World Meeting of the Families 2009

World Meeting of the Families 2009

The family, teacher of human and Christian values

January 13-18

Mexico City

 

Holy Family2.jpgOur God, indivisible Trinity, you created the human being “in your image” and You admirably formed him as male and female that so together, united and in reciprocal collaboration with love, they fulfilled Your project of “being fecund and dominate the Earth”; We pray to You for all our families that so, finding in You their initial inspiration and model, that is fully expressed in the Holy Family of Nazareth, can live the human and Christian values that are necessary to consolidate and sustain the love experience and to be the foundations of a more human and Christian construction of our society.

We pray to You for the intercession of Mary, our Mother, and Saint Joseph. For Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A video about the Pope’s participation in this magnificent event is seen here.

Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys

Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys.jpgO Mother Bourgeoys, you, whose compassionate power is ever increasing, show us your way of Truth, Faith and Holiness.

Make us humble enough to abandon ourselves to the Will of God, generous enough to find in the Cross the joy of the Loving Giver.

May your fidelity to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament lead us ever nearer to this source of light and peace. May your spirit of openness help us to be concerned for our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

Finally, may Our Lady of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bring us to this unity of eternal grace to which God has called you for all eternity. Amen.

 

A Vatican biography and another view of the Canadian saint’s life.

How old is your Church?

From various sources:

If you are a Lutheran, Martin Luther, an apostate of the Roman Catholic Church, founded your religion in Germany, in the year 1517.

If you are a Mennonite, your church began in Switzerland with Grebel, Mantz, and Blaurock, in the year 1525.

If you belong to the Church of England, also know as Anglican, your religion began with King Henry VIII in 1534, who established his own church because the Pope could not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.

If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox, in Scotland, in the year 1560.

Continue reading How old is your Church?

Saint Aelred of Rievaulx


St Aelred2.jpgThe charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, bless his holy name (Rom 5:5; Ps 102:1).

O God, who gave the blessed Abbot Aelred the grace of being all things to all men, grant that, following his example, we may so spend ourselves in the service of one another, as to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The New Advent bio

Saint Aelred authored several influential books on spirituality, among them The Mirror of Charity and Spiritual Friendship. He also wrote seven works of history, addressing two of them to King Henry II of England advising him how to be a good king. The twentieth century has seen a greater interest in Saint Aelred as a spiritual writer than in former times when he was known to be a historian.

This year we honor the 900th anniversary of Saint Aelred’s birth, though some the anniversary in AD 2010.

Scripture Study: A Catholic’s love

St Jerome.jpgSaint Jerome once said that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. Therefore it is not a stretch to say that an authentic, believing Catholic studies and prays the Bible.

But what do we believe about the Bible? Catholics hold that Scripture is the inerrant Word of God and is authoritative for understanding Christ’s teaching; it is the basis for all Church teaching. Further, it is the Holy Spirit who provides a guide to understanding Christ’s teaching which is called Tradition. In fact, it was Church who, under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration that the Scriptures were written. With Tradition assisting us, nothing can replace an intimate familiarity with the Word of God through study and prayer (personal & communal). As the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council said that we are to, “[hear] the word of God with reverence and proclaiming it with faith.”

In 1965, the Church gave us a pivotal document on Scripture, Dei Verbum, which outlines its place in the life of every Christian. For many Dei Verbum is a middle way for biblical interpretation which lies between Protestant fundamentalism and secular rationalism. I recommend that you consider each word of this document. If you think Catholics find Scripture irrelevant you will find the following astonishing :

Therefore, all the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become “an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly” since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the “excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:8). “For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

Therefore, they should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids which, in our time, with approval and active support of the shepherds of the Church, are commendably spread everywhere. And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for “we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying.”

It devolves on sacred bishops “who have the apostolic teaching” to give the faithful entrusted to them suitable instruction in the right use of the divine books, especially the New Testament and above all the Gospels. This can be done through translations of the sacred texts, which are to be provided with the necessary and really adequate explanations so that the children of the Church may safely and profitably become conversant with the Sacred Scriptures and be penetrated with their spirit.

If you are looking for a fine review of what Dei Verbum has meant to us 35 years later I tend to think this essay of Archbishop Charles Chaput of 2000 as helpful. Additionally, you will find a wealth of information for biblical study at St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology directed by Scott Hahn. Hahn’s section on biblical studies is found in this internet library.

You may be short of time so I have drawn together a set of booklets on some aspects of Scripture published by the Catholic Information Service that are quite fine. Here are 8 online resources about sacred Scripture and the faith that will help know the fundamentals which will assist your personal study and prayer life:

About the Bible

God’s Story of Creation

Some Lessons from Genesis

The Ten Commandments

Revelation: A Divine Message of Hope

Q& A about the Catholic Faith

An underestimated chain of scripture is the gift of the Rosary. I would venture to say that no serious Catholic can resist the Rosary as form of prayer especially if he or she wants to know the Lord and to decapitate the head of sin. The Scriptural Rosary for Peace makes it clear the intimate connection between Scripture and the rosary

If you are looking for a primer on the Faith, then I would recommend reading and/or listening to the 30 booklets that address the various elements of our salvation in Jesus Christ in the Hart series. This series carries the reader through a systematic study of what Catholics believe and how Catholics worship and live.

