moderator of the symposium, before introducing Valerio De Luca, president of AISES.

"A united family leads to a more cohesive and supportive society and the economy and politics must protect this fundamental cell," De Luca said.

"In face of the crisis that breaks up the family, what role do we entrust to the man/woman, parents/children relationship," wondered the president of AISES, adding that "children, who are the real hope for the future, are now seen only as a threat and limitation of the present. This leads persons to favor abortion, sterilization, in vitro fertilization and all those other techniques that render him an experiment of himself and impoverish life."

"[O]openness to life is the principal way for the development of a more human and cohesive society," concluded De Luca.

Edith Arbib Anav, the AISES director of interreligious dialogue, referred to an "individualism" which has made us entrust to others the services that before were useful for the family and the needs of the community, limiting us to a "cold coordination that leads to a not very lasting economic development."

Failure

Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Rome, described the family as a "failed institution," given what is presented in the first pages of the Bible.

"It is a paradox, but right from the Book of Genesis we are shown negative family situations: Cain and Abel, Joseph sold by his brothers; Esau and Jacob, and so on. This shows, however, that the family is the place of life, where mistakes are made, there are errors on the part of parents, but without it one cannot live," he said.

He continued on, addressing the current family crisis, which according to Di Segni, in reality is nothing other than "transformation" of a "system that from the start was based on the family" to another "modern" system according to which "the patriarchal family has become the mononuclear family; the rate of feminine fertility has been reduced to 1.3%; women give birth after 30 years of age and there are no longer marriages, but in the best of cases cohabitation."

A crisis of the family that has led to an economic crisis, hence, it is an economic crisis that "has put the couple and conjugal love itself under pressure," observed Monsignor Lorenzo Leuzzi, chaplain of the Chamber of Deputies.

"Economic law has taken the upper hand over the whole of the life of society and has become its 'soul,' neglecting its identity of 'body,' of something, that is, instrumental."

"If they wish to give back to the economy its true role, if they wish to overcome the idea that society does not grow just by producing more, we must recover conjugal love, the first community where people learn not only to produce, but to build," said Monsignor Leuzzi in conclusion to the conference.

Theology of the Body for the Parish

2011-11-16T07:31:00.000+08:00

"I Went to 12 Years of Catholic School and I Never Heard This Before"

ROME, NOV. 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here are excerpts from an address given by Katrina J. Zeno at a symposium held in Rome last week on theology of the body.

Zeno's talk was titled "Theology of the Body for Parish Catechesis: From Womb to Tomb.

Zeno is the coordinator of the John Paul II Resource Center for Theology of the Body and Culture for the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, and the co-founder of Women of the Third Millennium.

* * *

A couple of weeks ago as I was taking a long walk, I passed a man and woman who were roller blading. Actually the man was roller blading and the woman was roller skating, and I thought, "Wow, that's interesting. I haven't seen anyone on roller skates for years." And then it struck me that the difference between roller skates and roller blades is simply a matter of alignment. Some brilliant person took the classic components of the skate and redesigned them so that all the wheels are in a line instead of a square, thus allowing for new ways of moving and navigating that weren't possible before.

I think we can say that the theology of the body is something like my skating example. In the theology of the body, some brilliant person, in this case Blessed John Paul II, took what has been present in the classic tradition of the Church and aligned it in a bit different way, thus giving us a new way of navigating within Catholic thought and experience, and especially within Catholic catechesis. That is why my presentation is titled, "Theology of the Body for Parish Catechesis: From Womb to Tomb." And to begin, I'd like to recount a true story I heard on a Christian radio program in the United States.

Several years ago, two parents had a daughter who was deaf. When she was about five years old, they had to make a difficult decision -- whether to keep their daughter home or send her to a school for the deaf where she would spend the week and come home only on weekends.

Finally, they decided to send her to the school and the reason the father gave was fascinating: He said he wanted her to have a language. He realized that if she didn't have language, then she wouldn't be able to think, and if she couldn't think, then she couldn't choose, and if she couldn't choose, then she couldn't love.

After the daughter had been at the school for a number of months and was home one weekend, the father happened to walk by her room while she was sleeping. He peeked in, and he saw her lying in her bed dreaming. How did he know she was dreaming? Because in her sleep, he saw her spontaneously doing sign language, and he was ecstatic. He knew now that she had language, and because she had language, she could think, and because she could think, she could choose, and because she could choose, she could love.

Blessed John Paul II's "theology of the body" provides a new way of navigating within parish catechesis precisely because it provides a new language, a rich, sacramental language expressed through a sacramental anthropology, that can inform all of our catechesis from womb to tomb and thus be an effective tool for passing on the deposit of the faith to modern-day man immersed in a post-modern culture. Without this rich sacramental language, we can't think sacramentally. And if we can't think sacramentally, then we can't choose sacramentally; and if we can't choose sacramentally then we really can't love because human love, in its deepest essence is sacramental: it makes visible the invisible mystery hidden from eternity in God.

While I already mentioned that Blessed John Paul II's anthropology is a sacramental anthropology, it's actually quite more. It could be described as a Christocentric-Trinitarian-sacramental anthropology -- and in this sense it is indeed an "adequate anthropology." Catechesi Tredendae ("On Catechesis in Our Time"), No. 6, underscores the Christocentric nature of all catechesis: "We must say that in catechesis it is Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God, who is taught -- and everything else is taught with reference to him…"

This central catechetical principle is inscribed in the very structure of the theology of the body. John Paul II's heading for the first half of the theology of the body (Audiences 1-86) is "The Words of Christ." And in each of the three panels that comprises this half, John Paul II begins with the words of Christ.

John Paul II briefly summarizes these three panels in Audience 64, section 1: "Next to the two other important dialogues, namely, the one in which Christ appeals to the 'beginning" (see Mt. 19:3-9; Mk 10:2-12) and the other in which he appeals to man's innermost [being] (to the "heart") while indicating the [reductive] desire and concupiscence of the flesh as a source of sin (see Mt. 5:27-32), the dialogue we propose to analyze now is, I would say, the third component of the triptych of Christ's own statements, the triptych of words that are essential and constitutive for the theology of the body. In this dialogue, Jesus appeals to the resurrection, thereby revealing a completely new dimension of the mystery of man."

What a marvelous and concise picture John Paul II provides of his catechetical framework, of his "alignment" of the truths of the faith! His catechetical triptych addresses life before original sin, life after original sin, and life in its eternal, glorified state. This salvation-history structure provides an extensive, catechetical goldmine for RCIA and adult faith formation as well as for grade school and high school programs, all with reference to Christ.

From this Christocentric viewpoint, we could easily assume that the work of teaching the faith, whether through parish religious education programs, parenting, or preaching, is simply to proclaim Jesus Christ, to reiterate, as John Paul II did so frequently, Gaudium et spes 22: "Jesus Christ…fully reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear."

And yet, if we stopped there in our catechetical labors, our work would be incomplete. In our parish catechesis, the Catholic of the new millennium can awaken and deepen his or her knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith through a salvation-history approach, but eventually he or she must go further -- and this is where the theology of the body is indispensable, especially as it pertains to four central aspects of the faith: the Trinity, gift, the body, and sacramentality. We could think of these as the four wheels of the skate, realigned in a more linear manner.

The first, and therefore most visible "wheel," is the Trinity. Clearly, Jesus' mission is always to lead us to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. While we are indeed Christians, we must also be good Trinitarians. The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 234 declares: "The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them."

Catechesis Tredendae, no 5, echoes this same idea: "…the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity."

This, then, is precisely John Paul II's approach in the theology of the body -- to present not just a Christocentric anthropology, but a Christocentric-Trinitarian anthropology. And this is why our catechetical language is so important: If we don't have the Trinitarian language of God then we can't think in a Trinitarian manner, and we can't choose in a Trinitarian manner, and we can't love in a Trinitarian manner.

[...]

As many of us are aware, GS 24:3 is John Paul II's basic hardware for what he calls the "hermeneutic of the gift," which is the second wheel in our realigned skate.

While the hermeneutic of the gift is a very scholarly and complicated sounding term, it can be broken down into a very simple visual image: You are a gift! Each person images God, reflects the inner life of the Trinity on earth, by being a gift to God and to others. John Paul II makes this gift character of the body explicit in his apostolic letter, Mulieris Dignitatum, no. 7, where he wrote: "To say that man is created in the image and likeness of God means that man is called to exist 'for' others, to become a gift."

To convey this idea to both young and old audiences, I often use the photo image of a majestic, snow-covered mountain whose reflection is evident in the lake at its base. I will cover the mountains and ask: "Can you still see the mountains?" The answer, of course, is yes -- in the reflection. Analogously, the same is true of God and our bodies. We can't see God directly, but we can "see" him through each other, through our bodies. God gave us a body so that we can reflect him by being a gift.

Is it possible, or even desirable, to teach our children about human sexuality, about being made in God's image and likeness as male and female, from a very young age? Could there be such a thing as the theology of the body for toddlers? Absolutely. The key word is gift: You are a gift. Your body is a gift. God makes a gift of himself to us. We make a gift of ourselves to God and others. You reflect God's image and likeness in the world by being a gift.

[...]

John Paul II's adequate anthropology, however, is not only solidly Trinitarian emphasizing the gift, it also accentuates the body as central to the Catholic faith. This is our third wheel, one that has been fairly easy to gloss over or even consider as unimportant until John Paul II's theology of the body.

One of my favorite statements to emphasize when speaking about eschatological man is: "Get used to your body because it will be with you for all eternity!" And sometimes, especially if I am speaking only to women, there are audible groans and spontaneous negative reactions to the thought of having their same body in eternity. Men, too, are often caught off-guard by this statement. One time, after I spoke to over 100 men in Louisiana, a distinguished-looking man came up to me afterwards and said to me: "Did I miss something? I went to 12 years of Catholic school and I never heard this before." He had never heard of the resurrection of his body.

[...]

In addition to new language about the Trinity, gift, and the body that the theology of the body provides, the fourth wheel, which anchors it all together from womb to tomb, is sacramentality.

One of the most exhilarating aspects of sacramentality is that it can be accessed from almost any point in the theology of the body -- whether that is marriage, original nakedness, celibacy for the kingdom, concupiscence, eschatological man, etc.

While using John Paul II's audiences on eschatological man may seem an odd entry point for sacramentality, similar to putting the cart before the horse, it can be a very effective place to start, especially with well-catechized groups or audiences. For instance, when addressing pro-life groups with my presentation titled, "Heavenly Pro-Life: Our Ultimate Destiny and Why It Matters," I begin with our heavenly destiny so as to illustrate the sacramentality of the body from an eternal perspective. My central point is this: your body has an eternal relationship with your soul that will be perfected in heaven not discarded.

This truth gives monumental significance to pro-life work by highlighting the eternal sacramental character of the body. Every life, and indeed every body, is sacred from womb to tomb -- from the moment that the soul is infused into physical matter until natural death -- because every person has a unique relationship with his or her bodily being, and this relationship culminates in eternity.

While the sacramental character of the body is perfected in heaven, it is first revealed in Genesis 2 where God creates 'adam from the clay of the ground and the breath of life. From the beginning, the human person is created as a body-spirit unity, as an embodied person. John Paul II alludes to the sacramental character of our embodied personhood numerous times in the theology of the body. In Audience 32, section 1, he expresses it this way: "In this, its own distinctive character, the body is the expression of the spirit and is called, in the very mystery of creation, to exist in the communion of persons 'in the image of God.'"

In fact, one could say that the human body is doubly sacramental: my body, which you can see, makes visible my spirit, which you can't see; and I, as an embodied person reveal God.

To integrate the sacramentality of the body into our broader catechetical work, I would like to recommend three approaches: First, refer to Mary regularly, especially her Assumption, to make the abstract concrete and to extend our understanding of the body into eternity.

Second, acknowledge the way our spiritual language sometimes minimizes or discounts the body. For instance, a common saying among English-speaking Catholics is: "Jesus came to save souls." The truth is, he didn't. Jesus came to save persons, and as human persons our salvation will not be complete until body and soul are united perfectly forever in heaven.

Finally, bring out the big guns by quoting Pope Benedict XVI, who, in his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est, wrote: "It is neither the spirit alone nor the body alone that loves: it is man, the person, a unified creature composed of body and soul who loves." (no. 5)

Why am I repeatedly stressing this fourth point about the sacramentality of the body? Because sacramentality is the polar opposite of post-modern, western culture. Many of us live in a culture permeated by, among other things, materialism -- a system of belief that says physical matter, what we can see and measure, is the sum total of reality. And if we go back even a little further, we discover that the roots of materialism draw significant nourishment from a philosophical system called nominalism.

While nominalism may seem like an archaic phenomenon that has no tangible effect on us today, quite the opposite is true. It has caused a train wreck in western culture and, sadly, even in the Church. In brief, nominalism declared that the name of something is arbitrary; it is simply a convenient way of labeling this or that item. The name does not express or point to any deeper reality nor does it indicate the nature of something.

This is quite serious. If I have no nature, then my existence does not have an inherent meaning or purpose. There is no end, no telos, toward which my life and my actions are ordered. All that remains is to make up the meaning and purpose of life at every moment (how exhausting and potentially wounding!) according to what each individual can acquire and benefit from, whether that be pleasure, money, power, material goods, using another person, etc. This has resulted in, among other things, the birth of "rights" language, which attempts to enshrine personal desires as absolute rights. Materialism, along with relativism and radical individualism, are the logical outcomes of nominalism, of dispensing with nature.

John Paul II's explicit emphasis on the sacramentality of the body is a direct response to nominalism and the absolutizing of individual rights. As human persons we do indeed have a very specific nature, an embodied rational nature, which perhaps could even be called a sacramental nature. At all times and in all places our embodied human nature is created by God to point to something beyond just the material. We are not relative only to ourselves and to our acquired goods and pleasures. On the contrary, "the body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine" to cite one of the most frequently quoted passages from the theology of the body (Audience 19, section 4). Our bodies are created by God to be living sacraments, to make God physically present in the world through our words and deeds.

This is why before we can catechize adequately and fully on marriage or the morality of the marital act, which are the final two panels of the theology of the body, we must first enter through the door of the sacramentality of the body. Indeed, we must be steeped in John Paul II's adequate Christocentric anthropology that is infused with the language of Trinity, gift, body, and sacramentality.

When we align our catechetical work with the language of sacramentality, then we can think sacramentally, and we can choose sacramentally, and we can love sacramentally -- and Catholics in the third millennium will become living sacraments of a Trinitarian communion of Persons, from womb to tomb.

Vatican Aide to Baby 7 Billion: 'You Are a Wonderful Gift'

2011-11-09T07:34:00.001+08:00

Father Lombardi Addresses Human Side of Population Debate

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 7, 2011 (Zenit.org).- While Oct. 31 found those in some circles worried over the birth that day of the 7 billionth person on earth (according to United Nations calculations), the Vatican spokesman had a different message for the child: You are unique and special, you are a wonderful gift, you are a miracle, and so you are welcome.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi addressed his weekly editorial to the 7 billionth child, framing this milestone in a context entirely different than those prognosticating population woes.

"Dear baby number 7 billion! I don't know if you are a girl or a boy, whether you are Indian or Chinese, born in a great city or a tiny village. I don't know if you were born in the fertile South American lowlands or under an igloo above the arctic circle. I don't know if you were born on a remote island, or in a refugee tent. I don't know whether you are healthy or sick or handicapped. I don't know whether both your parents were there to embrace you at your birth, or whether your mother alone was there to hold you. I don't know whether people will say there are too many or too few of you and your contemporaries. Today, I don't care about that," the Jesuit wrote.

Father Lombardi admitted the world that this child is coming into is "a bit complicated" and "not friendly for everyone."

"We haven't done a very good job preparing it for you," he said.

In an allusion to the Group of 20 meeting, the priest noted that "the leaders of the richest and most powerful nations are sitting around a table, struggling to find a way forward. We too are asking ourselves about your future."

"But today," he continued, "I want to tell you that you are unique and special, that you are a wonderful gift, that you are a miracle, that your spirit will live for ever, and so you are welcome. We hope that when you smile someone will respond to your smile, and when you cry someone will caress you. We hope you can go to school and that you won't go hungry. We hope that someone will answer your questions wisely and encourage you as you find your place in the world. We hope you will be able to love others, that you will be able to grow, and work, and live among your family, with many friends, in a nation and in a world that is free and at peace. We pray that you can understand that your life will find its fullest meaning not in this world but in the next.

"Because this is what you were born for. Your Creator and Father made you for this. We will do our part to make this possible; but you will have to do your part, too, because your future will also depend on you and the choices you make -- and it will be up to you to welcome baby 8 billion."

The Lord Will Never Abandon His Vineyard

2011-09-29T07:39:00.001+08:00

Biblical Reflection for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, SEPT. 27, 2011 (Zenit.org).- We are back in the vineyard again this week, immersed in another of Matthew's complex Gospel parables. Jesus told these parables in answer to the question: "What is the kingdom of God like?" His parables are short narratives that combine realistic details from first-century Palestinian life in little villages with details that are foreign to the ways that things happen in daily life.

Today's Gospel parable is often called the parable of the wicked tenants. Like last week's parable of the two sons and next week's parable of the royal wedding feast (33-46), today's story is clearly one of judgment at the center of Jesus' threefold response to the religious leaders who are putting his authority to the test (23-27).

In the Old Testament, "vineyard" or "vine" is often used as a metaphor for God's people. The vineyard figures frequently in Jesus' parables, setting the stage for the Kingdom of God to take root and the drama of salvation to unfold. The work in the vineyard is hard labor; patience is essential, and wages are unpredictable as we saw in a previous gospel parable (Mathew 20). The vineyard can also be a dangerous place to work. Scuffles between workers can erupt (Mark 9:33), and violence may erupt as we see in today's story (Matthew 21:33-43).

A story of violence and want

The combination of a symbol of peace and plenty of today's parable with a story of violence and want is part of what makes today's Gospel story so powerful. A closer look at it helps us understand the harsh reality of people's lives in Jesus' day.

The estate of the landlord would have housed between 50 to 70 people, mostly slaves or servants. The most trusted servants would have had significant responsibilities. The landlord's servants did not hesitate to "lord it over" those in his charge (28). In early fall, when the harvest was ready, the landlord sent out a succession of his workers to collect the rent. The landlord would not go out himself to collect the rent. On the contrary, landlords protected themselves, their families and their considerable possessions in fortified tower-residences.

The people of Jesus' day were also all too familiar with the violence the story portrays. When the landlord sent his son to collect the rent, the tenants said: "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." What remains very odd is that the tenants would repeatedly mistreat and even kill the one sent to them without any reprisal by the vineyard owner. In interpreting parables, the glimpse into the kingdom of God often comes to us through the strange details that are not the way things are in life around us then or now.

The vineyard is Israel and the landowner is God

Today's parable is not just an allegory of hot-headed and greedy servants. Those who listened to this parable from Jesus also heard something underlying the story. Earlier they had asked Jesus about the authority he was claiming for himself. They knew he was telling the story for a reason, and this upset them. The first hearers would have recognized some familiar themes under the surface.

The vineyard imagery invites us to look at the first reading from Isaiah 5 where the vineyard symbolizes Israel. Since the vineyard has been planted by God, it represents the gift, grace and love of God. Yet the vineyard also demands the labor of the farmer that enables it to produce grapes that yield wine. Thus it symbolizes the human response: personal effort and the fruit of good deeds.

If the vineyard refers to Israel, then the tenant farmers represent Israel's religious leaders, who despite their professed loyalty to Israel's law (Torah), refuse to give God his due by acknowledging and accepting God's mighty presence in the life and mission of John the Baptist and of Jesus of Nazareth.

When successive "prophets" are sent to the "tenants" – and killed – they heard Jesus remind them of the habit leaders had in ignoring many of the warnings the prophets had previously announced. The religious leaders were being criticized for ignoring their own God-sent messengers. This of course would lead to the reaction we see in verse 12: "Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away."

Matthew has transformed this allegorical parable into a rich account of salvation history. The vineyard is Israel and the landowner is God. The slaves sent to collect the produce are the prophets sent to Israel. The son whom the tenants throw out of the vineyard and kill is Jesus, who died outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem.

The fact that the vineyard (41) is to be taken from the wicked tenants and given to others (43) does not refer to Israel but to the kingdom of God. It is not suggested that God will remove Israel's present leadership and provide it with more faithful leaders. Rather, "the kingdom of God" will be taken "from you" and given to a nation that will produce the fruits of the kingdom. The "you" addressed consists not only of the opponents mentioned in the context but of all who follow their leadership in rejecting John and Jesus. The nation to whom the kingdom will be transferred is the church. The reach of the parable extends to include the resurrection when Jesus directs his hearers (42) to the prophecy about the "stone that was rejected" that has become the "corner stone" (Psalm 118:22-23), while the final comment (43) reinforces the sense of the Church as inheritor of the kingdom removed from the original tenants.

Avoiding anti-Semitism

We must avoid an anti-Semitic reading of this parable. The first way is to hear it as a piece of prophetic invective addressed by a Jew to fellow Jews. We must focus attention not so much on what the passage has to say explicitly about Jewish leaders as to what it implies about Christians. The "others" to whom the vineyard is given over in verse 41 are accountable to the owner. They too are charged with the heavy responsibility of producing the fruits of the kingdom (43).

The vineyard will not be destroyed

In his homily at the mass to mark the opening of the XII Synod of Bishops on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" on Oct. 5, 2008, Benedict XVI spoke beautifully of today's parable: "At the end, the owner of the vineyard makes a last attempt: he sends his son, convinced that they will at least listen to him. However the contrary occurs: the tenants kill him because he is the son, the heir, convinced that they can then easily come into possession of the vineyard. Therefore, faced with a jump in quality with respect to the accusation of violating social justice, which emerges from the canticle of Isaiah. Here we can clearly see how contempt for the order given by the owner is changed into scorn for him: this is not simple disobedience to a divine precept, this is the true and actual rejection of God: there appears the mystery of the Cross.

