Bishops Approve Icel Gray Book Translation of the Proper of Seasons and Revised Grail Psalter

BALTIMORE—The U.S. bishops approved the ICEL Gray Book Translation of the Proper of Seasons November 11, at their General Assembly in Baltimore, in a 189-30 vote. The bishops also approved the Revised Grail Psalter by the Monks of Conception Abbey for liturgical use in the United States in a 203-5 vote.

The Committee on Divine Worship placed the Gray Book edition of the Proper of Seasons, the Mass prayers for special parts of the liturgical year like Advent and Lent, before the bishops at their June 2008 meeting in Orlando, but the vote taken was inconclusive. After a subsequent mail ballot was sent to the Latin rite members of the conference who had not voted, the translation did not receive the necessary two-thirds approval. The bishops proposed modifications, which were reviewed by the Committee on Divine Worship. Now that the bishops have approved the modified text, it will be submitted for recognitio, or approval by the Holy See.

The Revised Grail Psalter will also require recognitio by the Holy See. The Revised Grail Psalter, which is already used in the breviary used by priests, was recommended to the bishops by the Committee on Divine Worship because it can be easily sung and chanted, it is faithful to the original Hebrew, it is familiar to those who read the breviary, and it is critically aware of Christological references.

Bishops approve blessing service for children in the womb

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- To fill a gap in existing prayer books, the U.S. bishops Nov. 11 overwhelmingly approved a liturgical service in English and Spanish for blessing children in the womb.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., praised the new blessing as "a tangible way to witness pastorally and sacramentally to the life of the unborn child" and said it could also serve as an opportunity for parishes to bring together expectant couples for mutual support.

Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer of San Angelo, Texas, said the document could present "a great catechetical moment for all of us." He said he hoped it might lead the bishops to declare an annual day of prayer for the unborn in the future.

The document required the approval of two-thirds of the Latin-rite members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and must be sent to the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments for "recognitio," or confirmation. The English-language version was approved 223-1 and the Spanish-language version 224-0.

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, introduced the document Nov. 10, the first day of the USCCB fall general assembly in Baltimore.

He said the blessing, which had been approved both by his committee and by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, "was prepared to support the parents awaiting the birth of their child, to encourage in the parish prayers for and recognition of the precious gift of the child in the womb, and to foster respect for human life within society."

The blessing can be used in the context of a Mass or outside a Mass, and for an individual mother, a couple or a group of expectant parents.

Bishop Serratelli said the pro-life committee had received requests from "a number of dioceses" for such a document.

The blessing includes intercessions "for our government and civic leaders that they may perform their duties with justice and compassion while respecting the gift of human life" and "for a safe and healthy pregnancy for all expectant mothers and for a safe delivery for their children."

It also expresses concern "for children who are unwanted, unloved, abandoned or abused, that the Lord will inspire his people to protect and care for them."

If used as a blessing outside Mass, the service includes introductory prayers, Scripture readings, intercessions, the actual blessing of the mother and child, and a concluding rite.

"May almighty God, who has created new life, now bless the child in your womb," the blessing says. "The Lord has brought you the joy of motherhood: May he bless you with a safe and healthy pregnancy. You thank the Lord today for the gift of your child: May he bring you and your child one day to share in the unending joys of heaven."

There are also optional prayers for fathers, for families and for the parish community.

Once approved by the Vatican, the blessing will be included in future editions of the Book of Blessings when that liturgical text is revised.

But Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Mich., asked that consideration be given to putting the blessing also in the book "Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers" so that it could be used in other than church services.

"It could be useful to those marching outside abortion clinics, to bless the mothers and children inside," he said.

Vatican prepares three alternative endings for dismissal at Mass

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has prepared three alternative endings for the priest's words of dismissal at Mass, to emphasize the missionary spirit of the liturgy.

Pope Benedict XVI personally chose the three options from suggestions presented to him after a two-year study, Cardinal Francis Arinze told the Synod of Bishops in mid-October.

The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an interview Oct. 17 with Cardinal Arinze, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

He said along with "Ite, missa est," the Latin phrase now translated as "The Mass is ended, go in peace," the new options are:

-- "Ite ad Evangelium Domini annuntiandum" (Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord).

-- "Ite in pace, glorificando vita vestra Dominum" (Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life).

-- "Ite in pace" (Go in peace).

The idea for alternative words at the end of Mass was raised at the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. Many bishops wanted the final words to reflect a more explicit connection between Mass and the church's mission of evangelization in the world.

Cardinal Arinze said the concern was that, for many Catholics, the present words of dismissal sounded like "The Mass is ended, go and rest."

The cardinal said his congregation undertook a wide consultation and came up with 72 different possible alternative phrases. Of these, the congregation chose nine and presented them to the pope, who chose the final three.

The three alternatives were published in October in the latest edition of the Roman Missal, along with "Ite, missa est," which has not been abolished, Cardinal Arinze said.

The cardinal said the congregation still was studying another suggestion made during the 2005 synod, that of moving the sign of peace to a different part of the Mass.

In 2005, the pope said the sign of peace had great value, but should be done with "restraint" so that it does not become a distraction during Mass. He asked for the study on moving the sign of peace from a moment just before Communion to another time in the liturgy.

Cardinal Arinze said that, after consultation, the congregation had written to bishops' conferences asking their preference between leaving the sign of peace where it is now and moving it to an earlier moment, after the prayer of the faithful.

He said the responses from bishops' conferences were expected to be in by the end of October, and the question would then be presented to the pope for a final decision.

Cardinal Arinze said that in addition to its timing some have suggested that the sign of peace be limited to an exchange between the Massgoer and those in his or her immediate vicinity. He said that in some churches today, the sign of peace is extended to the point that it becomes "almost a jamboree."

Cardinal Arinze said a third suggestion from the 2005 synod, a "eucharistic compendium," also has made progress and is near publication.

He said the compendium would include doctrinal notes on the Mass, as well as prayer texts, passages of papal liturgical teachings, canon law tracts and other explanatory materials. He emphasized that the compendium would propose ideas, not impose them.

Cardinal Arinze said a fourth project of the worship congregation, working together with Vatican congregations for doctrine and clergy, was the drawing up of a list of homily themes that correspond to Sunday scriptural readings and to the church's doctrinal teachings.

"This is not a matter of model homilies, but general indications in which, for each theme, elements are furnished to be able to develop the theme," he said.

The Rosary is anchored in Holy Scripture

VATICAN CITY, 19 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Before praying the Rosary at 5 p.m. today with faithful gathered at the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary at Pompeii, Italy, Benedict XVI paused for a few moments in the chapel of Blessed Bartolo Longo. Subsequently, in remarks he made following the Marian prayer, the Pope asked: "Where did this great apostle of Mary find the energy and constancy necessary to achieve such an important enterprise? Was it not in the Rosary which he welcomed as a true and heartfelt gift from the Virgin?

"Yes", he cried, "that is how it was! ... This popular Marian prayer is a vital spiritual means to increase our intimacy with Jesus and to learn, in the school of the Blessed Virgin, always to carry out the divine will".

"Yet in order to be apostles of the Rosary, it is necessary to gain a personal experience of the beauty and profundity of this prayer, so simple and universally accessible. ... The Rosary is a school of contemplation and of silence. At first sight it may seem like a prayerful accumulation of words and hence not easily compatible with the silence which is rightly recommended for meditation and contemplation. In reality though, this regular repetition of the Ave Maria does not disturb inner silence, rather it ... nourishes it".

The Pope recalled that, as in the case of the Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, "silence rises up through the words and phrases, not as a vacuum but as a presence of ultimate meaning which transcends the words themselves and, together with them, speaks to the heart. ... Even when prayed in large groups ... the Rosary must be seen as a contemplative prayer, and this cannot come about if an atmosphere of inner silence is lacking". Furthermore, he went on, the Rosary "is interwoven with elements from Holy Scripture" such as "the enunciation of the mystery using ... words taken from the Bible. ... The first part of the Ave Maria comes from the Gospel; ... the second part ... rings out like the response of children who, addressing themselves imploringly to their mother, express their own adherence to the plan of salvation. ... Thus the minds of those who pray remain anchored in Scripture and in the mysteries it contains".

Finally, Pope Benedict spoke of World Mission Day, which is being celebrated today. Once again he evoked the figure of Barotlo Longo who, famous for his spirit of charity, wished the shrine of Pompeii to be "open to the whole world as a centre whence to irradiate the prayer of the Rosary and a place of intercession for peace among peoples. Dear friends", the Pope concluded, "I wish to confirm both these goals - the apostolate of charity and the prayer of peace - and entrust them once more to your spiritual and pastoral efforts".

