I feel like I just got back from Cologne a few months ago, and already the Holy Father is preparing us for Sydney! It is clear that his main point is that we all need to prepare spiritually for this pilgrimage well in advance. The Holy Father is right on....as usual.
From my experiences in Cologne, we must remember that World Youth Day is a pilgrimage and not a Catholic verison of Woodstock! Pilgrimage is an essential element of our Catholic Faith. We are blessed to be living in a time period when we can travel all throughout the world for a relatively small amount of money. For most of the Church's history, people were unable to travel such long distances. Yet through intellect of man, given by God, we are now able to fly to Europe in 8 hours! (Keep in mind the Roman Army could cover maybe 20 miles a day on foot!)
One can also prepare spiritually by visiting local places of pilgrimage here in the US or Mexico. There are various Shrines thoughout the US, including the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC and the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass. If you are looking to be a little more adventurous, there is a group going to Guadalupe this summer. (I will be attending too!) Info for that pilgrimage can be found: www.trailblazerswyd.org/
In addition for those who are planning to goto WYD 08: As you prepare spiritually for the trip, prepare financially as well. Begin saving now, so that when 08 rolls around you won't be scrambling from family member to bank looking for cash.
Praise be to Jesus Christ!
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 27, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
Benedict XVI will launch a spiritual pilgrimage of sorts this coming Palm Sunday for World Youth Day 2008 in Australia. The Pope explained this in the message he wrote for this year's World Youth Day, presented by the Vatican press office today. In 2006 and 2007, the Youth Day will be observed at the diocesan level. In the letter, the Holy Father encourages his "dear friends" to set out on April 9 on "an ideal pilgrimage" to Australia, "reflecting together on the theme 'The Holy Spirit and the Mission.'" There are stages in this itinerary. "This year," Benedict XVI writes, "our attention will focus on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, who reveals Christ to us, the Word made flesh, opening the heart of each one to the Word of salvation that leads to the fullness of Truth." Next step "Next year, 2007, we will meditate on a verse from the Gospel of John: 'Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another' (13:34)," the Pontiff states. "We will discover more about the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Love, who infuses divine charity within us and makes us aware of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters." The third stage will "reach the world meeting of 2008" in Sydney, the Pope observes. That event will have the theme "'you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses,'" a phrase taken from the Acts of the Apostles (1:8). "From this moment onward," the Holy Father adds, "in a climate of constant listening to the word of God, call on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of fortitude and witness, that you may be able to proclaim the Gospel without fear even to the ends of the earth."
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Reflection on this Sunday's Readings
With the Bridegroom
Readings
Hosea 2:15-17, 21-22
Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:18-22
Today's Readings draw on an ancient biblical theme - the image of God as divine bridegroom of His beloved Israel, and the covenant as a divine-human wedding pact (see Isaiah 61:10; 62:4-5). In the First Reading, God, speaking through the prophet Hosea, recalls Israel's exodus and sojourn in the wilderness as a time of betrothal in which He spoke to their heart and they responded in love (see Deuteronomy 7:6-8).He promises a new day when He will again take His bride to the desert. On that day, He vows, despite Israel's adultery, its faithlessness to the covenant (see Jeremiah 2:20; 3:8), He will wed His bride forever. He vows to make a new covenant (see Hosea 2:20) and, using a term of marital intimacy, promises that Israel shall "know" the Lord (see Genesis 4:1).
This tradition is behind Jesus' description of himself as "the bridegroom" in today's Gospel. At the time, "bridegroom" was not a term that Israelites used to describe their expected Messiah. So Jesus, again, as in all the Gospel texts in recent weeks, is being revealed as God (see John 2:1-12; 3:29; Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13).In His mercy, He has redeemed our lives from the destruction of sin, as we sing in today's Psalm.
This is the new covenant that Paul speaks of in today's Epistle - written not on stone tablets as the old covenant law was, but on our hearts (see Jeremiah 31:31). Today's readings remind us that we have been betrothed to Christ in baptism (see 2 Corinthians 11:2), cleansed by the bath of water and the word and called to remain holy and without blemish (see Ephesians 5:25-27) until the heavenly wedding feast of the end of time (see Revelation 19:7-9).We anticipate that feast in each Mass, drinking the wine of the new covenant made in His blood (see Zechariah 9:16-17; Isaiah 25:6; Luke 22:20).
@St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (www.slavationhistory.com)
Readings
Hosea 2:15-17, 21-22
Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:18-22
Today's Readings draw on an ancient biblical theme - the image of God as divine bridegroom of His beloved Israel, and the covenant as a divine-human wedding pact (see Isaiah 61:10; 62:4-5). In the First Reading, God, speaking through the prophet Hosea, recalls Israel's exodus and sojourn in the wilderness as a time of betrothal in which He spoke to their heart and they responded in love (see Deuteronomy 7:6-8).He promises a new day when He will again take His bride to the desert. On that day, He vows, despite Israel's adultery, its faithlessness to the covenant (see Jeremiah 2:20; 3:8), He will wed His bride forever. He vows to make a new covenant (see Hosea 2:20) and, using a term of marital intimacy, promises that Israel shall "know" the Lord (see Genesis 4:1).
This tradition is behind Jesus' description of himself as "the bridegroom" in today's Gospel. At the time, "bridegroom" was not a term that Israelites used to describe their expected Messiah. So Jesus, again, as in all the Gospel texts in recent weeks, is being revealed as God (see John 2:1-12; 3:29; Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13).In His mercy, He has redeemed our lives from the destruction of sin, as we sing in today's Psalm.
This is the new covenant that Paul speaks of in today's Epistle - written not on stone tablets as the old covenant law was, but on our hearts (see Jeremiah 31:31). Today's readings remind us that we have been betrothed to Christ in baptism (see 2 Corinthians 11:2), cleansed by the bath of water and the word and called to remain holy and without blemish (see Ephesians 5:25-27) until the heavenly wedding feast of the end of time (see Revelation 19:7-9).We anticipate that feast in each Mass, drinking the wine of the new covenant made in His blood (see Zechariah 9:16-17; Isaiah 25:6; Luke 22:20).
@St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (www.slavationhistory.com)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Vatican to Muslims: Practice What You Preach
This is a great article about how the Vatican is showing its grave concern over recent events in the Islamic world. The childish cartoon that has started this whole problem is certainly the problem, but the reaction by certain Muslim groups, probably incited by radicals, is wrong.
For me, I find it particularly interesting that so many American newspapers and media outlets have refused to print this cartoon. Not that they should, because it is offensive to Muslims. However, would they have the same restraint for Christians, and in particular Catholics. Absolutely Not! CNN has said it ‘has chosen not to show the cartoons out of respect for Islam.’ The New York Times says it is wrong to publish ‘gratuitous assaults on religious symbols.’ Don't you find these comments laughable. I mean how often do you see the NYT or CNN choose not to rip on the Church by playing the "respect" card? Probably never!
Let me take you back to the 90's with the work of Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ” which consistied of a crucifix submerged in a tank of Serrano’s urine as well as Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary” that showed the icon clotted with elephant dung and surrounded by pornographic images. Now this would clearly be "gratuitous assault on religious symbols" right? Right?
Well, when protests came against the public showing of these images, the New York Times railed against those who protested. As the uproar grew, numerous editorials in defense of Piss Christ were quickly printed in U.S. and European newspapers and many of those associated with the "Western cultural elite" quickly sprang to his defense. For months, the New York Times beat the “freedom of expression” drum, publishing numerous articles and opinion pieces sympathetic to Serrano and depicting him as courageous. This Serrano guy became a celebrated art hero. Those who were outspoken against these images were belittled and mocked. Columnists at the New York times compared those who were protesting against this "art" with Nazi’s notorious 1937 condemnation of “degenerate art.”
Yet, even with these horrible images, which are certainly more offensive than the recent cartoon mocking Muhammad, there were no deaths or destruction associated with the protests against them. This either means that most Christians of the world choose to express their anger in non-violent ways or that too many Christians, particularly in the Western world, just don't care.
BTW: If you are interested in getting more info about Islam, make sure to attend "Wine and Wisdom" this Monday at Albans Restaurant in Birmingham. We are devoting the next two Mondays to Islam and the Crusades.
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor Thu Feb 23, 12:55 PM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - After backing calls by Muslims for respect for their religion in the Mohammad cartoons row, the Vatican is now urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities.
Roman Catholic leaders at first said Muslims were right to be outraged when Western newspapers reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet, including one with a bomb in his turban. Most Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous.
After criticizing both the cartoons and the violent protests in Muslim countries that followed, the Vatican this week linked the issue to its long-standing concern that the rights of other faiths are limited, sometimes severely, in Muslim countries.
Vatican prelates have been concerned by recent killings of two Catholic priests in Turkey and Nigeria. Turkish media linked the death there to the cartoons row. At least 146 Christians and Muslims have died in five days of religious riots in Nigeria.
"If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome.
"We must always stress our demand for reciprocity in political contacts with authorities in Islamic countries and, even more, in cultural contacts," Foreign Minister Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo told the daily Corriere della Sera.
Reciprocity -- allowing Christian minorities the same rights as Muslims generally have in Western countries, such as building houses of worship or practicing religion freely -- is at the heart of Vatican diplomacy toward Muslim states.
Vatican diplomats argue that limits on Christians in some Islamic countries are far harsher than restrictions in the West that Muslims decry, such as France's ban on headscarves in state schools.
Saudi Arabia bans all public expression of any non-Muslim religion and sometimes arrests Christians even for worshipping privately. Pakistan allows churches to operate but its Islamic laws effectively deprive Christians of many rights.
Both countries are often criticized at the
United Nations' Human Rights Commission for violating religious freedoms.
"ENOUGH TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK"
Pope Benedict signaled his concern on Monday when he told the new Moroccan ambassador to the Vatican that peace can only be assured by "respect for the religious convictions and practices of others, in a reciprocal way in all societies."
He mentioned no countries by name. Morocco is tolerant of other religions, but like all Muslim countries frowns on conversion from Islam to another faith.