"But there is a promise in the words of Jesus: the vineyard will not be destroyed. While the landowner abandons the unfaithful tenants to their fate, he does not abandon his vineyard and he entrusts it to his faithful tenants. What this demonstrates is that, if in some areas faith weakens to the point of vanishing, there will always be other peoples ready to embrace it. This is why Jesus, as he quotes Psalm 117 (118): "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (v. 22), assures us that his death will not represent the defeat of God. Having been killed, he will not remain in the tomb, but rather that which appears to be a total defeat will mark the start of a definitive victory. His dreadful passion and death on the cross will be followed by the glory of the Resurrection. The vineyard will therefore continue to produce grapes and will be leased by the landowner "to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time" (Mt 21:41)."

The vineyard is the house of Israel

The parable of the wicked tenants reminds us once again that we cannot control God's continuous merciful outreach to others. It compels us to look at our lives, our attitudes and actions, in light of whether they are an embrace or rejection of Jesus' saving message. Rather than putting the focus on what the story says about Jewish leaders, we must ask: what does it say about us Christians? What is my vision of the kingdom of God? How am I producing a harvest for God's kingdom, in my private and in our communal lives? What does the parable say to me about my own troubled relationships with family, friends and colleagues? What does the story teach me about my inability to forgive others and forgive myself? Yes, the wicked tenants in today's Gospel do indeed try God's patience. But I do as well! How do I respond to God's boundless mercy and goodness that he offers me each day?

Pope's Address to German Seminarians

2011-09-28T07:35:00.000+08:00

"Studying Is Essential: Only Thus Can We Stand Firm in These Times"

FREIBURG, Germany, SEPT. 26, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the transcription of the spontaneous address Benedict XVI said Saturday when meeting with a group of seminarians at the Charles Borromeo Seminary Chapel in Freiburg. The Vatican published the transcription and translation today.

* * *

Dear Seminarians, Dear Sisters and Brothers!

It is a great joy for me to be able to come together here with young people who are setting out to serve the Lord, young people who want to listen to his call and follow him. I would like to express particularly warm thanks for the beautiful letter that the Rector and the seminarians wrote to me. It truly touched my heart, to see how you had reflected on my letter, and developed your own questions and answers from it, and to see how seriously you are taking what I tried to say in my letter, on the basis of which you are now working out your own path.

Of course it would be wonderful if we could hold a conversation with one another, but my travel schedule, which I am bound to follow, sadly does not permit such things. So I can only try, in the light of what you have written and what I myself had written, to offer just one or two further ideas.

In considering the question -- What is the seminary for? What does this time mean? -- I am always particularly struck by the account that St. Mark gives of the birth of the apostolic community in the third chapter of his Gospel. Mark says: "And he appointed twelve". He makes something, he does something, it is a creative act; and he made them, "to be with him, and to be sent out to preach" (Mk 12:14). That is a twofold purpose, which in many respects seems contradictory. "To be with him": they are to be with him, in order to come to know him, to hear what he says, to be formed by him; they are to go with him, to accompany him on his path, surrounding him and following him. But at the same time they are to be envoys who go out, who take with them what they have learnt, who bring it to others who are also on a journey -- into the margins, into the wide open spaces, even into places far removed from him. And yet this paradox holds together: if they are truly with him, then they are also always journeying towards others, they are searching for the lost sheep; they go out, they must pass on what they have found, they must make it known, they must become envoys. And conversely, if they want to be good envoys, then they must always be with him. As St. Bonaventure once said: the angels, wherever they go, however far away, always move within the inner being of God. This is also the case here: as priests we must go out onto the many different streets, where we find people whom we should invite to his wedding feast. But we can only do this if in the process we always remain with him. And learning this: this combination of, on the one hand, going out on mission, and on the other hand being with him, remaining with him, is -- I believe -- precisely what we have to learn in the seminary. The right way of remaining with him, becoming deeply rooted in him -- being more and more with him, knowing him more and more, being more and more inseparable from him -- and at the same time going out more and more, bringing the message, passing it on, not keeping it to ourselves, but bringing the word to those who are far away and who nevertheless, as God’s creatures and as people loved by Christ, all have a longing for him in their hearts.

The seminary is therefore a time for training; also, of course, a time for discernment, for learning: does he want me for this? The mission must be tested, and this includes being in community with others and also of course speaking with your spiritual directors, in order to learn how to discern what his will is. And then learning to trust: if he truly wants this, then I may entrust myself to him. In today’s world, which is changing in such an unprecedented way and in which everything is in a constant state of flux, in which human ties are breaking down because of new encounters, it is becoming more and more difficult to believe that I will hold firm for the whole of my life. Even for my own generation, it was not exactly easy to imagine how many decades God might assign to me, and how different the world might become. Will I be able to hold firm with him, as I have promised to do? ... It is a question that demands the testing of the vocation, but then also -- the more I recognize that he does indeed want me -- it demands trust: if he wants me, then he will also hold me, he will be there in the hour of temptation, in the hour of need, and he will send people to me, he will show me the path, he will hold me. And faithfulness is possible, because he is always there, because he is yesterday, today and tomorrow, because he belongs not only to this time, but he is the future and he can support us at all times.

A time for discernment, a time for learning, a time for vocation ... and then, naturally, a time for being with him, a time for praying, for listening to him. Listening, truly learning to listen to him -- in the word of sacred Scripture, in the faith of the Church, in the liturgy of the Church -- and learning to understand the present time in his word. In exegesis we learn much about the past: what happened, what sources there are, what communities there were, and so on. This is also important. But more important still is that from the past we should learn about the present, we should learn that he is speaking these words now, and that they all carry their present within them, and that over and above the historical circumstances in which they arose, they contain a fullness which speaks to all times. And it is important to learn this present-day aspect of his word -- to learn to listen out for it -- and thus to be able to speak of it to others. Naturally, when one is preparing the homily for Sunday, it often seems ... my goodness, so remote! But if I live with the word, then I see that it is not at all remote, it is highly contemporary, it is right here, it concerns me and it concerns others. And then I also learn how to explain it. But for this, a constant inner journey with the word of God is needed.

Personally being with Christ, with the living God, is one thing: another is that we can only ever believe within the "we". I sometimes say that St. Paul wrote: "Faith comes from hearing" -- not from reading. It needs reading as well, but it comes from hearing, that is to say from the living word, addressed to me by the other, whom I can hear, addressed to me by the Church throughout the ages, from her contemporary word, spoken to me the priests, bishops and my fellow believers. Faith must include a "you" and it must include a "we". And it is very important to practice this mutual support, to learn how to accept the other as the other in his otherness, and to learn that he has to support me in my otherness, in order to become "we", so that we can also build community in the parish, calling people into the community of the word, and journeying with one another towards the living God. This requires the very particular "we" that is the seminary, and also the parish, but it also requires us always to look beyond the particular, limited "we" towards the great "we" that is the Church of all times and places: it requires that we do not make ourselves the sole criterion. When we say: "We are Church" -- well, it is true: that is what we are, we are not just anybody. But the "we" is more extensive than the group that asserts those words. The "we" is the whole community of believers, today and in all times and places. And so I always say: within the community of believers, yes, there is as it were the voice of the valid majority, but there can never be a majority against the apostles or against the saints: that would be a false majority. We are Church: let us be Church, let us be Church precisely by opening ourselves and stepping outside ourselves and being Church with others.

Well now, according to the schedule, I daresay I ought really to draw to a close now. I would like to make just one more point to you. In preparing for the priesthood, study is very much a part of the journey. This is not an academic accident that has arisen in the western Church, it is something essential. We all know that St. Peter said: "Always be prepared to make a defence to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3:15). Our world today is a rationalist and thoroughly scientific world, albeit often somewhat pseudo-scientific. But this scientific spirit, this spirit of understanding, explaining, know-how, rejection of the irrational, is dominant in our time. There is a good side to this, even if it often conceals much arrogance and nonsense. The faith is not a parallel world of feelings that we can still afford to hold on to, rather it is the key that encompasses everything, gives it meaning, interprets it and also provides its inner ethical orientation: making clear that it is to be understood and lived as tending towards God and proceeding from God. Therefore it is important to be informed and to understand, to have an open mind, to learn.

Naturally in twenty years' time, some quite different philosophical theories will be fashionable from those of today: when I think what counted as the highest, most modern philosophical fashion in our day, and how totally forgotten it is now ... still, learning these things is not in vain, for there will be some enduring insights among them. And most of all, this is how we learn to judge, to think through an idea -- and to do so critically -- and to ensure that in this thinking the light of God will serve to enlighten us and will not be extinguished. Studying is essential: only thus can we stand firm in these times and proclaim within them the reason for our faith. And it is essential that we study critically -- because we know that tomorrow someone else will have something else to say -- while being alert, open and humble as we study, so that our studying is always with the Lord, before the Lord, and for him.

Yes, I could say much more, and perhaps I should ... but I thank you for your attention. In my prayers, all the seminarians of the world are present in my heart -- and not only those known to me by name, like the individuals I had the pleasure of receiving here this evening; I pray, as they make their inner journey towards the Lord, that he may bless them all, give light to them all and show them the right way, and that he may grant us to receive many good priests. Thank you very much.

Benedict XVI Recalls "Dark" Hour of Nazi Era

2011-09-27T07:20:00.001+08:00

Vatican Spokesman Reflects on Light of Martyrs

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI’s trip to his native Germany has helped to recall the lessons that must be drawn from the tragedy caused by Nazism, said the Vatican spokesman.

On the most recent edition of Vatican Television Center's weekly program "Octava Dies," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, reflected on the Pope's four-day state visit to his homeland.

"One cannot pass through Berlin without feeling the weight of the darkest page in the history of Germany and Europe in the last century: the madness for power and murder that marked the Nazi era," the spokesman noted.

The priest said that the memory of the Nazis was "powerfully recalled" by the Holy Father on Thursday in Berlin when he referred to them as a "band of thieves."

Another important moment of the papal visit took place when he received a Jewish delegation, which included witnesses and victims of the Holocaust.

"But the light of those martyred by Nazism shines through the darkness of those times and continues to inspire the building of the future," asserted the spokesman.

Father Lombardi noted that the president of Germany, Christian Wulff, recalled three notable Catholic victims: Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg, the pastor of the Catholic Cathedral of Berlin; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great Protestant theologian; and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942), Edith Stein, a Jew who converted to Catholicism and became a Carmelite nun, and was later killed at Auschwitz.

"The ecumenism of the martyrs is testimony from which the ecumenical movement of today can find great depth and draw enthusiasm," added Father Lombardi. "Sacrificing one's life as a witness to God and to Jesus Christ: could there be a more solid common ground, a firmer basis for continuing the journey in the hope of a union that is not just behind us, but is also ahead of us?"

Are We Faithful and Generous Workers in His Vineyard?

2011-09-23T23:15:00.001+08:00

Biblical Reflection for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, SEPT. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Immediately preceding today's Gospel story, Jesus has returned to the Temple (23a) and reclaimed this sacred space for his healing ministry (14) and the stage for teaching and challenging his opponents. The chief priests and elders of the people continue to pressure him: "By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority?" (23b).

It is God himself who is the source of Jesus' authority, but stating this fact clearly would be nothing short of blasphemy on Jesus' part. Instead of directly answering his opponents, Jesus challenges them with his own question about the baptism of John. Those gathered around Jesus refuse to see God at work in John's ministry. They therefore reject Jesus in the process. This withholding of faith in God and in Jesus is exemplified in Jesus' opponents' reaction to John the Baptist.

Today's story begins by introducing us to the familiar scenario of a father who asks each of his sons to go out and work in the vineyard (Matthew 21:28-32). To a Jewish listener, familiar with Hebrew Scripture, this would already have been an important clue that there would be problems in the story! We need only recall the stories of Biblical brothers, which are almost always stories of conflict, alienation, misunderstanding, competition and tension. We need only recall Jacob and Esau, Isaac and Ishmael, or Joseph and his brothers. Jesus is truly a gifted storyteller who draws his listeners in to the teaching moment. I can only imagine what the listeners were thinking as Jesus began his story: "What do you think? A man had two sons."

After giving the command, the father expects an answer from them. Not satisfied with mere words, the father desires a real commitment. Initially the first son responds negatively, but then repents, or has a complete change of heart, and goes out to work. The second son acknowledges with lip service his father's request and gives in, but does not follow through on his promise.

Blindness to God's work

The two sons represent the religious leaders and the religious outcasts who followed John's call to repentance. By the answer they give to Jesus' question (Matthew 21:31), the leaders effectively condemn themselves. As religious leaders, they claim to be faithfully obedient to God, but they are blind to the fact that authentic obedience includes responding in faith to the new things God is doing. In the end, the sinners in Israel, exemplified by the tax collectors and prostitutes who had carelessly ignored the demands of their religion, will take their place in the kingdom, while Jesus' adversaries will be shut out. Those who would otherwise be judged as outside the reach of salvation because of their rejection of the outward form of religion, may in fact be those who are most sensitive to their need for God's grace, and thus repent and serve the Master most meaningfully. This same strange and surprising way of God is found in today's Old Testament reading in which the ways of God and the ways of God's people stand in stark contrast (Ezekiel 18:25-28).

Insight into the kingdom

Today's parable gives us a glimpse into the radical nature of the Kingdom of God. Although this parable may contain a judgment on Jewish religious leaders, Matthew intended a much wider application of its message, even to us. In this parable each one of us can recognize his or her own personal experience. We ourselves can become blind to what God is doing in the world around us. Could the parable be speaking about those who seem to be very religious and subservient at the start, but in reality may never sufficiently probe the depths of God's mercy to truly know the heart and mind of God? The parable is a lesson for those who claim to be Christian, but do not worship as Christians or live the Christian life; compared to those who come to Christ later but never claimed to be righteous.

Today many claim to know Christ but do not live the Christian life. It doesn't matter so much what you say on the outside if it is not matched by your heart on the inside, or your actions. Lip service to Christ that is merely an outward mouthing of polite promises and pious platitudes is empty by comparison with the inward acceptance of the message that prompts people to repentance and action. What God looks for is the final outcome in people's lives. God is infinitely patient with us and can certainly tolerate our initial "no" on the way to our final, definitive "yes."

Evangelization, renewal, enthusiasm

How easily our "church efforts" end up being little more than simply maintaining the institution, with no excitement concerning what God's active grace is doing and consequently no enthusiasm for true evangelization and renewal. We say that we are going to work in the vineyard but instead of harvesting the grapes we spend our time complaining, moaning, ridiculing, despairing collecting the stones along the path and not rejoicing in the abundant growth that is taking place around us.

Humiliation and exultation

Today's second reading from St. Paul to the Philippians (2:1-11) contains one of the most beautiful Christological hymns of the New Testament. The short rhythmic lines fall into two parts, verses 6-8 Christ is the subject of every verb, and verses 9-11 where God is the subject. The general pattern is thus of Christ's humiliation and then exaltation.

Although Paul is in prison and no longer can visit and preach to his beloved community at Philippi, they are not without his intercession and assistance. From his prison cell, Paul begs them to make his joy complete by being of "the same mind" and "having "the same love." Rather than being caught up in the upward mobility and passing things of the world, of society, of all of our broken and sinful ways of life, we are invited to enter into the downward mobility of Jesus Christ who empties himself in order to find fullness and life.

Jesus and the Law

Consider these excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"The perfect fulfillment of the Law could be the work of none but the divine legislator, born subject to the Law in the person of the Son. In Jesus, the Law no longer appears engraved on tables of stone but 'upon the heart' of the Servant who becomes 'a covenant to the people,' because he will 'faithfully bring forth justice.' Jesus fulfills the Law to the point of taking upon himself 'the curse of the Law' incurred by those who do not 'abide by the things written in the book of the Law, and do them,' for his death took place to redeem them 'from the transgressions under the first covenant'" (No. 580).

"The Jewish people and their spiritual leaders viewed Jesus as a rabbi. He often argued within the framework of rabbinical interpretation of the Law. Yet Jesus could not help but offend the teachers of the Law, for he was not content to propose his interpretation alongside theirs but taught the people 'as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.' In Jesus, the same Word of God that had resounded on Mount Sinai to give the written Law to Moses, made itself heard anew on the Mount of the Beatitudes. Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it by giving its ultimate interpretation in a divine way: 'You have heard that it was said to the men of old. ... But I say to you." With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were 'making void the word of God" (No. 581).

How do we evangelize?

1. The world around us longs for truly Good News from workers in the vineyard of the Lord -- joyful evangelizers who are not dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the Kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world. Do we approach the new evangelization with a sense of enthusiasm?

2. What prevents us from becoming real communities, true fraternities and a living body, rather than a mechanical thing or enterprise?

3. How have certain events in the world and in the Church helped us to refine and rethink our proclamation? What does the Spirit say to our Church through these events? What new forms of evangelization is the Spirit teaching us and requiring of us?

4. Are we faithful, generous, enthusiastic and hopeful workers in the vineyard of the Lord?

[The readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time are
Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32]

Communal Dimension of Forgiveness and Reconciliation

2011-08-31T23:04:00.000+08:00

Biblical Reflection for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, AUG. 30, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Today's Gospel passage from Matthew 18:15-20 compels us to consider the essential elements in the process of forgiveness among members of the Church community. Matthew's text stresses the fraternal correction of members who sin; the importance of the disciples' prayer (19-20); and the continuous need for forgiveness that must be extended to repentant members of the Christian community (21-35).

At Caesarea Philippi, we learned that Peter is the foundation on which the Lord builds the edifice of the Church. Peter is entrusted with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to open or close it to people as he sees fit. Peter will be able to bind or to loose, in the sense of establishing or prohibiting whatever he deems necessary for the life of the Church. Peter is entrusted with the keys. In Verse 18 of today's Gospel, we see an almost identical repeat of the expression found in 16:19, and many understand it as granting to all the disciples what was previously given to Peter alone.

The harsh language about Gentile and tax collector in today's Gospel likely reflects a certain period in Matthew's Church community when it was probably composed of Jewish Christians. Just as observant Jews avoided the company of Gentiles and tax collectors, so must the congregation of Christian disciples separate itself from the arrogantly sinful members who refused to repent even when convicted of their sin by the whole Church. Such individuals are to be set outside the fellowship of the community.

The Church's teaching on penance and reconciliation

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven" (CCC 1441).

Binding and loosing

The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to explain the meaning of the "binding and loosing" in today's Gospel. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ's solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (CCC 1444). The office of binding and loosing that was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head. The words bind and loose mean: Whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God (CCC 1445).

Christ instituted the sacrament of penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion (CCC 1446).

More than forgiving and forgetting

Forgiveness never means to overlook what someone has done to us. The emotions we feel when someone has wronged us are genuine, real, upsetting, and they must be honestly and painfully acknowledged and dealt with. They can provide a way of healing with the hurt and of moving toward healing and forgiveness. Harboring feelings of resentment, unforgiveness, anger, hate and rage can prevent the healing process from ever beginning. To forgive is not to say that what others did to us was okay. To genuinely forgive means that I refuse to allow the hurt to prevent me from growing and moving forward. If I refuse to move forward, wallowing in my own hurt and anger, I become paralyzed by the evil that has taken place.

An unforgiving spirit and festering resentment harden my heart and block it up from any flow of love. I am terribly diminished when I cannot forgive others. If I am sincere about forgiveness, I must allow God to remove my hard-heartedness and meanness of spirit. Forgiveness does not mean forgetfulness. It is rather a conscious decision that I make in my head, and pray that it slowly descends to my heart.

What are some painful examples of forgiveness in action today? Forgiving the person who murdered my innocent child does not mean to push for them to be released from prison. To forgive the husband who has been routinely violent does not necessarily mean choosing to take him back after violence and infidelity. To speak rationally to the wife who left her husband and children for another partner does not condone the terrible suffering that followed for the entire family. To forgive the priest who has abused children does not mean advocating for his return to active ministry around children. To speak honestly to the boyfriend who abandoned the young woman when she found herself pregnant and refused to have an abortion as an easy way out of the mess is the beginning of forgiveness and healing for all involved. We need clear thinking when it comes to making wise, compassionate judgments about the great, ambiguous situations in which we often find ourselves.

The frequently used expression "forgive and forget" is not a scriptural or particularly Christian saying. Jesus offers us another way in which we can forgive even while remembering a past hurt. When I forgive in the name of Jesus Christ, and with his strength and presence, I can actually help others who have been deeply hurt and begin the healing process. Just as there is nothing that one human being cannot do to another, there is nothing that one human being cannot forgive another, with the help and grace of Jesus.

Amish Forgiveness

In light of today's Gospel on the necessity of forgiveness, I wish to recall a tragic incident that occurred several years ago in the United States that caused the entire world to reflect on the meaning of forgiveness. I know how much the story jarred me in my own understanding of forgiveness.

The Amish school shooting at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, in Bart Township of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, took place Oct. 2, 2006. A lone gunman, Charles Roberts IV, stormed the Amish School, releasing 15 boys and four adults before tying up and shooting 10 young girls. Roberts then killed himself.

On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls warned some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, "We must not think evil of this man." Another Amish father noted, "He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God."

An Amish neighbor comforted the Roberts family hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them. Amish community members visited and comforted the killer's widow, parents, and parents-in-law. About 30 members of the Amish community attended Roberts' funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer, was one of the few outsiders invited to the funeral of one of the victims.