The prayer over, Benedict XVI departed from the shrine of Pompeii and at 6.30 p.m. began his return journey to the Vatican by helicopter.

So we're bringing the bells back.

A: The ringing of bells at the elevation is now omitted during the consecration; the reason given is that since the Mass is now said in the language of the parishioners, they should be aware of what is happening and are not in need of bells to tell them. Does not the ringing of bells at the elevation draw attention to the great event that has occurred on the altar? — E.H., Williamsford, Ontario Q: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal refers to bell ringing in No. 150: "A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice." The text makes it clear that ringing a bell at the consecration is an option, not an obligation. Since the GIRM's presumption is that Mass is celebrated in the local tongue, the use of the vernacular, in itself, cannot be used as a reason for the abolition of the bell ringing. There may be other good reasons, but they should be weighed carefully. A long-standing custom should not just be swept away unless more is to be gained by dropping it than retaining it. The birth of the custom of a signal bell at the consecration, probably during the 13th century, had more to do with the recitation of the canon in a low voice than to the language of the Mass as such. It may also have been inspired by changes in church architecture in which the people were more physically separated from the altar by the choir — and in some cases a significant number of faithful were impeded from seeing the altar during Mass. Thus the use of the bell became necessary. Some centuries later the bell was also rung at other moments such as the Sanctus and before Communion. Certainly the practical reasons for ringing the bell have all but disappeared. Yet, it can still serve a purpose as an extra aid to call attention to the moment of the consecration, as a jolt to reawaken wandering minds and a useful catechetical tool for children and adults alike. In an age when people are ever more in thrall to audiovisual means of communication, and less attentive to abstract discourse, it seem strange that we set about removing those very means that, as well as forming part of our tradition, could prove most effective in transmitting a message of faith. A similar argument could also be made regarding the decline in practices such as the use of incense during Mass. The Holy See has maintained the practice of ringing the bell at the consecration in St. Peter's Basilica, although it has an excellent sound system. I also had the experience of a parish that restored the use of the signal bell after many years without it. Not only were there no complaints but the general reaction was very positive from all age groups. * * * Follow-up: Bells at the Consecration [09-06-2005] A reader from Crawfordsville, Indiana, has added some very informative comments to our piece on the use of bells during Mass (Aug. 23). He writes: "Apropos your fine response to the question of ringing bells at the consecration, it may interest you to know that the issue is perhaps a bit more complicated than you suggest. Father Adrian Fortescue, so much lionized by liturgical traditionalists for his rubrical manual of the old rite, [...] was not a fan of bells, and points out in his 'History of the Roman Mass' that there was much variation in Europe about when they were rung. He says that traditionally bells were never rung at St. Peter's in Rome at the consecration, where the papal liturgy continued right through the reforms to be an odd combination of extreme Baroque elaboration and pre-medieval archaism. I suspect that after the papal liturgy was essentially abolished by Paul VI, and replaced with the ordinary Mass the Pope now celebrates, bells were later restored on the false assumption that they had been used, and there were not enough clerics left in the papal household who remembered the old tradition to set people straight." Certainly Dr. Fortescue (1874-1923) was no fan of liturgical fastidiousness in spite of having penned what he termed his "dreadful ceremonies book." As he wrote in 1920 before attempting the correction of the book's first edition: "Not one halfpennyworth of principle or of historic research is affected by the question whether the thurifer should stand on the left or on the right at any given moment. I would just as soon spend hours verifying the hours at which trains start on some railway line that I shall never use." His distaste for liturgical minutiae was apparent and it ironically fell to one of his sharpest critics, Canon J.B. O'Connell, to correct and review the subsequent 12 editions. Notwithstanding the author's reservations, the book remains a valuable resource for the knowledge of the previous rite and for clarifications regarding some aspects not covered in the present books. All the same, I have often found L. Trimeloni's Italian "Compendio di Liturgia Pratica" (1963), more complete and better referenced. As with thurifers, so with bells et al. Many liturgical customs arose from practical concerns and only later became codified into law with the result that what may have arose as a simple pastoral solution, or a gesture of courtesy, was transformed into a strict obligation. While one sometimes desires greater clarity and precision from the present liturgical books, in general we can be grateful that they no longer attempt to legislate each and every detail and allow for reasonable adaptations to concrete circumstances. I think we should see the question of the use, or non-use, of the bells at St. Peter's in this light. I believe that the use of this bell dates from somewhere toward the middle of Pope John Paul II's pontificate, for I remember assisting at some Masses where it was not yet used. I think therefore that the question asked was not so much if this bell forms part of papal tradition but rather if it serves a legitimate pastoral purpose at a papal Mass. Evidently, the response is that it certainly does. ZE05090621

Solemnitites, Feasts, and Memorials

ROME, OCT. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: We as Catholics commonly use the word "feast" to cover everything from church feasts of various saints and the Blessed Mother, to Corpus Christi, etc. We also understand that there are three kinds of feasts/celebrations: memorial, feast, solemnity. Could you kindly elaborate on these three categories? Also, why is Corpus Christi not a holy day of obligation? -- R.D., Enderamulla, Sri Lanka

A: Effectively we use the word "feast" to cover all levels of celebration, even though the word also has a precise technical meaning in the hierarchy of celebrations. There is no great difficulty in this, as the context usually clarifies whether we are speaking technically or in general.

The three basic classes are those mentioned by our reader, although memorials are often divided up into obligatory and optional. There are some other means of classifying the celebrations which give different numbers and categories. For example, if one classifies on the basis of which Masses may be celebrated on a given day, one comes up with seven groupings of celebrations.

The difference between the three basic categories resides in their importance, which in turn is reflected in the presence or absence of different liturgical elements.

Solemnities are the highest degree and are usually reserved for the most important mysteries of faith. These include Easter, Pentecost and the Immaculate Conception; the principal titles of Our Lord, such as King and Sacred Heart; and celebrations that honor some saints of particular importance in salvation history, such as Sts. Peter and Paul, and St. John the Baptist on his day of birth.

Solemnities have the same basic elements as a Sunday: three readings, prayer of the faithful, the Creed and the Gloria which is recited even when the solemnity occurs during Advent or Lent. It also has proper prayer formulas exclusive to the day: entrance antiphon, opening prayer, prayer over the gifts, Communion antiphon, and prayer after Communion. In most cases it also has a particular preface.

Some solemnities are also holy days of obligation, but these vary from country to country.

A solemnity is celebrated if it falls on a Sunday of ordinary time or Christmastide. But it is usually transferred to the following Monday if it falls on a Sunday of Advent, Lent or Easter, or during Holy Week or the Easter octave.

A feast honors a mystery or title of the Lord, of Our Lady, or of saints of particular importance (such as the apostles and Evangelists) and some of historical importance such as the deacon St. Lawrence.

The feast usually has some proper prayers but has only two readings plus the Gloria. Feasts of the Lord, such as the Transfiguration and Exaltation of the Holy Cross, unlike other feasts, are celebrated when they fall on a Sunday. On such occasions they have three readings, the Gloria and the Creed.

A memorial is usually of saints but may also celebrate some aspect of the Lord or of Mary. Examples include the optional memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus or the obligatory memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

From the point of view of the liturgical elements there is no difference between the optional and obligatory memorial. The memorial has at least a proper opening prayer and may have proper readings suitable for the saint being celebrated. The readings of the day may be used, and the lectionary recommends against an excessive use of specific readings for the saints so as not to interrupt too much the continuous cycle of daily readings.

On the other hand, the specific readings should always be used for certain saints, above all those specifically mentioned in the readings themselves, such as Martha, Mary Magdalene and Barnabas.

During Lent and Advent from Dec. 17 to 24 memorials may be celebrated only as commemorations. That is, only the opening prayer of the saint is used and all the rest comes from the day.

Nov. 2, All Souls' Day, is something of a special class that, without being a solemnity, still has precedence over a Sunday.

It is also important to note that the same celebration may have a different classification in various geographical areas, as some celebrations and saints are venerated more in one place than in another. For example, St. Benedict, an obligatory memorial in the universal calendar, is a feast in Europe since he is one of its patrons. But he rates a solemnity in the diocese and abbey of Montecassino where he is buried.

Finally, the decision on whether a solemnity such as the Body and Blood of the Lord is a holy day of obligation falls primarily upon the bishops' conference, which decides based on the pastoral reality of each country. Some have maintained the traditional Thursday celebration and kept it as a holy day; others might have maintained the day but without the obligation. Many have preferred to transfer the celebration to the following Sunday so as to ensure its celebration with the greatest number of faithful.

