ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - February 03, 2009
VATICAN DOSSIER Fasting Shouldn't Be Out of Style, Says Pope Lenten Initiative: A World Without Hunger Vatican Ties With Chief Rabbinate "Fluid" WORLD FEATURES Mexico Was Comforting, Says Vatican Official Bishops Weigh in on Holocaust-Denying Prelate NEWS BRIEFS Cardinal Bertone to Talk Human Rights in Spain Nuns Invited to Help Poor by Drinking Tea LITURGY Incensing the Congregation DOCUMENTS Pope's Lenten Message for 2009 World Food Program Director on Lent
VATICAN DOSSIER
Fasting Shouldn't Be Out of Style, Says Pope
Benefits Recognized for Millenniums Still Valid
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Fasting is as important as ever and it is a "therapy" to heal obstacles to conforming to God's will, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this is a message for Lent, dated Dec. 11 and released today. Ash Wednesday this year is Feb. 25.
The Holy Father recalled that the liturgy proposes three specific practices during Lent: prayer, almsgiving and fasting. And he said that his message this year would focus on the history and importance of fasting.
The Pontiff noted how fasting was prominent in both the Old and New Testaments: "Like Moses, who fasted before receiving the tablets of the Law and Elijah's fast before meeting the Lord on Mount Horeb, Jesus, too, through prayer and fasting, prepared himself for the mission that lay before him, marked at the start by a serious battle with the tempter."
Benedict XVI went on to acknowledge that the meaning of fasting -- "depriving ourselves of something that in itself is good and useful for our bodily sustenance" -- might not be immediately clear.
But he explained that "sacred Scriptures and the entire Christian tradition teach that fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. For this reason, the history of salvation is replete with occasions that invite fasting. […] "
"Since all of us are weighed down by sin and its consequences, fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God."
Jesus' teaching
A deeper meaning for fasting is revealed by Christ, the Pope explained.
"True fasting […] is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who 'sees in secret, and will reward you,'" the papal message notes. "[Christ] himself sets the example, answering Satan, at the end of the 40 days spent in the desert that 'man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' The true fast is thus directed to eating the 'true food,' which is to do the Father's will. [T]he believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in his goodness and mercy."
The first Christian communities and the fathers of the Church also point to the importance of fasting, the Holy Father continued.
"Moreover," he said, "fasting is a practice that is encountered frequently and recommended by the saints of every age."
A rediscovery
Nevertheless, the Pontiff observed, "fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one's body. Fasting certainly brings benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a 'therapy' to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God."
Recalling a 1966 document written by Pope Paul VI, "Pænitemini," Benedict XVI said that this Lent could be a "propitious time to present again the norms contained in the apostolic constitution, so that the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice may be rediscovered, and thus assist us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor."
Finally, in addition to the personal benefits of fasting, the Holy Father said, the penance also helps to foster solidarity.
"Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother," he said. "By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger."
"From what I have said thus far," the Bishop of Rome affirmed, "it seems abundantly clear that fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves."
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On the Net:
Full text of Lenten message:
www.zenit.org/article-24990?l=englishPaul VI's "Pænitemini":
www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19660217_paenitemini_en.html
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Lenten Initiative: A World Without Hunger
World Food Program Director Responds to Papal Message
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The executive director of the World Food Program is backing Benedict XVI's message for Lent, and particularly his call to foster the attitude of a Good Samaritan.
Josette Sheeran said this today when she spoke at the press conference where the Pope's Lenten message for 2009 was presented.
She noted that "hunger is on the march worldwide" and that the call to fight hunger is something that unites people of all faiths.
"I would like to assure each and every one of you that when it comes to hunger, you can make a difference. […] And it is an achievable goal," the director said. "We could cut hunger among school children virtually overnight if enough people came forward to help."
Sheeran noted how the food and economic crisis affect the poorest most severely: "Since 2007, 115 million were added to the ranks of the hungry to create a total of nearly 1 billion people without adequate food. That is one in six people on earth."
However, she continued, the problem is not a lack of food but a "problem of distribution -- and of greed, discrimination, wars and other tragedies. There is enough food on earth for every human to have adequate access to a nutritious diet. This is indeed a challenge for the human heart."
