Amazing video

Perhaps one of the most amazing videos I've ever seen, from Britain's Got Talent:

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Augustine

Today the Order of Saint Augustine celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Augustine, commemorating the long journey of Augustine away from the darkness of sin and error and towards the light of Christ in truth and in love. This feast naturally calls to mind the very famous scene from Book VIII of St. Augustine's Confessions, telling of his profound encounter in a garden in Milan, and so I will begin by recounting that passage:

I spoke these things, and I wept with a most bitter contrition of my heart. And behold I heard a voice from a neighboring house, like that of a boy or a girl, I know not which, saying in a singsong voice, and often repeating, "Take up and read, take up and read." Immediately my countenance changed, and I began to consider most intently whether in any kind of play children were wont to sing such words, but I could not remember that I had anywhere heard any such thing.

And so, repressing the course of my tears, I got up, interpreting that childlike chant to be nothing less than a divine admonition that I should open the Bible and read the first chapter I should come upon. For I had heard about Antony that he had taken the text of the Gospel, which was being read when he came into the church, as particularly addressed to him: Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me (Mt 19:21). And by this divine oracle he was in that instant converted to you.

Therefore, I returned in haste to the place where Alypius was sitting, for when I arose, I had there laid down the book of the Apostle. I snatched it up, opened it, and read in silence the lines on which I first cast my eyes: Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and as for the flesh, take no thought of it for its lusts (Rom 13:13-14).

I would read no further, nor was there any need for me to do so. For with the conclusion of this sentence, it was as if a light of confidence and security had streamed into my heart, and all the darkness of my former hesitation was dispelled.

There is a significant background to all of this which is too great to go into in any great detail here. What should be pointed out, however, is that while in a sense this conversion of Augustine had the effect of an instant conversion, a profound explosion of grace which suddenly and entirely consumed his heart and turned him towards Christ, preceding all of this is a span of over ten years of seeking wisdom, searching for God, searching for that greater meaning and deepest ground of his very being, a search that was often severely impeded by sinful living, by lust, by pride, by worldly ambition. The conflict of these two basically competing desires, the desire for fulfillment in God and the desire for worldly fulfillment, created a restlessness in Augustine's heart that both motivated him towards Christ while simultaneously leading him towards deeper despair. His life was the epitome of what many centuries later a man from Augustine's own native land, Albert Camus, would refer to as the "absurd," the recognition that we live in a world that is fundamentally incapable of fulfilling our deepest desires, such that our lives in this world are constantly seeking that which it can never find – a truth that Augustine would recognize as being absolutely true until such time as one "puts on the Lord Jesus Christ." Augustine finally, after many years of searching, discovered the ultimate truth that only salvation in Christ is capable of destroying the absurdity of human existence.

It is impossible to speak of Augustine's conversion without mentioning two most pivotal people in his life: his mother, St. Monica, and the bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose. Augustine's mother was a devout Catholic who spent her entire life as a mother seeking Augustine's conversion, praying, weeping, exhorting (and Augustine might add, nagging). His mother was very active in the Church, and became friendly with many priests as well as her own bishop. Augustine recounts in Book III:

You gave her, then, yet another answer through one of Your priests, a certain bishop brought up in Your Church and well-read in Your books. Asked by her to agree to confer with me, to refute my errors, to show me how my beliefs were evil and to teach me what was good (an office he willingly performed when he met with persons fitted to receive it), he refused – and that was a very prudent decision on his part, as I have come to understand.

The bishop replied that I was as yet unteachable, because I was puffed up with the novelty of that heresy [Manichaeism], and even more because, as she had also told him, I had already puzzled many inexperienced persons with some captious questions. "Let him alone," he said. "Simply pray to our Lord for him. He will, at length, by reading, discover his error and how great is its impiety."

At the same time the bishop told her how his mother, being deceived, had given him to the Manichees when he was still very young, and that he had not only read but also copied out almost all their books, and had by himself come to realize, without anyone disputing with him or convincing him, how much that sect was to be abhorred, and for that reason he had forsaken it.

When he told her this, she still was not satisfied, and continued to persist, entreating him with many tears to see me and talk with me. He then became somewhat annoyed with her persistent entreaty and said to her, "Go on your way and continue in your life of prayer, for it cannot be that a son of such tears should perish." As she many times afterward told me, she received those words as if they had sounded forth from Heaven.

Monica continued then to live her life as a holy example for Augustine, and devoted her entire life to prayer and to the frequent reception of the Sacraments, herself attending Mass daily, as Augustine would later recall. Her life was devoted to prayer and to penance, in particular for the sake of Augustine's conversion, and it is impossible to discount the importance of this. So many of us despair over the way in which our loved ones live, when they live apart from God, and we see in Monica the perfect example of how to conduct ourselves for their benefit: we must live lives devoted to prayer and penance for the sake of their conversion, and trust always in the great mercy of God.

The other prominent figure in Augustine's conversion was that holy bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose. Augustine sought out Ambrose not because he was a bishop or because he was a Christian, but rather because Augustine was rising in the Roman empire as a rhetorician of some great renown, and had heard of Ambrose's tremendous oratory skills, and so desired to learn from him greater skill in that craft. But Augustine was unable to speak with Ambrose as he desired, because Ambrose was always so busy ministering to the sick and needy of his diocese, and so the only way Augustine could learn from him was to listen to him preach. Augustine writes in Book VI:

In reality, then, I had little opportunity to ask the things I desired to draw from the heart of this, Your saintly oracle, unless the question could be answered briefly. Moreover, my perplexities required one perfectly disengaged, to whom they might be fully represented, and I could never find him so much at leisure.

However, I heard him among the people every Sunday as he was rightly expounding the Word of truth (2 Tm 2:15) to the people, and I was more and more convinced that all these knots of artificial calumnies, which my deceivers had tied so tightly to impugn the Divine Books, could be unraveled.

And so it was by Ambrose's faithful preaching of the truths of Scripture, as well as by his example of holy living, that Augustine finally began to have his heart inflamed in the truth of Christ, and the slow process of conversion began to take place, and this process leading to the scene in the garden became like a slow burning fuse anticipating a giant explosion. And from this explosion of grace which led to his great conversion, Augustine then went from trudging through the marsh with great effort, to sailing along towards the sea of baptism with the wind of the Spirit ever in his sails. His biographer St. Possidius writes so beautifully of Augustine's conversion:

He was soon strengthened in the Catholic faith and conceived a burning desire to make such progress in it that he might be ready for the waters of salvation at the holy season of Easter which was not far off. And through the opportune help of God it did indeed come about that he received from the great and holy bishop Ambrose both the saving doctrine of the Catholic Church and the divine sacraments.

So today we reflect on this beautiful grace of conversion, a grace that was present for Augustine and that is present always for us. We seek always to conform our lives to this grace and cooperate with it by our own holy living, by our devotion to prayer, to the Word of God, and to the saving Sacraments of the Church. In his story we also see the great example of daily conversion in Monica and Ambrose, and in them we recognize the models for how we must live our own lives of devotion to Christ. We also see in them how each of us have our own unique gifts to offer in service of the Church, and how by recognizing our own calling, by recognizing who we truly are in Christ and who we are called to be, we may most effectively witness to the Gospel. Finally, we see in this story of Augustine's conversion the hope for all our loved ones who have yet to come to understand the truth of Christ and the salvation that is offered through faith in Him. We continue to offer prayer and penance for their conversion and for the conversion of the whole world, thus uniting our lives fully to the salvific action of Christ on the Cross.

Prayer

Lord God,
you are the unfailing light
that guided Saint Augustine out of darkness,
the eternal shepherd
who called him to follow you.
As we rejoice in his conversion
direct our lives by his example
and deepen our faith through his teaching.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thank you for not having me aborted

A beautiful and powerful story of the reunion between a son abandoned at birth and his biological mother, from Catholic News Agency:


In an amazing series of events, a young man who was abandoned at birth used a Facebook group to find his biological mother. After then were reunited, the young man thanked her for resisting the temptation to have an abortion.

Mauricio, 23, was abandoned by his mother at birth. In an effort to find her, he created a Facebook group called "I’m searching for my mother." Mauricio ended up finding her and the two were reunited.

Last Saturday afternoon, Mauricio spoke on the telephone with his mother for the first time.“My son,” she said, “it’s me, your mom. Don’t hate me. Forgive me. I always remembered you, I never forgot you.”

The next day, they met in the town of Cordoba, Argentina. The emotional encounter was full of hugs and silence. Later, Mauricio told the newspaper, El Diario Clarín, "I feel complete. I have never experienced this serenity of my soul. Finally, I can finish my story.”

"The only thing I could say to her was that everything was fine and that I forgave her," he added.