The Vatican, for example, continues the traditional Thursday celebration and thus the Holy Father's procession with the Blessed Sacrament is held on that day. The Diocese of Rome, however, along with the rest of Italy, celebrates it on the following Sunday.

* * *

Follow-up: Churches Dedicated and Consecrated

Pursuant to our comment that a "blessed" church that has passed into common use is not usually dedicated or consecrated (Sept. 23), several readers pointed out a certain usage once common in some parts of the United States.

One wrote: "From talking to older priests, it seems that in the Eastern U.S. what is now called the Rite of Blessing a Church was commonly referred to its 'Dedication,' and the formal elaborate rite (now called 'Dedication') was called its 'Consecration.'

"The distinction made in these dioceses was that in many cases a parish would take out a mortgage in a secular bank in order to finance the building of its church. Once the church was built, the civil title was held by the lending institution until the mortgage was paid, which could take upward of 30 years or more. What would happen then is that the church would be blessed upon completion of the building project and then consecrated once the mortgage was paid."

Effectively this appears to have been common and was rooted in canonical principles that the consecration could only take place when there was no doubt that the building could be permanently used for the purpose of a church. As this was guaranteed only after the building was substantially debt-free, the consecration would often take place many years after the building was complete and in regular use.

Since this model of financing the building of new churches was less common in other countries, most of them were either dedicated or blessed shortly after completion.

Some readers asked about the opposite end of the stick and the thankless burden of desacralizing churches. We addressed this topic last Dec. 18 and Jan. 1.

ST. PAUL AND THE EARTHLY FIGURE OF CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, 8 OCT 2008 (VIS) - In this Wednesday's general audience Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on St. Paul. His teaching touched on the Apostle to the Gentiles' relationship with the historical figure of Jesus. The audience was given in St. Peter's Square with over 25,000 people in attendance.

Benedict XVI affirmed that "it seems certain that Paul did not meet Jesus during His earthly life. Through the Apostles and the nascent Church he learned the details of Jesus' life and in his letters we find references to the pre-Easter Jesus". For example, "in an explicit and direct manner", the Apostle speaks of "Jesus' Davidic lineage", of the "existence of his 'brothers'", and knows what occurred at the Last Supper.

The Pauline letters also make reference to the tradition recounted in the synoptic Gospels as "Jesus' teaching regarding the meek and poor. ... When Paul speaks of Jesus' obedience unto death(. he knows of the Passion . of the Cross and the tradition about this Cross is already at the centre of the Pauline 'kerygma'. Paul also knows another pillar of Jesus' teaching, the Sermon on the Mount", as is evident from the Letter to the Romans.

We also note the traces of Jesus' words in the form in which Paul transposes "the pre-Easter tradition to the situation after Easter", as in the "theme of the Kingdom of God ... that announced the mystery of Jesus and was transformed in Christology. Jesus' own instructions for entering the Kingdom of God are valid for Paul in regard to the justification by faith. Both require an attitude of humility and an openness ... in order to receive God's grace".

"Another form of transformation that is faithful to Jesus' core teaching is found in His titles. Before Easter, Jesus calls himself the 'Son of Man' ... and after Easter ... the 'Son of God'. This is why the title preferred by Paul for Jesus is 'Lord', which indicates His divinity". Paul also touches upon Christ's "salvific dimension" when he speaks of "the death of Jesus as ransom, as redemption, liberation, and reconciliation".

"In conclusion, St. Paul does not think of Jesus as a historian would; he does not see Jesus as a figure of the past. He certainly knows the tradition ... regarding His life but does not treat Him as something in the past but as the reality of the living Jesus. ... Jesus lives and speaks with us today. This is the true form of knowing Jesus and the tradition about Him".

Pope John Paul I to St. Therese, the Little Flower

The Following are excerpts from John Paul I's letter to the Little Flower. This letter, in it's full text can be found in the book Illustrisimi:

"...What strikes me the most is the way in which you loved God and your neighbor. St. Augustine wrote: 'We reach God, not by walking but through love.' You also called your road 'the way of love'. Christ said: 'No one comes to me unless my Father calls him.' You were perfectly in tune with these words feeling 'like a bird without strength and without wings', and seeing in God an eagle who came down to carry you off on high, on its wings.'

To the merciful God you offered yourself as a victim. All this did not prevent you from enjoying what was good and beautiful. Before your final illness you loved painting, and wrote poetry and short plays on religious subjects, taking some of the parts yourself and showing quite a talent for acting. In the last stage of your illness when you felt briefly better, you asked for some chocolates. You had no fear of your own imperfections, not even of having sometimes slept during meditation, out of
weariness ('mothers love their children, even when they are asleep).

In Donizzetti's l'Elisir d' amore the 'secret tears' Adina weeks are enough to make her lover Nemorino feel reassured and happy. God does not want merely secret tears. He likes external tears so long as they match a decision we have made, a decision of the will. It is the same with outward good works: they please him only if they correspond with an inner love. Religious fasting had actually made the Pharisees' faces thin, but these thin faces did not appeal to Christ because the Pharisees' hearts were a long way from God. You, dear Theresa, wrote: 'Love should lie not in feelings, but in works.' Yet you added: 'God does not need our works, only our love.' Perfect!

We may love all kinds of other fine things, so long as nothing we love is against, or above, or in the same measure as God. In other words, the love of God should not be exclusive, it should suffuse the rest of life.

Seeking the face of Christ in our neighbor is the only way of making sure that we really love everyone, overcoming dislikes and ideologies, and mere philanthropic feelings.

Pope Benedict on the Humilitas of Pope John Paul I

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul I. His papacy is the shortest in recent history, lasting only 33 days. He died on the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel and was buried on October 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Asissi.

Pope Benedict said the following in his Angelus address,

"Humility may be considered the spiritual legacy" of John Paul I, who died thirty years ago and whose episcopal motto "was the same as that of St. CharlesBorromeo, 'Humilitas'. A single word that encapsulates the essential core of Christian life and indicates the indispensable virtue for people who are called to a service of authority within the Church".

"Thanks to this virtue, 33 days were enough for Pope John Paul I to enter into peoples' hearts. In his discourses he used examples taken from real life, from his family memories and from popular wisdom. His simplicity was the vehicle for a solid and rich teaching which - thanks to the gift of an exceptional memory and a vast culture - he supplemented with many quotes from ecclesiastical and lay writers. He was a peerless catechist, following the footsteps of St. Pius X, his compatriot and predecessor first in the cathedra of St. Mark and then in that of St. Peter".

Remarking upon one of the four general audiences celebrated by John Paul I, Benedict XVI recalled how the Pontiff had used the phrase: "We must feel small before God", and had then added: "I am not ashamed to feel like a child before its mother: we believe our mothers, I believe in the Lord and what He revealed to me".

"These words", Pope Benedict concluded, "reveal the depth of his faith. As we thank the Lord for having given him to the Church and the world, we treasure his example, undertaking to cultivate the humility that was his and that made him capable of speaking to everyone, especially the smallest and those 'furthest away'".

The following is the homily given by Cardinal Ratzinger in the Cathedral of Munich on the death of Pope John Paul I on October 6, 1978:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We have come together for the Eucharist in sorrow at the sudden death of our Holy Father John Paul I, and in this liturgy we bring our sorrow to the light of the love of Jesus Christ, which is stronger than death. We want to draw close to this love, to purify ourselves in it and to prepare ourselves for the resurrection and eternal life.

Brothers and Sisters! It has not yet been a month from the day in which we were together, filled with joy, in this cathedral, to thank God for having given us the new Pope John Paul I. Then we couldn’t foresee how soon he would be taken and we still cannot understand the reason. “God gave, God has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”, we can say with Job. In the history of the popes there is a person similar to him in his destiny and who could help us to bear this better; this is Marcellus II, next to whom John Paul I has now found his final resting place.

It was the year 1555: The Council of Trent had been interrupted without concrete results and there did not seem any possibility of it beginning. Thus the Church remained torn between renewal and reform, as if sunk in a deep depression, unable to pull itself out. Thus in one of the shortest conclaves in history, Cardinal Cervini was elected by acclamation. He was one of the presidents of the Council of Trent, a person who even in that obscure period had tried to live the Gospel in a credible way to bring to fulfilment the “Christian reality” from his deepest center, as a goal of greatest importance. He began immediately with actions that attracted attention and brought a refreshing breeze. He refused the ostentation of the papal coronation and began with a very simple ceremony, which saved enormous sums which ordinarily would have been spent for such ceremonies. He decided that half of it would be used to cover papal debts and the other half would be distributed to the poor so that the day of his installation would be above all a day of joy for the poor.