Marie Roberts wrote an open letter to her Amish neighbors thanking them for their forgiveness, grace and mercy. She wrote, "Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you've given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you."

Toward authentic reconciliation and hope

Many people criticized the quick and complete forgiveness with which the Amish responded, insisting that forgiveness is inappropriate when no remorse has been expressed, and that such an attitude runs the risk of denying the existence of evil. Those who have studied Amish life noted that "letting go of grudges" is a deeply rooted value in Amish culture. They explained that the Amish willingness to forgo vengeance does not undo the tragedy or pardon the wrong, but rather constitutes a first step toward real reconciliation and a future that is filled with realistic hope.

The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the response of the Amish community was widely discussed in the international media. Forgiveness is woven into the fabric of Amish faith. Such courage to forgive jolted the world as much as the brutal killing itself. I have often felt that the transforming power of forgiveness may be the one redeeming thing that emerged from the horrendous massacre at Nickel Mines in 2006.

The Amish forgiveness raises many thorny questions for us. It may be one thing to forgive a mentally ill killer; but what about those who are not out of their minds, who intentionally murder or threaten to do so for political ends or personal retaliation? How does forgiveness relate to justice? If everyone forgave so quickly, would it truly transform human relations or lead to civil anarchy?

Watchers of the morn

Today's first reading from the prophet Ezekiel (33:7-9) uses the expression "watchman for the house of Israel" (2). This word "watchman" or "sentinel" speaks of someone who will announce salvation (Chapters 33-48), just as the same word (3:17-21) referred to Ezekiel's ministry to announce judgment (Chapters 3-24). The use of the word "watchman" or sentinel certainly evokes the memories of Pope John Paul II's use of that word during World Youth Day 2000 in Rome and again in the preparation of World Youth Day 2002 in Canada.

In his message announcing World Youth Day 2002, Blessed John Paul II wrote: "You are the light of the world. ..." For those who first heard Jesus, as for us, the symbol of light evokes the desire for truth and the thirst for the fullness of knowledge that are imprinted deep within every human being. When the light fades or vanishes altogether, we no longer see things as they really are. In the heart of the night we can feel frightened and insecure, and we impatiently await the coming of the light of dawn. Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning (cf. Is 21:11-12) who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ!"

In today's second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans (13:8-10), Paul considers the obligations of charity. When love directs the moral decision-making of those who bear the name of Christian, the interest of law is safeguarded (9). Love anticipates the purpose of public legislation, namely, to secure the best interests of all citizens.

Through World Youth Days, young people are commissioned to be watchers of the morning, bearing the light of Christ and announcing hope and salvation to a world often steeped in darkness and despair. There is no better school of reconciliation, forgiveness and peace than World Youth Days that model to young people the constitutive elements of the Christian life and what true citizenship means in the Kingdom of God.

Brazil Bishops Ready for Challenge of WYD '13

2011-08-24T22:24:00.000+08:00

Awaiting Pope's Announcement of the Theme

MADRID, Spain, AUG. 23, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Leading bishops of Brazil are ready and eager to host World Youth Day 2013, though they admit it will be a "great challenge."

At a press conference Sunday in Madrid, Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, president of the Brazilian episcopal conference; Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro; and Bishop Eduardo Pinheiro da Silva, president of the bishops' commission for youth; said that the choice of Rio de Janeiro as the next WYD host city is a "very special moment for the Church in Brazil."

After expressing his gratitude to the Holy Father for entrusting Rio de Janeiro and Brazil with this "great challenge," Archbishop Tempesta explained that he will shortly contact the Pontifical Council for the Laity to begin the preparations.

The archbishop stated that WYD '13 will be held at the end of July (when schools are on vacation in Brazil), and he said he is already awaiting the Pontiff's announcement of the theme.

Continent

Cardinal Damasceno spoke of the organization of the Church in Latin America through CELAM, the Latin American episcopal council. He said this will make it easier to work together and attract the "largest possible number of young people and many more countries."

The cardinal also noted that the preparatory work will be intense, as WYD will be taking place a year ahead of the soccer World Cup, which Brazil will host in 2014.

"We have one year less to prepare the Day; this means more intense work because we have no time to lose," he said.

Cardinal Damasceno reminded that Latin America is the continent with the largest number of Catholics, and he assured that WYD "will bring many fruits, not only for Brazil's youth but for the whole continent."

For his part, Bishop Pinheiro da Silva predicted that WYD '13 "will show a Church that is alive and creative, in part because of the young people. Brazilian youth, with their creativity, will give us a lovely Day for the whole world."

The bishops added that the Brazilian government is very eager to host the event.

Rio's WYD will be the second in South America. Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted World Youth Day in 1987.

Cardinal to Youth in Madrid: WYD Is Decisive for Your Future

2011-08-18T11:32:00.000+08:00

Says Young People Are Proclaiming Yes, Faith Is Possible

MADRID, Spain, AUG. 16, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, welcomed youth to Madrid today with the affirmation that their presence is an "unwavering 'yes!' Yes, faith is possible."

The Vatican official of the dicastery charged with organizing World Youth Days thus got the 26th World Youth Day under way. "The day we have all been waiting for has arrived," he exclaimed.

"You have come to this meeting with the Holy Father Benedict XVI bringing with you all your plans and hopes, as well as your concerns and apprehensions about the choices that lie ahead," the cardinal stated. "These will be days that you will never forget, days of important discoveries and decisions that will be decisive for your future."

The 66-year-old cardinal noted that faith will be at the center of reflection for the Youth Day participants -- estimated to number more than 1 million.

"Faith is a decisive factor in each person's life," he said. "Everything changes according to whether God exists or not. Faith is like a root that is nourished by the lifeblood of the word of God and the sacraments. It is the foundation, the rock on which life is built, the dependable compass that guides our choices and gives clear direction to our lives.

"Many of us might wonder: in our world today where God is often rejected and people live as if God did not exist, is it still possible to have faith?'

The cardinal answered that the young people's presence in Madrid, "from the most remote corners of the planet" is a proclamation "to the whole world -- and in particular to Europe which is showing signs of being very lost -- [of their] unwavering 'yes!' Yes, faith is possible. It is in fact a wonderful adventure that allows us to discover the magnitude and beauty of our lives."

The Vatican official, himself a native of Poland, also proposed that Blessed John Paul II is a "special guest" in Madrid.

"Blessed John Paul II has come back to you, the young people that he loved so much, and who was equally loved by you. He has returned as your blessed patron and as a protector in whom you can trust," Cardinal Ryłko affirmed. "He has returned as a friend -- a demanding friend, as he liked to call himself.

"He has come to say to you yet again and with much affection: Do not be afraid! Choose to have Christ in your lives and to possess the precious pearl of the Gospel for which it is worthwhile giving everything!"

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The Foreign Woman Who Stopped Jesus in His Tracks

2011-08-11T21:35:00.001+08:00

Biblical Reflection for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, AUG. 9, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Today's watershed Gospel story of Jesus' meeting with the Syro-Phoenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28) presents us with a break in Jesus' usual procedure of ministering only to Israelites and anticipates his great mission to the Gentiles. Jesus' provocative encounter with the woman is set outside the land of Israel in the territory of Tyre and Sidon (near Beirut in modern-day Lebanon).

The woman's commanding presence

Let us look closely at the story. This foreign woman approaches a Jewish man, does him homage and begs a favor she has no right to. She bursts into Jesus' space and pleads with him: "Lord, son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is terribly troubled by a demon." She commands Jesus' attention to her very personal and specific request to help her daughter.

Jesus refuses to give in to the disciples' pleading to remove this nuisance from their midst. He refuses to act on their reasoning. Instead, he directs the discussion in a way that the woman ought to accept his hesitation to cure. He says quite forcefully: "I am a stranger here; I should not interfere." Is this out of character, or perhaps is Jesus merely testing her? Or in the worst case, is he just profoundly rude, insensitive, and harsh?

"Help me!" the woman pleads. Jesus' next words seem excessively harsh: "It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs!" "Dogs" was a term used for outsiders who encroach upon another's holy place. It is an insult, a metaphor that sees others not as human beings, but as animals eating leftovers. We have every good reason to be troubled and even scandalized at Jesus' terrible rudeness to this needy woman.

2 needy people meet

Both Jesus and the woman are outside of their native territories. Both are looking for something, both are in need, both are strangers to the area and to one another. They are different in race, nationality, gender, religion, and probably in politics, economics and spirituality as well. Is it not true that our reactions to this story most frequently center on Jesus: what he's doing and saying (or not doing or saying) and why? It is disturbing that Jesus doesn't respond to her in the right way. The disciples view her intervention as a problem; they do not wish to be caught up in something that has nothing to do with them or with Jesus.

A longing for an ordinary life

Let us consider for a moment the reactions and purposes of the woman and of Jesus. The Syro-Phoenician woman is desperate, along with her daughter who suffers from a demon -- a disease that isolates and makes people afraid and causes others to assume that they have sinned. Does she fear that her daughter's illness is connected to something she has done or failed to do? Does she fear a pagan deity who deals with everyone vindictively? This woman and her sick daughter have a need to live an ordinary life -- without being tormented. How much have she and her daughter suffered from the mean talk and dismissive glances of her neighbors and friends? How great was their exclusion from their society because of the daughter's condition?

A deeper understanding of Jesus' mission

Jesus seems impatient and annoyed at being interrupted. Can it be that the Messiah has prejudices, nationalistic tendencies, and problems with those who aren't Jews? Was Jesus affected by being born in a specific locality, time frame, history and cultural background? He was truly divine and human, yet as a human being like us, he struggled with the sense of who he is: a prophet sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and the dawning of the difficult and painful realization that they do not want him; they were not listening, and were even beginning to reject and oppose him and his message. His identity as a prophet, a preacher, a teacher and as Messiah, was clearly at stake.

2 worlds collide

These two strangers have much in common in that both Jesus and the woman live on behalf of others. They are both hurting; both are looking for help, insight, and a way to survive in their respective worlds. Both are seeking and looking for acceptance, hope, a future and some compassion. The woman has a mother's love for her child, and Jesus, the prophet, bears God's love for all God's children. In this unique Gospel encounter, the world of the troubled woman whose daughter is dying and the world of Jesus, the Jewish prophet who is being rejected, collide. There are profound lessons in today's Gospel account. It is the promise of an ever-deepening identity not just for Jesus, but also for Matthew's community and for the Church throughout the ages that listens to his story that is truly Good News.

Breaking down barriers

The Syro-Phoenician calls Jesus Lord, refers to him as master, and humbly says that she, like dogs at the table in the household, will gladly take the leftovers of his mission and power. She receives from him what his own people will not accept. And Jesus is astounded at her faith (28). This woman stopped Jesus in his divine tracks and forced him to rethink his whole mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Together they broke down the barrier that existed between them.

The courageous heroine of today's story could not accept the premise that salvation did not include all people. She is allowed to participate in the messianic salvation that is offered to all who believe in the Lord and keep his commandments, regardless of origin or social condition. She proclaims that the love of God cannot be bound.

Jesus' universal mission and message

In Jesus, the prophetic words of Isaiah in today's first reading (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) are realized: "The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants -- all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

Immediately following this Gospel scene, Jesus crosses over to the other side of the lake. Now his mission is to the world -- to all peoples of the earth and all the lost children of God. Because of the Syro-Phoenician woman's persistence, Jesus gains new insights into universalism, love, and service and extends his mission past his own people, his own religion, his own nation.

Any encounter or understanding of the Word changes our way of seeing God, of relating to him and to others. Who knows what will happen to us when we open ourselves up to God and allow his Word to work within us? We will meet strangers and outsiders who interrupt our lives, stop us in our tracks, and force us to ask deeper questions. We may end up, like Jesus, praising the still greater faith in strangers and outsiders.

Paul glories in his ministry

In today's second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans (11:13-15, 29-32) the unbelief of the Jews has paved the way for the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles and for their easier acceptance of it outside the context of Jewish culture. Through his mission to the Gentiles, Paul also hopes to fill his fellow Jews with jealousy. Therefore he hastens to fill the entire Mediterranean world with the gospel. In God's design, Israel's unbelief is being used to grant the light of faith to the Gentiles. Meanwhile, Israel remains dear to God, always the object of special providence, the mystery of which will one day be revealed. Israel, together with the Gentiles who have been handed over to all manner of vices (Romans 1), has been delivered … to disobedience. The conclusion of Romans 11:32 repeats the thought of Romans 5:20, "Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more."

Being Christian means being missionary

In the Lineamenta (preparatory document) for next October's synod of bishops on the new evangelization, one passage resonated clearly with today's provocative Gospel story. Under section No. 10 "The First Evangelization Pastoral Solicitude and the New Evangelization," we read:

"The missionary mandate which concludes the Gospel (Mk 16:15ff; Mt 28:19ff; Lk 24:48ff; Acts 1:8) is far from being fully carried out; it has simply entered a new phase. Pope John Paul II stated that 'the boundaries between pastoral care of the faithful, new evangelization and specific missionary activity are not clearly definable, and it is unthinkable to create barriers between them or to put them into watertight compartments. [...] The Churches in traditionally Christian countries, for example, involved as they are in the challenging task of new evangelization, are coming to understand more clearly that they cannot be missionaries to non-Christians in other countries and continents, unless they are seriously concerned about the non-Christians at home. Hence missionary activity ad intra is a credible sign and a stimulus for missionary activity ad extra, and vice versa.' Being Christian and 'being Church' means being missionary; one is or is not. Loving one's faith implies bearing witness to it, bringing it to others and allowing others to participate in it. The lack of missionary zeal is a lack of zeal for the faith. On the contrary, faith is made stronger by transmitting it."

The Pope's words on the new evangelization can be translated into a rather direct and crucial question: "Are we interested in transmitting the faith and bringing non-Christians to the faith?" "Are we truly missionary at heart?"

Questions for reflection this week

1) How does the Church fulfill her missionary role of taking part in people's everyday lives, "in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters"?

2) How has the new evangelization been able to revitalize and reanimate the first evangelization or the pastoral programs already taking place? How has the new evangelization helped to overcome the weariness and toil arising in the everyday life of our local Churches?

A Prophet's Depression, an Apostle's Grief, a Disciple's Fear

2011-08-04T15:58:00.000+08:00

Biblical Reflection for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, AUG. 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Chapter 19 of the First Book of Kings presents us with the aftermath of Elijah's brilliant victory in the contest with Jezebel and the priests of Baal atop Mount Carmel.

Just when Elijah should have been triumphant, he receives a message telling him of Jezebel's murderous intentions, and he is "afraid" (3). The spectacularly exemplary servant of God is now in a rut -- believing that all of his efforts were in vain! In Chapter 18, Elijah was at the height of success; in Chapter 19 he is in the depths of despair. In Chapter 18 he is on the mountain peak of victory; in Chapter 19 he is in the valley of defeat. In Chapter 18 he is elated; in Chapter 19 he is completely deflated.

Mountaintop experiences

In today's first reading from 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a, Elijah must learn that God is not encountered in the sound and fury of loud and spectacular events. God will not be conjured up by the zealous or boisterous activity of the prophet who now stands quiet and distressed atop the Lord's mountain. Though various phenomena, such as wind, storms, earthquakes, fire (Exodus 19:18-19), may indeed herald the divine presence, they do not constitute the presence itself which, like the tiny whispering sound, is imperceptible and reveals in a deep way the true face and presence of God. The Hebrew expression "still small voice" literally means "a voice of low whispers, a sound of gentle stillness." Though the wretched Jezebel was thundering, she was not in control. Though God was silent, he was not absent. Elijah's God and our God is the God of signs and wonders but he is also the God of whispers and gentleness. Only when Elijah's mind and heart are finally depleted of ambition and self-promotion, is God ultimately heard.

Elijah's struggle with depression

Mount Horeb is the place forever associated with the source and essence of Israelite faith. Elijah arrived at the sacred mountain where he spent the night in a dark cave. The dark cave and the dark night are reflective of his "dark night of the soul." The story of Elijah in the cave on Mount Horeb is the classic example of one struggling with depression and burnout. Eventually it touches everyone -- even God's chosen people, his fiery prophets and leaders, his apostles and disciples!

Elijah's depression wasn't due to one single cause; it was linked to several things. At the root of depression is almost always some form of fear. The great, fiery prophet of Israel is scared to death of wicked Queen Jezebel's threats and thus flees for his life. How often are we like Elijah, fearful of failure, of being alone, unable to complete a task given to us, incapable of success, weak in perseverance, patience, and hope?

The second factor is failure. Elijah had a very low self-esteem. Elijah was in a long line of prophets who also tried to address Israel's lack of faith and apostasy and he was no more successful than his ancestors. How often do we feel that our efforts were in vain? That we weren't able to make a difference, just like those who went before us? How often do we think that we contributed to the problem rather than being part of the solution? How often have we failed: The job didn't work out. The relationship went sour. The marriage broke up. The addiction made me lose everyone and everything I had.

The third factor is fatigue, exhaustion and burnout. Elijah was physically exhausted and emotionally empty. This is the great danger of peak experiences. It is the risk of those who get lost in their work and mission, who are blinded by their own zeal, and have become crusaders and saviors bound for burnout rather than humble disciples and ministers who are poor servants, simply doing their tasks. Elijah didn't take time to rest and relax, to sit back and see what God was doing around him.

The fourth factor can be described as plain futility. Elijah feels alone, hopeless and has little hope for the future. He suffers from paranoia, thinking that everyone is out to get him. He looks at the world through very dark glasses. He doesn't see any way out of his existential conundrum. How many of us are afraid, lonely, exhausted, burned out and without any hope? How many of us have given in to despair, cynicism, meanness of spirit and smallness of heart? How many of us have lost our faith in a God who can reverse barren wombs and make empty tombs?

Elijah's therapy

In order for Elijah to revive and renew his strength, he needed to get away. He needed physical, emotional and spiritual rejuvenation. He had been so busy taking care of the needs of the nations that he had neglected the needs and concerns of Elijah the Tishbite. Elijah talked through his frustrations as he sat in the cave atop the mountain. In the midst of his feeling sorry for himself, God asked him point blank: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" God knew full well what Elijah was doing there. In fact, God helped him to get there! God listened patiently and non-judgmentally as Elijah poured out his feelings of anger, bitterness and self-pity. Notice what God didn't say to the pathetic prophet: "Elijah, my prophets don't talk like that!" God didn't make him feel guilty for his feelings. Instead God accepted him and listened to him.

What happened to Elijah happens to us, especially when we pay much more attention to negative events than to all the good that is happening around us. It happens when we are very hard on ourselves, and take ourselves far too seriously, and God not seriously enough! God intervened in Elijah's state and reminded him that his vision of life, his understanding of events, his view of God were terribly distorted.

Elijah needed to know that God was there and that there were indeed others who had not bowed down to Baal. Elijah thought he was the only one who was still faithful to God. God allowed Elijah to sit in the dark cave of self-pity just so long. There was a new king of Israel and a new prophet to be anointed. The time for complaints and self-pity were over; Elijah now needed to get back to work. What can we learn from this whole episode atop the mountain? Perhaps the best way to stop feeling sorry for ourselves is to start feeling compassion for others.

Great sorrow and anguish

Today's second reading (Romans 9:1-5) presents us with Paul, a man who had an unbelievable willingness to be sacrificed for his people. He was willing to be accursed, separated from Christ, if it would save his people. He was willing to swap his salvation for their doom if it would lead to their salvation. Paul felt the deepest emotion, love, and concern for his own people. Paul addresses himself to the essential question of how the divine plan could be frustrated by Israel's unbelief.

Paul speaks in strong terms of the depth of his grief over the unbelief of his own people. Israel's unbelief and its rejection of Jesus as savior astonished and puzzled Christians. It constituted a serious problem for them in view of God's specific preparation of Israel for the advent of the Messiah. Paul would willingly undergo a curse himself for the sake of their coming to the knowledge of Christ (9:3; Lev 27:28-29). His love for his people derives from God's continuing choice of them and from the spiritual benefits that God bestows on them and through them on all of humanity (9:4-5). Paul's point is clear: God who is over all aimed to use Israel, which had been entrusted with every privilege, in outreach to the entire world through the Messiah.

The reading from Romans 9 raises some significant questions for us. When was the last time you pleaded with a lost person to accept Christ? How does the possibility of being rejected affect the passion with which you share the gospel? When you share the gospel, how convinced are you about its power to save the lost? About its ability to change the habits of sinners? About its real need in today's modern society? What sacrifices are you willing to make in order to see the lost members of your family, your friends or members of your faith community return to Christ or perhaps come to him for the first time?

"Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

In today's moving Gospel story (Matthew 14:22-23) set on the lake, the disciples, laboring against the turbulent sea, are saved by Jesus. Jesus' power is expressed by his walking on the choppy waters (Matthew 14:25; Psalm 77:20; Job 9:8). Jesus challenges Peter to also walk on the waters! Because of Peter's fear and weak faith, he begins to sink. When Jesus stretches out his hand and catches Peter, he reminds his disciples and the Church in every generation of his constant care for us. He teaches us that no storm will overturn the boat in which we sail, and no water will swallow us up in darkness.

At certain times in our contemporary Church history, everything seems to indicate shipwreck, fear, drowning and death. But let us be honest and realize that the Church goes on, saving souls and journeying to its final harbor. In that blessed realm, beyond the seas of this life, all the things which threaten God's Church in this world will be gone for ever. At those times, we must listen to the Lord, as Peter did, and cast the nets again into the deep -- for it is our faith that is being tested -- not as to whether we profess it or not -- but as to whether we are ready to do something about it or not.

