Friday, December 14, 2007
Zenit: Summary of Doctrinal Note on Evangelization
Summary of Doctrinal Note on Evangelization
"The Missionary Mandate Belongs to the Very Nature of the Church"
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here are the summary points for the "Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization," which was issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
* * *
DOCTRINAL NOTE ON SOME ASPECTS OF EVANGELIZATION
SUMMARY POINTS
I. Introduction
1. The Doctrinal Note is devoted principally to an exposition of the Catholic Church's understanding of the Christian mission of evangelization, which is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the word "Gospel" translates "evangelion" in the Greek New Testament. "Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to proclaim the Gospel, calling all people to conversion and faith. ‘Go out into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mk 16,15)." [n. 1]
2. The Doctrinal Note cites Pope John Paul II's Encyclical Letter "The Mission of the Redeemer" in recalling that "‘Every person has the right to hear the Good News [Gospel] of the God who reveals and gives himself in Christ, so that each one can live out in its fullness his or her proper calling.' This right implies the corresponding duty to evangelize." [n. 2]
3. Today there is "a growing confusion" about the Church's missionary mandate. Some think "that any attempt to convince others on religious matters is a limitation of their freedom," suggesting that it is enough to invite people "to act according to their consciences", or to "become more human or more faithful to their own religion", or "to build communities which strive for justice, freedom, peace and solidarity", without aiming at their conversion to Christ and to the Catholic faith.
Others have argued that conversion to Christ should not be promoted because it is possible for people to be saved without explicit faith in Christ or formal incorporation in the Church. Because "of these problems, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has judged it necessary to public the present Note." [n. 3]
II. Some Anthropological Implications
4. While some forms of agnosticism and relativism deny the human capacity for truth, in fact human freedom cannot be separated from its reference to truth. Human beings are given intellect and will by God that they might come to know and love what is true and good. The ultimate fulfillment of the vocation of the human person is found in accepting the revelation of God in Christ as proclaimed by the Church.
5. This search for truth cannot be accomplished entirely on one's own, but inevitably involves help from others and trust in knowledge that one receives from others. Thus, teaching and entering into dialogue to lead someone in freedom to know and to love Christ is not inappropriate encroachment on human freedom, "but rather a legitimate endeavor and a service capable of making human relationships more fruitful." [n. 5]
6. The communication of truths so that they might be accepted by others is also in harmony with the natural human desire to have others share in one's own goods, which for Catholics includes the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Members of the Church naturally desire to share with others the faith that has been freely given to them.
7. Through evangelization, cultures are positively affected by the truth of the Gospel. Likewise, through evangelization, members of the Catholic Church open themselves to receiving the gifts of other traditions and cultures, for "Every encounter with another person or culture is capable of revealing potentialities of the Gospel which hitherto may not have been fully explicit and which will enrich the life of Christians and the Church." [n. 6]
8. Any approach to dialogue such as coercion or improper enticement that fails to respect the dignity and religious freedom of the partners in that dialogue has no place in Christian evangelization.
III. Some Ecclesiological Implications
9. "Since the day of Pentecost ... the Gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is proclaimed to all people so that they might believe and become disciples of Christ and members of his Church." "Conversion" is a "change in thinking and of acting," expressing our new life in Christ; it is an ongoing dimension of Christian life.
10. For Christian evangelization, "the incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power-group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and ages." In this sense, then, "the Church is the bearer of the presence of God and thus the instrument of the true humanization of man and the world." (n. 9)
11. The Doctrinal Note cites the Second Vatican Council's "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World" (Gaudium et Spes) to say that respect for religious freedom and its promotion "must not in any way make us indifferent towards truth and goodness. Indeed, love impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all the truth which saves." [n.10] This mission of love must be accomplished by both proclamation of the word and witness of life. "Above all, the witness of holiness is necessary, if the light of truth is to reach all human beings. If the word is contradicted by behavior, its acceptance will be difficult." On the other hand, citing Pope Paul VI's Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, the Note says that "even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run, if it is not explained, justified... and made explicit by a clear und unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus." [n. 11]
IV. Some Ecumenical Implications
12. The CDF document points out the important role of ecumenism in the Church's mission of evangelization. Christian divisions can seriously compromise the credibility of the Church's evangelizing mission. The more ecumenism brings about greater unity among Christians, the more effective evangelization will be.