During their talk, the young man explained, his mother told him that she didn’t have any other children. She said that his father was "a mistake" and that she had gone on to reconstruct her life with another person. Without resentment, he replied in gratitude: "Thank you for having the courage to bear me for seven months and for not having me aborted."

Now, says Mauricio, the Facebook group will be renamed, "I found her."

The Fifth Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's Election

On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected the 265th Pope of the Church of Christ:



His words in English:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.

The fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with inadequate instruments consoles me, so above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

In the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.”

On this, his fifth anniversary, let us continue to pray for his guidance, his protection, for continued blessings on our Holy Father and on the Church he guides.

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.

R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and bless him upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.

Our Father. Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Pastor Pope Meets with Abuse Victims

Once again today, during his trip to Malta, Pope Benedict XVI met with a group of victims of sexual abuse in the Church. The various accounts I've read describe it as a very powerful, emotional meeting, and it seems clear that it was a huge and necessary step for the victims themselves towards the reconciliation with the Church, which for obvious reasons is a step wrought with pain and anguish. One of the victims commented afterwards that finally he was able to make peace with the Church. What a powerful witness these victims are, desiring to work through their pain and find their peace with God and with His Church.

What strikes me about Benedict in these situations, and really in a way that is indicative of his entire pontificate, is that while his reputation coming into this vocation was that of "God's Rotweiller," and the expectation was that he would be a Pope who would rule by a strict authoritarian model, when in reality his modus operandi has been absolutely pastoral, and he's chosen method of leadership is by example. In his trips to the United States, Australia, and now Malta, he has each time met with victims of sexual abuse, and each time it has been described by the victims themselves as healing and necessary. What I find unfortunate, however, is that, so far as I know, very few bishops around the world have picked up on this obvious cue from the Holy Father, and we are not seeing nearly enough of bishops meeting with the victims within their own dioceses. This is an absolutely essential step that must be taken, so that the episcopal pastors may come to better understand the pain of the victims, and may offer them the merciful hand of reconciliation, hearing what it is these victims need and hopefully taking a step towards guiding them back towards a healthy relationship with the Church, where they might once again encounter the healing and redemptive power of Christ's love.

I pray that bishops around the world will recognize this, and will take their pastoral cue from our Holy Father. Throughout our working through this crisis, first and foremost in everything we do must be a primary concern for the victims themselves, those whose lives were destroyed at the hands of the men they trusted the most, the men ordained to represent Christ on earth, who instead chose the path of Judas and represented Satan instead. While obviously no bishops read this humble little blog, I pray that they will be led always by this primary concern for victims, and that they will have the courage and the mercy to meet with victims, establish means of reconciliation for the victims, providing counseling for the victims, and doing everything possible to guide them towards spiritual and psychological healing.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Address to Young People in Malta

What a joy it is for me to be with you today on your native soil! On this significant anniversary, we thank God for sending the Apostle Paul to these islands, which were thus among the first to receive the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I warmly greet Archbishop Cremona, as well as Bishop Grech whom I thank for his kind words, and all the bishops, priests and religious who are here. Most especially, I greet you, young people of Malta and Gozo, and I thank you for speaking to me of the matters that concern you most deeply. I appreciate your desire to seek and find the truth, and to know what you must do to attain the fullness of life.

Saint Paul, as a young man, had an experience that changed him for ever. As you know, he was once an enemy of the Church, and did all he could to destroy it. While he was travelling to Damascus, intending to hunt down any Christians he could find there, the Lord appeared to him in a vision. A blinding light shone around him and he heard a voice saying, "Why do you persecute me? … I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:4-5). Paul was completely overcome by this encounter with the Lord, and his whole life was transformed. He became a disciple, and went on to be a great apostle and missionary. Here in Malta, you have particular reason to give thanks for Paul's missionary labours, which spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean.

Every personal encounter with Jesus is an overwhelming experience of love. Previously, as Paul himself admits, he had "persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it" (Gal 1:13). But the hatred and anger expressed in those words was completely swept away by the power of Christ's love. For the rest of his life, Paul had a burning desire to carry the news of that love to the ends of the earth.

Maybe some of you will say to me, Saint Paul is often severe in his writings. How can I say that he was spreading a message of love? My answer is this. God loves every one of us with a depth and intensity that we can hardly begin to imagine. And he knows us intimately, he knows all our strengths and all our faults. Because he loves us so much, he wants to purify us of our faults and build up our virtues so that we can have life in abundance. When he challenges us because something in our lives is displeasing to him, he is not rejecting us, but he is asking us to change and become more perfect. That is what he asked of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus. God rejects no one. And the Church rejects no one. Yet in his great love, God challenges all of us to change and to become more perfect. 

Saint John tells us that perfect love casts out fear (cf. 1 Jn 4:18). And so I say to all of you, "Do not be afraid!" How many times we hear those words in the Scriptures! They are addressed by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation, by Jesus to Peter when calling him to be a disciple, and by the angel to Paul on the eve of his shipwreck. To all of you who wish to follow Christ, as married couples, as parents, as priests, as religious, as lay faithful bringing the message of the Gospel to the world, I say, do not be afraid! You may well encounter opposition to the Gospel message. Today's culture, like every culture, promotes ideas and values that are sometimes at variance with those lived and preached by our Lord Jesus Christ. Often they are presented with great persuasive power, reinforced by the media and by social pressure from groups hostile to the Christian faith. It is easy, when we are young and impressionable, to be swayed by our peers to accept ideas and values that we know are not what the Lord truly wants for us. That is why I say to you: do not be afraid, but rejoice in his love for you; trust him, answer his call to discipleship, and find nourishment and spiritual healing in the sacraments of the Church.

Here in Malta, you live in a society that is steeped in Christian faith and values. You should be proud that your country both defends the unborn and promotes stable family life by saying no to abortion and divorce. I urge you to maintain this courageous witness to the sanctity of life and the centrality of marriage and family life for a healthy society. In Malta and Gozo, families know how to value and care for their elderly and infirm members, and they welcome children as gifts from God. Other nations can learn from your Christian example. In the context of European society, Gospel values are once again becoming counter-cultural, just as they were at the time of Saint Paul. 

In this Year for Priests, I ask you to be open to the possibility that the Lord may be calling some of you to give yourselves totally to the service of his people in the priesthood or the consecrated life. Your country has given many fine priests and religious to the Church. Be inspired by their example, and recognize the profound joy that comes from dedicating one's life to spreading the message of God's love for all people, without exception. 

I have spoken already of the need to care for the very young, and for the elderly and infirm. Yet a Christian is called to bring the healing message of the Gospel to everyone. God loves every single person in this world, indeed he loves everyone who has ever lived throughout the history of the world. In the death and Resurrection of Jesus, which is made present whenever we celebrate the Mass, he offers life in abundance to all those people. As Christians we are called to manifest God's all-inclusive love. So we should seek out the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized; we should have a special care for those who are in distress, those suffering from depression or anxiety; we should care for the disabled, and do all we can to promote their dignity and quality of life; we should be attentive to the needs of immigrants and asylum seekers in our midst; we should extend the hand of friendship to members of all faiths and none. That is the noble vocation of love and service that we have all received. Let it inspire you to dedicate your lives to following Christ.

Dear young people, as I take my leave of you, I want you to know that I am close to you and I remember you and your families and friends in my prayers. 

Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily at Pontifical Biblical Commission Mass

One of the most beautiful discoveries of getting to know, albeit from afar, Joseph Ratzinger as now Pope Benedict XVI, is what a beautiful model of a teacher he is. We have in this pope a man who is humble and holy, and who sees as his primary vocation in this life to be a teacher in the very classical sense of the word: he teaches that which is most valuable to our human journey, that which opens us up to understand God and to live as loving children in this world. During this current crisis of sexual abuse, it is no surprise then that he sees this not only as a moment to direct and reform, but also importantly as a moment to teach. The true teacher is one who can look inward and see where things have gone wrong, and then from that reflection extrapolate into lessons that can be universally helpful. The Church cannot simply pause right now, and because of the continuing focus on the crisis of abuse to somehow stop everything else. The Church continues to have a commitment to the Gospel, and she must always find a way of both leading the reformation against the culture of sexual abuse that exists not only among the Catholic Church, but among all institutions dealing with children, so that the Church can grow from this into a leader showing the way to greater protection of children, but she must also find a way in this moment of crisis of continuing to serve all the needs of the Church, of the people of God, which include the most primitive need of man, which is the need to know and love God. And so following is the text of an impromptu homily delivered by the Holy Father at a Mass with the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, a homily which demonstrates the profound ability of this holy man to see every moment, even every crisis, as an opportunity to teach:

 

Dear brothers and sisters, I couldn't find the time to prepare a true homily. I would simply like to invite each one to personal meditation, presenting and emphasizing a few of the phrases from today's liturgy, which lend themselves to the prayerful dialogue between ourselves and the Word of God. The word, the phrase that I would like to propose for shared meditation is this great statement by Saint Peter: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Saint Peter is standing in front of the supreme religious institution, which normally one must obey, but God is above this institution, and God has given another "order": one must obey God. Obedience to God is freedom, obedience to God gives him the freedom to oppose the institution. 

