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Featured Article
Nov
30
ENCYCLICAL LETTER SPE SALVI
Filed Under Pope Benedict XVI | Leave a Comment
ENCYCLICAL LETTER
SPE SALVI
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON CHRISTIAN HOPE
Introduction
1. “SPE SALVI facti sumus”—in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, “redemption”—salvation—is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here?
Faith is Hope
2. Before turning our attention to these timely questions, we must listen a little more closely to the Bible’s testimony on hope. “Hope”, in fact, is a key word in Biblical faith—so much so that in several passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem interchangeable. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews closely links the “fullness of faith” (10:22) to “the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23). Likewise, when the First Letter of Peter exhorts Christians to be always ready to give an answer concerning the logos—the meaning and the reason—of their hope (cf. 3:15), “hope” is equivalent to “faith”. We see how decisively the self-understanding of the early Christians was shaped by their having received the gift of a trustworthy hope, when we compare the Christian life with life prior to faith, or with the situation of the followers of other religions. Paul reminds the Ephesians that before their encounter with Christ they were “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Of course he knew they had had gods, he knew they had had a religion, but their gods had proved questionable, and no hope emerged from their contradictory myths. Notwithstanding their gods, they were “without God” and consequently found themselves in a dark world, facing a dark future. In nihil ab nihilo quam cito recidimus (How quickly we fall back from nothing to nothing): 1 so says an epitaph of that period. In this phrase we see in no uncertain terms the point Paul was making. In the same vein he says to the Thessalonians: you must not “grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Th 4:13). Here too we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness. Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well. So now we can say: Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. Read more
Nov
30
Reclaiming the Mystery of Advent, Part One: The Meaning of Advent
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by
Once again Advent is upon us. Our churches will be draped in purple; our priests will wear violet vestments; the Advent wreath will be blessed and lit; “O come, O come Emmanuel” will be sung as we begin the time of preparation for our Lord’s coming.
Once again Advent is upon us. Our lives will be swept up in a whirlwind of chaos; we will have to find that perfect present; we will attend any number of pre-Christmas Christmas parties. Our ears will be bombarded with Christmas songs everywhere we go as we begin a three week celebration of Our Lord and Savior’s birth.
Which of these images come closer to our experience of Advent? For most of us, the second scenario is probably closer to reality. For most of us, Advent is lived as a time of early celebration of Christmas rather than as spiritual preparation for Christmas. We do not need to celebrate Christmas early because the Church gives us the Octave of Christmas, the Church’s eight day celebration of Christmas. However, all too often, Advent becomes a time for pre-Christmas Christmas celebrations and no one has the energy for eight days of celebration when Christmas comes. When that happens, the distinctive purpose of the Advent season becomes lost and forgotten. Of course, some of us will have office parties and family events that take place before Christmas and it would be in poor taste not to participate. Yet, with some effort, we can reclaim the true meaning of Advent.
The late Pope John Paul II shows the way: Advent is a period of intense training that directs us decisively to the One who has already come, who will come, and who continuously comes. In this series of articles and videos, we Dominican Friars will offer spiritual and practical insights with the hope that everyone will be able to live out Advent more intensely as a season of training for the coming of Christ. Read more
Nov
30
Nested Among the Thorns
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November 30, 2007 |
The last of the leaves have finally fallen from the trees. Actually, a late November rain brought them down and they are now mixed with the snow that has begun to accumulate on the ground making it quite difficult to rake and bag them one final time. As I enjoy the first signs of winter where the freshly fallen snow is still pristine and the bare tree limbs provide perches for the crystals, I am able to see bird’s nests scattered throughout a few of the trees. Most intriguing to me is a tree that I’ve set my sights on for removal. It is an ugly tree, filled with thorns. The tree is difficult to trim and has caused me more than my fair share of pokes, pricks, and drawn blood. Next spring I was prepared to win the battle and hire s
omeone to cut it down completely. That was until I saw the bird’s nest.
Nestled snuggly in the top branches, the nest and all its inherent summer activities brought to mind my grandfather who died many years ago. He was very much like this thorny tree. It was difficult to get close to him, if not downright impossible. He was, as they say, “old country.” Having worked in coal mines as a young child, he never lost sight of how difficult life could be and did everything within his power to make sure his children were prepared. He and my grandmother sacrificed material possessions throughout their entire lives so that their children (my father being the oldest) could go to parochial schools and then attend college debt-free. My grandfather and my grandmother lived with relatives as they saved for their first house, never, not once, living beyond their means. My grandfather was a proud man and cherished his family. He just did it from a distance. Read more
Nov
30
St. Andrew was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, a fisherman by trade, and a former disciple of John the Baptist. He was the one who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messiah.” Overshadowed henceforth by his brother, Andrew nevertheless appears again in the Gospels as introducing souls to Christ. After Pentecost, Andrew took up the apostolate on a much wider scale, and is said to have been martyred at Patras in southern Greece on a cross which was in the form of an “X”. This type of cross has long been known as “St. Andrew’s cross.”
Nov
30
Details on getting papal Mass tickets likely not ready for weeks
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By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — To answer the question that is increasingly being asked of officials with the archdioceses of Washington and New York — and pretty much anyone else who works for the Catholic Church in the region — you can’t yet get tickets to any events during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to those cities in April.
The two archdioceses don’t expect to have information about how to get tickets for the few public events of the April 15-20 visit until after the first of the year. And what tickets are available will likely be distributed according to formulas that will give priority to people from Washington and New York and neighboring dioceses.
