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Featured Article
Aug
31
The ‘Atheism’ of Mother Teresa
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She became poor to serve the materially poor — did she similarly share the sufferings of the spiritually poor?
BY FATHER RANIERO CANTALAMESSA, Ofm Cap
September 9-15, 2007 Issue | Posted 8/31/07 at 1:02 PM | Source
What happened after Mother Teresa said her Yes to the divine inspiration that was calling her to place herself at the service of the poorest of the poor?
The world knew well all that happened around her — the whirlwind development of her charitable 
activities — but until her death, no one knew what happened within her.
That is now revealed by her personal diaries and her letters to her spiritual director, published by Doubleday, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of her death, under the title: Mother Theresa. Come, Be My Light.
Some have completely misunderstood the nature of these writings, thinking that they oblige us to reconsider the personality of Mother Theresa and her faith and holiness. Far from undermining the stature of Mother Theresa’s holiness, these new documents will immensely magnify it, placing her at the side of the greatest mystics of Christianity.
Jesuit Father Joseph Neuner, who knew her, has written, “With the beginning of her new life in the service of the poor, darkness came on her with oppressive power.” Read more
Aug
31
St. Peter Eymard
Filed Under The Wisdom of the Saints | Leave a Comment
Love cannot triumph unless it becomes the one passion of our life. Until we have a passionate love for Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we shall accomplish nothing. Certainly, Our Lord loves us passionately in the Eucharist ; He loves us blindly without a thought for Himself, devoting Himself entirely for our good. We should love Him as He loves us. — St. Peter Eymard
Aug
31
Matthew 24:42-51
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1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
7 Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.
11 Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.’
12 But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Aug
31
The question which human existence not only poses but itself is, the inconclusiveness inherent in it, the bounds which it comes up against and which yet yearn for the unbounded (more or less in the sense of Nietzshe’s assertion that all pleasure yearns for eternity yet experience itself as a moment), this simultaneity of being limited and of yearning for the unbounded and open has always prevented man from resting in himself, made him sense that he is not self-sufficient but only comes to himself by going outside himself and moving toward the quite other hand and infinitely greater.
The same thing could be demonstrated in the theme of loneliness and security. Loneliness is indubitably one of the basic roots from which man’s encounter with God grew up. Where man experiences his solitariness, he experiences at the same time how much his whole existence is a cry for the thou and how ill-adapted he is to be only an I in himself. This loneliness can become apparent to man on various levels. To start with it can be comforted by the discovery of a human thou. But then there is the paradox that, as Claudel says, every thou found by man finally turns out to be an unfulfilled and unfulfillable promise; that every thou is at bottom another disappontment and that there comes a point when no encounter can surmount the final loneliness: the very process of finding and of having found thus becomes a pointer back to the loneliness, a call to the absolute thou that really descends into the depths of one’s own I.
But even here it remains true that it is not only the need born of loneliness, the experience that no sense of community fills up all our longing, which leads to the experience of God; it can just as well proceed from the joy of security. The very fulfillment of love, of finding one another, can cause man to experience the gift of what he could neither call up nor create and make him recognize that in it he receives more than either of the two could contribute. The brightness and joy of finding one another can point to the proximity of absolute joy and of the simple fact of being found which stands behind every human encounter.
From: Introduction to Christianity, pp.69-70
Aug
30
Circular no. 2004 – 65
12 October 2004
TO: ALL THE PARISH PRIESTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA
RE: ALL THE WEDDINGS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA
Dear Monsignori/Father:
Greetings of Peace!
In compliance with the stipulation if the law as contemplated by the New Code of Canon Law, it is my duty as the Archbishop of Manila to defend the unity of the universal church, to foster the discipline which is common to the whole Church, and to oppress the observance of all ecclesiastical laws.
I have to ensure that abuses do not creep into the ecclesiastical discipline, especially concerning the celebration of the sacrament of marriage.
In this connection, I wish to enforce the directive promulgated by my predecessor, His Eminence Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, DD that all Catholic marriages with in the Archdiocese of Manila should hold only within the parish churches, except for those in “articulo mortis” cases.
To keep orderly records, all clearances, permissions and dispensations regarding marriages must be processed and released by the Chancery office.
All previous practices and privileges granted to specific chapels are now hereby revoked.
I hope that this prescription will be observed by all those concerned.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+GAUDENCIO B. ROSALES, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
Aug
30
TO: ALL DIRECTORS AND HEADS
CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA
SUBJECT: GUIDE TO ECOLOGICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN OFFICES
FROM: MS. LOU VALECIA ARSENIO
Ecology Desk Coordinator
Noted: REV. FR. ANTON C.T. PASCUAL
Minister, Archdiocese of Manila Social Service Ministry
The Archdiocese of Manila Ecology Desk (AMED) is requesting everyone to follow the following scheme in managing the discards in your offices and in the whole institution.
1. Reduce your discards by not using styro foam and plastic disposable utensils
2. Segregate the discards: Use at least 3 segregation bins or containers
= 1 left over food (minus thewet tissue paper or any non food mats). Use covered container (pail or ice cream container)
= 1 for dry papers, cartons, box containers, dry plastic bags, foil and dry empty printer ink containers use big brown box
= 1 for dry empty cans, pet bottles, plastic containers and etc. Use regular plastic bin.