And here the exegetes draw our attention to the fact that Saint Peter's reply to the Sanhedrin is almost identical, word for word, to Socrates' response to his sentence in the tribunal of Athens. The tribunal offers him freedom, liberation, but on the condition that he not continue to seek God. But seeking God, the search for God is for him a superior mandate, it comes from God himself. And a freedom purchased with the renunciation of the journey to God would no longer be freedom. So it is not these judges that he must obey - he must not buy his life by losing himself - but he must obey God. Obedience to God has the primacy.

Here it is important to emphasize that this is a matter of obedience, and that it is precisely obedience that gives freedom. The modern age has spoken of the liberation of man, of his full autonomy, and therefore also of liberation from obedience to God. It is said that obedience should no longer exist, man is free, he is autonomous: nothing else. But this autonomy is a lie: it is an ontological lie, because man does not exist on his own and for himself, and it is also a political and practical lie, because collaboration, the sharing of freedom, is necessary. And if God does not exist, if God is not an imperative accessible to man, what remains as the supreme imperative is only the consensus of the majority. As a result, the consensus of the majority becomes the last word, which we must obey. And this consensus - we know this from the history of the last century - can also be a "consensus in evil."

So we see that so-called autonomy does not truly liberate man. Obedience to God is freedom, because it is the truth, it is the imperative that stands before all human imperatives. In the history of humanity, these words of Peter and of Socrates are the true beacon of liberation for man, who is able to see God and, in the name of God, can and must obey not so much men, but Him, and thus free himself from the positivism of human obedience. The dictatorships have always been against this obedience to God. The Nazi dictatorship, like that of Marxism, cannot accept a God who stands above ideological power; and the freedom of the martyrs, who recognize God precisely in obedience to divine power, is always the act of liberation by which the freedom of Christ comes to us.

Today, thank God, we do not live under dictatorships, but there exist subtle forms of dictatorship: a conformism that becomes obligatory, to think the way everyone else thinks, to act the way everyone else acts, and the subtle forms of aggression against the Church, or even the less subtle ones, demonstrate how this conformism can really be a true dictatorship. What matters to us is this: we must obey God rather than men. But that supposes that we truly know God, and that we truly want to obey Him. God is not a pretext for one's own will, but it is really He who calls and invites us, if it is necessary, even to martyrdom. Therefore, confronted by this word that begins a new history of freedom in the world, let us pray above all to know God, to know God humbly and truly, and, knowing God, to learn the true obedience that is the foundation of human freedom.

Let's take a second passage from the first reading: Saint Peter says that God has raised Christ to his right hand as leader and savior (cf. v. 31). "Leader" is a translation of the Greek term "archegos," which implies a much more dynamic vision: the archegos is the one who shows the way, who goes before, it is a movement, a movement upward. God has raised him to his right hand - therefore speaking of Christ as archegos means that Christ walks before us, precedes us, shows us the way. And being in communion with Christ means being on a journey, ascending with Christ, it is following Christ, it is this upward ascent, it is following the archegos, the one who has already gone before us, who precedes us and shows us the way.

Here, obviously, it is important that we be told where Christ arrives, and where we must also arrive: hypsosen - on high - ascending to the right hand of the Father. Following Christ is not only an imitation of his virtues, it is not only living in this world, as much as we are able, as Christ did, according to his word, but it is a journey that has a destination. And the destination is the right hand of the Father. There is this journey of Jesus, this following of Jesus that ends at the right hand of the Father. It is to the horizon of this following that the entire journey of Jesus belongs, including his arrival at the right hand of the Father.

In this sense, the destination of this journey is eternal life at the right hand of the Father in communion with Christ. Often today we are afraid of talking about eternal life. We talk about things that are useful for the world, we show that Christianity also helps to improve the world, but we do not dare to say that its true destination is eternal life, and that it is from this destination that the criteria of life come. We must again come to understand that Christianity remains a "fragment" if we do not think about this destination, that we want to follow the archegos to the height where God is, to the glory of the Son who makes us sons in the Son, and we must again come to recognize that only in the grand perspective of eternal life does Christianity reveal all of its meaning. We must have the courage, the joy, the great hope that eternal life exists, it is true life and from this true life comes the light that also illuminates this world.

If it can be said that, even apart from eternal life, from the promised Heaven, it is better to live according to Christian criteria, because living according to truth and love, even if it is under many persecutions, is in itself a good and is better than all the rest, it is precisely this will to live according to the truth and according to love that must also open to all the breadth of God's plan for us, to the courage to have already the joy in anticipation of eternal life, of the ascent following our archegos. And Soter is the Savior, who saves us from ignorance about the last things. The Savior saves us from solitude, he saves us from a void that remains in life without eternity, he saves us by giving us love in its fullness. He is the guide. Christ, the archegos, saves us by giving us the light, giving us the truth, giving us the love of God.

Let's look at another verse: Christ, the Savior, has given Israel conversion and forgiveness of sins (v. 31) - in the Greek text the term is metanoia - he has given penance and forgiveness of sins. This for me is a very important observation: penance is a grace. There is a tendency in exegesis that says: Jesus in Galilee had announced a grace without condition, absolutely unconditional, therefore also without penance, grace as such, without human preconditions. But this is a false interpretation of grace. Penance is grace; it is a grace that we recognize our sin, it is a grace that we know we need renewal, change, a transformation of our being. Penance, being able to do penance, is the gift of grace. And I must say that we Christians, even in recent times, have often avoided the word penance, it has seemed too harsh to us. Now, under the attacks of the world that speak to us of our sins, we see that being able to do penance is grace. And we see that it is necessary to do penance, that is, to recognize what is wrong in our life, open ourselves to forgiveness, prepare ourselves for forgiveness, allow ourselves to be transformed. The suffering of penance, of purification, of transformation, this suffering is grace, because it is renewal, it is the work of divine mercy. And so these two things that Saint Peter says - penance and forgiveness - correspond to the beginning of the preaching of Jesus: metanoeite, which means be converted (cf. Mk. 1:15). So this is the fundamental point: metanoia is not a private thing, which would seem to be replaced by grace, but metanoia is the arrival of the grace that transforms us.

And finally a word from the Gospel, where we are told that those who believe will have eternal life (cf. Jn. 3:36). In faith, in this "transformation" that penance gives, in this conversion, in this new way of life, we find life, true life. And here I am reminded of two other texts. In the "Priestly Prayer," the Lord says: this is life, to know you and the one you have consecrated (cf. Jn. 17:3). Knowing the essential, knowing the decisive Person, knowing God and the One he has sent is life, life and knowledge, knowledge of realities that are life. And the other text is the Lord's reply to the Sadducees about the Resurrection, where from the books of Moses the Lord proves the fact of the Resurrection, saying: God is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob (cf. Mt. 22:31-32; Mk. 12:26-27; Lk. 20:37-38). God is not the God of the dead. If God is God of these, they are alive. Those who are written in the name of God participate in the life of God, they live. And so to believe is to be inscribed in the name of God. And so we are alive. Those who belong to the name of God are not dead, they belong to the living God. In this sense we must understand the dynamism of the faith, which is a writing of our name in the name of God, and so an entry into life.

Let us pray to the Lord that this may happen and that, with our life, we may really know God, so that our names may enter into the name of God, and our existence become true life: eternal life, love and truth.

__________


English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.

The Holy Father on Penance

In several recent posts I have written about the necessity for the Church to recover the sense of penance, and recognize the value of penance as a means of purification and grace, particularly in light of the ongoing revelations of sexual abuse (see the posts here, here, and here. Apparently the Holy Father has the same thought in mind. Here is an excerpt from a homily he delivered today at a Mass for the Pontifical Biblical Commission:

I must say that we Christians, even in recent times, have often avoided the word ‘penance,’ which seemed too harsh to us. Now, under the attacks of the world that speaks to us of our sins, we see that being able to do penance is a grace and we see how it is necessary to do penance, that is, to recognize what is mistaken in our life, to open oneself to forgiveness, to prepare oneself for forgiveness, to allow oneself to be transformed. The pain of penance, that is to say of purification and of transformation, this pain is grace, because it is renewal, and it is the work of Divine Mercy.

Let us continue to pray for our Holy Father, for all the leaders of our Church, for all victims of sexual abuse, and for all perpetrators of these heinous crimes. And let us embrace the offering of penance for our own holiness and purification as well as for reparation for the sins of the Church and healing for all victims.

