Communio – Page 247 – …bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Holy Name of Jesus

At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Phil 2:10-11, entr. ant.)

We honor the Holy Name of Jesus today. In the middle of Christmastide, we take time to recall the saving power of the holy name of Jesus: He who saves, He who is the eternal Word of the Father.

The Church prays,

O God, who founded the salvation of the human race on the Incarnation of your Word, give your peoples the mercy they implore, so that all may know there is no other name to be invoked but the Name of your Only Begotten Son.

You may want to seek out your Bible to discover, or re-discover some passages. Look at the first three Commandments, plus Psalm 99:3, Mark 16:17-18, Luke 1:31, Acts 3:6; 9:34; 9:40, John 16:23, and Philippians 2:9-11.

It seems to me that with all this good teaching as an invitation to my own conversion, I need to watch what I say with regard to the Lord’s Name. Instead of using the name of Jesus in a vulgar manner, I ought to have the habit of making the aspiration, “Jesus” slowly and deliberately.

Pray the Litany of the Holy Name today.

In the Pope’s teaching on January 2 where he picks up Pilate’s question of the origin of Jesus. A question that all of us ought to ask. It is more than an intellectual exercise, it is a matter of truth, it is a matter of our following the One sent by our Creator. If you can’t answer this question immediately, keep on reading. Pope Benedict says,

We can answer that “…from the beginning of the Gospels, what Jesus’ true origin is: He is the only begotten Son of the Father. He comes from God. We are facing the great and disconcerting mystery that we celebrate in this time of Christmas: the Son of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is an announcement that resounds every new and which carries with it hope and joy to our hearts because each time it gives us the certainty that, even if we often feel weak, poor, incapable of facing the difficulties and the evil of the world, the power of God is always acting and works wonders precisely in our weakness. His Grace is our strength.”

Saints such as Bernard, Bernardine of Siena, Ignatius of Loyola among others have promoted the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. The image of IHS comes from the first 3 letter of Jesus’ name written IHESUS.

AND, His name is our glory.

Can working for the Church be a good thing?

Ideas bounce around my head about working for the Church if one is not a member of the clergy or a religious order. Some of my friends would say, “Why bother?” There’s some truth in this attitude. There’s a lot of problems with working in the Church these days and not all of it regarding pay. Let’s just say, working for the Church can be a great place to use your talent for Someone greater and for eternal consequences. Experience tells me that church-working need not be a sad, hostile, dysfunctional place to spend one’s life. BTW, what I say is not only for the laity because the clergy have the same issues.

I wonder if working for the Church could be:

a great place to work at; a fun place to work, a welcoming, loving & fulfilling culture
a place where a good use of technology possible for the Gospel (tech is hot these days)
a place to network with Catholics (Christians and “seekers”) to propose a new lens of life
time available to see how your work affects lots of people
a place that will teach you something new
pay and perks that strive to be competitive
a place where the employees are happy
have opportunities for spiritual development.

There’s a lot that’s wrong with the way the Church works in the world today. Many dioceses, indeed, the Holy See and the Vatican, have effectively disaffected people because a lack of humanity, courage, love, compassion and faith. What comes to mind, is that working for the Church ought to be a place where the glory of God is man and woman fully alive working for something Greater: salvation.

If business is working on these matters, why not the Church? The proclamation of the Gospel and a sacramental life ought to take on best practices of the business world. I pray for the grace of knowing my own need for conversion, fraternity, vocation and mission. We all need a place to exercise a God-given diakonia and martyria (service and witness).

Saint John, beloved friend of the Lord, pray for us.

Pope meets the Kings

The Pope meets the Kings on January 1.

The saint and his bear: Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Several years ago I was introduced to the figure of Saint Seraphim of Sarov ((1759-1833). He was a monk, priest, hermit and ascetic. He was known for his wisdom and humanity. In the Orthodox church he held the title of “startsy,” that is, a charismatic elder (in the strict sense of the word) “anointed” by the Holy Spirit with the gifts of prophesy, healing, discernment of God’s will. Saint Seraphim, you might say, was a spiritual father.

There is a story about Saint Seraphim that gives an interesting side to the man. It reads something to this effect,

“Two nuns from a
certain convent once came to visit Saint Seraphim. Suddenly a bear lumbered
unexpectedly out of the woods and frightened the visitors with his appearance.
“Misha,” – said the saint, – “why do you frighten the poor orphans! Go back and
bring us a treat, otherwise I have nothing to offer to my guests.” Hearing
these words, the bear went back into the woods, and two hours later he tumbled
into the holy elder’s cell and gave him something covered with leaves. It was a
fresh honeycomb of purest honey. Father Seraphim took a piece of bread from his
bag, gave it to the bear, pointed to the door – and the bear left immediately.”

I wonder if Saint Seraphim is invoked by those who have troubled bears? I am sure his guidance would be helpful.

Peace with God firmly linked with faith, Pope preaches on Jan. 1

Do you ever ask what peace really is? What are the horizons of peace? Why is the name of Jesus held holy, revered, not to be easily used in common speech? What brings every man, woman and child peace? Who is Mary, and why is she important? Pope Benedict answers these questions in a homily at a Mass he celebrated today to mark the New Year, the World Day of Peace, the solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.

The Theotokos of Vladimir.