Iraqi Christians say they were well treated under Saddam Hussein's secular policies, but believers have been killed, churches burned and women forced to wear Muslim garb since Islamic groups gained sway after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Christians make up only a tiny fraction of the population in most Muslim countries. War and political pressure in recent decades have forced many to emigrate from Middle Eastern communities dating back to just after the time of Jesus.
As often happens at the Vatican, lower-level officials have been more outspoken than the Pope and his main aides.
"Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It's our duty to protect ourselves," Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican's supreme court, thundered in the daily La Stampa. Jesus told his followers to "turn the other cheek" when struck.
"The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century, mostly for oil, and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights," he said.
Bishop Rino Fisichella, head of one of the Roman universities that train young priests from around the world, told Corriere della Sera the Vatican should speak out more.
"Let's drop this diplomatic silence," said the rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. "We should put pressure on international organizations to make the societies and states in majority Muslim countries face up to their responsibilities."
For me, I find it particularly interesting that so many American newspapers and media outlets have refused to print this cartoon. Not that they should, because it is offensive to Muslims. However, would they have the same restraint for Christians, and in particular Catholics. Absolutely Not! CNN has said it ‘has chosen not to show the cartoons out of respect for Islam.’ The New York Times says it is wrong to publish ‘gratuitous assaults on religious symbols.’ Don't you find these comments laughable. I mean how often do you see the NYT or CNN choose not to rip on the Church by playing the "respect" card? Probably never!
Let me take you back to the 90's with the work of Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ” which consistied of a crucifix submerged in a tank of Serrano’s urine as well as Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary” that showed the icon clotted with elephant dung and surrounded by pornographic images. Now this would clearly be "gratuitous assault on religious symbols" right? Right?
Well, when protests came against the public showing of these images, the New York Times railed against those who protested. As the uproar grew, numerous editorials in defense of Piss Christ were quickly printed in U.S. and European newspapers and many of those associated with the "Western cultural elite" quickly sprang to his defense. For months, the New York Times beat the “freedom of expression” drum, publishing numerous articles and opinion pieces sympathetic to Serrano and depicting him as courageous. This Serrano guy became a celebrated art hero. Those who were outspoken against these images were belittled and mocked. Columnists at the New York times compared those who were protesting against this "art" with Nazi’s notorious 1937 condemnation of “degenerate art.”
Yet, even with these horrible images, which are certainly more offensive than the recent cartoon mocking Muhammad, there were no deaths or destruction associated with the protests against them. This either means that most Christians of the world choose to express their anger in non-violent ways or that too many Christians, particularly in the Western world, just don't care.
BTW: If you are interested in getting more info about Islam, make sure to attend "Wine and Wisdom" this Monday at Albans Restaurant in Birmingham. We are devoting the next two Mondays to Islam and the Crusades.
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor Thu Feb 23, 12:55 PM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - After backing calls by Muslims for respect for their religion in the Mohammad cartoons row, the Vatican is now urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities.
Roman Catholic leaders at first said Muslims were right to be outraged when Western newspapers reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet, including one with a bomb in his turban. Most Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous.
After criticizing both the cartoons and the violent protests in Muslim countries that followed, the Vatican this week linked the issue to its long-standing concern that the rights of other faiths are limited, sometimes severely, in Muslim countries.
Vatican prelates have been concerned by recent killings of two Catholic priests in Turkey and Nigeria. Turkish media linked the death there to the cartoons row. At least 146 Christians and Muslims have died in five days of religious riots in Nigeria.
"If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome.
"We must always stress our demand for reciprocity in political contacts with authorities in Islamic countries and, even more, in cultural contacts," Foreign Minister Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo told the daily Corriere della Sera.
Reciprocity -- allowing Christian minorities the same rights as Muslims generally have in Western countries, such as building houses of worship or practicing religion freely -- is at the heart of Vatican diplomacy toward Muslim states.
Vatican diplomats argue that limits on Christians in some Islamic countries are far harsher than restrictions in the West that Muslims decry, such as France's ban on headscarves in state schools.
Saudi Arabia bans all public expression of any non-Muslim religion and sometimes arrests Christians even for worshipping privately. Pakistan allows churches to operate but its Islamic laws effectively deprive Christians of many rights.
Both countries are often criticized at the
United Nations' Human Rights Commission for violating religious freedoms.
"ENOUGH TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK"
Pope Benedict signaled his concern on Monday when he told the new Moroccan ambassador to the Vatican that peace can only be assured by "respect for the religious convictions and practices of others, in a reciprocal way in all societies."
He mentioned no countries by name. Morocco is tolerant of other religions, but like all Muslim countries frowns on conversion from Islam to another faith.
Iraqi Christians say they were well treated under Saddam Hussein's secular policies, but believers have been killed, churches burned and women forced to wear Muslim garb since Islamic groups gained sway after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Christians make up only a tiny fraction of the population in most Muslim countries. War and political pressure in recent decades have forced many to emigrate from Middle Eastern communities dating back to just after the time of Jesus.
As often happens at the Vatican, lower-level officials have been more outspoken than the Pope and his main aides.
"Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It's our duty to protect ourselves," Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican's supreme court, thundered in the daily La Stampa. Jesus told his followers to "turn the other cheek" when struck.
"The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century, mostly for oil, and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights," he said.
Bishop Rino Fisichella, head of one of the Roman universities that train young priests from around the world, told Corriere della Sera the Vatican should speak out more.
"Let's drop this diplomatic silence," said the rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. "We should put pressure on international organizations to make the societies and states in majority Muslim countries face up to their responsibilities."
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Reflection on this Sunday's Readings
God's Great 'Amen'
Readings
Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24-25
Psalms 41:2-5, 13-14
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Mark 2:1-12
Today's Gospel makes explicit what has been implied in preceeding weeks. Namely, that in healing the sick and casting out demons, Jesus is manifesting God's forgiveness of His people's sins. They had wearied of God, refused to call on His name, we hear in today's First Reading. Despite that, God promised to remember their sins no more. Sin is often equated with sickness in Scripture (see Psalm 103:39). And today's Psalm reads like a foretelling of the Gospel scene - the man is helped on his sickbed, healed of his sins, and made able to stand before the Lord forever. The scribes know that God alone can forgive sins. That's why they accuse Jesus of blasphemy. He appears to be claiming equality with God. But the Gospel today turns on this recognition.
The scene marks the first time in the gospels that Jesus commends the faith of a person or persons who come to Him (see Matthew 9:2; Luke 5:20). With the eyes of faith, the paralytic and his friends can see what the scribes cannot - Jesus' divine identity. He reveals himself as the "Son of Man" - alluding to the mysterious heavenly figure the prophet Daniel saw receive kingship over all the earth (see Daniel 7:13-14). His retort to the scribes even echoes what God said to Pharaoh when He sent plagues upon Egypt: "That you may know that I am the Lord" (see Exodus 8:18; 9:14). As Paul says in today's Epistle, Jesus is God's great Amen. Amen means "so be it."
In Jesus, God has said, "So be it," fulfilling all His promises throughout salvation history.We are the new people He formed to announce His praise. He calls each of us what Jesus calls the paralytic - His child (see 2 Corinthians 6:18). But do we share this man's faith? To what lengths are we willing to go to encounter Jesus? How much are we willing to sacrifice so that our friends, too, might hear His saving word? Who is the Son of Man?
Jesus calls himself the "Son of Man" in the Gospel for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (see Mark 2:10). What does that mean?The term appears more than 100 times in Scripture, often as another way of saying "man" or "human" (see Numbers 23:19; Psalm 8:4). But Jesus is referring to the prophet Daniel's mysterious vision of "one like a son of man." In Daniel's vision, the son of man travels on the clouds of heaven and is presented before God. He receives from God "an everlasting dominion" and "nations and peoples of every language serve him" (see Daniel 7:13-14).
The Son of Man is the king of heaven and earth, as Jesus makes clear. The son has authority to forgive sins (see Mark 2:10), is Lord of the sabbath (see Mark 2:28) ,and will judge people according to their deeds (see John 5:27; Matthew 25:31). As the Son of Man, Jesus is enthroned in heaven, seated at the right of the Father - as He promised He would be (see Mark 14:62; Acts 7:56).
@ St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (www.salvationhistory.com)
Readings
Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24-25
Psalms 41:2-5, 13-14
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Mark 2:1-12
Today's Gospel makes explicit what has been implied in preceeding weeks. Namely, that in healing the sick and casting out demons, Jesus is manifesting God's forgiveness of His people's sins. They had wearied of God, refused to call on His name, we hear in today's First Reading. Despite that, God promised to remember their sins no more. Sin is often equated with sickness in Scripture (see Psalm 103:39). And today's Psalm reads like a foretelling of the Gospel scene - the man is helped on his sickbed, healed of his sins, and made able to stand before the Lord forever. The scribes know that God alone can forgive sins. That's why they accuse Jesus of blasphemy. He appears to be claiming equality with God. But the Gospel today turns on this recognition.
The scene marks the first time in the gospels that Jesus commends the faith of a person or persons who come to Him (see Matthew 9:2; Luke 5:20). With the eyes of faith, the paralytic and his friends can see what the scribes cannot - Jesus' divine identity. He reveals himself as the "Son of Man" - alluding to the mysterious heavenly figure the prophet Daniel saw receive kingship over all the earth (see Daniel 7:13-14). His retort to the scribes even echoes what God said to Pharaoh when He sent plagues upon Egypt: "That you may know that I am the Lord" (see Exodus 8:18; 9:14). As Paul says in today's Epistle, Jesus is God's great Amen. Amen means "so be it."
In Jesus, God has said, "So be it," fulfilling all His promises throughout salvation history.We are the new people He formed to announce His praise. He calls each of us what Jesus calls the paralytic - His child (see 2 Corinthians 6:18). But do we share this man's faith? To what lengths are we willing to go to encounter Jesus? How much are we willing to sacrifice so that our friends, too, might hear His saving word? Who is the Son of Man?
Jesus calls himself the "Son of Man" in the Gospel for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (see Mark 2:10). What does that mean?The term appears more than 100 times in Scripture, often as another way of saying "man" or "human" (see Numbers 23:19; Psalm 8:4). But Jesus is referring to the prophet Daniel's mysterious vision of "one like a son of man." In Daniel's vision, the son of man travels on the clouds of heaven and is presented before God. He receives from God "an everlasting dominion" and "nations and peoples of every language serve him" (see Daniel 7:13-14).