Donation Denied

So apparently having had thyroid cancer disqualifies me from being a bone marrow donor. Sadness. But I encourage anyone who does qualify to please donate whenever you have the opportunity!

Active Participation = Prayerful Participation

It seems to me that the post-conciliar liturgies have frequently misunderstood what Vatican II, specifically Sacrosanctum Concilium, means when it indicates the "active participation" of the faithful. Too often this seems to be interpreted as an expressed desire by the Council Fathers that we must find more "things to do" for the faithful that they may participate in the Mass more fully. But looking at the context of SC, it seems clear to me that the active participation is meant to mean a greater capability for the faithful to enter prayerfully into the Mass. The phrase comes up specifically when speaking of the new allowance (though certainly not mandate) for some parts of the liturgy to be translated into the vernacular, with the effect being that the faithful, by understanding what is being said without having to read the Missal, may instead prayerfully enter into the mysterious silence of the liturgy.

I know for myself my own "active participation" in the liturgy has been greatly enhanced by my decision to put the Missal down, to close my eyes, and simply prayerfully enter into this great mystery. And while I appreciate the vernacular, one of the things I do love about the Latin is that it does, at least sometimes, better enable me to enter into that mysterious element of Christ's sacrifice made present in the Eucharist. This element of mystery should also motivate our selection of music, which is why the Council so adamantly stressed the priority and primacy of Gregorian chant as proper to the Catholic liturgy, for this very reason that chant is perfectly suited to allow the faithful to enter into the silent beauty of liturgy, and thus allow liturgy to do what it is designed to do, which is order the human soul back towards God. This world in which we live so easily disorders our soul, meaning we become easily ordered towards the world, away from God, and liturgy, with the Eucharist as its source and summit, restores that perfect order so that we may be better formed to live in the world as children of God, not of the world but of God.

Recently the Holy Father addressed the bishops of Brazil in an ad limina, and had this to say (courtesy of The New Liturgical Movement:

"The lack of attention which is sometimes provided for the cult of the Blessed Sacrament is a sign and cause of the darkening of the Christian sense of mystery, as when at Mass, Jesus no longer appears as central, but [instead] a community busy with many things rather than being recollected and drawn to their unique need: Our Lord. However, the primary and essential attitude of the Christian faithful who participate in liturgical celebration is not to do, but to listen, open up, receive... Obviously, in this case to receive does not mean to be passive or indifferent to what happens there, but to cooperate... If from the liturgy the figure of Christ does not emerge... we would not have the Christian liturgy..."

The Holy Father continues:

"How are distant from all this are those who, in the name of inculturation, fall into syncretism by introducing rites borrowed from other religions or cultural particularities into the celebration of Holy Mass (cf. Redemptionis Sacramentum 79)! The Eucharistic mystery is 'too great a gift' -- wrote my venerable predecessor, Pope John Paul II -- 'to tolerate ambiguities or reductions,' above all when, 'stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet.'"

The Joy of Penance

I think one of the common misunderstandings or misrepresentations of Christians who are devoted to penance is that they must necessarily live joyless lives. Perhaps there are some who embrace penance as part of an overall self-loathing attitude, and it must be recognized that in this case it is in no way healthy. But for the most part, in the history of the Christian tradition, penance was recommended as a means to freedom, and that freedom itself allows one to live in authentic joy, for it aids in removing the barriers which keep the spirit continually struggling against the flesh. This does not mean that one will enjoy the penance itself, but rather that embracing penance as part of our Christian journey allows us to abide in an existential joy grounded in the recognition of our union with God and our freedom to live for Him. Indeed, the patient rarely enjoys taking the medicine, but certainly is happier because of the health that results from it.

This is true, I believe, whether one offers penance for one's own sins or for some particular intention. It is good to offer penance every day for our own sins, even if it is some very small act, for the penance itself is not what is fruitful, but rather the desire concretely manifested in the penance, which is met with an abundance of generosity from God in the form of grace. This is one of the recommendations from St. John of the Cross in his counsels on spiritual perfection, that we offer penance for every sin, and always keep mind to examine our conscience. I am just now discovering how wise this is. While many Christians I know have always ended their evenings with an examination of conscience, I am terrible at this, though I suppose I tend to have a very good in-the-moment awareness of my sinfulness. But I'm finding that a daily examen allows me to discover patterns in my sinfulness, which also allows me to better prepare myself for an appropriate penance designed to address the particular vice which needs rooting out.

The point is, whether we offer penance for our own sins or for some other intention, in either case, the stereotype of a sad and miserable person dutifully offering some sort of corporeal mortification simply is not an accurate picture. Indeed, Christ tells us that when we fast, far from looking gloomy, we should anoint our faces and offer our fast in secret. And the reality is, when done in the proper spirit, the face will naturally glow with joy because of the freedom that results from it.

One thing to keep in mind by way of caution, however. While I am no expert on any of this, I have read some very good advice from both St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and it is this: whenever one decides to take on a more extreme form of penance, never do so without being under the supervision of a spiritual director, and always be forthright and honest with your director about this. Smaller acts, things like minor fasts, sleeping on the floor, perhaps even the wearing of a cilice (though I'm not sure which category this would fall under, which probably means for the sake of caution one should consult with their director), one can take on regularly without first receiving the approval of a director. But for any of the more extreme forms of penance, it is necessary and spiritually healthy that one receive approval from a spiritual director first, and in all things obey the director as if Christ himself, particularly in regards to penance.

Vatican Procedures for Handling Sexual Abuse Claims

The Vatican has posted on their website the guidelines for how they deal with sexual abuse allegations. It might be helpful for all if we understand how the process goes. Here is the English translation:

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations


The applicable law is the Motu Proprio "Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela" (MP SST) of 30 April 2001 together with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This is an introductory guide which may be helpful to lay persons and non-canonists.

A: Preliminary Procedures

The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.

If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF. The local bishop transmits all the necessary information to the CDF and expresses his opinion on the procedures to be followed and the measures to be adopted in the short and long term.

Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.

During the preliminary stage and until the case is concluded, the bishop may impose precautionary measures to safeguard the community, including the victims. Indeed, the local bishop always retains power to protect children by restricting the activities of any priest in his diocese. This is part of his ordinary authority, which he is encouraged to exercise to whatever extent is necessary to assure that children do not come to harm, and this power can be exercised at the bishop's discretion before, during and after any canonical proceeding.

B: Procedures authorized by the CDF

The CDF studies the case presented by the local bishop and also asks for supplementary information where necessary.

The CDF has a number of options:

B1 Penal Processes

The CDF may authorize the local bishop to conduct a judicial penal trial before a local Church tribunal. Any appeal in such cases would eventually be lodged to a tribunal of the CDF.

The CDF may authorize the local bishop to conduct an administrative penal process before a delegate of the local bishop assisted by two assessors. The accused priest is called to respond to the accusations and to review the evidence. The accused has a right to present recourse to the CDF against a decree condemning him to a canonical penalty. The decision of the Cardinals members of the CDF is final.

Should the cleric be judged guilty, both judicial and administrative penal processes can condemn a cleric to a number of canonical penalties, the most serious of which is dismissal from the clerical state. The question of damages can also be treated directly during these procedures.

B2 Cases referred directly to the Holy Father

In very grave cases where a civil criminal trial has found the cleric guilty of sexual abuse of minors or where the evidence is overwhelming, the CDF may choose to take the case directly to the Holy Father with the request that the Pope issue a decree of "ex officio" dismissal from the clerical state. There is no canonical remedy against such a papal decree.

The CDF also brings to the Holy Father requests by accused priests who, cognizant of their crimes, ask to be dispensed from the obligation of the priesthood and want to return to the lay state. The Holy Father grants these requests for the good of the Church ("pro bono Ecclesiae").

B3 Disciplinary Measures

In cases where the accused priest has admitted to his crimes and has accepted to live a life of prayer and penance, the CDF authorizes the local bishop to issue a decree prohibiting or restricting the public ministry of such a priest. Such decrees are imposed through a penal precept which would entail a canonical penalty for a violation of the conditions of the decree, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state. Administrative recourse to the CDF is possible against such decrees. The decision of the CDF is final.

C: Revision of MP SST

For some time the CDF has undertaken a revision of some of the articles of Motu Proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis tutela, in order to update the said Motu Proprio of 2001 in the light of special faculties granted to the CDF by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The proposed modifications under discussion will not change the above-mentioned procedures (A, B1-B3).

__________


English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.

Catholics Helping Haiti

How about some good Catholic news for a change? It has recently been reported that since Cardinal Francis George and the USCCB initiated a collection for Haiti at Catholic parishes around the United States, beginning in January, that almost $60 million have been raised to date. That's a pretty fantastic number! Read the full story at Catholic News Agency. Let us remember to keep praying for the victims in Haiti and continue to assist in any way that we can.

