Scripture and Eucharist

Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist: -life-blood of Christian life
The initiative of encouraging “Regular reading of Holy Scripture and devout Eucharistic Adoration” was launched at the beginning of this year 2010 in the parish of Xiao Dian, diocese of Tai Yuan, Shan Xi province. According to a report sent to Fides Agency, on Sundays before Mass priests help the faithful to read the Scripture readings of the day, share impressions, while the priests explain the meaning and answer questions. On every important Liturgical feast day the parish community participates in Eucharistic Adoration for an hour before a solemn Mass. The parish priest said this “is a way of living the life of faith, fostering deeper devotion and respect for the Holy Eucharist and learning to put total trust in the Lord Jesus”. In fact “Sacred Scripture and the Eucharist are the life-blood of our Christian life ”. Every liturgical solemnity is an opportunity for the parish to organise community adoration and a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. Our faithful have adopted the good habit of reading the Bible together also before week day Mass. In this way, the parish priest concluded, “we help those who have little time for reading the Bible alone, to become more familiar with Holy Scripture, to reflect more deeply and grow ever closer to the Lord”. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides)

Personal Gospel: Jesus

VATICAN - The true meaning and purpose of any genuine missionary journey: to give people the living and personal Gospel, the Lord Jesus Himself


Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – "In the Virgin Mary who goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, we recognize the clearest example and the truest meaning of our way as believers and the way of the Church herself. The Church is missionary by nature, called to proclaim the Gospel everywhere and always, to transmit the faith to every man and woman, and in every culture." These were the words spoken by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI on the evening of May 31, before the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, at the end of the celebration held for the closing of the Month of May. Referring to the liturgy of the day, the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, the Pope said that "Mary's is a true missionary journey. It is a journey that leads her far from home, leading her into the world, in places foreign to her daily activities; it makes her reach, in a sense, to the very ends of where she can reach. It is precisely here, for ourselves as well, wherein lies the secret of our lives as mankind and as Christians. Our existence, as individuals and as a Church, is a life that is projected outside of us. As was the case with Abraham, we are asked to come out of ourselves, emerge from the places wherein lies our security, to go towards others, into diverse places and environments. It is the Lord who asks us... It is always the Lord who, on this path, places Mary beside us as a traveling companion and caring mother."

According to St. Luke the Evangelist, Mary stayed with Elizabeth, now elderly, for nearly three months, "in order to offer her an affectionate assistance, a concrete help and all those daily services she needed. Elizabeth became the symbol of so many elderly and sick, indeed, of all people in need of help and love," said the Holy Father. However, Mary's love "reaches its highest point in giving Jesus Himself, as Luke points out: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb" (Lk 1:41). The Pope then continued: "We thus arrive at the heart and summit of the mission of evangelization. We have reached the truest meaning and the most genuine purpose of any missionary journey: to give people the living and personal Gospel, the Lord Jesus Himself. This is implies a communication and a donation which, as evidenced by Elizabeth, fills the heart with joy ... Jesus is the true and only treasure that we must give humanity. It is for Him that the men and women of our time have a deep longing, even when they seem to ignore or reject Him. He is the one that the society in which we live, Europe, and the entire world have such a great need of.”

Benedict XVI concluded his speech by stressing that "we are entrusted with this extraordinary responsibility" and urging all to live it “with joy and commitment, so that our civilization is really a civilization in which truth, justice, freedom, and love reign as the fundamental and indispensable pillars of a truly orderly and peaceful coexistence." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 01/06/2010)

Painting by (c) Sr Julia Mary, fsp

Conference on Migration

Migrants, refugees, and victims of human trafficking: people like ourselves, human beings with a name, hopes and dreams, fears and disappointments


Washington (Agenzia Fides) - “The starting point for ministering to migrants, refugees, trafficked persons is to understand their situation and all its components, personal, social, economic, political in the light of God’s Word and to recognize its commitment to get involved. Naturally it also has to address those factors that cause their uprootedness. In this commitment the Church is guided by the 'permanent principles' of its 'social doctrine [that] constitute the very heart of Catholic social teaching.'” This was affirmed today by the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, in his opening speech at the Regional Consultation of the American Bishops' Conferences on Migration being held in Washington, DC, June 2-4, on the theme: “Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice.” The Consultation is focusing on responding better to the needs of migrants and refugees in the Americas, confronting the deeper causes of migration through a more efficient coordination of services, pastoral care, and advocacy policies.

