Pope Benedict XVI – Page 20

Consecrated Life is a living exegesis of the Word of God, Pope tells religious

In today’s feast we contemplate the Lord Jesus whom
Mary and Joseph take to the Temple “to present him to the Lord” (Luke
2:22). Revealed in this evangelical scene is the mystery of the Son of the
Virgin, the consecrated One of the Father, who came into the world to carry out
his will faithfully (cf. Hebrews 10:5-7).

Simeon points to him as “light
for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), and proclaims with prophetic
word his supreme offer to God and his final victory (cf. Luke 2:32-35). It is
the meeting of the two Testaments, the Old and the New. Jesus enters the
ancient Temple, He who is the new Temple of God: He comes to visit his people,
bringing to fulfillment obedience to the Law and inaugurating the end times of
salvation.

Continue reading Consecrated Life is a living exegesis of the Word of God, Pope tells religious

The Word of God is everything: hearing what the WORD has to say

I am reading Verbum Domini with great eagerness. I am talking my reading seriously and trying to ponder what the Pope has given us as a path to Christ and to live as an authentic Christian today. Let’s recall the extraordinary address of Pope Benedict XVI on October 6, 2008 where he said:

“the Word of God is the foundation of everything, it is the true reality. And to be realistic, we must rely upon this reality. We must change our idea that matter, solid things, things we can touch, are the more solid, the more certain reality. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord speaks to us about the two possible foundations for building the house of one’s life: sand and rock. The one who builds on sand builds only on visible and tangible things, on success, on career, on money. Apparently these are the true realities. But all this one day will pass away. We can see this now with the fall of large banks: this money disappears, it is nothing. And thus all things, which seem to be the true realities we can count on, are only realities of a secondary order. The one who builds his life on these realities, on matter, on success, on appearances, builds upon sand. Only the Word of God is the foundation of all reality, it is as stable as the heavens and more than the heavens, it is reality. Therefore, we must change our concept of realism. The realist is the one who recognizes the Word of God, in this apparently weak reality, as the foundation of all things. Realist is the one who builds his life on this foundation, which is permanent.”

Scott W. Hahn, Covenant and Communion (2009), p. 22.

In another place we read:

You cannot put revelation in your pocket like a book you carry around with you. It is a living reality that requires a living person as the locus of its presence.

That is, the believer becomes real insofar as he becomes the Word by hearing such that he does it. That seems to be the only reality that perdures. Revelation is an act in which God shows Himself. Faith is a corresponding act of hearing and doing the Word heard. Outside of that, everything else perishes into nothingness.

J. Ratzinger, God Word: Scripture – Tradtion – Office, Ignatius (2008): 52.

Christianity is not a community closed-in on itself, Pope tells us about Unity among Christians

The Pope’s homily for Vespers at the Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls for the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul and the closing of Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A video clip of the event.

Following the
example of Jesus, who on the eve of his Passion prayed to the Father for his
disciples “that they may all be one” (John 17:21), Christians
continue to invoke incessantly from God the gift of this unity. This request is
made more intense during the Week of Prayer, which ends today, when the
Churches and ecclesial Communities meditate and pray together for the unity of
all Christians.

This year the theme offered for our meditation was proposed by
the Christian communities of Jerusalem, to which I would like to express by heartfelt
gratitude, accompanied by the assurance of affection and prayer either on my
part or on that of the whole of the Church. The Christians of the Holy City
invite us to renew and

Continue reading Christianity is not a community closed-in on itself, Pope tells us about Unity among Christians

Pope Benedict on social communications: be truthful and authentic in relationships with God, self & others

Here’s Pope Benedict’s letter for the World Day of Social Communications. There many great things in the document to ponder for our own personal development in the face of Truth, gospel and our brothers and sisters.

On the occasion
of the 45th World Day of Social Communications, I would like to share some
reflections that are motivated by a phenomenon characteristic of our age: the
emergence of the internet as a network for communication. It is an ever more
commonly held opinion that, just as the Industrial Revolution in its day
brought about a profound transformation in society by the modifications it
introduced into the cycles of production and the lives of workers, so today the
radical changes taking place in communications are guiding significant cultural
and social developments. The new technologies are not only changing the way we
communicate, but communication itself, so much so that it could be said that we
are living through a period of vast cultural transformation. This means of
spreading information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of learning
and thinking, with unprecedented opportunities for establishing relationships
and building fellowship.

Continue reading Pope Benedict on social communications: be truthful and authentic in relationships with God, self & others

Pope talks about Christian Unity this week

This week the Christian Churches around the world are observing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Today, the Pope gave his thoughts on the subject:

1. “we have listening to the teaching of the Apostles, or
listening to the witness that they give to the mission, life, death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is what Paul simply calls the Gospel”.
“Even today, the community of believers recognizes in reference to the
teaching of the Apostles the law for their faith; every effort to build unity
among all Christians therefore passes through the deepening of fidelity to the
deposit of faith handed down to us by the apostles.”

