Saint Augustine's Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

Sermon 205 – On the Beginning of Lent

The following is taken from New City Press’ Essential Sermons of St. Augustine, translated by Fr. Edmund Hill, O.P., with opening commentary by Fr. Daniel Doyle, O.S.A. (one of my professors).

This sermon was likely preached on the first Sunday of Lent in Hippo sometime after 415. Augustine gives an extended meditation on the cross and calls fellow Christians to prayer and fasting from the pleasures of the flesh. Even married couples are recommended to abstain from carnal relations. The bishop is especially critical of those who abstain from eating certain meats or drinking wine but substitute other delicacies. Most importantly, Christians should fast from quarrels and discord.

If you don’t want your footsteps to sink in the earthly quagmire, don’t come down from the cross.

1. Today we enter upon the keeping of Lent, coming round again as it does every year, and every year too I owe you a solemn exhortation, so that the word of God, set before you by my service, may feed your minds as you set about fasting in the body; and in this way the inner self, nourished by its proper food, may undertake the chastisement of the outer, and sustain it all the more stoutly. It goes well with our devotion, after all, that as we are very soon going to celebrate the passion of the crucified Lord, we should also make a cross for ourselves out of the curbing of the pleasures of the flesh, as the apostle says: But for those who are Jesus Christ’s have crucified their flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal 5:24).

On this cross, indeed, the Christian ought to hang continually throughout the whole of this life, which is spent in the midst of trials and temptations. The time, you see, doesn’t come in this life for pulling out the nails, of which it says in the psalm, Let my flesh be transfixed with nails by the fear of you (Ps 119:120). Flesh means the lusts of the flesh; the nails are the commandments of justice; with these the fear of the Lord transfixes those, and crucifies us as a sacrifice acceptable to him. That’s why, again, the apostle says, And so I beseech you, brothers, by the compassion of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God (Rom 12:1).

So this cross, on which the servant of God is not only not put to confusion, but in fact glories in it, saying, But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6:14); this cross, I repeat, is not just meant for forty days, but for the whole of this life, which is signified by the mystical number of these forty days. This may be because, as several authorities assert, the human being destined to live this life takes shape in the womb in forty days; or else because the four gospels agree with the tenfold law, and four times ten marks up this number, and indicates that in this life we need both parts of scripture; or for any other more probable reason which a better and brighter intelligence can find.

So it is that Moses and Elijah and the Lord himself all fasted for forty days, to suggest that we are being worked upon in Moses and in Elijah and in Christ himself, that is in the law and the prophets and in the gospel itself, to ensure that we aren’t conformed to this world and don’t cling to it, but that instead we crucify the old self, behaving not in gluttony and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness; but let us put on the Lord Jesus, and take no care for the flesh in its lusts (Rom 13:13-14). Live here like that always, Christian; if you don’t want your footsteps to sink in the earthly quagmire, don’t come down from this cross.

But now, if that is what has to be done throughout the whole of this life, how much more during these days of Lent, in which this life is not only being spent, but in addition is also being mystically signified?

Works of penance

2. So on other days your hearts should never be weighed down with drugs and drunkenness; during these days, though, you should also fast. During the other days of the year you mustn’t so much as touch upon adultery, fornication, and any other forms of unlawful depravity; during these days, though, you should also abstain from your marriage partners. What you deprive yourselves by fasting, add by being generous to the alms you give. Let the time that was taken up with the payment of the marriage debt be spent in supplications; let the body, which was relaxing in demonstrations of carnal affection, prostrate itself in the purity of prayer; let the arms which were twined in embraces be raised and extended in orisons.

As for those of you who also fast on other days, add during these days to what you normally do. Those of you who throughout the year crucify the body by perpetual continence, cleave to your God during these days by more frequent and more earnest prayer. All of you, be of one mind and heart, all of you faithfully faithful, all of you, in this time of exile and wandering, full of heartfelt sighs and fervent love for the one, common home country. See to it that none of you envies, none of you mocks in another the gift of God which you don’t have in yourself. In the matter of spiritual goods, regard as your own what you love and admire in your brother or sister; let then regard as their own what they love and admire in you.

None of us, under the pretense of self-denial, should make a point of changing, rather than cutting back on, our pleasures; looking out for special delicacies because we aren’t eating meat, and for strange liquors because we aren’t drinking wine; that way, under the cloak of taming the flesh we are conducting the business of pleasure. All kinds of food are indeed pure to the pure; but self-indulgent luxury is pure to nobody.

Fast from quarrels

3. Before everything else, brothers and sisters, fast from quarrels and discord. Remember how the prophet upbraided some people and cried out, Your own wills are found on the days of your fast, because you dig your spurs into all who are under your yoke, and beat them with your fists; your voices are heard in shouting; and more to that effect. After mentioning all this, he added, That is not the fast I have chosen, says the Lord (Is 58:3-5). If you want to shout, use the kind of shouting about which it says, With my voice I shouted to the Lord (Ps 142:1). That indeed is not a shout of quarreling, but of loving; not of the flesh, but of the heart. Not such are those of whom it is said, I waited for them to do justice, but they worked iniquity; and not justice, but a shout (Is 5:7).

Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given you (Lk 6:37-38). These are the two wings of prayer, on which it flies to God; if you pardon the offender what has been committed, and give to the person in need.

Stupid absent-mindedness!

I had a very beautiful and peaceful evening of prayer tonight. I went down to the chapel in my dorm and prayed the Office of the Readings, then prayed the Rosary in Latin (for a friend), then did a brief meditation on the Cross with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, then prayed the Stations of the Cross, then prayed Vespers, and ended it with some time spent in quiet reflection. It was beautiful. I only mention this because of the irony that followed. So as part of my Lenten observance I am fasting for all 40 days, by which I mean that I have nothing but tea and water during the day, then allow myself one modest meal after dark. On Fridays instead of a meal I allow myself just some bread. But with my Celiac sometimes the bread thing is difficult if I don't have time to bake my own, which was the case tonight. So I figured after prayer I would go up to our in-dorm convenience store and pick up a salad. And somehow, completely absent-mindedly, I picked up a chef's salad and ate it – which includes ham and turkey! Gah! After that wonderful evening of prayer on the first Friday of Lent I go and eat meat!!! Haha, oh well, it was unintentional. I'll mention it in confession nonetheless, but mostly I'm just amused by it.

It's quiet here tonight. Mostly everyone has left for spring break. I'm here till tomorrow night. I'm going to spend the rest of the evening reading The Interior Castle. It's certainly been an interesting Lent so far…

Entering the Desert

Ash Wednesday. Lent has arrived. I have been anticipating this season for a while now as the medicine my soul so badly needs. It's not just the fasting and the increased attention to prayer and almsgiving, but the guidance that comes from the Liturgy as well is especially fruitful. As we walk into the desert of Lent, the Liturgy continues to nourish us with rich fruit and an everlasting spring of living water. The Office of the Readings for Ash Wednesday gives us Isaiah 58, which directs our hearts to the true spirit of fasting, tells us that fasting that is to be pleasing to the Lord is not simply giving something up and expecting reward from it, but rather emptying ourselves in such a way that allows us to better connect with our fellow man. If we merely empty ourselves of food and nourishment but remain full of our pride and our selfishness and all of our other attachments of sin then what good is our self-denial? But if our self-denial empties us in such a way that it allows us to root out our own destructive faults and severs our attachments to sin, and allows us to develop a singular trust in God, this then opens us up to become more acutely aware of the needs, both temporal and spiritual, of our fellow man. Thus is our fast acceptable and pleasing to God when it leads us to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke, and to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh. When this is the effect of our fasting, then we finally experience the true light of Christ in our soul, and all of our impurities are made clean, and all that seems to distance us from God is removed and we are drawn deep into the very heart of Christ. Then we truly abide in the love of God and walk in the awareness of how near He truly is to us.

Of course, we must be prepared for what the observance of this season of fasting and repentance will mean to us, what it will bring. We cannot go into this expecting consolation and sweetness. That will come at a later time. Now we are entering into the desert, where serpents and wild beasts and Satan himself like to dwell. We are walking straight into the path of temptation, just as Christ Himself did. But we do not walk alone, and so we have no reason to fear. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me (Ps 23:4). This is what we are doing now, we are entering into the valley of the shadow of death, for it is our old selves which we seek to put to death, and that old self will struggle and fight for its life. But we have no cause for fear, for the evil which clings to us and desires to continue to abide in us will be struck down by the rod of Christ, and by our consistent turning to prayer this evil will be purified in Christ's love. Satan quoted from Psalm 91 when he tempted Christ in the desert, so let's look to see what this Psalm really has to say to us as we walk into this dangerous lair of the beasts: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. And again, For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. We do not enter this desert alone. Though the aridity may afflict us and make it seem as if God is very distant, this is only our soul being purified, but God is ever near. We must cleave to Him in love, and He will deliver us from all our temptations, and will draw us closer and closer to Him, and we will continue to grow in holiness and love.

