La-Croix (through AFP) has reported that Pope Benedict XVI today signed the decree of the "miracle of the child" allowing the beatification of the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The announcement was made in a statement released today by the Diocese of Séez. The diocesan announcement says that the announcement appeared at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon in L'Osservatore Romano.
St. Thérèse's parents' bodies were exhumed in Lisieux on May 28 in preparation for placing them in the basilica in September. They were previously declared to be venerable in 1994.
According to the diocese, which apparently is drawing from the Vatican's article in L'Osservatore Romano, the time and place of the beatification will be announced on July 13. That is the 150th anniversary of the marriage of St. Thérèse's parents, Louis and Zélie Martin.
In today's General Audience, Pope Benedict began a new series of catechesis about the Apostle Paul. This was the first Wednesday audience since the beginning of the Pauline Year, and the last before the summer break, as the Holy Father is moving to his summer residence Castel Gandolfo today and will depart next week on his journey to Australia for World Youth Day.
He mentioned that St. Paul was a Jew, when Jews made up only about 3% of ancient Rome, setting them apart from the rest of the population. He was also immersed in Helenistic culture and influenced by the prevailing Stoic philosophy. He was also a citizen of Rome as indicated by his Latin name. While the “universalistic vision that was typical of the Christian Paul owes its basic impulse to Jesus”, he said, the values of humanity and wisdom seen in the Stoic philosopher Seneca were "naturally received in Christianity."
Two statements today reflect possible movement, or reluctance toward movement, by non-Roman Catholic groups in dialogue with the Catholic Church.
One of those statements was today's LeFebvrist rejection of a Vatican for a response by the end of June meeting certain requirements. La-Croix has an article about the rejection in French. Father Zuhlsdorf has the text of the rejection from the website of the Society of St. Pius X ("SSPX"), together with brief commentary. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos had requested a response from SSPX "proportionate to the pope's generosity" and meeting certain other conditions. The SSPX response appears to have asked for dialogue on a doctrinal level, while responding only in part to the conditions on which Cardinal Hoyos asked for a response. For the SSPX, as La-Croix suggests, it is always about the Vatican II doctrine of the Church.
The other statement was in the form of an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury from more than 1300 Anglican bishops, priests and deacons who object to the proposal that the Church of England approve women bishops, a proposal that may be approved by a Church of England synod to be held from July 4 to 8. The [London] Times Online this morning had the headline "Church of England Clergy Plan Mass Exit over Women Bishops." This follows an article from July 10, 2005, concerning Anglo-Catholics who were considering leaving the Church of England for the Catholic Church if the Church of England made this move. The 2005 article was written shortly before an earlier synod which was a step in the process toward women bishops. The synod to begin this Friday may be the final step in that process.
Today's open letter (available for download on the Anglo-Catholic Forward in Faith website, is more diverse and more measured in its statement concerning the intentions of the clergy who signed it, who make up about 10% of English Anglican clergy. Today's open letter does not "threaten" conversion to the Catholic Church. Rather, it states that if women bishops are allowed, then unless the Church of England allows them to have a structure in which male clergy under male bishops will serve those who object to women bishops, "many of us will be thinking very hard about the way ahead." Without making threats, they said, "We will inevitably be asking whether we can, in conscience, continue to minister as bishops, priests and deacons in the Church of England which has been our home."
In the past, the Church of England has provided "flying bishops" who have ministered to parishes that did not accept women clergy. Under that arrangement, bishops who have held a Catholic view of the need for an all-male priesthood have had their own structure of priests and bishops rather than being under the authority of a diocesan bishop who supported the ordination of women. In the upcoming synod, not only may the Church of England approve the consecration of female bishops, but they may also refuse to allow a separate structure of traditional Anglo-Catholic parishes and bishops to continue to exist for those who do not accept female priests and bishops.
An opposition statement from almost just as many clergy called the possibility of such a separate structure "discriminatory."
Although various clergy and laity from the 1300 who signed the open letter, and from among their parishioners, may be likely to choose different paths -- as evidenced by what has happened in the Episcopal Church over the past several decades -- it would be likely that many of those who are Anglo-Catholic would consider the Catholic Church. Many of the American parishes that have formed new Anglican structures have been Evangelicals (Protestant-leaning Anglicans) who formed new bodies either outside of the Anglican Communion or under Anglican Communion primates from other countries.
More Catholic-minded Anglicans may be troubled by the idea of forming a new body of their own choosing that will be loyal to a bishop of their own choosing somewhere else in the world, or in a new body outside of the Anglican Communion. For many of those, the Catholic Church will be the most appealing option to be considered precisely because the Catholic doctrine of the Church is responsive to their needs.
Several previous posts on this blog have links to more information for Anglicans considering the Catholic Church in the category The Church and Anglicanism.
This morning, Pope Benedict XVI and Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, side by side, celebrated the liturgy of the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul in St. Peter's Basilica. The Holy Father also gave the pallium to 40 archbishops during that Mass. EWTN will re-broadcast that Mass at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time/6:00 p.m. Pacific tonight.
During the Mass, the Gospels were proclaimed by a Latin rite Catholic deacon and a deacon from the Orthodox Church. The Holy Father kissed the book of the Gospels used by the Orthodox deacon, and the Ecumenical Patriarch kissed the book of the Gospels used by the Catholic deacon. The Greek formula of the Nicene Creed was recited. Father Zuhlsdorf has a post about the use of the Greek Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed without the filioque.
Following the Gospels, Benedict XVI introduced Bartholomew I, who then gave a short homily. After Bartholomew I's homily, Benedict VXI gave his own homily. The Vatican Press Office has the text of the introduction and both homilies in Italian. An English translation of the introduction and both homilies is provided at Papa Ratzinger Forum. Zenit also has translations of Bartholomew I's homily with the Pope's introduction and Benedict XVI's homily.
Bartholomew I's homily spoke of the unity between the "new Rome" (Constantinople, now known as Istanbul) and the "old Rome" (Rome), and a hope for full unity as soon as possible.
