Communio – Page 261 – …bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Work to regain the light of faith lost, or weakened, Pope preaches

The Pope’s homily at the close of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

The miracle of
the healing of blind Bartimaeus comes at a significant point in the structure
of Saint Mark’s Gospel. It is situated at the end of the section on the
“journey to Jerusalem”, that is, Jesus’ last pilgrimage to the Holy City, for
the Passover, in which he knows that his passion, death and resurrection await
him. In order to ascend to Jerusalem from the Jordan valley, Jesus passes
through Jericho, and the meeting with Bartimaeus occurs as he leaves the city –
in the evangelist’s words, “as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a
great multitude” (10:46). This is the multitude that soon afterwards would
acclaim Jesus as Messiah on his entry into Jerusalem. Sitting and begging by
the side of the road was Bartimaeus, whose name means “son of Timaeus”, as the
evangelist tells us. The whole of Mark’s Gospel is a journey of faith, which
develops gradually under Jesus’ tutelage. The disciples are the first actors on
this journey of discovery, but there are also other characters who play an
important role, and Bartimaeus is one of them. His is the last miraculous
healing that Jesus performs before his passion, and it is no accident that it
should be that of a blind person, someone whose eyes have lost the light. We
know from other texts too that the state of blindness has great significance in
the Gospels. It represents man who needs God’s light, the light of faith, if he
is to know reality truly and to walk the path of life. It is essential to
acknowledge one’s blindness, one’s need for this light, otherwise one could
remain blind for ever (cf. Jn 9:39-41).

Continue reading Work to regain the light of faith lost, or weakened, Pope preaches

Cardinal Dolan: Synod message may be too optimistic

The head of the US bishops and archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, just finished with many others, work at the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization in Rome. The Synod called by the Pope is tasked to advise him on questions that concern him in his pastoral leadership of the Church.

The pastors and experts are still trying figure out what to make of the new evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II in 1983 when he said that the sharing of the faith needed to be “new in its vigor, in its methods, in its expressions.” What’s now called the new evangelization concerns not only proclaiming the Gospel to those who have yet to hear of Jesus Christ (or know only his name and nothing more) and to re-catechize Catholics. There seems to be a divide in thinking and in approach when you read some interventions by some of the bishops as opposed to the heads of religious orders, ecclesial movements and other of the laity. Dolan admits that some in the Synod are a little too optimistic about the state of the question.

Cardinal Dolan spoke with Vatican Radio about the experience and the message released. You can listen here.

New cardinals named by Pope Benedict

In a surprise given to the Church this morning, Pope Benedict announced his intention to name new cardinals in November. One of them is an American, Archbishop James Michael Harvey of Milwaukee who has been serving at the Apostolic Household as its Prefect for the last several years. These new cardinals lifts the numbers eligible to vote in a conclave to 122.

In announcing
the intention to create new cardinals, the Pope said: “The Cardinals have
the task of helping the Successor of Peter in the performance of his ministry
of confirming the brethren in the faith, and that of being the principle and
foundation of unity and communion of the Church … fulfill their ministry in the
service of the Holy See or as fathers and pastors of particular Churches in
various parts of the world.”

The proposed list of new cardinals are

Archbishop James
Michael Harvey, 63, Prefect of the Pontifical House, who is also appointed
Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls,
His Beatitude Béchara
Boutros Raï, 72, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites (Lebanon),
His Beatitude
Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-
Malankara (India),
Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, 68, Archbishop of Abuja
(Nigeria),
Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gómez, 70, Archbishop of Bogota (Colombia),
Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, 55, Archbishop of Manila (Philippines).

The
consistory will take place on November 24.

Human Genomics help us to understand Adam and Eve, Father Nicanor Austriaco says

The Rhode Island Benedictine Portsmouth Abbey School welcomed Dominican Father Nicanor Austriaco to
deliver the Dom Luke Childs Lecture on October 15,
2012. He is an Associate Professor of Biology at Providence College. Father’s address was titled, “What Can Human Genomics Tell Us About Adam and Eve?“

Watch the presentation, it is very good and informative.

The Dom Luke Childs Lecture honors the popular Benedictine monk who taught at Portsmouth and died unexpectedly in 1976. The Lecture topics cover a wide range of intellectual and culture pursuits.