My Close Personal Friend Tim Robbins

So my mom taped about a minute of one of the comments I made during our speak out session after the performance. Here it is:

Fr. Thomas Martin, O.S.A.

The Augustinian community, and the Catholic Christian community at large, has lost a real giant this weekend. On Friday evening at around 5:00 p.m., Fr. Thomas Martin, O.S.A., lost his fight with cancer. He died very peacefully. Fr. Martin is a world renowned Augustinian scholar, a board member with New City Press, which produces some of the best English translations of Augustine's and other Catholic spiritual works, a beloved teacher and spiritual adviser to many. When his condition worsened and he was being moved to the infirmary here at our Monastery, I was speaking with one of my professors, Fr. Martin Laird, who told me that Fr. Tom has being teaching people his entire life, and for his final act he was teaching us all a course in dying. This past Wednesday, the day he moved to the infirmary, knowing that his death was imminent, I took the opportunity to visit with him, and how right Fr. Laird was. This was a man who was completely at peace, he had a smile on his face, he was still reading and marking up books and taking his pursuit of knowledge and prayer till his very end. I have never before met with a dying man and left there feeling better about myself. It was an honor to know him and to learn from him. He was a priest, a mentor, a teacher, and a friend. He will be dearly missed.

Anyone who has a moment to pray, please remember not only his soul, but also those who mourn his loss now, his family, his friends, and the Villanovan and entire Augustinian community. Thank you.

If you are interested in reading some of his work, here are a few selections available on Amazon:

Our Restless Heart: The Augustinian Tradition – a wonderful look a Augustinian spirituality.

Rhetoric and Exegesis in Augustine's Interpretation of Romans 7:24-25A – Not really sure why this book is priced at over $100, but maybe it's at your local library…

Augustine of Hippo and the Creation of the Western Self – I'm using the title here that he gave to me, though the Amazon page just has "St. Augustine." Anyway, this book is yet to be released, and I'm not sure how his death will affect its release – in other words, I don't know if he finished it or not. But if it is ultimately published, it promises to be an extraordinary insight into Augustine and his image of the self.

Dead Man Walking – With a Special Guest!

I don't have time to write a full post, but tonight was the final night of our run for Dead Man Walking, and in the audience was a very, very special surprise – TIM ROBBINS!!!! Seriously, he watched our play tonight, and he sat right next to me and told me what a great job I did and we did and he helped us conduct a speak out session with the audience about the issue of the death penalty. It was amazing. I will post pictures ASAP.

Aside from that, the real emotional moment of the evening was during the speak out session, when a young woman stood up and told us about her cousin who had been brutally murdered, and how as a Catholic she tries very hard to oppose the death penalty, but there are simply days where she wants the man to die. And then she looked at me and said how hard it was watching me because there were so many similarities between my character and her cousin's murdered, but she thanked me because she said that through me for the first time she was able to feel empathy for the killer. It was so powerful. After the speak out sessions was through I had to give her a hug, and I couldn't fight back the tears. It was such an amazing night, an amazing experience.

I will write more later, when I have pictures, but now it's cast party time J

Soldiers for Life

My friend Nick DeRose made this powerful video:

John Paul II is just so cool!

It’s getting closer

One final rehearsal, and then we open. I can't believe it's finally here. The show is really looking fantastic right now, and I think we are going to deliver a powerful experience to everyone who sees the show. This weekend was the first time working with the lights, and I just can't believe how amazing they look. The entire show is non-naturalistic, which means the lighting is all the more important.

This really has been such a wonderful, sometimes scary, spiritual experience for me. One of the things the director has asked me to do, and which I have been wanting to do anyway, is during the hour or so before rehearsal or before the show, to spend that time in isolation, away from the cast a bit. It allows me the opportunity not only to get myself into character, but to calm myself, to get in touch with my breathing, and for me, to also make a special prayer as I go through this very challenging transformation into Matt Poncelet. I honestly don't think I could give myself to this role the way that I am if I didn't have a strong faith and an intimacy with Christ. More or less my prayer is for Christ to allow me to go into the darkness, but for Him to be with me through it all. It sounds strange, I'm sure, but at the same time every night when we perform the show I experience a true redemption with Matt, and that is powerful. People think my tears at the end are just good acting, but in fact it's just good redemption.

There are still aspects of my performance I'm not happy with, little things that I still hope to perfect, but I suppose that is always the case. But each day gets better and better, and I am surrounded by really incredible talent. The true lead of the show, Shannon, who plays Sr. Helen, is seriously amazing. But the ensemble is what makes this show so unbelievably powerful. This show only works when we are able to demonstrate the many complex emotions that are involved with such violent crime and radical sin. So having people who can so powerfully portray the families of the victims, the family of the criminal, the people involved in the justice system, the religious communities and figures, all of this is just so incredibly important, and this cast so beautifully portrays all of that. When Shannon and I were interviewed on the CW Network the other day, that was one of the things I talked about, how while the interview was only getting Shannon and me, it is really the greater cast that makes this show work, and that is so true. Anyway, I'm just so honored to work with them, and every day I am in awe of their talent and their dedication.

It's going to be so strange seeing this end. I've given myself to roles before, but never like this – ever. I just hope and pray that it is to good effect, not just in terms of entertainment, but of bringing the message of redemption to those who see us. We've worked really hard, and it will be good to know that this hard work was to good effect.

Pope Benedict XVI on Transgressions and Forgiveness

A timely Angelus message as we prepare for the season of Lent, here Pope Benedict XVI speaks of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the tremendous spiritual fruit it brings to Christians:

 

On Transgressions and Forgiveness

"The Sins We Commit Distance Us From God"

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * * 

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

On these Sundays the Evangelist Mark offers a sequence of various miraculous healings for our reflection. Today he presents a very special one -- that of a healed leper (cf. Mark 1:40-45) -- who, coming to Jesus, gets on his knees and says: "If you wish, you can make me clean!" Jesus, moved, stretches out his hand, touches him and says: "I do wish it. Be made clean!"

The man is healed instantly and Jesus asks him not to tell anyone and present himself to the priests to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic law. The healed leper is unable to be quiet and proclaims to everyone what happened to him so that, the evangelist reports, still more sick people ran to Jesus from every part to the point of forcing him to stay out of the cities so as not to be besieged by the crowds.

Jesus says to the leper: "Be made clean!" According to the ancient Jewish law (Leviticus 13-14), leprosy was not only considered a sickness but the gravest form of "impurity." It was the duty of the priests to diagnose it and declare the person afflicted with leprosy unclean. This person then had to keep his distance from the community and stay away from towns until he was certified to be healed. 

Leprosy thus constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing was a kind of resurrection. We might see in leprosy a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart, distancing us from God. It is not, in effect, physical malady that distances us from him, as the ancient norms supposed, but sin, the spiritual and moral evil.

This is way the Psalmist exclaims: "Blessed is he whose fault is taken away / and whose sin is covered." And then, turning to God: "Then I acknowledged my sin to you, / my guilt I covered not. / I said: 'I shall confess my faults to the Lord,' / and you took away my guilt and my sin" (Psalm 31:1, 5 [32:1, 5]).

The sins we commit distance us from God, and, if they are not humbly confessed, trusting in the divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has powerful symbolic value. Jesus, as Isaiah prophesied, is the servant of the Lord who "bore our infirmities, / endured our sufferings" (Isaiah 53:4). In his passion he will become like a leper, made impure by our sins, separated from God: He will do all this for love, with the aim of obtaining reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation for us.

In the Sacrament of Penance Christ crucified and risen, through his ministers, purifies us with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and our brothers, and makes a gift of his love, joy and peace to us.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us invoke the Virgin Mary, whom God preserved from every stain of sin, that she help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of Forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life needs to be rediscovered today.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for 2009 World Day of the Sick

February 11 was the 2009 World Day of the Sick. Following is the text of Pope Benedict XVI's message for the day:

 

Pope's Message for 2009 World Day of the Sick

"The Witness of Charity Is Part of the Very Life of Every Christian Community"

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's message for the 17th World Day of the Sick, which was celebrated Wednesday on the diocesan level.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated next 11 February, the liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, will see the diocesan communities gathering with their Bishops at prayer meetings in order to reflect and decide on initiatives of sensitization concerning the reality of suffering.

The Pauline Year that we are celebrating is a favorable opportunity to pause and meditate with the Apostle Paul on the fact that "as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (2 Corinthians 1:5).

The spiritual connection with Lourdes also calls to mind the motherly concern of the Mother of Jesus for the brethren of her Son, "who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home" ("Lumen Gentium," No. 62).

This year our attention focuses in particular on children, the weakest and most defenseless creatures, and on those of them who are sick and suffering. There are tiny human beings who bear in their bodies the consequences of incapacitating diseases, and others who are fighting illnesses that are still incurable today, despite the progress of medicine and the assistance of qualified researchers and health-care professionals.