One last point: pray the Divine Office. The sacred Liturgy of the Church comprises the praying the Divine Office (at the hinge hours of Morning and Evening Prayer) and praying the Sacrifice of the Mass. In a real sense one can’t divorce the Divine Office from the Mass as they form a unit. So if one conceives of the Liturgy as merely the Mass and makes no connection to the Divine Office, then that person has deficient view of the sacrifice of praise the Church continually offers to God. And what is the Divine Office and Mass? Pure Scripture; pure praise of the Blessed Trinity. Once you discover that the Liturgy (the Office & Mass) is the Church’s prayer speaking the Word of God and God speaking to us, or say it another way, the Mass is the face of the Word of God today and into eternity.

Baptism of the Lord

Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism in the Jordan, You revealed Him as Your own beloved Son. Keep us, Your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling.
Thumbnail image for Baptism of the Lord.jpgChrist’s Baptism – from the Catechism of the Catholic Church


All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan. After His resurrection Christ gives this mission to His apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Our Lord voluntarily submitted Himself to the baptism of Saint John, intended for sinners, in order to “fulfill all righteousness”. Jesus’ gesture is a manifestation of His self-emptying. The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as His “beloved Son.”

In His Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of His Passion, which He was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a “Baptism” with which He had to be baptized. The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life. From then on, it is possible “to be born of water and the Spirit” in order to enter the Kingdom of God.

See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from His death. There is the whole mystery: He died for you. In Him you are redeemed, in Him you are saved. (1223-1225)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa

St Gregory of Nyssa.jpgGod our Father, Saint Gregory, your bishop, praised you by the splendor of his life and teaching. In your kindness, as we forget what is past and reach out to what is before us, help us to attain that vocation to which we are called.

 

Saint Gregory Nyssa converted to Christianity in his early twenties and at the urging of his brother, Saint Basil, he was ordained bishop of Nyssa. He is the author of many theological works but he’s also known to be a mystic and a humanist. His final work, the Life of Moses, is mystical reflection on the life of Moses, Israel’s great leader and prophet.

Saint Gregory understood his life –indeed all of life– as unending progress of discovering what God is doing in us and how sin is refusal to keep on growing in this discovery, for “the one thing truly worthwhile is becoming God’s friend.”

Some of Saint Gregory’s famous sayings are the following:

“So we say to God: Give us bread. Not delicacies or riches, nor magnificent purple robes, golden ornaments, and precious stones, or silver dishes. Nor do we ask Him for landed estates, or military commands, or political leadership. We pray neither for herds of horses and oxen or other cattle in great numbers, nor for a host of slaves. We do not say, give us a prominent position in assemblies or monuments and statues raised to us, nor silken robes and musicians at meals, nor any other thing by which the soul is estranged from the thought of God and higher things; no–but only bread! . . .

“But you go on business to the Indies and venture out upon strange seas; you go on a voyage every year only to bring back flavourings for your food, without realizing that . . . [it] is above all a good conscience which makes the bread tasty because it is eaten in justice. . .

“‘Give Thou bread’–that is to say, let me have food through just labor. For, if God is justice, anyone who procures food for themselves through covetousness cannot have his bread from God. You are the master of your prayer if your abundance does not come from another’s property and is not the result of somebody else’s tears; if no one is hungry or distressed because you are fully satisfied. For the bread of God is, above all, the fruit of justice.”

For more about Saint Gregory, a Cappadocian, read this article.

Sister Jeanne Marie Vonder Haar, ASCJ

Jeanne Marie Vonder Haar.jpgToday is a red letter day in history with the birthday of Sister Jeanne Marie Vonder Haar, an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a dear friend.

Like many of the Apostles I know, Sister Jeanne Marie lives the order’s motto: the Love of Christ Urges us…. A striking example of this is Sister Jeanne Marie’s dedication (for decades) to the formation of young people in the obedience of elementary education. The companionship she shares was also striking today at a funeral of the father of one of the Apostles: nearly 75 of the sisters were present offer their sympathies and prayerful solidarity to Sister Barbara Matazaro and family. (Sr. Jeanne Marie is in the centerof the photo).

Robert F. Taft, SJ: priest, scholar & friend at 77

RF Taft.jpgOn January 9th Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, SJ celebrated his 77th birthday. May God grant him abundant blessings in the coming year.

Father Taft is the reason I am interested in the Eastern Churches and the study of the sacred Liturgy. He’s a former professor of mine and continues to be a friend.

BTW, he’s delivering the Schmemann Lecture at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on January 30th at 7:30 pm. For more info see the website.

Saint Paul & Art


St Paul Giotto.jpgHenry Artis, an artist and a modest theologian will give a presentation on St. Paul and Art (as part of the Crossroads on the Road program) this Sunday, January 11 at 12:00 noon, at the parish of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, 5706 Sargent Road, Chillum, MD 20782.

The flyer is located
Seeing St Paul flyer – Maryland.pdf.

Mr. Artis is available to give or a similar presentation in your parish or school. Email me and I’ll put you in touch with him, paulzalonski@yahoo.com.