Benedict XVI's homily spoke of the importance of Rome as the place of martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. For Paul, he said, going to Rome was part of the universality of his mission to the Gentiles. For Peter, he said, going to Rome was part of a mission for the unity of the Church that was being formed by Jews and pagans. He said that the Church's interior unity, which comes from God's peace, is important in today's world, in which the external unity brought by information technology has prompted new disagreements and re-activated some old ones. He also spoke about the symbolism of the pallium.
After the imposition of the pallium, the Holy Father gave his Angelus reflection and recited the Angelus. The Italian text with greetings in various languages can be found on the Vatican Press Office website. There are English translations at Zenit and Papa Ratzinger Forum. In that reflection, he again spoke of the Pauline year, saying that it would naturally have Rome as its center, but would involve the entire Church, particularly mentioning the locations of St. Paul's missionary journeys, including Tarsus, Turkey, the Holy Land and Malta.
Benedict XVI and Bartholomew I then blessed the people together and went together to the tomb of St. Peter for a moment of silent prayer.
At today's vespers service in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI walked in side by side with Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and leader of the Greek Orthodox Church. Each of them lit a candle. The candles will burn all year in a special brazier. Each of them spoke, greeting each other during the ecumenical vespers service. Anglican Archbishop Dexter Gomez also attended as the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury. A special Pauline door was constructed for the occasion.
Various readings and prayers were shared by Catholic,Orthodox and Anglican representatives in Italian, Greek, and English respectively.
The Holy Father's homily mentioned that St. Paul introduced himself as one who was raised as a Jew and who was a teacher of the Gentiles. While describing his own past, those words also opened to the future. St. Paul is also our teacher and Apostle. Paul speaks to us today. We do not just ask "Who was Paul?" but also "Who is Paul."
The Holy Father chose three texts that answer that question. The first was Gal. 2:20 ("I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.") What motivated St. Paul was being loved by Jesus Christ and a desire to transmit that love to others.
The second text he mentioned was Acts 9:4. On the road to Damascus, when Jesus appeared to St. Paul, Jesus said, "Why are you persecuting me?" Christ is personally present in one Church, which is His body. In an ecumenical reference, the Holy Father said that there is only one bread, one body. It has become an urgent request to bring us back into one body.
In a third example, which I think was II Cor. 1:7, St. Paul mentioned those who enter into his sufferings. The Holy Father said that "the call to become the teacher of the people is at the same time also intrinsically a call to suffering in the communion of Christ, who has redeemed us through His Passion. In a world where falsehood is so powerful, the truth is redeemed through suffering."
At the end of the vespers service, Patriarch Bartholomew delivered his greeting. He said that Saul of Tarsus' radical conversion shook history and shaped Christianity. He exercised a profound influence on the Church Fathers in the East and West. Having never met Jesus, he received the Gospel directly by revelation. Patriarch Bartholomew expressed a hope that the letters of St. Paul would continue to be a source of inspiration for all peoples.
A few days ago, Dr. Ed Peters proposes extending the Eucharistic fast to 3 hours before the beginning of Mass, instead of the present day 1 hour before receiving the Eucharist. He outlines his proposal and the reasons for it at his canon law blog In the Light of the Law. You can download his full article on the topic from a link in that post.
Father Z notes, at What Does the Prayer Really Say?, that Dr. Peters has a longer view regarding what the Mass is, what the Church's law is for, and what we receive at Mass. (There are many comments posted there.)
Of course, anyone can voluntarily fast more than one hour without it
being mandatory. That could be a fast for 3 hours before Mass or a
fast from midnight until Mass, done for personal piety. That could be a good thing for those who do not have difficulties of age or health that would prevent it. Yet, I think that there is much more that we can do, either with or without lengthening the time of the fast, to deepen our Eucharistic prayer and our awareness of an encounter with Christ who is present in the Eucharist.
Even with the shorter one-hour fast before the Eucharist, I think most of us could make some progress by practicing that fast more consciously in an attitude of prayer and worship. For those who by age or physical health are not able to follow a longer fast, a greater awareness of giving up things other than food in order to focus the mind on God's presence for an hour might accomplish as much as extending the one-hour fast to three hours before Mass.
Scripture several times describes a combination of prayer and fasting in seeking God's presence and action. In Daniel 9:3, Daniel says, "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." Psalm 51:17-19 says, "The
sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite
heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. . . . then wilt thou delight in
right sacrifices." Tobit 12:8 says, "Prayer
is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A
little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is
better to give alms than to treasure up gold." The prophetess Anna, in Luke 2:37, is described in this Jewish sense of prayer and fasting in the Temple: "She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day."
The Apostles also followed a practice of fasting in combination with
prayer. Acts 14:23 tells us that when they appointed elders for the
churches, "with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in
whom they believed."
We could perhaps make much progress by practicing the Eucharistic fast with a consciousness that it is an aspect of prayerful
worship with a "broken and contrite heart"
in prayer.
There are several articles and posts on the internet, besides the recent ones mentioned above, that highlight the reasons for the Eucharistic fast in a way that would encourage a more prayerful fasting.
Father William Saunders, dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Alexandria, Virginia, wrote an article in the Arlington Catholic Herald about the reasons for fasting before the Eucharist. In it, he mentioned that, "St. Paul reminds us, 'Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed' (II Cor 4:10). We, too, are charged to convert our whole lives — body and soul — to the Lord." "Moreover," he wrote, "the fast before receiving holy Communion creates a physical hunger and thirst for the Lord, which in turn augments the spiritual hunger and thirst we ought to have."
From an ecumenical standpoint, a longer, prayer-centered fast might also be undertaken with a desire for Christian unity, as the Orthodox Church still follows a fast from the night before Mass. An article on the website of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul Minnesota describes the fast before the Eucharist as abstaining from "unnecessary foods and entertainments which serve to complicate or control our lives." The orthodox priest who wrote that article, Father John Matusiak, also encouraged fasting from "other activities or things which would distract you from reflecting on the meaning of the Eucharist and the changes you hope to accomplish in your life."
Taylor Marshall had a post a couple of years ago at Canterbury Tales in which he mentioned the three reasons St. Thomas saw for fasting before the Eucharist. Among these was "to give us to understand that Christ, Who is the reality of this sacrament, and His charity, ought to be first of all established in our hearts."