There are children injured in body and in mind, subsequent to conflicts and wars, and other innocent victims of the insensate hatred of adults. There are "street" children, who are deprived of the warmth of a family and left to themselves, and minors defiled by degenerate people who violate their innocence, causing them psychological damage that will mark them for the rest of their lives.

Then we cannot forget the incalculable number of minors who die of thirst, hunger and the lack of medical help, as well as the small exiles and refugees who flee from their countries together with their parents in search of a better life. A silent cry of pain rises from all these children which questions our consciences as human beings and believers.

The Christian community, which cannot remain indifferent to such tragic situations, feels the impelling duty to intervene. Indeed, as I wrote in the Encyclical "Deus Caritas Est," the Church "is God's family in the world. In this family no one ought to go without the necessities of life" (No. 25,b).

I therefore hope that the World Day of the Sick will offer the parish and diocesan communities an opportunity to be ever more aware that they are the "family of God" and will encourage them to make the love of the Lord, who asks that "within the ecclesial family no member should suffer through being in need", visible in villages, neighborhoods and cities (ibid).

The witness of charity is part of the very life of every Christian community. And from the outset the Church has expressed the Gospel principles in practical gestures, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles.

Today, given the changed conditions of health-care assistance, people are feeling the need for closer collaboration between health-care professionals who work in the various health-care institutions and the ecclesial communities present in the territory. In this perspective the value of an institution linked to the Holy See such as the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital this year celebrating its 140th anniversary is confirmed in every way.

But this is not all. Since the sick child belongs to a family that frequently shares in his or her suffering with serious hardship and difficulties, Christian communities cannot but also feel duty-bound to help families afflicted by the illness of a son or daughter.

After the example of the "Good Samaritan", it is necessary to bend over the people so harshly tried and offer them the support of their concrete solidarity.

In this way the acceptance and sharing of suffering is expressed in the practical support of sick children's families, creating in them an atmosphere of serenity and hope and making them feel that they are in the midst of a larger family of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus' compassion for the widow of Nain (cf. Luke 7:12-17) and for Jairus' supplication (cf. Luke 8:41-56) constitute, among others, useful reference points for learning to share in the moments of physical and moral suffering of the many sorely tried families.

All this implies disinterested and generous love, a reflection and a sign of the merciful love of God who never abandons his children in trial but always provides them anew with wonderful resources of heart and mind to equip them to face life's difficulties adequately.

The daily devotion and continuous commitment to serving sick children is an eloquent testimony of love for human life, particularly for the life of those who are weak and dependant on others in all things and for all things.

In fact, it is necessary to assert vigorously the absolute and supreme dignity of every human life. The teaching that the Church ceaselessly proclaims does not change with the passing of time: Human life is beautiful and should be lived to the full, even when it is weak and enveloped in the mystery of suffering.

We must turn our gaze to the Crucified Jesus:  in dying on the Cross he wished to share in the suffering of all humanity. We may discern in his suffering for love a supreme sharing in the plight of little ones who are ill and of their parents.

My venerable Predecessor John Paul II who offered a shining example of patient acceptance of suffering, particularly towards the end of his life, wrote:  "On this Cross is the "Redeemer of man', the Man of Sorrows, who has taken upon himself the physical and moral sufferings of the people of all times, so that in love they may find the salvific meaning of their sorrow and valid answers to all of their questions" ("Salvifici Doloris," No. 31).

I would like here to express my appreciation and encouragement to the international and national organizations which care for sick children, especially in the poor countries, and which with generosity and abnegation make their contribution to assuring them adequate and loving care.

At the same time, I address a heartfelt appeal to the leaders of nations that they will strengthen the laws and provisions for sick children and their families. For her part, the Church always, but especially when a child's life is at stake is prepared to offer cordial collaboration with the intention of transforming the whole human civilization into a "civilization of love" ("Salvifici Doloris," No. 30).

To conclude, I would like to express my spiritual closeness to all of you, dear brothers and sisters who are suffering from an illness. I address an affectionate greeting to all those who assist you:  the Bishops, priests, consecrated people, health-care workers, volunteers and all who devote themselves lovingly to treating and alleviating the sufferings of those who are grappling with illness.

Here is a special greeting for you, dear sick and suffering children:  the Pope embraces you with fatherly affection together with your parents and relatives, and assures you of his special remembrance in prayer, as he asks you to trust in the maternal help of the Immaculate Virgin Mary who last Christmas we once again contemplated joyfully holding in her arms the Son of God who became a Child. As I invoke upon you and upon every sick person the motherly protection of the Blessed Virgin, Health of the Sick, I cordially impart to all a special Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 2 February 2009

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Obama and Abortion

One of the prominent themes of the Obama campaign leading up to his November election victory was a new spirit of bipartisanship. He promised to be a new kind of politician who had the unique ability to walk across the aisle and work with people with whom he disagrees. In his victory speech on the night of November 4 he proclaimed, "In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long." Mr. Obama also promised to listen to the American people, so much so that he would allow for five days of public comment before signing any non-emergency bill. This would be a new kind of democratic representation from a new kind of American leader. But have we been deceived?

In this country there are few issues that can divide the American people more than abortion. Yet this is precisely the kind of issue where Mr. Obama can prove that he is not just another politician, but truly is one who desires to listen to all sides and to hear the will of the American people. Yet as one of his first acts as President, Mr. Obama signed an executive order overturning the Mexico City Policy, thus allowing for the U.S. government to provide aid to countries which would fund family planning clinics which provide abortion services. There was no public discussion of this decision, no consultation with Republicans to listen to their point of view on the matter, to hear their opposing arguments. It was simply a unilateral move by a President who has made it clear that pushing forward a pro-abortion agenda is very high on his list of priorities. He made this clear throughout his campaign, promising once to make signing the Freedom of Choice Act (to which I will return presently) one of the first things he does as president. Not only was there no bipartisanship in the signing of this executive order, but had Mr. Obama held true to his promise and allowed for public discourse and comment before signing the order, he would have discovered that only 35 percent of Americans approved of this move, while 58 percent disapproved. At a time when our economy is facing, in Mr. Obama's own words, a "catastrophe," this President has decided to oppose the will of the American people and provide funding for overseas abortions. So much for democratic representation, let alone prudence in a time of economic crisis.

Let's return to the Freedom of Choice Act. In a speech given to members and supporters of Planned Parenthood a question was asked of Mr. Obama as to what he would do to ensure the absolute right to abortion for women in the United States. The questioner complained about the restrictions on abortion posed by the Supreme Court in recent years, such as the ban on partial-birth abortions, parental notification laws, and so forth. Mr. Obama's response was that the first thing he would do as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, since in his view this bill would be a means to overturn all of these restrictions. Of course, let's be honest, Mr. Obama is a politician, and he was certainly pandering to his crowd here, as all politicians do. It's not possible to know just from this speech whether signing this bill is truly a priority or whether he was just telling the crowd what they wanted to hear, as politicians often do. But given his radical pro-abortion record it is certainly believable that the passage of this bill is an accomplishment he would like to win by the bully pulpit he has gained with his overwhelming victory and the large majority held in both houses of Congress.

It is important to be clear about the Freedom of Choice Act (H.R. 1964) and what it means. The reality is that all we know is what it could mean, because the language is very ambiguous. The bill states that abortion is a "fundamental right" of every woman in the United States, and that the government may not interfere with this right or "discriminate against the exercise of this right in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information." This language makes the clear assertion that abortion is a fundamental right of women, but what it proposes is intrinsic to that right is less clear. The fears voiced by many in the pro-life movement include the removal of all restrictions to abortion, overturning of parental notification laws, forcing Catholic hospitals to perform abortions (which would never happen, but instead most of the hospitals would simply close), denying freedom of conscience objections for doctors and nurses who would otherwise refuse to participate in the intentional killing of innocent human life (after all, most people enter the medical profession to save lives, not to end them). The truth is that it is not clear by any means that any or all of these things will definitely happen with the passage of the Freedom of Choice Act. It is clear, however, that this bill would open the door for all of these and other radical measures, and this will inevitably set up a barrage of court challenges to any number of bills that this highly abortion friendly Congress and presidency is likely to pass.

This leads us to another issue with Mr. Obama and his radical pro-abortion stance, which is the makeup of the judicial branch. In appointing as many as three Supreme Court justices, Mr. Obama will have an even stronger signature on the makeup of the Court than did Mr. Bush. Perhaps even more important will be the many federal judges that will be appointed to the various appellate courts around the nation. All of these appointments will have a major impact on the interpretation of abortion laws passed, with or without the Freedom of Choice Act.

To get an understanding of just how radical Mr. Obama's pro abortion views are we must turn to his time in the Illinois legislature. Three times during his tenure a bill called the Born Alive Infant Protection Act was proposed. This act sought to ensure that fetuses who survive a failed abortion and are subsequently born alive must be given medical care and treated as living human beings. The most powerful testimony during the debate over the bill came from Jill Stanek, the nurse who worked at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She testified that babies who survive a botched abortion in her hospital are simply given "comfort care, defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until s/he dies." In other words, a baby is born and then simply left to die.