Rome was, at that time as now, stamped with the sign of violence. But she changed her face, men put down their arms and turned over a new page. The general of the Augustinians, Father Serepando, said that he had prayed for a pope who could renew and restore honour to three words fallen into disrepute: church, council, reform, and he considered that with this election he had been heard. There were no preferences for his relatives. Rather he let them know that they needn’t come to Rome. He did not meddle in the disputes of the factions, but he called all to peace and he lived his mission, from the heart of the Eucharist, in a manner which had long since become unknown.

After 22 days he died. And another Augustinian, Parvenio, applied to him with sorrow the words which Virgil had once written for another Marcellus: Ostensus est nobis, non datus. (He was only shown to us, not given.) In spite of this, historians of the papacy affirm that this pontificate of only 22 days represented a true turnabout, a point of departure, a great step from which there would be no return. The door was thrown open. The reform had turned into a reform; that is, there could no longer be a return to a comfortable existence, but rather an aiming towards the center of the faith, and the church began again to live.

Ostensus non datus: shown to us but not given. This is what we would like to say about Pope John Paul I, whose smile conquered the attention and gaze of the world. “The Pope of the Smile” the Italians called him with affection and the whole world agreed. The morning of his death, when Cardinal Confalonieri entered the room of the dead man, his face was only slightly inclined and in his expression was still present that inimitable smile which had made this man stand out in a particular way. This smile was not a mask, behind which a person can hide himself nor was it a studied gesture to obtain something, but the expression, unconscious and natural of a soul transparent and luminous to its very depths. Yes it is not a question of a gift received from nature, but rather something acquired from Jesus Christ, living at an ever-deeper level. We can glimpse a part of his spiritual journey from his letters, gathered together in this very beautiful book, Illustrissimi which in its simplicity, serenity and greatness has remained as his enduring testament.

Particularly moving is his letter to Therese of Lisieux with whom he had a special intimate affinity. He says to her, “Love in little things. Often this is the only kind possible. I never had the chance to jump into a river to save a drowning man; I have been very often asked to lend something, to write letters, to give simple and easy instructions. I have never met a mad dog; instead I have met some irritating flies and mosquitoes. I have never had persecutors beat me but many people disturb me with noises in the street, with the volume of the television turned up too high or unfortunately with making noise in drinking soup. To help, however, one can not take it amiss, to be understanding; to remain calm and smiling (as much as possible) in such occasions is to love one’s neighbour without rhetoric in a practical way”.

He also remembers the name which Dante gave Our Lord, “Lord of all courtesy”. He finds this Lord in Sacred Scripture, speaking of the faults and stubbornness which he had to put up with in his apostles. He finally told them, “You are those ho have borne with me in my trials”. What! There came to his mind the saying of the great Teresa. “A sad saint is a sorry saint”. He also tells a little parable in which he himself is reflected. “An Irishman died whose life had not been overflowing with good works. At the time of judgment he stood in line waiting his turn. He looks and sees the Lord turning over the cards of the various people and he says to the first: ‘I was hungry, you gave me to eat. Heaven!’ To the second, ‘I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. Heaven!’ To the third, ‘I was naked, you gave me clothes. Heaven!’ The Irishman’s heart was more and more uneasy because he had never done any of that. Trembling, he stepped before the judge, not daring to look at him. But glancing up timidly he noticed in his eyes something like a hidden furtive smile. The Lord took out his card and told him, “well, there’s not really much here. But once I was sad and you told me a joke which made me laugh. On your way to Heaven!”’ Such was John Paul I. That’s how he was. He didn’t just tell us a story, he made us a gift of his smile; he allowed us to get a glimpse into the depth of the “human essence” to guess something of paradise lost.

However, he was certainly not a simple minded, good little old man, unaware of the gravity of live and the reality of today. I have personally seen, in Latin America, with what gratitude and relief his words on the theology of liberation were received – that it is not a theology because it is not founded on God but rather on the struggle between the classes and it does not aim at liberty but rather the dictatorship of the party. How simple and great are his words: “It is not true, Ubi Lenin, ibi Jerusalem – where Lenin is, there is Jerusalem”. And what was our gratitude when he condemned that falsecreativity in the liturgy which does not celebrate the common mystery of the Church, but honours one’s own “creativism” precluding and harming in the way for many, access to the renewed liturgy.

What importance there was to have broken the deadly silence of the West concerning Lebanon. We were convinced quite willingly that there were only a few privileged people, probably fascists, defending their interest. A Lebanese once told me sadly, “For you oil is more important than the spirit”. We have turned our gaze elsewhere, in order not to see because we didn’t want to risk our interests. But he stripped the veil away and made us see that between the panislamic aspiration to power and the social utopia of the Palestinians, there was a small Christian minority which was trampled on.

Ostensus, non datus – he was shown to us, not given, Can we truly say that? No, I hold that the correct formulation should be: Ostensus et datus – he was shown to us and he gave himself to us, with his soul, to the limits of his strength.

On the death of Cardinal Dopfner he mentioned the consoling figure of St. Christopher who carried Christ across the rivers of history. On the death of Pope Paul VI there shone the light of the transfiguration of Christ. Pope John Paul I departed during the night of the feast of St. Michael called by tradition the “Psychopomp” the escort of souls, who escorts it through the night of death to the light of the Lord. He was buried on the day of St. Francis of Assisi, the amiable saint that he resembled so much. For us believers it is not foolishness. It was the authentic expression of the fact that faith has transformed time, that is no more the sum of anonymous days, the empty net of death in which some day or another we will be caught without escape. Time has been transformed. By the action of the Lord it has become the history of God, men who proceed from that history and who accompany us, consoling us, acting as our guides, as symbols of hope and faith. Time is no longer the net of death, but rather the hand of God’s mercy held out, who supports and seeks us. His saints are the columns of light who show us the way, transforming it certainly into the path of salvation while we pass through the darkness of earth. From now on he too will belong to that light. The one who was given us for only 33 days; from him, however, there shines a light which can no longer be taken from us. It is for this that we know want to thank the Lord with our whole hearts. Amen.

Understanding the Truth about Pope Pius XII

VATICAN CITY, 18 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At midday today in Castelgandolfo, the Pope met participants in a symposium on the life and the pastoral and humanitarian work of Pius XII. The symposium was promoted by the Pave the Way Foundation, the president of which is Gary Krupp.

Having mentioned the fact that 50 years have passed since the death, on 9 October 1958, of Servant of God Pius XII, the Holy Father pointed out that although "so much has been written and said of him during these last five decades, ... not all of the genuine facets of his diverse pastoral activity have been examined in a just light.

"The aim of your symposium", he added continuing his English-language talk, "has been precisely to address some of these deficiencies, conducting a careful and documented examination of many of his interventions, especially those in favour of the Jews who in those years were being targeted all over Europe, in accordance with the criminal plan of those who wanted to eliminate them from the face of the earth.

"When one draws close to this noble Pope, ... one can come to appreciate the human wisdom and pastoral intensity which guided him in his long years of ministry, especially in providing organised assistance to the Jewish people.

"Thanks to the vast quantity of documented material which you have gathered, supported by many authoritative testimonies, your symposium offers to the public forum the possibility of knowing more fully what Pius XII achieved for the Jews persecuted by the Nazi and fascist regimes", said the Holy Father.

He then highlighted how the work of the symposium had drawn attention to Pope Pius' "many interventions, made secretly and silently, precisely because, given the concrete situation of that difficult historical moment, only in this way was it possible to avoid the worst and save the greatest number of Jews. This courageous and paternal dedication was recognised and appreciated during and after the terrible world conflict by Jewish communities and individuals who showed their gratitude for what the Pope had done for them".

Pope Benedict thanked the Pave the Way Foundation "for its ongoing activity in promoting relationships and dialogue between religions, as witnesses of peace, charity and reconciliation.

"It is my great hope", he concluded, "that this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of my venerated predecessor's death, will provide the opportunity to promote in-depth studies of various aspects of his life and his works in order to come to know the historical truth, overcoming every remaining prejudice.

Bishop Soto to catechists

Last weekend Bishop Jaime Soto presented the following as his keynote address at Sac-town's Catechist Ministry Day:

In the gospel according to Luke we find that beautiful passage of Jesus speaking inthe synagogue at his hometown of Nazareth . Jesus steps up in front of the assembly. He rolls open the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and he reads from the 61st chapter of the book, "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners." (Is. 61.1-3) After reading this passage he sits down. The evangelist tells us that all the eyes of the synagogue are fixed on him. He says to them, "This passage is fulfilled in your hearing." This is a stirring story as we hear about Jesus' boldly beginning his ministry.