"Fasting is the soul of prayer," according to Father Jonas Abib, founder of Cancao Nova, in a short article published on Catholic Online a few years ago.
It could make a great difference to simply remember that the fast
before the Eucharist should focus our attention on the Eucharist and
its meaning. Fasting from the social conversations that sometimes go
on in the pews immediately before Mass, leaving that time for prayer
and meditation, could put the fast itself in a proper perspective and
remind us of the Mass as a prayer that entails an encounter with Christ
in the Blessed Sacrament. There is plenty of time for social
conversation after Mass.
The music played in our cars on the way to Mass -- or silence, turning
off the radio -- might also contribute to our awareness of a prayerful
hunger for the Lord. Conversation in our cars -- or silence -- surely
does so to. It would accomplish much, I think, to simply follow a
habitual awareness of the Eucharist each morning
before Mass, even if only the one-hour fast is followed in our eating.
In today's General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about St. Maximus the Confessor, one of the Fathers of the Eastern Church. St. Maximus was called "the Confessor" for the way he proclaimed ("confessed") his faith. Living in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, he contributed to the understanding of Christ in his day by writing about Christ's divine will and human will having a "unity in the person of Christ." Adam saw human freedom in saying "No" to God. Although that human tendency carried into Christ's human will, the Holy Father said, St. Maximus showed that Christ went beyond it in that he "does not see the maximum of freedom in saying No, but rather in saying Yes and conforming to God’s Will."
Abbot Joseph at Word Incarnate has a post titled His Name Is John about this saint who Christ called "the greatest man on earth," and who is the only saint other than Mary who is celebrated on the day of his birth. Others are celebrated on the day of their death. He reflects on the importance of the message of St. John the Baptist for today's Church.
Father Z at What Does the Prayer Really Say has St. John the Baptist: Notes and Oldie PODCAzT, with the Latin entry in the new Martyrologium Romanum, the collect, and the customs historically connected with the feast day. He also has a Podcast from St. Augustine's writing about St. John the Baptist.
Scroll down to the general links at
6/14 and 6/15/08 for links to the English and French pages of videos of
past events and other sources of general interest.
Sunday, 6/22/08:
Homily by Pope Benedict XVI:
The Holy Father appeared live via satellite on large video screens for the Statio Orbis Mass to bring the Congress to a conclusion. An English translation of the full text is available from Zenit.
He encouraged people to witness before all humans, saying that the Eucharist does not remove us from our contemporaries. It calls us to involve ourselves to make the planet a better place. We need to constantly struggle so that all people will be respected from conception to natural death, that societies welcome the poorest, that all people be able to feed themselves, that peace and justice exist in all continents.
He invited everyone to further explore the Eucharist by studying the Vatican II Council's Sacrosanctum Concilium, and called for a renewal of Eucharistic catechesis. The liturgy does not belong to us, he said, but to the Church. We must never forget that the Church is built around Christ, and that the Eucharist is a sacrament of the Church’s unity.
In the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice is constantly renewed and Pentecost is constantly renewed. Sunday is the day we honor Christ and get the strength to treat each day as the gift of God. Like the saints, he said, be not afraid. God is accompanying and protecting us. Offer each day to the glory of God our Father. No other action in the Church has the same efficacy as the Eucharist. It is a heavenly liturgy, an anticipation of the banquet of the eternal kingdom, announcing the death and resurrection of Christ until he comes.
At the conclusion of his homily, the Holy Father announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress will be in 2012 in Dublin, Ireland.
The term "Statio Orbis" came into being at the concluding celebration of the 37th Eucharistic Congress held in Munich 1960. Since then, the concluding celebration of Eucharistic Congresses has had particular Churches from various parts of the world join in communion with the Pope or one of his Legates, called a "Statio Orbis" Mass.
The word "Statio" means "station," as in "station days" in Tertullian's De Oratione. Because Wednesday and Friday, as "station days," were characterized by watchings and processions, when the faithful remained standing, the word "statio" eventually came to mean the place where the faithful walked in procession and stood for the celebration of the liturgy. The churches to which they went came to be known as "stationes" and the route to them became known as the "statio ad" (station to, meaning the procession route to) that place. Station days of that kind were once held in Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem. Records that remain today give us the most information about such processions in Rome. Going to the "statio" was a major ceremony at one time, in which people carried all of the papal vessels used for the celebration of the Eucharist to a pilgrimage site or station church. The concept may be somewhat familiar today from the station churches of Rome during Lent (See the 2008 list of station churches as an example).
The word "Orbis" means "circle," "ring" or "orb." In ancient Latin documents, it referred to the world. In the phrase "statio orbis," it refers to the global nature of the gathering for the papal closing Mass of each Congress.
There is more information in an interview with Archbishop Piero Marini in the EWTN library, which specifically mentions the Statio Orbis Masses, and an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, which talks about the history of station days and the word "statio". Catholic Culture also has an article about the past and present practice of station churches.
Saturday, 6/21/08:
Address by Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi, Archbishop of Douala, Cameroon:
Today's theme is being witnesses to the Eucharist in the heart of the world. Cardinal Tumi's catechesis as presented differed somewhat from the written catechesis available online here:
The following summary is taken partly from each because I missed the first part of the TV broadcast, which begins at 6:05 a.m. Pacific Time and could only summarize the first half from the written text.
Cardinal Tumi said that we are gathered to reflect upon the Eucharist, but more to celebrate it. Jesus did not give us the sacrament to contemplate it, but rather to take and eat, to take and drink.
To be witnesses to the Eucharist, we must first of all be witnesses to the Resurrection throughout the world. And whoever speaks of the Resurrection speaks of a way of life that is radically different from the former way of life. St. Paul said "If Christ is not Resurrected, our faith is in vain." (I Cor. 15:14-19). The Church today has nothing else to say, in Douala, in Montréal, in Paris, in Washington. The Resurrection is the meaning of life for each person, married or single, as a choice to make, a direction to take.
