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In this press release from the Vatican Information Service, there are three news items: Mass in St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls for Opening of Synod; European Heritage Days: 28 September; and Adapting Development Programs to the Reality of Africa. The big event will be the Mass on October 5, Sunday, in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, where the Holy Father will concelebrate the Eucharist with the Synod Fathers for the opening of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will have as its theme: "Verbum Domini in vita et missione Ecclesiae".
In this summary press release from the Vatican Information Service, we will discover many things the Holy Father speaks about: the importance of the Benedictine spirit for our times - especially for the youth; that the bishops may learn from the evangelical and missionary spirit of St. Paul; that the Eucharist is an occasion for fraternal reconciliation; that we are to see our doing the Lord's work is in itself the recompense (spiritual blessings more than material); his solidarity with the cyclone victims of the Carribean countries of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
This Sunday, September 28, will be the 26th Year in Ordinary Time. The lectionary readings for the Eucharistic celebration are taken from: the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the letter of Paul to the Philippians, and the gospel Matthew. In the passage from Ezekiel, the prophet reminds us to turn away from the wickedness we have committed and to do what is right. By this, the prophet assures that we shall preserve our life. Then, in the letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds us of the humility and servanthood of Jesus - who, despite being equal with God, took human form and even obediently accepting death on a cross. Lastly, in the gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus teaching another parable - that of the man with two sons. The wisdom Jesus wishes to teach us is that our decision and action to follow God is greater than our disobedient words or responses and our sinful past.
Much of what we know of St. Paul is recorded in the letters he wrote for the Christian communities he founded in Asia Minor and Europe, and also in the records found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. What is dramatic in the life of this zealous Apostle is the conversion he experienced while on the road to Damascus. Prior to his being an Apostle of Christ, he persecuted all those who followed the way of Jesus. But, one day, as he was going through his rounds of persecuting the Christians, a bright light came to him like a flood, and flung him down on the ground. Christ appeared to him in a vision and made Himself known as the One whom Paul really persecutes. Blinded by this experience, St. Paul withdrew to Arabia were he repented, gradually learned of his new mission, and eventually became a Christian. Ananias cured his blindness and Saul (his original name) was baptised. After being accepted by the Apostles and the Christians, Paul started a very active apostolic and missionary life were he endured a lot of hardships and difficulties. But all his work bore fruit, and even after his execution, because Christianity was taken out of the confines of Jerusalem and its environs, and brought to the many faraway places were Gentiles and pagans lived and accepted the faith.
The early centuries of Christianity had both external and internal challenges to its growth as a Church. The external challenges were in the form of persecutions ordered by the Roman Emperors. The internal challenges were in the form of schisms that were caused by antipopes - Church leaders who went against the legitimacy of the Popes who were duly elected. Hippolytus is an example of one of these antipopes. When, however, he was sent to exile by the Emperor into the mines of Sardina for forced labor, there he met Pope St. Pontian (the legitimate Pope at the time). Because of St. Pontian's act of self-sacrifice and his good influence, St. Pontian was able to reconcile Hippolytus back to the Church. Both "popes" however died of extreme hardships and sufferings in the mines of Sardinia. Both were declared saints by the Church. St. Hippolytus, who was also a good writer and theologian, was titled with "Greek Father of the Church".
1981-1985 is the period in the life of John Paul II which proved to be his most missionary and his most traveled years. compared to the other years of his pontificate, 1981-1985 was when John Paul II visited more than 150 cities around the world. Though John Paul II accomplished much in these years, he had to deal with two sorrowful situations: the attempted assassination on his life, and the political turmoil that was happening in his native Poland. In the attempt on his life, John Paul II was grateful to the Blessed Mother, who protected him from being shot fatally. And as for the political turmoil in Poland, eventually, the Pope would be instrumental in the fall of communist rule in his native country.