13. When Catholic evangelization takes place in a country where other Christians live, Catholics must take care to carry out their mission with "both true respect for the tradition and spiritual riches of such countries as well as a sincere spirit of cooperation." Evangelization proceeds by dialogue, not proselytism. With non-Catholic Christians, Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth, a dialogue which is not only an exchange of ideals, but also of gifts, in order that the fullness of the means of salvation can be offered to one's partners in dialogue. In this way, they are led to an ever deeper conversion to Christ.
"In this connection, it needs also to be recalled that if a non-Catholic Christian, for reasons of conscience and having been convinced of Catholic truth, asks to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, this is to be respected as the work of the Holy Spirit and as an expression of freedom of conscience and of religion. In such a case, it would not be question of proselytism in the negative sense that has been attributed to this term." [n. 12]
V. Conclusion
14. The Doctrinal Note recalls that the missionary mandate belongs to the very nature of the Church. In this regard it cites Pope Benedict XVI: "The proclamation of and witness to the Gospel are the first service that Christians can render to every person and the entire human race, called as they are to communicate to all God's love, which was fully manifested in Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer of the world." Its concluding sentence contains a quotation from Pope Benedict's first Encyclical Letter "Deus caritas est": "The love which comes from God unites us to him and ‘makes us a we which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is all in all (1 Cor 15:28)'."
[01795-02.01] [Original text: English]
Nothing yet at the official Vatican website, as far as I can tell.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
AR: Agriculture: the price of adaptation
Agriculture: the price of adaptation
John Michael Greer, The Archdruid Report
It's becoming increasingly recognized that today's industrial agriculture will stop being viable once cheap abundant fossil fuel becomes a thing of the past. Less often recognized are adaptations already taking place that will allow more sustainable agricultural systems to take its place - but at a price. published December 13, 2007.
Originally published here.
John Michael Greer, The Archdruid Report
It's becoming increasingly recognized that today's industrial agriculture will stop being viable once cheap abundant fossil fuel becomes a thing of the past. Less often recognized are adaptations already taking place that will allow more sustainable agricultural systems to take its place - but at a price. published December 13, 2007.
Originally published here.
AsiaNews: Pope: St. Paulinus, an example of “communion in the church” and love for the poor.
Pope: St. Paulinus, an example of “communion in the church” and love for the poor.
During his general audience Benedict XVI outlines the figure of the VI century bishop of Nola. A married politician he gave away all of his earthly goods and founded a monastic community in which “the poor felt at home”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – A married politician who went on to become a monk, then priest and bishop, St. Paulinus of Nola, was the Father of the Church outlined today by Benedict XVI during his general audience as an “image of an authentic pastor of charity”.
Born in 355 in Bordeaux, the son of an imperial official, Paulinus moved to Campania after brilliant studies, where he became governor and set out on a political career. In charge of public works he oversaw the building of St. Felix’s tomb and was struck by the intense faith with which people honoured him. It is “the encounter with Christ, the starting point of a laborious journey”, at the end of which he converts and affirms that “man without Christ is nothing but dust”.
On returning to his homeland, he marries Therasia, a pious noble woman of Spanish origins and they have a son. He would have lived, the Pope observes, as a “pious layman”, but the following the death of his son appeared to him a sign that God expected more of him. In agreement with his wife, they leave behind them all of their earthly goods for the poor and move to Nola where they lived “in chaste community”. He committed himself to a priestly ministry for the poor and pilgrims. Together with his wife he founded a monastic community. In 409 the Christian community of Nola chose him as their bishop.
He maintained that his gifting his riches to the poor did not mean he despised earthly goods, but rather he had chosen “a far higher use for them, for charity”. To those who admired his gesture he would say that it was “far from representing full conversion”: it is “only the beginning of the stadium race, it is not the goal only the beginning”. Along with his love for charity and the word of God, “in his monastic community the poor felt at home: he did not limit himself to simple acts of charity but welcomed them as if they were Christ himself, he had an entire part of the monastery reserved for them”. It was an exchange of gifts “he called the poor his master, and giving that they were housed on the lower floor he would say that it was a housed built on their prayers”. “Thus it seemed to him that he gave rather than received, because he felt enriched by the exchange of hospitality for the prayerful gratitude of the pilgrims”.
He did not write theological treatise, but poetry, “bathed in the Word of God”. “For me – he wrote – faith is the only form of art, Christ my poetry”. Many of these compositions are dedicated to St Felix, as he was convinced that his intercession granted him the grace of conversion”.
In his works, the “Carmina” and in particular in his “Christmas Carmina” the sense of the Church as a mystery of unity emerges. The Pope notes, “he was a true master”, “a crossroads for the elected”, such as Augustine, Ambrose, Martin and others. Benedict XVI pointed to the friendship between Paulinus and Augustine, seen in their wealthy correspondence, as a model of “communion” for the entire Church. The theology of our times, he explained, has found in his work that idea of the “Gospel of communion as key to approaching the mystery of the Church”, expressed in the Second Vatican Council when it speaks of the Church as an “intimate communion with God”. “Paulinus helps us to feel the Church as a sacrament of intimate union between God and all of us, all of humankind”.
PHOTO: Credit CPP
2 on Iraq
Col. Douglas Macgregor, Will Iraq's Great Awakening Lead to a Nightmare?
William Lind, On War #243: Operationalizing Tactical Successes in Iraq
William Lind, On War #243: Operationalizing Tactical Successes in Iraq
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Yuck
I found a big spider in the bedroom, about 1.25" long... I put it outside of the house. I think I did the same for another spider of similar size within the last year or so.
My mom thinks I don't eat shellfish and crustaceans because of the fishy smell. Actually I avoid crustaceans usually because they remind me of big bugs. They're all arthropods after all....
My mom thinks I don't eat shellfish and crustaceans because of the fishy smell. Actually I avoid crustaceans usually because they remind me of big bugs. They're all arthropods after all....
Hillenbrand books
website
Some titles of interest to me:
Theologia Prima: What Is Liturgical Theology?
David Fagerberg, Ph.D.
The Spirit of Celibacy
Johann Adam Möhler, translated by Cyprian Blamires
Wedding Feast of the Lamb: Eucharistic Theology from a Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Perspective
Roch A. Kereszty, O. Cist
Cardinal Reflections on Active Participation in the Liturgy
Francis Cardinal Arinze, Jorge Cardinal Médina, Francis Cardinal George, George Cardinal Pell
The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church
Sara Butler, MSBT
Apparently, according to the bulletin for the St. Colman's Society for Catholic Liturgy 2008 Conference (posted at NLM) Hillenbrand will be publishing the Proceedings of the 11th International CIEL Colloquium held at Merton College, Oxford, 13–16 September 2006 next year.
Some titles of interest to me:
Theologia Prima: What Is Liturgical Theology?
David Fagerberg, Ph.D.
The Spirit of Celibacy
Johann Adam Möhler, translated by Cyprian Blamires
Wedding Feast of the Lamb: Eucharistic Theology from a Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Perspective
Roch A. Kereszty, O. Cist
Cardinal Reflections on Active Participation in the Liturgy
Francis Cardinal Arinze, Jorge Cardinal Médina, Francis Cardinal George, George Cardinal Pell
The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church
Sara Butler, MSBT
Apparently, according to the bulletin for the St. Colman's Society for Catholic Liturgy 2008 Conference (posted at NLM) Hillenbrand will be publishing the Proceedings of the 11th International CIEL Colloquium held at Merton College, Oxford, 13–16 September 2006 next year.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Curiosity killed... the blogger?
From St. Thomas's treatment of curiosity:
As an "intellectual" resource I find the Internet to be limited. Alas we don't have a Socrates or Plato (or Aristotle) to write a biting dialogue criticizing those who would seek to teach and learn through the Internet.
This is one of the root dangers of "independent study"--how many bloggers would be better off submitting themselves to a master and not advancing any opinion or initiating a discussion online until they have gained a proper mastery of the science?
Fourthly, when a man studies to know the truth above the capacity of his own intelligence, since by so doing men easily fall into error: wherefore it is written (Sirach 3:22): "Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability . . . and in many of His works be not curious," and further on (Sirach 3:26), "For . . . the suspicion of them hath deceived many, and hath detained their minds in vanity."
As an "intellectual" resource I find the Internet to be limited. Alas we don't have a Socrates or Plato (or Aristotle) to write a biting dialogue criticizing those who would seek to teach and learn through the Internet.
Hayley Westenra vids
Hayley Westenra ft. James Doing-Time to say goodbye, WI 2004
Tonight (Reprise)
Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball and Hayley Westenra
Abide With Me
Mary Did You Know
Tonight (Reprise)
Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball and Hayley Westenra
Abide With Me
Mary Did You Know
Another wedding
Niece #1: "Mommy, do you like po po?"
MD: "Of course mommy likes po po. Do you like po po?"
Niece #1: "Yes, I like po po too."
Yesterday I attended the wedding of the daughter of one of my mom's friends, Mrs. C. We were a bit surprised that one of the priests (the daughter's spiritual director) mentioned the annulment the groom had to get in order to be married to her. The bride was really pretty
, both in her gown and in her evening dress, though my mom didn't think the wedding dress was a good one for her body type. (The problem: she's too skinny, and the dress didn't flatter her figure enough but hid it instead, according to my mom.)
I'm not sure whom she reminds me of... her Cantonese isn't laan yam (lazy sound)... but for some reason I thought of Chris B.'s ex-girlfriend at Cal. But that can't be right... they don't look alike, and I don't think they sound alike either. I think the bride's Cantonese sounds rather good, so I wouldn't want to associate the two in any sort of way...
The groom has two teenaged children from his previous relationship. Only God knows how perfect this match is... apparently she thinks that she will be able to convert him? When she retires she would like to do charity work for the Church, and so her husband had to make a promise that he would follow her wherever she goes. Her spiritual director (and this was confirmed by her sister's best friend at the dinner table) said that she is rather picky, and he's been there the whole time while she's been looking for "the right one." The sister's best friend said the other guys were a bit too passive... but the groom was more active, and so she and the sister thought, "Hmm, he might have a chance."
The wedding was celebrated at Saint Lawrence the Martyr Church in Santa Clara. (Both Fr. Tony Mancuso and Fr. Mitchell had been pastors at this parish.) The stained glass windows were of the California missions. There was a mensa for an altar--that doesn't bother me so much, but there was no altar cloth! There are a lot of Filipinos at the parish, and the priest is [what seems to me to be] a [typical] Filipino [male]. As for the music used during the nuptial Mass... no comment. The bride's spiritual director is probably the member of a religious order, but I don't know which one. He is currently working in Jamaica? And "naturally," the parish wedding/liturgy coordinators and cantors were women...
My mom wasn't impressed with the food at Dynasty (Vallco); she didn't think much of the food at Dynasty (San Jose) when WillRx's reception was held there several years ago, either. For $1000... one would think the quality of the food would be much better, but... my mom thought everything had no taste, including the shark's fin soup. And the squab/pigeon/baak gaap was too salty. She didn't think the shrimp tasted fresh.
If my mom doesn't like the food, there must be something wrong with it. As I've written before, she's not very picky at all. One is paying more for the ambience than the food.
Our dinner was in VIP room #1. There were two other wedding banquets being held at Dynasty--one was a Vietnamese wedding (with a live band/music-they were rather loud). The other was a Chinese wedding, I believe, though the bride and groom had a placard in front of the rear banquet hall with some of their wedding photos, and in one of them they were dressed up in hanbok, which I thought was a bit odd, since they weren't Korean. I guess Korean wedding hanbok are in style for wedding photos? (Who did their wedding photos? Some local Asian/Chinese wedding photographer?) The bride was rather pretty, I wouldn't have minded crashing that banquet... The wedding guests seemed like typical Chinese [fobs]...
At our table was the 80 (90?)-something year-old bf of some Taiwanese woman. He reminded me a lot of my mother's loh tau, very social and very talkative, and having an opinion on everything, which he doesn't mind sharing. My mother said she wouldn't trust a guy like that, he might talk any woman into bed with him. heh. I don't think I would trust him either, but for different reasons...
It was difficult for the parents of the bride to get a precise headcount--people were saying they were going to go (and then cancelling, or just not showing up), and so on... bah. What's wrong with these people!
The students in my class are supposed to be memorizing May and November of Chicken Soup with Rice. And here I am drinking chicken soup with rice, my second soup of the day.
MD: "Of course mommy likes po po. Do you like po po?"
Niece #1: "Yes, I like po po too."
Yesterday I attended the wedding of the daughter of one of my mom's friends, Mrs. C. We were a bit surprised that one of the priests (the daughter's spiritual director) mentioned the annulment the groom had to get in order to be married to her. The bride was really pretty
, both in her gown and in her evening dress, though my mom didn't think the wedding dress was a good one for her body type. (The problem: she's too skinny, and the dress didn't flatter her figure enough but hid it instead, according to my mom.)I'm not sure whom she reminds me of... her Cantonese isn't laan yam (lazy sound)... but for some reason I thought of Chris B.'s ex-girlfriend at Cal. But that can't be right... they don't look alike, and I don't think they sound alike either. I think the bride's Cantonese sounds rather good, so I wouldn't want to associate the two in any sort of way...
The groom has two teenaged children from his previous relationship. Only God knows how perfect this match is... apparently she thinks that she will be able to convert him? When she retires she would like to do charity work for the Church, and so her husband had to make a promise that he would follow her wherever she goes. Her spiritual director (and this was confirmed by her sister's best friend at the dinner table) said that she is rather picky, and he's been there the whole time while she's been looking for "the right one." The sister's best friend said the other guys were a bit too passive... but the groom was more active, and so she and the sister thought, "Hmm, he might have a chance."
The wedding was celebrated at Saint Lawrence the Martyr Church in Santa Clara. (Both Fr. Tony Mancuso and Fr. Mitchell had been pastors at this parish.) The stained glass windows were of the California missions. There was a mensa for an altar--that doesn't bother me so much, but there was no altar cloth! There are a lot of Filipinos at the parish, and the priest is [what seems to me to be] a [typical] Filipino [male]. As for the music used during the nuptial Mass... no comment. The bride's spiritual director is probably the member of a religious order, but I don't know which one. He is currently working in Jamaica? And "naturally," the parish wedding/liturgy coordinators and cantors were women...
My mom wasn't impressed with the food at Dynasty (Vallco); she didn't think much of the food at Dynasty (San Jose) when WillRx's reception was held there several years ago, either. For $1000... one would think the quality of the food would be much better, but... my mom thought everything had no taste, including the shark's fin soup. And the squab/pigeon/baak gaap was too salty. She didn't think the shrimp tasted fresh.
If my mom doesn't like the food, there must be something wrong with it. As I've written before, she's not very picky at all. One is paying more for the ambience than the food.
Our dinner was in VIP room #1. There were two other wedding banquets being held at Dynasty--one was a Vietnamese wedding (with a live band/music-they were rather loud). The other was a Chinese wedding, I believe, though the bride and groom had a placard in front of the rear banquet hall with some of their wedding photos, and in one of them they were dressed up in hanbok, which I thought was a bit odd, since they weren't Korean. I guess Korean wedding hanbok are in style for wedding photos? (Who did their wedding photos? Some local Asian/Chinese wedding photographer?) The bride was rather pretty, I wouldn't have minded crashing that banquet... The wedding guests seemed like typical Chinese [fobs]...
At our table was the 80 (90?)-something year-old bf of some Taiwanese woman. He reminded me a lot of my mother's loh tau, very social and very talkative, and having an opinion on everything, which he doesn't mind sharing. My mother said she wouldn't trust a guy like that, he might talk any woman into bed with him. heh. I don't think I would trust him either, but for different reasons...
It was difficult for the parents of the bride to get a precise headcount--people were saying they were going to go (and then cancelling, or just not showing up), and so on... bah. What's wrong with these people!
The students in my class are supposed to be memorizing May and November of Chicken Soup with Rice. And here I am drinking chicken soup with rice, my second soup of the day.
On St. John the Baptist
On St. John the Baptist
"The Great Prophet Asks Us to Prepare the Way of the Lord"
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the liturgy invited us to turn our gaze to Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, Star of Hope for every man. Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the liturgy presents us with the austere figure of the precursor, whom the evangelist Matthew introduces in this way: "John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 3:1-2).
His mission was to smooth out the roads before the Messiah, calling the people of Israel to repent of their sins and to correct every iniquity. John the Baptist announced the imminent judgment with demanding words: "Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). He challenged the hypocrisy of those who felt secure simply because they belonged to the chosen people: Before God, he said, no one has a right to boast, but must bear "good fruit as evidence of conversion" (Matthew 3:8).