Continue reading Pope talks about Christian Unity this week

Benedict creates new Ordinariate for Anglicans in the UK

With the priestly ordination of John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton, the Pope has created the official structure to welcome Anglicans who want to be Catholic. The Mass and Rites of Ordination today in Westminster Cathedral was very well attended as the historic moment was formally announced by Archbishop Vincent Nichols reading the CDF letter inaugurating the Ordinariate was greeted with great enthusiasm. The whole work was placed under the patronage of the newly beatified Blessed John Henry Newman.

The newly ordained Father Keith Newton, 59, is the first Ordinary for Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales. Newton will be assisted by the Broadhurst and Burnham for catechetical matters. Others will be ordained to the Order of Deacon at Eastertide and then priested at Pentecost.

Faith matters; the true faith revealed by the Trinity and lived in the fullness of the Catholic Church. People point to the displeasure of some over the leadership of gay clergy and women’s ordination as the point of departure for these Anglicans but there are far more serious issues that would make me “jump ship” like the voting on theological facts, the objectivity of truth and faith, life issues, and principles of communion which are both vertical and horizontal.

Here is Anna Arco’s story in the Catholic Herald: “Priests ordained to the world’s first ordinariate.”

The Holy See’s statement on the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales

Bernard Fellay criticizes Pope unfairly over prayer at Assisi 2011

The Pope always
seems to get criticized at every twist-and-turn. He announced a gathering in
Assisi to have a World Day of Prayer in part to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the first Day of Prayer hosted by John Paul II and to build
bridges -he is the Pontiff, the “bridge builder”–after all. Benedict’s noble
and good motive is this: “I will make a pilgrimage to the town of St Francis,
inviting my Christian brethren of different confessions, leaders of the world’s
religious traditions and, in their hearts, all men and women of good will, to
join me on this journey in order to commemorate that important historical
gesture of my predecessor, and solemnly to renew the commitment of believers of
all religions to live their religious faith as a service to the cause of peace.”

Continue reading Bernard Fellay criticizes Pope unfairly over prayer at Assisi 2011

Pope moving forward with Anglican Union

The Roman See is moving ahead with welcoming Anglicans who want to swim the Tiber. People are talking of an announcement of a structure around January 15. Recent ceremonies of welcome and communion signal the serious of many who want to be in communion with the Lord but also with the Lord’s Church. In coming weeks some are being ordained priests. Benedict’s providing space for those who want to be in full communion with the Catholic Church while keeping cherished patrimony alive –but fixing some theological and liturgical infelicities.

London’s online news, The Daily Mail has not new news but some noteworthy things. Their headline is a bit misleading and aims to be contentious….

The Catholic News Agency also has a story on the forthcoming Ordinariate.

Pope’s State of the World address, 2011

We have the
state of the school address, the state of the state address, the state of the
nation address, and even have the state of the world. Today, Pope Benedict XVI
delivered his ‘state of the world’ speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to
the Holy See. Depending on how you count, there are between 178 to 181 diplomats
at the Holy See. Please note the Pontiff’s concentration on religious freedom; he is, head and shoulders above all world leaders, the voice for religious freedom as the path to true, lasting peace. The
Pope’s address, the original was delivered in French:

Your Excellencies, Ladies
and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you, the distinguished representatives
of so many countries, to this meeting which each year assembles you around the
Successor of Peter. It is a deeply significant meeting, since it is a sign and
illustration of the place of the Church and of the Holy See in the
international community. I offer my greetings and cordial good wishes to each
of you, and particularly to those who have come for the first time. I am
grateful to you for the commitment and interest with which, in the exercise of
your demanding responsibilities, you follow my activities, those of the Roman
Curia and thus, in some sense, the life of the Catholic Church throughout the
world. Your Dean, Ambassador Alejandro Valladares Lanza, has interpreted your
sentiments and I thank him for the good wishes which he has expressed to me in
the name of all. Knowing how close-knit your community is, I am certain that
today you are also thinking of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, Baroness van Lynden-Leijten, who several weeks ago returned to the
house of the Father. I prayerfully share your sentiments.

Continue reading Pope’s State of the World address, 2011

Benedict XVI baptizes 21: our destiny is full communion with God in eternal happiness

The papal
tradition of baptizing infants has been in place for some time. In addition to
baptizing converts at the Easter Vigil, Pope John Paul II annually popularized
the Rite of Baptism on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and since his
election 5 years ago, Benedict has continued it. The newly baptized typically
are newborn babies. Today, the Sistine Chapel was the magnificent setting for
21 infants ranging between four weeks to four months; all are children of
Vatican employees. May God grant the newly baptized the grace of forgiveness of
Original Sin, enlightenment, regeneration as a new person in Christ, and
adoption as a son or daughter of God. Pope speaks very clearly about today’s Scripture for Mass and the theology of the Liturgy we celebrated today. The Pope’s homily follows:

It is my
pleasure to warmly welcome you this morning, especially you parents and
godparents of the 21 infants upon whom, in a few moments time, I will have the
joy of administering the Sacrament of Baptism. As has become tradition, this
ritual takes place again this year as part of the Holy Eucharist during which
we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. With this the Feast, on the first Sunday
after the Epiphany, the Christmas season concludes with the manifestation of
the Lord in the Jordan.

Continue reading Benedict XVI baptizes 21: our destiny is full communion with God in eternal happiness