Recently in Year of Faith Category

In the years since Blessed John Paul introduced his desire to have new work on knowing, living, and sharing the truth of the Catholic Faith, there's been a lot of good energy for the new evangelization. You can think of the Tear of Faith, the encyclicals of the recent popes, and most crucial has been Benedict XVI's establishment of a Vatican office to spearhead evangelization efforts. 


Getting to the heart of what the new evangelization means, how it's supposed to "look" and why it needs our attention is slowing being revealed. I have to say that too many use the word evangelization without precision and without real content and experience. Nevertheless, since John Paul and Benedict, now with Pope Francis we have a new awareness of evangelization's aim: and affection for Christ and to offer a reasonable proposal for faith in a comprehensive way.


I happen to think the Holy Spirit is working diligently and effectively in having us slowly develop the needed resources with regard to persons and materials. Rushing into such work would not be reasonable since it does take time to do the hard work in truly knowing the need in a time of limited resources. The immediate past Pontiff set the Church's face on this renewed manner of living focusing us on the personal relationship with the Lord,, bridging the gap between faith and reason, and by asking us to intimately know Scripture, the Liturgy and the Magisterium (I don't want to call the new evangelization a 'project' because it is about our heart and mind). 


A Cambridge, Massachusetts group of faithful Catholics have responded to Church's call for a "New Apologetics," a new way of proposing Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.


"New Apologetics" is a contemporary way of engaging the questions which need to be addressed; those tough issues are often inadequately answered, or worse, dismissed as unimportant. This is a serious, beautiful adventure.


The New Apologetics is group qualified persons working to share the beauty of the truth of the Church today, in the language of today. 


The New Apologetics website is www.NewApologetics.com


May Saint Thérèse of Lisieux guide this new work.

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Pope Francis published his first encyclical today. Lumen Fidei ("The Light of Faith"), comes in the middle of the Year of Faith. The Pope told bishops,  "It's an encyclical written with four hands, so to speak, because Pope Benedict began writing it and he gave it to me. It's a strong document. I will say in it that I received it and most of the work was done by him and I completed it."


The full text is here: Lumen Fidei.pdf


Pope Benedict set out to write encyclicals on the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Two have been done and Lumen Fidei completes the course of study.


Thus Deus Caritas Est on charity in 2005 and Spe Salvi on hope in 2007. 


Pope Benedict's, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), published in 2009 focused on Catholic social teachings of the Church.


Lumen Fidei was presented Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. Their presentation is here in various languages.

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Popes Francis and Benedict at opening this morning at the blessing of a statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, near the Vatican Governorate. Pope Francis said,


"In the Vatican Gardens there are several works of art. But this, which has now been added, takes on particular importance, in its location as well as the meaning it expresses. In fact it is not just celebratory work but an invitation to reflection and prayer, that fits well into the Year of Faith. Michael - which means "Who is like God" - is the champion of the primacy of God, of His transcendence and power. Michael struggles to restore divine justice and defends the People of God from his enemies, above all by the enemy par excellence, the devil. And St. Michael wins because in him, there is He God who acts. This sculpture reminds us then that evil is overcome, the accuser is unmasked, his head crushed, because salvation was accomplished once and for all in the blood of Christ. Though the devil always tries to disfigure the face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger, it is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. We are not alone on the journey or in the trials of life, we are accompanied and supported by the Angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome so many dangers, in order to fly high compared to those realities that can weigh down our lives or drag us down. In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him."


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Ultimate questions are critical for all persons. And so much for Christians because of the Incarnation of God in human history. What does it mean to believe? What can science teach us? Is using technology a helpful tool in knowing our Christian self? In a Year of Faith presentation on April 20, the topic at hand was "Does What I Believe In Affect My Life?"

Mother Mary Elizabeth Kloss is one of 10 children of a farming family, a Benedictine nun, an artist, and now the Mother Prioress (the elected major religious superior) of the Benedictine nuns of Saint Scholastica Priory (Petersham, MA). Her sister, Sister Mary Angela is a member of the community. The Priory is a member of the Subiaco Congregation of monks and nuns, an international group of men and women, monks and nuns, seeking the face of God through the lens of sixth century rule of life compiled by Saint Benedict.