He calms the storms of life

Let us never forget this fact: We are on the waters with Jesus. He is in the boat with us, during the night and during the storms. The Lord does not abandon those who come seeking his mercy and his forgiveness. He walks upon the waters. He calms the storm. He guides the boat into safe harbor, and brings with him the great catch, the great feast, to which we are all summoned -- the daily feast of his Body and Blood, our food for eternal life. This is cause for rejoicing!

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Poland to Host 2nd World Congress on Divine Mercy

2011-07-02T02:18:00.000+08:00

October Event Is Follow-Up to 2008 Conference in Rome

ROME, JUNE 30, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Church's whole mission must be more aware and more motivated by the mercy of God, says the general-secretary of a worldwide conference scheduled for October in Poland.

Father Patrice Chocholski spoke with ZENIT about the II World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM), calling it "an answer of the whole Church to the universal call to Divine Mercy, present as the essential nucleus in the Gospel."

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, is president of the executive council of the congress. With YouTube videos, he is inviting people to attend.

He and a group of other cardinals of the curia have been involved in the event since the first WACOM was held in 2008 in Rome.

Since then, five continental and about 50 national congresses were held. Speaking of that response, Father Chocholski reflected that divine mercy "becomes a source of creativity; it builds new bridges in our societies, cultures and religions. We become newly energized in our missions. It is the love of God pushing us, like a fire ... it is the unique hope for human kind and for the Church."

The priest noted how both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have made the call to experience divine mercy. It "should be the paradigm of any evangelization," he said.

The second WACOM will follow a similar schedule to the '08 event, but with the sites particularly related to divine mercy in Poland: talks and Masses at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki at St. Faustina's tomb; ecumenical prayer meetings in Auschwitz and Wadowice; workshops, adoration, chaplet, and testimonies in different languages and churches of the city; an intercontinental festival on the Market Square of Krakow; etc.

"Thanks to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the organizing archbishop, there is no restriction in registrations," Father Chocholski said. "In John Paul II's spirit, he hopes we will be as numerous as possible. It is not limited only to official delegations. Welcome!"

As far as after Krakow, Father Chocholski expressed his hopes that there will be a WACOM III.

"The committee of cardinals, presided by Cardinal Schönborn will have to decide," he said. Meanwhile, the priest explained that national coordinators can be contacted. "See you in Krakow … or in your country."

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Christianity Has No Magic, Says Pope

2011-06-25T21:42:00.000+08:00

But God Is Renewing Humanity in Christ

ROME, JUNE 24, 2011 (Zenit.org).- There is nothing magic in Christianity, no shortcuts, but God is patiently renewing humanity along the same path that Jesus followed, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope made this reflection Thursday evening, when he celebrated Mass for Corpus Christi in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

After the Mass, he processed with the Eucharist through the streets of Rome.

The Holy Father spoke of how the Eucharist anticipates Christ's death on Calvary.

At the Last Supper, Jesus "accepts his passion out of love, with its trial and its violence, even to death on the cross; by accepting it in this way he transforms it into an act of giving," he said.

"This," stated the Pontiff, "is the transformation that the world needs most, because he redeems it from within, he opens it up to the kingdom of heaven."

God's method in renewing the world follows this same path, Benedict XVI said. "There is nothing magic in Christianity. There are no shortcuts, but everything passes through the patient and humble logic of the grain of wheat that is broken to give life, the logic of faith that moves mountains with the gentle power of God."

Chain

The Pope affirmed that God wants to continue to renew humanity and the cosmos "through this chain of transformations, of which the Eucharist is the sacrament."

"Through the consecrated bread and wine, in which his Body and Blood is truly present, Christ transforms us, assimilating us in him," he said. "He involves us in his redeeming work, enabling us, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to live according to his same logic of gift, like grains of wheat united with him and in him. Thus unity and peace, which are the goal for which we strive, are sown and mature in the furrows of history, according to God's plan."

He added: "Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation. With the humble awareness that we are simple grains of wheat, we cherish the firm conviction that the love of God, incarnate in Christ, is stronger than evil, violence and death.

"We know that God is preparing for all people new heavens and new earth where peace and justice prevail -- and by faith we glimpse the new world, that is our true home."

The Bishop of Rome echoed the words of the disciples on the road to Emmaus as he noted the setting sun over Rome.

"Thank you, Lord Jesus! Thank you for your fidelity, which sustains our hope," he said. "Stay with us, because the evening comes. 'Jesus, good shepherd and true bread, have mercy on us; feed us and guard us. Grant that we find happiness in the land of the living.'"

2011-06-25T20:55:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Shared laughter creates a bond of friendships. When people
laugh together, they cease to be young and old, teacher and
pupils, worker and boss. They become a single group of human
beings."

-- W. Lee Grant

Surprise in the Vatican Museums; Church of the Eucharist

2011-06-24T20:31:00.000+08:00

Matisse Collection Pays Tribute to Truth

ROME, JUNE 23, 2011 (Zenit.org).- When one thinks of the Vatican Museums, Renaissance masterpieces come readily to mind. More startling to most visitors would be the discovery that this same museum, which houses the art of Raphael and Michelangelo, also has important modern stars in its firmament.

Wednesday, June 22, the Vatican brought to international attention its collection of 20th century art by unveiling another surprising treasure, the art of Henri Matisse.

The gallery of modern religious art, located in the depths of the Vatican Museums in the apartments of Pope Alexander VI Borgia and the basement of the Sistine Chapel, contains many lesser-known jewels. A tiny but moving Pietà by Vincent van Gogh, painted shortly before his death in 1890, a smattering of Chagall's religious paintings and now, at the heart of the collection, the preparatory drawings for Matisse's celebrated Rosary chapel in Vence, France.

Matisse was not the most Christian of artists. A self-described agnostic, Matisse nonetheless pronounced himself open to the source of beauty. Thus Providence brought him, at the end of his life, to work for the Church.

Born in 1869, Matisse had already started a career in law when he decided to turn his hand to painting. Matisse became a student of Gustave Moreau and soon after in 1905, became one of the co-founders of Fauvisme. Reflecting the spirit of the age, Fauvisme was a paganizing movement, glorifying intense sensation through art. After World War I, Matisse rejected any form of suffering in his work and achieved great success with his cheerful colors and bold patterns, producing sculptures, paintings and even theatrical costumes. He eventually moved to the south of France, drawn by the bright hues of the Mediterranean.

In 1941, after a difficult and painful operation for cancer, Matisse was left bedridden and in constant pain. His bright world collided with the hard reality of suffering. In this difficult time, Monique Bourgouis nursed him, and her charity and kindness deeply impressed the afflicted artist. In 1946, Monique decided to become a religious sister and joined the Dominican convent of Vence, taking the name of Sister Jacques Marie.

Thus began the idea of building a new chapel for the convent of Vence, dedicated to the rosary. Matisse, Sister Jacques Marie, Sister Agnes de Jesus, the superior of the convent, a Dominican brother Rayssiguier and Dominican Father Marie-Alain Couturier, then labored to transform the dream into reality. Completely committed to the project, Matisse sold his own lithographs to raise money for the chapel. His old friend Picasso was horrified. "A church!" he cried. "Why not a market? Then you could at least paint fruits and vegetables."

Matisse prepared hundreds of drawings for the work, painting the walls from his wheelchair with a brush on an extendable wand. He designed every aspect of the chapel; the stained glass windows, the vestments and even the bronze crucifix for the altar. The artist always planned to donate the preparatory sketches to a museum saying "it would be folly for the cartoons and the windows to remain in the same place."

The drawings for the stained glass were finally donated to the Vatican 30 years ago by the artist's son Pierre in agreement with his siblings Marguerite and Jean, and in 1980 came to the Vatican collection.

This gift followed the 1979 donation of the epistolary correspondence between Matisse and Sister Agnes of Jesus tracing the development of the chapel. These letters provide remarkable insight on the growth of Matisse's first religious project.

The large drawing of the Madonna and Child prepared for the ceramic tile decoration was on display in the Gallery of Modern Religious Art but the exposition never did justice to the work nor represented the importance of the donation. The letters remained unpublished.

Matisse unveiled the chapel in June of 1951 and exactly 70 years later, the Vatican Museums opened their new Matisse room. The funding and idea for the project came from the Patrons of the Vatican Museums, specifically from the Montecarlo chapter, a few short miles from Vence. Mrs. Liana Marabini, president of the Montecarlo chapter, personally provided the gift to prepare the exhibition space with special conservation equipment for paper and textiles, allowing the Vatican Museums to illustrate the artistic conversion of this stellar artist.

The drawings for the windows are brilliantly displayed, but the room is dominated by the giant Madonna and child drawing. Father Marie-Alain Couturier, Matisse's theological adviser, interpreted the harsh black lines as "letters written in haste, under the shock of some very great emotion." There is also a copy of the bronze crucifix from the chapel. A short video recounts the events that brought about the convergence of Matisse and religious art, and the letters will be on rotation in the same space to be joined later by some of the chasubles designed by the artist.

Michol Forti, the curator of the modern religious art department of the Vatican Museums, will publish the Vatican collection of Matisse letters in December in a volume titled "Like a Flower: Matisse and the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence."

Matisse considered the chapel to be his "masterpiece," despite its imperfections -- an illuminating reflection from a man whose 50-year career had been dedicated entirely to the secular. The Vatican Matisse Room is a perfect expression of the Museums' mission: to preserve and honor great examples of man's creative genius, but also to proclaim how Truth inspires both beauty and goodness.

* * *

Poetry, painting and procession

Today Rome celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi with Eucharistic processions crisscrossing the city, the most important of course being the papal procession from St. John Lateran to St. Mary Major in the evening. On this glorious day, singing fills the air and bright banners waft through the streets, but these ephemeral visions soon fade away. In the Vatican Museums however, the recently restored "Mass at Bolsena" by Raphael Sanzio has immortalized this miracle in colored stone.

The Miracle of Bolsena, often considered to be the catalyst for the feast of Corpus Christi, recalls an event in the Umbrian region of Italy in 1263. A priest named Peter from the city of Prague nurtured doubts regarding the transubstantiation of the Host during Mass, and during his pilgrimage toward Rome prayed to be relieved of his questions. While saying the words of consecration in the church of St. Christina in Bolsena, the Host dripped blood on his hands and on the cloth below.

One year later, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Domini with the bull "Transiturus de hoc mundo" and commissioned Thomas Aquinas to write the liturgy for the feast. The Angelic Doctor thus wrote two of his finest hymns, Pange Lingua and Tantum Ergo.

The corporal from Bolsena is still preserved in the Cathedral of Orvieto constructed expressly to house the precious relic.

Raphael made his own contribution toward immortalizing this miracle when in 1512 he painted The Miracle at Bolsena in the apartments of Pope Julius II. The painting, restored this spring, brings the miracle to life in vivid color.

The priest kneels before the altar, staring at the Eucharist, which displays a cross of blood both on the Host and the corporal. His lips are parted in surprise but the figure always retains the dignity expected of the celebrant. The dramatic reactions are reserved for the crowd gathered below who crane their heads to see the miracle, or twist and turn as they recount the event to others.

The altar is framed with the monumental architecture absorbed by Raphael through his relative, papal architect Donato Bramante. Sturdy Doric columns reach heavenward and the top of the painting is open to a sky pierced with light. Across from Peter of Prague there is an anachronistic touch. Pope Julius II kneels bareheaded with four of his cardinals and a small contingent of his Swiss Guards.

Two elements stand out in the work. The first is the still solemnity of the clergy in adoration. Compared with the other works in the room -- Peter's dramatic escape from Herod's prison, the chase and capture of Heliodorus and the Expulsion of Attila the Hun -- the eye finds restfulness and focus when contemplating the miracle.

The other, revealed in the restoration, is the color. Raphael had been in contact with Venetian painters in the period and his new use of color stands out amid the dramatic chiaroscuro of the Liberation of St. Peter and the bright metallic hues of the Expulsion of Heliodorus. Raphael's colors seem to be tangible -- heavy, rich crimsons seem to undulate through the lunette. The blood red is laced with bright crisp whites of linen or silk.

The sensual surface qualities of the work underscore the reality of the scene: The blood that dripped onto the priest's hands, the cloth soaked with the blood of Christ, drive home the reality of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, one of the principal themes of the 13th and 14th centuries.

St. Thomas in poetry, Rome in procession, and Raphael in images all remind us of the same theme that Blessed John Paul II underscored in 2004: The Catholic Church is the Church of the Eucharist.

2011-06-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let
them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness,
insight. When we do the best we can, we never know what
miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another."

-- Helen Keller

Egypt Looking to Smooth Ties With Vatican

2011-05-24T13:09:00.000+08:00

Foreign Minister Visits Pontifical Council

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Egypt's minister of foreign affairs visited the Vatican last Wednesday, saying the trip was to smooth over tensions and improve relations.

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a brief statement Saturday about the meeting.

The communiqué noted that the president and secretary of the council, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, visited with Nabil Al-Arabi. The cardinal "reiterated the esteem of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the people and authorities of Egypt, and the Holy See’s readiness to continue on the path of interreligious dialogue and cooperation with Al-Azhar, carried on regularly since 1998."

Al-Arabi's visit comes some months after the highest authority of Sunni Islam, Ahmad at-Tayyeb, and the Cairo-based Research Council of the University of Al-Azhar froze dialogue with the Vatican.

The Jan. 20 announcement of a dialogue-freeze came in protest of Benedict XVI's statements on religious freedom following a Jan. 1 attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria. The Pope mentioned the issue in passing in a greeting to Italian Parliamentarians in his Jan. 9 Angelus address, and again in his Jan. 10 speech to the Diplomatic Corps. The World Day of Peace message, from before the Alexandria attack, also takes up the theme of religious freedom.

The great imam of Al-Azhar alleged that the papal comments were an intervention in Egypt's internal affairs.

In addition to the Al-Azhar decision, Egypt also requested that its ambassador to the Holy See "return to Cairo for consultations with the Egyptian foreign ministry," the Vatican reported at the time.

This occurred before the February resignation of President Hosni Sayyid Mubarak.

At Wednesday's meeting, according to the Vatican statement, the foreign minister "conveyed the greetings of Sheikh Al-Azhar, Professor Ahmad at-Tayyeb, and expressed the desire of the Grand Imam that the recent difficulties in the relationship with the Holy See would be overcome."

A note from the Egypt State Information Service reported the foreign minister's "30-minute session of talks with Vatican Foreign Minister [Archbishop] Dominique Mamberti."

It added, "El-Arabi said his current visit to the Vatican aims to clear the air between Egypt and the Holy See and put to rest ill feelings that have been marring relations for quite sometime."

Jesus' Resurrection Left a Footprint Within History

2011-04-20T17:20:00.000+08:00

Biblical Reflection for Easter Sunday, Year A

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, APRIL 19, 2011 (Zenit.org).- In reading the Resurrection chapters of the four Gospels, the differences between the accounts are very obvious.

Not one of the evangelists recounts the actual Resurrection. It is an event that is taking place within the mystery of God between Jesus and the Father; by its very nature, the resurrection event lies outside human experience.

What lessons can we learn about the Resurrection from each of the Gospel accounts, particularly from Matthew’s story that we hear proclaimed today?

Mark's call to the cross

In the earliest Gospel account in Mark's Gospel (Chapter 16), the last scene is a startling one ... for the story ends with "[The women] came out and fled from the tomb, for they were possessed by fear and trembling, and they said nothing to anyone" (16:8).

The most striking aspect of Mark's ending is that we never encounter the Risen Lord. Instead, we see an awe-inspiring, almost eerie scene.

In the darkness of early morning, the women arrive at the tomb to accomplish a nearly impossible task. These women are the only ones who follow Jesus to the foot of the cross and to the tomb. They find the tomb opened and empty, and are greeted by a heavenly figure who gives them a commission: "Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him as he told you" (16:7).

Mark's Resurrection account is meant to disturb the Christian reader; to undo the ease that makes one forget that the call to discipleship is the call to the cross. Readers of Mark's account are invited to view their lives in the shadow of the cross.

Matthew's living Christ

Matthew tells the story of the resurrection in four scenes: the women’s experience at the tomb (28:1-7); their short encounter with the risen Lord (28:8-10); the Jewish leaders’ attempt to suppress the story (28:11-15); the appearance to the disciples in Galilee (28:16-20). The final scene, ending with the Great Commission (28:19-20), stands on its own as a programmatic conclusion to the entire Gospel.

The women present in Matthew's Resurrection chapter do not witness the Resurrection. They do experience the earthquake, the appearance of the angel, and the emptiness of the tomb -- all of which are signs or traces of divine activity that has brought these things about.

Matthew literally makes Jesus present in the last scene of the Gospel on the mountain where Jesus had directed the disciples to go (28:16-20). At the end of the Gospel, he points us back to the first programmatic sermon of Jesus on the mountain in Galilee (5:1-7:21).

Matthew's meek and humble Jesus is the teacher as well as the example of meekness and humility. In revising Mark's Gospel, Matthew deliberately completes the picture of Jesus and of the Christian life.

The bleak image and invitation of the cross and the dead Jesus are filled out with a living and present Jesus, whose words, reflected upon the Scriptures of Israel, offer a consoling and learnable "way" for those disciples willing to learn. Matthew issues the call to learn of the meek and humble Jesus.

Luke's symphony

The Easter chapter of Luke's Gospel (24), like a beautiful symphony, presents us with a biblically oriented pastoral practice and distinct way of Christian living. In the first movement (25:1-12), God alone breaks open a helpless situation. In the second movement of the marvelous story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus (25:13-35), God, in the person of Jesus, accompanies people on their journeys through despair. The stories of the third movement (25:36-53) lead people into an experience of community.

John's Risen Lord

John tells of appearances of the Risen Lord in both Jerusalem and Galilee. The resurrection stories of the fourth Gospel are a series of encounters between Jesus and his followers that reveal diverse faith reactions.

Whether these encounters are with Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, the disciples or Thomas, the whole scenario reminds us that in the range of belief there are different degrees of readiness and different factors that cause people to come to faith.

A new dimension of existence

Benedict XVI writes about "The Nature of Jesus' Resurrection and Its Historical Significance" in "Jesus of Nazareth Part 2: Holy Week -- From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection" (Ignatius Press, 2011).

I would like to highlight several points made by the Pope in this masterful text: "Jesus did not simply return to normal biological life as one who, by the laws of biology, would eventually have to die again. [...]

"Jesus is not a ghost ('spirit'). In other words, he does not belong to the realm of the dead but is somehow able to reveal himself in the realm of the living. [...]

"The encounters with the Risen Lord are not the same as mystical experiences, in which the human spirit is momentarily drawn aloft out of itself and perceives the realm of the divine and eternal, only to return then to the normal horizon of its existence. Mystical experience is a temporary removal of the soul’s spatial and cognitive limitations" (pp. 272-273).

Benedict XVI continues: "[The resurrection] is a historical event that nevertheless bursts open the dimensions of history and transcends it. Perhaps we may draw upon analogical language here, inadequate in many ways, yet still able to open up a path toward understanding: as already anticipated in the first section of this chapter, we could regard the Resurrection as something akin to a radical 'evolutionary leap,' in which a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence" (p. 273).

He added: "As something that breaks out of history and transcends it, the Resurrection nevertheless has its origin within history and up to a certain point still belongs there. Perhaps we could put it this way: Jesus' Resurrection points beyond history but has left a footprint within history. Therefore it can be attested by witnesses as an event of an entirely new kind" (p. 275).

Fathoming a mystery

In our highly technological world, the reality of the Resurrection becomes increasingly difficult to fathom. So many spend their lives explaining it away rather than probing the depths of its mystery. And they try to do this alone, separated from a believing community of Christians, locked in the prison of self and of ideas, frozen before a computer screen as they try to fathom what happened on Easter morning.

Some people state quite frankly that the whole story is simply out of date. But the Resurrection is not a matter of the head, of theory and ideas, but a matter of the heart that can only be experienced and learned through a community’s worship and liturgy. To be fully experienced and grasped, the Resurrection requires an environment of hauntingly beautiful music, of smoke and incense, bread and wine, murmurs of greeting and shouts of joy, dazzling colors and most of all, three-dimensional bodies of real people, even those who aren't necessarily "regulars" of our parish communities, who gather together every year to hear the Easter proclamation.

One doesn't sit at a computer and tap out "Jesus is risen." It has to be performed and enacted. If the Resurrection were meant to be a historically verifiable occurrence, God wouldn't have performed it in the dark without eyewitnesses. The Resurrection was an event transacted between God the Father and God the Son by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Not a single Gospel tells us how it happened. We don't know what he looked like when he was no longer dead, whether he burst the tomb in glory or came out like Lazarus, slowly unwrapping his shroud and squinting with wonder against the dawn of Easter morning in a garden in Jerusalem.

Finding the words

How shall we find words for the Resurrection? How can we give expression to the conquest of death and the harrowing of hell and the washing that has joined us to God's life? There are no words -- there are only the wrong words -- metaphors, chains of images, verbal icons -- that invite us into a mystery beyond words.

For four years I lived in the Holy City of Jerusalem and hundreds of times I visited the remains of the Church building that houses the place of Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher. It is truly holy ground for Christians, and being there never failed once to move me. That old building is truly a microcosm of our own lives, our hearts and our Church.

In the midst of the dark, dirty and chaotic Holy Sepulcher Basilica is the tomb of Jesus, a shrine to the risen Christ. But he is not there. All around that tomb are the remnants of 2,000 years of dreadfully human corruption. Nevertheless, it is the most important shrine and holy place for Christians. Christ is risen from the dead!

At Calvary, and elsewhere in the Holy Land, corruption seems so rampant ... but God shall be victorious, because 70 feet away from Calvary there is a tomb that is empty.

And there is also another startling truth about that Church and the moments that it commemorates: Every single one of us has within us a shrine to the Risen Christ. That shrine is our first love for him, and him alone.