Archbishop Veglio pointed out that the United States is home to 38 million immigrants and “the USA has been shaped by the efforts of migrants, in former days but also nowadays. Many immigrants arrive to the U.S. with economic goals, expectations and their contribution. Migrants have become essential for the US economy. They make up a large part of the national workforce.” However the changes seen in society – the rapid growth in the Spanish language spoken in the churches, pastoral work that largely depends on foreign priests, the concentration of ethnic restaurants in a given area - “do not reflect an increased acceptance of “otherness” and a willingness to a mutual - reciprocal change. A change in the person arriving, but also a modification in the receiving society.”

Referring to the issue of “undocumented immigrants,” the Archbishop explained that many of them “have been living in the country for years, working and contributing to the economy and the social security system.” The number of deportations in 2008 surpassed 350,000 people, and “one of the not foreseen results in Central America has been the increase of gang-based violence by youngsters.” The children of immigrants, who have been raised in the USA, the only country they really know, see their future threatened by not being able to continue their studies. The Church supports them through the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), working for the regularization of the approximately 12 million undocumented migrants. However, Archbishop Veglio said, this should be united to immigration reform and “in order to achieve this, the necessary political will is required to address humanely undocumented migration.” Over the last thirty years more than 2 million refugees were allowed to settle, spontaneously or in a resettlement process, in the USA. “The Reception and Placement Programs of the Department of State supports them for a relatively short time, with a one-time grant,” the Archbishop said. After this period they are considered to have become sufficiently integrated to take care of themselves and be self-sufficient. It is more than evident that this does not work. They lack sufficient support. Many end up with hardly any money left after paying their rent and will join the American poor and end up in the same situation. “One has to note that the process of resettlement cannot be the same for each individual or for each community. In order to be realistic, one has to take into account the unique needs and experiences of the individual, which will result in different programmes, also with a request for a different and, most probably, a longer period of support. This should lead to self-sufficiency, employment and in the end integration in the country to become participants in society.”

The drama of human trafficking is present in almost every country, “whether it is sexual exploitation, forced labour or bonded labour, child soldiers, or abusive ways of adoption.” The Archbishop continued: “The root causes of trafficking are not just poverty and unemployment in developing countries. The demand for cheap labour, low priced products or 'exotic or unusual sex' is also a root cause of trafficking than must be addressed. The different forms of trafficking constitute human rights violations, which demand distinct approaches and measures in order to restore the dignity of the victims.”

A new form of displacement is now on its way, the President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants said: “People are moving away, since they can no longer make a living as a results of desertification and growing water scarcity, increasing sea-levels and 'salinisation' of agricultural land. Climate change is also increasingly causing natural disasters, like flooding and storms. As a result conflicts about resources increase. This new form of displacement will have enormous consequences for decades to come. The frequently cited and accepted estimates of 200 million24 climate induced displaced persons by 2050 indicate the gigantic dimension of the problem. Human migration will undoubtedly be one of the most significant consequences of the change in climate.”

In concluding his address, Archbishop Veglio recalled how the Church and dioceses have been active in this area, promoting a series of projects, activities, etc. This is why “the risk exists that we are so much taken up by our involvement that we just perceive those in migration as work, cases or a job.

Hospitality can protect us from such behavior. Hospitality is not so much a task as a way of living our lives and of sharing...Welcome, compassion and equal treatment are all part of an appropriate Christian response, which will break down social barriers. It is a response to the needs of persons, but also a recognition of their worth and common humanity.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 2/06/2010)


Links:

Complete text of the address, in English

http://www.fides.org/eng/documents/ConsAmerMigr_02062010_ingl.doc

Complete text of the address, in Spanish

http://www.fides.org/spa/documents/ConsAmerMigr_02062010_spa.doc

Extra-Ordinary Ordinary Time

Trinity Sunday in a certain sense recapitulates the revelation of God in the Paschal mysteries, the liturgy returns to ordinary time. However, this does not mean that the commitment of Christians must diminish; quite the contrary, having entered divine life through the Sacraments, we are now called to remain open to the action of Grace in order to grow in love towards God and neighbor."