As we pursue the journey of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, John the Baptist's call to conversion resounds in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and welcome the Son of God who comes into our midst to make the divine judgment manifest.
The Father, writes the evangelist John, judges no one, but rather has entrusted the power to judge to the Son of Man (cf. John 5:22, 27). And it is today, in the present, that our future destiny is at stake; it is the concrete way we conduct ourselves in this life that decides our eternal fate. At the sunset of our days on earth, at the moment of death, we will be evaluated according to whether or not we resemble the Child who is about to be born in the lowly cave in Bethlehem, since he is the criterion by which God measures humanity.
The heavenly Father, who in the birth of his only-begotten Son manifests his merciful love to us, calls us to follow in his footsteps, making our existence, as he did, a gift of love. And the fruits of love are the "good fruits of conversion" to which John the Baptist refers, when he directs his pointed words at the Pharisees and Sadducees who were in the crowds at Christ's baptism.
Through the Gospel, John the Baptist continues to speak down the centuries, to every generation. His clear and hard words are more than ever salutary for us men and women of today, in whom even the way to live and perceive Christmas is, unfortunately, very often affected by a materialistic mentality.
The "voice" of the great prophet asks us to prepare the way of the Lord who comes in the deserts of today, external and interior deserts, thirsty for the living water that is Christ.
May the Virgin Mary guide us to a true conversion of heart, that we may make the choices necessary to make our mentalities to be in tune with the Gospel.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Angelus the Holy Father spoke the following words in English:]
I extend a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today's Angelus. In this holy season of Advent, I pray that the glory of the Lord's coming will fill your hearts with redeeming hope. Upon you and your loved ones, I invoke the grace and peace of Jesus Christ!
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
The Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception
"Sign of Sure Hope and Solace to the People of God"
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered Saturday before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in St. Peter's Square on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The star of Mary Immaculate shines down on the path of Advent. She is the "sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth" ("Lumen Gentium," 68). To reach Jesus, the true light, the sun that has dissipated all the darkness of history, we need human persons near to us who reflect Christ's light and thus illuminate the road to be taken. What person is more luminous than Mary? Who can be for us better than her the star of hope, the sunrise that proclaims the day of salvation (cf. "Spe Salvi," 49)?
For this reason the liturgy brings us to celebrate today, as we approach Christmas, the solemn feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary: The mystery of God's grace overshadowed from the first moment of her existence this creature who was destined to be the Mother of the Redeemer, preserving her from the contagion of original sin. Gazing upon her, we recognize the height and beauty of God's project for every man: becoming holy and immaculate in love (cf. Ephesians 1:4), in the image of our Creator.
What a great gift to have Mary Immaculate as mother! A mother shining with beauty, transparent to God's love. I think of the young people of today, growing up in an environment saturated by messages that propose false models of happiness. These young men and women run the risk of losing hope because they often seem orphans of true love, the love that fills life with meaning and joy. This was a theme dear to my venerable predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who many times proposed Mary as "Mother of Love" to the young people of our time.
Not a few experiences tell us that young people, adolescents and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults, who, lying to them and to themselves, draw them into the dead ends of consumerism. Even the most sacred realities, such as the human body, temple of the God of love and life, become objects of consumption; and this happens earlier and earlier, already in pre-adolescence. How sad it is when the young lose wonder, the enchantment of the best sentiments, the value of respect for the body, manifestation of the person and his inscrutable mystery!
Mary, the Immaculate one, whom we contemplate in her beauty and holiness, calls us back to all this. On the cross, Jesus entrusts her to John and to all the disciples (cf. John 19:27), and from that moment she became Mother for all humanity, Mother of Hope. We address our prayer to her with faith as we are in our heart on spiritual pilgrimage to Lourdes, where on this very day a special jubilee year has begun on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearances in the grotto of Massabielle. Mary Immaculate, "star of the sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way!" ("Spe Salvi," 50).
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
HK45 now listed at the HK website
Sarge alerts us to the new page at the HK USA website.
Sarge is thinking of getting the compact version.
Sarge is thinking of getting the compact version.
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