Continue reading Human Genomics help us to understand Adam and Eve, Father Nicanor Austriaco says

Elections 2012 – A Call to Build Anew

As the 2012 elections draw near, we are all encouraged to evaluate where we stand and where we’re heading as a country, since we all belong to one nation that has a common good. Particularly in this moment, when so many of our fellow countrymen suffer from unemployment and economic distress, we know that many long for improvement in their lives. All the same, we don’t believe this election will magically solve the gravest problems that America faces. Legislation, policies, and programs–no matter how perfect–depend on the freedom of flawed human beings like us.

Continue reading Elections 2012 – A Call to Build Anew

6 monks get their groove

Last week (17 October 2012) six monks from two monasteries, The Abbey of Christ in the Desert (NM) and and Mount Saviour Monastery(NY) met in NYC to have their 3 minutes of fame on the Today Show.

The monks sang “Alleluia Iustus Germinabit” from their new album produced by Sony Masterworks, “Monks in the Desert: Blessings, Peace and Harmony.” The CD will make a great Christmas gift…

It’s exciting to see Benedictine monks, including a friend, Abbot Philip, signing the Church’s chant in such a public way! You come to realize that the sacred music tradition is not dead. Several monasteries in the USA continue to sing the chant for Divine Worship.

The NBC people titled the segment, “6 monks get their groove on“…

Congrats to Abbot Philip and the monks…

If you want to see a little about the monastic life as it is at Mount Saviour, see their DVD, “The Everyday: Benedictine Life at Mount Saviour” (available at the Mount Saviour website).

Philosophy and theology are important in the Church’s dialogue with the contemporary world

The Ratzinger Prize is getting a whole currency these days: it is the second year that’s been bestowed on worthy scholars. What’s novel of me is that it’s not everyday that you get a prize for serious work from the man the prize is named after, and that he’s the Supreme Pontiff! The 2012 Ratzinger Prize was given to a French philosopher and American theologian on Saturday, October 20, 2012. Pope Benedict said that “Father Daley and Professor Brague are exemplary for the transmission of knowledge that unites science and wisdom, scientific rigor and passion for man, so that man might discover the [true] ‘art of living.'” Chris Altieri has the Vatican Radio report here.

Continue reading Philosophy and theology are important in the Church’s dialogue with the contemporary world

Blessed John Paul II

The Holy See has approved today as the liturgical memorial for Blessed Pope John Paul II. The opening collect, below, is the only prayer for the memorial and it does not appear in the Roman Missal.

O God, who are rich in mercy and who willed that the
blessed John Paul the Second should preside as Pope over your universal Church,
grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching, we may open our hearts to the
saving grace of Christ, the sole Redeemer of mankind.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

The Church, through the ministry of Pope Benedict XVI, canonized the first Native American woman today. The Church made an infallible statement in proclaiming before the world that Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1677), from the Mohawk Indian tribe,

Kateri Tekakwitha (Photo: razzumitos)

is in fact with God, a saint. Also canonized was Marianne Cope.

Hers was a common Catholic spirituality. Her way of living the Christian life is what is expected of all the baptized is the clearest link to Christ for us today. Saint Kateri was known to be a contemplative; a woman concerned to live the virtuous life; faithful to the Truth she received through Baptism and nourished by the reception of Confession and Holy Communion. Saint Kateri was recognized to be close to Jesus, a fact that was only possible because she spent time with the Eucharistic Lord in Adoration of the Blessed. Further, she was never without the Rosary. And she fasted for her own sins and the sins of her people. Penance was not uncommon to Saint Kateri.

At her intercession, God healed a boy from Washington state who had acquired a flesh eating bacteria. This was the miracle that allowed the Church to discern Kateri’s sanctity. On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the validity of the Congregation for Saints’ findings. Curious to note, Pope John Paul II didn’t require a miracle for Kateri to be beatified.

As a subtle point of clarification, in the Americas, Saint Juan Diego is the first Native person to be canonized and Kateri is the second. The current thinking is that in the USA, Kateri is the first Native person raised to the altars.

The National Shrine is in Fonda, NY.

Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete

Michael Sean Winters’ op-ed pieces aren’t always to my liking. But so what. We all don’t have to agree, do we? There are time writes that he does write some informative articles. Since a friend sent me this NCR article on a friend, Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, I thought I would post it here for others who may have missed the original June 28, 2012 posting.

Winters writes, “Msgr. Albacete introduced me to many of the people I
now consider dear friends. Of course, there are the good people of Communione e
Liberazione, who have a charism for friendship.” Yes. He did. Thanks be to God for Lorenzo.

In case you’ve not read Msgr. Albacete’s book, God at the Ritz, please do so. You’ll find it good, challenging and helpful for the spiritual life.