The Solemnity of Christ the King, which marks the end of the liturgical year A, will be on November 23. Before the liturgical year ends, there are six Sundays left, beginning October 5. October is also the month of World Mission Sunday, which will be celebrated this year on October 19. There are also many saints whose feasts occur in the month of October: St. Therese of Lisieux (Oct 1), St. Francis of Assisi (Oct 4), St. Teresa of Avila (Oct 15), St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (Oct 16), St. Luke (Oct 18), and Sts. Simon and Jude (Oct 28). October is also the month of the holy rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary occurs on October 7
The much anticipated book, the paperback edition "Jesus of Nazareth", is available! Complete with a new index and a companion study guide being released next month, this edition is sure to be an Ignatius Press bestseller! Not only are we celebrating the release of "Jesus of Nazareth", but Ignatius Press also has a few other new titles being made available to you, all at 20% off! From Hilaire Belloc's "The Battleground", Christopher Dawson's "The Formation of Christendom", and Fr. Renner's account of the Catholic Church's missionary work in Alaska, "A Kindly Providence" (which also serves as his autobiography), we offer something new to intrigue and captivate everyone! Plus, the Presidential election has heated up. One of the key issues is abortion and the so-called “right to privacy”. Philosopher and prolife advocate Dr. Janet E. Smith speaks against it a host of other social issues, and shows how the Constitution and the principles of law support the pro-life position.
In his visit to Lourdes, France, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, continued to teach on the importance of Christ's presence in the lives of those who are sick and suffering. He said, "Christ imparts His salvation by means of the Sacraments, and especially in the case of those suffering from sickness or disability, by means of the grace of the Sacrament of the Sick. For each individual, suffering is always something alien. It can never be tamed. That is why it is hard to bear, and harder still - as certain great witnesses of Christ's holiness have done - to welcome it as a significant element in our vocation". "The grace of this Sacrament consists in welcoming Christ the healer into ourselves. However, Christ is not a healer in the manner of the world. In order to heal us, he does not remain outside the suffering that is experienced; He eases it by coming to dwell within the one stricken by illness, to bear it and live it with him. Christ's presence comes to break the isolation which pain induces".
This coming Sunday, September 21, will be the 25th Year in Ordinary Time. The lectionary readings for the Eucharistic celebration are taken from: the book of the prophet Isaiah, the letter of Paul to the Philippians, and the gospel Matthew. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet exhorts the people Israel to seek the Lord and to know His thoughts and ways. Then, in the letter to the Philippians, Paul tells the community at Philippi that, whether he lives or he dies, Christ will be exalted through him - because he had proclaimed Him in word and deed as His apostle. Lastly, in the gospel of Matthew, we will read a parable taught by Jesus to His disciples. In this parable, we will discover the mystery of God's goodness, generosity and justice - a mystery that is beyond the way we understand justice in the world.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, visited France to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes. In this press release, the Pope gives very warm and encouraging messages on devotion to Mary, her role in leading us to God's healing love and mercy, and the good example of St. Bernadette Soubirous, who gave herself totally to the love of God through her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are three items of news released by the Vatican Press in their news service: "Lourdes : Experiencing Closeness between Heaven and Earth", "The Message of Mary Is a Message of Hope", and "Mary, Close to Our Hearts". At the end of this news items, we find a prayer composed by the Holy Father in honor of Mary: "Holy Mary, you showed yourself here one hundred and fifty years ago to the young Bernadette, you 'are the true fount of hope'. Faithful pilgrims who have gathered here from every part of the world, we come once more to draw faith and comfort, joy and love, security and peace, from the source of your Immaculate Heart. 'Monstra Te esse Matrem'. Show yourself a Mother for us all, O Mary! And give us Christ, the hope of the world!"