Success stories
The director affirmed that the tools and technology to combat hunger are not lacking.
She offered some examples of how charity programs have been able to stop mass starvation in places like Darfur or how programs like her own help communities to become self-sustaining.
"One exciting example of innovation is what I call the 'Salt Ladies of Senegal,'" Sheeran explained. "Senegal is a food-deficit nation, but produces a surplus of salt. The problem is the salt is not fortified with iodine, and Senegal has an epidemic of iodine-deficiency disorders, such as goiter, which inflicts lasting damage on children's minds and bodies.
"WFP [the World Food Program] decided to purchase all its salt from 7,000 village producers and give them the tools to iodize the salt. The result is a true win-win-win. The women have a steady income, we get iodized salt for our programs, and they also sell iodized salt now to their villages, helping to fight the disorder."
Fighting hunger needs collaboration, the director continued, noting how her program partners with local Caritas in the dioceses of nearly 40 countries and Catholic Relief Services in 15 countries.
The Pope's team
Sheeran said that she was "deeply moved" by Benedict XVI's "commitment and compassion for the world's hungry."
And, she added, "people, especially during the Lenten season, want to know how they can help. This is manifest in the Lenten message we just heard, with its challenge to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. Humanitarian assistance is not possible without Good Samaritans stepping up to help people in need. Whether from the generous donations of national governments, or collections taken in churches, mosques and schools, donations to relief agencies are essential for continuing to reach hungry people around the world. […]
"The tradition of voluntarily fasting during Lent, and giving the funds to charity, can make a real difference in a child's life."
The director also called for a "human rescue package" in addition to the stimulus packages being proposed for economies around the world.
"We have called for 0.7% of all stimulus plans to be dedicated to fighting hunger," she said. "Financial rescue packages must serve not only Wall Street and Main Street, but also the places where there are no streets."
"Each one of us has a choice," Sheeran concluded, "to pass by those in need, or to take action to help others. This Lent, let us choose a hunger-free world."
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Full text:
www.zenit.org/article-24988?l=english
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Vatican Ties With Chief Rabbinate "Fluid"
Sources Confirm Relations Were Never Severed
By Karna Swanson
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Vatican's ties with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel are "fluid," and a meeting set for March between both parties was never cancelled, according to Vatican sources.
The Associated Press reported last week that the rabbinate had severed ties with the Vatican after relations between the two came to a breaking point in the wake of the Vatican's announcement Jan. 24 that lifted the excommunication of a holocaust-denying bishop.
Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X claimed in an interview taped in November for Swedish television that historical evidence denies the gassing of Jews in Nazi concentration camps. He also alleged that no more than 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II.
Bishop Williamson was one of four prelates of the Society of St. Pius X who were illicitly ordained to the episcopate by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988. The excommunication was also lifted for the other three bishops, and was meant to be a step toward healing the division caused by the ordinations some 20 years ago.
Reports circulating in the press claim the Chief Rabbinate had severed ties last Wednesday with the Vatican, which were established in 2000 when Pope John Paul II visited Israel. The statements were based on a letter sent by the rabbinate that said, "Without a public apology and repudiation of the bishop, it will be difficult to continue the dialogue."
On that same day Benedict XVI reiterated the position of the Church on the Holocaust by expressing solidarity with Jews and strongly condemning the use of concentration camps during World War II, which he said "carried out the brutal massacre of millions of Jews, innocent victims of a blind racial and religious hate."
Sources in the Vatican said the Pope's words "had a strong impact on the environment of the Chief Rabbinate."
"But everything is fluid," the sources added. "It will be decided during the upcoming days if the meeting will take place in March."
Oded Wiener, the director-general of the Rabbinate of Israel, had said on Italian television after Benedict XVI's statement that it was "a big step forward," and denied that the ties between with the Vatican had been severed.
The Vatican and the state of Israel have had their own, separate relationship since establishing diplomatic ties in 1993, and the current situation does not affect state relations.
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WORLD FEATURES
Mexico Was Comforting, Says Vatican Official
Secretary of State Reflects on Family Conference
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's secretary of state says his trip last month to Mexico for the 6th World Meeting of Families was "comforting."
