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January 17, 2009 - Saturday in the First Week of Ordinary Time     LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION: "Many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus" UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S): Holy See on Israeli Action SAINT OF THE DAY St. Anthony of Egypt  GENERAL MARIOLOGY Marian Devotion, the Rosary, and the Scapular Introduction DIVINE MERCY On Trust You are the God of Mercy  TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION: «The family, teacher in human and Christian values»

DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION

Saturday (1/17): "Many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus" Scripture: Mark 2:13-17 13 He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Meditation: What draws us to the throne of God's mercy and grace? Mark tells us that many people were drawn to Jesus, including the unwanted and the unlovable, such as the lame, the blind, and the lepers, as well as the homeless such as widows and orphans. But public sinners, like the town prostitutes and corrupt tax collectors, were also drawn to Jesus. In calling Matthew to be one of his disciples, Jesus picked one of the unlikeliest of men – a tax collector who by profession was despised by the people.Why did the religious leaders find fault with Jesus for making friends with sinners and tax collectors like Matthew? The orthodox Jews had a habit of dividing everyone into two groups: those who rigidly kept the law and its minute regulations and those who did not. They latter were treated like second class citizens. The orthodox scrupulously avoided their company, refused to do business with them, refused to give or receive anything from them, refused to intermarry, and avoided any form of entertainment with them, including table fellowship. Jesus' association with the latter, especially with tax collectors and sinners, shocked the sensibilities of these orthodox Jews. When the Pharisees challenged his unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defence was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to visit healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick.  Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life.The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed care. Their religion was selfish because they didn't want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came  not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Lord fills us with his grace and mercy. And he wants us, in turn,  to seek the good of our neighbors, including the unlikeable and the trouble-maker by showing them the same kindness and mercy which we have received. Do you thank the Lord for the great kindness and mercy he has shown to you? "Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself."  (Prayer of Augustine, 4th century) Psalm 21:2-7 2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withheld the request of his lips. [Selah] 3 For thou dost meet him with goodly blessings; thou dost set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4 He asked life of thee; thou gavest it to him, length of days for ever and ever. 5 His glory is great through thy help; splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him. 6 Yea, thou dost make him most blessed for ever; thou dost make him glad with the joy of thy presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD; and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.   RETURN TO TOP

UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS

Holy See on Israeli Action "Failed Efforts Are Due to Insufficiently Courageous and Coherent Political Will"   NEW YORK, JAN. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered today at the U.N. General Assembly 10th emergency special session on "Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory." * * * Mr. President, At the very outset of this tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly on the dramatic situation in Gaza and some Israeli cities, my Delegation would like to express its solidarity with the civilians in those regions who bear the brunt of a cruel conflict. My delegation takes this opportunity to wish the Secretary-General well in his mission to step up the pace of the joint diplomatic efforts and ensure that urgent humanitarian assistance reaches those in need. The Holy See asks that Security Council resolution 1860, of January 8, which calls for an immediate and enduring ceasefire as well as for an unimpeded humanitarian assistance, be implemented fully. In the past few days we have witnessed a practical failure from all sides to respect the distinction of civilians from military targets. Within the context of this resolution, we call on all parties to fully abide by the requirements of international humanitarian law, in order to ensure the protection of the civilians. The troubled history of some sixty years of coexistence of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples has witnessed a long succession of conflict, but also of dialogue, including the Madrid meetings, the Oslo Accords, the Wye Memorandum, the peace process of the Quartet, the road map and the Annapolis Conference with their two state solution. Unfortunately, however, the many efforts to establish peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples have so far failed. My Delegation observes that so many failed efforts are due to insufficiently courageous and coherent political will for establishing peace, from every side, and ultimately an unwillingness to come together and forge a just and lasting peace. The United Nations has the weighty task to get the parties to respect the ceasefire, pave the way to negotiations and agreements between them and ensure humanitarian assistance. In particular, this General Assembly can assist the parties in the conflict to discover new patterns for establishing peace, patterns based on mutual acceptance and cooperation amid diversity. Thank you, Mr. President.   RETURN TO TOP

DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT

January 17, 2009 St. Anthony of Egypt (251-356)   The life of Anthony will remind many people of St. Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares, and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial, and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance. At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again like Francis, he had great fear of “stately buildings and well-laden tables.” At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he was fighting the Arian heresy, that massive trauma from which it took the Church centuries to recover. “The mule kicking over the altar” denied the divinity of Christ. Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross, a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for “the book of nature” over the printed word. Anthony died in solitude at 105. Comment: In an age that smiles at the notion of devils and angels, a person known for having power over evil spirits must at least make us pause. And in a day when people speak of life as a “rat race,” one who devotes a whole life to solitude and prayer points to an essential of the Christian life in all ages. Anthony’s hermit life reminds us of the absoluteness of our break with sin and the totality of our commitment to Christ. Even in God’s good world, there is another world whose false values constantly tempt us. RETURN TO TOP