This morning, though, I want to focus on a text that introduces this wonderful story to us. The story begins with the words, "Jesus came to Nazareth , where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day." Very simple phrase and could pass without notice. Please think about this for a moment. Jesus was in the custom of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Why? The Lord Jesus was a good, pious Jew. He was practiced in his faith. It is his piety and his devout practice of the faith of his forefather Abraham that was the context and indeed the motivation for his ministry.

Jesus did these things because he was the Son of His Father in heaven. He also did these things because he was the Son of Mary, under the careful and devoted eye of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Jesus possessed a divine nature but he also possessed a human nature. He was fully human like us except that he was without sin. Being human meant that he had to learn. Though he was God, he shared in our humanity and part of being human is learning to be human. We do not often reflect on this with
regards to Jesus. We can assume that he did things naturally, but that is not human. We learn to be who we are. Sure, there are certain things that are part of our nature. There are particular things about each one of us that gives our own nature a unique character. Yet we all learn a language, a culture, manners, habits, tastes, and beliefs that make us who we are as men and women. Jesus did the same thing.

So in this reading from Isaiah, Jesus went to the synagogue because he learned it. Mary and Joseph taught him the importance of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He probably chased after Joseph on his way to the synagogue. He read from the prophet Isaiah because someone, perhaps Joseph, or maybe the Rabbi in his village taught him to read the Law and the prophets. He even knew how to speak publicly. He probably learned that too.

Think for a moment of the few glimpses we have in the Gospels about the young life of Jesus. The gospel according to Luke reminds us that the child Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. If we take a moment to imagine this familiar scene we can see the child Jesus wrapped in the typical clothing that Mary would have prepared for her Son. He would be dressed as a Jewish infant boy.

He is later presented in the temple of Jerusalem . Though he is not fully conscious enough to know what was going on. Still all that goes on, all that whirls around him, all that is being said about him begins to shape his human mind and his heart for the divine mission His heavenly Father has prepared for him.

The habit of going up to the temple was also a learned activity. The same gospel tells us about one such occasion when the Holy Family goes up to Jerusalem as they were in the habit of doing. The young Jesus loses himself among the chief priests and the scribes as he listens and learns from them. The gospel tells us that he asked them questions. Jesus was inquisitive and curious. He had a love of learning. He loved the
temple. It is perhaps for this reason that he was reluctant to find his parents because he was wrapped up in the beauty, wisdom, and ritual of the temple life. That as an adult he would go back to the temple, even if it was a dangerous risk for him, should not be a surprised because he had learned this. He was in the habit of doing so and habits, especially good habits, are hard to break.

I share this with you this morning because we are all involved in a preparing young hearts and minds - and perhaps not so young hearts and minds - to do what Jesus did. He learned how to be human. In learning as Jesus did we hope to share in the divinity of Jesus as he shared in our humanity. We are all learning who Jesus is and to do so we must learn as he did. We must learn the customs, wisdom and ways of Jesus so that we can become accustomed to him. We become part of him and he becomes part of us.

We can marvel at all Jesus said and did. In all that he said and did we recognize the glory of his divinity. This is all revealed to us through the ordinariness of his humanity, a humanity that was given to him by Mary both through birth but also through example and instruction. We prepare the followers of Jesus in the same way. When we do this and when we do this well, our humanity can reveal the same divinity of Christ.

Look and listen closely to the stories of the miracles of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus. The grace and beauty of God are revealed through the manners and habits that Jesus learned. Notice how often Jesus is in the synagogue. Mary and Joseph inculcated this pious habit in their son. That he could read is not a demonstration of divine power. He had the opportunity to learn from Joseph or from the local rabbi. He knew the law and prophets well enough that he quoted them often in his teachings and he practiced them as a pious Jew. Even with the Pharisees he was a skilled, persuasive debater. He had good teachers. Perhaps he learned this from watching Joseph in the synagogue or listening to Mary and Joseph share the scriptures and discussing the meaning of the text. Jesus was good, kind, tender with the sick, the poor, and the forgotten. He probably followed the example of Mary and her husband Joseph. They taught him the importance of charity and not neglecting the poorest members of the community. He knew how to sacrifice for the sake of others. He saw this in the joyful generosity of His mother, Mary. He saw this in the sacrifices that Joseph made to provide for them. He heard about the suffering servant in Isaiah and began to identify with the role of the prophetic servant. When Jesus gathered his disciples around the table for the Last Supper, he followed the gestures he had learned from Mary and Joseph. None of this reflection is intended to detract from the divinity of Jesus. This is only to show how much he humbled himself so as to become part of our humanity. It also shows how much we can become part of his divinity by learning his wisdom and allowing ourselves to be accustomed to his ways.

The work before us is very human and very ordinary but it also shares in the divine work that began when the Virgin Mary wrapped her divine son in swaddling clothes, started to teach him the language of hope and joy by singing him a Jewish lullaby and softly cuddling him in her arms. With these lessons learned, he would wrap the world with his outstretched arms on the cross and we would come to recognize his glory.

More than just teach the faith, we are called to teach the practice of the faith. It is the practice of the faith, the habit of the faith that brings us and our children into contact with the living Jesus. By our work we continue the marvel of the Incarnation. Jesus continues to incarnate his divine love, wisdom, and ways into our humanity and the humanity of those who come to us for instruction.

When we read the scriptures, especially the prophets or the psalms, the words we say were once on the mouth of Jesus. When we read the gospels and take a lesson from Paul we are being inspired by the same message with which Jesus first inspired them. When we participate and share in the sacred rituals of the sacraments many of these words and gestures were those of Jesus. When we care for the poor or visit the imprisoned we are standing right where Jesus use to stand. When we stand with those who are oppressed and speak for those who are forgotten we risk knowing the same scorn afflicted on the Lord.

All this does not have to be extraordinary or exceptional for us. When we truly understand the Incarnation, we will see that it should not be. Far better - more in keeping with Christ - that it should be learned, practiced, and habitual. We should be in the habit of following Christ. As we imitate his humanity we also begin to reflect his divinity.

For this reason, I would encourage you to do more than teach the faith. Please practice the faith and teach those under your instruction to do the same. Practice implies repetition, doing things over and over again, repeating words over and over again, making routine the rituals of our faith. At first this may appear clumsy but with time it brings grace and makes our lives graceful. More than just a cognitive grasp of the faith, we must be grasped by our faith. The customs and manners of Jesus take hold of us. They become habitual so that we truly walk the talk. We walk in the ways of Jesus.

What are those graceful habits that we should practice and that we should
teach?

• The habit of prayer. Along with such prayers as the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, the Act of Contrition, I also encourage you to teach grace before meals. Help the children and young people learn how to do a good examination of conscience.
• The habits of the commandments. Along with knowing the commandments, help your students see how they can practice the positive admonitions of the commandments and avoid committing sins against them.
• The practice of charity. Use any opportunity to encourage works of charity and justice with your students.
• The habit of sacrifice. Teaching penitential practices during Lent should be expected but, more than this, encourage sacrificial acts - abstinence and fasting - on Fridays as a healthy Christian practice throughout the year.
• The common meal. Many families have lost the habit of regular meals in common. This is detrimental not only to the family. It also harms the faith life of the Church. This is a challenge in the busy world in which we live but these ordinary moments of family life can be occasions of saving grace.
• Keeping the Lord's Day holy, especially by attending the Sunday Eucharist. It should not be limited to just attending Mass. There is so much more we can do to recover a sacred regard for
  Sunday.
• The practice of meditation, especially through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
• The rituals of reverence. Children and young people need to be thought the rituals of reverence in a Church or other sacred spaces: kneeling, genuflexion, the reverential bow, the postures for receiving communion, maintaining a reverential silence in Church. Along with this, many students would benefit from understanding the Christian value of common courtesies that we extend to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

As bishop, I look forward to Confirmations. There is a great deal of excitement about the ceremony and ritual that accompany the arrival of the bishop to the local parish. As bishop, I enjoy the momentary and whimsical encounter with each young man and woman who approaches me for the anointing of holy chrism. There is a curious instance when I match the name of a saint with the young person in front of me. Why did this young man choose the name Francis of Assisi? Why did she choose St. Cecilia? What was the reason that he would choose Saint Toribio? What is there about St. Francis, St. Cecilia, St. Joan of Arc, St. Maximilian Kolbe, or St. Sebastian that might be in this young person's heart? Whatever that may be, or for whatever the reasons, it is clear to me that the faith is lived. Young people do not choose a doctrine or a commandment, or a lesson they learned. They choose a life, a particular life that was lived following Jesus. The Christian life is more than a summation of all that is taught and learned about the Catholic faith and tradition. It is a life of discipleship, a life given to imitating the Lord Jesus. As I anoint each young person, this is my fervent prayer that their life too might also take on Christ, that they might be Christ for others.

As the Holy Father, Benedict XVI told us, in his encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." (DCE, n.1) This encounter with Christ needs to be more than occasional or accidental. This
encounter must be habitual. It must be ritual. As Jesus taught us in the gospel of Luke, daily we must be in the custom of meeting him.

Cathedral of Christ the Light

This week the Diocese of Oakland opened the doors of the Cathedral of Christ the Light. Althought, not yet dedicated, the Cathedral is open for the curious to peruse this odd piece of architecture. The brainchild of Bishop John Cummins and Bishop Allen Vigneron the Cathedral's name is from taken from the Second Vatican Council's Lumen Gentium, which emphasized participation of the laity and a move of outreach to other faiths.

The Cathedral will be formally dedicated on September 25.

From an architectural perspective, this edifice is quite eye-catching. The shape, and dimesions express ingenuity, vision and ambition. Bishop Vigneron gets an A+ in this area. From a liturgical perspective, one could go in many different ways. In one respect, the building seems cold and the open space seems overbearring. Space, however, could be argued, inspires, and lifts the eyes, and the soul, toward God. The Cathedral does not follow any traditional convenience. Thomas over at AmericanPapist has already likened CCTL to LA's Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral. Although both seem to be unorthodox in style, there is something to be said in its modern style, it still stands out, it draws attention to the fact that it is a house of worship, seat of the ordinary, and I am sure there will be qualities that will be inspirational. Don't get me wrong, if it were up to me, I would much rather have a Cathedral with a prominent cathedra, high altar, and stained glass windows galore in the tradition of the older cathedrals. Alas, CCTL is a modern expression of the Church in the modern world and it will be consecrated, and people will pray in it, and Mass will be offered, and the holy exchange between heaven and earth will occur... it's not that bad.

Worth of significant note, the Cathedral will have a free clinic for people of low resources. It will be funded through donations from the Knights of Malta and sits in an 1,700 square foot area in the Cathedral complex. Estimates indicate that there are more than166, 000 people in Alameda County without medical insurance . Kudos for reaching out!

Verdict: I like what I see, I like the work, and I can't wait to make it over there to check it out.

Coat of Arms above the Cathedral

Now... with this being the latest cathedral in California to be dedicated in recent years, many ask about Tod Brown's plans for a Cathedral for Orange. It's been in the planning stages for a while and it does not seem to be moving forward any time soon. Many claim it's money, others stale-mate between the Bishop and his advisors. Many priest advisors have asked Bishop Brown to move toward building a Cathedral that reflects the history and patrimony of the diocese, i.e building a cathedral in the California Mission style. It seems that his plan is to move forward with a modern style. Perhaps he has has OLA-CCTL style envy.

With economy moving the way it is and with all the disagreeing there is, it's possible that the responsibilities of building the new seat for the Bishop of Orange will fall into the hands of the new bishop, due to arrive in a few years.

Pope's homily at his farewell Mass from Lourdes.

This morning Pope Benedict celebrated a special mass for the sick at the Basilica of the Rosary (Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire). Many ill and disabled pilgrims come in search of a miracle cure from the famed waters of the grotto.

Dear Brothers in the episcopate and the priesthood,
Dear Friends who are sick, dear carers and helpers,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Yesterday we celebrated the Cross of Christ, the instrument of our salvation, which reveals the mercy of our God in all its fullness. The Cross is truly the place where God’s Compassion for our world is perfectly manifested. Today, as we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, we contemplate Mary sharing her Son’s compassion for sinners. As Saint Bernard declares, the Mother of Christ entered into the Passion of her Son through her compassion (cf. Homily for Sunday in the Octave of the Assumption). At the foot of the Cross, the prophecy of Simeon is fulfilled: her mother’s heart is pierced through (cf. Lk 2:35) by the torture inflicted on the innocent one born of her flesh. Just as Jesus cried (cf. Jn 11:35), so too Mary certainly cried over the tortured body of her Son. Her self-restraint, however, prevents us from plumbing the depths of her grief; the full extent of her suffering is merely suggested by the traditional symbol of the seven swords. As in the case of her Son Jesus, one might say that she too was led to perfection through this suffering (cf. Heb 2:10), so as to make her capable of receiving the new spiritual mission that her Son entrusts to her immediately before “giving up his spirit” (cf. Jn 19:30): that of becoming the mother of Christ in his members. In that hour, through the figure of the beloved disciple, Jesus presents each of his disciples to his Mother when he says to her: Behold your Son (cf. Jn 19:26-27).

Today Mary dwells in the joy and
the glory of the Resurrection. The tears shed at the foot of the Cross have beentransformed into a smile which nothing can wipe away, even as her maternalcompassion towards us remains unchanged. The intervention of the Virgin Mary inoffering succour throughout history testifies to this, and does not cease to call forth, in the people of God, an unshakable confidence in her: the Memorare prayer expresses this sentiment very well. Mary loves each of her children, giving particular attention to those who, like her Son at the hour of his Passion, are prey to suffering; she loves them quite simply because they are her children, according to the will of Christ on the Cross. The psalmist, seeing from afar this maternal bond which unites the Mother of Christ with the people of faith, prophesies regarding the Virgin Mary that “the richest of the people … will seek your smile” (Ps 44:13). In this way, at the instigation of the inspired word of Scripture, Christians have always sought the smile of Our Lady, this smile which medieval artists were able to represent with such marvellous skill and to show to advantage. This smile of Mary is for all; but it is directed quite particularly to those who suffer, so that they can find comfort and solace therein. To seek Mary’s smile is not an act of devotional or outmoded sentimentality, but rather the proper expression of the living and profoundly human relationship which binds us to her whom Christ gave us as our Mother.

To wish to contemplate this smile of the Virgin, does not mean letting oneself be led by an uncontrolled imagination. Scripture itself discloses it to us through the lips of Mary when she sings the Magnificat: “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour” (Lk 1:46-47). When the Virgin Mary gives thanks to the Lord, she calls us to witness. Mary shares, as if by anticipation, with us, her future children, the joy that dwells in her heart, so that it can become ours. Every time we recite the Magnificat, we become witnesses of her smile. Here in Lourdes, in the course of the apparition of Wednesday 3 March 1858, Bernadette contemplated this smile of Mary in a most particular way. It was the first response that the Beautiful Lady gave to the
young visionary who wanted to know who she was. Before introducing herself, some days later, as “the Immaculate Conception”, Mary first taught Bernadette to know her smile, this being the most appropriate point of entry into the revelation of her mystery. In the smile of the most eminent of all creatures, looking down on us, is reflected our dignity as children of God, that dignity which never abandons the sick person. This smile, a true reflection of God’s tenderness, is the source of an invincible hope.

Unfortunately we know only too well: the endurance of suffering can upset life’s most stable equilibrium, it can shake the firmest foundations of confidence, and sometimes even leads people to despair of the meaning and value of life. There are struggles that we cannot sustain alone, without the help of divine grace. When speech can no longer find the right words, the need arises for a loving presence: we seek then the closeness not only of those who share the same blood or are linked to us by friendship, but also the closeness of those who are intimately bound to us by faith. Who could be more intimate to us than Christ and his holy Mother, the Immaculate One? More than any others, they are capable of understanding us and grasping how hard we have to fight against evil and suffering. The Letter to the Hebrews says of Christ that he “is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; for in every respect he has been tempted as we are” (cf. Heb 4:15). I would like to say, humbly, to those who suffer and to those who stru ggle and are tempted to turn their backs on life: turn towards Mary! Within the smile of the Virgin lies mysteriously hidden the strength to fight against sickness, in support of life. With her, equally, is found the grace to accept without fear or bitterness to leave this world at the hour chosen by God.

How true was the insight of that great French spiritual writer, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, who in "L’âme de tout apostolat," proposed to the devout Christian to gaze frequently “into the eyes of the Virgin Mary”! Yes, to seek the smile of the Virgin Mary is not a pious infantilism, it is the aspiration, as Psalm 44 says, of those who are “the richest of the people” (verse 13). “The richest”, that is to say, in the order of faith, those who have attained the highest degree of spiritual maturity and know precisely how to acknowledge their weakness and their poverty before God. In the very simple manifestation of tenderness that we call a smile, we grasp that our sole wealth is the love God bears us, which passes through the heart of her who became our Mother. To seek this smile, is first of all to have grasped the gratuitousness of love; it is also to be able to elicit this smile through our efforts to live according to the word of her Beloved Son, just as a child seeks to elicit its mother’s smile by doing what pleases her. And we know what pleases Mary, thanks to the words she spoke to the servants at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (cf. Jn 2:5).

Mary’s smile is a spring of living water. “He who believes in me”, says Jesus, “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38). Mary is the one who believed and, from her womb, rivers of living water have flowed forth to irrigate human history. The spring that Mary pointed out to Bernadette here in Lourdes is the humble sign of this spiritual reality. From her believing heart, from her maternal heart, flows living water which purifies and heals. By immersing themselves in the baths at Lourdes, how many people have discovered and experienced the gentle maternal love of the Virgin Mary, becoming attached to her in order to bind themselves more closely to the Lord! In the liturgical sequence of this feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mary is honoured under the title of Fons amoris, “fount of love”. From Mary’s heart, there springs up a gratuitous love which calls forth a response of filial love, called to ever greater refinement. Like every mother, and better than every mother, Mary is the teacher of love. That is why so many sick people come here to Lourdes, to quench their thirst at the “spring of love” and to let themselves be led to the sole source of salvation, her son Jesus the Saviour.

Christ imparts his salvation by means of the sacraments, and especially in the case ofthose 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, or to accept, as Bernadette expressed it, to “suffer everything in silence in order to please Jesus”. To be able to say that, it is necessary to have travelled a long way already in union with Jesus. Here and now, though, it is possible to entrust oneself to God’s mercy, as manifested through the grace of the sacrament of the sick. Bernadette herself, in the course of a life that was often marked by sickness, received this sacrament four times. 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 give it with him. Christ’s presence comes to break the isolation which pain induces. Man no longer bears his burden alone: as a suffering member of Christ, he is conformed to Christ in his self-offering to the Father, and he participates, in him, in the coming to birth of the new creation.

Without the Lord’s help, the yoke of sickness and suffering weighs down on us cruelly. By receiving the sacrament of the sick, we seek to carry no other yoke that at of Christ, strengthened through his promise to us that his yoke will be easy to carry and his burden light (cf. Mt 11:30). I invite those who are to receive the sacrament of the sick during this Mass to enter into a hope of this kind. The Second Vatican Council presented Mary as the figure in whom the entire mystery of the Church is typified (cf. Lumen Gentium 63-65). Her personal journey outlines the profile of the Church, which is called to be just as attentive to those who suffer as she herself was. I extend an affectionate greeting to those working in the areas of public health and nursing, as well as those who, in different ways, in hospitals and other institutions, are contributing to the care of the sick with competence and generosity. Equally, I should like to say to all the hospitaliers, the brancardiers and the carers who come from every diocese in France and from further afield, and who throughout the year attend
the sick who come on pilgrimage to Lourdes, how much their service is appreciated. They are the arms of the servant Church. Finally, I wish to encourage those who, in the name of their faith, receive and visit the sick, especially in hospital infirmaries, in parishes or, as here, at shrines. May you always sense in this important and delicate mission the effective and fraternal support of your communities! And in this connection, I also greet and thank especially my brothers in the episcopate, the French bishops, the foreign bishops and the priests, all of whom are accompanying the sick and suffering men of this world. Thank you for your service with the suffering Lord.

The service of charity that you offer is a Marian service. Mary entrusts her smile to you, so that you yourselves may become, in faithfulness to her son, springs of living water. Whatever you do, you do in the name of the Church, of which Mary is the purest image. May you carry her smile to everyone!

To conclude, I wish to join in the prayer of the pilgrims and the sick, and to praywith you a passage from the prayer to Mary that has been proposed for this Jubilee celebration: “Because you are the smile of God, the reflection of the light of Christ, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, Because you chose Bernadette in her lowliness, because you are the morning star, the gate of heaven and the first creature to experience the resurrection, Our Lady of Lourdes”, with our brothers and sisters whose hearts and bodies are in pain, we pray to you.

Sunday Mass at Lourdes- The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On Sunday, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Pope Benedict said Mass in the meadow at the Shrine of Lourdes to conmemorate the 150th annyversary of the aparition of our Lady to Bernadette of Soubirous.

Dear Cardinals,
Dear Bishop Perrier,
Dear Brothers in the episcopate and the priesthood,
Dear pilgrims, brothers and sisters,

“Go and tell the priests that people should come here in procession, and that a chapel should be built here.” This is the message Bernadette received from the “beautiful lady” in the apparition of 2 March 1858. For 150 years, pilgrims have never ceased to come to the grotto of Massabielle to hear the message of conversion and hope which is addressed to them. And we have done the same; here we are this morning at the feet of Mary, the Immaculate Virgin, eager to learn from her alongside little Bernadette.

I would like to thank especially Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes for the warm welcome he has given me, and for the kind words he has addressed to me. I greet the Cardinals, the Bishops, the priests, the deacons, the men and women religious, and all of you, dear Lourdes pilgrims, especially the sick. You have come in large numbers to make this Jubilee pilgrimage with me and to entrust your families, your relatives and friends, and all your intentions to Our Lady. My thanks go also to the civil and military Authorities who are here with us at this Eucharistic celebration.

“What a great thing it is to possess the Cross! He who possesses it possesses a treasure” (Saint Andrew of Crete, Homily X on the Exaltation of the Cross, PG 97, 1020). On this day when the Church’s liturgy celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Gospel you have just heard reminds us of the meaning of this great mystery: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that men might be saved (cf. Jn 3:16). The Son of God became vulnerable, assuming the condition of a slave, obedient even to death, death on a cross (cf. Phil 2:8). By his Cross we are saved. The instrument of torture which, on Good Friday, manifested God’s judgement on the world, has become a source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of reconciliation and peace. “In order to be healed from sin, gaze upon Christ crucified!” said Saint Augustine (Treatise on Saint John, XII, 11). By raising our eyes towards the Crucified one, we adore him who came to take upon himself the sin of the world and to give us eternal life. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up this glorious Cross so that the world can see the full extent of the love of the Crucified one for all. She invites us to give thanks to God because from a tree which brought death, life has burst out anew. On this wood Jesus reveals to us his sovereign majesty, he reveals to us that he is exalted in glory. Yes, “Come, let us adore him!” In our midst is he who loved us even to giving his life for us, he who invites every human being to draw near to him with trust.

This is the great mystery that Mary also entrusts to us this morning, inviting us to turn towards her Son. In fact, it is significant that, during the first apparition to Bernadette, Mary begins the encounter with the sign of the Cross. More than a simple sign, it is an initiation into the mysteries of the faith that Bernadette receives from Mary. The sign of the Cross is a kind of synthesis of our faith, for it tells how much God loves us; it tells us that there is a love in this world that is stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and sins. The power of love is stronger than the evil which threatens us. It is this mystery of the universality of God’s love for men that Mary came to reveal here, in Lourdes. She invites all people of good will, all those who suffer in heart or body, to raise their eyes towards the Cross of Jesus, so as to discover there the source of life, the source of salvation.

The Church has received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. Are we able to understand that in the Crucified One of Golgotha, our dignity as children of God, tarnished by sin, is restored to us? Let us turn our gaze towards Christ. It is he who will make us free to love as he loves us, and to build a reconciled world. For on this Cross, Jesus took upon himself the weight of all the sufferings and injustices of our humanity. He bore the humiliation and the discrimination, the torture suffered in many parts of the world by so many of our brothers and sisters for love of Christ. We entrust all this to Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, present at the foot of the Cross.

In order to welcome into our lives this glorious Cross, the celebration of the Jubilee of Our Lady’s apparitions in Lourdes urges us to embark upon a journey of faith and conversion. Today, Mary comes to meet us, so as to show us the way towards a renewal of life for our communities and for each one of us. By welcoming her Son, whom she presents to us, we are plunged into a living stream in which the faith can rediscover new vigour, in which the Church can be strengthened so as to proclaim the mystery of Christ ever more boldly. Jesus, born of Mary, is the Son of God, the sole Saviour of all people, living and acting in his Church and in the world. The Church is sent everywhere in the world to proclaim this unique message and to invite people to receive it through an authentic conversion of heart. This mission, entrusted by Jesus to his disciples, receives here, on the occasion of this Jubilee, a breath of new life. After the example of the great evangelizers from your country, may the missionary spirit which animated so many men and women from France over the centuries, continue to be your pride and your commitment!

