The general intention
That Christians in the Middle East may live their faith in complete freedom and
become instruments of reconciliation and peace.
The missionary intention
Through the witness of the faithful, may the Church be the seed and
soil of a humanity reconciled to be God’s one true family on earth.
Respect and love are essential in the work of ecumenical dialogue, the Pope
observed at a gathering of Orthodox leaders in Rome for the Solemnity of Saints
Peter and Paul. Each year the Patriarch sends a delegation to Rome for June
29th and the Pope reciprocates by sending a delegation to Constantinople for
the feast of Saint Andrew on November 30th to share in prayer, dialogue and
fraternity. Watch the video clip.
A hallmark of Pope Benedict’s petrine ministry is ecumenical
relations with other Christians, most particularly with the Orthodox churches. Yesterday
he said:
“You are welcome guests, dear brothers, who have been sent by His
Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, to whom I likewise send my warm and
fraternal greeting in the Lord. Let us give thanks together to the Lord for all
the fruits and benefits that the bimillennial celebration of the birth of St.
Paul has brought us. We celebrate together the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul,
the “protôthroni” of the Apostles, as they are invoked in the
Orthodox liturgical tradition, that is, those who occupy first place among the apostles
and are called “the teachers of the ecumene.”
With your presence,
which is a sign of ecclesial fraternity, you remind us of our common commitment
to the pursuit of full communion. You already know, but again today I have the
pleasure of confirming, that the Catholic Church intends to contribute in every
possible way to the reestablishment of full communion. This is in response to
Christ’s will for his disciples, and recalling Paul’s teaching in which he
reminds us that we have been called to “one hope.” In this respect, we
can confidently look forward to a good continuation of the work of the Mixed
International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and
Catholic Churches.
This commission will meet in October to address a crucial
theme for relations between East and West, namely, “the role of the Bishop
of Rome in the communion of the Church during the first millennium.” In
effect, the study of this aspect is clearly indispensable for generally getting
to the heart of the question in the current context of the pursuit of full
communion. This commission, which has already accomplished important work, will
be generously received by the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, to whom we express our
gratitude in advance, because fraternal hospitality and the climate of prayer
that will surround our discussions cannot but facilitate our common work and
reciprocal understanding.
I desire that the participants in the Catholic-Orthodox
dialogue know that my prayers will accompany them and that this dialogue has
the complete support of the Catholic Church. With my whole heart I hope that
the misunderstandings and the tensions between the Orthodox delegates during
the last plenary sessions of this commission be overcome in fraternal love, in
such a way that this dialogue be amply representative of the Orthodox.”
On a related note, I can’t help but draw our attention to
one of the ongoing works in the ecumenical movement today is the superb work of
Prior Enzo Bianchi of the Monastery of Bose (in Italy). His monastery has
sponsored a creative renewal in religious life for men and women, a vibrant
program for the intellect, an awareness of the arts, and real fraternity. Bose
is sponsoring the 17th International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox
Spirituality this coming September 2009. The program is exciting; the theme is
the spiritual struggle looking keenly on the relation of spiritual struggle
with Christian unity in the contemporary world.
Father, You sanctified the Church of Rome with the blood of her first martyrs. May we find strength from their triumph.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York received his pallium today from Pope Benedict XVI as a sign of communion with the Pope. He joined 33 new archbishops including 4 other Americans who received their pallia too.
Toe bone connected to the foot bone
Foot bone connected to the leg bone
Leg bone connected to the knee bone…
The Church has confirmed the millennia reverence of the bones in Saint Paul’s sarcophagus are in fact those of the Apostle to the Gentiles. At the close of the Pauline Year this is terrific news for all people. The witness of Paul’s life –and now his bones– makes Christian faith credible because of the physical connection we have with such a great man as the Apostle.
The Pope said: “Small fragments of bone were found and radiocarbon dated by experts who did not know their place of origin. Results indicate that they belong to someone who lived between the 1st and 2nd century A.D. This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition according to
which these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul. All this fills our soul with deep emotion.”