Mr. Obama opposed this legislation, and over the years has provided various reasons as to why. He said that he did not wish to "create one more burden on the mother," by allowing her child to live. He argued that allowing protection to this born infant would subsequently define the fetus as a human person with rights, and that would thus be used to outlaw abortions. He argued that whether or not to kill babies born alive who survived abortions should be a doctor's prerogative, and that this bill would take that decision out of their hands. Perhaps most telling of his character and his desire to pursue his radical pro-abortion agenda is the fact that in one of the responses given in defense of his votes on this act Mr. Obama out and out lied. In a 2004 debate against Alan Keyes, Mr. Obama argued that the bill that passed at the federal level in 2002 contained language that differed from the Illinois bill in the way in which it defined "born alive," and that the Illinois bill was thus only a ploy to get around Roe v. Wade. This is simply false, as the language in the Illinois bill defined "born alive" identically to the federal bill. The federal bill, by the way, passed overwhelmingly and was supported by Republicans and Democrats alike, passing by a voice vote in the House and a nearly unanimous vote in the Senate.

For those who recognize the injustice of abortion and who fight for the protection of over one million innocent lives killed every year through abortion, there is no doubt that these upcoming years will be our most difficult yet. This president has made it clear that when it comes to abortion rights there will be no bipartisanship, there will be no listening to the American people, there will be nothing but the plowing forward with his radical pro abortion agenda. I don't know how we will respond or what we must do, but we must be willing to take an honest look at ourselves and recognize that this is a battle we are losing badly right now. Close to 50 million Americans have been killed via legalized abortion since the notorious Roe v. Wade, and the voiceless innocents need our protection now more than ever. This cause is now entering the darkest of times, but we must continue to fight. In one of the prayers of the Psalms David proclaims, "Great is thy mercy, O LORD; give me life according to thy justice" (Ps 119:156). Let this prayer be fulfilled for the unborn, that according to justice they may have life.

Pope Benedict XVI on the Spiritual Ladder of John Climacus

On the Spiritual Ladder of John Climacus

"A Great Symbol of the Life of the Baptized"

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave during today's general audience in Paul VI Hall.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

After 20 catecheses dedicated to the Apostle Paul, I would like to take up again today the presentation of the great writers of the Church of East and West in the Middle Ages. And I propose the figure of John called Climacus, a Latin transliteration of the Greek term klímakos, which means ladder (klímax).

This is the title of his principal work [rendered in English "Climax," or "Ladder to Perfection"], in which he describes the ascent of human life toward God.

He was born around 575. His life unfolded in the years in which Byzantium, capital of the Roman Empire of the East, experienced the greatest crisis of its history. Suddenly the geographical layout of the empire changed and the torrent of barbarian invasions brought all of its structures to crumble. Only the structure of the Church remained, which in these difficult times continued with its missionary, humanistic and socio-cultural activities, especially through the network of monasteries, in which operated great religious personalities, as was precisely John Climacus. 

Among the mountain of Sinai, where Moses encountered God and Elias heard his voice, John lived and narrated his spiritual experiences. An account of him has been conserved in a brief biography (PG 88, 596-608), written by the monk Daniel of Raithu: At age 16, John, monk at Mt. Sinai, became a disciple of the abbot Martyrius, an "elder," that is to say, "a wise one." Toward age 20, he chose to live as a hermit in a cave at the foot of a mountain, in the region of Tola, eight kilometers from the feet of the current monastery of St. Catherine.

But solitude did not keep him from meeting people who desired a spiritual guide, or from visiting certain monasteries close to Alexandria. His hermitic withdrawal, in fact, far from being flight from the world and human reality, led him to an ardent love for others (Life, 5) and for God (Life, 7). After 40 years of hermitic life lived in the love of God and for others, years in which he cried, prayed and fought against the demons, he was named abbot of the great monastery of Mt. Sinai and thus returned to the cenobitic life in the monastery. 

But a few years before his death, nostalgic for the hermitic life, he transferred to a brother, a monk of the same monastery, the guidance of the community. He died after the year 650. The life of John developed between two mountains, Sinai and Tabor, and truly it can be said of him that he radiated the light that Moses saw on Sinai and the apostles contemplated on Tabor.

He became famous, as I already mentioned, with his work "The Ladder" (klímax), called in the West the "Ladder of Paradise" (PG 88, 632-1164). Composed because of the insistent petitions of the abbot of the nearby monastery of Raithu, close to Sinai, "The Ladder" is a complete treatise of the spiritual life, in which John describes the path of a monk, from the renunciation of the world till the perfection of love. It is a path that -- according to this book -- takes place through 30 steps, each one of which is united to the one that comes after.

The path can be summarized in three successive phases: the first shows the rupture with the world with the aim of returning to the state of Gospel childlikeness. The essential, therefore, is not the rupture, but the union with which Jesus has called, the return to the true childlikeness in the spiritual sense, the coming to be like children. John comments: "A good foundation is that formed by three bases and three columns -- innocence, fasting and chastity. All the newborns in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:1) should begin with these three things, following the example of physical newborns" (1,20; 636).

The voluntary separation from dear people and places permits the soul to enter into deeper communion with God. This renunciation leads to obedience, which is the path of humility through humiliations -- which are never lacking -- on the part of humans. Juan comments: "Blessed is he who has mortified his own will to the end and has entrusted the care of his person to his master in the Lord: He will be placed at the right of the Crucified One" (4,37; 704).

The second phase of the path is made up of spiritual combat against the passions. Each step of the ladder is united with a principal passion, which is defined and diagnosed, indicating as well the therapy and proposing the corresponding virtue. The whole of these steps undoubtedly constitutes the most important treatise of the spiritual strategy that we possess. The fight against the passions is seen in a positive light -- it's not viewed as a negative thing -- thanks to the image of the "fire" of the Holy Spirit:

"All those who undertake this beautiful fight (cf. 1 Timothy 6:12), difficult and arduous […] should know that they have come to throw themselves in a fire, if they truly desire that the immaterial fire dwells in them" (1,18; 636). The fire of the Holy Spirit, which is the fire of love and truth. Only the strength of the Holy Spirit assures victory. But, according to John Climacus, it is important to be aware that the passions are not evil in themselves; they become so because of the poor use that human freedom makes of them. If they are purified, the passions open to man the path toward God with energies unified by asceticism and grace and "if they have received from the Creator an order and principle … the limit of virtue is endless" (26/2,37; 1068).

The last phase of the path of Christian perfection is developed in the last seven rungs of the ladder. These are the highest phases of the spiritual life, able to be experienced by the "esicasti," the solitary ones, who have arrived to tranquility and interior peace. But they are phases accessible as well to the most fervent cenobites. Of the three first ones -- simplicity, humility and discernment -- John, in line with the desert fathers, considers the latter the most important, that is, the capacity to discern.

Every action should be submitted to discernment, everything depends in fact on deep motives, which it is necessary to explore. Here one enters into the depths of the person and tries to awaken in the hermit, in the Christian, the spiritual sensitivity and the "sense of the heart," gifts of God: "As guide and rule of all things, after God, we should follow our conscience" (26/1,5, 1013). In this way, one arrives to the tranquility of the soul, the "esichía," thanks to which the soul can peer into the abyss of divine mysteries.

The state of tranquility, of interior peace, prepares the "esicasta" for prayer, which in John is double: "corporal prayer" and "prayer of the heart." The first is proper to one who must avail of postures of the body: extend the hands, express groans, strike the chest, etc. (15,26; 900); the second is spontaneous, because it is an effect of awakening the spiritual sensitivity, gift of God to whom is dedicated the corporal prayer. In John, this takes the name of "Jesus prayer" (Iesoû euché) and it is made up of the invocation of the name of Jesus, a continuous invocation like breathing: "The memory of Jesus becomes one with your respiration, and then you will discover the truth of the esichía," of interior peace (27/2,26; 1112). In the end, prayer becomes something very simple, simply the word "Jesus" becomes one with our breathing.

The last rung of the scale (30), full of the "sober intoxication of the Spirit" is dedicated to the supreme "trinity of virtues": faith, hope and above all, charity. Regarding charity, John speaks also of eros (human love), figure of the matrimonial union of the soul with God. And he chooses yet again the image of fire to express the ardor, light and purification of love by God. The strength of human love can be reoriented toward God, as the good olive tree can be grafted onto the wild olive (cf. Romans 11:24) (15,66; 893). 