"The human mind and human language are inadequate to explain the relation that exists between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nonetheless the Fathers of the Church sought to explain the mystery of the One and Triune God by putting it into practice with profound faith in their own lives. The Blessed Trinity comes to dwell in us on the day of Baptism", and each time we make the sign of the cross we remember the name of God in which we were baptised. ... The sign of the cross and the name of the living God contain, then, the announcement that generates faith and inspires prayer. And what Jesus promises the Apostles in the Gospel ('when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth'), comes about in the Sunday liturgy when, week after week, priests dispense the bread of the Word and the Eucharist."  Benedict XVI

Prayer of St. Hilary of Poitiers:

"Keep, I pray, this my pious faith undefiled, and even till my spirit departs, grant that this may be the utterance of my convictions: so that I may ever hold fast that which I professed in the creed of my regeneration, when I was baptised in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit".

New Pentecost

"The Church experiences countless 'Pentecosts' which enliven local communities: the liturgies, especially those experienced at special moments in community life, in which the power of God is perceived particularly clearly, infusing souls with joy and enthusiasm.

There is no Church without Pentecost. And, I would like to add, there is no Pentecost without the Virgin Mary. So it was at the beginning, in the Cenacle. ... So it is always, in all places and times. I myself witnessed as much a few days ago in Fatima, Portugal. What did that immense multitude experience on the esplanade of the shrine, if not a renewed Pentecost?".  Pope Benedict XVI

Mary, Queen of the Apostles of All Times

Mary, the valiant woman was in the very heart of the Pentecostal community and assumed the responsibility of the children of God as their “Mother, Teacher and Queen.”  The biblical inspiration was drawn by preference from Luke, the more “Pauline” and “Marian” of the Gospels and from two specific episodes in the New Testament: Mary’s investiture at the foot of the cross, as mother of the world in (Jn 19:25-27) and her prayerful presence in the Cenacle, in the midst of the Apostles in expectation of the Holy Spirit (Act 1:13-14).

“The first devotion that we find in the Church,” Blessed James Alberione loved to say, “is the devotion is the devotion to the Queen of the Apostles, as portrayed in the Cenacle.” Noting that this devotion had “diminished and been neglected in the past” his exhortation was: “Yours is the sweet task of rallying the faithful around Mary Queen of the Apostles; yours, to re-awaken this devotion; yours, to carry out this most pleasant office in the Church.” This means “to reawaken apostolates, stir up vocations.” And he concluded forcefully: “Let us return to the source. At the source we shall find Mary, Queen of the Apostles.”
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http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddg9bd5k_5fx3r94hca reflection on New Apostles, New Pentecost, New Evangelization

Faith Formation Online Courses

Sr. Rose Pacatte: If you have ever wondered how to navigate media culture, here are two online courses that will renew your faith in our media world and give you skills to educate, form, and minister to others: Deadline to register 5/26 Intro to Media Literacy (I will facilitate) and Church and Communication:
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The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) is a growing initiative to offer adult religious education and faith formation anytime and anywhere via the internet. The goal is to support the church's professional ministry of religious education and faith formation in cyberspace.
The VLCFF is coordinated and sponsored by the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives (IPI) at the University of Dayton - a Catholic Marianist Institution.
Our mission is to mobilize the resources of the University of Dayton for partnerships with the Church that create and implement innovative pastoral initiatives designed to meet the needs of the Church and to articulate faith within the context of contemporary culture.


http://vlc.udayton.edu/

Arlington Catholic Herald - Church ascends into digital age - catholicherald.com

Praying is now so 21st century.
Instead of a paperback missalette, there’s iMissal. Instead of prayer cards, there’s a touch screen Saint A Day. Instead of randomly jotting down prayer requests, there’s a digitally organized list in PrayerSteward.
These three apps (as in, “The Catholic Faith: There’s an app for that”) only scratch the surface of faith-related digital materials available in Apple’s App Store and, to a lesser extent, the Android Market and Palm Pre App Catalog. With these digital Catholic resources comes the undeniable convenience of modern-day prayer.



Hitting the road and want to pray to St. What’s-His-Name for a safe trip? Grab your phone and access not only St. Christopher’s name, but also his biography, a daily meditation and a few prayer ideas. Want to take advantage of a quiet lunch and skim today’s liturgical readings (or tomorrow’s or next year’s)? IMissal can make it happen at the touch of a button. Forgot the Hail, Holy Queen or the Apostles Creed while praying the rosary? Quickly look up the prayers in the Daughters of St. Paul’s Rosary Miracle Prayer App. Or, even better, pray the rosary along with the sisters’ audio recording.
“I know people who before they even get out of bed they have their iPod Touch or their iPhone in their hand,” said Sister Kathryn James Hermes, a Daughter of St. Paul and director of digital publishing for Pauline Books and Media, in a recent interview. “You could be looking at the psalms or the morning meditation.”

