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Denver Newsroom, Feb 2, 2022 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
In a letter on Wednesday, Pope Francis commemorated the 75th anniversary of the first papal recognition of secular institutes, and encouraged the consecrated men and women invo…
Vatican City, Feb 2, 2022 / 13:50 pm (CNA).
The Vatican gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard removed from the Paul VI audience hall on Wednesday a man between 40 and 50 years old who, visibly upset, interrupted Pope Francis’ General Audience by shouting.
EWTN News photographer Daniel Ibáñez said the man began by yelling in English “this is not God’s church” and then said in Italian: “no more masks in the church…this is not the church of Jesus Christ…The church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic…You’re not the king.”
At the end of his Feb. 2 catechesis, Pope Francis referred to what happened: “A few minutes ago we heard a person who was yelling, yelling, who had some problem. I don’t know if it’s physical, psychological, spiritual. A brother of ours in difficulty,” he explained.
The pope also asked for prayers for the man.
“I would like to finish by praying for him, for our brother who is suffering, the poor man, if he shouted it’s because he is suffering, he has some need, don’t be deaf to the need of this brother,” he said.
The pope ended by praying a Hail Mary for him, together with the pilgrims present at the General Audience.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | News, Traditionis custodes |
Some people maintain that the Church cannot promulgate defective, useless, or harmful rites, citing Pope Pius VI’s Auctorem Fidei n. 78 and Pope Gregory XVI’s regional letter Quo Graviora n. 10. Those who wield these texts do not realize the […]
The post Does Pius VI’s ‘Auctorem Fidei’ Support Paul VI’s Novus Ordo? appeared first on OnePeterFive.
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Denver Newsroom, Feb 2, 2022 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The search for truth in a polarized, pandemic-struck world will be the focus of myriad conversation and artistic events at this year’s New York Encounter, held later this month in New York City.Cu…
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 2, 2022 / 12:07 pm (CNA).
Consecrated women and men — together with Catholics in general — are invited to celebrate the World Day for Consecrated Life this week. Established by St. John Paul II, the day recognizes the beauty and impact of a life dedicated to poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Here are five things Catholics should know about it.
When is it celebrated?
The Catholic Church celebrates the World Day for Consecrated Life Feb. 2, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas or the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Just as candles are blessed on this day to symbolize Christ as the light of the world, “So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples,” the USCCB says.
The USCCB added that parishes will celebrate the day the following weekend, Feb. 5-6.
When did it begin?
Pope Saint John Paul II established this day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life in 1997. In his message for the first World Day of Consecrated Life, the late pontiff stressed the importance of the day.
“The mission of the consecrated life in the present and in the future of the Church,” he said, “concerns not merely those who have received this special charism, but the entire Christian community.
The consecrated life, he added, “is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element for her mission, since it ‘manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling’ and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse,” citing his apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata.
Why is there a World Day for Consecrated Life?
In his 1997 address, Pope Saint John Paul II listed three reasons, beginning with thanking God for this “stupendous gift!”
The day “answers the intimate need to praise the Lord more solemnly and to thank him for the great gift of consecrated life,” he said. Next, “this day is intended to promote a knowledge of and esteem for the consecrated life by the entire People of God.”
The last reason, he said, concerned consecrated persons.
“They are invited to celebrate together solemnly the marvels which the Lord has accomplished in them,” he said, “to discover by a more illumined faith the rays of divine beauty spread by the Spirit in their way of life, and to acquire a more vivid consciousness of their irreplaceable mission in the Church and in the world.”
How should Catholics respond?
Catholics should recognize the day with prayer and gratitude.
“Please pray for all those who have made commitments in the consecrated life, and be sure to thank them on their special day,” the USCCB encourages. “May they continue to be inspired by Jesus Christ and respond generously to God’s gift of their vocation.”
What is special about this year?
In recognition of the day in 2022, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued a letter to the world’s consecrated men and women. The prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, together with the secretary, Archbishop Jose Rogriguez Carballo, said that this year’s message centers on ‘participation.’”
During his homily at Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Pope Francis exclaimed: “Dear friends, today let us joyfully renew our consecration! Let us ask ourselves what ‘moves our hearts and actions, what renewed vision we are being called to cultivate, and above all else, let us take Jesus into our arms.”
“Even if at times we experience fatigue and weariness, let us do as Simeon and Anna did,” he added. “They awaited with patience the fidelity of the Lord and did not allow themselves to be robbed of the joy of the encounter with him.”
He concluded: “Let us put the Lord back in the centre, and press forward with joy.”
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | News, Spiritual Life |
A new, independent registered charity created to disburse $30 million Canadian Catholics will raise over the next five years is a chance to forge new relationships between the Church and Indigenous Canadians, according to Odawa/Ojibway elder Rosella Ki…
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Catholic Faith, News |
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 2, 2022 / 10:36 am (CNA).