We must be transformed by the Eucharist. As a Christian, I must love the other person in order to be in the image of our Master, who loved even though they killed Him. In a noble sense, this person becomes dangerous, because this person could love to the end, as Jesus loved us to the point of giving up His life for us.
In that respect, the Eucharistic person is a dangerous person, burning from the fire of the Spirit, and whose only purpose is to extend that fire and to become fire for others. This person is a person of daring, of confrontation, of radicalism, and of the absolute. If love becomes humanity’s soul, there would be no wars, no terrorism, no political leaders who want to remain in leadership at all cost. A person of the Eucharist disturbs everybody, might even give them the feeling of a bad conscience. That is our vocation so that the other person knows how to distinguish bad from good.
We must be Christian on a daily basis. We cannot be witnesses in the heart of the world without carrying within us an anguish for the poor, for those who are no well loved, without being open to all of love, thinking of each human being as Christ is in each person and each person is in Christ.
Marguerite Barankitse from Maison Shalom in Burundi gave her testimony. She is a Tutsi. She was tied up and saw other people assassinated, and she was asked to betray them. She would not do so. She said that before she is a Tutsi, she is a Christian. She took 25 children and fled with the idea that God is God, and that all the rest has no importance. In Shalom House, she put Tutsi and Hutu children together, as well as Congolese, and told them that their ethnic origin is Shalom. The press called her “a holy woman in hell.” People thought she was crazy, but Jesus was the first crazy one. Will we be crazy with the Eucharist? Will we dare to stop closing in among ourselves, and try to describe the Eucharist, not in writing, but rather we are the Eucharist. We are to go out and be Christ’s witnesses every day.
Francis Cardinal Arinze delivered the homily at Mass. Zenit has the text of the homily in English and an article about it.
He said that Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loves us. Jesus tells us how to love in that He became obedient unto death on a cross. St. Paul describes love in I Cor. 13:1-7.
He said that the Eucharistic celebration is not only a mystery to be believed and celebrated, but also a mystery to be lived. We are sent out to show love to our brothers and sisters who are in need, to console those who are hurting, and to lead the spiritually hungry to the Church and the Sacraments.
We must express Christ in the midst of the world, especially by promoting justice, peace, and harmony in society. The Church preaches mutual love and respect for human rights, including the right to life, honesty and solidarity.
We witness to Christ following the example of the saints. There is a universal call to holiness. Every Christian becomes holy according to that person's vocation and mission. He especially mentioned African saints because today is Africa day in the Congress. Those witnesses walked the 40 days and nights of their earthly lives in the strength of the Holy Eucharist, up to their meeting with the Lord in life eternal.
There was also a prayer vigil in the evening for the youth. The ECDQ Blogue (French) has an article about the vigil. Papal legate Jozef Cardinal Tomko gave a homily. The Holy Father addressed the youth by video during the vigil. Zenit has an article about the Pope's address to youth.
The written text of Cardinal Tomko's homily is available for download in French:
Cardinal Tomko said that neither reason, nor human wisdom, scientific analysis, nor brilliant language would suffice to talk about the Eucharist. It is a great mystery of faith. Like Moses with the burning bush, we must take off our sandals, close our eyes, and listen to He who invented the Eucharist. We can understand a mystery of the faith only by means of a great faith!
He spoke about the 6th chapter of St. John's Gospel. He said it would be a great advantage to have a king who could solve the problem of hunger by multiplication of loaves! However, Jesus wanted to give them living bread. Jesus said that He was the living bread, and that one who eats His flesh would live forever. The Eucharist is not a thing; it is a living person: Jesus Christ.
Cardinal Tomko also spoke of the Last Supper. Jesus surprised His Disciples in saying, "This is my body broken for you." Jesus put His own body and blood in the place of the Passover lamb and asked them to "Do this in memory of me." The Eucharist is the center of the life of the Church, God with us, Emmanuel.
He mentioned opportunities provided by the Congress. Among these is the opportunity to learn how to adore Christ in the Eucharist. Like the peasant mentioned by St. Jean Vianney, he said, it is nothing special: "I look at Him, and He looks at me." Begin to look at God, and think about God looking at you. He also mentioned the opportunity to get to know others at the Congress. The Congress helps us to understand the Eucharist as a sacrifice and gift of bread broken for the life of the world. In the Eucharist, the Lord of life remains with us as "the gift of the Father for the life of the world." Cardinal Tomko concluded, "Lord, remain with us for night is falling!" (Luke 24:29).
Friday, 6/20/08:
Address by Cardinal Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, India:
Zenit has the full text of Cardinal Toppo's address, or you can download it from the Congress website here:
Cardinal Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, India, provided the day's catechesis. The theme for Friday's events is the Eucharist and Missions. He mentioned the importance of the Eucharist in the lives of missionaries, including Bl. Teresa of Calcutta in India and Bl. Charles de Foucauld in northern Africa.
He discussed three characteristics of today’s world that impact mission: socio-economic disparity, religious pluralism, and the diversity of cultures. In global socio-economic disparity, in which two-thirds of the world's poorest people live in Asia (60% living on $2 a day or less), he spoke about a need for personal fulfillment and the realization of the values of justice and truth; a strongly felt need to build a more just order; and a great need for communion with fellow human beings. In a world of striking growth of the world's religions, he discussed a need for dialogue. Amid a diversity of cultures, the Church tries to eliminate discrimination. The Eucharistic experience enables the Church to see the presence of God, and facilitates the building of a community in which rivalry and discrimination has no place.
He said that the Early Church fathers placed great stress on communion and on its social dimension. The Vatican II Council taught the role of the Eucharistic celebration in building up community. The changes brought by Vatican II, he said, highlight how the Church’s mission is nurtured by the Eucharist. Christian mission consists in communicating God’s love to all peoples so that all can be gathered into one family, so that all can share in the life of God. Through it, Jesus continues his mission in the Church. He described the basic characteristics of the Christian missionary as, first and foremost, a witness of Christ, who has experienced what he proclaims. He said that the Eucharist is the source of this witnessing power, which makes us capable of proclaiming it, including the social dimension of that message.