Read the whole article here:

Arlington Catholic Herald - Church ascends into digital age - catholicherald.com

Pentecost Preparation

Here is a collection of documents from the vatican, with everything you need to know about the Feast of Pentecost, which is coming up this Sunday May 23rd. Happy Birthday Church! http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/pentecost/2009/pentecoste_en.html

Holy Rosary - How to Pray the Rosary

Rosary Links on the Web

Holy Rosary - How to Pray the Rosary  Prayers and mediation on the beads of the rosary with the mysteries of the life of Jesus for each day of the week.

http://www.comepraytherosary.org/  Prayer the rosary with a worldwide community while viewing video of the HolyLand for each mystery.

http://www.virtualrosary.org/  A virtual rosary: Pray for the world and ask the world to pray for you! This is the goal of PrayerCast, to gather together a global prayer network.

http://www.rosaryprayerguide.com/  How to prepare for and pray with the rosary.

Fatima: Mystical Confidences

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today, liturgical memory of Our Lady of Fatima and the tenth anniversary of the beatification of the shepherd children Francisco and Jacinta, the Pope celebrated the Eucharist on the esplanade of the shrine of Fatima in the presence of 500,000 people.

In his homily the Holy Father made it clear that he had "come to Fatima to rejoice in Mary's presence and maternal protection; ... to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings; ... to entrust to Mary's maternal protection priests, consecrated men and women, missionaries and all those who [who do] good works".

Referring then to "mystical confidences of the shepherd children", the Holy Father noted how "one might look at them with a touch of envy for what they were able to see, or with the disappointed resignation of someone who was not so fortunate, yet still demands to see".

But "the Scriptures invite us to believe", he explained. "God can come to us, and show Himself to the eyes of our heart. Moreover, that Light deep within the shepherd children, which comes from the future of God, is the same Light which was manifested in the fullness of time and came for us all: the Son of God made man. ... Henceforth our hope has a real foundation: ... Jesus of Nazareth".
"Faith in God opens before us the horizon of a sure hope, one which does not disappoint; it indicates a solid foundation on which to base one's life without fear; it demands a faith-filled surrender into the hands of the Love which sustains the world", he said.
The shepherd children "offered their whole lives to God and shared them fully with others for love of God", said the Holy Father, highlighting how "we would be mistaken to think that Fatima's prophetic mission is complete. ... Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end. In Sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and He does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: 'Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which He will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?'.
"At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the Love of God burning in her own heart", he added.

Benedict concluded his homily by expressing the hope that "the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions" may "hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Blessed Trinity".

At the end of the Mass, the Holy Father addressed some words to the sick people present, and to those following the event by radio and television.

"In all human suffering", he said, "we are joined by One Who experiences and carries that suffering with us". In other words, it is possible to "overcome the feeling of the uselessness of suffering which consumes a person from within and makes him feel a burden to those around him when, in reality, suffering which is lived with Jesus assists in the salvation of your brethren".

"The divine Master, instead of explaining the reasons for suffering, preferred to call everyone to follow Him, saying: 'Take up your cross and follow me'. Come with me. With your suffering, take part in the work of salvation which is realised through my suffering, by means of my cross. As you gradually embrace your own cross, uniting yourself spiritually to my cross, the salvific meaning of suffering will be revealed to you. In suffering, you will discover an interior peace and even spiritual joy".


The Holy Father invited the sick to welcome the call of Jesus "and entrust to Him every setback and pain that you face, so that they become - according to His design; a means of redemption for the whole world. You will be redeemers with the Redeemer, just as you are sons in the Son. At the cross stands the Mother of Jesus, our Mother".

Prayer for Our Church

click here: Prayer for Our Church

Pauline Books and Media has provided resources for parish and private prayer and reflection for people during these difficult days in the Church. The recent resurgence of allegations, the situation in the Church in Ireland, and media articles focusing on clerical sexual abuse can raise personal struggles of faith, memories of past abuse, disillusionment, and anger and confusion. Among the resources are downloadable prayers for parish and private use, a litany of deliverance, reflective prayers for those who have experienced sexual abuse, and a prayer for one who desires to remain in the Church. Praying with Our Church in Difficult Times can be found at www.pauline.org.