There is also a nice story about the three month anniversary over at the Catholic Relief Services web site, detailing their efforts in Haiti since the catastrophic earthquake. Some of what CRS has been able to do there:

• more than 700,000 fed
  
• 45,000 outpatients treated
  
• 480 sophisticated surgeries performed
  
• 80,000 protected by emergency shelter kits
  
• 42,550 people who have benefited from latrines, showers and drinking water
  

All around fantastic work, with much, much more to do. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us!

The Value of Penance

In my recent Open Letter regarding my thoughts on us in religious and seminary formation in response to the sexual abuse crisis, one of the things I mentioned was offering penance and fasts in reparation for the sins of those priests who have abused and molested children, and those bishops who have been complicit in these acts in one way or another, as well as for healing for the victims of abuse themselves. It has come to my attention that perhaps it would be helpful to explain a bit why a fast and why acts of penance would have anything to do with this at all.

I think perhaps part of the reason why some might be opposed to this theology is that it can be perceived as attempting to appease God, to win some favor by satiating the wrath of God, or by appealing to His caprice by saying, "If I do this thing for you then can you do this thing for me." This, however, is the wrong way to look at penance and fasting.

When we offer fasting or penance of some sort to God in reparation for sins, whether our own or others, for conversion, for healing, or for some other good, we are not satisfying any need of God that must be met before He acts. Rather, we are expressing our desire to God and giving some evidence that we truly trust in Him, that we are willing to go beyond just asking for it and actually willing to offer some sacrifice for it. Again, the sacrifice itself is not what is meritorious, but rather the fact that this sacrifice very concretely demonstrates our desire for this good. And since it is for something truly good that we seek, whether it be the conversion of sinners, reparation for sins, healing for victims, we know that God will not be outdone in generosity. Christ himself promised, "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap" (Lk 6:38). The point is, our acts of fasting or penance can seem totally insignificant. How can sleeping on the floor or skipping a few meals in any way help bring good to the world? The answer is simply that our acts are insignificant, but because they are directed towards God in good will and with a true desire for God's will to be done and for blessings on a world which needs it, God responds to our otherwise insignificant acts with overwhelming generosity, and from a minor act of penance comes an abundant outpouring of grace.

The Scriptures are filled with stories of people offering fasts for a variety of causes. Sometimes it is in reparation for their own sins; sometimes it is in hopes of converting a ruler or an entire people. Consider, for instance, the story of the Ninevites in Jonah. Jonah the prophet proclaimed to them that because of their sinfulness, in 40 days they would be destroyed. How did they react? Here is how Scripture describes it:

And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. Then tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?" When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it (Jon 3:5-10).

It was in their fasting that God saw concretely that they truly desired to turn from their sinful ways and turn towards God, and it was because of this that God filled them with grace.

Perhaps one of the more interesting cases of fasting in this regard comes from the Book of Daniel. The king is clearly very fond of Daniel, but others were jealous and sought Daniel's destruction. And so Daniel is cast down into the lion's den because the king had issued an interdict proscribing petitioning any god or man except the king, and Daniel was caught by his oppressors praying to the God of Israel. The king knew that he had signed the interdict and so it was truly a desire for integrity that caused the king to agree to have Daniel thrown in, for it was what the law required. But the king did not want Daniel to be harmed, and so what did he do? "Then the king went to his palace, and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him" (Dan 6:18). Now certainly there can be many reasons why God chose to spare Daniel, but it is nonetheless noteworthy that Scripture tells us of this fasting by a pagan king immediately subsequent to Daniel's being saved from the lion's den. And if the fasting of a pagan was effective before the God of Israel, how much more those who live holy lives in faith in Christ Jesus?

Scripture is also full of stories where fasting leads to the repentance and conversion of entire peoples, which is certainly relevant to our current situation. We see the prophet Ezra, when learning of the great iniquity of the people if Israel, spent the night in fasting and in prayer, and his own fasting, weeping, and prayer on behalf of the sinful Israelites led the people of Israel to recognize their own iniquity and to weep bitterly themselves. In other words, because of the fasting and prayer of one man, an entire people experienced the grace of conversion.

There are a few important things to note about fasting and penance in situations like this. One, they must always be accompanied by prayer. One of the beautiful things about this sort of bodily penance is that they are felt throughout the day, and each time they are felt they offer us an instant reminder to turn to prayer. This is truly how we "offer up" our sufferings. If we are fasting, when we get that sudden pang of hunger, that reminds us to stop what we're doing and offer prayer for the intention of our fast. If, for instance, we take up sleeping on the floor, throughout the day we might notice stiffness here and there, or a slight soreness, and this recognition then directs our attention to pray for the intention of our penance. Thus it is for any form of penance we take on. Second, in addition to these in-the-moment occasions of prayer, it is important that we set aside time for prayer for this very intention. As I mentioned in the Open Letter, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a wonderful prayer to offer for reparation and for conversion. Certainly the Rosary is, as well. Third, it is important that we commit our own lives to virtue and to holiness. This will allow us to be models of the Christian life in the world, and it will make us more effective in our prayer, if for no other reason that it more perfectly conforms us to the will of God. St. James tells us, "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas 5:16). Our own devotion to virtue and holiness and conformity to the Cross of Jesus Christ will equip us better to intercede for the needs of the world.

The Church is suffering greatly right now, and there are many who are suffering because of the sins of members of our Church. But we also recognize that, despite the mortality and sinfulness of the human members, this Church is the Body of Christ, founded on the cornerstone of Jesus and on the rock of Peter and all the Apostles, and this Church is the only place we can ever truly call home. Because this is our own family who is in so much pain, and who has caused so much pain, it is imperative that all of us who are able do whatever we can to help bring healing to our Church. Prayer and fasting are always effective ways of bringing renewal, and I hope that many of us might begin to take up this practice anew.

Compendium of Holy Week and Triduum Texts

Following is a Compendium of a group of homilies and messages delivered during the latter half of Holy Week and the Triduum. All but one are from Pope Benedict XVI:

• Pope Benedict XVI's Homily Commemorating 5th Anniversary of the Death of Pope John Paul II
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Wednesday Audience on the Paschal Mystery
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at the Chrism Mass
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Holy Thursday
  
• Fr. Cantalamessa's Good Friday Homily
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at the Easter Vigil
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Urbi et Orbi Message, to the Church and to the World

Pope Benedict XVI’s Urbi et Orbi Message

Following is a translation of Pope Benedict XVI's Urbi et Orbi message:

Cantemus Domino: gloriose enim magnificatus est.
"Let us sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!" (Liturgy of the Hours, Easter, Office of Readings, Antiphon 1).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I bring you the Easter proclamation in these words of the Liturgy, which echo the ancient hymn of praise sung by the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea. It is recounted in the Book of Exodus (cf 15:19-21) that when they had crossed the sea on dry land, and saw the Egyptians submerged by the waters, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the other women sang and danced to this song of joy: "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed wonderfully: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!" Christians throughout the world repeat this canticle at the Easter Vigil, and a special prayer explains its meaning; a prayer that now, in the full light of the resurrection, we joyfully make our own: "Father, even today we see the wonders of the miracles you worked long ago. You once saved a single nation from slavery, and now you offer that salvation to all through baptism. May the peoples of the world become true sons of Abraham and prove worthy of the heritage of Israel."

The Gospel has revealed to us the fulfilment of the ancient figures: in his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has freed us from the radical slavery of sin and opened for us the way towards the promised land, the Kingdom of God, the universal Kingdom of justice, love and peace. This "exodus" takes place first of all within man himself, and it consists in a new birth in the Holy Spirit, the effect of the baptism that Christ has given us in his Paschal Mystery. The old man yields his place to the new man; the old life is left behind, and a new life can begin (cf. Rom 6:4). But this spiritual "exodus" is the beginning of an integral liberation, capable of renewing us in every dimension – human, personal and social.

Yes, my brothers and sisters, Easter is the true salvation of humanity! If Christ – the Lamb of God – had not poured out his blood for us, we would be without hope, our destiny and the destiny of the whole world would inevitably be death. But Easter has reversed that trend: Christ's resurrection is a new creation, like a graft that can regenerate the whole plant. It is an event that has profoundly changed the course of history, tipping the scales once and for all on the side of good, of life, of pardon. We are free, we are saved! Hence from deep within our hearts we cry out: "Let us sing to the Lord: glorious his triumph!"

The Christian people, having emerged from the waters of baptism, is sent out to the whole world to bear witness to this salvation, to bring to all people the fruit of Easter, which consists in a new life, freed from sin and restored to its original beauty, to its goodness and truth. Continually, in the course of two thousand years, Christians – especially saints – have made history fruitful with their lived experience of Easter. The Church is the people of the Exodus, because she constantly lives the Paschal Mystery and disseminates its renewing power in every time and place. In our days too, humanity needs an "exodus", not just superficial adjustment, but a spiritual and moral conversion. It needs the salvation of the Gospel, so as to emerge from a profound crisis, one which requires deep change, beginning with consciences.