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was in Mexico from Jan. 14 to 18, representing the Pope at the family meeting. He looked back at his trip during an interview today with the Italian daily "Avvenire."
"Problems aren't lacking, of course, but essentially the Church in Mexico, as in other Latin American realities or of the Third World, has a great richness of faith, of popular devotion," the cardinal said. "It's enough to think of the basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. [The Church] is young, with many vocations -- in this sense, sometimes a greater discernment would be necessary."
The Italian cardinal observed that "for us who come from a West grown ever older in its middle age, the contact with these young societies, rich in hope, is truly comforting."
"In this sense," he added, "the phenomenon of Christian migrants who fill our cities is undoubtedly an enrichment for the Church and for society. And it would be good that we took that sufficiently into account."
Promoting good
Cardinal Bertone characterized the World Meeting of Families as the Church's homage to the first nucleus of the Christian community and the fundamental cell of society.
"When the Church defends the family, it doesn't do it only to defend the privileged environment for the transmission of the faith, but also for the common good, to promote a good life that is valid for believers and nonbelievers," he said. And faced with the difficulties confronting families today, he said the Church has the mission to transmit "a positive message, an experience of the beauty of life."
Cardinal Bertone noted how Benedict XVI has repeated that the Church is not a Church of "no's" but of "great 'yes's.'" He acknowledged that in this realm, "perhaps something of self-critique could be done."
"The beautiful and the positive is not always reflected in the faces of our communities or in our language," he said. "There are thousands of beautiful and faithful families; families united and generous in charity. They guarantee the perennial value of the family institution."
On the other hand, the cardinal affirmed, the Church says "no" to things such as a concept of family that does not include the stable union of a man and woman or the unions of divorced people.
"The Church," he said, "cannot go against natural law or the commandments of Jesus. Therefore, in these points of its attitude, it cannot change."
"At the same time," the cardinal concluded, "the Church is close to all sinful men, and with its ministers, offers divine mercy. The Church rejects no one, but it cannot betray the order of creation or deny the words of its founder, to follow or perhaps satisfy the fashions of the moment."
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Bishops Weigh in on Holocaust-Denying Prelate
Pastors Worldwide Affirm Church's Respect for Jews
WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- If Lefebvrite bishops are to exercise ministry in the Catholic Church, they must meet the expectation set upon any bishop: assenting to the teachings of the Church, including Vatican II.
This affirmation is sounding from various parts of the world as Catholic bishops respond to the Jan. 21 papal decision to remove the penalty of excommunication from four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, including the society's superior-general.
The foursome had incurred excommunication because they were ordained to the episcopacy without papal approval by the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, Marcel Lefebvre.
One of the prelates involved, Bishop Richard Williamson, has caused scandal as well as a series of clarifications -- including from the Pope -- because he claimed in an interview that 6 million Jews were not gassed during the Holocaust. The interview, filmed in November, happened to air shortly before the lifting of the excommunication was made public.
The president of the U.S. episcopal conference, Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, called the Holy Father's gesture to lift the excommunications "an act of mercy and personal concern for the ordained and lay members of this Society" -- an analysis coinciding with Benedict XVI's own explanation that the decision aimed to heal a rift in Church unity.
Cardinal George added: "The Holy Father's lifting of the excommunications is but a first step toward receiving these four bishops, and the priests who serve under them, back into full communion with the Catholic Church. If these bishops are to exercise their ministry as true teachers and pastors of the Catholic Church, they, like all Catholic bishops, will have to give their assent to all that the Church professes, including the teachings of the Second Vatican Council."
The cardinal called Bishop Williamson's comments "deeply offensive and utterly false," and said they have "evoked understandable outrage from within the Jewish community and also from among our own Catholic people."
"No Catholic," he said, "whether layperson, priest or bishop can ever negate the memory of the Shoah, just as no Catholic should ever tolerate expressions of anti-Semitism and religious bigotry."
Canada
Cardinal George's brother bishops from the north responded to questions from the faithful regarding the Lefebvrite's comments.