John is convinced that an intense experience of this eros makes the soul advance more than the hard fight against the passions, because its power is great. Thus the positiveness of our path prevails. But charity is seen as well in direct relation with hope: "The strength of charity is hope: Thanks to it we hope for the recompense of charity … hope is the gate of charity … the absence of hope destroys charity: our troubles are linked to it, with it we sustain ourselves in our problems and thanks to it we are surrounded by the mercy of God" (30,16; 1157). The end of "The Ladder" contains the synthesis of the work with the words the authors puts in the mouth of God himself. "May this ladder teach you the spiritual disposition of the virtues. I am at the top of this ladder, as that great mystic of mine said (St. Paul): Now therefore three things remain: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13)" (30,18; 1160).

At this point, a last question arises: "The Ladder," a work written by a hermit monk who lived 1,400 years ago: Can it say something to us today? The existential itinerary of a man who always lived on the mountain of Sinai in a time so long ago: Can it be current for us? At first glance, it seems the answer should be "no" because John Climacus is very far from us. But if we look a little closer, we see that such a monastic life is only a great symbol of the life of the baptized, of Christian life. It shows, to say it one way, in large letters what we write every day with little letters. It is a prophetic symbol that reveals what is the life of the baptized, in communion with Christ, with his death and resurrection. For me, it is of particularly importance the fact that the culmination of the scale, the last rungs are at the same time the fundamental, initial, simplest virtues: faith, hope and charity.

These are not virtues accessible only to moral heroes, but are the gift of God for all the baptized. In them our life too grows. The beginning is also the end; the starting point is also the arriving point: The whole path goes toward an ever more radical fulfillment of faith, hope and charity. In these virtues, the ladder is present. Fundamentally is faith, because this virtue implies that I renounce arrogance, my thoughts, the pretension to judge for myself, without entrusting myself to others.

This path toward humility, toward spiritual childlikeness is necessary: It is necessary to overcome the attitude of arrogance that makes one say: I am better, in this age of mine of the 21st century, than what those who lived then knew. It is necessary, instead, to entrust oneself only to sacred Scripture, the Word of the Lord, approach with humility the horizon of faith, to thus enter into the enormous vastness of the universal world, of the world of God. 

In this way, our soul grows, the sensitivity of the heart toward God grows. Precisely John Climacus says that only hope makes us capable of living charity. Hope in which we transcend the things of each day; we do not hope for the success of our earthly days but we hope finally for the revelation of God himself. Only in this extension of our soul, in this self-transcendence, our life is made great and we can bear the tiredness and disillusionment of each day, we can be good to others without expecting a reward.

Only if God exists, this great hope to which I tend, can I take the little steps of my life each day and thus learn charity. In charity, the mystery of prayers is hidden, of the personal knowledge of Jesus: a simple prayer that alone tends to touch the heart of the divine Teacher. And thus one's heart opens, learns from him his own goodness, his love. Let us use, therefore, this ladder of faith, of hope and of charity, and we will thus arrive to true life. 

[Translation by ZENIT]

Being Spiritually Preoccupied

My Aunt Lois is a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), Sister Rose Lawrence, and throughout my life she has provided me with great spiritual guidance, particularly with the spiritual authors to whom she has introduced me. The greatest of these treasures has been the love of Thomas Merton that I have developed and that I owe entirely to her. One of the Christmas gifts she gave me a few years ago was a devotional book comprised of Thomas Merton's journal writings. Today's entry struck me in particular (emphasis Merton's, emphasis mine):

The "spiritual preoccupations" of this time – the post Vatican II Conciliar years. (An imaginary era we have thought up for ourselves – divertissement!) I need perhaps to be less preoccupied with them, to show that one can be free of them, and go one's own way in peace. But there is inculcated in us such a fear of being out of everything, out of touch, left behind. This fear is a form of tyranny, a law – and one is faced with the choice between this law and true grace, hidden, paradoxical, but free.

An unformulated "preoccupation" of our time – the conviction that it is precisely in these (collective) preoccupations) that the Holy Spirit is at work. To be "preoccupied with the current preoccupations" is then the best – if not the only – way to be open to the Spirit.

Hence one must know what everybody is saying, read what everybody is reading, keep up with everything or be left behind by the Holy Spirit. Is this a perversion of the idea of the Church – a distortion of perspective due to the Church's situation in the world of mass communications? I wonder if this anxiety to keep up is not in fact an obstacle to the Holy Spirit.

Merton's prophetic voice never ceases to amaze me. This entry was written in 1966, and already he foresaw the dangers that come along with the wonder of mass communication. I see these dangers every day in my own spiritual life, and it is a struggle that too often I find myself losing. Certainly the internet is a wonderful thing, and it gives us access to information and to people in truly wonderful ways, and the Church is right to seek new ways to embrace this technology as a powerful evangelical tool. But it also poses serious threats, as well, in many various forms, depending on the individual person and his or her spiritual weaknesses. I know for myself, what Merton says about being preoccupied with the fear of being out of touch, left behind, being preoccupied with what everyone is saying, is definitely one of my greatest spiritual struggles vis-à-vis the internet. There are far too many times when I find myself reading blogs obsessively when I should be spending time in prayer, or doing homework, or communicating with the Body in person, or doing all sorts of other things. Too often for me it becomes an obsession, an addiction, and it too easily separates me from God.

One of the things that saddens me is when I look back over the past three years of my journey. It is clear to me that I have fallen backwards instead of progressing into a deeper relationship with God. It is evident in the way I live my life; it is evident just by reading my own writings. My writings used to have a real spiritual power and life to them, a life that sprung from the fact of my deep prayer and union with God. I have fallen in that relationship with God, my prayer life is diminished, and I no longer stand rooted in the fountain, but rather occasionally walk up to it for a drink. How did this happen? Nowadays my writings are mostly labored, they are attempts to reconnect with that participation in Christ that I once experienced so deeply.

I am not unaware of the causes of this drift. That I have a consciousness about them is a good thing, because it means I know what I have to do. Doing it is my problem. I need to act, and the sooner the better. For me, I believe this is all connected with my failures of humility. Humility compels me to recognize the gifts that God has given me, and to cultivate them so as to give them back to God, to offer them to the service of the Church. 1 Corinthians 12-14 comes to mind.

All of this is connected to my own obsession with the blogosphere, my constant desire to keep up with everything. There is an emptiness in my heart that was once filled by Christ. This is not to say of course that Christ is absent, but rather that I have marginalized His presence in my life. I have created a void where there should be the abundance of love. Now I seek to fill that void, that abyss, and instead of going to the only true Source of its being filled, I turn to any variety of external fixations. This is the same reason I have struggled with so many other areas of my life over the years, with sexuality, with drugs and alcohol, and so forth. All of this reaching out is a seeking of that transcendent fulfillment that in reality can only be found from turning within. In my previous entry on prayer and St. Teresa I mentioned that famous passage from St. Augustine's Confessions, but it bears repeating here:

Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new; late have I loved you. And see, you were within me and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put flight to my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now I pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours. (Confessions, X, xxvii, 38)

This passage has spoken to me so many times, and it continues to convict me because it tells me what I already know, what I have experienced and from which I have turned away. I once turned away from seeking my fulfillment in the external world, and turned within and found fulfillment in Christ. I experienced that panting and that radiance and that hunger and thirst, I too was once on fire to attain that peace which is Christ. Yet somehow I turned outward once again, and I have lost my peace. While it is true that I am nowhere near the place where I was when I was outside the Church, and I am not exactly on anything resembling dangerous ground like I once was, nonetheless I have forsaken the great gifts that God is offering to me, and offering them not just for my sake but for the sake of the Church. I find myself in this state of limbo, where I have not turned away from God, but at the same time I am no longer freely saying with Samuel, "Here I am," or with Mary, "Be it done unto me according to Thy will." My struggle now is to return to that place once again, and pray for the grace to never turn back.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sickness and God’s Love

Today's Angelus message was very powerful, I thought. I know a lot of you are suffering out there, and a lot of you know people who are. Let us continue to lift up one another in prayer:

 

On Sickness and God's Healing Love

"We Are Made for Life"

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 8, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today the Gospel (cf. Mark 1:29-39) -- in direct continuation with last Sunday -- presents us with Jesus, who after having preached on the Sabbath in the synagogue of Capernaum, cured many ill people, beginning with Simon's mother-in-law. Entering his house, he found her in bed with a fever and immediately, taking her by the hand, he healed her and had her get up. After sunset, he healed a multitude of people afflicted with all sorts of ills.

The experience of the healing of the sick occupies a good portion of the public mission of Christ and it invites us once again to reflect on the meaning and value of illness in every situation in which the human being can find himself. This opportunity comes also because of the World Day of the Sick, which we will celebrate next Wednesday, Feb. 11, liturgical memorial of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes.

Despite the fact that illness is part of human existence, we never manage to get used to it, not only because sometimes it comes to be burdensome and grave, but essentially because we are made for life, for complete life. Precisely our "internal instinct" makes us think of God as plenitude of life, and even more, as eternal and perfect Life. When we are tested by sickness and our prayers seem in vain, doubt wells up in us and, filled with anguish, we ask ourselves: What is God's will?