I pray to the Lord Jesus that in the Middle East, and especially in the land sanctified by his death and resurrection, the peoples will accomplish a true and definitive "exodus" from war and violence to peace and concord. To the Christian communities who are experiencing trials and sufferings, especially in Iraq, the Risen Lord repeats those consoling and encouraging words that he addressed to the Apostles in the Upper Room: "Peace be with you!" (Jn 20:21).

For the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that are seeing a dangerous resurgence of crimes linked to drug trafficking, let Easter signal the victory of peaceful coexistence and respect for the common good. May the beloved people of Haiti, devastated by the appalling tragedy of the earthquake, accomplish their own "exodus" from mourning and from despair to a new hope, supported by international solidarity. May the beloved citizens of Chile, who have had to endure another grave catastrophe, set about the task of reconstruction with tenacity, supported by their faith.

In the strength of the risen Jesus, may the conflicts in Africa come to an end, conflicts which continue to cause destruction and suffering, and may peace and reconciliation be attained, as guarantees of development. In particular I entrust to the Lord the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Nigeria.

May the Risen Lord sustain the Christians who suffer persecution and even death for their faith, as for example in Pakistan. To the countries afflicted by terrorism and by social and religious discrimination, may He grant the strength to undertake the work of building dialogue and serene coexistence. To the leaders of nations, may Easter bring light and strength, so that economic and financial activity may finally be driven by the criteria of truth, justice and fraternal aid. May the saving power of Christ's resurrection fill all of humanity, so that it may overcome the multiple tragic expressions of a "culture of death" which are becoming increasingly widespread, so as to build a future of love and truth in which every human life is respected and welcomed.

Dear brothers and sisters, Easter does not work magic. Just as the Israelites found the desert awaiting them on the far side of the Red Sea, so the Church, after the resurrection, always finds history filled with joy and hope, grief and anguish. And yet, this history is changed, it is marked by a new and eternal covenant, it is truly open to the future. For this reason, saved by hope, let us continue our pilgrimage, bearing in our hearts the song that is ancient and yet ever new: "Let us sing to the Lord: glorious his triumph!"

©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil Homily

Following is a translation from Zenit of Pope Benedict XVI's Easter Vigil homily:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

An ancient Jewish legend from the apocryphal book "The life of Adam and Eve" recounts that, in his final illness, Adam sent his son Seth together with Eve into the region of Paradise to fetch the oil of mercy, so that he could be anointed with it and healed. The two of them went in search of the tree of life, and after much praying and weeping on their part, the Archangel Michael appeared to them, and told them they would not obtain the oil of the tree of mercy and that Adam would have to die. Subsequently, Christian readers added a word of consolation to the Archangel's message, to the effect that after 5,500 years the loving King, Christ, would come, the Son of God who would anoint all those who believe in him with the oil of his mercy. "The oil of mercy from eternity to eternity will be given to those who are reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. Then the Son of God, Christ, abounding in love, will descend into the depths of the earth and will lead your father into Paradise, to the tree of mercy." This legend lays bare the whole of humanity's anguish at the destiny of illness, pain and death that has been imposed upon us. Man's resistance to death becomes evident: somewhere – people have constantly thought – there must be some cure for death. Sooner or later it should be possible to find the remedy not only for this or that illness, but for our ultimate destiny – for death itself. Surely the medicine of immortality must exist. Today too, the search for a source of healing continues. Modern medical science strives, if not exactly to exclude death, at least to eliminate as many as possible of its causes, to postpone it further and further, to prolong life more and more. But let us reflect for a moment: what would it really be like if we were to succeed, perhaps not in excluding death totally, but in postponing it indefinitely, in reaching an age of several hundred years? Would that be a good thing? Humanity would become extraordinarily old, there would be no more room for youth. Capacity for innovation would die, and endless life would be no paradise, if anything a condemnation. The true cure for death must be different. It cannot lead simply to an indefinite prolongation of this current life. It would have to transform our lives from within. It would need to create a new life within us, truly fit for eternity: it would need to transform us in such a way as not to come to an end with death, but only then to begin in fullness. What is new and exciting in the Christian message, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was and is that we are told: yes indeed, this cure for death, this true medicine of immortality, does exist. It has been found. It is within our reach. In baptism, this medicine is given to us. A new life begins in us, a life that matures in faith and is not extinguished by the death of the old life, but is only then fully revealed.

To this some, perhaps many, will respond: I certainly hear the message, but I lack faith. And even those who want to believe will ask: but is it really so? How are we to picture it to ourselves? How does this transformation of the old life come about, so as to give birth to the new life that knows no death? Once again, an ancient Jewish text can help us form an idea of the mysterious process that begins in us at baptism. There it is recounted how the patriarch Enoch was taken up to the throne of God. But he was filled with fear in the presence of the glorious angelic powers, and in his human weakness he could not contemplate the face of God. "Then God said to Michael," to quote from the book of Enoch, "'Take Enoch and remove his earthly clothing. Anoint him with sweet oil and vest him in the robes of glory!' And Michael took off my garments, anointed me with sweet oil, and this oil was more than a radiant light … its splendour was like the rays of the sun. When I looked at myself, I saw that I was like one of the glorious beings" (Ph. Rech, Inbild des Kosmos, II 524).

Precisely this – being reclothed in the new garment of God – is what happens in baptism, so the Christian faith tells us. To be sure, this changing of garments is something that continues for the whole of life. What happens in baptism is the beginning of a process that embraces the whole of our life – it makes us fit for eternity, in such a way that, robed in the garment of light of Jesus Christ, we can appear before the face of God and live with him for ever.

In the rite of baptism there are two elements in which this event is expressed and made visible in a way that demands commitment for the rest of our lives. There is first of all the rite of renunciation and the promises. In the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the west, the symbol of darkness, sunset, death and hence the dominion of sin. The one to be baptized turned in that direction and pronounced a threefold "no": to the devil, to his pomp and to sin. The strange word "pomp", that is to say the devil's glamour, referred to the splendour of the ancient cult of the gods and of the ancient theatre, in which it was considered entertaining to watch people being torn limb from limb by wild beasts. What was being renounced was a type of culture that ensnared man in the adoration of power, in the world of greed, in lies, in cruelty. It was an act of liberation from the imposition of a form of life that was presented as pleasure and yet hastened the destruction of all that was best in man. This renunciation – albeit in less dramatic form – remains an essential part of baptism today. We remove the "old garments", which we cannot wear in God's presence. Or better put: we begin to remove them. This renunciation is actually a promise in which we hold out our hand to Christ, so that he may guide us and reclothe us. What these "garments" are that we take off, what the promise is that we make, becomes clear when we see in the fifth chapter of the Letter to the Galatians what Paul calls "works of the flesh" – a term that refers precisely to the old garments that we remove. Paul designates them thus: "fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like" (Gal 5:19ff.). These are the garments that we remove: the garments of death.

Then, in the practice of the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the east – the symbol of light, the symbol of the newly rising sun of history, the symbol of Christ. The candidate for baptism determines the new direction of his life: faith in the Trinitarian God to whom he entrusts himself. Thus it is God who clothes us in the garment of light, the garment of life. Paul calls these new "garments" "fruits of the spirit", and he describes them as follows: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22).

In the early Church, the candidate for baptism was then truly stripped of his garments. He descended into the baptismal font and was immersed three times – a symbol of death that expresses all the radicality of this removal and change of garments. His former death-bound life the candidate consigns to death with Christ, and he lets himself be drawn up by and with Christ into the new life that transforms him for eternity. Then, emerging from the waters of baptism the neophytes were clothed in the white garment, the garment of God's light, and they received the lighted candle as a sign of the new life in the light that God himself had lit within them. They knew that they had received the medicine of immortality, which was fully realized at the moment of receiving holy communion. In this sacrament we receive the body of the risen Lord and we ourselves are drawn into this body, firmly held by the One who has conquered death and who carries us through death.

In the course of the centuries, the symbols were simplified, but the essential content of baptism has remained the same. It is no mere cleansing, still less is it a somewhat complicated initiation into a new association. It is death and resurrection, rebirth to new life.

Indeed, the cure for death does exist. Christ is the tree of life, once more within our reach. If we remain close to him, then we have life. Hence, during this night of resurrection, with all our hearts we shall sing the alleluia, the song of joy that has no need of words. Hence, Paul can say to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!" (Phil 4:4). Joy cannot be commanded. It can only be given. The risen Lord gives us joy: true life. We are already held for ever in the love of the One to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given (cf. Mt 28:18). In this way, confident of being heard, we make our own the Church's Prayer over the Gifts from the liturgy of this night: Accept the prayers and offerings of your people. With your help may this Easter mystery of our redemption bring to perfection the saving work you have begun in us. Amen.