Pope Francis prayed for the Burmese people and for the success of the upcoming Winter Olympics during his general audience on Wednesday.
He first provided a brief catechesis on St. Joseph and the communion of saints Feb. 2, saying that “Even when we rely fully on the intercession of a saint, or even more so that of the Virgin Mary, our trust only has value in relation to Christ. As if the path toward this saint or toward Our Lady does not end there, no. Not there, but in relationship with Christ. He is the bond, Christ is the bond that unites us to him and to each other, and which has a specific name: this bond that unites us all, between ourselves and us with Christ, it is the ‘communion of saints’.”
Devotion to the saints, he said, is “simply talking to a brother, a sister, who is in the presence of God, who has led a righteous life, a model life, and is now in the presence of God. And I talk to this brother, this sister, and ask for their intercession for the needs that I have.”
He shared a prayer to St. Joseph he has recited daily for 40 years, and which he said came from a late 18th century prayer book of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary: “Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty. Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome. My beloved father, all my trust is in you. All my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.”
After his catechesis, Pope Francis issued appeals for prayers on a multitude of international issues.
“For a year now, we have been watching the violence in Myanmar with sorrow. I echo the appeal of the Burmese bishops for the international community to work for reconciliation between the parties concerned,” said Pope Francis.
Myanmar, which is also called Burma, is home to a small Catholic population. Despite their small numbers, Catholics have played a sizeable role in the protests throughout the country since a military coup seized power last year.
“We cannot look away from the suffering of so many brothers and sisters. Let us ask God in prayer for consolation for this tormented population,” he said. “To him we entrust our efforts for peace.”
Pope Francis noted that the 2022 Winter Olympics begin on Thursday, Feb. 4, and that the Paralympic Winter Games are set to commence on March 4.
“I warmly greet all participants. I wish the organizers every success and the athletes the very best,” he said.
The pope added that the “universal language” of sports can serve as a way of building “friendship and solidarity between individuals and peoples of all cultures and religions.” He said that he is hopeful “that the Olympic Games may bring about a more fraternal world.”
The feats of disabled athletes, said Pope Francis, provide an example that “helps everyone to overcome prejudices and fears” and help to “make our communities more welcoming and inclusive.”
“This is the real gold medal,” he said.
“I also follow with attention and emotion the personal stories of refugee athletes. May their testimonies help to encourage civil societies to open up with ever greater confidence to all, leaving no one behind.”
During the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a 29-member team of refugee athletes competed under the Olympic flag. However, the Refugee Olympic Team will not be competing at the considerably-smaller Winter Olympics.
“I wish the great Olympic and Paralympic family a unique experience of human brotherhood and peace: blessed are the peacemakers,” he said.
On Feb. 4, the world will acknowledge the second-ever “International Day of Human Brotherhood.”
It is a reason for satisfaction that the nations of the entire world are joining in this celebration, aimed at promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue, as also called for in the Document on Human Brotherhood and for World Peace and Common Coexistence, signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi, by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Aḥmad al-Tayyib, and by myself,” said Pope Francis.
“Brotherhood,” said the pope, “means reaching out to others, respecting them and listening to them with an open heart.”
Pope Francis hopes that in the future, “concrete steps will be taken together with the believers of other religions, and also with people of good will, to affirm that today is a time of brotherhood, avoiding fuelling clashes, divisions, and closures.”
“Let us pray and commit ourselves every day so that we can all live in peace, as brothers and sisters,” he said.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Consecrated Life, Gospel, lead, Liturgy, News, Pope Francis, Religious Life, Vatican |
During a special Mass for men and women consecrated and religious Pope Francis urged those who have made vows to always find new joy in Jesus despite the challenges they face in dwindling numbers, mundanity, cultural resistance, and conflicts.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Catholic News Service, General Audience, News, Pope Francis, St. Joseph, Vatican |
Pope Francis said that when he was little, he thought the phrase “the communion of saints” in the Creed meant that the saints in heaven were receiving Communion.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Burma, Catholic News Service, Document on Human Fraternity, General Audience, Myanmar, News, Pope Francis, Vatican |
At the end of his general audience Feb. 2, the pope focused on the bonds that unite all people in one human family as he prayed for the people of Myanmar and anticipated the International Day of Human Fraternity.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Associated Press, Bishop Robert Deeley, Church in the US, clerical sexual abuse, Diocese of Portland, Maine, News |
Complaints alleging that two priests sexually abused children in the 1950s and 1970s have been deemed credible by the Catholic Diocese of Portland.
Read MorePosted by bcadmin | Feb 2, 2022 | Australia, Catholic News Service, Christian music, Church in Oceania, News, Nuns, Obituary, pop music, Religious Sisters, South Australia |
Mercy Sister Janet Mead, who earned gold records for her 1974 hit version of the Our Father, died Jan. 26 in her native Adelaide. She was 84 and had been battling cancer.
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