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Do we truly live as children of the light, of the Living One? The Resurrection of Jesus is the sign that God is ultimately going to win.

In the midst of all the chaos found in the Holy Sepulcher building, I found that if I knelt long enough in some corner of the Church amidst religious groups seemingly at war with each other, disquiet disappeared and I often experienced a strange peace and deep joy and consolation because of the resurrection of the man who was God's Son and our Savior. The only way to discern, detect and discover the presence of the Risen Lord is on one’s knees, in the midst of the chaos of the Church and the world.

Jesus' victory over death belongs to the Church's ongoing pastoral and sacramental life and its mission to the world. The Church is the community of those who have the competence to recognize Jesus as the Risen Lord. It specializes in discerning the Risen One. As long as we remain in dialogue with Jesus, our darkness will give way to dawn, and we will become "competent" for witness. In an age that places so much weight on competency, we would do well to focus every now and then on our competence to discern the Resurrection.

What is the Resurrection? Benedict XVI explains it so well in "Jesus of Nazareth": "It is part of the mystery of God that he acts so gently, that he only gradually builds up his history within the great history of mankind; that he becomes man and so can be overlooked by his contemporaries and by the decisive forces within history; that he suffers and dies and that, having risen again, he chooses to come to mankind only through the faith of the disciples to whom he reveals himself; that he continues to knock gently at the doors of our hearts and slowly opens our eyes if we open our doors to him.

"And yet -- is not this the truly divine way? Not to overwhelm with external power, but to give freedom, to offer and elicit love. And if we really think about it, is it not what seems so small that is truly great?" (p. 276).

[The readings for Easter Sunday are Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9 or Matthew 28:1-10 or Luke 24:13-35]

* * *

Understanding Church-Muslim Relations (Part 1)

2011-04-16T13:01:00.001+08:00

Egypt's Ali Al-Samman on Freezing Relations With Holy See
By Emil Amin

CAIRO, Egypt, APRIL 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The president of Egypt's Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is noting that a decision to freeze dialogue with the Holy See from Sunni Islam's highest authority may have been hasty.

In 1998, Ali Al-Samman was the architect of the joint committee that brings together the Cairo-based Permanent Committee of Al-Azhar for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

In Part 1 of a two-part interview with ZENIT, Al-Samman offered his perspective on the Jan. 20 announcement of a dialogue-freeze from the Cairo-based Islamic Research Council of the University of Al-Azhar, which came in protest of Benedict XVI's statements on religious freedom following a Jan. 1 attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria.

The great imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad at-Tayyeb, alleged that the papal comments were an intervention in Egypt's internal affairs.

In addition to the Al-Azhar decision, Egypt also requested that its ambassador to the Holy See "return to Cairo for consultations with the Egyptian foreign ministry," the Vatican reported at the time.

Part 2 of this interview will appear Sunday.

ZENIT: Let us begin by talking about the attack on the Coptic Church of Alexandria in Egypt last December 31. What is your opinion on this painful event?

Al-Samman: All that happened in Alexandria is more than a disagreeable event, and what hurt me even more is to have learned later that responsibility for the event was imputed to employees of the security service.

Moreover, what makes me angry in this type of incident is the delay in initiating the investigations and the delay in punishing those who are culpable, which is in itself more dangerous than the incident itself.

ZENIT: Why are we witnessing, in recent times, growing violence of a religious kind in Egypt?

Al-Samman: In my opinion, one of the main reasons for religious sedition is the delay in punishments.

For example, referring to the case of Al Kamouni, who killed some Copts in the city of Nag Hammadi, we see that a whole year went by before sentence was passed.

Because of this, on more than one occasion -- in articles and television interviews -- I have insisted on the fact that it is necessary to work on the elaboration of laws that concern religious riots that put in danger the security of the nation and it is necessary to apply exceptional, rapid and dissuasive measures.

Extremism continues, which is the spiritual father of all these crimes.

ZENIT: How do you judge the reactions to Benedict XVI's comment on what happened in Alexandria?

Al-Samman: When certain expressions are used by a leader, the evaluation that follows is always more difficult, and the affirmations give the impression that there is an authority that protects Christians of the East; this brings to memory the old sentiments with regard to the protection of the faction of Arab Christians, which history remembers as those who helped Muslim brothers in the face of foreign invasions.

ZENIT: But have Benedict XVI's words merited such opposition on the part of Al-Azhar, which has interrupted the channels of dialogue with the Vatican?

Al-Samman: Personally I am not in agreement with the position of Al-Azhar, in the sense that if I had been the one responsible, I would not have blocked this dialogue in this way.

Perhaps I would have preferred a period of transition, during which meetings would have been held to come to a satisfactory solution on both sides, without having to freeze the dialogue.

Obviously, when I speak of relations between Al-Azhar and the Vatican, I am speaking of one of the most important periods of my life, when I was responsible in the interreligious dialogue at the time of Sheikh Jad Al-Haqq, and until the signing in 1998 of the agreement with the Vatican, with Sheikh Muhammad Tantawy.

ZENIT: Hence, you would have preferred a more prudent reaction?

Al-Samman: Without a doubt, especially because of the fact that in the Vatican there is a large number of persons capable of being intermediaries to resolve the crisis with the least possible damage.

In this matter the Christians of the Middle East are important: their interests, their presence and what we can do for them.

I think that the Pope's words in regard to Egypt were influenced by the earlier attack on the Church in Iraq. This could also have influenced the tone of his statements.

ZENIT: What do you think of the reaction of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which recalled the Egyptian ambassador to the Holy See for consultations?

Al-Samman: I cannot criticize the position of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. They must hold to their own diplomatic rules.

What is true is that this reflects the state of dissatisfaction produced by the Pope's words, although in reality diplomacy has other functions that go beyond casual reactions. And it is always better to leave the door open to analyze and review these problematic issues.

ZENIT: There are Muslim voices in Europe that have considered mistaken the decision to sever relations with the Vatican. What do you think?

Al-Samman: Without a doubt those who live in Europe are in contact with another, different reality and they coexist in European society with other voices that know a certain language of concord and collaboration. And we are in real need of such voices.

Antioch Tradition Adorns the Church, Says Pope

2011-04-15T11:41:00.000+08:00

Addresses New Patriarch of Maronites

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming his communion with the new patriarch of the Maronite Church, and praising the rich tradition of Antioch, where the faithful were first given the name Christians.

The Pope had a private audience today with Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï, 71.

Last month, the patriarch succeeded Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, becoming the 77th patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites. Cardinal Sfeir resigned at age 90.

The Holy Father said Patriarch Raï's visit was a privilege for the universal Church.

"I rejoice to receive you here, with the Maronite bishops, the priests, the consecrated persons and the faithful, to solemnize the 'Ecclesia Communio,' which I made known to you by letter last March 24."

After a Maronite patriarch is elected, the Bishop of Rome extends his official expression of communion.

He continued: "Your election, which occurred a few days after the closure of the Holy Year promulgated to celebrate the 1,600th anniversary of the death of St. Maron, seems the most eminent fruit of numerous graces that he obtained for his Church."

Plenitude of communion

Noting the Divine Liturgy that was to be celebrated, the Holy Father said that there "the plenitude of communion is manifested between the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles and the 77th Successor of St. Maron, Father and Head of the Church of Antioch of the Maronites, that very prestigious Apostolic See where the faithful of Christ received for the first time the name of 'Christians!' Your Patriarchal Church, her rich spiritual, liturgical and theological tradition, the tradition of Antioch, always adorns the entire Church with that treasure."

The Maronite Church has always been in communion with Rome, even while maintaining its own liturgy and calendar. The liturgy is celebrated in Arabic, except in ancient songs and ancestral prayers of the Eucharist, for which Aramaic is used.

The Church was established by St. Maron, who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries as a hermit on Mount Tauro, an ancient city of northern Syria.

Today the Maronite Church has more than 3 million faithful and is present in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, the Holy Land, and in countries of the diaspora, such as Argentina and Australia.

The patriarchate is based in Lebanon.

Concrete tasks

Benedict XVI spoke to Patriarch Raï about concrete tasks awaiting him as patriarch, namely the situation of the Middle East and the importance of education.

"This region of the world that the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles and Christ himself blessed by their presence and by their preaching, aspires to this durable peace that the Word of Truth, received and lived, has the capacity to establish," he said.

The Pope spoke of the Maronites' quality educational and catechetical network.

"Transmit to young people all my esteem and affection while reminding them that the Church and society have need of their enthusiasm and their hope," he said. And he invited the patriarch to "intensify the formation of priests and of numerous young people that the Lord is calling in your eparchies and in your religious congregations. That by their teaching and by their life, they may be genuine witnesses of the Word of God to help the faithful to root their life and their mission in Christ!"

The Pope expressed his prayer for the patriarch, that the Holy Spirit will "console you in difficulties and procure for you the joy of seeing your Church grow in fervor and in number!"

"At the dawn of your ministry," he added, "I wish to repeat those words of Christ to the disciples: 'Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'"

Islam in Zambia: Small and Notable

2011-04-13T06:49:00.000+08:00

Islam in Zambia: Small and Notable
Interview With Author Father Félix Phili
ROME, APRIL 11, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Muslim community in Zambia is small -- but its presence has been increasingly felt in the last three decades, according to a professor from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies who has written a book on the subject.

Missionary of Africa Father Félix Phili authored the book "Muslim Associations and the Resurgence of Islam in Zambia."

Father Phili spoke with the television program "Where God Weeps" of the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need about his work and Islam in Zambia.

Q: Father Félix, what inspired you to write this book?

Father Phili: This book actually was a further development of research I had done for my doctoral thesis at the School of Oriental African Studies. I worked a lot with the Muslim community in Zambia to get the information and as this was about them, I promised them I would give something back. So as a matter of intellectual honesty, I wrote it and I provided the possibility for them to see what they gave to me.

Q: Why particularly this book? What was your inspiration?

Father Phili: This was mainly to bring out the existing energy of the Muslim community in our country. Just before I started this research there was lot of concern and fear about the Muslim community and much of it was not really based on objective information. People were speculating on what they were seeing and I found it an interesting theme to deal with for my research and also as a way of bringing about a clear awareness of what this really was about in the country.

Q: Was there a person or perhaps an event that triggered this?

Father Phili: Not really. As part of my training I had studied Islam with the intention of working among Muslims in North Africa and I had already done four years of missionary work in Tunisia. When I was offered the opportunity to do a doctorate, I started wondering what subject I could work on; so talking with some friends, somebody said: “Why don’t you write about Islam in Zambia?” To be honest I was surprised. There are no Muslims in Zambia except for a few here and there, but then they said: “The few who are there, we do not know much about them so it would be good if you can try to research that."

Q: Your book is titled “The Resurgence of Islam," and yet Islam makes up only 0.5% of the population. What is this resurgence -- is it a growth of Islam?

Father Phili: The term is deliberately chosen and is mainly related to the history of this faith community. Practically, Muslims were in the country before Christians, but their presence has only been fully felt in the past three decades or so. So this is a kind of resurgence in the sense that an already existing community becomes more effectively present -- there is a new dynamism within this community. So this is what I meant by resurgence.

Q: You say that Islam arrived in Zambia before Christianity. Where did it come from?

Father Phili: The first Muslims were Arab traders who after a long presence along the eastern coast of Africa slowly started venturing deeper into the continent. Mainly they came as traders who also happened to be Muslims. In their first incursions into the continent they did not spread Islam as such because they only had temporary settlements. But then, slowly with the passing of time some of these settlements became permanent and in their dealing with the indigenous people -- there were a few tribes that collaborated closely with them -- some of these tribes converted in great numbers to Islam. This was the case for a good part of the Yao people from Malawi who are also a contributing factor to the presence of Islam in Zambia. So these are the first two communities to which we can attribute the coming of Islam in Zambia.

Q: Is money, for example for the construction of mosques, clinics and schools, coming locally or is it coming from other Arab or other Muslim countries abroad?

Father Phili: There is no clear evidence of any particular Muslim or Arabic country that is directly sponsoring the development of Islam in the country other than, in an indirect way, the African Muslim Agency. This is an NGO, which somehow facilitates, among other things, the construction of mosques -- but more in the sense of coordinating the construction of religious buildings rather than directly sponsoring the spread of Islam. Within the Zambian Asian community -- where most of them are involved in commerce so they have local resources and high organizational capacities -- some of the simple structures that they have been able to put up especially in the rural areas have been funded locally. There are also some Muslim individuals outside the country who have resources and who offer some work of charity within Africa; these individual families come in and sponsor the building of orphanages and the digging of wells. So there are resources that are coming from outside of the country -- that is true -- but not in a kind of coordinated manner, but more a spontaneous manner.

Q: Is charitable work a big part of Islam or is it something emulated from Christian charitable organizations? I’m curious because it seems a relatively new phenomenon?

Father Phili: I think it is both. On one side you have the Christian model. [...] The Muslim community then somehow replicates this model but the deeper motivation is something that exists within Islam itself through what we call Sacat: every Muslim with a certain income is supposed to pay a certain amount …

Q: Like our Christian understanding of tithing?

Father Phili: In a way you can compare it to that … so this brings together quite a number of resources. These resources are meant to help the poorer members of the community and traditionally you would answer the immediate needs of the people, but with the general development of the society in Zambia, this is also translated in terms of providing education, health and development. So, in a way, they have not just copied our model because within their religious system there is the possibility of bringing together some resources and they are using these resources in a way similar to what Christians have done before.

Q: How are Christians responding to this? Are they worried?

Father Phili: The Christian reaction has been one of mainly forgetting the recent history of how Christian missionaries came to the country. The Christian missionaries have done what the Muslims are now doing. Times have changed. So there have been a lot of allegations against the Muslim community saying that they are actually buying converts with material incentives.

Q: Is that a valid argument?

Father Phili: In a sense it is a valid argument, but as I have said, times have changed so the Muslim community provides the same services that the Christian missionaries did before, which gained them a lot of followers and the Muslims are doing exactly the same thing. [...] The main critique has been that this type of approach is a way of taking advantage of the poor in society because people have material needs; so instead of freely giving them what they need and leaving it up to them to decide, somehow indirectly the way you provide the services makes the person feel that it is an expectation. This has been one of the criticisms leveled against the Muslim community -- to say that they are taking advantage of the poor of society and by providing these services, getting new converts.

Q: This raises the question of how valid that life choice is. If it is out of a moment of convenience or need, how deep does that faith really enter the person?

Father Phili: In a sense that depends on different individuals because, generally, in Islam there is no catechism so to speak. If you have the opportunity, you can be prepared and taught what Islam is before you convert, but in most cases conversion is more or less instant. You learn about being Muslim only after you have converted. So quite a number of these people only discover afterward that actually they have become Muslims. They also realize that the help that is offered is minimal; sometimes it can be reduced to a blanket for example -- though that means quite a lot to somebody in a rural area especially during the cold season -- but then the hope is that by continuously attending the meetings and appearing to be Muslim they might receive more help. So eventually they start learning about becoming a Muslim and they start learning about praying.

When other people, who are not falling for this type of material enticement, start to question their fellow villagers and ask them why they are being led to another religion because of material enticement, to protect their dignity they will start saying that it is not just material enticement, it is because they are convinced. This is to convince those who are questioning and criticizing them that they are in fact serious Muslims. So in the end the whole process can actually lead to a deeper conversion and deeper belief, although there are some people, of course -- those who are only attracted by material interest who -- when they don’t see anything coming their way anymore, they leave. So it is a way of testing.

Q: What is the response of Christians in Zambia? Some African countries have witnessed clashes between Muslims and Christians. Are they concerned?

Father Phili: What has happened so far is mostly more visibility of an already existing community. There has been a long history of coexistence. Many of such types of fears would come more from what is happening elsewhere than what is happening locally because the types of Muslims that most people are acquainted with are distant family members [...] so there is no immediate fear of the Muslims in the country and how they are developing. There is, however, an uneasy association with forms of extremism being experienced elsewhere. In a sense, the Christian community, the Catholic Church in particular, has expressed caution saying that Islam is becoming visible and is growing. What is striking, however, and I think much of it is based on a kind of … I don’t know if I call it prejudice … at the same time that a few mosques have been built around the country, the Jehovah Witnesses have built four times as many Kingdom Halls and that doesn’t seem to disturb anybody, partly because I think they are understood to be on the Christians' side.

Q: How is the Catholic Church trying to work with Muslims?

Father Phili: There have been a few efforts here and there to reach out to the Muslim community. As far as the local Muslim communities themselves, some of them are very open to reaching out to the Christian and to the Catholic Church in particular, but at the moment there are no real permanent structures or means of coordinating a close collaboration between the two communities.

Q: The challenge is that both are missionary communities. Where do we see this going? How do we come together to avoid a potential crisis?

Father Phili: I still feel that within the Muslim community there are changes taking place, especially within the Zambian context, where Christian converts have links with Christians, so that in itself helps to have a more moderate attitude toward the Christians and it is actually these converts who are very helpful in making these bridges.

Q: What was the effect of the Pope’s Regensburg address on this whole question? The Holy Father was criticized, but in the end some Muslim scholars wrote a common letter requesting dialogue. How important was this?

Father Phili: The dialogue came mainly as an aftermath of the Muslim reaction and the initiative that was taken by the 38 and then the 138 Muslim scholars and religious leaders; that step in itself tried to separate itself from the more or less mainstream reaction to the Pope’s speech. So, in a sense that gave a lot of hope within the Muslim community: people who are willing to have a different approach from what is generally experienced in extremist groups. I think, these are the people who need encouragement from non-Muslims because they put themselves on the line, because there are people who do not think like them and who criticize them for responding positively to a non-Muslim call for either dialogue or a review of a certain way of being in today’s world, for Islam in particular.

* * *

This interview was conducted by Mark Riedemann for “Where God Weeps," a weekly TV & radio show produced by Catholic Radio & Television Network in conjunction with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

2011-04-10T23:31:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"You learn something every day if you pay attention."

-- Ray LeBlond

2011-04-10T22:43:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy."

-- Mike Ditka

2011-02-27T21:08:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you
can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once
you've lost it you can never get it back."

-- Harvey MacKay

Christians and Muslims Seen More United Than Divided

2011-02-09T19:21:00.001+08:00

Christians and Muslims Seen More United Than Divided
Patriarch Notes Promise in Damascus Event
DAMASCUS, Syria, FEB. 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Last December, Christians and Muslims gathered in Damascus for the 1st International Congress of Muslim-Christian Brotherhood.

The Dec. 15 conference was sponsored by Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, patriarch of the Greek Catholic Melkite Church. The conference was a follow-up to the synod on the Middle East held last October at the Vatican, and view as one of the first "visible fruits" of it.

Some 1,000 people participated -- Christians and Muslims, representatives from Eastern Churches, and participants from Lebanon, Jordan and other Arab nations.

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan of Antioch explained that the conference was a "positive realization of what the holy synod in Rome called for, especially for Islam and Christianity and the issues of sharing land and country, and some ethics related to daily life."

The patriarch emphasized that participants wanted to show the world that Syria's president "asks that Muslims and Christians should live in peace together and should witness to their common life in Syria in peace to all humanity."

"We are full of hope to cooperate with the grace of God more closely with our Muslim brothers and sisters in the future," he added.

He said that the gathering in Damascus allowed Christians and Muslims to speak of common issues.

"The first and most important issue," Patriarch Ignace Joseph III asserted, "is to condemn all terrorism, particularly terrorism in the name of a religion. And, secondly, I think that there is a need to review the religious speeches given by clerics -- that they abide by spreading peace not hatred, to accept those different from us and to found dialogue and religious relations upon the common values of humanity we share."

Patriarch Younan affirmed hopes that the future will bring further collaboration, "because there are more things that are uniting us than are separating us."

The Syriac Catholic Church is one of the seven Eastern Churches "sui iuris" belonging to the Catholic Church, and hence in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. The liturgical tradition of the Syriac Catholic Church uses the language Christ spoke, which is Aramaic. The Syriac Catholic Church exists particularly in the Holy Land, in Iraq and Lebanon.

2011-01-28T20:14:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of
themselves."

-- Phillip Dormer Stanhope

2011-01-20T21:42:00.001+08:00

Don’t blame Islam, blame yourself
January 19, 2011

FMT LETTER: From R Shan, via e-mail

Islam has never been an issue until Dr M came into power. With the increase in the number of conversions, family disputes, and whatnot, Islam continues to take centre stage in Malaysia.

I always wondered whether Mokthar Dahari, when he played along with Arumugam, Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Aun, James Wong and Hassan Sani, was concerned with islamisation.

He was a proud son of the nation who galvanised in the sports arena the spirit of unity as Malaysians irrespective of race, religion or creed.

If you look at the history of our country, no figurehead has propelled this race and religion only agenda until Dr M came about. Sure he was the rotten egg.

Sadly today, Umno and the opposition PKR has taken his cue to spearhead elements of Islam to the extent of frightening the non Malays for their political gain and advantage.

Like it or not, Hindraf provided the watershed in GE12 unconcerned with what others thought as it waged for something universal, i.e. human rights.

The Indians became the poor, marginalised and deprived through a social engineering that was intiated by our great Dr M who wanted spoon-feed Malay society.

Islam did not seem to be an issue when he stripped the royalties (the guardiand of Islam) of their powers.

Lee Kuan Yew tried a similar social engineering with his graduate-marry-graduate to produce intelligent children which naturally proved to be fatal in the 80s.

Protection of individual rights and religious freedom is spelt out in our constitution and we must collectivelty stand by it and not be hoodwinked by Umno or PKR with their never ending agenda to divide and rule based on race, religion and culture.

All religions are merely cultural constructs counterproductive to positive social progress. There is nothing wrong with Islam if we don’t politise it.