©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Fr. Cantalamessa’s Good Friday Homily

Following is a translation from Zenit of Fr. Cantalamessa's Homily for Good Friday:

"We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God": Thus begins the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews that we heard in the second reading. In the Year for Priests, the liturgy for Good Friday enables us to go back to the historical source of the Christian priesthood. It is the source of both the realizations of the priesthood: the ministerial, of bishops and presbyters, and the universal of all the faithful. This one also, in fact, is founded on the sacrifice of Christ that, Revelation says, "loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father" (Revelation 1:5-6). Hence, it is of vital importance to understand the nature of the sacrifice and of the priesthood of Christ because it is from them that priests and laity, in a different way, must bear the stamp and seek to live the exigencies.
 
The Letter to the Hebrews explains in what the novelty and uniqueness of Christ's priesthood consists, not only in regard to the priesthood of the old Covenant, but as the history of religions teaches us today, in regard to every priestly institution also outside of the Bible. "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come [...] he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:11-14).
 
Every other priest offers something outside of himself, Christ offered himself; every other priest offers victims, Christ offered himself victim! Saint Augustine enclosed in a famous formula this new kind of priesthood in which priest and victim are the same thing: "Ideo sacerdos, quia sacrificium": priest because victim."[1]
 
* * *

In 1972 a famous French thinker launched the thesis according to which "violence is the heart and secret spirit of the sacred."[2] In fact, at the origin and center of every religion there is sacrifice, and sacrifice entails destruction and death. The newspaper "Le Monde" greeted the affirmation, saying that it made of that year "a year to mark with an asterisk in the annals of humanity." However, before this date, that scholar had come close again to Christianity and at Easter of 1959 he made public his "conversion," declaring himself a believer and returning to the Church.
 
This enabled him not to pause, in his subsequent studies, on the analysis of the mechanism of violence, but to point out also how to come out of it. Many, unfortunately, continue to quote René Girard as the one who denounced the alliance between the sacred and violence, but they do not speak of the Girard who pointed out in the paschal mystery of Christ the total and definitive break of such an alliance. According to him, Jesus unmasks and breaks the mechanism of the scapegoat that makes violence sacred, making himself, the victim of all violence.
 
The process that leads to the birth of religion is reversed, in regard to the explanation that Freud had given. In Christ, it is God who makes himself victim, not the victim (in Freud, the primordial father) that, once sacrificed, is successively raised to divine dignity (the Father of the Heavens). It is no longer man that offers sacrifices to God, but God who "sacrifices" himself for man, consigning for him to death his Only-begotten Son (cf. John 3:16). Sacrifice no longer serves to "placate" the divinity, but rather to placate man and to make him desist from his hostility toward God and his neighbor.
 
Christ did not come with another's blood but with his own. He did not put his sins on the shoulders of others -- men or animals -- he put others' sins on his own shoulders: "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).
 
Can one, then, continue to speak of sacrifice in regard to the death of Christ and hence of the Mass? For a long time the scholar mentioned rejected this concept, holding it too marked by the idea of violence, but then ended by admitting the possibility, on condition of seeing, in that of Christ, a new kind of sacrifice, and of seeing in this change of meaning "the central fact in the religious history of humanity."
 
* * *
  
Seen in this light, the sacrifice of Christ contains a formidable message for today's world. It cries out to the world that violence is an archaic residue, a regression to primitive stages and surmounted by human history and -- if it is a question of believers -- a culpable and scandalous delay in becoming aware of the leap in quality operated by Christ.
 
It reminds also that violence is losing. In almost all ancient myths the victim is the defeated and the executioner the victor.[3] Jesus changed the sign of victory. He inaugurated a new kind of victory that does not consist in making victims, but in making himself victim. "Victor quia victima!" victor because victim, thus Augustine describes the Jesus of the cross.[4]
 
The modern value of the defense of victims, of the weak and of threatened life is born on the terrain of Christianity, it is a later fruit of the revolution carried out by Christ. We have the counter-proof. As soon as the Christian vision is abandoned (as Nietzsche did) to bring the pagan back to life, this conquest is lost and one turns to exalt "the strong, the powerful, to its most exalted point, the superman," and the Christian is described as "a morality of slaves," fruit of the mean resentment of the weak against the strong.
 
Unfortunately, however, the same culture of today that condemns violence, on the other hand, favors and exalts it. Garments are torn in face of certain events of blood, but not being aware that the terrain is prepared for them with that which is shown in the next page of the newspaper or in the successive palimpsest of the television network. The pleasure with which one indulges in the description of violence and the competition of the one who is first and the most crude in describing it do no more than favor it. The result is not a catharsis of evil, but an incitement to it. It is disturbing that violence and blood have become one of the ingredients of greatest claim in films and video-games, that one is attracted to it and enjoys watching it.
 
The same scholar recalled above has unveiled the matrix that sparks the mechanism of violence: mimicry, that innate human inclination to consider desirable the things that others desire and, hence, to repeat the things that they see others do. The "heard" psychology is that which leads to the choice of the "scapegoat" to find, in the struggle against a common enemy -- in general, the weakest element, the different one -- a proper artificial and momentous cohesion.
 
We have an example in the recurrent violence of youth in the stadium, in the bullying in schools and in certain square manifestations that leave behind destruction and debris. A generation of youth that has had the very rare privilege of not knowing a real war and of never having been called to arms, amuses itself (because it is about a game, even if stupid and at times tragic) to invent little wars, driven by the same instinct that moved the primordial horde.

*   *  *

However there is a yet more grave and widespread violence than that of youth in stadiums and squares. I am not speaking here of violence against children, of which unfortunately also elements of the clergy are stained; of that there is sufficient talk outside of here. I am speaking of violence to women. This is an occasion to make persons and institutions that fight against it understand that Christ is their best ally.
 
It is a violence all the more grave in as much as it is often carried out in the shelter of domestic walls, unknown to all, when it is not actually justified with pseudo-religious and cultural prejudices. The victims find themselves desperately alone and defenseless. Only today, thanks to the support and encouragement of so many associations and institutions, some find the strength to come out in the open and denounce the guilty.
 
Much of this violence has a sexual background. It is the male who thinks he can demonstrate his virility by inflicting himself on the woman, without realizing that he is only demonstrating his insecurity and baseness. Also in confrontations with the woman who has made a mistake, what a contrast between the conduct of Christ and that still going on in certain environments! Fanaticism calls for stoning; Christ responds to the men who have presented an adulteress to him saying: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). Adultery is a sin that is always committed by two, but for which only one has always been (and, in some parts of the world, still is) punished.
 
Violence against woman is never so odious as when it nestles where mutual respect and love should reign, in the relationship between husband and wife. It is true that violence is not always and wholly on the part of one, that one can be violent also with the tongue and not only with the hands, but no one can deny that in the vast majority of cases the victim is the woman.
 
There are families where the man still believes himself authorized to raise his voice and hands on the women of the house. Wife and children at times live under the constant threat of "Daddy's anger." To such as these it is necessary to say courteously: dear men colleagues, by creating you male, God did not intend to give you the right to be angry and to bang your fist on the table for the least thing. The word addressed to Eve after the fault: "He (the man) shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16), was a bitter forecast, not an authorization.
 
John Paul II inaugurated the practice of the request for forgiveness for collective wrongs. One of these, among the most just and necessary, is the forgiveness that half of humanity must ask of the other half, men to women. It must not be generic or abstract. It must lead, especially in one who professes himself a Christian, to concrete gestures of conversion, to words of apology and reconciliation within families and in society.
 
* * *
 
The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews that we heard continues saying: "In the days of his flesh, with loud cries and with tears he offered prayers and supplications to Him who could save him from death." Jesus felt in all its crudity the situation of the victims, the suffocated cries and silent tears. Truly, "we do not have a high priest who cannot suffer with us in our weaknesses." In every victim of violence Christ relives mysteriously his earthly experience. Also in regard to every one of these he says: "you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
 
By a rare coincidence, this year our Easter falls on the same week of the Jewish Passover which is the ancestor and matrix within which it was formed. This pushes us to direct a thought to our Jewish brothers. They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms. I received in this week the letter of a Jewish friend and, with his permission, I share here a part of it. 

He said: "I am following with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the Church, the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism. Therefore I desire to express to you personally, to the Pope and to the whole Church my solidarity as Jew of dialogue and of all those that in the Jewish world (and there are many) share these sentiments of brotherhood. Our Passover and yours undoubtedly have different elements, but we both live with Messianic hope that surely will reunite us in the love of our common Father. I wish you and all Catholics a Good Easter."
 
