The “Day of
reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world: Pilgrims of
Truth, Pilgrims of Peace,” is to take place in Assisi on 27 October. The event needs our prayer and solidarity.
Cardinal
Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace had a press conference in which he said, “Following two and a half
decades of collaboration and joint witness among religions, it is time to
assess the results and to re-launch our commitment in the face of new
challenges.”
Continue reading More on the Assisi Day of Reflection and dialogue 2011
Saint Isaac Jogues wrote, “My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings”
Saint John de Brébeuf, pray for us.
Saint Isaac Jogues, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel Lalemant, pray for us.
Saint Anthony Daniel, pray for us
Saint Charles Garnier, pray for us.
Saint Noël Chabanel, pray for us.
Saint René Goupil, pray for us.
Saint John de la Lande, pray for us.
On October 14, 2011 Pope Benedict XVI received Father Julián Carrón, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, in audience in the Apostolic Palace, the day before the Vatican meeting on “New Evangelizers for a New Evangelization,” a two day event that will culminate in the Mass with the Pope on Sunday at 9:30 in Saint Peter’s Square. What follows is an interview with Vatican Radio’s Alessandro Gisotti (emphasis mine).
Alessandro Gisotti interviewed Fr. Carrón about tomorrow’s meeting and the challenge of the new evangelization.
Father Julián Carrón: The first thing I would like to express is how grateful and moved I am at this opportunity the Holy Father has given me to be with him in this audience, because it enabled me to tell him how, in this moment of travail due to the social, cultural, and economic situation, we are seeing that when people verify the faith in their own life circumstances, they flower into a type of person that leaves us speechless. Being able to share with him living the faith, as he testifies it to us, was a true consolation.
How important is this meeting? How important is the Pope’s challenge for a new evangelization?
Since the found of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization with Archbishop Rino Fisichella as its president, all eyes looked to today’s event in the Pope Paul VI Auditorium with nearly eight thousand people from every continent gathered in Rome to experience what it means to share the Faith of Jesus Christ with others through word and music. Pope Benedict attended part of the gathering and said, “The world today needs people who proclaim and witness that Christ is the one who teaches us the art of living, the way of true happiness, because He himself is the way of life.”
Archbishop Fisichella invited Mother Veronica Berzosa, founder of Iesu Communio, a religious community of women dedicated to the evangelization of the youth, Italian writer Vittorio Messori who spoke about the reasons to believe, and the Italian scientist Marco Bersanelli who spoke on about the dialogue between science and faith. Colombian bishop Fabio Suescun, spoke to those assembled on experiences of the New Evangelization in Latin America.
For many, it was beautiful to hear Andrea Bocelli who said:
“I think I owe my faith to an internal search, the rejection of the idea of feeling like I was the product of coincidence. I followed my road, I hope to do so consistently, even when certain episodes of life make us tremble and feel weak before our convictions.”
The Pope’s called for a few days (a journey) of reflection on truth and peace in the world in Assisi on October 27. This gesture recalls the first Assisi meeting of religious leaders in 1986. But you know this. You’ve also heard that among some rigid Catholic-types there’s been an expressed outrage. Sad, I think. The past events have been “interesting” due to the way the event was organized and perhaps on how it was conceived to bring non-Christians together for prayer when the notion of prayer is not common to all religions and philosophy, but a complete dismissal of the gesture is unwarranted. I trust that Pope Benedict knows what he’s doing. The emphasis is not on prayer; the papal emphasis is on a pilgrimage. The list of participants is incomplete but it is expected that those who participate will represent the major religions and philosophies of the world and number under 100.
[Saint Luke] told of the power of the Lord, and his praise. (MP resp.)
Patriarch
Béshara Raï, 71, is making a pastoral visit to the Maronite Catholic
communities in both US eparchies from 4 to 23 October 2011. His Beatitude will visit Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon and the Eparchy of St Maron of Brooklyn.
President Barack Obama has roundly refused to meet the Patriarch. Bishop Gregory openly makes the case that it is a mistake of the current administration to ignore His Beatitude’s visit to the USA.
Béshara Raï, was elected on March 15, 2011 as the 77th Patriarch of the Maronite Church.
Bishop Gregory’s letter:
September 30, 2011
Dear Mr. President:
I am terribly
disappointed with the rebuff of Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai who is the Catholic
leader of the Maronites worldwide and one of the most respected Christian
leaders in Lebanon and the Middle East . The motto of his coat of arms
reflects his personality and is call for “communion and love.” He has been
trying to achieve what no other Middle Eastern political or a religious leader
has been able to do: meet others with respect and love, not take sides,
and build bridges to a future that will hopefully lead to peace and happiness
for all people in the Middle East.
Muslim and Christian groups have all found
in him a real father, a Patriarch. Because he has spoken out expressing
his concern for the future of Christians in the Middle East , he has been
rebuffed by you and your Administration. It is pure hypocrisy for the
leader of the free world to refuse to meet with Patriarch Rai especially since
the Prime Minister of Israel can come and completely disregard essential parts
of a peace plan and still be given a warm welcome, and the King of Saudi
Arabia, where Christians have no freedom whatsoever, can be received with highest
honors. Mr. President, you are ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle
East!
Patriarch Rai’s warning about the future of Christians in Syria is not
taboo. Christians are in a state of peril in the same way that Christians of
Iraq were a few years ago when two thirds of them migrated out of the country
and are still not protected to this day. To say the Patriarch supports
dictators and sides with terrorists is pure nonsense. With his own unique
charisma, Patriarch Rai has reached out to all Lebanese with whom he has to
live side-by-side. It is a beautiful outreach, one that is uniquely his,
without having to be beholden to anyone. He speaks with love and tempers
the divisive, hateful talk of many. He gives hope
A new day is dawning in the
Middle East. The Arab Spring is happening with little vision for the
summer that will ensue. Mr. President, you do not have to agree on
everything with Patriarch Rai, but there is no need to avoid or rebuff
him. By doing so, you are showing your disrespect for him and for all
Christians of the Middle East.
+ Gregory J Mansour
Bishop of the Eparchy of
Saint Maron of Brooklyn
On Saturday I drove up to the Abbey of Regina Laudis situated in Bethlehem, Connecticut, to purchase cheese and note cards made by the Benedictine nuns there. Cheese is a homemade product of the nuns of this monastery made from milk of 5 dairy cows. But in addition to cheese and note cards I picked up a beautiful DVD interviewing Mother Dolores Hart, OSB. In 2000, Chantal Westerman interviewed Mother Dolores for an hour long presentation called “Conversations with Remarkable People: Mother Dolores Hart.”
Faith is remembering the exquisite gifts of God given us in particulars of space and time and people; faith is having the guts to say ‘yes’ when you have no idea what the ‘yes’ means; the ‘yes’ is given in response to a mystery.With regard to the spiritual/religious distinction often made: the two are complementary and have a convergence.
Indeed! There is no separation between spiritual and religious. The soul needs integration of each to make any real sense.