With five points, the Canadian bishops highlighted that their episcopal conference joins with the Holy Father in decrying the Holocaust, and with the Holy See in rejecting the comments made by Bishop Williamson.
They also clarified: "It is only the declared excommunication of the four bishops who are members of the Society of St. Pius X, including Bishop Williamson, that has been lifted for the offense of their having received episcopal ordination without pontifical mandate. The lifting of the excommunication does not affect penalties for other offenses.
"The decree […] does not allow Bishop Williamson or the other bishops to exercise sacred ministry licitly or to exercise any office or act of governance in the Catholic Church. It simply opens the possibility of restoring them to full communion with the Catholic Church."
Germany and Switzerland
Meanwhile in Europe, bishops from the site of the Shoah were particularly forthcoming in their criticism of Bishop Williamson's comments. They invited the four Lefebvrists to publicly declare their acceptance of Vatican II, and particularly the declaration "Nostra Aetate," which deals with the Church's relationship with the Jews and other non-Christians.
They affirmed their support for Benedict XVI's search for Church unity.
And, they expressed their "most decided" opposition to Bishop Williamson's negation of the Holocaust, noting that German civil authorities are already investigating the case, given that the denial of the Holocaust in Germany is a criminal offense.
The archbishop of Freiburg and president of the German episcopal conference, Bishop Robert Zollitsch, affirmed: "In the Catholic Church there is room neither for anti-Semitism nor for the negation of the Holocaust."
In Switzerland, where Lefebvre established the formation center for the Society of St. Pius X, the bishops clarified that the four Lefebvrite bishops continue under suspension, even with the removal of their excommunication.
"It is necessary," they wrote, "to avoid misunderstandings: In the doctrine of the Church, the lifting of the excommunication is not reconciliation nor rehabilitation, but rather the opening of the path toward reconciliation. This act is not an arrival point, but rather a departure point for necessary dialogue about the reasons for the dissent."
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NEWS BRIEFS
Cardinal Bertone to Talk Human Rights in Spain
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Before arriving today in Spain, Benedict XVI's secretary of state gave a preview of the highlights of his trip.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone will be in Spain through Thursday. He told the Italian daily "Avvenire" that "I have been invited by the episcopal conference to deliver a conference on the 60 years of the Declaration of Human Rights; as well, I will have a meeting too with the king of Spain, the prime minister and other political exponents."
The cardinal said he would try "to explain that rights are something serious, based in natural law, and cannot be confused with desires."
Asked about tensions between the Church and the Spanish government, the secretary of state said that "the will to dialogue is a positive sign."
"Catholics traditionally respect legitimately established political power," he added. "And the Church is always ready for a fruitful collaboration with authorities, in the context of a healthy secularity. Obviously one cannot stay silent if we see that in some way the principles of natural law or the liberty of the Church are undermined."
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Nuns Invited to Help Poor by Drinking Tea
ROME, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- For nuns in Rome, doing a good deed this Lent might be as easy as having a cup of tea.
That's because religious of the Eternal City, and particularly communities who form the orders' general-direction sees, are being invited to purchase food products from Fairtrade, an organization that represents 4,000 production groups made up of thousands of poor workers worldwide.
The invitation is as concrete as urging the religious to buy tea and coffee sold by Fairtrade workers.
With a list of addresses where Fairtrade products can be acquired, the nuns are being encouraged to use their power as consumers to help the poor.
The campaign is being promoted by a commission of Franciscans and a group made up of representatives from various religious congregations.
"Springing from a financial vision and a commitment based on the values of the Gospel," the organizers explained, "new economic relations can arise, challenging men and women religious to make their choices as consumers, beginning with a critical conscience, with bases in the political, economic and social reality."
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On the Net:
Fairtrade UK:
www.fairtrade.org.uk
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LITURGY
Incensing the Congregation
And More on Homilies
ROME, FEB. 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: I know of a priest who has the altar servers incense the congregation after he has incensed the altar at the offertory. There is one family who objects to this and states that it should be a priest or deacon that incenses the congregation. Can you provide documentation on the correct procedure? -- B.L., Caney, Kansas
A: The relevant documents are found, above all, in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) and the Ceremonial of Bishops.