The Son of Man is the king of heaven and earth, as Jesus makes clear. The son has authority to forgive sins (see Mark 2:10), is Lord of the sabbath (see Mark 2:28) ,and will judge people according to their deeds (see John 5:27; Matthew 25:31). As the Son of Man, Jesus is enthroned in heaven, seated at the right of the Father - as He promised He would be (see Mark 14:62; Acts 7:56).
@ St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (www.salvationhistory.com)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Pope Benedict on the Magnificat
"The Lord Places Himself on the Side of the Least"
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at today's general audience, which he dedicated to comment on the Magnificat, the canticle in Luke 1:46-55. With this address, he concluded the cycle of catecheses on the Psalms and biblical canticles begun by Pope John Paul II in 2001. * * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters: 1. We have come to the end of the long itinerary begun exactly five years ago by my beloved predecessor, the unforgettable Pope John Paul II. In his catecheses, the great Pope wished to go through the whole sequence of Psalms and canticles that make up the fabric of the fundamental prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours and of Vespers. On arriving at the end of this pilgrimage through the texts, as a journey through a garden full of flowers of praise, invocation, prayer and contemplation, we now make room for that canticle that seals the whole celebration of Vespers, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). It is a canticle that reveals the spirituality of the biblical "anawim," namely, of those faithful who acknowledged themselves "poor" not only because of their detachment from all idolatry of wealth and power, but also because of their profound humility of heart, free from the temptation to pride, open to saving divine grace. The whole Magnificat, which we just heard interpreted by the Choir of the Sistine Chapel, is characterized by this "humility," in Greek "tapeinosis," which indicates a situation of concrete humility and poverty.
2. The first movement of the Marian canticle (cf. Luke 1:46-50) is like a soloist who raises her voice to heaven to the Lord. To be pointed out, in fact, is the use of the first person which resounds constantly: "my soul …, my spirit …, my Savior …, will call me blessed …, has done great things in me…." The soul of the prayer is, therefore, the celebration of divine grace that has come into Mary's heart and life, making her the Mother of the Lord. We hear precisely the Virgin's voice speaking in this way of her Savior, who has done great things in her soul and body. The profound structure of her canticle of prayer is praise, thanksgiving, grateful joy. But this personal testimony is not solitary and private, merely individualistic, as the Virgin Mary is conscious that she has a mission to fulfill for humanity and that her life is framed in the history of salvation. Thus she can say: "His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him" (verse 50). With this praise to the Lord, the Virgin gives voice to all creatures redeemed after her "fiat," who in the figure of Jesus, born of the Virgin, find the mercy of God.
3. At this point develops the second poetic and spiritual movement of the Magnificat (cf. verses 51-55). It has the tone of a choir, as if to Mary's voice were joined that of the community of the faithful, which celebrates God's amazing decisions. In the Greek original of the Gospel of Luke we find seven verbs in aorist, which indicate many other actions that the Lord has carried out permanently in history: "he has shown strength with his arm …, he has scattered the proud …, he has put down the mighty from their thrones …, exalted those of low degree …, he has filled the hungry with good things …, the rich he has sent empty away …, has helped his servant Israel." Evident in these seven divine works is the "style" in which the Lord of history inspires his conduct: He places himself on the side of the least. Often, his plan is hidden under the opaque terrain of human vicissitudes, in which the "proud," the "mighty" and the "rich" triumph. However, in the end, his secret strength is destined to manifest who God's real favorites are: the "faithful" to his Word, "the humble," "the hungry," "his servant Israel," namely, the community of the People of God that, as Mary, is constituted by those who are "poor," pure and simple of heart. It is that "little flock" which Jesus invites not to be afraid, as the Father has willed to give it his kingdom (cf. Luke 12:32). Thus, this canticle invites us to associate ourselves to this little flock, to really be members of the People of God in purity and simplicity of heart, in love of God.
4. Let us accept, then, the invitation that St. Ambrose makes to us in his commentary on the Magnificat. The great doctor of the Church exhorts: "In the heart of each one may Mary praise the Lord, in each may the spirit of Mary rejoice in the Lord; if, according to the flesh, Christ has only one mother, according to faith all souls engender Christ; each one, in fact, receives in himself the Word of God … Mary's soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God as, consecrated with her soul and spirit to the Father and to the Son, she adores with devout affection only one God, from whom everything proceeds, and only one Lord, in virtue of whom all things exist" ("Esposizione del Vangelo Secondo Luca," 2,26-27: Saemo, XI, Milan-Rome, 1978, p. 169). In this wonderful commentary on the Magnificat of St. Ambrose I am always moved by this amazing word: "If, according to the flesh, Christ has only one mother, according to faith all souls engender Christ; each one, in fact, receives in himself the Word of God." Thus the holy doctor, interpreting the words of the Virgin herself, invites us to offer the Lord a dwelling in our souls and in our lives. Not only must we bear him in our hearts, but we must take him to the world, so that we too might engender Christ for our times. Let us pray to the Lord to help us to praise him with Mary's spirit and soul and to take Christ again to our world.
[Translation by ZENIT]
Great stuff from the Holy Father as usual. If you are interested in learning more about Pope Benedict, come on out to "Beer, Brats, and Benedict" on Friday February 17th at the Gabriel Richard Center on the Campus of UM-Dearborn. Goto the Frassati Website, www.frassatidetroit.com, for more info on the event.
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at today's general audience, which he dedicated to comment on the Magnificat, the canticle in Luke 1:46-55. With this address, he concluded the cycle of catecheses on the Psalms and biblical canticles begun by Pope John Paul II in 2001. * * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters: 1. We have come to the end of the long itinerary begun exactly five years ago by my beloved predecessor, the unforgettable Pope John Paul II. In his catecheses, the great Pope wished to go through the whole sequence of Psalms and canticles that make up the fabric of the fundamental prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours and of Vespers. On arriving at the end of this pilgrimage through the texts, as a journey through a garden full of flowers of praise, invocation, prayer and contemplation, we now make room for that canticle that seals the whole celebration of Vespers, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). It is a canticle that reveals the spirituality of the biblical "anawim," namely, of those faithful who acknowledged themselves "poor" not only because of their detachment from all idolatry of wealth and power, but also because of their profound humility of heart, free from the temptation to pride, open to saving divine grace. The whole Magnificat, which we just heard interpreted by the Choir of the Sistine Chapel, is characterized by this "humility," in Greek "tapeinosis," which indicates a situation of concrete humility and poverty.
2. The first movement of the Marian canticle (cf. Luke 1:46-50) is like a soloist who raises her voice to heaven to the Lord. To be pointed out, in fact, is the use of the first person which resounds constantly: "my soul …, my spirit …, my Savior …, will call me blessed …, has done great things in me…." The soul of the prayer is, therefore, the celebration of divine grace that has come into Mary's heart and life, making her the Mother of the Lord. We hear precisely the Virgin's voice speaking in this way of her Savior, who has done great things in her soul and body. The profound structure of her canticle of prayer is praise, thanksgiving, grateful joy. But this personal testimony is not solitary and private, merely individualistic, as the Virgin Mary is conscious that she has a mission to fulfill for humanity and that her life is framed in the history of salvation. Thus she can say: "His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him" (verse 50). With this praise to the Lord, the Virgin gives voice to all creatures redeemed after her "fiat," who in the figure of Jesus, born of the Virgin, find the mercy of God.
3. At this point develops the second poetic and spiritual movement of the Magnificat (cf. verses 51-55). It has the tone of a choir, as if to Mary's voice were joined that of the community of the faithful, which celebrates God's amazing decisions. In the Greek original of the Gospel of Luke we find seven verbs in aorist, which indicate many other actions that the Lord has carried out permanently in history: "he has shown strength with his arm …, he has scattered the proud …, he has put down the mighty from their thrones …, exalted those of low degree …, he has filled the hungry with good things …, the rich he has sent empty away …, has helped his servant Israel." Evident in these seven divine works is the "style" in which the Lord of history inspires his conduct: He places himself on the side of the least. Often, his plan is hidden under the opaque terrain of human vicissitudes, in which the "proud," the "mighty" and the "rich" triumph. However, in the end, his secret strength is destined to manifest who God's real favorites are: the "faithful" to his Word, "the humble," "the hungry," "his servant Israel," namely, the community of the People of God that, as Mary, is constituted by those who are "poor," pure and simple of heart. It is that "little flock" which Jesus invites not to be afraid, as the Father has willed to give it his kingdom (cf. Luke 12:32). Thus, this canticle invites us to associate ourselves to this little flock, to really be members of the People of God in purity and simplicity of heart, in love of God.
4. Let us accept, then, the invitation that St. Ambrose makes to us in his commentary on the Magnificat. The great doctor of the Church exhorts: "In the heart of each one may Mary praise the Lord, in each may the spirit of Mary rejoice in the Lord; if, according to the flesh, Christ has only one mother, according to faith all souls engender Christ; each one, in fact, receives in himself the Word of God … Mary's soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God as, consecrated with her soul and spirit to the Father and to the Son, she adores with devout affection only one God, from whom everything proceeds, and only one Lord, in virtue of whom all things exist" ("Esposizione del Vangelo Secondo Luca," 2,26-27: Saemo, XI, Milan-Rome, 1978, p. 169). In this wonderful commentary on the Magnificat of St. Ambrose I am always moved by this amazing word: "If, according to the flesh, Christ has only one mother, according to faith all souls engender Christ; each one, in fact, receives in himself the Word of God." Thus the holy doctor, interpreting the words of the Virgin herself, invites us to offer the Lord a dwelling in our souls and in our lives. Not only must we bear him in our hearts, but we must take him to the world, so that we too might engender Christ for our times. Let us pray to the Lord to help us to praise him with Mary's spirit and soul and to take Christ again to our world.
[Translation by ZENIT]
Great stuff from the Holy Father as usual. If you are interested in learning more about Pope Benedict, come on out to "Beer, Brats, and Benedict" on Friday February 17th at the Gabriel Richard Center on the Campus of UM-Dearborn. Goto the Frassati Website, www.frassatidetroit.com, for more info on the event.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
You Know Who's Feast Day is Today Right?
And no I am not talking about St. Valentine.........
STs. Cyril and Methodius!!!
Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work
lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.
Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.
When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.
But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.
Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic -- a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.
Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.
So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.
Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 1869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.
He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.
The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved -- to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.
In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.
The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.
Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.
What began as a request guided by political concerns produced two of the greatest Christian missionaries, revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and two of the fathers of Slavonic literary culture.
Prayer:
Saints Cyril and Methodius, watch over all missionaries but especially those in Slavic countries. Help those that are in danger in the troubled areas. Watch over the people you dedicated your lives to. Amen
@ Catholic Online: www.catholic.org
STs. Cyril and Methodius!!!
Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work
lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.
Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.
When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.
But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.
Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic -- a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.
Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.
So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.
Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 1869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.
He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.
The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved -- to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.
In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.
The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.
Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.
What began as a request guided by political concerns produced two of the greatest Christian missionaries, revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and two of the fathers of Slavonic literary culture.
Prayer:
Saints Cyril and Methodius, watch over all missionaries but especially those in Slavic countries. Help those that are in danger in the troubled areas. Watch over the people you dedicated your lives to. Amen
@ Catholic Online: www.catholic.org
Monday, February 13, 2006
I Have a Friend in the Olympics!
I have a friend in the Winter Olympics! Although I’ve never met her, we have a friend in common: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati! And any friend of Pier Giorgio (PG) is certainly a friend of mine.
God at the Center
Rebecca Dussault was born in Denver and is now a resident of Gunnison, Colorado in the Diocese of Pueblo. She is eight-time US National Cross Country Ski Champion and top-ranked US Women’s Nordic Skier. She will be representing our nation at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin (a.k.a. Torino), Italy. She has named Pier Giorgio her “patron on the journey to the Olympics.” When she competes she will have the name of our friend written on her skis, along with the sign of the Cross with which she always marks them.I admire Pier Giorgio (1901-1925), and am beginning to admire Rebecca. Not only is she an extraordinarily gifted athlete, she is, first and foremost, a devoted Catholic, wife and mother. Born in 1980, the then Rebecca Quinn racked up major championships in the 1990s and was seen as one of the most promising cross-country skiers. She married her high-school sweetheart Sharbel Dussault in 1999, soon went into retirement to focus on her family, and a couple of years later (2001) had a baby boy they named Tabor. She reflects on retiring at the edge of greatness (and her subsequent return): “I felt like the Lord wanted me to give everything to Him. I had no idea He was going to give it back to me. It’s been a hundredfold. It’s been so much better than I ever thought it could be.”At the end of the winter season in 2003 Rebecca tried a couple of local races and did well. Of that time she states, “After winning a few races…my husband and I prayed about me getting back into skiing at an elite level. We came to the conclusion that now is the time.”One might ask how it is possible that this young lady can fulfill all these roles? Rebecca simply says, “It is all a matter of God’s graces helping me…accomplish all of my goals.” Or, as PG once wrote: “The faith given to me in baptism suggests to me surely: by yourself you will do nothing, but if you have God as the center of all your action, then you will reach the goal.”It is also helpful that her husband and child accompany her on tour. One touching example of the joy of having her family with her was recently related by Dussault: “After every race he [her son Tabor] asks me, ‘Momma, did you win?’ Today I could finally tell him, ‘Momma won!’ and he started to cry he was so happy. Having him involved makes such a difference.”
Right at Home
Rebecca may well feel at home in Turin during the Olympics. She and her family visited there in 2005 before going on to World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. Turin is also the home town of Pier Giorgio. While there, they were privileged to meet our hero’s sister Luciana (now 103). As they left the Frassati family to head to Cologne, I wouldn’t doubt they sensed Blessed Pier Giorgio traveling with them, since he is a patron saint of World Youth Day.Pier Giorgio would have enjoyed having the Olympics in his home town. He was an avid sportsman; a skier himself, PG also enjoyed hiking, rock-climbing, soccer, swimming, skating, cycling — you name it!It is easy to see how his witness became a model of Christian living to Rebecca, who enjoys many of the same recreations. Pope John Paul II noted in a homily addressed to young athletes in 1984:
You have models to inspire you. I am thinking, for example, of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was a modern young man open to the values of sport — he was a skillful mountaineer and able skier — but at the same time he bore a courageous witness of generosity in Christian faith and charity towards others, especially the very poor and the suffering. The Lord called him to Himself…but he is still very much alive among us with his smile and his goodness, inviting his contemporaries to the love of Christ and a virtuous life.The connections found in the friendship of Rebecca and Pier Giorgio are many. In summary they include love for all things Catholic, special devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to His Mother Mary, and a zest for living life to the full in the presence of the Lord. And of course, there are the mountains. Writing to a friend, PG once said: “I left my heart on the mountain peaks and I hope to retrieve it this summer.… If my studies permitted, I would spend whole days on the mountains admiring in that pure atmosphere the magnificence of God.”
The Best Possible Sign of Friendship
Rebecca’s favorite quote from our heavenly friend is, “To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but existing.” As with PG, so with Rebecca, and all those who’ve come to know and love the Lord God: they have found in Him not only the secret to happiness, but also have received freely the energy — that vital force — which empowers us to live life "to the max" and beyond the limits this world imposes. In our faith and search for God we find a purpose, and that purpose helps to bring us to the fullness of life. As Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (Jn 10:10).What are Rebecca’s future plans? She recently said, “I know that I would have to compete for a decade or more to really see what I could be. I guess family is just way too important to me. I want to have more kids, and be there for them. Somebody has to be around to teach them how to ski fast.” Knowing Rebecca, she may well be back for the 2010 Olympics and have a bunch of children who ski very fast.Pier Giorgio formed a society of friends. The main rule of this group was to pray for each other. He once said such prayers “are the best possible sign of friendship.” As we look to Turin this February to cheer for Team USA, please pray for my friend Rebecca. Pray also for your friends, your family, and those in need. You might be surprised by the goodness of the Lord in answer to your requests. You may also realize, to your awesome delight, the happy bond we all share with each other in the Lord Jesus!I am thankful for being introduced to Rebecca Dussault through our friend Blessed Pier Giorgio. It is encouraging to know that we have friends not only on earth, but also in heaven. The saints are cheering each of us on to victory amidst the joys and challenges of this life.John Paul II called Blessed Frassati “a saint for the youth of the third millennium!” I invite you to meet him in prayer and learn more from any of these resources.
Fr. William J. Kuchinsky was ordained a priest for the Catholic diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, in 1997. He is currently serving as pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church, Romney, West Virginia. @ Catholic Exchange: www.catholicexchange.com
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sunday Mass Reflections
Made Clean
Readings
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 111
Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Mark 1:40-45
In the Old Testament, leprosy is depicted as punishment for disobedience of God's commands (see Numbers 12:12-15; 2 Kings 5:27; 15:5). Considered "unclean" - unfit to worship or live with the Israelites, lepers are considered "stillborn," the living dead (see Numbers 12:12). Indeed, the requirements imposed on lepers in today's First Reading - rent garments, shaven head, covered beard - are signs of death, penance, and mourning (see Leviticus 10:6; Ezekiel 24:17). So there's more to the story in today's Gospel than a miraculous healing. When Elisha, invoking God's name, healed the leper, Naaman, it proved there was a prophet in Israel (see 2 Kings 5:8).
Today's healing reveals Jesus as far more than a great prophet - He is God visiting His people (see Luke 7:16).Only God can cure leprosy and cleanse from sin (see 2 Kings 5:7); and only God has the power to bring about what He wills (see Isaiah 55:11; Wisdom 12:18). The Gospel scene has an almost sacramental quality about it. Jesus stretches out His hand - as God, by His outstretched arm, performed mighty deeds to save the Israelites (see Exodus 14:6; Acts 4:30). His ritual sign is accompanied by a divine word ("Be made clean"). And, like God's word in creation ("Let there be"), Jesus' word "does" what He commands (see Psalm 33:9).
The same thing happens when we show ourselves to the priest in the sacrament of penance. On our knees like the leper, we confess our sins to the Lord, as we sing in today's Psalm. And through the outstretched arm and divine word spoken by His priest, the Lord takes away the guilt of our sin. Like the leper we should rejoice in the Lord and spread the good news of His mercy. We should testify to our healing by living changed lives. As Paul says in today's Epistle, we should do even the littlest things for the glory of God and that others may be saved.
@St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: www.salvationhistory.com
Readings
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 111
Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Mark 1:40-45
In the Old Testament, leprosy is depicted as punishment for disobedience of God's commands (see Numbers 12:12-15; 2 Kings 5:27; 15:5). Considered "unclean" - unfit to worship or live with the Israelites, lepers are considered "stillborn," the living dead (see Numbers 12:12). Indeed, the requirements imposed on lepers in today's First Reading - rent garments, shaven head, covered beard - are signs of death, penance, and mourning (see Leviticus 10:6; Ezekiel 24:17). So there's more to the story in today's Gospel than a miraculous healing. When Elisha, invoking God's name, healed the leper, Naaman, it proved there was a prophet in Israel (see 2 Kings 5:8).
Today's healing reveals Jesus as far more than a great prophet - He is God visiting His people (see Luke 7:16).Only God can cure leprosy and cleanse from sin (see 2 Kings 5:7); and only God has the power to bring about what He wills (see Isaiah 55:11; Wisdom 12:18). The Gospel scene has an almost sacramental quality about it. Jesus stretches out His hand - as God, by His outstretched arm, performed mighty deeds to save the Israelites (see Exodus 14:6; Acts 4:30). His ritual sign is accompanied by a divine word ("Be made clean"). And, like God's word in creation ("Let there be"), Jesus' word "does" what He commands (see Psalm 33:9).
The same thing happens when we show ourselves to the priest in the sacrament of penance. On our knees like the leper, we confess our sins to the Lord, as we sing in today's Psalm. And through the outstretched arm and divine word spoken by His priest, the Lord takes away the guilt of our sin. Like the leper we should rejoice in the Lord and spread the good news of His mercy. We should testify to our healing by living changed lives. As Paul says in today's Epistle, we should do even the littlest things for the glory of God and that others may be saved.