The Vatican announced Nov. 12 that the pope will arrive in Washington April 15, spend the next two days there, move on to New York April 18 and depart for Rome the evening of April 20. Read more
Nov
30
Matthew 4: 18 - 22
Filed Under Today's Gospel | Leave a Comment
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zeb’edee and John his brother, in the boat with Zeb’edee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Nov
30
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
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He who does not meditate acts as one who never looks into the mirror and so does not bother to put himself in order, since he can be dirty without knowing it. The person who meditates and turns his thoughts to God who is the mirror of the soul, seeks to know his defects and tries to correct them, moderates himself in his impulses and puts his conscience in order.
– Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
Nov
30
The Feast of Christ the King is of recent origin, but what it celebrates is as old as the Christian Faith itself. For the word Christ is, in fact, just the Greek translation of the word Messiah: the Annointed One, the King. Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified son of a carpenter, is so intrinsically King that the title “king” has actually become his name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the King, as people who recognize him as their King. But we can understand properly what the kingship of Jesus Christ means only if we trace its origin in the Old Testament, where we immediately discover a surprising fact.
It is obvious that God did not intend Israel to have a kingdom. The kingdom was, in fact, a result of Israel’s rebellion against his prophets, a defection from the original will of God. The law was to be Israel’s king, and, through the law, God himself…But Israel was jealous of the neighboring peoples with their powerful kings…Surprisingly, God yielded to Israel’s obstinacy and so devised a new kind of kingship for them. The son of David, the King, is Jesus; in him God entered humanity and espoused it to himself.
If we look closely, we shall discover that this is, in fact, the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into the right ways. We can see that, for instance, in the case of Adam, whose fault became a happy fault, and we see it again in all the twisted ways of history.
This, then, is God’s kingship - a love that is impregnable and an inventiveness that finds man by ways that are always new. For us, consequently, God’s kingship means that we must have an unshakable confidence. For this is still true and is applicable to every single life: no one has reason to fear or to capitulate. God can always be found.
We, too, should make this the pattern of our lives: to write no one off; to try to reach them again and again with the inventiveness of an open heart. Our most impportant task is not to have our own way but to be always ready to follow the path that leads to God and to one another. The Feast of Christ the King is not, therefore, the feast of those who are under a yoke but of those who are grateful to find themselves in the hands of him who writes straight on crooked lines.
From: Gottes Angesich suchen, pp. 54-55
Nov
30
“We Can and Therefore Should Look to What Unites Us”
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is Benedict XVI’s response to the open letter that 138 Muslims scholars addressed to the Holy Father and Christian leaders on Oct. 13. The response was released by the Vatican press office today, and signed Nov. 19 on the Pontiff’s behalf by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state.
* * *
His Royal Highness
Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal
The Royal Palace
Amman
Jordan
From the Vatican, November 19, 2007
Your Royal Highness,
On 13 October 2007 an open letter addressed to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and to other Christian leaders was signed by one hundred and thirty-eight Muslim religious leaders, including Your Royal Highness. You, in turn, were kind enough to present it to Bishop Salim Sayegh, Vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in Jordan, with the request that it be forwarded to His Holiness.
The Pope has asked me to convey his gratitude to Your Royal Highness and to all who signed the letter. He also wishes to express his deep appreciation for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world.
Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who at the end of time will deal with each person according to his or her actions. We are all called to commit ourselves totally to him and to obey his sacred will.
Mindful of the content of his Encyclical Letter “Deus Caritas Est” (God is Love), His Holiness was particularly impressed by the attention given in the letter to the twofold commandment to love God and one’s neighbour.
As you may know, at the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI stated: “I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values” (Address to Representatives of Some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005). Such common ground allows us to base dialogue on effective respect for the dignity of every human person, on objective knowledge of the religion of the other, on the sharing of religious experience and, finally, on common commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance among the younger generation. The Pope is confident that, once this is achieved, it will be possible to cooperate in a productive way in the areas of culture and society, and for the promotion of justice and peace in society and throughout the world.
With a view to encouraging your praiseworthy initiative, I am pleased to communicate that His Holiness would be most willing to receive Your Royal Highness and a restricted group of signatories of the open letter, chosen by you. At the same time, a working meeting could be organized between your delegation and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, with the cooperation of some specialized Pontifical Institutes (such as the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Pontifical Gregorian University). The precise details of these meetings could be decided later, should this proposal prove acceptable to you in principle.
I avail myself of the occasion to renew to Your Royal Highness the assurance of my highest consideration.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Secretary of State
Nov
29
VATICAN CITY, NOV 29, 2007 (VIS) - On October 13, for the occasion of the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr), a group of 138 Muslim religious leaders sent an open letter to the Holy Father Benedict XVI and to other Christian leaders. The letter was entitled: “A Common Word between Us and You.”
The Holy Father has replied with a letter of his own, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and addressed to Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, president of the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought and one of the signatories of the original letter.
In expressing his thanks and appreciation for this significant initiative by the eminent group of Muslim figures, the Holy Father reaffirms the importance of dialogue based on effective respect for the dignity of the person, on objective knowledge of the other’s religion, on the sharing of religious experience, and on joint commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance.
The Secretary of State’s reply also mentions the Holy Father’s willingness to receive Prince Ghazi and a delegation of the signatories of the letter, and also highlights the readiness of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, in collaboration with other specialized pontifical institutes, to organize a working meeting.
BXVI-LETTER/…/MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS VIS 071129 (220)
Related Post: Text of the Muslim Letter to the Christian Leaders