Its tolerance to coexist with other religions has been there all along. Don’t blame Islam, blame yourself.

2011-01-20T21:27:00.000+08:00

Prelate Notes John Paul II's Love for Divine Mercy
Underlines Significance of May Beatification

By Mariusz Frukacz

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland, JAN. 19, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Czestochowa, former student and collaborator of Pope John Paul II, is highlighting the significance of the Pontiff's beatification on the Feast of Divine Mercy.

Archbishop Stanislaw Nowak told ZENIT that the news of John Paul II's upcoming May 1 beatification "fills me with joy."

He added, "It's a great thing that the beatification will take place precisely on the occasion of the feast of Divine Mercy."

"John Paul II loved Divine Mercy," the prelate said. "He did much so that this feast would be popular in the Church."

The archbishop recalled, "I remember him when he was still bishop of Krakow, how he took the first steps to spread the feast of Divine Mercy in Krakow."

He affirmed that John Paul II is a great witness of Divine Mercy, along with St. Faustina Kowalska and Blessed Michal Sopocko.

The archbishop of Czestochowa stated that "John Paul II loved everyone, with special affection for young people."

"He was a man of great faith," the prelate added. "Every cell of his being breathed faith."

The archbishop said that the choice of the month of May for the beatification also "has a special meaning."

In fact, he said, it is called "John Paul II's month because the Polish Pontiff gave Mary his total trust: 'Totus tuus.' And so many events of his personal life are associated with the month of May."

Archbishop Nowak has been head of the Czestochowa Archdiocese since 1984. Pope John Paul II visited that city during his apostolic journeys in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1997 and 1999.

2011-01-09T20:57:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished
when he quits."

-- Richard M. Nixon

2011-01-04T21:03:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they
just make the best of everything they have."

-- Anonymous

2010-12-18T22:08:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Good, better, best. Never rest until good be better and
better best."

-- Mother Goose rhyme

2010-11-10T22:39:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"If we stop learning today, we stop teaching tomorrow."

-- Howard Hendricks

2010-11-04T23:03:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."

-- Scott Adams

2010-10-29T23:36:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but
love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the
mediocre and vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes
it that. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead
of creating the perfect love."

-- Tom Robbins

2010-10-24T17:33:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live,
remember that."

-- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2010-10-17T21:01:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Everything will be all right in the end; if it's not all
right then it's not the end."

-- Unknown

2010-09-28T07:53:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Failure is not reaching your goal, but in having no goal to
reach."

-- Benjamin Mays

2010-09-15T22:54:00.001+08:00

Faithful Stewards of God's Gifts and Mysteries

Biblical Reflection for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
By Father Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, SEPT. 14, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Today's Scripture readings see the proper use of material possessions as an essential ingredient in the life of faith. The three sayings of today's Gospel suggest a contrast between worldly wealth and eternal wealth.

Luke's parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-8a) must be understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master's property (1).

The master commends the dishonest steward who has forgone his own commission on the business transaction by having the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master (i.e., minus the steward's profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being dismissed from his position (3).

The second part of today's Gospel (Luke 8b-13) involves some independent sayings of Jesus gathered by Luke to form the concluding application of the parable of the dishonest steward. The first conclusion (8b-9) recommends the prudent use of one's wealth (in view of the coming of the end of the age) after the manner of the children of this world, represented in the parable by the dishonest steward. The word used for dishonest wealth is literally " mammon of iniquity." Mammon is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that usually means "that in which one trusts." Wealth is characterized as being dishonest.

The second conclusion (10-12) recommends constant fidelity to those in positions of responsibility. The third conclusion (13) is a general statement about the incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. To be dependent upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian disciple (Luke 12:22-39). Mammon is used here as if it were itself a god.

Exact meaning of the parable

The exact point of the parable is unclear. It may ordinarily have been intended to urge disciples to a decision for the kingdom in a time of crisis, imitating the manager who acted decisively when faced with a crisis in his life. Jesus urges his disciples to be enterprising in their use of the world's goods, presumably by sharing them with the needy, and more generally, by using them according to God's will. The lesson is this: Just as people in business use prudence to secure their passing advantage, so too the followers of Jesus must use prudence to secure lasting advantage with God. As Christians we are stewards of what God has given us. We do not own it. In the kingdom, rewards and responsibilities will be given to those who demonstrated a faithfulness in their earthly entrustments.

Stewardship and Cardinal Newman

Cardinal John Henry Newman was a faithful steward of God's gifts and mysteries. Born on Feb. 21, 1801, into an Anglican family of bankers, from an early age he had a passion for God and spiritual matters, having experienced his "first conversion" at 15. He was ordained an Anglican minister in 1825, when he finished his studies at the University of Oxford. Cardinal Newman spent the first half of his adult life as a scholar and preacher in Oxford, where he led a movement to renew the Anglican Church.

He journeyed from Anglicanism to Catholicism and used his great intellect and masterful writing ability to win over thousands of people to Christ and the Catholic Church. In becoming a Catholic, Newman had to make many sacrifices. Many of his friends broke off relations with him after his conversion, and his family kept him at a distance. He had to resign his teaching fellowship and lost his only source of income. Newman said that the one thing that sustained him during this trying period was Christ's presence in the Blessed Sacrament. He spent the second half of his life working as a Catholic priest in Birmingham, serving as head of his community of Oratorians.

"He knows what He is about"

Once Newman had come to that unshakeable sense of the mission entrusted to him by God, he declared: " Therefore, I will trust Him. ... If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. ... He does nothing in vain. ... He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me. Still, He knows what He is about."

Newman and young adults

It has been said that teaching is the art of leaving a vestige of oneself in the development of another. Newman did just that with thousands of students. He was an exemplary model of intellect, fidelity, creativity, graciousness and hospitality to young men and women at the university. For this reason, he is the patron of university Catholic chaplaincies around the world known as "Newman Centers."

Newman was a masterful poet. "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom, lead Thou me on," Newman wrote in "The Pillar of the Cloud"; and for him Christ was the light at the heart of every kind of darkness. He was also a profound and penetrating preacher. One passage from a sermon he preached in 1834, more than a decade before he entered the Roman Catholic Church, often provided great comfort for the bereaved: "May He support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done! Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last."

The treasure in our midst

It was only late in his life that the Roman Catholic Church realized the treasure Newman was, and Oxford -- a university he loved -- recognized the full value of the man it had lost. As a tribute to his extraordinary work and devotion, Pope Leo XIII named Father John Henry Newman a cardinal in 1879. After a life of trials, Newman received the news with tears and great joy, declaring: "The cloud is lifted forever."

For Newman, believing in Christianity was like falling in love. He took as his motto as a cardinal the phrase of St. Francis de Sales, "Heart speaks to heart;" bullying and clever arguments, he said, do not bring us to God.

Cardinal Newman died at the age of 89 at the Oratory House in Edgbaston on Aug. 11, 1890. For his tomb he chose the inscription: "Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem;" (Out of shadows and images into the fullness of truth). Christ was the truth he had found at the end of his life's journey.

Cardinal Newman was declared venerable in 1991 by Pope John Paul II. On Sunday Sept. 19, 2010, in Birmingham, England, this great Victorian Catholic theologian and one of the most influential English Catholics of the 19th century will be proclaimed blessed by Benedict XVI. The words of today's second reading from the First Letter to Timothy 2:1-8 could easily flow from the lips of Cardinal Newman: "This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle. I am speaking the truth, I am not lying, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument."

Newman's gift of friendship

Cardinal Newman was a brilliant model of friendship. During his lifetime, Newman had an extraordinary capacity for deep friendship with many people, both men and women, as his 20,000 letters collected in 32 volumes attest. This personal influence has been exerted very powerfully upon millions of people who have read his works and discovered what friendship really means. He once wrote in a letter: "The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection for those who are immediately about."

Are we able to foster such friendships today? Can such intimate friendships exist for us? Men and women often have intense friendships with members of their own sex, friendships that have no sexual component; yet we are at a loss to speak about them or even afraid to do so. Today "friend" is one you add to a social networking profile on the Web; or it is a euphemism for a sexual partner outside marriage.

The French writer François Mauriac once wrote about friendship: "If you are friends with Christ many others will warm themselves at your fire. ... On the day when you no longer burn with love, many will die of the cold." I am certain that the "kindly light" and flame in Cardinal Newman's heart gave and continues to give life and warmth to millions of people. I, for one, have found warmth and consolation at the feet of this great master for many years. The source of the unquenchable fire was Newman's deep friendship with Jesus Christ. We need Newman's kindly light and brilliant, holy example today more than ever.

Official prayer for the votive mass of Cardinal John Henry Newman:

"O God, who bestowed on the Priest Blessed John Henry Newman
The grace to follow your kindly light and find peace in your Church;
Graciously grant that, through his intercession and example,
We may be led out of shadows and images
Into the fullness of your truth.

"Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever."

Cardinal Newman's cost of discipleship

2010-09-01T22:54:00.001+08:00

Cardinal Newman's cost of discipleship

On Sept. 19, 2010, in Birmingham, England, the long awaited beatification ceremony will take place for the great Victorian Catholic theologian, John Henry Cardinal Newman, one of the most influential English Catholics of the 19th century. He journeyed from Anglicanism to Catholicism and used his great intellect and masterful writing ability to win over thousands of people to Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.

In becoming Catholic, Newman had to make many sacrifices. Many of his friends broke off relations with him after his conversion, and his family kept him at a distance. He had to resign his teaching fellowship and lost his only source of income. He lived the terrible pain of misunderstanding from his own family, from Church leaders, and those closest to him. Newman said that the one thing that sustained him during this trying period was Christ's presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

As a tribute to his extraordinary work and devotion, Pope Leo XIII named Father John Henry Newman a Cardinal in 1879. After a life of trials, Newman received the news with joy and declared, "The cloud is lifted forever."

Cardinal Newman died at the age of 89 at the Oratory House in Edgbaston on Aug. 11, 1890. He was declared Venerable in 1991 by Pope John Paul II. On Sept. 19, 2010, Benedict XVI, himself, will honor Cardinal John Henry Newman, a good and faithful servant who paid the price for the cost of discipleship of Jesus.

2010-08-10T09:11:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose
one thought over another."

-- William James

Pedophilia a Worldwide Issue, Not a Priest Problem

2010-07-30T11:19:00.000+08:00

Pedophilia a Worldwide Issue, Not a Priest Problem

Founder of Protection Agency Laments Media Lobbies
ROME, JULY 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The founder of a children's protection organization laments that pedophilia only makes the news when it is linked to priests, which misses the point that it is a worldwide problem.

Father Fortunato Di Noto of the Meter association noted this deficiency in an interview with H2Onews.

Pedophilia is not just a crime but also a money machine, he explained, with an annual yield of €13 billion ($17 billion) and a victim toll of 200,000 abused children, increasingly even babies and toddlers.

And yet, Father Di Noto lamented, much of the press is scandalized only by pedophile priests and not by this phenomenon of enormous proportions.

"The most striking thing is that while we have talked about pedophilia in the clergy, the global phenomenon of pedophilia has not been discussed," he noted. "And the global phenomenon of sexual abuse is before the eyes of all.

"What impresses me, and what in essence makes the difference, is that the newspapers, probably influenced much by communication, lobbyists, have spoken more of this than of the gravity of pedophilia itself, more than the seriousness of sexual exploitation of children, the seriousness of the sex tourism of children, the gravity of selling children and of the rape of children.

"This is a blatant and visible demonstration of how certain press, moved by certain types of lobbying mentalities, sometimes communicate false, unverifiable, or exploitive information."

The founder of Meter added that the growth of pedophilia on social networks is another element that calls for greater parent responsibility and attention.

"The question is," he said, "why are there 180,000 children in Italy under the age of 13 who are enrolled on Facebook without authorization? And this means that there are 180,000 families who do not monitor the actions of these children."

2010-07-22T12:53:00.000+08:00

Catholic Journalists Heading to Africa
GENEVA, Switzerland, JULY 21, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The International Catholic Union of the Press will be holding its world conference this year for the first time in Africa.

Gathering to discuss "Media at the Service of Justice, Peace and Good Governance in a World of Inequalities and Poverty," the journalists will meet Sept. 12-19 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Organizers expect the conference to be "an excellent occasion for understanding the real life in Africa and its various aspects" and "a unique forum to debate issues that affect Africa with experts in Africa on African soil."

Simultaneously, a convention will be held for journalists 35 and younger, who participate in the International Network of Young Journalists.

During the conference, international prizes of communication and journalism will be awarded to the winners in eight categories.

2010-07-20T10:07:00.002+08:00

1st Holy Land Christian Radio Station to Air Soon

Aims to Build Interreligious Bridges

JERUSALEM, JULY 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The first Christian radio station from the Holy Land will soon be on air, with the aim of becoming a bridge between people of different faiths in that region.

Father Raed Abu Sahliye, a parish priest in the small Christian community of Palestine, expressed the hope that the radio station will be "a bridge between different churches and religions."

The priest serves the parish in Taybeh, a West Bank Christian village that counts less than 1,500 inhabitants, and is identified with the Biblical town of "Ephriam," which hosted Christ before he was crucified in Jerusalem, after he raised Lazarus from the dead.

Father Sahliye expressed the hope that this radio initiative will be a "Christian voice to the Christians of the Holy Land."

He visited Rome and told Vatican Radio workers, "We need the voice of Christians in the Holy Land. [...] We need to give a voice to the Holy Land Christians."

"There are many radio and television stations in the region," the priest said, "but we do not have any one of them."
Father Sahliye noted that he hopes the Christian radio station in the Holy Land, which will be launched in collaboration with Vatican Radio, will be up and running by Christmas Eve.

Voice for peace

"It will be a Christian voice, but it certainly will be a different kind of voice: a voice for peace and hope, dialogue and reconciliation," the priest affirmed.

He continued: "We will be open to everyone and to all the churches in the Holy Land.

"We will give space and time for news and celebrations of various churches and we will be open also to other religions: Judaism, Islam."

Father Sahliye said, "We will try to be a bridge, because the Christian who is not a bridge, is not a real Christian."

2010-07-18T16:07:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might
set the world in the right direction."

-- Martin Kornfeld

2010-07-17T13:02:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has
its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe
when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of
the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries
merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never
lose a holy curiosity."

-- Albert Einstein

2010-07-16T21:58:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would
ever get done."

-- Ludwig Wittgenstein

2010-07-10T11:45:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a
wonderful stroke of luck."

-- Dalai Lama

2010-06-10T22:02:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"People travel to wonder at the height of the
mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long
course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass
by themselves without wondering."

-- St. Augustine

2010-05-25T06:57:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life so that when you die, the world cries
and you rejoice."

-- Cherokee Expression

2010-05-15T17:33:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."

-- C. S. Lewis

2010-05-04T21:38:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."

-- Henry David Thoreau

2010-05-02T08:22:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the
right paths, but the final forming of a person's
character lies in their own hands."

-- Anne Frank

2010-04-22T06:57:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to
cross and which to burn."

-- David Russell

2010-04-07T07:42:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest
we take between two deep breaths."

-- Etty Hillesum

2010-03-31T21:04:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The best cure for worry, depression, melancholy, brooding, is
to go deliberately forth and try to lift with one's sympathy
the gloom of somebody else."

-- Arnold Bennett

2010-03-23T07:50:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"So many fail because they don't get started - they don't go.
They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin."

-- W. Clement Stone

Our journey began at Genesis through Exodus.

2010-03-16T21:26:00.000+08:00

Our journey began at Genesis through Exodus.

On the way, we saw Leviticus recording the Numbers
of people at Deuteronomy, while Joshua was waiting at the beautiful gate for Judges to see Ruth calling loudly "Samuel, Samuel".

At a stage, the first and second Kings of Chronicles were coming
to visit Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther for the misfortune of Job,
their brother.
Then they noticed that Mr. Psalms was teaching his children Proverbs
concerning Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon. This coincided with the period that Isaiah and Jeremiah were engaged in Lamentation
for Ezekiel and Daniel their friend.

By that time, Amos and Obadiah were not around. Three days later, Hosea,
Joel and Jonah travelled in the same ship with Micah and Nahum
to Jerusalem . More also, Habakkuk visited Zephaniah who introduced him to Haggai a friend of Zechariah whose cousin is Malachi.

Immediately after the old tradition, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
got involved in Acts with the Romans who were behaving like the Corinthians, who were also always at loggerhead with the Galatians.

At that time too, the Ephesians realising that the Philippians
were close to the Colossians, suggested to the Thessalonians
that they should first of all see Timothy who had gone to the house of Titus to teach Philemon his younger brother how to read and write Hebrew.

On hearing, James asked Peter to explain to him how the three Johns
have disclosed to Jude the Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ..

2010-03-10T07:19:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there
is no path and leave a trail."

-- Harold R. McAlindon

Malaysia: Church Seeks Apology From Journalists

2010-03-06T09:30:00.001+08:00

Malaysia: Church Seeks Apology From Journalists

Reporters Desecrated Eucharist, Criticized Christians
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, MARCH 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur will not pursue legal action against two journalists who desecrated the Eucharist, but it is looking for an apology.

The FIDES news agency reported today that Archbishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur made a public statement in which he said the Church wanted to move on from the incident, which had caused outrage in the Christian community.

"Forgiveness is an integral part of our mission," he said.

Last May two Muslim journalists attended a Mass and, posing as Christians, took Communion. They later criticized and ridiculed Christian beliefs in an article published in Al-Islam magazine.

The incident was reported to the police, who accused the two of having "caused disharmony, feelings of enmity and hatred, and undermining religious harmony in the country."

Penalties for this offense in Malaysia include imprisonment for two to five years.

FIDES reports that the Church in Malaysian hopes that with this gesture, they will successfully "reach out to Malay Muslims (majority in the country) in the hope of finding solutions, in an atmosphere of dialogue and friendship, to the question of the use of the name Allah for Malay-speaking Christians."

In 2007, the Catholic Church launched a legal challenge regarding legislation in the country that states that the word Allah should be used exclusively by Muslims.

The case came to a head on New Year's Eve when the Malaysian High Court ruled that Catholics should be allowed to use the term Allah.

After the ruling, protests immediately broke out and as a result the high court suspended its ruling pending an appeal, and Christians suspended the use of the word Allah.

2010-02-25T07:27:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work
with. We already have capacities, talents, direction,
missions, callings."

-- Abraham Maslow

2010-02-11T17:49:00.001+08:00

The Season of Lent
by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.

The word season has many meanings, and each tells us something about what Lent can and should mean for us.

It means, first of all, one of the four seasons of the year. Lent falls during the late winter and early spring seasons. This year Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, falls on February 17. Lent ends at Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter). Easter, this year, is on April 4.

Everyone knows the date for Easter is different every year. If you've ever wondered how it is determined, here is the answer. Use it to stump your friends! Easter Sunday is the first Sunday following the first full moon that follows the spring equinox. Spring begins on March 20/21.Check your calendar for the next full moon after that date. Easter is the next Sunday. So, this year, the first full moon occurs on March 29th (Monday), and thus the next Sunday, April 4, is Easter Sunday. That rule applies every year.

But season also means “a time of year when something is best." For example, "oyster season" refers to the months when oysters are at peak flavor and supply. And season used as a verb (“to season”) means to heighten the flavor of food by adding condiments and other spices.

All of these meanings can help us to grasp the deeper meaning of Lent. First of all, to approach Easter—the most significant feast of our faith and of the Church year—we need to prepare ourselves as we do for any major celebration or event. Anyone involved in making wedding plans knows you don’t do that over the weekend. It takes time to make sure everything is just right for this most important day.

Important Truths Can Fade
Someone might say, “Well, I believe already; I go to Mass and communion regularly, so why all the fuss?” The truth is that there is not one of us who doesn’t need to refresh ourselves, our consciousness and our awareness of what our faith means. That is true of priests and religious as well as lay people.

We need to be honest with ourselves. The simple fact is that no matter how great something is, we can take it for granted. We get used to it and it can fade in importance. Other less important things begin to take precedence. What husband and wife in their marriage have not had to ask themselves whether they are taking each other for granted? A priest who offers Mass each day can find himself losing awareness of the sacredness of the act he is offering each day. “Familiarity can breed contempt” is not just a clever saying; we know the truth of it from our experience.

Lent is a time to “season” our lives with a deeper realization of what we actually believe. Jesus, son of God, died for me. My own efforts and good work don’t save me. They are important because they make faith alive in my life, not just an abstract fact in my head. Some say, “Of course I believe, but don’t ask me to get to serious about it.” Lent is dead serious, because it is about life and eternity.

If Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is the greatest of all our feasts, we must prepare and remind ourselves how graced and fortunate we are that we are believers. When a loved one dies, we know that the truth of the resurrection eases our tears of loss and temporary separation. Jesus’ resurrection causes us to know that we and our loved ones will be together some day with God in heaven.

Lenten Practices
Now, some of us old folks remember the many fast and abstinence days we experienced early on. Less is required now: fasting only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. Actually, that’s pretty mild.

Voluntary acts of self-denial, beyond the minimum requirements, can also be beneficial for us. But there are many other acts we can do that can bring us a deeper awareness during the Lenten season. Could you go to Mass one day a week during Lent? Could you make a little donation to some worthy cause each week by giving up an alcoholic beverage? What about giving up smoking (which would be healthy and surely penitential) and giving the money saved to help another?

Lent is always a good time to get to confession, especially if you have been avoiding this sacrament. What about simply looking at your own temperament and asking, “In my relationships with others, have I been getting moody this past year?” What about determining to treat others at work or in the family with more kindness, considerateness and awareness of their feelings?