José H. Prado Flores (known as "Pepe Prado"), Director/Founder of the School of Evangelization San Andres, gave the day's testimony on the topic of the Word of God. His website has information in Spanish about his work. I have not yet found a transcript of the text. The ECDQ Blogue has an article calling it captivating (French). Delivered without notes, his presentation impressed by the simplicity and conviction of his words. Comparing his conversion to the Emmaeus Road experience, he said that the Lord made his heart burn by the fire of His Word.
Also according to the ECDQ Blogue, in a surprise move at the end of today's Mass, Cardinal Ouellet called upon 130 young people who had served the Congress, asking if they wanted to act as missionaries of the Gospel after the Congress. He then addressed the entire assembly in Spanish, English and French, asking whether they would support the youth in that Eucharistic mission. All answered with enthusiastic support.
Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, S.D.B., Bishop of Hong Kong, delivered the homily at the day's Mass. Some may remember that Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun wrote the meditations for this year's Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome. In his homily, Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun said that a truly Eucharistic Church is necessarily a missionary Church. The Eucharist is "of the faithful but for the world." He said the Eucharist builds the Church and reminds us of the universal salvation. It establishes the new and eternal covenant between God and the human family. He said that God has His ways to save everyone, but the most common way is that those who have received the faith should be the instruments of its transmission. He mentioned the recent tragedies in China and Myanmar, saying that Jesus was there in the darkness, pain and despair, with each of the victims and in them, making them worthy of completing what was lacking in His sufferings. In conclusion, he said that while we give faith for the gift of faith, we accept the invitation of the Lord to be messengers of His boundless love.
Thursday, 6/19/08:
Bishop Louis Antonio G. Tagle's Address:
Bishop Louis Antonio G. Tagle, Bishop of Imus, the Philippines, spoke at this morning's catechesis. The full text of his address can be found online at Zenit or downloaded in .pdf format from the official website in English at this link:
Coletta has a photo of Bishop Tagle and links to more information about him at Immaculatae.
Bishop Tagle spoke about two elements of living the Eucharist, which he called "spiritual worship" and "authentic adoration." He spoke from the Epistle to the Hebrews in discussing Jesus' sacrifice of his body and blood as an act of worship in reverent submission to the Father, and as an act of solidarity with weak humanity in his priestly service. In baptism, he said, we share in Jesus' sacrifice of obedience to the Father in solidarity with sinners. The Church, he said, must constantly examine its fidelity to Jesus' sacrifice of obedience to God and compassion for the poor. He encouraged people to avoid the blindness caused by self-righteousness, spiritual pride and rigidity of mind.
Regarding adoration, Bishop Tagle said, "Worship is so intimately related to adoration that they could be considered as one." He also said, "Adoration connotes being present, resting, and beholding. In adoration, we are present to Jesus whose sacrifice is ever present to us. Abiding in him, we are assimilated more deeply into his self-giving." Speaking of the poor and the oppressed in many parts of the world, he said that he wished that Eucharistic adoration would "lead us to know Jesus more as the compassionate companion of many crucified peoples of today." Concluding, he said, "Let us adore him for ourselves, for the poor, for the earth, for the Church and for the life of the world."
Ms. Elizabeth Nguyen Thi Thu Hong gave the day's testimony. She is the youngest sister of the late Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân of Viet Nam. Arrested in 1975 after the Communist takeover of South Vietnam, he was imprisoned for 13 years, of which 9 years were spent in solitary confinement. After his release, he was expelled from Viet Nam in 1991. He was made a cardinal in 2001 and died of stomach cancer in 2002. On September 15, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI opened his cause for beatification. Zenit has the text of his sister's address (English).
Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, delivered the homily at Mass, which can be downloaded here:
Cardinal Rigali said that in the Eucharist, we worship God in spirit and truth. He quoted St. John's Gospel 14:28,31 ("The world must know that I love the Father and do what the Father has commanded me. Come, then, let us be on our way"), and said that Jesus died motivated by great love for the Father. The Eucharist, he said, is above all the mystery of Christ's love for the Father. To understand the Eucharist proclaimed at the Last Supper and enacted in immolation at Calvary, we must go back to the Blessed Trinity. The Father's love in sending His Son to redeem the world explains much about the Eucharist. The Eucharist flows from the love of the Son of God for the Father, in response to the love of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Calvary is the Trinitarian response to sin. The Father's response of love is the Resurrection. The sacrifice of Christ's love becomes, by God's design in the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the Church. We are sent out from the Eucharist to contribute to the building up of the Body of Christ, and we return in Eucharistic adoration. The Eucharist is the center of our life because Jesus is the center of our life. So, he said, Eucharistic adoration is a powerful incentive to service to those in need. In the Eucharist, we live Christ's life and fulfill His words to worship the Father "in spirit and in truth."
The Procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the Streets of Quebec City began at 7:00 p.m., broadcast live on ECDQ - French. The video is one of three videos of the procession available online.
Wednesday, 6/18/08:
Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio's Address:
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Primate of Argentina, spoke at this morning's catechesis. The full text of his address in Spanish can be downloaded in .pdf format from the official website at this link:
Wednesday's theme for all of the speakers is, "The Eucharist Builds up the Church, the Sacrament of Salvation." Archbishop Bergoglio drew from the writing of Pope John Paul II, emphasizing the role of Mary in the Eucharist. He spoke of mysteries of the New Covenant in the Eucharist. He particularly considered the mysteries of Mary as a model for the Church, at whose feet we should learn.
In discussing practical consequences, he encouraged people to pray for the grace of receiving the Eucharist as Mary received the Word, feeling that it is Our Lady who is entrusting the sacrament to us; to ask for the grace to anticipate the Eucharist, the grace of believing, placing all of our hope in the sign of salvation that we receive during the Eucharist to be able to conform our lives to what we have received. In Ecclesial life, he said, Mary and the Church are both transformed by the One who chose to dwell in them as the new wineskins. She is the first Eucharistic image. The Church is sanctified and sanctifying because of the covenant the Lord has made with her. Even if we break our covenant with the Lord at the individual level, the Church is the place where the covenant remains intact, and we can recover it through reconciliation. Any reform that we are trying to accomplish must be born out of contemplation of the love for the Church that maintains the covenant with her Lord. The assurance of the Church's sanctity is not a question of personal or social privilege, but it is ordained for service. The Eucharist is not one more gift among others, but the total gift of love. The mystery of the covenant that makes the whole Church holy is a mystery of service and a mystery of life.