GENERAL MARIOLOGY

Marian Devotion, the Rosary, and the Scapular   By Fr. Etienne Richer     The following article is an excerpt from a chapter in the recently published Marian anthology, Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, Seat of Wisdom Books, A Division of Queenship, 2008. Fifteen international Mariology experts contributed to the text. The book features a foreword by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and has 17 chapters divided into four parts: 1. Mary in Scripture and the Early Church; 2. Marian Dogma; 3. Marian Doctrine; and 4. Marian Liturgy and Devotion. The book is now available from Queenship Publications. To obtain a copy, visit queenship.org. Visit books.google.com and search on "Mariology: A Guide" to view the book in its entirety, or simply click here. Asst. Ed. Introduction Veneration of the Mother of the Lord, which is an integral part of Christian worship, is manifested in an eminent manner in the celebration of the Church’s liturgy, but also by means of other forms of devotion, which are valuable auxiliary practices that harmonize with the liturgy but without becoming confused with it. These are precisely the other forms of Marian devotion—most specifically those of the Rosary and the scapular—which will be dealt with in the present chapter, but not without having first carefully laid the doctrinal foundation, that is to say the profound roots of all authentic veneration of Mary, liturgical or not, in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. The liturgy, which is the "summit and source of the Church’s life" (SC 10), according to the teaching of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, "does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church" (SC 9) and consequently "the spiritual life is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy" (SC 12). Such truths are particularly reflected in the Marian dimension of the Christian life and in the various modes of expression of the piety of the faithful towards the Blessed Virgin Mary. That is why chapter 8 of the Constitution Lumen Gentium not only admonishes "all the sons of the Church that the cultus, especially the liturgical cultus, of the Blessed Virgin, be generously fostered" (LG 67) (1), but also "that the practices and exercises of devotion towards her, recommended by the teaching authority of the Church in the course of the centuries be highly esteemed" (LG 67). By the same token, the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2002) exhorts all the faithful—sacred ministers, religious and laity—to develop a personal and community devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the use of approved and recommended pious exercises. Liturgical worship, notwithstanding its objective and irreplaceable importance, its exemplary efficacy and normative character, does not in fact exhaust all the expressive possibilities of the People of God for devotion to the Holy Mother of God (2). Veneration of the Mother of God is at the same time indissociably ecclesial and personal since it is both liturgical and popular, integrating the sacramental life and devotion. Since "Popular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is an important and universal ecclesial phenomenon" (Directory 183), it is important that pastors and future pastors of the Church should be instructed in this matter as much by study as by their own lived experience. The People of God expect that their pastors should be credible teachers of an authentic Marian devotion which, as the Constitution Lumen Gentium says, "consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognize the eminent dignity of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love towards our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues" (LG 67). The pastoral practice of true devotion to Mary, in its triple dimension of veneration, invocation and imitation, must then be rooted on solid theological foundations and offer a pedagogy which is simultaneously progressive and universal, in order to respond to the thirst of the faithful with regard to doctrine, to experience and to a mystagogy oriented to the knowledge of the love of Jesus in Mary which surpasses all knowledge. In this perspective the pages that follow would like to propose with clarity and modesty a brief testament complementary to the other chapters of this anthology which deal with the liturgy and Marian consecration. After a synthetic exposition on the Gospel origins, then on the nature and the "necessity" of Marian devotion, we will briefly present the astonishingly rich relationship of canon law on this matter, before offering specific indications on the prayer of the Rosary and the scapular devotion. In conclusion, we will underline the importance of situating "true devotion to Mary" and the various modes of its expression in a dynamic of spiritual growth which promotes the contemplative discovery of the mystery of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of all men.  (to be continued)  RETURN TO TOP

DIVINE MERCY

Dairy from St. Faustina On Trust You are the God of Mercy Although my misery is great, and my offenses are many, I trust in Your mercy, because You are the God of mercy; and, from time immemorial, it has never been heard of, nor do heaven or earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your mercy has been disappointed (Diary, 1730). When I received Jesus, I threw myself into Him as into an abyss of unfathomable mercy. And the more I felt I was misery itself, the stronger grew my trust in Him (Diary, 1817). RETURN TO TOP