GIRM Nos. 75 and 144 sum up most of what needs to be said:
"75) The bread and wine are placed on the altar by the priest to the accompaniment of the prescribed formulas. The priest may incense the gifts placed upon the altar and then incense the cross and the altar itself, so as to signify the Church's offering and prayer rising like incense in the sight of God. Next, the priest, because of his sacred ministry, and the people, by reason of their baptismal dignity, may be incensed by the deacon or another minister.
"144) If incense is used, the priest then puts some in the thurible, blesses it without saying anything, and incenses the offerings, the cross, and the altar. A minister, while standing at the side of the altar, incenses the priest and then the people."
From this it is clear that the incensing of the priest and the people is a role of the deacon if one is present. When there is no deacon, this task may be undertaken by an instituted acolyte or an altar server, but it would never be the task of the priest, who at this time is washing his hands and preparing to invite the congregation to pray as soon as the incensing of the people is concluded.
Unlike the Roman rite, some Eastern Churches limit the use of the thurible to those who have received at least the subdiaconate or even diaconate, and in these rites it is not possible for non-clerics to substitute the ordained ministers in these functions at Mass.
A point of debate is involved in the case of concelebration, especially when a bishop presides. The Ceremonial of Bishops, No. 149, says that the deacon incenses the bishop, then the concelebrants, then the people.
On the other hand, the more recent GIRM No. 214, in referring to concelebrated Masses, simply says that the preparation of the gifts is to be carried out according to Nos. 139-146 and there is no reference to a separate incensing of the concelebrants.
Likewise, personal observation of some celebrations in the Vatican in which there was no separate incensing of concelebrants would seem to indicate that the incensing of the principal celebrant is considered as representing all clergy present.
However, it might also be explained by the fact that the concelebrants in the basilica are generally not in a distinct presbytery but are placed in front of the assembly; this makes it impossible to distinguish a separate incensing of clergy and faithful.
Since both these documents remain in force, I believe that both options are viable, at least at an episcopal concelebration. Pending further official clarifications, either form may be chosen according to the concrete circumstances such as the number and location of the concelebrants, the structure of the presbytery, or the time required.
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Follow-up: Applause at Homilies
Related to our
Jan. 20 piece on applause during homilies, a few readers had inquired about the propriety of some rhetorical devices.
One Canadian reader asked: "In our parish, our pastor usually begins his homily with a joke. There is no connection between the joke and the homily that follows. While many at Mass seem to enjoy his jokes -- judging by the laughter after the punch line -- some of us find this irreverent. I have a difficult time making the transition from the comedian priest to the priest who is
in persona Christi, and is about to help the Catholic faithful better understand the Gospel and the readings. Are there any guidelines for homilies that would indicate whether this is appropriate or not?"
Another, a deacon, inquired, "I have a simple question about greeting the people during the homily. Is it all right to say good morning? Last Monday I opened the homily with this greeting and moved on to a reflection on the Gospel. The celebrant priest was of the opinion that to say good morning is superfluous, since I had already said, 'The Lord be with you.' I had just noticed the people looked a little tired after a long weekend, and to get another response from them would help their attention and participation."
While there is no official teaching on how to start a homily, many great preachers have reflected on the art of preaching, for example, St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine in his
De Doctrina Christiana. There are myriad modern books and Internet sites on preaching effective homilies, many of which offer useful indications.
Although I believe that the preacher should greet the faithful at the beginning of the homily, I am not convinced that "Good morning" is the most appropriate line. The liturgical salutation "The Lord be with you" is a preparation for hearing God's word in the Gospel and is not a personal greeting as such. However, a greeting that provokes a natural response from the congregation such as "You're welcome" is more likely to break the flow between Gospel and homily than a "My dear brothers and sisters" or words to that effect.
Something similar could be said about jokes, especially if unrelated to the content of the homily. While this method is a legitimate opener in some cases, it becomes trying if applied week after week.
All the same, I would not wish to be hidebound regarding either point. There can be circumstances when evoking an immediate response is necessary in order to connect with the congregation. Likewise, preachers of the caliber of Fulton Sheen wielded the amusing introductory anecdote with masterful effect.