And also we Catholics wish our Jewish brothers a Good Passover. We do so with the words of their ancient teacher Gamaliel, entered in the Jewish Passover Seder and from there passed into the most ancient Christian liturgy:
 
"He made us pass
From slavery to liberty,
From sadness to joy,
From mourning to celebration,
From darkness to light,
From servitude to redemption
Because of this before him we say: Alleluia."[5]

* * * 

Notes
 
[1] St. Augustine, Confessions, 10, 43.
[2] Cf. R. Girard, La Violence et le Sacré, Grasset, Paris, 1972.
[3] Cf. R. Girard, Il sacrificio, Milano 2004, pp. 73 f.

[4] St. Augustine, Confessions, 10, 43.
[5] Pesachim, X, 5 e Meliton of Sardi, Easter Homily, 68 (SCh 123, p. 98).

Pope Benedict XVI’s Holy Thursday Homily

Following is a translation from Zenit of Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at the Lass Supper Mass on Holy Thursday:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In his Gospel, Saint John, more fully than the other three evangelists, reports in his own distinctive way the farewell discourses of Jesus; they appear as his testament and a synthesis of the core of his message. They are introduced by the washing of feet, in which Jesus' redemptive ministry on behalf of a humanity needing purification is summed up in a gesture of humility. Jesus' words end as a prayer, his priestly prayer, whose background exegetes have traced to the ritual of the Jewish feast of atonement. The significance of that feast and its rituals – the world's purification and reconciliation with God – is fulfilled in Jesus' prayer, a prayer which anticipates his Passion and transforms it into a prayer. The priestly prayer thus makes uniquely evident the perpetual mystery of Holy Thursday: the new priesthood of Jesus Christ and its prolongation in the consecration of the Apostles, in the incorporation of the disciples into the Lord's priesthood. From this inexhaustibly profound text, I would like to select three sayings of Jesus which can lead us more fully into the mystery of Holy Thursday.

First, there are the words: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3). Everyone wants to have life. We long for a life which is authentic, complete, worthwhile, full of joy. This yearning for life coexists with a resistance to death, which nonetheless remains unescapable. When Jesus speaks about eternal life, he is referring to real and true life, a life worthy of being lived. He is not simply speaking about life after death. He is talking about authentic life, a life fully alive and thus not subject to death, yet one which can already, and indeed must, begin in this world. Only if we learn even now how to live authentically, if we learn how to live the life which death cannot take away, does the promise of eternity become meaningful. But how does this happen? What is this true and eternal life which death cannot touch? We have heard Jesus' answer: this is eternal life, that they may know you – God – and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. Much to our surprise, we are told that life is knowledge. This means first of all that life is relationship. No one has life from himself and only for himself. We have it from others and in a relationship with others. If it is a relationship in truth and love, a giving and receiving, it gives fullness to life and makes it beautiful. But for that very reason, the destruction of that relationship by death can be especially painful, it can put life itself in question. Only a relationship with the One who is himself Life can preserve my life beyond the floodwaters of death, can bring me through them alive. Already in Greek philosophy we encounter the idea that man can find eternal life if he clings to what is indestructible – to truth, which is eternal. He needs, as it were, to be full of truth in order to bear within himself the stuff of eternity. But only if truth is a Person, can it lead me through the night of death. We cling to God – to Jesus Christ the Risen One. And thus we are led by the One who is himself Life. In this relationship we too live by passing through death, since we are not forsaken by the One who is himself Life.

But let us return to Jesus's words – this is eternal life: that they know you and the One whom you have sent. Knowledge of God becomes eternal life. Clearly "knowledge" here means something more than mere factual knowledge, as, for example, when we know that a famous person has died or a discovery was made. Knowing, in the language of sacred Scripture, is an interior becoming one with the other. Knowing God, knowing Christ, always means loving him, becoming, in a sense, one with him by virtue of that knowledge and love. Our life becomes authentic and true life, and thus eternal life, when we know the One who is the source of all being and all life. And so Jesus' words become a summons: let us become friends of Jesus, let us try to know him all the more! Let us live in dialogue with him! Let us learn from him how to live aright, let us be his witnesses! Then we become people who love and then we act aright. Then we are truly alive.

Twice in the course of the priestly prayer Jesus speaks of revealing God's name. "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world" (v. 6). "I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them" (v. 26). The Lord is alluding here to the scene of the burning bush, when God, at Moses' request, had revealed his name. Jesus thus means to say that he is bringing to fulfilment what began with the burning bush; that in him God, who had made himself known to Moses, now reveals himself fully. And that in doing so he brings about reconciliation; that the love with which God loves his Son in the mystery of the Trinity now draws men and women into this divine circle of love. But what, more precisely, does it mean to say that the revelation made from the burning bush is finally brought to completion, fully attains its purpose? The essence of what took place on Mount Horeb was not the mysterious word, the "name" which God had revealed to Moses, as a kind of mark of identification. To give one's name means to enter into relationship with another. The revelation of the divine name, then, means that God, infinite and self-subsistent, enters into the network of human relationships; that he comes out of himself, so to speak, and becomes one of us, present among us and for us. Consequently, Israel saw in the name of God not merely a word steeped in mystery, but an affirmation that God is with us. According to sacred Scripture, the Temple is the dwelling-place of God's name. God is not confined within any earthly space; he remains infinitely above and beyond the world. Yet in the Temple he is present for us as the One who can be called – as the One who wills to be with us. This desire of God to be with his people comes to completion in the incarnation of the Son. Here what began at the burning bush is truly brought to completion: God, as a Man, is able to be called by us and he is close to us. He is one of us, yet he remains the eternal and infinite God. His love comes forth, so to speak, from himself and enters into our midst. The mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of the Lord under the appearances of bread and wine, is the highest and most sublime way in which this new mode of God's being-with-us takes shape. "Truly you are a God who is hidden, O God of Israel", the prophet Isaiah had prayed (45:15). This never ceases to be true. But we can also say: Truly you are a God who is close, you are a God-with-us. You have revealed your mystery to us, you have shown your face to us. You have revealed yourself and given yourself into our hands… At this hour joy and gratitude must fill us, because God has shown himself, because he, infinite and beyond the grasp of our reason, is the God who is close to us, who loves us, and whom we can know and love.

The best-known petition of the priestly prayer is the petition for the unity of the disciples, now and yet to come: "I do not ask only on behalf of these – the community of the disciples gathered in the Upper Room – but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (v. 20ff.; cf. vv. 11 and 13). What exactly is the Lord asking for? First, he prays for his disciples, present and future. He peers into the distance of future history. He sees the dangers there and he commends this community to the heart of the Father. He prays to the Father for the Church and for her unity. It has been said that in the Gospel of John the Church is not present. Yet here she appears in her essential features: as the community of disciples who through the apostolic preaching believe in Jesus Christ and thus become one. Jesus prays for the Church to be one and apostolic. This prayer, then, is properly speaking an act which founds the Church. 

The Lord prays to the Father for the Church. She is born of the prayer of Jesus and through the preaching of the Apostles, who make known God's name and introduce men and women into the fellowship of love with God. Jesus thus prays that the preaching of the disciples will continue for all time, that it will gather together men and women who know God and the one he has sent, his Son Jesus Christ. He prays that men and women may be led to faith and, through faith, to love. He asks the Father that these believers "be in us" (v. 21); that they will live, in other words, in interior communion with God and Jesus Christ, and that this inward being in communion with God may give rise to visible unity. Twice the Lord says that this unity should make the world believe in the mission of Jesus. It must thus be a unity which can be seen – a unity which so transcends ordinary human possibilities as to become a sign before the world and to authenticate the mission of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus' prayer gives us the assurance that the preaching of the Apostles will never fail throughout history; that it will always awaken faith and gather men and women into unity – into a unity which becomes a testimony to the mission of Jesus Christ. But this prayer also challenges us to a constant examination of conscience. At this hour the Lord is asking us: are you living, through faith, in fellowship with me and thus in fellowship with God? Or are you rather living for yourself, and thus apart from faith? And are you not thus guilty of the inconsistency which obscures my mission in the world and prevents men and women from encountering God's love? It was part of the historical Passion of Jesus, and remains part of his ongoing Passion throughout history, that he saw, and even now continues to see, all that threatens and destroys unity. As we meditate on the Passion of the Lord, let us also feel Jesus' pain at the way that we contradict his prayer, that we resist his love, that we oppose the unity which should bear witness before the world to his mission.

At this hour, when the Lord in the most holy Eucharist gives himself, his body and his blood, into our hands and into our hearts, let us be moved by his prayer. Let us enter into his prayer and thus beseech him: Lord, grant us faith in you, who are one with the Father in the Holy Spirit. Grant that we may live in your love and thus become one, as you are one with the Father, so that the world may believe. Amen.

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana