I will be visiting my sister, Louise, in Switzerland this July. Thought I’d show you a couple of pictures from her condo on Lake Geneva. I’m really looking forward to visiting her and her husband (Bert). I’ll post from Switzerland with a few pictures of my trip during my holiday. ( left click photos to see larger version.)
I read a book by Cardinal Ratzinger two years ago, and I feel it gives a real insight into the present Pope, and the direction he would like our modern liturgy to go in. Here is a good article on the book
This weekend I am preaching on two very significant, if not the most significant Christians responsible for the spread of Christianity after the Ascension of Jesus. This weekend we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Peter and Paul were both very different characters. Peter was a fisherman in Capernum. He was not a scholar or highly educated man, but he had natural leadership abilities, and in some ways he had what we call today ‘street smarts’. He could think on his feet, assume leadership, and he was totally sincere in his love for God. But, as we see though out the gospels, he was impetuous, stubborn, opinionated, etc.. In other word he was not perfect.
Paul was a gifted scholar schooled in the Jewish faith. And, as a Roman citizen he was schooled in Greek thought, and the Roman culture. He was zealous for the faith of his Jewish ancestors, and abhorred the Jewish Christians. In the Acts of the Apostles we are informed that he was responsible for the death of St. Stephen.
Shortly after the Ascension, he met the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and after this he became a fervent Christian intent on converting the gentiles to Christianity. He was known as a great preacher! He was also, I suspect, a thorn in the side of many Jewish Christians who believed you had to be a Jew first, and then a Christian. He strongly disagreed with many of the first Christians with Jewish roots, and thus the Council of Jerusalem was called in 66AD. Paul won!
Lord Cardinals,
Excellencies,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
While you are gathered for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, I am happy to join you through the medium of satellite and thus unite myself to your prayer. I would like first of all to greet the Lord Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, and the Lord Cardinal Jozef Tomko, special envoy for the congress, as well as all the cardinals and bishops present. I also address my cordial greetings to the personalities of civil society who decided to take part in the liturgy. My affectionate thought goes to the priests, deacons and all the faithful present, as well as to all Catholics of Quebec, of the whole of Canada and of other continents. I do not forget that your country celebrates this year the 400th anniversary of its foundation. It is an occasion for each one of you to recall the values that animated the pioneers and missionaries in your country.
“The Eucharist, gift of God for the Life of the World,” this is the theme chosen for this latest International Eucharistic Congress. The Eucharist is our most beautiful treasure. It is the sacrament par excellence; it introduces us early into eternal life; it contains the whole mystery of our salvation; it is the source and summit of the action and of the life of the Church, as the Second Vatican Council recalled (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” No. 8).
It is, therefore, particularly important that pastors and faithful dedicate themselves permanently to furthering their knowledge of this great sacrament. Each one will thus be able to affirm his faith and fulfill ever better his mission in the Church and in the world, recalling that there is a fruitfulness of the Eucharist in his personal life, in the life of the Church and of the world. The Spirit of truth gives witness in your hearts; you also must give witness to Christ before men, as the antiphon states in the alleluia of this Mass. Participation in the Eucharist, then, does not distance us from our contemporaries; on the contrary, because it is the expression par excellence of the love of God, it calls us to be involved with all our brothers to address the present challenges and to make the planet a place where it is good to live.
This weeks Gospel (Matt. 10:26-33) is about being sent to bring the good news. It is not a request, but a command. Jesus’ disciples resisted anyway. If we truly understand and celebrate and live the Eucharist, we understand Jesus’ command and realize that it is just what we do, if we are Christian. Here are two quotes from the 49th Eucharistic Congress that is going on in Quebec City this weekend that should help clarify what I mean when I say, “It is just what we do.”
The Canadian Catholic Bishops along with the Bishop’s from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Scotland, England &Wales, and the U.S. have just sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper encouraging him and the Leaders of the upcoming G8 Conference to deepen their commitments and actions to reduce global poverty and address global climate change:
19 June 2008
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Technorati Tags: G8,Prime Minister Stephen Harper,Poverty,Climate Change
One of the more popular videos on the Internet from the Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, City was from June 19th – Catechesis by the most Reverend Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Bishop of Imus, Philippines.
EXCERPT:
“The Church however must also constantly examine its fidelity to Jesus’sacrifice of obedience to God and compassion for the poor. Like those who opposed Jesus in the name of authentic religion, we could be blind to God and neighbors because of self righteousness, spiritual pride and rigidity of mind. Ecclesiastical customs and persons, when naively and narrowly deified and glorified, might become hindrances to true worship and compassion. I am disturbed when some people who do not even know me personally conclude that my being a bishop automatically makes me closer to God than they could ever be. My words are God’s words, my desires are God’s, my anger is God’s, and my actions are God’s.If I am not cautious, I might just believe it and start demanding the offerings of the best food and wine, money, car, house, adulation and submission. After all, I am “God!” I might take so much delight in my stature and its benefits that I might end up being callous to the needs of the poor and the earth.”
“If we are to live out the search for real hope in pluralistic, democratic societies, we need to recognise that not all people share our views or even our deepest convictions. Some people could be tempted to describe this as relativism but that would not be correct. We can recognise people’s differences without saying that our differences are unimportant. This is precisely why we need to have space in our societies for proper dialogue where nobody is prevented from expressing his or her convictions simply to conform to somebody’s idea of political correctness. True dialogue respects everybody’s integrity. Genuinely strong people have no fear of other people’s views, so they feel able to allow people of radically different convictions to speak freely. They are happy to hear what others have to say.” Read the full text
This week the Archbishop of Sydney launched the first-ever online social networking site developed especially for World Youth Day.
Based on other popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, the Sydney World Youth Day organizers developed Xt3.com, which stands for Christ in the Third Millennium. Be sure to visit and think of joining. It is a wonderful way to communicate and share the faith. http://www.xt3.com/