We are so blessed with our faith. We know the answers to the most important questions of life: Why are we here on earth? What’s my purpose and what has God called me to do? Am I doing what I know I should be doing? Lent is a perfect season to take stock of our lives and show the Lord we are grateful for the gift of faith.

2010-02-11T17:47:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how
much love we put in that action."

-- Mother Teresa

Giving Glory Back to God

2010-01-29T07:08:00.000+08:00

Giving Glory Back to God
by Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M.

Most of us who are Christian are well acquainted with the familiar prayer: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.” This prayer is known as a doxology (from the Greek word doxa, meaning "glory"). A doxology is a liturgical expression of glory or praise to God.

We will reflect on the meaning of the Glory Be. The prayer can help us come into greater union with God. Biblical scholars tell us that the Hebrew word for "glory," kabod, literally means "weight," and it leads us to the idea of glory. How does this happen? Well, the weight of something suggests its importance or value—and ultimately its glory. However, one must always distinguish true glory from false glory.

Sometimes a person’s wealth or high social position can be mistaken for true glory. For example, in our own society we have heard of rich bankers and millionaires who have defrauded poor people out of their property or life savings. We don’t see true glory (or real importance) in them. Even among the kings in the Old Testament, we have seen examples of glory that can be either true or false. Great kings like David and Solomon, for example, had their moments of both true glory (when they followed God’s will) and false glory (when they fell from grace). We get a hint of this in St. Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus says: “Consider the lilies of the fields…; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these” (6:28). True glory is a reflection of divine glory.

Examples of the Lord’s Glory and Christ’s Glory
Divine glory is revealed through the radiance or flashing light of the Lord’s glory, as when God saved the Israelites at the crossing of the Red Sea. “The Egyptians shall know that I am Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers” (Exodus 14:18).

Or God’s glory was manifested through the bright clouds and fire on top of Mt. Sinai, as when Moses went up the mountain. “The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of God was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel” (Exodus 24:16-17).

This divine glory is equally present in Christ. As we read in Hebrews,“[Christ] is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (1:3). We get a glimpse of Christ’s glory, moreover, in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James and John “on a high mountain" (see illustration at the top of the article). Jesus “was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white” (Matthew 17:2).

Surely this is a vision of Christ in glory, who never lost, of course, the glory he shared with the Father in the beginning. In the context of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel before his passion, Jesus said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you….I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence, with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed” (John 17: 1, 4-5).

After his resurrection, Christ shared his glory with his disciples. He breathed upon them and sent his Holy Spirit upon them for the forgiveness of sins. He does the same for us today, sharing his glory and inner life with us. Through Baptism and the Eucharist, for example, we become his adopted children and share his very life, so that we can say with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Through his grace, even now we can share Christ’s inner life and glory.

Giving Glory to God
We return to our doxology—to our familiar “Glory Be” prayer. Now that we are more aware of the biblical meaning of the glory of God and have seen dramatic instances of it, we can recite the prayer with a growing awareness that the glory we give to God originally came from God and not the other way around. By opening ourselves to God’s overflowing love and devoutly repeating this prayer, we can share more deeply the glory that God first showers on us.

In glorifying God in this way, we can begin sensing the infinite glory, importance and weight of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let yourself be swept up into the brightness and glory of the Holy Trinity. It is a gift that Father, Son and Holy Spirit have bestowed on you and me. We do well to give back the glory that has been graciously given to us!

We give you thanks, gracious God of heaven and earth, that we can be part of the great song of praise rising from all the creatures of the universe, as we glorify you forever and ever with the words: "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen."

2010-01-27T07:12:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in
complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for
change is the essence of life."

-- Anatole France

Don’t call your Dad “Ayah”!

2010-01-21T17:51:00.000+08:00

Don’t call your Dad “Ayah”!

I just received this "funny email" from a friend and wanna share it here with all...

A man came home from work and his children ran to him and called out ‘Ayah! Ayah!’.
His neighbor got very upset and said to him, “Can you please tell your children not to call you ‘Ayah’?”

The man asked, “Why?”

The neighbor retorted, “Because my children call me ’Ayah’ too. They might get confused and mistake you to be their father.”

Then the man told his neighbour, are you not a shame to say that your children do not know who is their 'Ayah'. So you are saying by using the word 'Ayah' , your children will call me Ayah too without knowing who is their father.

The neighbour said yes,only I should use the word 'Ayah'.

The man said, then there is something wrong in what you are teaching your children.They are not sure and do not know who is their 'Ayah'

forwareded via email by: C Chiew

Sabah churches say ‘no’ to Nazri

2010-01-20T08:02:00.000+08:00

Sabah churches say ‘no’ to Nazri

Tue, Jan 19, 2010

National

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Council of Churches has rejected a proposal by de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz that the word “Allah” can be used only by Christians who live in Sabah and Sarawak, not those in peninsular Malaysia.

The council felt that Nazri’s suggestion was “illogical, inconsistent and untenable for Christian communities … especially those residing in the peninsula,” said its president, Jerry Dusing.

“The intended concession also goes against the spirit and intent of the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia concept of forging unity and harmony among all races and religions by mutual respect and acceptance,” he said in a news release.

He said the proposal also impinged on the rights of the Christians as it “dichotomises and segregates” the rights to profess and practise one’s faith on the basis of geographical location.

2010-01-20T07:25:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the
doctor's book."

-- Irish Proverb

Risking fragile compromise in Allah's name

2010-01-12T11:12:00.000+08:00

In the late 1980s, when I was in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, a friend suggested that I drive out into the desert near Jubail to see the oldest extant Christian church in the world.

By Gwynne Dyer (NZ Herald)

And there it was, surrounded by a chain-link fence to keep casual visitors and foreign archaeologists out. Experts who saw the site before it was closed said that the church was built by Nestorian Christians, and was probably used from the 4th to the 9th century.

Its existence embarrassed the Saudi Government, which prefers to believe that Arabia went straight from paganism to Islam. But it confirmed the assumption of most historians that Christianity was flourishing in the Arabian Peninsula in the centuries before the rise of Islam.

So what did these Arabic-speaking Christians call God? Allah, of course.

I mention this because recently the Malaysian High Court struck down a three-year-old ban on non-Muslims using the word Allah when they speak of God in the Malay language. The decision was followed by firebomb attacks on three Christian churches in Kuala Lumpur, and protesters at mosques in Kuala Lumpur carried placards reading "Allah is only for us".

Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks on the churches, but he supports the ban on Christians using the word "Allah" in Malay and is appealing against the High Court decision.

"We ... have the right to use the word 'Allah'," said the Rev Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the newspaper of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, the Herald, whose use of the word in its Malay-language edition triggered the crisis. Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang simply observed that "the term 'Allah' was used to refer to God by Arabic-speaking Christians before Arabic-speaking Muslims existed".

Of course it was. Arabic-speaking Christians predate the rise of Islam by three hundred years, and what else were they going to call God? The word "Allah" is a contraction of the Arabic definite article al- and the noun 'ilah, which means god. In parts of ancient Arabia it once referred to the creator-god (who was not the only god), but for a very long time it has meant the One God.

This Arabic word was imported into the Malay language by converts to Islam, which arrived in the region several centuries before Christianity. All ethnic Malays are considered to be Muslim under Malaysian law, but there are numerous Malay-speakers, especially in northern Borneo, who are Christian and not ethnically Malay. They also use the word Allah for God.

What's the harm in that? Why are Malaysia's Muslims so paranoid? The real paranoia, alas, is ethnic.

Malaysia is an ethnic time-bomb that has turned itself into a peaceful and prosperous country by a huge effort of will. The original population was mostly Malay, but under British rule huge numbers of Indian and Chinese immigrants were imported to work the mines and plantations.

By independence, Malays were only 60 per cent of the population, and much poorer than the more recent arrivals. They resented the past, the present, and the probable future.

After several bouts of savage anti-Chinese and anti-Indian rioting, the country arrived at its current, successful compromise. The Malays dominate politics, but the Chinese and the Indians thrive in trade and commerce - and most people understand they are ultimately in the same boat, which is called Malaysia.

The state spends a lot of money to raise the living standards of the Malays, and gives them preference for university places and government jobs. They haven't done badly out of this deal, but nevertheless they feel perpetually insecure.

Since they are all Muslims, while few other Malaysians are, they also feel their religion is under threat. Some respond by being aggressively intolerant of minorities.

Not all Malays behave this way. Major Muslim organisations, including the Islamic political party, PAS, have agreed the other "Abrahamic religions" - Christians and Jews - may call their God Allah in Malay.

But it's getting ugly, and it's high time for the Malaysian Government to stop playing along with the extremists.

It should take a lesson from the early Muslims of Arabia. Both the archaeological and the textual evidence suggest that most Arabs in northern Arabia and along the Gulf coast had been Christian for several centuries when Islam first appeared in the 7th century. They were swiftly conquered by Muslim armies, but they were not forcibly converted.

As in all early Islamic empires, Christians had to pay higher taxes, but they were allowed to keep their property and practice their religion. It is highly improbable they were forced to change the word they used for God.

They did gradually convert to Islam, but the last Christian churches in the region probably survived into the early 9th century.

The Christians, Hindus, animists and others who make up 40 per cent of Malaysia's people pay higher taxes, in the sense that they subsidise the poorer Malay/Muslim majority. Few of them will ever convert to Islam, but they are not its enemy either.

Malaysia has achieved a fragile but workable compromise that gives its people a good life. It should not endanger it so frivolously.

* If you need a reference on Christians in 4th-7th century Arabia, the best is a scholarly article by John A. Langfeld, Recently Discovered Early Christian Monuments in Northeastern Arabia, published in Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 1994: 5: pp. 32-60. It is available online (Wiley InterScience), but you have to pay to view it.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.Malaysia's ethnic and religious divisions.

Malaysian Bishop Laments "Allah" Ban

2010-01-08T07:29:00.001+08:00

Malaysian Bishop Laments "Allah" Ban
Says Church Holds Firm on Minority Rights
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, JAN. 6, 2010 (Zenit.org).- A Malaysian bishop is underlining the rights of minority religions faced to the controversy over a ban prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word "Allah."

Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing of the Melaka-Johor Diocese in Malaysia told ZENIT that the controversy over the use of the word "Allah," as well as other Arabic words, is "not a linguistic battle."

Rather, he said, it is a political "battle for votes."

On Dec. 31, the Kuala Lumpur High Court overruled the ban, which was instated three years ago, affirming that it was unconstitutional and that the word "Allah" is not exclusive to Islam. It granted the Catholic Herald, which was using the word as a translation for God in the Malay language section of the periodical, permission to print "Allah."

However, today the decision was suspended after days of protests. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry is appealing the act in an attempt to uphold the ban.

Muslim groups are protesting that Christians and other minorities should not use "Allah" for "fear of confusing Muslims," the Herald reported today.

Muslims constitute some 60% of the country's 28 million people.

Pre-Islamic

Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing explained that the debate has a definite political tone, as the ruling party "is afraid of losing the Malay votes, which make up of about 60% of the population."

He added, "In Malaysia, unfortunately, Malay is identified with Muslims -- the only country in the world where religion is tied to a race in the constitution."

Yet in the Quran, the bishop pointed out, "it is said that Jews, Christians, Sabeans and Muslims worship Allah."

He continued: "How can a Muslim go against its Holy Quran? Not possible.

"It is due to sheer ignorance or due to some political expediency. Any objective scholar can tell you that the word 'Allah' is pre-Islamic. It has its root in the Semitic language."

Not all Malay-Muslims are against non-Muslims using the word, Bishop Tan Chee Ing clarified, as long as it is not being "abused."

Those who are sparking the controversy, he said, are acting "due to ignorance or motivated by political biases or for some personal gains."

The "public declaration that non-Muslims can use the word 'Allah' is a contradiction to what the National Fatwa Council issued," the bishop affirmed, and "contradiction is another game for playing politics."

Non-Muslim rights

In the midst of this, he said, "the Church's stand should be calm, firm in its stand for the rights of non-Muslims as enshrined in our federal constitution."

We must "cooperate with all reasonable persons, try to keep harmony by not provoking the other side with words or actions and not putting them down those who want to stop non-Muslims from using the word," the prelate said.

"It is a tightrope walk," he affirmed.

Bishop Tan Chee Ing told ZENIT that despite the current issues, the Church in his country is "very stable, united and strong."

"Our ecumenical movement and interreligious cooperation have been good in spite of a few hiccups here and there," he said.

Although statistics are showing that the Catholic population is stagnant in numbers, the bishop acknowledged, this is due to the fact that "Chinese and Indian Catholics tend to have fewer children than the Malays."

As well, he continued, "their children are sent abroad to study because of discrimination against them in the universities and many of them do not return to Malaysia because of the fear of being discriminated."

Stand for truth

"In spite of all this," the prelate affirmed, "the churches are generally full to their capacity with men, women and children."

He continued: "It is a vibrant Church. The local Church has been reaching out to help other poorer dioceses in other countries."

Bishop Tan Chee Ing reported that the people of his diocese, "in spite of the fact that we are not rich," has been sending money to the Church in Kenya, Myanmar and Laos.

"This is in imitation of the earliest Catholic Church during the apostolic times," he affirmed.

The prelate continued: "We have also cooperated with the Protestants and even the Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus.

"The one contribution we can offer to the Universal Church is standing up for the truth and the rights of people against all odds because we know that God who is the Lord of history, sees and knows all and will in his time and in his way right what is wrong. Patience!"

Confident People Do Not Get Confused

2010-01-08T07:25:00.000+08:00

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2010
Confident People Do Not Get Confused
I found by chance this article the other day:

Prophet Muhammad’s Promise to Christians

The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person, says Muqtedar Khan.

Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonization.

In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.

In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.

The Promise to St. Catherine:

"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."

The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God’s covenant.

A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!

The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.

I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad’s promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.

When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

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Now, when that delegation from St Catherine's monastery came to meet with Prophet Mohamad (pbuh), I suppose it's fair to assume that they spoke Arabic to one another. And when they were conversing, surely the word 'God' must have come up. As in "May God Be With You" and such like. What word did the Prophet (pbuh) use for 'God' I wonder? And what did the St Catherinians use in return? For monotheists like them, was there a 'your God' and 'my God' type of situation, or did they understand that they were both talking about the same One?
While some idiots are mourning over the 'loss' of the word 'Allah' and therefore basically telling the world that they are people easily confused by nomenclature, and others are predicting riots over what is basically a 'copyright' issue, let me define what I think a confident Muslim should be:

1. A confident Muslim is unfazed by the issue of God's name. God speaks to all of humankind in the Quran and never said that only Muslims could call him by the name Allah.

2. A confident Muslim has 99 names to choose from to describe that One God. My favourites are Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful).

3. A confident Muslim never gets confused over which is his/her religion and which is other people's. For instance, a confident Muslim knows exactly what the first chapter of the Quran is. And it's not the Lord's Prayer.

4. A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference.

5. A confident Muslim is generous, inclusive and doesn't think that his or her brethren is made exclusive through the use of a single language. The confident Muslim is well aware that in the Middle East, all services of ANY religion are in Arabic because that's what they all speak.

6. A confident Muslim knows the basis of his/her faith are the five pillars of Islam and will not be shaken just because other people call God by the same name.

7. A Muslim believes in only One God. Therefore it makes sense that other people should call God by the same name because there is no other God.

ART THOU NOT aware that it is God whose limit¬less glory all [creatures] that are in the heavens and on earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Each [of them] knows indeed how to pray unto Him and to glorify Him; and God has full knowledge of all that they do:(Surah Nour, Verse 41) (Asad)

So I would ask those people demonstrating against the Court decision, have you no pride? Are you saying you're easily confused?

And before anyone says I have no qualifications to say these things, read what Dr Asri Zainal Abidin (who does have qualifications no matter what JAIS says) has written about this very subject here.

And here's something interesting. In 2007, the Majlis Agama Negeri Perlis, which is a large majlis filled with people very learned in Islamic religious knowledge, discussed the question of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Their unanimous decision? They issued a fatwa to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the word at all.(This was told to me by Dr. Asri but I cannot find the fatwa anywhere online because all the religious departments' websites are so useless.)

2010-01-06T07:30:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"That first peak is the best place to pause and look back, to
see if you took the easiest route, to learn the lessons from
the first climb. And it is the best place to examine the
terrain ahead, to change your plans and goals, to take a deep
breath and begin climbing again."

-- Michael Johnson

2010-01-02T19:49:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"We are like tea bags -- we don't know our own strength until
we're in hot water."

-- Sister Busche

2009-12-28T21:09:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition,
there are still untapped possibilities within us and new
beauty waiting to be born."

-- Dr. Dale Turner

2009-12-22T20:53:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"When you haven't forgiven those who've hurt you, you turn
back against your future. When you do forgive, you start
walking forward."

-- Tyler Perry

2009-12-19T19:37:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Smooth seas do not make a skillful sailor."

-- African proverb

2009-12-17T20:48:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner
peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and
outer well-being that places harmony in one's life."

-- Peace Pilgrim

2009-12-15T07:20:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish
for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less
challenges, wish for more wisdom."

-- Earl Shoaf

2009-12-12T20:39:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today
is a gift. That's why we call it the present."

-- B. Olatunji

2009-12-08T06:53:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must
have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We
must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this
thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."

-- Madam Marie Curie

2009-12-04T07:08:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot
down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway."

Are Sabahans breeding like rabbits?

2009-11-25T21:48:00.001+08:00

Freemalaysiatoday,
Wed, Nov 25, 2009

National

Sabah’s population growth rate is almost twice higher than the national average of about 3.2%. Why is this so? EDWIN BOSI of DAP enlightens us.

WHEN Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya merged to form Malaysia, Sabah contributed about a third of the land mass.

Census reports put the population of Sabah in 1947 at 320,500. In 2000, this figure was 2,449,389. The average national growth rate is about 3.2%.

In Sabah, there are spikes in the population growth rate that merit attention. These growth rates which were of interest are 1971–1975 (6.3%), 1976–1980 (4.4%), 1980–1991 (5.69%), 1986–1988 (3.4%), 1988–1995 (3.4%) and 1991–1995 (5.5%).

It is therefore interesting to analyse the “breeding” pattern of Sabahans.

Armed Conflict in southern Philippines

During the USNO era (1963–1975), there was a surge in “breeding” activity especially between 1971-1975. The growth rate then was reported a staggering 6.3%.

It was during this time there was armed conflict in the southern Philippines. The influx of refugees into Sabah may be the reason behind the sharp upward spike.

The Berjaya era came from 1976–1985. Again there was a huge population growth, above 4%. The conflict in southern Philippines continued and more refugees streamed into Sabah.

The PBS era from 1985–1995 marked a growth rate of about 3.4%. However, in the 1991-1995 period, the growth rate was registered at 5.5% — but there was no more armed conflict in the southern Philippines.

So what was a plausible explanation? There was a huge increase in the number of Indonesians working in the oil palm plantations and this could be attributed for the massive jump in the population of Sabah.

Special Identification Papers

In 1931, the Sarawak population was about 600,000 and in 2000, about 2 million. On the other hand, Sabah’s registered 270,233 population in 1931, shot up to 2.4 million in 2000. Furthermore, in 2003, Sabah’s population stood at about 2.8 million — an increase of about 400,000 within three years!

Sabah’s population growth rate is about twice higher than the national average. But why do population surveys indicate Sabahans are multiplying like rabbits?

2009-11-25T21:34:00.000+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us
rich."

-- Henry Ward Beecher

On New Territories for Evangelizing

2009-11-18T20:33:00.001+08:00

"Go On Speaking, and Do Not Be Silent"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a message Benedict XVI sent to Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, on the occasion of that dicastery's plenary assembly.

The assembly began today and is under way through Wednesday on the topic "St. Paul and the New Areopagi."

* * *

To the Venerable Brother, Lord Cardinal Ivan Dias,
Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

On the occasion of the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, I wish to express to you, Lord Cardinal, my cordial greeting, which I happily extend to the archbishops, bishops and all those taking part in this assembly. I also greet the secretary, the assistant secretary, the under-secretary and all the collaborators of this dicastery. I add the expression of my sentiments of appreciation and gratitude for the service you render the Church in the area of the mission ad gentes.

The topic you are addressing in this meeting, "St. Paul and the New Areopagi" -- also in light of the Pauline Year concluded a short while ago -- assists in reliving an experience of the Apostle to the Gentiles while in Athens. After having preached in many places, he addressed the Areopagus and there proclaimed the Gospel using a language that today we could describe as "inculturated" (cf. Acts 17:22-31).

That Areopagus, which at the time represented the center of culture for the refined Athenian people, today -- as my venerated predecessor John Paul II would say -- "can be taken as a symbol of the new sectors in which the Gospel must be proclaimed" (Redemptoris Missio, 37). In fact, the reference to that event is an urgent invitation to know how to value the "Areopagi" of today, where the great challenges of evangelization are addressed.

You wish to analyze this topic with realism, taking into account the many social changes that have occurred: a realism supported by the spirit of faith, which sees history in the light of the Gospel, and with the certainty that Paul had of the presence of the Risen Christ. Resonating and comforting for us also are the words that Jesus addressed to him in Corinth: "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you," (Acts 18:9-10).

In an effective way, the Servant of God Paul VI said that it is not just a question of preaching the Gospel, but of "affecting and as it were upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind's criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation" (Insegnamenti XIII, [1975], 1448).

It is necessary to look at the "new Areopagi" with this spirit; some of these [areas], with present globalization, have become common, whereas others continue to be specific to certain continents, as was seen recently in the special assembly for Africa of the synod of bishops. Therefore, the missionary activity of the Church must be directed to the vital centers of the society of the third millennium.