During the time of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716), a French priest and founder of religious congregations, many in France were not faithful to their baptismal promises. So when the Pope at the time gave the title of "Apostolic Missionary" to Montfort, and told Montfort to evangelize the whole of France, Montfort made it a major part of his missions to promote the perfect consecration to Jesus through Mary. This consecration is a giving of oneself entirely to Mary to belong entirely to Jesus. According to Montfort, the "perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin". It is also "the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism". It is a "giving of oneself entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her". The giving of oneself entirely requires us to give: our body with its senses and members; our soul with its faculties; our present material possessions and all we shall acquire in the future; our interior and spiritual possessions, that is, our merits, virtues and good actions of the past, the present and the future.
When Karol Wojtyla was announced as the new Pope, the joyful news echoed around the world. Poland was very happy at the news of Wojtyla's election to the papacy. It was such a great surprise, that for 15 minutes, the church bells pealed in many parts of the country. Joyful processions also wound their way to the churches in thanksgiving to God. In the rest of the world, newspapers were preparing biographical notes on the new Pope. The journalists discovered that, besides Polish, Pope Wojtyla also spoke fluently many different languages: Latin, Italian, French, German, and English. Also, they were able to discover that this new Pope had already a host of written works: five books, more than 500 newspaper articles, some good plays written, and also poetry. Someone said to Cardinal Wyszynski, Karol Wojtyla's good cardinal-friend: "Tonight, the whole of Poland must be rejoicing." The good Cardinal Wyszynski knows this to be true; and the world also shares greatly in the joy and happiness of Poland.
St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, were friends who guided the Church through a difficult period in history. It was a time when the persecution of Christians under Emperor Decius reached its most violent peak. Such a severe persecution led many Christians to apostasize from the Christian faith. St. Cyprian proposed to welcome back these Christians who were repentant, but only after the proper penance was fulfilled. St. Cornelius backed up St. Cyprian in this proposal and decided to accept them back. However, Novatian, a priest and a strong leader among his fellow priests, set himself against St. Cornelius, and declared himself Pope - becoming the first antipope of the Church. This situation led to the schism regarding the lapsi, those Christians who have apostasized and lapsed from the Christian faith. The Church celebrates the feast of these two saints every September 16.
Although in the liturgical calendar, this Sunday is scheduled to be the 24th Sunday of the Year, since the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (celebrated every September 14) falls on this Sunday, the readings of this feast take precedence over the lectionary readings for the 24th Sunday of the Year. We are sorry for overlooking this very important detail and are now giving you the readings for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in this blog post.
STATISTICS FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN FRANCE - VATICAN CITY, 11 SEP 2008 (VIS) - For the occasion of Benedict XVI's forthcoming apostolic trip to France, due to take place from 12 to 15 September to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes, statistics concerning the Catholic Church in that country have been published. The information, updated to 31 December 2006, comes from the Central Statistical Office of the Church. The good news given by the statistics is that 75.5% of the population in France is Catholic.
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Made public yesterday evening was a Letter from the Pope to Bishop Luciano Monari of Brescia, Italy, for the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of Pope Paul VI. In his Letter the Holy Father describes how Servant of God Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), a native of the diocese of Brescia, "was called by Divine Providence to guide the Church during a historical period marked by no small number of challenges and problems". In recalling his predecessor's pontificate (1963-1978), Benedict XVI remarks upon "the missionary ardour that animated him and encouraged him to make demanding apostolic journeys, even to distant countries, and to perform acts of great ecclesial, missionary and ecumenical significance.
For this 24th Sunday of the Year, we have the following readings: from the book of Sirach, from the letter of Paul to the Romans, and the gospel of Matthew. In the book of Sirach, God's wisdom teaches us to forgive our neighbor's faults, so that when we pray, our sins will be forgiven by God. Then in the letter to the Romans, Saint Paul teaches that we are responsible to the Lord, and that whether in life and in death, we are the Lord's. Jesus came to sacrifice His life for us that we can have life and that He may be the Lord of the living and the dead. Lastly, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches the wisdom of forgiving always, for if we are forgiving and merciful to our brethren, God will be forgiving and merciful to us. Jesus teaches this very important Christian virtue through the parable of the merciless servant.
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