@St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology: www.salvationhistory.com
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Finally!!!
Compendium of Catechism Available March 31
WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 7, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be available starting March 31, says the U.S. bishops' conference. The 200-page synthesis of the 1992 Catechism will be published exclusively by USCCB Publishing, the publishing office of the episcopate. USCCB Publishing will launch the Compendium in English and Spanish at the 2006 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. The paperback version will be available first with the hardcover to follow shortly after. The Compendium consists of 598 questions and answers, echoing to some degree the format of the popular Baltimore Catechism which was a standard text in many Catholic parishes and schools from 1885 to the 1960s. Monsignor Daniel Kutys, the episcopate's deputy secretary for catechesis, noted that the Compendium "is not meant to replace religion textbooks, but to augment and complement them." The Compendium is available for order at www.usccbpublishing.org.
I can't wait to get a copy of the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I love the original version, but I think for many of us young adults, a more condensed version will be more usable. Also, I am hoping that that the price for the compendium will be low, so that we can perhaps distribute them to as a many new Catholics as possible.
WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 7, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be available starting March 31, says the U.S. bishops' conference. The 200-page synthesis of the 1992 Catechism will be published exclusively by USCCB Publishing, the publishing office of the episcopate. USCCB Publishing will launch the Compendium in English and Spanish at the 2006 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. The paperback version will be available first with the hardcover to follow shortly after. The Compendium consists of 598 questions and answers, echoing to some degree the format of the popular Baltimore Catechism which was a standard text in many Catholic parishes and schools from 1885 to the 1960s. Monsignor Daniel Kutys, the episcopate's deputy secretary for catechesis, noted that the Compendium "is not meant to replace religion textbooks, but to augment and complement them." The Compendium is available for order at www.usccbpublishing.org.
I can't wait to get a copy of the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I love the original version, but I think for many of us young adults, a more condensed version will be more usable. Also, I am hoping that that the price for the compendium will be low, so that we can perhaps distribute them to as a many new Catholics as possible.
Monday, February 06, 2006
When Political Cartoons Mock Christianity..
This is an interesting thought by Carl Olsen over at Ignatius Press:
... you know what will happen: riots, violence, bloodshed, and threats of bloodshed. Yeah, right. Of course, orthodox Christians are sometimes said to be as violent and crazed as "Islamic fundamentalists," but the evidence simply isn't there. But see what happens when a Danish newspaper prints cartoons deemed upsetting to Muslims. The Boston Globe reports that the twelve cartoons depict "the prophet [Muhammed] wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. The paper said it had asked cartoonists to draw the pictures because the media was practicing self-censorship when it came to Muslim issues." The cartoons can be viewed on the Stuff.co.nz website, which also reprints part of the explanation that accomponied the cartoons when they were first published last September:
"The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings.
"It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule.
"It is certainly not always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no one can tell how the self-censorship will end.
"That is why the Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Mohammed as they see him."
Upset by the cartoon, the Globe reports, thousands of Syrians, "torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus yesterday, the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East."
In Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags. Protesters smashed the windows of the German cultural center and threw stones at the European Commission building, police said.
Iraqis rallying by the hundreds demanded an apology from the European Union, and the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas called the cartoons ''an unforgivable insult" that merited punishment by death.
So, in other words, "They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings." Most people can understand being irritated, annoyed, or even upset by cartoons, television shows, movies, artwork, articles, etc., etc. that criticize, mock, or otherwise (actually or seemingly) attack one's beliefs. But rioting and making deaththreats because of some cartoons? And, in the process, demonstrating how accurate the basic point of those cartoons is? As Mark Steyn writes:
The cartoons aren't particularly good and they were intended to be provocative. But they had a serious point. Before coming to that, we should note that in the Western world "artists" "provoke" with the same numbing regularity as young Muslim men light up other countries' flags. When Tony-winning author Terence McNally writes a Broadway play in which Jesus has gay sex with Judas, the New York Times and Co. rush to garland him with praise for how "brave" and "challenging" he is. The rule for "brave" "transgressive" "artists" is a simple one: If you're going to be provocative, it's best to do it with people who can't be provoked.Thus, NBC is celebrating Easter this year with a special edition of the gay sitcom "Will & Grace," in which a Christian conservative cooking-show host, played by the popular singing slattern Britney Spears, offers seasonal recipes -- "Cruci-fixin's." On the other hand, the same network, in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.
Well, that's a shock! (Say, isn't NBC one of the major networks that spent an hour fawning over the "provocative" novel, The Da Vinci Code, which is, I think, just as [or more] insulting to Christians and Christianity than the cartoons in question?) Steyn concludes:
Very few societies are genuinely multicultural. Most are bicultural: On the one hand, there are folks who are black, white, gay, straight, pre-op transsexual, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, worshippers of global-warming doom-mongers, and they rub along as best they can. And on the other hand are folks who do not accept the give-and-take, the rough-and-tumble of a "diverse" "tolerant" society, and, when one gently raises the matter of their intolerance, they threaten to kill you, which makes the question somewhat moot.
Meanwhile, the riots continue and the death threats keep rolling in. All this from folks who go violently nuts over cartoons, but regularly produce copious amounts of anti-Semitic literature and anti-Christian ugliness, as Tim Blair notes:
Odd that this concern over maintaining the peace doesn’t limit Muslim commentary on other religions or communities. The Islamic Bookstore in Lakemba, for example, sells vicious anti-Semitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as various anti-Christian titles (Crucifixion – or Cruci-FICTION?). Sheik Khalid Yasin, a regular guest lecturer in Australia, declared that “there’s no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend” and denounced modern clothes as the work of “faggots, homosexuals and lesbians”; Christians, he said, deliberately infected Africans with AIDS. Yasin wouldn’t merely draw cartoons of homosexuals—he’d have them put to death in accordance with Koranic law. One Imam told Australian students that Jews put poison in bananas. Local Iraqis voting in their country’s elections were shot at and otherwise intimidated by Islamic extremists whose banners announced: “You vote, you die.” These friends of free speech were also observed photographing those who dared to vote. Sheikh Feiz Muhammad told a supportive Bankstown crowd last year that women deserve to be raped if they wore “satanical” garments, including anything “strapless, backless, [or] sleeveless”, and also “mini-skirts [and] tight jeans.”
The reaction of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, reported by Catholic World News:
"The Danes showed a lack of tact, but that doesn't mean that we should curb freedom of the press." That was the judgment of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, regarding the heated controversy over publication of newspaper cartoons that lampooned Islam.
Speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on February 3, Father Balda said that Danish editors should a "lack of wisdom" in publishing the cartoons, which have caused angry protests in the Muslim world. If the publications had been "just a bit prudent," he said, they would have realized that the caricatures would be deeply offensive to Islamic readers.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that some English newspapers are unsure what to do or think about all of this.
The Independent, a fierce champion of free speech, said: "There is a right to exercise an uncensored pen. But there is also a right for people to exist in a secular pluralist society without feeling alienated, threatened and routinely derided as many Muslims do now.
"To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic. The media have responsibilities as well as rights." ....
The Daily Mail said: "While the Mail would fight to the death to defend those papers that printed the cartoons, it disagrees with the fact they have done so. Rights are one thing, responsibilities are another."
"The papers that so piously proclaim freedom of speech are deeply discourteous to the Islamic view. An obligation of free speech is that you do not gratuitously insult those with whom you disagree."
Yeah, right. Pah-leeeease. I especially like this remark "To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic." Does that include the right of certain groups of Muslims to kill anyone who disagrees with them? You don't have to agree with the content of the cartoons to see that this ongoing situation 1) is probably just the tip of the iceburg, 2) highlights how severe is the clash between the traditional Western view of tolerance and radical Islamic beliefs, and 3) how deep in the sand many in the MSM continue to bury their confused heads.
Posted by Carl Olson http://insightscoop.typepad.com/
... you know what will happen: riots, violence, bloodshed, and threats of bloodshed. Yeah, right. Of course, orthodox Christians are sometimes said to be as violent and crazed as "Islamic fundamentalists," but the evidence simply isn't there. But see what happens when a Danish newspaper prints cartoons deemed upsetting to Muslims. The Boston Globe reports that the twelve cartoons depict "the prophet [Muhammed] wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. The paper said it had asked cartoonists to draw the pictures because the media was practicing self-censorship when it came to Muslim issues." The cartoons can be viewed on the Stuff.co.nz website, which also reprints part of the explanation that accomponied the cartoons when they were first published last September:
"The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings.
"It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule.
"It is certainly not always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no one can tell how the self-censorship will end.
"That is why the Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Mohammed as they see him."
Upset by the cartoon, the Globe reports, thousands of Syrians, "torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus yesterday, the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East."
In Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags. Protesters smashed the windows of the German cultural center and threw stones at the European Commission building, police said.
Iraqis rallying by the hundreds demanded an apology from the European Union, and the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas called the cartoons ''an unforgivable insult" that merited punishment by death.
So, in other words, "They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings." Most people can understand being irritated, annoyed, or even upset by cartoons, television shows, movies, artwork, articles, etc., etc. that criticize, mock, or otherwise (actually or seemingly) attack one's beliefs. But rioting and making deaththreats because of some cartoons? And, in the process, demonstrating how accurate the basic point of those cartoons is? As Mark Steyn writes:
The cartoons aren't particularly good and they were intended to be provocative. But they had a serious point. Before coming to that, we should note that in the Western world "artists" "provoke" with the same numbing regularity as young Muslim men light up other countries' flags. When Tony-winning author Terence McNally writes a Broadway play in which Jesus has gay sex with Judas, the New York Times and Co. rush to garland him with praise for how "brave" and "challenging" he is. The rule for "brave" "transgressive" "artists" is a simple one: If you're going to be provocative, it's best to do it with people who can't be provoked.Thus, NBC is celebrating Easter this year with a special edition of the gay sitcom "Will & Grace," in which a Christian conservative cooking-show host, played by the popular singing slattern Britney Spears, offers seasonal recipes -- "Cruci-fixin's." On the other hand, the same network, in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.