The first lines of a homily often determine whether the faithful sit up and take notice or settle into a wakeful slumber. Therefore it is salient that the preacher does not placidly repeat the bland, but rather strives to engage his listeners from the first moment in order to bring them closer to Christ.
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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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DOCUMENTS
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
"Fasting Is a Great Help to Avoid Sin and All That Leads to It"
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is Benedict XVI's Lenten message for 2009, dated Dec. 11 and released today. The theme of the letter is "He Fasted for Forty Days and Forty Nights, and Afterward He Was Hungry."
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
At the beginning of Lent, which constitutes an itinerary of more intense spiritual training, the Liturgy sets before us again three penitential practices that are very dear to the biblical and Christian tradition -- prayer, almsgiving, fasting -- to prepare us to better celebrate Easter and thus experience God's power that, as we shall hear in the Paschal Vigil, "dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride" (Paschal Præconium). For this year's Lenten Message, I wish to focus my reflections especially on the value and meaning of fasting. Indeed, Lent recalls the forty days of our Lord's fasting in the desert, which He undertook before entering into His public ministry. We read in the Gospel: "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry" (Mt 4,1-2). Like Moses, who fasted before receiving the tablets of the Law (cf. Ex 34,28) and Elijah's fast before meeting the Lord on Mount Horeb (cf. 1 Kings 19,8), Jesus, too, through prayer and fasting, prepared Himself for the mission that lay before Him, marked at the start by a serious battle with the tempter.
We might wonder what value and meaning there is for us Christians in depriving ourselves of something that in itself is good and useful for our bodily sustenance. The Sacred Scriptures and the entire Christian tradition teach that fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. For this reason, the history of salvation is replete with occasions that invite fasting. In the very first pages of Sacred Scripture, the Lord commands man to abstain from partaking of the prohibited fruit: "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Gn 2, 16-17). Commenting on the divine injunction, Saint Basil observes that "fasting was ordained in Paradise," and "the first commandment in this sense was delivered to Adam." He thus concludes: "'You shall not eat' is a law of fasting and abstinence" (cf. Sermo de jejunio: PG 31, 163, 98). Since all of us are weighed down by sin and its consequences, fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God. Such was the case with Ezra, who, in preparation for the journey from exile back to the Promised Land, calls upon the assembled people to fast so that "we might humble ourselves before our God" (8,21). The Almighty heard their prayer and assured them of His favor and protection. In the same way, the people of Nineveh, responding to Jonah's call to repentance, proclaimed a fast, as a sign of their sincerity, saying: "Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?" (3,9). In this instance, too, God saw their works and spared them.
In the New Testament, Jesus brings to light the profound motive for fasting, condemning the attitude of the Pharisees, who scrupulously observed the prescriptions of the law, but whose hearts were far from God. True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who "sees in secret, and will reward you" (Mt 6,18). He Himself sets the example, answering Satan, at the end of the forty days spent in the desert that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt 4,4). The true fast is thus directed to eating the "true food," which is to do the Father's will (cf. Jn 4,34). If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord's command "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat," the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy.
The practice of fasting is very present in the first Christian community (cf. Acts 13,3; 14,22; 27,21; 2 Cor 6,5). The Church Fathers, too, speak of the force of fasting to bridle sin, especially the lusts of the "old Adam," and open in the heart of the believer a path to God. Moreover, fasting is a practice that is encountered frequently and recommended by the saints of every age. Saint Peter Chrysologus writes: "Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God's ear to yourself" (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322).
In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one's body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a "therapy" to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God. In the Apostolic Constitution Pænitemini of 1966, the Servant of God Paul VI saw the need to present fasting within the call of every Christian to "no longer live for himself, but for Him who loves him and gave himself for him, he will also have to live for his brethren" (cf. Ch. I). Lent could be a propitious time to present again the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution, so that the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice may be rediscovered, and thus assist us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor, the first and greatest Commandment of the new Law and compendium of the entire Gospel (cf. Mt 22, 34-40).