It is precisely to this question that we find an answer in the Gospel. For example, in the passage of today we read: "He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him" (Mark 1:34). In another passage from St. Matthew, it says: "He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people" (Matthew 4:23).

Jesus does not leave room for doubt: God -- whose face he himself has revealed -- is the God of life, who frees us from all evil. The signs of this, his power of love are the healings that he carries out: He thus shows that the Kingdom of God is near, restoring men and women to their full integrity in spirit and body. I refer to these healings as signs: They guide toward the message of Christ, they guide us toward God and make us understand that man's truest and deepest illness is the absence of God, who is the fount of truth and love. And only reconciliation with God can give us true healing, true life, because a life without love and without truth would not be a true life. The Kingdom of God is precisely the presence of truth and love, and thus it is healing in the depths of our being.

Thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, the work of Jesus is prolonged in the mission of the Church. Through the sacraments, it is Christ who communicates his life to the multitude of brothers and sisters, as he cures and comforts innumerable sick people through so many activities of health care service that Christian communities promote with fraternal charity, thereby showing the face of God, his love. It is true: How many Christians all over the world -- priests, religious and laypeople -- have given and continue giving their hands, eyes and hearts to Christ, true physician of bodies and souls!

Let us pray for all the ill, especially for those who are most grave, and who can in no way take care of themselves, but depend entirely on the care of others; may every one of them be able to experience, in the solicitude of those who are near to them, the power of the love of God and the richness of his grace that saves us. Mary, health of the sick, pray for us.

[After praying the Angelus, he said:]

In these weeks, strong political tensions are taking place in Madagascar, which have also provoked popular disturbances. Because of this, the bishops of the island have convoked for today a day of prayer for national reconciliation and social justice. Intensely concerned by the particularly critical moment that the country is going through, I invite you to unite yourselves to the Catholics of Madagascar to entrust to the Lord those who have died in the manifestations and to invoke from him, through the intercession of Most Holy Mary, the return of harmony of thought, social tranquility and civil co-existence.

As I said just a moment ago, next Feb. 11, memorial of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes, the World Day of the Sick is celebrated. In the afternoon, I will meet with the sick and other pilgrims in St. Peter's Basilica, after the holy Mass that the president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, Cardinal Lozano Barragán, will preside over. From now, I assure my special blessing to all the sick, the health care workers and the volunteers of every part of the world.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Live Birth Abortion

CNN reports that a doctor has lost his license for the various horrific crimes committed at his clinic during his absence, including his staff allowing a baby born to a woman who had come in for an abortion and then thrown in the trash by his co-owner. There were various other offenses involved, but that is the worst of them all, by far. Besides the horror of live birth abortions (a procedure, by the way, that our current president refused to vote against three times in the Illinois legislature. Yes, he claims to have good reasons. Yes, they're all lies), one aspect of this article really struck me. The mother of the infant thrown in the trash is suing seeking damages because, "she witnessed the murder of her daughter" and said she "sustained severe emotional distress, shock and psychic trauma which have resulted in discernible bodily injury." This young girl, 18 years old at the time of her attempted abortion in 2006, witnessed the horror of her child being killed – when she had gone to the clinic for just that purpose, to kill her child. Now don't get me wrong, she's absolutely right. She witnessed the horror of killing one's one child, or seeing one's own child be killed. That in itself says everything about why abortion is so immoral, so intrinsically evil. The evil isn't because she witnessed it. The evil is because of what she was doing in the first place, which is hiring someone to kill her own young. The fact that the killing occurred in a different environment than what she had intended, namely, that she intended it to happen inside her own womb but instead it happened minutes later outside of it, is irrelevant. Her desired outcome was the death of her child, which is horrifying. It just so happens that now she got to witness how horrifying it really is.

My heart goes out to this young girl. She is now 20 years old, and while every girl suffers some sort of traumatic after-effect from abortion, hers is significantly worse, because of the simple fact that she saw it happen in a way that most don't. There is a reason why most abortion clinics refuse to allow girls to see their ultrasounds, because that in itself is enough to awaken in many girls the reality that there is truly a human being growing within them. And that is just on an ultrasonic image. Imagine seeing the baby alive outside the womb and then witnessing it being killed? I know she was scared going into the abortion, and I can only imagine the guilt she is feeling now. I sincerely pray for this girl, that she will find some way to experience healing and forgiveness. At the same time, I hope her story helps to awaken more persons to the horrific reality of what abortion is. Remember, it was only a matter of minutes and a simple change in environment that changed this intentional killing from one sanctioned by law to one that is a criminal offense. In terms of morality, how much really changed in that period of time, and in that change in environment? Clearly not enough for there to exist so great a difference in our view of the two deaths. Clearly not enough to make one criminally culpable, and one entirely legally permissible. We can't possibly think that the killing inside the womb, a killing that takes place by literally ripping the fetus apart, limb by limb, is any less horrific than the disposing of that fetus, who is at the exact same stage of development in either case, in a trash bag and leaving it to die. At some point common sense has to take over, and we have to realize how wrong abortion really is.

Prayers of Spiritual Warfare

This is merely a repeat of a previous post I made, but during these challenging times for the Church and the vicious attacks She is suffering, I think it is appropriate to post them once again:

Prayer to St. Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin and destruction of souls. Amen.

Prayer for Deliverance 

My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, you are Father. We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of Heaven, come to our aid. 

From anxiety, sadness and obsessions, we beg you,

Free us O Lord.

From hatred, fornication, envy, we beg you,

Free us O Lord.

From thoughts of jealousy, rage and death, we beg you,

Free us O Lord.

From every thought of suicide or abortion, we beg you,

Free us O Lord.

From every form of sinful sexuality, we beg you

Free us O Lord.

From every division in our family, and every harmful friendship, we beg you

Free us O Lord.

From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we beg you,

Free us O Lord.

Lord, you who said, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you", grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always. In the name of Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

 
 

Prayer against Malefice (From the Greek Ritual) 

Kyrie Eleison. God, our Lord, King of ages, All-powerful and All-mighty. You who made everything and who transformed everything simply by your will. You who in Babylon changed into dew the flames of the 'seven-times hotter' furnace and protected and saved the three holy children. You are the doctor and the physician of our soul. You are the salvation of those who turn to you. 

We beseech you to make powerless, banish, and drive out every diabolical power, presence, and machination; every evil influence, malefice, or evil eye and all evil actions aimed against your servant...where there is envy and malice, give us an abundance of goodness, endurance, victory, and charity. 

O Lord, you who love man, we beg you to reach out your powerful hands and your most high and mighty arms and come to our aid. Help us, who are made in your image; send the angel of peace over us, to protect us body and soul. May he keep at bay and vanquish every evil power, every poison or malice invoked against us by corrupt and envious people. Then under the protection of your authority may we sing, in gratitude, "The Lord is my salvation; whom should I fear? I will not fear evil because you are with me, my God, my strength, my powerful Lord, Lord of peace, Father of all ages.

Yes, Lord our God, be merciful to us, your image, and save your servant (name the person), from every threat or harm from the evil one, and protect him by raising him above all evil. 

We ask you this through the intercession of our Most Blessed, Glorious Lady, Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, of the most splendid archangels and all your saints. Amen!

 
 

Prayer against Every Evil 

Spirit of our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of Heaven, descend upon me. 

Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with yourself, use me. 

Banish all forces of evil from me, destroy them, vanquish them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds. 

Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, malefice, ties, maledictions, and the evil eye; diabolical infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealousy, perfidy, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, diabolical ailments. 

Burn all these evils in hell , that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world. 

I command and bid all the powers who molest me - by the power of God all powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary - to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell, where they will be bound by Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angels, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. 

Amen.

Prayer for Inner Healing:

Lord Jesus, you came to heal our wounded hearts. I beg you to heal the torments that cause anxiety in my heart. I beg you, in a particular way, to heal all who are the cause of sin. I beg you to come into my life and heal me of the psychological harms that struck me in my early years and from the injuries that they caused throughout my life. 

Lord Jesus, you know my burdens. I lay them all on your Good Shepherd's Heart. I beseech you - by the merits of the great, open wound in your heart - to heal the small wounds that are mine. Heal the pain of my memories, so that nothing that has happened to me will cause me to remain in pain and anguish, filled with anxiety. 

Heal, O Lord, all those wounds that have been the cause of all the evil that is rooted in my life. I want to forgive all those who have offended me. Look to those inner sores that make me unable to forgive. You who came to forgive the afflicted of heart, please, heal my own heart. 

Heal, my Lord Jesus, those intimate wounds that cause me physical illness. I offer you my heart. Accept it, Lord, purify it and give me the sentiments of Your Divine Heart. Help me to be meek and humble. 

Heal me, O Lord, from the pain caused by the death of my loved ones, which is oppressing me. grant me to regain peace and joy in the knowledge that you are the Resurrection and the life. Make me an authentic witness to your resurrection, your victory over sin and death, your living presence among us. Amen.