CATHOLIC  TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY PREPARATORY CATECHESIS FOR THE SIXTH WORLD ENCOUNTER OF FAMILIES (Mexico, D.F., 16-18 January 2009) «The family, teacher in human and Christian values»   INDEX The family, open to God and fellow men The family, former of the strict moral conscience The family, first experience of Church   Fifth Catechesis The family, open to God and fellow men Opening hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible Reading: Ep 5, 25-33 Reading the Teachings of the Church 1. Man is made in the image and likeness of God, to live and be with Him. Atheism, agnosticism and religious indifference are not natural situations for man and they cannot be definitive situations for a society. Men are in essence re-tied to God, just as a house is tied to the architect that built it. The painful consequences of our sins may darken this horizon, but sooner or later, we will yearn for the house and the love of our Father in Heaven. We experience something like the parable of the prodigal child who did not stop being a child when he left his father’s home, and despite his waywardness, in the end, he felt an irresistible yearning to return. Indeed, all men always feel a longing for God and they have the same experience as St. Augustine, even if they are not capable of expressing it with the same strength and beauty as he did: “Lord you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find peace in you.” (Confessions, 1,1). 2. Aware of this reality, the Christian family places God on the horizon of the life of their children as from the first moments of their conscious existence. It is an environment that they breathe and incorporate. This helps them discover and receive God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Church. With full coherence, and from the moment of their birth, the parents ask the Church for their Baptism and they joyfully take their children to receive the baptismal waters. They then accompany them in preparing for the First Communion and Confirmation and enroll them in the parish catechism classes and look for the school that gives them the best Catholic education. 3. Nevertheless, the true Christian education of children is not limited to including God among the important things of their children’s lives, but to put God in the center of this life, so that all the other activities and realities: intelligence, feelings, freedom, work, rest, pain, illness, allergies, material possessions, culture; in a nutshell: everything is molded and ruled by the love to God. Children have to get accustomed to wondering before each action: “what would God want me to do or not do right now?” Jesus Christ confirmed the faith and conviction of the adherents of the Old Covenant about what they considered the "great commandment", when He responded to the doctor of Law that “The first commandment is this: thou shalt love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and all your strength.” (Mk 12,28; Lk 10,25; Mt 22,36). 4. This education in the centrality of the love to God is given by the parents, especially through the realities of daily life: family prayers at meals, teaching children to be grateful to God for the gifts received, turning to Him at all times of pain in any of its forms, participating in Sunday mass with them, accompanying them to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, etc. 5. The Law doctor’s question only included “what is the first commandment”. But when Jesus answered, he added: the second is similar to this “love thy neighbor as thyself”. Then love for thy neighbor is "His commandment" and the “hallmark” of His disciples. As St. John concluded with fine psychology: “If you don’t love your neighbor who you can see, how much will you love God who we can't see?” (1 Jn 4,20). 6. Parents must help their children discover fellow people, their neighbor, especially the needy, and to render small but constant services: share their toys and gifts with their brothers and sisters, help the smaller ones, give alms to the poor in the street, visit sick relatives, accompany grandparents and do small services for them, accept people by overlooking the small offences and limitations of every day, etc. These things, repeated once and again, shape the mentality and create good habits, to face the life of the “prejudice” acquired from the love of others and thus make them capable of creating a new society. Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn Sixth Catechesis The family, molder of the strict moral conscience Opening hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible reading: Ep 6, 1-17 Reading of the doctrine of the Church 7. Modern man is increasingly convinced that the dignity and vocation of human persons requires that, guided by the light of their intelligence, they should discover the values inscribed in their nature, develop them without stopping and realize them in life, and thus make more progress. Now, in their judgments about moral values, that is, about what is good or bad and consequently, about what must be done or omitted, they cannot proceed according to their personal judgments. Man, in the depths of his conscience, discovers the presence of a law that he does not set for himself and which he must obey. This law has been written by God in his heart, so that, in addition to striving for betterment as a person, this shall be the law by which God shall judge him personally. 8. Consequently, there is no true promotion of the dignity of man other than in the respect for the essential order of nature. Certainly, many concrete conditions and many needs of human life have changed and will continue to change. Nevertheless, all the evolution of customs and forms of life will have to stay within the limits imposed by the immutable principles founded on the constituent elements and on the essential relationships of human life; elements and relationships that go beyond historic contingencies. 