The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. Saint Augustine, who knew all too well his own negative impulses, defining them as "twisted and tangled knottiness" (Confessions, II, 10.18), writes: "I will certainly impose privation, but it is so that he will forgive me, to be pleasing in his eyes, that I may enjoy his delightfulness" (Sermo 400, 3, 3: PL 40, 708). Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God.
At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live. In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes: "If anyone has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him -- how does the love of God abide in him?" (3,17). Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, 15). By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving. From the beginning, this has been the hallmark of the Christian community, in which special collections were taken up (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27), the faithful being invited to give to the poor what had been set aside from their fast (Didascalia Ap., V, 20,18). This practice needs to be rediscovered and encouraged again in our day, especially during the liturgical season of Lent.
From what I have said thus far, it seems abundantly clear that fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person. Quite opportunely, an ancient hymn of the Lenten liturgy exhorts: "Utamur ergo parcius, / verbis cibis et potibus, / somno, iocis et arctius / perstemus in custodia" (Let us use sparingly words, food and drink, sleep and amusements. May we be more alert in the custody of our senses).
Dear brothers and sisters, it is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote, to make the complete gift of self to God (cf. Encyclical "Veritatis splendor," 21). May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor. I am thinking especially of a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass. With this interior disposition, let us enter the penitential spirit of Lent. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, "Causa nostrae laetitiae," accompany and support us in the effort to free our heart from slavery to sin, making it evermore a "living tabernacle of God." With these wishes, while assuring every believer and ecclesial community of my prayer for a fruitful Lenten journey, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 11 December 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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World Food Program Director on Lent
"Feeding the Hungry Is a Profound Act of Love"
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 3, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the statement Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program, gave today at the press conference the presented Benedict XVI's message for Lent.
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I would like to offer profound thanks to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for inviting the World Food Program to participate in this special event. We very much appreciate the Holy Father’s support for the work we do. And thank you Cardinal Cordes, and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for your assistance.
By drawing our attention to voluntary fasting, as His Holiness encourages us to do this Lent, we can be helped to remember that hunger is on the march worldwide. Serving the hungry is a moral call that unites people of all faiths. Every major religion urges their believers to be a Good Samaritan and to choose to help others. The Prophet Isaiah says: "And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday" (58:10).
I would like to assure each and every one of you that when it comes to hunger, you can make a difference. Feeding the hungry is a profound act of love, and restores dignity to a mother or father who cannot provide for their starving child. Mahatma Ghandi said that to a hungry man, a piece of bread is the face of God. Let us believe in the miracle of a world without hunger. Does not the heart of Christ encompass such a noble vision among the faithful?
And it is an achievable goal. We could cut hunger among school children virtually overnight if enough people came forward to help. The World Food Program delivers such hope to 20 million school children, working closely with various faith-based groups.
At this time of worldwide economic challenges, let us not forget that the food and financial crises hit the world’s most vulnerable the hardest. Since 2007, 115 million were added to the ranks of the hungry to create a total of nearly one billion people without adequate food. That is one in six people on earth. But this is not a problem of food availability. It is a problem of distribution -- and of greed, discrimination, wars and other tragedies. There is enough food on earth for every human to have adequate access to a nutritious diet. This is indeed a challenge for the human heart.
This is a critical moment. While all families must make some sacrifices, for the poorest of the poor that means going without meals -- for a day, or two, or three. This dramatic reduction in nutrition is particularly alarming for children under two years old, where it is proven that nutritional deprivation will stunt their minds and bodies for life. Today, a child dies every six seconds from hunger.
The question is: Is there anything that can be done to alleviate the humiliation, pain and injustice of hunger? Are there solutions that help people break the hunger trap for themselves, once and for all? The answer is overwhelmingly "yes." We have the tools and technology to make this happen, and we have seen it happen in many places around the world.
Allow me to give you some examples. The World Food Program went into Darfur in 2003 when villages were still burning. Millions of people were terrorized and faced starvation. In what I call a modern day miracle, the world refused to stand by and let the displaced people of Darfur starve. Today, through the generosity of many nations -- and the bravery of our humanitarian workers -- WFP feeds 3 million people a day trapped far from their homes in the desolate and dangerous desert. The world has prevented -- for less than fifty cents a day per person -- mass starvation in Darfur.