There was no witness speaker today, as the Mass began earlier than usual as an Eastern Rite Mass. Archbishop Lawrence Huculac of Winnipeg for Ukrainian Catholics gave the homily. Zenit has a transcript (English). He said that "in this celebration of the Divine Liturgy we experience the great
diversity that constitutes the People of God. But, as we heard in the
letter to the Ephesians, we are united in one faith, one baptism, one
God and Father of us all."
Vatican Radio has an audio interview with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec.
Tuesday, 6/17/08:
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin's address:
Cardinal Barbarin gave the day's catechesis. Zenit has an article in English about his address. Having not found an official English translation of his catechesis, I have translated it in order to provide the full text in English translation (link fixed from the original erroneous link). The French original text of Cardinal Barbarin's address is available on the Archdiocese of Lyon
website.
Cardinal Barbarin is my favorite cardinal, now that Cardinal Ratzinger is the Pope. If you can read French, there is much from him on the Archdiocese of Lyon website.
He discussed the concept of "memory" involved when Jesus said, "Do this in memory of me," drawing from the Jewish concept of memory in the Old Testament and the Talmud.
He spoke of what a sacrifice is. It can entail both joy and suffering. Jesus offered himself because he chose to do so. This love offering has the distinctive quality of freedom.
He said that the concepts of communion, sacrifice and presence sum up our faith. It is Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. The Resurrection is the base of our assurance, which strikes the Apostles all through the Acts of the Apostles. We have the grace of faith that God’s mercy will always triumph, so we are ready to sacrifice everything to follow Christ.
He said that we are united to Christ’s sacrifice. Starting with the priest, when he pronounces the institution, he speaks in the words of Christ but he also offers his entire life. "This is my body broken for you." He is committed to celibacy, and it requires a lot of strength. He spoke of how those words are also felt by a married couple, a pregnant woman, young people who do not yet know their vocation, the disabled, widows and widowers, and the abandoned.
He also remembered the martyrs in Algeria, saying that such love can lead to an extreme. In his address as given, he also mentioned the Sudan, and those who carry
a cardinal’s ring knowing that their lives everyday are a testimony given to
Christ. In his prepared text, he spoke specifically about those martyred in Algeria in 1996.
He said that we can put the words of the Last Supper in
parallel with Jesus' words when He said, "As the father sent me, so I send
you." The verbs "to love"
and "to send" are interchangeable in these sentences. What we learn from the life of Christ, from
the Eucharist, is that our mission is to love.
Father Nicholas Buttet also gave an address today about his experience with Christ in the Eucharist. There is a post about it on the ECDQ TV blog (French). Father Buttet is founder of the Fraternité Eucharistein, a community based upon the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and adoration of the Holy Sacrament. He spoke, with some humor, about conversions, especially conversions of youth, related to the Eucharist. His community's message is one of encountering Christ in the Eucharist and in Eucharistic adoration. Zenit has an interview with Father Buttet. Part I was published today here (English translation).
Zenit has an article about the homily by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz,
Archbishop of Krakow, during this morning's Mass. Cardinal Dziwisz
called upon people to dive deep into the mystery of the Eucharist. He
spoke about the meaning of the Eucharist in "memory" of Christ and
about the essential importance of humility before the Sacrament,
saying, "Humility before the mystery means a
simple and profound faith, knowing that for God the bread and wine, the
Body and Blood are sufficient to ransom the whole world."
Monday, 6/16/08:
Archbishop Donald Wuerl's address:
Archbishop Donald Wuerl of the Diocese of Washington delivered this morning's address. A complete transcript of his address is available from Zenit.
Abp. Wuerl spoke of the Eucharist viewed in context of the Old Testament Passover. While the Last Supper follows on that sacred ritual, he said, we do not reflect on history in the Eucharist; we live history in the Eucharist. Here we encounter Christ in the moment of His death and resurrection.
He said that each of us brings our identity, our heritage, our commitment to Christ. In His Church, in the Spirit, united in the Eucharist, all of that becomes one. Each of us in our particularity speaks to a pluralism that is part of the human condition. Yet, to our faith, united as one people in one Church, we are His new people who have passed through the mystery of death and sin into the promise of liberation, freedom and new life because we see with the eyes of faith. Flowing from the Eucharist is not just the remembrance of his death and resurrection, but the strength to be a whole new creation, alive in the Holy Spirit, with a message to bring to the world, because this is Christ’s vision and we are His people. Each of us is called to be an active agent in spreading that faith. With joy and gratitude, we can proclaim Christ has died, Christ is risen , and Christ will come again.
Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia also spoke today. Zenit has an article and also the full text of his address. Cardinal Rigali spoke about devotion to the Eucharist in North America.
Jean Vanier, founder of the L'Arche Communities, also spoke. L'Arche Communities work with mentally disabled people in 34 countries. La-Croix (French) has an article about the Congress that mentions Vanier's presentation. In his address, he encouraged people to discover God as a vulnerable God who knocks on the door of our hearts, not forcing the door open, but waiting. Nearing his 80th year, he said that he hoped people would live to be that old so that they would discover their need for others. Zenit - French has a transcript of his testimony (French).
Sunday, 6/15/08:
Here is a video of Jozef Cardinal Tomko's homily at the Opening Mass:
Zenit has an article about Cardinal Tomko's homily.
Here are a few quick links to watch online:
EWTN's special broadcast schedule includes live and re-broadcasts of key events. Watch or listen live online.
ECDQ TV Live Online: This is the English-language online live broadcast of Canadian Catholic ECDQ TV. This page is providing an English translation for the French speakers.
ECDQ Broadcast Schedule for the Congress. The morning addresses may be of particular interest, with exceptional speakers. Those will be at 9:05 a.m. each morning Eastern Time, 6:05 a.m. Pacific Time. The scheduled speakers are:
The Eucharist will be broadcast Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. On Wednesday, the Eucharist will be at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, 7:30 a.m. Pacific, and will be the Eastern rite. On Thursday, June 19, the 11:00 a.m. time will go to a penitential rite and the sacrament of reconciliation. Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, there will be a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Quebec City.