Mother Mary Elizabeth's talk can be heard here.
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Last week, the Benedictine monks and nuns of St Mary's Monastery (monks) and St Scholastica Priory (nuns) (Petersham, MA) hosted a public conference, "Giving a Reason for the Hope that Is in Us," by Father Robert P. Imbelli for the Year of Faith given on April 20, 2013.

Father Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and is a Professor of Theology at Boston College. He studied in New York, Rome and is a graduate of Yale University.
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I offer a warm and affectionate greeting to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors who have joined me for this, my last General Audience. Like Saint Paul, whose words we heard earlier, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his Church and her growth in faith and love, and I embrace all of you with joy and gratitude. During this Year of Faith, we have been called to renew our joyful trust in the Lord's presence in our lives and in the life of the Church. I am personally grateful for his unfailing love and guidance in the eight years since I accepted his call to serve as the Successor of Peter. I am also deeply grateful for the understanding, support and prayers of so many of you, not only here in Rome, but also throughout the world. The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's Church. I will continue to accompany the Church with my prayers, and I ask each of you to pray for me and for the new Pope. In union with Mary and all the saints, let us entrust ourselves in faith and hope to God, who continues to watch over our lives and to guide the journey of the Church and our world along the paths of history. I commend all of you, with great affection, to his loving care, asking him to strengthen you in the hope which opens our hearts to the fullness of life that he alone can give. To you and your families, I impart my blessing. Thank you!

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Pope Benedict's penultimate day as the Vicar of Christ, the Supreme Pontiff we hear from him one last time in an official capacity with evermore courage, insight, humility and love. It is an astonishing piece.


Thank you for coming in such large numbers to this last General Audience of my pontificate.


Like the Apostle Paul in the biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart the paramount duty to thank God, who guides the Church and makes her grow: who sows His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His people. At this moment my spirit reaches out to embrace the whole Church throughout the world, and I thank God for the "news" that in these years of Petrine ministry I have been able to receive regarding the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity that circulates in the body of the Church - charity that makes the Church to live in love - and of the hope that opens for us the way towards the fullness of life, and directs us towards the heavenly homeland.


I feel I [ought to] carry everyone in prayer, in a present that is God's, where I recall every meeting, every voyage, every pastoral visit. I gather everyone and every thing in prayerful recollection, in order to entrust them to the Lord: in order that we might have full knowledge of His will, with every wisdom and spiritual understanding, and in order that we might comport ourselves in a manner that is worthy of Him, of His, bearing fruit in every good work (cf. Col 1:9-10).



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When the Pope came into the Paul VI Hall he was greeted with lots of people which is typical, but there seemed to be more than c. 8000 people in attendance. The outpouring of affection was evident. Before the weekly teaching, he said, 


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Dear brothers and sisters, as you know I decided. Thank you for your kindness. I decided to resign from the ministry that the Lord had entrusted me on April 19, 2005. I did this in full freedom for the good of the Church after having prayed at length and examined my conscience before God, well aware of the gravity of this act.


I was also well aware that I was no longer able to fulfill the Petrine Ministry with that strength that it demands. What sustains and illuminates me is the certainty that the Church belongs to Christ whose care and guidance will never be lacking. I thank you all for the love and prayer with which you have accompanied me.


I have felt, almost physically, your prayers in these days which are not easy for me, the strength which the love of the Church and your prayers brings to me. Continue to pray for me and for the future Pope, the Lord will guide us!


The catechesis the Pope offers us today...

In this Year of Faith there are some new books that have arrived and that are coming out to help all of us discover anew the the beauty of the Christian Faith. No one can ever say that they know it all, or, have heard it all before, and at the same maintain credibility in knowing the Truth. It's not possible.

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Father Mitch Pacwa, SJ, theologian and EWTN host, is in the middle of a publishing campaign to help us respond with confidence to the proposals of the Year of Faith.

Father Pacwa is a Chicago native who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Detroit, a Masters from the Jesuit School of Theology (Chicago) before being ordained a priest in 1976. He also earned a PhD from Vanderbilt in Old Testament studies which included learning 12 languages. Father Pacwa offers the Mass in both the Latin and Maronite Churches. He is the president of Ignatius Productions.