“May God bless
us and make his face to shine upon us.” We proclaimed these words from Psalm 66
after hearing in the first reading the ancient priestly blessing upon the
people of the covenant. It is especially significant that at the start of every
new year God sheds upon us, his people, the light of his Holy Name, the Name
pronounced three times in the solemn form of biblical blessing. Nor is it less
significant that to the Word of God – who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn
1:14) as “the true light that enlightens every man” (1:9) – is given, as
today’s Gospel tells us, the Name of Jesus eight days after his birth (cf. Lk
2:21).

It is in this Name that we are gathered here today. I cordially greet
all present, beginning with the Ambassadors of the Diplomatic Corps accredited
to the Holy See. I greet with affection Cardinal Bertone, my Secretary of
State, and Cardinal Turkson, with all the officials of the Pontifical Council
for Justice and Peace; I am particularly grateful to them for their effort to spread
the Message for the World Day of Peace, which this year has as its theme
“Blessed are the Peacemakers”.

Continue reading Peace with God firmly linked with faith, Pope preaches on Jan. 1

Mary, the Holy Mother of God

No better way to begin a new year of the Lord, on this beautiful 8th day of Christmastide, than to pray the Mass. The 8th day observance is the traditional Jewish practice of naming the child. Today, the Gospel recalls the babe receiving the name, Jesus. We might also call this day the “giving of the holy name.” A liturgical observance is held on January 2. Keeping our lives close to Mary, the holy Mother of God is essential. With the Church we pray,

O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary bestowed on the human race the grace of eternal salvation, grant, we pray, that we may experience the intercession of her, through whom we were found worthy to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.

May Mary intercede before her Son for our families, friends, clergy and religious and civil leaders. Oh, for ourselves, too.

St Benedict’s Prologue to the Holy Rule: orienting 2013

The new year needs a proper orientation: may I propose that we need to listen, that is, to be silent (once in a while) and to attend to what the Lord, the Church, friends and family are saying. Here I think we would do well to hear what a master has to say about our work. A few years ago Pope Benedict spoke about an ancient form of the spiritual life, Benedictinism, that is often misunderstood, and yet it corresponds to the heart. Known as the Patriarch of Western monasticism, Benedict of Nursia, is the father of compassion, a man of blessing, a forthright teacher. The Pope said that,

St. Benedict’s spirituality was not an interiority removed from reality. In the anxiety and confusion of his day, he lived under God’s gaze and in this very way never lost sight of the duties of daily life and of man with his practical needs. Seeing God, he understood the reality of man and his mission” (April 9, 2008).

A tender word from Saint Benedict’s Holy Rule is important for all of us to reflect upon as we begin 2013. The saint is clear that the Rule is not for the holy people or for people who are well-versed in the spiritual life. On the contrary what we see here in the Prologue we read that our following (listening), our friendship with Christ is a work of which we ought to be diligent in doing if we are to reach our goal: heaven. Only in doing the hard work, some will say rightly so, doing battle, the distance between ourselves and God be lessened. Benedict is truly a father with an emphasis on mercy and honesty. His approach cultivates in all of us, I hope, a humane and reasonable way of living.

What distances the self from God? The truthful assessment of our life is our personal sin, the “slothful disobedience” we engage in. Overcoming sin, by Grace, is the work of each one of us, pope to peasant, PhD-holder to high school student. All we need to do is begin. Notice the emphasis I’ve placed for your concentration.

Saint Benedict of Nursia writing his Rule ~a 1929 portrait at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria by Herman Nieg.

L I S T E N carefully, my child, to your master’s
precepts, and incline the ear of your heart (Prov. 4:20). Receive willingly and
carry out effectively your loving father’s advice, that by the labor of
obedience you may return to Him from whom you had departed by the sloth of
disobedience.

To you, therefore, my words are now addressed, whoever you may
be, who are renouncing your own will to do battle under the Lord Christ, the
true King, and are taking up the strong, bright weapons of obedience.

And first
of all, whatever good work you begin to do, beg of Him with most earnest prayer
to perfect it, that He who has now deigned to count us among His children may
not at any time be grieved by our evil deeds. For we must always so serve Him with
the good things He has given us, that He will never as an angry Father
disinherit His children, nor ever as a dread Lord, provoked by our evil actions,
deliver us to everlasting punishment as wicked servants who would not follow
Him to glory.

Pope Benedict’s prayer intentions for January 2013

The first day of each month I will publish Pope
Benedict XVI’s prayer intentions for the year 2013. You will notice that the
2013 intentions include prayers for praying for the Year of Faith, World
Youth Day, global respect for human life and the environment and a prayer
request for the protection of families.

The Apostleship of Prayer, founded in 1844 by the Jesuits, to draw the faithful’s attention to be united with missionaries spreading the Good News through the praying for the Morning Offering. Each day is given to God; all of the good we do assists in working out our salvation. Remember that essential prayer? It was Pope Leo XIII who gave a ministry of praying for specific intentions with the Morning Offering, The Apostleship also promotes the devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus.

So, join me in praying the Morning Offering and for Benedict’s January intentions
on a daily basis.

The general intention

That during this “Year of Faith”
Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and joyfully
bear witness to the gift of faith in Him.

The missionary intention

That the
Christian communities of the Middle East, which frequently suffer
discrimination, may receive the strength of fidelity and perseverance of the
Holy Spirit.

Go to Mass on New Year’s Day

Benedict XVI’s Year’s end Vespers homily

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.

Continue reading Benedict XVI’s Year’s end Vespers homily