9. These fundamental principles, understandable by reason, are contained in the divine, eternal, objective and universal law, by which God orders, rules and governs the world and the paths of the human community according to the plan of His wisdom and love. God makes man participate in His law, so that man can know more and more about the immutable truth. Additionally, Christ has made His Church as a column and fundament of the truth and He has given it the permanent assistance of the Holy Spirit to unequivocally conserve the truths of moral order and accurately interpret not only the positive revealed law but also the moral principles that emanate from human nature itself and which affect the development and perfection of man. 10. Many today maintain that the norm of particular human actions is not contained in human nature or in the revealed law, but that the only absolute and immutable law is respect for human dignity. Furthermore, philosophical and moral relativism deny the existence of an objective truth, both in terms of being and acting ethically. Each one would have their truth, given that individuals interpret things and behaviors according to their personal intelligence and conscience. Living together would drive us to a truth admitted by all, by virtue of consensus that allows us to live in peace. This is the fundament of the laws that emanate from democratic parliaments. The Church would have nothing to say and if it does, it would be straying to an area that does not correspond to it and this is dangerous for the democratic order. 11. The consequences are disastrous for the person, family and society. This explains the justification of abortion as a woman’s right, the attempts to legalize euthanasia, artificial birth control, increasingly permissive divorce laws, extra-marital relations, etc., etc. 12. The Christian family has the enormous challenge of forging the moral conscience of their children in truth and rectitude, while scrupulously respecting their dignity and freedom, and it thus helps them develop a sound conscience on the great questions of human life: adoration and respect for the God Creator and Savior, love for their parents, respect for life, their own bodies and the bodies of others, respect for material goods and honor of fellow man, fraternity among men, the universal destination of the goods of creation, non-discrimination for religious, social or economic reasons, etc. The precepts of the Decalogue and the Beatitudes are firm points of this teaching. 13. Today parents should confidently and courageously teach their children in these values, starting with the most radical of all: the existence of truth and the need to seek and follow it to fulfill themselves as persons. Other key values are love for justice and clear and delicate sexual education that leads to a personal treasuring of the body and to overcome the mentality and praxis that reduces it to an object of selfish pleasure. 14. A fundamental condition of this education is to foster in the children love for and harmony with the Church, and, more particularly, towards the Pope, bishops and priests; so that they see in them the concern of a good mother who loves them and only wants to help them live a decent and dignified life in this world and to enjoy the contemplation of God in glory. Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn Seventh Catechesis The family, first experience of Church Initial hymn Reciting the Lord’s Prayer Bible reading: Ac 2, 36-47 Reading of the Teachings of the Church 1. The Church – People of God, Mystical Body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit – is a universal sign and instrument of salvation through the triple ministry of evangelization, celebration and living with charity. Thanks to the evangelizing ministry, the Church proclaims the Great news that “God wants all men to be saved” (1 Ti 2,4) and that is why he sent his only Son to the world. Through the ministry of the sacraments of initiation, it incorporates new members, strengthens and nourishes them; through the healing sacraments it cures their sins and alleviates their illness; through the sacraments of Order and Marriage, it efficiently cares for itself and society. Through living with charity, it constructs the fraternity of the children of God and becomes ferment of human society. 2. The family is the first experience of the Church that a person receives, because in the family, a person receives a primary and elementary initiation in the faith, receives the first sacraments and has the first experience with charity. 3. Indeed, as soon as they are born, parents take their children to be baptized and they undertake to teach them so that they may receive Confirmation and the First Communion, and thus be initiated into the mystery of Christ and the Church. When they are barely able to understand something, the children are taught the first prayers, to bless the food, they use religious signs and they are initiated in the rudiments of love for the Virgin. When they are able to understand more, parents read the Word of God with them and explain it to them in a simple and reasonable way. At the time of assuming the responsibilities of their personal vocation: marriage, priesthood, a nunnery or celibacy in the midst of the world, parents give their children closeness and support. From the moment they are born, show them immense affection and constant dedication, especially when they are ill or have a deformation or physical and/or psychological deficiency. 4. A particularly intense Church family experience is when the parents and children participate in Sunday Mass. There, while meeting with other families and brothers and sisters in the faith, they hear the Word of God, pray for the needs of all the needy and feed of Christ who sacrificed for us. Faith grows and develops with these beautiful experiences that give meaning to ordinary life, infuse peace in the heart. 5. Special experiences of the Church in its apostolic dimension in some particular moments are also lived in family; e.g. Day of the Holy Infancy, World Sunday, Hunger Campaign, help for under-developed countries or countries struck by earthquakes, cyclones, major accidents, etc. Reflection by the preacher Dialogue Commitments Community prayer Prayer for the family Final hymn   RETURN TO TOP

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