Well, that's a shock! (Say, isn't NBC one of the major networks that spent an hour fawning over the "provocative" novel, The Da Vinci Code, which is, I think, just as [or more] insulting to Christians and Christianity than the cartoons in question?) Steyn concludes:
Very few societies are genuinely multicultural. Most are bicultural: On the one hand, there are folks who are black, white, gay, straight, pre-op transsexual, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, worshippers of global-warming doom-mongers, and they rub along as best they can. And on the other hand are folks who do not accept the give-and-take, the rough-and-tumble of a "diverse" "tolerant" society, and, when one gently raises the matter of their intolerance, they threaten to kill you, which makes the question somewhat moot.
Meanwhile, the riots continue and the death threats keep rolling in. All this from folks who go violently nuts over cartoons, but regularly produce copious amounts of anti-Semitic literature and anti-Christian ugliness, as Tim Blair notes:
Odd that this concern over maintaining the peace doesn’t limit Muslim commentary on other religions or communities. The Islamic Bookstore in Lakemba, for example, sells vicious anti-Semitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as various anti-Christian titles (Crucifixion – or Cruci-FICTION?). Sheik Khalid Yasin, a regular guest lecturer in Australia, declared that “there’s no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend” and denounced modern clothes as the work of “faggots, homosexuals and lesbians”; Christians, he said, deliberately infected Africans with AIDS. Yasin wouldn’t merely draw cartoons of homosexuals—he’d have them put to death in accordance with Koranic law. One Imam told Australian students that Jews put poison in bananas. Local Iraqis voting in their country’s elections were shot at and otherwise intimidated by Islamic extremists whose banners announced: “You vote, you die.” These friends of free speech were also observed photographing those who dared to vote. Sheikh Feiz Muhammad told a supportive Bankstown crowd last year that women deserve to be raped if they wore “satanical” garments, including anything “strapless, backless, [or] sleeveless”, and also “mini-skirts [and] tight jeans.”
The reaction of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, reported by Catholic World News:
"The Danes showed a lack of tact, but that doesn't mean that we should curb freedom of the press." That was the judgment of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, regarding the heated controversy over publication of newspaper cartoons that lampooned Islam.
Speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on February 3, Father Balda said that Danish editors should a "lack of wisdom" in publishing the cartoons, which have caused angry protests in the Muslim world. If the publications had been "just a bit prudent," he said, they would have realized that the caricatures would be deeply offensive to Islamic readers.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that some English newspapers are unsure what to do or think about all of this.
The Independent, a fierce champion of free speech, said: "There is a right to exercise an uncensored pen. But there is also a right for people to exist in a secular pluralist society without feeling alienated, threatened and routinely derided as many Muslims do now.
"To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic. The media have responsibilities as well as rights." ....
The Daily Mail said: "While the Mail would fight to the death to defend those papers that printed the cartoons, it disagrees with the fact they have done so. Rights are one thing, responsibilities are another."
"The papers that so piously proclaim freedom of speech are deeply discourteous to the Islamic view. An obligation of free speech is that you do not gratuitously insult those with whom you disagree."
Yeah, right. Pah-leeeease. I especially like this remark "To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic." Does that include the right of certain groups of Muslims to kill anyone who disagrees with them? You don't have to agree with the content of the cartoons to see that this ongoing situation 1) is probably just the tip of the iceburg, 2) highlights how severe is the clash between the traditional Western view of tolerance and radical Islamic beliefs, and 3) how deep in the sand many in the MSM continue to bury their confused heads.
Posted by Carl Olson http://insightscoop.typepad.com/
When Political Cartoons mock Christianity..
This is an interesting thought by Carl Olsen over at Ignatius Press:
... you know what will happen: riots, violence, bloodshed, and threats of bloodshed. Yeah, right. Of course, orthodox Christians are sometimes said to be as violent and crazed as "Islamic fundamentalists," but the evidence simply isn't there. But see what happens when a Danish newspaper prints cartoons deemed upsetting to Muslims. The Boston Globe reports that the twelve cartoons depict "the prophet [Muhammed] wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. The paper said it had asked cartoonists to draw the pictures because the media was practicing self-censorship when it came to Muslim issues." The cartoons can be viewed on the Stuff.co.nz website, which also reprints part of the explanation that accomponied the cartoons when they were first published last September:
"The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings.
"It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule.
"It is certainly not always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no one can tell how the self-censorship will end.
"That is why the Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Mohammed as they see him."
Upset by the cartoon, the Globe reports, thousands of Syrians, "torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus yesterday, the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East."
In Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags. Protesters smashed the windows of the German cultural center and threw stones at the European Commission building, police said.
Iraqis rallying by the hundreds demanded an apology from the European Union, and the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas called the cartoons ''an unforgivable insult" that merited punishment by death.
So, in other words, "They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings." Most people can understand being irritated, annoyed, or even upset by cartoons, television shows, movies, artwork, articles, etc., etc. that criticize, mock, or otherwise (actually or seemingly) attack one's beliefs. But rioting and making deaththreats because of some cartoons? And, in the process, demonstrating how accurate the basic point of those cartoons is? As Mark Steyn writes:
The cartoons aren't particularly good and they were intended to be provocative. But they had a serious point. Before coming to that, we should note that in the Western world "artists" "provoke" with the same numbing regularity as young Muslim men light up other countries' flags. When Tony-winning author Terence McNally writes a Broadway play in which Jesus has gay sex with Judas, the New York Times and Co. rush to garland him with praise for how "brave" and "challenging" he is. The rule for "brave" "transgressive" "artists" is a simple one: If you're going to be provocative, it's best to do it with people who can't be provoked.Thus, NBC is celebrating Easter this year with a special edition of the gay sitcom "Will & Grace," in which a Christian conservative cooking-show host, played by the popular singing slattern Britney Spears, offers seasonal recipes -- "Cruci-fixin's." On the other hand, the same network, in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.
Well, that's a shock! (Say, isn't NBC one of the major networks that spent an hour fawning over the "provocative" novel, The Da Vinci Code, which is, I think, just as [or more] insulting to Christians and Christianity than the cartoons in question?) Steyn concludes:
Very few societies are genuinely multicultural. Most are bicultural: On the one hand, there are folks who are black, white, gay, straight, pre-op transsexual, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, worshippers of global-warming doom-mongers, and they rub along as best they can. And on the other hand are folks who do not accept the give-and-take, the rough-and-tumble of a "diverse" "tolerant" society, and, when one gently raises the matter of their intolerance, they threaten to kill you, which makes the question somewhat moot.
Meanwhile, the riots continue and the death threats keep rolling in. All this from folks who go violently nuts over cartoons, but regularly produce copious amounts of anti-Semitic literature and anti-Christian ugliness, as Tim Blair notes:
Odd that this concern over maintaining the peace doesn’t limit Muslim commentary on other religions or communities. The Islamic Bookstore in Lakemba, for example, sells vicious anti-Semitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as various anti-Christian titles (Crucifixion – or Cruci-FICTION?). Sheik Khalid Yasin, a regular guest lecturer in Australia, declared that “there’s no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend” and denounced modern clothes as the work of “faggots, homosexuals and lesbians”; Christians, he said, deliberately infected Africans with AIDS. Yasin wouldn’t merely draw cartoons of homosexuals—he’d have them put to death in accordance with Koranic law. One Imam told Australian students that Jews put poison in bananas. Local Iraqis voting in their country’s elections were shot at and otherwise intimidated by Islamic extremists whose banners announced: “You vote, you die.” These friends of free speech were also observed photographing those who dared to vote. Sheikh Feiz Muhammad told a supportive Bankstown crowd last year that women deserve to be raped if they wore “satanical” garments, including anything “strapless, backless, [or] sleeveless”, and also “mini-skirts [and] tight jeans.”
The reaction of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, reported by Catholic World News:
"The Danes showed a lack of tact, but that doesn't mean that we should curb freedom of the press." That was the judgment of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, regarding the heated controversy over publication of newspaper cartoons that lampooned Islam.
Speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on February 3, Father Balda said that Danish editors should a "lack of wisdom" in publishing the cartoons, which have caused angry protests in the Muslim world. If the publications had been "just a bit prudent," he said, they would have realized that the caricatures would be deeply offensive to Islamic readers.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that some English newspapers are unsure what to do or think about all of this.
The Independent, a fierce champion of free speech, said: "There is a right to exercise an uncensored pen. But there is also a right for people to exist in a secular pluralist society without feeling alienated, threatened and routinely derided as many Muslims do now.
"To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic. The media have responsibilities as well as rights." ....
The Daily Mail said: "While the Mail would fight to the death to defend those papers that printed the cartoons, it disagrees with the fact they have done so. Rights are one thing, responsibilities are another."
"The papers that so piously proclaim freedom of speech are deeply discourteous to the Islamic view. An obligation of free speech is that you do not gratuitously insult those with whom you disagree."
Yeah, right. Pah-leeeease. I especially like this remark "To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic." Does that include the right of certain groups of Muslims to kill anyone who disagrees with them? You don't have to agree with the content of the cartoons to see that this ongoing situation 1) is probably just the tip of the iceburg, 2) highlights how severe is the clash between the traditional Western view of tolerance and radical Islamic beliefs, and 3) how deep in the sand many in the MSM continue to bury their confused heads.
Posted by Carl Olson http://insightscoop.typepad.com/
... you know what will happen: riots, violence, bloodshed, and threats of bloodshed. Yeah, right. Of course, orthodox Christians are sometimes said to be as violent and crazed as "Islamic fundamentalists," but the evidence simply isn't there. But see what happens when a Danish newspaper prints cartoons deemed upsetting to Muslims. The Boston Globe reports that the twelve cartoons depict "the prophet [Muhammed] wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. The paper said it had asked cartoonists to draw the pictures because the media was practicing self-censorship when it came to Muslim issues." The cartoons can be viewed on the Stuff.co.nz website, which also reprints part of the explanation that accomponied the cartoons when they were first published last September:
"The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings.
"It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule.
"It is certainly not always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no one can tell how the self-censorship will end.
"That is why the Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Mohammed as they see him."
Upset by the cartoon, the Globe reports, thousands of Syrians, "torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus yesterday, the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East."
In Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags. Protesters smashed the windows of the German cultural center and threw stones at the European Commission building, police said.
Iraqis rallying by the hundreds demanded an apology from the European Union, and the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas called the cartoons ''an unforgivable insult" that merited punishment by death.
So, in other words, "They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings." Most people can understand being irritated, annoyed, or even upset by cartoons, television shows, movies, artwork, articles, etc., etc. that criticize, mock, or otherwise (actually or seemingly) attack one's beliefs. But rioting and making deaththreats because of some cartoons? And, in the process, demonstrating how accurate the basic point of those cartoons is? As Mark Steyn writes:
The cartoons aren't particularly good and they were intended to be provocative. But they had a serious point. Before coming to that, we should note that in the Western world "artists" "provoke" with the same numbing regularity as young Muslim men light up other countries' flags. When Tony-winning author Terence McNally writes a Broadway play in which Jesus has gay sex with Judas, the New York Times and Co. rush to garland him with praise for how "brave" and "challenging" he is. The rule for "brave" "transgressive" "artists" is a simple one: If you're going to be provocative, it's best to do it with people who can't be provoked.Thus, NBC is celebrating Easter this year with a special edition of the gay sitcom "Will & Grace," in which a Christian conservative cooking-show host, played by the popular singing slattern Britney Spears, offers seasonal recipes -- "Cruci-fixin's." On the other hand, the same network, in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.
Well, that's a shock! (Say, isn't NBC one of the major networks that spent an hour fawning over the "provocative" novel, The Da Vinci Code, which is, I think, just as [or more] insulting to Christians and Christianity than the cartoons in question?) Steyn concludes:
Very few societies are genuinely multicultural. Most are bicultural: On the one hand, there are folks who are black, white, gay, straight, pre-op transsexual, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, worshippers of global-warming doom-mongers, and they rub along as best they can. And on the other hand are folks who do not accept the give-and-take, the rough-and-tumble of a "diverse" "tolerant" society, and, when one gently raises the matter of their intolerance, they threaten to kill you, which makes the question somewhat moot.
Meanwhile, the riots continue and the death threats keep rolling in. All this from folks who go violently nuts over cartoons, but regularly produce copious amounts of anti-Semitic literature and anti-Christian ugliness, as Tim Blair notes:
Odd that this concern over maintaining the peace doesn’t limit Muslim commentary on other religions or communities. The Islamic Bookstore in Lakemba, for example, sells vicious anti-Semitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as various anti-Christian titles (Crucifixion – or Cruci-FICTION?). Sheik Khalid Yasin, a regular guest lecturer in Australia, declared that “there’s no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend” and denounced modern clothes as the work of “faggots, homosexuals and lesbians”; Christians, he said, deliberately infected Africans with AIDS. Yasin wouldn’t merely draw cartoons of homosexuals—he’d have them put to death in accordance with Koranic law. One Imam told Australian students that Jews put poison in bananas. Local Iraqis voting in their country’s elections were shot at and otherwise intimidated by Islamic extremists whose banners announced: “You vote, you die.” These friends of free speech were also observed photographing those who dared to vote. Sheikh Feiz Muhammad told a supportive Bankstown crowd last year that women deserve to be raped if they wore “satanical” garments, including anything “strapless, backless, [or] sleeveless”, and also “mini-skirts [and] tight jeans.”
The reaction of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, reported by Catholic World News:
"The Danes showed a lack of tact, but that doesn't mean that we should curb freedom of the press." That was the judgment of Father Justo Lacunza Balda, the director of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, regarding the heated controversy over publication of newspaper cartoons that lampooned Islam.
Speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on February 3, Father Balda said that Danish editors should a "lack of wisdom" in publishing the cartoons, which have caused angry protests in the Muslim world. If the publications had been "just a bit prudent," he said, they would have realized that the caricatures would be deeply offensive to Islamic readers.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that some English newspapers are unsure what to do or think about all of this.
The Independent, a fierce champion of free speech, said: "There is a right to exercise an uncensored pen. But there is also a right for people to exist in a secular pluralist society without feeling alienated, threatened and routinely derided as many Muslims do now.
"To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic. The media have responsibilities as well as rights." ....
The Daily Mail said: "While the Mail would fight to the death to defend those papers that printed the cartoons, it disagrees with the fact they have done so. Rights are one thing, responsibilities are another."
"The papers that so piously proclaim freedom of speech are deeply discourteous to the Islamic view. An obligation of free speech is that you do not gratuitously insult those with whom you disagree."
Yeah, right. Pah-leeeease. I especially like this remark "To elevate one right above all others is the hallmark of a fanatic." Does that include the right of certain groups of Muslims to kill anyone who disagrees with them? You don't have to agree with the content of the cartoons to see that this ongoing situation 1) is probably just the tip of the iceburg, 2) highlights how severe is the clash between the traditional Western view of tolerance and radical Islamic beliefs, and 3) how deep in the sand many in the MSM continue to bury their confused heads.
Posted by Carl Olson http://insightscoop.typepad.com/
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Book Confirms Church's Saving Role With Jews
Stories of 387 "Righteous" Italians
ROME, FEB. 2, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
A new book details the lives of hundreds of Italians, including Catholic clergy and religious, who helped to save Jews from Nazi persecution. The work, "The Righteous of Italy: Non-Jews Who Saved Jews, 1943-1945," was presented last Friday at the International Conferences Hall of the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry. Promoted by the Italian Embassy in Israel and the Italian Institute of Culture in Tel Aviv, the book, published by Mondadori, will be available in bookstores next week.
The work is the result of research carried out by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority based in Jerusalem. The group confers the title "Righteous Among the Nations" to non-Jews who saved Jews from deportation and death, risking their own lives. The "Righteous" recognized by Yad Vashem number more than 20,000, including 400 Italians. The histories of 387 of these Italians are included in the volume. During the presentation, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, vice president of the Council of Ministers, explained that the 400 Italian "Righteous" are "proof of an ampler and more widespread phenomenon," the "piece of a mosaic of exemplary and admirable humanity, which makes an important contribution to Italy's history."
The foreign minister recalled the importance of the testimony of the righteous for humanity, underlining the statement in the Old Testament which reads: "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty righteous men, or even only ten, I will forgive the whole place because of their love." Most humane Ambassador Nathan Ben Horin, a member of Yad Vashem's Commission for the Righteous, confirmed that from his research that "the Italian population showed itself as one of the most humane in Europe," in reference to persecuted Jews. Arrigo Levi, foreign relations counselor of the president of the Italian republic, told how his family fled to Argentina to escape the Nazis.
On collecting testimonies immediately after the war, Levi said he was convinced that the Italian "Righteous" numbered in the tens of thousands, and that among them, the people of the Catholic Church played an important part. Historian Andrea Riccardi, president of the Community of Sant'Egidio, underlined that, although the Jewish and Catholic world did not interact socially, many bishops, priests and religious intervened to save Jews. Historian Liliana Picciotto, of Milan's Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation, which oversaw the Italian edition of the new book, provided figures for the period.
In 1943, there were 43 million Italians and some 32,000 Jews. Of the latter, 8,000 were deported and 24,000 were saved. Italy boasts one of the highest figures in Europe of Jews saved from the Holocaust, and Picciotto attributed this work to "the civil Resistance that took place in the whole of Europe and also in our country, beginning with the Catholic clergy." The part played by the Catholic Church is clear in the histories of the Righteous contained in the book. Of the 387 cited in the book, 58 are bishops, priests and men or women religious. This does not include the numerous lay people who saved Jews thanks to the support of nunciatures, bishoprics, parishes, convents and other Church institutions.
Perhaps one of the worst smears against the Church in recent years has been the accusation by some that the Church did nothing during WWII to help Jews during the Holocaust. At the center of these attacks is Pope Pius XII. Yet, with more and more evidence coming out, it is quite clear that Pope Pius XII did all that he could. It seems that many of these attacks are meant to show the Church in a bad light, which would in turn reduce Her role as a voice of morality and truth in the world.
I would recommend two books on this subject: 1) "The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis" by Rabbi David Dalin and "Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII And the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis" by Ronald Rychlak.
It is important for us, as Catholics, to be able to not only repent when we are truly at fault, as did Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee Year, but also we need to be able to defend Mother Church from false accusations against Her.
Praise be Jesus Christ!
ROME, FEB. 2, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
A new book details the lives of hundreds of Italians, including Catholic clergy and religious, who helped to save Jews from Nazi persecution. The work, "The Righteous of Italy: Non-Jews Who Saved Jews, 1943-1945," was presented last Friday at the International Conferences Hall of the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry. Promoted by the Italian Embassy in Israel and the Italian Institute of Culture in Tel Aviv, the book, published by Mondadori, will be available in bookstores next week.
The work is the result of research carried out by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority based in Jerusalem. The group confers the title "Righteous Among the Nations" to non-Jews who saved Jews from deportation and death, risking their own lives. The "Righteous" recognized by Yad Vashem number more than 20,000, including 400 Italians. The histories of 387 of these Italians are included in the volume. During the presentation, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, vice president of the Council of Ministers, explained that the 400 Italian "Righteous" are "proof of an ampler and more widespread phenomenon," the "piece of a mosaic of exemplary and admirable humanity, which makes an important contribution to Italy's history."
The foreign minister recalled the importance of the testimony of the righteous for humanity, underlining the statement in the Old Testament which reads: "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty righteous men, or even only ten, I will forgive the whole place because of their love." Most humane Ambassador Nathan Ben Horin, a member of Yad Vashem's Commission for the Righteous, confirmed that from his research that "the Italian population showed itself as one of the most humane in Europe," in reference to persecuted Jews. Arrigo Levi, foreign relations counselor of the president of the Italian republic, told how his family fled to Argentina to escape the Nazis.
On collecting testimonies immediately after the war, Levi said he was convinced that the Italian "Righteous" numbered in the tens of thousands, and that among them, the people of the Catholic Church played an important part. Historian Andrea Riccardi, president of the Community of Sant'Egidio, underlined that, although the Jewish and Catholic world did not interact socially, many bishops, priests and religious intervened to save Jews. Historian Liliana Picciotto, of Milan's Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation, which oversaw the Italian edition of the new book, provided figures for the period.