Pray for and Support our Holy Father

Friends, the Church is under attack right now, and our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI is in need of our prayers now more than ever. And while he doesn't necessarily need our words of encouragement, I imagine they certainly would not hurt. So here's what I propose: now, I am aware that I have a very small audience, and that I only receive some 40-50 visitors a day, and most of you are just passing through. But I would like everyone – Catholic or not! – who would like to offer a prayer or some words of solidarity for our Holy Father to leave a comment here. What I then will do is print out all of the comments, along with a letter of my own, and send them to the Holy Father. Furthermore, for as many comments of support that I receive, I will also have as many Masses offered for his intention. So please, take a moment first to pray, and then to offer some words of encouragement here on the blog.

Grace and Peace in Christ,
Michael

Amazing Rendition of Ave Maria - On the Saw!!!

Theology of the Body

I haven't posted a Theology of the Body analysis since last August. I only got as far as the first 15 or so audiences. I'd like to pick that up again soon, hopefully this weekend. Anyone who was interested in them can keep a look out. If you're new to the blog, and you're interested, here is the link to all the TOB posts I have made to date, in descending order, so you would need to begin at the bottom and work your way up.

An Excellent Statement from the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

Found this over at my favorite Catholic blog. Let us all remember that the Holy Father and the Church are in need of our prayers, now and always.

 

HARRISBURG, PA (February 6th, 2009) – The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a national association of 600 priests and deacons across the USA, publicly reaffirm our filial obedience and respect for the Holy Father. We furthermore declare our perennial and unequivocal support for Pope Benedict XVI as the Vicar of Christ on Earth and the Supreme Roman Pontiff. 

We pledge our continued prayers for His Holiness especially in light of the recent slander and calumny being leveled against the current Successor of Saint Peter for his pastoral decision to rescind the excommunication of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X. Although canon law makes it clear that ordaining bishops and being ordained a bishop without papal mandate incurs an automatic excommunication (c. 1382), as pastor of the universal church, Pope Benedict was acting as shepherd when he sought to reconcile the leaders and followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. 

The Holy Father, seeking to end the twenty year old schism, extended an olive branch by removing the excommunication of the four bishops of the SSPX. That one of these bishops, the Most Rev. Richard Williamson, disputes the depth and depravity of the Nazi Holocaust, is indeed reprehensible and unbefitting a successor of the Apostles. At the same time, the lifting of the excommunication is in no way, shape or form a sanction or endorsement of his bizarre denial of the Shoah. 

On the contrary, the media, press and general population must realize that the object and intent of Pope Benedict was to reconcile the thousands of followers of the SSPX bishops by restoring their shepherds with full legitimacy. No one has claimed or even insinuated that traditional Catholics who have considered themselves part of the SSPX family share the atrocious and anti-Semitic ideas of Bishop Williamson. Even the superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay publicly repudiated the remarks of his brother bishop and unambiguously denied that those views are shared by the Society. 

Nevertheless, there are some with their own nefarious agendas who are connecting dots which either do not exist or which cannot be connected. These miscreants seek to discredit Pope Benedict and sabotage any credible means to reconcile followers of the SSPX with the universal Church. Others seek to derail any progress made by both Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Benedict XVI in improving Jewish-Catholic relations and dialogue. 

In other words, there are those who want division and who vigorously work to unravel any and all means of fraternally forging bridges. The CCC asks all Catholics to renew our commitment to denounce all forms of anti-Semitism as we ask our elder Jewish brothers and sisters to do the same and repudiate all anti-Catholicism wherever it appears. We ask that one man, even though a bishop, not been seen as representative of the majority of clergy and laity who have a genuine love of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and yet who also have a profound love and respect for the sons and daughters of Abraham, our elder brothers and sisters in faith. 

We finally ask all Catholics to stand with us in support of our Holy Father during this unjust, unbelievable and inexcusable attack even from fellow Catholics who seek to pander to the press rather than find and preserve the truth. We condemn those dissidents who have never obeyed or respected the Magisterium but now take cheap shots at the Pope and question his judgment or motives. We stand firmly and proudly with Peter and his successor Benedict and do so with no fear or hesitancy of any kind as we also support our Jewish brethren in their struggle for peace and security in today's world. 

Get the Girls Out of Our Universities! Men’s Club Only!

Girls have absolutely no place in the university, as teachers nor as students. Learning is for men only.

Or so says our beloved Bishop Williamson. The thing is, any glimpse into the way this weirdo thinks should make it plainly obvious that he has no business whatsoever ever being a bishop with episcopal authority in the Catholic Church. I think the Holy Father made the correct decision in lifting the excommunications (though I think the media relations were handled rather poorly, exacerbated of course by the horrific and shameless reporting by the press, and a bunch of self-aggrandizing politicians and theologians, the worst being the idiot who called for the pope to step down). It was, as he said, a paternal act of mercy, and if there is to be hope for unity in the Church, and if there is to be hope for these quasi-schismatic bishops of SSPX, whose original excommunications were the result of direct defiance of the Pope and abandonment of the true Church, that hope is fortified if they will begin receiving the Sacraments licitly in the Catholic Church, though that is unlikely to happen anytime soon. But now that the excommunications have been lifted, some serious work needs to be done if they are going to actually going to end their quasi-schism and return to communion with the Catholic Church. There are still many obstacles to this reconciliation, most of them doctrinal. But it is my opinion that the greatest obstacle remains the person of Bishop Williamson. The Vatican has already indicated conditions which must be met in order for SSPX to return to the Church in full communion, which includes their full acceptance of the authority of Vatican II and the papacies and magisterial teachings of all the popes up through and including His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. They have also demanded that in order for Williamson to be included in this reconciliation he is going to have to not just apologize, as he weakly did, for causing harm by his imprudently timed statements, but he must actually recant his position and accept the reality of the Shoah.

Unfortunately, as the writings and thoughts of Bishop Williamson continue to rise to the surface, it seems clear to me that there is no way this man will ever be fit for episcopal authority within the Catholic Church. I know some people argue that there are bishops today who are equally or even more unfit for episcopal authority, typically because of their heterodoxy, and mostly I agree. That, however, is not a positive argument for the inclusion of Bishop Williamson in a position of episcopal authority. It is rather a legitimate argument for the purging of the episcopacy of all unqualified bishops. We need a better quality episcopacy, of this there is no doubt, and we need to take care of the heretics like Fr. Thomas Reese and Fr. Richard McBrien. But none of this has anything to do with the fact that Bishop Williamson is not qualified to be a bishop in the Catholic Church, and it is my prayer and my hope that he never is. I have great faith in the Holy Father, he is very much a hero to me, and I trust his wisdom and his love. In that regard, during this particularly difficult time for him, he will be in my prayers in a special way, and my own Lenten prayers and sacrifices will be dedicated to him, that he may always have wisdom, courage, steadfastness, compassion, and every other blessing from God. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother of Good Counsel, I seek all blessings for the Holy Father and for the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI on St. Paul’s Death and Heritage

Today marks the final catechetical instruction by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI dedicate to the life and writings of St. Paul:

 

On Paul's Death and Heritage

"The Figure of St. Paul Is Magnified Beyond His Earthly Life"

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in Paul VI Hall.

He concluded today his series of catechesis on St. Paul.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters:

The series of our catechesis on the figure of St. Paul has arrived to its conclusion: We wish to speak today of the end of his earthly life. Ancient Christian tradition testifies unanimously that the death of Paul came as a consequence of martyrdom suffered here in Rome. The writings of the New Testament do not take up this fact. The Acts of the Apostles ends its report indicating the Apostle's condition as a prisoner, who nevertheless could receive all those who visited him (cf. Acts 28:30-31).

Only in the Second Letter to Timothy do we find these, his foreboding words: "For I am at the point of being poured out like a libation, and the time of my releasing the canvas [departure] is at hand" (2 Timothy 4:6; cf. Philippians 2:17). Two images are used here, the liturgical one of sacrifice, which he had already used in the Letter to the Philippians, interpreting martyrdom as part of the sacrifice of Christ; and the seafaring [image] of casting off: two images that together discreetly allude to the event of death, and of a bloody death.

The first explicit testimony about the end of St. Paul comes to us from the middle of the 90s of the first century, and therefore, something more than 30 years after his death took place. It comes precisely from the letter that the Church of Rome, with its bishop, Clement I, wrote to the Church of Corinth. 

In that epistolary text, the invitation is made to have the example of the apostles before our eyes, and immediately after the mention of Peter's martyrdom, it reads thus: "Owing to envy and discord, Paul was obligated to show us how to obtain the prize of patience. Arrested seven times, exiled, stoned, he was the herald of Christ in the East and in the West, and for his faith, obtained a pure glory. After having preached justice in the whole world, and after having arrived to the corners of the West, he accepted martyrdom before the governors; thus he parted from this world and arrived to the holy place, thereby converted into the greatest model of patience" (1 Clement 5,2).