When we follow the Jubilee Way in the footsteps of Bernadette, we are reminded of the heart of the message of Lourdes. Bernadette is the eldest daughter of a very poor family, with neither knowledge nor power, and in poor health. Mary chose her to transmit her message of conversion, prayer and penance, which fully accord with words of Jesus: “What you have hidden from the wise and understanding, you have revealed to babes” (Mt 11:25). On their spiritual journey, Christians too are called to render fruitful the grace of their Baptism, to nourish themselves with the Eucharist, to draw strength from prayer so as to bear witness and to express solidarity with all their fellow human beings (cf. Homage to the Virgin Mary, Piazza di Spagna, 8 December 2007). It is therefore a genuine catechesis that is being proposed to us in this way, under Mary’s gaze. Let us allow her to instruct us too, and to guide us along the path that leads to the Kingdom of her Son!

In the course of her catechesis, the “beautiful lady” reveals her name to Bernadette: “I am the Immaculate Conception”. Mary thereby discloses the extraordinary grace that she has received from God, that of having been conceived without sin, for “he has looked on his servant in her lowliness” (cf. Lk 1:48). Mary is the woman from this earth who gave herself totally to God, and who received the privilege of giving human life to his eternal Son. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38). She is beauty transfigured, the image of the new humanity. By presenting herself in this way, in utter dependence upon God, Mary expresses in reality an attitude of total freedom, based upon the full recognition of her true dignity. This privilege concerns us too, for it discloses to us our own dignity as men and women, admittedly marked by sin, but saved in hope, a hope which allows us to face our daily life. This is the path which Mary opens up for man. To give oneself fully to God is to find the path of true freedom. For by turning towards God, man becomes himself. He rediscovers his original vocation as a person created in his image and likeness.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the primary purpose of the shrine at Lourdes is to be a place of encounter with God in prayer and a place of service to our brothers and sisters, notably through the welcome given to the sick, the poor and all who suffer. In this place, Mary comes to us as a mother, always open to the needs of her children. Through the light which streams from her face, God’s mercy is made manifest. Let us allow ourselves to be touched by her gaze, which tells us that we are all loved by God and never abandoned by him! Mary comes to remind us that prayer which is humble and intense, trusting and persevering, must have a central place in our Christian lives. Prayer is indispensable if we are to receive Christ’s power. “People who pray are not wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone” (Deus Caritas Est, 36). To allow oneself to become absorbed by activity runs the risk of depriving prayer of its specifically Christian character and its true efficacy. The prayer of the Rosary, so dear to Bernadette and to Lourdes pilgrims, concentrates within itself the depths of the Gospel message. It introduces us to contemplation of the face of Christ. From this prayer of the humble, we can draw an abundance of graces.

The presence of young people at Lourdes is also an important element. Dear friends, gathered this morning around the World Youth Day Cross: when Mary received the angel’s visit, she was a young girl from Nazareth leading the simple and courageous life typical of the women of her village. And if God’s gaze focussed particularly upon her, trusting in her, Mary wants to tell you once more that not one of you is indifferent in God’s eyes. He directs his loving gaze upon each one of you and he calls you to a life that is happy and full of meaning. Do not allow yourselves to be discouraged by difficulties! Mary was disturbed by the message of the angel who came to tell her that she would become the Mother of the Saviour. She was conscious of her frailty in the face of God’s omnipotence. Nevertheless, she said “yes”, without hesitating. And thanks to her yes, salvation came into the world, thereby changing the history of mankind. For your part, dear young people, do not be afraid to say yes to the Lord’s summons when he invites you to walk in his footsteps. Respond generously to the Lord! Only he can fulfil the deepest aspirations of your heart. You have come to Lourdes in great numbers for attentive and generous service to the sick and to the other pilgrims, setting out in this way to follow Christ the servant. Serving our brothers and sisters opens our hearts and makes us available. In the silence of prayer, be prepared to confide in Mary, who spoke to Bernadette in a spirit of respect and trust towards her. May Mary help those who are called to marriage to discover the beauty of a genuine and profound love, lived as a reciprocal and faithful gift! To those among you whom he calls to follow him in the priesthood or the religious life, I would like to reiterate all the joy that is to be had through giving one’s life totally for the service of God and others. May Christian families and communities be places where solid vocations can come to birth and grow, for the service of the Church and the world!

Mary’s message is a message of hope for all men and women of our day, whatever their country of origin. I like to invoke Mary as the star of hope (Spe Salvi, 50). On the paths of our lives, so often shrouded in darkness, she is a beacon of hope who enlightens us and gives direction to our journey. Through her “yes”, through the generous gift of herself, she has opened up to God the gates of our world and our history. And she invites us to live like her in invincible hope, refusing to believe those who claim that we are trapped in the fatal power of destiny. She accompanies us with her maternal presence amid the events of our personal lives, our family lives, and our national lives. Happy are those men and women who place their trust in him who, at the very moment when he was offering his life for our salvation, gave us his Mother to be our own!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, in this land of France, the Mother of the Lord is venerated in countless shrines which thereby manifest the faith handed down from generation to generation. Celebrated in her Assumption, she is your country’s beloved patroness. May she always be honoured fervently in each of your families, in your religious communities and in your parishes! May Mary watch over all the inhabitants of your beautiful country and over the pilgrims who have come in such numbers from other countries to celebrate this Jubilee! May she be for all people the Mother who surrounds her children in their joys and their trials! Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to believe, to hope and to love with you. Show us the way towards the kingdom of your Son Jesus! Star of the sea, shine upon us and lead us on our way! (cf. Spe Salvi, 50). Amen.

The following are his comments for the Angelus on Sunday. They were given at the close of Mass.

Dear Pilgrims, dear brothers and sisters!

Every day, praying the Angelus gives us the opportunity to meditate for a few moments, in the midst of all our activities, on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. At noon, when the first hours of the day are already beginning to weigh us down with fatigue, our availability and our generosity are renewed by the contemplation of Mary’s “yes”. This clear and unreserved “yes” is rooted in the mystery of Mary’s freedom, a total and entire freedom before God, completely separated from any complicity with sin, thanks to the privilege of her Immaculate Conception.

This privilege given to Mary, which sets her apart from our common condition, does not distance her from us, but on the contrary, it brings her closer. While sin divides, separating us from one another, Mary’s purity makes her infinitely close to our hearts, attentive to each of us and desirous of our true good. You see it here in Lourdes, as in all Marian shrines; immense crowds come thronging to Mary’s feet to entrust to her their most intimate thoughts, their most heartfelt wishes. That which many, either because of embarrassment or modesty, do not confide to their nearest and dearest, they confide to her who is all pure, to her Immaculate Heart: with simplicity, without frills, in truth. Before Mary, by virtue of her very purity, man does not hesitate to reveal his weakness, to express his questions and his doubts, to formulate his most secret hopes and desires. The Virgin Mary’s maternal love disarms all pride; it renders man capable of seeing himself as he is, and it inspires in him the desire to be converted so as to give glory to God.

Thus, Mary shows us the right way to come to the Lord. She teaches us to approach him in truth and simplicity. Thanks to her, we discover that the Christian faith is not a burden: it is like a wing which enables us to fly higher, so as to take refuge in God’s embrace.

The life and faith of believers make it clear that the grace of the Immaculate Conception given to Mary is not merely a personal grace, but a grace for all, a grace given to the entire people of God. In Mary, the Church can already contemplate what she is called to become. Every believer can contemplate, here and now, the perfect fulfilment of his or her own vocation. May each of you always remain full of thanksgiving for what the Lord has chosen to reveal of his plan of salvation through the mystery of Mary: a mystery in which we are involved most intimately since, from the height of the Cross which we celebrate and exalt today, it is revealed to us through the words of Jesus himself that his Mother is our Mother. Inasmuch as we are sons and daughters of Mary, we can profit from all the graces given to her; the incomparable dignity that came to her through her Immaculate Conception shines brightly over us, her children.

Here, close to the grotto, and in intimate communion with all the pilgrims present in Marian shrines and with all the sick in body and soul who are seeking relief, we bless the Lord for Mary’s presence among her people, and to her we address our prayer in faith:

"Holy Mary, you showed yourself here one hundred and fifty years ago to the young Bernadette, you ‘are the true fount of hope’ (Dante, Paradiso, XXXIII:12).

"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! Amen."