On 23 January, The Eucharist: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics will be released to the public. Order now.

The Eucharist is published in order to draw connections between the Holy Eucharist and the Bible. The author looks at Old Testament types of the Eucharist, shows the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian life, what Eucharistic Presence means to call Jesus the Lamb of God, the meaning of sacrifice as applied to the Sacrifice of the Mass and more.
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The bishops of the United States have courageously chosen religious freedom as the cultural expression of our Church's response to the Holy Father's call for a Year of Faith.

The New York Encounter 2013, whose theme will indeed be Freedom - not just religious freedom, but the experience of what we call "freedom." The New York Encounter (NYE) is a cultural festival, open to the public which will take place January 18-20, 2013 at the Manhattan Center (34th Street and 8th Avenue).

NYE is an initiative of members of the international Catholic movement Communion and Liberation who seek to live the Catholic faith guided by the charism of the Servant of God Monsignor Luigi Giussani.

The mystery of faith in a secular age is at the heart of his teaching. Following Monsignor Giussani's example, the methodology of NYE is based on the experience of our humanity rather than a purely intellectual presentation. As Saint Augustine expressed, it is one of "confession" rather than "presumption."

Among the various events, all listed in the enclosed brochure, I would like to emphasize the following two:

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., Mr. Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony, will offer an eyewitness account of the life of his brother Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani Minister for Minority Affairs who was murdered in 2011 for defending religious freedom in his country. A real contemporary Catholic martyr!

On Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. there will be a meeting titled Faith, Soul of Life.  In a time when society is no longer Christian, from where do we begin again? Father Julián Carrón, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation (who participated in the recent Synod of the Bishops in Rome), and Father Peter Cameron, OP, Editor-in-Chief of Magnificat, will address this fundamental question in light of the Pope's writings for the Year of Faith.

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The Pope's homily for Vespers at the Vatican basilica follows below. He sets out a very clear direction for Christian living and pastoral activity. Are we going to listen? The Pope preached:


I thank all of you who have chosen to participate in this liturgy of the last hour of the year of the Lord 2012. This "hour" bears a particular intensity and becomes, in a sense, a synthesis of all the hours of the year that is about to come to an end. I cordially greet the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful, and especially the many people from the ecclesial community of Rome. In a special way I greet the Authorities present, beginning with the Mayor of the City, and thank them for choosing to share with us this moment of prayer and thanksgiving to God.

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The Most Reverend Daniel A. Cronin, Archbishop Emeritus of Hartford, is coming to East Haven on Thursday, December 6, 2012 to preside and preach during an Advent Evening of Reflection, with a focus upon the "Year of Faith."  

The presentation begins at 7:00 PM and takes place at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, 355 Foxon Road, in East Haven. 

The reflection will be offered in the context of a Holy Hour, to also include prayers, readings from Scripture, and the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. 

Join us for prayer and let friends know.

In recent years, we have seen a significant interest in teaching the faith more authentically, but also we've become more attentive to answering the real questions believers and unbelievers have. With the Year of Faith fully engaged now, I think we need to attend to three unavoidable questions whether we are teaching teens, adults, or expanding the horizons of our faith and understanding of the cosmos we live in.

There are no easy answers in proposing the Christian faith to others, especially to teens. Do you want pablum when considering real questions?
In the Year of Faith please join Father David Borino and Benedictine Sister Zita Wenker for a discussion "Christian faith through lens of the Creed" on Saturday, December 1, 10:30 to 2:00pm.

The discussion will be held at the Monastery of the Glorious Cross61 Burban Drive, Branford, CT 06405

The day includes Mid-day prayer and Mass in the Monastery Chapel, the presentations and time for Q&A. Please bring a brown bag lunch.

Father David Borino is a priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford and Sister M. Zita Wenker, OSB is a Benedictine nun of Jesus Crucified residing at the Monastery of the Glorious Cross (61 Burban Drive, Branford, CT 06405). Both presenters bring pastoral and theological expertise to the exploration of what we believe Catholic faith to be through what we profess Sunday after Sunday in the Creed.

The day is free, open to the public with a good will offering taken.

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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