The patience of which it speaks is the expression of his communion with the passion of Christ, of the generosity and constancy with which he accepted a long path of suffering, to the point of being able to say: "I bear the marks of Jesus on my body" (Galatians 6:17). 

We heard in the text of St. Clement that Paul had arrived "to the corners of the West." It is debated whether this refers to a trip to Spain that Paul would have carried out. There is not certainty about this, though it is true that St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans expresses his intention to go to Spain (cf. Romans 15:24).

It is very interesting, in the letter from Clement, the succession of the two names of Peter and Paul, even though these will be inverted in the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century. When speaking of the Emperor Nero he wrote: "During his reign Paul was beheaded precisely in Rome and Peter was there crucified. The report is confirmed by the names of Peter and of Paul, which even today are conserved in their sepulchers in this city" (Hist. Eccl. 2,25,5).

Eusebius later would continue relating a previous declaration of a Roman presbyter by the name of Gaius, who dates back to the beginnings of the second century: "I can show you the trophies of the apostles: If you go to the Vatican or the Via Ostiense, there you will find the trophies of the founders of the Church" (ibid. 2,25,6-7). 

The "trophies" are the sepulchral monuments, and these are the same sepulchers of Peter and Paul that even today we venerate, after two millenniums in the same place: here in the Vatican regarding St. Peter, in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on the Via Ostiense regarding that of the Apostle to the Gentiles.

It is interesting to point out that the two great apostles are mentioned together. Though no ancient source speaks of a contemporary ministry of theirs in Rome, the successive Christian awareness, on the basis of their common burial in the capital of the empire, will also associate them as founders of the Church of Rome. Thus it is read, in fact, in Irenaeus of Lyons, from the end of the second century, regarding the apostolic succession in the distinct Churches: "It would be tedious to enumerate the successions of all the Churches, we do take the very great and very ancient and well-known Church, the Church founded and established in Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul" (Adv. Haer. 3,3,2).

Let us leave aside the figure of Peter and concentrate on that of Paul. His martyrdom comes recounted for the first time in the Acts of Paul, written toward the end of the second century. These report that Nero condemned him to death by beheading, carried out immediately afterward (cf. 9:5). The date of the death varies according to the ancient sources, which place it between the persecution unleashed by Nero himself after the burning of Rome in July of 64 and the last year of his reign, in 68 (cf. Jerome, De Viris Ill. 5,8).

The calculation depends a lot on the chronology of Paul's arrival in Rome, a discussion that we cannot get into here. Successive traditions would pin down two other elements. One, the most legendary, is that the martyrdom took place on the Acquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina, with a triple bounce of the head, each one of which caused a current of water to spring out, due to which even today the place is called "Tre Fontane" (Acts of Peter and Paul of Pseudo Marcellus of the fifth century). 

The other, in consonance with the ancient testimony already mentioned, of the presbyter Gaius, is that the burial occurred "not only outside of the city, in the second mile of the Via Ostiense," but more precisely "in the field of Lucina," who was a Christian matron (Passion of Paul of Pseudo Abdias, of the sixth century).

There in the fourth century, the emperor Constantine erected a first church, later enormously amplified after the fourth and fifth century by Emperors Valentinianus II, Theodosius and Arcadius. After the fire of 1800, there was erected the current Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In any case, the figure of St. Paul is magnified beyond his earthly life and his death; he has left in fact an extraordinary spiritual heritage. He as well, as a true disciple of Jesus, became a sign of contradiction. While among the so-called ebionites -- a Judeo-Christian current -- he was considered as an apostate of the Mosaic Law, already in the book of Acts of the Apostles, there appears a great veneration for the Apostle Paul. 

I would like now to set aside the apocryphal literature, such as the Acts of Paul and Thecla and an apocryphal collection of letters between the Apostle Paul and the philosopher Seneca. It is important to confirm that very soon the Letters of St. Paul enter into the liturgy, where the prophet-apostle-Gospel structure is determinant for the form of the liturgy of the Word. Thus, thanks to this "presence" in the liturgy of the Church, the thought of the Apostle at once becomes spiritual nourishment for the faithful of all times.

It is obvious that the fathers of the Church and afterward all the theologian have drawn form the Letters of St. Paul and his spirituality. He has remained during the centuries, until today, as true teacher and apostle to the Gentiles. The first patristic commentary that has arrived to us regarding a writing of the New Testament is from the great Alexandrian theologian Origen, who comments on the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans.

This commentary is unfortunately conserved only in part. St. John Chrysostom, besides commenting his letters, has written of him his seven memorable panegyrics. St. Augustine owes him the decisive step of his own conversion and he will return to Paul during all of his life. From this permanent dialogue with the Apostle derives his great Catholic theology and also for Protestants of all times. St. Thomas Aquinas has left us a beautiful commentary on the Pauline letters, which represents the most mature fruit of medieval exegesis. 

A true point of inflection was verified in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation. The decisive moment in Luther's life was the so-called Turmerlebnis (1517) in which in one moment he encountered a new interpretation of the Pauline doctrine on justification. An interpretation that liberated him from the scruples and anxieties of his preceding life and that gave him a new, radical confidence in the goodness of God, who pardons everything without condition. From that moment, Luther identified the Judeo-Christian legalism condemned by the Apostle with the order of life of the Catholic Church. And the Church appeared to him as an expression of the slavery to the law to which he opposed the liberty of the Gospel. The Council of Trent, between 1545 and 1563, deeply interpreted the question of justification and encountered in the line of all Catholic tradition the synthesis between law and Gospel, conforming to the message of sacred Scripture read in its totality and unity.

The 19th century, gathering the best heritage of the Enlightenment, witnessed a new renovation of Paulinism, now above all in the plane of scientific work developed for the historical-critical interpretation of sacred Scripture. Let us set aside here the fact that also in that century, as in the 20th, there emerged a true and proper denigration of St. Paul. I think above all of Nietzsche, who poked fun at the theology of humility in St. Paul, opposing to it his theology of the strong and powerful man. But let us leave that aside and look at the essential current of the new scientific interpretation of sacred Scripture and the new Paulinism of that century.

Here is emphasized as central above all the Pauline thought of the concept of liberty: In this is seen the heart of the thought of Paul, as on the other hand, Luther had already intuited. Now, nevertheless, the concept of liberty was reinterpreted in the context of modern liberalism. And later, the differentiation between the proclamation of St. Paul and the proclamation of Jesus was strongly emphasized. And St. Paul appears almost as a new founder of Christianity. It is certain that in St. Paul, the centrality of the Kingdom of God, determinant for the proclamation of Jesus, is transformed in the centrality of Christology, whose determinant point is the Paschal mystery. And from the Paschal mystery, come the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, as a permanent presence of this mystery, from which the Body of Christ grows, and the Church is built.

But I would say, without entering here into details, that precisely in the new centrality of Christology and the Paschal mystery, the Kingdom of God is fulfilled, the authentic proclamation of Jesus is made concrete, present, operative. We have seen in the preceding catechesis that precisely this Pauline novelty is the deepest fidelity to the proclamation of Jesus. In the progress of exegesis, above all in the last 200 years, the convergences between Catholic and Protestant exegesis also grow, thus bringing about a notable consensus precisely in the point that was at the origin of the greatest historical dissent. Therefore a great hope for the cause of ecumenism, so central for the Second Vatican Council.

Briefly, I would like at the end to still point out the various religious movements, arising in the modern age in the heart of the Catholic Church, that refer back to St. Paul. That's what came about in the 16th century with the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, called the Barnabites; in the 19th century with the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle, better known as the Paulist Fathers; and in the 20th century with the multifaceted Pauline Family, founded by Blessed James Alberione; to not speak of the secular institute of the Company of St Paul.

Substantially, there remains luminous before us the figure of an extremely fruitful and deep apostle and Christian thinker, from whose closeness, every one of us can benefit. In one of his panegyrics, St. John Chrysostom made an original comparison between Paul and Noah, expressing it like this: Paul "did not place together the shafts to build an ark, instead, in place of uniting tablets of wood, he composed letters, and thus dug out of the waters not two or three or five members of his own family, but the entire inhabited world that was about to perish" (Paneg. 1,5).

Precisely still and always the Apostle Paul can do this. To tend toward him, as much to his apostolic example as to his doctrine, would be therefore a stimulus, if not a guarantee, to consolidate the Christian identity of each one of us and for the renewal of the whole Church.

[During his greetings, the Holy Father added:]

The situation in Sri Lanka continues to cause worry.

News of a worsening of the conflict and the growing number of innocent victims moves me to offer a pressing appeal to the combatants to respect humanitarian law and people's freedom of movement."

May they do everything possible to guarantee assistance for the wounded and security for civilians, and permit their urgent food and medical needs to be satisfied."

May Our Lady of Madhu, so venerated by Catholics and also by members of other religions, hasten the day of peace and reconciliation in that dear country.

[Translation by ZENIT]