Not to be underestimated is the influence of a widespread relativistic culture, more often than not lacking in values, which enters the sanctuary of the family, infiltrates the realm of education and other realms of society and contaminates them, manipulating consciences, especially those of the young. At the same time, however, despite these snares, the Church knows that the Holy Spirit is always acting. New doors, in fact, are opened to the Gospel, and spreading in the world is the longing for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal. As in other periods of change, the pastoral priority is to show the true face of Christ, lord of history and sole redeemer of man.

This demands that every Christian community and the Church as a whole offer a testimony of fidelity to Christ, patiently building that unity desired by him and invoked by all his disciples. The unity of Christians will, in fact, facilitate evangelization and confrontation with the cultural, social and religious challenges of our time.

In this missionary enterprise we can look to the Apostle Paul, imitate his "style" of life and his apostolic "spirit" itself, centered totally on Christ. With this complete adherence to the Lord, Christians will more easily be able to transmit to future generations the heritage of faith, capable of transforming difficulties into possibilities of evangelization.

In the recent encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," I wished to emphasize that the economic and social development of contemporary society needs to renew attention to the spiritual life and "a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God's providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as 'Our Father!'" (No. 79).

Lord Cardinal, while thanking you for the service that this dicastery renders to the cause of the Gospel, I invoke upon you and upon all those taking part in the present plenary assembly the help of God and the protection of the Virgin Mary, star of evangelization, while I send my heartfelt apostolic blessing to all.

From the Vatican, Nov. 13, 2009

BENEDICTUS XVI PP

2009-11-18T20:21:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm
spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset."

-- Saint Francis de Sales

Benedict XVI: Entire Universe Will Pass Away

2009-11-16T15:35:00.000+08:00

Says Christians Are Not of This World

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is reminding Christians that creation is finite and passing, but that God's word remains forever and raises us to eternal life as well.

The Pope stated this today before praying the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Reflecting on today's liturgy, and the forthcoming end of the liturgical year, he gave thanks to God "who has enabled us to carry out, yet again, this journey of faith -- old and always new -- in the great spiritual family of the Church."

The Word of God is a "seed of eternity that transforms this world from within and opens it to the Heavenly Kingdom," the Pontiff affirmed.

He reflected on Jesus' words in the Gospel, that the "whole universe, the entire cosmos" will pass away.

"The whole of creation is marked by finiteness," the Holy Father stated, even those "elements divinized by ancient mythologies."

In this sense, he added, there is a clear distinction between creation and the Creator, because God's words are eternal and "will not pass."

Benedict XVI explained that all those who hear the Word of God, "receive it and bear fruit" are "part of the Kingdom of God, that is, they live under his lordship; they remain in the world, but are no longer of the world."

He continued, "In them is a seed of eternity, a principle of transformation that already now is manifested in a good life, animated by charity, and in the end will produce the resurrection of the flesh."

This is the "power of the Word of Christ," the Pope pointed out.

He concluded by highlighting the example of the Virgin Mary who "received with full disposition the Word of God," and lived her entire life "transformed according to the image of the Son."

In prayer, the Pontiff said, let us imitate her by "following Christ on the way of the Cross," so that "we might also be able to come to the glory of the Resurrection."

--- --- ---

Captive Irish Priest Released in Philippines

2009-11-13T15:43:00.000+08:00

Muslim Leaders Pressured Kidnappers to Relent

MANILA, Philippines, NOV. 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Columban Father Michael Sinnott, who was abducted Oct. 11 from his home in the Philippines, was released early today by the intervention of a Muslim group.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group, answered an appeal for help from the Filipino government, with which it had been locked in violent conflict resulting in hundreds of deaths only months ago.

Leaders from the group found the kidnappers and pressured them to release the missionary priest, who was being held for a ransom that was set at $2 million. The captors did not receive any money, and authorities are working to verify their identities.

The 79-year-old priest, who came from Ireland to serve in the Philippines 40 years ago, has been frail and in need of medication since an open heart surgery he underwent in July.

Despite this experience, Father Sinnott is stating that he wants to remain working in the Philippines.

Father Patrick O'Donoghue, regional director of the Columban missionaries, expressed his "great joy and gratitude to God" for the release of his confrere.

In an article published by the Filipino bishops' conference, Father O'Donoghue affirmed his congregation's appreciation for the efforts of the Muslim leaders.

The bishops' conference president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, echoed this appreciation, and expressed the desire for continued peaceful collaboration between the government and the Islamic group.

The prelate affirmed: "We are also hoping that a similar situation will not happen again. We have to treasure and be grateful to the missionaries working with the people in Mindanao."

Celibacy as a Rule Still in Force for Anglicans

2009-11-10T11:20:00.000+08:00

Ordination of Married Men to Come Case by Case

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution establishing personal ordinariates for Anglicans in communion with Rome does not alter the discipline of clerical celibacy nor the esteem the Church has for this practice, the Vatican clarified.

This clarification was given today in a statement from the Vatican announcing "Anglicanorum Coetibus," Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution for Anglicans who want to enter the Catholic Church. Complementary norms and an official commentary were also published.

The constitution states: "Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.

"In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI 'Sacerdotalis coelibatus,' n. 4215 and in the Statement 'In June' are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1."

This practice is nothing new and has already been in use for Anglican priests who have come into communion with Rome on an individual basis.

The question nevertheless arose after last month's announcement of the constitution whether married seminarians would be able to become priests.

The document clarifies: "The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See."

2009-11-09T13:11:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"It is more important to know where you are going than to get
there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement."

-- Mabel Newcomber

Pope Recalls Paul VI's Marian Devotion

2009-11-09T13:05:00.000+08:00

Proclaimed Mary as Mother of Church

BRESCIA, Italy, NOV. 8, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Pope Paul VI's priesthood was under the protection of Mary and devotion to her accompanied him for his whole life, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope spoke of his predecessor today before praying the midday Angelus with crowds who attended a Mass the Holy Father celebrated in Brescia, where Giovanni Montini was born. Benedict XVI made a one-day trip to Paul VI's birthplace today.

With a brief discourse, the German Pontiff highlighted a particular contribution Paul VI made to marian devotion.

"[H]is Nov. 21, 1964, address at the closing of the third session of the Second Vatican Council is memorable," the Pope said. "During that session of the council the Constitution on the Church, 'Lumen Gentium,' was promulgated. The document had, as Paul VI noted, 'an entire chapter dedicated to the Madonna as its apex and crown.'

"[Paul VI] noted that it contained the largest synthesis of marian doctrine ever elaborated by an ecumenical council, with the purpose of 'manifesting the countenance of the Church to which Mary is intimately joined.'"

It was in this context that Paul VI proclaimed Mary Most Holy Mother of the Church, Benedict XVI recalled, "underscoring with lively ecumenical sensitivity that 'devotion to Mary … is a means essentially ordained to orient souls to Christ and thus join them to the Father, in the love of the Holy Spirit.'"

"Echoing the words of Paul VI," the Holy Father concluded, "we too today pray: O Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you we commend this Church of Brescia and all the people of this region. Remember all your children; bring their prayers before God; keep their faith firm; strengthen their hope; make their charity grow. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary."

--- --- ---

Malaysia withholds 'Allah Bibles'

2009-11-06T13:15:00.000+08:00

By Robert Pigott
BBC News, Religious affairs correspondent

Muslims take part in Friday prayer at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur
About two-thirds of Malaysia's population is Muslim

The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles which it seized because they contained the word Allah to refer to God.

The government, which is dominated by Muslim Malays, claims that the word Allah is Islamic and that its use in Bibles could upset Muslims.

The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the ban in court.

Religion has become highly sensitive in Malaysia, where about two-thirds of the population is Muslim.

Religious minorities have accused the government of undermining their rights.

The government has impounded Bibles before, intercepting 5,000 in March as they were imported from Indonesia.

Church officials say that although the word Allah originated in Arabic, Malays have used it for centuries to refer generally to God, and Arabic-speaking Christians used it before Islam was founded.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia said the religious freedom guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution was meaningless if people were denied Bibles which used their own language.

Loreto Grants Citizenship to Focolare Leader

2009-11-06T13:03:00.000+08:00

Founder Received 1st Inspiration in Mary

ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Focolare movement is now an honorary citizen of the city where the Blessed Virgin's house sits -- in honor of the fact that Chiara Lubich received her first inspiration to found the group within the walls of that holy house.

"This is a great moment for the city of Loreto," but also "for all those who share the plan that Chiara Lubich had in her heart: to unite institutions and politics to spirituality," said Moreno Pieroni, mayor of the Italian city.

On Oct. 25, he opened the ceremony to grant distinguished citizenship in memory of the founder of the Focolare, to Maria Voce, the current president of the movement.

The mayor mentioned the timeliness and depth of the "spiritual, cultural and operative message" of Lubich.

He also spoke of "her work based on the ideal of fraternity, the impetus she gave to the renewal of politics, the economy, pedagogy and many realms of society, and to the dialogue she established with humanity, overcoming differences of race, religions and cultures."

May she be an "example above all for those who work in the political world," he said.

Fiat

The honor coincides with the 70th anniversary of Lubich's visit to the holy house of Loreto, where she had "the first intuition of a new way in the Church," a statement from the movement explained.

Voce said Lubich's intuition shows "an intervention of God," beyond "rational explanations."

"When the Divine invades history, it does not have the sound of trumpets, but [does so] submissively as in Nazareth," the president reflected.

She said Lubich's experience is set in history and "unites simple and holy faithful who within those walls have had the revelation of God's plan for their life and there have pronounced their 'Let it be done unto me.'"

Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci of Loreto also noted the parallel between Lubich and the Blessed Mother: "Among those stones, which witnessed the incarnation of the Son of God, that intuition was born in Chiara from which infinite horizons would open, which hope to be enlarged and realized by all who have received her legacy."

2009-11-04T13:05:00.001+08:00

Vatican "Regrets" European Court Ruling on Crucifix
Spokesman Defends Symbol of Italian Culture, Identity

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican expressed "astonishment" and "regret" at Tuesday's decision from the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes in public school classrooms are a violation of freedom.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, gave a brief statement today to Vatican Radio in response to the decision.

"The crucifix has always been a sign of God's offer of love, of union and of welcome for the whole of humanity," the spokesman said. "It is to be regretted that it has come to be considered as a sign of division, of exclusion and of limitation of liberty. It is not this, and it is not so in the common feeling of our people."

The Italian government protested the ruling, having contended that crucifixes -- often hung in Italian public schools -- are national symbol of culture and history.

Father Lombardi echoed this idea.

He called particularly grave "the desire to set aside from the educational world a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture."

The Jesuit added that "religion makes a precious contribution to a person's formation and moral growth, and is an essential component of our civilization. It is mistaken and myopic to want to exclude it from the educational realm."

"It is astonishing then that a European court should intervene weightily in a matter profoundly linked to the historical, cultural and spiritual identity of the Italian people," the Vatican spokesman stated.

Father Lombardi said decisions like this one do not make a person "attracted to love and share ever more the European idea, which as Italian Catholics we have strongly supported since its origins."

"It seems," he suggested, "that there is a desire to ignore the role of Christianity in the formation of European identity, which instead has been and remains essential."

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2009-11-02T21:40:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock
long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake
up somebody."

2009-11-02T09:53:00.003+08:00

2/11/2009. All Souls day- A reflection

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, whenever we remember the departed brothers and sisters, especially the person that very close to us, perhaps the thing that remember most is his death, we remember how the person died, or we will remember the date when that person died. In my own memory, when I recall how my father passed away 6 years ago, one thing that I remember most was the day of his funeral. After the funeral by 3pm, I rushed back to the parish where I was for another big celebration, the Mass on Christmas eve. So, I have only few hours to adjust myself, from painful to joyful event. That was part of the memory. There are lots of thing to remember for those person who have died. For today, as we commemorate the departed brothers and sister, I would like to mention three important points.

1. First and fore most, All souls day is a day of faith. We express our faith and hope for the resurrection. Not just for the sake of the memory itself on how the person departed, but celebrating our hope for them that their soul may rest in peace. “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.” This is what we profess in the Apostolic creed. The word “Amen” here is our commitment that we really believe and hope for the life to come.
The three readings of today emphasized the faith and hope for resurrection of the dead: Isaiah 25: 6-9-The Lord will destroy Death for ever. It is the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. Roman 5:5-11, St. Paul tells us that we have confidence, we have hope through Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation. The gospel of Mark demonstrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a summary of our faith: Christ has died, risen, and will come again. No one can explain exactly how he rose from the dead, and now one can explain on how will he come again. These are belongs to faith. So, we renew our union with Christ, our faith and hope in him.

2. Today is a day of memory. We remember the departed brothers and sisters. We recall these people whose lives have deeply affected us, people who have traveled a part of Life’s journey with us. We remember them not as perfect being but as human persons with limitation much like we have. We express our closeness with them. We pray for them ask our concern and solidarity with them, to show that we are one family with the living and the death. Death is not final. It is the will of the Father, as mentioned by Jesus, that he will raise us up on the last day. We ask God to strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in his resurrection

3. Today is to remind ourselves that one day we will depart. Can I imagine how will be my own death? Nowadays, people seemed to think less about death. If someone died in the family, for example, they prefer to stay away and let the funeral care-taker to take care for the burial. Some people would give the best decoration and setting for the grave as if there is no more pain. No matter how, we cannot avoid the grave. We cannot escape from death. But then, in the other hand, there are also people that eager to die soon. Some priest that I know they have already book their own grave. Yesterday, I went to the grave yard and I saw there are few empty tomb, next to Fr. Pang who died recently. These must be reserved for the priest, or bishop. There was one time, when a priest asked the Archbishop to reserve one for him and the Archbishop replied, “No booking, first come first serve”.

But how do we prepare for our departure? We must die with Christ if we wish to live with him. St. Paul says: “For me, to live is Christ and die is gain”. We are not ready “to die” if we are not ready “to live”. Thus, we need to live the best we can in every moment of our life, and let tomorrow take care itself. We are only to live day by day in faith with good works, with love and with hope.

2009-10-31T17:23:00.000+08:00

They Didn’t Start Out As Saints!

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Rev 7:2-4,9-14 / 1 Jn 3:1-3 / Mt 5:1-12

As we mark this Feast of All Saints, it’s fascinating to remember where some of the better known saints started out and how their lives proceeded. St. Matthew was a tax collector. St. Mary Magdalene practiced the oldest profession in the world. St. Peter was impetuous and something of a blowhard, and he had to press hard before he’d let gentiles become Christians unless they first became Jews! The whole lot of the apostles ran for the hills when Jesus was taken captive in the Garden of Gethsemane, and that was just a short while after their robust promise that they’d follow him anywhere and die with him if need be.

The list could go on and on, but the point is a simple one: none of these great saints started out as saints. Quite the contrary was true. They slowly and painstakingly evolved into holy men and women, with many starts and stops and numerous temporary reversals. And very often, as many of them have testified in their diaries, they suffered from deep discouragement at their lack of progress and their frequent mistakes. St. Paul spoke for them and for us all when he said in anguish, “The good that I would do, I do not.” Isn’t it the truth?

There’s a lesson in all this for us who are still struggling along our own roads: Growing up into God’s image and likeness takes a long time. It’s a lifetime work, and God understands that. After all, he’s the one who put us together.

So take heart. Rejoice in the little triumphs as they happen. Each one brings you a step closer to home. Each one brings you a step closer to the embrace of our Father.

2009-10-31T17:21:00.000+08:00

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Religious liberty and freedom of conscience are fundamental human rights as they are the source of all other liberties, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today upon recieving in audience Ali Akbar Naseri, the new ambassador from Iran to the Holy See.

The Holy Father began by extending his good wishes for the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and for the entire nation.

"Iran is a great nation that has eminent spiritual traditions and its people have a profound religious sensibility," the Pontiff said, noting that this is a "reason for hope for a growing openness and confident collaboration with the international community."

Benedict XVI affirmed that the Holy See will work with those "who serve the cause of peace and promote the dignity with which the Creator has endowed all human beings."

"Today we must all expect and support a new phase of international cooperation," he added, "more solidly based on humanitarian principles and on effective aid to those who suffer, than on cold calculations of exchanges and technical and economic benefits."

"Faith in the one God must bring all believers closer and encourage them to work together for the defense and promotion of fundamental human values," the Pope continued. "Among the universal rights, religious liberty and freedom of conscience occupy an essential place, because they are the source of the other liberties.

"The defense of other rights that stem from the dignity of persons and populations, in particular the promotion of the protection of life, justice and solidarity, must also be the object of a true collaboration."

The Holy Father underlined the "urgent need" to establish harmonious relations between believers of different religions. This, he said, will serve to "build a more human world, more conformed to the plan of God on creation."

To this end, the Pontiff praised the meetings held jointed by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Organization for Islamic Culture and Relations: "Contributing to seeking together what is just and correct, those meetings allow all to progress in reciprocal knowledge and to cooperate in the reflection of great questions that affect the life of humanity."

Benedict XVI also made mention of the community of Catholics in Iran: "Catholics have been present in Iran since the first centuries of Christianity and have always been an integral part of the life and culture of the nation.

"This community is truly Iranian and its age-old experience of coexistence with Muslim believers is of great usefulness to promote greater understanding and cooperation."

The Pope expressed hope that Iran will "reinforce and guarantee to Christians the liberty to profess their faith and to ensure for the Catholic community the essential conditions for its existence, especially the possibility of having sufficient religious personnel and the facilities of movement in the country to ensure the religious service of the faithful."

2009-10-25T09:20:00.002+08:00

25/10/2009
“What do you want me to do for you?”
30th Sunday in Ordinary time
Reading: Gospel of Mark 10:46-52

Reflection:
“Master, let me see again”. This is the request the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. And Jesus said to him, Go; your faith have saved you and the blind man was cured immediately. It tells us of the marvelous works of God. The grace of God is at work. But it also tells us of the marvelous faith that saved Batrimaeus. The healing takes place because of both grace and faith. God’s grace is working through faith and this is the message of today’s reading.

Let us look at some of the detail of the healing of Bartimaeus. He has been waiting for the moment to encounter Jesus. And the moment when he heard of Jesus passing by, he seized that moment of time. He was determined to get near the one person who could meet his need. He knew who Jesus was and had heard of his fame for healing, but until now had no means of making contact with the Son of David, a clear reference and title for the Messiah. It took a lot of “guts” and persistence for Bartimaeus to get the attention of Jesus over the din of noisy throng who crowded around Jesus as he made his way out of town. Why was the crowd annoyed with the blind man’s persistent shouts? He was disturbing their peace and interrupting Jesus’ discourse. It was common for a rabbi to teach as he walked with others.

Jesus was on his way to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem and a band of pilgrims followed him. When the crowed tried to silence the blind man he overpowered them with his emotional outburst and thus caught the attention of Jesus. This incident reveals something important about how God interacts with us. The blind man was determined to get Jesus’ attention and he was persistent in the face of opposition. Jesus could have ignored or rebuffed him because he was disturbing his talk and his audience. Jesus showed that acting was more important than talking. Jesus commends Batrimaeus for recognizing who he is with the eyes of faith and grants him physical sight as well. Do you recognize your need for God’s healing grace? Do I recognize my own blindness and come to Jesus with persistent faith and trust?

The point is not what Jesus did for Bartimaeus, but what he can do for us because there are many kind of blindness. Physical blindness is dangerous. There is another kind of blindness even more dangerous than physical blindness, and this is spiritual blindness/moral blindness, a person without conscience. Physical blindness endangers the body, but moral blindness endangers the soul. Physical sight comes through the eyes, moral sight comes through our conscience; spiritual sight comes through our faith.

As we hear the story of blind Bartimaeus, let us thank god for the gift of sight and resolve to take care to respect and not to endanger the gift of physical sight, the gift of moral sight called conscience, the gift of spiritual sight called faith.

And finally, Jesus passed by and stop awhile to meet the need of the blind. What about us, in time of 'rush hour', when we are too busy with our own business, do we spend a little moment for those who are in need? Do we approach that person and say, "what can I do for you?" Perhaps Batrimaeus is not far from us. Bartimaeus could be he is one of the member of family. The time when we neglect or ignore a person, who are in need, are we not just like leaving them in darkness?

2009-10-24T22:54:00.001+08:00

Today's Inspirational Quote:

"Only those who are asleep make no mistakes."

Fifteen thousand Bibles detained

2009-10-23T20:15:00.000+08:00

(Herald Malaysia Online) - More than 15,000 Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia have been detained by the government this past year.

On Sept 11, Gideons International consignment of 5,000 Indonesia Testaments (Vest) and 5,000 Indonesia/English Bilingual Testaments that Alpha Publisher sent from Jakarta to Kuching were detained by the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry (Publication).

While in March this year, 5,100 Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia ordered by the Bible Society of Malaysia were also detained by the same ministry.

The reason given for the detention of the Scriptures was because they contain the banned words of Allah, Kaabah, Baitumal and Solat.

“The Borneo Evangelical Church (S.I.B) had written an appeal letter dated Sept 17 to the Home Affairs Ministry in Putrajaya for the release of this consignment. We are now waiting for the answer of the appeal,” said Low Boon Leong, National Field Officer of The Gideons International.

“Even now as the books are detained, we have to pay for the warehouse charges which cost a fair sum of money,” he added. “In the event that we are unsuccessful in this appeal, we will have to send this consignment back to Alpha Publisher in Jakarta,” Low explained.

Rev Wong from the Bible Society of Malaysia said that besides asking the people to pray, the society has written an appeal letter which will be hand delivered to the Prime Minister by representatives of the Christian Council of Malaysia (CCM) and the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM).

He added that there was a high demand for Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia and appealed to the ministry to release the Bibles as soon as possible.

The Christian Council of Malaysia is following up on their appeal to the Malaysian Government to release these Scriptures.