The segregated discards may be collected or sold to the Smokey Mountain Resource Recovery Systems (SMRRS) in the parish of the Risen Christ led by Fr. Ben Beltran everyday or once a week – depending on the bulk of discards.
3. Food left over may be composted in a flower pot with soil or in the office garden or may be collected by SMRRS for composting.
4. Used toilet papers, sanitary napkins and diapers may be composted in the garden to serve as soil enhancer for the ornamental plants. These may also be collected by the SMRRS for composting. BURNING OF WASTES/DISCARDS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED BY R.A. 9003.
Your discard materials can be a source of livelihood for our 3,000 – 4,000 scavengers in Metro Manila. Let us give them descent livelihood and spare them from the mountains of garbage in the dumpsites that put to risk their lives and that of their children by ecologically managing our discards.
We are very willing to train your office personnel in managing your discards without harming God’s creation and human health.
“Mga Panapon ay ipagbukud – bukod at irecycle. Nulikha ng Diyos ay ingatan!
Aug
30
Cardinal Rosales turns 75 on Aug. 10,
Pope tells him to stay on as Manila Archbishop
On August 10, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales will be 75 years old, the mandatory age for retirement of bishops in the Catholic Church. But after he submitted the customary resignation to the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, the Pope has responded by inviting him “to continue in your ministry ‘donec aliter provideatur’ (unless otherwise provided for).
(According to Church Canon 401 § 1, bishops submit their resignation to the Holy Father when they reach 75 years old.)
The response of the Holy Father was relayed by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for the Bishops, in a communication to the Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines. Fr. Reginald Malicdem, secretary of the Manila Archbishop, read the letters of Cardinal Rosales to the Holy Father and of the Apostolic Nunciature at the Mass for an advance celebration of his birthday with the Manila clergy at the Arzobispado de Manila on August 8.
It is the only celebration that Cardinal Rosales agreed to after expressing the wish that he be allowed to “disappear on his birthday and for a week thereafter for much-longed for moments of looking back and prayerful reflections on his life and ministry.
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, delivered the homily during the mass, and paid tribute to “Cardinal Dency” as “someone who has offered a new vision not only for Manila but also for the Philippines.” He also enjoined his confrere not to retire “so he won’t be alone.” Cardinal Vidal turned 75 more than a year ago, and has also been invited by the Holy Father to continue with his ministry. Also celebrating the Mass were Bishops Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Bishop Rey Evangelista of Boac, Bishop Pedro Arigo of the Puerto Princesa, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez, Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop-elect Francis de Leon, the Manila clergy and priests from the Archdiocese of Lipa. Read more
Aug
30
Matthew 24:42-51
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42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.
47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken,
50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know,
51 and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
Aug
30
A good interior relationship with God is an indispensable ingredient for a happy life. For only when this basic relationship is in order can all other relationships prosper. That is why it is important to learn and practice all one’s life long, from childhood on, to think with God, to feel with God, to will with God, so that love will follow and will become the keynote of my life. When that occurs, love of neighbor will follow as a matter of course. For if the keynote of my life is love, then I, in my turn, will react to those whom God places on my path only with a Yes of acceptance, with trust, with approval, and with love. To characterize love of neighbor, Holy Scripture employs a very wise and very profound expression: “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”. It requires no quixotic or spurious heroism. It does not say: “You should deny yourself and exist only for the other; you must be less concerned about yourself and more about the other.” No! - “as you love yourself”. Not more, not less. If we are not at peace with ourselves, we cannot really love anyone else. If we cannot accept ourselves, we will also reject the other. True love is righteous: to love myself as a member of Christ’s body - that is where it leads. Oneself as others - to be freed from that false perspective with which all of us are born, that the world revolves around me alone.
From: Auf Christus schauen, pp.110-11
Aug
29
Starting from a very different idea about the Book of Apocalypses, it would be difficult for me to change my paradigm a little bit. When I was a little kid, all I knew was a literal translations of terms used in this Book. And sad to say, my parents knew it that way, too. The understanding was from my own perspective or at least from the perspective of the people who didn’t experience the situations of the people of the time when the Book was written.
But what is Apocalyptic writing? The book of Apocalypses was written around 95 c.e. By a person named John of Patmos. During that time the early Christians were experiencing persecutions by Domitian and also from the Jewish hostility like excommunication from synagogues; by driving them away. Public suspicions, imprisonment and executions were experienced also at that time. The author of the Book tried to reassure the early Christians of their faith in Jesus Christ, that the end of time is coming very soon, but nobody knows when it will happens. It reaffirms the Christians’ hope for an immediate transformation of the world, and this is one of the Book’s theme. And yet, the book is also presented in such a way that it is full of symbols and metaphors and that what made it “apocalyptic writing.”
End of time or the “eschatological” beliefs of early Christians is badly interpreted as giving exact dates or years by modern interpreters of the Book of Revelation. And yet the message of the writing should not be contradicted with Jesus’ words that the end of time is not revealed to anybody (Matt 24:36) except that the author conveys the the end of time is “now.” Meaning, the apocalyptic writing is not only intended for the early Christians but to all the people of the world at all time. “Of all times,” means, “now.”
Apocalyptic writing comes to us with a meaning, “revealing” or “unveiling.” It reveals God’s truth, the course of human life and our spiritual life. God’s judgment comes to us as the final confrontation between the forces of evil and the forces of good. And that in the end, we are assured of the victory being won by Christ at the cross.