In 1943, there were 43 million Italians and some 32,000 Jews. Of the latter, 8,000 were deported and 24,000 were saved. Italy boasts one of the highest figures in Europe of Jews saved from the Holocaust, and Picciotto attributed this work to "the civil Resistance that took place in the whole of Europe and also in our country, beginning with the Catholic clergy." The part played by the Catholic Church is clear in the histories of the Righteous contained in the book. Of the 387 cited in the book, 58 are bishops, priests and men or women religious. This does not include the numerous lay people who saved Jews thanks to the support of nunciatures, bishoprics, parishes, convents and other Church institutions.
Perhaps one of the worst smears against the Church in recent years has been the accusation by some that the Church did nothing during WWII to help Jews during the Holocaust. At the center of these attacks is Pope Pius XII. Yet, with more and more evidence coming out, it is quite clear that Pope Pius XII did all that he could. It seems that many of these attacks are meant to show the Church in a bad light, which would in turn reduce Her role as a voice of morality and truth in the world.
I would recommend two books on this subject: 1) "The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis" by Rabbi David Dalin and "Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII And the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis" by Ronald Rychlak.
It is important for us, as Catholics, to be able to not only repent when we are truly at fault, as did Pope John Paul II during the Jubilee Year, but also we need to be able to defend Mother Church from false accusations against Her.
Praise be Jesus Christ!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Pope Benedict's Message for Lent
"Jesus, at the Sight of the Crowds, Was Moved With Pity"
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 31, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
Here is Benedict XVI's message for Lent 2006, published today by the Holy See.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the "valley of darkness" of which the Psalmist speaks (Psalm 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail.
In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a "divine limit imposed upon evil," namely, mercy ("Memory and Identity," pp. 19ff.). It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: "Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity" (Matthew 9:36). In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the compassionate "gaze" of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine "plan" includes their call to salvation.
Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and he brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation. Enlightened by this Paschal truth, the Church knows that if we are to promote development in its fullness, our own "gaze" upon mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate the response to people's material and social needs from the fulfillment of the profound desires of their hearts. This has to be emphasized all the more in today's rapidly changing world, in which our responsibility towards the poor emerges with ever greater clarity and urgency.
My venerable Predecessor, Pope Paul VI, accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an outrage against humanity. In this sense, in the Encyclical "Populorum Progressio," he denounced "the lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness" and "oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions" (ibid., 21). As the antidote to such evil, Paul VI suggested not only "increased esteem for the dignity of others, the turning towards the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will and desire for peace," but also "the acknowledgment by man of supreme values, and of God, their source and their finality" (ibid.). In this vein, the Pope went on to propose that, finally and above all, there is "faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ" (ibid.). Thus, the "gaze" of Christ upon the crowd impels us to affirm the true content of this "complete humanism" that, according to Paul VI, consists in the "fully-rounded development of the whole man and of all men" (ibid., 42).
For this reason, the primary contribution that the Church offers to the development of mankind and peoples does not consist merely in material means or technical solutions. Rather, it involves the proclamation of the truth of Christ, Who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of the person and of work; it means the promotion of a culture that truly responds to all the questions of humanity. In the face of the terrible challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world's population, indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the "gaze" of Christ. Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a special way during the Lenten Season, are suitable means for us to become conformed to this "gaze."
The examples of the saints and the long history of the Church's missionary activity provide invaluable indications of the most effective ways to support development. Even in this era of global interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those who act according to the logic of the Gospel live the faith as friendship with God Incarnate and, like Him, bear the burden of the material and spiritual needs of their neighbors. They see it as an inexhaustible mystery, worthy of infinite care and attention. They know that he who does not give God gives too little; as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta frequently observed, the worst poverty is not to know Christ. Therefore, we must help others to find God in the merciful face of Christ. Without this perspective, civilization lacks a solid foundation. Thanks to men and women obedient to the Holy Spirit, many forms of charitable work intended to promote development have arisen in the Church: hospitals, universities, professional formation schools, and small businesses. Such initiatives demonstrate the genuine humanitarian concern of those moved by the Gospel message, far in advance of other forms of social welfare. These charitable activities point out the way to achieve a globalization that is focused upon the true good of mankind and, hence, the path towards authentic peace.
Moved like Jesus with compassion for the crowds, the Church today considers it her duty to ask political leaders and those with economic and financial power to promote development based on respect for the dignity of every man and woman. An important litmus test for the success of their efforts is religious liberty, understood not simply as the freedom to proclaim and celebrate Christ, but also the opportunity to contribute to the building of a world enlivened by charity. These efforts have to include a recognition of the central role of authentic religious values in responding to man's deepest concerns, and in supplying the ethical motivation for his personal and social responsibilities. These are the criteria by which Christians should assess the political programs of their leaders. We cannot ignore the fact that many mistakes have been made in the course of history by those who claimed to be disciples of Jesus. Very often, when having to address grave problems, they have thought that they should first improve this world and only afterwards turn their minds to the next. The temptation was to believe that, in the face of urgent needs, the first imperative was to change external structures. The consequence, for some, was that Christianity became a kind of moralism, "believing" was replaced with "doing."
Rightly, therefore, my Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, observed: "The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world, a 'gradual secularization of salvation' has taken place, so that people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated. … We know, however, that Jesus came to bring integral salvation" ("Redemptoris Missio," 11). It is this integral salvation that Lent puts before us, pointing towards the victory of Christ over every evil that oppresses us. In turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to Him, in experiencing His mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a "gaze" that searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us. It restores trust to those who do not succumb to skepticism, opening up before them the perspective of eternal beatitude.
Throughout history, even when hate seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary, "the living fount of hope" (Dante Alighieri, "Paradiso," XXXIII, 12), we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. I commend to her in particular the multitudes who suffer poverty and cry out for help, support, and understanding. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 29 September 2005
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 31, 2006 (Zenit.org).-
Here is Benedict XVI's message for Lent 2006, published today by the Holy See.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the "valley of darkness" of which the Psalmist speaks (Psalm 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail.
In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a "divine limit imposed upon evil," namely, mercy ("Memory and Identity," pp. 19ff.). It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: "Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity" (Matthew 9:36). In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the compassionate "gaze" of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine "plan" includes their call to salvation.
Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and he brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation. Enlightened by this Paschal truth, the Church knows that if we are to promote development in its fullness, our own "gaze" upon mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate the response to people's material and social needs from the fulfillment of the profound desires of their hearts. This has to be emphasized all the more in today's rapidly changing world, in which our responsibility towards the poor emerges with ever greater clarity and urgency.
My venerable Predecessor, Pope Paul VI, accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an outrage against humanity. In this sense, in the Encyclical "Populorum Progressio," he denounced "the lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness" and "oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions" (ibid., 21). As the antidote to such evil, Paul VI suggested not only "increased esteem for the dignity of others, the turning towards the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will and desire for peace," but also "the acknowledgment by man of supreme values, and of God, their source and their finality" (ibid.). In this vein, the Pope went on to propose that, finally and above all, there is "faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ" (ibid.). Thus, the "gaze" of Christ upon the crowd impels us to affirm the true content of this "complete humanism" that, according to Paul VI, consists in the "fully-rounded development of the whole man and of all men" (ibid., 42).
For this reason, the primary contribution that the Church offers to the development of mankind and peoples does not consist merely in material means or technical solutions. Rather, it involves the proclamation of the truth of Christ, Who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of the person and of work; it means the promotion of a culture that truly responds to all the questions of humanity. In the face of the terrible challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world's population, indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the "gaze" of Christ. Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a special way during the Lenten Season, are suitable means for us to become conformed to this "gaze."
The examples of the saints and the long history of the Church's missionary activity provide invaluable indications of the most effective ways to support development. Even in this era of global interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those who act according to the logic of the Gospel live the faith as friendship with God Incarnate and, like Him, bear the burden of the material and spiritual needs of their neighbors. They see it as an inexhaustible mystery, worthy of infinite care and attention. They know that he who does not give God gives too little; as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta frequently observed, the worst poverty is not to know Christ. Therefore, we must help others to find God in the merciful face of Christ. Without this perspective, civilization lacks a solid foundation. Thanks to men and women obedient to the Holy Spirit, many forms of charitable work intended to promote development have arisen in the Church: hospitals, universities, professional formation schools, and small businesses. Such initiatives demonstrate the genuine humanitarian concern of those moved by the Gospel message, far in advance of other forms of social welfare. These charitable activities point out the way to achieve a globalization that is focused upon the true good of mankind and, hence, the path towards authentic peace.
Moved like Jesus with compassion for the crowds, the Church today considers it her duty to ask political leaders and those with economic and financial power to promote development based on respect for the dignity of every man and woman. An important litmus test for the success of their efforts is religious liberty, understood not simply as the freedom to proclaim and celebrate Christ, but also the opportunity to contribute to the building of a world enlivened by charity. These efforts have to include a recognition of the central role of authentic religious values in responding to man's deepest concerns, and in supplying the ethical motivation for his personal and social responsibilities. These are the criteria by which Christians should assess the political programs of their leaders. We cannot ignore the fact that many mistakes have been made in the course of history by those who claimed to be disciples of Jesus. Very often, when having to address grave problems, they have thought that they should first improve this world and only afterwards turn their minds to the next. The temptation was to believe that, in the face of urgent needs, the first imperative was to change external structures. The consequence, for some, was that Christianity became a kind of moralism, "believing" was replaced with "doing."
Rightly, therefore, my Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, observed: "The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world, a 'gradual secularization of salvation' has taken place, so that people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated. … We know, however, that Jesus came to bring integral salvation" ("Redemptoris Missio," 11). It is this integral salvation that Lent puts before us, pointing towards the victory of Christ over every evil that oppresses us. In turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to Him, in experiencing His mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a "gaze" that searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us. It restores trust to those who do not succumb to skepticism, opening up before them the perspective of eternal beatitude.
Throughout history, even when hate seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary, "the living fount of hope" (Dante Alighieri, "Paradiso," XXXIII, 12), we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. I commend to her in particular the multitudes who suffer poverty and cry out for help, support, and understanding. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 29 September 2005
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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