“The Pauline Year has come to an end, but being on the same path as Paul and, with him and thanks to him, know Jesus and, like him, be enlightened and transformed by the Gospel, will always be part of Christian existence,” the Pontiff said.
I highly recommend reading the Asia News story
As expected, today the Pope signed off on his latest
encyclical, Charity in Truth. This latest work of the Pope’s is a social
catechesis that will address issues of concern for the poor, globalization,
solidarity with brothers and sisters. The work will be published soon (when the
translation can be settled on). It’s expected before the G8 meeting (hopefully
around July 6 or thereabouts).
The said in part introducing his work: “The publication of my third encyclical is
now near, which has the title Caritas in Veritate. Taking up the social themes
contained in Populorum Progressio, written by the Servant of God Paul VI in
1967, this document — which is dated precisely today, June 29th, the Solemnity
of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul — aims to deepen a few aspects of
integral development in our age in the light of charity in truth. I entrust to
your prayers this new contribution that the Church offers to humanity in her
commitment for sustainable progress, in full respect for human dignity and
everyone’s real requirements.”
John
Allen’s article
on the forthcoming encyclical.
Peter, blest Shepherd! hearken to our cry,
And with a word unloose our guilty chain;
Thou who hast power to open the gates on high
To men below, and power to shut them fast again.
O thou great Doctor, Paul, we here beseech of thee
Lead thou our spirits up to heavenly mystery,
Tills ends the partial knowledge that to us is given
While here below, and we receive the fuller light in heaven.
May everlasting honor, power, and glory be
And jubilation, to the Holy Trinity,
The One God, ever ruling all things mightily,
Throughout all endless ages of eternity. Amen.
O
God, Who has made holy this day with the martyrdom of Thine Apostles Peter and
Paul, grant that Thy Church may in all things follow the precepts of those from
whom it first received the faith.
In your manner a participant,
And in your throne a successor of
the Apostles,
You discovered action an entrance into visions,
O inspired one of God.
Therefore directing the Word of Truth,
You suffered for the faith even unto blood.
O Bishop and Martyr Irenaues,
Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved!
(Troparion, Tone 4)
Give perfection to beginners, O Father; give intelligence to
the little ones; give aid to those who are running their course. Give sorrow to
the negligent; give fervor of spirit to the lukewarm. Give to the perfect a
good consummation; for the sake of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
(Prayer of Saint Irenaeus)
Pope Benedict XVI March 28, 2007 catechesis on Saint Irenaeus is helpful to read.
We cling to our faith because of the witnesses that go before us, those who point the way to the Lord. Our Catholic faith is born of the faith of another. Therefore, we hold fast to apostolic faith given to us by the Apostles and we in turn pass the orthodox faith onto others. As Irenaeus said, “Hold in suspicion those who depart from the primitive succession” and “those who put forward their own compositions, boasting that they possess more Gospels than there really are.” One interesting note about Saint Irenaeus is that he is the first theologian to insist that we follow the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because they were trustworthy, and no others.
Rejoice we all in the Lord, as we keep festival in honor of
the Blessed Virgin Mary: whose solemnity makes angels joyful and sets them
praising the Son of God. Joyful the thoughts that well up from my heart, I
shall speak of the works of the King
Mother of Perpetual Help,
with the greatest confidence
we come before your holy picture
to be inspired by the example of your life.
We think of you at that moment when,
full of faith and trust,
you accepted God’s call
to be the mother of his Son.
Help us, your children,
to accept with joy our own calling in life.
When you learned that your cousin Elizabeth was in need
you immediately went to serve her
and offer your help.
Help us, like you,
to be concerned for others.
We think of you, Mother,
at the foot of the cross.
Your heart must have bled
to see your Son in agony.
But your joy was great
when he rose from the dead,
victorious over the powers of evil.
Mother of Sorrows,
help us through the trials and
disappointments of life.
Help us not to lose heart.
May we share with you and your Son
the joy of having courageously faced up
to all the challenges of life.
Amen.