A more recent crisis broke out in sixty nations, including Senegal, following the most aggressive increase in global food prices in recorded history last year. High prices have left an estimated 40 percent of rural households in Senegal in danger of hunger and malnutrition. The World Food Program deployed innovative programs to not only provide food to 2 million people, but also to empower them to feed themselves.
One exciting example of innovation is what I call the "Salt Ladies of Senegal." Senegal is a food-deficit nation, but produces a surplus of salt. The problem is the salt is not fortified with iodine, and Senegal has an epidemic of iodine-deficiency disorders, such as goiter, which inflicts lasting damage on children’s minds and bodies. WFP decided to purchase all its salt from 7,000 village producers and give them the tools to iodize the salt. The result is a true win-win-win. The women have a steady income, we get iodized salt for our programs, and they also sell iodized salt now to their villages, helping to fight the disorder. An example of helping local people to help themselves, safeguarding always the personal dignity of those we serve. In fact, last year WFP bought over $1 billion in food directly from the developing world for our programs, helping break the cycle of poverty at its root.
School feeding programs have a strong track record of providing meals and other basic social services to children, while also ensuring they receive an education. There is perhaps no better example of school feeding programs than the ones we run in Afghanistan. There we have seen an entire generation of girls go to school for the first time, a dramatic change for a country that once forbade girls from attending school. We know that families are more likely to send their children to school if they will have a meal during the day. Worldwide, WFP’s school feeding programs increase school enrolment by 28 percent for girls, and 22 percent for boys, serving as an effective and affordable way to provide education and nutrition, while empowering women and girls.
Another exciting example of the power of the world to do good is in Gaza today. We have all heard about the humanitarian crisis. I witnessed it with my own eyes just two weeks ago: people who could not pick up traditional rations due to military action, and even if they had food, could not cook it. WFP issued a call for help to the private sector to find ready-to-use, highly nutritious food for the children of Gaza. Today, fortified date bars are being delivered into Gaza, with cooperation from food companies from Egypt to the Netherlands. This is a powerful example of humanity in action with a heart of love.
We need to work together. For our side, we partner with charities and NGOs around the world to ensure that we tailor our programs to local needs. Catholic charities are key partners for the WFP. For example, WFP works with local Caritas in the dioceses of nearly 40 countries, in food-for-work, health and education programs. We also work with Catholic Relief Services, where we collaborate in 15 countries.
I met Pope Benedict and was deeply moved by his commitment and compassion for the world’s hungry. Speaking just recently, the Pope called on Governments to look to the poor, especially in our day: "We need to give new hope to the poor," he said. "How can we not think of so many individuals and families hard pressed by the difficulties and uncertainties which the current financial and economic crisis has provoked on a global scale? How can we not mention the food crisis and global warming, which make it even more difficult for those living in some of the poorest parts of the planet to have access to nutrition and water?" (Address to Diplomatic Corps, 8 January 2009). The Pope, quoting from Saint John, offers us a way forward in this year’s Lenten message: "If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him -- how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17).
Many people, especially during the Lenten season, want to know how they can help. This is manifest in the Lenten message we just heard, with its challenge to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. Humanitarian assistance is not possible without Good Samaritans stepping up to help people in need. Whether from the generous donations of national governments, or collections taken in churches, mosques and schools, donations to relief agencies are essential for continuing to reach hungry people around the world.
Shortly after joining the World Food Program, I launched the "Fill the Cup" campaign, named after the humble red plastic cup in which millions of children are served a cup of porridge for lunch. This simple meal costs only one euro a week, and can save a child’s life. We calculated that for $3 billion a year, the world can end hunger among school children. The tradition of voluntarily fasting during Lent, and giving the funds to charity, can make a real difference in a child’s life.
We also need national governments to take the lead. At this time of trillion-dollar financial rescue packages, we need a human rescue package. We have called for 0.7% of all stimulus plans to be dedicated to fighting hunger. Financial rescue packages must serve not only Wall Street and Main Street, but also the places where there are no streets.
Each one of us has a choice, to pass by those in need, or to take action to help others. This Lent, let us choose a hunger-free world.
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