Next Sunday's Mass, June 22, will be the Statio Orbis Mass. The Holy Father will deliver the homily by video connection.
_________
Posted 6/14/08:
The 49th International Eucharistic Congress will begin tomorrow in Quebec. It will run from June 15 to 22. The official website has the program for the week, a video page in English, and another video page in French. They do not have all of the same videos. Some of the videos available include the entire presentation made by some of the speakers, as well as interviews with them that were not broadcast on TV.
The French language blog "le blog de l'arche" has been updated much more recently. ECDQ TV also has a French-language blog which will probably have updates about the Congress. ECDQ also has pages of photo albums online.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley has photos and comments about his experience at the Congress at Cardinal Sean's Blog. His address at the pre-congress Eucharistic Symposium was published in the Boston Pilot.
ECDQ (French Canadian Catholic TV) will have online special broadcasts. To watch the special broadcasts of the congress live online on ECDQ, go here. There is a special broadcast schedule page, which I think will have links to videos on demand from the Congress the day after each live broadcast.
On 7/3/08, Zenit had an article about Cardinal Ouellet's assessment of the success of the Congress. That article also contains some statistics about attendance. More than 11,000 people registered as pilgrims. The average daily attendance was 12,500 people, of whom 68% were Canadian. About 20,000 people visited the Congress website each day.
An estimated 60,000 people attended the statio orbis Mass on the last day of the Congress, according to reports including that of Whispers in the Loggia.
Here are a few key Vatican documents on the Eucharist:
In his words before the midday Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI spoke from the Gospel reading for today's Mass, including Matthew 10:26: "Be not afraid." He spoke about the difference between fearing God and fearing man. He described forms of fear that we experience since childhood, which should be "faced and overcome with human effort and with trust in God." However, one who fears God will not be afraid, and fear of God coincides with faith in Him. He said, "He who fears God is tranquil even in the midst of tempests, because
God, as Jesus has revealed to us, is the Father full of mercy and
goodness."
The U.K.'s Telegraph today published an obituary for Henry Chadwick, the prolific Anglican historian of the Early Church. The Telegraph describes him as "a man sympathetic to, and very well acquainted with, the Roman Catholic Church; a traditionalist who appeared to adhere to no particular group within Anglicanism; and an advocate of ecumenism whose actual sympathies lay tantalisingly beyond sight."
His extensive works on patristics and Church History include works accessible and understandable to undergraduates and those with no formal education in the subject, yet respected by academics of the highest level for his historical expertise. Few English-speaking people -- whether Catholic, Anglican, Protestant or Orthodox -- have learned Early Church history in the past few decades without being influenced by his work. These are some of his books:
In today's General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of St. Isidore of Seville from the early seventh century. Asia News has an article. The Vatican Press Office has the original Italian text with summaries in several languages. The full text in English translation is available at Zenit and Papa Ratzinger Forum.
The Holy Father spoke of St. Isidore's fusion of the active and contemplative life, saying that this "is the summary of a life that sought contemplation of God,
dialogue with God in prayer and the reading of Holy Scripture, and action in
the service of the human community" and "the
lesson that the great bishop of Seville leaves to us, Christians of today who
are called to bear witness to Christ at the beginning of a new millennium."
Here is the English language summary from the Vatican Press Office:
"In today’s catechesis we turn to Saint Isidore of Seville, the brother of
Saint Leander and a contemporary and friend of Saint Gregory the Great. Isidore
lived during the Visigothic invasions of Spain, and he devoted much energy to
converting the barbarian tribes from heresy and preserving the best fruits of
classical and Christian culture. His encyclopedic, albeit somewhat eclectic,
learning is reflected in his many writings, including the Etymologies,
which were widely read throughout the Middle Ages. Isidore worked to bring the
richness of pagan, Jewish and Christian learning to the rapidly changing
political, social and religious situations in which he lived. Throughout his
life, he was torn between his devotion to study and contemplation, and the
demands made by his responsibilities as a Bishop, especially towards the poor
and those in need. He found his model in Christ, who joined both the active and
contemplative life, and sought to "love God in contemplation and one’s
neighbour in action" (Differentiarum Liber, 135). This is a lesson
which is as valid today as it was in the life of the great Bishop of Seville."
I mentioned last week that one of my two cats died. My other cat's behavior has been interesting to watch. Some people say that cats can grieve deeply the loss of a fellow cat, while others consider that to be anthropomorphism. We can't know completely what an animal is feeling, but she did something this week-end that might have been a sign. I will let the reader decide.
Matty Bear, the one that died, played with his toys every day, and he had a lot of them. Some time last week, I gathered them into a pile of about 15 kitty toys to see which ones his sister would play with. She didn't touch them. On Saturday or Sunday, I went through the pile, through away the 3 rattiest looking ones, and put some of the others away so that I can pull them back out when I have 2 cats again.
Muffin doesn't play with them the way Matty did, but she sometimes "arranges" them. At first, I thought somebody was playing a trick on me when I would come home in the evening and find a line of toys set out at equal distances from each other, and once even in a circle. A couple of times, she has piled them together by color, all the red ones in one pile and all the blue ones in another. One of the more common configurations I have come home to find is the mousie snuggle, with two toy mice either nose to nose as if kissing, or tummy to tummy the way two cats curl up together in the top of a kitty tree. I am never sure how conscious or intentional her arrangements are.
Late last week, I went through old photos of my cat who died and put some of them on the mantle of my living room fireplace, together with Matty Bear's newest favorite toy, a brown mousie (toy #1 in the photo below). She looked closely at a couple of photos that showed the two of them together several years ago, but of course I do not know whether she understood what the photos were. This week-end, when I piled up the toys, I took the toy from the mantle and placed it in the pile of toys.
On Sunday, I noticed that a couple of the toys had finally been moved. Two of them were a couple of feet away from the others. At first, I thought those were toys she had played with, which would mean I would probably keep those out for her. Then I noticed that those two were the oldest one and one that I had never seen her play with before. So then I wondered if she had noticed that I had thrown a few old toys in the trash, and maybe this was her effort to pull out a couple of rejects of her own choosing.
Then I noticed a pattern in the remaining toys. I numbered them here to explain what happened. The #1 toy is the brown mousie that had been on the mantle in my own little memorial to Matty Bear. The #2 toy is smaller, just as Muffin was about half Matty's size, and the two toys are in the "kissing" position that I have seen her set toys in before. Looking closely, the #2 toy actually seems to be kissing the #1 toy on the head.
Then I noticed the other toys were in a row (#3 through 6) with the two smallest in the middle and the two larger ones on the outside, spaced about equally apart underneath the two "kissing" mousies. I didn't know if she had done it on purpose, with the brown mousie representing her brother who had died and the smaller white mousie representing herself. But it looked sweet.
At that time, the yellow and red chick (toy #7) and the red ball (toy #8) were not there. I later found the chick in my bedroom, and I put it where it is. Soon afterward, Muffin took the red ball (toy #8), which had been one of the two toys left out of the configuration, and she placed it where it is now. The only other thing I did to it afterward was to turn the direction of the two outer toys (#3 and #6) so that they were facing the two "kissing" mousies. Before then, they were facing more or less straight ahead rather than facing the other toys.
So how much of the pattern was just Muffin making another geometric pattern with a bunch of kitty toys, and how much of it was really a conscious tribute to her lost fellow cat? I have no way of knowing. But I think she may have understood that the photos on the mantle were a way of remembering her brother who is gone, and she may have wanted to do her own tribute.
It wouldn't surprise me. She is half snowshoe, a breed that has been called "almost too intelligent." They have been known to figure out how to open the refrigerator door and help themselves. I have never had that problem, but I have seen her copy my decorating before. One Christmas, I came home every day to find ornaments taken off of the Christmas tree, and there was almost always one by the cats' food dishes. Finally, I took a small ornament and tied it to the cats' food bowls with a red bow. That significantly reduced the number of ornaments missing from the tree each day. Somehow, she had seen that everything else was being decorated, and she had been decorating her dinner bowl.
So it wouldn't surprise me now if the pattern that looks like a tribute to her brother really is exactly that. But there is no way to know really. I thought I would post it for those cat lovers who might, like me, think it just might be a cat's tribute to a well loved fellow cat who died.
Two years ago, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec, provided a prayer to help the people of his diocese prepare spiritually for the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress that began today. Someone posted the prayer on the French language blog of ECDQ TV this past Monday. I don't know if there is an official English translation, but I did not find one in a quick google search. So here is the prayer in my own translation for anyone who may like to have the prepared prayer for use during the Congress:
God our Father, we bless you and give you thanks for your Son Jesus, the gift of your love for the life of the world.
Look upon your Church that celebrates the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in joy and hope.
Renew our faith in the Holy Eucharist, The memorial of Your Son’s death and resurrection.
That Your Holy Spirit may give us His light and His power so that we shall be faithful witnesses to the Gospel.
Nourish us with your Word and your Bread of life so that together with Mary, the mother of your divine Son and of the Church we shall bear much fruit for the salvation of the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Today, the Holy Father is on an Apostolic Journey to the city of Brindisi, Italy. The Vatican Press Office has the Italian text of his words before the midday Angelus prayer. His outdoor Mass at the Port of Brindisi is being televised on EWTN. Asia News has an article about the visit. There are more articles and photos at Papa Ratzinger Forum. The Vatican page on the journey presently has the texts of the Holy Father's addresses and homilies in Italian. Eventually, the official translations into various languages, including English, will be accessible on that page. Zenit has a full translation of the Holy Father's words before the Angelus.
In his words before the Angelus, he said that he wanted to renew the Christian message of peace and cooperation among all peoples, referring to the symbolic meaning that he saw in the Port of Brindisi:
Every port speaks of welcome, of shelter,
of safety; it speaks of the landing point desired after a journey,
possibly a long and difficult one. But it also speaks of departure, of
projects and aspirations, of the future.
At the Mass on the Port of Brindisi, the Holy Father delivered a homily drawing from today's readings for Mass. The first reading, Exodus 19:2-61, he said re-evokes the covenant that God made with Israel on Mt. Sinai. The Gospel gives the call of the 12 Apostles.
The following is a summary of the homily. When full translations become available online, I will then add links to the full text in English translation and shorten or delete the following summary:
He said that the pact on Mt. Sinai is one of the great moments in history, in which the boundary between Old and New Testaments disappears, and God's perennial design is manifest: a design to save people. The people is called to become a holy nation, not just in the moral sense but in its very ontological reality, in its being as a people. When Jesus called the apostles, he placed the 12 at the center of the new community, making it understood that he had come to bring fulfillment to the Father's design. The style of Jesus is the characteristic style of God who loves to do great things in a poor and humble way.
The covenant of Sinai is accompanied by cosmic signs that astound the Israelites. The beginnings of the Church in Galilee reflect the mildness and compassion of Christ's heart, but they presage another battle, which is that stirred up by the forces of evil. He gave the 12 the power to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of infirmity. Substantially, the Church is called to go out and establish the kingdom of life and to undo the dominion of death.
God's plan is to spread over humanity and the whole cosmos his generating love of life. It is a project that the Lord wants to actuate with respect for our freedom, because love cannot impose itself.
He said that the Church's holiness and missionary character are two sides of the same coin. Holiness always exists for others and, in this way, it is a force for transformation. The 12 Apostles were not perfect men, chosen for their absolute moral probity and religious uprightness. Jesus did not call them because they were already holy, but so that they could become so.
The Church is a community of sinners who believe in God's love and let themselves be transformed by Him. They become holy and, in this way, they transform the world. The Gospel suggests to us the style of the mission, the interior attitude that translates itself into life that is lived fully. It can only be the attitude of Jesus, His style of compassion, as he gazed on the fold and felt compassion because the people were tired and worn out like sheep without a shepherd. After the call of the 12, he commanded them to go first to the lost of the tribe of Israel, and we feel His love for the people, especially for the weak and the poor.
